Chapter 2

Willow took longer than usual to process what had transpired with a shocked look on her face.

"What... what the hell?" she said flatly, trying to get her hand out of the cuff. "You cannot do this. Let me go!"

The prince reclaimed his interrogative position on the chair.

"You have two choices. Speak the truth now, or I'll throw you into the dungeon, where you'll have no choice but to speak the truth. However, I must say that the latter would be a far harsher and more violent option. How did you gain access to the palace and my room?"

Willow's mouth was left hanging.

"How dare you! You are severely violating my rights," she agitated. "How can you call yourself a human?"

He opened his mouth to say something but then closed it. His brow furrowed slightly.

"I... don't," he said after a brief pause. "Enough with the deception. I want the truth. How did you find out where I was staying? How long have you been spying? Which kingdom do you belong to?"

She waved her free hand in the air to stop his line of interrogation.

"I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by all of the questions. Besides, I have a feeling you're not going to believe anything I have to say. So I'm left with only one option."

The prince leaned forward.

"Which is?"

Willow closed her eyes and shrieked in agony, despite the fact that she was already in pain.

The prince jumped out of his chair and shut her mouth with the palm of his hand. He finally got a whiff of her scent after being so close. He felt a rush of blood in his vein. His fangs elongated instinctively, perplexing him.

His eyes widened.

Except for the king and a few others, including the prince, no one in the kingdom had ever seen a human. The kingdom's vampires survived on animal blood because humans were a myth in the realm, and their existence was a royal secret. Even though the prince was aware of human existence, he was still caught off guard to actually see one.

Willow was in the same state of shock as he was. Her eyes widened and she began to struggle more forcefully. The palm of his hand muffled her agitated cries.

He relaxed his hold on her mouth.

"What are you? What is that?!" She screeched as she inspected his teeth. "This is not funny. It's not Halloween," she said. "This has to be the longest nightmare ever. I'm ready to wake up anytime now."

The prince got out of bed and began searching in one of the many drawers for the keys to the handcuffs. While he was still searching, Ava, the young and notorious queen of the kingdom, appeared on the prince's doorstep and knocked before pushing the door open. She remained on the other side of the threshold in her royal attire: a midnight blue gown with golden embroidery.

"What's with the ruckus?" Ava asked, massaging her head. She brushed her long blond curls aside before finally taking in the scene before her. A gasp escaped her lips when she saw Willow's predicament. "Why are you handcuffed to the bed? And so soon? I see somebody's kinky," she ended her sentence with a sly smirk.

Willow let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness you're here, Ava! Could you please come in and tell this man over here that I didn't intrude and that you invited me to stay at this place?"

"Oh dear, no. I can't come in. I'd rather not. I wouldn't want to upset the Princess," Ava said with a dramatic flair while looking at the prince, and continued, "but she's right. I did invite her because she claimed she got lost. I thought it was my duty to guide our innocent, poor subjects to betterment."

The prince gave her a look of annoyance.

"Well done, Ava. As if you hadn't already caused enough problems, now we have to deal with another."

"Hey! I'm not a problem," Willow defended. "You're the problem."

The prince unlocked the handcuffs after finding the keys, and Willow jumped out of his bed.

"I was trying to help the poor girl. There is no appreciation for compassion anymore!" After stomping her foot, Ava threw her hands in the air and walked back to her quarters.

"Don't leave me," Willow pleaded, but Ava was already too far away.

The prince turned to face her, both hands resting on the side of his waist, while she continued to stare at his fangs.

"Do you have a dentist for those?"

He looked at her, perplexed.

She pointed to his fangs.

He just stood there, perplexed, thinking she was obviously mentally ill.

"Stay here," he said after a second, picking up his shirt from the floor and putting it on. "I will come back."

"I want to leave! I want to go home and stop this throbbing in my head," she cried as he walked away.

"Don't make me cuff you again," he threatened and gave her a warning look before exiting the room and shutting the door.

Willow sat on the edge of the bed, defeated, and massaged her brow. It hurt even more now. She couldn't wait to get back to her apartment and sleep in her bed for hours.

After ten minutes, the prince returned and said, "Follow me."

"Where are we going?" She struggled to keep up with him.

"To the king."