When Tomek went with Cecylia for the initiation ritual Lily let out a loud sigh, "She's finally gone. Her mere presence is driving me nuts!"

"You don't like the thought of being forced to do someone else's will, leech? But charming people is perfectly ok, right?" Francesco sneered.

Lily snorted, "Sure, blood bags like you are only good for serving. Look what happens, when you're given too much freedom," the vampire responded haughtily.

"And what exactly happens, leech?" the man retorted.

"Stop the bickering, you two. We have more important matters to discuss now, than your mutual dislike," I interrupted.

I didn't like the direction this argument was going in.

"We need to figure out the way to turn Milena back human and work on the cure in the lab, without getting the whole court to attack us."

"Maybe we should trick the Queen into drinking Tomek's blood and let him command her to leave us alone," Francesco suggested.

Frankly I liked the idea but I was sure Lily would never agree to it.

"We'll have to trick the Queen, but not like that," the vamp answered more calmly than I expected. "We'll make her give us her word, that we'll go unharmed no matter what happens. I believe I can convince her that my matriarch has found some new developments on the cure, but requires this guarantee."

"Yeah, sure, the old vamp will care about that when she realizes there's a wizard at her house," Francesco said with disdain.

Lily frowned, but deigned to explain, "A word of honor is a sacred thing for a vampire, especially as ancient as the Queen. She'd be mad with us for sure, but I highly doubt that she'd break it"

"And you'd stake our lives on that?" Francesco barked.

"Yeah, I would. But that's not something we'll have to worry about if we don't get to the Court in one piece. And that is highly probable," Lily replied.

"We made it no problem before. I don't see why now would be any different," Francesco argued.

"Because the Huntress is so busy wanting you and trying not to want you, that she can hardly focus on anything. Remember how we got attacked on our way here? This wouldn't have happened if she wasn't losing her senses over you," the vampire blurted.

"Lily, that's enough! I can take care of myself," I almost yelled at her.

"Like hell you can. Even if you manage to stay focused long enough, the next fight we have will send you into frenzy. Don't deny it. I've been watching you for half a year. You've never kept the parasite hungry for more than a week. And now – it's been a month! A fucking month!" the red head was shouting.

"Is this true?" Francesco asked, but I wasn't going to discuss that with him. Not now. Not ever.

"Shut the fuck up, Lily," I growled through clenched teeth.

The anger was rising in me, I heard my pulse thrumming in my temples. I breathed in deeply, trying to calm myself and failing miserably.

"It's all because of him!" Lily was lightning fast, getting behind Francesco and pulling him up by the hair with one hand, while the other she placed on his throat.

"Let go of him!" I emphasized every word.

The axe was somehow in my hand, at the ready.

"Or what, you're going to kill me? You know you need me to get to the Court. Or maybe you'll forfeit the chance of finding the cure, just because you want to play a nice girl?" she mocked me, making my blood pressure go even higher.

"Or maybe I'll just kill each and every one of those darn leeches together with the Queen. Not that much of a problem if I go there in broad daylight, ah?" I was slipping into rage.

I saw Francesco reach for one of the silver knives exhibited on the bookshelf near him. Before he could stab Lily, she grabbed his wrist and squashed it. He let go of the weapon with a small cry.

Lily smiled cruelly, "Be a good boy. I don't want to hurt you... too much."

My vision blurred for a moment, getting red on the edges. If I used the axe now I'd hurt Francesco for sure. I dropped the weapon just in case I'd lose the control of myself completely.

"Lily, let him go," I forced myself to repeat, instead of plainly attacking the vamp.

She looked at me thoughtfully, as if assessing my state of mind. Then, without a warning, she pushed Francesco straight into me, ripping away his shirt in the process.

I had to catch the man into my arms to prevent us both from falling. I had him close to my chest, his breathing hard, his deep, brown eyes bewildered and angry. I inhaled slowly only to realize my mistake – his scent, reminding me of coming storm, hit my nostrils and awoke my lust. Almost against my will I pushed him away and positioned myself between him and the vampire. I didn't look back to see if he landed safely.

"Francesco, get out of here. Just lock yourself in your room and stay there until I tell you it's safe," I commanded, hoping that he would listen to me.

What I wasn't telling him, was that I was as much a danger to him now as Lily was. The parasite was rearing its ugly head, and in a few moments it would be either sex or fight I'd be having. And since sex wasn't an option, I'd rather have the vamp for my opponent – with her supernatural abilities she at least stood a chance against me. Francesco would be dead in a matter of seconds.

That's when the obvious dawned on my mind. I had the suppresant right in the pouch at my belt. I fiddled with it for longer than I should, the leather strings unwilling to give up. I wasn't the one for precision right now. I heard Francesco get up behind me. The red head was watching me, like a serpent watching a little bird. I ignored it for a moment, concentrating hard at the task at hand.

