His mind was shutting down and his vampire survival instincts had taken over. His eyes had succumbed to darkness and all he sought was her blood. Moving his left hand to her neck and he dug his nails so deeply into her skin that it began to bleed.

"Ahhh!" A whimper escaped her throat and Xiran was jolted back to his senses. He was horrified to see how viciously he was holding her, her eyes held a surprised look, still not afraid of him though.

Instantly, he let her go and pulled out his canines. He cursed under his breath and scurried away from her.

"Sorry," he mumbled to her, hating himself for hurting her. He had always been gentle to her, the reason she trusted him. He didn’t want that to change but he wasn’t thinking straight today.

"Xiran... it’s ok. I can handle it. I am not afraid of you. Nor do you need to apologize for your erratic behaviour. I understand what you are going through. Come closer." She held out her hand so he would take it. She never failed to baffle him. He just stared at her for a few more seconds. He didn’t want to hurt her for his needs. He had no clue that her blood could heal what his father had done. Elven blood didn’t have healing properties, then how?

"Please..." she pleaded again he finally took her hand and she tugged him to settle in her lap. He placed his head on her legs and held her waist again.

"Sleep," she murmured in his ear and began to hum a tune he wasn’t familiar with. As she had said her voice was not singing type but it soothed him, for she was humming only for him and that’s all he cared about.

She sat there forever with him occupying her lap. She could hear his shallow breathing, he had gone to sleep. His grip had loosened on her waist. He turned his face a bit, some veins on it stood black but she couldn’t see them due to the dark. She had placed her hand on his face.

’What did they do to you?’ She wondered to herself. He seemed to be at his lowest. She had a similar experience with Yurian. He would become like this whenever he had one of his episodes. He would shut himself up but he gradually learned to talk to Aselia and trust her with all his burdens and secrets. She now wished Xiran could do the same, so he might feel better. But she didn’t want to push him and wanted to let him come to her.

She had no clue how long she sat there, motionless. No way would she want his sleep to get disturbed. She couldn’t see him but she felt him with every fiber of her body and knew he was sleeping peacefully.

He finally stirred and gradually opened his eyes. Her smell mixed with her touches awakened him fully and he immediately sat up straight and spoke: "I am so sorry Aselia. You must be starving and instead, I was sleeping like a log."

"I am not hungry, I had a hearty breakfast with Rivan. Stop worrying so much about me." Why couldn’t he take a day off from babysitting her? She only said the last part aloud in her head.

"And the way I treated you today. You must be thinking I am a monster." There was much disappointment in his voice. Now that he was feeling fresh and in less pain, he reflected on his earlier actions.

"Xiran, you do realize I am a grown-up woman. Stop treating me like a baby or a porcelain doll. I don’t break that easily, I am tough. I can handle a little bit of pain or I won’t have been living in a vampire’s den. Besides, you are allowed to have a bad day, you are allowed to express what you are feeling and you are allowed to be solely a vampire. Not everything has to be about me all the time. Let this time be about you." She answered back in a very calm tone.

Hearing this made him even more emotional, he had never thought a girl would say something like that to him. He was always the one who took care of them and always tried not to hurt them. Keeping all his instincts in check at all costs. Especially her, he never wanted to hurt her. Today he has and yet here she was, ever so brave and relentless. She hasn’t run away screaming. She even accepted him at his worst.

"Leia...what will I do without you." He effortlessly picked her up and transferred her to his lap. "I missed you..." he whispered placing the tip of his nose in the crook of her neck, he inhaled deeply.

Aselia sighed at his actions, he will never stop treating her like a baby.

"Well, I am pissed at you but we will talk about it when you are better. For now, I am even more pissed at your family. I don’t know what they did do to you but I am sure they have hurt you, and it’s making my blood boil."

"So you do care about me? And it seems like a lot. Tell me how much you missed me when I was gone." He began to trace her face with his fingers, his other arm supporting her head. He enjoyed her mixed expressions and the fact he could see her clearly while she couldn’t. Her heart had started racing at his touch and he wanted to tease her some more.

"Don’t get over yourself now and stop teasing me. I have no clue what you are talking about." She tried to escape the inferno he was creating again, she didn’t want to get burned. But he held on tight, knowing she will try to escape him.

"Where do you think you are going, my sweet Leia." He teased her in a seductive voice.

"Ummm... I’m hungry, I will go eat something." Aselia made an excuse to escape him.

"You weren’t hungry ten minutes ago. Seems like you only want to escape me, didn’t you come here of your own accord?" He wasn’t done teasing her and she couldn’t even see his seductive smile.

"I came here to check on you, not to entertain your seductive advances, old man." This made him laugh, how he had missed her bickering.

"You have that effect on me, what can I do? Let me call Frila, go with her and eat. You can return to your room after or come here. But remember I am not gonna let you go if you will return to me." He kissed her neck making her shudder. How he wished he hadn’t hurt her today. He then called Frila to take Aselia away and cater to all her needs.

Before leaving Aselia hugged him and said in his ear: "I did miss you, you big idiot and I am super mad at you. But I will wait before discussing all that." He smiled at her words but said nothing, simply leading her through the darkness and stopping at the door. She opened it and stepped outside, she didn’t look back at him respecting his wishes. While he returned to his bed.

Frila was waiting for her. Aselia squinted her eyes, the light outside hurt her eyes and it took her a minute to adjust to it after staying in dark for so many hours.

They both began to walk to Aselia’s room. "How is Señor doing?" Frila inquired.

"He is a bit better, but I think he needs time to make full recovery. Has he eaten anything since he has gotten back?" Aselia turned to Frila, her face had concern written all over it.

"He did, but mostly he drank blood. A lot of it."

"I see," Aselia’s mind was racing. Did they starve him too? How despicable were they? No wonder he acted like that with her.

They had reached Aselia’s room. Frila had already brought her food and she made sure Aselia had everything. It was already nighttime. Aselia decided to sleep in her room and settled in bed.

Frila took her leave from Aselia with instructions to call her if the need arise. Aselia nodded her head as Frila left, locking the door behind her. Aselia switched on the TV to watch something lighthearted, she needed to calm her nerves.

She only watched for an hour or two before she began to yawn. She switched off the TV and settled down to sleep. Hardly sleeping for a few hours when she felt someone’s presence in her room.

She was in a state of half-sleep and yet she felt half-awake. Her room was dark, although she didn’t remember turning off the light in her room. She was fully awake now.

"Who is there?" She yelled. Right at that moment, someone placed their hand on her eyes and mouth, muffling any scream that might escape her lips.