"What are you talking about?" Eva's voice breaks into despair.

"Just what I said," I say softly in defeat through my phone.

"I don't believe you..." she answers with a whimper.

"Then don't, but I think... Everyone ought to know the truth. But I also want to tell you that... I will be mating someone soon..."

"What?" she asks in disbelief.

"For that, I have to break my bond with Elizabeth which means... With you guys too..."

"Micah, I-I... " she stutters surely trying to compose her emotions. Eva has always been rational and calm. So for her to lose her words is quite surprising.

"I'm sorry. I will try to contact you as much as I can," I say slowly trying to swallow my tears. It is because of my bond with Elizabeth that I can feel everyone through our link. This way, I can be in the illusion of never being alone. "I will call you another time."

I end the call before Eva can say something else. I don't think that I can handle it. Learning the truth about us is already harsh enough. All those times when we had looked for Elizabeth was a waste of time. Never did she held us close to her heart. We are only objects to her. She is a Pure, she was given everything she wanted. How can she understand our suffering? Every single one of them is selfish. They only think about themselves. Even my parents, they only cared about how the church and the Lord saw them. So how can I know that Nikolas won't be any different?

I am back in Nikolas' bedroom, but for once, I am not chained to the wall nor am I being denied access to the rest of the mansion. Somehow, Nikolas is convinced that I won't escape before the duel between Elizabeth and him. And he is right. If I did not want them to fight, he would already have broken the bond, but she can't get out of it like that. She needs to suffer as much as we did. I just hope that Nikolas will win since between the two Pures, he is the less detestable.

Since I am the prize, both of them are not allowed to see me and thus I kind of have been confined into this damn bedroom again. Apparently, only Matthias can come to see me. Even if it burns my tongue every time I think about it, but Nikolas got the good genes. I will never admit it to him though.

"How is our princess doing?" Matthias greats me with an annoying smile and his perfect white set of teeth.

"She is thirsty, so go get some fresh water from the Alps. You have five minutes," I answer without looking at him.

"Even if my jet had some vampire powers, I wouldn't be able to get that in five minutes. So if your highness would like some of our refreshing water from our local market instead?"

I sigh dramatically before answering, "Then you should hurry. What if I die of dehydration because you took too long?"

"Fine, I will send someone to get it," he grumbles before the room becomes silent for a minute or two. "Now, is your highness also hungry? Or should I feed it to the cat?"

I finally look at the man who's still by the door, "Nikolas has a cat?" I ask surprised.

"Yeah, didn't he tell you?"

"Fine, I will come to eat, but the cat has to be here," I answer as I get on my feet.

I hear Matthias say something, but I do not pay attention to it. Instead, I wait for him to guide me to the dining room. When we get there, Nikolas is already seated with untouched food in front of him. He must have heard us arrive because he stands up before pulling the chair out for me to sit. Without acknowledging him, I sit down and cross my arm. Wasn't he not allowed to see me?Before I can say anything, I hear a meowing sound. I perk up and see a magnificent white and gray Persian cat walking in like she owns the place. I fight my urges to jump on her. Damn, she is the queen of the house that is for sure. The way she looks at everyone, it's like she is seeing right through us.

"What's her name?" I ask after a very long silence since I have been staring at the animal.

"Lady," Nikolas answers making me nod. What an elegant name for a queen.

"I can't believe you never told me that you have such a pretty cat," I coo when Lady comes nears me as I stretch my hand out to caress her.

"You never asked," he simply answers as he starts eating making me glare at him.

Instead of arguing with him, I start to eat since I realize that I have been pretty hungry. The food is quite good, but I do miss Ania's cooking. It's really a shame she's not here anymore. I think it's the first kill I have ever regretted in my whole life. Still, food is food and my body needs it even if blood would be better. I wonder if there is some of Nikolas' blood mixed to the food now. It doesn't taste anything, if there is some, it is really well hidden.

