Xander's POV:

My mind raced at the scene before me, mouth running dry.

No... No this wasn't supposed to be happening!

Why was she here!?

My stomach knotted, remembering that I never removed her constant access to this room.

I was going to. That was absolutely on my to-do list right after... Right after I called her.

Fuck.

Even then, I didn't think she'd have a reason to stop by after Doe's 'death'.

I didn't realize what was happening. I didn't realize what my instincts were warning me about until it was too late.

And now I was left to deal with it, my brain scrambling for the right way to present myself.

I could feel the default I put up whenever she was around, and the onslaught that had just been lowly simmering within me growling for release yet again.

"What the fuck is this?" She asked slowly, fury coating each word.

That dryness ran down my throat, the thick and all-to-familiar scent of Doe's fear permeating the air.

My eyes flickered to her as she took a shaky step back.

This wasn't supposed to happen so soon.

I knew this lie was going to fall through eventually, that I'd need to keep coming up with things to keep her away.

And keep Doe safe.

But I was too busy enjoying these days with Doe to think about what would work. I never thought about what my next plan was.

I couldn't think about it. I couldn't even have her name cross my mind without that weight falling in my chest all over again.

The pain that was currently scraping through my entirety at the sight of her here.

It was impeding my ability to think straight, so in a rush, I fell into what usually worked.

Talking.

Just start talking and do whatever I can to cover the lie.

Buy time to figure something out.

I couldn't fuck this up, nor did I want it to get messy.

Not with what I knew was on the line.

"Ah, Layla," I cleared my throat, trying to rid my voice of showing the insane amount of nerves on top of the sudden internal pain my body was putting me under, "It's... been a minute."

Her eyes narrowed ever further, fingers tapping impatiently against her crossed arms.

I knew that look well enough to know what she wanted from me.

An explanation.

Which I was desperately trying to come up with, but everything within me was working against me.

"It has," Her voice was a warning in of itself, those two words being enough to convey her current anger. "The reason for that being because you told me it was dead!" She bit out the last word.

No...No come on. Think. Think!

"She was!'" I blurted out, "Or at least I thought she was."

My untimely nervous laughter rose in my throat, and I used it to help playoff my words, forcing my stance to relax.

So I didn't look guilty as I spewed the only excuse I could come up with.

Which was almost impossible given my circumstance.

"I guess in my bloodmoon haze I prematurely called her death," I explained, rubbing the back of my neck, "Apparently she was just deeply unconscious because they brought her back to me later that night."

I fought back the claws that were begging to be set free as she glanced at Doe again.

I wanted to keep this as peaceful as I could, regardless of how impossible that seemed.

Giving in to my instincts now would only accomplish the opposite, but that didn't stop them from trying.

Vampiric instincts ran purely on emotion, and didn't think twice about consequences.

Regardless of her awful relationship with Lord Bronwyn, I didn't want to use a force that could be used to eventually reflect badly onto my family name.

"So then you just decided not to tell me?!" She accused, "You just kept it around!"

That ache pounded hard through my body, nearly causing me to stagger

"T-That's not it!" I covered, promptly cursing my stutter, "I figured that she wouldn't be much use to you then since she needed to recover."

Not that it ever mattered to her, her scowl proved that.

I kept talking. Like a fool. The panicked racing of my heart only adding to the things keeping me from being able to form proper thoughts.

"My plan was actually to tell you after the ball. To return her to you as a celebration of sorts for hosting a successful one."

Shit, I was running out of viable ideas, and I still didn't know how I was going to get her to leave.

The edge in her sigh cut through my hope of my prior words working in calming her down.

"That's not the point Alex," her annoyance nearly pulled that instinctive need to please her out of me, but it never made it all the way, " Why the hell would I want expired goods? I already told you this and yet you brought her back! At that point, you should've just gotten rid of it yourself!"

I drew back in relented surprise.

I knew she said something like that, or at least I thought I remembered something along those lines.

Truth be told, I don't remember much of that conversation.

"Expired?" I questioned, admitting the words the second they left my mouth.

"Pets aren't designed to last a year, let alone two," She expounded, taking slow even steps closer," Their blood begins to thin. They start to lose their potency. Their value."

My breath hitched as her eyes turned back to Doe, gritting her teeth with a hardened scowl, "They start to get cocky. They start to get confident and forget their place."

A chill ran down my spine as the memory of the last time she fed from Doe showed itself.

That glare Doe gave her. The smirk I just know that pissed Layla off to no end.

She might have killed her that night if I hadn't stepped in.

I tuned in to Doe's shallow, trembling breaths from behind me, causing another stagger as the most feral part of me begged for release.

It fought through a variety of reactions I was trying to get aligned.

My 'play dumb' act, my lies, my want not to anger anybody.

Even that deeply rooted need to get her to pay me any mind. To give her whatever she wanted if it meant her attention.

It tore that down to near shreds, or maybe it has been all this time.

All I knew was that it wasn't the main thing on my mind.

