Chapter 1

Rose woke up that bright early morning to birds chirping on her glass window and the sun streaming in through her white curtain.

She yawned and stretched her tired body over her single bed.

She slowly sat up in bed, and rested her back on her headboard, squinting her eyes as the sunlight suddenly shone directly on her as the soft morning wind blew the curtains that were shading her out of the way.

She reached over to her small bedside table for her glasses and book, resting back on the headboard again as she fixed her glasses on her face, getting ready to read her book.

She smiled as she looked down at the book on her lap, running her slim fingers over the thick leather cover of her book. <Mated To The Dead Prince> was boldly engraved in red onto the dark cover.

"And she surrendered completely to the dead prince, not out of fear, but out of desire and love," Rose smiled sheepishly as she read out loud from her story, she enjoyed it better that way.

She was a huge lover of fantasy stories and magical creatures but she never believed in them. Who did?

"No, Lucia, I can't have you, I'll only destroy your life-" Rose paused and turned to her side with a frown.

"What now?" She muttered angrily at her phone that was ringing under her pillow.

She didn't like it when someone interrupted her reading, and she was just about getting to the best part.

She sighed and slid her hand under her pillow to grab her phone. And, the moment she saw the name displayed on the screen, she knew she was in big trouble.

"Oh God, no! I'm late... Again!" She fumbled around anxiously and got up from her bed.

She dropped the phone on the bed and quickly ran into her small bathroom for a quick shower.

Her phone kept ringing as she dressed up but she kept ignoring it. She was glad their company had a dress code, it saved her the dilemma of choosing an outfit every day.

Today was Monday, so she pulled her black pencil skirt through her legs, zipping it behind her, and loving the way it accentuated her beautiful figure. She pulled a loose white blouse over her head and quickly fixed her long silky black hair in a tight ponytail; hurriedly, she fixed her favorite black flat shoes on her feet.

Make-up? No, not for her.

"Hello, yes, I'm sorry, boss, I'm on my way. Yes, I got the files too, yes sir," Rose fidgeted with her phone as she finally answered her boss.

She quickly picked up her book threw it into her mama bag together with her files, and hurriedly ran out of the house.

"Hey! McPoland's please," She hurriedly told the cab guy.

"Enter, Ma'am," The cab man said to her.

"Thank you," Rose rushed into the car with her bags and files, impatiently tapping her foot on the mat as the cab man drove through the city.

Normally, Rose loved to take a little walk down the streets of NY before she took a cab. She loved the early morning sun kissing her skin and warming her blood. It always made her feel alive. But, on days like this one, she skipped her romantic morning walks because she knew her job was on the line.

She couldn't afford to lose her job, it meant her parents won, and she didn't want to lose to them.

"We're here, Ma'am," The cab man said as he parked in front of a huge company.

"Oh, thank goodness, keep the change, sir. Thank you!" Rose rushed her words as she gathered her belongings and ran into the tall building.

She didn't bother waiting for the elevator, ignoring people's stares, she quickly ran towards the stairs, hoping to get to her office in less than the three remaining minutes before she was officially late for work.

"Yes!" She leaned her forehead on the wall as she finally reached her floor, panting heavily like a woman in labor.

"Ms. Thiago?" A man's voice called her from a distance.

"Oh shit!" She muttered and straightened up, rushing forward into her boss's office.

"May I come in, boss?" She asked in between breaths as she stood in front of the door, waiting for permission to enter the office first.

"Come in, Ms. Thiago," Her boss responded.

She quietly opened the door and entered the office.

A man in a grey suit was standing in front of a bookshelf with his back to her, she quietly walked over to the table and dropped the files she'd been carrying from home.

"Here are the files, Mr. Elliot," Rose said quietly and turned to leave.

"Ms. Thiago?" Elliot called Rose who was about to open the door and leave.

"Yes, sir," Rose slowly turned to face her boss.

"Why are you late?" Elliot asked, putting his hands in his pocket and slowly turning around to look at Rose.

'Because I couldn't get my eyes off my romantic fantasy novel, Elliot. Duh!' She replied in her head.

"I'm sorry, sir. It won't happen again," She said, lowering her head to show Mr. Elliot her sincerity.

"That's what you said on Friday, Rose, tell me... What should I do to you?" Elliot slowly approached Rose in predatory steps.

Rose felt her boss approaching her and slowly started to move backward, she didn't fear her boss or anything, but most times, he made her feel like prey with the way he behaved sometimes.

Like right now, he looked like a wolf that was having fun cornering its prey with that sexy smirk on his handsome face. It made her blush.

Another reason why she avoided him was because of the secret crush she had on him. She always felt like his piercing gaze would see right through her soul and discover all her hidden secrets.

