Camilla's POV I yanked the door open at once, my eyes darting nervously around the room just in case whoever my would-be-attacker was had magically found a way into the room.

The maid at the door didn't look impressed by my behavior, and she had a permanent scowl on her face.

“Here, your dinner." She said in a condescending tone as she threw a tray with a blood bag in it at my feet. That was my dinner?

Before I could even open my mouth to say anything, she banged the door on my face and I could only stand there, gaping at the tray.

They obviously didn't know I had never drank blood from any source before.

When I was younger, the craving for blood had nearly driven me insane, especially in my early teen years.

It took me years to learn how to distract myself when the craving for blood and pleasure rose.

I kicked the tray aside. No need telling them that I had never drank blood before.

I wouldn't spend much time in the Crystal Glass Court anyway.

I would find a way to escape before the week ran out. I had to run away to avoid ending up as the bride to a bloodsucking, arrogant vampire like Carlos.

I tried to ignore the silhouette of the person who had nearly attacked me a few minutes ago. I went to the bathroom to tend to my wounds instead.

My growling stomach woke me up in the morning.

The tray was still where I had left it, and I suddenly realized that I needed my strength in order to prepare for my escape.

But where would I get normal food to eat if they kept serving me blood packaged in a hospital drip-bag?

The door flew open just before my feet touched the floor, and the court's matron stormed into my room.

“What are you still doing in bed, you lazy fat -"

“Leave us." A deep voice growled from outside the room where I could make out the intimidating size of Carlos.

“But she is -"

He stepped closer, filling the doorway completely and blocking out everything behind him.

“Don't make me repeat myself again, Mirvina.” He warned in a dead cold tone that instantly froze the blood running in my veins.

Mirvina bowed her head before leaving, walking backwards with her head bowed low.

Was that a sign of respect? I scoffed at the thought of it.

Carlos shut the door and leaned on it. He was dressed in a sparkling white shirt with rolled up sleeves that revealed bulging biceps and muscles that strained as he moved.

His brown pants clung to his muscular thighs, and I gulped as my traitorous eyes went down to -

Get your mind out of the gutter, Camilla!

His eyes went to the tray still on the floor but he ignored it.

“What happened to you?" He sounded like he was ready to rip off somebody's head.

The question took me off guard. It was certainly not something I'd expected him to ask.

“I slipped on the stairs." I lied, mentally slapping myself in the cheek for not being smart enough to come up with a smarter lie.

Carlos kept moving until he got to the side of the bed I was perched on.

He leaned down and placed two arms on both sides of me, giving me a closer glimpse of his beautiful eyes and his raven black hair which fell atop his forehead.

His eyes bored into mine, and I felt the sudden urge to cover myself up properly.

I leaned in involuntarily, breathing in his lovely scent before catching myself and moving backwards. It only caused him to lean into my space more.

“I can tolerate many things, Camilla, but I hate repeating myself. And I hate liars." If he continued talking, I would probably turn into a puddle of flesh on the bed.

His breath felt like a warm caress on my face, and despite my hate for Carlos Rain, I wanted him to keep talking.

A soft breeze swayed the curtains, and my nipples pebbled beneath my nightgown when the morning chill brushed its fingers on my skin.

Why was I reacting this way? Why was my body betraying me like this?

“We're even then, because I hate arrogant people." It was too late to take my words back, but I was still satisfied that I had spoken them.

“I'll ask you this again, what happened?" He sounded very pissed off, and that felt like the highlight of my morning so far.

“I told you already. I slipped on the stairs." There was no way I would ever tell him that Mirvina had pushed me off the stairs.

He would never believe me, and the matron would torture me even more. But not if I escaped before then.

A shadow crossed over his face, and as if something about me disgusted him, he straightened to his full height and cleared his throat.

“The elders are fighting our union, and I have decided to bring our binding ceremony closer to prove the legitimacy of our bond. Prepare for our binding ceremony five nights from now.” He didn't give me the chance to protest, he was already walking away.

As soon as the door slammed shut, I rushed to the window. If I wanted to escape, I had to start planning now.

Five nights from now was too close. I couldn't spend the rest of my life with him. Never.

So I began to plan. I would pretend to be on the same page with him. I would stop fighting him and give him the impression that I was tired of struggling.

Then, I would make my move.

It took me three days to recover from the fall, because Carlos had sent a maid to tend to my wounds properly.

They stopped serving me blood bags and started bringing me actual food. I suspected Carlos had something to do with it.

On the fourth night, Carlos sent a maid to bring me down for dinner.

Mirvina was ordered to dress me up, and when she arrived, my eyes nearly popped out of their sockets at the sight of the dress she had brought along.

“I can't wear that." I protested.

Her eyes narrowed to tiny slits. “You seem to have forgotten the lesson I taught you last time. You will wear this, or I will take you on a trip to hell and back. You will wear this slutty dress like the slut you are." She gave me a look that dared me to object. I couldn't let Mirvina ruin my plans of escaping.

I swallowed my pride and began to strip. She was rough with everything she did. I had claw marks all over me by the time we finally got the dress to fit.

I looked like a seductress in the red lacy dress. My nipples were visible, and my stomach was bare.

My hips only had rows of straps to cover them, and if I bent down, my whole ass would be on display.

When Mirvina finished with my makeover, I looked like I was on my way to tempt the devil himself. I didn't look like Camilla at all.

“What about the shoes?" I asked Mirvina.

She grunted. “No shoes. You're a rat, and rats don't wear shoes. They walk barefoot.” She laughed derisively as she left the room.

How could I meet Carlos dressed like this?

Despite my fears, I found myself walking down the stairs. When I got to the foot of the stairs, I nearly fell backwards in shock.

It couldn't be real. There had to be something wrong with my eyes. I pinched myself, but it was real. All of it was real.

My stepbrother, Jake, was kneeling on the floor with blood dripping from multiple injuries on his body.

Carlos was standing a few feet away with a few other vampire Bloodborn men.

There were two of the men holding Jake up because he was too weak to kneel upright by himself.

“Take him to the court where he will be executed." Carlos ordered.

They lifted him and began to drag him away.

“Nooooo!" I screamed, running towards Jake.