I tried to distract myself in any way I could. Whether it be by doing laundry or simply cleaning the house up. The more I was alone with my thoughts, my fear of Bennett returning any night now only grew.

As I sat there scrubbing the kitchen floor, I felt myself jump when a finger poked me on the shoulder. "GAH!" I yelped. As I turned around to see Nick hovering over me. I sighed in relief. "People need to stop scaring me like that..." I softly muttered.

As I returned to my scrubbing, I could hear Nick clear his throat. "We really need to talk." He stated awkwardly.

"Sorry, no can do," I said merrily as I added more pressure to the yellow soppy sponge. "I'm in the middle of something right now."

Nick gently took a hold of the hand that I held the sponge in and looked at me sympathetically. "This really can't wait any longer."

He was right. We'd have to talk eventually; we can pretend like that day never happened... Once he had won me over, I dusted myself off and took a seat at the counter beside him. "I'm sure you must have questions about Stefan, right?"

"You mean how Stefan isn't away in some boarding school but has instead grown several feet?" He said sarcastically.

I scratched my head awkwardly. "Yeah..." I proceeded to clear my throat before I continued. "I promise you that there is a logical explanation behind—"

"I already knew he was a vampire," Nick said nonchalantly.

...

Well, I sure as hell didn't expect to hear that. "Since when?" I asked dubiously as I crossed my arms.

"Since I joined this world like you."

Ah. So, Nick's really admitting to being a transmigrator just like that? Didn't see that one coming either. Is this why he wanted to talk with me? I guess he must've figured it out at the same time as me. I never would've expected a stranger to have the same ability as me though...

"Hey, I'm sorry," I said in a genuine voice. "I've been acting weird around you this entire time... I-I- promise you that I had a reason for it!" I insisted.

"It's because you thought I was that guy who called you, Vicky, right?" Nick sure does catch on quickly...

"Yeah..." I answered quietly while fiddling with my thumbs.

"He sure is a scary guy," Nick remarked as he sat back into his seat. "So, I don't blame you for acting that way. You must've had some dark history with him, right?"

"You could say that..." I didn't feel like elaborating any further. The more Bennett lives in my head the harder it gets for me to function like a normal human being.

"Well, you don't have to worry about me. I'm just here to complete my own mission." Nick looked around the room cautiously to confirm that no one was eavesdropping on our conversation. Once the coast was clear, he leaned in to whisper. "Wanna hear what it is?"

I nodded my head slowly in response. "I have to stop the vampire children hunt," Nick said with a straight face.

This is the first I'm hearing of some kind of hunt. "Are you being serious right now?" I questioned.

"Dead serious. From what I've gathered the hunt has been an ongoing thing for centuries. It's almost impossible to stop."

"It's kind of extreme to try and eradicate all of the children though..." I said in disbelief. I almost wanted to laugh at how ridiculous and outwardly it all sounded.

"Actually, vampire children aren't really... children."

I raised an eyebrow in doubt. "Come again?" I said in a flat voice.

"When a vampire refuses to feed, they slowly regress into the form of a child. Vampires don't usually risk starvation, so it's strange that they would willingly choose to fast. Well, whatever the reason may be I guess it's enough for them to be hunted down and killed by the group."

If what Nick is saying is true, then does this mean Stefan willingly chose to regress into the form of a child? I just don't understand it...

"The only other thing I know is that Count Borovsky is leading the hunt. Hence the random house inspections..."

I felt an uncomfortable weight on my shoulders. Of course, my stepbrother would be the leader of some kind of barbaric hunt. I should've expected him to have taken the place of someone like that. But knowing Bennett I'm sure his original plans of hunting down these children has shifted to hunting me down instead. He's not the type of person to care about anything other than me after all.

"You're going to have a hard time with accomplishing your goal if Bennett is standing in your way." I absentmindedly remarked to myself out loud.

"Well then, how about we help each other achieve our goals then?" Nick suggested.

I tilted my head to the side in uncertainty. "Wait, does this mean you'll help me raise Stefan then?" I asked doubtfully.

"Sure, our goals kind of overlap anyway. Don't you think?" Nick said as he outstretched a hand towards me.

I guess he wants me to shake on it. I won't turn down his help, but if he expects me to use myself as willing bait for the Count, he has another thing coming. And so, we silently shook hands.

As I returned to my room, Stefan jumped up eagerly to greet me. Once he enveloped me in a large hug, I could tell that something was off about him.

"You've grown again..." I mumbled. From the looks of it, we were now the same age as each other. Scary...

"See! If you let me, I can become even stronger to protect you, Vana!" Stefan said with a huge grin.

Protect me... As I thought back to Count Borovsky's words, I dropped to my bed in despair. He said he was coming back for me... as I looked up at Stefan, I felt unsure of whether or not this was the right thing to do.

"If we do that blood bond thing you mentioned before..." I looked down at my fiddling hands. "Does this mean you'll always be able to find and protect me?"