Next time Cecilia opened her eyes, she wasn't sure whether it had been a day or months since she was awake the last time. Her body was well-rested, but still not as strong as a vampire's body should have been, nevertheless, it was a vast improvement to how it was.

Although her senses were a bit dulled from the blood loss she had suffered, she could sense another presence in the room. The presence wasn't Tobias' since the emotions emanating from it weren't friendly ones.

"Helen?" Cecilia asked to make sure.

Suddenly from one of the shadows in the corner of the room, Helen emerged. She had a wild look about her that Cecilia had never seen before, and that scared her.

"Tobias...is he..." She asked quickly.

"He is fine. But not thanks to you. You. Almost. Murdered. Him." Helen spat out.

"I know, I am so sorry," Cecilia said, the strength of her guilt almost crushing her dead heart.

"Sorry doesn't bring people back from the dead. You are lucky I got here on time. I want you to know one thing. If he had died, you would have been dead now, too. Your head would be rolling seconds after his existence stopped. Are we clear?" Helen asked.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Cecilia said honestly.

Her answer surprised Helen and made her stop for a second, but soon enough, she was able to continue grilling the young vampire.

"If you ever hurt him again, I can't guarantee what I would or wouldn't do to you. He is about to open up his heart to you, to put it in your hands, don't you dare crush it!

If you can't handle the truth, tell him so gently, but don't you dare hurt his feelings. You have already caused him enough pain, you can at least spare his feelings. I can't order you to accept him, but I am demanding of you to have an open mind and gently tell him if you can't bear the truth. Can you at least promise me that?" Helen asked.

"I promise," Cecilia said.

There was no hesitation in her answer, and Helen could sense her sincerity. It was enough for her to partially relax. Whatever happened next, she knew that she did all in her power to protect Tobias. That was all she could do. She could only try her best, she couldn't protect him from all the evils of the world.

No matter how much she felt responsible for his pain, she knew she couldn't keep him away from any possible pain that a grown, independent vampire, might face. It made her feel a bit better seeing that no matter what Cecilia's instincts made her do, she still cared deeply for Tobias.

It was still unsure if her emotions were deep enough for her to deal with his truth but there was nothing Helen could do about that.

After making sure that they were on the same page, Helen left Cecilia's room, leaving the young vampire in deep contemplation.

After some time, Cecilia could hear the shuffling of feet and by the fact that she could hear that, she knew it was Tobias coming her way.

It pained her to hear that he hadn't yet regained his vampire speed and stealth.

When he entered her bedroom, she felt a bit better because he looked more like his old self than the last time she had seen him. Of course, his face was still pale, but in a normal, vampire way, not the strange leathery way it was before.

His general appearance was that of someone who hadn't slept well and was a bit worse for wear, but nothing more serious than that.

As he slowly approached her bed, she could see that his eyes were in more pain than she could comprehend. It wasn't the physical pain he was struggling with, but an emotional one brought on by his retelling of the past.

"You know I don't have to know about your past. I know the man who you are now, that's enough for me. You are the kind of man who stood by me, no matter what, even when I did some horrible things. Even though I don't regret doing them, you are still by my side helping me out. That tells me all I need to know about you.

If you are not ready to share your past with me, you don't have to." Cecilia said.

She was ready to do or say anything to wipe away the despair that became evident in every small detail of his face. The need to do something for him, after everything he had done for her, was much stronger than her curiosity. If she could spare him the agony, she would be able to at least partially return the favor.

"No, no it's fine. You need to know. Maybe I am not the same man I was back then, but you need to know the type of dark potential that still resides in my very core." Tobias said as he settled down in the armchair once again, getting ready to tell the tale of his life.

"As I told you before, I ran away from Helen without waiting for her to explain, without fully realizing what I had become.

I should have waited. Although I knew something was wrong and needed an explanation, there was a need in me that was much deeper than that, the need to see my dear Celeste.

Not knowing how many days had passed since the attack, or how far I was from home, I hurried to get back to her, to reassure her that I was okay, that I was alive.

Impossible as it may sound, my mind was so focused on going back to her, that I didn't even notice that I was moving with unnatural speed. It didn't register in my mind that I was able to perceive with my senses much more than I should have been able to.

They say that a young vampire can't be so single-mindedly focused on something that wasn't feeding, but I was. I am not sure if it was my love for her that carried over even to my vampire self, or if it was my brain following the familiar way home.

