C26: Purity[Sin]

Rose's POV:

I eyed the church over before I looked towards Vlad. "You better stay out here... I don't know how you'll handle going onto sacred ground." I left his side quickly and walked into the church. This was the fifth church I checked today for St. Cross. I eyed over a priest lighting candles. What do you call priests again? I think its father... Humans call them father? I heard one earlier calling a priest father. "Father?" I asked as I walked up towards him. He turned slowly and held up a candle between us with both hands.

"Child, what brings you here today? You're a stranger to this house of god." He met me halfway and gave me a kind smile.

"I'm looking for someone of the name St. Cross," I explained.

"Your search is over," he said cheerfully.

"You're him?" I asked and widened my eyes. I eyed him over to see what all the big fuss was about. He was dressed in the usual clothes of a priest with a rosary cross hanging around his neck. He had dark brown hair that fell midway down his back and his eyes were hazel colored. He had a strong jaw and his skin was so clean I could tell he was a man that took good care of his body. "My name is Rose, and I have a friend just outside that needs help. He's possessed I believe... by a demon. I need your help." I eyed him over patiently. He watched me for a minute before it looked like it clicked in his mind.

"Just outside?" He asked and nodded. "I've been trained to bless people and rid them of demonic presences. Let me see him first before I make my decision." He led me right back outside of the church and looked for Vlad. I brought him straight up to Vlad. He was in a cloak to hide his ears from human eyes. St. Cross walked straight up to Vlad with me and eyed him over before lifting the cloak to look at Vlad. He quickly let go of the cloth when he saw his ears and gave a small gasp.

"I've never seen anything like this," he said quickly.

"He wants your help," I whispered quickly.

"Is this true?" St Cross asked him. Vlad blushed and nodded, tugging on the hood as he flattened his ears against his head.

"Y-yes, do you think you could help me? One of our friends said you could," he whispered and then grabbed my hand quickly, giving it a squeeze as he watched the priest nervously. "I don't want to have cat ears for the rest of my life...."

"I'll start immediately," St. Cross said as he glanced around before he gave a small frown. "Do you have a place nearby to go?"

"No," I told him and shook my head.

"Very well... this will have to do. When this is over, you'll be pure." He moved quickly towards Vlad and pushed off his hood quickly and tore it off of him. He placed the cross on his chest and yanked him firmly and pulled him onto the church's ground. He pushed him down and held the cross out towards him. "The power of Christ compels you!" He said firmly and started to chant something else under his breath. He pulled out a small bottle and opened his with his other hand then tossed holy water at Vlad. "Leave this man!" He yelled out. I tensed up as I watched them. Vlad yelped then widened his eyes as the holy water hit him and cried out quickly, flattening his ears then got to his feet quickly with a look of fear in his ears as he bit back another cry and went to run. I frowned before I ran up to him and grabbed him.

"Vlad, you want this remember?" I asked him and held him for St. Cross. St. Cross frowned as he watched us.

"Good, it works on you. We'll take him inside and dunk him in the fountain and hold him there." He started for the church then. I followed him and made sure to keep a firm grip on Vlad. He widened his eyes and started to struggle before I saw a tear slip down his cheek.

"Rose, no, I don't like this. Please," he begged me and flicked his ears. "It hurts! I don't want to do this anymore!"

"It's okay Vlad. This is for your own good," I told him. I followed St. Cross through the church and into the back where a fountain was. He helped me shove Vlad into the water- where we repeatedly dunked him. I could see bubbles rising up in the water as his screams came out muffled and he thrashed, kicking at us as he tried to get away, and when we brought him up, he cried out and flattened his ears against his head, trying to rip his arms free. He finally exposed his fangs after a few times and kicked at the fountain, desperate to make us lose our balance as he shrieked. We started to dunk him in longer then... holding him there. After a few more minutes, I felt him go limp in our arms as he slumped into the water and a few bubbles rose up to the top as a small groan escaped his body. We held him there for a few minutes before we yanked him out. St. Cross pulled out a knife and started to cut Vlad's arms to make him bleed. Vlad's eyes slowly opened before he looked towards St. Cross weakly and exposed his fangs at him, giving a small hiss before he blinked a few times and curled up to himself. I watched and frowned. Is it working? I saw his ears flick a little before he turned over onto his stomach and brought his head to his chest with a small whimper, cradling his arms to his body.

"Rose," I heard him whisper under his breath before he let out a shriek and clutched his chest.

"Yes?" I asked.

"Please," he begged me and glanced up at me as he trembled. "Make it stop." I shook my head 'no' quickly.

"You have to let it do its job," I told him. He whimpered and shrunk into himself on the ground, quietly crying as he scratched at his chest and leaned his head against the ground. Over time, I saw his cat ears slowly disappear as his trembling subsided. His scent of blood still smelled fresh like he was still bleeding, but it didn't carry the same scent of being tainted like before- clearing it up. His body untensed finally, and he gave a tired groan as he laid there, his body sweating. St. Cross took out some bandages and started to wrap them around his arms. Vlad looked towards him weakly then exposed his fangs and leaned into him instinctively, going for a bite with a whimper. St. Cross pulled away quickly and showed off the rosary.

