I felt hot, stifling hot. And cramped. Almost like I was shoved into a tight and warm spot that was squishy. It was dark, so black that I couldn't see a single thing. I moved and the squishy complained. Shrieking, I tried to sit up, only to hit my head.

"Lay back down," Alaric said softly.

"No." I cried out softly, trying to figure out where I was.

Pushing against the wall, I tried to escape but there was nothing but the constricting walls. Alaric tried to stop me but I struggled against him, escaping his grip as I turned on this odd bed. It was silky soft, padded like a bed but hard like wood. A horrid thought filtered through my mind. Cramped yet soft, warm and tight and so incredibly dark.

"Oh my god I'm in a coffin."

Alaric sighed, shifting his body onto mine. I still struggled, still whined and complained as I tried to find the lid. Tears were forming, it felt like the darkness was suffocating me.

"Get off me," I screamed.

"Shut up for a second Emmeline."

A creaking sound filled the quiet, muted sunlight shone through the crack between the lid and the base. It showed a squinting vampire that was still in the white shirt and jeans. The light showed the silky black lining, slowly sinking back into the inky darkness as Alaric closed the lid.

He shifted again, returning to lay beside me.

"Why?" I said, wiping the tears.

"Because I had to ensure that you'd be safe when you woke. I do remember saying that I'd protect you, Emmeline. Not sure why you insist on making me out to be a monster."

"Are you serious?" I snapped.

Even though it was pitch black, I knew where he was to smack against his chest. Alaric grabbed my wrists and moved us so that I was flat on my back and pinned under him.

"You arrogant bastard. Why did you have to scare the life out of me and bite me?"

"Because it is necessary to make you a hybrid. To the humans, you will be seen as one of them, completely unchanged but to the vampires, they will see one of their own and they won't touch you."

"You said they wouldn't because I would be attached to you."

"Call it an insurance policy. Now, are you going to stop smacking me?"

"Maybe," I grumbled.

Alaric let go of my wrists, moving off my body.

"Tomorrow you can rest in your own coffin and yes, I got one for you. I hope you like pink."

I scoffed, rolling my eyes. Not that there was any point.

"You make it sound like I'm a child."

"You are, you're only eighteen."

"I'm an adult," I said petulantly.

"Of course you are."

I rolled over and elbowed him, smiling when I heard him wince.

"I can't wait until the sun goes down, kick you out of my bed. I knew I should have put you in with Nisha."

"Why didn't you?"

"You're supposed to be my partner Emmeline and to have you sleeping with someone else would be wrong."

"No one would know and how is it any different to the pink coffin that you got for me?"

Alaric huffed softly, shifting and making things rather cramped. I rolled back around only to realize that I was almost on top of him. Talk about awkward.

"They would know and the pink coffin was passed off as hopeful dreaming on my part. I bought a blue one as well."

I gasped, stretching back as far as I could. My back was against the wood, I couldn't go any further without letting light in.

"They think we're going to have kids? Is that even possible?"

"Not unless you complete the transition to a full vampire. As for the masses, yes, they would think it. Children are a natural progression in a relationship for a vampire."

"Oh," I said softly.

I tried to lay back down but Alaric was consuming the entire space.

"Shove over, space hog."

He huffed, sounding a little amused. Then he pulled me down, laying me against the side of his body and my head on his chest. I could hear the low thrum of his heart. This was crazy. I was in a freaking coffin, snuggled into the body of a vampire.

"Did you know that there is an amazing invention called block out curtains? They even make shutters that can be fitted to the exterior of the building. Jeez, you could even put a false wall over the window and block it out completely."

"Emmeline."

"Yes, Alaric."

"Shut up."

"Alaric."

He sighed, long and weary. In the darkness, I smiled.

"Yes, Emmeline."

"Why did you pick me?"

"You know, I was just beginning to wonder that myself."

"Come on, I'm being serious."

There was silence for a few seconds. I heard the satin shift and almost gasped when his fingers touched against the skin of my arms. Finding what he was looking for, Alaric curled a strand of my hair around his finger.

"You stood out in the crowd. In the sea of people that walked the streets of this town, it was nothing but standard women. I found it dull and I knew that no one would believe me if I presented one of them as my partner. If the woman beside me wasn't interesting to me then everything would fail. We are a complex creature but we are so incredibly obvious as well. I am not a boring vampire Emmeline and the woman that stands beside me cannot be boring either."

"I think you might have the wrong person Alaric, I'm not interesting."

"That's not the attitude to have, Nisha will help you with that. You are interesting."

"You've known me for like five seconds, stop being absurd."

