**~Damian’s POV~**

I stared down at Vesper as she slept in the sick bed. She had fallen asleep a few hours ago and I was slightly worried that she wouldn’t wake up. That idea had formed in my mind recently. It was the worry that she wouldn’t be ok. That she would die and I wouldn’t be able to help her. I would be the one to blame.

The moment that vampire bit her, I had felt worry and concern pulse through me. I had felt a terror that was unusual and unexpected. It caused me to stab the vampire through the heart and flee with Vesper. I ran as fast I possibly could. I knew the affects of vampire venom and knew that she needed help instantly.

She’d woken up hours before. Her family explained to her what happened and then left her with me. They left her in my care. She had been in my care at the festival and this had happened. I wasn’t sure that I was good enough to watch over her. I had caused this.

I decided now would be a good time to leave. My father had told me that we had a vampire captive to interrogate. I didn’t want to go, but then I looked at Vesper, unconscious and injured, I knew I had to.

I closed the door after peeking at her one more time. She was asleep. Good. This shouldn’t take long.

I made my way down the hallway. My mind was racing. I couldn’t help it. All I could think about was Vesper being bitten. I needed to hurt something. I needed to do something. I needed to get revenge for her.

I made my way to the dungeons. My brother, Lucian, was standing outside the door, leaning against it. He had a dagger in his hand and was tossing it up and down, carelessly. My brother may have been intelligent but he was careless

and cocky. It was going to get him killed.

“Thought you were never going to arrive. I was almost worried you lost your touch.” He said.

I glared at him. “I was charged with watching Vesper.”

“You’re on first name basis, now?”

“Jealous?” I teased.

He rolled his eyes. “Stop it. You know that you’re just going to get hurt. She just wants the playboy part of you.”

I paused for a second. My brother was smart, but he never had any romantic interests ever. It was never into girls. He found himself alone most of the time. What did he know about girls?

“Leave me alone. I have a job to do.” I said and moved into the dungeons.

My father noticed me instantly. “There you are.” He said.

I nodded to him. “What do you have for me?”

I joined him by the edge of a cell. “We captured a male vampire. He seems to be important, but he won’t say anything. I figured that you could get him to talk.”

I nodded. I was good at torture. It was a horrible thing really. I hated doing it, but I knew how to weaken people. Except Vesper…

I never knew how to get in that girl’s mind. At first, I thought she was basic. I thought she would completely judge my family. But then she befriended Elle. I knew she would be different. Elle threatened me to leave her alone and not to steal her friend.

She intrigued me.

I stared at the vampire. He was absolutely gorgeous. He had a glint in his eye that said that he was seven steps ahead of us. It unnerved me, but helped me form a plan. He was cocky.

His clothes were well groomed. His hair was slicked back. He was grinning and laying leisurely against the wall. He was very cocky.

“Alright. I’ve got this.” I said.

I entered the cell and sat down on the table in front of him. He eyed me up almost instantly. “What’s your name?” I asked.

“None of your business.” He replied.

I nodded. “Well, vampire, I hear you have information about the vampires attacking us.”

He scoffed. “What makes you think that?”

“Your clothes. Your clothes tell me that your a high class officer. You’re close to the king.” I stated.

A little bit of panic seemed in his eyes, but he hid it well. “So? I’m not going to tell you anything.”

“Sure. You’ve been living away from humans for a while, right?” Redirect the question.

“Maybe.”

“You must be very hungry for a vampire who hasn’t fed on human blood for a few centuries.”

He blanched.

I grinned. “That’s rough. I’m human, so I have no idea what that’s like, but I can imagine it hurts a lot. I bet it’s killing you. I bet you just want to sink your teeth into the closest human, which would be me.”

He struggled uncomfortably. I smirked. Pathetic. He might have been a vampire, but he still had his weaknesses.

“Tell me what you know and I’ll let you bite me.”

I heard a noise of protest outside of the cell. It was probably a soldier. Both my father and brother knew the consequences. They weren’t going to stop me.

“You wouldn’t.” He said.

He had no idea who his friends hurt. He had no idea how badly I wanted information. He had no idea who I was trying to protect.

“I would.”

He hesitated before saying, “We’re going to attack again soon. My king, Azalaric, is tired of the humans reaching out to our ancestors. He wants to burn all bridges. He wants to divide the kingdom.”

I smirked. “Thank you for your help. I guess you deserve a reward.”

I rolled up my sleeve and held out my arm to him. This was going to hurt. I braced myself as he eagerly sunk his teeth into my wrist. It was painful at first. It took all my willpower not to cry out. My breaths turned heavy and ragged.

Suddenly, he pulled away and cried out in pain. He let out a strangled scream. “Who are you?” He screamed.

“Damian Vampire. It would have been wise to ask my name in the beginning of this interrogation, but you’ve been very helpful.” I said and left.

The guard gave me a rag to hold against my wrist until it stopped bleeding. I walked out of the dungeons almost instantly. I wanted to get as far away from him as I could. I was disgusted by him.

I walked for a while until I saw a shadowy figure that I recognized.

“Sunshine?” I asked.

Vesper turned around and saw me. She nodded to me. Oh moonless nights, what was she doing out of bed? I ran over to her instantly and pulled her into my arms.

“What are you doing out here?” I asked her.

“I woke up alone.” She mumbled.

Dear nights. What have I done? I scooped her up and began to carry her to her room. “I’m sorry, sunshine, I shouldn’t have left.” I shouldn’t have. I knew what I did was the help, but Vesper had injured herself more by trying to find me. How stupid was I?

“Where were you?” She asked me.

“Taking care of unimportant things.” I pushed open the door to her room. “I’m sorry.”

I placed her down on the bed and tucked her in. I wanted her to be comfy. I wanted this to be my apology. I was about to move when she said, “Stay with me.”

I paused. “What?”

Did I hear that right?

“Stay with me.” She opened up her arms for me to crawl into bed with her.

No. This couldn’t be happening. She was delusional. She would regret asking me to be here. She would be like all the other girls. Using me for fame. What was this?

She wasn’t like that though. She would regret this in the morning. She would hate me. She would despise me.

But I didn’t want to think about later. I didn’t want to disappoint her anymore. If I did, I didn’t know how I would bear it.

I crawled into her arms and pulled her close. I felt her warmth wash over me. She was rigid, but then relaxed into me. Oh moonless nights, she had no idea how amazing she felt.

“Goodnight, Damian.” She said.

“Goodnight, sunshine.”