Talia's pov

I woke up in a warm room with no rays coming through. I no longer had a dress on, but comfortable sweatpants and a hoodie. It took me a while to open my eyes completely, as they were difficult to keep open.

The sound of burning wood was pleasant to my ears. It reminded me of home. I pulled the heavy-knitted blanket over my nose, enjoying this very moment.

The last thing I remember is that I was lying on the ground, and Darcia was so near me. It felt like a dream to see her face again. But it was tough to look straight into her eyes after what I had done.

I condemned her for it, and karma taught me how simple it is to judge when you are not inside their skin.

I slowly rose from the couch I was apparently lying on. My head was about to explode for an unknown reason.

"I see you're finally up now."

I turned to my right and saw Darcia sitting next to me with her legs crossed. Her long raven hair was tied in a low ponytail. Black blouse and slack pants that perfectly fit her body. Her unbelievably beautiful scent filled the air around her. I was truly dreaming.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" She asked and placed her hand on top of my knee. Was she always looking so provocative wearing those clothes?

"Is this a reality? Or am I dreaming of you?" I wondered as it didn't make any sense. Tears collected in my eyes and steadily ran down my cheeks.

"Sweetheart, you're home now. You're safe. I'm right here." She explained with the sweetest voice I heard her talk in.

Without a thought, I immediately jumped out of my blanket onto her, locking my arms around her neck. I couldn't catch a breath, and my eyes were fully wet. I tried not to squeeze her too harshly, but that wasn't possible. Being able to feel her body, lying on her, just touching her.

"Ahh, I adore this moment we're having, Talia, however, you're choking me." She quietly said, and I realized I now possess a huge amount of strength. I released a bit of strength from my arms, even so I still held on to her.

Her lips pressed against my cheek, brushing them up and down. Her hand sneaked onto my waist. Oh gosh, how much I missed her touch.

I pulled away to see her face and understood how alluring she truly was. A known smirk appeared on her face, and she suddenly pulled me close to her face. I could sense her cold breath on my face. The tops of our noses were touching. And her eyes darkened.

She didn't say anything to me; she just connected our lips, and brushed her sweet tongue against my lips. Then she did the same, but with hers.

I unconsciously bit my lower lip after seeing her do so. She's so tempting to taste over and over again, never getting fully satisfied.

"Don't bite your lip, I want to do that." She declared, smashing her cold lips against mine again. I moaned, and my body jolted in shock. I was trembling with pleasure as she bit my bottom lip. Her hands roamed through my hair, holding me firmly on top of her.

"You like that, huh?" She whispered against my ear. My heavy breathing must have gotten away from the arousal I felt.

"How much I missed your angelic voice and perfect figure." She said and grabbed my butt, squeezing it.

"Ahh," I gasped in surprise. I grabbed the collar of her black blouse and pulled her firmly to my face.

A soft moan escaped her mouth, and I suddenly felt heat form on my cheeks. I wish I could hear it more and louder.

"T-Talia," She called my name under her breath. "...we have to save this stuff for later because everyone is waiting for us in the kitchen." She informed me, and her crimson eyes pierced through mine.

I analyzed my surroundings and realized I was in our living room. I nodded, and we slowly took off to the kitchen.

I walked in first, and everybody's head turned at me.

"Talia!! How are you feeling?" Stacey came running to me, hugging me tightly.

"I'm feeling so much better now that I'm home," I said, looking at Darcia.

"We're happy you're back," Nicoli said with a smile. I noticed that his smile was mixed with a bit of sadness.

I'm sure many things happened while I was unconscious, and many statements have been made regarding to what happened in the immortals world.

I'm more than happy that I don't remember single thing from the moment I closed my eyes.

My eyes traveled to another person, sitting behind the dining table.

"What is he doing here?!" I said with anger, starting to walk his way when Darcia grabbed me from behind, holding me tight.

"Calm down, Talia." Darcia command.

I breathed in and breathed out the slowest I could at that moment, but it was nearly impossible.

Lucian's face was filled with guilt, and he could hardly look at me.

He could have stopped this insanity by helping me get back home, yet he decided to continue in his charade and destroy the tiniest piece of goodness that was left in me.

"I had no idea that you knew each other at all. I swear to you." He suddenly said.

"That means completely nothing coming out from your mouth." I burst out. "You knew well how Elvira was treating me. What she made me do, except you still chose to ignore that part. I did nothing to you, Lucian. I was brought into this mess. And I so wish you would've helped me the first time you've met me."

