https://youtu.be/cG0Yd9nehMA

 As we got back to the mansion, Lucas and Edgar came to us with questioning looks when they noticed us getting inside.

"Irina, Zephyr, Rosario. Did something happen?" Lucas asked us.

"Your clothes are all messed up like you were in a fight," Edgar exclaimed.

"That's exactly what happened," Zephyr answered them and Lucas raised his eyebrow at him, frowning.

"Don't tell me you had contact with Damien?" 

"Yes, we did. You can assume that there are many more newborn vampires in their coven than when I was there undercover." Zephyr announced, making everyone except Lucas stare at him in astonishment.

"What? What do you mean you were undercover in their coven?" Edgar asked, confused.

"That's..." Lucas hesitated and I looked at Zephyr.

"It's okay, Lucas. Damien has already told his coven about me. There's no need to hide it anymore, tell Edgar and the rest." Zephyr said as he noticed me staring at him.

 Lucas slowly nodded to him. "Okay, if you say so, I'll tell them."

"I hope I'm included in that, yes?" Rosario asked.

"Of course, Rosario." Lucas gestured for Rosario and the others to follow him to a room opposite the kitchen.

"Irina, come with me," Zephyr said and I followed him upstairs towards my room. Zaphira was laying on my bed and gazed up at us as we walked inside.

"Thanks for coming all the way up here, Zephyr." I gave him a small smile and he hummed to my words. He looked through my bedroom window and I saw sorrow hidden beneath his eyes.

"Zephyr...you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"No...you deserve to know the truth, Irina. Will you listen to my story?" He looked at me sadly and I nodded slowly.

"I imagined that you had already guessed, but..." He began as he started to tell me everything, everything that made him who he was then.

He told me that he was brought up and raised by an elf after he got abandoned by his biological father when he was very young, that the elf shared his blood with Zephyr without fear and cared for him as if he was his own child. However, the man caught the attention of Ethan and the other vampires and was killed without any mercy.

"I held the body of the man who cared for me, just like he was my own father, and I waited for the sun." He held back himself from expressing his sorrow and continued. "If he hadn't brought me into his life, he wouldn't have died. I can't forgive myself for surviving when he didn't."

My eyes teared up to see this soft side of his."Zephyr..."

"When a vampire gets exposed to sunlight, he disappears along with his soul. And, I wanted to accept a punishment that was even worse than death."

Unable to control my emotions, I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him, patting his back as I did.

"You did nothing wrong, Zephyr," I whispered to him and he slowly hugged me back.

"Harold told me the same. He buried the corpse of my foster parent and brought me to the mansion. He told me that many vampires come often to this mansion, in that case, the vampire who killed him might come too and I could get my revenge. He told me that I had the right and convinced me to continue living." He said and I hummed, sadly.

"I knew he told me that deliberately to keep me alive, but still, I accepted his offer. And, when I got to know that the vampire who killed my father was from The Nightworth Coven, I went undercover and searched for the murderer while Lucas helped me gather more information about them." He said and I leaned back to look into his eyes.

"So you did it not only for yourself but for all the vampires in this mansion," I exclaimed, nodding and smiling slightly at him, "Thank you for telling me, Zephyr. I'll be with you from now on, so don't carry this alone anymore, okay?" I said and gently patted his back up and down. He didn't back away but instead, he hugged me and snuggled his face onto my neck.

We stood like that for an awful while and then he leaned back, smiling a little bit.

"Thank you for listening to me, Irina." He said, making me smile back.

"Get some rest, now. I've got to talk with Dylan." He turned around as he saw me nodding and gave a slight pat on Zaphira's head before leaving the room.

I sighed to myself as I slowly walked over to my bed and sat on it. I moved closer to Zaphira, hugged her and closed my eyes in thoughts.

'Why am I feeling this way about him now?'

'Am I really over what he had done to me?'

'I really hope that I could get to be with him more.'

I smiled a little before falling into a deep slumber with Zaphira in my arms.

The next day, after I finished getting ready to go out with Zephyr and stepped into the hallway, I saw Zephyr waiting for me there.

"Hey." I greeted.

"We should go. Got to get there as early as possible." Zephyr paused for a moment and then continued, "And bring your wolf too." He said making me raise my eyebrow at him.

"Zaphira? Why?" I asked.

