Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and its characters. I own a bracelet that says Stupid Lamb on it. No copyright infringement intended.

Taking off on a run at full speed while carrying a human felt immeasurably wrong. I was so accustomed to hide anything supernatural about myself, and here I was, blatantly showing someone this unnatural side of me. I truly hoped that I wasn't making the wrong decision, but I honestly didn't know what else to do. It was the only way to get Anna home and back in her room without anyone else knowing that she was gone.

Anna was tightly gripping my neck and burying her face in my shoulder, her long hair whipping out behind us. After two trips like this tonight, she decided that being carried at a fast, inhuman rate of speed by beings that looked human, but could do things no human could, was not her favorite way to travel—especially in cold temperatures, in the middle of the night, while wearing very little clothing. I mentally berated myself for not thinking of her comfort and hoped that she would not fall ill. Memories from my last days as a human came to my mind as I imagined Anna sick with a respiratory infection or even the flu, and I shuddered—I wished sickness on no one.

Damn, I should have, at the least, grabbed her a jacket. I should have given her mine, but I could not afford to lose the contents in my pocket. Becoming extremely protective of my possessions and resources was an instinct that was surprisingly heightened from this lifestyle.

Anna was a freezing mess with her teeth chattering and her body shivering. Being pressed up against my cold body was no help, either. Not only was she cold, but she was scared—very scared.

A large part of me knew just how to put Anna out of her misery. After all, her luscious throat was only a few inches from my mouth. I only had to turn my head. Her erratic heart rate and increased adrenaline had my mouth watering so intensely, that if I were human, I would have probably drowned. Perhaps the next time I carry a human, my back would be a more suitable placement for easing temptation. However, the idea of a next time was completely absurd. There was no way I would ever allow the need to transport a live human ever happen again.

I wish I could have just cut off my sense of smell, but I had to be aware of all the scents around me. I needed to know if Dracula was anywhere nearby. That new endearment would have to do until I learned his real name. He would probably see it as a complement anyway. I could picture him lurking around in a high collared silk cape, using it to shield all his features except his eyes.

"Are w-we almost th-there?" Anna stuttered from the cold, pulling me from my ridiculous imaginings. Sometimes I truly had the mind of a child.

"Just a few more minutes," I promised, and I gripped her slightly harder, not that it would help, but I didn't know what else to do. I absolutely hated that she had to suffer. Thankfully, she seemed to take some comfort in my efforts.

I ran down the streets and alley ways, avoiding all of the people that were awake at this late hour. Listening for anyone roaming the streets, and for a rogue vampire, proved to be somewhat difficult with a distraction as great as Anna. I found myself being careless numerous times while I concentrated on her alluring scent, and may or may not have contemplated what it would feel like for my teeth to sink into her flesh and taste of the blood that begged to be consumed. My face started to slowly turn toward Anna's neck on its own accord.

I couldn't do this. I couldn't keep her this close to me and not take her; it was impossible. She was so warm and inviting. My body craved that warmth for itself. It wanted Anna's warmth radiating from the inside, not just feeling it on my skin. I knew this was a terrible idea. After all the promises I gave to her about keeping her safe and protecting her, it turned out I wasn't strong enough. I was going to kill an innocent, and I was powerless to stop it.

I slowed my pace to find somewhere vacant to set Anna down. She noticed the decrease in my speed and opened her eyes to look at the surroundings, thinking we were near her home. When she saw the deserted alley with the dead end we had turned into, she became quite confused.

I took Anna all the way to the end of the alley where I finally came to a stop. I held her for a few moments while trying to regain some kind of control so that I would not just tear into her. My breathing was coming fast and hard while my body shook with the need to take and possess. The monster was desperately trying to control this situation just like he does with all my other kills, but this deserved more delicacy. Anna was not to be treated the way the others were. She was precious, special and deserved better. Hell, she deserved to live, but unfortunately the best I could do for her was to kill her painlessly. She wouldn't know what happened to her after her neck was snapped. Her blood would start to cool before I consumed it all, but I could make that sacrifice for her.

I set Anna against the wall of the stone building that ended the alley. Her face was a mask of confusion and fear, and she didn't know what to feel about the situation, or me. She wanted to believe that I was safe and that everything I told her was the truth, but my actions and the wild look on my face was starting to make her question all I had said. I didn't want to be a liar—not to Anna. None of this was her fault. All of it was mine. It was my fault she was going to die.

