She opens her eyes and was met with an unfamiliar surrounding. Her head was hurting terribly. The room was completely white, with black furniture. The curtains were open and the sunlight invaded her eyes. Just when she was about to scream, someone entered her room. A black suit and an expensive watch, his brown long hair reaching his shoulder. And his dark eyes that reminded Winter of the night, stared back at her.

He sat at the end of the bed she was laying in and watched the brown girl with diamond eyes. "The maid prepared breakfast."

"I'm not hungry." She was about to complain but the look in Lazarus eyes was enough to make her shut up.

He pushed her hair away from her face. "Noticed how I didn't ask?" He answered her and stood up from the bed. "Get ready I'm waiting on you downstairs." He left the room.

Winter was left alone again. A sigh left her lips, she knew better than not obeying the vampire lord. Most of the time it didn't end very well, she had been around that man long enough to figure that out. Winter went in the bathroom to get ready. There was a dress on her bed that had caught her eyes. It was red and it reminded her of something they would were in the medieval. Winter really did not want to put that on, but the man was already angry at her. If she wanted him to stay nice like that she would have to obey his orders.

She finally was ready and walked down the stairs, her curly hair in a bun on top of her head. Winter didn't expect there to be so many people but there was. There were maids everywhere, cleaning the castle making sure every single spot was spotless. The man she feared was sitting on the head of the table with a knife in front of him. Winter remembered him to be gruel, and merciless. She remembered him as someone that won't hesitate to put a bullet inside of you.

Lazarus looked up at the girl. The red dress one of the maids had chosen for her, fitting her just perfectly. He smiled satisfied but than he remembered why his beloved was here to begin with. Winter sat down at the place with untouched food, she figured that it was probably hers. Winter avoided eye contact with the man. She wasn't a supernatural being, but she was well aware that he was mad at her. The glare and his eyes was proving her point.

"Lazarus, why did you bring me here?" She asked him trying to stay calm even when her heart was doing backflips in her chest.

"What are the odds by bringing you here, I would lock an other person to fall in my trap?" He asked her with anger in his eyes.

Winters eyes widened after realisation hit her hard. "Don't do that."

"You have been plotting against my back Winter. I trusted you not to open your mouth. As bad I as I may be,I am not a liar. I told you I will come back for you didn't I?" His screams echoed around the room and made everyone freeze in their spot.

"You're holding people hostage, just like you did- just like you are doing to me. Don't you have a heart Lazarus? People are suffering, your people are suffering." Winter defended herself and his eyes softened. "You left me no choice, I will always help other. Even when it means putting myself in danger."

Lazarus stared at the girl in disappointment. He had hoped everything he had done would had made her cold. He had wished everything he had done would had made her distant perhaps hateful. Yet her she was again radiating warmth that made you think of home. The Kindness she always shared made you want to be just like her, but little does she know that this wasn't about saving people. It had always been about surviving.

A chuckle escaped his lips and he shook his head. "This is your flaw Winter, always trying to help people. Have you ever thought about who would save you?"

Winter was silent not uttering a word because she knew he was right. There were only a few people that would go to hell for her, but even if that was true. It was enough.

"You know winter I have lived for a long time. You won't be able to save everyone. Those people in cages are there because they deserve it. Everyone that doesn't know where their loyalty lies deserve to be punished." Lazarus was angry and tried his best to not snap in front of her.

"Trust and loyalty is earned. Do you really think by putting them in cages and treating them like dogs would change their mind?" Winter for once glared at him, not understanding his logic.

"I gave them shelter, a roof above their head. I gave them food, made sure they will never have to be hungry again. I offered them my kindness. Yet they still tried to kill me in my sleep. If their is one thing I do not do, that would be forgiving." His eyes never left her, watching her every move.

"You don't believe in second chances?" She asked him curious this time.

He glanced at her with sadness in his eyes. "I did, until it stabbed me in the back." He stood up and wanted to walk away until he noticed she hadn't touched her food.

