Piercing My Heart

6

I sat back and smiled at my work. The girl stood up before rushing to the mirror. She gasped in awe at the realistic bite I painted onto her neck. Through the use of makeup and paint, it looked real. I explained to the girls that the guards and my father would want to see visible marks on their necks. They gave me bright smiles before leaving. The smile fell from my lips as I knew what their fates held. My father would eventually rape them and drain them dry.

I sighed and stood up from my chair. I packed all the supplies away. I heard a knock on the door, so I opened it. Tae walked inside and glanced around the room. He hummed at the neat interior. Tae then walked to the bar to grab some red wine as well as some red paint. He then absentmindedly tossed it onto my white sheets.

"Now, it looks realistic." He spoke.

Tae knew that it'd raise a red flag (no pun intended) if my sheets didn't have any stains on it. The red spot would provide some cover for me and the girls. Upon first glance, it looked like the girl's blood. The alcoholic smell would mask the paint odor.

"What's up?" I sat on the bed.

"Your father." I sighed. "He needs to speak with you about something."

"Come with?"

"Of course." He pulled me up and walked behind me.

We walked through the the bitter halls. Even though this place is my "home," it always felt unwelcoming, like it was never my real home. The guards were motionless when we passed. I think even the life drained from their eyes the moment they began working for my father. The guards opened the double doors.

As usual, my father sat on the throne, with the stupid crown on his head. He always wanted us to wear it whenever we were at the manor. That was why I had that stupid metallic object situated on my head. Tae and I walked towards my father so that we could bow.

"Tu rencontreras avec un de mes partenaires en Allemagne. Vous leur montrez comment fabriquer les bombes." (You will meet with one of my partners in Germany. You will show them how to make the bombs.) Tae and I gave a final bow before finally leaving the manor.

Tae wasted no time in retrieving a car for us. We immediately got inside so that he could speed off. Once the manor was a blur, I let out a breath. Tae glanced at me, but didn't comment. He floored the car towards the airport.

X

The flight to Berlin took a couple hours. I was scheduled to attend an extravagant party hosted by my father's business partner. Taemin and I were dressed for the black tie event. I made sure to straighten his tie to my liking. After all, Tae was my date.

I clung onto his arm as we walked through the party. I greeted all the high profile vampires. My father would definitely need their support to galvanize their citizens to join the fight. My father could always commands them, but he couldn't get them to fight with their hearts. He needed the powerful leaders to convince the people that they should be honored to die for their king.

Anton, my father's trusted advisor, greeted me. He bowed to me and began to speak in French, but I told him that his native tongue was fine. We then settled on speaking our second language, English.

"I'm honored for you to join us, princess." He stood back to admire my outfit. "You look absolutely beautiful." I smiled a thanks at him. "Now, I do not want to wast your time." He offered his arm for me to take. "Your father spoke to me about the designs you made." We smiled and waved at the other guests. "And he wants you to show the engineers how to properly manufacture such a delicate product." He paused. "We've been trying to work on it for decades, but you did it in a couple of days!" He was impressed.

"Thank you for your praise, but I was just lucky." I smiled. "I'm sure an engineer would've figured out the correct proportions soon."

"Nonsense!" He waved me off. "You're the brightest mind to ever grace the land. Thank you. Your invention will surely help us smother out those wolves." He bitterly spat while my heart clenched. "Now, what was the secret?"

I took a deep breath before divulging everything. Anton had a piece of paper to scribe everything down. He didn't miss even the most trivial detail. Anton was amazed at the design proportions, chemical reactions, and other stuff that I thought wasn't that impressive.

Once we were done, he began speaking about the increase in wolves across Switzerland. He wanted to send vampires out there, but my father wasn't concerned with the wolves for some reason. Anton didn't know, but he knew my father had a plan of his own. I was about to inquire more, but my phone began to ring. I had to excuse myself to answer Hailey.

"Hello?"

"Hey!" Lexi excitedly answered.

"I thought this was Hail's phone." I chuckled.

"Ya, but I want to talk to you!" I giggled at her cuteness. I heard some scuffling over the line before Hailey responded.

"Hey, Lara." She grimly spoke.

"Hey! I was talking to Lexi!" I smirked when I heard her scoff. "What's up?" At this time, Tae appeared at my side. I decided to put it on speaker since he could hear the conversation anyways.

"We received a letter from the Department stating that you will uphold your end of the deal to allow Nicole to shadow you. If not, then they will subpoena us." Hailey sighed. "We can't afford the tabloids knowing that we-"

"Sign the letter."

"W-What?" I could hear Lexi and Hailey's confusion.

"Sign the letter and scan it to me. I'll sign it and send it back. You can then send it to the department." I began to chuckle. "You're right Lexi. Jelena really did get a smart one. I'm impressed by her resourcefulness." Tae rose his brow at me. "Nicole is actually playing smart. Brilliant of her to get legal involved." I was filled with excitement at knowing she possessed a high level of brain power.

"Are you sure? We can get our lawyers-"

"I'm sure. I also have an ulterior motive." I snickered, causing Tae to shake his head. "I'll be back in a few, but send the letter asap." I walked away, with Tae at my heels. "She'd expect us to contact our legal team to contest it, but we'll catch her off guard by accepting her terms. She won't be expecting that." I leaned against the railings. "What do you say?" I questioned Hailey.

"I trust you and your corrupt mind." I chuckled at her teasing. "How much longer until you return?"

"Shouldn't be too long..." I looked to Tae who was nodding along. "Just have to be with Anton for a few more days and then I can return." I smiled a thanks when Tae handed me a glass of wine. "How's everything on your end?"

"Fine. Just Jelena's annoying ass and Lexi having to cover for you. How'd you know Nicole liked sugary foods?"

"Typical thing for girls." I sipped my drink. "Also, the scent of her blood had hints of processed sugar from chocolate and other pastries." I drank my wine.

"Well, Lexi said Nicole loves the deserts that she receives." I chuckled.

I chatted with them a little longer. Lexi demanded Tae greet her, so I had to force him to speak. She began telling him about the day she had and the new people she met. Tae glared at me while Lexi rambled. I could also imagine the glare Lexi was receiving from Hailey. Hailey eventually yanked the phone from Lexi and hung up. Taemin needed a stronger drink after having to endure that conversation.

"Hey, Tae." He looked at me. "We'll be staying a few days to travel to different manufacturing sites. I think we may be able to extend our trip a day to Holland." I wiggled my brows at him.

Tae stopped drinking and looked at me with wide eyes. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He was so excited that he couldn't speak. I snickered and nodded at him.

"R-Really?" His voice softened in gratitude.

"Yes... we can visit Nick, your mate."