27

Sophia’s POV

My heart was pounding so hard and so loud that even I myself could hear it. I stared with wide eyes as the car sped down the street so fast that I couldn’t even get the plate number of the car so that I could at least report it. “Fucking bastard,” I snapped as I glared at the car and then turned around to see the person who had rescued me. Their cold hand was still on my wrist and it was as if the person had just realized it because the person dropped my hand abruptly like it was hot iron.

It was a man, his skin so white and his face hard as he stared down at me. “You should look carefully before crossing the road,” he said icily and started walking away before I could even say anything.

I gulped, staring at his retreating figure for a moment before looking back at the road where I was supposed to cross. I gulped, putting one foot on the road before taking a deep breath and crossed the road. I was almost running.

I put my phone inside the pocket of my pants and continued walking down the street, continuously looking back and forth, trying to be extra careful. I felt like someone was watching me. And I couldn’t shake off the shock that if that stranger hadn’t saved me, I might be fight for my life right now, or worse, dead.

I sighed, rubbing my face before walking into the dorm premisises. I went straight to my room and plopped down on the bed after locking the door behind me. I felt so exhausted and I wanted to sleep to.

I ran my hands through my hair and took off the hoodie and pants and changed into shorts and a top. I locked the windows and closed the curtains then turned off the AC just to reduce the cold in the room for a while.

I grabbed the pants from the laundry basket and took out my phone to see a text from Ian.

“Where are you?” He had asked. He sent the text almost an hour ago.

“In my room.” I typed back and dropped the phone, then remembered about what happened. “I was almost run over by a car this evening.” I sent that too and his reply came in almost immediately.

“You should look left and right before crossing the road.” I could hear his voice in my head, chiding me for not being careful. He almost sounded like the man who had rescued me. I wanted to tell him that the car came out of nowhere, but then I decided not to. He was right. I probably didn’t look very well before attempting to cross the road.

“I will.” I typed back. “I’m tired and I’m going to bed now. Goodnight.” I added and sent the text before turning off my phone and laying on the bed, staring up at nothing in particular.

I kept my breathing steady, counting sheep in my head because even as exhausted as I felt, I still wasn’t feeling sleepy.

After what seemed to be hours and I was finally falling asleep, there was a knock on the door and I got up from the bed. “Who’s there?” I asked flatly.

“It’s me,” Jenny answered in her usual bored voice.

I opened the door and walked away from it, rubbing my face. “Didn’t think you were coming back.”

“Why wouldn’t I?” She asked and I could imagine her raising her brows now.

“I assumed you would be with Ronan,” I answered, plopping down on my bed while she locked the door. I hugged my teddy and closed my eyes to sleep.

“I didn’t plan on going to his place today. I didn’t even think I’d see him at the restaurant,” She answered.

“Hmm,” I hummed, rubbing my eyes and turning around on the bed. “While you were having your amazing conversation with your cute guy, I was almost run over by a car.”

“What?!” She exclaimed, jumping up from her bed and rushing over to mine.

“Are you okay?” She asked, examining me everywhere. “I said almost. It didn’t happen. It almost did, but it didn’t,” I reminded her.

“It doesn’t matter, Sophia! It could have happened. Anything could have happened to you!” She snapped. “Jeez! I should have let you go on your own.”

“I’m not a baby. You do realize that, don’t you?” I reminded her.

She scowled at me, her eyes narrowing. “I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if something happened to you because you left to give me time to talk to Ronan!”

“Yeah, and nothing happened. Don’t beat yourself up. It’s not your fault,” I answered her. “Now if you don’t mind, I was having my beauty sleep before you came and interrupted it.”

“We should be studying,” she murmured. “Or eating.”

“Jenny, we just have dinner,” I reminded her.

“It’s not dinner. It was barely 6pm,” She argued.

“Dinner,” I repeated flatly and rolled my eyes. “Whatever. Anyways, I want to sleep and you should probably do the same thing too.”

“I’m not ready to sleep just yet,” she answered with a shrug. “I guess I’ll just binge watch gossip girl.”

“You should probably do that. Or talk to Ronan. Or whatever it is you want to do,” I answered with a sigh and dozed off.

Ian’s POV.

“Why did you tell me to come here? It sounded so urgent,” Mike said as he waltzed into my house like he was the owner. I wasn’t exactly surprised. I had gotten used to that attitude of his. Besides I didn’t have the time to start chiding him on his manner. I had other things to think of. Like what Sophia had just told me.

“Sophia is being targeted,” I told him flatly as I stormed to the door and shut it after he failed to do that.

“Is she?” He answered, sarcasm dripping expertly off his tone. “I didn’t know she was. That’s news to me.”

“On shit the hell up! I know you’re about to come up with the ‘I told you so’. You better don’t or else I wouldn’t mind ripping your throat out,” I snapped at him.

“Oh. I’m sorry, did I hit a nerve?” He asked with a raised eyebrow like he couldn’t care less but I knew he did. “You are the one who marked her after all. Why is it my problem?”

I glared at him and then he sighed, shaking his head. “I don’t get why you’re so angry. I did tell you after all that she was being targeted and you should shadow her at all times.”

“I can’t shadow her every single second! I have a life too, you know that. I’m working. I have things to do!” I snapped.

“What happened this time?” He asked.

“Someone almost ran her over with a car,” I answered and I narrowed my eyes down at him.

“What? It could have been an unrelated accident,” he answered. “Not coincidental at all.”

“I doubt it,” I answered with a shake of my he’s. “I know Sophia. She can be distracted at time, but not when she about to cross the road. She watches very well before she does that.”

“It could still be unrelated,” He answered with a shrug. “Or it could be related to the people who are currently after her life. I don’t know.”

“I know you don’t,” I murmured and sighed before seating on the arm of the couch. “I’m scared for her life. Why don’t these people understand what she belongs to me? That she’s mine and no one else but me can just what’s mine?” I seethed.

“I’m afraid it doesn’t work like that,” he answered with a slight chuckle that was very dry. “You have a lot of enemies, Ian. You know that. I know that. Everyone knows that. And you marking her…you made it very clear to the supernatural world that she is the weakness…your weakness..that they have been looking for all these years.”

“She’s not my weakness,” I murmured.

“But she is. And you and I know that she is,” he answered. “If she wasn’t…if you didn’t care about her in anyway then you wouldn’t care that there are people who want to kill her,” he said and continued. “You made a huge mistake when you absconded the throne and came here to live a normal life, Ian. Let’s face it. The vampire world is in silent chaos and your brother can barely handle it. And that’s because you were born and trained to be the king just in case your father died. He wasn’t the one who was supposed to be the kind. He doesn’t have any training at all.”

I ran my hands through my hair in frustration. “Does she know what you are?” He asked and I scoffed.

“Of course not!”

“Does she have the slightest suspicion?” He asked and I shook my head.

“I haven’t given her any reason at all to be suspicious,” I explained to him.

“Better,” He answered.

“You have access to the men who remain loyal to my family, don’t you?” I asked.

“Yes, I do. And your brother does,” he told me.

“I don’t want him to know about this,” I told him.

“There’s no way to be sure that he doesn’t already know about this,” he answered. “What do you want with this men?”

“I want two of your most trusted men shadowing Sophia at all times,” I told him.

“I’m a step ahead of you. I’ve already done that. I have four men shadowing her at all times. One of them was the one who rescued her from the car. I head about it before she even told you,” he answered flatly, his eyes hard.

I stared at him in shock and he added. “I’m sorry, but you didn’t seem like you would take action and I couldn’t just leave the poor girl alone, unguarded. You’re welcome.”