"I'll call the guards later to pick you up. For now eat." He told her simply while disappearing trough the tick doors that would lead you to the kitchen.

She never thought about it before but perhaps he would have had his reasons. But putting people in cages wasn't not a wise idea. How was that supposed to help? Wasn't he just giving them another reason to dislike him. Winter pushed her thoughts aside and finally took a bite of her food. She didn't want to upset him so she took another bite, until her plate was empty. The guards grabbed her arm harshly and led her to a big wooden door. The hallway was completely dark and it smelled terribly. She looked around the hallway and the first cage caught her eyes. It was big enough to hold around 5 people, however there were more than just 5 people. They were all sticky to one other since there wasn't enough space.

"Oh my-" she gasped and covered her mouth. The looks in the people's eyes when the saw her changed. They all looked hungry as if they haven't been fed in weeks. She knew she was a human surrounded by hungry vampires that haven't been fed, so she had to be carful.

Lazarus was at the end of the hallway looking at one of the cages. Winter followed his eyes and saw little kids. Around the age of 7-11. She knew Lazarus was cold, he had always been that way. Cold eyes and a heart made of stone. Nothing seemed to be able to melt his heart. However she saw the look in his eyes when he stared at the kids. He didn't want to keep them hostage. He wanted to let them free.

"W-why don't you let them go?" She asked him with wondering eyes and his cold eyes landed on her.

"I don't turn soft, for no one." He told her simply and walked back towards the wooden door.

She grabbed his shirt and looked at him with pleading eyes. Her hands on his chest with tears welling up in her eyes. She was even close to begging him. Lazarus pushed her hands off of him. "I can't." He told her again in the hope she would drop the subject.

"Please Lazarus they are just kids." She begged again but Lazarus didn't care.

"I don't care." He told her simply and walked away.

The guards were about to grab her arm again but she glared at them. "Touch me again and you will regret it." She told them simply and turned her attention towards the kids.

Their clothes were torn apart. Their hands were trembling and they looked hungry too. One girl smiled up at her and Winter couldn't bring herself to stand their any longer. She walked away but promised herself she would bring them out of their. Lazarus was in his office, attending all the paper work he had on his desk. Winter sat their looking at him, her eyes never left him. Like she had done countless of them when she had been kidnapped for the first time. A sigh left his lips and stared back at Winter.

"I fear you." She told him while she hugged herself for comfort.

"I know that."

"I don't understand why you kidnapped me the first time. Was it all Chris fault? I mean why did he had to bring me into all of this? What did I do so wrong?" Her voice had sadness and Lazarus wished he didn't have to hear that.

"I was protecting you." He admitted to her.

"How is kidnapping someone and giving them a trauma protecting? I still wake up in the middle of the night screaming because something had bit me."

Winter was tired of being so emotional. She was tired of letting people walk all over her, it only brought her sadness and heartbreak. She just wanted to run into her moms arms as she had done back in the day. She wanted to talk to her brother about everything and nothing. Winter had dreamed about being a normal teenage girl back in the day. Without any trauma or paranoia, she just wanted to be an ordinary human. However she had a feeling it was too late for that. She missed Arculus already, she knew she only had to call out his name but she preferred not too. She didn't want to bring him in danger, she didn't want to lead him inside of here without actually knowing what he was getting himself into. Winter knew he was about to do the exact same thing in a month, but a month was enough to find a plan. A plan that they didn't have yet, so to her it was worth it. Waiting for them, waiting for him to finally come barging in after having a plan was worth it to her.

"I promised him I would keep you and your brother save." He said under his breath but Winter still heard him.

"Him?" Winter asked confused but Lazarus never answered back.

"Lazarus who are you referring to?" She asked again but he called for the guards instead.

The guards barged in and grabbed her by her hand harshly. "Let me go." She wasn't being easy on the guards which resulted her getting a hard smack across her cheeks. Her hand touched her cheeks that was stinging. Lazarus looked up at the sound and raised his eyebrows at the guard.

"Did I tell you to hurt her?" His voice was loud enough to make the whole building tremble.

