⬆️⬆️⬆️ LAYLA ⬆️⬆️⬆️

Alaric took one look at her, and his heart felt something he had never felt before. He thought she looked extremely sexy, and was beginning to think twice about going to the dance.

"Well... how do I look?" she asked, again.

"You look absolutely stunning." he said, trying to hide his smile. "That dress on you is perfect, it brings out the beautiful olive colored skin tone you have, and the color of your eyes... wow, the grayness of them, really stand out... you're absolutely beautiful."

Angeline walked over to them and stood next to Layla "Now you have two women to keep your eyes on tonight." she smiled, nudging Layla. She giggled, and looked over at her "I'm only kidding... this will be an interesting night, Alaric has never brought anyone to one of these before, he might shock everyone."

Layla looked over at Alaric and smiled "How come?"

He tightened his lips and shrugged his shoulders "I never had anyone worth bringing."

"Don't let him fool you, he's never believed in love, and always avoided the situation." Angeline said, while looking at Alaric.

"Maybe we should get going." he said, trying to change the subject.

Angeline smiled "See?"

While Layla was in the other room talking with Angeline, Alaric could feel Layla was curious as to how many humans he had brought home, and knew he needed to clear the air on that. He placed his arm around Layla's waist and began walking her out. "Is your sister not coming with us?"

"No, she'll be meeting us there."

She stopped and turned around "Thank you for the dress."

Angeline waved and smiled "Have fun!"

On the way to the ball, she was curious as to who was all going to be there, and wasn't sure if she would fit in, making her a little nervous. Her phone started to ring, she pulled it out of her purse, saw it was Trevor, and put her phone back into her purse.

Alaric glanced at her, he could read her mind, and knew it was Trevor trying to call "Why didn't you answer it?"

"Because, I'm with you."

"You could've answered it... you know, he'll probably try calling you again."

"How did you know it was him?" she asked surprised.

"I just knew."

He pulled into the parking lot, parked and looked over at her. He couldn't believe how beautiful she looked, and felt proud to be walking into the ball with her. "Ready?" he asked.

"I'm ready." She placed her hand on the door handle, ready to open the door, until he reached across for her hand, pulling it back.

"Let me get the door for you."

He got out, walked over to her door and opened it, holding out his hand. She stepped out, placed her mask on and grinned wide. "I feel extremely sexy right now."

"Maybe it's because you are."

"Maybe?" she questioned, while grinning.

"Let me rephrase that... the reason why you feel sexy, is because you are." He pulled her close to him and gave her a forceful, yet passionate kiss "Shall we?" he asked, as he pulled away from her lips.

"I suppose I'll be the only human here." she said quietly when they started walking.

He laughed, and leaned down to her ear "You won't be the only one... don't worry, my parents have been throwing this party every year, for about ten years now. The people from this town have no idea who we are, and nothing bad ever happens."

"Don't they ever question that any of you never age?"

"Why would they? We're all hidden behind masks." he smiled.

As they walked inside, all eyes turned towards Alaric and Layla wondering who they were. He could sense the men admiring Layla and leaned into her ear, speaking lowly "Stay near me."

They walked further in, and she was in awe as she looked at everyone in their masks, and the women in their fancy dresses. While Alaric was stopped by a man, Layla watched all the people dancing on the dance floor, ignoring the conversation Alaric was having with the man.

"Would you like something to drink?" he asked.

"Sure."

He walked her over to the bar, and looked at her "What would you like?"

She looked at the bartender, then to Alaric and smiled. She felt like having something she normally wouldn't drink, surprising Alaric with her answer. "I'll have a whiskey."

He smiled and looked at the bartender "Make that two whiskeys..." he looked back at her, giving her a questionable look "Whiskey?"

"Sure, why not?" she smiled, shrugging her shoulders.

She sat down and turned the chair around to look at everyone, she was intrigued with the way everyone was dancing, and felt like dancing herself. She had no clue this event ever went on, and wondered why nobody ever brought this up to her. "You said this had been going on for ten years now?"

