I Love You, I'll Kill You

As soon as I stepped out of the car, Dawn grabbed my wrist and dragged me into the house, up the stairs, and into the bathroom in a matter of seconds. I was sure Desmond and Ivan were still in the car, blinking in surprise at how fast Dawn had forced me into the house. She pushed me to sit on the toilet seat, grabbing many things from a large bag she had grabbed on the way in. I stared with nervous eyes. I had a feeling Dawn was the kind of person who liked to do the whole model dressing thing. I watched as she sat as much make-up as a professional on the large bathroom counter, along with many hair styling utensils. I jolted when she twisted around quickly, a hand resting under her chin in a pondering look.

"I wonder..." she muttered to herself. She was staring at me with glee. She obviously enjoyed playing Barbie with live specimens. My eyes were jittery, unable to handle her stare.

"Aha! I've got it!" she shouted, making me jump a foot from my seat. After a moment of regaining my normal heart rate, she went to work, pulling my hair into a bun before doing her magic.

Three Hours Later

After three hours, I was getting tired of sitting. My face felt like it was heavy with pounds of make-up. I groaned at Dawn when she made sure everything was perfect. My hair felt nasty—it had way too much gel in it. Dawn decided that since I was going to be around a bunch of bloodsuckers that it would be best to hide my neck. I didn't object. I bit back the urge to look at myself in the mirror—not that Dawn would let me or anything. She had some kind of rule that if she did my make-up and hair, I had to wait until she was completely finished. So, now I sat and waited for her to finish. She was now working on her own make-up and hair, which frustrated me to no end.

"You're not going to make me stay here and watch you do your make-up, are you? It took you hours to do mine. I can only imagine how long it's going to take yours." Not that she needed a lot of make-up or anything. In fact, she didn't need any. When I had first met her, she looked just like any other human. But for some reason, she had changed in the last couple of hours from an ugly duckling to a gorgeous swan. I couldn’t help but shake my head at the thought. This world made no sense to me.

She turned around from the mirror and smiled. "Don't worry; I do my make-up pretty fast. Since you're a human, you don't exactly have the same...attributes as those of us who are dead," she paused as she tried not to offend me.

I snorted and rolled my eyes. "You think?" I grumbled, turning my face away with a frown. It was unfair how natural beauty was to these creatures. I envied every one of them for their beautiful and pale complexions. Since Dawn and Ivan were a different species, they were darker in complexion than Edward or any of the other vampires I had encountered. They were still dead, but still looked like they had some color in their faces.

"Put on your dress. We don't have much time. And I'm sure the guys are getting impatient," she said as she put on her make-up. I nodded my head and walked over to the bag that had my dress. I somehow put it on without getting any make-up on its pure color. I gasped after I put my dress on, surprised that Dawn had already done her hair and make-up. Her hair was up in a fancy bun, pieces of her red hair hanging from different spots. She looked amazing. It made me frown at how little effort she had to make to look like an angel. She turned around from the mirror and gasped. I tensed under her gaze, afraid that make-up was smeared across my face and/or dress. Had I ruined all her long work?

"What? Did I ruin the make-up?" I asked, my voice wavering.

She blinked with wide eyes before speaking. “No, it’s fine. Wow...you look...amazing," she whispered. I stepped back, astonished that was her reply. I was expecting her to tell me bad news.

I gave a shy smile, trying to hide my embarrassment. "Thanks. But I think you look much better," I whispered. She smiled, shaking her head, and turning to the bag on the floor and lifting her dress from the bag. I was starting to like hers more and more. She put on her dress three times faster than I had and stood before me, putting me to shame when it came to beauty.



<...Dawn's Dress



<...Grace's Dress

With a smile, she winked at me before opening the door, letting in air that didn't smell like hairspray. I decided not to look at myself in the mirror, afraid of what I might see. Instead, I walked out of the bathroom, following Dawn. When I reached the stairs, I saw Dawn and Ivan at the bottom of the stairs, hugging...and kissing? Both Desmond and Ivan were in nice tuxes, looking as great as ever. Desmond was facing away from me, growling annoyed comments under his breath. Ivan stopped kissing the beautiful Dawn for a moment when he caught a glance of me. His eyes bulged for a moment, staring at me while I feared to take the first step on the stair.

