Lucian couldn’t believe he had let the beast take over earlier. He was walking past the bar when he spotted Robert Lewis. Instantly he’d found himself moving in Robert’s direction. Lucian had wanted to cause the man pain for what he had done to Ariella, but he hadn’t planned on killing him. His inner self had thought otherwise, and didn’t waste any more time, instead choosing to rip Robert’s head clean off.

The smell of Robert’s blood had hit Lucian like a tidal wave. All of his senses came alive and demanded to be fed. Knowing what was coming, Lucian fled from the parking garage. He’d barely made it to his house before the beast completely took over. He grabbed a handful of bagged blood and swiftly drank them.

The blood lust tampered down as the bagged blood flowed through his veins. It wasn’t human blood like the beast wanted, but it would have to do. Lucian was already feeling remorseful for what had happened, he didn’t need to add drinking human blood on top of it all.

Feeling depleted in both mind and body, Lucian decided to get some rest. He was exhausted. His beast hadn’t come out in a long time and he had forgotten how taxing it was. As he closed his eyes, Ariella filled his mind.

He quickly pushed all thoughts of her away, not wanting to mar her image with his own shortcomings.

* * *

Waking up the next morning was rough, to say the least. Every part of Lucian’s body was sore and he felt his age for once. He knew that one sip of warm human blood would easily soothe him but it wasn’t worth it, animal blood would have to do.

As he was getting dressed, there was only one thing on his mind. Ariella. Where was she? He hadn’t heard from her and it was unlike them not to talk throughout the day. Granted he had been preoccupied yesterday, but there should at least be a missed call or text. He quickly dialed her number and waited for her to pick up.

After a handful of rings the call went to voicemail. Lucian left a message urging her to call him back. He hung up the phone and was filled with a sense of unease. Something was wrong, very wrong.

Deciding that he needed to see her face to face, Lucian left his house to go in search of Ariella. He needed to make sure that she was okay, and more importantly that they were okay.

* * *

Ariella jumped when she heard the knock on her door. She was curled up on the couch, watching soap operas on TV. She had hoped that watching other people’s drama would help her forget her own but it wasn’t working out like she’d hoped.

Mumbling to herself, she got up and slowly walked to the door. She didn’t bother looking through the peep hole; she already knew who it was. She opened the door and Lucian’s face greeted her. He seemed to look genuinely concerned.

“Ariella, there you are. I was worried about you when I didn’t get a call or text.” Lucian moved to embrace her but she blocked his advancement. His beautiful face scrunched in confusion as he looked at her. “What’s wrong?” He asked.

Ariella took a deep breath, her mind replaying yesterday’s events. She could clearly recall the brutality of it, and she shivered. “I saw you yesterday,” she said softly.

At her words Lucian instantly stilled. He could feel his heart stop at the thought of her knowing what had happened yesterday. “I’m not sure what you mean,” he tried to deflect.

She shook her head violently. How dare he try to avoid his actions. “Don’t,” she said sternly. “Do not think that you can lie to me about what you did. I saw you on the security monitor. I watched everything. From you approaching him in the bar all the way until you stole his life away.” Ariella was shaking as she spoke. “I know that Robert wasn’t a kind man but you took his life. Don’t you think that was a little much?”

“Ariella, please let me explain,” Lucian pleaded. “Yesterday when I saw him, the vampire inside of me took notice and before I knew what was happening he was already dead.”

“What kind of explanation is that supposed to be? You killed him, you take the responsibility. I was struggling with accepting you as a vampire and now I’m not sure I can.” She crossed her arms, needing the comfort they offered.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Lucian asked. His concerned expression from before was gone, replaced with one that was closed off.

“It means that I don’t think I want to be a part of your world. Your life.” Ariella tried to avoid his hard stare but he made it impossible.

“And you’re sure about this? I don’t even get a chance to try to change your mind?” She nodded her head yes. Lucian took in a deep breath and exhaled. “Alright then, if that’s how you feel about me. I’m sorry that you couldn’t see past this to what could have been. Remember that when you lie awake at night, wondering what went wrong.” With that he turned and walked away.

Ariella closed the door and slid down to the floor, her back against the door. She pulled her knees up and buried her head as the tears fell. She silently cried as her heart was breaking. She had done this to herself and the pain was almost unbearable.