A/N: This was an interesting chapter. I'm feeling some twists coming on. Not in this chapter, but in the next. I have no idea what's going to happen...you're as in the dark as I am. Lol. I had a plan, and as usual, the characters screwed with it...oh crap, I used that bad joke last chapter. Um...

Well I had a plan and characters messed it up as usual. So I dunno what's goin' on. We'll find out...just keep reading and reviewing and I'll keep writing stuff for you to review )

Also, more people - review chapter 8 (those of you who are comfortable reading the AHEMsexAHEM scene). I want to know what you guys think of it.

On with the story!

As he spoke, he felt her soul turn. Reveling in the release he felt, he realized he hadn't turned anyone in the time it took him to gain Kieran's trust. If she'd seen him flirting with other girls, seducing them to the side of the Atrox, she would never have gone out with him the first night. As he watched her nod, Kieran's eyes began to glow, and what he had done to her dawned on what was left of his good side.

"No..." he whispered

"Yes," Cassandra hissed back maliciously, and giggled. Stanton lashed out at her and backhanded her, nearly knocking her over. "You just can't come to terms with the fact that you turned her, can you?" she asked, mocking him as she sneered, her pretty features contorted with anger and hurt.

"Get out," Stanton growled at her, beginning to shake with rage. When Cassandra started to shake her head, Stanton stood and lunged at her.

The girl just laughed, amused at his attempt, and shook her head. "Fine, fine...see you later," she said, and walked out the door.

Stanton followed her as she walked, ready to hit her again, and when she closed the door behind herself, he punched it hard instead, denting the wood. He leaned against the broken wood for awhile, until he heard a rustling from his bed. "Kia?" he called to her.

"Yes?" she answered, walking around to find her clothes. Stanton watched her as she slipped on the underwear he'd tossed off to the side, and stepped back into her dress. "Help me with this, would you?"

Stanton's throat tightened. Even her voice sounds different, he realized as he walked over to her and tied the corset strings together, then zipped the outer layer around her. "I'm sorry," he whispered with a bit of a catch in his voice.

Kieran raised an eyebrow. "Sorry for what? Turning me? Opening my eyes? No, I should be thanking you," she said, and turned around to face him. "On that note, thank you, Stanton." She stepped forward, snaking her arms around his neck, and kissed him.

Stanton forced the catch out of his voice and cleared his throat. "You're welcome," he told her with a smile, and kissed her again, his arms relaxing enough to slither around her waist. Kieran sighed when hhe hugged her tighter, and he pulled away. "I have a surprise for you," he whispered against her lips, and felt her smile against his.

"Do I get a hint?" she asked, sounding like herself again. Stanton felt a pang of guilt, but pushed it away as he shook his head.

"Nope, no hints." He let go of her waist and drew his hand down her arm, catching her hand before it slipped away from him. Taking her to the door, he rested his hand on the knob. "Meet me by the car. We're all going to meet at the beach in half an hour. I need to change," he told her, and tilted her chin up, gently touching his lips to hers.

"Beach?" she asked. "Don't I need to change?"

Stanton looked her over, letting his eyes linger until she called his name and cleared her throat. Looking up at her eyes, he smiled. "No. You're beautiful. I'll see you in five minutes." He closed the door behind her and began to walk away, but spun when he heard a knock. When he opened the door, Kieran kissed him, and then walked away giggling.

Stanton couldn't stop smiling as he closed the door once more behind her. He unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans, kicking them off easily, and walked around a bit before he found his tuxedo pants, vest, shirt, and jacket. His strong arms slipped easily into the shirt and he took his time buttoning it, along with the vest. Grabbing the pants, he put them on in a bit of a hurry, anxious to get back to Kieran. Sensing Tymmie at the door, however, he sighed as he zipped the fly. Come in, he called to him, and began tying his shoes up.

"I see you two had fun," Tymmie mused, glancing at the trash can.

Stanton shot a glare at him, then continued tying his shoes, too tired for a rebuttal. "Tell everyone to meet at the beach in forty-five minutes. Lecta has been turned," he added with a smirk. "It's time for the ceremony." When Tymmie nodded and left the room, Stanton picked up his bowtie and began tying it in front of the mirror.

Part of him hated himself for destroying her life, but the realization that hers was just another soul turned lingered at the back of his mind. While he ma have destroyed the life she thought she had, he had created another one for her, one in which it was permissable for him to love her, and for her to love him. He didn't have to hide his real affection for her. Of course, he would now have to deal with Cassandra's wrath, as he knew very well she wanted him to love her.

Maybe once, he could have, but no more. Now his affection lay solely with Kieran, and he had a feeling it would last awhile - especially now. She was one of them. He could teach her, and love her. A smile crept over his face as he thought of how much he could teach her, and he straightened his bowtie. Slipping on his jacket, he walked out the door, through the remaining dancers, and out to his car.

