"She asked for you."

My arm was asleep, but I didn't dare move. Lest I give away the fact that I'd been listening in on the guard members' conversation for the last several minutes. I had allowed my eyes to flicker open for a brief moment. During which, I'd located the two men seated at the table in the center of the train suite — directly in front of me. My eyes had been closed ever since for fear of getting caught. My other senses, however, were on high alert.

Especially now, when the new topic of conversation shifted to me and my skin tingled. It seemed I didn't need to catch it with my own eyes to know I was under the protection of Alec's watchful gaze.

"She sees me as a monster."

"That is hardly true."

"I allowed her to watch as I broke a man in half." A chair creaked. Prosper didn't argue his point. Astute as he was, he knew it was one Alec had no interest in weighing at the moment. Unprompted, Alec continued with a mournful sourness. "She wouldn't let me touch her."

So that's what this was about. Of course, it made sense. When I had flinched away from him and not Prosper, it had been unintentional. Retrospectively, I should have known he would internalise it.

He tended to be more sensitive to the slight reactions I had to him rather than the explosive emotions. I'd noticed it first when he would draw a single wavy line with his pinky on my lower thigh just to distract me from Jane and I's latest marathon. He was amused by the automatic twitch of my knee and especially by the pickup of my heartbeat. A response, I noticed, he had pre-planned to escape Jane's notice. Specifically achieved by choosing an especially harrowing point during the movie to do it. I would be distracted for the rest of the film, every time.

Prosper coughed politely. "Perhaps it is not the best time to indulge in your emotions."

Pulled from his thoughts, Alec resumed their previous topic and main point of business. "The Romanian is difficult to track."

Prosper didn't disagree, but proposed a delay. "You should eat before I go. I'll stay with her."

"She is not leaving my sight."

In an attempt to convince Alec, Prosper invested in a genuine approach. "On my life, you will not know my shoes." He believed Alec was afraid to be in his position, to lose me as he had lost Elizabeth. Prosper reminded me a knight of Camelot. I could almost picture him in armour, being knighted by King Arthur in one of my old storybooks.

His attempt must have failed, because Alec picked up at, "we haven't time for this. You must go, or the scent will be lost." There was a pause between the men. "And Prosper..." I couldn't help but let my eyes flicker open, more invested in the conversation than I could help being. "Do not search for Elizabeth."

The longing in his voice sent a flood of sorrow through me. "She's alive. I can feel it."

Even with my limited view, I could see the fierce expression on Alec's face. It carried the gravity of his next words. "Then we will find her, but you cannot rescue her alone. Discover what you can and return to Volterra with haste."

"Understood. I wouldn't—"

Alec cut him off. "I would. For her." I immediately shut my eyes, just in case. "Prosper, I am aware of what I am asking from you."

"But —"

"On my life," he repeated Prosper's phrase. "If she is alive, I will not rest until your mate is returned to you." There was a heaviness to the air that stole my breath.

The quiet that followed made me question if I'd been discovered, but nothing more was said. The compartment door slammed shut and Prosper was off.

Before I could contemplate my next move, Alec's voice lilted through the air. Calling me out, he stated simply, "I know you're awake."

I sat up with a sheepish look, which went unnoticed. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop." My companion sat in the chair facing me, on the other side of the table. He didn't acknowledge my apology. "Did Prosper know too?"

Alec kept his head down. "I am more familiar with the transition in your breaths between sleep and waking." My lips parted. He was often at my side, on duty, during the vice versa occasions, but the detail caught me off guard.

He seemed to realise what he'd said almost immediately after it left his mouth. He continued, his tone still sharp and to the point. "Are you well?" I nodded, but he raised his eyebrows as if expecting a more reliable source.

I croaked out, "I'm fine." He said nothing else, returning his attention to a book in his hands. I had not noticed it previously. I recognised it as one of the books Jane had packed in my bag. "Are you?"

He grunted.

"Alec?"

"Not now, Saffiya." I flinched at his tone.

"I just wanted to make sure you weren't…hurt—"

He let out a chilling, mocking laugh. "I am invulnerable and immortal." As much as I wanted to comment on the falsifiability of his statement, I couldn't see that conversation ending in either of our favour. Especially not when we'd gotten to such a good place. Apparently, our encounter with his enemies had a lasting impact because Alec just couldn't help himself. "Unlike humans. Especially those with a habit of antagonising every goddamn vampire they encounter."

I scoffed, folding my arms. "You're being mean."

He closed his book and in a low drawl, "am I?"

"First of all, Vladimir came after me because of you." Alec grimaced at the name. "And last I knew, Travis was human."

Despite much prompting, he was already seething. Alec slammed the book on the table and used the momentum to stand. "You offered him your life."

