Lira couldn't believe she almost fell for that! What was Nicholas about to do? And why did she felt like letting him do it? It felt weird, like she was being compelled to do it. Was she? Or did she want it to happen herself? She took a step back and eyed him accusingly. "You were going to tap into my vein."

"I'm sorry" was all he said.

"I thought we were friends and that you will never hurt me."

"I didn't do it. I held back," Nicholas said defensively.

"But you were thinking about it the whole time. You wanted it to. If your brother and Miss Amara weren't here earlier, you were going to do it. In fact, I think you orchestrated everything. You were planning on this all along, weren't you? I have read many novels about characters like you. You tried to gain my trust so you could tap my veins easily!"

"No! I mean yes, I did plan something like that before. But I never thought about doing it when I asked you to come here. But things went out of hand when I was holding you. I'm not just a vampire—I'm also a guy."

"What does that supposed to mean?!"

"You're a girl, Lira; a pretty one. I wanted to kiss you—that was all. But then I scented your blood; I felt and heard every pulse in your body. I can even hear the rush of blood in your veins. I tried so hard to resist your blood, but your scent was too much for me not to give in. And when you leaned back on me, it was all the invitation I needed."

Wait. What? She just called her pretty. He wanted to kiss her? As she stared at him, she only then noticed his eyes staring back at her were black. Her heart suddenly beat faster as it finally sunk in to her what Nicholas had once told her about Sevastian: No matter how gentle he might seem he was still a vampire. And so was Nicholas. They might have become friends but Nicholas couldn't resist his nature as a vampire. "Well, you were so good at seducing me!"

He gave a hallow laugh. "Trust me Lira; I wasn't in the seducing part yet."

"I gave you my trust." I was starting to even like you more.

For a moment there was guilt in his eyes. But it took only a second before his face twisted into an exasperated look. "Why are you making a big deal out of this? It's not as if you will not be giving your blood to us when you turn twenty."

"Because it is my blood! And I'll be giving my blood through a needle someday; that seemed less animalistic than you tearing on my neck."

"You think I'm an animal?" he said almost quietly. He breached the gap between them with two strides and curled his fingers around Lira's throat, his nails turning into claws almost digging in to her skin; his fangs elongated. "You want to see me behave like a wild animal?" he roared, his angry eyes blazed black. "Being a vampire does not make me an animal."

Lira's eyes went wide as she stared at Nicholas' frightening face. Maybe she was a fool to seek the wrath of a vampire. She was scared of him; her heart says so as it beat wildly.

"Stop your goddamn heart from beating so fast!" he ordered.

"I can't slow it down!" She placed her hand on Nicholas' wrist and softly said. "You're hurting me, Nick." Nicholas looked at her as if he then only realized he was gripping Lira's throat. "Please let me go." He slowly released her and took a step back.

"Lira, I—"

"I want to go home now Nicholas," she said.

"You just called me Nick, a while ago."

"So I did."

"And now we're back to 'Nicholas'?""Please, I want to go home."

He let out a sigh. He went to the other side of the shelf, picked the books Lira had chosen to read earlier and handed it back to her. "I asked you to come here so you can read these books. Please, take them. Return it back when you finish. It doesn't matter how long you want to borrow it."

Lira took the books and they made their way out of the library. She remained silent as they passed by the hall. She kept her eyes on the floor, ignoring the vampires' hisses and glances. Nicholas' wrapped his arm around her shoulder, but she lacked the energy to shrug his arm off.

"Lira, talk to me." She remained silent. "You know how hard it is for someone like me who is unaccustomed to apologize to anyone to say sorry?" She still did not utter a word. "I won't apologize for being who I am." She heard him sigh as they descended the steps outside of the mansion.

She was about to walk ahead of Nicholas when she saw Matt standing a few feet away from her. He jogged towards her shook her shoulders. "Lira what are you doing here?" He lifted his gaze at Nicholas. "What are you doing with him?" She noticed Matt assessing her neck, looking for any fang marks.