"No my lord but she-"

"If anyone of you hurt her again, you will pay with your life." He screamed and the guards where trembling in fear, So was winter.

The guards led her to her bedroom and she stayed there, with her knees up to her chest. The tears she was holding back for the past days finally rolled down her cheeks. She was deeply hurt about Chris betraying her, she found herself still caring about him while she deeply knew that he didn't deserve her. She was hurt about the fact she was back to being her old self. A prisoner, trapped in a castle waiting for someone to save her. She had tried to escape in the past and it resolved into bruises covering her body. She was trembling in fear and her breathing became uneven.

"Breath in and out." She told herself the same thing her mother had taught her. She told herself the same thing her brother had told her to do when she was having a panic attack.

Her thoughts drifted back to Arculus and how much she had wished she was with him. She didn't understand how much she could miss someone so much while they only have been separated for a day. Winter could feel her heartbeat slow down again, and found herself breathing normally. She fell into a deep slumber with his face printed on her mind. Hoping the days will go by faster.

Arculus was in the middle of an argument while he suddenly stopped talking. His heart speeded up, which was abnormal for him. Arculus places his hand on his chest after he felt a sharp pain. There was something wrong with him. Perhaps he was hungry and he wasn't feeding himself right again, that was what he had wanted to believe. However Orobas was making sure he was eating enough. Making sure he would regain his strength back.

Suddenly the image of the girl that had been pulling him out of the darkness invaded his mind. Her dark brown hair in a bun on top of her head. The red dress she was wearing hugging her curves perfectly. He felt his heartbeat increasing after he thought about her, the only person that had him wrapped around their finger.

"Winter." He brought out slowly.

Amdusias who usually never listens to anything Arculus was saying suddenly woke up at the sound of her name. "What's wrong?" He brought out worried, surprising the 2 other demons in the room,even he was surprised at his tone. Not knowing why he was so concerned in the first place.

"She is in danger, I have to save her." Orobas stopped Arculus from doing anything stupid.

"How do you know?" He asked him curious.

"My heartbeat is increasing." Arculus answered.

"Wait maybe you're just horny." Amdusias said truthfully and annoyed for making him worried for nothing.

Arculus glared at Amdusias. "I'm suddenly in pain, while I was fine a minute ago." Arculus said worried trying to get out of Orobas grip.

"Did you claim her?" Orobas asked him while his eyes widened.

"What? Claim her? What does that mean?" Arculus wondered.

"When some creatures find their soul mates, they mark them. Letting everyone know who dares to try anything that they already belong to someone." Amdusias informed Arculus and he shook his head.

"I did not claim her. She in danger and she needs me, let me go Orobas." He said annoyed but Orobas did not let him go.

"What happened the day you went to drop her off?" Arculus suddenly asked Amdusias.

"I already explained it to you. That friend of hers tried to force her to come with him. I do not know where I didn't bother asking." Amdusias closed his eyes trying to fall back to sleep. Suddenly his eyes opened, worried out of his mind.

"I think Lazarus took her." Amdusias told them and tried to go out and save her. Orobas stopped both of them.

"Have you ever thought about the fact that this could be a trap? I know she is in danger but winter is not weak. Besides I still need time to figure out why in the world Arculus is connected to Winter." Orobas closed the door that was wide open because of Amdusias. "Meanwhile you two do not go out. I swear I'll burn your asses if you do." Orobas threatened them but both Amdusias and Arculus raised their eyebrows.

"I need you to think straight, why did he kidnap her right after she found out the truth? Besides I think I know which one of her friends is working with the spirit." Orobas said and Arculus looked up in surprise.

"Which one?" Both of them asked at the same time.

"This guy named Revick. Remember when you went to this party and basically met all of her friends?" Orobas asked and Arculus nodded his head. "Well I was there too as you know. It took me a while to figure it out, but he was using spirit magic to mask his scent."

"So If we want to know what his truly happening, we should ask the spirt itself." Orobas told them and that was exactly what they were planning to do.