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'Helene?' I ask worriedly.

Is she okay?

Why doesn't she know me?

She smiles nervously. 'Yes, that's my name. What's yours?'

I just stare at her, getting the most horrible feeling of déjà vu. I feel like I've done this before, this is so strange.

I back up a couple of steps.

'Um, sorry, I've got to go!' I blurt out.

I turn and rush down the pathway, away from Helene.

My head throbs as I run. Something's not right.

I bump straight into Bain as I rush into the castle.

'Amity, are you alright?' His voice is full of concern as he wraps his arms around me.

I sigh with relief and rest my head on his chest. I savour being in his embrace, taking comfort in his touch.

'My head,' I mumble. 'I just had déjà vu and it's given me a headache.'

Bain's arms tighten around me, his posture becoming rigid. I look up at him and see his jaw is tensed.

He looks down at me and gently rubs my temples.

'Take a deep breath,' he orders quietly. I do as he asks. 'How do you feel now?'

Looking into his hypnotic eyes, the pain fades until it's gone completely.

'Much better,' I whisper.

Bain smiles and then places a kiss on my forehead. 'Good. Come, we're having lunch in the garden room.'

The garden room, turns out to be a stunning part of the castle. I wish I'd found it earlier.

Three walls of the room are purely windows. Floor-to-ceiling windows that let in all the light.

A table and chairs are nestled in the centre, surrounded by numerous potted plants. Giant ferns, palms and fruit trees fill the room.

'Wow.' The word leaves my mouth the moment we enter.

Lunch is served on the table and Bain politely gets my chair for me. I take a seat, my weird experience with Helene temporarily forgotten.

We don't talk too much at the beginning, enjoying our food. Bain holds my hand across the table though, meaning we both eat with one hand.

It's an intimate action, but I really like it. I appreciate his comforting touch. I feel like nothing bad can happen when he's around.

After we've finished and the staff have cleared away our plates, Bain turns to me with a serious expression on his face.

'Amity, there's something I need to tell you,' he starts.

I shift anxiously in my chair. I have a feeling I'm not going to like this.

He leans in close to me and holds my face. I swallow hard, staring deep into his dark eyes.

'I want to you to remain calm and listen to me until I'm finished, okay? Do not be scared. I will never hurt you.'

His words resonate around my brain, humming through me and making my brain momentarily foggy.

He lets go of me and I shake my head, trying to clear the fuzzy feeling. When my eyes focus again, I look at him.

'Okay, tell me,' I request nervously.

Bain takes a deep breath and looks me in the eyes.

'I'm a vampire, Amity.'

He says the words firmly and simply. They hang in the air between us.

I blink a couple of times, trying to work out how to react.

I want to tell him that he's crazy, or ask if he's joking, but somewhere deep inside me, I know he's being truthful. And somewhere deep inside me...I believe him.

I feel frozen to the chair, unable to move and unable to speak. I simply stare at Bain, processing his confession and waiting for him to continue.

Bain watches me closely, but speaks again.

'Please don't be afraid, I will never hurt you. You see, all vampires have one person who is very special to them, their soulmate.' He smiles and somehow, my heart still flutters at the sight of his charming smile. 'And you're mine, Amity.'

I manage to find my voice.

'Pardon?'

He chuckles at my response. 'You're my soulmate, Amity.'

I stare at him, having lost my voice once more.

Bain shuffles his chair closer to mine and takes both of my hands. I look down at our entwined fingers, focussing on his touch to carry me through this shock, to ground me.

'You drink blood?' I ask quietly.

'Yes,' he replies dryly. 'That tends to be what vampires do.'

I shoot him a glare, letting him know that sarcasm isn't appreciated right now.

I think of when I saw Fidel coming out of Niki's room, and there was blood on her door handle.

'Have you fed on the girls?' I ask him suddenly.

Bain's jaw clenches and his hands tighten around mine.

'Before I answer that-'

I cut him off. 'So you have.'

Bain shoots me a look. 'Let me explain, first.'

He sighs and sits back in his chair. His eyes drop to our joined hands and he runs his fingers over the back of my right hand.

'Vampires live to be about 1,000 years old,' he states, making my eyes widen in shock. 'I'm 117 years old.'

'Well, you look great!' My awkward ass always has to attempt to lighten the mood.

Bain smirks at my outburst, whilst I blush.

'Thank you, pisicuță.' He smiles. 'Unlike werewolves, who only live-'

'Wait, werewolves exist?' I interrupt and Bain huffs.

'Yes, they exist.'

'Oh,' I whisper and sit back on my chair, determined to let him finish a sentence this time.

'They only live about 300-400 years. They meet their soulmates when you're young, from sixteen onwards. Their connection is instant, like love at first sight. They only need to look at or smell their mate, to know it is them.'

Bain's eyes harden and his mood change is tangible.

'For vampires, it's much harder. We can't just look at someone and know if they are our chosen. It takes time. We have to spend time with the person, get to know them. There's a greater emphasis on a relationship, rather than pure attraction.'

'That's why you did the competition,' I say my realisation aloud.

Bain nods. 'Exactly. It was a last-ditch attempt for the three of us to find our chosen mates. It's been over a hundred years for each of us. A hundred years of searching. We hoped this might be what we needed.'

I listen quietly as he goes on.

'It was Ahmed's idea to have the competition. We went through every single application, pouring over the answers you sent in, studying your lives and the photos you provided us with. Anyone that we got a good feeling about, we invited to come here.'

As happy as I am, at the back of my mind, I can't help feeling niggled that he obviously 'had a good feeling' about Helene.

'Spencer helped us to come up with different challenges that would build our relationships with you, like the trust exercises and the boot camp race.'

I think back to the dates and competitions we've done for the last two weeks. They were all for a reason.

