Adeline slowly cracked the book open. Lately, Aunt Eleanor had forbade her to read in bed, since she needed her "beauty sleep." However, no amount of rest could change Adeline's somber stare.

"Let's see… where did I leave off?" Adeline had randomly selected a book from the shelves. It would have been a lot smarter if she had used the flashlight first, before picking from her enormous selection.

"Too late to regret that now," she mumbled.magic

Adeline double-checked the front cover. "The Rise of Xueyue," she muttered.

Blinking curiously, she recalled it was a historical bibliography from centuries upon centuries ago. Judging from the thickness of the novel, it was not the abridged version.

"Oh, found it!" Adeline's page flipping had finally come to a halt. Her bookmark was stuck through the center of the pages, the thin metal outlines depicting a soaring phoenix with a long, feathery tail.

"Little fawn…" Adeline squinted at the familiar nickname. In the novel, it was exchanged from a Commander to the heroine.

"Hah, so much for originality," Adeline scoffed to herself. Here she was, thinking the mysterious stranger had given her an unique, yet interesting nickname.

With a shrug of her shoulder, Adeline continued to read. Eventually, time sped by. She was fully immersed in the detailed pages of the bibliography, completely unaware of the eyes outside of her window.

- - - - -

He continued watching her. She was unmoving on the bed and absorbed in whatever fancied her attention. Did her pretty little neck not hurt? It had been bent down for a while now. Perhaps she did not care about the ache, or she had a stronger body than he expected.

He observed her silhouette. Her figure was of mediocre height, the shape wisely hidden with a long, flowy nightgown. He had seen her naked body before. He knew the dips of her waist as it flared out into ample hips for him to grab onto.

Unknowingly, his Adam's apple shifted up and down. He brought out a primal instinct from within him. It was absolutely uncalled for, considering she was only reading. But her knees were bent upwards and her loose nightgown was slipping down, revealing a round shoulder and her delectable collarbonesUnsurprisingly, the marks had faded. He truly enjoyed her soft skin and how quickly it adapted to his love bites, or instantly illustrated a deep flush across her chest.

"I look like a fucking creep," he cursed himself.

He was a lot more self-aware than people expected. It was a great quality to possess, especially as the leader of an enormous nation. He needed to be aware of his flaws, as little as they were.

"Now would be a great time to disturb her."

The man's lips spread into a slow, sensual smile. She was still distracted with reading, but he worried about her neck. It was long and delicate. With a flick of his wrist, he could wring it. His hands itched to grab her by the throat and pull her closer to him.

"I'm behaving like a pubescent boy in heat," he muttered with an irritable shake of his head.

He shifted his attention back towards her. She bit her bottom lip, her brows knitted together in concentration. There could be a tornado outside and she would not be aware of its destruction.

The man checked his watch. It was well into the night and morning was fastly approaching. He had been observing her for at least an hour or two. The twins must have been raising hell in the palace in search of him.

He couldn't care less.

Now that her presence was shown to the high society of Vampires, there would be people targeting her. He was not worried about the humans, especially with that hideous bastard hovering over her. It was the Vampires that the King cared about.

By now, they should know she was off-limits.

Just as his gaze shifted to her, he stiffened. Staring directly at him were a pair of shining emerald eyes.

- - - - -

Adeline decided to call it a night. She had read a few chapters and was finally getting a bit sleepy. It was a silly habit of hers to read before bedtime. Unfortunately, that was the only method that successfully lulled her to sleep. Moments like this reminded her of when her parents used to read her bedtime stories.

As a child, she would always have strange dreams of a dark hallway, her bare feet echoing upon the marble. There were enormous windows on the left and not a single soul in sight. Despite how daunting the hallway was, little Adeline was not scared.

Her parents however, were worried. Thus, they would read her to sleep. "Dad would've scoffed at this type of book," Adeline contemplated. Her father, Kaline was not a fan of historical novels. However, her mother, Addison, would have loved it. She enjoyed this genre the most and was the reason Adeline had fallen in love with books.

Adeline shined the flashlight to the hanging clock on the other side of the room. Soon, the sun would be rising and the moon would be going to sleep.

"There's another dreadful ball tomorrow," she pensively sighed.

Adeline closed the book with one hand. She was prepared to turn the flashlight off. That is, until something caught her attention in her peripheral vision . She shifted her chin in time to catch glowing red eyes.

Her heart dropped to her stomach. Was that… was that a Vampire?

The breath was knocked out of her chest. She fumbled to turn the flashlight off, her fingers shaking in fear. She blindly searched for the panic button located beside her bed. Holding it for three seconds would be enough to notify Asher.

"W-who…" she stumbled out, her nerves skyrocketing.

Her heart was racing faster than a speeding car on a highway. It loudly thumped in her ears, as blood rushed to her head. She was terrified.

Judging from the tall silhouette and sturdy build, it was indeed a Vampire.

He was looking at her.

She was certain of it. Their eyes had met.

And before she could blink, the man was beside her balcony window.

Adeline continued to search for the button. Her legs were numb with distress. Her adrenaline kicked in, but instead of fight or flight, her body simply froze. Whoever said there were only two options was a liar.

Thankfully, the windows were always locked.

Knock. Knock.

Adeline let out a horrified shriek, hoping it would at least alert the patrolling guard outside her room. The Mardens were not that wealthy, therefore could only afford one protector to stroll the hallways.

"Adeline?"

Adeline's entire body tensed. His voice was slightly muffled, but she recognized the humor. That, and the way her name effortlessly rolled off his tongue.

"Be a darling and let me in, Adeline," he coaxed.

Adeline was uncertain of what to do. Her finger had finally found the panic button. To invite the familiar stranger in, or to call for Asher… which should she choose?