"Back!" St. Cross yelled out. Vlad growled at him then licked his fangs before he touched his arms and frowned as one of his hands went to his throat.

"Rose," I heard him call out quickly, looking towards me with wide eyes. "I'm hungry."

"It's okay. We'll get you something when we get back to Laurence's castle..." I trailed off as I looked towards St. Cross. "I have another friend in a bad shape like Vlad... Can I count on you to help him as well?" I asked. "He's in a condition much worse." Vlad hissed at St. Cross then and rubbed his arms.

"You better not be as rough on him as you were me. He eats people like you for breakfast," he said and frowned.

"Well I'll have to give him extra treatment," St. Cross said. "I'll need more men if he's worse than you. I'll collect them and I'll be ready this evening." He eyed Vlad over curiously. Vlad glared at him then looked towards me with a soft purr.

"Can we go home?" He asked me innocently. He shakily got to his feet then yelped as he almost fell to the ground.

"We'll go home and tell Paris," I told him.

"O-okay," he whispered and walked up to me. He eyed my neck over then wrapped his arms around me before I felt his fangs sink into my neck with a starved growl. St. Cross tensed up as he watched us and went to ask something, but I teleported us home to tell Paris. I felt a bloodthirsty gaze lingering on me as soon as I teleported into the castle then the dark chuckle of Richard reached my ears.

"Where have you two been?" He asked as his shoes clicked on the floor, nearing us. He let out a sudden growl and yanked Vlad off me before he sniffed Vlad and frowned. "Vlad," he muttered then looked towards where his ears used to be. "What happened to those cute ears of yours?" I widened my eyes and felt my chest clench up. Oh no! What if he finds out we're plotting against him?! I reached for Vlad quickly.

"We were visiting Laurence," I explained.

"Visiting Laurence?" Richard purred suddenly and let Vlad go. "How is he these days?" He rubbed his chin and gave me a curious look. "It's been awhile since I've written to him...."

"His dragons left to the dragon realm, so he's upset..." I trailed off and yanked Vlad to me. He eyed the two of us over then smirked as he leaned up against the wall.

"His dragons left? That's terrible. Maybe we'll all go pay him a visit soon," he suggested then eyed over Vlad, frowning at his missing ears before he tsked. "Vlad... are you hungry?" He asked then blinked as he looked towards Vlad's eyes. I heard Vlad gulp before he gripped my arm tightly, making Richard smirk before he brought his hand up towards his throat and dug his nails in, making him bleed. I widened my eyes and held onto Vlad's arms.

"Vlad isn't hungry," I said quickly. "We actually came home to tell Paris about Laurence as well... Do you know where he is?"

"Paris?" He asked then purred. "I believe he's in his study. Follow me~" He started down the hall with a smirk as he stretched. "PARIIIIS~ My love!" He called out and chuckled in delight. Vlad clung to me as he slowly started to lead me after him, trying to hide his exposed fangs from me as he trembled from Richard's scent.

"We'll get you some blood," I promised him as I teleported him into the servant's quarters and ditched Richard. Vlad let me go quickly and went into the nearest room, leaving the door open as he tackled a butler inside and bit into his neck with a sharp growl. I waited on him outside patiently. We can't tell Paris until Richard is out of the room anyways. The butler groaned and looked at Vlad with a frown but didn't push him off until he finally blinked and fell over into his arms. Vlad pulled back and licked his lips, the color restoring itself to his body as he looked around with alertness. He set the butler down and covered him up then looked towards me before he gave me a kind smile and walked towards me.

"Rose," he whispered and reached for my hand. I grabbed his hand and gave him a smile.

"All better... Now don't let Richard turn you back." He shook his head quickly and growled.

"I'm not letting that demonic bastard touch me," he told me and narrowed his eyes. "He's not going to get me under his thumb again." I frowned as I watched him.

"He's not a bastard..." I trailed off and pulled my hand away from him. He frowned as he looked towards my hand then at me.

"He killed our parents," he hissed. "Don't you understand that we could have grown up like normal vampires if it wasn't for him? You don't know him like I do. He took all the fame and the love and never obeyed anything my parents told him. He was going to inherit the throne! He even took Paris who was going to be my new friend away from me at my own birthday."

"Our parents were wrong though," I whispered. "Why can't you understand that? They wanted to brainwash us." I sniffled and stepped away from him quickly. He frowned as he watched me step back from him then clenched his jaw before he looked away from me.

"They loved me..." he muttered. I nodded slowly.

"Maybe they did... but they were also terrible rulers." I walked up and gave him a hug quickly. He stiffened before he hugged me back.

"Is this really better though? My brother became a demon because of what happened, and now everyone just bites each other," he whispered then tightened his grip on me, burying his face into my neck. "It's not like Richard recognizes us and loves us like he would if he was normal."

"If it wasn't for what happened... we would still be stuck loving who our parents choose for us and sticking to strict rules.... We wouldn't be free to love or bite.... We would be limited on knowledge... and to me... That's horrible." I shook my head and rubbed his back.

"Couldn't it have been done differently?" He whispered. "If Richard really cared about anybody, he would have gotten the throne then changed the rules after father was off it."