I pulled my arms across my chest. "To save yours."

"You do not save me."

I jumped up to meet him at the table. I refused to back down, but noted that, for once, I was reasonably calmer than him. "My life is not more important than yours."

"You are human—"

I pushed off from the table, raising my voice in contempt. "Oh, come on!"

"—if you ever try that again —"

"You'll what? Kill me yourself?"

A graphic snarl echoed in his throat. The sound tore through my body. With a burst of wind, my back thudded against the wall; Alec's hand saving my head from smacking against the thick wood. It was the only sign of control he displayed in that moment.

His forearm landed against the wall next to my face, supporting his weight as he leaned in. There was something clearly familiar about our current position. Alec's eyes burned with pure fury. The intensity of which, forced me to look away.

"One drop of your blood…"

It was ominous, not quite a warning but no more or less a threat. The predator in him had been challenged for my blood. Blood that he'd made quite clear to everyone we met — was his. Whether he chose to drink it or not. For the first time in my life, I thought I might actually feel my blood run cold. There was something in his voice. It was harsher, colder…less Alec.

He leaned in as if to kiss me, but our mouths never met. Alec's nose brushed lightly over my jaw, moving up along my cheek until his breath gently tickled my ear. The butterflies in my stomach returned with a sweeping announcement.

I breathed in, wetting my lips. "Anything could kill me. You're not special."

I had expected fury. Instead, Alec gave me a devilish smirk. His hand slid down the inside of my forearm, slipping to the back of my uninjured hand and interlocking our fingers. With this security, he raised my hand to his mouth. Alec waited for my eyes to catch his before he brushed his lips to the bottom of my palm. He watched me as he twisted our wrists so the inside of mine faced him.

The instant his lips met my pulse, my heartbeat began to cloud my ears. The physiological response signalled a rumbling groan from deep in his chest.

"Alec?"

For just a moment, I was lost in the eyes of his demons.

Something snapped inside him. His mouth found my neck with a sudden impatience. My teeth caught my bottom lip as he claimed my skin with a parade of resolute kisses. I had not realized I'd moved from the wall until Alec tightened his grip on my hips and pushed them back against it. Of their own accord, my hands clutched onto his arms as the gap between us lessened.

Anger was not what drove him. It was the instincts that the venom had infiltrated and flooded into his body. If my blood spilled now, it didn't matter how he felt about me. I would be done for.

His lips were soft, fixated on the skin between my shoulder and my neck. I am not sure what I thought the teeth of a vampire would feel like. How it would feel to still be alive as my blood was drained from my body. It wasn't until the pressure increased in the same area, that my singularly experienced brain informed me that I had not been bitten. Well, not in the way I'd expected. My breath hitched in my chest, pushing me closer to Alec.

I urged myself to put my brain back together. Despite my butterflies and their protest, I reminded myself of the social implications from the last time he marked my skin. I shoved against him in irritation. "If you give me another hickey, I swear to god—"

I gasped as my body was again returned to the wall with a soft thump. Alec stared me down with a conflicted, potent expression. A round of electricity ignited inside me. I'm not sure whether it was the look in his eyes or the way that look made me feel, but I shut my mouth. Pleased with my brief fall into a submissive position, he brushed my hair off of my face. His touch — every time he touched me, I lost my mind. And he knew it.

He held my gaze and the smile on his face turned mischievous, before he returned to my collarbone. I just about melted, but I was by no means, ready to let his arrogant butt win.

"Alec!" I growled in warning, a habit I'd most definitely adopted from him. The growl was still in my throat when he cut it off with a contrarily tender kiss to the center of my neck. I stared at him, wide-eyed and speechless as he swiftly put an end to my verbal threats. His roguish personality was messing with me under the surface while his primitive nature dominated.

I raised my hands to push him again, except this time, he didn't bother to humour my weakness. His knee parted my thighs, pinning my left leg against the wall. The action limiting my movements and ensuring that I would behave. He was in control and he revelled in it. He was born, again, for this.

"My name." He hummed, his hand exploring the side of my ribcage. I was completely vulnerable to what was not only Alec, but also, in that moment, a killer. Though I was only vaguely aware of this looming factor. Especially when he began to trace the curve of my abdomen through my shirt. He patiently gauged my response as he checked in with me through his eyelashes. Against my better judgement, I found myself moving my hand up to his bicep, continuing across his shoulder and placing it across the back of his neck just as he lifted his head. His eyes now serious, a smoulder, a hollow warning.

He gently pushed my hips back to the wall they had drifted from for a third time, where they'd been searching for a match. He paused at the waistband of my jeans, which was covered by my shirt. Not one to let this deter him, he played with the bottom of the shirt's fabric casually. Only, the bottom buttons on said shirt had been ripped away with Travis' last grab for me. Which, truly, left nothing in the way of innocent exploration.

