Okay, before I get started, I have two things I want to say. First, I got a review that said about Dan losing control in HQ. I actually plan to have the whole team, including Frank, know about Dan's true nature, but there's a plan to it. It is a great idea and if I ever do another vampire M. story, I'll definitely use it. It just doesn't fit in too well with this story, because Frank doesn't have a key part in the storyline for the moment. Now, for my second peice of news. Quite a few of you already know this, but I'm going to say it for those of you who don't. After much consideration and thought, I've decided to make Thirst into a trilogy.

With that, I give you chapter 10!

"Do you know what the girl's name was?"

"Kloe."

"Oh, my God." Zoe whimpered. She stared at Dan, who watched her with sad eyes.

"She doesn't remember." Dan told her.

"Why?"

"It's something that happens when we feed on human blood." Dan explained. "If we don't want the human to remember, they don't."

Zoe nodded, but she didn't say anything. Cautiously, Dan placed his hand on her arm, rubbing her skin gently with his thumb. Zoe sighed and looked up at him, a small smile playing on her mouth.

"You didn't kill her." Zoe said. "That's what matters."

Dan smiled sadly. "I'm glad you think so."

Zoe moved towards him, her hands sliding up his shoulders and around back of his neck, tangling in his blonde hair. She kissed him gently, feeling his cool skin against her own as his mouth pressed back against her's and his arms circled her waist, pulling her closer. Zoe smiled into the kiss, her hands sliding across his shoulders. Dan shivered and pulled away slowly, resting his forehead against Zoe's.

"You didn't kill her. That's what matters." Zoe repeated. This time, Dan believed her. A little. Dan pressed a kiss to Zoe's forehead and she flushed, looking down and smiling shyly. She started to say something, but an older female voice cut her off.

"Dan! We're back!"

The bedroom door opened, revealing a beautiful brunette woman and a taller, sandy-haired man. Zoe noticed that although the woman and Dan didn't share many facial features, they did have the the same piercing dark blue eyes. It was impossible, however, not to notice that Dan and the man were closely related. They had the same hair colour, the same strong jaw, the same everything.

The woman's eyes travelled to Zoe. Dan half-expected Zoe to look away shyly, but instead Zoe turned so she was facing Katarina and Ezekiel.

"So this is the human?" Katarina asked.

"The human has a name." Dan replied.

"I'm Zoe." Zoe said, as Dan swung his body around so he was sitting beside Zoe on the edge of the bed.

Katarina sighed and muttered something like, "First a werewolf best friend and now a human girlfriend."

"So I assume that you know." Ezekiel said. Zoe nodded once and Katarina sighed.

"That's enough, Katarina." Ezekiel said. "I'm sure the girl - I mean, Zoe - means us no harm. I'm sure she won't tell anyone anything."

Zoe nodded. "I won't say anything to anybody. Who would believe me, anyway?"

The bitterness faded from Katarina's expression as she looked down at the girl sitting beside her son. "You're right about that, sweetheart. Nobody believes in this stuff anymore."

Zoe nodded, glancing at Dan, who smiled and pressed a kiss to her temple. As Katarina watched them, her expression softened. Watching the two of them reminded her of when she and Ezekiel were much, much younger.

Ezekiel looked like he wanted to say something more, but Katarina tapped his arm and walked out. Ezekiel looked surprised, but he followed after her without a word.

"Well, that was . . . interesting." Zoe murmured.

Dan smiled, brushing Zoe's fringe out of her eyes. "Yeah, Mother is very . . . interesting."

Zoe smiled and kissed Dan's shoulder. "I'm sure she's not that bad."

"Oh, she's not. As long as you don't provoke her." Dan said, getting up. "You hungry?"

"You have food?" Zoe asked, following him into the kitchen. When he pulled out eggs, bacon and a pan, Zoe's eyebrows shot up to her hairline. "You can cook?"

"I've spent half my life cooking my own meals, Zo. My parents are Old Ones - they haven't eaten food in their own home since the Middle Ages."

"But how can you eat?" Zoe asked. "Since vampires are technically, you know . . . Dead."

Dan shrugged. "I don't really know how. I just know that if I keep a healthy amount of blood in my system, I can eat food."

"And if you don't?" Zoe asked.

"It is very, very painful." Dan said.

Zoe reached out and touched his shoulder as he cooked the eggs and bacon. "What, like being splashed with Holy Water painful?"

"I've been splashed with Holy Water. Eating when I haven't fed . . . I imagine that to be like what I imagine swallowing Holy Water to feel like."

"Really painful, then." Zoe said.

Dan nodded. "Think of swallowing knives. That's what I imagine swallowing Holy Water to feel like."

"Ouch." Zoe said softly. Dan smiled, flipping the eggs. "That was the understatement of the year."

Zoe smiled, tapping Dan's hip with her toe. Dan started to say something, but he broke off as Zoe's phone started ringing.

"Oh, no." Zoe said, pulling the phone out of her jeans pocket and looking at the caller ID.

"Is everything okay?" Dan asked.

"Uh, yeah. It's my foster parents. I'll be right back." Zoe told him, pressing a kiss to his mouth and jumping off the conter, moving out the back door as she accepted the call. Dan looked over his shoulder at her, but with him and two Old vampires in the house, there wasn't much that could grab her and get very far so he turned back to the food.

"Hello?" Zoe asked, closing the back door behind her and wrappng the arm that wasn't holding her phone to her ear around herself.

"Zoe!" Nina, her foster mother's voice said. "Where are you?"

"I'm at Dan's."

"You're at . . ." Nina trailed off, sounding relieved. Zoe couldn't help thinking that if Nina knew what Dan and his parents really were, she'd start screaming for Zoe to come home right that minute.

"You're okay?" Nina asked.

Zoe nodded and then, remembering that Nina couldn't hear her, she said, "I'm okay. I'm fine."

"Okay, well, next time you decide to stay over at your boyfriend's house, please tell me. I don't expect much, Zoe. I just expect to know where you are."

"Yes, Nina. I'm sorry." Zoe said.

"It's okay, Zoe. Just . . . remember to tell me next time, okay?"

"Okay, bye, Nina." Zoe said, hanging up and shoving the phone back into her pocket. She unwrapped her arm from around herself and pushed her hair out of her face as she walked back inside. Dan was putting food on plates as Zoe moved to stand beside him.

"Everything okay?" Dan asked, smiling down at her.

Zoe nodded. "Yeah. Nina was just worried because I didn't call last night."

Dan and Zoe were just finishing when Ezekiel and Katarina re-emerged. Ezekiel was wearing jeans and t-shirt, but Katarina was wearing a lomg, flowing dress.

"What's the occasion?" Zoe asked.

"Nothing." Dan told her. "Mum just likes to wear stuff like that because it reminds her of the Middle Ages."

"Not to remind me of the Middle Ages, Daniel." Katarina said softly. "To remind me of the person I was back then. To remind me of what it was like to be human."

Zoe glanced at Dan. He looked down, taking a deep breath. In that moment, Zoe knew that the one thing in the entire world that he wanted more than her was the one thing she could never give him.

He wanted to be human.