Gregory's P.O.V.

Sleep didn't come easily that day, Gregory blamed the straight jacket. As he tossed and turned trying to get comfortable his mind drifted back to Seraphina. Rookery was her father. She was the daughter of his family's greatest enemy. He should have known when she pulled that bow and arrow on him at the cliff. When she didn't tell him her last name. Or the following night, how she said her father's job had them always moving around, they'd been tracking his family, trying to learn their whereabouts. And they had, Rookery and Sera had always been a few steps behind them while they'd searched the Scotland coastline for the stone.

It was maddening! His brain was telling him he should be angry but something in his chest reminded him he still cared. He cared about a hunter. Why? Maybe it had been the way Sera talked about her father, they obviously didn't get along. Especially now that he'd sold her off to the McAshton's grandson. He'd been absent for the first eight years of her life then spent the next seven turning her into a weapon. Just to end up giving her away like nothing. Sera had a point, Gregory might not always agree with his father but Frederick the Great had never turned his back on his family.

Then there was the guilty part of him, he'd almost choked the life out of her when she'd told him her secret. He'd lost all control and in his shock and rage he'd hurt her, badly. He had to find some way to make it up to her.

After a bit of odd maneuvering he'd gotten out of the ridiculous jacket and snuck out of the basement and made his way for the McAshton's manor. Luckily for him the sun had already set.

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Unfortunately for Gregory there was no way inside without being spotted so he did what vampires did best, sit patiently and wait for the prey. Luckily he didn't have to wait long, a butler had come out with a garbage bag and made his way to the bin that was completely in the shadows.

Gregory silently made his way to the man. After he'd dropped the bag of trash in the bin and turned to make his way back to the house Gregory quickly grabbed him by the collar and stared him in the eye.

"Be calm. I'm not going to hurt you." The man immediately relaxed, now under Gregory's control.

"You're going to give this to Seraphina Rookery." He placed a small piece of paper into the man's hand.

"Not to anyone else, understand?"

"Seraphina Rookery. No one else."

"You'll be discrete, make sure no one sees you."

"No one sees."

"Then you'll continue with your job as if nothing happened. You won't remember me, the note, this conversation, nothing."

"I'll remember nothing."

"Good. Now go on." The man nodded before turning and walking away with the note. Damn, Gregory was going to miss being able to do that.

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Sera's P.O.V.

The garden was dimly lit by strings of lights, Sera found Gregory by the fountain deep in the greenery. He turned and gave her a small smile.

"They're not really your kind of crowd are they?"

"Not at all, thank God for that." She scoffed, "They're all such narrow people who think their giants." She laughed nervously as she noticed him staring at her neck. For a moment she was worried he might make her his next meal, he did bite the caretaker last night. Then she realized he was staring at the bruises on her throat, she'd covered it pretty well with make up but he had supernatural senses, he could probably still see them.

"I hurt you last night." He muttered sounding broken.

"It's alright." she shrugged.

"No, it's not. A man should never put his hands on a woman in anger. It's a vile thing to do, an unforgivable thing to do."

Sera reached out and took his ice cold hand, "I forgive you."

"Thank you." He paused, "Telling me about your father was a brave move. You didn't have to tell me, but you did. And I am deeply sorry for how I responded, it just caught me off guard. Three hundred years of instinct is hard to fight but I'm grateful for your honesty." He took their joined hands and pulled her closer.

"You deserved to know, after all the trouble my family has put yours through in the past three centuries."

"You're not like them." He whispered. Sera's mind was blank, she could feel the blood rushing to her face causing her to blush uncontrollably. The only thing her mind could concentrate on was him.

Without any warning Gregory quickly leaned forward and their lips met. The kiss started slowly, cautiously but as she kissed back Gregory's confidence grew. One of his hands grasped her waist as the other ran through her hair, cradling her head. Sera's hands moved up his chest until she could grab his shirt collar keeping him from pulling away. Their lips moved in perfect harmony as a feeling of pure bliss washed through both of them.

New P.O.V

His hands grabbed the rail of the balcony in anger as he looked at the garden from above. The couple was well hidden from the rest of the world but from a higher angle Theo could see them clearly. That vampire thought he could get away with coveting what was rightfully Theo's. Sera belonged to him, not that filthy creature.

But there she was, the daughter of a hunter letting that demon touch her, even kiss her. Who knew what else she'd let him get away with. Not to mention her father, Rookery looked at Theo like a novice. Like a trainee because he hadn't yet made his first kill. Well he would soon enough, he would break Sera's fiery spirit, make her bend to his will and prove himself a worthy hunter to her father all in one move.

He ran his fingers along the wooden stake hidden in his jacket and imagined the most painful way he could kill that rotten vampire.