"Yes, why?"

"I never knew that and nobody has ever mentioned it before. Had I known; I would have made sure to be here."

"The reason why my parents started this event, was to get a sense if anyone new moved to this town that didn't belong here."

"But how would they know, if everyone is hidden behind masks?"

He lifted his glass to his lips, and took a sip of his whiskey "We can feel danger, and know when something isn't right." He looked over at her, and hoped that would sink in with her. He knew she wanted to dance, and finished off his whiskey. He set his glass down on the bar, and caressed the side of her face "Would you care to dance?"

She smiled, downed her drink and stood up "I would love to, I don't know how to do the waltz, but I'm willing to try."

He walked her over to the dance floor, and waited for the next song to start. Once the next song started, he took her hand and began walking her slowly out to the floor "Follow my lead." he said quietly into her ear. The couples all formed into a circle, the men turned to their partner and bowed, as he bowed, he told her to do the same, with her arms out. As she did that, she looked out the corner of her eye, making sure she was doing it right.

They both placed their one hand on each other's shoulder, while holding each other's hand with the other, and began dancing. When they switched partners, she got nervous knowing she didn't know what she was doing, but acted like she did by following his lead and keeping an eye on the other ladies. When she got back to Alaric she smiled, and couldn't believe she was doing the waltz. The dance for some reason came to her, and felt like she had done this before.

When the song was finished, he took a hold of her hand and began kissing the top of her hand, sending goosebumps down her spine. An older couple walked over, stood next to Alaric, and both eyed Layla. The gentleman cleared his throat, causing Alaric to release her hand and look over to his side. "Hello father... mother"

"Are you going to introduce us to this fine young lady?" His father asked, while looking at Layla.

Alaric placed his hand on the small of Layla's back and looked at his parents "Mother, father... this is Layla Kingsley... Layla, these are my parents, Frederick and Elizabeth."

"Nice to meet you." Layla said as she shook their hands.

"Likewise." Elizabeth said with a smile.

Frederick stepped forward and reached for Layla's hand "Dance with me."

She looked over at Alaric, and when he nodded for her to dance, she looked back at Frederick and smiled "Sure."

He walked her out to the floor, and began dancing with her. "My son seems to be doing well taking care of you." he said, sounding serious "You can relax, I'm the one who insisted he look out for you." he said, after feeling her tense up.

"You were?"

"When your family first moved to this town, word came out that the treachers were after you."

"Alaric mentioned something about that, and I don't understand why?"

"There are a couple reasons why, and you'll need to figure that out... what I do know is, you're special and a threat to them. All I can tell you is, be aware of your surroundings, things may not always be what they seem." he stopped dancing, kissed the top of her hand and looked back at her "Be on alert for any signals, you may not understand what they are or what they mean, but once you figure it out, you'll know who you are and why they're after you."

Without telling her any more, he walked away quickly. Leaving her standing there in shock. She looked around, didn't see Alaric, and got nervous as she walked through the crowd looking for him. She then felt someone grab her hand, and pulling her to them. She realized it was Alaric and hugged him in relief. She didn't know what to think about what his father told her, and now understood a little more on why Alaric was so protective over her.

"I need some fresh air."

He wrapped his arm around her waist, and walked her out onto the balcony. She walked over to the railing and looked out into the sky, watching the clouds pass over the moon. She stood quietly, thinking about everything.

Alaric rested his hands on her shoulders as he stood behind her, knowing his father told her some things that may have shocked her, he leaned over her shoulder and kissed her on the cheek "What are you thinking about?"

She turned around, wrapped her arms around him and rested her cheek on his chest. "I want you to turn me."

He pushed himself back to look at her, not liking the idea "I don't know... I don't think that's a good idea."

"Alaric, please... I want you to. I have no reason to stay here like this." she begged.

He looked away from her, ran his fingers through his hair and thought about what would happen if he were to turn her. He liked the idea of giving her eternal life, keeping her young and beautiful, as well as giving her strength. He looked back over at her, placed her hair behind her and cupped the sides of her neck "Let's go back inside and enjoy the party, we'll talk about this later." he says, kissing her on the lips.

