A/N: I apologize for the lack of updates, folks.  My schedule has been pretty busy lately, and inevitably my time for writing has lessened.  But I will write and post when I can.  As always, I really appreciate those waiting for the updates and who take the time to comment/vote along the way.  Enjoy!

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Chapter 10 - Finn

Reyo's words stay with me long after I'm escorted from the war room and through the hidden tunnels of rock. My tears have finally dried, but the pressure of the new information weighs me down. It feels like it's sitting on my chest, heavy and unrelenting. I came here thinking the Secondary population could help us win this war.

And they will – but at a price.

How could I have been so stupid? How could I have thought this would be easy?

The guards form a square around Reyo and me as he leads us into some place called the Learning Center. He's still explaining the details, but at a certain point I stop listening. His voice hums against my eardrum, but the words are all dragging through an internal soup of despondency.

Reyo gently places his hand on the small of my back and urges me through the doors of what I can only assume to be the Learning Center. The warmth of his fingertips is so different than Bogdan's cold touch. You'd think after all this time being away from a human touch that I'd miss it – the warmth. The realness. Instead I flinch away from his kindness and internally wish for my vampire's touch instead.

"Thank you, gentleman," Reyo says to the guards huddling around us. "You may all wait here."

There's a unison of formal acknowledgments to their leader's request before they begin to disperse. One of the guards on the end gives Reyo a lingering look of warning as the door closes behind us. Once again I'm on the defense in a place where Reyo insists I'm a guest. If Bogdan was here, would he feel the same?

"And this is the Learning Center," Reyo says gently.

The room is bright and much smaller than the last. There are rows of tables and low hanging lights, most of which are turned off. The few that are on cast bright light across various bottles of liquid and scary-looking instruments. I shudder thinking of how much they resemble the cringe-worthy utensils I used to see going to the dentist's office. There's no pretense of decoration or color to lessen the coldness of the room. It's clear it's a place of work. No nonsense.

"Don't let it intimidate you," Reyo adds as if sensing my trepidation. "Most of what is in here is harmless. It's simply a place of research."

"It reminds me of a scientific dentist's office," I mutter mostly to myself.

Reyo grins and glances around the unwelcoming room. "I've never heard that comparison before."

That's probably because not many Secondaries have been to a human's dentist office. Or, if they have, it certainly wasn't any time recently. So much has changed in our society since the Secondaries were pushed out of it. Once again I'm swallowing down a mouthful of guilt for the wrong actions of my ancestors.

Reyo's heavy boots slap against the uneven rock beneath him. He tucks his hands behind his back and slowly walks to each table, studying their contents before moving on to the next. His light eyes bounce over the surface of every tablle. Every detail is being recorded in his mind.

"Do you spend a lot of time here?" I ask. "Researching?"

Reyo lifts one of the vials near the end of the table. A light purple liquid glows inside it. He tilts his head, studying its contents with a ghost of a grin spread across his lips.

"I do," he admits openly. "I may be their leader, Finn, but I don't like the mentality that a leader's only job is to rule. Instead I like to work beside my fellow Secondaries – learning what they learn and discovering what they discover."

Reyo tightens his hold on the vial and walks towards me. The scent of lilacs and cinnamon mix together when he offers the vial into my hand.

"This is it," he says plainly. "This is the anti-venom."

The purple liquid practically glows. Is it true what he says? Is this anti-venom strong enough to change a vampire back into a human?

I think of Bogdan, picturing his red gaze and chiseled jaw. I hear his deep voice in my mind, urging me back to sleep all those nights when the cold wind whipped against the tent. I can almost feel his hard and marble-like limbs holding me against him while my ear pressed against his frozen heartbeat.

He is the strongest immortal I know. It's hard to believe one drink of this liquid would make that all vanish, morphing every piece of his DNA back to who he was before he changed.

"You said if they drink this, it won't hurt them," I say.

Reyo nods slowly. His light eyes peer at me with understanding. He must know I'm thinking about Bogdan. It's not hard to tell I regard my relationship with Bogdan to be deeper than just a vampire and his consort. He has my heart, too.

"No pain at all," he assures me. "From what our research shows, the anti-venom will re-start their hearts and reverse their immortal DNA."

I can feel the tears welling up in my chest as I attempt to ask my next question.

"And their memories?" I whisper. "What will they remember? What will they forgot?"

Reyo glances away from me, his eyes falling to the vial once again. In it holds the dreams and hopes of his population. In it holds the key to winning this war and saving mankind.

"Their minds will revert back to the way they were before they changed," Reyo says slowly. "But whether they will remember their past or not is still just a conjecture. Some of our researchers believe they will remember both of their pasts – as an immortal and as their prior form. Others believe they will only remember their past life as a Secondary or human."

He pauses and then raises his gaze to meet mine. "And I will also admit there are one or two who believe their memories will be wiped clean, starting new all over again."

The information rattles me bone-deep. There's no certainty to it. There's a good chance if Bogdan takes this he won't remember me at all. How would he feel about that? He doesn't have fond memories of becoming a vampire, and he hasn't particularly said he enjoys being immortal. Perhaps he would want this change. Would forgetting me completely be a factor to him at all?

Tears burn the edges of my eyes. I drop my gaze to the vial, hating Reyo's probing stare while I wallow in my own insecurity. The idea of losing my memory of Bogdan is devastating...but I don't think the same is true for him.

It's a painful realization, but that's just a part of who he is. He's a vampire and can't feel the same way I can. The same way humans can.