At least through all of the chaos and sensations, I could notice that lack of that pull within my instincts.

There was a different one in its place, yet I couldn't distinguish it through the mess.

Through the crawling of my skin, the pounding in my head, the fire that felt like replaced my blood, the fight I was putting up with my own body on top of trying to hide it from view.

Through all of the reactions prior battling for something to say, for a lie, for an answer. For anything!

A deep rumble coursed through my ears and I battled the need to squeeze my eyes shut.

Not now. Not when she was a few feet away.

I felt like I was going to explode. One more thing, and I was going to lose it.

I didn't want that.

Layla sighed again, "Although, I guess I should take some responsibility, You did get it for me after all. It wouldn't be fair to make you discard of it."

My stomach dropped.

"W-what?" My voice came out as nothing but a ragged breath.

There's no way. There's no way she intended on doing this now!

At all!

No... I need to stall her, give me some more time!

Her hands dropped to her sides, claws fully extended and resolve written all over here.

"Step aside please, Alex," She commanded, "I'll try not to make too much of a mess."

No!

I began to move to take a step forward, but something stopped me.

A harsh heat from my right hand burned its way up my arm and across my body, blending violently with everything that priorly existed.

On instinct, I ripped my arm away.

The gasp beside me that followed almost shattered me completely, the reality and regret of what I had just done crashing against me the moment I turned my head.

Doe stood there behind me, hands still hovering where she had grabbed me, and a crushing, agonizing look of shock openly showing on her face.

Of betrayal.

Bitter, excruciating betrayal.

No...

My lips parted in a hurry, a desperate attempt in mending my mistake yet nothing but a few strangled noises escaped.

I couldn't think, I couldn't move.

Everything was falling apart, piling more and more onto me and I was seconds away from just crashing.

My legs tremored against it all.

But I couldn't, not now, not when Layla was set on this.

My heart lurched as Doe stepped slowly backward away from me, devastation replacing the initial shock.

Her shoulders fell in a hopeless dejection, nodding slowly to herself, and lips pressed tightly together as she looked to be piecing together an understanding.

A broken acceptance, like she saw this coming.

"Good enough," Layla derided.

I glanced back at her, seeing that her legs were tightened and ready to pounce, mere seconds away from releasing the limited speed she had

The second I saw the movement that told me she was putting her plan into action, something snapped.

My mind went blank. For once allowing a message to ring out loud and clear.

Dammit, protect her!

"No... Wait no!" I screamed, bounding towards Doe with my arm extended.

I just needed to get to her. Grab her and pull her against me.

Keep her safe.

I felt the warmth of her skin brush my fingertips, the feeling fleeing as soon as it arrived when Layla's short-lasting speed beat me to her.

Too late.

Any warmth in my body fleeted with her.

Her excruciating cry and the thud of her body slamming into the floor sounded at nearly the same time.

That mixed with the sudden scent of her blood ripped the claws from my fingers, the momentum of my lunge causing me to stumble after tragically missing what I was aiming for.

My pupils thinned as I whipped my head back, the sight before me causing that weight in my chest to turn into a choking sting.

She had Doe pinned to the floor, a hard grip on her upper arm while the other pulled down her sleeve, fangs buried deep in her shoulder.

Her trapped body tremored, hands balled and eyes wide in silent fear.

That deep red took over Layla's eyes as tore her head up. A trail of blood following her momentum, dribbling onto the floor beside Doe's head and dripping carelessly from her fangs.

Doe's teeth grit on both pain and tenacity as Layla let out a gratifying breath.

"Yeah, I'm going to miss the taste of this." She licked her fangs, raising the hand she kept on Doe's arm, claws out and ready, "Maybe in the next life you'll learn how to respect those above you."

Stop. Please stop!

The words wouldn't leave my mouth no matter how hard I pushed them to.

My body wasn't listening to me.

Do something! Fucking do something!

Every part of my body was screaming at me.

Whether it was the horror or something else that I couldn't get a grip on, I was frozen in maddening hesitation.

It was like a punishment in of itself for everything I've allowed prior to this.

My actions were limited with her being of royal descent, but I couldn't just let her do this!

I scrambled back onto my feet as her arm shot forward, right towards Does throat.

Only to be stopped a mere inch from its destination.

Both of Doe's hands gripped tight around her wrist, managing to catch it and keep it there.

A snarl sliced through the air at the sudden stalemate they had ensued.

Pure, unrelenting fury sat on Doe's face as she poured all her power into keeping Layla's hand where it was.

The blood took longer to kick in when it came to Layla, but it would only be a few seconds before her strength came from it.

"You little bitch!" she hissed, "And to think I was planning on making this quick."

Doe's eyes followed her other hand as it rose, claws extending to their max.

That anger never left her face, yet she squeezed her eyes shut, and tilted her head away, bracing for it.

No! Stop STOP!

"Nico agreed to take you to the ball!" The words tore perilously from my mouth.

That was all I could think to do.

