Olive had stayed for the rest of the dinner, which was eaten in relative silence. Danika had offered to find some literature on shape shifters for her, stating that there wasn't a library on this planet where she would find a book about them. They were an unknown species and they wanted it to remain that way. Danika warned her that she musn't tell any one of them, that she had to keep their secret or she would be punished. She didn't want to use the punish word around Olive, knowing of her fear of vampires and their rules but she knew that in this one instance, it was justified. Olive had to understand the requirements when it came to knowing about them, the rules that the vampires held in regards to the unknown species. If all went well, one day soon Olive would be with Phabel and in time, she would be his wife. And with a little more time, the two of them would go on to rule the shape shifter world. Eris had already discussed with Lucian the need for Olive to become educated in their world. Just because they were hardly talking to each other, didn't mean that it would always be like that. He could see that their emotions were crumbling, with a few little pushes from those that loved them, these two would get there. That was his reasoning behind the need for Olive to be educated in all things shifter related, she would be a part of their world and it was necessary. The education would begin this weekend.

When they readied to return Olive home, Danika feigned tiredness and sudden illness, suggesting that her fish may have been under cooked. Phabel frowned at her knowing she wasn't sick or tired, that there was nothing wrong with her fish and that it was one large ploy. And that was why he was now driving Olive home. She sat in the passenger seat, the soft leather cool to touch watching as Lucian walked over.

'Danika said she will see you tomorrow if she is well and that you should keep Saturday free.'

'What for?'

'I have no idea.' he said dryly 'I suspect she is up to something, much like tonight. Don't be mad at her she only had your best interest at heart.'

Olive nodded as Lucian shut the door, smiling broadly at her. She could hear Phabel muttering as he rounded the car, no doubt he was not impressed. Pressure had been mounting in his mind, the thoughts of the night were hounding him, reminding him of how cold he had been to her in his office and behind the building. She was looking out for her friend and still he was like he always was. Cold and distant. He had been getting worse as the years had passed, upon reflection he now realised it had been happening for only a few years now, it was likely since that night in question. His mind knew that something was wrong yet it could not figure it out. He was missing his mate and the dark and brooding thoughts were controlling his life, creating some heartless monster that treated others with contempt. He was destructive and it was lucky that Lucian had given up his partying ways, otherwise the two of them would have been drunk somewhere. Then there were the lust filled thoughts of her, now they made sense. His soul had felt the return of his mate and began to prepare him for the inevitable. It made him lust for her, want her, need her. There would be nothing that he could do to stop the thoughts, it was what made bonded love monogamous. It was consuming and forceful. The soul would never accept anything other than the mate and all he wanted was her. Even with his thoughts about the past few days and how poorly he had treated her, he couldn't help but think about the positives. She was delicate like a flower and he new that she could wilt as easily too. He had to tread carefully, the ground beneath the two of them was thin and could break at any moment.

They had driven in silence for about five minutes before Phabel couldn't take it any longer. He glanced to Olive who was sitting on the seat as close to the door as she could get. Her body was faced away from him and he could see the intention, the signal. Still, he persisted. He had to get to know her otherwise she would slip away from his grip, he would lose her forever.

'How old are you?'

'Twenty-three. How old are you really?'

'Nine hundred and fifteen.'

'Holy shit.' she gasped and then frowned 'You told me you were thirty.'

'Would you really expect me to tell you my true age and not have you calling the insane asylum?'

'Just another nail in the coffin Phabel.' she turned and looked out the window.

Phabel took a deep breath, calming himself down. He wondered what she really did expect of him. If he were to tell her the truth, she would not have believed him.

'So it's been four years, what have you done in this time?'

'Well, when I stopped looking for the man who promised the world to me, I decided that I needed to get on with my life. No one in that town had ever heard of you or anyone called Phabel. I assumed that you had lied to me. So after the landlord kicked me out of the house I moved to the city, got a job and saved as much as I could. In order to be enrolled in university I had to finish my secondary education.'

'Did you enrol into this university because of me?'

'I saw the name and wondered, when I came to the open day I saw you and felt sick. Even though I had wished the night hadn't been real, I knew it was because of the necklace. To see you again looking like life had continued on, like you didn't feel the weight of the loss, it hurt. If I could have applied for a different university I would have but I had to get parental approval to move cities.'

Phabel looked at her curiously, her fingers toyed with the pendant, running it along the chain.

'The vampires who control human movement wouldn't let me move without my parents consent, it didn't matter that they were dead or that I had their death certificates. I was under aged and I was not permitted to move. So I had no choice. If I wanted to go to any university, it had to be one in my town. If I wanted to be a teacher, it had to be this one. That's it.'

He sighed as they finally reached the edge of the town, the lights of the city glowing ahead of them.

'I am sorry for that, the vampires have had a very rough ride when it comes to the humans. I have seen it, I have fought in the wars that you learn about. The days where humans openly hunted them, treating them like they were monsters.' he shook his head 'Don't get me wrong, there are vampires that are monsters but the majority of them are just like humans, they are good people. If you could have seen how they were treated you would understand why they are they way that they are. This planet was nearly dead when the vampires took control, what you see before you is the work of their kind. They are strict because they do not want to return to the past.'

