I could only watch in horror as the vampire lunged at my mate, catching us both off guard. Edison stabbed the man Rico and sent him to the ground, but it was too late.

I watched his hot blood splatter on to the ground, heard his strangled cries of pain.

And something snapped within me.

There it was again, the violent, consuming hunger. I needed to feed, and his blood was right there, so ready, so waiting...

My worst fear come to life.

My vision blurred over with red and already I felt the monster within trying to overtake me once more. I needed it. Needed him! No matter the consequences, no matter who I had to kill in the process...

All I could think about was blood!

For a frenzied moment, I almost gave in—but before the insanity could fully take hold, Edison’s words echoed through my mind, a faint memory called up in a time of need:

“You’re better than this, Beck!  You don’t have to do this!”

The words stopped me for a moment. Gave me pause. Did I? Could I actually control my hunger long enough to save my mate?

All around me reigned death and destruction, and right in front of me lay the man who had turned me, and the man who had brought me back. 

Maybe I wasn’t a monster after all. Maybe this time, I could use what I had within me for good.

The pieces clicked into place in my mind like a long-lost puzzle. I could no longer be an innocent bystander.

I could no longer hide in the shadows and wait to disappear. 

I was important, dammit, and my mate needed me!

Ed’s—no—our weapon glittered on the ground beside him, forgotten. If he could use it, well then, I could too. I stooped low, picking it up. Holding on to that artifact of power was like trying to hold on to a hurricane, but I didn’t dare let go. The energy of Guardians past and present flowed through me like a tidal wave. That’s when I knew this was real. The mating, the tug in my heart I felt around him, everything. 

I wasn’t dreaming anymore. Ed was mine just as much as I was his. The bloodlust was still there, yes, but I forced it back, gritting my teeth through the pain and focusing on the night he told me he wanted me.

The night I realized that maybe I wasn’t damaged goods, after all.

In that terrible, fleeting moment, all fears and insecurities went out the window. An eerie sense of calm washed over me, tuning my senses to perfect clarity. Time seemed to slow around us. I knew what I had to do.

I narrowed my eyes, swung my arm, and with all the strength left in my body, drove the blade straight into the vampire’s back.

He let out a high pitched, ethereal scream, dropping Edison at once. The other Guardians came running and I drove the blade in deeper, growling as it tore through muscle and sinew. Black, ugly blood oozed out and hissed onto the floor like acid. A bitter, pungent smell invaded my nostrils and made me gag, but still I held fast.

“This is for Cormera,” I grunted through gritted teeth. “This is for my baby. And this is for me, asshole.” With a grim finality, I twisted the blade for the final blow.

The thing screeched and howled against me, arms flailing. Then the voice died off, a terrible blackness poured out of the thing’s mouth, and he crumpled to the floor in a pile of ashes. Dead.

The weapon dropped from my hands, clattering to the floor. My knees buckled.

And then I remembered Edison.

Oh God, Edison! 

He lay on his side, blood still oozing from the wound on his neck. The familiar hunger pressed at me again, but this time it was easier to ignore. I had to help him. I had to do something.

Staggering over to his body, I crouched down next to him. The scent of his blood invaded all my senses at once, sending my mind into a red fog. I nearly lost myself once more when Ollie joined me at my side and took my hand, squeezing it tightly. 

“Did you see what happened?” Ollie gasped, rolling him over onto his back. He ripped off a section of his shirt and tried to blot out the wound, but the fabric soaked through immediately. 

“Vampire,” I breathed. 

“I dunno if we can get him back to Koxerra in time.” Ollie chewed his lip and looked to me. “The venom is already beginning to pass through his bloodstream, look...” He pointed at Ed’s eyes.

Crimson flecks already started to gather around his pupils, and his skin turned paler, almost translucent as his life’s blood spilled to the floor. 

He was going to die.

“You’re gonna think I’m crazy,” Ollie started. “But I think I know how we can save him.”

“Anything.” My soul screeched out for him in terror and pain. I’d only just realized what it meant to be loved, and I couldn’t have that torn away from me. Not yet. 

He’d done so much for me when I couldn’t even look at myself. It was time for me to repay the favor. 

“You’re going to need to suck out the venom.” Ollie said in a tight, strained voice. “Too much, and he’ll die. Too little, and he’ll turn. But it’s gotta be you.”

I watched my twitching, hurting mate as I digested the words. I closed my eyes. Took a breath. Of course it had to be like this.

In order to save my mate from certain death, or worse, I’d have to give in to that part of myself I feared most. I’d have to drink his blood. 

“Can you do it?” Ollie asked, his eyes wide and fearful.

It wasn’t like I had a choice. “Yeah,” I said hoarsely. “Stand back.”

