A/N: woops this one was long, seems like they're just getting longer each time.

Thank you all who are reading, hope you enjoy this chapter! ^-^

It's been two days, we have been walking down this dirt path non-stop for hours now and I was beginning to get tired. The only time we rest is when the sun comes up because it's too risky for Mathias to go out during that time, but because of the sudden change in schedule I am exhausted. He offered to carry me but I refused, the smirk on his face was showing he was waiting for me to ask plus he knew once I did he was right and I couldn't last in this forest alone or without him. I still wanted to prove I could do this but I was really reaching my limits right now, I look down at my half-eaten apple which I so badly wanted to finish but I was just too tired to eat. I sigh once he stopped walking and looked around, quickly I leaned against a tree and shut my eyes thankful for this small break. I hear him walking again but I knew he wasn't going further down the path, he was walking over to me. Once he stopped right in front of me I open my eyes and look up at him, he looked concerned yet amused.

I cross my arms and glare at him, "What?" I ask realizing how bitter I sounded.

He chuckles, "My offer still stands, I can carry you if you stop being so stubborn." He offers me his hand but I refuse to take it.

"I'm fine, I don't need your help. How close are we until we get to the castle?" I ask shutting my eyes once more.

He wraps his arms around me but I ignore him, I knew it wouldn't last long and he'd start to become distant again. "A few more hours, if we start walking now we may make it before sunrise. You'll be able to get some sleep and eat more than just apples."

I feel him rest his head on my shoulder, his breathing became weird again. It seems to happen any time he's in that same area, I don't understand why though but this was around the time he'd start to become distant again. "Alright, should we start walking then?"

He steps back and nods, "I'm going to go eat first then we can." He told me he doesn't eat much but since we've started walking these past two days, he's eaten more than me.

I sigh and leaned against the tree again, "Alright, make it quick." He nods and runs off somewhere, I never know where he goes but it doesn't take him long to eat.

I sat there for a while waiting for him to come back, as I wait I glance around wondering where we were exactly. It was taking him longer than usual to eat which was making me worry, wondering if he may have gotten in some trouble and was now hurt, or possibly he could have been killed. I shook my head at the thought of that, no way he'd be dead he's too strong. I sigh standing up, I decided to just start walking around and follow the dirt path we've been using. I'm sure he'd find me with my scent anyways so it's no big deal, I start walking down the path once more as I look around cautiously. Without Mathias around I was in more danger than usual, I knew I was weak but I didn't want to tell him that. He already feels like I'm just here slowing him down, don't need to confirm it. As I make my way further down the dirt path I notice sounds I haven't noticed before, probably because I was too busy watching Mathias. I hear birds chirping, they're probably not real birds though and are just something like that chipmunk I encountered last time.

I didn't like thinking about that, I start walking faster maybe I'll make it to the castle before he gets back then it'll show him I don't always need him around me. I look up at the sky, most of it was covered by trees but other than that it was almost foggy right now because of clouds. It's been snowing all day today and it was getting colder at night to the point my cloak isn't doing anything to block it out. I shiver as I wrap the cloak around me some more trying to cover my face a little. As I go deeper in to the forest I notice the dirt path started to disappear which wasn't good for me because I don't know where to go now I sigh and decided to stop where I was and wait for him here. He'll probably be mad at me for walking ahead and not waiting for him like I'm supposed to do. I sit down by a tree and took out another apple from my bag, I was getting tired of them but It was the only thing I had to eat. Besides I've been walking for a while and I was getting hungry, I took out a bottle of water as well and took a few sips of that. Just as I was about to take a bite of my apple a gloved hand suddenly grabbed my wrist and made me drop it. I look up thinking it was going to be Mathias but I was wrong, very wrong. My eyes widen seeing this man, he looked terrifying! He glares down at me through his glasses, he didn't say anything either he just stared at me.

"U-uh…Hello, who are you?" I ask trying to pull my hand away but he wasn't letting go.

