Marcus' POV:

I'm sure my face was paper white at this point.

Carlo left soon after he told me, not saying anything else except that he'd come by after dinner.

I just stayed put here, my mind racing with a new light to the situation I was really in.

There wasn't a single doubt in my mind that I would die a very slow, very painful death if I was sent back, only after Lord Bronwyn was done with me.

My stomach turned violently at the thought, the memories of what he put me through flashing through my mind.

My hand reached up to cover my mouth in an effort to regain control of my breathing.

I couldn't do that again.

I placed my hands on the wall behind me, shakily rising to my feet.

Nico... Nico could get me out of this, right?

He brought me here for a reason, he wouldn't just let me get sent back... Right?

Although, he was just a Prince, and no matter what Nico may want, Lord Vanderwood had the final say.

If he really wanted to send me back he could.

I turned, placing my hand on the doorknob and opened the door.

Regardless, I needed to talk to Nico, tell him what's going on and-

No.

If I explained everything that happened, given how pissed he is, then he'd definitely go after Carlo.

And I don't think I could live with that.

I owed Nico my life, but now my life was being held with the fact of whether or not Carlo gets what he needed.

Jesus, what the hell kind of situation was it in?

I quickly made my way down the hall.

Two months. Best case scenario I had two months.

Two months where either Carlo gets what he needs or he doesn't and I'm as good as dead.

None of these options were favorable and I shouldn't shake the thought that Khloe was in danger.

I paused in front of the elevator.

No. I had to tell Nico. Tell him at least something.

Not the whole story, just a part for now.

Just enough to put Khloe out of immediate danger.