He and the other Guardians left a wide berth, forming a circle of protection around us as I drew closer to my bleeding mate. Breaths came in slow staggered pants. My hands shook. And I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the dark red fang marks puncturing Ed’s neck. 

I just had to drink enough to get the venom out, I reminded myself. It wouldn’t hurt me. I was already a vampire. But if I took too much, if I lost myself in the feeding frenzy...

My head spun.

No. I clenched my jaw. I could do this. For him. For our baby. And for our future together.

I had to.

“Edison,” I breathed. I went to my knees next to him, wiping my hands on my dirty tunic. “I’m here, baby. It’s gonna be okay.”

Ed winced and screwed up his face, turning away from me. He cried out in pain and his muscles went tense. He folded, curling into himself.  There wasn’t much time.

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered. Then I lowered my lips to his throat.

That first splash of blood against my lips was the sweetest ambrosia I’d ever tasted. Better than cinnamon buns slathered with icing. Better than sex. I lapped at his wound tentatively at first, then hungrily. Part of me—the human part—still cried out in the back of my mind, but I didn’t care.

He tasted too damn good.

I didn’t need to use my fangs, but they extended regardless, scraping against my alpha’s sensitive skin. I suckled at his wound, taking his life force into me and cleansing it, all the while trying to hold on to that idea in my mind, that shred of humanity—I would not kill him. I could not.

Just enough to remove the poison from his bloodstream. Nothing more.

No matter how badly I craved it. No matter how much I wanted to sit here and drink him dry.

Tears welled up behind my lashes and I let them fall, unmindful of anything but the taste of my mate inside me. His vitality rushed through me like a drug, lighting me up more than Synth ever had. 

If every human’s blood tasted this good—well, I could understand why some went rogue.

A growl rumbled deep in my chest and ripped free, my fangs extending to full. I gazed longingly at his pretty, delicate neck. All my instincts screamed at me to sink my teeth deep into his flesh, to fill myself with him until I could take no more. 

There were hands on my shoulders, pulling at me. Voices echoing in my ear. I barely heard them. I scraped my fangs across his wound one more time, weighing the options. Weighing the battle of man and monster within me. 

And then something changed. 

My beloved’s eyes opened. The cold red bloodlust faded out of them. He coughed. Sputtered. 

Then he wrapped his weak arms around me, and pulled me closer.

“Beck,” he breathed in a ragged voice that sent every hair standing on end. “Beck...” His energy faded, going out right before my eyes. I had to stop it, I knew I did, but his scent was all over me, all in me, and I didn’t think I could think about anything else again—

“I love you,” Ed whispered, and his head slumped to the side, eyes fluttering closed.

That admission broke through the feral bloodlust. It broke through all my walls and barriers, touching all the way to my heart.

He loved me.

For the first time in my life, I felt wanted. I felt needed. 

And I would not let him die.

I pulled away at the last second, my lips still dripping with my lover’s blood. 

“Please,” I whispered to myself, and anyone who would listen. “Please be okay...”

I brushed a finger across his tired, lined face. Traced the stubble on his chin. Then I leaned forward and kissed his forehead with my blood-smeared lips. 

“I love you too.”

The Next Day

“Absolutely irresponsible.” 

Claria stared down her nose at her, her hair crackling with static electricity. As soon as we got back to The Crystal Spire, everyone knew what had happened. And Claria, Milo, and Chester were there to give us an earful.

“You could have been killed.” Chester wiggled his little guinea pig nose in something that was probably supposed to be disdain.

“And you didn’t even think to call for backup.” Milo crossed his arms, looking to each one of us in turn. Finally, his eyes settled on me and his gaze softened. “We were so worried about you. When the spell broke and we found your bed empty, I...” He shook his head. “I’m glad you’re okay, but that was very dangerous.”

I sighed. “I know. I know. But it worked out in the end, didn’t it?” I squeezed Ed’s hand next to me.

His stern glance didn’t change. Neither did Claria’s. Chester just looked cute.

“While I’m happy that you’ve found your mate,” Claria gave Ed and I a small smile, “things are going to have to change around here. You should have known better than running off while you were pregnant. And as a high risk patient, too.”

“What, and you’d rather he die?” I snapped before I could stop myself. If I hadn’t snuck out to find him, who knew what would have happened? I didn’t want to think about it.

“What I want,” Claria sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, “is what we’ve always wanted for Diamond Falls. To keep our supers safe. That includes you, Beck. The Guardians knew what they were getting into.”

“Hey, I didn’t!” Ollie piped up. One withering glare from the old witch later, and he fell silent again.

“And as for you, Edison. Sloppy work on your part. You’ll be taking remedial psychic classes with our new professor, Dr. Willow, starting next week. Understand?”

Edison grunted. “Sure.”

“You’re dismissed.” Her voice cracked like a whip, and with a snap of her fingers, they were gone.