They headed back into the ballroom, and over to the bar. Layla surprised him again by ordering another whiskey, smiling at him before drinking it all in one swallow. "Dance with me." she said, batting her eyes.

She grabbed his hand and began walking towards the dance floor, and was stopped by another man wanting to dance with her. Alaric didn't feel too sure about him, but knew nothing would happen to her with he and his family around, and leaned into her ear "Go ahead, I'll keep an eye on you."

The man walked her to the dance floor and started dancing with him. "What's your name?" she asked him.

When he wouldn't say anything, images kept flashing before her eyes. She remembered Frederick explaining to her, that she needed to pay attention to everything, and wondered if this was one of those things, he explained to her.

She continued concentrating, hoping another image would flash, and that it would stay longer, that way she would be able to understand what she was seeing.

She looked at who she was dancing with and tried figuring out who he was, the room had gotten darker, making it harder for her to see who she was with. She was becoming nervous, as he was dancing away from where Alaric was and saw how he was getting closer to an exit. Her heart began to beat faster, she then closed her eyes and started calling for Alaric. Wanting him to help her and letting him know where she was.

Within seconds Alaric pulled the man away from her, handed him off to his brother and quickly got Layla out of there.

"You're staying at my place tonight."

"Who was that?"

"I'm not sure, but we'll find out once Adrian comes home."

"Thanks for saving me once again." she sighed.

"I told you I would be there, thanks for calling out for me, and letting me know where you were. I lost sight of you when the lights got darker, and the dance floor became more crowded."

"You heard me?" she asked surprised.

He turned his head toward her, and smiled "I did, which is a good thing."

"Why?"

"Because... that just shows me your becoming stronger with your abilities."

She furrowed her eyebrows and stared at Alaric "What's that supposed to mean?"

He turned his head to keep his eyes on the road and breathed in deep "I thought my father told you?"

"He said I was special, and that soon I'll figure things out... something like that."

"You have a gift, a special gift... nobody can tell you what it is, and you need to learn what that is."

"Why the fuck can't anyone tell me what this gift is? I keep being told I have to figure it out! Why me? How am I supposed to know if nobody will tell me?"

He sighed heavily through his nostrils, he wished he could tell her everything, and knew what he had to do to help her, even if it was against his father's orders. "The reason is, if you're told what you can do without figuring it out on your own, you'll lose that ability, and would be basically giving yourself up to the treachers."

She crossed her arms, and looked away from him "I wish you would just turn me; I'd rather just become one of you... forget this ability I supposedly have." she retorted, raising her hands and doing quotations with her fingers as she spoke.

Alaric didn't say another word to her, when he pulled up to his home, she sat in her seat looking upset, still with her arms crossed. He got out, walked over to her door, and tried getting her to come out. She turned her head the other way, and felt she couldn't even look at him. She was becoming desperate to know the truth, and was becoming more upset that nobody will tell her anything.

He leaned into the car, unhooked her seat belt, and got her into his arms. "Put me down, Alaric." she snapped.

"Nope."

He opened his door, and wouldn't set her down, basically flew them up the stairs, and into the bedroom. He kicked his heel back, slamming the door shut, and set her down, pinning her against the door.

"Alaric, let me go. You obviously won't listen to my desires, which means you don't care... so, let me go. I'll figure all this shit out on my own."

With her snapping at him, turned him on, and wanted nothing more than to give her the wishes she desired to have. He crashed his lips to hers, kissing her hard, and leaving her gasping for air when he pulled away.

Out of nowhere she got some strength, grabbed a hold of his arms and was able to spin him around, pinning him up against the door. Not caring what she was doing, she ripped open his shirt that had buttons flying everywhere.

"Layla." he groaned, when she started kissing along his chest.

He picked her up, flew her over to the bed, and hovered over her. He stared into her eyes, and smiled "You really want me to turn you?"

"Yes... now make love to me."

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