Even though The Council's sudden demand of meeting Baekhyun had initially scared Chanyeol to his core, the vampire knew that this was truly a blessing in disguise. Yixing had allocated four days for Chanyeol's exit strategy, four days for the Prince of Darkness to come up with a plan to get everyone he loved out of the country without drawing too much attention to their alternative motive.

In a few hours Suho and Katherine would be on a flight out of Korea under the guise of their annual trip to Japan, Sehun would be accompanying them with a majority of the luggage. To avoid potential havoc, Chanyeol somehow managed to convince Yixing to go with Kyungsoo and Jongin on their flight which was scheduled out tomorrow evening. Initially Chanyeol didn't have a plan regarding himself and Baekhyun, figuring that it would be a last minute operation despite future planning.

However, because The Council had requested a meeting with Baekhyun, Chanyeol now had everything he needed. The pieces of his chess game were finally placed onto the board and all that was left was to begin the dangerous game of getting them all to the other side without complications.

Step one was to appeal to Baekhyun's high school for an extended leave of absence. However, with only a few months left until graduation, no doctor's letter to confirm an illness, and with no family members to insist on a family emergency, Chanyeol wasn't left with a lot of options. Baekhyun needed to be seen contributing towards his education by turning in his assignments and taking part in class activities, so that if any of his Father's minions turned up they would assume he was still attending.

The hallways were clear when they arrived, classes no doubt already in session. Baekhyun led the way towards the principal's office, his fingers tightening their hold on Chanyeol's the closer they got to the door. The vampire offered his soulmate the brightest grin he could muster, knowing that in the next few moments there was a slight possibility of Baekhyun's attitude shifting.

Chanyeol made it a staple to enter ahead of his soulmate, his hand gripping Baekhyun's tightly as they both crossed over the threshold into the principal's office. When the man turned his swivel chair around, his eyes instantly fell onto Chanyeol, the vampire greeting him with his charming smile.

"Why Mister Park!" The principal declared, rushing to stand at attention. "I wasn't expecting to see you here for a while, is everything alright? Have you been settling into our school okay?"

"Please Mr. Kim, sit down." Chanyeol gestured to the seat the principal had just risen from.

Baekhyun watched perplexed as his principal sat himself back down in the seat he had just jumped out of, he expected the principal to turn to look at him now that both himself and Chanyeol were in his office, but the man remained focused on the taller.

He quickly figured out that he wasn't supposed to get involved, this conversation was only meant for Chanyeol and his principal. He knew that it was important, and it was essential that they could get the principal onboard with their little plan. Baekhyun's only question was; how?

Chanyeol's warm hands found their place against his waist, gently coaxing Baekhyun towards the seat directly across from his principal. The painter allowed himself to take a seat, watching closely as Chanyeol slid into the seat right next to him. One thing that became apparent from the very beginning was the intense staring contest both of the men in front of him seemed to be partaking in, Baekhyun could feel his own eyes burn from the lack of blinking on either side.

Instead of voicing out his opinion, or a question of any sort. Baekhyun decided to humour himself by paying attention to what was happening in front of him.

"Mr. Kim, do you remember the conversation you had with my parents during their meeting with you a few weeks ago?" Chanyeol's voice was deep, enchanting, lower than Baekhyun had ever heard it. The mere sound of the drastic vocal change brought goosebumps to the surface of his skin. Mr. Kim simply dipped his head. "Then you'll recall how my admittance here came with a few demands."

"I do." Mr. Kim announced, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

"One of those demands was that one day I might come to you with a request to which you would have to grant." Chanyeol explained, leaning closer to the principal and therefore the table that divided them. "I wish to extract Mr. Byun Baekhyun from his classes."

"Is Mr. Byun unhappy with his subject choices?" Mr. Kim wondered, casting a fleeting glance in Baekhyun's direction.

A shiver rattled the poor human to his very core as he couldn't help but lock eyes with the elder male, they appeared lifeless, cold, empty, void of any spark of life or emotion. It was beyond description, for there were no words within Baekhyun's vocabulary to help aid him in understanding what kind of situation was playing out in front of his own eyes.

