He stopped beside me and even though I didn't look at him, I knew he followed my gaze and looked up towards the tree that was somewhat blocking the sun I was looking at. "Is this all your property?" "Two miles from here, yes." Wow so he bought half the forest. Not that my father did any different. I was used to having the woods to myself. "It's not the best time for you to explore, Lana. You know, since two of the largest packs are on the look for you." I started walking as he followed beside me. "Well, since I'm staying here, I still wanna know the neighborhood. Besides, anyone from the Vesnetsovs that tries to come close will wind up dead." And yes, I knew that Christian had showed himself with the smaller temper but I could get pretty irritated myself. Those that knew me knew that they should never cross me. I glanced at him, noticing how he focused on my phone I was holding. "You called someone?" I looked back in front of myself.. The woods seemed endless. We had plenty of time for talking.. For starters, I wanted to call my brothers and let them know I was alright.. To text them at least. I mean, they too had no idea that Christian didn't really kidnap me.. They were probably dying worried, more than my parents were for sure. They sure showed how much they cared about me when they chose Alexander over me.. I released a heavy breath. "I wanted to text my brothers that I was okay.." "But?" He looked over at me, knowing that there was more to this story. "But, I can't. I don't want them lying because of me. It's better if they're not involved. I'd rather have them thinking that I was kidnapped, than—" "Than that you're sleeping with the enemy." I instantly looked at him.. "That's not where I was heading." And I could spent hours and hours telling him how thankful I was. Even though he did things in the brutal way, he did do them with a good intention. I trusted him. I wasn't planning on even considering any kind of regret on choosing him instead of a so called family that was ready to sell my whole life for whatever deal they had with that fool Alexander. He seemed focused in front of him, that perfect strong jaw of his as always slightly clenched, a profile that was splendid, and even in the brightest daylight, his eyes a pitch black. "It's alright. We both agreed on it being a secret." He confirmed. I looked down the path, walking over a fallen tree.. I didn't even know where we were heading.. I suppose a simple walk that would had been easier if it was a quiet one.. Christian and I always headed in the wrong direction when we over talked. But he was right. We did both agree on keeping whatever we had a secret. I couldn't lie, staying with him had woken up that trust inside me, some unbearable allurement towards him that I could obviously not deny.. Just the previous night. But it was just that.. For both of us. Lust. We knew it was just that. I cleared my throat, doing my best to keep my gaze in front of myself. "Yea, we both have benefits from it and that's what matters." I somewhat explained, my voice trailing from the thoughts that seemed to somewhat block my mind.. I could feel his eyes on me from the side. It caused all kinds of tingles in my stomach. He was a damn distraction. "And if someone sees us?" I glanced back at him. So, it wasn't just me that cared.. It would mean a bad reputation if it was heard that one of the royals was being friends, and God forbid, even more than that, with Khan Morpher's daughter. I knew what it meant being enemies. I grew up with all kinds of disturbing stories about the powerful vampire family. My father despised them. But how could I hate someone that saved me so many times? Christian was just not like that.. And no matter what the rules were, there seemed to be nothing that could hold me away from him. Not now.. Not when it all became so deep. I trusted him more than I did anyone else, and I simply saw him with different eyes than my family did. But I still cared to keep that a secret. For the sake of others. We both knew of the consequences.. We both knew what could happen if we were seen together. It meant war. And neither of us was that selfish to throw everyone in fire because of an affair. I could not put my people in danger it came to that, and neither could he. So if that little secret stayed between the two of us, only the two of us were going to carry whatever consequences it could bring. And now he had a fair point.. What if someone saw us?