A/N Thanks so much for the wait!

The whispers followed me through the hallway. People's gazes stalked after me as I walked toward my locker. It took every ounce of my self-control not to turn on my heels and walk out. If I skipped school, everyone was bound to grow suspicious of me. I couldn't let that happen because I didn't want to put up with dumb rumors. Besides, I wouldn't be surprised if people suspected something was going on. The Prince had attacked me at school. Keeping this under wraps was going to be very difficult; so much for vampire ways.

I reached my locker and stopped. My face burned. Fang Lover was written on the door with a red sharpie. Fake blood had dried on there in dark streaks. The whispers grew louder, prickling my neck. There were a few snickers as well. I kept staring at my locker and I didn't get it. No one should have known about my contract with the vampires. My face hadn't even shown on the news. Was there some sort of leak?

"Childish words."

I flinched at the familiar voice. The silence behind me should have given me a clue but I was too occupied with my thoughts. Ignoring the Prince, I opened my locker. At least nothing inside had been vandalized. My books were still in place and my notebooks were all there. I traded my books in for this morning's classes. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the Prince lean against the lockers.

"They're rude, too."

Taking a deep breath, I finally looked at him. "What?" I asked.

He smiled at me. "Give up yet?"

"Don't be a hypocrite," I said. "You said you wanted my total devotion. There's a chance that I might just 'give up' before that happens and you wouldn't want that."

For a moment, the Prince hesitated. Inwardly, I allowed myself a pat on my back. Knocking the Prince down a few steps off his throne was a good thing.

"You wouldn't give up easily," the Prince said to my surprise. "You seem stubborn enough."

I closed my locker unable to respond. The playfulness was gone from his voice. It was eerie to hear him so serious. I cleared my throat.

"The sooner you rethink your entire view of humans," I told him. "The sooner this will be over. As it stands now, you might be the first to 'give up'."

The Prince leaned closer. The devilish smile was back. "The sooner you profess your devotion to me, the sooner you'll get out of this contract."

"I don't think it works like that," I said, matter-of-factly. "I read through the uh, paperwork and it seems like we both have to consent to end the contract for this to be over."

The Prince's fangs gleamed. "That's never going to happen."

"Exactly."

"Excuse me."

Startled, I turned around, spotting a man in a gray suit. His sand colored hair was groomed to one side. He looked neat; no wrinkles on his clothes. He was in his mid-thirties and there weren't a lot of wrinkles on his face either.

"You've got to be kidding me," the Prince said.

"The King sent me," the man said. "He insisted that you must spend the time here wisely. I am to teach you about human culture, their customs -"

"No," the Prince said.

The man stepped forward. "It's part of the contract," he said. "Appearances must be-"

We were being stared at again. Didn't they have class to go to? The tardy bell was about to ring.

"Fine," the Prince said.

Smiling to myself, I prepared to leave. The prospect of not having the Prince around had lightened my mood. I think I could make it through the day without going off on someone. The Prince's tutor stepped in my way.

"You're to self-study with the Prince," he said.

My jaw dropped. Wait, what? The Prince burst out laughing beside me. It was a genuine laugh. The kind that sent shivers down my spine. The surprise faces around me were probably mirroring my own. When the surprise wore off, a nasty feeling entered my gut. Couldn't I have one day without seeing the Prince?

"Self-study?" I asked. "Like I'm going to be in study hall all day?"

I could feel the boredom already creeping up on me.

"Your teachers have compiled work for you to do," the tutor said. "If there's anything you don't understand, feel free to ask me."

The Prince was having a difficult time containing his laughter. From the look on the tutor's face, I'd say that I didn't have a choice.

"Okay," I said. "Lead the way."

The stares follow us up to the second floor. I took a peek in my homeroom but Sonia wasn't there. Not even her bag pack. Had she come to school today? Maybe I should text her. I should probably check up on Carlos too. After all, I had to make sure those vampires kept their end of the bargain.

Pain jolted me out of my thoughts. I yelped crumbling forward as my shin pulsed. "Ow," I groaned out. Stupid stairs.

Someone snickered. "Humans are so weak," the Prince said. "I could push you and you'll break your neck so easily."

I glared at him from under my hair. He had a knack for words.

"Come along," the tutor said.