'Vampires age so much slower than wolves, we have more time than them. That means we require a connection that only time can build. Although it is frustrating, because we can't just look and find our mate, it means that, when we do find them, we form a deep-rooted connection that starts with chemistry and builds into soulmates.'

He lets go of my hands and runs his hands through his hair, looking stressed.

'We need to be careful when finding our soulmate, too. You can't change to someone else once you have chosen and marked someone. We only had two weeks to do this competition, think about how long humans date before they get married or have kids. Usually, it's years.'

He has a point.

'So, when did you know it was me?' I ask him, both wanting the answer and reluctant to hear it.

Bain smiles at my question.

'The moment I saw you in person on the first night, I hoped it was you. By the time a week had passed, I was certain that you were my soulmate.'

The smile drops from his face and he grimaces.

'Helene...she confused things for me. The way she kept throwing herself at me, so eager for my attention, confused me. I wondered if she was feeling the mate bond, whereas you were more reserved around me.'

I roll my eyes. 'Helene threw herself at you because you're hot. I didn't because, well, I don't have the confidence to act like that around guys I like.'

Bain chuckles at my comment.

'I kept Helene around so long for the sake of the competition, and also, so I could feed on her.'

I feel like I've been kicked in the gut.

He fed on her?

That's what he was doing in her room?

'I need blood to feed, Amity. It was the perfect opportunity, having you willing women here. Blood tastes sweeter when the person isn't afraid of you, and it's hard to compel away fear unless the human trusts you. Helene trusted me and wasn't scared of me, so I kept her around for the blood, because I didn't want to feed on you.'

'Why didn't you want to feed on me?' I ask him, my brows knotted together.

Bain's eyes soften.

'Because, like werewolves have love at first sight, vampires have love at first bite.' My eyes widen at his statement. 'Because you're my mate, if I fed on you, it would mean that I would mark you. That makes you mine, for eternity, and I can't do that without your permission.'

I feel sort of touched by his consideration.

Sort of.

'I wanted you to know me, the real me, before I marked you.'

I meet his dark eyes. He looks so worried, so concerned that I might suddenly bolt for the door. I'm not even sure my legs would support me right now.

'Anyway, the night you saw me coming out of Helene's room, was the one and only time I fed on her. The second I tasted her blood, I knew I had to send her home. It didn't taste right and something felt wrong. I knew it was because my body wanted it to be you.'

I swallow hard and lick my dry lips.

What the hell does a girl say to that?

'I didn't mind wiping her memory, but I didn't ever want to tamper with yours. I kept you on for two weeks, even though I knew after a week, because I wanted to make sure you were feeling this bond, too. I don't want to rip you out of your life and make you miserable. I want you to be happy with me.'

My mind feels like it's getting information overload. I rub my temples and close my eyes for a minute, trying to make sense of everything.

'Wait a minute. Is this why Niki and Helene didn't remember you and Fidel being in their rooms? Is this why Helene didn't recognise me this morning? You've wiped their memories?'

Bain shrugs sheepishly.

'It's the only way to make them forget that we fed on them. Fidel has a bit of a bloodlust. He was struggling not to mark Lula straight away, hence, why he had to feed on the other women. As for Helene this morning, we wiped the girls' memories of their time here. They think they won a holiday and spent it by themselves in those cabins.'

A vague memory comes to me at the back of my mind. I frown and try to focus on it.

'I met Kira...and she didn't remember me...then I bumped into Fidel and it all goes fuzzy. Did Fidel compel me?'

Bain's hands clench into fists on his lap.

'Yes, he did and I nearly fucking killed him for it afterwards. I couldn't believe he messed with your head like that.'

I barely recognise the growling tone of Bain's voice. It sounds nothing like him.

I can't wrap my head around it. Vampires. Existing. Mind-control.

'Winnie!' I cry suddenly, making Bain jump. 'Did you mess with Winnie's memory?'

At my question, Bain smiles.

'No. I didn't think you'd want me messing with your best friend's mind. She doesn't know any different that what you did an hour ago. She was sent home this morning.'

I let out a sigh of relief.

Thank God.

'Look, this is a hell of a lot of information for you to receive. Why don't I give you some space for a bit? I'll be up in my wing, you can come up when you're ready to talk about this some more,' Bain offers gently.

I nod and slowly get to my feet.

'I think I'll go find Saff,' I think aloud.

'Good idea. Although, she's probably with Spencer.'

I frown at the mention of his name. 'Why is Spencer not one of the bachelors?'

'I'll explain everything in more detail later, but basically, you can either be born a vampire or be created. If you are born a vampire, you are higher up the hierarchy. Spencer was created by Fidel.'

'Oh, okay,' I respond quietly.

Bain reaches out and strokes my cheek. I remain frozen to the spot, savouring his soft touch.

'I'm so happy you haven't run for the hills,' he murmurs, his face thoughtful.

'Yet,' I remind him and he frowns.

'Yet,' he agrees.

But I know already, I won't be leaving him.

How can I? He's my soulmate, apparently.

I leave the garden room and try to find Saff. After asking one of the staff members, I'm told they were last seen talking in the library.

Remembering the way to the room, I seek them out.

I open the grand doors and step into the cavernous space. I walk into the centre of the room and turn around in a full-circle, trying to spot them.

Despite this not being a public library, I still feel uncomfortable shouting their names. You know, silence in the library and all that.

A moan makes the hair raise on the back of my neck.

What the fuck?

I think someone is enjoying the literature a little too much.

Unable to resist, I tiptoe over to where the noise sounded from. I peek my head around the corner of one of the bookshelves.

My mouth falls open in surprise.

Spencer has Saffron pinned to the bookshelf, she is moaning wantonly whilst he has his face buried in her neck.

Biting her.

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