I slowly opened my eyes to see a dark room.
I glanced over to see that Nathaniel was still asleep next to me. He
had a slight smile on his face as he slept. The sun hadn’t even started to
rise and my body was awake, telling me to get up from comfort. Lifting
my head up, the room had begun to spin, making me place it back down
on the pillow. I was putting it down to the blood loss that I had experi-
enced.
After I forced my body to sit up, I gently got out of Nathaniel’s bed
so I wouldn’t wake him up and decided to splash some cold water on
my face.
“Brianna?” he murmured, making me stop walking and look back
over to the bed.
He was still sound asleep, but was reaching out over to my spot. It
was like he could sense that I was missing. I knew I was going to have to
be quick so he wouldn’t wake up and find me missing. That would make
him worry after taking my blood. I got to the bathroom door and placed
my hand on the handle when I heard his body move in bed. I slowly
turned around saw Nathaniel sitting upright, looking confused.
“Where are you going?” he asked, sounding unsure.
“Bathroom,” I replied. “How did you wake up? I made sure that I
was extremely quiet so this wouldn’t happen.”
“I usually wake up around this time and was expecting to see my
girlfriend still sleeping next to me and not an empty spot.”
“Well, I was coming back. I was only going to splash some water on
my face to make me feel human.”
“Come back to bed and keep this cold vampire warm,” Nathaniel
muttered and opened his arms for me.
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I sighed and walked back over to his bed. Nathaniel moved over and
allowed me to lie on his cold side of the bed. After resting my head on
his hard and cold chest, Amylia opened up the bedroom door and
looked at the two of us.
“Now, isn’t this a pretty sight to see,” she said and crossed her arms,
leaning against the door frame.
“What do you want?” Nathaniel asked, looking over at her.
“I was just coming to see if Brianna was ready,” she replied.
“As you can see, she isn’t so come back later on this morning after I
have finished lavishing her with love and attention.”
I looked between and got up. Nathaniel looked at me confused but
realised what I was doing when I pulled out what I wanted to wear. Am-
ylia smiled and walked away, leaving us alone.
“Why have you given in to her orders for?” he asked, following me
with his eyes.
“I haven’t given into anyone’s orders Nathaniel,” I replied.
Once I had gotten dressed in his bathroom, I made my way down
into the living room, seeing that Amylia and James where ready to
leave.
“You do realise that the sun isn’t even up yet,” Nathaniel said behind
me.
“Of course I realise that. I wanted to go early as I want to beat the
traffic rush in Melbourne. You know what it can get like when it is early
morning peak and everyone is in a hurry,” Amylia pointed out.
“We’ll have fun. I will be here, waiting for you to return Brianna to
me,” Nathaniel replied and walked into the kitchen.
“Shall we go?” James asked and led us to the garage.
Once we got on the road, I thought that I would have been able to
get a bit more sleep. I was wrong about that one. Amylia had taken it in
her pride to bombard me with ideas for the wedding.
“Amylia, maybe we should wait until we organise a few more things
before doing anything else,” James said.
“I just want most of the things done so I don’t have to worry about
them anymore.”
“We still have eleven months until the wedding, don’t forget,” I said.
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“Of course we do,” she replied and took a deep breath. “I just want
everything to be perfect.”
“And it will be, but just don’t rush it,” I whispered.
“Am I getting my cake that I want?” James asked.
“No you aren’t. We are getting something basic but beautiful,” Amyl-
ia said, glaring at him.
“Amy, you said that I could have my own touch at this wedding.”
“I know I did, but I want this to be perfect. You can help with every-
thing else.”
That was the end to that argument. Most of the car ride to Mel-
bourne was quiet, besides the occasional word or sentence. My
thoughts drifted back to Nathaniel and I wondered what he was doing. I
knew that he would be a nervous wreck with me being with Amylia, but
I trusted her.
“So Brianna, do you have any idea what Nathaniel is doing while you
are with us?” James asked.