"Uhg!" I spun away from Anna, my back now facing her. She yelped while pressing herself further into the wall, startled by my sudden movement and groan. What was I doing? Why couldn't I control this? I didn't want to kill her!

My hands gripped the hair at the back of my head pulling until I felt pain. I needed to feel a different sensation other than the burn of the thirst. It was helping, so I pulled harder—then a lot harder.

"Ah!" The pain was a welcome distraction. I could do this. I could control this. I had stupidly let my guard down, and I just needed to regain the authority I had over the monster. He may control the instincts, but he doesn't control my will. Mind over matter; it was all about mind over matter.

I sank to my knees so that I would be in a less offensive position, to make the monster submit. It's been so long since I've had to do this—to tell the monster no. He was now used to getting his way.

Not focusing on the heavy heartbeat, that was only seven feet from me and calling my name like a siren, felt like the greatest feat I would ever accomplish. God, I wanted that blood.

I let go of my hair to slam my fists into the ground, cracking the road beneath me. Anna jumped and yelped again at my display. She was now very concerned, but she didn't know who to be more concerned for, her or myself. Getting help for me seemed like a good idea to her, however, she didn't know if a doctor could help someone like me. Her survival instincts were telling her that running was also a suitable option, and she took a tentative step away from me. If she were to retreat, no matter what her intention, it would all be over. I would automatically give in to the chase. Anna took another step.

"Don't!" Anna stilled at my command. "Don't leave. Please, don't leave."

Taking in my huddled form on the ground, Anna decided my pleas were for my benefit. She thought that I needed her help or comfort. She had no idea that I was begging for her life. I guessed that was a good thing. I still had a chance at keeping her trust. I could do this.

"Ar...are you sick?" Anna softly asked.

"Very," I replied back, still going for honesty. After all, psychotic was a type of sick.

"You look like you are in pain. Does anything hurt?"

"Yes."

"Where does it hurt?"

"My throat."

"Oh. Um...do you perhaps need a drink?" she asked. She was either extremely smart or extremely stupid. Was she offering? I could not repress the humorless laugh that escaped me. Oh, how irony was a heartless bitch.

"Is there anything I can do?" Anna really wanted me to feel better. She longed for the boy who was, only minutes before, the calm stable one who put her fears to rest, and I really wanted to be him for her. Now that she was no longer maddeningly assaulting all my senses, it was easier to find him again.

"Yes. Just…stay. It will pass." My breathing finally started to slow, and I was regaining control. I needed to be strong so Anna could live; she needed to live.

"Does this happen often to you?" She was now genuinely curious about my overall health.

"Yes."

"Why? Have you been to a doctor?"

"Uh…I used to live with a doctor." Well, that came out a lot more sad and pathetic sounding than I hoped. "It's just something I have to deal with."

"Oh. Why don't you still live with the doctor? Were you close?" We were not going to talk about this.

"Sore subject, Anna."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry."

"It's fine. Don't worry about it." I started to get up off the ground, feeling more like myself again. As much as I did not like it, thoughts of Carlisle often helped put the monster at bay.

I took a few calming breaths, trying only to think of what needed to be done. Anna needed to be at home. She needed to be safe, and I was the one who had to make sure she was. It took a few moments, but I finally felt sobered enough to continue.

I turned back toward Anna, giving her a small apologetic smile, and extended my hands in invitation to continue our trip. Her home was not far from here. I was pretty sure I could handle carrying her again since having had a break. She gave me a small nod and approached me. Just as she was putting her arms around my neck, I grabbed her wrists to stop her. Again, she startled and yelped.

"What's wro—"

"Sh," I cut off her question quickly. The very serious look on my face had Anna complying. She watched me as my eyes darted around the ally, searching. I was listening very intently to a new mind that sounded inexplicably different from the slumbering humans that surrounded me. What I heard from this mind did not make me happy. It was him, following my scent, genuinely surprised that I was out here. His expectations were that I would still be at home 'enjoying' my gift, either because I wanted to, or to protect myself from having a public figure trapped in my home. He was very curious as to why my scent was on this side of town mixed with Anna's. Curiosity getting the better of him, he decided he would investigate instead of holding onto his original plan for meeting me. He was headed to the alley and would be here soon. I didn't have enough time to make my way back out the way I came in before he would see me exit. There wasn't enough time to get Anna home and safe.

