"I won't do it," I declared, feeling braver than I sounded. "Even if I did know how to, which I don't..." I threw a pained glance at Jacobi. I knew how to be claimed and I knew of consenting to a Mate bond, but I didn't know a thing about claiming another being as a vampire could claim humans besides what phenomenon I had with Corentine. I didn't know how I would even connect to his spirit on another level, attaching to him and all those consequently attached to him. And even if I did know, I wouldn't do it.

"I considered this might happen, of course," Zachary replied simply, not appearing to be concerned by the fact that I was downright refusing his evil plans. He again held the medicine, which I now knew was spiked with human blood, under my nose. I held my breath, not out of disgust. The aroma was so strong, so attractive that I felt something beginning to slip in my mind. It was different from that hunter side of me that came out when I was pushing to run free or fight vampires. It was more wild and dangerous, craving something that I didn't want to crave.

Another wave of pain, different than before, pulsed through me. Instead of crying out, I thrashed in my seat, the shackles being the only thing that held me down.

"Let me tell you how this is going to happen," Zachary gripped my face from under my chin and lifted my head to look at him. "I'm going to tell you what to do and you're going to obey. I know you. I know how you've been raised. I know you're weak; in fact, I made sure of it. You're submissive. Elizabeth coddled you and smothered any signs of aggression she could and Livian provided me with information so that I could better analyze your personality traits. To make it simple: you're a helpless coward. No amount of power I bestow on you will change that now."

"You don't know me," I hissed, fighting the scent of that blood and the pangs in my heart at the truth that was ringing in his declarations. How often had I seen myself as a coward? Why would it change now?

"I more than know you, Elysia. I created everything you are, down to your pitiful soul," Zachary made a noise of distaste, releasing his grip on my face. "I don't want us to be enemies. I understand for now you'll be upset with me, after all I did keep you in the dark your entire life. But I believe you'll come around to accepting what you are... what your purpose is. Until then, I'll have to revert to threats; ones that will motivate you for now but won't matter much later."

Zachary lifted his hand, indicating to his surroundings with a slight wave. I looked around, understanding now that others must be watching. Of course, the other hunters would be involved. If my mother... if Elizabeth Monet had volunteered to raise me as bait and Liv had monitored me as an adult, of course there would be others.

"You may think I have been feeding you random blood, but I haven't. I'm not so careless, you see. I thought you might try to refuse and maybe try to delay the transition to your true form. So I've been feeding you a specific brand of blood," Zachary told me slowly as the door to the room slid open. I blinked, smelling it before looking. The aroma that was so alluring in that bottle was nothing compared to this. Before I even tried to look over, I closed my eyes tightly, breathing harshly through my mouth as if it would help push away that scent. "I thought it would be poetic almost, getting you so fixed on her blood. After all, she gave birth to you once. Why not use her to give birth to your true form once again?"

I opened my eyes sharply, swinging my head around to look at the source of that scent and lost my breath. Eve Raene was abnormally pale, malnourished, wearing nothing but a hospital gown, but still was the most gorgeous woman I had ever seen. Her hair was now snowy white, almost as if it had aged without her. And her eyes were pools of nearly metallic silver. She was peering at Jacobi, who was staring back without emotion, though I was certain he was stunned and furious. Then she turned her eyes on me. I quickly looked away, afraid of her... of who she was and what she thought of me.

"I don't care, I'm not going to do it," I grunted, struggling to speak. "And I'm not going to... to do whatever it is you want me to do to her."

"Eve is here to prove a point to you and to enforce my threat," Zachary stated darkly, "She's here to show you that you have no choice in the matter. In only the short span of time you've been here, I've fed you only her blood. I'm sure you can smell it now, being so close to reverting back to your true form. I've made sure you'd feel addicted to it, to the relief it would give you if you just took it. And you will take it. You're going to fight your nature, but you'll lose. If you think you're untrained in hunting, you're even less trained in controlling that thirst."