I let out a breath, looking up at Edison for reassurance. He gave my hand a squeeze, his warm, callused skin comforting against my cold, thin hands.

“Hope you’re not in too much trouble,” I mumbled. 

Edison shrugged. “Nothing we can’t handle. I, for one, am very grateful you came when you did.”

“Yeah?” I wrapped a hand around the small of his back and laid my head on his chest. “Thought you were mad at me for sneaking out and putting myself in danger.”

He barked out a laugh. “I was. But you know something else? You were right. If you hadn’t been there...” He shuddered. “Thanks. For everything.”

When his eyes met mine this time, they were the warm brown I remembered from my dreams, no longer marred by the deep red specks of vampirism. I’d saved his life. And in turn, he’d saved mine. I just hadn’t realized it at the time.

“I wanna show you something,” Edison told me, a mischievous smile creeping up his face. “Come on.”

He led me out of Koxerra and into the twilight, his hand in mine.

“Where are we going?” I asked, taking long steps to keep up with him.

“You’ll see,” he teased and ruffled my blond hair. I could feel his racing heart through our shared bond and it made my own blood rush with excitement and adrenaline. What did he have in store for me this time?

We moved beyond the lights of the tower to a quieter clearing near the city limits. Diamond Falls’ titular waterfall rushed in the distance and the sun had just set beyond the horizon, coloring the sky a deep purple. 

“Do you know what day it is?” Edison asked, pulling a blanket out of his bag. Already the temperature was dropping, and I rubbed my hands together to stay warm. 

“No.” I shook my head. “Lost track.”

“It’s the first day of the new year.” He looked up at me and grinned. “And when it gets just a bit darker, you’ll be able to see...there!” He pointed into the heavens and I craned my neck upward.

A pale streak raced across the sky, painting the night with starlight. It was brighter and more beautiful than anything I’d ever seen before. 

Ed put an arm around my shoulder, letting his warmth flow into me. “Vecta’s Comet,” he said, pointing. “Comes every year to celebrate the beginning of a new cycle.”

I watched the comet as it streaked across the sky. More and more stars came out as the night darkened, each a glittering point of light in an endless canvas. A new cycle. A new beginning.

My body filled with warmth and love. It was a new beginning. For the both of us. 

“Oh, look!” I shrieked with excitement. Another streak of light danced across the sky, not far from the comet. Then another! Stars twinkled and shone, dancing with all the life and light I’d wanted for so long. And now I had it, right next to me. 

Never thought I’d find my happy ending as a vampire, that was for sure. Edison wrapped his hands around my waist and stood behind me.

“No way,” he laughed. “Vecta’s Comet only overlaps with a meteor shower every...” he paused, counting on his fingers. “Well, never!” 

“It’s a lucky night,” I mused, tilting my head up toward him. He bent down and placed a kiss right on my lips. Sweet and spicy and far too enticing. 

“I’m lucky every night I’m with you,” Ed whispered in my ear, cradling the swell of my belly. “I’m so glad we found each other, even if it was...a little unorthodox.”

I laughed. “You say that like its a bad thing.”

“Nope,” Ed kissed my cheek. “Not a bad thing. Not with you. I love my little vampire.”

An old fear tried to rise up in the back of my mind, but I barely noticed it. Here, surrounded by my mate and the beauty of the heavens above, how could I feel unworthy? 

“And I love my grumpy old gem.” I shot back, smiling. “You sure you really wanna do this?” Some old habits died hard.

He turned me around to face him. “Even if you are a vampire, Beck, I still love you. Even if we have to set up some kind of weird feeding schedule, I still love you. And even if all the Void threatens to stand in our way, I love you, I love you, I love you.” He punctuated each sentence with a kiss, traveling down my forehead, my nose, my lips, finally down to my neck. “You’re the strongest person I’ve ever met, and I’m honored to call you my mate.”

I buried my face in his shirt and breathed in his scent. The scent of blood was still there, still alluring, but it had a softer, comforting quality to it now. A familiar one. And I could get used to that.

“Did we defeat Nightwatch?” I asked him, only it came out as a mumble cause my face was still buried in his shirt. 

“We got the leaders, that was for sure. That Void stuff...” he shivered under my touch. “Man. Hope we don’t see any more of that soon.” 

“Then why do I feel like there are still more trials ahead of us?” I couldn’t say how, but something had been nagging at me ever since we’d left the cave we’d rescued Ed from. Something that warned me that maybe, this was only the beginning.

Ed just pointed at the sky, at the fading tail of Vecta’s Comet. “She brings new beginnings in all things. Good and bad. Whatever this year brings, Beck, we’ll meet it together. All of us.” 

He was right. We snuggled into the blankets on the hill, curled around each other, and watched the sky play out its nighttime symphony.