Amaryllis wrapped her arms around Cameron as they said their goodbyes. The day finally arrived where Cameron was leaving the castle to work for a blood drive.

"I'm going to miss you so much," Amaryllis whispered as she hugged her friend closer. While they had only known each other for a short time, their friendship had grown very strong. While she missed her friends at home dearly, there was a connection that formed between Amaryllis and Cameron that could never be severed. Friendships formed in near-death experiences were ones you would never forget.

"I'm going to miss you too!" Cameron cried. Amaryllis felt her friend's warm tears drip into her shirt.

"Cameron Zaggert, your ride to transport you to Eversburg has arrived," a guard sounded.

Eversburg was were Cameron was from. Surprisingly, Amaryllis's town was only about an hour away from Eversburg.

Cameron pulled away from their tight hug and gave Amaryllis a big but sad smile.

"I don't want to leave you here alone," she said

Amaryllis shook her head. "Don't you dare feel guilty. You deserve to be with your family Cameron. Besides, I'm not alone. I have Thierry and Travis, and Ulric is starting to open up to me." Amaryllis said. She didn't want her friend to feel guilty for leaving. Cameron deserves to be happy.

"Okay. Don't forget to write me, or call!" Cameron said as she bent down to pick up her suitcase.

"I won't as long as you don't forget either."

"Bye, Amaryllis!" Cameron said one last time before turning around and walking out the main castle doors. When the doors closed, Amaryllis watched through the windows until the car was too far gone to see.

Amaryllis felt odd, like a piece of her was missing. And a piece of her was missing. She and Cameron had grown very close over their time together, and Amaryllis was going to miss her deeply. However, she was even more happy that Cameron got the chance to be with those she loved, rather than being here.

Amaryllis wiped away the rest of the tears that were threatening to fall before turning away from the entrance of the castle. Goodbyes really sucked.

She rounded the corner of the hallway and saw Ulric walking in her direction. She wanted to wave but didn't know if she should or not. She didn't think they were close enough for her to wave at him yet.

Instead, she walked passed him, hoping he would stop her to say hello or something like that. But he did not. She continued walking until large, rough hands pinned her up against the hallway wall.

She looked up into black eyes as Ulric stared down at her. "What, are you not going to acknowledge me, little mate?"

"I-I didn't think you would want me to because no one knows about... anything yet," Amaryllis said. She could feel her own heart rate increasing due to his proximity.

Ulric stared into her eyes for a few moments longer before dropping his head into the crook of her neck. He inhaled deeply and a groan of pleasure escaped his lips.

"Your scent is magnificent," he said as he pushed Amaryllis's body farther up against the wall with his own body.

"Ulric, what if someone sees?" Amaryllis questioned worriedly.

"I will be able to hear and smell if someone is coming. Besides, I'm their king. The matters of my mate and my personal life are not up to their jurisdiction," he growled. If anyone had opposition to his human mate, they could take it up with him.

Ulric grabbed Amaryllis's hands and pushed them above her head and against the wall. He bit at her skin right above the joint between her neck and shoulder.

She moaned into his chest, loving the feeling of his body on hers. Ulric finally pulled away from his mate once he was satisfied with the mark he left on her pale skin. It wasn't a mate mark, but the hickey would have to do for now.

Ulric grabbed Amaryllis's hand and led her down to the dining area. When they walked in, Amaryllis immediately smelled the deliciousness of buttermilk pancakes.

It smelled so good.

Pancakes were her absolute breakfast food ever.

When Ulric walked in, people bowed their heads in a sign of respect. Ulric nodded back at everyone before waking over to the buffet table. Many of the vampires there were shocked to see the King as he rarely came to the vampire dinning room. He usually ordered his food and had it brought to his quarters.

Ulric handed her a plate and they went down the line of breakfast foods. There were many delicious options: pancakes, French toast, cornbread, muffins, sausage, bacon, ham, and fried/scrambled eggs. It all looked so delicious, Amaryllis could feel her mouth begin to water.

