Sora's PoV 

 

Ugh. When I regained consciousness, my head felt like someone kept hitting me with a metal pipe. My whole brain felt fuzzy and hazy. 

 

"Sora? Sora?" someone called my name in a worried voice. Who was it? I opened my eyes and a saw a blurry figure above me. As my eyes returned to focus, I recognized the blur as Luhan. 

 

"Luhan? Are you okay?" I asked. 

 

"Yes, I'm okay. Thank you, but you should worry about your own wellbeing first." 

 

He even looked better than before. His eyes returned to their original chocolate brown color, which they were not bloodshot, and the bags under his eyes disappeared. His hair was neatly brushed, his face wasn't sickly pale anymore, and he was wearing different clothes. I reached out to touch his cheek to find out that they had returned to its normal temperature. 

 

"You're all better. That's a relief," I said softly. My throat felt so dry that I could barely speak. Luhan seemed to notice this and handed me a cup of red liquid. 

 

"Here. Drink this. It's cranberry juice. This will help you get better after all that blood you lost." 

 

I eagerly drank everything in under a minute. It felt refreshing to my dry throat. After drinking the juice, my head ache started to subside, and my thoughts became clearer. I had so many questions regarding yesterday's incident. 

 

"I'm so sorry for what happened a week ago," Luhan apologized as he put the cup on the nightstand. "I'm sure that you have a lot of questions, so I'll answer them one by one." 

 

Okay... So the event didn't take place last night. Wait, did that mean that I was asleep for a week? 

 

"Um, to begin with, why were you avoiding me?"

 

"Like I have said, I didn't have enough blood in over a year, so I was craving blood. But I didn't want to hurt you, so I tried to suppress my urges by avoiding you." 

 

"Do you really get sick from not drinking any blood?" 

 

"Yes. It's similar to the way humans fall ill from hunger."

 

"Oh, I see. That makes sense." I paused for a moment, hesitating before asking the next question. 

 

"Luhan?" 

 

He looked up at me. "Yes, Sora?"

 

"Why did you pick me?" I asked quietly. 

 

"I beg your pardon?" 

 

"Why did you pick me out of all the girls in the kingdom?" 

 

"Because you're my mate. I know this because of this." He placed my hand on top of his beating heart. "You're also the only one who did not smell death when you entered the castle. I know this because you were the only girl who didn't make this face." Luhan scrunched his nose and attempted to look scandalously displeased. It was actually a pretty accurate impression that I giggled a little. "Furthermore, you were the only one who survived the fire." 

 

I stopped laughing and froze. "How do you know about that?" 

 

"Because my own brother was the one who started the fire." 

 

"What?" My eyes widened in this shocking revelation. 

 

First of all, since when were there two princes of Arcana? Secondly, why would the second prince burn my family's farm? 

 

"You see, my older brother was a rather mischievous man, who acted on instinct rather than using his head. He loved drinking human blood, especially the blood of attractive, young girls like yourself. He went out to town almost every night to feed on humans. Four years ago, he went into town and saw you. He demanded your family to hand you over to him as payment for their debt. But your parents refused, so as the crown prince, my brother ordered the guards to burn the farm. I tried to reason with him, but being the stubborn man he was, he dismissed my advice." Luhan let out a shaky breath before he continued. "So I went into town and tried to prevent the fire before it started. Unfortunately, I was too late. The entire farm was in flames by the time I got there. However, there was one figure that ran out of the burning house, unscathed. And that was you, Sora. Everyone, including my brother and I, was surprised. I knew at that moment, you were my mate because my heart started beating again and your lifeline was tied to mine." 

 

"So the only reason I'm alive is because of you?" I asked. "I read somewhere that a mate's lifespan was the same as his or her vampire, but I didn't know that it was true. Wait, how did you know whether my lifeline was connected to yours or your brother's?" 

 

"Because you're still alive," Luhan answered gravely. "If you were my brother's mate, you would have died four years ago after the fire." 

 

"S-s-so... He's dead? How?" 

 

"The kingdom declared him unfit to rule after they heard of the fire he caused, so he was executed for excessive feeding and of course, burning your family's farm. Being the next in line for the throne, I was chosen to become the Prince of Arcana. Also, the Feeding was created to ensure that the daily binges would not occur ever again. And you know the rest of the story." Luhan gave me a sad smile. "To be honest, I wasn't sure if I would meet you again. After your farm was burnt, I had assumed that you left for the mainland. Consequently, I was surprised to see you again at the bookstore before the Feeding. But I am thankful to be reunited with you." 

