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I gazed at myself in the ornate floor length mirror. My sapphire blue dress shone brilliantly under the room lights. Ashton was dressed handsomely in a black suit with a tie that matched my dress, and seeing him looking so elegant took my breath away.

"You look beautiful as always, princess," he whispered as he did up the necklace clasp.

"You're not too bad yourself, your highness," I giggled as I straightened his tie.

He ran his thumb across my neck with a smile. The action sent jolts of electrifying pleasure shooting throughout my body. He was going to mark me tonight after the gala ended. I was nervous, but at the same time, excited. This was really happening.

He took my hand and gently led me downstairs to where some of the others were waiting.

Beau was the living definition of nervousness as he fretted about the proposal. Bianca was looking beautiful and radiant in a flowing wine coloured gown.

Jackson was trying his best to keep his cool as Raúl joked about slipping a drink to Jun. Jun's eyes gleamed in excitement at that though, because he still hadn't realized that he'd accidentally had alcohol at Ashton's party and hated it.

Kristof came over to drag Jun away from Raúl's bad influence. Diana giggled into her palms. Her usually straight hair was curled and she wore a pristine olive dress which popped wonderfully against her skin.

Kevin sidled up to me with a grin. "You look great, Liz."

"Thanks, you look pretty dashing yourself." I smiled. "Do you think you'll meet your soulmate tonight?"

"Eh, who knows." He shrugged. "I'm actually enjoying this single life right now."

"That was me up until a few months ago," I laughed.

"Enough chatting with my soulmate," Ashton chuckled.

"I remember when you used to hate it when Kevin and I were together," I teased him. "Don't tell me you're still being jealous."

Ashton smirked at me. "You're mine. I can be jealous if I want to."

"I'll show you how to pick up some ladies," Raúl said, throwing an arm around Jun's shoulder.

"Nah. Just show me where the strong people are so I can figh-"

Ashton and Jackson glared at him. "Don't embarrass our kingdom by starting fights tonight or I'll kill you."

"Sounds exciting," Jun grinned as mischief seeped into his eyes.

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We made our way to the large hall where the gala had started and was going on in full swing. As we stepped in, a swarm of people buzzed around us, trying to introduce themselves and impress Ashton.

Kristof and some of the other guys got bombarded too, and Jun used that as his opportunity to sneak away from our group. Some of the guests eyed him curiously because he was the youngest one there.

"Prince Ashton, it's a pleasure!"

"Your soulmate is so beautiful!"

"Wow, she's a human. I wish I had a rare soulmate too."

"I would like to visit your kingdom one day."

"Could we discuss an alliance, if that's okay?"

"Your highness, please allow me tell you about some of the new technology our kingdom is developing."

"My daughter is still single!"

"Let's have a drink later."

Ashton and I finally managed to break free from the suffocating crowd.

"Woah," I breathed as we escaped to a less crowded part of the room.

"Sorry about that... They tend to get a little excited whenever our kingdom is involved." He pointed to the entrance where another king from the Big Ten who just arrived was swept up in a throng of questions and excitement.

As the night passed, more people came over to us than I could count. They were all dying to meet the soulmate of the mysterious Crysauralian prince. I socialized with them as best as I could until Ashton separated us from them when the orchestra started playing the waltz.

"Wait!" I protested as Ashton led me to the center of the room. "What are you doing?" I panicked, trying to dig my heels into the floor.

"We're going to dance, of course."

"Are you forgetting that I practically have two left feet? I can't dance!"

"Just follow my lead." He smiled. "We'll do this together."

Ashton's movements were precise and gentle. It felt like an out of body experience seeing him move so gracefully. I giggled as our movements synchronized. He was so full of surprises sometimes. I wondered what other hidden talents he had.

"You're a natural," he complimented, despite my clumsy attempt at dancing.

"When did you learn to dance like this?"

"A few years ago. Another one of the many boring things I had to learn. There's a long list of them." He rolled his eyes. "I would only bring disgrace and dishonor on the kingdom if I didn't learn the waltz," he said, impersonating his father's voice.

"He really said that?" I laughed.

"I hated the whole royalty thing a lot more when I was younger," he laughed. "It was so suffocating. Still is."

"I think you turned out pretty well."

"Eh."

"You're a lot different from the Ashton I met at school. You're still annoyingly cocky, but it's nice to see these other sides of you."

"Only you bring out all these qualities."

I smiled.

"The boring ones, I mean," he teased.

I pouted and he leaned down to appease me with a kiss on the cheek. The dance ended and Ashton was attacked by another horde. I managed to slip away after some time. I needed some air.

"Going out?" Bianca asked, falling in step with me.

"Yeah. I need to catch my breath."

She waved at Beau who had been intercepted by a man speaking French.

"Let's go outside for a few minutes," she suggested.