I shifted under him, well aware that my skin was still littered with red and purple marks. It would destroy him to see the bruises he'd accidentally had a part in creating. And with his current swinging mood, there was no way to know how he would react. I huffed,

"You—" I succeeded in taking his eyes away from my stomach, just as his fingers brushed against my bare skin. My lips parted at the unmistakable cold of his skin and my rebellion willingly gave in. He sent me a cheeky grin as he innocently traced back up the curve of my stomach. Alec kept his touch light, but it was frustratingly bold. Which made it even more distracting when the pad of his finger trailed under my shirt and along my lower abdomen.

His responses and behaviour was his own, as in not unusual for him. Behaviours that I was unable to admit until now, were quite endearing. Almost charming. But there was a hollow sliver behind the actions that told me to stay on guard. Unfortunately, my guard was one with very little willpower and with currently clouded judgement.

There was just something so devastatingly free about him. About us. I couldn't help but trace it back to all that I'd learned. Now that I knew the missing parts of our story, it felt silly to waste any time at all. I wanted this. I wanted to be in his presence, with him. Obsessively. Willingly. More than anything.

Alec brushed his lips against my jaw, his cold breath returning to the skin just below my ear. My bottom lip abandoned my top and he took advantage of the reaction. My stomach flexed as he flattened his hand possessively over my lower abdomen. I couldn't hide the small gasp that appeared between my lips.

"My name," he paused again, but, I hardly noticed. I tried to be present, to avoid another embarrassing sound from leaving me without permission. I focused on attaining air as his finger painted small circles just above my navel. In what was becoming a pattern, my hips landed back against the wall. Alec continued enforcing space in-between our bodies as he played with the top of my jeans. I inhaled sharply, my eyes shooting up with a glare to the devilish tilt on his lips. He slid two fingers back up my body. My stomach tensed and I lost my breath.

"Alec—," I pleaded. His smirk turned into a small smile. I'd played right into his game.

Damn.

Having achieved his goal, Alec hummed. The predator had returned to full control, elated by the turn of events. "My name is feared by generations of vampires." His hold on me abruptly disappeared and he wandered away, speaking as if in soliloquy. "I have decimated entire covens. I," he insisted. "I am responsible for their demise. For paralysing their existence of light, life…leaving nothing in its place." The arrogance was empty, expected, unwillingly self-indulgent. "My power is legend." The guide to a false glory. "I have spilled the blood of countless humans with the ease with which you breathe."

I frowned, unable to deduce why he was telling me all of this. So, I responded in the only way I knew how. "You don't frighten me."

He pivoted back around with an unnerving grimace. "My darling," I was unable to free myself from his eyes, where an already faded red was growing darker by the second. Still, my current state of mind refused to acknowledge the signal. Too enthralled with the moment, though there was nothing but darkness filling it. "You forget." He retraced his steps towards me as if I were his prey and he hadn't eaten in weeks.

"I can hear your heartbeat."

The return of a phrase that once sent terror down my spine, now ignited something much more enticing. Whatever I was going to say vanished. I couldn't take it anymore. The incessant buzzing desire to taste his lips again was wickedly vehement. Screw time and space.

I kissed him.

Which was, assumably, the last thing Alec expected me to do. Yet, he caught me without hesitation as I crashed into him. My fingers returned to the nape of his neck as he responded, pressing his mouth harder against mine. His tongue swiped my bottom lip and we fell into an unrehearsed choreography. It was an impulsive dance that we'd always known, but never learned. It was a relaxing of muscles, a temptation of heat, an eager desperation rocking to the rhythm of the music we both yearned for.

The first time I'd tasted his lips, I'd been hungry. Now, I was ravenous.

If only I'd taken a moment to process the final stage of evolution in his eyes.

Alec hardly led me two steps before we bumped into the table in the center of the compartment. My knees wavered and I could feel the curve of his lips against mine. Before I could tell him to shut up, Alec lowered his hands to secure a hold on my thighs. My other hand landed against his chest, privy to the ripple of the muscles under his shirt as he lifted me easily onto the table.

He found his place between my legs, venturing to my throat once more. Instinctively, my head fell back, giving him better access to the curve in my collarbone. The vampire pressed his lips tenderly to the skin, and a brush of his tongue sent a shiver through my body. My knees tightened around Alec's hips as I tried to pull him even closer to me. He inhaled shortly, before baring his teeth over my pulse. I let out a small whimper that stopped him short.

I nearly fell as his body disappeared from under mine. The tips of my shoes grazed the floor as I steadied myself. I could feel the ever increasing beat of my heart and the whirring of the butterflies inside of me.

