As a tear escaped his eye, Christian sighed, still not looking at her." Ana, I need you to leave immediately… go home… now!" he threatened, his voice lower than usual.

Ana heard what Christian 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. Christian 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, because 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 Ana walked into his life, she made him do just that…

"Christian." he heard her say, her voice so gentle, sweet and soft.

Just like her.

Christian opened his eyes, but didn't reply. From behind, Ana 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.

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

At that, 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, Ana saw a man who was grieving—a man who was experiencing pain and sorrow, a man so broken, making her doubt if he could be 'fixed' at all.

Ana felt so torn at the moment, because she wanted to cup his face… to caress his cheek. But she was afraid of how he would react to it. Will he reject her if she tried? She couldn't handle rejection from him, so instead she looked at him with loving, pleading eyes.

"Christian. Talk to me, please? Whose room is this?" she asked.

Ana knew whose room this was, obviously, but she wanted him to confide in her. 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 Christian wanted to tell her— he did! He desperately needed to tell her everything about his baby boy, but it hurt so much to even be reminded of him.

At the moment, he felt so empty and felt as if he was drowning in dark, cold water, desperately trying 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!

Christian wanted to reach out to Ana so desperately and he was so close to telling her that he needed her more than ever. But his conscious mind told him that he shouldn't do that. That would be a very bad idea.

He had to let her go… his heart wanted her, but his head told him NO! At that, he broke eye contact and looked the other way instead.

"That is none of your damn business, Ana." He replied, saying the words but internally wishing that he hadn't.

Ana felt a gut wrenching pain in her heart, as those words reached her ears. Her lips were trembling at that, attempting to understand why he was being so cruel to her right now. She knew that he was hurting, but did she deserve this? To be treated like this?

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

At that, he locked eyes with her and said." I don't need your pity, Ana. Why are you here? Did Calinico or Elena ask you to come and talk some sense into me? Did they? Well, you can go. I do not need anything from you."

Ana shook her head at that." No, I came here for you and because I missed you." She stated, her eyes pleading.

His last words hurt her immensely, and also the way he was looking at her at the moment… like she was something he despised, but she swallowed hard and boldly reached out to him. But just as her fingers were about to touch his face, he turned the other way.

At that, Ana felt a sharp pain straight to her heart and soul. Why was he rejecting her?

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

Ana looked at him and heard those harsh words coming from his lips, but yet it felt like someone else stood in front of her, saying those awful things.

"Christian, 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 huffed at that, and narrowed his grey eyes. "You feel my pain? REALLY, Ana? How can you possibly feel my pain, Ana? Have you ever? Huh?" he asked.

"Have I ever?" Ana said, not fully understanding what he meant by that.

At that, Christian shook his head." Have you ever lost a son? Have you ever lost a child?!" he said, the tone of his voice low, while he glared at her.

"No… but I have los…" she began, but he rudely cut her off.

"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 icily, making a chill go up Ana's spine.

At this point, Ana felt so defeated, almost wanting to give up. But she miraculously had a little strength left, so instead she gathered all of her courage, and asked." Who are you? Where's the Christian who is kind and sweet? The one I fell in love with?"

At that, he replied, his voice cold as ice." 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… I confided in you with my darkest secret. And what do you do?! You stab me in the back and treat me like I'm 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, Christian felt a hard and burning slap on his cheek. Ana's tears had rolled down her face, her chest heaving heavily. 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 Christian turned to look at Ana, he did feel horrible. He shouldn't have said that… he went too far.

In that split second, Ana 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 wanted to break the curse of her own free will, because she truly and deeply loved him. Why was he deliberately pushing her away?

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

"Go home, Ana. You are not needed here." he said with a cold tone in his voice, and once more looked the other way.

At that, Ana 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, and said." Christian."

Christian looked at her at that, and instantly noticed the determination in her eyes. She was being her stubborn self at the moment, so he knew that she wasn't going to listen to him.

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

As those words left his lips, Ana couldn't believe her ears. Was he serious? At this point, she had completely and utterly lost her patience with him.

She so wanted to strangle Christian, 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 Christian watched her walk out the door, he sighed deeply and pulled out his phone from his pocket. Then he dialed a certain number.

"Calinico, I'm 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 best friend 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.

At that, Christian 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.

… … … …

Christian found Ana 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.

At that, Ana got up from her seat and grabbed a towel out of the closet. After a few minutes, she walked over to Christian 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, Christian's eyes automatically dropped to her lips.

As she focused on her task, she let out a breath and said." It's healing well. You are a fast healer, it's amazing, Christian."

After finishing said task, Ana grabbed her beer bottle again and drank from it, wondering if his fast healing had something to do with him being part inhuman.

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

She didn't answer him. Instead, Ana locked eyes with him, and broke eye contact after a few moments.

She then walked back to the sink, cleaned the towel with the running water, and without looking at him she said just 1 word." Galya."

At that, Christian stared at the whirlwind before him, his mouth falling open slightly. Oh God! The older woman had convinced her to stay?! Oh no! He had to do something right away; Ana must go home, now!

At that, Christian walked over to her like a predator towards its prey. At that moment, Ana 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 Ana. She instantly jumped up, her heart beating wildly against her rib cage.

"What… what are you doing, Christian?" she stammered, fear overwhelming her completely.

"I said: Go home!" he growled at her, the veins on his neck almost bursting, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

At a certain point Ana saw his fangs descending and his sharp claws were visible too.

Ana was scared out of her mind! She had trouble breathing and began sweating heavily. As she saw him changing into his other form, she stumbled away from Christian into the living room. Ana walked backwards till her back hit a wall, the tears rolling down her cheeks. As her eyes fluttered shut, she felt his hot breath on her face.

"Go home!" he threatened, his voice very low, making chills go up and down her spine, while she trembled like a leaf.

At that, Ana shook her head furiously and sobbed." N-n-nooo… I am not leaving you!" she whispered.

And even though Ana was beyond terrified, she kept standing in her spot, refusing to move.

"I will hurt you!" he roared.

At that, her eyes slowly fluttered open, 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, Christian." she said, while doing her very best not to panic.

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

At that very moment, Ana was shaking uncontrollably, her heart rate had kicked up five notches, and she was afraid… Ana was so afraid, her chest heaving. And yet she dared to look up at Christian in his 'other form', noticing that he was panting and hearing him growling.

Ana stood her ground though, and instead of running away from him, she reached out to him. He huffed and snarled at her, but she slowly brought her hand towards him, reaching out to touch his face, her hands trembling at that…

Christian had turned completely, and the monster was out! As Ana's hand finally collided with 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 his warm, almost hot cheek, and she noticed how he was holding in his breath. At that, Ana grabbed the opportunity to boldly cup his face with both her hands. She stared into his golden eyes intensely; her fingers slowly tracing his lips, her fingers trembling, while she whimpered softly. The sound that escaped her lips was not loud, but the monster heard it very clearly. At that, his eyes fluttered shut, while 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, Christian. You won't!" She said, so sincere, while her voice broke at the end, tears pooling in her eyes.

As those words reached the monster, he slowly changed back to Christian. At that, Ana smiled, seeing that she had gotten 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…


Note: Oh, oh! What did he do to her?!

This was the chap you all.

:) Leave me your thoughts. REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! ;)

Thanks you guys.

Till next chapter.

J