Our plane lands on a small runway in what appears to be the middle of nowhere. The land is flat and barren. I can see for what feels like miles. Kade thanks the pilot and hands him a wad of cash before helping me off the plane. A car waits for us off to the side of the runway and we head for it quickly.

Kade opens the passenger door for me and then hops in the driver’s side. He hammers on the gas, leaving skid marks behind us. He keeps the radio down as he whips a U-turn and one handedly fiddles with the gps. He types in longitude and latitude to my surprise and the gps chimes that we are sixty miles away. I grab onto the handle on the roof, a bit scared of his reckless driving even though I know he’d never hurt me.

We drive the sixty miles without incident and in total silence the air seems thick with tension the entire ride. Why is he acting this way? Could he have heard Jane I’s conversation? Yes, but he was acting strange before that. Is he just being completely professional and in tune with our surroundings in order to keep me safe? I hope so.

We drive through a small town or village as the sign states. “Welcome to Village of Green Lake”. Population is stated as 418 people. My god, we are in the middle of nowhere. He wasn’t exaggerating. We don’t stop in Green Lake. We keep driving. For a while, there are bodies of water on each side of the road and then we cross over a river and turn left onto a gravel road which we follow for at least ten minutes before we pull into a yard surrounded by evergreen trees. The property looks out of place when considering the barren land around us. Although empty, the area seems to have its own sense of beauty, the land so untouched by mankind.

We stop in front of small, grey house, a barn off to one side. Kade gets out first and grabs our bags, before opening my door for me. I manage to get out all on my own. The silence here is deafening and reminds me of where I grew up in Montana. Birds chirp and the wind rustles the trees. In the distance, I hear cows mooing.

“This is it,” he breathes as if relieved to finally be here. I know I am.

The house is dainty but larger than my apartment. It has two bedrooms and the entire house is furnished. There are even groceries stocked.

“Who did all this?” I ask while digging through the fridge.

Kade comes up behind me to inspect the fridge. “I’m paying someone to pick up groceries and whatever else we need once a week from a nearby town.”

I frown. “Why? I think a little social interaction would be nice once a week.”

He grimaces. “Maybe in a couple weeks. I want to make sure the area is safe first.”

I nod. I guess that makes sense.

“What are we going to do with ourselves out here?” I ask.

“We have four cows and three chickens,” he offers, a grin playing at his lips for the first time in too long.

I can’t tell if he’s joking or not.

He points out the kitchen window to where four cows stand in a small pasture and a little chicken coop sits.

“Can I name them?” I ask excitedly. I love animals and he knows it.

His grin gains strength. “They’re cows, May.”

“They still deserve names!” I argue and race out the door to see them.

When he doesn’t stop me, I speed up in excitement. This is the most freedom I’ve had in days or even weeks.

“Jane.” I point to the plain brown cow. “Betty.” The black one. “Georgia.” The brown one with the white nose. “And Violet.” The white one.

Kade nods, impressed. “You going to name the chickens too?”

“Of course!” I duck over to the coop and find three brown chickens looking around.

Kade opens up a large white pale and pulls out a handful of feed before dumping it into the coop. The chickens begin pecking at the ground.

“Lucy, Dorothy, and Marie,” I decide, unable to tell them apart yet but knowing I will figure it out eventually.

“Why are you naming our farm animals after old ladies?” Kade chuckles and drops in another handful of feed.

I scowl at him. “Because it’s cute.”

He snorts out a laugh. “Why don’t you get settled in and pick which room you want while I feed the cows?”

I shrug and skip off to the house, glad to get some alone time, not that I get sick of being around Kade all the time because I don’t, but sometimes being alone is just nice, even if I know he will still be able to hear everything I’m doing.

I pick the bedroom with the attached bathroom, seeing as Kade doesn’t use the bathroom as much as I do. The only thing he uses it for is showering and fixing his hair.

I unload by duffle bag and have a quick shower. By the time I’m out and ready to make something to eat, Kade is already on it, frying up some hamburgers on the barbecue on the back porch.

“You already killed one of our cows?” I tease, mocking shock.

He chuckles deeply and turns from the BBQ to face me. His smile falters slightly.

“What’s wrong?” I ask him. Is there something on my face? There shouldn’t be. For heaven’s sake I just showered.