"Matt, can you walk me home?"

Matt threw a meaningful glare at Nicholas, tugged Lira's wrist and said, "Let's go." They walked several feet away from the mansion when Matt asked, "What was that all about?"

"He was just showing me their library."

"Lira, when will you stop being this naïve girl? How could you go with him? He's a fucking vampire!"

"Matt, please. This naïve girl is not used to hearing those words."

"Lira, I'm sorry. Okay? But you have to understand the dangers you're getting yourself into. I know Philip's aim for this school was for humans and vampires to learn how to co-exist. But that will never happen. Vampires will always be who they are: opportunistic blood-sucking monsters."

Lira turned her face towards Matt. He looked furious; she wasn't sure if he was angry because she was with Nicholas, or because he detested vampires in general. "You don't hold any high regard for vampires, do you?"

"I hate them," he said full of contempt. "Why do you think I become an Elite Guard? A slayer? It's in my blood to hate them."

"Matt, you cannot be a slayer because you merely hated them. A slayer protects the people from harm. You are our elite guards against vampires, ensuring our safety and making sure the vampires stick to the treaty. How can hate rule your heart if you're meant to save and protect people?"

"You don't understand," Matt said. "When I say it's in my blood, I meant it literally. I was born a slayer. Our family, we are a house of vampire slayers. We knew the vampires existed even before they made appearances in the public during the Plague."

Lira shook her head. "I don't understand."

"Our family was known as vampire hunters. We track vampires and slay those who pose threat to humans. You witnessed how I battled with those vampires months ago? Vampires are strong and yet I was able to match their strength. It's not because of the trainings I received in the academy. That's because it's in my blood: a slayer blood."

Lira still looked puzzled. "Slayer blood?"

"How shall I put it? My family was... gifted with these abilities. My ancestors aided a deity in a war several millennia ago. In order for them to defeat their enemies, they were gifted with strength and abilities to match their enemies. Those enemies were the vampires. Since the beginning our family pledged their loyalty to that deity and to protect the humankind against those vicious and vile monsters. Unfortunately, our family is not big enough to match the sprouting numbers of vampire clans. So when they decided to make themselves known to all, our family started to recruit and train people to be the elite guards. That's why we have the Vampire Slayer Division."

"I never knew about that. I thought the Division was like a police department, only you catch rouge vampires. I never knew you guys existed way before the Plague."

"In a way, we are like policemen. There is no difference, really, except we have strength to equal the vampires. And that we used to hunt vampires on purpose before the treaty was made."

"Does that make you immortals, too?"

"No. I'm still a mortal like you." Matt halted and faced Lira. "That's why I need you to understand. I have known what the vampires truly are since the day I learned how to throw a knife at the age of three. You can never trust someone like them. Their nature is to hunt humans for them to survive. It won't be long before they will revert to their old ways."

Lira felt silent for a moment and let everything sink in. People were not afraid of vampires anymore; but they didn't mingle with vampires either. Just like the humans in different castes, there was also a wide berth between humans and vampires. The vampires were viewed by most people like celebrities—people were curious and fascinated about them but they could never get too close to know who they really were behind the camera. As for her, she remained ignorant and oblivious about vampires' true nature, about the role of the caste system, about everything around her. If vampires were considered despicable creatures, then why did no one seem to protest against them? Just like the society's system, why did no one bothered to question its existence? Is it because people were afraid to question? Maybe like her they were also ignorant and didn't know what else to do. Or perhaps, the people lacked the will to question because they accepted their places and roles in the society. Was conventionality so widely established that led people to developed stagnant minds?

She couldn't seem to understand why she doubted everything now. Back home, she used to grumble about having to work and yet still it was not enough. She remembered feeling sorry for herself because she was hungry but there was nothing to eat. She admitted she envied the upper caste children because they never seem to worry about anything else other than what toy to play or which zoo to visit. But then, she never heard the others complain though they were in the same situation like her. She figured they were optimistic and content and those traits were the norm in their little society back home. She felt embarrassed about not behaving like them. So she started to act like them: accepting who she was, her place in the world and to treat the upper castes as their betters, because that was deemed right as what society dictates.

