When his lips met hers, Katyia gasped. Roman pinned her against the tree, his mouth a conquering army, demanding complete and total surrender. She stiffened and pushed against him. This was his idea of trying to convince her to help him? Her hands went up and shoved against his chest. Hard. She was not the kind of girl to be manhandled.

Then he switched tactics on her. His kiss softened, his lips teasing hers. One arm wrapped around her, the other tilted her head back, his fingers caressing the base of her neck. Whereas the rougher kiss she would have fought against, this kiss caused her knees to weaken just a bit. A slow fire erupted in her belly, spreading outward. Roman deepened the kiss and she melted into it. Her toes curled. She closed her eyes, the scent of warm cocoa surrounding her. He smelled so good...

Roman pulled back, his hands tightening around her. "You're hungry."

She blinked, her tongue darting out to wet her lips. Something sharp nicked it and she tasted blood. Fangs. She had fangs now. The pain cleared away some of the fog her mind had slipped into. Her stomach clenched painfully. A little groan escaped her. Did it always hurt when she needed to eat?

"Come, let's get you fed." He took her hand and started pulling her back toward camp.

"Why did you kiss me?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Because I wanted to."

"Well, don't do it again."

A laugh rumbled out of him. "I will kiss you again if I want to."

Katyia frowned. Kissing Roman was not a good idea. Granted, she'd never been kissed like that in her life. Toe curls and all. Katyia wasn't a stranger to kissing. She'd done her fair share of it, but Roman's touch brought out feelings no one else ever had come close to. It frightened her.

The man came off all hard and unyielding, but that wasn't the man she'd been with all morning. She considered herself a good judge of character. Here was a man who had suffered unimaginable horrors, and now all he wanted was to keep his family together. She understood that, respected it. She also understood he wasn't the kind of man who fell in love. Love had no room in his life. Roman could easily break her heart. Not something Katyia was willing to go through. Her heart was too fragile, having been broken once last night already. How much more pain could it take? A question she refused to answer.

They came to a stop and his arm went around her. She opened her mouth to tell him to keep his hands off when the smells hit her. So many tantalizing smells. They were at the end of camp where the humans were. People stared at her. People she knew. People she'd talked to every day since she was a little girl. No. He couldn't expect her to...no.

"Easy, little kitten," his voice purred in her ear. "I won't let you harm anyone."

"I know them," she whispered. "I can't..."

"Of course you can." He pulled her closer, his embrace more of a comfort than she wanted to admit.

"Miss Kat!"

A bundle of brown hair and blue eyes latched onto her. She looked down to see little Mikey Donavan clutching her for dear life. She'd just spoken to his mother a few days ago about the winter ball plans her mother was organizing.

Citrus. That was what Mikey smelled like, sunshine and citrus. Her fingers dug into Roman's arm as she tried to gain some kind of control over this thirst telling her to rip the boy apart and drink him dry. She would not hurt him. Even if it killed her.

"Where's your mama, Mikey?" Her voice sounded a bit strangled and lispy. Her new teeth had dropped, causing a lisp.

His eyes widened when he saw her new fangs. "You are one of them?

"Yes." She pushed herself as far away from the child as she could, but Roman's chest didn't allow for much room to escape.

"Cool." His eyes lit up like only a little boy's could. "I bet you're even more awesome now than you were before."

"She was awesome before?" Roman asked, his voice washing over Katyia and sending a small shudder through her.

"Oh, yeah. Kat's great." The little boy released her and stood back to look up at Roman. "She's really nice and always has time to talk to you. Never acts like she's better than you, even if she's the Regent's daughter."

"Is that so?" Roman asked.

The little boy nodded vigorously. "She's the best."

"Good to know." Roman shifted, his arms tightening ever so slightly.

"She needs a good husband," Mikey said, eyeballing Roman.

"What?" Katyia squawked.

"That is what my papa says." Mikey nodded sagely, for all of his eight years. "Are you a good man?"

"No," Roman said. "I'm not a very nice man, but I will keep you and her safe."

The boy regarded them, a look in eyes that went beyond his years. "Maybe that is better than being a good person. She needs someone to keep her safe."

"Really?" Roman's jawline brushed the soft skin beside her ear, his whiskers scraping the skin. It set off a riot of emotions within. Her stomach clenched again, but not in hunger this time. This feeling had nothing to do with hunger. "Why is that?"

"People are mean to her."

