Ebben was fast... extremely so.

The place he had taken you to was the living room with all the books. He sat you down on the sofa and lit the fire place. The room looked untouched since last time you were there. Ebben stayed by the chimney, not bothered by the heat of the fire, and pointed to the family portrait that you saw the last time you were there.

"This is me," He points to the black haired boy. "And this is Cassius." He points to the boy with platinum blond hair.

"Cassius?" You ask.

"Has he never told you his real name? Yes, Cassius." He chuckles. "He never liked that name. he tried hard to forget it. Maybe you can change his mind on the matter."

You nod, urging him to go on. He points to the father.

"This is my father. He was a timid man. As strong as he looked, he was weak to her," Ebben points to the mother. "our mother."

"Cain had mentioned that he was never close to his mother." You mumble.

"He wasn't. My mother was a cold and unforgiving woman. To you she would be old fashioned, but that was how things were back then... 'the man should take care of the woman. He should be able to hunt, and make money to provide for the family'... that's how she thought...." Ebben walks towards you, sitting down on the sofa. "Cain wasn't like that at all. He was a coward. He liked cute things and he could never hurt anybody. He always did favors for people out of the kindness in his heart and he never asked for money afterwards... but that's not why my mother hated him... no, it was more than that." Ebben frowns. "I suppose I should let Cassius tell you that when he's back to normal..."

"What?...never mind.... but... what does this have to do with John?"

"I'll get there. I promise."

You nod.

"Anyway.. my mother. My mother was the first to be cursed and she was the first to experience going feral. She was hungry all the time. She ate everything and when we ran out of food, she began to eat live animals. Eventually she ate her husband and then went after Cain and I." Ebben says. "She told me that she loved me. She told me that she wouldn't hurt me, but she lied and she killed both of us. She went that far simply because of her hunger."

"Why are you telling me all this?" You ask.

"I thought you should know. The hunger that I described is what makes vampires go feral. If you don't eat, you go crazy. My mother went feral and you know what she did? She killed her husband and turned her children into monsters. I think that is what Cain is going through it right now."

"..."

"Listen. Your buddy, John, is going feral too. That's why he tried to bite you, that's why he begging, that's why he was trying to get under your skin. He did it because he knew that once you got close enough, he was going to latch onto that pretty little neck of yours and rip off all that he could. Going feral makes people lie, it makes them desperate, it makes them hurt others... even if they love them and that is what's happening to my brother right now so please.... let him drink your blood."

You stare at Ebben. Your eyes held nothing... there was no feelings present.

"I wish I had a brother like you." You say, putting you right hand up to your chest, over your heart. "Maybe if I had just met one other person... one... that loved me like I was family... I wouldn't be in this situation. I'd be at home with them and my mom and maybe even a younger sibling. If my father had loved me... if I had you as a brother instead... maybe... maybe I would be... normal, but I'm not."

"Are you saying that you don't want to help him?" Ebben frowns. "He loves you! How could yo—"

"I wonder if it will hurt?"

"Huh?" Ebben tilts his head in confusion.

"I'd let him bite me, but I'm not good with pain... does it hurt? Will I die?"

Ebben eyes widen. You were willing to die for his brother?

"Maybe." He says sadly. "Sometimes... vampire bites can feel good, so if you die, you might die feeling pleasure." Ebben says, trying to lighten the mood.

"Oh..." You look down at your feet. "Okay."

Ebben hugs you.

"I don't know what else to say to you except... thank you. Cassius is all I got." Ebben smiles sadly at you.

"I... I don't want to die." You whisper. " Not anymore."

"I'm sorry..... it's okay if you are having second thoughts–"

"No it's not. I should be prepared to die for Cai... um... Cassius."

"Hey... he might not even be feral. I have some doubts that that's even the issue."

"Why?"

"It's because he's been feeding. You need to starve to be feral and he's been eating. The only reason I think he's feral is because what he did to John. I mean... he's never been so aggressive so I just assumed..." Ebben grumbles. "This is a lot to take in... sorry."

"Don't be." You say. "I'm... okay."

"Hey... I hope this will calm you. Cain cares about you more than he cares about me. I doubt he would just up and kill you. He used to talk about you all the time. Ever since he met you, he's been happier. He wasn't so lonely anymore and now he sees you more as a companion."

"More than a—" You raise a brow. "What does that mean?"

"Well it mean—" Ebben suddenly, he tenses up.

Cain was home.