"I will talk to him after the ball," Jaguar kept his attention on Aselia, not turning to face the intruder. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"He says now and it’s urgent. Go to his study. Seems like you are in trouble," he chuckled, a throaty laugh escaping him, amusement radiating off him and annoying Jaguar even more. Aselia just stared at the two men.

As much as Jaguar disliked his stepbrother Cikalius and didn’t agree with his life choices, he knew he could trust him to keep her safe. He was a prince and no one would dare approach her as long as she was with him.

"You better not be joking Cikalius," he finally turned to glare at his brother. The evident irritation in Jaguar’s voice was blatantly visible, he seemed irked by his sudden presence.

"I have no time to joke around, I want to get this over with as soon as possible. You know I have my private party to attend," he snickered, followed by a wink. Jaguar brows scrunched together. He then turned to Aselia and made the introduction.

"This is my stepbrother, Prince Cikalius Zohane," Aselia had seen him countless times on TV, in magazines and on billboards. He was a superstar in the football world. This was her first time meeting him in person though.

"Hello! Gorgeous," he extended his slender hand for Aselia to shake and she did with a small smile, which he returned with his own mysterious one.

"Nice to meet you," she offered, feeling extremely confused and out of place. She was a vampire hunter and here she was surrounded by a royal family of vampires.

Jaguar knew his brother was a playboy so he hated the idea of settling down. With their father breathing down their necks to get married, Jaguar knew Cikalius would never mess up the chance of one of his other brothers to be the sacrificial lamb. So he was sure Cikalius would behave with Aselia and it wouldn’t be surprising if he would go out of his way to make her feel at ease.

"Hey! I apologise but something has come up. I will try to be back as soon as possible. Stay with Cikalius," he instructed, giving her shoulders a small squeeze.

"Ok."

Jaguar walked away giving one final scrutinizing stare to Cikalius who was flashing his perfect white teeth at him.

Once he was gone Prince diverted his attention to Aselia, he found it odd that she had no scent whatsoever.

"If I may have the honour of dancing with you, my future sister-in-law," he offered her his hand while slightly bowing. A hint of playfulness glazed his words and Aselia wanted to roll her eyes at him.

"Sure, but who said anything about marriage?" She accepted his hand and he pulled her near him but kept a respectable distance, just holding her hands.

"Ahh! So it is one-sided, I knew it. You seem too good for him," they began to dance, as several pairs of eyes were on them, especially ladies who felt jealous of Aselia. Another pair of eyes brimming with jealousy watched them dance, not approaching for now.

"He is not that bad," Aselia asserted, not liking how he talked about his brother. She had begun to understand that not all of them got along smoothly.

"Yeah! He is loyal and boring. Two qualities I lack," he took a right turn, and Aselia took a left and they swapped positions.

"And he is an amazing biker, his talent in that department is no less than what you have as a footballer," it was her time to smirk at him.

"A lady with taste I see," Cikalius seemed impressed as the song ended and they stopped dancing and stood facing each other.

"You can say that," and then she stiffened and the smile from her face vanished as her orbs connected with those steely grey eyes, he was making his way over to them and she had forgotten to breathe again.

He moved so effortlessly, the grace he carried and the confidence he oozed had heads turning all around to stare at him. Ladies were murmuring with hopeful eyes, and men held scorn for none could rival him. But he seemed to have eyes only for her.

He stopped a few inches away from Cikalius and Aselia and almost smirked seeing how his Leia had her mouth agape. Xiran so wanted to lean closer and claim it with his own, but he buried the thought and focused on the task.

"Prince Cikalius! My lady!" He greeted them with that husky voice, which almost made Aselia’s knees buckle. He hadn’t even taken her name, it was a formal greeting and yet her body was reacting to him.

Cikalius was asked by Xiran earlier to not take his name in front of anyone in the masquerade hall, as he didn’t want to reveal his identity but mostly it was because of Aselia. So Prince simply nodded.

"Can I also have the honour of one dance?" his ethereal voice and that slight tilt of his head had Aselia in jitters. She wanted him to wrap those sturdy hands of his around her body not only to dance but also to carry out sinful acts. Her cheeks began to heat up from just thinking about them. She still remembered how he had gazed at her earlier.

"I don’t think my brother would appreciate it. She is his date, and I am merely a bodyguard," Cikalius shrugged, acting nonchalant.

"You fear him now?" Xiran teased, trying to play his mind games with the blonde prince.

"I don’t but..." he didn’t finish when Aselia extended her hand towards Xiran.

"I would like a dance, thank you Prince Cikalius but I can handle myself," as those words left her mouth Aselia could sense her body heating up from the shock of the words she had just uttered. Wanting to dance with the mysterious stranger, she had befuddled herself. Aselia couldn’t even lift her eyes to meet his awaiting ones. He was dumbfounded at her acceptance and she kept her gaze focused on the prince.

Prince Cikalius had a look of astonishment going on but he simply nodded his head, ready to comply with the lady’s wish.

"I will be watching from close by, if you need me. It was a pleasure meeting you," he took a small bow, a meaningful smile tugged at the corner of his lips and he moved away from the dance floor.

Aselia slowly turned and began lifting her heavy eyelids. Passing his long legs to his slender waist and flexed chest under his suit, moving further up towards his flawless neck, inviting delicate lips which appeared so soft that Aselia wanted to feel them against hers. Ashamed of her thoughts her gaze travelled further up to his warmth-filled eyes, the stormy clouds had been replaced by a glowing lustrous hue and she was lost again. He watched her with such gentleness and yet intensity that she shuddered.

The hall seemed to have disappeared into a distance again along with its people with prying eyes, because she didn’t seem to care about them, all she wanted to do was fall into those tempting eyes and be lost forever. The man sure was a male version of siren, and was a powerful one at that for he only needed his gaze to have her trapped.

Then his lips spread into the most alluring smile she had ever seen and he softly asked extending his hand towards her:

"May I?"

Aselia couldn’t move or speak but her body reacted and she found herself giving him her hand. So warm, his hand was so comforting and cosy. A jolt of electric current hit her as her skin came in contact with his, invading her whole body, making it blast in a euphoric bliss of pleasure. She tried to snatch away her hand, this was not what she was anticipating because Esma’s words rang in her mind about the bond.

"Please!"

He requested for her to not break the contact. His own heart in shambles, he was holding her after one whole year in her fully awakened state and she was willingly letting him.

His head dipped closer to her ear and he murmured:

"Breathe!"

And she did but all her systems were going haywire, neurons were super alert making her skin extremely sensitive to his touch, her heart had gone crazy and had stopped listening to her at all, while her eyes couldn’t stop gawking at him like a lunatic.

He guided her hand and placed it on his shoulder while he wrapped one around her waist and clasped her other with his own. Unlike Cikalius he didn’t leave a respectable distance between them and tugged her so close that her body touched his, a small whimper escaped her lips as her heaving bosom connected with his rugged chest and the air seemed to have knocked out of her lungs. Her cheeks glowed like tomatoes for she had no control whatsoever at her body or her actions.

"What are you doing to me?" she finally asked in a trembling voice.