He sets the flipper down on the BBQ and takes a step closer to me. He brushes a strand of wet hair behind my ear gently. “Nothing. You’re just beautiful.”

I know I don’t imagine the spark that manifests between us. My breath catches for reasons that I can’t explain, and I find my heart picking up pace. He comes closer yet and just as I begin to think he might kiss me on the lips, his lips fall to my forehead. As quickly as he’s neared me, he puts a few feet of distance between us. I back through the patio door back into the house. I’m suddenly thirsty and I grab a glass from the cupboard, pouring me some tap water and then chugging it down hastily.

A moment later Kade comes in carrying our food. It smells amazing and I’m starving. When was the last time I even ate?

He sets the plate down on the table which has already been made and pours us each a glass of wine. “What do you want on your burger?”

“Just ketchup and onions, please,” I answer, still partially dazed. I can’t help but imagine the kiss he pressed to my forehead, being placed on my lips instead. It makes me queasy with emotion. I realize that I wanted him to kiss me. Jane was right, I do like him like that. I’m not sure why the revelation surprises me.

“You okay?” he asks as he puts my burger together and hands it across the table to me.

I take it from him and sit down. “Yeah, sorry just hungry.”

He smiles, and I swear I see the same emotion in his eyes as I’m sure I have in mine.

We both dig in. The food is delicious. After we eat, we clean up the table and then sit back down to finish our glasses of white wine.

“So, do you like it?” he asks hopefully.

“The hamburger or the place?” I ask, unsure to which he is referring.

“Both,” he decides after a moment of debate.

I nod. “The burger was decadent,” I assure him and snicker. “The place is perfect, too. Did you tell Jane and Darrel that we made it safe?”

He nods back. “Yup. I texted them.” He takes the final swig of his wine and then pours himself another. I finish my first glass but decide to stop there seeing as I haven’t been in the best of health lately. I take my glass to the sink and then return to wipe the table down with a cloth.

Suddenly, Kade is gone from his seat. I’m about to panic thinking that there’s danger when I feel his presence behind me. I glance back as I wipe down the table and meet his curious eyes looking over my body. A small rumble sounds from deep in his chest and startles me a little. His hand touches my waist and he spins me around to face him, backing me up against the table slightly.

Our bodies are so close that I can smell his light cologne. Musky and woodsy just like I’d have thought. He takes in my reaction and must take it as a green light because he presses his body closer to mine so that were touching. I can feel his breath on my face. We’ve never been so close. I clench my teeth, a reaction I can’t control.

I’m so lost in him in that moment that the cloth falls from my hand and makes a splat sound on the linoleum. We ignore it.

His head lowers down to mine and he pauses ever so slightly.  “May I?” he whispers.

I’m speechless. I just give a slight nod of my head.

His soft, moist lips meet mine tenderly and his body presses into mine impossibly more, causing me to press into him in return in order to not fall over backwards onto the table.

His breath hits my tongue and a small moan escapes me. I want more. I kiss him harder, the kiss going from gentle, to hard and needy. He doesn’t protest and instead picks me up by my thighs, wrapping my legs around his torso. He carries me easily to the wall across from the table and leans me against it for a moment and then takes off with me again as our lips dance. I am partially surprised when I find that we are in his bedroom and he’s lying me down onto the bed. This is so unlike him, then again, it’s so unlike me.

Did he hear what I told Jane, does he feel the same about me? Was she right? Excitement takes over my rational thought. I should be thinking about how fast this is happening, not about how much I want him to get impossibly closer to me.

He lies down over top of me and presses his hips into mine harsher. I gasp and pull him closer. Another growl escapes him before he pulls away from my lips and stares down at me, breathing heavy. I’ve never seen him so breathless. I didn’t even know it was possible. He clenches his jaw. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s gotten into me.”

He’s sorry? “Don’t be sorry,” I breathe.

He begins to pull away.

“Don’t go,” I basically beg. I want him so bad, all of him right now.

“I have to, May. I’m sorry. I’ll be outside if you need me,” he breathes and then just like that he’s gone, and I’m laying breathless in his bed.

I awaken the next morning still in Kade’s bed. Crap. How did I fall asleep? Oh, a long day of travelling while not in very good health might do it.

