One month later (Fianna)

Fianna didn't know what time it was, all she knew was she was going to puke again. She griped the toilet hard as she emptied her stomach again for the fifth time tonight. Once she was done she sat down on the bathroom floor and brought her knees to her chest and hugged them. She left the sanctuary weeks again and went to stay with her family in Ireland. After her encounter with that man she didnt want to be alone. Yet she felt like he was still near her. She dreamt about him every night, and always felt like he was near, she would have moments where she could swear she felt him like he was close again. She had not felt the same in many ways from their encounter. and even though she was nowhere near him she could still feel his touch and remembered his smell and a sweet taste in her mouth. She hated how much she wanted to see him again, to be touched by him again. Every day was a struggle not to think about him, she felt like she was going crazy and reaching her breaking point and now she was sick. The last few days her appetite had been even worse, she was constantly throwing up and just felt really sick all the time. She went to stand up and suddenly felt really dizzy, the room started to spin she tried to reach out to steady herself, but it was to late, her world went black as she felt herself starting to fall

Erik caught her before she hit her head on the counter. He knew what was happening to her and part of him hated he had done this to her. He laid her down on her bed and examined her. He became a light and entered her body. What he found shocked him back into his own body.

"Ma petite amour," he said, "we have a gift." Reach for me, Fianna. Please, let me aid you.

She thought she was dreaming again, yet she found comfort in his voice and felt a warmth fill her the more she tried to reach for it. Slowly her eyes opened and she found herself in her bed. It took her a moment to realize she wasnt alone. She quickly sat up with a yelp "wha...how did you find me...how are you in my room!" she asked in a Panick tone

Erik said, "That is not the most pressing issue. Your health is. Why did you not call for me? I could have aided you in eating."

"its a issue with me! and once gain your saying things that dont make sense and are very vague, i told you to leave me alone so i wouldn't call you even if i had your number and my eating habits are none of your business. you need to leave dont harm me or my family please just leave" She siad with fear in her tone. She was scared of him and what made it worse was that a part of her was relived he was here, the urge to touch him and smell him scared her just as much as he did himself

With your mind, Fianna, he said, looking at the bowl of fruit on the table. Do you not have any organic fruits, juice, or vegetables in this house?

His voice in her head made her jump and made her emotions even more confused by the fact that part of her liked it "dont...do that" she said in a low town not looking at him "what do you want from me....are you here to kill me? if so all i ask is you dont do it here and leave my family alone please" she said in a defeated tone

"I could never harm you," Erik said in a heartbreaking tone. "Fianna, I simply ask for a chance. Fate, destiny, whatever you wish to call it, it decided we were a match. I have been on this Earth too long with no emotion, no color, nothing. When I saw you and heard your voice, there was hope again. Colors blinded me and emotions overruled all sense. But one chance to make up for how I bound us is all I dare hope for, though I do not deserve it. If, afterwards, you still wish me gone, you will never see me again and one night in the light will last me until my final breath."

She was silent for a moment "not here...and no more games, you answer my question this time and you dont touch me or go in my head.." SHe said still not looking at him. He knew she still didnt trust him and thought he was going to kill her so she was trying to get him away from her family

"I will do my best to answer them," Erik promised. "To be honest, it's just how it was explained to me, so I may not be able to answer to your satisfaction. But I swear on any holy tome you desire that it's just how I know it."

She nodded "We need to leave quietly so my family doesn't see you I just don't know..."

He stepped onto her balcony and said, "If you allow me, I can carry you to some place public enough for you to feel safe but private enough that no unwanted ears will overhear."

She slowly walked towards him, She tried to keep the thought that this was here last night alive at bay, she didnt know if it was but she knew that after tonight one way or another her life wouldn't never be the same. When she came close to him, her heart was beating fast "try not to touch my skin please" she said trying not to look at him, for more then ne reason. One he was inhumanly beautiful. He was the most gorgeous man she had ever seen in her entire life, and two, everything about him overwhelmed her and the last time she looked into his eyes everything went wrong that lead her here.

He picked her up bridal style and said, "Hold on."

Then, they were flying!
_--------------------
Fianna closed her eyes tightly and couldn't help but grip his shoulders and chest tightly. She was scared and yet there was a part of her that felt safe which was confusing to her. She didnt dare risk taking peek though a part of her wanted too. She wanted to be safely on the ground yet she was afraid thats when her end would come.

"Fianna," Erika said as the wind stopped rushing past them, "You can open your eyes. We are at the inn and restaurant in town."

She slowly opened her eyes and saw he was telling the truth. She took a couple of steps to get some distance between them. Yet his smell lingered on her, she found it odd that this time she felt in control, she felt nothing from him, almost like he had no emotions. Normally when someone touches her it bombards her with their emotions in a more intense way, but he was just holding her and nothing "so...." she said as they sat down in the corner of the bar at a small table "start talking"

"You will have to narrow down that statement," he said, sitting opposite of her. "One question at a time."

She sighed looking around nervously then back at him, taking note at how people were taring, especially the women in the bar. She didnt like that she didnt like that "what are you? what's a Carpathian exactly?" she asked in a low tone

"We are a race as old at time," Erik said. "We have been given great gifts but at a terrible price. For women, they are protected but not much changes beyond that. But the men, we loose emotions and colors after we reach a certain age. Many become hunters, but each kill brings us closer to darkness, to losing our soul. When we find our other half, the woman that completes us, we see and feel again. She is the light to our darkness."