“I don’t know. He didn’t say what he had planned,” I replied.
“I just hope that Augusta doesn’t decide to keep him company while
we are gone,” Amylia muttered. “I don’t know how that would turn out
after their little confrontation.”
“Does she even know that we have gone out and have Brianna with
us?” James asked, looking over at her.
“You know that she tends to go for a walk around this time and once
she sees that my car is gone, she will pounce.”
“Then we are only doing this and going straight home,” James an-
nounced.
Amylia just looked at him, but didn’t say a word. I was glad that he
had decided on going straight home after this stop in Melbourne. I
didn’t want to do anything else. I just wanted to spend some time with
Nathaniel and then go home to mum.
James parked out front of the cake shop, making Amylia smile and
clap her hands. I opened the car door and looked around me. Seeing the
city again brung some of my emotions back into my body that I had for-
gotten about when I left.
“Do you feel home sick?” Amylia asked, and placed her hand on my
265
arm.
I looked at her and sighed. “I don’t really feel home sick. I just miss
my grandfather.”
She got a strange look in her eyes, but didn’t say anything. Nodding,
she removed her hand and walked inside the shop. Shaking my head, I
followed and saw that Amylia was glancing at everything in the shop.
“Can I help you?” a young woman asked, coming out from the back.
“My name is Amylia Mallory and I have appointment to look at some
wedding cakes,” Amylia replied.
“Of course; it is the Mallory-Riley wedding?” she asked.
“Yes,” James replied, speaking up.
The woman nodded and looked over at me with questions in her
eyes before they narrowed. Amylia looked at me with questions in her
eyes, making me shrug. I didn’t know what was wrong with this woman
and why she was looking at me all the time for.
“Shall we start?” the woman asked, her eyes still glued on me.
“How long will you need me for?” I asked Amylia.
“You are my bridesmaid and I want you to help me plan this wedding.
I have seen the style that you have when it comes to designing things.
You do have some talent.”
“I wouldn’t call that talent,” I muttered.
“Amylia, we are here to pick the cake,” James muttered.
“Then let’s pick one so we can get back to Forrest. Nathaniel keeps
on ringing and I am tired of my leg vibrating from his phone calls,” Amyl-
ia replied and turned on her heel.
“Yes boss,” James said and saluted.
I lightly slapped him on the arm and walked over to where Amylia
was standing. She was flicking through a thick book, but didn’t look
happy.
“You don’t look happy,” I said, making her look up at me.
“This isn’t what I want,” she replied. “They are too basic for my liking.
I want something that no one would have ever thought of.”
She closed the book in frustration and sighed. I looked around the
shop and saw the woman that approached us and walked over to her.
She glanced up at me, but didn’t say anything.
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“Excuse me, Emily,” I said, glancing down to her name tag. “Are there
any other books that Amylia can look through? The bride is really strug-
gling to decide.”
“It all depends on the price range that the bride and groom,” she re-
plied, the tone in her voice making my eyes narrow a little bit towards
her.
“James, what is your price range for this wedding that Amy is plan-
ning?” I asked, looking over my shoulder at him.
“Unlimited. The bride spends what she likes and not a cent more,” he
replied, without looking up from his phone.
I looked back at Emily and raised my eyebrows at her. She nodded
and walked behind the counter and pulled out some more books before
walking over to Amylia.
“I’m glad that you did that,” James said, making me turn around and
look at him.
“Why?” I asked.
“Because her thoughts were starting to drive me crazy,” he replied,
looking up from his phone.
“You can read them too?”
“We all can, but we refuse to read your thoughts. We think that you
need privacy and if we read something that you thought and Nathaniel
didn’t know about it, he would kill us for breaking a promise.”
“What promise?” I asked, confused.
“We all promised Nathaniel that we wouldn’t go reading your
thoughts or spy on you, making sure that you were safe at all times.”
“You mean he didn’t force you into not stalking me and reading my
mind?”