I spring up from the bed and race out to the living room where Kade is seated on the couch staring at the blank tv screen.

“Good morning,” I greet him. “Sorry about falling asleep in your bed.”

He swallows hard. “It’s alright, May. I didn’t sleep much anyway. I have bad news.”

My heart drops with the hard tone in his voice. “Betty is dead.” He quickly corrects, “Betty the cow. I found her this morning.”

Breath rushes into my lungs. “What? What happened?”

“Probably a coyote, I suppose,” he says solemnly. I can’t tell if he’s truly sad about her demise or if he’s anticipating my reaction.

“You didn’t hear it?” I ask in disbelief.

He looks to me and bites his cheek. “No. I didn’t. Well, I did, but it was too late.”

I blink back tears for the stupid cow that I only knew for one stupid day, not even. Yet I have yet to shed tears over the two men at the airport who were murdered by a vampire who was after me. I wonder if anymore people were hurt at the airport. I can’t help but think the worse.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers.

“It’s not your fault,” I answer. “Can we bury her or something?” I feel like such a baby. I’ve lost family members and friends alike, but here I am throwing a fit over a cow?

“Of course. I will start on the hole,” he decides to my surprise. I was ready for him to tell me I was nuts, and he wasn’t about to dig a hole size enough for a cow. He leaves the house in a blur and I attempt to follow close behind him, but well, that’s a fail and a half. I go out to the cow pen where Betty lies on her side in the hay, blood strewn everywhere. I gasp at the sight. It looks as though the coyote or whatever it was physically tore her body apart. Can a coyote even do that? Are there wolves around here, cougars?

Kade comes out to the field with a shovel and goes full speed at the ground, tossing dirt behind him in a pile. I am fascinated while watching his inhuman movements. It only takes him a matter of a handful of minutes to dig a hole large enough for Betty, something that would’ve taken me hours or maybe even days and a ton of sweat.

When he’s done, he drags Betty into the hole and then starts filling it. Violet watches and lets out a loud moo. I wonder if she knows what happened to Betty. Does she understand that Betty is gone? Can cows mourn?

I press myself against the gate without noticing I’m doing it and out of the corner of my eye I see Georgia digging at the dirt with her hoof. Common sense seems to escape me in that second as I’m stuck watching Betty’s burial. Georgia runs at me and I barely have enough time to back up a few steps to avoid being hit. Kade steps between the two of us and shouts at Georgia who doddles away at his request.

“Be careful. These cows can be dangerous,” he scolds me and tosses his shovel over the gate. His hair is ruffled and his face smudged with dirt. He’s covered head to toe in dirt understandably.

“Yeah, I got that. I was raised on a farm. I’m just off today, I guess.” I recall the dozens of cows Dad used to send to get butchered. We had some drown in slough in the pasture, we had calves born stillborn, we had a couple go missing to be found a day or so later after being hit by a car. Why is this one cow causing me such turmoil?

We walk into the house in silence. He’s clearly back to brooding. While he showers and cleans up, I put in a load of laundry. I’m startled when my phone rings. Expecting it to be my aunt Betty I’m surprised when an unknown number comes up. A Montana number. My heart races. Could this be Daniel?

I answer it. “Hello?”

“May? Oh my god. Thank god. Where are you? I was told that you were dead, killed by vampires because of some genetic blood mutation or something.” It’s Daniel sounding beyond panicked.

“What? Who told you that?” I demand.

“Well it was all over the news that you were found dead, and when I went and demanded an investigation from the council, they told me this crazy story about our family having some weird mutation,” he rattles off.

“Calm down. I’m okay. I’m in hiding from everything. You can’t tell anyone that I’m alive or I won’t be alive for long. I’m serious. No one can know, not Bryxx, demons, especially vampires because apparently I’m some sort of irresistible crack to them.”

He sighs deeply on the other end. “I won’t. You gave me a heart attack though. I’m just happy you’re okay. Are you safe? Who are you with? The council said you had demons protecting you because of some deal Dad made or something.”

This is news to me. “I’m in Canada, actually. I probably shouldn’t tell you where or my body guard might kill me. It has to stay a secret.”

“Who is with you? May, demons aren’t safe, they probably have some ulterior motive to hand you in or get you killed.” Daniel is about to combust, I can hear the rage and panic in his voice.