He didn't say anything, he just grunted and yanked me up. I gasp at the sudden movement and tried to keep my balance as I was pulled up on to my feet. His grip on my wrist tightens to a point it was almost painful, he drags me down another path ignoring my shouts to let me go. Was this guy dangerous? Where was he taking me and why wasn't he saying anything!? I look around nervously wondering where we were going, Mathias was definitely going to be mad at me when he finds me. I notice the deeper we go the more trees start to spread out, there was an opening that was beginning to show and I saw beyond that opening a huge castle! This must be it, where Mathias was trying to take me. Why was this guy bringing me here? I don't understand what's going on but as long as he doesn't try anything I guess it's alright for now.

As we make it to the front gate of the castle I see a smaller male smiling, he clasped his hands together as he looks in our direction. He quickly walks over to us and hugs the taller one, I notice they both have blonde hair and blue eyes. They look so similar yet different, one is taller the other is small, one looks terrifying the other looks friendly. The smaller of the two pulls away from the taller and smiles at me I was going to say something but he did before I could.

"Hello, sorry for the scare Berwald can be somewhat…. intimidating." he laughs and grabs my hands. "I'm Tino, nice to meet you. Mathias told us about you and from what he described in appearance I'm hoping you're Lukas, right?"

I nod and stepped back so he'd let my hands go, "I am, but who exactly are you? How do you know Mathias?"

He giggled and motioned me to follow him, he leads me in to the castle which I hesitantly stepped inside. "If you look, we've known Mathias longer than anyone in this forest well…. Other than Ivan." The way he said Ivan sounded bitter it sounded almost strange coming from this happy blonde.

I look around and saw paintings, some of the royal family and then others of their knights. One that caught my eye was the one Mathias was in, he was bowing down to king along with two others. The two others were the ones who were showing me around the castle, so it was true they did know him longer. This was when he was human, I can tell because he seemed happy in the picture happier than how he is now. I continue to look at the picture slightly amazed I was seeing him as a human this time instead of as a vampire, though I don't mind him the way he is now it's still interesting to see him before he was changed. He had the same armor on he does now, the only difference I see is he's holding an axe but I've never seen him with an axe before. I hear Tino chuckle causing me to look over at him, he was smiling at me it was almost calming the way he looked. It was obviously a lot better than Berwald over there who was standing there staring at us.

"What are you laughing at?" I ask crossing my arms.

He shook his head, "Nothing, you just looked really interested in that picture. I can tell you've noticed how much he's changed even if you never saw him as a human." He sighs and makes me follow him again. "These years have been hard on him, he blames himself for allowing Ivan to take over the forest."

I frown as I listen, I didn't understand how it could be his fault he tried all he could to stop him. "But it's not, he tried to stop him, didn't he?"

Tino nods, "He did, but it wasn't enough and that's why he blames himself. He believes he wasn't strong enough and when he woke up as a vampire…." He stops and looks down, "The poor guy wouldn't come out of the castle for years, once he finally decided to show himself he went straight to searching for Ivan for revenge."

He smiles sadly as he looks back at me, "He used to smile all the time, you'd never find him frowning or anything he always had this big grin on his face it was amazing how he could always be so happy. Once Ivan changed him, that smile went away I haven't seen him smile for years that is until you showed up."

My eyes widen staring at him in disbelief, "You sure? He's always glaring at me or getting mad plus he's so distant it's not even funny anymore."

He laughs, "Yes, I'm sure. One day he finally came back here not too long ago and he was grinning like a child who's found some candy. Once we caught up he had told me about you, that he finally went searching for you and he was finally happy he had something to care about again."

"Again, was the royal family that important to him?" I ask as we walk up some stairs.

He looks over his shoulder and frowns, "You don't know? He was engaged to the princess."

"W-what?" I gasp, I felt my chest grow tight I didn't like the thought of him loving someone else though I won't admit it.

He nods, "They were very close, the king allowed them to get married but before they could Ivan as you know killed everyone. Ivan has a sick sense of humor so once he did that he cast the spell using the red moon so that anyone could find their soulmate. Of course, he had told Mathias once he found his soulmate once more, he'd kill them too then finally allow him to die."