Fianna took a moment to think about what he just said "that sounds like plot to a horrible and cheesy movie plot"

He chuckled before getting serious. "Around 200 years of age, the men lose emotions and colors. We have many abilities, such as flying, mind reading, and shape-shifting. However, we hunt vampires. To even the powers, they have many of the same powers, but they are Carpathian men that gave up their souls for a moment to feel. It is a high, to kill while feeding." He looked at her, pleading for her to understand and believe him. "I cannot eat food like humans do. If I injest it, it will... return the same way it came. For Carpathians to be able to hold back the horrors that are vampires, our fallen brothers, hunters must also injest-"

SHe held up her hand "wait just slow down please...vampires? as in like dracula kind of stuff? " she asked

"Let's say, your Dracula is actually the hunter, not the vampire," he said. "A real vampire is nothing like the stories. They may look beautiful, but it hides a rotting corpse that will destroy all that is good."

"how do i know your not one of these vampires then?" she asked

"Because you live," he said.

She could have argued with that but the way he said it made her shudder and she decided against it

'what did you do to me? the night that we met again at the sanctuary? did you control my mind is that why we...."

"I would never!" he said, horror on his face and in his voice. "That would be like cutting off my own arm! And anyone that does such a despicable thing shouldn't be allowed to continue breathing, never mind having a lifemate!"

She looked around since he was being loud, weirdly enough though it didnt seem like anyone noticed or cared he was yelling ok you don't have to yell....whats a lifemate?"

He thought for a moment before saying, "Like a soulmate but more. And our feelings grow as time goes by. So if we love each other, that love grows over the centuries. It would be hell to be forever tied to someone you grew to despise."

"tied how?" she asked and then said "you did something right? some kind of binding thing is that why im feeling the way i am?"

"I said the binding words that ties our souls together, and we completed the ritual with full consent. But we can get to that later. What do you mean, the way you're feeling?"

She frowned and he saw tears come to her eyes but did not fall "consent.....i didn't consent to anything, I was taken over by you" She said in a low town looking down at her hands trying to keep calm. She reached up and massaged her temple " I shouldn't be surprised about any of this but I am...I wasn't thinking vampires or demi god races but still" She said in a defeated tone "I dont know what i can believe anymore and if your going to kill me just do it already, I honestly dont care anymore about what you are "She said looking up and meeting his gaze "not being able to shut you out has been hell for me, you consume me every time..." She sighed

"I'm not going to kill you," he said when a thought hit him. "What are your abilities, Fianna?"

She looked at him, once again she was surprised when she shouldn't have been "my abilities..." She repeated like it sounded weird "I..." She was cut off when a wave of nausea hit her making her suddenly stand up and cover her mouth " I need a bathroom.." She said and quickly started to go the way the bathroom was. SHe had saw it when they got here, she didnt care that he was following and she didnt really hear his words at the moment with all the noise in the bar. She tried to weave through the crowd so no one touched her but suddenly a drunk woman bumped into her heading the same way she was. Instantly her sickness tripled and she lost her balance as the room spun like she was drunk. She puked right then and there making the crowd part. She would have fell forward if it wasnt for the strong arms that went around her waist

"It's okay, Fianna," Erik said. "Let's get you out of here and into the fresh air." He looked at the innkeeper. "Diana, I'll pay for the clean-up." the old women smiled "dont worry about it dear, we are just happy you found her, make sure to come back when she is better, i would love to get to know her" she said and he nodded and help fianna outside. Once outside she started to feel better the further they got away from all the people. She felt tired and sick "please stop touching me..." she said very aware of his hand on her lower back "im better now" he said half lying

"Let's sit on the bench first," he said. "I want to make sure you won't fall."

She let him help her sit. She took a breath when he let go "im so tired of feeling this way...every day since we met" she said closing her eyes and rubbing her head "its non stop"

"How are you feeling?" he asked. "I am fighting my instincts to go into your head to learn what is stressing you."

She laughed in a not funny kind of way "what is stressing me?.....you really don't see your part in that?" she asked in anger and disbelief "you cant be this ignorant " She said in a angry tone "im tired of this if your not here to kill me then what do you want from me!"

"To learn about and worship the woman that saved my soul. To be with my lifemate."

SHe met his gaze "and what does that have to do with me....wait you dont think im her do you? is that what you meant by bindnig us? you meant that literally didnt you?" she asked as her stomach sank

"Yes," he said. "And I leave it up to you to decide. Because if you reject me, tell me you truly, in the deepest depths of your soul, do not want me, I will sit here and wait for the sun to take me. I would pray that my actions would cause you no farther harm and that you can find the happiness you deserve, because I know I will never deserve someone as beautiful and bright as you."

She started to pace "how...why would you do that? we are strangers to each other, what if i didnt want it!" She yelled "your words are nice but they dont seem true, you didnt even try to get to know me you just took what you wanted and now your telling me im either tuck with you and soul bound to you or you'll kill yourself? that's fucked up!" she said with a angry tone

"I am not saying you're stuck with me. Fianna, I'm asking for a chance to fix this. Yes, I messed up. I want to start over and make this right. But without you, every kill I made over the last 8 centuries will have meant nothing. If you reject our bond, I will be cursed to the same hell as our fallen brothers. I would be killing myself to protect my people from a monster."