Panic started to fill me, and I didn't know what to expect. I had only ever encountered one other vampire besides Carlisle and Esme. He was a friend of Carlisle's, therefore was very civil, but I have heard stories of what a lot of nomads were like. I also knew enough of this vampire to know that I didn't want him near Anna again, and I was most likely not safe from him, either. How would I protect both Anna and myself if I had to?

My father, being a very successful lawyer, could convince anyone of anything. He started to teach me some ways of persuading the human mind, hoping it would spark my interest in going to law school. It honestly did, and I started to get good at getting the reactions that I wanted from people. My father just didn't appreciate me using this learned ability on my mother—that I would get punished for. At the moment, I hoped that these tricks would help me keep this a verbal encounter and put me in control of the situation.

I leaned down to whisper in Anna's ear, so that the Count would not hear. "We are being followed. The man who took you will be here in a moment."

Anna gasped quietly and started to shake in fear with her eyes tearing up.

"Anna, you must do as I say. I promised to protect you from him, and I will at all costs. I need you to trust me. Don't run and don't talk. Try not to show fear." She continued to break down, so I grabbed her face to make her look at me. "Pull yourself together. Your life depends on it."

She tried to process what I told her and did her best to do what I said. She forcibly composed herself the best that she could.

"Good. Try to stay behind me at all times. Keep your head up and your breathing even, look confident. Don't let him know he gets to you, because it will only give him power over you. You can do this."

She gave me a slight nod while straightening her posture. She put on, what she called, her 'dinner party face' that she used when she had to be around her father's pompous friends that she felt very uncomfortable around and wanted nothing to do with.

"Perfect," I told her. Thankfully, she didn't realize I was trying to convince myself of these things as much as I was her.

The Count was approaching the alley and slowed to walk. He stopped a few yards away from the opening to listen, not thinking that I would yet be aware of his presence. If there was ever a time that I was thankful for my mind reading ability, it was now.

Turning to Anna, I placed my finger to my lips, letting her know to keep quiet. I then pointed to the ally's entrance to alert her that her silence was required because Dracula was now there. Her eyebrows rose in fear and tears started to form again. I gave her pointed look to remind her of what she should be doing. She closed her eyes for a moment, taking a breath, and then recomposed her 'dinner party face'. Giving her a nod of approval, I turned my attention back to the entrance of the ally.

The Count was very confused, and it made me happy. I already had the upper hand. All he could hear was Anna's constant change in breathing and heart rate, but no movement from either of us. He figured that I had detected his presence, upset about the fact that I was more observant than he expected. His thoughts showed that he had a low opinion of me, assuming that I would be more unguarded and ignorant. My anger for him rose again, but I had to suppress it. He could not be allowed to see any effect he had on me.

I had to put myself in control. I would let him know that he was seeing me on my terms, not his.

"Eavesdropping is not considered an appropriate custom," I called out. He was not approving of me addressing him first, or with my attitude, but was expecting me to be more accepting of his presence in the city, especially after he "gifted" me such a beautiful woman. God, he was sick.

Forcing a friendly smile on his face he turned the corner into the alley. Anna stiffened at the sight of him, her memories from earlier replaying in her mind I really hoped she held herself together, and I relaxed a bit when I heard her indignantly think "Dinner party face". I suppressed a smile; she could be cute.

He walked toward us with a regal gate, not in any hurry. Anna's memory of his appearance did not do the ridiculousness of his character any justice. One would only have to glance at him to know of the stereotype he held. His black hair was still slicked back with his widow's peek pointing prominently down his forehead. The black suit he wore was in pristine condition and tailored perfectly for him. His jewelry sparkled slightly in the moon light. Yes, he was wearing jewelry. He had a delicate gold chain around his neck and a heavy gold and ruby ring on his left hand. If he could be any more of a cliché, he would just turn into a bat and fly the rest of the way to us. I tried very hard not to roll my eyes, but I was unsuccessful. The Count noticed, not pleased with my gesture. He actually had the audacity to believe that I would be more respectful of his image and perhaps be a bit scared. Ha! Respect was the last he'd get from me.

"My apologies, young one," he finally addressed when he approached, looking up into my eyes. He was shorter than I had imagined. I had a good three inches on him. "I had no desire to disrespect you. I was only making sure that I was not interrupting something." He spoke very eloquently with his words flowing together, like a much practiced actor; it seemed that he was just playing a part. His mental voice was a stark opposite of how he spoke, showing that his character was not genuine. I was now even more wary than I was before. There was a very strong possibility that he could be extremely unpredictable.

