Katerina stares at him for a moment, her lips parting briefly and falling together a moment later because she's not sure how to respond. Any time that someone says 'we need to talk' it's not a good thing and she knows better than to push him when he's got that look on his face.

Harry practically slams the window shut and she tries not to flinch at the sound. She hasn't said anything and he's not really sure what to start with all of this. He had an idea when he came in, but it faded as soon as he saw her.

She's about to offer some sort of a response when he switches gears, the look on his face softening as he asks, "You cut your hair?"

Katerina smiles shyly as the blush rises to her cheeks. She wasn't expecting to say anything about it and she's a little self-conscious now that he's brought it up.

She carefully tugs on a strand as her eyes drop to his lips, "Yeah, I wanted to change something because everything's been the same for years. Does it look bad?"

Harry immediately shakes his head, "No! No, it looks...it looks really nice, Kat."

His eyes meet hers and she tries not to bite her lip. It's a bad habit of hers and she's trying to stop doing it if she can help it. But it's incredibly hard not to when he's looking at her like he wants to pin her against the wall and fuck her until she's screaming his name at the top of her lungs.

Katerina's lips part again and she bites her lip for a brief moment and speaks softly, "Don't call me Kat."

Filthy images have been running through his mind and he almost doesn't hear her. She says his name and he shakes his head to refocus his thoughts. "Sorry. Why can't I call you Kat?"

She smiles and shrugs her shoulders, "I don't like it."

The corners of his lips lift in a slight smile as he lifts his hand and carefully brushes a strand of hair behind her ear, "Not even for me?"

Her cheeks flush a deeper shade of red. Of course, she likes it when he says it. The only reason she doesn't like it in general is because she's not an animal and that's what she feels like when people call her Kat.

Katerina shakes her head, "No, I like it when you say it."

For a moment, he forgets what he came here for in the first place. She's so pretty and he's so fucking whipped. He doesn't even know how this happened or why he feels the way that he does about her, because all they've done is argue, share meaningless small talk, and fuck. The feelings that he has for her are unwarranted and it's fucking awful because he's put her in a position where she'll either die or become a monster like him.

He knows what the transformation feels like firsthand and it's absolute hell. If he could avoid passing on the pain and the bloodlust to her, he would because he doesn't wish that upon anyone, especially someone like her.

And he definitely doesn't want to kill her. His conscience can't handle that again and she doesn't deserve to die because he fucked up and fed from her for a little too long to keep his distance.

Harry's leaning in to kiss her and Katerina closes her eyes. Their lips brush and he hesitates as Alistair's options loop through his head. To each of their disappointment, Harry sighs and increases the space between them.

"I really need to talk to you."

Katerina frowns and places her hands on his chest, "Can we talk later?"

She takes a step forward and presses her lips to his softly. He's been keeping up his human qualities just for her and he's glad that he does because it calms her down. A while ago, he noticed that when he didn't focus on making his body warm it made her uncomfortable and she didn't want to be too close to him.

He sighs again, but he makes no move to push her away. The scent of her rose shampoo lingers in her hair and reminds him of the wildflowers that used to bloom around the colony in the spring. And her lips...her lips are lusciously soft and dangerously addictive.

Harry's hands find her hips, his fingertips pressing into the delicate skin as he kisses her with a little more pressure. Katerina hums and pushes her body flush against his. She's never felt quite like this before, but she really wants to sleep with him again.

Their kisses intensify with each passing second and Katerina's hands find their way under his shirt. Her fingers trace over his chest for a while, until she gets cheeky and slips her hands into his jeans and under the waistband of his boxers.

Harry groans and bites her lip. Katerina gasps and retracts quickly, not expecting the taste of blood in her mouth even though she knows that he probably hasn't fed since he was with her the other night.

She swipes her thumb across her bottom lip and looks up at him with slightly wide eyes. When he bit her, he unconsciously transferred his anxiety and his anger to her and she's worried now.

"What's wrong?"

He wishes that she'd just let him explain before she stuck her hand down his pants. Well, that or if she waited until after they'd had sex.

"There's a...problem and it's not good on either end."

Katerina takes a seat on the bed and Harry bites his cheek as he adjusts himself because it's clear that they won't be continuing this any time soon.

She knows that he went to talk to the head vampire or whatever it was that they called each other, because he only left when he had to. He also sent her a text when he stopped keeping watch, so she would take extra precautions to stay safe.

"What did they say?"

Harry starts to pace the room and runs his hands through his hair a few times. He's still not sure how to tell her even though he rehearsed it in his head a thousand times before he made his way over.

Katerina watches him curiously, her heart hammering in her chest as she tries not to hold her breath in anticipation. She already knows that it's bad because of the way that he's acting. He never lets his emotions show unless it's something bad or something that really affects him emotionally.

He gets lost in his head after only a few moments. There are too many words, too many connotations and too many interpretations based on diction and he doesn't want to hurt her with his words when he's going to hurt her either way.