"We're going into the deeper part of the forest, so just in case." He replied and I nodded slowly.

'We've never taken Zaph with us, hmm I wonder...' I thought and opened the door to call Zaphira.

"Zaph, come," I smiled to see her come beside me in a rush.

"Let's go now." Zephyr declared and we all walked out of the mansion and into the forest.

The forest was awfully silent and I glanced at Zephyr every now and then, watching every movement of his. He led us to the part of the forest where Rosapast stood and I looked at him, confused.

"Welcome, Irina and Zephyr." Rosapast greeted us, making me turn towards the rose.

"Good evening, Rosapast."  I bowed towards her with a smile.

"Ah Irina, there's something I wish to ask you," Rosapast exclaimed.

"Yes? What is it?"

"Well, several days have passed ever since you got bitten, and if you don't do anything about it, you will turn into a vampire within a few more days. Do you want that?"

I thought about it for a moment and figured that it was the hardest choice I ever had to make. Fews days ago, I would have accepted to turn myself back into my true self but I had yet to save Shandris. And, besides...

'Zephyr...' I thought and pulled myself together to answer Rosapast.

"Well...I've been meaning to think about it until the last moment."

"Is that for your sister?" Rosapast asked me and I sighed.

"Did you hear that from Zephyr or someone else? But yes, that's right. It's not the only purpose I'm considering now, though." I mumbled, slowly.

"Perhaps, it's for Zephyr?"

"I'm...It's just for my sake," I exclaimed.

If I had become a vampire and stayed with Zephyr and Rosario, I figured that I could release their pain even if it was a little bit. Whether I wished to stay as a vampire or an elf, I wanted to have some more time but I knew I had to answer her then. I took a deep breath and was about to answer when Rosapast spoke again.

"I see. I understand your emotions, Irina...And Zephy's..." She told me and I stared at her.

"Huh?" I looked around for Zephyr but he wasn't anywhere to be seen.

"I've never felt so helpless but I'm afraid it has to be done." Rosapst swayed her petals sadly.

"What do you-" I began when in an abrupt movement, my arm was pulled back by strong hands, making me lose my balance. But before I could hit the ground, I was caught by a warm embrace that I was used to many times then.

"Zephyr?"  

He came in front of me and looked into my eyes for a moment, then he slowly lifted my chin up and covered my lips with his. It was a gentle kiss but soon, he deepened the kiss and I tried to push him away out of instinct but he held me even tighter towards his chest and forced my mouth to open with his tongue.

"Mm...Zephyr stop..."

But what made me resist him, even more, was that I felt some kind of liquid flowing into my mouth.

'No! Please don't tell me this is the dew!' I shouted in my head and tried harder to push him away but all my strength was going in vain. 

He deepened the kiss more and more, tightening his hold on me until I drank it all. Then, he simply let go of me and my body was heating up. My heart throbbed and I felt my body turning weaker.

"You drank it." He spoke and I glared at him.

"That wasn't your decision to make, Zephyr! I told you that I'm fine as I am right now!"

"And what were you going to do if you were too late and had turned into a vampire?" He asked me with a frown.

"I'll decide that, not you!" I said and he smiled sadly, saying "I know, but I didn't want you to turn into a vampire. Thirsting for blood and losing control of yourself, I didn't want you to become a beast like that."

"Zephyr..." I said, slowly and he placed a soft kiss on the base of my neck.

"And you don't know how painful it is to resist the desire to drink blood from the woman you love when she's standing right in front of you." He said and brushed his lips on my neck.

"I don't know how many times I've wished that you were just a girl who was afraid of me. If you were...I didn't have to bear this pain...It's like my heart is burning..." He exclaimed in sorrow and my eyes teared up slowly.

"Zephyr, please listen to-" I began but he cut me off.

"If you don't want this, reject me, Irina." He brought his face close to mine and our eyes met, then he closed his eyes before kissing me again.

"I love you, Irina." He whispered in between the kiss, making me slowly give in and kiss him back.

'If you love me, then why...' I asked in my mind. 

'Why are you wearing an expression full of pain and sadness when you look at me?' I asked again. 

My heartbeat rose in an unsteady manner as I felt my body on his and I felt my cheeks heating up. Feeling his true warmth and love for the first time ever, I closed my eyes, smiling at the kiss.