Amaryllis woke up sometime in the mid-morning after having the best sleep she had ever had. She had never felt more at peace and relaxed than she ever had before that night with her mate wrapped around her.

When she woke up, she was lying on her back with one hand laying on on the bed near her side and the other entwined with Ulric's. He was laying on top of her - buck naked. His chin rested in the top of her head and his one leg was thrown across her lower body. His arm was splayed across her breasts, the other was tucked under his head.

She felt his morning... hardness... pressing against her. She blushed as she remembered the night before when he had given her her first orgasm. She couldn't believe that she actually allowed herself to go through with that, but she didn't regret it.

"What are you blushing about?" Amaryllis heard a deep, husky voice say from above her. She jumped a little in the bed as she wasn't expecting him to have been awake.

"You scared me," she replied, placing her hand over her racing heart.

She took a deep breath to calm down a little bit. "I was thinking about... last night," she answered as she subconsciously began stroking his large bicep with her fingers.

"Did you enjoy it," he asked as he moved his hand that was over her chest down to grab her hip.

He saw her face redden even further. He knew she enjoyed it, that much was obvious, but he wanted to see what her reply would be.

"Yes," she whispered with a nod.

"Good," he said, running his hand up and down her hip.

"So w-what are you doing t-today?" Amaryllis asked with a stutter. She wasn' t exactly sure how to act around him, and she didn't know if she should be asking such a personal question.

"Training more of the fledglings," he replied. "Then Thierry and I are meeting to discuss new soldier rankings among the troops."

Amaryllis nodded her head in response, not sure what to say after that. She didn't know much about Ulric or his interests, so she had nothing to comment on.

She didn't realize it until then, but Ulric's body was basically crushing her. Half of him was laying on top of her while the other half of him laid on the bed. He was quite a heavy man due to how large he was. While she couldn't breathe as well as normal, she enjoyed the feeling of him laying on top of her. There was an intimacy about it that she liked.

Amaryllis moved her hand up around his neck and splayed it out in between his shoulder blades. She felt Ulric tense up above her, but before she could ask what was wrong, he jumped up from her.

"I'm-I'm sorry," She said as she stared at her hand, wondering what happened.

"It's fine. Just don't," he said through gritted teeth. His fists clenched and his body was tense. What did she do, she wondered?

Ulric walked into the closet and gripped his hands in his hair, pulling sharply. He was exhausted from trying to fight the mate-pull, he could no longer continue. He'd even admitted that to Amaryllis yesterday, but he still wasn't exactly ready for everything that came with having a mate - especially the intimacy.

Last night he had given her her first orgasm and he hadn't thought much of it since they were both in the mood. But just now, when he wasn't expecting it, she was gentle with him, treating him like a mate should treat a mate when she wrapped her arm around him. He wasn't prepared for it. He wouldn't admit it to her, but it freaked him out.

Yes, their encounter last night was very intimate, but he was also prepared and he was the one who initiated it. However, just then when they weren't feeling sexual, when she just acted out like that, initiating something when he wasn't prepared, it was different. He hadn't felt the intimacy of a mate like that since... well since her.

He shivered in disgust at the simple thought of her.

He quickly threw his clothes on, a pair of blue jeans, a belt, and a light blue dress shirt that he tucked into his jeans. Then he got ready for the morning. Walking out of the bathroom, he noticed Amaryllis was still laying in the bed. She wore a confused and pained expression on her face as she held her broken wrist with her good hand.

"I'm leaving. I'm not sure when I'll be back. You can roam the castle as you wish, but don't leave the castle and don't go into any restricted areas," Ulric said as he slid his boots on.

"Okay," Amaryllis said in a quiet defeated voice. Her shoulders sagged as she looked down at the bed once Ulric left. She really thought they were making progress, especially after last night.

I guess not.

Amaryllis lifted the covers up to her nose and inhaled Ulric's scent, trying to make herself feel better. She couldn't comprehend why he was acting the way he was.