I notice him clench his fists as he continues walking, "But why would he do that?" I ask trying to keep up with him.

"Because Ivan is a cruel man, he tortures his victims before killing them whether it's physical, mental or emotional. Mathias has suffered the most out of anyone and the whole forest knows it which is why for the most part they stay out of his way in case of the chance they face his wrath." I didn't like what I was hearing, Mathias being feared just as much as Ivan and how much he's changed.

"Well, enough about all this depressing past. He told me you like to read, I figured you'd love to check out the library." He opens a door and allows me to walk by.

My eyes widen in amazement as I look around, there were hundreds maybe thousands of books! "I've never seen so many books before…"

He laughs and steps inside the room as well, "Figured you'd like it, it seems he knows you well yet you barely know him."

I look back at him, "I know, he doesn't tell me much. He's been acting weird lately as well."

He frowns tilting his head, "weird, how?"

"Well, any time we get close he starts acting strange. His breathing will become quick and he moves to around my shoulder or neck area then quickly pull away." As I explain what he's been doing lately Tino had a look on his face that I felt could only mean trouble.

He grins covering his mouth with his hand as if he was amused, "Poor guy, he's trying to stop it."

I look at him feeling confused, "Stop what?"

"Well, you see…. There is a thing vampire's do when they find their lover. Around a month of being together the vampire starts to crave his lover in more ways than one." He winks at me and I knew what he meant.

I blush looking away, "S-so what he wants to… you know..." I look down unable to finish the sentence.

He laughs, "He could do that, or he could drink from you. You see, drinking from your significant other is quite a pleasurable act if done right. It could be pleasurable or just to become closer, siblings do it, parents and children, friends… depending on the relationship they either just drink the blood to become closer or they infuse a type of poison I guess you could call it…"

I step back and glare at him, "Poison?"

He laughs, "Well, the fangs produce two poisons. One deadly or can change you from human to vampire. The other one is more, pleasurable." He sits down on a chair and smiles. "I don't know how it'd work on a human but for another vampire it's quite an amazing experience."

"I don't understand-" Before I could ask any more about it I hear a door slam open. I quickly turn and was now facing an angry vampire. "Mathias!"

He makes his way over to me his eyes bright red and glowing, "What the hell were you thinking just walking off without me!? You could have gotten killed!" He grabs my wrist yanking me towards him so I was face to face with him.

"W-well, you were taking a long time and I figured it'd be fine as long as I just follow the dirt path." He didn't seem to care.

"This forest is dangerous, I told you already you're not strong enough to go walking around on your own. I don't care how stubborn you are, you're weak, you're just going to cause trouble if you don't start listening to me!" I glare at him as I yank my hand free, I don't care how worried he was he doesn't have the right to speak to me like that.

"You do not speak to me that way, I don't care who or what you are! I'm sure you didn't speak to the princess that way did you!?" His eyes widen as he steps back his eyes quickly going back to their blue color.

I push him aside and ran past him, I didn't want to be near him right now. I look around and went down a hallway where I saw a bunch of doors, I open one and saw a bedroom where I decided to stay. I shut and locked the door then sat down on the bed, I hug my knees to my chest and looked around. I could hear voices echoing around the castle, someone was yelling and another was talking normally. The one yelling was probably Mathias, he tends to yell a lot. I decided to just listen, not like I have anything better to do.

"Why would you tell him about her!? Do you have any idea what you've done, you don't know how he is!" He shouts then I hear a loud crash.

"Calm down, he seemed happy to know more about you. Apparently, you're not telling him anything, he has a right to know who you are."

"Yeah, if I tell him not you! If I want him knowing it's on my terms not him finding out by some guy he just met." Now there was a loud bang.

"Will you stop breaking things? Your anger is getting out of control, he's even told me about that too."

"I don't care! Dammit, what else did you tell him!?" it got silent for a few minutes then I hear a door slam.

