Chapter 3

“BE HONEST with me. Can you really ward off the Vampires? I need to know how you met my Uncle and how exactly you can help me. I will be paying you a hefty amount, Mr. Montecarlo. You need to be worth every single cent,” Talia said in a formal voice while she was on the dining table for her breakfast.

Idris was sitting in front of her. He refused to eat with her since he said he was still full. She only took a shower a while ago but when she came back, her Uncle Ram was already gone. Idris said the latter went on a meeting, leaving her feeling all alone in Idris’ presence.

There were two maids who lived inside with her and security guards located in the front and back gate of the mansion. But since all of them had their own tasks, none of them was in the dining area at the moment. Her Uncle fired all of her bodyguards since he said they would not be able to protect her from the Vampires. And that took place upon Idris’ arrival. Uncle Ram assured her that she only needed one person to do the job perfectly.

And in this case, it was no other than Idris Montecarlo, her thirty-two year old bodyguard from Britain. She had a lot of questions but her Uncle was too busy to entertain those questions right now. She knew that the old man meant well by sending Idris her way and by removing her bodyguards whom he thought would only be a nuisance to Idris but he could have informed this to her beforehand. She ought to be the one to screen Idris first. She would be the one dealing with the bodyguard, after all.

She knew that Uncle Ram was only trying to fill in for her father that’s why she had been indulging him for years now. But Idris was a different case. Since he was claiming he could ward off Vampires, they needed more than just his proof of identity.

Her Uncle Ram left a note that he would email her a copy of Idris’ resume and the rest of his background information. And he better do that as soon as possible so she could finally understand why a man who could pass as a prince from some far-away kingdom would apply as a mere bodyguard. With his looks, he could be more than that.

Idris also looked pretty well-off. In fact, there was something about him that tells her that he was so much wealthier than her since he was wearing designer’s clothes from head to toe. Besides, he looked like he was used to commanding people more than her.

Talia must admit, the thought that Idris could see Vampires, too, was somehow comforting. But staying with each other all the time did not sound a good idea especially with all these strange things happening in her body. She never had that kind of problem with her previous bodyguards. Her body never reacted to any man before, even to her own fiancé which became a problem later on. As much as she hated to acknowledge it, her body seemed to only react with the male Vampires.

And just when she was beginning to think that she had been cursed or something, this royalty in front of her proved her wrong.

It should have been comforting to know that a man with no Vampire genes could attract her this much. But this scared her. Every time she would meet Idris’ gaze, she could see something else in his eyes that intensifies the heat inside her, just like what was happening now. Her core was throbbing and it was like every inch of her body suddenly became very sensitive.

Talia didn’t know if she was that transparent because for a second, she thought she saw concern in Idris’ eyes. But it disappeared right away. Earlier, when Idris pulled the chair for her and their hands accidentally touched, she felt electrified. And she could swear that he felt it, too. She heard him took a deep breath before he comfortably sat in front of her as if nothing happened.

“Miss San Valentin?”

Talia’s mind went back to Idris after hearing his voice. When she turned to him, she saw how amusement flashed his eyes. She did not have to look at her reflection in the mirror to know that her face turned red. She cleared her throat. “You’re saying something, Mr. Montecarlo?”

“I was talking about how I met your Uncle in Britain but you can ask him the rest of the details again later, Miss San Valentin,” Idris answered smoothly. For a moment, Talia envied how he could play it cool because there she was, having the hardest time of her life trying to be logical when her body was writhing in pain.

“For now, let me tell you what I know about the Vampires. There are two ways to incapacitate them. The tales are not completely incorrect when they said that it’s through ripping the Vampires’ heads off and burning their bodies. But of course, that would not be easy since they move three to four times faster than humans.” Idris went on. “Second is through targeting their hearts using a special kind of silver blade. The blade had to be laced with werewolf venom for it to work otherwise, the Vampires would heal quickly. But acquiring that kind of blade wouldn’t be easy because seventy-nine years ago, the rulers of the Werewolves and Vampires signed a peace treaty. Both creatures are now living peacefully in different parts of the world.”

Talia winced. She put down the spoon and fork on the table and stood up. “That’s as good as telling me that it’s impossible to fight the Vampires!”