Sighing, she got out of the bed and got dressed for the morning. She pulled on her work pants and one of her work shirts. Then she made Ulric's bed and fluffed the pillows. After that, she went into her room and took all of her dirty clothes into the laundry room.

Thankfully, Ulric had been providing her with more clothes than she originally had when she got there so she had a decent stockpile of clothes at that point. Then she went into Ulric's bathroom and closet, and pulled out all of his dirty clothes.

After throwing the clothes in the wash, she wasn't sure what to do with herself. So she opened the dark curtains that blocked the windows as she had never seen out of them before.

The windows sills were wide and long enough for her to sit on one as she peered down. From his window, she could see rolling hills in the distance, as well as a lake, all surrounded by woods. It was absolutely stunning and she wouldn't be shocked to know that Ulric had the best view in the castle.

She wished she was allowed to leave the castle for she badly wanted to go to the lake. The scenery would make for beautiful pictures. She and her father would always go around to different areas in their neighborhood and take photos together when she was younger. It was one of their hobbies that they enjoyed doing with each other. Her father was also a photographer on the side of his full day job: an eighth-grade science teacher.

She thought of her parents and her older brother Luca, and a pang of sadness hit her. She missed her family dearly. Though she hadn't thought of them in a while because her mind was too wrapped up in a certain vampire, something she felt guilty about.

Amaryllis wondered if her family still thought about her. Did they worry about her? Did they think she was dead? Were they dead?

What about Sophie and Nicole? Did they think she was dead? Were they dead?

All these thoughts running through her mind made her clench her fists in anxiousness. What if her family and friends were dead? She wanted to let everyone know somehow that she was okay. She wanted to know that they were okay. She just wanted closure.

She looked at the clock on the bedside table and saw that it was only 11:30 in the morning. She still had a whole day by herself.

Sighing, she stood up from the window ledge and went to put her shoes on. She hadn't eaten breakfast yet, so she was starving. Ulric said that they could call down to the kitchen and have a servant bring food up, but she felt like getting out for a bit. She also knew that ordering a servant to bring her something was far above her social status. She would feel awkward doing it, especially since she was a human and the room service was only meant for vampires. Humans only got to eat at specific times when meals were served, or if their owner gave them permission to.

She walked down to the dining room for the humans, knowing that lunch would be served soon. A few people were scattered around the place, but it was still quite empty. She was early, so she didn't figure many people would be there yet.

Lunch was about to be served at any moment and Cameron still wasn't there. Amaryllis huffed, she hated eating by herself. Even back when she was home, if Sophie and Nicole weren't there that day, or if they had work for another class they had to make up during the lunch period, Amaryllis would have to sit by herself. She had no other friends.

When the food was finally served, she rose from her chair and stood in line for the buffet. Luckily there were only a few people in front of her so she didn't have to wait long.

After she ate her food, she stood up to leave the dining room. She felt awkward and out of place. Everyone else had at least one either person to sit with. She was an outcast.

Amaryllis wanted to head out to the beautiful gardens that she had seen earlier. Ulric told her not to leave the castle, but the gardens were part of the castle, right?

"Amaryllis," she heard a voice call out as she walked toward the castle doors that led to the garden. Turning around, she saw Thierry running down the hallways toward her. He had a huge smile on his face.

"Hello," she said as he got closer to her.

"Do you want to meet Marley? She's awake," he asked. That must be why he's so happy. His mate woke up!

"Yes! I would love to meet her. When did she wake up?"

"Last night. Come on let's go!" Thierry exclaimed as his smile seemed to grow even bigger. Amaryllis had never seen him so elated before. His smile was infectious, and she was very happy as well as they sped walked toward the hospital wing.