 

"No, I should be thankful, for you saved my life," I replied. 

 

Luhan smiled. "You have saved my life as well, so let's just say that we are even. Alright?" 

 

"Yes," I replied with a smile of my own. 

 

"Now, are you hungry?" Luhan asked. 

 

My stomach growled loudly before I could reply. 

 

"I'll take that as a yes." Luhan chuckled. 

 

I blushed at his reaction. That was so embarrassing! 

 

"I'll bring something for you to eat," Luhan stated as he left the room, while trying to hide his amusement. 

 

He suddenly opened the door again and walked back to me. Then, he placed his lips on my cheek for a brief moment. 

 

"That's for being so cute," he said before getting up to leave.

 

"Stupid, you missed my lips," I mumbled when he was out of earshot, while my face was still crimson due to his words and actions.

... 

 

Luhan's PoV

 

I kept laughing as I walked down the stairs. Sora was just too adorable! Even the rumbles of her stomach were cute. The embarrassed and surprised look on her face after I kissed her, was irresistible as well. All I wanted to do was hug her as if she was a cute, human-sized teddy bear. 

 

"If she made such a cute expression when I kissed her cheek, I wonder what adorable expression she'll make if I kiss her lips?" I wondered whilst chuckling. 

 

When I reached the kitchen, I ordered the chef to cook a bowl of vegetable porridge for Sora. Just then, my manservant rushed into the kitchen. 

 

"Prince Luhan, I have just received a letter addressed to you from the Kingdom of Luna!" 

 

I stared at him, puzzled as to why the werewolf kingdom wanted to contact me. He handed me the letter, and rushed off to take care of his usual work. I check the front of the envelope. Sure enough, it was addressed to me and it was sent from Luna, but there was no sender. I inspected the seal on the envelope, and realized that it was the seal of Luna's royal family. Inside the envelope was a short, but shocking letter. 

 

 

 

 

My eyes widened in surprise. The twenty-first of November was only a week away! This did not make any sense at all. As long as I could remember, the Luna Family never rushed into things. They would always announce their appointments to Arcana a month prior to scheduled date, in order to give us enough time to prepare for their stay at the castle. 

 

What could be the reason for Sehun's sudden visit? 

... 

 

Sehun's PoV 

 

Everything was packed and ready in the ship headed for Arcana. I know that my actions were rash, but this was my only option. Although my advisors tried to convince me otherwise, I knew that I had to visit Luhan. 

 

"Sehun, are you ready to go?" my fiancée asked. 

 

I looked away from the window and into the eyes of my lover. I smiled at the sight of her, and remembered why I was doing this. She was the only person I could not bear to lose, so I had to protect her by any possible means, even if it meant enlisting the help of a vampire. 

 

I kissed her cheek, and her cheeks became flushed. Even though I had kissed her more than a hundred times, she was still bashful about any physical contact. In order to hide her embarrassment, she avoided eye contact with me, and focused on buttoning up my coat. 

 

When she was finished, she said, "There! All done!" 

 

"Shall we go, my lady?" I held out my arm for her. 

 

She giggled and took my arm. "Of course, my prince." 

 

Before we started walking towards the door, she suddenly stood on her tippy toes and pecked my cheek. 

 

"Sumin!" I exclaimed in surprise. 

 

"That's payback from the surprise kiss earlier." 

 

"Then, I'll return a kiss for that payback." 

 

"Then, I'll payback that return kiss for the payback!"

 

"I guess I'll have to counterattack with a return the payback for the return kiss of the payback." 

 

"Then, I'll pay you back for the return kiss of the payback of the return kiss of the payback!" 

 

"So are you promising me 5 kisses?" 

 

"No! I'm going to kiss you a billion times, so I win!" 

 

"Is that a promise?" I smirked. 

 

"Sehun!" 

 

"I will have you live up to your word." 

 

"Wait, Sehun! I didn't mean it literally!" 

 

"So you don't want to kiss me?" I feigned hurt. "Do you not love me anymore, Sumin?"

 

"Of course, I want to kiss you, and I still love you. But I can't count to a billion." 

 

"Then, I'll count. You have to kiss me a billion times. You promised me that you would." 

 

Sumin laughed beautifully. "You act like a little kid sometimes. Fine. Since I said I would, I'll kiss you." 

 

"One. Two. Three," I counted every time we kissed.