I fear that I have lost Anastasia, not to death but to an evil that possesses her. But I have to face this evil, and I fear to think that I shall have to take her life.

So I rip off what is left of my shredded shirt and toss it over to Lilith to wrap around the wound around her neck.

Edward rises to his feet and stands behind me. This is what I have always admired about him; he shall fight for me until he shall not be able to stand.

And as I look over to Lilith, much to my surprise, she stands to her feet and takes her place next to Edward.

I look at them both with pure sadness on my face.

"Please try to take her alive."

But as I say those words, I know that she is far more powerful than probably all of us in this room.

We watch as she stands in the center of the room with her claws hanging loosely at her side. Blood is dripping from her fangs, her breathing is erratic, and the most grotesque sounds are coming from deep within her chest.

Then...

She is the first to make a move. Her body hovers over the floor as she rapidly approaches me. Lilith and Edward step two steps back, while I step one forward.

I ground my feet and wait for the impact. As she reaches to grab me, I hold her by her arms and try to wrestle her to the ground.

But...

She frees from my grip and smashes her palms into my chest. I fly backward into the wall that Edward and Lilith's bodies provide.

I jump onto my feet and move towards her; I fly through the air and crush my fists into her chest. She moans and stumbles back.

Then...

She charges like a bull straight towards; I slide to the side and push her back into the wall. The wall cracks as I drive her deeper and deeper into it.

"Anastasia, please stop! I know you are in there."

But...

She kicks as she wiggles her way away from me.

Then...

I pull her back as my hand tangles in her hair.

Though...

She spins loose and makes her way toward the door.

"Stop her!"

Edward smashes square into her body while Lilith puts force behind him to drive her to the middle of the room. She breaks loose and smashes them both into a table, cracking it right through.

I push forward and scrum my entire body into hers. She drops to the floor, and I immediately get on top of her, pinning her arms to the floor.

"Anastasia, please let me help you. It is not too late."

Edward comes to help push her down to the floor; Lilith joins his side and pins even harder. She squirms and growls as she kicks up a storm.

Then...

She manages to free herself loose; she smashes Lilith through the face. I hear something snap, and Lilith drops lifeless to the floor. She turns on Edward, and with a loud thud, she pushes his body into the edge of a broken chair.

She grabs me by my throat and starts squeezing firm; with every inch, she starts to play at the bones in my neck.

Then...

I turn into my true Vampire form and drive my claws into her shoulders; it pierces deep into her skin and draws blood that trickles down her white blouse. She cries out in pain and slips from my grip.

But...

She comes for me again. I wrap my claw around her neck and start applying pressure.

Then...

I lift her from the ground. The anger is now consuming me. In the back of my head, I know that Edward and Lilith must be dead. My beloved has become a monster. I cannot let this carry on any longer.

I increase the pressure around her neck...

And I drop her body to the floor...

I fall to my knees as I cry out in pain. I cannot do this; I cannot hurt the woman that I love. And as this is running through my mind, I see her rise to her feet. And as she makes her approach for me, I launch off my feet and slam her body into that stack of chairs...

They crack...

Then...

A loud moan...

A broken piece of the chair pierces into her body...

"Anastasia!"

I run towards where she lays and drop down next to her. And as I look into her eyes, she slowly transforms back into her human form again.

My cries echo through the ballroom and the whole house. As I look over to Edward and Lilith, I do not see them stir. I bow my head in defeat; today shall mark the day that I lost everything.

But then there is a gentle hand on my shoulder, and as I look up, I see Victor stand next tome.

"I heard you needed a hand?"

"I fear that you are too late."

Then he makes his way over to Lilith; she slowly starts to stir.

"But..."

"Just a broken arm, I am sure I shall survive."

"And Edward?"

I hear as he curses underneath his breath.

"Just a stake in the leg."

"And?"

I look down at Anastasia that has a metal pole from the chair sticking through her stomach.

"My god, no, Anastasia."

It is with horror that I face the possible reality she might be dead to me. We are known to able to heal ourselves, but her body has taken a severe beating. And the strain put on her from the transformation is clearly visible. Anastasia is broken.

"How do I fix her?"