"But... he would have been married to another... and..." I sniffled. "Don't you realize he wouldn't be with Paris? He did this for love." I grabbed his shirt and yanked on it. "Love.... He found love." He widened his eyes then looked down at me.

"W-well..." he trailed off with a troubled look then tsked. "Fine," he muttered then kissed my forehead, getting quiet about it. I nodded before I teleported us into Paris's study.

"Paris?" I asked and looked around for him. I found him writing something down in his journal. Richard glanced up at us from next to Paris's desk then purred before he looked down at Paris's journal curiously, reading over his shoulder then playfully exposed his fangs as he eyed Paris over. Paris purred as he looked up at us.

"You know we were worried about you~ Vlad! Where did your ears go?" He asked and looked happy. We were able to cure him. I eyed Paris over as I let him know. He smirked and put his journal away in his desk.

"I think he looked a lot cuter with the ears," Richard muttered then wrapped his arms around Paris's neck before he purred and kissed the top of his head. Tsking, Vlad looked Richard over and crossed his arms.

"I'm a grown prince. I don't need cat ears right now," he said then rubbed his head where they used to be.

"I like him better this way," I purred out.

"See, Rose likes it," Vlad said and snatched my hand, holding it. Raising an eyebrow, Richard eyed the two of us over before he smirked and leaned in, kissing Paris's neck softly then gave him another kiss right above his shirt collar.

"Richard~ You know what we should do?" Paris asked. "We should have a nap together," he purred out and turned to look at him. "What do you think?" Richard looked down at him then frowned.

"A nap? Or a nap?" He asked and then unbuttoned the top of Paris's shirt with a smirk.

"Which one do you want?" Paris asked and purred in amusement. "I could go for both." Richard's eyes lingered over Paris's body before he chuckled with a dark look in his eyes and got into Paris's lap then leaned in and kissed over Paris's throat and started to suck on it as he wrapped his arms around Paris's neck and entangled his fingers into his hair. He moaned against my brother before he pulled back slowly and looked at Paris's lips, kissing him passionately then looked Paris in the eyes as he huffed out a breath and tugged on Paris's hair.

"Which one do you think I want, my love?" He asked then purred as he moved to straddle Paris's lap. "Purr for me like a kitten~" Paris purred lightly and blushed.

"I think I know~" Paris exposed his fangs. "We'll have a nap." Richard smirked and exposed his fangs before he yanked Paris's shirt aside and bit into his shoulder, marking him as he leaned into Paris's body. Vlad tensed by my side and looked away from the two of them with a frown. I grabbed Vlad's hand and teleported us out of the study so we wouldn't have to witness anymore. He looked towards me as we appeared in the main room then gave a soft purr.

"Thank you," he told me then kissed my cheek. "Want me to read to you, Rose?" He suggested then smiled. "I think I might be able to find a book about anatomy. I could read you that."

"No thanks..." I trailed off. "I think we should go see Laurence," I whispered.

"Alright," he whispered then grabbed my hand. "Let's go see him then~ I'm sure he needs us, or else Victor might get him drunk again." I nodded and teleported into Laurence's day room. I found him curled up in the chair by the fire with a gold blanket wrapped around him. The others were in the room too. Victor glanced towards me from near Laurence then looked back at him, slowly trying to edge the blanket off him with a purr.

"Laurence," he whispered softly. "Look, your guests are back." Laurence looked towards us and gave a sweet smile before he slapped Victor's hand and growled. Victor hissed as his hand got smacked then looked at him. "Laurence... don't you want a different blanket?" He asked, holding back a groan as he rubbed his hand. "That one is a little... too... dragony."

"It smells like Mayloi," Laurence whined out.

"Laurence... he's not coming back for a while," Victor whispered to him and frowned. "Unless you want to send one of us to the dragon realm to capture him and bring him back, I doubt we'll see him for a few centuries, and even then, he was kind of young. He might come back different."

"D-different?" Laurence asked softly and widened his eyes.

"Well... he was young, and he definitely acted like a five-year-old.... I imagine he'll grow up while he's there and become like a big dragon and terrorize the others. He'll probably have a mate too," Victor told him and rubbed Laurence's head gently. "He's bound to realize that the other dragons will bully him until he acts like a vicious beast." Laurence gave a worried look then.

"Victor, you're not helping," Val hissed. Victor looked towards Val then frowned.

"If I keep telling him these things, he might have one of us go fetch Mayloi," he told her then looked towards Laurence before he snatched him out of his chair and started to kiss his cheek, tucking the blanket around him.

"I can't... He's safer there," Laurence mumbled and sniffled.

"Why? You can see the future. You would know if someone was going to come after him," he told him then frowned. "If I was being hunted, I'd want to be with you, not hiding out in a cave." He gave Laurence's cheek another kiss before Dante growled from across the room.

"Victor, quit talking to him about it. He doesn't need to hear that. He needs to mourn in his own way, and that means he gets to cuddle with the blanket." Laurence nodded as he looked towards Dante.

"Hey... what happened to your ears?" Val asked Vlad.

"A priest," Vlad hissed. "An evil, awful priest who drowned me in holy water."

"He wasn't evil," I purred out. "You're overreacting. Plus, you wanted it."

