Lydia and Weston were surprised by the families in the park. There was a man-made small grass mountain surrounding the playground, to watch over the children, whilst the couples enjoyed their time.

Lydia didn't mind. She took a seat by the bench, her eyes softening at the sight of children. She wanted one of her own, but after witnessing the painful birth that Adeline went through, she was traumatized.

"I'd like to adopt," Lydia suddenly said, her eyes lingering on a brunette little boy dashing up to a man. But he wasn't watching where he was going and ran straight into Asher.

In the near distance, Asher was closely guarding his Boss when something hit his legs. Before he could say something, the child backed up and ran off.

Asher said nothing, but his colleague quietly laughed under her breath. His lips twitched and he turned to look at her, enjoying the sound of her soft laughter. She rarely laughed, but when she did, his heart always squeezed.

"Adopt what? A dog?" Weston responded, turning to her in surprise. She was looking at children in the playground and thought of getting a dog? Well, he didn't mind.magic

"No," Lydia laughed. "If we ever get married, I don't think I'd want to give birth, especially after what we witnessed the Queen go through."

"Oh." Weston blink, lost in thought at this.

There were an alarming number of children in orphanages, and though they were sponsored by the Castle due to the Queen's generosity, the amount rarely dwindled. It was because there was a strict background check of everyone that filled out an application.

"I'm human," Lydia told him, looking into his eyes.

"Really? I'd think you were a Vampire," Weston deadpanned. He noticed she always said the obvious, always pausing for a dramatic effect.

"Rude," Lydia scoffed, roughly nudging him on the shoulder.

Weston shoved her back and she instantly fell on the bench railing, his force too strong for her. Before she could push him even further back, she saw Asher laughing with one of the female bodyguards. He was always seen with her…

"There's no mention of the pregnancy of a Golden Rose," Weston finally admitted. "At least, not on the shelves of the castle's extensive collections in the library. We have the largest population of books in the world located in Wraith."

"You wouldn't survive the birth," Weston concluded. "I'm not arrogant enough to take a gamble in life when it comes to my future wife. I'm logical. We'll adopt. As many kids as you'd like."

Lydia perked up a bit more, finally ignoring the urge to shove him off the bench for what he did to her. But then, she hesitated and looked into the distance again.

Lydia wanted something to distract her mind off of the stress of her next question. She was focused on Asher who was conversing with the brunette bodyguard.It always intrigued Lydia that Asher fell in love with someone who resembled nothing like Adeline. Perhaps it was for the best. He truly forgot the little girl he protected…

"Are we going to spend an eternity together?" Lydia murmured, shuddering when she remembered Adeline's screaming when she was being turned. It was a demonic shriek, unlike any that Lydia ever heard of.

"Let's be logical—"

"I'm going to die," Lydia said. "I'm going to be the first in our friend circle to drop dead."

Weston paused. "My fireball, listen to me—"

"But I love my humanity too much to become a Pure-Blood. I don't want to drink blood, crave blood, or thirst after a human," Lydia resoluted. She shifted to him, making up her mind.

"I'll be the first to die, and I'm going to go in style," Lydia deadpanned.

"Thanks for asking for my opinion, I truly appreciate the thought," Weston responded.

Lydia frowned and Weston smiled. He grabbed her upper arm and yanked her close.

"It's such a shame I also love your humanity too much to turn you," Weston murmured and captured her lips.

Weston cupped the side of her face, deepening the kiss. His tongue thrusted into her mouth, tasting her dripping wet crevice, groaning at the heat that fanned his cold lips. He grabbed her waist, but decided to stop here. It wouldn't be good for either of them to get a public indecency charge.

"Human it is," Weston breathed on her moistened lips, pecking them one final time. Her skin was warm, like his personal heater. The glisten of her sea-green eyes and the flush of her cheeks were too much for him. He couldn't let this part of her go.

"You know," Weston said, pulling away to think of something that'd distract him from the growing tension between them.

"For the past three years, I've always felt bursts of strength whenever you touch me," Weston wryly said. "You truly are the Golden Rose. There's no mistaking it. Perhaps, there are books I haven't read in this world. There has to be something that talks about the phenomenon known as you."