Darcia slowly released her grip once she sensed I'd become calm. I must admit that letting everything out of my mind helped me more than I thought.

"I think it would be best if you left for now, Lucian. We will talk about everything another day." Nicoli suggested with a calm voice, tapping on Lucian's shoulder.

And just like that, he disappeared into thin air.

I know he's important to Nicoli, but I just cannot stand seeing him in this house, especially when I get emotional very quickly. I don't want to break or hurt something...

My nose crinkled at the familiar smell lingering in the air.

Nicoli crouched down to the open oven and pulled out freshly baked fish. He impaled the largest one with a fork and placed it on a plate. I fought the tears seeing him arranging perfectly his food for me. Suddenly, Darcia's hand appeared on my arm, rubbing it gently.

"I don't want to ruin this peaceful mood we have going on now, but I've been wondering the whole time I was captured in that castle: where were the queen and the king?" I burst out with a question that was stuck inside my head.

Darcia sighed out loud, pinching the bridge of her nose. I never saw such a fraternity created on her ravishing face.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

"We have no clue where they could be right now," Darcia admitted.

"Something must be wrong in the realm, so they entirely forgot about Darcia and the castle. That's why Elvira was bossing around everyone." Nicoli speculated as he was putting the cranberries on top of the freshly baked fish.

"Darcia," I said, pulling her shirt.

"What is it?" She wondered with a soft voice because of my unusual behavior.

I pressed my forehead against her chest. Her hands captured my lower back tightly, and then her cold lips kissed me on the top of my head.

I squeezed my eyes in horror at the thought of Darcia being tortured because of what she had done.

"What will happen to you when they find out that you killed - her," I whispered.

Her hand then traveled under my neck, lifting my head with her index finger.

"Do not worry your mind about it because, I promise you, nothing will ever happen to me while you're with me, which means forever." She said, then pressing a gentle kiss against my lips.

Nicoli's cough detached us from each other's touch.

"Now, eat the fish I cooked for you with love." Nicoli pointed to the plate ahead of me with one brow raised. I smiled, looking at him, and then picked up the fork and knife to cut a small piece of it.

I inhaled the most delicious scent radiating from the fish and cooked potatoes. I swallowed the small piece of it, and my smile disappeared.

It tasted like nothing.

I dropped the fork and knife down, and tears slowly came back to life. For a few moments, I forgot what happened to me. I tried to be okay with it, but can a person achieve acceptance of this state that I'm in? Is it truly possible to like what I am now? Because to me, it looks impossible and ridiculous at the same time.

I was further away from the kitchen island and gave each person a cold look as my tears traveled down my neck.

I had to get out.

I couldn't breathe here.

I ran as fast as I could at the vampire speed outside. I stayed on the road, as I was too scared to enter the forest near the house. It was pretty late at night, so no one was outside, just some stray cats.

I stopped myself at a random street, the farthest possible from the house I could go. Numerous stairs were ahead of me that led to the underpass. I decided to stay outside and get some fresh air. Stars were glaring like never before, or they were the same; just my eyesight was enhanced.

I sat down on the cold ground, hugging my thighs, and thinking about everything that happened over the course of a year.

I met a mesmerizing woman, which entirely messed up with my head, and there's no way she would escape it now.

Everything else got blurred. Perhaps because of the trauma, I just couldn't let my mind wander back to those awful memories.

One thing I know for sure is that I don't regret meeting Darcia. I should be cursing at her because of what she has made me go through. I should escape somewhere far away because now I'm free. However, that's not what I truly desire. My only true wish is to stay close to her until death do us part. I know it sounds very cliché, but do you blame me?

"Please, help me!!! Please! I beg you. Someone, I need help!"

I snapped out of the thinking trance and heard a female voice begging for desperate help. I got up from the ground, dusting my clothes from the dirt, and headed the way that the voice screamed for help.

It was the underpass.

I steadily walked down, and I could see nothing but darkness. However, as I reached the end of the stairs, I realized I could see everything vividly.

Further away from me was a young woman lying on the ground, and on top of her was a man trying to tear a skirt out of her body.

Instincts kicked in, and I raced against the man, pushing him off the woman to the ground. I placed my hands around his neck, strangling him with barely any strength.

"Burn in hell," I murmured into his ear so the woman couldn't hear it.

I used more of my strength to speed up his dying process, and in a total of ten seconds, it was over.