"Not after I realized he was going to throw holy water at me and throw me around and drown me," he muttered, rubbing his arms. "Plus, he cut my arms up...."

"So?" I purred out in amusement. "We have to go get him soon to take care of Richard." Vlad nodded then shivered.

"I guess we have to," he muttered. Victor eyed us over and frowned before he looked down at Laurence and nipped at his ear.

"Want to help me torture someone later?" He asked Laurence and purred.

"Someone random?" Laurence asked curiously.

"Of course, ~ We can get after Dante or Val or maybe someone off the streets or a few of my prisoners," he told Laurence and smirked devilishly.

"Someone off the street is more fun," Laurence purred out.

"Laurence, you're not the torturing type," Val whispered.

"Want to bet?" Victor asked and looked towards Val. "You could join us~"

"No thanks. I have Alex to torture," she purred out in amusement. "Dante can join you."

"Hmph, Alex doesn't look tortured to me," Dante muttered then walked over to Laurence and Victor with a smirk. Alex exposed his fangs then hissed.

"Want to come say that closer to me?!" He snarled and sat up in his seat more. "Sounded like a challenge to me." Val giggled as she watched Alex. Laurence glanced over in amusement. Dante glanced back at him and narrowed his eyes before he went for Alex but suddenly wound up on the floor panting as Alex dusted his hands off from nearby him. I could see a few chunks missing from his neck as blood ran down Alex's chin like he had bit him viciously.

"Alex," Val hissed out. "Don't hurt one of our friends." She shook her head quickly.

"He challenged me," Alex told her stubbornly and licked his lips clean. "Besides, he got a taste of me, but I kicked his butt through that wall over there," he said and pointed to a hole in a nearby wall that was crumbling.

"You're fixing his wall," she warned.

"Sure, later tonight," Alex said and groaned as he stretched his muscles. I saw Dante narrow his eyes before he went to kick Alex's feet out from under him, but Alex had just moved to the side in time, making Dante kick a table over, and hot tea spilled down into Dante's chest, making him shriek as steam rose up. Val tightened her jaw and crossed her arms.

"Stop fighting in my castle," Laurence hissed. Alex looked towards Laurence then purred.

"Alright~" He said then calmly went back over to Val and sat down, crossing his legs with a smug smirk as he looked down at Dante and watched as he slowly sat up and rubbed at his chest with a growl.

"I didn't say you couldn't take it outside," Laurence said in amusement.

"Mmmm, I think Dante learned his less-" Dante glanced over his shoulder and glared at Alex then smirked as a chuckle rose in him, and suddenly Alex's clothes caught on fire, making Alex shriek and fall to the floor as he tried to smother the flames.

"Dante," Val hissed out. I giggled and grabbed Vlad's hand as I looked him over before I sat down with him. We'll stay here for a few more minutes before we go get St. Cross.

"What?" He asked calmly over the sounds of Alex panicking. "He deserved it."

"You two need a time out," Val hissed before the flames disappeared. Dante frowned and glanced towards Alex then at Val.

"You can't let me have my fun with him, can you?" He asked and then exposed his fangs. "Don't you want him taken down a notch or two? I bet he's awful at home." Panting on the floor, Alex touched his smoldering clothes and groaned as a few burns on his body were trying to heal.

"I don't try to kill him like that though," Val hissed out towards Dante. He scoffed then looked at Alex.

"He's fine. Look at him," he said and gestured towards Alex as Alex let out a soft groan and slowly sat up, rubbing his head. "See, he still moves." Val's eyebrow twitched before she walked up to Alex quickly and yanked him out of the room, ditching us. "Great," Dante muttered, watching her go.

"Shouldn't have set him on fire," Victor hummed out and smirked. "Alex is going to be looking for revenge."

"Yeah~" Laurence purred out. "You're in trouble."

"I am not. I'm going to be perfectly fine," he said and got to his feet, dusting himself off from the stone debris. "Alex can't kill me or else Val will tear him to pieces."

"I don't know. Screw up long enough~ and Val might just tell him to tear you to pieces," Victor teased him and kissed the top of Laurence's head. Laurence purred and kissed Victor's cheek. He's right... Val and Alex are closer than she is with us now.

Paris's POV:

I woke up hearing footsteps coming towards my bedroom. I sat up slowly, trying not to wake Richard as I smelled Vlad, Rose, and a few strangers. They're here to cure Richard. My mate was sleeping soundly beside me, purring softly as he dreamt of waltzing with me at a ball in Transylvania. He nuzzled his head into a pillow and hugged it before he sighed and smiled peacefully as his stone pulsed full of love for me. I looked towards Richard and frowned. He loves me so much... can I go through with this? What if he doesn't understand I'm doing this for him? "I'm so sorry I kept this from you," I whispered to him and gave his cheek a kiss. I'll make it up to him. I heard the doors open slightly to peek in before they flung open. My heart speed up as Rose, Vlad, and a couple of strangers walked in. This is it. We're going to cure Richard. I grabbed the rope that was wrapped around the bed's headboard and wrapped it around his arms quickly before he could wake up and get out of it.