“Brianna, I need your help,” Amylia said, before James had a chance
to reply.
“What do you need?” I asked as I walked over to her.
“I can’t decide what cake I want for the wedding,” she replied.
“Don’t you think that James should be the one helping you pick it?”
Amylia glanced at me and flicked onto the next page, giving me my
answer to that question.
“Have you found anything that you like?” Emily asked, coming over
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to us.
“They all seem too basic,” Amylia replied.
“What sort of wedding are you having?” Emily asked.
“Winter wonderland themed wedding in January,” James said, walk-
ing over to where we were standing.
Emily nodded, but turned her gaze back onto me. I crossed my arms
and looked down at the floor, not saying anything. Why did she always
look at me like I was devil’s child?
“And is this girl that is with you involved in the wedding?” Emily
asked, looking me up and down.
“Of course she is. She is my brother’s girlfriend and Amylia’s brides-
maid,” James spoke up, beating both Amylia and me to it.
James mobile phone rang and he pulled it out of his pocket before
handing it to me.
“It’s Nathaniel,” he muttered.
I walked outside before flipping the lid and placing it to my ear.
“Nate, is everything alright?”
“Everything is fine baby. I was just ringing to see how you were cop-
ing,” he replied.
“I want to come home,” I whispered and sat on the seat on the foot-
path.
“Do you want me to come and pick you up?” Nathaniel asked, sound-
ing happy for some strange reason.
“Can you?”
“I will be there in about five minutes.”
“Nathaniel, are you even in Forrest or did you follow us?” I asked.
“Bethany wanted me to go to Melbourne to get her some things, so I
am doing that and then I was going to surprise you,” he replied.
“Then I will wait outside for you. The woman that is helping Amylia is
giving me the creeps,” I admitted.
“What is she doing?”
“Looking at me like I am the devils child; she has never met me be-
fore, and she is acting like I have created some sort of sin that she
knows about or something.”
“Hang tight,” he replied and hung up.
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I got up from where I was sitting and went back inside the shop.
James was sitting back in the corner with a bored look on his face. I
walked over to him and gave him back his mobile phone.
“Is Nathaniel coming to get you?” he asked.
I sat next to him and nodded. Amylia and Emily were still going over
the wedding cakes, so I had no idea why I was even invited. James had
hardly done anything, so why are the two of us here? About five
minutes later, the bells above the door chimed, making Emily aban-
doned Amylia and raced over to Nathaniel.
“Can I help you find your perfect cake for your event?” she asked,
making sure her left hand was hidden and the wedding ring was out of
view.
“Nate, what are you doing here?” Amylia asked.
“Can’t I see how everything is going?” he asked.
“Real reason Nathaniel Monroe,” she demanded.
“I am here to take Brianna back home.”
“And why are you going to do that for?” Amylia asked.
“Because I don’t really want to be here; I personally think that it
should just be you and James that are in charge of the wedding and only
call on me when it comes to trying on bridesmaid dresses,” I whispered.
“I guess you do have a point,” Amylia said, before glancing at Na-
thaniel and James.
“On that note, I am taking Brianna back to Forrest,” Nathaniel said,
grabbing my hand and leading me outside.
“Thank you,” I breathed and wrapped my arms around Nathaniel.
“Was that the woman that was looking at you like the spawn of Sa-
tan?” he asked.
“Yes that was her. What was she thinking?” I asked, feeling curious to
know her thoughts. There was a bonus of dating a vampire.
“Emily couldn’t understand how someone like you could end up be-
ing in a relationship with someone like me. She was also trying her
hardest not to think about the fact she was married to a middle aged
man when she really wants someone that is young like me,” Nathaniel
said, shuddering at the end.
I looked back into the shop and glared at Emily. She was a married
269
woman, and she wanted my vampire? I don’t think so. Nathaniel was
my mate and no one was going to steal him from me.
“Can we go home before I do something that I will regret?” I asked
and walked over to his car.