I shake my head although he can’t see me. “I’m with Kade. I’m okay. I trust him.”

After a long moment of silence Daniel squeaks, “What?”.

“Yeah, he’s just in the shower. Do you want to talk to him?” I ask and head for the bathroom. I get to the door, surprised that Kade is taking so long in there. “Kade? Open up.”

“Why are you with Kade out of all people?” Daniel demands, his voice sounding near hysteria. “May, where are you? Tell me where you are. I’ll stay with you. Where ever you are, I’m coming.”

I bang on the bathroom door again. No answer. Weird. I open the bathroom door and although the shower was on at some point it’s not anymore. The window above the toilet is wide open.  I look out of it and see nothing. Where the hell did he go and why wouldn’t he have used the front door?

“Hmm...he seems to have slipped out for a minute,” I determine. “Anyway, how are you doing?”

“May,” Daniel whispers harshly, he sounds as though he’s in physical pain. “You have to tell me where you are. You’re not safe with him. Did he force you to go with him?”

I can’t help but laugh. “Of course not. He’s a good guy. You know him, you should know that.” Something dawns on me then. Why would Kade jump out the window on the midst of a shower? Vampire. I nearly drop the phone. “I think there’s a vampire here. He seems to have abandoned a shower and jumped out the window. I know that sounds nuts, but why else would he do that?”

“May, where are you? You can’t possibly think hiding from vampires with a vampire is a good idea,” he snarls, and I hear him start his car on the other side of the phone call. “Especially with this crazy blood thing that going on with you.’

“It’s fine. Kade is strong. It’s not the first one he’s fought off,” I reassure him.

Daniel groans as if in agony. “May, I’m not talking about the other vampire that’s supposedly wrestling with Kade right now. I’m talking about Kade. The vampire Kade. The one that got banished from the Bryxx community for draining a Bryxx child dry.”

What? Confusion causes my brows to wrinkle together but they relax slowly and instead my heart picks up pace when what my brother is trying to tell me finally clicks. No. It can’t be. I’ve misunderstood.

“Kade is a vampire?” I whisper with a shaking voice.

“You didn’t know that?! He never told you that before he started supposedly protecting you? Where are you, May?” he demands, sounding hysteric now.

“Uh, north of Green Lake in Saskatchewan, over a river. Oh god, I don’t know. The middle of nowhere. I’ll send you my location,” I ramble and can’t bring myself to move a muscle.

“Okay. Good. Relax. He can hear your heartbeat, May. As soon as he gets back he will know something is up. Relax.”

“I’ll tell him I was worried when I couldn’t find him,” I suggest. “I should go. He’s fast he will be here soon probably.”

Daniel grunts. “Text me every half an hour, May, I’ll be there as soon as I can.” Then the phone disconnects and I’m left staring out the window in complete and utter shock. It makes sense. His stronger compulsion, his better hearing, the fact that he barely sleeps when I know he told me that Bryxx sleep, the way he’s been acting towards me since my blood has been changing.

I nearly scream when a hand lands on the window sill and then another. Kade’s head pokes up and he throws himself through the window a second later. I nearly shriek.

“Shit, sorry, May. I thought I could slip out before you noticed. I thought I sensed a vampire,” he mutters. “False alarm. I ran the whole property and it’s clear.”

Something else dawns on me. Bryxx can’t sense vampires. He’s the one who told me that once.

“You okay?” He asks, standing half naked in front of me, the only thing on are his pants.

I nod once. “You just scared me.” It’s not exactly a lie. “I need to lie down. I’m not feeling myself quite yet.”

He shrugs and nods as he pulls a shirt over his head.

In truth, I just need to lie down for a while and sort through all this.

I get into bed and slip under the covers. I shoot my location to Daniel, knowing he knows I am around Green Lake and he’s probably already on his way.

I have to think this through rationally. Kade has never hurt me. He’s never showed any intention of hurting me. He’s only ever saved my life and protected me. Do I really need to be frightened of him? I decide that I am pretty damn sure that he’s indeed a vampire, though there are differences between him and the other vampires I’ve encountered. Kade is friendly, caring, and has control, where as other vampires I’ve been around have been murderous, bloodthirsty animals.