"Paris, this is St. Cross and a couple of more people that are here to assist him," Rose said softly as she watched me. I nodded as I watched her look towards a guy.

"I can smell the sin still lingering in here," St. Cross muttered. I frowned and tensed up. Sin? I smelled the air and quickly could tell he was human. Well I guess he would think we were sinners. Monsters. Who knows what he knows? "Get him men and we'll take him-"

"Probably the dungeon. That's the safest place for him while we're curing him," I told them. I grabbed Richard and teleported us into the dungeon. Rose and the others appeared seconds later. I pushed Richard into a cell and let the St. Cross go in with him as well as the others assisting him. I heard Richard hiss suddenly before there was a slam on the inside of the cell and the smell of human blood filled the air before Richard snarled, and I heard footsteps exiting the cell as Richard's thoughts were looking for me, but I couldn't see him. I blushed and reached out towards the sounds of the footsteps and shoved him back into the sell as soon as I got him. I brought him to the ground quickly and pinned him.

"This is for your own good," I told him. St. Cross walked over quickly and eyed us over in confusion. I felt Richard struggle before he appeared under me and exposed his fangs, looking up at me with uncertainty in his gaze.

"Paris?" He asked me then gripped my arms. "What are you doing? Why are we down here? Who are they?" He hissed then glared towards St. Cross, giving a sharp snarl as he approached. "Let me up."

"No... we're going to purify you," I explained and started to cry a little at the look he was giving. He's going to be so mad at me. He slowly looked up at me before he narrowed his eyes then hissed, flipping us quickly as he pinned me under him.

"Purify me?! There's nothing wrong with me, Paris! What, are you unhappy with our relationship? Don't you love me?" He growled and looked me over then looked down into my eyes, hurt written all over his face. "You didn't tell me any of this! How long have you been planning to do this to me- to betray me like this?!" His fingers tightened on my arms before my blood dripped down my arms, his fingernails piercing my flesh. "How could you?! We went through so much together. We killed our parents for each other!" I tensed up and felt my breath catch. He thinks I don't love him?

"R-Richard I do love you," I said softly and started to cry. "Don't think I'm unhappy with us. I love everything about us... I'm just doing this for you," I whispered.

"Don't hurt Paris," Rose hissed in the doorway. "That's your mate. He's doing this for you!" He glared at me and then shoved my arms away from his grip before he got up and ran his fingers through his hair shakily.

"No, he's not. He's doing this for himself," he said then clenched his jaw. "He would've told me if this was for my own benefit, but it's not. I'm perfectly fine the way I am. There's nothing wrong with me. You're all wrong," he hissed then looked towards Rose before his eyes went past her and landed on Vlad. I saw him freeze before something in his eyes clicked and he started for Vlad in rage. "It was you, wasn't it?! Oh, of course it'd be you!" Vlad widened his eyes then yelped, taking a few steps back out into the hallway.

"R-Richard," he whispered and looked frightened.

"You brought them here! It was you who told Paris something was wrong with me! You hated being like me, didn't you?! That's why you lost your cat ears," he hissed at his brother then stopped walking towards him before his gaze shot back to me. "You let him get to you." I widened my eyes and shook my head no quickly.

"No. Richard, we didn't tell you because we didn't want you getting upset. We're going to go through with this. It's been centuries and I've healed... but you two hadn't. Rose came to us in concern. Vlad wanted to stop being so thirsty all the time... I don't blame him for wanting to be purified. It's terrible being hungry and it's taken time out of us being together because you hunt so much." I sniffled and got to my feet quickly. "I'm going to cure you and when it's over, you're going to be strictly kept on a diet so we can spend more time together." I trembled a little, afraid he wouldn't like that. I'll have to do this by force... won't I? He turned to face me then narrowed his eyes.

"Paris, I like being this way! We were happy the way we were," he hissed then stalked up to me, grabbing me by the front of my shirt. "How could you do this to me? I'm your mate. You're supposed to tell me everything and accept me for the way I am. I accepted you, didn't I? I didn't look at you differently for you being ascended from demons. I didn't judge you for your parents. I didn't kick you out of my music room for believing in the old ways." He exposed his fangs at me then looked me over. "How could you betray me?"

"I'm not betraying you!" I yelled at him and exposed my fangs. "You can be demonic all you want, but when it cuts into our time and we have no reason for being demonic- hell yes I'm going to kick your ass and purify you." I tightened my jaw as I watched him. "You better start being nice to me or I'll let them torture you first- Want me to torture you? I can make it real fun~" I purred as I thought about it. I bet he'll end up moaning halfway through it. I saw him tilt his chin up before his stone pulsed in heartbreak, and he looked me over before he turned away from me and started for the door.

"You're not purifying me. That's the end of it," he hissed then stalked out, slamming the door behind him. I growled and teleported out of the cell and into the hall. I slammed him up against the door quickly- watching as it fell with him into the floor. I stepped down onto his chest quickly and dug my shoe in.

"That's not the end of it. I've already told you what I'm going to do to you," I told him as I leaned down. "Now sit back and think about all the mean things you said to me while we take care of you." I snapped my eyes towards St. Cross. "You better act quickly before he gets up."