"I can assure you that Mr. Byun is more than satisfied with your care." Chanyeol explained, his voice immediately drawing Mr. Kim back to their staring contest. "However, my request still remains. Baekhyun won't have the opportunity to attend his classes for the foreseeable future, so I was hoping that we might be able to come to a compromise."

"Certainly!" The principal declared, turning his swivel chair so that he was facing his computer screen. "I will send a mass email chain to all of Baekhyun's teachers telling them that he won't be able to attend due to some extreme circumstances. What will be the terms of your compromise?"

"I was hoping that Baekhyun might still be given the opportunity to partake in classwork or assignments, even though he won't be here. I was hoping that he would still be given the opportunity to graduate."

"Absolutely," the principal agreed, bobbing his head while his fingers worked a mile a minute against the computer's keyboard. Baekhyun watched his fingers move in fascination, dividing his attention between it and their conversation. "Would online assessment be more to your standard?"

"It would be greatly appreciated." Chanyeol nodded his head, eyes remaining glued to the principal's face. "I believe that you already have Baekhyun's email address within your school records?"

"Oh yes sir." Mr. Kim confirmed. "It's part of our school policy."

"Excellent. Now please declare in your email that it is essential that all teachers partake in this process as I wish for Baekhyun to graduate, and I'm sure you wouldn't want any bad publicity to unfold if one was to disregard your message for any reason."

"I will make a strong point of it in my email and in our staff meeting later today."

"Now, we must discuss a very important circumstance."

Baekhyun watches as his soulmate stands from the seat directly beside him. His eyes trail after the taller as he makes his way around Mr. Kim's desk, hands coming to drag the chair so that it was in the perfect position for both of their gazes to meet.

"All of the files relating to me and my family will be deleted and erased from all of your records."

"All of your files will be deleted and erased." Mr. Kim repeated.

"You won't tell anyone about this little meeting." Chanyeol continued.

"I won't tell anyone about this meeting." Mr. Kim repeated yet again.

Baekhyun watched in silence as Chanyeol returned to his side, hand offered out to him. Without hesitation the painter found himself reaching out and accepting the gesture, allowing their fingers to link together before he was pulled from the plush cushioned chair. Baekhyun allowed Chanyeol to gently lead him out of the doorway first, the vampire quickly following close behind while also allowing the door to close behind them.

Baekhyun decided that it was for the best that he wait until they were in the safety of Chanyeol's car before confirming with him what had exactly happened in the office. Like the gentleman he had been raised to be, Chanyeol held open his soulmate's door, shutting it closed when he was certain that Baekhyun was safely inside. The human remained quiet as he waited for the taller one to join him in the vehicle.

Adrenaline flowed through his veins as Chanyeol slipped into the driver's seat with a small grunt escaping his lips. Baekhyun could tell just by looking at his soulmate that Chanyeol was waiting for him to speak, perhaps begin asking questions or demand an explanation like he always did. But once again, Baekhyun decided to pull his signature act.

"So you can control minds too, huh?" he wondered, watching from the corner of his eye as Chanyeol choked on his own saliva. Why the taller was still finding himself surprised with how easily Baekhyun caught on to the bare minimum was a surprise in its own right, surely the vampire should have expected this after everything the human had already guessed correctly?

"You know each time you pull this stunt it still surprises me." Chanyeol spoke of the actions Baekhyun had already figured out for himself, but the human decided that it was probably for the best that he humoured his soulmate.

"And each time I love to see your expression." he couldn't help but tease, lips pulling back to reveal his box-shaped grin. "So, humour me." he begs, fluttering his eyelashes. "Did I get it right?"

"Of course you did sweetheart." Chanyeol chuckled, shaking his head as he started the engine. "That brain of yours hasn't been wrong so far."

"Though I don't see why mind control was one of the features the magical people from Eyeland added to your vampire creation potion, surely your ancestors didn't need to mind control a beast, right?"

"Actually the mind control ability came in a little while later." Chanyeol explained, sneaking a glance at his boyfriend as they drove out onto a main road.

"So it's another one of your consequences?"

"You could say that," Chanyeol agreed. "But it was also an art introduced to us by The Council. You see vampires used to thrive off human blood and as our original ancestors were basically the living dead, we couldn't blend in with them like we can now. So, as a way of gaining trust with the mortals, mind-control was adapted, taught and eventually evolved with us as we reproduced. Now it's one of the most commonly used practices of the vampire race, though it doesn't work against other vampires."

