I woke up in Finn's bed again. The silk sheets tucked securely around me like a cocoon. I looked to the other side of the bed to find it yet again empty. Why did he keep leaving me here alone? "Oh good, you're awake." Zach had been sitting in a fold-down chair in the corner of the room. He stood up and walked to the edge of the bed.

Was he here to drain me again? Oh, god, did he kill Finn? I found out they knew each other but that didn't mean they were on good terms. I scooted to the other side of the bed, as far as I could away from him. "Hey, don't be afraid. I'm not here to hurt you. Come here." That sickening feeling crept back into my stomach before my body did as it was told though I didn't want to. Why did this keep happening? His grey eyes stared down into mine. "I need to know if my blood has worn off." Zach held out a small, shiny rectangle in his palm. "Jessica?"

"Yes, sir?" My answer was polite as ever. Though, all I wanted to shout was: go away! I wanted Finn, I needed Finn.

"I want you to slash your wrists for me." Zach made his request sound so mundane, it took a moment to register.

He wanted me to cut myself? What! No! Why? What gave him the right to order me to do whatever the hell he wanted! Despite everything, I thought, my hand reached for the blade.

As an answer to my prayers, the bedroom door opened. Finnigan came in and stood beside Zach, not acknowledging me. Was he mad at me about something? What could I have done wrong?

I held the blade between my two fingers and hovered it an inch above the skin on my left wrist. My eyes began to water. I had gone down the road of self-harm before. This brought back so many dark memories.

"Jess don't do that. Give me the blade." He held out his hand, his voice was emotionless.

I glanced up at him. Take it from me, please. I can't give it to you. Please, Fin. I wanted to plead to him, but my mouth wouldn't move. I applied pressure to the blade and slid it across. A small whimper escaped my lips. I glanced down at the blood trickling down either side of my arm.

"I thought you said you barely mixed with her. She should be listening to me. It should be over," mumbled Finn. He glared at Zach with jealous-filled eyes. I exchanged the blade into my other hand and sliced the other wrist. Blood poured out of both now and dripped onto the floor in small blips. Zach and Finn's attention darted to the blood.

"Shit, oops. Jessica, stop. Give me back the blade." Zach ordered. I obeyed. "I'm sorry I had to do that, love. I needed to ask you to do something you would refuse under normal circumstances." Finn took my wrists in his hands and licked the blood off of each of them.

"I need to make a call. Come and get me when my girl isn't locked onto my best friend's every word." He stormed out and slammed the door. He was mad. Great.

Wait, did he say 'my girl'? No, it had to be the blood loss. I was hearing things.

Zach sat on the bed next to me. "How are you feeling? That Pureblood of yours sure does regenerate fast."

"I'm sorry, but I don't know what you mean by Pureblood, sir." I wanted to run out of the room and into Finn's arms. The last thing I wanted to do was sit here and play pet to this stranger.

His eyes widened, "do you not know what you are, love?" Zach intertwined our hands. I wanted to pull away with all my might, but he was clearly in control of my body. I'm guessing it had something to do with the blood mixing I heard Finn mention.

Zach had been quiet for what seemed like an eternity with his eyes closed. "I can't believe that boarding school you attended never properly blood tested you. They could have gotten a lot more money. Anyway, you're one of a kind, hun. You're a Pureblood. The only one left in existence. I don't know much. I doubt anyone does anymore. But I do know that you will stop aging at twenty-five and can regenerate blood at an alarming rate. Not only that, but you are the equivalent of ambrosia to vampires and empower us. I'm sure this is all strange to hear. Do you have any questions?" His eyes searched mine.

Of course, I have questions! You can't tell someone that and expect them to go along with it! And how did he know about the house I came from? "Yes, sir. I have a few. What do you mean by stop aging? Am I not human?" Oh, if only I could yell at you right now! I shifted uneasily on the bed.

Zach scrunched his face, trying to figure out a way to explain, "well yes and no, love. You're a human variant. By stop aging, I mean that you'll never get older than twenty-five. You're immortal-ish, if that makes sense."

"I think I understand. Thank you, sir." I'm never going to get older, that's actually sort of cool. I was never big on wrinkles anyway.

A bright smile came across his chemically whitened teeth, "I'm gonna ask you some things. I want you to be honest, okay?"

I nodded silently. As if I had a choice.

"How do you feel about Finnigan?"

Oh, fuck you, buddy. How dare you ask me such a loaded question when I'm not allowed to lie! This isn't fair. I hated Zach. I hated him so much. I sighed. "He's the nicest person I've ever met. The only person or vampire who has ever cared about me. I've never met someone who loves knowledge as much as I do. Most important, he's the fairest vampire I've ever seen when it comes to ruling. He's perfect." Damn my honesty.

Zach's smile widened even more. "I see. What about Tanner?"

Now I saw what he was doing. He was setting me up for failure. Humans are never supposed to talk ill of their masters. "I-i'm not supposed to say anything bad about him, sir. I belong to him." Oh, thank god, I was able to say that.

"But if you insist..." My mouth blurted. God damnit. "Tanner used to be a nice guy. I saw a real future with him, vampire or not. But once Mr. McClain got that law passed and your species began ruling, Tanner got too much power. It corrupted him more than I ever thought possible." My eyes looked to the floor. I had never made my feelings for Tanner vocal. It was tragic.

Zachary rubbed my back with his dragon-covered arm. "Why don't we go find Finn and you can make us something to drink."

Was he going to tell Finn what I said? I need this blood to wear off, fast. He could never know the words that came out of my mouth.

I stood up and opened the bedroom door for him, "yes sir."