Sora's PoV 

 

All the rejected girls had to go back home and spread the news that there would be no more Feeding. 

 

Luhan, who was still holding my hand, brought me into a dimly-lit dining room. He pulled out a chair and gestured me to sit. After I sat down, Luhan pushed my chair towards the table and sat in the chair across from mine. Invisible hands placed platters of food on the table. Chicken, peas, corn, cheese, bread, mashed potatoes, and etc. I looked at the food hungrily, but I remembered my manners first. 

 

"Uh..." I wasn't sure how to ask for permission. Should I refer him as Luhan or his highness? Or as the prince? Or his vampireness?

 

Luhan, who seemed to have read my mind, said, "Go ahead. Eat as much as you want." 

 

"Thank you," I said before diving into the feast. 

 

During the meal, I noticed that Luhan wasn't eating. Why wasn't he eating when the world's most delicious food was right in front of him, in an arm's reach? 

 

Oh, right. He was a vampire. 

 

I stopped eating for a moment, remembering the purpose I was in the castle for. I was very nervous. Vampires only used their mates as a food source; someone that provided them the blood they needed. This would probably explain why Luhan wasn't eating the food; he was going to eat me instead. 

 

"Uh... Luhan?" I asked unsure how to phrase the question that was bugging me since I found out that I had to participate (more likely: forced to participate) in the Feeding. 

 

"Yes, Sora?" Luhan smiled warmly, which made me doubt if he really was the bloodthirsty monster the villagers had described. 

 

"Um... Well you see... I'm wondering if I am really going to umm... die," I gulped. I cautiously took a peak at Luhan's face. 

 

Horror, you would call it, was written all over his face. However, he regained his composure quickly. 

 

"Oh no. No no no no," Luhan said quickly. "I promise I won't do anything to hurt you or anything that makes you uncomfortable. Feel free to roam around the castle and do whatever you please." 

 

I smiled at his kindness; it was enough to dispel my nerves. 

 

"Thank you," I said. My voice was just merely above a whisper, but I could tell Luhan heard it. 

 

"You're welcome," Luhan smiled. 

........ 

 

After dinner, Luhan showed me into my room. 

 

"Wow," I gasped. 

 

The room was bigger than my whole house back on my farm. I couldn't see the colors of the furniture and other aspects of the room because like any other place of the castle, it was dimly lit. The candle, which Luhan was holding, was the only source of light in the room. There was no signs of a window in the room. A huge princess-like bed with white curtains were hung on top of the frame and was placed in the middle of the room. A large closet was on my left and a desk was on my right. 

 

I stood in the middle of the room, taking in my new surroundings. 

 

"Do you like it?" Luhan asked. 

 

"Yes," I replied. 

 

"Please rest well," Luhan said as he bowed and left the room quickly. "Good night." 

 

"Oh wait-" I started, but Luhan was already gone. 

 

"Good night to you, too," I whispered to the door he exited.

........ 

 

Luhan's PoV

 

I couldn't control myself anymore. Everything about Sora seemed so alluring. Her scent, her milky-white skin, her eyes, her lips, and her voice. I couldn't stand being in the same room without feeling the urge to puncture my fangs on her neck. 

 

I'm not sure if I could keep my promise. Yet at the same time, I want to keep the promise. I don't want her to be hurt. I only want to make her happy, but how can a vampire make a human happy? 

 

How can I make her happy? 

 

I'm just a vampire. A bloodsucking vampire. If I put myself in her shoes, my first instinct would be to run out of the castle as fast as I can. I wouldn't be surprised if I went inside her room tomorrow morning and find the bed empty and the windows wide open.

 

But then again, she is my mate, right? Then she would have to stay, right? 

 

I couldn't deny that I felt a certain force within me, urging to go inside the dusty, old book shop yesterday. I was so sure that Sora was the cause of that force, and that she was my mate. 

 

But what if I was wrong? What if I had just imagined the force? If Sora was not really my mate, will she not accept me? I mean, I did indirectly force her to come into my castle and stay here, even though she had accepted my proposal. 

 

Would she even care about someone like me? 

 

Doubt. Worry. Frustration. They overwhelmed my body. I couldn't stop it before I started to feel my fangs start to grow. The thirst for human blood filled my mind. There was a delicious scent in the air. It filled the entire castle. Before I knew it, I was right in front of Sora's room. 

 

*No!* I yelled in my mind. 

 

I promised Sora earlier that I wouldn't do anything to make her uncomfortable. I couldn't break my promise so early. But I could smell it. Oh... Blood. Sweet blood was right beyond the door. The wooden door, the fragile wooden door that would crumble into pieces with just a swift punch. I paced in front of the door for a while, debating whether or not to drink Sora's blood. 

 

What are you waiting for? Just break the door and drink her blood! 

 

Oh... But I don't want to hurt her... 

 

She's yours, you can do whatever you want with her! 

 

But still... I promised... 

 

Who cares about a dumb promise?! Just drink her blood. Just a small sample wouldn't hurt her. 

 

That's a good point. 

 

I know right? So just take a small sample. It won't hurt anyone. Plus, she's your mate; she'll have to supply you with blood in life at some point. 

 

You're right.

 

I twisted the knob of the door, slowly, so I wouldn't wake Sora up. Luckily, she was still there and sleeping. The sight of her made my heart beat rapidly. Wait- 

 

My heart was beating?! 

 

I put a hand over my heart and there was a heartbeat. 

 

This confirmed my previous suspicions: Sora was my mate. Only a vampire's mate could make a vampire's heart beat again. For thousands of years, for a hundred generations, it had not beat. It was a frozen organ; an organ that didn't move anymore. However, the frozen heart had beat again and pretty quickly too. 

 

Unconsciously, I stepped closer to Sora and looked at her with adoring eyes. I pushed the hair that covered a part of her angelic face behind her ear. A smile made its way to my pale lips as I stared at the sleeping Sora. Now that I finally found my mate, there would be no need of the Feeding anymore. 

 

No need at all.