"So that's how Suho and Katherine managed to get you admitted to my school half-way through the year?" Baekhyun giggled as he watched a blush appear on his soulmate's cheeks. "They used it to get you into all of my full classes as well, didn't they?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about!"

"Sure you don't giant," Baekhyun giggled, reaching across the console to gently run his fingers through Chanyeol's hair. "Sure you don't."

Jessica scowled at her reflection in the mirror, a woman she barely recognised stared right back at her. Disheveled hair, elongated eye bags hanging below her waterline, sullen cheeks and pale lips produced an almost ghostly appearance in the dimly lit bathroom. The scent of vanilla and lavender clung to her nostrils, the rushing of water echoed against her ears.

Finally, she had been granted a few moments of peace and quiet. Locked within her bedroom's ensuite, Jessica decided that it would suit her well to treat herself to a lavish bath, complete with luxury branded lotions and oils to help spruce her back to health.

It had been a few days since she discovered the cause of her ailment, though she never would have suspected pregnancy to have such an effect on her body. She had already spoken to other vampire women who had given birth, yet none of them had prepared her for what she was currently suffering through. Ever since her mind had registered that there was something foreign within her body, Jessica was forced to go through a dramatic shift in health.

First, her fangs were hurting from beneath the gums they rested under. Her fingernails had become brittle to the touch yet they could still pierce through her skin if she made a fist. She hadn't been sleeping properly for the past few nights and whenever Donghae tried to approach her to ask if she was alright, she couldn't understand why she was so reluctant to lie to his face.

Donghae had been nothing but kind to her, buying her gifts to make up for the months he had been away serving his King, and showering her in constant affection now that he was home. Jessica had never loved someone as much as she did Donghae. The elder vampire had become her entire world after she turned, offering to teach her all about her new world in exchange for friendly companionship and a few letters to read while he was away on missions for his King. It wasn't a surprise that Jessica found herself falling madly in love with the man, after everything the two of them had been through together it just made sense that she would feel safe around him.

And yet, she still hadn't told him about her pregnancy. She had decided to keep it a secret, at least until she began to show. Fortunately she had quite a while to wait until then.

"Darling?" Her husband's worried voice whispered from behind the bathroom door. Jessica clutched the curve of the sink beneath her fingers, pouring all of her strength into it.

"Yes?" she called back, thankful to find that her voice remained stable despite the building tears behind her eyes.

"Is everything alright? I've heard the water running for quite awhile, you're not trying to drown our bathroom now are you?" He was merely jesting, as he usually did whenever it came to his wife's bathing habits.

Jessica forced a giggle, a single tear slipping down her cheek. "Not at all my love!" she replied over the running water. "If you were to come in you would see for yourself."

"If I was to come in there wouldn't be much cleaning going on." Donghae snickered, his words pulling at Jessica's heartstrings. "I'll be in the library while you wash my love, take as long as you need. Please come find me when you're finished, we can cuddle and watch a film if you want."

"Nothing would make me happier!" She spoke from beneath her clasped hands. In desperation she rushed towards the bath and increased the water flow, knowing how it would dull out her sobs. Jessica clutched the edge of the bath so hard that she was certain that the ceramic would crumble beneath her very touch, gathering the last amount of strength she had, Jessica pulled herself up and stepped into the tub.

A sigh of contentment escaped her lips as she sat herself down beneath the water, she raised her knees to her chest and balanced her crossed arms against them. Memories of her life within the village before her transition into a vampire often plagued her mind but for some unknown reason she was overwhelmed by them today. Ghosts of her past flashed through her vision as she was forced to reminisce about all those who were lost during the vampire raids. The only other survivor that she knew had come away from the battle like her, was Katherine, the current King's mistress.

Due to their different circumstances, neither of them had been given the opportunity of seeing each other again. Katherine's schedule was filled with her duties as Mistress and Jessica never had the opportunity of pulling herself away from her duties as Donghae's soulmate. She doubted that Katherine even knew of her existence after they were separated so long ago.