"This will be the last time, I promise I'll change," Rose stopped backing away when she reached the wall. She had to watch her boss, approach her in his predatory and calculated steps.

"Change?" Elliot asked, stopping right in front of her.

Rose nodded her head in confirmation, not looking into his eyes.

"I don't believe you," Elliot said.

He placed his hand on Rose's cheek and turned her face to him, smirking down at her scared face.

Rose knew she had finally landed herself in trouble with her boss this time around.

"I'll punish you instead," Elliot said and backed away from Rose, walking around his table and sitting on his chair.

"Sit, Rose," Elliot pointed to the seat in front of his table.

Rose quietly sighed.

She walked over to the seat and lowered herself on it, keeping her bag on her thigh.

"I'm really sorry; if you'll just give me-"

"Quiet," Elliot said in a low voice, going through the files Rose had just dropped on his table.

"As your punishment, you'll be joining the research team to travel," Elliot said, still looking at the files.

Rose instantly looked at her boss. How could he do this to her?

"S- sir, traveling? As in, joining them for their latest research?" Rose asked cautiously.

"Prepare yourself well, it'll be for three days," Elliot replied, finally looking up at her.

He saw the worry in her eyes but he held back his smile.

He owned a medical company that produced beauty-enhancing medicines and beauty products too.

He knew Rose was never a fan of chemicals, she always preferred paperwork, and that's why she applied to be his secretary.

"Sir, you know I don't know anything about researching the latest chemicals for products, isn't it a bit risky sending me on this research? I might end up destroying the skin of the unlucky person who uses the product I made with the chemical I discovered..." Rose paused, looking into her bag, at her book, and wondering when she'll have the time to read it again.

Actually, Rose was quite intelligent, but she didn't want to let anyone know because she feared they'd send her to work with the research team, which would make her always busy, and she wouldn't have time for her books.

But now, her boss has made her nightmare come true, she was going on a boring research trip in a boring laboratory where they'll mix and grind chemicals together to discover new ways to use them.

"I trust you, I know you can do it," Elliot stood and walked over to Rose, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Be ready first thing tomorrow morning, I'll pick you up in front of your house," He patted her shoulder and walked out of his office, leaving her deep in thought.

Rose finally blinked back to reality when she heard the door shut behind her. She quickly stood and left the office, heading straight to hers.

She had just logged in to her computer to start working when a knock came through her door, and someone immediately pushed it open, not even waiting for her to permit them.

She already knew it was her best friend before she even came inside.

"Morning Laura," Rose greeted quietly.

"Morning, Rosie, where's Mr. Handsome and Rich heading to this early?" Laura asked, sitting in front of her friend's desk.

"I don't know," Rose shrugged.

"Hey, you alright," Laura asked, noticing how moody Rose was looking.

"No," Rose sighed loudly.

"That's great then, would have been worried if you were," Laura relaxed against the chair, smiling.

"You!" Rose angrily threw a pen at Laura, accidentally knocking over her bag that was on top of her desk.

"Hey, how many times are you planning to read this book?" Laura asked as she picked up Rose's novel that fell to the floor.

"Not your business," Rose said and focused on her computer.

"Oh well, poor Lucia had to fall in love with a vampire, but in the end, he died..." Laura sighed, flipping through the pages.

Rose rolled her eyes and replied without taking her eyes off the computer, "He didn't die, he just went into an immortal sleep- wait!" Rose suddenly removed her eyes from the screen and fixed them on her friend.

"You've read the book?" Rose asked unbelievably.

She knew her friend hated reading, especially long novels like her own.

"Yep. You've read it over twenty times, I got curious and had to search every bookstore for it and finally found it. I must say, it was a good read," Laura said, nodding.

Rose couldn't believe her ears.

"You? Read a book? Then nothing is impossible in this world," Rose chuckled and went back to work.

"That is true. You've just reminded me what the old lady who sold the book to me said," Laura said thoughtfully.

"What did she say?" Rose asked, not because she cared about what the old lady said, but because she just wanted her friend to stop pestering her that early.

"I must warn you too, Rose, you have to quit reading this book. I heeded her advice and just read it once," Laura said mysteriously.

"What are you talking about?" Rose asked with a frown.

"She said that this book is a true story about two lovers. It happened centuries ago, and anyone who reads the book more than once might become unlucky and get sucked into the book, into the world of Lucia and Vlad, to witness their story first-hand," Laura said in a scary tone.

"Pftt! Oh, I'm so scared. Bullshit, Laura, you of all people shouldn't believe in fantasy. Relax, it's just a story, no biggie," Rose replied, chuckling at her friend for being silly.

"She told me you'll say this when I told her about you. Careful Rose, you might just be the one to wake Vlad from his century-long deep sleep," Laura said seriously.

"Yeah yeah, I can't wait," Rose rolled her eyes at Laura unbelievably.