"We have a table waiting," Rose told me from behind. "I set it up while you two were drooling." I suddenly felt Richard's hand touch my foot before it was yanked out from under me and the sound of my bone snapping reached my ears before blinding pain pierced through me. I saw him lean over me as my vision blurred before he exposed his fangs and bit down into me sharply, marking me as his nails dug into my shoulders and a snarl ripped through him. How the hell could he treat me like this?! I'm his mate! Doesn't he understand what that means? He's supposed to love me no matter what state I'm in! How could he betray me like this?! I would never do this to him! He even brought others into this! Why didn't he just tell me?! How could he?! I felt a tear hit my skin as he dug his fangs in deeper and racked his nails down my chest with a growl. He doesn't love me like he should. I felt my stone pulsing in distress. N-no... No.... Please don't think like that....

"R-Richard," I whispered. "I love you. Please don't think I don't love you.... You're my mate. I want this for you." He ripped a chunk out of my neck and licked up the blood before he gripped my shirt and pulled back to look down at me as his stone pulsed again, reaching out for mine.

"How could you not tell me?" He whispered, his voice barely coming out as he looked down at me with heartbreak and despair. "Why? I loved you...." He loved me? He still loves me.... right?

"R-Richard.... you still love me," I whispered and started to panic. I've got to hurry up and cure him before this is all wasted. "I'm sorry... but I have to do this."

"No, you don't," he told me sharply. "Paris... you don't have to do this."

"If I don't then this will be wasted.... what I've already done..." I eyed him over and sniffled. "You're going to be mad for a little while... but I hope you find it in your heart to forgive me." He clutched my shirt more tightly then and frowned.

"Paris... don't you dare. If you want my forgiveness, then you'll stop now," he warned me. "This is not the way." I tensed a little.

"Yes, it is," I told him. "It's now or never." I snapped my eyes to where Rose had moved behind us slowly and was just now reaching for him. She grabbed his arms and suddenly teleported. I heard someone get slammed down right outside the cell. I got up quickly and limped out on my broken leg to see. Rose had Richard being chained down with glowing chains. I could hear Richard's skin sizzle as a stranger was pouring holy water on him. St. Cross followed me out and walked up to them- starting a chant. I heard Richard shriek, thrashing against the chains as he tried to get free and cried out in pain.

"PARIS!" He screamed, biting back another cry of pain as his stone pulsed in panic from the sudden attack. I felt my stone pulse for him. Oh.... I hope he doesn't resist for too long. I stumbled up to Vlad and clung to him.

"Do you mind?" I asked him as I leaned in towards his neck. "I'm losing blood." Vlad's eyes shot to me before he frowned and shied away from my mouth.

"H-hey, don't do that," he whispered before another scream sounded from Richard, making my stone pulse again. I frowned and moved away from Vlad to give him space and stumbled into a wall. He better be thankful I asked. I saw his eyes linger on me before they shot to Richard with concern before he started to walk away, leaving us as he went towards the stairs and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Don't go," I told him quickly. "You helped start this and you'll help finish it," I hissed.

"I don't want to stick around to hear him scream," he told me over his shoulder with a frown. "I don't think you do either."

"I don't want to leave him either," I whispered. "I have to be here until I can't stand another second of it. I've got to be for him. If I'm here, it will give him the strength to go through with it." He lowered his eyes then looked ahead of him again, squaring his shoulders back.

"It's literal hell to go through that process," he told me calmly. "Just the holy water is enough to make any man cry and want to run away. You'll be lucky if he decides to take it. They had to hold me down, and I wanted it going into the process." I tensed up at his words before I looked towards Richard... Oh no! I've got to stop this. He's going to come out of it hating me... What if he kills me?

"He's going to kill me!" I yelled and started for him. "You have to stop!"

"No," Rose told me and frowned. "We're not stopping. You want this, he wants this, we all do." I heard Vlad's footsteps fading from my hearing as he left us, pausing a few times when Richard screamed like he had flinched. I caught a good glimpse of Richard on the table trying to curl up with sweat beading up on his forehead as his fangs stayed exposed and his face was scrunched up in horror as he tried not to scream again but arched his back as soon as more water hit his skin.

"P-Paris," I heard him whisper just barely, panting as he looked around for me and tugged at the chains as hopelessness was creeping into his eyes. I walked up to him quickly with my limp and grabbed his hand.

"I'm here," I told him softly. St. Cross started to cut him then as another man poured the water into Richard's mouth. My mate shrieked and spat it out quickly, kicking his legs as his hand tightened on mine quickly and he hissed, baring his fangs at St. Cross in pure hatred. He jerked his head as he tried to get his fangs on him, snarling as he strained against his chains. I pinned his shoulders down quickly to keep him there. "It's okay," I whispered. "You're going to be better soon." I started to hum the song he plays for me on the piano. He looked towards me out of the corner of his eyes before I felt his stone pulse out to me weakly in pain before he struggled against my hands and cried out.

"Let me go," he begged and looked up at me. "Please, stop this! Stop it! Don't touch me like that!"