Thierry pulled a door open and let her walk in first. Lying propped up in the bed was a very pretty young girl. She seemed to be Amaryllis's age, or maybe a year or two older. Her hair was very dark, most likely black. She had light hazel eyes and light pink lips. She was thin and probably around Aaryllis's own height or only one or two inches taller from what she could tell. She was quite beautiful. Amaryllis felt insecure about her own looks compared to Marley's.

"Hi, I'm Amaryllis," She said as Theirry moved to stand at the foot of the bed.

"Hello," Marley said, though her voice was still shakey. Amaryllis knew it must've been because she had just woken up. "I'm Marley," she greeted with a smile as she stretched her hand out.

Amaryllis walked closer to the bed and grasped Marley's hand in her's. She'd never met a werewolf before, but she knew that they didn't like the humans either. She must've had a confused look on her face because Marley asked her what was wrong.

"Do you know that I'm a... human?" Amaryllis asked.

"Yes, Thierry has told me quite a bit about you," she said hoarsely.

"And you're still being... friendly to me?" Amaryllis questioned. She couldn't believe it. Thierry had been the only supernatural creature to ever treat her with kindness upon first meeting.

"Well, why wouldn't I be? Have you murdered any wolf pups that I don't know about?" She teased. "I have no reason to hate you simply because you are human," she replied.

"Oh," Amaryllis said as her face heated up. She wasn't used to people being so nice to her. "How old are you?" Amaryllis questioned.

"I'm 19, and you're 18 right? I'm trying to remember what Theirry told me," She said as she tapped her chin with her pointer finger like she was in deep thought.

"Mh-hm," Amaryllis hummed.

Thierry had been standing at the foot of the bed the whole time, watching the girls interact. He was beyond ecstatic that his mate had woken up. He was sure he would have gone insane if she didn't wake up within the next week.

The girls talked for about half an hour more before a nurse came in and told Amaryllis that she would have to leave so Marley could get some rest. This particular nurse was a vampire and was notorious for treating humans awfully. However, when she talked politely to Amaryllis, he knew she was only doing so because she knew that he had taken up a friendship with the human. Being the second most powerful man of the entire vampire species, it was best to stay on his good side.

Amaryllis reached down and wrapped up Marley in a gentle hug. Marley hugged her back the best she could, but she was still very weak. The silver that ran through her veins really put a strain on her healing abilities for the time.

Thierry leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to Marley's cheek. "I'm going to walk her back to Ulric's. I'll be back soon," he whispered and placed a quick kiss on her lips before standing up.

Thierry knew no one would mess with Amaryllis as she smelled strongly of Ulric, but still, he wanted to be sure that his best friend's mate, and his new friend, was home safely.

He dropped Amaryllis off at Ulric's quarters before running back to Marley. After almost losing her, he would never leave her sight for more than a few moments at a time. He never wanted to take their precious time for granted.

When Thierry first visited Marley at the pack doctor before they had transferred her to the castle, the doctor had told him that if he hadn't got to the hospital when he did and forced his blood to drip down her throat, she would've died. He said that the blood of a royal would have saved her as well, but since he was her mate and a royal, his blood would have the strongest effect on her body. That revelation sent him into a new world, thinking of his mate being so close to death.

He went on a killing spree the night she was stabbed. He had never been so angry and so vulnerable at the same time before, and he needed to let his emotions out. He left the pack doctor after forcing his blood into her mouth ran into the woods. He drained the blood from every living animal he could find. He slaughtered a group of rogue wolves as well. They would've died in a few short hours anyway when the werewolves on border patrol picked up their scents and tracked them down. He only ended their lives a few hours faster.

Thierry finally let out a sigh of relief once he laid down in his mate's hospital bed and wrapped his arms around her. He had worked himself up again on the way back to the hospital wing as he thought about the night she got stabbed. She quickly fell asleep once they were snuggled together. He too wanted to get some rest before his meeting with Ulric.