"Let me help you carry her to her room; we need to remove that pole."

I gently lift her frail body from the floor. As she softly cries in pain, it breaks my heart ten times over. I should have checked where she was falling; I should not have struck her so hard. But she did not want to listen. Why did she not just listen to me?

And as I hold her body, I feel the steel pole sticking out the back of her body. Her blouse is drenched in her own blood. What frightens me the most about is that it is thick and black. My beloved is dying, and I am sad to say that it will be slow and agonizing unless her body can find the power to heal itself.

But there is another option, one that I know for certain would work.

"Edward, once you able to get up, please will you call Brayden? He should still be in Paris."

"I shall do it at once."

This thought alone makes my heart crumble into pieces. No matter what I do tonight, I will be losing my beloved in one way or the other. The question begs, am I willing to give her up, or shall I meet the same fate.

And as we try to get upstairs to her room, I watch as her body squirms from the pain; the pole is ripping further into her flesh with every twist and turn we make.

Then we are finally laying her down in the room next to hers; the last thing I want her to see is the destruction that she has caused.

But the challenging part is about to come, and Victor is already shaking his head. I am her beloved and her Maker; it shall be something that only I should do.

So I grab gently onto the pole as Victor holds her body down. In one swift movement, I pluck it from her stomach.

Then...

Not a single word comes from her mouth...

"No, Anastasia!"

But...

She gasps for air as more blood starts to flow freely from the wound.

"Victor, do you mind getting some towels from the bathroom."

As Victor leaves the room, I lay my head against hers and shed one single tear before he returns. He looks at me, asking the question with his eyes.

"My friend, I am not even sure if it shall work. Her wound is more severe than what I thought."

"There is no harm in trying. I shall leave you alone and wait outside of the room."

With that, Victor leaves me alone with Anastasia; I do not know if she shall be able to hear me or let alone understand a word that I speak. I am taking a big risk in doing this. Should I continue and this works, she might turn back into the monster that was wreaking havoc only but a few moments ago.

So I lean down and whisper in her ear.

"Anastasia, please drink."

I cut the soft skin of my wrist open and drip a tiny drop of blood on her dry lips. Then as she opens her mouth, my worst fears come true. She still has the fangs of that animal. Do I let her drink? If I do, she shall shred my wrist to pieces, but there could be a chance that she might turn back to who she was.

But love compels me to do the only thing that might save her. I press my wrist against her lips and let her slip a mouth full of razors into my skin.

"Aaahhh!"

I shout out in agony as I let her dig them deep into my skin. As she sucks, it is with so much pressure that in less than a minute, I feel the dizziness set in. But as I try to pull away, she grabs firmer onto my wrist. For one second, she lets go but then slice her teeth back into me again.

Victor hears my screams come rushing into the room. The sudden movement scares her, and she drops my wrist to the bed. I quickly move to hide it from him.

Then he asks the burning question.

"Do you think it worked?"

I look at him, not knowing if I want it to have work or not. He raises from the bed again.

"Let me go check on Edward and Lilith."

"Thank you, my friend."

With that, he leaves us in silence, well not complete, for I can hear her wheezing. And as I apply more pressure to her wound, there is a soft growl from deep in her throat. This alone makes me think that she still has that monster inside of her.

Then a half-hour later, I pierce through the veins on my other wrist and let her rip my skin into pieces. I grind hard onto my teeth as she sucks and takes. The pain shoots to every corner of my body as she slashes at my skin. I am forced to grab my arm from her.

As an hour approaches, I checked if my wrist has healed; but there is no way I can let her dig into these cuts again. So I refrain from allowing her feed, and I check on her wound. It is healing very slowly, much slower than she is bleeding.

But then, an hour later, when I check again, it still has not healed as much as it should for her to survive safely. So against my better judgment, I roll up my sleeve again.

But then Breyden steps through the door, and I have never been so happy to see this man.

"My friend, thank you for coming so soon."

"Sebastian, I am so sorry."

"What can you do for her?"

Then Breyden steps closer to her; he takes his ear close to her mouth. Her rapid breaths come through as whispers, but that is not what he is listening for. As he says the next few words, I slowly topple into my own grave.