I hear footsteps, they sounded like they were getting closer. I hear them make it to the front of the door then stop, I was ready to shout at whoever it was to leave me alone but I didn't have to since they started walking away. I sigh in relief and shut my eyes, I lay down and realized just how comfortable this bed was. I haven't slept that much these past two days and It was finally catching up with me, I felt myself drifting off to sleep. I pull a blanket over myself and listened to the sounds around me, after a while I managed to finally fall asleep.

I look around, it was foggy so I couldn't see much. I tried to walk around but I couldn't move. I squint my eyes when I saw to figures a few feet away from me. I soon recognized one of them, it was Mathias! I tried calling for him but I couldn't speak, nothing came out. He was with someone, but who? I noticed the person was wearing a dress, it looked fancy and expensive. I frown in confusion when I watched Mathias step closer to the girl. I try calling him again but like before no sound came out. I watched as he leans down since she was a bit shorter than him, their faces get closer and my eyes widen and began to tear up when I saw them kiss. What was he doing!? He's my soulmate so why is he kissing that girl? I watch him kneel in front of her and he bowed his head so he was looking at the ground. Wait was that the princess!? I just when I hear his voice echo loudly around the foggy room.

"I love you" His voice sounded like a whisper but I could hear him clearly.

I struggle but managed to lift my hand up to try and reach for him, I try to call out his name one last time but again it didn't work.

"I love you…" Once again, he said it and it echoed, I didn't like this I want to wake up if this is a dream I want it to end.

Why her, why can't you say that to me!? I want to be closer to you, I want you to look at me the way you are looking at her. I want you to think of me as your soulmate instead of just a problem you have to deal with. I want you to love me. I fall to my knees as I watched them walking away, the more I try to reach for him the farther away he gets. I don't want him to leave me, I want him to stay I don't want to be alone anymore. I watch as everything begins to glow and turn completely white until I couldn't see anything. I shut my eyes and covered my ears not wanting to hear his voice echoing around me anymore.

I gasp quickly sitting up, I look around trying to remember where I was then I sigh realizing I was ok. I lay back down and shut my eyes, I go to rub my eyes to get rid of the last bit of sleep in them but when I touched them I noticed my face was wet. I groan in annoyance, I've been crying too much lately and I didn't like it. I use the blanket to wipe away the tears then got out of bed. I look out the window and noticed the sun was setting, how long was I asleep? I notice my cloak was off and hanging up on the door, someone must have come in to check on me. I rub my eyes trying to wake up a bit more as I walk over to the door to grab my cloak. It was cold in the castle, I take it off the hook and put it on as I quickly tie the string together to keep it on. I open the door and walked out of the room, I noticed it was quiet. I walk down the hall and made my way to the library, the only room I really know. I look around at all the books and smiled a little, I decided to grab one and read it to pass the time because I'm sure all three of the others are busy. I sit down at a table once I grabbed a book and started to read, it was about two ugly, cruel step sisters and step mother who were mean to their other sister/daughter. One day the girl who was named Cinderella decided she was going to the ball and had help from a fairy god mother so she could make it on time. I chuckle at that part, it was so unrealistic, magic can't do all that.

I continued reading, I suppose it was an interesting book since they did end up happy together wish it was that way for me. I sigh setting the book down, I look around again there was still no sign of anyone in the castle other than me. I realized though, the sun was still up so they probably won't be walking around until it fully sets. I decide to wander around some more to pass the time until I must face Mathias again, I didn't want to but I knew he'd start a fight again. I wondered in to a huge room with a queen-sized bed in it, I see a picture of a beautiful woman on the wall. She had blonde hair and green eyes, her smile was amazing she looked really nice. She was wearing a pale-yellow dress bringing out her green eyes even more. I looked down at a vanity dresser, I opened one of the drawers and saw a dusty painting inside. It was Mathias with the girl, I look up at the picture once more and realized this must be the princess. I put the painting back in the drawer and shut it, I turn around to leave but I stopped when I saw Mathias right behind me.

"You shouldn't be in here, I never wanted you to see this room." He grabs my hand to pull me out but I pull away.

"Enough dragging me around, why didn't you tell me about her?" I ask putting my hands down to my side so he wouldn't grab them.

He glares at me, "Because it's none of your business, still is none of your business and Tino had no right to tell you about it."