"Dawn, how did you create such a remarkable piece of art?" he asked. Dawn smiled at Ivan, kissing him on the lips to clout him out of his amazed expression. This proved to me that they did have some kind of relationship. Sighing, Desmond finally turned around to face me, his eyes to the ground. His eyes lifted from the ground, and when they landed on me, his whole expression turned dumbfounded. I forgot how to breathe when he remained silent, staring at me open mouthed and wide eyed. At this moment I was glad I had tons of make-up on to hide the blush that I knew would be visible without the foundation.

"Hey! Desmond! Weren't you the one who was complaining just a minute ago that you wanted to leave?" Ivan ridiculed from the doorway, his arm around Dawn's hip. For some strange reason, this settled me in some way—knowing that Dawn already had someone like Ivan. He pulled her along with him out the door, both of them with wide smiles. I descended down the stairs, hoping that if I got closer to Desmond it would knock him out of his reverie. When I reached the last stair my high heal shoe caught the stair, forcing me to lose my balance. I fell forward and straight into his arms before I could fall to the floor. He was tense as soon as I touched him.

"Sorry," I muttered quickly while I regained my posture and stood up right.

Desmond's eyes nervously looked away and to the door where Dawn and Ivan had just exited. "We should get going," he said in a low voice before beginning to walk. I frowned, feeling as if he was already trying to avoid me. I let out a gasp when I felt his hand surround my wrist, pulling me with him out the door. He closed the door as soon as I was out of the house. He pulled me close to him while walking across the lawn.

"Try your best to stay by my side the whole time. I don't want to have to go searching for you tonight," he whispered so that Dawn and Ivan wouldn't be able to hear. I sighed. Typical Desmond. We both walked to the black limo that was waiting for us. I slid across the nice leather to make room for Desmond. He slid in beside me before closing the door. Dawn and Ivan were staring dreamily at each other from the seat across from us. I made sure to keep my eyes toward the tinted window as the limousine began to drive, uncomfortable at how close the two were. Why hadn't they showed any sign of attachment before? My hands began to sweat while they clenched into tight fists, nervousness enveloping me for some reason. I almost jumped a foot when Desmond leaned over to put a hand on top of mine.

"Relax," he whispered as he bent next to my ear, his breath sending shivers across my body. I erratically nodded my head when he waited for a response before pulling away from my neck, but not before taking a big inhale of breath, sucking in my scent. I did my best not to scoot away from him when he let out a moan of satisfaction when he pulled away from me. The moan obviously didn't affect Dawn and Ivan as they kept necking each other.

Luckily, the ride to our destination was short. I didn’t wait for the driver to get out of his seat, jumping out of the car as though I were claustrophobic. As soon as my eyes looked up from the ground, I gasped at the sight. A castle in all its glory lit up the dark night. Candles were lit everywhere, making it look even more miraculous.

"Like it?" Desmond asked from beside me in an almost happy tone. With my mouth ajar, I nodded my head. Smacking myself out of my shocked expression, I turned to him and gasped when I saw him with a warm look on his face. He looked even more angelic with a pleasant face; something I didn't think was possible.

"Come on you two. You are lagging behind," Dawn called as she and Ivan walked down the brick sidewalk and toward the large castle. To my surprise, I felt Desmond wrap his arm around my waist and guided me toward the castle behind the two fallen angels.

"I can't believe I didn't know,” I murmured to myself, still not believing that Dawn and Ivan were together. I felt stupid for being jealous of Dawn's feelings toward Desmond.

"What?" he asked me in an uninterested tone.

"I can't believe that Dawn and Ivan are in love." He laughed quietly beside me. I looked to him and growled at how perfect he was tonight. He looked so wonderful in a Tux. His teeth glinted from the lighting of the castle's light, his fangs glinting the brightest.

"They've been together before death." I tensed, still not used to the innocent words such as death, blood, and pain. I blinked, watching the two fallen angels stare into each other's eyes with such love; it made me want to give them award of some sort for looking so happy. Would I ever be that happy? Was love not for me? It hadn't come my way yet. Well, almost hadn't. I glanced beside me to Desmond as we walked up the concrete steps to the large castle, his face suddenly turning emotionless. The door holders at the front of the castle nodded their heads in respect, obviously knowing Desmond and treating him with respect.

As soon as we walked into the castle, everything seemed to engulf me with light. I tensed when all eyes turned to us. I suddenly wanted to run the other way, screaming. My sense of security next to Desmond diminished when all dark eyes did not lie on him, but me. I was a human in a castle full of blood drinking creatures, and I was the new target. I tried to play it cool and smiled a nervous grin next to Desmond while he walked me down the stairs and to the large ballroom floor. It had to be one of the most amazing sights I had seen. The biggest chandelier I had ever seen hung from the ceiling, lighting up the whole ballroom. Many beautiful and graceful creatures waltzed to the live orchestra that was playing.