The woman kept looking my way to see who rescued her, but I stayed hidden in the dark. She got on her feet, adjusting her skirt and t-shirt back into place. Her breathing was so fast, and her heart almost jumped out of her chest.

"T-Thank you." She said it the loudest she could and ran for her life up those stairs.

I've killed another human being. Nevertheless, I saved a woman's life.

I moved out of the underpass, leaving the dead man where he died. I chose to walk back home because I wanted to be longer alone with just me and my thoughts. I can't believe I'm saying this, but some sort of relief was what I felt once I killed that man. I can help people instead of hurting them. And I can harm those who are torturing the powerless. I can use this strength and fastness for something right. If only I had this power to save my mother.

I was walking for about an hour and a half when I suddenly felt hungry and thirsty. I desired a cup of mint tea with honey and baked potatoes with cheese and bacon on top of it.

I stopped in the middle of the empty road as I heard footsteps getting close from behind me.

Darcia's pov

I followed Talia's scent but kept a safe distance from her. I had to take accountability for the things I've done.

I destroyed many people's lives. I harmed many fragile humans who had no chance against me, and the worst act of mine was bringing Talia into my house. But if I had the ability to turn back time to when I was passing by the orphanage and sneaking into her room, I wouldn't have changed a thing.

I never understood why humans marry or date each other. For our kind, it's only because of procreation or alliance. However, I had a taste of desire and lust and craved attention when I never needed to feel any of those things before.

Letting go of one of those things was unimaginable.

Staring at Talia brought back all of the memories, from the beginning to the present. Fourteen years ago, only a wooden door separated us from each other. On each side of the door, different types of individuals stood. A helpless child and a bloodthirsty being.

"I needed a breath of fresh air." Talia suddenly broke the silence as we stood a few meters from each other. She forced a smile, but even that quickly faded away.

I gracefully sat down on the ground, lying on my back, and looked up at the stars. Humans have no idea how beautiful the darkness is. Who cares about those damn sunny days when you're looking at the magical midnight that consumes you.

"W-What are you doing?" She asked, hovering over my head with a freaked-out facial expression.

I chuckled wholeheartedly at her reaction. "C'mon, lay down with me," I said, tapping my hand on the dirty ground.

She checked both sides of the road, probably looking out for any vehicles, but usually, at one in the morning, there weren't any people driving by here.

Talia, after a few seconds of thinking, laid down next to me. Her eyes immediately focused on the clear sky, full of billions of stars.

As the night enveloped us, the distant chirping of crickets and the gentle rustling of leaves became the only sounds that accompanied our moment under the twinkling stars.

"I-I have no idea how to cope with knowing I'm not how I used to be. This skin-" She pinched her forearm. "...alienated from me, and I feel so helpless, Darcia. How will I be able to live a normal life now?" She asked with her eyes getting glossy.

I captured her hand, giving it a tight squeeze. "You don't have to pretend that everything is fine and that you have come to terms with it. You are under no obligation to come to, like, immortality right away. Live your life as a human, Talia. I will accept your state no matter what your choice of living a life will be."

She squeezed my hand back, looking into my eyes. I lifted her hand to my lips and gently kissed the top of her hand.

"I will love you for an eternity and beyond, if possible." I declared, smiling with my teeth showing.

Talia's face got closer to mine, and our noses attached. "I look at you and just love you. It terrifies me sometimes. This feeling that cannot be tamed, but-I don't want it to ever stop." She confessed with a soft voice.

I looked deeply into her hazel eyes, tugging a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I always wonder what crosses your mind when your eyes meet mine." She wondered, giggling.

I rolled her onto her back and pinned her hands above her head. "You'll be the ruin of me, won't you?" I said under my breath and smashed my lips onto hers, breaking into her mouth with my needy tongue.

It happened a year ago when I became interested in her for the first time. I was captivated by those mesmerizing hazel eyes the moment my eyes caught sight of them on the wall back in orphanage. I was intrigued by knowing more about this ordinary human who was drowning in a fantasy of books rather than reality.

This innocent girl had the same look in her eyes that I once did. I had to know her story. I had the urge to free her from the suffering as I freed myself, and she couldn't.

Talia Laurer is the woman who changed a bloodthirsty immortal into a caring and loving person.

Talia taught me that vampires can, in fact, love in their own awful, twisted ways.

Talia revived the hope for love in me.

After all, it was a love at first bite.

The End