Olive looked to Phabel, his face was so animated as he talked, the history of this planet was what made him feel alive when he couldn't understand the forces that controlled his mind. It gave his life reason and meaning when he thought that there was little else.

********************

Phabel pulled over and turned off the engine. The world had darkened with the night, only the feint glow of the street lights lit the land now. It was dangerous territory to have a professor in such an intimate situation with a student but there was little he could do about it. He needed to have her in his life, he needed to protect her.

'Its late, I'll walk you in.'

'Are you sure, this is a high risk area. You've already risked it once.'

'Olive, I will not be able to sleep tonight if I were to leave without ensuring that you are safe in your apartment, please do not fight me on this one.'

Olive sighed lightly as she got out of his fancy car, not wanting to upset the professors sleeping habits she held her tongue. They said nothing until they were standing outside her door inside the building. Olive was grateful she had a ground floor unit, not wanting to subject the poor professor to walking the stairs because of the broken lift. She unlocked the door and let it swing open, looking upon her little hole in the wall.

'Are you prepared to give this a go Olive?'

His voice was deep and husky, low as he stood behind her. She turned to see his eyes watching her with caution on his face. Olive leaned on the door frame, nodding as he moved closer slightly. His eyes were cast down to the necklace that was glowing just a little brighter now. Olive watched as if Phabel was in a trance, his hand reached out and gently touched the stone. Instantly he moved, like someone had hit him in the head, he squinted as a sharp pain stung through his mind.

'Are you alright?'

The words she spoke seemed to whisper in the wind as one vivid image flooded through his mind. He gripped his forehead where the pain was the most intense, the stinging burned his eyes. He closed them and watched the vision, it was on a perpetual loop.

'I saw you.' he whispered as he gripped the edge of the door frame on the other side of Olive.

'You were standing in a stream with a net, black rope tied into large squares.'

Olive could feel the tears welling in her eyes, he had a crack of memory, the first moment together.

'You were wearing a peasant dress, hitched up away from the water.'

Amid the pain he could feel himself laughing, watching her terrible efforts at trying to catch the fish.

'And you almost fell in.' his eyes opened even though it pained him to 'You looked so beautiful, you're hair was curled.'

Phabel toyed with the long strands of hair that sat past her shoulders.

'The curls are better.'

Tears slipped down her cheeks as she watched him struggle with the memory. Phabel wiped the tears from her rosy cheeks, looking into those eyes that seemed more luminous as she cried.

'Do not shed tears, the memories will return eventually, even if we never find our love again.'

'But I do not want that Phabel.' she whispered 'I want that night again, you made me feel loved when I thought that I was unlovable.'

'I will make you feel loved, I will find you again.'

His hand moved from her cheeks where he had wiped the last of her tears, slowly moving to the base of her head, her soft hair laced into his fingers. Carefully he brought her closer, feeling the draw to her, the necklace was dragging him in. Anticipation coursed through him, spurning on his heart that was beating hard and fast. He kissed her hard and needfully, feeling her hands move slowly around his neck. Phabel couldn't get over how perfect it felt to have her in his embrace, nothing before her could compare. Her kiss was soft like she was, delicate yet so needy and forceful. As their heated kiss ended, Phabel pressed his forehead to hers, smiling at her as he stared into her pretty eyes.

'I am never going to last the year.'

'Me neither.' she whispered.

Phabel chuckled lightly, taking her hand and kissing her palm.

'Inside with you before I do something I won't regret.'

'Like what?' Olive grinned as she stepped over the threshold.

'Ravish you.' he whispered as he held either side of the door frame, leaning in slightly 'Tease you and tempt you.'

Olive moved in for one last kiss, soft and sweet, their lips barely touched as they danced across each other.

'So long as you don't forget me again.'

'Oh aui leabu I could not forget a woman as beautiful as you.'

'You called me that. Several times.'

Phabel frowned for a moment and then smiled.

'I did?' he stood upright from the door frame.

He remembered that Lucian had told him that only a few hours earlier. Phabel frowned, he had forgotten that until now as well. It was like any memories of Olive were a struggle to keep, even conversations about her. He hoped that with time the memories would stop disappearing and reappearing as they pleased.

'Well then, it seems more and more are coming back. Won't be too long now.'

They stood at the door with an almost awkward silence. The tension was rising between them, both wanted things to move forward but knew it was far too early.

'Good night Olive, I will see you in the morning. Don't be late for class, I might have to call you into my office again.' he paused for a moment 'Scratch that, do be late, I want to plant kisses all over you in my office.'

Olive shook her head with a grin.

'Good night Phabel.'

She leaned on the closed door with one very large grin, her heart had pounded hard for the last ten minutes and was surely about to stop from exhaustion. He was right when he said he was never going to last the year. She thought they would be lucky if they lasted the week.