Author's note: this is from Seraphina's point of view

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At first, I thought I'm imagining it. The extreme cold was messing with my brain and making me see things that are not there. Yes, that must be it.

But I was not only seeing things; there was warmth and scent and touch as well…

It was gentle and slow, or maybe it wasn't, but I felt it as such because I was nearly frozen.

I stared at him, unable to move like I'm just an observer in this scene, yet I was right in the middle of it.

I was curled up in Lazarus's lap as he cradled me in his arms a kissed me.

I don't know how long it lasted. Not long, probably.

Lazarus groaned in frustration as he inched away and rested his forehead on mine.

His heavy breath fanned my face, warming me in the process and reminding me that I didn't imagine it.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry…", he murmured. "I said that I will wait and… I'm sorry. Can you forget that this happened? Please?"

How the hell am I supposed to forget that he kissed me?

But how do I respond to this?

Did I hate it? I had no idea.

Did I want more of it? Now, this was a difficult question to answer as I was confused. Completely confused.

I wanted to tell him that it's fine, but it was not fine.

I knew about Lazarus's feelings, and I hoped that things will change even though it was impossible.

He will forget about pursuing me romantically only in two cases. One is that he finds a woman he will like more, and the other one is for me to be mean to him to the point of turning his love into hate.

Do I want him to stop pursuing me? What does that even mean? Will he stop visiting and being nice? Will he ignore me or maybe even be hostile?

I couldn't blame him for what happened because this was my fault from the beginning. He was exposed to my pheromones, and I can't punish him for something I did.

Since then, Lazarus was patient and caring and he never crossed the line even though I saw the way he was looking at me.

Lazarus's struggle is tangible. I can feel his pain as he is suppressing his desire to reach out to me.

Would it be so bad to give him a chance? To give us a chance?

Yes, I know that I'm not his mate, but my heart is not fully committed either.

From the back of my mind, I heard a deep voice saying, "Don't do anything we will both regret… We need to talk, Serina."

I was too tired to think, and I closed my eyes.

"Serina…", I heard Lazarus calling me from the distance. "Serina? Don't do this. I need you to stay awake. Serina…"

…

My eyes fluttered open, and I found myself lying on the bed in a strange room.

Around me were several figures and I focused mightily to see who it was.

A heavy exhale of relief was heard from the person who was sitting on my left.

"Welcome back, Serina…"

It was Aldus.

I blinked a few times and recognized others who were standing close to my bed.

Calista, Killian, Lazarus, Graike, Elena, and the teenage East Asian girl who introduced herself as Mira. On the sofa in the back was Elena's date for tonight, Bertram. He was the only one not looking at me and he was not happy.

This was Elena's room in the castle.

"I'm sorry to worry you, father.", I said in a small voice.

"You should apologize to your aunt also.", Calista grumbled from the side. "What were you doing outside on your own?"

"Later, Cali…", Aldus warned her.

"No, it's OK.", I responded and pushed myself into a seated position.

I rubbed my hands and realized that I'm not so cold anymore. The chills were gone.

I don't want to feel cold again in my life.

The only thing that kept me from freezing was Lazarus. I glanced at him and smiled. He was holding me and keeping me warm and… my smile faltered when I remembered the kiss. Oh, God! Am I blushing?

Lazarus was looking at me with concern, and I was not sure if he was worried about my condition or about my reaction related to the kiss.

Ah, the kiss!

Think about something else, Serina! Anything else will do!

Recollecting the incident might do the trick!

"I was on the terrace, wanting some air and…", I told them how I suddenly felt chills and I found myself in the forest with three people whose faces were covered under the hoods, and they were trying to coax me to go with them.

I didn't mention the mental block that the trio talked about, as I didn't want the outsiders to know about it. I was planning to tell everything to Aldus later.

"Do you know who it was?", Killian asked while his eyes darted from Aldus to Calista, and then to Elena.

Aldus shook his head. "They escaped."

"After leaving the range of protective arrays, they teleported, and I couldn't trace them.", Graike added.

Killian's brows furrowed. "I will ensure that a thorough investigation is conducted." He turned to Elena. "This was an attack on a member of the Mezzanotte family. I hope that the Council will cooperate. Not many people knew that Lady Seraphina will be here, yet she was the target. I don't need to remind you that this should be done covertly."

"Of course.", Elena responded right away.

"Let's start with the guest list and if any changes were made recently..."

I blinked at the scene of Elena and Killian walking out with Killian issuing orders.

I never saw Killian so serious, angry actually.

I remembered that Graike was in the forest. He left me with Lazarus and went after the attackers. That didn't sound like a lecherous dragon who wants to kidnap me.

"Thank you, Graike."

His eyes lit up at my words and he nodded in acknowledgment. I thought that he might take advantage of this situation to bring up that he came to my rescue, and I owe him, but he didn't. Maybe he is not so bad after all.

I had so many questions about everything, but I knew that I can't talk openly with so many people around.

"When can we go home?", I asked Aldus.

"As soon as you are fine.", he responded.

I didn't want to stay here more than necessary. "I'm fine."

Aldus turned toward Mira. "Can you check her condition?"

Mira approached the bed and stood next to me. She placed her hands above me and waved them in slow circular motions for a few seconds before saying, "The cold is gone. She will need rest."

"Thank you, Mira.", Aldus said with sincerity in his voice. "I'm indebted to you."

"No, you aren't.", Mira responded to Aldus and looked at me. "Your daughter is. I will come to collect when the time is right."

My eyebrows shoot up. Just what is going on here? Why would anyone refuse a favor from Aldus in exchange for a favor from me?

But Mira obviously did something to confirm that the cold is gone, and there was a big possibility that Mira dispelled the chills. It's time for me to own my debts. "Of course. When you need something, I will do my best to assist you."

Mira smiled a little and nodded before walking out of the room without a word.

I hoped that this promise didn't put me in another engagement or blood sacrifice.

I was embarrassed to meet Lazarus's eyes and afraid of being with him alone. What will happen between us next? Do I need to pick between accepting him as my lover or risking that he is not part of my life at all? Neither of those two sounded like a good option but I knew that life without him would be lonely. Does that make me selfish? Probably.

Ignoring Lazarus, I looked at Aldus expectantly. "Can we go home now?"

Aldus stifled a chuckle and tapped my forehead with his index finger. "Let's go."

I was glad to see him smiling again. He was worried about me, just like everyone else in the room, other than Bertram.

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