AVA'S POV

"Hey, what the hell are you..."

Immediately he raised a hand to my lips and forced me to keep quiet.

We walked through the crowd with ease; they all moved aside and bowed their heads in respect. As soon as we were out of the ballroom and in a less crowded hallway, he wrapped his arm around my waist.

"Close your eyes," he mumbled, his gaze roaming the hallway as he ducked his head every few seconds.

"Why?" I asked with furrowed brows.

"Just trust me."

I gave him a stern look. There was still a nagging voice in the back of my head telling me; screaming at me not to trust him, not to go with him, but I was too relaxed to bother thinking about why. My eyelids fell shut. Axel's grip tightened, and there was a gust of wind. Then it was quiet.

The music that had once been so loud that my eardrums felt like they were about to burst was now faint and soft. It wasn't stuffy anymore with the smell of alcohol all around me. I opened my eyes and felt my lips part in surprise.

We were standing on a balcony that overlooked the lake. Even in the dark, it was a sight to behold.

The surface of the lake reflected the stars in the sky, as well as the lights from the mansion, making it a shining wonder.

Despite the glowing surface, it still had a certain depth to it that made it even more beautiful.

"Wow," I breathed.

"Wow," Axel mimicked, but something about the way he said it made me think we weren't talking about the same thing.

I felt my face heat, and I was thankful for the dim lighting. It was so quiet, so peaceful. The chirping of the crickets was much better than the obnoxious chatter of everyone inside. Parties are really not my thing.

"Why did you bring me here?" I spoke quietly, not wanting to sound confrontational.

He didn't respond for a bit, so I turned to look at him. In the moonlight his features were soft, almost angelic. The gold of his hair, the paleness of his skin, and the brightness of his eyes made him look so innocent.

"You seemed like you could use a minute away from all of that," the prince said finally, dimples on display. I hummed in response.

"So, how did we get here? One minute we were in that hallway and the next..."

"I brought you," he said simply.

"But....." I was interrupted when the door flew open with a loud bang, causing me to nearly jump out of my skin.

"Jaxon..." Axel said exasperatedly, looking over my shoulder. When I turned around, my jaw dropped. Well, figuratively dropped.

The man standing at the door was easily the most handsome man I had ever laid eyes upon, but also the most intimidating.

With his curly black hair, icy blue eyes, and impressive figure, he seemed perfect. The only flaw on his face was his irritated scowl as he pulled a cigarette between his lips.

"Dad is mad at me again," he muttered to Axel, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Jax, I thought you promised you'd behave tonight. What the hell did you do this time?" The blond responded with a frown. Jaxon walked closer to Axel and rolled his eyes.

"Let's just say it involves me and a certain lady from the Bloodworth Clan. I'll spare you the details, brother," he sneered, blowing smoke in Axel's face. Brother?

"Jaxon...you know how much this ball means to mother. She wanted us to............."

But Jaxon wasn't listening. His eyes had travelled to me amid his brother's speaking, and I noticed his gaze roam my body from top to bottom. I felt myself flush deeply.

"And who might this beauty be?" He reached for my hand and lifted it to his lips in a chaste kiss.

Axel glared at him.

"Don't look at me like that. I'm sure she'd be more than happy to please two princes in one night, wouldn't you, angel? Few girls get that honor."

I snatched my hand away from him in disgust and pushed past him, ignoring Axel calling my name.

This was becoming more unbearable. I definitely do not understand how I got into this unholy union with this awful guy. I felt that this was just plain wrong; something was not adding up.

In being captured and taken down here, I was tricked into visiting this mansion.

Everything inside me fought against it, but an external force kept pulling me towards an attraction.

I felt I had lost it at this point and there was no going back for me.

ELEANOR'S POV

All the girls giggled as they centered themselves on the stage where the king and queen stood.

The guards had moved everyone out of the ballroom and into what looked to be a stage room of some sort. I rolled my eyes at the giddiness and lack of dignity the girls were displaying.

They made it seem like the royal wives were going to be chosen and announced or something.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I trust you've been enjoying yourselves, but let's not forget the main reason we are gathered here today. My queen and I have decided that it is time our sons found their missing ribs and produced strong heirs to the throne. The sweet damsel will be chosen from amongst the young ladies gathered in this very ballroom," the king announced in his charismatic yet abrupt manner.