Alec was only a few steps away from me, but he'd collapsed to the floor and was leaning against the foot of the bed. His head was down and his fists were tightly clenched. It was a reaction I had witnessed before. However, as I took an automatic step towards him, I was shocked back with a brazen snarl.

"Don't! Don't move."

I obeyed, a small hurt in my chest prominent but overshadowed by the signs of distress he was displaying. My heart clenched, a phantom mimicking the emotions I imagined Alec was attempting to contain. My patience was fuelled by small indications that he was not completely lost. A small unclenching and re-clenching in his hands, an occasional fall of his ebony locks that further blocked my view of his face. His chest was still, the rise and fall I occasionally witnessed in him had been halted altogether. Like a statue. I clung to every detail until he lifted his head.

Adrenaline still coursed through me, but my mind had finally cleared enough to process what we had both been wilfully ignoring. His eyes were empty, a demonic, inky blackness overtaking his irises.

My hand flew to my mouth, smacking me with my obliviousness. Alec had fed — nearly the minute before we left. He'd made a point to do so. But the last few hours, he had been subjected to several factors, from Vladimir to my bold stupidity, that tested his control. Not to mention, the introduction to the smell of my free flowing blood, albeit distant and brief. He must be in hell.

He pointed towards the wall sofa seating, his voice raspy. "Breathe," he instructed me.

Right. Turn the sound down on the beating organ in my chest. Take a couple of deep breaths to calm it down. I did as he asked, sitting in my original spot. For some reason, I found it a little too difficult to keep my breaths few and far between, only getting in so much air at once. Must be the adrenaline.

Alec stayed where he was, a reasonable distance between us. His eyes closed and his jaw clenched tightly, as if attempting to reel himself in. We were both at fault for acknowledging but refusing to accept the danger. Our emotions had clouded our judgement for an annoyingly additional time, yet he was the only one who suffered for it.

His concentration was interrupted by a sharp ring. The sound barely broke the air before he had placed a phone — a new phone, to his ear. He answered gruffly, rudely greeting the caller. "What?"

I could hear the person on the other end, high-pitched, muffled. Familiar. Alec ran a hand through his tousled hair, fanning it out.

"Is that all?"

Apparently, it wasn't. He lowered his voice after this, his words picking up speed. Whatever the conversation topic, I would be none the wiser. I curled my legs into my chest and secured my arms around them. I faced out the window, seeing as my options were limited to either the countryside or staring at the hungry vampire. I thought it best to choose the shadowed land outside. But my mind refused to let him leave my thoughts.

When the call ended, I could feel him studying me again. There was movement in his direction and I turned to see the cause. Alec had pulled the bottom of his sweater and was lifting it over his head. I turned back just as quickly, a giddy embarrassment rising in my chest.

He must've caught my glance, subtle as it was, because he spoke up. His voice dripped with a bitterness I could almost taste. "Are you afraid of me, now?" Between his execution of Travis and whatever had just happened between us, I wasn't sure if he was speaking generally or to any specific event. I only frowned into my reflection.

The dark shapes outside the window flickered past. "Is that what you want?"

Alec flashed across the compartment, holding out his jumper to me. He didn't make eye contact, purposefully facing away as if to hide the fact that coming closer had not worsened his hunger. I took the sweater, gripping the soft fabric between my fingers. Having learned from the last time we were in this situation, I pulled it over my head. I let my hair down from its tie to hopefully assist in hiding the perfume of my blood. The pained expression on his face never lessened and my heart clenched at the sight.

He apologized with a hoarse throat. "One way or another, Saffiya. Your life will end with me."

Alec didn't elaborate, but I knew what he meant. If we kept tempting fate, that ending would look less like immortality. And more like a funeral.

~•~•~•~

A/N: Cullens are in the next chapter, y'all

I am so incredibly grateful for all of you. Thank you for reading, commenting, voting, and existing. Happy Birthday to whoever wishes it was their birthday and to those who are celebrating whenever you read this :D

So...HUGE escalation in terms of their physical relationship, clearly. This was kind of the last hurrah of their large dramatic style arguments for the moment. (It's still Alec and Saffiya, y'all. I mean, let's be reasonable). Upcoming chapters are going to be loaded with more time for the two of them. I'm literally drowning in Alec and Fiya moments over here and I can't wait to share them with you all!

This chapter is a little all over the place, which is purposeful this time. Also, remember to approach chapters with a suspension of disbelief — especially when it comes to vamp factors (like his bloodlust). If you're struggling with this, just stick with me. You can also ask and I can share my justification and reasonings. But mainly, control and bloodlust is being temporarily lowered on the list of importance so that we can have a little fun while Saffiya's human ;)

From the sidelines,

Ro