"Harry..."

She says his name softly for the second time and he stops pacing and turns to meet her eyes. He's just going to have to be incredibly blunt with her. There's no other way.

"They said I have to kill you or turn you. I only have four days before Alistair kills you himself."

Katerina feels like she's been hit by a truck. Her heart drops to the floor and her mind twists in a thousand different directions. She knew that the possibility of dying has been on the table for a few weeks now, but it didn't seem as real until now.

Now that he's said it, she's far more terrified than she's ever been. She doesn't want to die and she doesn't want to be like him because she knows how awful it is, he's told her and she can read his eyes pretty well.

His eyes soften as he watches her mind work and tunes into the sound of her heart beating rapidly in her chest. If he'd known that he couldn't compel her from the start and that this would be the outcome, he wouldn't have fed from her in the first place.

Katerina's lips part and close as she struggles with her thoughts. Harry doesn't push her because it's a lot to take in. He's basically just told her that her fate is decided one way or the other and that either option sucks.

"Because you can't compel me?"

Harry nods curtly, "Yes."

There's a profound sadness in her eyes when they meet his, "And you have to do it?"

He bites the inside of his cheek, "I'm the only one who can."

He's said the wrong thing and Katerina's eyes widen, a slight gloss appearing the longer that she looks at him. "What do you mean, you're the only one who can do it?"

Katerina watches as his lips part and he struggles to find the right words. She doesn't know a lot about the Edict and he doesn't want to confuse her.

"I...you're protected by the Edict right now and no one else is allowed to harm you. The only way they can get to you is if I stop feeding on you for a month and they're all shitting their pants because you know about us and you can't be compelled. So, their solution is to give me the chance to settle things before they have to break the Edict and face the penalty."

A heavy silence starts to smother each of them as Katerina collects her thoughts and Harry waits patiently for her response.

"And you're giving me a choice?"

She feels like she's asking too many questions, but she has to in order to clarify that she's hearing him correctly and not reading too far into things. Harry understands and tries not to get annoyed with her because he hasn't told her much about the nature of what he is or how his kind operate.

Harry nods and sits in the window seat so Alistair knows that he's actively doing something on his end.

"Yes, I took away your choice before and I don't want to do it again."

Once again, they sit in silence for a few tense minutes, the threat of death lingering in the air. Katerina twists her fingers in her lap and Harry pinches his lips between his fingers as he watches her thoughts pass behind her eyes.

"What do you think is worse? Not being able to live or living for too long?"

Her eyes meet his again and he's not sure that he has an answer. He's never really thought about the question before. Sure, he's thought about how his life would've been different if he'd gotten to live out his life without becoming something that everyone thought was just a myth. But he's rarely thought about what life is like now that he's got no expiration date.

Now that Katerina's posed the question, he realizes that he's been shutting out a lot of things, time being one of them. He's hated his existence since his humanity was taken away from him and he's been ignoring it all and drowning himself in pointless thrills.

His life has become meaningless and he hasn't even taken the time to notice until now.

She's expectantly waiting for his answer with her lower lip between her teeth. Katerina's terrified of the possible answers and terrified of the only two choices that she has. She can't run from vampires and she knows that even though her mind is currently entertaining the idea. Death isn't something that she expected to be thinking about so soon and vampirism certainly never crossed her mind.

"Honestly? I've never really thought about it until now. Life has just been something that I've ignored for the longest time and nothing has ever mattered so much to me since Charlotte. But you...you didn't even have to do anything to make me care and I think that it's worse to give up like I did. I don't want to go through with either option, but I can't tell you which is better either because I really don't know myself."

Katerina nods, "Will you tell me more about vampires? I know most of the stuff on the internet and in books is nonsense, and I'd like to know what I'm possibly getting into."

He knows that it means she's considering letting him turn her instead, but he can't really say that he's angry because it will keep her around, even if it changes who she is.

"Well, for starters, sunlight doesn't have to light us on fire. There are certain stones that work as deflectors and allow us to act just like everyone else. Yes, I have one, it's on my right index finger. I'm sure you remember it from...other instances. Garlic doesn't do anything except give us bad breath. Um...the stake thing is true, except you have to rip out our hearts and then stake them. Another thing they don't tell you about is that the tendencies of the vampire who turned you get passed on to you.

"If I turn you, you'll be a mass murderer and you'll be a master at the art of dream weaving and compulsion. Not only that, but you'll be a spiteful person and a severe alcoholic for a good while. Alistair promises to provide us with means of controlling those traits until you overcome them, but I don't particularly have a high opinion of him at the moment considering my choices."

Katerina frowns as soon as the words pass his lips. She's been a good person all her life and just the thought of becoming a serial killer really worries her. Especially because she knows that it will indefinitely change her personality.

From what Harry said, she knows that she can take ownership of her original personality after a while, but how long will a while be?

"Oh."

Harry offers her a weak smile, "It's up to you, Kat. Let me know in the next three days, or they'll choose for you."