We strolled through the lush gardens. The full moon shone down brilliantly. Whenever an important event happened between me and Ashton, it was almost always a full moon. The night we first fought on the beach, the night we officially started dating... tonight when I would accept him and he would mark me.

"Are you feeling okay?" I asked her as she walked slowly.

"Yeah. Just a bit sick." She paused. "The baby's a very picky eater. I suppose white truffles are a no."

"Let's sit down then," I suggested hurriedly as her complexion became pale.

She nodded and we made our way over to a bench. She turned around with a frown and in a second, three men stepped out from the shadows. Two more came up from the side.

"Looks like we have some good luck on our side," one of them laughed, rubbing his palms together in delight.

"Ignore them," Bianca whispered to me and we tried to step past them.

"It saves us the trouble of looking for you," another one said as he tried to grab my arm, but Bianca pulled me out of his way.

"This woman's an Origen, a Beta. We should take her out before she contacts the others." The first guy smiled menacingly.

"Don't worry about that. With my unique ability, I can make sure that doesn't happen."

"Who are you and what do you want?" Bianca growled. She touched a hand to her head with a startled gasp. "Why can't I use telepathy?"

"We don't owe you any answers," a man behind us said as he quickly grabbed her arms.

Bianca fought back against him, flinging him on the ground. She looked just about ready to throw up, but flashed me determined look. "I'll hold them off, run!"

"You think you can take all of us in your condition? I really hate these high and mighty Crysauralian nobles," he spat.

"I won't leave you here!" I shouted as I ran towards her, but I was quickly apprehended by a burly man. He held me in place with an iron death grip.

Bianca growled angrily as one of the men flicked open a sharp knife and placed it by her throat. I gasped in horror, yelling at them to stop. She twisted his hands so that he dropped the knife and I heard a sharp snapping sound as she injured his wrist.

She gagged at the sound and the color drained from her face. She was exerting herself too much considering how sick she was feeling. He yelped in pain and grabbed her hair in fury pushing her roughly onto the ground.

"B*tch!"

"Stop please!" I yelled at him as he raised his fist to punch her.

"She's not our target!" one of his accomplices reminded him gruffly and he slowly lowered his fist, trembling in rage.

Bianca groaned on the ground, clutching her belly. Everything was happening so quickly. My heart pounded against my chest as I fought against the guy who was holding onto me but he was far too strong. Bianca was in trouble and there was nothing I could do to help her.

"I'll do whatever you want, just don't hurt her, please!" I shouted desperately. "Are you blind? Can't you see that she's pregnant? Let me check to see if she's okay," I pleaded, trying to pull away from the guy.

One of the guys nodded and I rushed over to where she was on the ground.

"I'll be fine," she breathed. "You need to get out of here. I can't contact anyone. Go to Ashton, quickly!"

I shook my head as I kneeled down to examine her. She had scratches across her palms and face where the man had violently grabbed her hair.

"You can help her out," the man who seemed to be the leader of the group whispered, kneeling beside me. "You are the one we are here for."

My breath caught in my throat as I turned around to face him. Me? They were here for me?

He leaned closer to me. "You're the reason she's in this position right now. Just come with us and we'll let her go."

"Elizabeth, go!" Bianca insisted.

"What do you want with me?" I asked shakily and he smiled even more menacingly this time.

"There's someone who wants to see you."

The man who was bitterly nursing his broken wrist growled loudly and in a moment of anger, launched himself at Bianca, slapping her across the face.

"I told you to stop!" the leader growled dangerously and pushed him off of her. "What's it going to be, human?"

I glanced down at Bianca with tear filled eyes. My mind flashed back to how happy she and Beau were. Their laughs and smiles. They had a child on the way and Beau was supposed to propose to her tonight. They had a future planned out. I couldn't take that away from them. How could I allow them to harm her anymore?

She had tried her best to protect me, despite the queasiness that was overpowering her. This was the only thing I could do for her right now. Besides I couldn't outrun them fast enough to get help, especially in these stupid heels. They'd catch me in no time.

"If I come with you," I said slowly, "You promise that you won't hurt her?"

"Beta's honor," the leader said coolly. "No harm will come to her. You just have to comply with us. We didn't come here to hurt her, but if she interferes I can't guarantee her life or safety. It all depends on you."

"No, don't do it," Bianca groaned.

I stroked her hair, blinking back my tears. I forced a small smile. No matter what happened to me, I knew I wouldn't regret this. Keeping Bianca and her child alive was the only thing I could hope for right now. There was no way she could fight them in her condition. She was more than six months pregnant. I glanced back at the direction of the party. Ashton...

I stood up and the leader grinned. "Good girl."

A muscular arm wrapped around my chest and a cloth covered my nose and mouth. I struggled against the pungent smell in surprise but in a few seconds my vision started to blur. It was like everything was happening in slow motion. I could make out Bianca yelling something to me but the sounds came to me slow and jumbled. I sighed lightly as my muscles relaxed and everything around me morphed into blackness.

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