"No..." she cried only to shriek as David forced her arm behind her back. "Leave me alone." The words were an order but her tone was one of fear. This was the worst nightmare she could ever dream of and the worst part was in knowing she wouldn't wake up from this terror. She struggled with David, ripping her arm out of his grasp. With a gulp of fear, she took off running, feeling the world blur around her, everyone else looking like they were standing still.
Her hunger was gone. The only thing she wanted right now was Christian. But he was back there, behind David and the threat he posed on Kinlye. She moved with little thought, finding herself outside of town gates. She ran even further, stopping by the stream that had been one of her refuges when she lived with David and his mother. Next to the stream, she dropped down on a soft, grassy knoll, the small stream burbling happily along. Tears escaped her, dripping down her cheeks and off her chin. "Christian," she sobbed, her despair written upon her face.
She fell back against the soft grass, her eyes growing heavy as the emotional fear and the need for the man she called her mate took its toll. Her eyes closed and she curled up underneath the soft shawl Christian had wrapped her in not that long ago. She slept, hated and feared images chasing her through her dreams until she woke, her entire body one tense muscle of fear.
Fingers touched her face. Gentle fingers, stroking her cheeks as a soft voice sang a child's lullaby. Her face turned, needing to see the person behind that song and the caress. She cried out his name, throwing herself into his arms. "Christian, oh, thank God you found me."
"I thought you were going to follow me into the alley. When I came out to find you, who was the first person I saw but your hateful step brother. He tried to blackmail me, of course that was after I proved I'm a much more qualified fighter than he is. When blackmail didn't work, he tried bribery. I finally told him that if he didn't leave you alone, he would have to deal with me. I showed him a bit of the monster inside of me and he turned tail and ran the opposite way, Kinlye."
"Monster? What monster?" Kinlye laid her head against his shoulder, letting him support her.
"What can become of us if we don't take care of the beast inside, Kinlye." He dropped a kiss on the top of her head. "Now that we have those two out of your life, we should take care of your beast, my love."
"I've never seen you look beastly." She lifted her head, gazing up into his eyes. She saw him shake his head then sighed. Then his eyes turned red, his fangs pushing out from under his lip. His brow became heavier and he truly did look fierce and scary. "How do I do it?"
Christian cocked his head to the side and then lifted his finger to his mouth, letting one of his fangs slice through it. He waited for the blood to drip off his finger before holding it up, under her nose.
"Oh," her eyes fluttered closed and she inhaled deeply, taking her hand in his and holding it close to her face. "That smells...glorious." She opened her eyes and Christian grinned.
"You're terrifying." He let her lick the blood off of his finger, the back of his hand stroking over her throat. "Shall we go eat?" He helped her to her feet. "Now you just need to relax for a minute to let go of the beast, Kinlye. If I were to take you back to town looking the way you do, the jig would be up."
"So am I really frightening?" Kinlye licked her tongue over her teeth, feeling the length of her fangs. The world looked a bit different, even more so than when she'd first noticed the auras. Now, with the eyes of the beast every bush, every trail, every blade of grass that hid some woodland creature or insect glowed. She could see every insect and the shape of a rabbit that hid in its burrow, trembling with fear as it caught the scent of them.
She could smell Christian as well. His was a spicy scent, a scent that she could smell every moment for the rest of her life. Kinlye never wanted to be separated from him, ever again. With him, there was safety and caring and love. Definitely love. She could see it in his eyes, feel it in the touch of his skin upon hers, and hear it in the sound of his voice. He would love her forever and it still wouldn't be long enough. Not for her.
Kinlye stared up at him, feeling her eyes change again until she could see normally, or at least normally for a vampire. Her hand lifted, touching his face. "Never leave me," she said softly, looking into his eyes. "Never stop loving me."
Christian laughed. "As if I could. You've got my heart in here. A man cannot survive without his heart, I can't survive without you." He touched his hand to the space between her breasts. "I knew from the first moment I met you that I had finally found a home. You gave that to me."
"I would have said that you gave me a home, Christian, remember?" She laughed up at him, leaning against him with her head tucked under his chin. "You are my home."
He held her there, his eyes closed in contentment. Nothing was more important than this woman. He kissed the top of her head before pulling back slightly. "I have this insatiable need to be inside of you, Kinlye. So I think we should find someone to eat and then go home. I'm going to make love to you all night until even our undead bodies are too tired to move."
"Hmm, I think I like that idea." She took his hand. "Lead on."
