I wake in the morning, on my completely naked body is the cat. His head in between my breasts, his arms either side, hanging over my ribs. He is still asleep, there is a happy smile on his face.

"You know Tsar, when I fell asleep last night, I was fully dressed. Do you think that you might want to explain what happened to my clothes?"

His eyes open, those pretty green eyes stare at me. He rubs the top of his head against my breast and rolls onto his back, his legs in the air.

"How can I be mad at you when you are so adorable?"

I sigh.

"Ok cat, I have to work today, so how about you skedaddle?"

He jumps off me and waits by the window. I quickly find my clothes and put them back on.

"Bye Tsar, have fun with your floozies."

I watch him walk up the path and turn the corner, then someone knocks on my door.

"Hey."

Alex walks in and closes the door. He follows me as I wander over to the robe and pull out some clothes. His eyes are green, emerald green.

"What's wrong with your eyes?"

He blinks and then they are grey. I step back hitting the draws behind me, the clothes dropping to the floor.

"What was that?"

"What?"

"Your eyes, they changed colour."

I look at him as he shrugs, trying to avoid my question. He steps out of the doorway and out of sight. I follow him, finding he has left the room. I almost stand on a lizard and I realise it looks like the same lizard that ran into Alex's room, I gasp, stepping backwards hitting the draws again. I sink to the ground as I watch the lizard walk to me.

"Alex?"

In front of my eyes the lizard turns into Tsar.

"What are you?" I whisper as the tears begin to flow.

He meows at me, purring as he rubs against my legs. I begin to freak out, scrabbling to get away from him.

"What are you?" I scream at him.

The cat takes his human form, kneeling at my feet.

"Half shape shifter."

"And the other half?"

"Vampire." he whispers, hanging his head low.

Then it hits me, the scratches, the lumps I thought were mosquito bites.

"Have you been feeding on me?"

He nods as my tears beckon for release.

"Did you kill Jake and Dax?"

He nods again.

"Oh my god." I whimper, tears finally finding their path down my cheeks.

His body shimmers a pale grey.

"What are you doing?"

And then he disappears. I sink myself as far into the corner of the robe as I can get, freaked out. He reappears, this time as a wolf. He lets out a whine and leaves the robe. I rush to the door and see him jumping out the window. As I run to the window, I hear a howl. I look around the land but cannot see him. This is why he didn't want to tell you, he knew you would freak out, and guess what? You did just what he expected.

There is a quiet knock on my bedroom door, it opens slowly as I sit up, wiping the tears from my eyes.

"Stephanie?"

I jump up startled at the woman that enters my room.

"Your highness." I curtsy.

She smiles at me warmly. Her long brown hair falls effortlessly around her shoulders, framing her beautiful olive skin. She is more beautiful in person.

"Forgive my intrusion. May I?" she gestures to the bed.

"Of course."

I sit on my bed beside her.

"I came here to apologise and offer an explanation for my son's behaviour."

"Oh ok."

"I have been away with my daughter, Erianna who has had her second child recently. Had I been around to watch over Alex I would have been wise to his antics."

She runs her hands over her tight skirt, pushing it down past her knees.

"Alex tells me you know what he is."

"Sort of."

"He is half vampire half shape shifter. His father is a vampire and I am a shape shifter."

She sighs, closing her eyes.

"The trouble that those two children of mine caused when they were younger."

She opens her eyes as she breaths deep.

"The amount of times we almost lost them because they had turned into a roach or a mouse, the staff nearly killed them on so many occasions. The joys of children shape shifters." she groans. "I do not condone his behaviour but I must explain to you that he has no control over it for a short while longer."

"How do you mean?"

"A shape shifter is considered a fledgling until twenty-five years. Until then they cannot control the forms they take, it is based on emotion. When he took the form of the cat, that was because he was being caring."

"And the lizard?"

"Fear."

"The wolf?"

"Sad."

That explains the howling.

"The disappearing?"

"A perk." she grins.

"Sleeping on my chest?"

"He's a male."

"The feeding?"

"My husband informed me when we were courting that it is a natural occurrence for a vampire to gain heightened blood lust during arousal."

I flush red. Shit; she knows we had sexged.

"Is he going to hurt me?"

"No. He has control over the vampiric side, that comes within the first year of adulthood, which for vampires is eighteen. The few times that he has fed from you it has been from a sexual blood lust not from a sustenance blood lust. He has had minimal from you, he had always made sure he wasn't hungry before..." she pauses, a slight pinkness colours her cheeks. "You know."

