CHAPTER 4

"SO I suggest you get a fucking grip." He started, grabbing my cheeks roughly, I held his wrist, hoping he would loosen his grip but instead, he held them firmly before holding my face up to meet his eyes. "Before I make you!" He spat with no remorse in his words and I fought back the tears before nodding, my heart screaming for me to break down while my brain fought to keep myself together.

"Ye-yes." I choked out and he loosened his grip painfully slow, still keeping his gaze on my eyes as I brushed away my tears before taking a shaky breath, trying to even my heart beats.

"Now go in there and tell them they were misunderstood, that the tears weren't tears of fear but tears of joy." He ordered, standing up straight and I nodded again, clutching my hands together to stop myself from trembling any further. An arm slipped around my shoulder before he guided us back to the ballroom where everyone was waiting for us and I took one final breath before clearing my throat, looking around the ladies and men, who were now peering at us with suspicion.

"I'm sorry to have gotten you all worried." I barely managed to keep a straight face as I clutched my hands even more tightly. "I-I was just happy and relieved... that I was chosen." I lied, looking up at Draven who was now staring down at me, his eyes not ripping away from my face for even a second.

Never have I felt so sick to make up a lie. Everyone stood in silence for a few minutes before chuckling and nodding, completely falling for my act, or at least pretending to do so. I glanced at Draven who was now bending down a little as he squeezed my shoulders tightly and I bit my bottom lip to stop myself from whimpering. He certainly hated me already and there was no remorse in his actions. But then again, what did I expect.

"Stop-shaking." He whispered into my ears through gritted teeth and I tried to calm myself down at his words, but he really wasn't helping. He slipped away his arm and I watched him walk away, causing me to sigh in relief. It's as if a ton of bricks were lifted from my chest and I felt a lot better already.

The ceremony ended after half an hour or less and I watched everyone walk out of the room, leaving only us five girls and the vampires, who were now grinning at us. I had to admit, they were all good looking but luckily, I wasn't the type to get fazed by people's looks. It takes more than just a good looking body or face. You've got to have the heart and the soul to go with it. And vampires? They didn't have a soul or heart to begin with.

"Welcome!" A familiar voice greeted and I watched the guy named Trence walk up to us with open arms. The girls rushed to give him a hug while I just stood there, stiff in my position as I darted my eyes around the ball room, trying to ease my mind off about my situation by taking admiration of the interior designing of this mansion.

"I'm taking them to their rooms." Draven's voice caused me to jolt up as I looked around to find him walking towards us now. His presence was as cold as ever and he didn't even bother to glance at me. It's like I wasn't even there anymore.

"Their luggage have arrived." He said finally, eyeing at all of us before the girls giggled and smiled at him.

"Follow me." He said shortly, walking out of the ball room and we obeyed without further questioning. As we walked up the spiral staircase, the girls started whispering and I was expecting Draven to get pissed and snap at us but instead, he kept walking us through the hallways that seemed to stretched forever.

"He is so handsome. Guess they weren't bragging about his looks." Ferra whispered and the girls agreed as I kept silent. From the corner of my eyes, I caught the girls scowling and scoffing at my silence but I didn't bother to explain myself. I was well aware that the vampires were able to listen very clearly and from a fair distance, which means that Draven could be eavesdropping on our conversation at any time. His footsteps suddenly came to a stop and we all halted in our positions before he turned around to face us.

"What's the real reason why you all attended this ceremony?" He asked and we all exchanged glances before growling silent for a few seconds.

"Because I intend to be your keeper." Ferra spoke up and I noticed that she was probably the most confident one out of the five of us. Good for her. The remaining three girls agreed as well but I remained silent before looking up to face Draven, who was now glaring at me and that's when I realized that I was supposed to come up with a response as well.

"I intend to be your keeper." I stated quickly, with no emotion in my voice but he didn't seem to buy my lie anymore. Instead, he took a step forward and I cowered in fear as he straightened his posture in front of me.

"You're quiet the liar now, aren't you?" He asked, slipping his hands inside his pocket and I opened my mouth to say something but then decided to keep it shut. Nothing good seems to come out of mouth tonight so I might as well keep it shut.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you!" He snapped and I gasped when he grabbed my already sore cheeks, lifting them up to meet his gaze. His eyes were now fixated on mine and for some reason, I wasn't able to break eye-contact, no matter how badly I wanted to. It felt like I had a compulsion to keep looking at him in the eyes, getting more and more drawn inside them as he studied my orbs, searching for the truth.