Compelled

Rose woke up the next morning feeling terrible. Her head hurt, her body ached along with her heart, and she felt herself drained of energy. She groaned and rubbed her eyes, hoping to ease the burning.

She got up and hurried to the bathroom to get ready for the day. Her eyes widened with a gasp when she watched her reflection in the bathroom mirror.

Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy, a sign that she had been crying all night. Her lower lip had a small cut from the pressure she had used biting it last night to try and stop her sobs.

She groaned and quickly jumped into the shower.

She got out twenty minutes later and put on some dark-blue jeans, a black t-shirt, and black ankle boots. She did her makeup light and left her hair down in waves around her shoulders. She had barely finished her hair when there was a knock at her door.

"Come in," she said. Her breath caught at the sight of Caleb, dressed exquisitely in a black tailored suit. Did he always dress up? She looked down at herself and winced. Maybe she should wear a dress?

"You look lovely," Caleb said, realizing what she was doing.

She cleared her throat and stood up from her vanity chair. "Did you need something?" she asked.

Caleb smiled and walked up to her. "I'd like to have breakfast with you, that's all."

As if on cue, her stomach grumbled. She gasped and her cheeks turned red.

Caleb chuckled. "I'll take that as a yes." He reached out his hand towards her, but she turned away from him. He frowned at her actions, feeling slighted.

Rose ignored him and walked towards the door, eager to get away from him. After last night, she had concluded that it would be best to stay away from him from now on.

Caleb frowned and caught up to her. "Are you mad?"

"No." She tried to keep the conversation as limited as possible. The less interactions she had with him, the better.

Caleb didn't say anything else as he guided her.

They made it to the dinning room and Rose was surprised when she saw no one else. "Where's everyone else?" She followed him to her chair and sat.

Caleb took his seat and looked at her. "They're eating somewhere else."

"Oh, okay." A creepy feeling made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Were they also eating something else? Of course they were. It's not like they were going to stop being vampires just because she was here.

Their breakfast was served and they both ate in silence, Rose not wanting to interact with him, and Caleb watching her and trying to figure out what was wrong with her.

"I'd like for you to come with me to the study for a few minutes after breakfast," Caleb said as he looked down at her. He had finished eating and was now waiting for her.

Her breath caught as the images of the night before ran through her mind. She cleared her throat and turned to look at him. "Is there something you need to say to me?���

"There's something I want to do."

She frowned. "What do you mean?"

He smiled at her suspicion. In a way he was glad that she didn't trust easily, it would keep her safer. "It's something that's going to help."

"Can you at least tell me what it is before I go?"

"No. Finish eating and we'll go."

She frowned and her mouth turned into a thin line. "And what if I say no?" she asked defiantly.

He smiled and leaned over to get closer to her. "Then I guess I'll just have to carry you there myself."

She turned away from him and focused on her breakfast, cheeks burning red. Damn him! So, even if she didn't want to go he was going to force her!

They finished breakfast and Caleb guided her to the study, noting the way she nervously fidgeted with the hem of her shirt. "Relax, I'm not going to hurt you."

She didn't say anything, but looked around the study, looking to see if there was anyone else in the room in case she needed witnesses. Not that they would help her. She sighed, defeated.

The door opened and Katherine walked in, looking regal and arrogant. She was wearing a short red dress, with a V-neck and black heels. Her hair was done up into an elegant bun and her makeup was smoky, matching the look perfectly.

Rose once again looked at herself and frowned. Everyone seemed to like dressing up here. She wondered if maybe she should too.

"Rose, I'm sure you've heard that vampires have… certain abilities that are abnormal," Caleb said, looking for the right words so he wouldn't scare her even more.

Rose felt her heart beat rapidly at his words. "Um… yeah, I guess," she said and gulped as she looked over at Katherine. Was she going to be some kind of guinea pig?

Caleb smiled as he watched her shrink backwards. "Katherine has a special ability and I asked her to do me a favor."

Rose gulped. "What favor?"

Katherine walked up to her and grabbed her face, keeping their gazes locked on each other.

"Kat," Caleb warned, noticing the way Rose trembled in fear. "Be gentle."

Katherine rolled her eyes and looked at her. "It's not going to hurt."

"What are you going to do?" Rose asked, irritated and scared shitless. She slapped Katherine's hands away from her face and looked over at Caleb.