"I wish I knew," I say, clearing away the burning lump of tears in the base of my throat.

"Would it make you more willing to agree to the terms?"

"Maybe."

I hand the vial back to Reyo. His fingers brush against mine during the exchange and I flinch. Once again if he notices, he doesn't react. Instead he turns his back towards me and sets the vial back into its case where he found it.

"Then it seems I am in need of a vampire."

There's a beat of silence that passes between us, but then a sudden idea idea pops into my mind. "Kelly."

Reyo's eyebrows arch in confusion. "I beg your pardon?"

"Leo," I answer quickly. "The man in your medical unit. A vampire – my old friend – was following his trail. If he continues to follow it, he should find the spot where we ran into Tegan. He'll find Leo's bike. He'll know we were there."

Reyo nods slowly, trying to catch up with my train of thought. "And this vampire, this Kelly, you would be willing to turn him back into a human?"

I think about my best friend. I think about how different he is as a vampire and yet how he's still the same. But I also think of how much he hated the vampire species before he was changed into one. If the mortal Kelly was here, he'd want me to do this. Wouldn't he?

"Yes," I find myself agreeing. "He'd want to be human again."

Reyo mulls over my words. He walks around the edge of the table and along the new row of various vials and instruments. Ever calm, ever poised.

"I'll send my guards out there to watch for him," he says, breaking the silence. "And we will bring him here. Upon his agreement, we will change him back into a human. Then we will know which memories are saved...and which are lost."

I'm practically bouncing on the balls of my feet with a mixture of excitement and nerves. With all the chaos upon our arrival, I completely forgot about Leo's confession. If what he said to me is true, Kelly should be here within the next day.

Reyo turns to face me. His expression turns serious, and my scalp prickles with apprehension. "But once this happens, Finn, I will need your decision. Are we agreed?"

I swallow hard. My saliva becomes stale and the air is suddenly burning in my lungs as I try to breathe.

"Ok," I whisper. And in that moment, it feels as if the energy in the air changes. "I agree."

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A guard with a pale green uniform escorts me to my room. My head is heavy from all that's happened today. And now, somewhere out there, a group of Secondaries are trying to find my best friend. I promised Reyo that once they changed Kelly I would give him my decision.

What will happen to us if I decline, though?

We're they're guests now, sure...but I have a sinking feeling their welcoming arms will recoil with malice rather quickly if I choose not to participate in their own course of war. I gingerly rub my temples and follow the guard's quick steps down the dimmed hallway.

I know I have to talk this over with Bogdan. A hollow pit forms in the pit of my stomach just thinking about my vampire. This is the longest I've been away from him in months. Surely I can wait to discuss all this with him until after we've spent some time together? Or perhaps I'm just rationalizing with my nerves.

The guard comes to a sudden halt in front of me. He pulls a string of keys to the front of his belt and unlocks the door before stepping aside.

"Your chambers, sir."

He nods his head for me to depart but his eyes are focused on something in my room. Or perhaps, someone.

"Thank you," I mumble.

I slip through the open door and come to an abrupt halt. Bogdan is leaning against the side of my bed, waiting for me, and looking too perfect for words. He crosses his arms over my chest and his red eyes are blazing. His scowl doesn't go unnoticed by the guard, and very quickly the door closes behind me.

Yeesh. I know I'm far from immune against Bogdan's harsh and dominant demeanor, but the potency of his personality hits home every time I see someone else affected by it too. The guard's heavy footfalls echo down the hallway, and Bogdan's expression softens as his gaze travels down to meet mine. It takes all of my self-control not to throw myself into his arms and beg for his touch. Pathetic? Perhaps. In love? Absolutely.

Every thought flees from my mind when his lips quirk up into a small grin. He doesn't smile often. When he does, the dark mask that normally clouds his features dissipates, rays of sunshine pushing past billowing clouds of rain.

When I'm within arms distance, Bogdan surprises me by holding out his hands as a silent encouragement for my embrace. My stomach tightens with glee when his arms snugly move around my waist. He leans down and gently presses his lips against my ear.

"Human," he whispers, and there's an undercurrent of need in his tone. "I thought of you often while you were away."

My eyes widen. This is the closest he's come to telling me he missed me. I'm basking in it. The conversation I know I need to have with him pushes its way further and further into the back of my mind as he lowers his lips to the base of my neck.

His soft lips trace along the tender flesh of my neck and up to my jawline. Each time his lips leave my skin, there's a tingling sensation that's left behind. The natural mint scent wafting from his skin puts my senses into overdrive.

His grip tightens around my waist. He's hungry. I close my eyes and swallow back the moan bubbling up my throat. Already my excitement is building from his minimal touch. I lean into him, the hardness of his arms and chest somehow bringing me a mixture of comfort and desire.

"I missed you," I whisper and close my eyes when his tongue flickers down the side of my neck.

Bogdan stiffens at my words but continues to kiss me without pause. After a moment of silence he breathes in deeply and slides his index finger beneath my jaw until the two of us are locking eyes once again.

The hunger in his gaze is potent, but there's another type of desire in them that I know I'm not imagining. It's desire for me and not just my blood...and it's staggering.

"Human," Bogdan whispers. "I need to feed from you."

My heart beats against my chest wildly and I nod.

"Of course," I answer and tilt my head to the side to give him better access.

I swallow hard and squeeze my eyes closed, stopping myself from saying the words that are sitting at the edge of my lips.

I'm yours whenever you want me, Bogdan. Always.