When they got to the end of the line, she noticed glasses full of blood sitting in ice. They were in rows, each labeled with a blood type. Amaryllis assumed that they were labeled with blood types so the vampire could pick their favorite type. She looked around and noticed many of the vampires had a glass of blood with them. She shivered at the thought of being the only human in the room in the midst of all the blood-sucking creatures.

Ulric passed up the blood and went for a glass of orange juice. Though Amaryllis wasn't really surprised. He did tell her that her blood was the most delicious thing he had ever tasted.

Amaryllis grabbed a glass of water and followed Ulric to a particular table reserved for Royals.

Amaryllis pulled on the back of Ulric's shirt to get his attention. She wasn't sure how to address him in public, "King", "Ulric," "Your Majesty?" She wasn't sure.

Ulric turned his head and looked down at her expectantly.

"I can't sit here," Amaryllis said, pointing to the table. Ulric lifted his brows in question as he waited for her to explain.

"I'm not a Royal. I shouldn't be sitting here," she said quietly. She hoped other surrounding vampires weren't listening in on their conversation.

"Sit down Amaryllis," Ulric demanded as he pulled out a chair.

Amaryllis placed herself on the chair next to Ulric's chair. She felt awkward as she sat at the table with three other Royals. She knew they all wanted to send her dirty looks but didn't dare due to Ulric's presence.

Then a man that Amaryllis had never seen before sat down on the opposite side of Ulric. He had auburn colored hair and black eyes- indicating that he was a Royal. He was tall and looked to be in his mid-twenties, but you could never really guess a vampire's true age based on just their looks. He was good looking, but the way he sneered at Amaryllis made her not want to be around him.

"So, is this the servant that's been living with you?" He mockingly asked with a smirk on his face.

Ulric turned his head to look at the man as he paid no attention to him when he first sat down.

"Yes," Ulric said pointedly before turning back to his food. He would reveal that Amaryllis was his mate on his terms, not because some vampire was trying to force it out of him.

"Is her blood good?" The man inquired. He was starting to get on Amaryllis's nerves. She enjoyed spending time with Ulric alone, but this person was ruining that with his intrusive questioning.

Why does it matter to you if my blood is good? You're not my mate.

Ulric placed his fork on his plate and looked at the man beside him once again. The man beside him was his second cousin, Jasper. He was immature being only twenty-three years old and not at all ready for any type of leadership position, something he had been nagging Ulric about giving him for that last few months.

"That is my business, not yours. I'm done amusing your questions, you may leave now." Ulric growled. Amaryllis watched the man's face grow paler as Ulric glared at him. The tips of his ears became red as well, he must've been embarrassed.

The man put his hands up near his chest in a defensive manner. "Hey, no harm. I just hoped you would let me have a taste," he replied. Amaryllis squirmed at his statement. She didn't want that man anywhere near her.

Amaryllis heard a low grumble sound from deep within Ulric's core. As Ulric stood up from his chair, he grabbed the collar of the man's shirt and pulled him up as well. Ulric pulled the man up by his collar so he was face to face with Ulric. The man was shorter than Ulric, so he was completely off of the floor, only dangling by his shirt that was gripped in Ulric's hand.

"If you don't remove yourself from this room Jasper, I will kill you," Ulric promised, a dark and murderous glare in his eyes. He was extremely pissed off, and everyone in the room, including Amaryllis, could tell. He refused to tolerate the disrespect that leaked from Jasper's mouth. Even though Jasper didn't know that they were mates, he should've known to not intrude on the King's personal affairs with his servant.

The man quickly nodded his head and he looked as though he made a mess of his pants. Amaryllis felt kind of sorry for Jasper, but at the same time, he did deserve it. He was being creepy.

Everyone in the dining room looked up to stare at the scene in front of them. However, they quickly looked away when they noticed the King's murderous expression. No one wanted to upset him even more for fear of losing their immortal lives.

Amaryllis stared up at her mate in surprise. She wasn't expecting that scene to unfold the way it did.

