Attend a class on a red day.

"CAROS AND VAMPIRES ." Professor Gustav looked around the classroom. "What is the difference between the two?"

Numerous hands shot up, and the professor picked one of the male students seated at the front row.

"Caros are what vampires used to be. Caros drink blood without taking life. Vampires willingly cross the line in order to trade their souls for immortality."

"Correct. And why do you think there are Caros who choose to cross those lines?"

Fewer students raised their hands this time, and the professor picked a girl seated in the back.

"Because of their weakness."

"What kind of weakness?" the professor questioned.

"Pleasure. Every Caro is born with a desire for a specific form of pleasure, and this pleasure can also turn into their weakness."

"Precisely." Professor Gustav's gaze swept over his students. "And because each and every one of you in this class is either a ward or a blood-bonded servant of a Caro, you must all remember that it is your sworn duty to serve the Caro you are bonded to. Your position may come with many benefits, but it also comes with responsibilities, and one of your most most sacred duties is to ensure that your Caro is able to indulge in their pleasure wherever and whenever they desire to do so, and for as much as they need."

"But what about sangferia?" another girl asked, and as the whole class reacted in a mixture of hoots, snickers, and laughs, Juliette fought to keep her face expressionless because she didn't want anyone to know...she was just as excited and eager as the rest of them to hear more.

Professor Gustav shook his head in amusement at the reaction of his class. Sangferia was the Caro term for 'virgin's blood', and it was only a few years ago that an old blood Caro, Etienne Hirsche, had successfully proven through a series of experiments that the consumption of chemically compatible sangferia would result in a marked increase of the Caro's strength.

Sangferia had always been a hot topic among his students, and this batch of young ones appeared no different from the others. "The operative term to remember when talking about sangferia is chemical compatibility. Virginal blood that isn't chemically compatible yields so little benefit it is practically indiscernible."

The students groaned, and Professor Gustav, taking pity, could only offer additional words for comfort. "Experiments are still ongoing on whether chemical compatibility may change over time or altered if other factors come into play. I'm sure you all recall Prince Etienne's Arrhythmia Experiment ?"

Juliette squirmed in her seat. She wished she could squeal out 'yes, yes, yes', but as a ward of House Bellecourt, Jean Luc had successfully drummed into all of their heads that proper decorum must always be maintained.

"Prince Etienne hypothesized that when a Caro possesses an extraordinary connection to another individual—-"

That's love, Juliette wished she could say.

"—-then this connection is what causes the other individual's blood to become chemically compatible."

"But the results of the experiment were inconclusive," a male student pointed out.

"The experiment is still ongoing," Professor Gustav corrected, "and so it is premature to say anything definitive about the results."

"But what do you think, Professor? Do you think it's true? That when a Caro falls in love, the object of the Caro's affection will have chemically compatible sangferia to offer?"

"It is truly too early to say, but what I do know is what you must do as either a ward or a blood-bonded servant. If your test results show that your sangferia is indeed chemically compatible with the Caro you are blood-bonded to, then it is your duty to have your Caro consume it...by all means, fair or foul."

THE HIVE WAS A 50-FLOOR skyscraper in downtown Miami, and occupying the entire length of one of the top floors was House Bellecourt. As old bloods like the Bellecourts were intensely private, Jean Luc and his brothers preferred to conduct their business with other preters and humans outside their estate.

It was here that the brothers introduced their newest anti-vampire products, many of which had utilized groundbreaking technology and were credited for saving millions of lives across the globe. It was also here they crafted the terms for House Bellecourt's mutual defense treaties with other packs, clans, and covens, and as for today, the Hive was also where Ga?l had decided to spend his working hours watching real-time footage...of his ward's first day in Université de L'Alliance.

"Did you hear what that professor just said?" Ga?l demanded irritably. "He's supposed to protect and nourish the minds of his students, not corrupt it."

" First of all —-we have no choice but to hear it," Severin drawled, "since you have the footage playing on a giant fucking screen in front of us. And secondly - you do know your actions can be classified as stalking, don't you?"

"It's not stalking when UdLA permits Caro guardians to supervise the activities of their wards. And haven't you seen the fucking news? Schools are no longer safe zones—-"

"Other schools maybe," Severin retorted, "but that's UD-fucking-LA. It's under the protection of all seventy-seven known races—-"

Jean Luc decided it was time to intervene. "An extra safety measure or two never hurts, but on the other hand..." Jean Luc glanced back the screen. He was about to point out that Ga?l's actions did border on stalking, but he was distracted by the sight of Juliette, whose face remained impressively serene even as her professor began to enumerate the ways one could "enhance" the quality of their sangferia.

Ga?l's mood darkened further as the classroom discussion kept getting more... obscene . "She's just eighteen, dammit. Why are they talking about such stuff in front of her?"

"Sex is not a taboo topic among our race," Jean Luc reminded his brother, "and it would be foolish to act otherwise where wards of Caros are concerned."

"It's just not fucking right."

Jean Luc gazed at the other man contemplatively. "Why are you so protective towards her, Ga?l?"

"She's human."

"Is that truly the only reason?" Jean Luc asked quietly. "Could it not perhaps have something to do with Laura?"

Severin stiffened at the sudden mention of Ga?l's old flame. While he took pleasure in ruffling Ga?l's feathers once in a while, even he would never dare remind his brother of that part of his life. If Severin himself could not help but feel pain when recalling those days, what more Ga?l, who had lost everything because of that bitch's unforgivably cruel act of selfishness?

"Laura is the complete opposite of Juliette," Ga?l bit out.

"Indeed," Jean Luc acknowledged. "But Laura, like Juliette, was someone you once considered as your responsibility. And although we have taken pains to convince you that it isn't the case, we know that you still blame yourself for what happened in the past. Perhaps that's the reason you are doing everything you can to keep any harm from befalling your ward?"

Jean Luc's words persisted in poisoning Ga?l's thoughts even as he left the Hive over two hours later, and he was already en route to Juliette's university. It was true that he did blame himself for what happened in the past, but could that be why he was so damn protective towards Juliette?

Ga?l still vividly remembered the first day he had met his ward. It was on the day the whole world had changed, and vampires had orchestrated an ambitious plan of attack. It had targeted a detention facility in hopes of creating a new army of vampires, and it was at that very place Ga?l had found a young girl standing silent and still while staring straight into the eyes of a vampire.

When the creature had lunged towards Juliette, she would have died then and there if Ga?l hadn't leapt mid-air to throw the creature away. And when he finally approached Juliette, he could still remember to this day how it felt when Juliette finally opened her eyes.

He had felt like he had been struck by lighting, with the way Juliette lifted her big, doe eyes to his and looked at him like he was her everything.

Maybe that was the only reason why he wanted to still see her as a child, Ga?l thought broodingly. Maybe it was just him being selfish, and wanting Juliette to keep looking at him like he was her everything.

Since Juliette came to his life, her safety and happiness had given him something to look forward to. Her smiles had made him forget the past and enjoy the present, and he had convinced himself that things would never change between them.

But of course, that was a lie. He had been lying to himself all this time, and the realization reminded him of Jean Luc's parting words from earlier.

"Juliette is not the type to rebel, but there will assuredly come a time when she is going to ask you for something - or even someone - that you are unwilling to give. If you insist on your present ways, your ward may come to see you as inflexible and overbearing, and another man will be able to pluck her out of your possession...just by treating her like the woman she already is."