Stefan is a monster. This is all his fault. Katherine. Father. Becoming a vampire. He has ruined everything that I care about. Everyone that I loved. He has even changed himself, becoming a bloodthirsty monster rather than the caring brother I once knew. He will pay. I will make him suffer for what he has done to me, but first I need to learn how to control myself.

How can I learn to block the overwhelming sound of a pulse from taking control of me? How do I face a man and not feel the need to drink every drop of blood from his body? There must be a way to stay true to myself. There must be a way to prevent myself from becoming my brother.

The sunlight burns my skin so I'm forced to travel by night. Mystic Falls is too dangerous for me now; the whole town knows about vampires. I must find somewhere to start over. Somewhere where no one will know what I am; a vampire. A monster.

The sun has set so I start my journey away from Mystic Falls. Anywhere will be better. I just need to get away from here. As I walk down the street I hear screaming coming from a nearby alleyway. It's barely a whisper, no one should be able to hear it. But I'm a vampire. The screaming gets louder and louder as I follow it through the twisting alleyways.

I turn a corner and come face to face with a man holding a woman by the collar of her shirt in his left hand. He has a knife in his right hand. "Come on wench, let's have some fun." The man smirks and grabs the woman by the arm.

"Sorry to interrupt your fun but I believe the word you're looking for is lady, not a wench." Using my vampire speed I run at the man and lash out at his legs, sweeping him off his feet. I look back over towards the woman. "Get out of here! Now!" She obeys and runs away. The thug gets back on his feet an attempts to sneak up on me with the knife but my heightened senses help me. I quickly step to the side, dodging his attack with the knife, then swing my fist across his face. He falls to the ground, unconscious.

Maybe I can control this curse. Maybe it's not a curse at all, but a gift. I wish I had more answers. I start walking out of the alleys when I hear more footsteps from behind me. I could have sworn I knocked that idiot unconscious, how is he still following me?

I turn around and jump back in surprise as I make eye contact with the woman I saved. She seems startled too, but she manages to regain her composure and catch her tongue. "Th-th-thank you. I couldn't just run away without thanking my knight in shining armour," she says as she smiles. There's something in her eyes that reminds me of Katherine. A sparkle.

"Of course M'lady." I smirk and say, "It's the least I could do for a damsel in distress." That crack earns me a feint giggle that she tries to hide under her breath. Am I really such a monster if I feel the same emotions as a human? Is there really a line that divides humanity and vampirism, or is it just a myth? I could use this strength to help people, not harm them. I can control it.

The woman looks up at me and says, "Well M'lord, perhaps you would like to meet me for a drink?" I almost take her up on her offer when a sudden urge takes over. I feel it build up in my chest and make its way up to my face. It almost feels like I'm blushing, but when I reach up to touch my face I can feel the fangs under my cheek. I smell something that completely consumes me. Blood.

It takes all of my willpower to resist. The woman is still speaking but I interrupt her. "Are you bleeding?" She looks down at her arm and notices the cut across her forearm. It's so small, barely deep enough to draw blood. Only a few drops line the edge of the cut, but it's enough to send my brain in a spiral.

I can feel the need to feed starting to take control. The heat rises to my face again and I turn away from the girl. She can't see me like this. No one can see me like this. No one can see the monster I can become. My hands start to shake as the desire for blood grows. I can't resist it any longer. I grab her, push her against the closest wall, and put my lips to her cut. The feeling is surreal. Why does this feel so damn good?

She starts screaming so I bite her on the neck and feed. For the first time I embrace the darkest side of my being. The side that craves blood. The side that has a need to kill. A minute ago I told myself I could control this and now look at me. But really who cares? I'm a vampire now aren't I? Vampires kill. Vampires are monsters. I am a killer. I am a monster.

I keep feeding on the woman, even after she goes unconscious. I hear the sound of quick footsteps behind me but I ignore it. I'm leaving town as soon as I finish here, it doesn't matter who sees me anymore. Let them see me as the monster I am. The footsteps get louder and louder but I can't stop feeding.

I feel hands grasp my head. Before I even have the chance to move I feel their grasp tighten as the twist my neck. Everything goes black.

I open my eyes and start choking. What the hell happened? It's still dark outside but I can see the sun starting to rise. I don't have long to find shelter. I try to stand up but a sudden dizziness hits me and I fall back down.

I look to my other side and see a woman sitting next to me with a blood bag in her hand. I open my mouth to speak but I feel the dryness of my throat stop me. The woman notices me and tosses me the blood bag.

"Save your strength, you'll need it later."

I immediately sink my teeth into the bag and start drinking. It doesn't taste as good as the fresh blood I was drinking before, but in this state anything tastes amazing. Once I get enough blood down to speak I ask, "Why are you helping me?"

The woman smirks. Not in the warm and appealing way the human did earlier. This woman isn't filled with compassion and caring like the last one. She is dangerous. "All in good time Damon. For now, drink the blood." How does she know my name? Who is this woman? As if she could read my thoughts, she says, "My name is Sage."