"Fine, whatever. Mock my stalking skills. Can I go to sleep now?"

I chuckled, saying nothing as I closed my eyes.

Sleep found me quickly, a deeper sleep that I'd never had before. Maybe there was something to this sleeping in coffins business. When I woke, I stretched out and hummed with happiness and realized that I was alone. Confused, I pushed the lid up and checked that the sun was gone.

The place was quiet and dark, the only light came from a lamp on a bedside table. For some reason, this room was fitted out as a bedroom. Yes, it was the thing to do for a bedroom but it struck me as odd that they would spend money on items that they would never use.

Pushing the lid back as far as it would go, I stepped out of the coffin and stretched again. I wasn't used to it yet, it seemed wrong but I was vastly different to the way that I was when I'd slept in a bed. Maybe it wasn't the location, maybe it was because I was a hybrid. An almost vampire. That didn't sit well with me. Telling me about it first would have been nice, actually asking would have been much better.

My shoes were next to the coffin, I slipped them on and went in search of the jerk that managed to forget a lot of things that he should have told me. Jumping me like that was so wrong.

Carefully opening the door, I looked out the crack to ensure that there was no sunlight. I wasn't sure if I would be affected by it so until I asked Alaric, I'd play it safe. The door opened out to a large lounge area, filled with modern furnishings. Early evening showed through the open French doors, the thin voile curtains moved in the gentle breeze.

I'd never had open windows or doors of an evening, this seemed incredibly wrong to me. A part of me wanted to rush to them just to close them and make sure that the locks and bars were down. Life was different now, I had to remember that I walked a different path.

"Emmeline."

I gasped, turning around fast. Alaric was standing at the bedroom doorway, looking refreshed from a shower. His hair was damp, lines of water trailing down to the black band shirt he was wearing.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, thank you. It was incredible."

He nodded like he understood.

"I have a lot of questions and a desperate need to yell at you."

"I'm sure you do. Would you like to freshen up first? Nisha has bought clothes for you."

"Uh okay."

Returning to the bedroom, I made my way to the door at the back of the room. The dressing room was filled with Alaric's things, another door was open and showed the steamy bathroom.

"That's for tonight. When we're out you can pick up a few more things."

I picked up the heavy bag and offered a gracious smile.

"Thanks."

Alaric nodded as he turned back to the door.

"Silas is picking up dinner for you. While you're eating we can go through the finer points of the agreement."

He looked at me warily, a vague smile crossing his lips.

"And your grievances."

Damn straight.

"Sure."

Alaric had already turned into the bedroom before I responded, closing the main door behind him. Moving into the bathroom, I locked the door and put the bag onto the vanity. The bathroom was basic but beautiful. Glossy white tiles that had a pearly look to them lined the walls, the floor was tiled with a larger and similar tile though it was a matte and rough version rather than glossy.

White marble for the vanity countertop with a basin that looked like a damned sculpture than what it was actually meant to be. The oblong basin sat above the countertop, perfectly clean and a pristine white that matched the rest of this angelic nightmare.

Pulling the bag closer, I looked in and found that everything was either bundled or boxed. The top of the pile was something light and wrapped in tissue paper. Opening it, I found a racy black lingerie set.

"Gee, I'm glad that he stated that Nisha bought these," I muttered under my breath.

Setting the bra and panties aside, I pulled out the next bundle and found a pair of socks and skinny black jeans. They were my size but I found it difficult when buying jeans. Some would be too tight, some wouldn't sit right. But I was hopeful, maybe Nisha knew fashion.

Next was a slinky fuchsia colored top that would be loose and probably a little too thin for the cold night air. Thankfully there was a leather jacket underneath. The box at the bottom of the pile was shoes, knee-high boots with heels. That was a little presumptuous on Nisha's part. What if I'd never walked in pumps before? Okay, so I had but that wasn't the point. These shoes were at the limit of what I'd worn, anything higher and I would have struggled.

These vampires lacked the ability to ask questions.

Setting it aside, I found a towel and put it out for after the shower. It would be quick, I had a lot of things I wanted to know and I was starving. I hoped that Silas got me something nice. He was a man of few words, Nisha wasn't much better. Maybe once I was around for longer they might say something.

As I began to strip out of my clothes, I looked at the marks on my neck. Alaric hadn't been gentle but at least the wounds were neat. They were little lumps now, scabbed and repairing themselves. I ran my fingers over them, feeling a little bit of pain. The crusty lines of dried blood flaked away, leaving just the tiny scab over the wound.

Hopefully, it won't leave a scar.