Finally I managed to get the darn worm retardant out. It was in a small case, so that it wouldn't get broken on the way. It was when I grabbed the syringe that Lily realized what was happening.

"No! Don't! I didn't mean to bring you to that!" Lily exclaimed, throwing herself toward me.

I expected that and deftly moved out of her way, hitting her on the back of her head as she went past me. With a loud thump she fell unconscious to the ground. The rage was giving me too much strength, I was no longer in full control of my body. All the more reason to end it, before I really hurt someone.

I rolled up my sleeve and was going to do the injection when I heard Francesco say, "Don't do it."

I turned to him abruptly and immediately wished I hadn't. He was naked from the waist up, his muscles toned and lean under his honey colored skin. His dark hair was disheveled, several strands falling to his face. I could still smell his wonderful scent of sunbathed pine trees, now mixed with underlying fear. It made my head spin.

"It's all right. You don't have to take the shot," he said soothingly, approaching me slowly, the way one would approach a raging beast. I guess I was one at the moment.

"Get away from me!" I managed to blurt, backing off slowly. "I'm going to hurt you!" I almost whined.

My self-control was at its end, my body throbbing with desire and rage that were already close to pain.

"No, you're not! You won't hurt me," he repeated, as if this could change the reality. "There were so many times that you could have hurt me, but you never did. Even now you're thinking about my safety," he reasoned, taking small steps in my direction.

"Just take what you need. I'm willing," he said quietly, looking me straight in the eyes.

I so wanted it to be true. But it just couldn't be.

"It's Lily. She charmed you. I told her not to, but she did," I blabbered, walking backwards and desperately trying to gain some distance.

If I could just stop smelling his intoxicating scent, stop seeing his handsome body, I could just run away. To the outside, where anything that crossed my path would be fair game to kill. As it was I was unable to take my eyes off of him. I clenched my fists to the point I felt the nails cutting my skin. Hot blood ran from between my fingers and dripped onto the floor with a barely audible splash. I didn't feel the pain.

"Lily didn't charm me. No one did. I'm a grown up man, I know what I'm doing," he was almost whispering, his voice warm and melodious.

He came closer again, extending his right hand tentatively. I flinched back.

"It's all right. You won't be forcing me, it's my own decision," he insisted, his brown eyes full of tenderness I wasn't expecting. "Besides, I'm your fated mate, remember? In the end I'd be yours anyway," he gave me a weak smile.

Of course I remembered. At first I thought it was total bullshit, but I started noticing things. Like the fact that I was already in love with him at the lab, just not realizing it. Or the fact that when he was around, my parasite was acting strangely – I was solely focused on Francesco, no matter how many other men were in the vicinity. Even the fact that I was able to hold up until now without satisfying my desire, just to protect him, was telling.

It all seemed like some odd dream. I could no longer resist, my whole body trembling like in a fever. Suddenly I noticed that we were at the door to Francesco's room – he was leading me here all this time, herding me like a shepherd. He opened it gently, without loud sounds or sudden moves.

"Come," he reached his hand towards me invitingly, but avoiding touching me.

I finally caved in. His beseeching got to me at last, all my internal barriers crumbling into dust. At this moment he seemed to be all I had ever wanted. He was slowly retreating towards a king sized bed with carved wooden posts and red plush canopy. I followed him, like a predator stalking its prey. All I could think about, if you could even call it thinking, was his body and how good it would feel under my touch.

"My name is Ada," I said, my throat clenching as I uttered those words for the first time in more than a decade. There was surprise on his handsome face. "If... when I go too far just call me by my name. This... should help me stop," I added.

Honest to god I was hoping it would really work like that. I've never let myself get so hungry before. I couldn't really tell how I was going to act, but I was sure it would be violent.

"It's all right," he said, I think for a third time already.

This time I believed him, because there was nothing left in me that would stop me. All reason fled, giving way to pure, burning desire, that's been consuming me for so long. I couldn't wait anymore.

I pushed him onto the bed without a warning. Too harshly, but I was beyond limiting my moves. In a blink of an eye I was on top of him. His torso was already naked, but the trousers were still in my way. I ripped them in two, together with the boxers that were underneath them. He gasped, his eyes suddenly wide with shock and fear.

I caressed his cheek, neck, chest, enjoying his body trembling under my touch. I was smearing him with my blood, but it only fueled my madness. I bent over him and planted a fierce kiss on his mouth, crushing and biting his lips in my frenzy.

Ina moment I also was naked, though I didn't recall taking my clothes off. I felthis hands on my chest and I wasn't sure if it was a sign of affection or he wastrying to push me off. Though at this point it didn't matter. I was too fargone to stop anyway.