"Desmond!" I heard a familiar and feminine voice call. I sighed and I noticed Desmond's family talking to many other vampires. Selene, Desmond's perky brown haired sister, ran over to us with a large smile. His smile returned as before when she ran up to him. He released his hold around me to catch her in his arms when she threw her arms around his neck in a warm embrace.

"We've missed you. Mom and dad have been worried sick about you. We get one call from you, and then you disappear. Oh! Grace!" she suddenly changed the subject when she saw me standing sheepishly next to Desmond, feeling very out of place. To my surprise, she turned to me and gave me a hug.

"Wow, Desmond. You must really like her to keep her human for so long...or alive." Twitch. Selene noticed my sudden tense form, making her smile fall a bit. "I'm sorry; that was rude of me," she apologized with a sincere tone and expression.

I smiled and shook my head. "Don't worry about it. I'll get used to it, one way or another." That seemed to cheer her up. She turned around with a wide smile, calling over her family. It was strange; I felt like I was being acknowledged as by the family. All but Aurelia—Desmond's drop dead gorgeous blonde sister—walked over to greet us. She was being pampered by all the other vampires who found her so very appealing. Darien—Desmond's attractive copper haired brother—grabbed him by the shoulder and gave him a rough guy/family hug.

"It's good to see that you are well," Darien commented with a smile, and then backed away so that Lucas could walk forward and greet his brother. Lucas was looking a bit more nervous than the rest—especially when my eyes landed on him. It was true that it was only days ago that his bloodlust had become too much and had bitten me—barely. But if it wasn't for Desmond being there to stop him, heprobably would have killed me. Desmond gave his brother a strange look before smirking and bringing him into a tight bear hug. Lucas returned it. They pulled away and Desmond turned his attention to his "parents".

"Hey," Lucas began in a low tone, surprising me. I was not expecting him to ever talk to me after the last encounter we had.

"Hey," I replied in the same manner. He clicked the heel of his shoe on the marble floor, staring at the ground, and then looking up.

"About last time...I just want to apologize for my actions; I was very out of line." It sounded like he was having a hard time apologizing. I smiled. This surprised him.

"Apology accepted," I replied with a smile. Letting his surprise slip from his face, it was replaced with the same smile as mine. Desmond broke from his parents and grabbed my elbow, pulling me to stand in front of the two older couple. I froze. What would they think if they found out what Desmond really did? Why I was still with him? If I let anything slip, Desmond would surely kill me. I swallowed hard at the thought and tried to focus on the two vampires in front of me.

"You must be Grace," The woman said in a kind voice, a smile on her face. I gulped again and nodded my head shyly. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you properly. I am Celeste." I already liked this woman. The man beside her stepped forward to smile.

"And I am Reyes. I am happy to see that both you and Desmond are well." They really were just like one happy family...with a few secrets on the side.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both," I said with a shy voice. I felt like I should be bowing or something. They turned their attention back to Desmond, making the atmosphere seem kinder.

"Desmond, how does it feel to be another year old?" Lucas asked with a smile. It then hit me; I still hadn't found out his age.

Desmond smirked, but shrugged his shoulders in an uncaring gesture. "Nothing unusual; each year is the same. Well, almost," he said, taking a glance down to me. I turned red and mentally thanked Dawn a second time for putting so much make-up on me. My eyes shied away and found the ground more interesting than his piercing eyes and gorgeous smirk. My eyes glanced around me to see about twenty girls ready to jump on me. Their glares were dark and piercing—almost a red color. I attempted to ignore it, scooting myself closer to Desmond. He noticed this and smiled a bit, bringing his hold around me into a tighter hold.

"You still haven't told me how old you are," I grumbled, annoyed that I had been waiting so long as to find out such a simple thing as an age. All the Cervantes family—except for Desmond—shot him a surprised look.

"Desmond, you still haven't had the manners to tell the poor girl your age?" Celeste picked on him. Again, he shrugged his shoulders in an indifferent way, as if to say it didn't matter when it came to me. I was human, nothing more.

"Have the care to at least tell the poor girl your age. Or are you too embarrassed to tell her?" Darien went along with the play, trying to make Desmond feel bad. A girl now stood next to Darien, clinging to him for dear life. She was a vampire, no doubt about that.