Ulric dropped the man back to his feet. As soon as his feet touched the floor, he took off through the doors.

Ulric sat back down and continued eating as if nothing had even happened. The chapter in the room died down and no one spoke a word as they were too afraid to upset their King any further.

"By all means, do not stop your bantering on my account," Ulric said. Soon, quiet voices filled the room as people began speaking again, but it never got to the level of loudness as it was before Ulric's encounter with the auburn-haired man.

Amaryllis gasped softly when she felt Ulric's hand move to her upper thigh. He roughly, but with a gentleness that only he, her mate could provide, squeezed her thigh in his large hand. She blushed as she looked down at her plate because his hand was very close to her most intimate parts.

She had to press her legs together to ease the tingling in between them when Ulric stroked his thumb in a swirly pattern on the inside of her thigh.

"Ulric," she whispered in a breathy moan. Thankfully, none of the surrounding vampires seemed to notice the scene in front of them or the inferno building inside of her.

She clenched her legs together as tightly as possible when he moved his hand and pressed it against her jean-clad core. Her eyes widened to the point she thought they would pop out of her head. She had to trap in the moan that was threatening to be let out of her throat.

However, Ulric was easily able to spread her legs apart with just his fingers. Then he was able to place his hand fully over her core without her legs being in the way.

She then squeezed her legs together with so much force trying to get him to pull his hand away, but he was easily able to keep them spread as her strength was nothing compared to his.

Ulric bent down and whispered in her ear, "stop struggling." His voice held a seductive tone, but also a warning that alarmed her that if she didn't relax, she would be punished.

She took a deep breath and relaxed her legs, letting them fall open on the sides of his hands. Closing her eyes, she focused on eating and trying not to let her moans slip out. His hand hadn't moved, but it was still pressed up against her.

When they were done eating, a servant came over and took their plates, taking them back to the kitchen to be washed.

Finally, Ulric pulled his hand away from in between her and stood up. Amaryllis let out a sigh of relief now that she could now properly breathe since his hand was gone.

He motioned for her to follow him, so she shakily stood up from her seat. She wasn't sure she was going to be able to walk properly after what he had done. Her blush was still very evident in her face, but thankfully no one questioned it.

They walked out of the room and Amaryllis immediately started to question him. "Why did you do that?" She asked in a harsh whisper.

"Do what?" Ulric asked with faux innocence.

"Touch me like that!"

Ulric didn't answer until they were back in his quarters. He grabbed her hips and lifted her into the kitchen counter. He was still so tall that she still had to look up to meet his eyes.

Still gripping her hips, he bent down and slammed his lips onto hers. She gasped in shock at the intrusion and he easily slipped his tongue into her mouth. Their tongues collided together as she wrapped her arms around his back and leaned her body into his.

Letting out a moan, Amaryllis scratched her nails down his brawny back. After a few minutes, Ulric pulled away and looked down at his mate.

"You're my mate. I wanted to touch you. Am I not allowed to?"

Amaryllis saw a gleam in his eyes, almost like he was daring her to disagree with him.

"It's not that I didn't want you to. It's that you did it in public. That's embarrassing," she said while blushing once again at the thought of what he had done to her. She wouldn't tell him this, but she sort of enjoyed the secrecy of what he had done to her. It made his actions even more seductive as he did it in public, where they could've been caught any second.

Ulric traced his hand up the side of Amaryllis's neck all the way up to her hairline before cupping her cheek in his hand. "No one was paying attention. Besides, they wouldn't have said anything even if the did see," he replied.

Amaryllis shook her head. "It's still embarrassing." Even if it did feel good, she didn't want him doing things like that to her in front of other people.

"Enjoying my touch isn't embarrassing, Amaryllis."

"When you do it in public it is!" She snapped. Then she realized that she had raised her voice to the king. She quickly cowered away out of fear of what he might do.

She looked up when Ulric didn't say anything, or hurt her in any way. When she looked up, she was met with an angry face.