The two hunters that were behind Eve snatched her arms and began to shove her forcefully towards me. The pangs in my body were intensifying each step they took to get closer to me. I kept my eyes shut with as much force as I could, holding my breath except for sharp intakes when I couldn't hold it any longer. When her scent rose around me, I turned my head away in panic.

"And when you're done draining the woman who gave you your life, you'll know. You'll know no matter what you choose, you will kill for me. I'll bring in innocent after innocent and you'll watch yourself feed off of them helplessly until you decide what's better: killing innocent humans or killing murderous vampires. And we both know the answer to that," Zachary was stepping away from me towards the exit of the room. Even when I heard the door open and close again, I didn't move an inch. I remained in my tense position, eyes closed, head turned, and limbs frozen.

When the metal bindings on my chair were released, I whimpered.

"Lysa," I heard Jacobi's voice in the distance, low and cautious.

"There's no point, Cobi," a powerful, feminine voice said from so close in front of me. A curious part of me wanted to face her, to inspect every part of her being and understand that my birth mother was this woman: the first vampire turned temporarily mortal. But that scent kept me frozen, hovering over me as if waiting to attack. Only it wasn't the scent that would attack though. It was me.

"She can fight it," Jacobi sounded determined, his belief in me amazing at the moment.

Eve's laugh was slow and melodious. "You're talking about fifteen years' worth of suppressed vampirism, Cobi. Even you wouldn't have such control," She said, sounding quite humorous despite her situation and the things she'd been through since her captivity. I wanted to look at her and to talk to her. I wanted to know if she was disgusted by me as Zachary had said. If I had been forced to have a child meant to destroy my kind, wouldn't that disgust me? How could I love such a thing?

"Elysia, what a beautiful name. I'm surprised he kept it for you, being that I'm the one who named you," Eve said, definitely addressing me personally at this point. I blinked in surprise, turning to face her despite my previous fears. The hunters had chained her to the legs of my chair, preventing her from moving away from me. My own bindings had been released, so I could run away... except that when I tried to move away my body refused. It took everything to not attack her and one glance over her body told me why. Zachary had left a deep gash across her shoulder, allowing blood to seep onto her skin slowly in order to taunt me. My eyes fixated on that wound, causing me to stare with wide eyes. I didn't even notice the burning pain across my jaws or the ache of my teeth which begged to be elongated into never before used fangs.

"When I first saw you in my vision, I didn't think it would be like this. My last daughter, after being sterile for so many centuries, it was to be a miracle. You were the only reason I allowed Jacobi to live. How cruel would it be of me to take away my future daughter's true Mate? But I swear I didn't know it would be this," She whispered to me, reaching as if she could touch my face, but her hands were stopped short by her chains.

"What... should I... do?" I hissed through my teeth, unwilling to completely open my mouth and unable to look away from that bleeding wound. Images were flashing through my mind, flooding my thoughts with thirst. I wanted to sink my teeth around that wound and devour that nectar of life. I wanted the relief it would give me, like a drug with the ultimate high. The thought alone sent my nostrils flaring in response as I began to pant, inhaling that scent despite wanting to resist with all I had.

"You should fight," Eve responded determinedly, but I didn't feel furthermore assured by my ability to do so as she said, "Zachary has given you your choices and it is up to you to decide how you will fight. But you cannot win as a mortal, Elysia. In this fight, you will lose. You must know... I will not blame you. Not in anything."

I could only watch with wide eyes as she reached for her wound, digging her fingers into the torn flesh without even a wince crossing her flawless features. Her blood flow increased around her fingertips, seeping over her hand and enticing me further. I felt weightless and nonexistent, as if I had already died and was stuck in a limbo where I could only watch blood drip over ivory skin. In the slowest motion, she lifted her scarlet palm towards me as far as her chains would allow.

I didn't remember moving. I didn't recall leaping forward into Eve's opened arms, nor did I notice those arms wrapping around my form with love and acceptance. I couldn't hear her whispers of forgiveness just behind my ear.