And the vampires, just like the upper castes, were their betters. Did that mean they were considered slaves to their own society?

After Matt escorted her back to the dorm, Lira went straight to her room. Later that night, she had another dream. She was again in the forest, when she spied a lone figure sprawled beneath the tree. She approached it and found herself staring at a man pressing a hand over his bloodied wound on his abdomen. She loomed over him and noticed he was not like the locals who frequented her forest. This person's skin was as white as the moon that gave her light that evening. His eyes were closed and he was panting so hard he would later be exhausted with the way he tried to engulf all the air in his lungs. She pittied the poor creature that looked pale stricken and in pain. She placed her hand on top of his wound and healed him.

When Lira woke up the following day she had the worst headache ever in her life. Later that day Lira sat in her Vampirology class, her thoughts drifting away, as Mr. Rojas drone on and on about the anatomy and physiology of vampires. She wasn't really interested, though she needed to focus in order for her to at least pass the subject she least like.

"...the pheromones are chemicals the female vampires release that influence the behavior or physiology of humans, usually functioning as attractants. The male vampires, on the other hand, have the ability to use minor form of Compulsion to control the thoughts, perceptions, and actions of any other living being."

Lira's attention snapped back at Mr. Rojas when one of her classmates raised her hand.

"So you mean the reason why I'm crazy in love with Prince Nicholas was because of those pheromones?"

"I knew there was something fishy when I suddenly found myself confessing undying love to Kristoff."

Mr. Rojas chuckled and shook his head. "No. I think you did those on your own. Before the Treaty was created, the vampires used to drink blood directly from its source. If they—uh— feed on humans, they released those pheromones or uses compulsion making humans act more submissive..."

Was Nicholas using compulsion on her? Was that the reason why she started to give him her trust? Why she felt those strange feelings...

"...being a predator, they enjoyed a merry chase of their prey. The more they sense your fear, the louder they hear your heart pounding, the more they become exhilarated. Not that you have anything to fear, since we are protected by the Treaty."

So that was why Nicholas bellowed for her to calm her heart. "Sir, how can we be sure that the Treaty still protects us? How can we know that they uphold the Treaty and not just exploiting us since us humans are powerless?" she asked.

Mr. Rojas seemed startled and nervous with her questions, looking uncertain how to answer her. "Uh... well, you see anyone who breaks the treaty will answer to their Enforcers. And the Slayers see to it that the vampires will never step out of bounds..."

Lira was still unconvinced. She remembered the party they attended months ago. She was pretty sure the vampires and humans were not there merely to dance or make out. Maybe some vampires though they were above the law.

During their dinner in the mess hall, the vampires were also present. Lira knew Nicholas was just a couple of tables away from them. She took a quick glance at his direction and found him staring at her, jaws clenching. She finally averted her gaze and looked at Mari on the opposite side of the table, openly flirting with Dan who was one of Matt's buddies from the training. Matt, who was sitting beside Lira, seemed oblivious. Several of the slayer trainees also joined their table, probably because of Mari's presence.

She caught Lavinia casting a menacing look at them. She spied Yumi smiling smugly at Lavinia. The others passing by their table giggled as the try to catch the slayers' attentions. Some girls eyed them with envy. She understood them of course. The slayers on their table were kind of cute. She remembered the tittering of the girls as they spied the slayers jogging shirtless one morning. The unmistakable appreciative looks beamed in their eyes as they admired the ripple of firm muscles the slayers sported, gleaming with sweat. Of course she understood them very well, because she was one of those girls openly appreciating Matt's displayed physique.

She heard a loud breaking sound nearby. She looked for the source of the sound and saw fragments of glasses on the floor, Nicholas' hand dripping with blood as splinters of glass etched on his palm. His companions tried to clean the wound for him but he waved them away, looking murderous as he stormed out of the room.