"Unnecessary. There is nothing to interrupt," I replied.

"Then may I ask what you are doing here in an abandoned alley with the young woman?"

"No. It is none of your concern."

"Am I to assume that you are unappreciative of my gift?" He looked pointedly at Anna as he said the word gift, and she cringed in fear at his crude mention of her. I lightly touched her hand to try to reassure her that she was safe and to look confident. She tried; she really tried.

"Yes. I am actually rather insulted with your assumptions of me."

"I meant no harm in the gesture. I was only trying to welcome a new neighbor to my city."

And there was what I was looking for, the reason for his actions. It turned out he was very territorial of New York City, considering it to be only his dwelling place. He was not happy with my presence here and planned to be rid of me, but was just having a bit of fun first. He was also curious about me. I didn't behave anything like the other nomads that passed through had, and didn't live like any other vampire he had ever encountered. I was confused as to what this meant. How else does one exist? I didn't understand. His plans were to learn why I operate the way I did, and then destroy me—slowly and painfully. Great.

I had to kill him to save my own life, and I hoped that I could. The only other vampire I have ever fought was Carlisle, and that was only for recreation or learning. I never tried to really hurt him. The Count, however, had a lot of practice killing our kind. Thankfully, I was at least safe for tonight since he hadn't yet gotten the answers he was looking for.

"That is very kind of you, but if it is all right with you, I would prefer to choose those who sustain me for myself."

"Of course. By all means." He smiled, and if I could not hear his thoughts, I would have thought he was completely genuine. He was very good at deception. "Perhaps a potted plant would have been better received as a house warming gift?" He chuckled.

I laughed lightly at his joke. "Yes, perhaps." I reciprocated his smile, making him think that I was falling for his friendly act; it wasn't hard, because he was very sure of his performance.

"Please forgive me. Let us start over, shall we? I am Count Alexander Dellaronte." Oh, for the love of all that is holy, he even calls himself Count. "It is a pleasure to meet you…." He trailed off awaiting my introduction.

"Edward."

"Edward whom?"

"Just Edward."

"You do not have a surname?" He was very curious about what I had to hide. I should have just made something up; the drama that surrounded my last name was not something I wanted to get into.

"No."

The Count arranged his features to look very amused. "No surname would suggest that you have no lineage. Am I standing in the presence of the next messiah?"

"One would never truly know, would they?" I asked appearing just as amused and friendly. He laughed at my reply, enjoying the banter. It had been a few years since he has encountered another vampire, and he was getting a bit bored.

"Well, I guess I will be on my way. I don't mean to intrude on your moment, here." He gestured to Anna with his comment, his eyes lingering on her for a moment too long. "I must say, Miss Montgomery, the look of you in a man's shirt is very alluring. I just love the implications of such a sight." He decided that if he were to find her in her home again that he would take the advantage that I did not.

Anna started to lose it again. She could not handle this encounter, especially with what the Count had just said. It made me livid. He had already put her through enough stress tonight, and I would not allow him to mistreat her any further. My friendly demeanor disappeared quickly as I took an aggressive step in his direction.

"You have a lot of nerve speaking that way to her. You put her through enough torment for one night, so I suggest you leave her alone," I threatened.

The Count became very close to dropping his façade, anger taking over his thoughts. He wasn't used to being spoken to in such a way.

"You are quite filled with audacity yourself, Edward."

"What can I say? It's a reaction you bring out in me, Count. May I ask who gifted you with such a prestigious title?" I was very curious how he would answer this seeing that he gave it to himself.

"The opinion of others is not what makes us who we are, Edward. We decide that for ourselves. This is my city, which you will soon learn." He was trying very hard to keep his regal character in place while he was seething on the inside. I wanted to see if I could break him; I wanted the control.

"Your threats mean nothing to me," I said very calmly. I didn't want to show any emotion, alerting him that he was not affecting me in the least.

"You lack wisdom. I suggest you tread lightly from now on. You are not safe here. If you wish to keep your life, I suggest you find a new home. There have been others before you that did not heed my warning and suffered the consequences. I will not be treated in such a manner in my own territory, especially by a wretched, young orphan, such as yourself."

Again, I rolled my eyes nonchalantly.

"If you say so," was my clever rebuttal. I turned my back on the Count, which is an instinctual faux pas, to acknowledge Anna. I extended my hand to her. "Come, Anna. We will be on our way."