When we are finished eating, Nikolas starts to go through the details of the duel with me. First, he starts with the rules and I am relieved to know that it is not allowed to kill the opponent. After that, it is the rules applying to me, which are where I should stand, when I should arrive and how I should behave and so on. Come on, I am not a child. Apparently, I can invite whoever I want. Then he tells me that his parents will be there too.

"Do they know about..." I ask not wanting to complete my sentence.

"Yes, and they will be expecting us to mate after the fight," the Pure answers making Matthias whistles as I tense.

"Of course, they are," I say nervously.

"Princess, you should just accept your fate already," adds Matthias making me glare at him, again.

"Where's my bottle of water?"

"It's on its way. I hope your highness can wait until then."

Lady surprises me when she jumps into my lap. She lays down as I start petting her. She purrs and leans into my touch. This little bundle of fur is so soft and flexible. If only I were a cat, that way we could be together since you're such a lady. As if sensing my thoughts, she looks up before jumping away into Nikolas' lap. She meows at me making me roll my eyes. Yeah, I know, you prefer guys like him. He is your master, after all, there is no surprise here. Now it's not only girls, but cats also like men with this kind of look.

"Where's Elizabeth?" I ask hesitantly since I have been kept in the dark the whole time.

"In a confinement room in case she decided to escape," Matthias answers as Nikolas continue to type on his laptop. "Even as a prisoner, she does make a lot of requests," he adds in a grumble.

"Now that I think about it, how did you even find her? How many people you hired to do it?" I ask another question making him sigh.

"Princess, you don't need to worry about that," he answers making me roll my eyes.

"When my dick shrinks inside my body and becomes a vagina, you can call me princess."

"The real question is, are you ready for the fight little brother?" Matthias asks Nikolas while ignoring my precedent comment.

"You want to get beaten up again?" the other man answers with a cocky smile.

"You! Then how about a match right now?" the older brother growls as his canines start to grow past his lips.

"Alright, but don't cry if you lose."

Matthias' ears heat up in a light shade of pink, "That was when we were still a child! You will be the one to sulk and pout for days when you lose," Matthias taunts back making Nikolas rolls his eyes.

"You think that I will lose in front of my mate?"

"What about a bet?" I propose when I get bored watching their pointless fight of testosterone.

"A bet? Princess, we are both immortal and rich. What do you want us to bet?"

"Go bet an island for what I care," I retort since the only thing I'm interested in is the fight.

"There is an island in the Caribbean for sale at the moment. Cave Cay, two hundred and twenty-two acres for sixty thousand," Nikolas reads off from his laptop. "The loser buys the island for the winner?"

"Deal," Matthias answers as the two brothers shake their hands to seal the deal.

Do they even realize they just bet an island? Oh well, it is not my money, they can do whatever they want. I follow them to the yard, but I stop right in my track when I hear Lady's sweet voice. I turn around and see her looking at me with her tail slowly moving behind her. I smile and take her into my arms before getting out of the mansion. Since it's my first time out here, I take in the view. Near the rear door, there is a huge patio with an outdoor fireplace surrounded by armchairs. Further, there is a table with chairs, a bar counter and other equipment to cook outside. Then there is a huge space with green grass with a water fountain in the middle. This house is extravagant in every aspect.

I sit down on the grass, meters away from the other two. At least, if they want to destroy things, I won't be some collateral damage.

"The first one to get out of the ring loses," states Nikolas making me frown in confusion, but when I look closer, I do see some marks on the ground. "Micah, you give the starting signal."

"Fine, are you ready? In three... Two... One... Fight!" I shout as Lady purrs under me when I caress her head.

As soon as I said start, Matthias rush toward Nikolas in an incredible speed while trying to land a punch. Unfortunately for him, the younger Pure avoid it before trying to punch back in the stomach. They both succeeded to avoid each other punch, but since it is a close combat, they both start to release an incredible amount of their scent making the air around them rise a few degrees. Suddenly, Nikolas stumbles back, but I don't know why. Even with my acute senses, I can't see what just happened. But the same happens to Matthias. It is as of they try to beat an invincible force. Soon, their air blast here and there, but neither one of them move. They must use their power exclusive to the pure blood vampires. It can be anything, but it changes from family to family.

