It was a stupid idea. Absolutely stupid. He should've realized how entrenched her heart was to that…to the wolf. He had come all the way over here – dropped everything, made Carlisle and Esme furious – just for her. Just to figure out why she had him so beguiled. To put the puzzle pieces together. But with those three simple words, she had ripped his unbeating heart right out of his chest. "I love him." She loved him. She loved that monster. That…it made him so angry that he wanted to explode. He wanted to eviscerate the man's already scarred face.

Why couldn't she understand what danger she was putting herself into by being around him? Granted, it was a bit hypocritical to be thinking about that when he, himself, drank blood. Sometimes it had been human blood. But he didn't lose control by the bloody moonlight alone. Edward knew that there had to be some sort of control. There was no possible way that Lupin was allowed to teach at a school full of young people if the Headmaster in any way doubted their safety. But what if that control somehow vanished? What if he couldn't…maintain his human form around her? The thought made his skin crawl.

He looked back at her, hardening his face. "You love him, Mirielle? Do you even know the meaning of that word?" He sneered, drawing the corner of his lip back to show several perfect, white teeth. "He's your Professor. He's old enough to be your Fa-…" But he stopped that argument and scowled, since Edward himself was old enough to be her Father, Grandfather, and Great-Grandfather. Twice over. His eyes melted, becoming pools of liquid gold. He took her trembling hands in his. "He's dangerous. He could hurt you. Aren't you afraid?"

But Mirielle snatched her hands away, still not quite used to his chill. She missed the hot fire of Remus' touch. "How dare you say those things about him. How DARE you, Edward, when you are just as dangerous. When you are older than him!" She jabbed her finger into his chest, and gaped as it bounced off of his marble-like muscles. She gritted her teeth. "I am not afraid of him, and I'm not afraid of you. How many people have you killed? He hasn't killed anyone. NO ONE." She was hyperventilating now, seeking desperately to defend her wolf…trying to prove to herself that she still cared for him. "And I know more about love than you could ever dream of knowing. What do YOU know of love? Who do you love? Have you ever loved anyone? Has anyone ever touched your dead heart?"

Her last words were said with such bitter contempt that he recoiled as if struck. He hadn't expected this…vehemence from her. It confused him. And what confused him even more was that despite his ease with reading her mind on the first day he had met her, it had become more and more difficult to do so. Until finally, it was locked away completely…as if he were looking into blank space. "I…" He sighed and looked down at the ground. He was unused to being caught so off-guard. Unused to being assaulted with truth. And the truth hurt. "Yes, Mirielle. I've murdered. But they were never innocent. They were murderers, and rapists. Horrible, despicable people, who would've preyed on your kind."

Her tiny hands flew to her hips, and her chin jutted out. "And who are you to judge? Who are you to lay down punishment for them, for these crimes that they might have committed in the future? What if they fought their nature? What if they had strength?" Her arms crossed underneath her small, glorious breasts, and he went completely still. Her anger was causing a reaction in him that needed to be kept battened down. But he couldn't let her know how close he was to crossing the threshold. He wouldn't. Unfortunately, her tirade continued. "You think you're so all-powerful and all-knowing. Well I've got news for you. YOU are the murderer. YOU are the one that should be punished." And with those words, she whirled around, chest heaving…heart pounding deliciously in her throat.

His hands flew into his bronze locks, pulling at them in frustration. Again, she spoke the truth. He had struggled with the evil tendencies of his nature for as long as he had been awakened as this…undead demon. He closed the distance between them quickly, stepping up behind her. He stood like that for a long while, letting the sound of her heartbeat slow down. And then his fingertips gently grasped at her hips, and he pulled her tall, slender silhouette to settle against his own. One hand reached up to secure her tousled locks behind an ear, and he whispered, blowing his cool breath across the darkened canal. "I am. Everything that you say. And I have no right to be so…inconsiderate of Professor Lupin, or your feelings for him. But I fear for you, Mirielle. I don't want you getting hurt. I can take you not wanting me. Not caring for me. I can't take you being hurt. Can you understand that?"

But the problem was that Mirielle did want him. She did care for him. And she hated herself for it, constantly…every day. Because she had been so convinced of her love for Remus, that she had never seen it coming. It had completely blindsided her. Her heart felt as though it were being torn in two. One part was enthralled by the wolf, whose oceanic eyes made her forget her pain. And the other was captivated by the blood-drinker, whose chill made her remember that same pain…and like it. She leaned herself further back into his weight, enjoying this closeness. It was so rare, these moments. It seemed as though he was afraid to touch her lately. But what was she doing? How could she touch either of them, when her feelings were so confusing?

Her warmth was unlike anything he had ever felt, and he was struggling desperately not to turn her around and pillage her sweet mouth. He wanted to. God, did he want to. But he knew if he pushed, she would run. He could feel it. But suddenly, she was turning in his arms…so quickly, he almost wondered if she had some sort of unnatural speed. He was about to make some sort of sarcastic remark when her lips were pushing against his, more forcefully than they ever had in the past several times it had happened. It was too passionate. It was too warm. Too much. But she was opening her mouth, and he wanted…he wanted it all. He wanted her breath. And her saliva. Her tongue. Her blood.

…But she ripped herself out of his arms as he struggled to hold onto the one tiny thread that marked his last connection to his sanity. "I can't do this, Edward. I can't. I…love you both. And so I won't have either of you. …G-good-bye." Tears filled her beautiful, sparkling eyes, and then she ran from the room. He stared after her, his cold heart flopping and breaking at the same time. She loved him. Mirielle…loved him. But it wasn't enough. It was never…enough.