"Well, I'm glad he did at least I can finally know something about you since you don't tell me anything!" I shout, he didn't seem to like that though.

His eyes glow red as he lets out a low growl, "I don't have to tell you anything, like I said it's none of your business."

"But I want to know, I-I want to know more about you!" I look away, "If we're supposed to be soulmates I should have the right to at least know a little bit about you."

"You don't need to know anything about me, I never asked you to be my soulmate nor have I ever wanted one!" He looks down clenching his fists, "You'll just get in my way, I already lost her I can't lose someone else."

"Then why did you bring me here with you!? If you just left me at the entrance of the forest you wouldn't have to deal with me and I'd just be on my own!" I step back looking over my shoulder and looked at the picture, "I'm sure you wouldn't have mind if you were with her though…"

He grows quiet and stops growling, I slowly look back at him he looked hurt. I didn't care though I had to know, this has been bothering me since Tino told me. "D-do you still love her, is that why you're always yelling or staying away from me?" I ask mentally scolding myself when I heard my voice crack. "Because if that's how it is, I'll leave right now. I'll go find my brother on my own so you won't have to see me again."

He wouldn't look up at me, I see his fists clenching even more his knuckles turning white. I think that just answered my question for me, I nod then walked past him ignoring the suffocation feeling in the room. I shut my eyes taking deep breaths trying to calm down, I didn't want to break down right now I'll wait until I'm away from the castle to do that. As I open the door to step out I hear him call out my name, I turn around and looked back at him.

"Don't go, I want you here I really do. I shouldn't have said all that to you, I just don't want what happened to her happen to you." He walks over to me and wraps his arms around my waist.

He holds on to me tightly as he pulled me closer, he shut the door with his foot and pinned me to the wall so I couldn't move. I feel his mouth moving down to my neck, he whispers against the skin. "Tino told me he explained why I was acting the way I was, said he told you how my venom works."

I gasp feeling two sharp points on my neck and instinctively pulled back, he smiled glancing up at me not moving from the spot. "S-sorry, j-just didn't expect that." I whisper.

He chuckles and pulled me closer again, "If it's alright with you, once I'm done I'll tell you all you want to know. This time I promise I won't leave anything out. As long as you're okay with all this."

I shiver feeling his hot breath on my skin, his fangs poking lightly ready to break skin. "What exactly happens… a-and will it hurt?" I grip his shoulders tightly growing slightly nervous.

He sighs, "It won't hurt but since you're human I don't really know what will happen, you may react differently than a vampire would." He confessed and it made me even more nervous.

I shut my eyes and hid my face behind his right shoulder, I bent my head a little so he still had access to my neck. "A-alright, I trust you." If this is what it takes to become closer to him then I'm willing to do it.

He waited a minute then finally I felt two fangs pierce my skin, my eyes widen when I feel a warm feeling traveling throughout my whole body. I feel him starting to suck some of my blood as well, it felt strange but oddly nice. I felt his chest pressed against mine as he moves closer and digs his fangs deeper in to my neck. "M-Mathias!"

He hummed and I felt the vibrations around the area his mouth was at, I let out a small whimper not wanting to make any other noise other than that. I feel him smirk then I felt more of that warm feeling throughout my body again, it made my legs tremble and my heart race. What was this? I felt dizzy but not in a bad way, my head felt like it was spinning but the room was still. I could feel a drop of blood sliding down my neck, but before it could go far I felt his tongue lick it up. Every little touch felt like a volt of electricity coursing through my body, I never felt anything like this before. I feel him pull away slightly and move to my ear.

"I never did this with her, so this is something only me and you have together." I look over at him my eyes grew teary, I wasn't upset but the feeling in my body was causing me to act strange.

He chuckles and moved closer again giving me a quick kiss, I could taste the blood on his lips, my blood. I notice he had a bit on the corner of his mouth, I shut my eyes leaning towards him. I stick my tongue out and licked up the small drop of blood, I opened my eyes and saw the shocked look on his face. I continued to cling to him, my legs still felt weak and I didn't know how long this feeling would last but I didn't care. I hear him sigh and help me stand up by holding my waist, I hear him say something but I didn't make out what it was.