One of the tutoring rooms had been reserved for us. All the desks had been pushed aside except for two of them. I felt like I was in detention. A small stack of work was piled on one desk. It had my invisible name written all over it.

We took our breaks after the end of every class period. I took that time to go downstairs. Sonia wasn't in any of her classes (I checked every class period) and neither was Carlos. I sent Sonia multiple text messages at every chance but she wasn't replying. Had something happened to her?

"Miss Borek," the tutor said. "If you take out your phone one more time, I'll be forced to take it from you."

Startled, I glanced at him. "Sorry."

I slipped my phone into my bag pack and resumed reading my history book. Every second that ticked by felt like hours. I reread the same lines a couple of times. Nothing made sense. The tutor's low murmur buzzed in my ears. The Prince scribbled a few notes in his notebook, talking occasionally in his own low murmur. I couldn't be happier when lunch time finally arrived.

Wasting no time, I grabbed my cell phone and bolted out of the room. At the bottom of the stairs, I dialed Sonia's number. It rang for a few seconds before it went to voicemail.

"Hey," I said. "You're not in school. Obviously. Listen, text me. Or call me back. Just. Tell me you're okay. Okay? Bye."

I ended the call and leaned back against the wall. I felt useless. How did everything end up like this? Stupid Prince. If only he hadn't barged into my life, I would be eating lunch with Sonia right now. As it stood now, I didn't even have the appetite to eat. With a weary sigh, I headed back upstairs. There should be a granola bar in my bag pack in case I got hungry later. There was also a vending machine in the teacher's lounge. I wouldn't starve today.

The tutor and the Prince were gone when I entered the room. Perhaps they had gone to eat . . . er . . . drink? Well, they could do whatever they wanted. It wasn't any of my business. I wasn't their babysitter. I sat down in my desk ready to put my head on the desk . . . but then I stood up. I needed to use the restroom. Just when I was getting comfortable.

The second floor restroom was empty . . . no surprise there. At least I didn't have to put up with the stares and whispers. Would it kill them to ask me directly what was going on? Sure I would have to lie to them but still. It was common courtesy.

After rinsing the soap off my hands, I headed outside. A pony tail caught my attention as it turned the corner heading downstairs. It wasn't like there was anything suspicious about it but my gut twisted. No, I didn't have to use the restroom again. Even if my uneasiness proved to wrong, I wasn't hurting anyone. I rather be wrong about a bad feeling than right.

I followed the girl. As she headed down the stairs, I couldn't get a good look at her. There was nothing familiar about her profile. Perhaps she was a freshman. At the bottom of the stairs, I stopped. The girl walked in the direction of the cafeteria . . . oh, wait. She stopped in front of the science lab. Did she have a secret admire and he or she going to confess? Okay. So maybe I was being nosy but I was bored. My friends weren't at school and I had no one to talk to. Plus, this might be the highlight of my day.

The girl disappeared into the science lab. Her admire was probably in there already. I waited a few seconds before hurrying over. I sneaked up to the door and peered inside through the small, vertical window on the door. My stomach clenched. The Vampire Prince had his arm around the girl. She stared blankly into the distance. The Prince nuzzles her neck. I didn't wait.

I yanked open the door and grabbed the nearest thing which happened to be a teacher's science book. I crossed the distance only thinking about what I had to do. At this point, I couldn't even talk if I wanted to. Once I was close enough, I raised the book over my head and slammed it down against the vampire's back.

Glowing, red eyes swirled to face me. A deep growl echoed through the room. I felt myself take a step back. Tears blurred my vision. We stared at each other for a long time before the Prince looked away. He straightened and let the girl drop. As her butt hit the floor, the girl yelped. She looked around in a daze before her eyes finally settled on the Prince and me. Her eyes widened. She hurried to her feet before bolting out of the room.

"You've ruined my meal," the Prince said.

I forced myself to speak. "I'm not going to let you feed on anyone here."

He crossed his arms. The red in his eyes were gone but that didn't mean I could relax.

"I need to feed," he said.

He took a step forward and I took one back. At the second step, my butt hit the table. The Prince didn't stop. I raised the book between us like a shield. He lowered his face toward mine. A predatory smile appeared on his lips.

"Are you volunteering?"

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