I send Daniel a quick text at the half an hour mark. ‘I don’t think he will hurt me. He’s been living with me for weeks and he’s done nothing but protect me and be kind to me.’

Daniels response is almost immediate. ‘You overestimate a vampires control. He might not want to hurt you, but eventually he will lose control. With your blood being so potent to vampires, he will be walking on egg shells fighting for his self-control. Keep your distance from him. Do not entice him. He is in physical pain when he is near you. Give him space.’

With that, I decide to listen to my brother. He knows more about vampires than I do. Could Kade actually be in pain every second that he’s around me? I lay in bed, sending my brother the necessary half an hour texts he requested. Later in the afternoon, Kade knocks on the door and comes in.

“How are you feeling?” he asks sweetly and sets down a cup of juice beside me. “You’ve been in here all day.”

“Better than yesterday but just tired. Upset about Betty,” this isn’t a lie but it’s not the full truth either.

He sits on the edge of the bed beside me and feels my forehead with the back of his hand. “Your fever is almost gone. You look much better, too. Do you want me to make you something to eat?”

“No thanks I’m okay,” I answer quietly.

“You should eat something. After I feed the cows, I will make us something okay?” he decides.

“I can make something while you’re feeding them,” I tell him and sit up.

He asks, “Are you sure?” He’s not looking too convinced that I’m okay.

“Yup. You go take care of the cows,” I encourage and he nods before leaving the room.

I swallow hard and then I head out to the kitchen and pull out a loaf of bread. Sandwiches sound like a good idea tonight.

I pull out four slices of bread, a couple lettuce leaves, a tomato, some sliced ham, and two cheese slices. I put together the sandwiches quickly. I lastly slice into the tomato and cut two slices. In my haste, the knife slips in my wet hands and slices my index finger ever so slightly. A small bead of blood collects on my finger tip and I turn on the tap to wash it off. Darn knife. Way to go, May. Clumsy as always.

My heart sinks into my stomach when I hear the front door open and close and suddenly Kade stands in front of me gripping my hand with the cut finger. He stares intently at it as if transfixed.

“Kade?” I squeak and try to pull my hand back to no avail.

He pulls it closer to him.

“Kade!” I shout loudly, panic settling in. I really don’t want to die this way. Why am I so stupid?

His grip lessens slightly and then he pushes my hand under the running water before scratching a red line into his inner wrist with his index finger of the other hand and pressing his bloody wrist to my wound. He pulls us apart almost immediately after and I watch as my skin heals before my eyes. He then runs his wrist under the water until all the blood is washed off and his wrist has healed.

We both stand there in shock, neither one of us speaking.

“I’ll be more careful,” I whisper uneasily.

He squeezes his eyes shut. “You shouldn’t have to be.” He sighs deeply and his jaw tenses and untenses.

“But I do. You almost fricken ate me,” I slip out nervously in a rush before thinking, my mind going into freak out mode.

He takes two steps back from me, his eyes wide.

“I know, Kade. I know you’re not Bryxx,” I admit sheepishly. “I didn’t mean to cut myself. I shouldn’t have even used a knife knowing what you are.”

He opens his mouth slightly then closes it again. The says, “How did you find out?”

“To be fair, I would’ve found out on my own, eventually I would’ve put all the pieces together, but I hadn’t yet and then my brother called me after hearing that I was dead. He asked who was protecting me and I told him, and he almost exploded.”

Kade closes his eyes briefly, tilting his head up. “When is he going to be here?”

I shrug. “Last I heard he and Kai we’re getting on a plane to fly here. That was an hour ago.” The fact that I tell him this reminds me that I do indeed trust Kade whether he’s a vampire or not. He can’t help what he is. He could’ve killed a thousand times already, but he hasn’t and after seeing how hard it was for him to restrain from killing me, I know how much he cares about me that he was able to resist that urge. I might not be safe with him because of what he is, but I trust him more than anyone in my life vampire or not.

Kade sighs. “Alright. As soon as they get here, I’ll go. Believe me when I say that you’ll be safer with me here until then than alone. I give you my word that you’re safe with me until then. Just don’t go bleeding again please.”

“You’re leaving?” I ask, hearing the disappointment in my voice.

