Her moment of clarity was fleeting. Seconds after the words left her mouth, the urge to rip his throat out returned. She snarled at him, getting one arm free before swinging at him, her nails raking across his chest, ripping through his shirt. He hissed and recaptured her arm, pinning it under his knee.

"Soph," he urged. "Listen to me."

But she didn't want to. She wanted to kill him and take back what belonged to the Founders. He gripped her shoulders and slammed her against the ground with a cracking force. Her head spun. The colour of his eyes shifted from red to green and he grasped her chin, forcing their eyes to meet.

"Soph," he demanded. "Go home. Right now. Don't stop until you're in your apartment, then stay there."

She felt a pulling sensation in her gut, similar to what she'd felt when Chase had tried to use his Possessive powers on her. She groaned, trying to get away. His eyes flashed brighter as he said, "Soph, do as I say!"

And suddenly all she wanted to do was please him. She nodded her head as all the fight went out of her limbs. Eli flashed to his feet, looking wearily through the trees to where the other witches were approaching. Their encounter had only taken seconds, but the other witches were getting close.

"Go, Soph," Eli said urgently. Then he vanished, disappearing at a run through the trees on the other side of the bluff.

With a desperate need to do as he bid, Soph flashed to her feet and took off. She chose a path separate to both the witches and Eli, taking her downhill towards Grimshollow Park. She was there within moments, but she didn't stop. She flew through the car park and down the road that led back to the city.

Within the space of fifteen minutes, she was ripping open the door to her apartment. Her muscles screamed in protest at what she'd made them do, but she didn't stop until she stood within her dark lounge room. She didn't know what to do then. Her heart was tearing in half at its desire to both destroy Eli and to follow his demands. It thrummed within her chest, faster than was naturally possible, and her skin itched with the fire that burned beneath it.

The door clicked open behind her, and Eli slipped into the apartment. Without hesitation, Soph lunged at him. His eyes flared red as she grasped him and flung him over the back of the lounge. He hit the glass coffee table, shattering it.

He was on his feet in a flash as Soph climbed over the lounge to get to him. She didn't pause to question her impossible strength. She just needed to quell the voice in her head that told her to kill him.

With a snarl, she flung herself at him again. This time he was ready for her. He grabbed her arm, swinging her with her own momentum. She slammed into the TV and heard its screen crack under the force. Soph twisted her arm so she could grip Eli, and she yanked him towards her. He came, raising his knee as he did to catch her in the stomach. They both went to the ground, the broken glass crunching under them as they each fought for dominance.

"Soph," Eli said through gritted teeth as he once more got the upper hand. He straddled her and tried to grab her arms. His eyes changed to green again and Soph felt a change in his strength, as if it had suddenly lessened. "Turn it off. You can flick a switch and turn the Predator off." his eyes flared brighter. "Don't you want to make me happy, Soph? Turn it off!"

She did want to make him happy. She would have done anything those green eyes told her to. Except that the need to kill him was more. She screamed.

With a growl of frustration, Eli's eyes switched back to red, and he bared his fangs at her. Soph felt his weight increase as his strength returned. His hands closed around her throat, cutting her scream short. He squeezed, and she gaped, unable to draw breath.

"Turn it off, Soph, I don't want to kill you."

Suddenly terrified, her fingers stopped trying to rip his face off and instead fell to cover his hands in a futile attempt to pull them from her throat. Her chest constricted as it tried to draw oxygen into her lungs. Her eyes widened and black spots popped into her vision. Tears slipped in hot tracks down her temples. She didn't want to die.

Eli must have sensed some change in her, for he released his grip. She heaved in a breath as he slid off her so she could roll to the side and cough. She no longer wanted to kill him, and the fire beneath her skin had lessened to a tingling warmth. She could still feel an incredible strength within her muscles and instinctively she knew that if she wanted to be on the other side of the room, she could be within a second.

"Fuck, Soph," Eli groaned. He was on his hands and knees, drawing long breaths as well. "Why didn't you tell me you were a black witch?"