Being dismissed was what broke the elegant character of Count Alexander Dellaronte. I saw that he was about to lunge for me, so before he even left the ground I had turned and grabbed him by the throat, pinning him against the wall with my knee. Anna yelped again, trying to shrink away from us as much as the space allowed.

The Count tried to free himself from me, but was unsuccessful. There were no words to describe how thankful I was at the fact that I was stronger than him. It was now time for my warning to him.

"I do not care who you think you are, or what you think is yours. I will live where I want to live. You are a weak minded fool who does not even possess the courage to be genuine. You rely on a ridiculous character to hide your inadequacies, but you can't hide them from me. I will always be one step ahead of you; you will never catch me by surprise. If you wish to keep your life, then I would suggest that you leave me the hell alone." I slammed him into the wall a second time. "And if you so even touch Anna, I will tear your limbs from your body, turn them to ash, and leave your stump of a body at the bottom of the ocean for the rest of eternity. Do I make myself clear?"

The Count gave me no answer. He only tried to work his way free from my grasp, but like I promised, I was a step ahead of him; he did not know the gift he was dealing with. He continued to fight against me until I got annoyed, and I grabbed him by the arms and spun him around so that his arms were now crossed behind his back, pressing him face first into the wall. I heard a crack come from somewhere in his body, making him groan in pain. It felt good to use my full strength.

"Do you understand?" I asked him, my tone dripping with venom.

"Yes," the Count answered, finally defeated. His thoughts had turned to the last time a vampire had bested him. It was thirty one years ago in England.

"Yes what?" I taunted, deciding that I was not quite finished.

"Yes, I understand," he choked out, truly frightened of me.

"Good," I replied. Forcibly turning him back around, I again shoved him into the brick. I then gently smoothed out his jacket lapels. "We wouldn't want to ruin this nice suit, now would we?" I asked. I may have been getting arrogant.

Stepping away from the Count, I motioned that he was now allowed to leave. He stayed for a moment, attempting to stare me down, but then thought better of it, and then pushed away from the brick and stalked passed me, never taking his eyes away from mine. When he was a couple of yards away, he broke into a run and was gone. I was positive, however, that it would not be the last time I saw him. The Count was not going down without a fight.

I turned back to Anna, only to find her huddled in a corner, shaking and crying. I could not blame her. She went to bed tonight not knowing anything of the supernatural, thinking humans were the only sentient beings in the world, and now knew of the hidden horror that graced humanity. She should not have been exposed to this, but just became a witness to my true nature. I hoped that it did not cloud her previous trust and concern toward me.

It was now my responsibility to care for her and put her at ease. The mess she had gotten into was my fault, and I had to fix what I could. I slowly made my back over to her, trying not to frighten her further. Bending down to meet her face, I reached out my hand trying to make her look at me, but she cringed away from my touch, obviously very affected from the aggressive display.

"Anna?" I asked gently, but she did not respond.

"Anna." I tried again.

Her only reactions were the shaking and the crying, so I crawled by her side to sit next to her and wrapped one arm around her, but she tried to push me away.

"Anna, please," I begged her. "I'm not going to hurt you, I promise. I feel awful that you had to see that. You should never have been subject to such a thing. I'm so sorry that happened."

Her thoughts were all over the place. She was replaying all the events of the night in her head, but not in sequential order. All her memories were overlapping in a very confusing way; however, deciphering them wasn't too difficult.

One thing that stood out to me was her comparison of me with the Count. Even in the dark, she noticed the similarities between the two of us. Both of us having the same pale skin and matching red eyes was very strange to her. She didn't understand how we were both able to move with the same fast speeds and exhibit such large amounts of strength. She now knew what I meant when I told her that her father and fiancé would be powerless against the Count. She thought back on the words she heard us speak to each other and tried to figure out the meaning of some things that didn't make sense to her. Mostly, my comment about wanting to be able to choose for myself who would sustain me had her baffled, and she tried to piece together if my earlier outburst in the alley was relative to anything that was said. She had a very quick, smart mind, and she was on a very dangerous train of thought that made me very uncomfortable, and I needed to distract her.

"Anna, it's over now," I said, lightly pushing her hair from her face. "He's gone, and you have nothing to fear anymore. I can take you home."

The thought of being safe in her home was almost enough to distract her from her musings. That is until something clicked in her mind. The Count's stereotypical demeanor did not weigh in my favor, in the least. I hung my head in defeat, not knowing how I would respond to her next words.

"You…you're a…a vampire. You were going to...kill me, weren't you?"

Shit.