Still the possibility was a small one, so while keeping that in mind Jessica made a mental note to write her old friend a letter. It would have to be coded and worded so that there was no alternative motive indicated behind it, the threat of her husband or even the King reading it would make this correspondence tricky. But Jessica was helpless, she needed assistance and the only place she would be guaranteed that protection was with Katherine.

The air within Castel Wu was filled with an indescribable tension, Nana -who had only ever been there a few times during her life- wandered down the familiar hallway leading towards the east wing of the Castle. She could faintly overhear the muffled voice of her son's husband streaming out of one of the rooms to her right, his tone drastically different from when she had heard it a few days ago.

Curious, Nana peaked her head around the door, finding herself to be staring into one of the King's many chambers. What she witnessed, only turned her stomach.

Standing in the middle of the room stood the King of Darkness, his dark hair bellowing in the light breeze drifting through an opened window off to the side. His arms were wrapped around the thin waist of another male; a tall, skinny being with bright blonde hair. From the small glimpses Nana could catch of his face, this boy was unfamiliar to her. Her ancient mind scanned through all the faces she had seen in her lifetime, only to come up empty. This boy was new, at least to her.

"Did you have to call The Council on them?" the boy wondered, his arms wrapped around the King's neck. "Isn't bringing The Council into your plan a little risky?"

"I want them to look that terrified human in the eye when they tell my son that he can't have him, they'll take one look at their situation and demand Chanyeol to listen to reason." Kris chuckled, pulling the boy closer against his torso.

Nana felt bile churn in her stomach, a feeling she had never felt as a ghost before.

"He'd be wise to listen to reason," the boy agreed, allowing himself to be pulled ever closer, their foreheads touching. "You've spared his life so that he could marry your business partner's daughter. Finding his soulmate doesn't matter in circumstances such as this, surely he needs to be reminded of who is the King on this planet."

"Tao, you honour me with your words." Kris chuckled, his nose gently rubbing against the latter's.

Nana watched in disgust as the two of them shared a feverous kiss. Before the matter could go on any longer, she quickly pulled herself back from the doorway, allowing her eyes to close as she concentrated on where she wanted to go.

She allowed her mind to conjure up a picture of Baekhyun, using it as fuel to help guide her to him. When she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was the outer wall of a small jet-plane rental business. Confused as to why Baekhyun was here of all places, Nana tried to locate the human by scanning her surroundings. A familiar figure instantly piqued her interest.

"And what exactly are you doing here?" She wondered, watching slightly amused as Luhan jumped at her presence.

The young vampire released a breath of relief at her presence, his lips pulling back to reveal a beautiful smile. "I'm watching Sehun load up their plane out of here."

"They're leaving tonight?"

"Not all of them," Luhan explained with a shake of his head. "Just Katherine, Suho and Sehun. Sehun's loading up everyone else's luggage, he plans on bringing it with him so that the others won't have to travel heavy."

"That's incredibly sweet of him." Nana grinned, allowing herself to watch the youngest Park brother load up the luggage compartment of their plane. "It was nice of him to return with his brothers, I thought he would insist on staying home with you."

"He was terrified to leave me," Luhan admitted, head hanging between his shoulders. "but the curiosity of seeing his brother's soulmates drove him here. But I know how desperate he is to get back to me, since he hasn't felt our matelink break I think he's more at ease now."

"I'm sure that's not the only thing that has made him more relaxed." Nana teased the boy, allowing their shoulders to bump off one another. "Baekhyun's capabilities seem to be helping this family stay together, the poor boy is the glue we all didn't know we needed."

"He's the very thing keeping us a family." Luhan agreed. "Without him my soulmate might have done something stupid in retaliation for my condition."

"Thankfully I have no soulmate to worry about on my end." A new familiar voice spoke, causing both Nana and Luhan to jump in surprise. A dark haired girl easily slipped into their view, a bright teasing smirk displayed on her lips. She reminded the two of them so much like Sehun, his coy glances and devilish grins were just copied and pasted onto her. Still, her presence brought a smile to both of the ghosts' lips.

"Count yourself lucky for that one dear, the less hurt your condition causes this family, the better."

"How was your visit to the Castle?" The girl wondered, blinking innocently up at Nana who scowled at the question.

"Don't remind me." she begged her, pinching the bridge of her nose in a useless attempt of ridding the image from her mind.