He quirks a brow. “You want me to, don’t you?”

I shake my head. “No, I don’t. I know you better than my brother and Kai both, and I trust you with my life. If Kai and Daniel are here, they can make sure you don’t kill me, and you can take breaks from me if you need to. Unless you don’t want to stay. I’d understand. Daniel said it hurts you to be near me. Is that true?”

Kade nods. “It’s true, yes, but it’s worth it. I care about you more than you know. They might not want me to stay.”

“Well that’s too bad for them,” I reply. “Because I want you here.”

“You’re not scared of me?” he wonders with curiosity in his gaze.

I nod. “I’m not scared of who you are, but I’m scared of what you are. I’ve seen the damage a vampire can do.”

He swallows. “I have to tell you something before you make the decision of whether or not I stay or I go.” He hesitates. It’s clear that he doesn’t want to tell me whatever is it he’s about to. “Last night, I got carried away with you. Your blood is always a temptation but so are you. The two mixed together is a deadly game. I almost lost control of my bloodlust because of my feelings towards you.”

“What do you mean?” I ask for clarification.

“Jane was right when she said that I care about you. I more than care about you, May. I know we only just met, but I’m freaking in love with you. I was drawn to you the day I met you and I risked my life only days after meeting you just to save your human life. I can’t keep away from you. I followed you to Seattle. I was relieved when they banished me because I knew I could go see you.” He peers down at the floor rather than at me, probably too scared to see my reaction.

“I care about you too, but I don’t know if I’m ready to tell you I love you. You kept a really huge secret from me and you did just about kill me because I cut my finger. That’s kind of a big deal breaker,” I ease.

He lifts his gaze up to mine. “If I hadn’t lied would you have let me into your house?”

I debate this. “I’m not sure. Living with a vampire sounds like a pretty stupid idea, so no, probably not.”

“Would you be able to say that you loved me if I was Bryxx?” he asks nervously.

This is a tough one, but I know the answer even if it might be painful for him to hear. “Up until last night I wasn’t sure. I didn’t think I could fall in love so damn fast, over a matter of weeks, but yes.”

His gaze drops back the floor and he nods. “I can’t say I’m happy about it, but I do understand. I am a danger to you. No matter how much I care about you and don’t want to hurt you, I will always be dangerous. It’s in my nature to want to kill you.” He winces at his own words. “The other night I got so carried away, I almost lost it. I had to get away from you before things went too far to turn back from. I went out to the pasture to get some air, but I was so thirsty. Your blood was in my nostrils and my lust was out of control which didn’t help any. I was so worked up that I...” he trails off with a sigh and the pain that fills his expression is almost unbearable. “May, it wasn’t a coyote that killed Betty, it was me. I drank her dry because I lost control. I knew you’d be heartbroken, but I did it anyway and I was up all night trying to figure out a way to make it better, but I knew I couldn’t. That could’ve been you and the look on your face when I told you what happened...I’ll never get that out of my mind. Ever.”

I hear myself gasp at his words and my hand flies up to cover my gaping mouth.

“I’m so sorry, May,” he grimaces in pain, shaking his head and the sincerity in his tone is overwhelming. His pain and regret is so strong that it overrides mine and I actually find myself feeling bad for him. He can’t help what he is. I repeat to myself.

“It’s okay. People eat cows all the time. We just had hamburger last night,” I attempt to joke before thinking about what comes out of my mouth, afterwards I realize how bad my joke is.

His grimace deepens and my mind races. I truly don’t know what to think about this. We stand in silence, neither of us finding the words.

“I don’t want you to be scared of me, even though you really should be,” he whispers. “The incident that I don’t like to talk about was my becoming a vampire. I was turned while on the job. I was banished from the Bryxx community because a body was found drained of blood, but I swear it wasn’t me.” He shifts his weight. “I’ve never killed anyone because of my bloodlust, well, besides our cow. I have it under control or I did. When I lived with the Bryxx, my father would send me to the prison once a month to drink from one of the criminals who was locked up, awaiting death row. That was all I needed and in exchange, I’d guard the community and do whatever crappy jobs the council had for me.” He runs a nervous hand through his hair. “The reason vampires want Bryxx blood so badly is that it’s stronger than human blood. It calms the thirst longer, over a month. A human