The Taste of Seduction

Meredith's body tensed when she heard Elvin. Her eyes widened and her mouth remained soundless at the shock.

She swallowed once

Twice

Thrice.

Before Elvin's words registered in her mind. Betrothed.

She felt the heat escape her body; it was like her veins contained ice rather than blood. Her heart started pounding inside her chest and her knees began to tremble.

She must have heard him wrong, maybe he'd

said something totally unrelated. She gulped as she willed herself to ask him to repeat himself.

"H-huh.sorry but my what?" She questioned.

Meredith hoped her ears were playing tricks on her because there was no way in hell she was betrothed to a stranger. Not just any stranger, a very hot dangerous vampire prince.

Elvin chuckled, "Ah sorry I was supposed to wait awhile before I tell you but I guess I slipped up. Your betrothed, Marcus Wilson.

In order to continue the alliance with vampires, your parents and the vampires decided to betrothed you two to each other. You were supposed to be engaged once you reached eighteen but you were lost during the war"

Elvin explained.

"What?" Is all she managed to get out as she stood there in a trance.

Her knitting fingers came to a halt as she now fisted her hand.

Her mind was completely blank at the moment. She couldn't seem to be able to process his words.

"Elvinyou're joking right?," She finally managed to get out.

"You can't mean that,.me and himbetrothedmeant to be engaged.then marriage? We are in the 21st century. Arranged marriages aren't a thing.."

She whispered as she looked at the prince for confirmation.

Marcus smirked as his knowledgeable red eyes locked on hers. Meredith stopped breathing for a moment as he evaluated her.

Meredith took the moment to drank in his features

Perfectly sculpted face with red plump lips,

straight nose and incredibly well defined jaw with

high proud cheek bones accentuate the plains of his face.

His broad shoulders matched his strong jawline and cheekbones.He was taller than the average man.

Meredith could tell he clearly worked out with how his black shirt fitted perfectly against his torso, hugging each inch of him.

His messy silvered hair fell over his forehead. He was beyond handsome but the most striking feature of him was, his eyes, gosh.

His eyes were like blazing fire, deep, with

fierce currents just beneath the red surface.

Eyes so red that even the flames of hell itself would be envious.

The color, in contrast to his silver hair and pale skin, was striking. They seemed to have endless depths. Meredith felt as though she might fall into those depths, never able to climb out again if she stared too long.

You could tell he exuded power and authority even his impeccably red eyes exude a sense of command.

The guy literally looked like he walked out from a manga book. If Sofia was here, she would probably be fangirling.

Meredith only allowed herself to look at him for a few moments before she looked away, taking a deep breath.

"I know this might be too much for you to take inBut-"

Meredith shook her head, "No-no you don't understand. I have a boyfriend and I love him so much. I'm not getting engaged to a complete stranger."

Marcus raised his brows when he heard her. He crossed his hands across his chest and an amused glint passed through his eyes. No one really knew what he was thinking.

Elvin nervously glanced at him but there was no emotion on Marcus's face, just pure amusement.

Meredith bit her lips when she realized what she had said.

She stared at Marcus for a few moments before his eyes began to harden. He was looking at her deadpan but Meredith didn't miss the glimmer of hurt that passed through his eyes.

But it passed so quickly she thought she was hallucinating. She lowered her gaze to his chest and bit her lower lip as she realized she wasn't being given a choice.

Neither of them spoke as they stared at each other but Meredith could tell from his body language that there were a million things running through his head.

If it'd been someone else she would just have asked them to spit it out but the guy hadn't spoken a word since they met. He kept assessing her with his eyes. It seems he was a man of few words.

"You are in love with someone else?"

He asked, his voice so low that it almost felt like she had imagined the question.

Meredith nodded slightly and gulped, trying to get rid of the choking feeling in her throat.

"More than you can imagine." She croaked out.

Meredith was surprised he was asking her this so calmly.

He just gave her a small nod and walked away, without another word. Timothe looked at her and gave her a comforting smile before he chased after Marcus.

Next to her, Elvin sighed. Meredith turned to look at him with a confused look on her face.

"What?"

Elvin shook his head, "You must be tired. Rest, we would talk later.""

Meredith knew there was something he wasn't telling her.

"Come, let me show you to your chambers."

Meredith followed him silently. Her mind was in chaos right now so she didn't even pay attention to her surroundings.

Finally, they stopped in front of a large wooden door.

Elvin turned to face her and gestured towards the wooden door by the window.

"These are your chambers." He said flatly.

"Thank you." Meredith said, staring at him blankly.

"Mhm." Elvin said in the same, flat tone of voice.

Meredith pulled the door open, but stopped when she felt his hand on my shoulder.

"My lady.. ?"He said hesitantly.

"Yes?" Meredith said warily, turning slightly.

"I hope you can think about all of this when you have gotten proper rest. Your people need you, and as a leader sacrifices must be made."

Meredith stared at him deadpan. She knew what he was saying. As much as she hated to admit, their people needed the vampires and she had no choice.

"Lady Meredith ... " Elvin whispered.

"Look..." She said through gritted teeth.

" I am tired."

"Of course, I'm so sorry." Elvin said swiftly.

"Get some rest. Everything you need will be provided for you. I will let someone bring you the communication device.Goodnight."

Meredith nodded and entered the room, slamming the door being her not even bothering to look around.

She sank to the ground with her back against the door, settling into a heap of nothingness.

And when she buried her face in her hands, she rolled into a sobbing mess. Her world had just been shattered into a million, tiny pieces.

She didn't know what to tell Atlas when she calls him.

She loved him so much and the fact that they couldn't be together broke her even more.

A part of her was dying at the thought of doing this to him.

A kind of numbness had crept all over her and

As a result of that, she felt nothing. Absolutely

nothing.

The shock had been so great that it had

rendered her incapable of behaving the way a

normal person would under the circumstances.

She couldn't tell him, She couldn't bear to hear his voice without wanting to wrench her own heart out.

What had happened? How had this day gone from being so perfect from flying in the sky to becoming the biggest nightmare of her life?