Wow, they really are announcing the royal wives, then. I looked around the ballroom in search of anything to distract me from the loud and obnoxious chatter of the fangirls. Then I hit my forehead on a stone wall.

"Eleanor..." The stone wall said.

He said my name slowly, like he was savoring the way it felt on his tongue. Not this guy again. I tilted my head upward to meet his gaze steadily, brushing the hair out of my face as I did so.

"What do you want?" I snapped.

I observed a jumble of unreadable emotions in the deep pools of blue that were his eyes.

"Your necklace. Where did you get it?"

My fingers reached out to clutch at the necklace. It had been a gift. A gift from someone who had once been very dear to me. But I wasn't about to tell this bloodsucker anything about that.

"That's none of your business," I hissed as I tried to walk away.

He stepped to the side, blocking my way, and I had to use every ounce of self-control I had not to punch him in the jaw. It'd probably hurt me way more than him, anyway. Vampire strength and all.

Jaxon brought his face closer to mine.

I wanted to take a step back, but I couldn't give him the satisfaction.

"Tell me where you got the necklace, love," he whispered, his eyes boring into mine in a way that made it obvious he was trying to compel me.

Luckily, I had drunk an extra dose of vervain before I came to the ball, so I simply raised a brow at him. If he was surprised at my resistance, he didn't show it. I got even closer to him until my lips were brushing his ear.

"Bite me," I spat.

I pushed past him and walked away as quickly as I could, breathing hard. When I felt I was a good distance away from him, I glanced back over my shoulder, only to find him staring after me with a shudder-inducing smirk.

Swallowing hard, I moved forward once again.

There were a group of furious girls standing in front of me, glaring daggers. I folded my arms against my chest and leaned against the wall.

"Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Were you about to kiss my prince?"

"Don't fool yourself. You're not special, Eleanor Moreno."

"She's trying to play hard to get and mysterious, so she'll get picked."

They all hurled insult after insult at me, and I felt my blood boil.

"How bold of you to assume that I actually care about what goes on tonight and who gets chosen. If anything, whoever gets chosen is in for a hell of a ride, and not the good kind," I scoffed.

The leader of the little group used to be a wannabe mean girl at school. Tessy. She shoved me backwards.

"You stupid bitch," she said in that nasal voice of hers.

Oh, she is so in for it. But before I could say or do anything, a clinking sound echoed through the entire room.

Everyone turned to the source of the sound, almost creepily in sync, and stared at the queen. She continued to tap her champagne glass lightly with a golden spoon until she had the attention of every single person. Then she smiled brilliantly.

"My sons, come join me and choose your lucky brides."

Her voice was much softer than I had imagined. I felt a presence to my left and looked over to see Ava shuffling into a seat beside me. She offered me a small smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

Jaxon sauntered onto the stage, and all the girls swooned. He was followed by the blond vampire who had danced with Ava earlier. I gave her a startled glance, but she continued to stare grimly ahead.

I wonder what happened. Jaxon's voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

"I would like to thank you all for coming tonight. It's been an honor getting to know so many of you stunning and bright young ladies. I think I speak for my little brother as well as myself when I say that this was no easy choice to make," he said evenly with a charming smile.

I snorted loudly. He probably doesn't remember any of these 'stunning and bright' girls' names. Ava elbowed me in the ribs to keep quiet, but I kept grinning. This nightmare is about to be over. I can finally go home.

"I choose... Eleanor Moreno."

My neck snapped up so fast it hurt. I gaped openly at the smug bastard standing on the stage while the crowd whispered indignantly. Ava put her hand on top of mine and squeezed it, but I could barely register anything happening around me.

My mind was completely blank, my body frozen to the spot, and my eyes glued onto the monsters on stage. It was when Jaxon took a step forward that something clicked inside of me.

I jumped out of my seat, pushing past the angry people, and sprinted towards the exit.

AVA'S POV

My pale reflection gazed back at me with dull green eyes. It's been a week since the ball, and there is still no sign of Eleanor.

Axel assured me she was in the mansion, that Jaxon hadn't harmed her that night, but how can I believe him if I've not seen her at all? For all I know, she could be at the bottom of the lake by now.

Eleanor could suffer while I'm sitting here in this fancy room.

I glanced around the ridiculously large room.

In the very center was the queen-sized bed that I slept on with its deep blue duvet. To the left of it was a window that let in the sun's light, and to the right were two doors. One led to my bathroom and the other to my walk-in closet.