Matt also noticed the commotion and said, "Wonder what's wrong with him?" He then jerked his chin towards Mari who was giggling over what Dan had said. "Looks like your friend finally found someone else."

"Does it make you jealous?" she asked sounding hopeful. Matt only gave her a shrug. "So what exactly do you like in a girl?"

"Still trying to play cupid?" Lira gave Matt a quick nod. "I don't know. I guess I like simple girls perhaps," Matt answered.

"Define simple."

"Someone like you, maybe."

"Oh. So you're not that hard to please."

"I guess."

An awkward silence followed.

"I think I like you better like this," Matt said, breaking the silence. "When you're not biting my head off."

"Well I like it better that you don't give me any reasons lately to bite your head off," she answered. "I used to like you before until you became all mean and nasty on me."

"You used to like me," he repeated, with a surprised look on his face.

"Yeah, you know when I was still friends with Clara. We used to pretend we're princesses and you were her valiant prince in white steed. For me you were my black knight."

"Yeah I remembered. I was forced to play with you, though. Mom bribed me to do so," he said chuckling. "I called you frog princess."

"Yes, I remembered. You were really mean back then, calling me names and all."

"Hey, I was a kid. And besides, I find you pesky back then. You and Clara were always tagging along. So I tried to drive you both away, until it just felt natural to make fun on you."

"Ha-ha. Here you are all grown up and still you bully me."

"Like I said, it felt natural to pester you. Besides, you look cuter when you get angry."

"Oh," she said. Really now, how would she respond to that? Thankfully, Matt decided to change the topic.

"Hey, I heard you're planning to hold a party for Yumi."

"Yeah, but we don't have any idea for the venue yet."

"How about the great hall?" he offered.

"The great hall's kinda big for a small party. The rec room is out of the question since others are using the room, too," Lira explained.

"I have an idea. There's an old music room on the south wing near the gym. Nobody's using it now since they renovated the north wing music hall. I can ask permission from Miss Amara. And, you know, I could help you set out the party."

"Aw... That's really nice of you. Thanks. But you know I would have invited you to the party even if you hadn't volunteered to help us out. I was planning and hoping you and Mari would, I don't know, fall in love?"

"Cupid, you're hopeless," he said, ruffling her hair.

Later that evening, when Lira decided to check the music room, she saw Sevastian on the hallway, leaning back on the wall with Stephan talking animatedly to him. What were they doing there anyway?

"You lost?" Stephan asked when she got near them.

"No. I just wanted to check the music room," she explained, pointing at the door near at the end of the hall. She strolled towards the music room and opened its door, the hinges making loud creaking sound.

"You sure you should be here?"

Lira's heart nearly skipped a bit with fright as she briskly whirled around and found Stephan standing behind her. "I just need to check the room, that's all." Why was she even bothering to explain this anyway? She palpated for the switch at the wall and turned the lights on. This will do, she thought. She turned the lights off then closed the door. Stephan and Sevastian were still behind her; Sevastian looking at her questioningly. "I wanted to see if the room is suitable for our small party." Stephan and Sevastian just stood there, saying nothing. Oh, right. She mentioned the party. So it's probably a common courtesy to invite them for courtesy's sake. "You two could drop by in the party this coming Friday. It's Yumi's birthday."

"Oh, it's the cute mouse's birthday?" Stephan said grinning with delight.

Cute mouse? She would definitely mention that one to Yumi. She was not sure though if she needed to include the mouse part.

"What can we bring?" Stephan offered.

Anything except blood.

Stephan chuckled. "Sure. No problem."

Right. They could hear her thoughts. She would make a mental note (again) to learn to block her thoughts. When she went back to the dorm she just realized that Stephan might bring Nicholas along. And there was also the fact that she invited Matt as well. She smacked the heel of her palm on her forehead as she realized the impending trouble she just stirred.