I DO NOT OWN BATB!

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Here is chap 26. Hope you enjoy.

Kate: I am so happy that u three enjoy reading my story! :)

Julia: Yes, life can be hard. But we must go on :)

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Vincent shut his eyes close and while a tear escaped his eye, he said." Catherine, I need you to leave immediately… go home… now!"

Catherine heard what he said, but she ignored his words. As she walked closer, she noticed that his right hand had dried blood on it. The cuts from the mirror were nasty, but they were healing nicely.

At one point, he felt the warmth of her body as she stood so close to him. Vincent closed his eyes, as he concentrated on breathing in her sweet scent. God! It was almost cruel that she was so close and yet he couldn't hold her, or touch her, but mostly tell her that he needed her. He needed her, cause she was the only one who was able to make the emptiness go away. If only he could just let her know that he wanted her to stay… He wanted to… so badly but he was forbidden to do so.

After losing Demetrios, he never thought that it was possible that someone would come along and make him feel again, make him love again. And since Catherine walked into his life, she made him do just that…

"Vincent." he heard her say. Her voice was gentle and sweet and soft.

Just like her.

Vincent opened his eyes, but didn't reply. From behind, Catherine bit her bottom lip, while contemplating what to do. She wanted him to turn around and look at her, but he didn't even reply when she said his name.

"Vincent. Look at me, please?" she asked.

He let out a breathy sigh and slowly turned around to face her. What she saw in his eyes, was heart breaking…

In his eyes, she saw a man who was grieving. A man who was feeling pain and sorrow. A man so broken, that she wasn't sure how she could 'fix' him.

Catherine was torn at the moment, cause she wanted to cup his face… to caress his cheek. But she was afraid how he would react. So instead she looked at him with loving, pleading eyes.

"Vincent. Talk to me, please? Who's room is this?" she asked.

The moment those words left her lips, he felt a chill down his spine. He hadn't talked about Demetrios in years with anyone. And Vincent wanted to tell her… everything. He wanted to tell her about his son, but it hurt so much to even be reminded of his little boy. At the moment, he felt so empty and felt like he was drowning in dark, cold water. And he was trying desperately to swim to the surface, but something was holding him down. He felt like he lost Demetrios all over again, his heart about to burst from the pain.

Vincent wanted to reach out to her so desperately and he was so close to telling her that he needed her more than ever. But a voice told him that that action, would be a very bad idea.

He had to let her go… his heart wanted her. But his head told him NO!

So he broke eye contact and looked the other way.

"That is none of your damn business, Catherine." He said.

Catherine felt a gut wrenching pain, as his words reached her ears. Her lips were trembling, as she tried to understand why he was being so cruel to her. She knew that he was hurting, but did she deserve this?

"Vincent… I am here for you. Why are you pushing me away?" she asked, as her eyes welled up.

He looked her straight in the eyes and said."I don't need your pity, Catherine. Why are you here? Did Calinico or JT ask you to come and talk some sense into me?"

Catherine shook her head."No, I came here for you and because I missed you." She stated.

It hurt her the way he was looking at her… like she was something he despised, but she swallowed hard and boldly reached out to him. And just as her fingers were about to touch his face, he turned the other way.

That action send a sharp pain straight to her heart. Why was he rejecting her?

Vincent raised his eye brow and said."It hurts, doesn't it? That's how I felt when you turned your face away from me."

Catherine was looking at him and hearing the harsh words, that left his lips. But it felt like someone else stood in front of her.

"Vincent, I know that you are hurting right now. I feel your pain… but please talk to me. And not mockingly, but really talk to me. Please." She pleaded.

He scoffed and narrowed his hazel eyes. "You feel my pain? REALLY? How can you feel my pain, Catherine? Have you ever?Huh?" he asked.

"Have I ever?" she asked, not fully understanding what he meant by that.

Vincent shook his head."Have you ever lost a son? Have you ever lost a child?!" he said.

"No… but I have los…" she began, but he cut her off in mid sentence.

"Then you DO NOT HAVE A CLUE what kind of pain I feel! So don't you dare try to pretend that you do!" he said, the tone of his voice very cold.

At this point, Catherine felt so defeated and she wanted to give up. But instead she shook her head and asked." Who are you? Where's the Vincent who is kind and sweet? The one I fell in love with?"

He coldly said."Don't act like you care about me. I poured my heart and soul out and told you about me. About what I have to live with every single day... what was living inside of me… And what do you do?! You stab me in the back and treat me like I am some kind of freak! And maybe you are right! I must be a freak of nature, but before you knew about me… about my secret, you sure did not have a problem shoving your tongue down my throat!"

At that, Vincent felt a hard and burning slap on his cheek. Catherine's tears had rolled down her cheeks, her chest heaving. Never in her life had she slapped anyone! And as her anger subsided, it made place for a gnawing and gut wrenching pain.

"How dare you." She whispered.

As Vincent turned to look at her again, he felt horrible. He shouldn't have said that… he went too far.

In that split second, Catherine saw something in his eyes. Was he purposely trying to get rid of her? But Why? She wanted to stay… here in Tinos… with him.