"You have to let us do this," I told him. "Otherwise all of this will mean nothing." I leaned down and gave him a small kiss. "You'll be better soon. I need to go get some blood. When I come back, I expect you to be close to healed." He furrowed his eyebrows at me before I felt his stone crack, sending a wave of panic through my own as his eyes tore away from mine and he turned his face away. I let out a small gasp... No- how could he?! I started to cry as I eyed him over. "I thought you were stronger than this," I hissed out. "I thought we were stronger." He looked up at me then narrowed his eyes.

"I thought you loved me enough not to do this to me," he hissed back through his pain.

"This isn't a bad thing!" I yelled at him and glared him down. "This is why we didn't tell you. You're such a wuss!" He exposed his fangs at me then hissed.

"You didn't tell me because you knew you were betraying me! How could you do this to me?! You're supposed to tell me everything!" He looked me over then looked towards St. Cross before he narrowed his eyes. "When I get out of these chains, I'm going to kill you first."

"You won't harm him. When this is over, you're going to be thanking us," Rose hissed. "Paris doesn't want to be waiting all eternity on you while you go out and feast on the innocent. If you had stopped a long time ago on blood binging than you wouldn't be on this table. You made Paris and your family sad and you should be ashamed. You should be really ashamed of the words you just said to Paris." His eyes shot to Rose before he hissed her way.

"Then he should have joined me," he snarled at her. "I never told him he couldn't." He looked at me then tsked before he looked away from me. "Go get your blood. I don't want you down here, Paris. Not if you're going to act that way to me. You're an awful mate." I frowned as I watched him. He's so stubborn... He doesn't see it my way....

"I don't want to blood binge," I whispered to him. "I don't want you to do it either." I stepped away from him then. "If this is what it takes to make you stop than I'm allowing it to happen. It's time for us to quit doing it. We have no reason for it. I don't want to go out and kill towns full of people." I heard St. Cross let out a disgusted sound. I saw Richard clench the hand I had been holding before he glanced me over then looked away.

"How could you?" I heard him mutter again, his head reeling from trying to make sense of his thoughts, trying to figure out what went wrong.

"I love you... that's why," I whispered and leaned in and gave him another kiss. "Heal up soon so we can have time together." He looked up at me in confusion then looked at me longingly as a tear slipped down his face. I could see all his love in that one moment brimming up in his eyes along with the confusion and chaos going off in his head as he tried to make sense of what I had done and why- why I couldn't accept him as a demon, the betrayal evident in his eyes as he watched me as his stone pulsed in pain from the thought. "It's not that I don't accept you. it's that I want you to change for your own good. For us," I explained. "It's a selfish decision... I know." I eyed him over before I leaned away. "Okay... I'll be back soon to check on you. I've got to fix the damage you done on my body." He narrowed his eyes then and hissed.

"You made that decision yourself," he told me sternly then looked towards St. Cross. "You deserved it." I nodded before I took a step back.

"Be that way," I sighed out. "But we will cure you." I teleported upstairs on that note and started for the scent of a servant. I can't believe he's so hurt about this. I'm his mate... I love him. I wouldn't do anything ever that was bad for him. This is good for him. I caught a glimpse of Vlad out of the corner of my eyes sitting on a chair by the fireplace as he stared into it and watched the flames while I walked towards a maid who was just exiting the room with a tray in her hands. She glanced back at me and paused before she widened her eyes and yelped, going through the door quickly and shut it firmly behind her. I frowned as I eyed the door over.... That little whore... She didn't ask to help feed me. NO! NOT HIM! NOT HIIIIM! NOT MASTER PARIS! HE'LL EAT ME LIKE HE DID MY COUSIN! PFFFF.... That was three days ago... They come and they go~ I started after her in determination to get to her.

"How could you ignore my need for blood?" I asked as I stepped into the hall. "Now you make me want to hunt you down. I could have just asked nicely, and you could have said no... but-" Whack! She smacked me in the face with the tray and shrieked, taking off down the hall quickly before she headed for a window and took her shoe off, throwing it at it to bust the glass. "What're you doing you crazy bitch!?" I asked and tightened my jaw. "You're supposed to be serving me!" I stormed after her quickly. "You better not be attempting suicide. What a waste of blood!" She looked back over her shoulder as her blonde hair fell around her face, and I saw a look of fear in her eyes before she got up onto the windowsill and went to climb out, reaching for a brick nearby to grab ahold of.

"Oh my gosh if you're really that afraid of me..." I trailed off as I watched her. "You could at least go get me another servant that's fine with me drinking their blood." I crossed my arms as I watched her. "Don't take your life." She looked towards me as she trembled and watched me, freezing up.

"M-master Paris," she whispered and started to cry. "Please don't kill me. I don't want to die."

"You could have just said no," I purred out to her in amusement. "Really~" I smirked as I watched her. "But you're going to have to make it up to me for smacking me in the face. How about I make you dust my bedroom?" She blushed and watched me.

"B-but... master Richardo will be angry. He doesn't like us going in there with you without him."

"I'm not going to be there with you. I've got other things to do. Like take care of my blood lose and look after my mate carefully." I started for the servant's quarter's quickly and teleported there. One of them will feed me. I found a little boy being chased by a bunch of girls around his age, his eyes wide as he almost ran into me but ducked behind my legs as the girls stopped in front of me and looked up at me in awe.