Then Nikolas crouches down as if he is preparing himself to run. I hear a small kind of explosion sound before he is propelled toward Matthias. When he is close enough, he jumps up taking the other man by surprise before landing a solid kick on his older brother's arm. Matthias falls to the ground before replacing his broken arm with a crack. I wince at the sound, it's not like I had never done it before, but it is just so painful. So when he did it without even batting an eyelid, I am surprised. Does he even feel pain?

Matthias stretches his arm a few times before giving a glare to Nikolas, "You really like to sneak up on your opponents."

"When a cat sees a mouse, it can't help, but play with it before finally eating it," the younger brother answers as he gives me a glance.

"You have always been like that," Matthias sighs as he casually crouches down before kicking Nikolas' feet to make him fall.

He falls on the ground with a grunt, soiling his white shirt with dirt. Without wasting a second, he rolls to the left to avoid Matthias' shoe coming right at him. After getting back to his feet, they both run toward each other. Just before their fists meet each other, Nikolas has been blasted away. It looks like Matthias has combusted the air just in front of his opponent stomach. Unfortunately for him, Nikolas succeeds to stop himself before getting out of the ring.

"You sneaky little shit," Nikolas growls angrily while his shirt is torn away showing his perfectly sculpted abs.

"Serve you right," Matthias growls back as they both stare each other with intensity.

I start to think that this fight may become more personal than a simple training. They fight and bicker at each other about everything and anything. Well, I guess this is their rivalry as siblings, but the fact that they argue without caring that each attack is enough to kill any normal living being is quite surprising and shocking. I hope that Nikolas and Elizabeth won't fight like this tomorrow. I am certain that it would be much deadlier than this "training".

I wince when I feel pain on my arm. I look down as Lady hisses at me. I immediately release her since I nearly crushed her to death.

"I'm sorry Lady, are you okay?" I ask as I try to touch her, but she starts hissing at me again. Of course, my wound has already healed, but it wouldn't have been the case if I had crushed her to death. "Here," I take out some dried fish that was on the table during our lunch.

Lady sniffs at it before snatching it from my hand. However, she doesn't come back into my lap which saddens me a little. She is so fluffy and soft. What a shame.

When I look away from the cat, I see that Matthias has been propelled out of the ring making Nikolas the victor. Damn it! I can't believe I have missed the big finale.

"It looks like you owe me an island," Nikolas says with a satisfied smile as he helps his brother up on his feet.

"It can't be helped. At least, I know that you're ready for the duel," Matthias grumbles as his cell phone starts ringing.

He walks away from us as he answers the incoming call. Meanwhile, Nikolas sits down beside me. I frown and inch away from the man.

"You stink," I state as I cover my nose. For once, having an enhanced sense of smell is really disadvantageous.

"My apologies, I have been beaten and thrown to the grown multiple time while working out. I think I can stink for a few minutes," he retorts while closing the space between us again.

"Well, I'm glad you are not hurt..." I mumble hoping he will not hear what I just said.

"Were you worried?"

I don't know why, but I feel my face heating up before answering, "W-why should I??"

"You don't need to be embarrassed. I like your fiery side of yours, but this is cute too," he turns my head with his hand before landing a soft kiss on my lips.

His lips are so soft as his beard prickles my chin. This contrast... I like it.

"Here's your bottle of water from the Alps," Matthias says making me jolt in surprises before pushing Nikolas away making him growl.

"Read the mood," the man who just kissed me snarled.

"I was only saving his poor ass from nearly being raped. Here take it, Princess," Matthias shrugs as he gives me the water bottle.

I can't believe it... He really sent someone to get a bottle...

"Monkey! Do you want to get your ass beaten again?" Nikolas threatens as he stands up.

"I would like to see you try, you leech!"