Amaryllis groaned in disappointment when she saw that Ulric still wasn't back. He must still be training the fledglings. She had been apart from him for quite a few hours at that point, and she was really starting to miss him. This whole mate thing was making it impossible to be away from him for only a few hours without missing him.

Amaryllis decided to take a nap to pass the time as there was really nothing else to do. However, she didn't sleep well when Ulric wasn't around, so she would just have to see how it went.

She had already seen most of the castle during her walkarounds, though there were still hundreds of rooms she hadn't been into, she didn't feel like exploring. She wanted to leave to go to town, but Ulric told her not to leave the castle, and there was no way that she would walk around that vampire filled town by herself.

Laying down on Ulric's bed, she wrapped herself up in his blankets and inhaled his smell. He smelled so yummy, Amaryllis thought to herself. She tossed and tuned for half of an hour before finally drifting off into her nap. She knew it wouldn't last long as she never slept well when Ulric was gone, but she was hoping for at least an hour of sleep.

Amaryllis walked through the streets of the quiet city. The only light was provided from a candle in the window a few feet above her head. She could barely see more than two yards in front of her face.

It was cold, and she was lost. She wandered away from the castle to follow a bird and couldn't find her way back. Now she walked through an abandoned looking town, searching for a familiar face.

She stopped when she saw a house she recognized. It was her house, but it wasn't in her town. There was a light shining through the window, illuminating the space between her and the house.

She quickly walked toward her house, wanting to escape from the eerie blackness. The darkness, after all, was when your fears came to life. The dark left you with nothing but your mind and your own dark thoughts. It let the fear eat you up inside as you peer into the darkness, seeing nothing but black.

Opening the door, she sighed in relief. She was home. All she wanted was a hug from her father, letting her know that everything would be alright.

However, that wasn't what she received. When she looked up from the doormat, she saw her family. They were all dead. Limbs were scattered around the house. Blood was caked on the walls and furniture.

She gasped as she took in the sight in front of her. Her heart began racing with fear as her eyes welled up with tears. Her family couldn't be dead. Who would do this?

Her shaky hand reached out to grab the door handle. She needed to run and ask for help. Or ask if anyone knew who did this. She needed help. The door, however, wouldn't budge. She turned around to unlock it but realized that the door had completely vanished.

Turning back around, she looked for an alternative exit, but all of the windows were gone as well. Everything was gone actually, and now she was standing in a pitch black box by herself. She soon saw someone walking toward her, a vampire. She could tell because the only thing she saw was the red circle of their eyes.

"Help!" She screamed, hoping that someone would hear her. She didn't want to die. She wanted her family. She wanted her mom, and her dad, and her brother, and Sophie, and Nicole. She wanted to go back to the castle. She wanted Ulric.

"No one's going to help you now," a somewhat familiar voice sneered out. Lights turned on and she could see that a boy stood a few feet in front of her. He had a hood drawn over his head.

She covered her mouth in surprise when he pulled the hood over his head. It was the same boy that attacked her the night Ulric took her to that club.

"Because of you, I'm dead. So now, you're going to die a torturous, painful death," he said as he laughed menacingly. Amaryllis was scared. Her hands shook as she thought about what would happen. She didn't want to die. She probably should've been more afraid of his laugh than she was though, but honestly, Ulric was much scarier and far more intimidating than this immature boy was.

"Ulric will come for me," Amaryllis said as her last sign of defense. It's not like she could try to fight him off.

He blew her off like he didn't even hear her. "First things first," he said as he reached in his back pocket and pulled out a stake. "I'm gonna hurt you the way your precious king hurt me." He then reared his hand back and stabbed the stake down into her shoulder.

"Amaryllis," she heard a deep, familiar voice say.

"Amaryllis!" The voice said even louder and with almost no gentleness in their tone.

She quickly opened her eyes, confused as to what was going on. She looked up and saw Ulric leaning over her as her hands held tightly onto his shirt. His hands were wrapped around her hips. Tears streamed down her face.