"Well at least now you know what it feels like!" Sky giggled, batting her eyelashes. "At least you didn't get to see him knee-deep in some poor dude's-"

"We don't need to hear about it either!" Luhan screamed, covering his ears with the palm of his hands. Nana resorted to glaring at the girl, warning her without words that she better keep quiet about what she had seen that night when the King was in China.

"You two are no fun!" she cried, throwing her arms into the air dramatically. Nana was about to retort with some quick-witted comment, when the roaring of a car engine prevented her from speaking.

The ride to the jet-rental business was just under an hour out of the city. After everything that had already happened that day, Baekhyun was relieved to know that soon it would all be over. Once he saw the reserved jet take off, Chanyeol promised him that he would drive them back to Baekhyun's apartment, where the younger might get some well deserved shuteye.

There was still some concern over the thought of Baekhyun entering his apartment after what happened to his building manager, but Chanyeol had reassured him that he would be staying right next door. Lay had graciously granted Chanyeol and Jongin permission to join him in his apartment for the night. There was a whisper of them having a small alcoholic beverage, but again Chanyeol reassured him that nothing major would be happening.

Having heard that Lay had invited Jongin over, Baekhyun decided that he would be inviting Kyungsoo to stay with him for the night. Initially he thought that Chanyeol would be a little bummed out about the idea of Kyungsoo being the first vampire Baekhyun allowed into his space, now knowing about their existence. But to the painter's surprise, Chanyeol actually encouraged the thought.

"I know how close you and Kyungsoo have gotten, if you feel comfortable around him and would be willing to invite him into your apartment, I have no objection."

"You're not the least bit jealous?" Baekhyun asked for certainty. He didn't want to cause a rift between them, because it seemed like he was favoring his best friend over his soulmate. "You can be honest with me Chanyeol, I won't hate you because of it, truly."

"Sweetheart," Chanyeol spoke with that soft-spoken voice that had Baekhyun's insides turn to goo. "If you could handle me being away from you for an entire week, I can handle you inviting Kyungsoo into your apartment. In fact, I'm kind of glad that you are. I mean, Kyungsoo never truly felt at home in the manor or in our family. He never had a place where he could go to get away from everything for a little while, in the manor his escape was the kitchen and I can assure you that Kyungsoo has seen enough pots and pans to last him a lifetime. I think the effect of you inviting him into your home will be much greater than the effect it will have on me or Jongin."

"So I have your support?"

Chanyeol easily captured their fingers together as he parked the car next to the front wall of the warehouse. "Of course you do sweetheart, I want you and Kyungsoo to bond more than anything. I know how desperately the two of you depend on each other to be able to face my twisted family, so if he takes away some of your attention in order for you to remain sane, then please, by all means, do it."

"God, what did I do in my past life to have the honour of being with you?" Baekhyun whispered, staring helplessly into his soulmate's twinkling orbs.

"Probably saved the world." Chanyeol teased, his white teeth sparkling under the fluorescent lighting above the car's windshield. "The possibilities are endless."

Baekhyun couldn't help but giggle at how terrible his soulmate's jokes were, his crinkled eyes falling on the view outside of the car. The air was taken from Baekhyun's lungs when his eyes landed on the two ghosts standing just next to the warehouse door, they were both waving at him with smiles on their faces. Without explaining his current situation, Baekhyun unbuckled himself from his seatbelt and threw the door wide open. He hopped out of the car and rushed towards them, completely forgetting to close the car door behind him.

"What's wrong?" he asked the moment he arrived in front of them. "Is everything okay? The two of you standing here together can't be a good sign!"

"Baekhyun, honey, relax." Nana encouraged the human to take a deep breath, the ghost demonstrating a dramatic reenactment of taking a deep breath. Baekhyun's eyes narrowed into a glare. "We're here because we wanted to make sure that everyone got on the plane alright, Luhan will be going with them since he doesn't want to leave Sehun."

"Well that makes sense." the painter huffed a breath in relief. Goosebumps appeared against his arms as a warm muscled arm wrapped itself against his waist, Baekhyun sighed as he wallowed in the heat Chanyeol's body gave off.

"Everything alright?"

"Yeah," Baekhyun reassured the giant with a small tired smile. "Just Nana and Luhan wanting to say hi."