"If you ingest my blood then I should be able to locate you, no matter where you are," Stefan explained as he sat opposite me on the bed.

"Is there anything else I should know about before I agree?" I asked cautiously. Stefan took a minute to think before he gently placed his hands over mine. "By exchanging blood with each other, we're uniting our souls together for eternity."

In other words, he means that we'll become soulmates.

...

I was scared that this meant that Stefan could now easily track me down in another life. But if I had to pick, I'd rather be pursued by Stefan than Bennett.

Aside from that, I'm sure I'm making the right decision here by going through with this blood bond business. Stefan will be able to protect me from the Count and I'll be closer to completing my mission. I just need to hold out until Stefan become a fully-fledged adult...

"Alright, let's do it," I said as I brushed my silver hair off of my face. "But remember, under no circumstances are you allowed to use your teeth!" I ordered.

As I can recall, one bite from Stefan will turn me into a vampire. So, if I just cut my hand with this knife I stole from the kitchen, then I should be fine. I dragged the sharp knife across the palm of my hand as I winced in pain.

Stefan quickly cupped it with a sad expression. "Sorry." He whispered before he drew it close to his face and proceeded to suck on it. I nervously watched Stefan as the loud sound of slurping echoed throughout the small dark room.

To my relief, Stefan stayed true to his word and was careful enough to keep his fangs retracted the entire time. Once he was done, he licked the remainder of my blood from his lips slyly. "I never tasted blood this delicious before..." Stefan said in a stupefied voice.

I felt faint after the ordeal, but I knew I had to pull myself together. Now it was my turn to drink his blood. It was almost as if Stefan could read my mind as he proceeded to bite his own wrist as he held it towards me. "Drink." He said in a serious tone.

I gulped before I slowly brought his wrist to my mouth. Please, don't let my weak constitution do its trick right now... the smell of blood was already enough to make my stomach want to curl! But I somehow managed to bear with it as I drank from Stefan's wrist.

"Does it taste good?" Stefan innocently asked with his head cocked to the side.

What kind of question is that??? Of course, it doesn't taste good! I'm still a human, so of course, his blood won't taste like a strawberry milkshake to me!

Once I was done drinking from Stefan, I collapsed onto my back. Finally... it was over.

"Now I'm finally connected with Vana..." Stefan said to himself in a daze as he snuggled up to me. "It's like a dream come true..."

The next morning, I woke up feeling disappointed. Stefan had barely grown overnight. I suppose he didn't take too much of my blood. We did have to be careful after all, if he drains me completely then I'll die and there will be no coming back from that!

"Hey, have I changed?" Stefan asked eagerly as he jumped up in bed. As we both stood up, back-to-back, I measured the height difference.

"Well, you are officially taller than me now..." I said with fake optimism as I playfully punched Stefan on the shoulder.

Stefan's shoulders sunk in disappointment. "I'm still not strong enough..." Stefan said in a disheartening voice.

Ah, that reminded me...

"Stefan," I began. "Was there once a time in your life when you were a fully grown adult?" I asked out of curiosity.

Stefan's face dropped as he stared at me in pure shock. "W-What would make you say that Vana?" Stefan asked without looking me in the eyes.

So, it's true...

"Ah, forget I said anything," I said as I made my way towards the door. "How about I whip up some breakfast, alright—"

Stefan grabbed my hand, prohibiting me from taking another step forward. "I want you to stay."

I felt fear set in. Now that Stefan was the same age as me, his controlling nature isn't something I should overlook anymore. His yandere side might come out any second now. So, I have to quickly defuse the situation before it's too late!

"And let you starve?" I said playfully as I turned around to flick Stefan on the forehead. "There's no way I could do that! I care about your well-being too much, Stefan!" I said with a cheery smile.

Stefan examined my face to see if I was lying. But I knew my facade was adequate enough. So, Stefan ended up relenting in the end.

As I left the bedroom, I let out a sigh of relief. However, it wasn't long until I was met with company once more.

"How's the parent life treating you?" Nick said jokingly as he came striding down the hallways with his hands in his pockets.

"I can't say I feel like much of a parent. It's closer to unpaid intern if you ask me." I joked back.

As we stood together in comfortable silence, I felt all of my worries slowly disappear. "So, are you here to help me complete my objective?"

"Right on the money," Nick said with a charming smile. "I've done that math, so let's assume that the average adult has about five litres of blood in their body."

I slowly narrowed my eyes. I guess we're talking about biology now. I'd probably follow better if I paid more attention in school. But oh well, I guess I'll try to learn now.

"Since I had the horrible pleasure of watching Stefan drain the bodies of two of Count Borovsky's henchmen, I can safely confirm that about ten litres of blood will cause him to age around five years."

Right now, I'd say Stefan is probably at least 17. If the objective still hasn't been fulfilled, then that means him turning 21 would be good enough for meeting the criteria.

"In theory, he'll only need to drain one or two more people and then you'll be good to go—"

"W-What if someone willingly donated their blood to him instead?" I interjected impatiently.

Nick looked at me in temporary confusion as he pondered the idea. "If you're referring to yourself like I think you are, then Stefan will meet his target goal in about three years and three months."

My jaw dropped. "You're joking!"

"If you want to stay safe, then the average woman can only afford to donate 500ml every four months."

I thought that letting him drink from me every once in a while, would be plenty, but it might do me more harm than good in the long run. My body is already frail enough as it is thanks to that stupid weak constitution skill, so I shouldn't risk endangering myself any further than this.

"Now that we've figured that out, it's your turn to help me out," Nick said cheerily as he dragged me down the hallway, hand in hand.

Uuuu... I was dreading this part.