"No. I just like to keep things interesting," he replied nonchalantly. I really wanted to hurt him right now. Why did he always try to act so cool around others, but not me? Selene popped up from the crowd around Desmond and me and smiled a crooked smile.

"Well, if Desmond won't tell, than I will," she began, but made sure that I was practically on my toes, waiting for her to say the age. "He's 117." I didn't know if that was still young, but it still surprised me. Desmond glanced to me, feeling how tense I suddenly was after his age had been spoken. I glanced up and noticed the look on his face was around the lines of 'Is that bad?' I shook my head slightly, knocking myself out of my shock.

"Wow...you're 100 years older than I am," I whispered in surprise. "But, how old were you?" I asked in a low whisper, but his family caught my question and turned their eyes away. Desmond, on the other hand, smirked and shook his head.

"I'm afraid you only get one age for today." My heart skipped a beat when he winked at me, looking better than ever. I quickly glanced to the floor to escape the embarrassment. After moments of thinking to myself next to Desmond, some of the girls who had been glaring at me walked up to him and asked him to dance. To my surprise, he denied them all, kindly.

Everything felt so right. That was until I felt a cold chill run down my spine, red eyes appearing from the crowd. Every muscle in my body contracted, which Desmond didn’t not fail to notice. Glancing around, he noticed why I was so edgy. A low growl erupted from his chest, his grip on me tightening. Walking through the crowd appeared the vampire that I already hated; Bryce. He smirked when he saw Desmond's protective hold on me and my tense form. The last time we had encountered was at Dawn's and Ivan's. He was another minion of Cain's, which made me hate him even more.

"Well, if looks could kill. You look dazzling, Grace. I thought it would never be possible for a human to look so...desirable," he said in a sultry voice as he made his way and stood in front of Desmond and me. Desmond's nails were beginning to dig into my hip. I lost my breath when Bryce held out his hand with a bow.

"May I have this dance?" he asked with a wicked smile on his face. Desmond growled a warning, his hold on me almost choking. "Desmond, I thought you had more manners. Besides, you can't keep one girl to yourself all night. It is your birthday, after all, and still has other guests. You wouldn't want to be rude, would you? Or lose your reputation for that matter." Bryce really was as cunning and as sleazy as any other creature out there.

I stared in horror when Desmond sighed—releasing his hold on me after a moment—and pushed me right into Bryce. My heart stopped when his freezing, cold arms caught me. I stared back at Desmond, but he was already gone. Wasn't it he who said to stay by his side all night? Before I could deny him further, Bryce pulled me against his cool chest and forced my hand on his shoulder and the other in his hand. I felt like smacking him when he rested his other hand on my waist, swaying in sync with the music.

"I think I'm going to enjoy having you as my new master. You can do whatever you want to me." He had a hint hidden in his voice. I gagged mentally and did everything to avoid his red gaze.

"That makes one of us," I retorted with menace. I kept tripping over his feet while we continued to dance, almost losing my balance and falling closer to him. He was doing it on purpose.

"Indeed," he said amusingly, bringing me closer to him. I felt every inch of me tense when he leaned forward to my neck and inhaled my scent. "Very much," he whispered against my neck, his breath freezing my skin. And then—within a second—he was gone. I blinked, surprised that I was now dancing with myself.

Everyone around me acted like I now wasn't a target, but from the short glances they were giving me, I knew differently. They really wanted to attack me and suck every ounce of blood out of me, watching my lifeless body fall to the marble floor; that's what all the single females in the room were thinking. Even some of the males were eyeing me like candy.

I took a deep breath of air, finding the room suddenly had no oxygen. I quickly found an open door and rushed out to breathe in the cool night air. I sighed, finding the night to be tiresome. I walked onto the patio that connected to a brick walkway. I blinked, looking over the fancy tiling, even for bricks. I followed the brick road and walked beneath an arbor with flowers winding up the wood and over the top. I gasped when the brick walkway lead me to a humongous garden full of every type of flower one could ever imagine. I walked forward, staring in awe at all the beautiful flowers. I touched the pedals of a burning red rose, little droplets of dew hanging on its velvet pedals. Everything in this garden looked like a piece of art.

I gasped as a black rose in full bloom appeared in front of me, held by a quiet hand. I slowly took the beautiful black rose from the hands, staring at it in complete wonder. The black rose was unlike anything to be seen. Such a thing could only be seen in fairy tales. A shiver ran down my spine as the person leaned their head to my ear, their breath icy gliding across my skin.