All I knew was the rush of sweet copper flooding my senses, passing my human lips and coating my mortal tongue. With the initial intake of that addicting honey, that which a part of my mind forgot was the blood of my birth mother, I felt my body change. My limbs charged with power, the pain and agony completely forgotten. My senses expanded, focused solely on that alluring aroma I craved so desperately. After a few more doses of her blood, new enamel extended over my canines which I dug into Eve's flesh with a sense of hungry satisfaction. The bright light in the room only served to become irritatingly brighter, causing me to firmly latch my eyes closed before I continued my feast.

I had no humane thoughts. While instinct kept me attached to the source of my desperate hunger, I could have believed myself to be home in my bed, cuddling with mountains of pillows on a warm summer day. There was no longer any sense in what I did or where I was. Even when Eve's body began to chill and slump uselessly in my abnormally strong grasp, I didn't recognize what I was doing.

And then I was standing over a corpse, my mind placed back into that which used to be my own body but was now something completely different. As my stunned thoughts flittered across my head in a panicked fashion, I stared at Eve Raene's lifeless form. For seventeen years she was believed to be dead, killed by the evil that was my biological father. Instead, I had murdered her. I couldn't remember when exactly she had passed or the last words she whispered in my ear as I took her life, but the fact remained. I had never killed any living being and now I had. She was gone.

"Perfect, Elysia," Zachary's baritone voice echoed over an intercom set up in the room. I didn't attempt to try to locate where he might be watching me from, unable to look away from my first victim, knowing she probably wouldn't be my last. "I'm sure you feel confused with your new form, but now would be the best time to do it while you're first transitioned and fed. You wouldn't want to accidently kill our Master vampire, would you? At least, not too early..." His voice cut off, but I knew he was probably laughing at his little joke wherever he was.

For a moment, I didn't move a muscle. My mind was blank as if I had cut off a switch and could no longer function properly. I was in a nightmare. I was in some living Hell, with absolutely no escape in sight. I wanted to panic and run away. I wanted to scream and sob, but all I could do was stand still feeling completely... void.

"Elysia, you know your choice. Bond to Jacobi, absorb his and his coteries' spirit, or I will start bringing in bleeding innocents. Would you like your next victim to be a man? How about a child? A baby?" I looked up sharply at nothing, my heart jolting in my chest unfamiliarly. I wanted to believe his threat was empty, but by now I didn't take anything Zachary had to say lightly.

I turned to Jacobi slowly, my new eyes seeing things I hadn't seen before. If I focused hard enough, I could pinpoint his veins under his skin pulsing that currently mortal blood throughout him. But I didn't want to focus on that. It made me feel unnatural and dangerous. I didn't want to be dangerous to Jacobi. I wanted to be in his arms under warm bed sheets once again. I wanted to feel his breath on mine, whispering dark secrets and expressing his desires. I wanted to curl myself into his lap, in attempt to lift his heavy spirits from the turmoil of the abyss.

He didn't turn his eyes from me now. Something in those caramel eyes told me he had made his own decision while watching his Mate kill his Maker. I couldn't discern what that decision was. He didn't appear angry. I was sure he was upset, but while I thought it would be directed at me, he appeared to be withholding that rage for Zachary Monet. For me, his eyes only held a pained determination. I wanted to reach for his electrifying spirit in order to feel what he was feeling, but I feared what it would be. Jacobi was good at hiding his emotions from his features. He could hate me now.

I moved freely towards him, approaching his form hesitantly, but it was enough for Zachary not to antagonize me with his vile threats. Jacobi watched me advance carefully towards him intensely. If he feared me, he didn't show it. I paused when he narrowed his eyes slowly, causing his features to become impossibly more serious and intense. If the situation were different, I would have blushed deeply at the responding chills that crossed over my flesh.

I continued towards him until I was standing over him. For a moment, I peered down at his bound form in that metallic chair. It was strange how when I met Jacobi, I was a mortal girl being chained for him to kill. Now I was vampire, as sure as the blood I could still taste on my tongue, and he was mortal, bound and waiting to greet death by my hands.