Caleb walked forward and stood between the two women. "Last night you asked me if we had the power to control humans with eyesight."

Rose nodded and gulped nervously.

"I don't want you to be afraid, or in any danger. I have full trust in my people here, so I know they won't force you to do anything, but I don't want you to be in at the mercy of anyone else that comes to visit. So I've asked Katherine to compel you to be immune."

Rose frowned. "So you're going to compel me to be immune to compelling?"

He chuckled. "Yes, I suppose that's right. So what do you say?"

Rose bit her bottom lip as she considered his words. "Will it really work?"

"Yes," Katherine answered, eyes narrowed at her. She felt insulted that she would even ask such a question. How dare she question her abilities!

Rose nodded. "And if you do this, I won't be compelled by any vampire, anywhere?"

"That's right." He leaned over and whispered in her ear. "This way you'll know I'm not the one controlling your heart and body when you're around me."

Her eyes widened with his words and she looked up to glare at him. What a jerk! She looked over at Katherine and nodded, determined. She was not going to be the victim of Caleb, or anyone else! If this would help her stay safe from them, then there was nothing else to think about. "Okay, do it."

Katherine grabbed her face once again and looked into her eyes. "Don't move."

"Are you compelling me not to move?" She asked, frowning. Katherine looked at her like she was stupid, so she didn't say anything else and simply stared back at her.

"From this day forward, you will not be susceptible to any vampire who compels you. Only I have the power to break this order," Katherine said as she focused on Rose's eyes.

Rose felt a shiver run down her back as she watched Katherine's eyes turn red while she spoke. The temperature in the room dropped quickly and she felt air whirling around them. Something washed over her and made her shudder. She wrapped her hands around herself quickly to fight off a shiver.

"Alright, it's done," Katherine said and turned around to leave.

Rose gulped and watched her walk away. "T-that's it?" She asked, surprised.

Katherine stopped and turned around. Her eyes narrowed at her menacingly.

Rose swallowed as she watched Katherine approach her once again. She gasped when her eyes turned red.

"I compel you to cry."

Rose frowned and looked over at Caleb, who smiled smugly.

"Perfect," he said as he looked at Rose who didn't follow Katherine's order.

Rose chuckled dryly. "So, I didn't follow her order because she compelled me not to right?"

Caleb chuckled.

Rose frowned as she watched him call for someone. She watched the door open and a girl around her age walked in. Rose couldn't help but notice how pretty the girl was and she immediately wondered what her job here was.

"You called master?" the girl asked as she looked up at Caleb.

Katherine turned around and walked towards the girl. "I compel you to kiss Caleb."

Rose watched in shock as the girl's eyes glazed over, her back straightened and she looked over at Caleb.

The girl began to walk towards him as if she was in some kind of daze, moving towards her target.

"Kat," Caleb sighed. He leaned over and waited for the girl to kiss him on the cheek, but to his surprise, the girl pressed her lips against his.

Rose frowned and fought the urge to pull the girl away from him. She looked over at Katherine who smirked at her smugly. She tried not to say anything, not to let it bother her. They weren't married after all. What could she say? And why was she getting upset when she didn't like him anyways?

The girl blinked a few times and looked up at Caleb. Her cheeks turned red, realizing what she had done. "Master I'm so sorry!" She bowed her head as she apologized.

Caleb looked over at Rose, noting the way her back had straightened when the girl kissed him. He fought a smile and looked down at the girl. "It's alright. You may leave."

The girl hurried quickly towards the door and was gone before they could say anything else to her.

Caleb cleared his throat and looked over at Rose. "I'm sorry about that. It won't happen again."

Rose shrugged her shoulders, pretending not to care. "We're not married yet. You can kiss whoever you want." She felt the atmosphere grow cold instantly and she gulped when she watched his eyes turn cold as he stared at her. Shit. Maybe she shouldn't have said that.

"Kat, leave us," Caleb ordered without taking his eyes off of Rose. He felt anger boiling within him as her words ran through his mind. So, they could kiss anyone they wanted because they weren't married yet? Over his dead body!

Rose watched the smirk on Katherine's lips before she turned around and left her alone with the demon king who glared at her menacingly. Her heart beat furiously as she turned to look up at Caleb. Her breath caught as she watched his eyes gleaming with coldness and she felt doomed as he began to walk towards her.