Katyia felt Roman's entire body go taut, and anger thrummed through him. It came off him in waves of heat. "Who is mean to her?"

"Her mama."

"Hush, now, Mikey." She tried to shush him. Roman didn't need the details of her life. At least not that part of it. She hid that from everyone, including her father and siblings.

"No, Miss Kat. You need somebody mean. He looks mean enough to protect you."

"Tell me." Roman's tone was deceptively soft.

"Michael Donavan, what are you doing out here...oh, Katyia." They all looked up to see Mikey's mother, Susan, coming toward them. "I had heard you were here. It's true then, that you were turned?"

Katyia detected no censure in Susan's face or in her voice. She nodded hesitantly. Susan mattered to her. The woman tended to mother Katyia. She also cleaned Katyia's wounds after one of her mother's punishments.

"You look terrible," Susan told her bluntly. "You need a good bath and your hair brushed. It looks like a crow's nest."

Well. Same old Susan. Unfortunately, she now smelled like food. Warm honey. Susan's flavor reminded her of the honey bread she'd always bring Katyia after one of Olivia's beatings. She inhaled deeply, letting the flavor wash over her. Katyia's eyes closed, letting the scent fill her.

"She needs to feed." Roman's words snapped her out of the bloodlust haze.

"No. I will not feed on my people. You can't make me."

"Do you want another repeat of this morning?" he asked bluntly. "Because if you refuse to feed, that is exactly what will happen. Our bloodlust has to be maintained and controlled. If you deny it, then you run the risk of having it control you. I've seen entire towns go down because of the foolishness of young vampires. I will not let my camp become a bloodbath because of your squeamishness. You will feed and you will feed now."

"He is mean," Mikey whispered, his eyes saucers.

"No, he's just a bully." Katyia tried to push his arms away, but he held on tight.

"But he's right, child." Susan's words stopped her wiggling. "You have to feed. It's who you are now. You can't starve yourself."

"But I can't feed off any of you. It wouldn't be right."

"Who better to feed you than us?" Susan asked, a smile on her face. "We are the people who love you, the people you have fought for, the people who know you best."

"Aye, she's right." Another townsman stepped up. "We will feed you, Miss Katyia, because we love and respect you."

Susan stepped forward and took her hand. "We know all about the turning, Katyia. The ravager, all of it. None of that matters. It doesn't define who you are. The Katyia we know is still standing in front of us, trying to protect us again, even from herself. We don't need protecting, child. We never did. We should have done more to protect you from that beast of a woman. Let us do this for you now, let us protect you as best we can. Let us feed you, child."

More and more came forward, agreeing to feed her. Tears blinded her. She'd thought they'd turn against her, call her an abomination, but here they stood, vowing their loyalty in their own way. Emotion overwhelmed her, which only heightened her thirst.

Roman must have guessed her dilemma. He had her moving through the crowd into one of the tents. After ordering everyone out, he called for Susan, who came with a smile on her face. Her scent slapped Katyia in the face. A feral growl leaked out. All she saw were the veins pulsing along her skin. All of them. Blood. Her stomach clenched.

"Easy, little one," Roman whispered. "Calm yourself. You don't want to hurt her."

Katyia took several deep breaths, but it didn't help. All she smelled was honey. Her body ached with need. This was Susan, though. She couldn't hurt Susan. Fighting against the beast now raging inside defied logic. It wanted fed. She needed to feed.

"The people who feed us are to be protected and cherished above all others." Roman shifted them closer to Susan. The woman stood there, fearless, unaware of the rampant thoughts occupying Katyia's mind. Visions of blood and torn flesh flashed, the sticky sweetness running everywhere.

"Are her eyes supposed to do that?" Susan asked, the first hint of fear leaking out. "They're glowing."

"That is the ravager DNA inside of her." Roman slid to his knees, pulling her with him. "I will not let her harm you."

Susan nodded and approached them, sinking to her knees as well. Katyia hissed, her thirst making it hard to focus. She tried, though. Her desire to protect the one woman who was more of a mother to her than anyone else in this world warred with her need to be a gluttonous demon.

"Relax, little one," Roman soothed. "Close your eyes and breathe."

"That's not helping," she rasped. "All I can smell is her scent."

"I know. Just close your eyes and breathe. Good girl. Now, try to focus your thoughts on..."

"Susan." Susan's voiced shook just a tiny bit. Her fear mixed in with her natural honey scent, making it all the more luscious.