Worst comes to worst I'll explain everything but I wanted to make sure I've thought this through in a way that ensures that no one comes out of this hurt.

~~~

Nico's POV:

I rubbed my eyes as is stepped back into my room, trying to find some sort of relief in the conversation I just had with Marcus.

He didn't give me a name or a reason, but he told me that Khloe was safe concerning why she was drugged, but that I should keep her close just to be safe.

His words were determined and confident. They held enough force behind them that I knew he was speaking the truth.

He then told me he would keep looking into what was going on and fill me in if anything came up.

The safest she could be was in this room, but I didn't want to keep her confined. The exact reason I wanted to be here was so she didn't have to be.

She was supposed to be safe here anyways, but I guess the world won't let her have that luxury.

So, I asked Marcus to accompany her whenever I couldn't. As long as she wasn't alone, I felt like she would be safe until either Marcus or I found out exactly what was going on.

But for now, I wanted to stop thinking about this, just for a few minutes.

I began walking forward, knowing that Khloe was outside on the balcony.

She said that she was feeling fine the last time we spoke, just a little feverish so she went to draw in the cool winter-turning-spring air.

I quietly opened the door leading to the balcony, spotting her sitting back on the couch, her legs bent at the knees with her sketchbook sitting on her thighs.

She twirled her pencil in her hand, looking at the page with a deep concentration.

Enough concentration to where me shutting the door made her body jolt and her head turn to me.

I snickered a bit as I made my way over to her.

"Did I scare you?" I asked.

The ends of her lips curled upwards as she closed her sketchbook and set it on the table beside her.

"A little," She admitted, pushing herself up so that she was sitting up straight, "I just wasn't expecting you to be back so soon."

She scooted over so that I wouldn't have to crawl over her to sit next to her.

"Yeah," I began, placing my arm around her as I settled, "I didn't want to leave you alone while you're sick."

She responded with a hum as she turned and placed her legs across my lap.

"I actually feel a lot better since this morning," She remarked, laying her head against my chest.

Her fever did seem to be nearly completely gone.

"I know," I said, placing a kiss on the top of her head, "But just for my own sake I wanted to be with you for a bit before I have to go and do things."

"Is everything OK?" She asked.

I nodded, trailing my hand down her back.

"For now, yes."

I debated telling her the whole situation, eventually deciding against it.

The last thing I wanted was for her to be living in constant fear.

Not again.

I glanced down at the girl resting against my chest, her long lashes fluttering whenever the breeze hit them, and her small smile sitting content upon her lips

She looked so peaceful.

A small pain ached in my chest as I recalled the night before. Hearing her worries about her and me. How these thoughts she's been having were telling her that she was going to lose this... lose me.

All of which, in this moment, didn't seem real.

She looked peacefully happy right now, free from any worry.

Although can't exactly admit that Ive never seen that tinge of worry on her face whenever I had to leave on a date and the unmistakable look of relief when I came back and immediately took her into my arms.

I drew out a long breath before I spoke.

"Have I ever mentioned that you're the first person I've ever been in a relationship with?" I asked.

Her eyes shot open, her brows furrowing as she leaned back a bit to face me.

She thought over my words before she spoke her own.

"You can't be serious," She stated.

"And why is that?" I asked.

A tint of blush showed itself on her cheeks.

"W-Well you're what... over 400 years old?" She asked.

I nodded.

"In human years, yes," I confirmed.

She continued.

"You're over 400 years old, you're the heir to the throne and you look like, well," She gestured to all of me," that."

I fought to hold in my amusement, "And?"

"And there's no possible way that hundreds of vampire woman wouldn't want to be with you."

"You seem to be missing the fact that I would have to reciprocate those feelings of attraction," I stated plainly.

She stayed quiet for a moment, pondering over my words.

"You've never been attracted to a vampire?" She questioned.

"I've never been attracted in any way to anyone except for you, Khloe," I said, "Even when I was younger I never saw any appeal for it since I knew that my stance in the family gave me a disadvantage to ever find love."

Her eyes widened at the last word, that curious look in her face telling me to keep going.

"I eventually just accepted the fact that maybe relationships weren't for me, or maybe if worse came to worse that Id have to settle for a loveless marriage for the rest of my life, but when I saw you in that ball dress for the first time," I paused. even the mental image of it still took my breath away, "I think that's the first time I'd ever felt an attraction to someone."

The color on Khloe's face had increased, but she still stayed quiet in hope of me continuing.

So I did.

"I've never pined for someone like I did for you, regardless of how impossible it seemed. Impossible or not, I wasn't just going to ignore the one person my heart was screaming for me to be with."

I smiled a bit, recalling what a lovesick fool I had become after I realized how I felt.

Turning down to face her again.

"And I couldn't have asked for a better outcome," I concluded.

I watched silently as my words sunk into her mind, noticing how her eyes had become just noticeably teary.

My hope that with this knowledge, that maybe some of her worries would disappear.

"So... so I was your..."

"First kiss? Yep." I finished for her, "Although I wish I would have done that a bit differently," I admitted.

I imagined it being a lot more... romantic than it actually was.

She laughed quietly, "I think the way you pulled it off was perfect." She said amongst her laughter, "Plus we made up for it with our second."

I smirked at the memory, "That we did," I said with a satisfied purr, pulling her close to me.

Her laugh sounded again as I did, that gorgeous smile of hers fitting perfectly with her soft laugh.

I cupped her cheek with my hand, tucking away her hair in the process.

She set her hand over mine, rubbing my hand with her thumb as she met my eyes.

Without any hesitation, I spoke.

"I love you, Khloe,"

Her lips parted as her eyes widened, a small gasp entering her lips.

"Y-you what?" She asked, her blush quickly returning.

My smile widened at her reaction.

"I love you. I may not be an expert on love, but that's the only word that can describe how I feel whenever I'm around you."

Tears began to swim in her eyes again as her surprise slowly melted into a look of relief.

Taking the opportunity, I leaned down and kissed her.

The kiss was slow and tender, just enough to back up my previous statement.

She sniffled lightly as her hand held itself against the back of my neck, her heart thundering with what I could only distinguish as joy.

I parted from her just in time to see the first tear fall from her eyes.

She breathed out a small laugh, wiping her eyes.

Then, with a soft but elated smile, she spoke.

"I love you too."