As he closed the front door behind him, he let a smile cross his lips. Kieran leaned against his car, looking up at the clouded sky. "Hard to see the stars tonight," she told him.

"You'll get used to it," he told her, tracing her jawling to direct her face towrads him. He touched his lips gently to hers, and whispered, "Get in the car. I'll explain everything on the way," he told her. Once he saw her nod, he opened the door for her with a smile. Closing it behind her, he walked around to the driver's side and got in, turning the key in the ignition.

As they drove to the beach, Stanton went into detail about the ceremony they were driving towards, and about the Atrox. He told her exactly what the Atrox was, and what he had to do every so often - turn people. Glancing at her every few seconds, he checked to make sure she was taking the information in all right.

Finally, she looked at him. "What about you? Who turned you?" she asked, and he kept his eyes on the road.

"The Atrox took me itself when I was a child," he told her. "I was an invitus, taken against my will. After the Daughters - Serena, Jimena, Vanessa, and Catty at the time - turned me to their side, I had to go back to the Atrox...it's a bit of a long story, but I went freely, and was given the title Prince of the Night," he explained.

"Do you regret it? You could've stayed good," she told him, and he shook his head.

"This is who I am, what I'm meant to be. I have no regrets," he told her as he parked by the beach. "Come," he told her. "I told them to get here in about - twenty minutes now," he said, glancing at his digital watch. "We still have a little time before we have to meet them on top of the bluffs." Rushing around to Kieran's door, he opened it for her and held his hand out for her.

Kieran reached out and took his hand, standing from the car. She lifted her dress to make sure it wouldn't get full of sand while they walked, but Stanton took that hand, too, and she let her skirt fall. When their lips met, she sighed. Even turned to the Atrox's side, she loved him. He'd been a bit worried about that.

As they walked, he explained to her a few more details of the ceremony, and told her about some things she'd be able to do once she stepped out of the cold fire. Kieran stopped him suddenly and stood in front of him. "Show me."

"Show you?" he asked, and quickly began running through things he could show her. He knew he shouldn't, as she was going to be able to do it soon herself, but he wanted to watch her react. "All right, I'll show you," he said, and caught her gaze with a smirk. He pulled her close to him, holding her tight, and leaned back with her. He felt her tense when she thought he was going to fall back into the sand, and chuckled when they fell into shadow.

He flew with her over the beach and over the water, letting her feel the cool spray of the ocean. He felt her awe and couldn't help but smile. He was having fun, and hoped she was, too. You'll be able to do this on your ownsoon - you won't need me to show you how to fly, he told her, and felt her elation. She'd been nothing more than "normal" all her life, and couldn't wait to have this kind of ability. After flying around awhile, he swirled up to the top of the bluffs with her, landing where Yvonne's ceremony had been held, and solidified. When he looked down at her, her eyes were glowing a bright turquoise and her gaze was reverent.

"You could do this all this time and you never showed me?" she whispered in disbelief, awe and ecstasy filling her eyes. "Why?"

"I wasn't supposed to tell you the truth about anything until after I turned you. I was supposed to have turned you a long time ago," he admitted.

"You should have. I can't wait to do all that stuff." She kissed him lightly and pulled away, but he snaked his arm around her neck and kept her close to him, deepening the kiss. When he dipped her back, her arms flew around his neck, but she didn't pull away, as he lowered her to the ground, sitting on a dry log near what looked like a campfire site.

"It's not all fun," he told her, his voice harsh. Kieran, however, recognized the harshness as a cover-up for pain, and said nothing else on the subject. They sat talking for another few minutes until others started arriving.

The first voice they heard was, of course, Cassandra's. "Ready to get the party started?" she asked, grinning. Behind her walked most of the rest of the partygoers, Stanton's group of followers.

Ready? Stanton whispered across Kieran's mind. She nodded, still unable to speak mind-to-mind.

As Kieran watched, All the followers including Stanton backed into a circle around the campfire site. "Lecta," Stanton whispered to start the ceremony, and a fire ignited in the center of their circle. However, as Kieran stepped closer, drawn to it by its beauty, she noticed that the air grew colder around the fire instead of warmer like she thought it should have been.

"Lecta," the rest of the followers began chanting, and the fire grew as if the whole group had begun to blow on it. As the flames grew and thrived, Kieran found her feet pulling the rest of her body towards the flame, into the cold fire.

A/N: This is an interesting perspective to write it from...I'm having fun. The funny thing is, it's not Kieran who's trying to twist the story, and it usually is my character...Hm. Fascinaing...

Review if you love me! (Or if you hate me, but I'd rather be loved than hated...)

-Cali :)