She couldn't even respond. She had no idea what he meant, or what had happened to her. Still on her side, she pulled her knees up to her chest as a sob ripped up her bruised throat.

Eli groaned and flopped over onto his back, the broken glass crunching beneath him. He lay there while she cried, not saying anything.

"What did they do to me?" she eventually whispered. He turned his head to the side to look at her and she saw that his eyes had returned to their normal grey colouring.

"They," he said darkly, "gave you vampire blood."

If Soph wasn't so warm, she probably would have felt a chill roll down her spine. Why would Adriana gather her coven and feed them all vampire blood?

To kill Eli, she reminded herself.

"Why does Adriana want you?" she wondered aloud. "Did you really take powers from the Founders?"

Eli climbed to his feet. Brushing glass from his pants. Through the rips in his shirt, she could see cuts across his chest where she'd scratched him. She sat up and looked at her arms. She should have been a bloody mess after her run through the forest and her fight with Eli, but her skin was free of abrasions.

In fact, now that the initial fear had passed, and she'd somehow turned off the urge to kill Eli, she could assess the changes in her body.

Already she felt her muscle fatigue fading, and she felt strong. Her sense of hearing, sight and touch was heightened and the warmth beneath her skin was feverish.

She leaped to her feet in a flash, and Eli eyed her wearily. "Are you going to answer me?" she demanded.

"Yes. I took their powers," he said testily. "I wanted them. I was stronger than they were, so I took them." he started towards the door and Soph sprang over the lounge to intercept him.

"Why did Adriana feed us vampire blood to hunt you?"

"Adriana." he tested the name, then countered, "Did you even know you were a black witch, Soph? Because taking on a vampire's powers by drinking their blood is a fucking risky thing to do."

"You didn't answer my question," She took a step towards Eli and was sure she saw a warning glint of red in his eyes. She didn't care. Standing this close to him, she felt that primal tug behind her navel. She remembered that she wanted to please him, to make him happy.

"I don't know Adriana," he countered. "But for some reason she's taken offence to me and frequently sets her witches on my tail. Now move please, I want to go."

Soph put her hand on his chest to stop him. "I feel hot," she whispered.

"Because you've effectively been poisoned," he retorted and tried once more to go. She stopped him again.

"But it feels good. Does it always feel like this?"

"I really have to go. I shouldn't be here."

She pushed him and he staggered back several steps, his eyes blazing red in alarm. She went with him, once more caressing his chest.

"Stay," she murmured. "Don't you want me to make you happy?"

"Fucking hell," he muttered. "Soph, the compulsion will wear off in a few days. That's all the feeling is. Let me leave, please."

"Why?" her hands trailed down his chest and stopped below his abdomen. She took his belt in her fingers and pulled it loose. Eli's eyes closed briefly.

"This is not a good idea."

"Why?" Soph said again. Heat crawled across her skin and the lure of Eli's compulsion pulled at her from the pit of her stomach. She freed his belt and slid her hand into the top of his briefs.

"We shouldn't do this," Eli whispered, and it seemed he spoke more to himself than her. In a flash, he knocked her hands away and grabbed her by the throat, slamming her against the wall. "We shouldn't do this," he repeated, though Soph could see the resignation in his eyes. She smiled.

His lips crashed down on hers and if she hadn't been bolstered by vampire blood, it would have hurt. Instead, the heat beneath her skin flared and the tug behind her navel that was Eli's compulsion pulled harder. She groaned as his hands left her throat and worked on the button of her jeans.

She kissed his jaw and then his neck. With her heightened senses, she could feel his pulse beneath his skin, feel the heat of his blood as it pumped through his body. He shifted suddenly, pinning her back against the wall with his forearm across her throat.

"Don't bite me," he warned.

"You can bite me," she offered, squirming to try to close the gaps between their bodies. He held her firm and snorted derisively.

"With another vampire's blood in your system? No, thank you."

He didn't remove his arm from her throat as he yanked her jeans down with his free hand. With a similar jerk, he tore her shirt away. She gave him no resistance and met his lips eagerly when they returned to hers. He didn't bother with foreplay. The moment his pants were off, Eli took her right there against the wall.