For the voice whispered, "For my princess." Every bit of awe and happiness I had felt at all today suddenly evaporated. My eyes bulged in complete horror, my mouth hanging open slightly. My hold on the black rose became loose, but did not escape my hands. For half the night, I had been hoping that I would not have to see him any time soon. All those hopes now went crashing to the floor and shattering into a thousand pieces. His hand surrounded my hip and turned me to face him. I stared in terror.

"Cain..." I whispered in fright. His golden hair and bright eyes had not changed since I had last seen him, and neither had his dark, cynical smile.

"Grace..." he whispered, his eyes looking at my face for a short period of time before letting them glance down the rest of me, "You look...stunning." I could see in his eyes the lust he hid behind them. His eyes could not stop running up and down my body, memorizing it. I felt like screaming out for Desmond, but I was solid in place. I couldn't even find the courage to speak, let alone think. My mind was completely blank, too full of horror and shock. This was the man who had caused me all this pain. He was the one who had taken me from my home, my parents, and my life. He had done everything—and yet, I couldn't even move.

"There are no words that can describe how beautiful you are tonight. If only I could take you home with me right now," he spoke as he surrounded his arm around my waist, his other hand reaching up and pushing away a piece of hair behind my shoulder. A squeak escaped the little space between my lips, but nothing else was heard. Cain's eyes moved from my body and back up to my face and stayed transfixed with my lips. He stared at them for a moment in silence, a look of want in his eyes.

Why couldn't I react?Why couldn't I scream for Desmond?Did Cain have some sort of power to render me helpless in every way? I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case. I felt my breath get caught, and every inch of me stared in panic as he brought me closer to him, our hips just barely touching while he began to bend down. I felt like a limp doll when his eyes caught mine and bent closer to my lips, closing the gap between our faces.

"Cain." A dark voice came from behind me. Cain stopped his movements and froze, just as his lips were to touch mine. He stared into my eyes, casting a spell on me and refusing to let me go, but blinked. I did the same and slapped myself out of the spell. His eyes lifted from me and to the figure behind me. Cain smiled a false pleased smile.

"Desmond," he said gingerly, his voice sounding both fake and unpleasant. I forced myself out of his grasp and stammered back away from the Devil's son and to the vampire I wanted to be closed to. I practically ran back to his side, clinging onto his arm for dear life. Cain didn’t look pleased by this reaction of mine, but made sure to pretend it didn’t bug him. He wasn't doing a very good job of hiding his annoyance.

"Desmond, it's been too long. How have you been doing? Coping with my princess, I assume." Desmond nodded his head, but doesn’t care to hide the glare on his face, burning his eyes into Cain. Cain was amused by this and smirked while walking forward toward us. I struggled to hide behind Desmond, clinging to his arm in fear. I felt cowardly, but I was terrified of Cain, my future husband. He was, after all, the second most powerful creature in this world, which was saying something. He walked up and stood in front of Desmond, both of them staring at each other. I was taken by surprise when Desmond wasn't treating Cain with any respect, even though he was weaker than him. Cain was even Desmond's creator, and yet he acted as though he was his worst enemy.

Cain smiled and said, "Happy Birthday, Desmond. And don't worry; I wouldn't think of taking Grace away from you on your birthday." His gaze turned to my hiding form behind Desmond's arm. "I'll save that for a better time; sometime in the near future. Until then, I shall leave you alone to enjoy the rest of your night." He took another glance to Desmond, and then back to me, smiling. “And I can’t wait to see you in the flesh again, my princess.” He did a low bow before walking off. Desmond never let his eyes leave Lucifer's son, a warning look on his face while he stood in front of me in a protective stance. Why was he not bowing down to Cain, I didn’t know.

Desmond turned to me and somehow detached my hold on his arm. I strived not to cry, and found the will to succeed. I felt his hand cup my cheek and pull my head up to look at him. I opened my eyes, tears begging to be released. He stared into my eyes, his immediately making me feel better. They were warm, but a little worried.

"Are you alright?" he asked in a low tone. I nodded my head while his hand remained on my cheek, keeping it cool. His blood had turned cold in a matter of moments. Whenever he was angry or annoyed, his blood was cold. And it was the same whenever he was thirsty. But when he had “eaten” or he was being kind or sincere, it was warm.

"I'm sorry," he murmured in a guilty voice.