"Lukas, I'm serious are you alright?" I whine looking up at him he looked concerned.

"I-I feel…fine." I lean against him and shut my eyes.

I feel him rubbing small circles on my back, "I think I put too much, it doesn't seem to be bothering you that much."

I shook my head no, "I-it's not, it just feels weird." I mutter clinging to him even more.

He smiles kissing me once more, "I'm about seventy years old, I was turned in to a vampire at the age of twenty."

I hear myself panting as I look up at him, "Wh-what? What are you doing?" I ask wondering why he was telling me this now.

I feel him lick my neck, probably just getting some blood off. "I was head of the royal guard, I was cocky and didn't think anyone could beat me. That arrogance is what caused me all this trouble." He sighs running his hand through my hair trying to calm me down. "Don't focus too much on it or it'll take longer to go away."

I look down as he continued to run his hand through my hair, "That why you're telling me more about yourself? S-so I'll stop thinking about it."

"Mhmm." He hummed as he kissed the top of my head, "It seems to affect you more than vampires, or I put too much. But either way just to be safe, I won't be doing this again for a while."

"My head feels fuzzy inside, my body feels hot wh-what even is this venom?" I ask looking up at him, he was smiling, a real smile.

"Think of it as just a way to help a lover get in to a certain mood." I huff understanding what he meant, though I've never done anything like this I can tell what I'm supposed to be feeling.

"Make it stop, I liked it at first but it's becoming too much." I feel my face heating up and my whole body was trembling.

He sighed, "I'll have to drink more from you, is that alright?" I nod and moved my head so he had access to my neck again.

I feel him lean down and started drinking my blood as his fangs pierce my skin like before. It took a few minutes for the venom to start wearing off, I was finally able to calm down enough I could think straight. I tapped his shoulder twice then lightly pushed him away telling him I was fine, so he could stop. I was starting to feel dizzy from blood loss anyways, I was glad he made it stop I wasn't ready for anything like that yet. I shut my eyes and lean against him once more and sighed as he wrapped his arms around me again.

"Let's go to my room so you can rest, afterwards we'll be staying here one more day so we can gather all we need and leave." I nod and was about to stand up on my own but he stopped me. "I'll carry you, I took a lot of blood you shouldn't be walking right now."

He picks me up and I don't argue, I let him carry me down the hall and in to a bedroom it was big like the other one we were in but the bed was smaller and there wasn't as much stuff in it. "This is your room? Was it your room as a human too?" I ask looking up at him.

He nods and placed me gently on the bed, "Have you eaten yet?" He sits down beside me on the edge of the bed and runs his hand through my hair again.

I shook my head no, "Not yet, I've been sleeping most of the time." He leans down and kisses me, he said he'd go grab me something to eat but I stopped him. I wasn't feeling hungry and I didn't want him to leave. "Just stay, sleep with me or something I just don't want you to leave yet."

He sighs in defeat knowing it was pointless to argue with me, "Fine, but just for a little while then I'm grabbing you something to eat." He lays down next to me and holds me close, it felt nice.

It didn't take long for me to fall asleep, from the blood loss and just being tired in general I managed to fall asleep easily. I felt happy, I felt like things were going to get better when he was beside me like this and I hope it doesn't end.

Alrighty, so I bet you didn't really find the venom part as interesting as you'd hoped it'd be. ;D If you want me to actually go in to more detail on it or have another scene with it but have them go further I wouldn't mind. I didn't go in to it too much because . I was worried it'd be too much and it wouldn't be rated T anymore. So tell me now if you'd like that and I'll put the rating up higher.

If you didn't understand, humans are weaker than vampires. The venom is strong and meant for them, so for a human to be injected with it can cause stronger reactions than if it were a vampire. The more he concentrates on the venom itself the stronger it gets because the body is only focusing on that, so Mathias worried and hoped in distracting him for a bit it'd ease the affects a little. Also, not to mention the fact he added a lot so that didn't help the situation either….