"Did you think I was going to hit you?" Ulric growled which only caused Amaryllis's fear to spike. She didn't like it when he got angry.

"I-I don't know. Please don't be mad," she begged. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. She was on the verge of tears.

How could I be so stupid? How could I raise my voice at the King? Now I'm going to be punished.

"Amaryllis! Did you think I was going to hit you?" He growled out quite calmly.

Tears pricked her eyes and she was on the verge of a panic attack. Her heart was beating rapidly and her breaths were coming out in short and uneven pants.

"Damnit Amaryllis. You're going to hyperventilate if you don't knock it off," Ulric said. He grabbed Amaryllis and pulled her into his body. He wrapped her arms around his waist and then placed her face into his neck. The touch, comfort, and smell of one's mate were enough to calm someone down.

Soon her heart rate decreased and her breathing was beginning to steady down as well. She was thankful for the thoughtfulness of her mate.

She looked up at him when she finally calmed down. "Thank you," She said quietly as her voice was strained.

Ulric flicked a falling tear from off her cheek before looking directly into her eyes. "Answer my question."

Amaryllis nodded her head. "Yes I thought you were going to hit me," she responded.

"Why?"

"Because I raised my voice at you," she said meekly.

"And because you gave me attitude, that justifies me hitting you, my mate? The person I have been destined to protect from all harm?"

"I don't know," she said exasperatedly.

"I would never hit you or hurt you, Amaryllis. I will, however, punish you," he said as a sexy smile made its way into his face. A feeling of nervousness passed through her, but the tingling in between her legs came back.

"Perhaps I'll have to touch you more in public. Being that you are my mate, I can do whatever I please to you. Including pleasuring you in public," he said while his eyes held a dangerous glint.

"Please don't," she begged. She enjoyed his touch, but it was far too embarrassing to do that in public.

"I suppose I won't. Even though it was fun to watch your reaction to my touch."

"Ah, I know what your punishment shall be," he said huskily as his irises began shining a golden color, indicating that he was getting sexually aroused.

Her face flushed, but she couldn't help but admit that whatever he wanted to do to her seemed appealing.

"What... what are you gonna do?" She questioned.

Ulric smirked in her direction. He could tell that was aroused by the thought of her punishment. He could smell it in the air. It was an addictive scent.

Ulric walked into the living room and motioned for Amaryllis to follow. Sitting down on the couch, he grabbed Amaryllis's hand and pulled her down. He then placed her body in a way so that she was laying over his thighs, her butt in the air.

"I'm going to spank your ass. Maybe this will teach you not to raise your voice at me," Ulric said. He knew though, that Amaryllis would enjoy this punishment. He heard Amaryllis take a deep breath in as her arousal got stronger.

"I'm going to spank you ten times, and after each time, you're going to say you're sorry," Ulric ordered.

"Okay," she whispered.

She felt the sting of Ulric's big hand come down on her butt just mere seconds later. She gasped in shock at the feeling. She hadn't gotten spanked since she was a child. And that was only because she was misbehaving, not because she yelled at her handsome mate.

"I'm sorry, Ulric," she rushed out. Her butt cheek stung, a lot. He had a very painful slap. While it may have felt like he was spanking her with all of his force, he wasn't. He would never spank her hard enough to actually hurt her. Only hard enough to warn her, to punish her, to cause her pleasure. He wasn't lying when he said he would never hurt his mate.

After the spanking was over, Ulric lifted Amaryllis up in his arms. Her face was twisted in discomfort due to the beating she had just received. But what disturbed her the most was that she was very... aroused- in her private places. She was disturbed that she enjoyed it. In fact, she enjoyed it a lot.

She looked up at Ulric once he had flipped her over so her back was now laying across his thighs.

His fingers trailed her face as he stared at her, admiring her beauty. "Don't disrespect me like that again, little mate," he stated as he ran his fingers over her jugular vein. Amaryllis nodded as she stared into his eyes, completely captivated by their beauty.