I lifted my knee, sliding onto Jacobi's lap carefully. When I was straddling him and settled, I raked over his body briefly in order to assess his situation even closer. His unhealed wounds weren't bleeding any longer, though the aroma of his blood still drew my attention momentarily. I focused on the bindings around his wrist for only a moment before I was grabbing at the metal, tugging angrily. The silver burned my fingers viciously, but even that wasn't enough to prevent me from trying. It was only when the pain became intolerable that I yelped and eventually released the abominable shackles.

I watched the palm of my hands heal around the angry burns at a rapid rate until they were unmarked once again. When I looked up at Jacobi, his eyes were still on my hands almost curiously. I closed them into fists carefully.

"Lysa," He finally said my name once again, only this time it came soft and sweet in a quiet whisper. I closed my eyes briefly at the warmth his voice pooled inside of me. "I can't even count how many times I've needed to apologize to you..."

"Don't," I interrupted him quietly, shaking my head.

"I've never been more remorseful than I am now," Jacobi continued regardless of my attempts to halt his words, "I knew you were something different; something special. I had my suspicions, but I was blinded by my hatred. If I had known... no, even if I hadn't known, I should never have treated you like I did. I shouldn't have let you go."

"It was for your coterie; for Aveline and..." I couldn't say Xander's name, knowing he was suffering because of me.

"I should have fought for you."

"I should have fought for you," I hissed, furious at myself, "I was afraid of you; of being with you. I'd never... I'd never been with anyone for long and the idea of something so... committed as being your Mate. I was a coward." Jacobi flashed a rare smile, closing his eyes temporarily as if momentarily exhausted before gracing me with those intense swirls of gold and brown.

"You are no coward, dove. You are a Royal Raene. I've harmed you, attempted to kill you, and used you as nothing more than something to indulge my desires. I've mated with you without verbal consent, without any ritual public or private. I knew you might have been connected to the Raene line, but I still whipped you like you were nothing. I've treated you like a subordinate, not even an equal," Jacobi winced at his statements, casting his gaze away from me in pain. "I'm not even your equal. I know the laws, Elysia. I don't need a trial to know what my punishment would be."

I recalled the laws I had read about the Royals in Civil Rights and Laws as Passed by Royals. I knew it was illegal to kill a Royal, unless it was done by another Royal. And I knew it was especially illegal to harm or kill a young Royal; one that was within their fertile years. It was a protection placed on Royals to enforce the expansion of bloodlines. The punishment was instant death for the offender and it had even mentioned the death of the entire coterie, should the dealer be a Master. I could imagine this punishment would be even harsher if the young Royal who was victimized happened to be the last surviving bloodline of a certain leading Royal line.

In the quietest voice, so quiet I was sure not even Zachary would be able to hear, Jacobi said to me, "You have to kill me. Only me. It will save most of my coterie. I won't blame you..." His words rang too similar to Eve's. I couldn't stand it.

I grasped his face desperately in my hands, whimpering before locking his lips with mine. At first he hesitated, but it wasn't a long moment of hesitation. He kissed me back, his teeth nipping at my lower lip before his tongue reached out to collide with mine. Being so close to him, I felt surrounded by his familiar scent of wood and vanilla. I wanted nothing more than for us to just simply be. If I could have gone back, I would have given myself to him completely, despite my fears.

"Lysa," Jacobi groaned reluctantly, pulling away. I shook my head, leaning against his forehead with mine. Tears were wetting my cheeks as I tried to pull my thoughts into words. Before I could open my mouth, a sob tore through me so deeply it felt as if it came from the depths of my soul.

"I can't kill you," I admitted, my words strangled through my tears.

"I would lose my coterie anyway, Lysa. Once the Middlemist turns me completely mortal and suppresses my spirit, they'll be disconnected. Many would probably become rogue... you shouldn't feel guilty," Jacobi explained to me, either avoiding the true reason behind my reluctance or acting completely oblivious. I only took a deep breath, trying to push back the sobs until I was reduced to quiet whining.