"Oh."

"And the shape shifting, he is almost fully mature. He is getting more control over it with each passing day but there are still times when he cannot, especially when he is emotionally tied to someone, like yourself."

"How do you mean?"

"He loves you."

My heart sinks.

"What about the girl?"

She shrugs.

"I don't know what we are going to do there. Every parent wants the best for their child but we would lose our kingdom if he doesn't marry her."

"Yeah I get it. I'm going to be the one on the side lines, watching him, unable to have him."

"I know that he has hurt you, he should not have pursued you, he knew his fate. But sadly the heart wants what the heart wants. His father and I know about that one." she sighs looking rather sad. "I hope that the two of you will be able to sort this out, he is quiet upset. But we need to get moving, we have to fly out to Rostonin soon, to be ready and waiting for the girl when she is found, my husband has some good leads on the girl."

"Oh?"

"I do not know the exact details. My husband is being quite tight lipped about it all."

She gets up and picks up the photo frame on the bedside table.

"Is this you?"

I nod.

"And your parents, where was this photo taken?"

"Uh, outside a church I think, wedding of a family friend. I was six months old."

She smiles.

"How lovely."

She puts the frame back down.

"Do you think they might like to come with us?"

I frown.

"What for?"

"Well this poor girl will have no family there, her parents are dead, who knows what is going on with her uncle. The church pews will be full on one side and empty on the other."

I try to give a dignified, not making fun of the poor thing smile.

"Sure."

"And there will be plenty of room on the plane."

She sits back down on the bed beside me.

"There is something else I came here to talk to you about."

"Oh?"

"Yes. I am not completely knowledgeable about the vampiric side of this world. I only know of what I saw Alex and Erianna go through when they came of age. I would have preferred my husband talk to you about this, but Alex seemed to think that you might freak out and that I might be able to talk to you about this better than him or his father."

"Is this about Alex?"

"No. This is about you."

"Am I expected to turn?"

She shakes her head.

"You cannot turn what already exists."

"Pardon?"

Did my ears hear her correctly?

"Alex had suspicions but could not question you about it as that would reveal his secret, he so desperately wants to be with you, the thought of losing you is tearing him apart."

"Suspicions about what?"

"He said that you have had sensitivity to the light and sound, heightened hearing and uh..." she blushes, her cheeks pink.

"I'm sorry, he shouldn't have been there to know about it but he was. When you got your period after turning eighteen and you passed out."

Oh... that.

"You weren't raised in a vampiric household, so when your body started to change after your birthday, you weren't expecting the... it's called primus minuo. It's Latin for first bleed."

"No, that's not right, I have had it for years."

"Not as an adult vampire you haven't."

"So you are telling me that you think that I am a vampire?"

"I don't think, I know. Watch."

She runs her finger over her wrist, cutting the skin, making her wrist bleed. The smell of the blood fills me, before I know it I have her wrist in my hands sinking my teeth into her. The blood courses through me, it tastes so amazing, so heavenly. It is like a relief has washed through me, all of my issues mean nothing, I feel at peace with everything. When I realise what I am doing I let go, apologising. She smiles at me warmly, raising her hand to me, wiping the blood from the corner of my mouth.

"Don't apologise, if I didn't want you to do it, I would not have cut my skin."

I watch the scratch heal over, forming a slight mound where she cut the skin.

"The blood lust becomes more evident when a vampire turns eighteen, the primus minuo is an intense experience for a young woman, Erianna passed out for several days because Alexandru was too embarrassed to talk to me about it and I wasn't aware of what happens." she blushes. "Shape shifters don't get these sorts of issues. Under normal circumstances, you would have been taken out to be fed prior to it starting but I guess with you not knowing about what was going to happen and Alex not being certain if you were or not..." she shrugs. "These things happen."

"So what now?"

"Now you should learn what you need to know about being a vampire. You can't live on blue steaks forever."

"Explains a lot." I mutter.

"What does?"

"How I crave blue steaks. It's not the steak, it's the blood. Why I used to bite people when I was younger."

"You need to feed. I will send for Alex; he can take you out."

She grips the handle of the door. I quickly get up and curtsy as she opens the door.

"Stephanie, I know it will be difficult for you, to watch him marry this girl, but understand that it is you that holds his heart."