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"May I eat Sir Stephen?" I asked with a sweet sht sland This changes everything" Vlad slid a letter across the table to me "Your brother is concerned He is worried for you and for your family You must write him and tell him that the shadow of misfortune has fallen across your family"

"You want aped at hi his head "No, no, no, my impetuous one I want you to write to your brother and tell him that as your fae and it ept off the pass and into the river Only you survived and were rescued byyou back to health"

I snorted in disgust at his tale "You are such a bastard! You are not a hero of some false drama! I will not lie to my brother!"

"But you reat co You will tell hi to love ht little fists "Never!"

"In time you rite to inforether"

"Never!" I rose angrily todown my face "What duplicity is this you ask of me? I cannot do that I will not be party to your deceit!"

Vlad rose up before , and cruel "Yes, you will You will do as I say, land and destroy what re, furious,into ainst his body He drew my face near to his and whispered in my ear, "Do not defy me"

"Kill me! Kill me and write to my brother that we all perished!"

"Kill you? I will not kill you, Glynis I will punish you as only I can punish you I willfor a death that will not co death I have only granted one other I loved her as I love you, but she betrayed me and I had to banish her fro voice

"You do not love, you do not love," I hissed at him The veil of my tears warped his face as I tried to draay froainst him

"I do love In my way, I do love Even when I strike you down, I love you I love your pain I love your misery I love your tears I love your blood I love your cries of torment as much as I love your moans of pleasure And if you forcedeath that will be your hell on this earth"

"I will not obey! I will not give you my brother! I love him and he is all that I have left in this world!"

"I do not want his blood I want his help That is all"

I shook my head in protest

"You do not believe led inback my head, he leaned over me and said "Since you do not believeazed up at hih the cascade of ht he had killed my family What more could he do to me? I was certain I did not want to know

He er rowl that ly, his face see beneath his brow as his nose and ated He ripped his clothes fros,beneath his skin The vampire threw back his twisted face and howled as I shrank away at the horror of his transfor nails growing dark and sharp I scuttled back from him in terror as his face fully transfor off the reold dragonabout his thick neck

"What is this? What has happened?"

The as enor red eyes and feral presence It was pure, ominous power incarnate

It was Vlad’s voice that uttered forth in a guttural growl "Clireat beast I wanted to refuse hi on rowled low in his throat, flashing his long sharp teeth, and I flinched in fear

Reluctantly, I crawled onto the back of the huge creature and grabbed up fistfuls of dark fur I held on tightly as the hirled about and carriedto the beast, I was carried down the corridors of the castle and out the great entrance into the night As I huddled close to the back of the wolf, he ran swiftly over the ground, the world blurring The wind tore at my hair and face as I pressed my check into the thick ruff of his neck The journey ift and surreal I could hear the calls of other beasts of the nightof the Vlad-wolf beneath me as my own tortured heart beat fearfully within my breast

I raisedpast e paws of the wolf Only the night sky remained still, the moon’s face hidden beneath a cloak of a reat snowfall, the clouds had scattered and the stars once ht

The lupine beast leaped over a loall and into a graveyard, jarring rip at its fur desperately as round

A white marble sepulcher rose majestically over the pale tombstones and the wolf padded toward it Just before the entrance to the torowled

I slid off the wolf and stood a the true dead My hair swirled aroundhtly, I started as a long howl rent the air I whirled about just as Vlad Dracula rose up before old hly in his long fingers Leaning towardand wolf-like "Corant you"

Dismally, I allowed myself to be lead to the to above the doorway

"This is were en She was my most favored Bride She was from Gratz in Styria That is what is written above the door"