Camilla's POV The vampire Bloodborn men tried to stop me, but Carlos signaled for them to let me through.

“Don't touch him!" I cried, throwing myself to the ground and lifting Jake's face to examine the bleeding bruise under his eyes. After all these years….

“What are you doing?" Carlos bit out.

I glared at him. “What did he do? What did he do to deserve this?" I couldn't help the tears.

Though my parents had disowned me, my adoptive brother had been very supportive when I was on the streets. He would sneak out food and blankets for me.

My parents later found out and threatened to disown him too, and when he told me, I had understood.

Jake stirred, and I touched his face.

“Who is he to you?” Carlos thundered. He had the nerve to act jealous?

"My brother!” I snapped.

“Your brother." Carlos repeated, moving closer. Now that he was looking down at me, I realized I had made a mistake by revealing my weakness.

Would he kill Jake? What had he done?

"Your brother was hired to kidnap you last night by a rival court. He was stuck in the security system that required blood before passage." The Lord of the Crystal Glass Court ran his tongue over his teeth as he spoke, and I shrank back.

Jake had been hired to kidnap me? Did he know it was me?

Wait…That meant he was the one whose silhouette I had seen that night!

No. I couldn't believe the bullshit Carlos was talking about.

“Let's make another deal, Camilla." This was all a game to him. He needed a bride to bear him the heir to his silly Glass Throne, and I was a convenient choice for him.

I had already made one deal with him, and it didn't turn out well.

He had to be crazy to think I would make another deal with him.

“Never." I spat at him.

He chuckled darkly. “I was expecting that, but allow me to state the terms and conditions."

I wrapped my arms around Jake protectively.

“Cam?" Jake murmured. He opened his swollen eyes and shifted when he recognized my face.

“Cam? Why are you here?" He croaked out.

“It's a long story.” I whispered.

"Now, this is how this second deal will work, I’ll keep your brother in my custody instead of executing him only on one condition. That we will consummate our union after our binding ceremony.” Carlos was a predator. A vampire lord who was used to getting his way.

“Cam, don't listen to him. He will ruin you.” Jake could barely move his fingers, but he was still worried about me more than himself.

But if I refused to agree to Carlos' terms, there was no doubt he would kill Jake. Carlos' reputation was often described thus: Ruthless, merciless, calculating and brutal.

I couldn't let him harm Jake, no matter what he claimed to have done.

This meant I couldn't continue with my escape plans, not with Jake under Carlos' custody. It also meant I would have to go on with the binding ceremony.

“Fine." I said finally.

Carlos gave me a crooked smile. “That's my girl."

My body mistook it for something else and my body began to tingle in ways that left me embarrassed and furious.

After everything, my body still wouldn't take the hint.

Defeated, I watched as Jake was led away, my heart shattering for a thousand and one reasons. I had only just reunited with my stepbrother, but fate wouldn't even let the reunion last.

I let the tears of frustration roll down my cheeks as I remained kneeling.

All I wanted was a life where I could feed myself and protect myself from the rivalry between humans and vampires in the streets.

Now, I was right in the middle of it.

“You will move into my room tonight for safety reasons. And change out of that slutty dress. I should have you punished for wearing something like this.” Though his words were obviously meant to chide me, there was something about the way he delivered his threat that sent heat curling down to my lady parts.

Carlos stepped closer and lifted my chin.

“Did you wear this to make me mad?" He asked in a low drawl that fueled the heat simmering in my veins.

His eyes lowered to my lips, and without thinking, I licked them. It was like I had ignited a sleeping fire inside his eyes when I did that.

I was a confused, stupid mess. I was crazy for daring to ache this way for a vampire who got a rise out of forcing me into deals and kidnapping my stepbrother.

“If it makes you mad, it's because you already are." I told him with as much defiance as I could muster.

He fingered the tiny strap of my dress and I thought I would burst into flames from the contact.

I sucked in a breath and nearly leaned into the brief touch.

Suddenly, he frowned and let his hand drop as if the contact had burned him. I hoped it did.

“I take deals very seriously, Camilla. You don't want to know what I do to people who fail to hold their own end of a deal.” A dark expression took over the frown on his face, and it occurred to me that he looked even more handsome when he looked like he was going to murder someone.

Like that night he had bitten me, even though he was still a teenage boy back then.

I knelt there for a long time even after he left. I was too weak to move any part of my body.

On the night of the binding ceremony, I was wearing a white lace veil and dressed in a thin, black silk dress that clung to my curves.

I had no doubt that the dress cost more than my belongings and my net-worth put together.

There was a wide slit in the front that drew unwanted attention from the male Bloodborn vampires to my thighs, and the low neckline of the dress made it difficult for anyone to stare at any place other than my jiggling breasts.

I walked slowly to the dais, every step I took taking me closer to what would be my destiny. I ignored the murmurs and whispers and raised my head high instead.

I wasn't doing this for fame or money. I was doing this for Jake, my stepbrother.

There were three elders standing on the dais, but they were not even enough to block the majestic sight of Carlos Rain sitting on the Glass Throne. His chest was bare, tanned and taut.

His eyes were on me the whole time, and it was as if it was just the two of us in the courtroom.

I had to remind myself that I was being forced into this and I was supposed to hate him for ruining my life.

Mirvina joined the elders, and dressed in an exquisite black gown, she looked exactly like the mean matron she was.

Her face was squeezed tight, and I had the feeling that she had something up her sleeves.

As soon as I stopped in front of the dais, the elders spaced themselves, and one stepped forward, a curved knife in his right hand.

Carlos rose from his throne, and I swallowed saliva when my eyes found his V-line. He was wearing black pants, but he still managed to look like a walking piece of art.

Why did he have to be half-naked for the binding ceremony?

The elders moved to let him through, and his scent immediately assaulted my senses.

The moment he stopped before me, it became extremely difficult to breathe. Carlos was a killing machine, but he was also a golden god with a body built for carnal sin.

“Let the binding ceremony begin!" One of the elders announced.

"You will mark her and claim her as yours in the presence of the Crystal Glass Court, and then she will drink from you to carry your scent with her anywhere she goes.” Another elder stated.

Hold up…Carlos was going to bite me? And I was going to drink from him? I began to fidget, my whole body too nervous to keep still.

Carlos stepped closer, and his eyes never left mine as he moved. I reminded myself that I could never fall for somebody like him.

He leaned over me, and he was all I could see, all I could breathe and feel as his huge shadow enveloped me.

He grabbed my waist and pressed me close to his body, and I nearly moaned at the heat and warmth that bled onto my skin.

“You're mine now, Camilla." His voice went straight to my core, and I clenched my thighs in embarrassment.

I closed my eyes and steeled myself in anticipation of the pain. But right before his fangs could graze my neck, a loud scream of terror rang through the courtroom.

More screams followed after, and then, gunshots.