The bags under my eyes were prominent from the lack of sleep because of constant worrying. I worried about my dad having to take care of himself at home. I worried about Eleanor.

I worried about my future in this place. And most importantly, I worried about what Axel's expectations of me were. Overall, the room was beautiful, not fancy enough for me to be uncomfortable in, but definitely better than what I had back home.

From the moment he said my name on that stage, I have been filled with nothing but worry and fear. Sure, he was being decent, kind even, but how long was that treatment going to last?

He was a vampire after all, and a royal one at that.

And the worst part about this situation is that if Axel finally hurts me, I have nowhere to go. My father made sure of that.

On the night of the ball, I had been escorted by at least a dozen guards to my home, where I was told to pack my bags and say goodbye to my father.

My father, the only person I had in this world, said that this was the best thing that could've happened to me. He hugged me and told me how proud he was of me for being chosen to marry one of the princes, how lucky I was.

Well, I didn't feel lucky. I brushed through the tangles in my hair slowly, frowning in distaste as I noticed it was already becoming the washed-out blond that it became without the sun.

Voices outside the door made me drop my brush. I approached the door cautiously, checking the lock once I recognized the voice to be Jaxon's.

"I don't understand why you're letting her shit all over you like this, Axel." There was a tired sigh I assume came from Axel.

"She needs some time, Jax. This whole thing must be so incredibly hard for her. Ava's whole life has been flipped upside down, and I'm giving her some time to adjust," he said quietly.

I leaned my head back against the door with a thump. It was so hard to hate him or be cold to him when he's only been treating me with respect and understanding.

"Hard on her? She should be worshipping the ground at your feet for choosing her. Her whole life has been a change for the better. You took a lowly baker's daughter and made her the future princess," Jaxon spoke with all the condescension in the world.

Now, him I have no problem hating.

"Jax, stop it. I feel horrible for putting her in a situation like this, but I didn't have a choice. There wasn't enough time. Maybe seeing Eleanor will make her feel better." My heart skipped a beat at the suggestion. But then I heard Jaxon scoff.

"Eleanor won't be taking five steps outside of her damn room before she can start showing me some well-deserved respect."

"Well deserved? The only thing you deserve is a stake driven through your heart!"

My lips formed the words as though of their own accord, and I clamped my hand down on my mouth.

There was a deadly silence. I let out a shaky breath as I remembered they were not only princes but vampires as well. A locked door was nothing in the face of their wrath.

To prove my point, said door came crashing down in the very next second, bringing me to the floor with it. I wasn't down for long, however, because a hand quickly fisted itself in my hair and yanked me upwards. I shrieked in pain.

"The hell did you say to me?"

"Jax-" Axel held Jaxon back, making him loosen his grip enough for me to get away.

"Shut the hell up, you hinny! You're gonna let some stupid girl talk to your brother like that?"

Jaxon's eyes chilled me to the bone as they grew colder than the Arctic blast. I stepped back wordlessly.

"Leave her alone, Jax. I'm not screwing around. I'm not gonna let you hurt her, and I will not let you disappoint Mum."

He pulled Jaxon away, but that didn't stop his icy glare from lingering on me hatefully. A sudden rush of fear came over me as I started taking bigger and quicker steps back, only to be stopped by the hard wall pressing against my back.

"What are you planning for Eleanor?" I demanded, but my voice cracked more than I would've liked.

"What happens between her and me doesn't concern you," he spat at me before turning to his brother.

"Axel, fix up the living room and tell your little bitch not to stick her nose in someone else's business."

Is he for real? I felt tears well up in my eyes and I looked down immediately to hide them, not wanting to let him know he got to me. Axel sighed exasperatedly, and I saw him pinch the bridge of his nose out of the corner of my eye.

"Alright, just get out."

Jaxon gave me one last disgusted look before leaving the room at vampire speed. I flinched back. It wasn't the first time I'd seen a vampire use their powers, but it was still startling.

Axel covered the distance between us in a heartbeat. His hands cupped my face, thumbs rubbing circles on my cheeks in a gesture that was rather comforting. He tucked a stray lock of my hair behind my ear and stared into my eyes apologetically.

"I'm really sorry about that. It won't happen again. I promise you," he said sincerely.

Something in how he said it just made snap. I buried my tear-stained face in his chest and cried out every single thing that had been piling up on my chest. I was getting his shirt wet, but he didn't seem to care. He just held me tight and stroked my hair.