"Masser Pari!" The girls said and giggled out, grabbing my hands as they tugged on me. "It's him! Play with us!" I widened my eyes and eyed them over. OH! CHILDREN! I laughed and scooped them up into my arms.

"Play with you?" I asked them in amusement. I love children~ Especially when they're this young... "What kind of game?" One of the girls giggled and wrapped her arms around my neck before she kissed my cheek sweetly and looked towards the others.

"Hide n seek!" She said then looked back at me with a huge grin.

"No! Tag!" Another said and gripped my shirt. "Taggy, taggy, tag!"

"Stories!" The last girl said and played with my hair with a giggle. The boy held onto my pants leg as he looked up at me then at the girls and gulped nervously.

"Stories?" I asked. "Okay. I'll give you a story if you can find me someone to drink from. I need blood first," I purred out to them and sat them back down. "Then I will tell you about a little boy who fell in love with a pianist."

"Will they wake up?" One of the girls asked and played with her hair as she watched me and fidgeted. The other children tensed up and looked at her with wide eyes.

"Of course," I promised. She brightened up then giggled, running off quickly as her friends watched her then went after her. The boy lingered by me before he hesitantly went after them but ended up rushing back to me, grabbing my pant leg as he eyed the girls over nervously. I smiled at him and scooped him up into my arms.

"What?" I asked him curiously. "You think I'll disappear if you leave me?" I asked teasingly. He curled his small fingers into my shirt and gripped it, leaning his head against my shoulder before he yawned and gave me a cute look.

"No," he said sweetly. "They'll chase me." I purred as I eyed him over. Wow.... I really... love the way he looks in my arms.... I think I want a kid.... Richard's kid... I want a kid. He snuggled into my chest and then tugged lightly on my shirt as he squirmed to get into my arms better, his little heart fluttering against his rib cage as he giggled. Oh gosh... I need a kid! I held him close to me and purred in delight. I want a kid~ Maybe Richard will give me one. I heard the girls coming back to me then with a maid following them closely.

"Fouwnd one!" A little girl said sweetly to me and rushed up, hugging my leg. The maid laughed as she watched the girls then looked at me.

"Are you hungry, Master Paris. They said you were," she said and walked up then looked down at the boy in my arms. "Aimery, what are you doing?" She asked and laughed. The boy looked up at her innocently then hid his face into me as he clung to my shirt tightly, giving a small squeal as he hid from her. "Naughty boy," she teased him.

"I don't mind him," I purred out. "I love kids," I whispered. "He said the girls would chase him." She nodded and smiled.

"Yes, they tend to do that to him. They think he's cute," she told me then looked at the boy. "Aimery~ come here sweetie. I need to feed him." Aimery looked towards her from my shoulder then looked up at me before he hugged me around my neck and shook his head no.

"Nuh-uh! I don't wanna," he told her and pouted as his golden curly hair shook with his head.

"You don't want to be between us when I start to drink from her," I told him and rubbed his back. "I'll pick you back up when I'm done, and you can sit in my lap for the story." He hesitated before he nuzzled his head against my cheek and kissed it.

"Mkay," he said sweetly, his little voice chiming like a bell. The maid laughed and took him from me quickly before she set him down between the girls and looked at me, moving her hair aside as she undid her collar so I could see her neck.

"Here~ take as much as you need," she told me and put her hair over her other shoulder. "I'm always happy to donate my blood." I nodded and pulled her close to me before I leaned in towards her neck and bit down into it. I started to drink her blood and moaned at the refreshing taste. She didn't flinch and gently ran her fingers through my hair curiously before she touched my shoulders where I had been injured then gripped the front of my shirt, tilting her head obediently for me as she hummed lightly to me. I pulled back as I started to heal and licked my lips. That's enough for now. I'll get more later. I don't feel very good feasting while my mate is being tortured downstairs. She looked at me then gave me a soft smile. "Are you sure that's enough? I've seen you drink more than that," she whispered to me and touched her neck.

"I don't want to drink much right now... my mate is going through a transformation right now for his own good." She nodded then patted my cheek before she pulled away and looked down at the girls.

"Alright my sweeties, come see me later, and I'll put bows in your hair," she told them and winked, watching as their eyes lit up in delight and they clapped their hands in excitement, bouncing around. "I'll go tell your mothers, okay?"

"Yes ma'am!" They said then tackled her legs with hugs. The maid laughed then rubbed their heads as she pulled away and started down the hall, redoing her dress collar as the girls started to dance around, stumbling a few times in their happiness. The boy watched them with wide eyes then whined before he came back to my legs and grabbed my pant leg. I picked him up quickly and rocked him gently in my arms.

"Who wants a story?" I asked in amusement and sat down to tell them it. This will get my mind off my mate.

"I do, I do!" The girls said quickly and sat down in front of me, giggling as they squirmed to get right in front of me. Aimery curled up against my chest and lightly played with my shirt, running his fingers across the soft fabric innocently before he grabbed one of my thumbs with his small hand and gave it a squeeze. I purred as I started to tell them the story of how I first met my mate. How I fell in love with him and how we decided together... that the world needed to change for us... because we weren't going to change for it.