Lydia blinked at his words. Perhaps… but where in the world would they have access to such a book? She wouldn't know.

- - - - -

"Where are you taking me?" Lydia nervously laughed, her eyes glued to the dark window. The sun had long setted and now he was driving her outside of the city again. Her heart raced faster with each star they passed in their car.

"I thought you promised me no more axe-murder forest dates," Lydia said, rubbing her hands together, feeling a chill pass through her skin. The car was heated, but the off-shoulder dress she wore gave her no relief. She was scared from the inside out.

"One more wouldn't hurt," Weston reassured her. He rested a hand on her thigh, the other loosely clutching the steering wheel. He glanced at her in the corner of his eye and saw her desperately looking behind them.

"And who knows? Maybe this time, I'll finally save you from something. Like a crazy axe murderer who likes to capture beautiful women and drag them to his cabin," Weston slowly said. His lips curled when she shuddered and shoved his hand away.

"You're crazy.""Unfortunately, crazy in love with you," Weston responded. "So crazy, that only I'm allowed to kill you. Not any foolish ax murderer."

Lydia couldn't even laugh at his words. She knew he wasn't joking. He really was that crazy.

"And you used to call me a crazy woman, when you were ten times worse," Lydia said.

"Crazy recognizes crazy, like evil recognizes evil," Weston smoothly said, tearing his eyes from the road to look at her again.

Lydia was staring out the window, resting her chin on her arm, the moonlight hitting her ethereal figure. She had the silhouette of a goddess, his stomach clenching in anticipation for the things she did to him.

"If you're going to kill me on this date, you should've done it three years ago," Lydia huffed, turning her head to glare at him.

His eyes suddenly snapped back to the road, and her lips curled. She wore red lipstick just for the occasion of leaving a mark on his white button-up, thinking they were going to a restaurant where she could show him off. But guess he had other plans, like murdering her.

"Why don't we go elsewhere?" Lydia suggested, shifting in her seat to place her hands on his thigh. She slid it up dangerously close to his lap, pressing her body in his direction.

Lydia saw his Adam's apple visibly bob up and down. He peered at her once, and she heard his sharp intake.

"Do you want me to crash this car?" Weston threatened, his eyes dangerously leering down at her revealed breast. She had pushed her arms together, showing off the dip of the material, whilst innocently blinking up at him.

Honestly, brats made such good submissives. She always pushed his buttons only to regret it when he pushed her in other positions that sent her over the edge, but he'd never give her what she wanted the first time she begged him.

"Because I won't hesitate to crash it just to fuck you upon a tree," Weston growled when her fingers reached for his growing tent.

"Why don't you then?" Lydia said, batting her long lashes at him.

"Fucks sake," Weston groaned, pulling the car over.

Weston grabbed the back of her head, slamming his lips over hers. He unbuckled her seatbelt and yanked her onto his lap, until her entrance was directly upon his tent. A low groan escaped his throat when she rolled her hips, eager for more.

"I know what you're doing, you little brat," Weston hissed, grabbing her chin and forcing her to look at him. "I'll edge you until you're practically in tears against that tree. Don't tempt me, my fireball."

Lydia's breath hitched. He loved to do that, ever since she was trained to hold it in. She responded by nibbling at his lips, cold and wet, like ice on her hot skin. She wanted to pull her clothes off and hold him to that promise. But his rough fingers clenched her hips, a warning look in his eyes.

"Now behave," Weston said against her lips, kissing her chin, then her jaw. He'd give her what she wanted tonight.

"The best is yet to come," Weston stated, planting her back into her seat. Before she could protest, he reached over and pulled the seatbelt down for her. His fingers brushed against hers, roughness against her soft flesh.

"What do you mean?" Lydia asked, grateful he was wearing black pants. She clamped her thighs together, hoping to ignore the heat in between her legs. She looked at him and he was already beginning to drive the car back onto the road.

"You'll see," Weston vaguely said.

"Don't tell me there's a knife waiting for me," Lydia wryly said.

"If you keep on teasing me, there will be one. We've never tried out knife play before, have we?" Weston remarked.

Lydia nervously laughed, clutching onto the seatbelt, and deciding she would no longer provoke him. With the glint in his eyes, she couldn't tell if it was from passion or danger.