She frowned and shook her head. Catherine didn't understand why he acted this way. And just as she saw his walls falter, Catherine saw him building those walls around him again. Why was he acting so cold towards her?

"Go home, Catherine. You are not needed here." he said with a cold tone in his voice.

Catherine had a sudden urge to hit him and kick him, so the invisible walls around him would crumble. But instead she placed her hands on her hips.

Vincent saw the determination in her eyes. Stubborn as she was, he didn't think she was going to listen to him.

"Go back to your life. Go on! Nothing is keeping you here, right?" he stated.

Catherine couldn't believe her ears. Was he serious? At this point, Catherine had completely lost her patience. She so wanted to strangle Vincent, but instead she huffed and walked away from him... but not before saying.

"I need a drink. I hear you have been drinking a lot of beer lately. I'm gonna get me some. Want one too?"

As Vincent watched her walk out the door, he sighed deeply and pulled out his phone. He dialed a number.

"Calinico, I am going to need assistance. She refuses to go home. And we both know that she mustn't stay. I need her to be safe, so please tell her father and sister to get ready. Make sure they arrive safely and lead them to the helicopter. Tell her father not to worry. I'm going to make sure she joins her family, but send Aftario to help me." he instructed.

Vincent walked towards the desk and pulled out a letter from the drawer. As he read the letter one more time, he closed his eyes and thought long and hard. He had to do this! There was no other way. So even though it pained him, he decided to get it over with. It was for her own good.

()

Vincent found Catherine sitting at the kitchen table drinking beer. As she watched him walk through the door, she looked at his hands.

"There's exactly one beer left in the fridge for you. And why haven't you let someone stitch up your hand?" She simply asked.

Catherine got up and grabbed a towel out of the closet. After a few minutes, she walked over to Vincent and grabbed his hand, cleaning up the cuts. She had wet the towel with water, so the dried blood was easy to clean. As he felt her touch, Vincent's eyes dropped to her lips. She sighed deeply and said.

"It's healing well. You are a fast healer, it's amazing!" she said.

Catherine grabbed her beer bottle and drank from it, wondering if his fast healing had something to do with him being part Beast.

"Why are you still here, Catherine? I thought that you wanted to go home with your father and sister." he asked.

She didn't answer him. Instead, Cat looked him in the eyes and walked back to the sink. As she cleaned the towel with the running water, she said just 1 word.

"Galya."

Vincent stared at the Beauty before him, his mouth falling open slightly. Oh God! The older woman had convinced her to stay?! Oh no! He had to do something; it wasn't the best idea. But she must go home, now!

He walked over to her like a predator towards its prey. At that moment, she looked his way and saw his eyes glowing. They were yellow! He stood in front of her in a blink of an eye and towered over her. She immediately jumped up, her heart beating wildly against her rib cage.

"What… what are you doing, Vincent?" she stammered.

"I said: Go home!" he growled.

At this point, she saw the veins popping on his neck… his fangs were descending and his claws were visible too.

Catherine was scared out of her mind! She had trouble breathing and began sweating heavily. As she saw him changing into the Beast, she stumbled away from him into the living room. She walked backwards till she hit a wall, the tears rolling down her cheeks.

She closed her eyes, as she felt his hot breath on her face.

"Go home!" he threatened. His voice very low, making chills go up and down her spine.

Catherine shook her head and sobbed."N-n-nooo… I am not leaving you!" she whispered.

And even though she was beyond terrified, she kept standing in her spot.

"I will hurt you!" he threatened.

But she slowly opened her eyes and looked straight at him."N-n-noo..." she sobbed uncontrollably.

"You will never… never ever hurt me…" she whispered, her voice very shaky… "You care about me and even though you look d-d-different at the moment… you will n-not hurt me." she said, while her whole body shook.

"Get the hell out of here!" he roared.

Catherine was shaking and felt like her heart was beating a 100 miles an hour. She was afraid… She was so afraid, her chest heaving. Cat looked up at the Beast and saw that he was panting and heard him growling. But instead of running away from him, she reached out to him. He huffed and snarled at her, but she slowly reached out her hand to touch his face, her hands shaking…

He had turned completely and The Beast was out. As she finally touched his face, she felt a tingle go through her body. It went from her hands to her head and her toes. She gasped at the sensation, his face distorted and hard. And instead of pulling her hand back, she kept caressing his face.

Her fingers traced the scar on his cheek, as she saw him hold his breath. Catherine saw his reaction and boldly cupped his face. She stared into his golden eyes intensely. Her fingers slowly traced his lips, her fingers trembling, while she whimpered softly. The sound that escaped her lips was not loud, but the Beast heard it very clearly. At that, he closed his eyes, as he reveled at her soft caress.

"I am here to stay. I will try and help you break the curse. You won't get rid of me that easily, Vincent. You won't." She whispered, so sincere.

As those words reached the Beast, he slowly changed back to Vincent. Catherine saw that and smiled, seeing that she got through to him. She locked eyes with him and slowly pulled his face towards hers. Their lips were mere inches apart, her heartbeat kicking up a notch. And just as their lips were about to collide, she felt so dizzy and it went dark before her very eyes…

Oh boy! :(

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Ruby.

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