“Now you do know that violence is never the answer, right?” Na-
thaniel asked, making me stop walking.
“And what makes you think that I will be turning to violence Na-
thaniel Monroe?” I asked.
“Why does everyone call me that when I state the obvious?” he
asked, sounding frustrated and angry.
“Maybe because people don’t want to know the truth; it is easier to
lie to someone than stating the facts to their face and you should know
that as you have been on this earth longer than I have,” I replied.
Nathaniel looked at me, but didn’t say anything in response. I
opened the car door and sat in the seat, staring straight ahead. Na-
thaniel opened his door and got into the driver’s seat, not saying any-
thing.
“Have you gotten what Bethany wanted or did you plan on picking
me up first?” I asked, looking over at him.
“Yes, I have got what Bethany asked for,” he replied and started the
car.
Just as Nathaniel turned the corner, I looked though the side mirrors
and saw James and Amylia walk out of the cake shop with papers in
hand. They must have found what they were looking for. I was only hop-
ing that they didn’t hire Emily for any other event. I didn’t want to deal
with her ever again.
“Is there anything that you want to do before we head back home?”
Nathaniel asked.
“Not that I can think of,” I replied, glancing over at him.
Nathaniel looked like he was going to say something, but didn’t. I
spent the last minutes looking out the side mirror while he was driving,
watching the city, and watching my home fade in the distance and be-
come smaller, making the pain in my chest become bigger.
The car ride back home was quiet and the only thing you could hear
was my breathing. Nathaniel kept his eyes glued onto the road and only
270
glanced my way a few times. Something was bothering him and I
thought that it was due to that Emily and her thoughts. They would be
enough to upset anybody that could read minds, but I was getting a
feeling. A feeling that something else was going on that Nathaniel didn’t
want me knowing about.
When we got back to Forrest, it was mid-afternoon and a few people
on the streets and around the general store, taking advantage of the
nice day that it turned out to be. Nate pulled into a car park and walked
inside the shop, leaving me alone in the car. As I was looking out the
window, I spotted Jason talking to Daniel.
Great, that was all I needed.
Jason looked over to the car and smirked when he saw me sitting. I
slithered my way down the seat, but got stuck to the leather.
“Why do you hate me? What have I done in my life time to deserve
this kind of punishment? Is it because I’m dating someone from the un-
dead?” I asked, and looked up at the sky, feeling frustrated.
A tap on the window made me jump and sit upright and look out the
passenger window. Jason was standing there, with a greedy smile on his
face. I had two options. I could either ignore him or see what he want-
ed. I want with the latter.
“Yes Jason?” I asked after I rolled down my window.
“What are you doing here Brianna?” he asked.
“Waiting for Nathaniel to come back from inside the store,” I replied.
“So do you want company?” he asked, leaning on the car.
“No, thank you,” I replied and crossed my arms.
“Get your eyes off my girlfriend’s chest. You are not allowed to look,”
Nathaniel said, walking over to Jason with a few magazines in hand.
Jason turned around and narrowed his eyes. I stuck my hands out
and Nathaniel handed the magazines that he brought to me.
“You know that Brianna will leave you one day Nathaniel. The main
basketball game is coming up soon, and once she sees how badly you
play, she will fall into my arms,” Jason said.
“So you think Jason. Brianna loves me and I love her, so keep on
dreaming,” Nathaniel says and walked away from him.
“Would Brianna still love you if you didn’t have beauty or money?”
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Jason asked, making Nathaniel stop walking.
I knew I had to intervene before this turned deadly.
“Stop talking now Jason. I wouldn’t hesitate to hit you,” I said, nar-
rowing my eyes. “And money means nothing to me. Nathaniel knows
how to treat a girl, and that is why I am in a relationship with him.”
“Brianna baby, I could give you more than you could ever dream of in
your life time,” Jason said, smirking.
“Would you leave me a single rose on my pillow before I go to sleep?