"Think about Susan and not how good she smells." Roman's fingers began to massage her arms, his touch more comforting than anything she'd felt in a long time. It punctured through the cloud of bloodlust swirling around her brain enough for her to concentrate.

Katyia forced her muscles to relax, her breathing to even out, and tried to breathe through her mouth. It helped a bit with the smell. Then she thought about Susan, how she'd been there from the first time Olivia had lashed her. Susan cleaned the wounds and sang her to sleep. Every time Olivia meted out one of her punishments, Susan's touch was the only one she remembered. Susan had taken care of her. Now, she needed to take care to not hurt Susan.

"That's it," Roman said. "Open your eyes for me, Katyia."

Once she did, the haze of red dimmed a bit, enough for her to see the frightened look on Susan's face. Scared as she was, she was going to do what Katyia needed her to. That alone gave Katyia the strength to fight for control over her bloodlust. She tamped down the horrific images and kept her gaze locked on Susan's eyes and not the vein throbbing in her neck.

"It's going to hurt," Roman explained. "It's not like in books and tales of old where the vampire's kiss causes extreme pleasure. Fiction, all of it. We have no way to spare you the pain coming. That's why we are always quick when we feed. We don't want you in more pain than necessary. Are you ready?"

Susan nodded, but Katyia wasn't ready. Not by any means. Roman wasn't going to let her out of this, though.

"Come closer, Susan." His voice took on a hypnotic quality. The closer Susan came, the more Katyia's stomach clenched. How was she going to do this and not hurt her friend?

"Be easy." Roman's arms fell away. "I'm right here. Just lean in and let your body do the rest."

Katyia closed her eyes, a single tear slipping free. This was really happening. Somewhere deep in her heart, she'd hoped it was all a bad dream. But it wasn't. She had to hurt the people she loved to survive.

"It's okay, Katyia." Susan's voice wrapped around her heart. She could still hear the fear, but she also heard compassion and love. It was enough to help her get past her own misgivings and attempt to feed. She herself feared tearing into Susan and shredding her neck. The urge to do just that beat at her.

Roman's hands cupped her shoulders, gently pushing her forward. His hands were also a way for him to haul her away from Susan should the ravager in Katyia take over. For that, Katyia was grateful.

She leaned into Susan, her nose targeting the vein fluttering at the base of her neck. Her new instincts urged her to lunge and plunge her teeth savagely into the waiting fountain of blood, but she resisted. Instead, she gently bit down, fighting every inclination to take what she wanted with brutal force. She pulled her teeth back and her lips latched onto the wound and lapped up the warm blood that oozed from the punctures. It hit her taste buds and burst into a million different flavors, all converging into one bouquet of deliciousness.

She heard the distinct sound of Susan's groan. One of pain. Her inner beast argued with her rational self. Her bloodlust had slaked. It didn't take much, just a little. The images of before rushed back, and she growled, sucking harder at the wound. Roman's hands pulled at her, but she latched onto Susan, her need for more tearing away at her.

This wasn't the vampire in her. The ravager reared its ugly head, and it was enough to stop her cold. She tore herself away from Susan and tried to run, but Roman caught her. He held her tight, murmuring nonsense words while she tried to calm down.

She'd almost hurt Susan. The woman sat, holding a hand to her neck, wincing in pain.

"Calm yourself," Roman whispered. "She's fine. You didn't harm her more than she would normally be hurt."

"But I wanted to." As much as she wanted to deny that, it was irrevocably true.

"But you didn't," Roman countered. "Most newborns can't pull themselves away from their first few feeds. You did it on your own the first time. I didn't think you were going to be able to, but you did. Be proud of yourself, little one."

"He's right, Katyia." Susan stood and approached her. Katyia shrank back, the scent of fresh blood causing images to bombard her. Susan stopped, perhaps sensing her distress. "I'm none the worse for wear."

"Come, little one." Roman's touch gentled. "You need to rest."

Katyia frowned. This man was not the same one she'd met yesterday or even this morning. Concern oozed out of him. What changed?

She laughed bitterly. What changed? Everything had changed in the span of a day. It all seemed to tumble down around her. So many things had gone wrong since yesterday. Why had she ever gone outside the barrier?

When Roman led her back to his tent, she didn't object. She did need rest. Her body was worn out. Maybe she'd wake up and find it was all just a nightmare.