It was clear to me now that if I laid a hand on her, I would have lost it completely

It was last-ditch and desperate.

But it worked.

Her head rose and turned to me, obviously still pissed at the situation, but this information had more of her interest.

Thankfully.

Now let go of her. Please just get off of her!

"Really?" She questioned.

There wasn't the excitement I was expecting in her voice.

She was wary of my words now.

I nodded, my body allowing me to take careful steps towards them.

"Yes. He agreed to be your partner."

I didn't specify any further.

Didn't divulge into the fact that he only barely agreed to a dance with her.

I was stretching the truth to make it sound more enticing.

I didn't care how I was going to eventually have to deal with it, I didn't care about facing this lie. I just wanted her away from Doe.

It seemed like she'd do anything if Nico was involved.

I forced on a calm exterior, yanking my claws back before holding out a hand to try to convince her to stand

"In exchange for that, he wanted you to allow the pets and slaves to attend," I stole a glance at Doe, the new feebleness in her features, panicked breaths, and the gashes in her shoulder causing a stabbing in my chest, " Specifically min- ours and his for a... for a last hurrah, I guess."

I nearly crumbled in relief as Layla pulled her hand out of Doe's grasp, claws retreating as well as she straightened her back.

"He requested her to be there?" She responded, eventually setting her hand in mine.

My insides reeled and stirred angrily at the contact, but I swallowed it.

I was so close to getting her out.

"He did," I pulled her up and leading her a step away from Doe, "So maybe just put a raincheck in this? I'd hate to disappoint my brother. You know how he gets."

My grip tightened ever so slightly as her head turned to Doe again.

No, you're not touching her.

She scoffed, irked by the request but complaisant.

"I guess such specific and detailed requests are only to be expected by a future lord." she spouted.

I just nodded, carefully leading her closer and closer to the door.

My hope that was talking about Nico wouldn't make her think too much about my other actions.

"I agree, he likes things done a certain way, and I just hope you can fulfill his wishes." I opened the door as carefully and quietly as I could, stealing another glance behind me.

Doe shakily pushed herself up on her elbow, face contorting in pain as she set her and over the wounds in her shoulder.

"I guess I don't really have a choice. If that's what he wants, then I'll agree." She surrendered as I lead her out the door and took my hand back.

"Great! I'll let him know and see you then."

I shut the door, immediately twisting the nob that would only open it from the inside.

I'll get rid of her fingerprint soon, but I didn't have time for that right now.

With her no longer present, a decent chunk of the haze within my mind faded, leaving only the piercing guilt at what I just allowed to happen.

I sped over to Doe, kneeling at her side.

She was up in a sitting position at this point, and immediately jumped back at my presence.

I didn't pay much mind to that, more worried about the wound that was still spilling blood.

I fucked up. I fucked it up so badly, but first thing first.

Reaching a hand towards the one that was covering the wound, I spoke in a hurry, "Let me-"

She smacked my hand away.

Hard.

Followed quickly by the burning scent of anger radiating off of her.

"Don't touch me," She bit out as both a command and a warning, harshly leaning away from me.

I pulled back, shocked at her outburst.

Even though I knew that I had absolutely no reason to be.

I glanced up to meet her gaze, wishing in that moment that I hadn't.

The way she looked at me carried that severe betrayal from before, mixing with both heavy irritation and hopelessness made for a sight that made me flinch.

That shine that was in her eyes not even 10 minutes ago was completely gone, and the fear that lingered in her sent me flailing for answers.

For something to say.

I had to explain myself! I needed to convince her that I never meant for that to happen.

That I knew how badly I just messed up.

I had to apologize for letting that situation happen in the first place.

To tell her that I was stuck.

Even if I wouldn't make it better, I wanted to try.

But now of that was going to work if she didn't want to listen.

And right now, she didn't owe me that one bit.

Still, I tried.

"Doe, I-"

"Don't!" She ordered, eyes pressing shut as she turned away from me.

I quieted, her next words coming out weeker, but spiteful nonetheless, "Just shut up, just shut the fuck up!"

My stomach folded in itself at the pained tinge in her voice.

Both mentally and physically.

She kept herself facing away, like she couldn't even bear to look at me.

I was losing her.

And that thought alone felt like it was killing me.

All the happy moments prior were slipping through my fingers and I couldn't do anything to stop it.

I just stood there frozen like an idiot and let Layla...

Shaking my head, I cursed myself.

She had every right. She had every right imaginable to be mad at me, every right to deny speaking to me.

I wanted to start begging her just to hear me out, but I knew better.

My chest caved in as she carefully shifted to stand, trying to hide the agony she was in, but failing.

I reached out as she did, stopping myself from actually touching her.

"Please just let me heal you," I begged in a whisper.

She still didn't look at me.

"I don't want your help," She snapped, forcing her wobbly legs to begin moving towards the bathroom, each word she spoke next piercing me "You never offer it when it matters."

She stomped away, leaving me to only stare, soaked in my own regret as she disappeared into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.