After all, one's home was supposed to be safe, joyful. The only thing I knew was that I needed it.

As I approached our home, I was snapped out of my dazed state by the yelling voices that I knew didn't belong to that place or time.

When I was finally able to see who was making the commotion, I was shocked to see three people surrounding my love, pushing her around as if she were an animal they were trying to herd.

She must have fallen a few times because her dress was dirty and torn at places. A low growl escaped my lips before I was even able to register that I was the one making the sound.

Three pairs of red eyes snapped their attention to me, and the look in my sweetheart's eyes turned from brave to terrified in a matter of seconds. Although she was in grave danger, she was more worried about my safety than her own, and I couldn't help but admire her for it.

"Oh, here he is. We knew you would come back here. It was so easy to trace your scent back to this house.

Helen never said we couldn't play with your mate," one of the strange men said, and I realized that those were the same men who attacked me.

Although I didn't fully understand what they were talking about, I could see that they were making my love scared, even though she tried not to show it.

"Leave her alone, you monsters! Don't be such cowards! Why don't you fight me in a fair fight instead of harassing a lady!?" I said.

What I didn't expect was for them to laugh.

"You have no idea how true your words are, but I have news for you, you are one of us now," the same man from before said.

A second after he said that, more quickly than it was humanly possible, he was at Celeste's side, and had a knife to her throat.

Her eyes were telling me to run, but I couldn't do that. I had to protect her, she was my wife, my love. Maybe if I had left nothing would have happened. After all, they were there only because of me, but I'll never know if that is true. I stayed and that was when all hell broke loose and my life turned into a never-ending nightmare.

The guy holding the most precious thing in my life made a small cut on her neck, and suddenly, I was overwhelmed by the delicious smell that was beckoning me, calling my name.

It promised to satiate all my needs. To soothe the dryness in my throat. To give energy and life to my heart, my limbs, every part of my body.

Before I realized what I was doing, I was next to Celeste and the vampire. At that moment my fangs came out cutting into my bottom lip. Tasting my blood only made me more frantic to feel something warm and delicious, the promise of which I could smell in the air.

The vampire threw Celeste my way and I caught her on reflex. The relief was obvious in her eyes as my hands encircled her waist. She didn't know. She couldn't see it.

To her, I was the man she loved who came back to protect her. She couldn't see the monster in my eyes. Her love for me was too strong to see anything else but her husband.

Only when my hands grabbed onto her more firmly, painfully, did she realize that something was wrong.

As she looked into my eyes, I think she realized what was happening more than I did and was resigned to her faith.

Then, I lowered my lips to her neck and licked the line of blood the cut had left on her throat. The taste was better than anything I had ever known.

It was sweet and electrifying. My whole body was buzzing with life and need, need for more.

Before I knew what I was doing, I bit into her neck. A soft gasp escaped her mouth, but she didn't say anything. Even when I started sucking her blood with fervor, she said nothing. She didn't try to defend herself, she just held on to me.

When I think about it now, I believe she was just happy that I was back, that she could see me one last time, that was how strong her love for me was. My love for her, however, wasn't stronger than the vampire instinct, the blind need for feeding.

I lapped up her blood and enjoyed its thick texture and delicate flavor. The warmth traveled down my throat and spread through every part of my body making it alive with energy, power, strength.

The feeling was much better than anything I had ever felt. I couldn't stop. I didn't want to stop.

Her heart started beating slower, and her whole body was slowly relaxing. Before she lost consciousness, my dearest one, whispered in my ear: "I love you and I forgive you always and forever."

She used her last living breath to forgive the man she loved for killing her. Can you imagine a heart as good as that one?

The beast that I was didn't stop. I kept drying her small, fragile body until there was not a single drop of blood left. Then, the cold dead body slipped through my hands and I realized what I had done.

"NO!!!!! Celeste my love, come back to me!" I screamed, in vain.

The vampires, who were still there, seemed to enjoy my pain and what I had done immensely because they were laughing at me and telling me so many hurtful things. I realized then and there that I truly was a monster, even worse than them.

I murdered in cold blood the only woman I had ever love.

Covered in her blood, I gently scooped up her body in my hands and rocked her slowly like a baby, crying for the woman I killed. Soon enough, anger took over and I was ready to murder the ones who were responsible for opening the door to a monster in me." Tobias said.

Then he lost his voice, sobbing out loud as if the memory was simply too much to bear.

Cecilia just sat in her bed, her eyes wide open and huge red tears streaming down her face.