Go to the ball.

SOMETHING HAD HAPPENED .

Again.

The thought was at the top of everyone's minds as they piled inside the Bellecourts' stretch limo, which could comfortably accommodate the entire family. But as always, nobody said a word, and even Severin was privately troubled by the tension between Ga?l and his ward.

The Mayor's Ball was one of the few annual events that Jean Luc required his entire family to attend. As those invited were the city's wealthiest and most powerful human and preter residents, Jean Luc wanted the guests to see House Bellecourt presenting a united front.

And because both Ga?l and Juliette knew this, the two didn't hesitate to play their role of doting guardian and obedient ward as soon as it was their turn to pose for the press.

Juliette usually asked Ga?l to keep their time on the red carpet to a minimum, but because this might be one of her few chances to stay by his side, her shyness was all but forgotten as she held on to her guardian's arm while smiling this way or that.

She could feel Ga?l's icy blue gaze on her all the while, but Juliette pretended not to notice and told herself she had nothing to feel guilty about. She was only doing her duty as his ward, and it just so happend that tonight's duty meant sticking to him like glue.

Ga?l's mood turned increasingly brooding as he watched his ward nearly break her neck in her effort to catch the eye of every reporter they came across. She usually hated having people's attention on them like this, but now she was acting as if she loved being in the spotlight. Was this her way of trying to make it up to him? Did she think her rejection would hurt less if she strove to become the perfect ward?

Juliette's heart started to pound when they finally reached the end of the red carpet, and they began to descend the stairs leading down to the ballroom.

With events like this, Ga?l would typically have her first dance before proceeding to do business with other preter guests. She was hoping it would be the same tonight, but upon reaching the end of the steps, Ga?l turned to her with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"I need to speak to Emilia Moretti. Will you be alright if I leave you alone?"

Juliette felt like she had been slapped, but she somehow managed to summon a smile. "Of course."

She blinked furiously as she watched him walk away. Did this mean he now knew that Emilia was his near-perfect match...and he didn't want to waste time in seeking a strategic alliance with the other woman?

Juliette tried to act normal for the rest of the evening, but when an hour passed, and Ga?l remained locked in some private room with the princess, she knew she had to leave before she completely embarrassed herself and her family.

The woods behind the city hall were dark and cold as Juliette ventured outside to take a walk. So lost was she in her pain that when she started to feel she was being watched, it was too late.

Something had already leapt out of the dark, and her whole world crashed when she realized what it was.

Oh God.

It was that creature again.

The vampire that had killed Glynis.

It was still alive, and it was staring at her the way it did that day.

(PREY)

She wanted to scream and cry. Fight back and run away. But just as adrenaline and panic warred inside of her, it was then Juliette heard the worst sound in the world—-

No, no, no!

Juliette and the creature saw him at the same time.

A little boy, whose laughter now had the creature greedily licking its lips.

The child had ice-blond hair and cherubic cheeks, and Juliette wondered if fear had made her lose her sanity without even knowing it. Why did that boy look so much like he was a miniature version of a Bellecourt?

A firefly had the child running happily after it, and just as she was about to scream for the boy to run for his life, the child tripped and fell, and blood started to drip from the gash on his knee.

Oh God, no.

It was like the past all over again. The boy might not be old and frail like Glynis, but he was just as helpless. Just as innocent. And Juliette knew she would never be able to live with herself if she allowed another person to die in her place.

Oh God, why?

The creature's gaze darted menacingly back and forth between Juliette and the child, who was now crying for his mother, and she knew the exact moment the vampire's hunger for the freshest blood won over its obsession towards her.

God, oh God.

She had always asked herself why God had allowed her to live, and maybe this was the reason. Maybe she had never been meant to save Glynis. Maybe, just maybe...Glynis had died to give Juliette the chance to give her everything in saving this boy.

GA?L'S INSTINCT WARNED him of danger the moment his meeting with Emilia came to an end, and he realized he couldn't find Juliette anywhere. Since he knew his ward had this rare but foolish tendency to take a walk when she was troubled, could have something upset her tonight...and forced his ward to leave?

A sobbing woman crashed into his arms the moment he stepped out of the ballroom in order to look for Juliette, and the familiar scent that flayed him made Ga?l's skin crawl. He cursed under his breath as he leapt back, and fury roared through his veins as he forced himself to look up.

"Ga?l..."

It was his ex-wife, and he had never seen her look so terrified.

"I heard my son cry," she sobbed. "I lost him, and now I can't find him."

What the fuck did she just say?

And then she was running, and all he could do was watch her go.

Did she just say her son?

He went after her unthinkingly, and as he followed Laura through the dark and eerily silent woods, he eventually realized that his ex-wife was using the trail of what was likely her son's scent to track him down.

How could God bless a woman like Laura with a son while taking his Rosey to heaven all too soon?

A howl of rage pierced their ears in the next second, and Ga?l's blood turned cold while Laura's face turned chalk-white in terror.

"No, please, God, no!"

That was the unmistakable sound of a vampire losing its temper, but just as they tracked their way through thorn-ridden vines, it was then they saw a vampire flailing in the ground, a stake in its heart while a little boy watched in silence, his tear-stained face somber and his arms wrapped tightly around a young woman's hips.

Laura fell to her knees. "Callum, oh God, sweetheart, come here."

The boy ran to his mother while Ga?l ran towards the girl.

Even without her turning around, and her scent masked, he already knew, oh God, he already knew it was her—-

Juliette.

Ga?l roared for help as she fell into his arms, and her head lolled back.

"E-Etienne...what Etienne said was true."

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

"I thought I was b-being p-paranoid—-"

No, God, no.

He couldn't even understand how she was able to choke the words out, with her throat torn open and bleeding.

"But I w-wasn't—-"

His brothers came, and Ga?l looked up at Jean Luc, his face ashen. "I have to do it."

"It's been w-watching me all these years.. . " Juliette's eyes had closed, and she was mumbling as if she was in a dream.

"I was its obsession..."

Ga?l's oldest brother ripped his wrist open with his fangs and held it to Ga?l. "Drink, brother."

And the process for turning Juliette into Caro began.