Would you treat me like a princess? Would you give me breathing space
when I wanted it and not force me into doing things I don’t want to do?
No, I don’t think so,” I said and rolled up my window.
“Fine choice of words there Brianna.”
“How am I going to make him realise that I am not interested in
him?” I asked, frustrated.
“I don’t know baby, but what I do know is that we need to get out of
here right now,” he said, his voice vague.
I furrowed my eyebrows before realising what he was looking at. Au-
gusta had spotted the car and was now making her way over. Before
she could get any closer, Nathaniel started the car and put it in reverse,
then took off once it was in drive.
“She is going to haunt you come Monday morning,” I muttered and
placed the books on the floor.
“If she didn’t remind me so much of Mary, I might actually like her,”
he replied and turned into his street.
Bethany was in her garden when Nathaniel pulled into the garage. I
got out of the car and made my way over to her, seeing that she was
planting more roses and other flowers that I couldn’t place.
“I had a feeling that Nathaniel would have brought you back with
him,” she said without looking up from planting.
“What did you expect,” I heard Nathaniel say.
“Did Amylia pick a cake for the wedding?” Beth asked, ignoring her
son.
“I think so.”
“I just don’t understand why she just wouldn’t let me bake a cake for
her wedding. It would have saved her all this frustration that she is cur-
272
rently placing herself in,” she said and sighed.
“Because Amylia wanted to spend money on her wedding, and not
get her family to do everything. You should know what she is like by
now Beth,” Nate said and walked over to us, wrapping his arm around
my waist.
He placed a box in front of Bethany before grabbing my hand.
“Take Brianna inside Nathaniel and enjoy the few hours you have
together before you need to hand Brianna back to Marie,” Bethany or-
dered.
Nodding, he led me inside and up to his room. Keeping his door
opened, he led me over to his bed, pushing me down onto it. Crashes in
a bedroom made me jump and Nathaniel curse and close his eyes.
“What was that?” I asked, looking at Nathaniel.
“The real reason why I came to Melbourne,” he replied, his eyes nar-
rowing.
“The real reason? You mean that Bethany didn’t want you to go
there?” I asked, slowly starting to put everything together.
“She did want me going there, but then this has happened.”
He wasn’t giving me any idea on what he was talking about. I heard a
woman’s voice rise in the hallway, followed by a male voice, but I
couldn’t understand what they were saying.
“Nate, I really need your help,” Chase said, walking into this room.
“Just tell her to leave and never return.”
“You know what Dakota is like.”
“Wait, Dakota’s back?” I asked, looking between them.
“She arrived not long after you left with Amylia and James. They left
to keep you away from her as they didn’t know what mood she was go-
ing to be in,” Chase said.
“Really now? And you didn’t think to tell me about this Nathaniel?” I
asked, looking at him while narrowing my eyes.
“Baby, I felt that you didn’t need to know that she was coming back.
The only reason she is here is because she wants the rest of things,” Na-
thaniel said, trying to keep me calm.
“It doesn’t matter. You should have told me,” I argued.
“Told you what? That I was coming back?” Dakota said, making all
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three of us looking over at her.
She had her arms crossed and her eyes were cold. I knew straight
away that she didn’t like that I was around or even in Nathaniel’s life.
“I thought you only came here to get your things? You have them, so
you can now leave,” Chase said coldly.
“Chase, don’t you even think that there might be a chance that we
still belong together?” she asked.
I looked at Nathaniel and raised my eyebrows at her question. What
would Chase say? Did he still have feelings for her? I was expecting
something to still be there deep inside.
“I said go. I never want to see you again Dakota, and I am sure as hell
that I can find someone for the wedding as well.”
“Yeah, who?” Dakota asked, smirking. “Face it Chase, you will have to
take me to the wedding whether you like it or not.”
“Or he can take no one,” Nathaniel said, sitting down next to me.
“I know someone he can take to the wedding,” I said, speaking up
and making all