*P.O.V. of Vlad*

"Do you know of any vampires who would know about Cassie?" I was speaking to my uncle about the mysterious object my girlfriend had received.

It seemed like I could never relax. Cassie meant absolutely everything to me. If anything were to happen to her, I'm not sure how I'd react. Because of what I was, she was constantly put into danger. It wasn't fair to her. She deserved so much better than this, so much better than me.

My Uncle Otis seemed to ponder the question for a moment. He had so much knowledge of the vampire world. Otis was a huge inspiration of mine.

"I honestly have no idea," he drummed his fingers on the table in front of him. "Are you 100% sure that what you saw was a glyph?"

His question confused me. I had seen enough glyphs in my day to know what one looked like. Talking to Otis always left me with more questions than answers. For whatever reason, my uncle tried protecting me from Elysia, keeping as much information from me as possible. In my opinion, however, this only made things so much more difficult for me. I had a duty of protecting Cassie, and to do so, I needed the pieces to put this puzzle together.

"Well, what else could it have been!?" I was beginning to grow angry with my uncle. My temper was on an extremely high level lately. I would snap over the simplest things, and I am not exactly sure why.

Otis placed a calming hand on my shoulder, "Relax Vladimir. I can see that you are stressed. Why don't you go upstairs and get some rest?"

I nodded. Maybe I just needed some sleep. Lately I have gotten very little of it. I would lie awake at night, thinking about the future. Truth be told, I was terrified of the future. Everything was so uncertain. I like to know exactly what is going to happen next. However, my life was a road that constantly turned in another direction.

I was unpredictable.

Once I got to my room, I immediately threw myself on to the bed. Looking out the window, I could see the moon peeking out from the clouds. I let my mind wonder to Cassie. My beautiful, beautiful Cassie. Pictures of her smile crept into my head, making me grin to myself. She always brightened up my day. Cassie was so beautiful, so unique; the girl drove me crazy with her perfection.

After about an hour and half of trying to get to sleep, I surrendered myself to the insomnia. I sat up and bed and concentrated, searching for Cassie's mind. Some people may think it's creepy, but I liked watching her dreams. Her dreams usually consisted of her and I. Once, I watched us get married in her head.

Tonight, however, she wasn't dreaming. In fact, Cassie was wide awake.

I feel as if the old Vlad is coming back, and it scares the hell out of me.

This confused me. What did Cassie mean by "the old Vlad?"

I decided that she must have been writing. There was a time that I was watching her sleep, protecting her from anything that could be harmful. I was sitting near her window, when I stumbled upon a journal. Cassie wrote about her life, in the same way that I do. I never had told her about my journal, but it was yet another thing her and I had in common.

I couldn't help but smile at myself. In my opinion, we were perfect for each other. This was something I have known since the day I first saw her. I'll never forget that day. Even if it were only a quick glance as she walked inside, it still meant everything to me.

Slipping back into her mind, I tried to decode exactly what she was thinking about.

There's something going on with him. Vlad's acting different lately. He gets angry easily, and when he is angry, his hands shake violently. I'm really worried about him.

I was hoping Cassie hadn't noticed my change in behavior. For whatever reason, I could not help but have this feeling something was wrong with me, very wrong.

My stomach growled, telling me I needed to eat. My fangs slipped from gums in response. Sighing, I slipped out of bed and made my way downstairs. Amenti rubbed her head against my legs as I walked into the kitchen. All the while, she was purring louder than a train.

"Hey baby girl," I scratched between her ears, hoping she would quiet down some.

Opening the freezer, I realized something.

We were out of blood bags. How was this even possible!? Nelly always brings home blood when we're nearly out.

I closed the freezer door in defeat, dragging myself back to my room. My stomach refused to stop growling. My hunger was intense lately. Whether it was puberty or something stranger, I just wanted it to stop.

Finally, after about 3 hours of lying awake in agony, I fell asleep.

"Come on,Vlad!" Cassie giggle, pulling me deeper into the woods.

We made our way to a clearing; the entire town of Bathory in view. This was the place where I had told Cassie about me being a vampire.

She sat down on the grass, gesturing for me to follow.

Something was off.

It was too dark here. The moon was above, but I found it difficult to see the trees around us. I took my seat next my girlfriend. She instantly placed her head on my shoulder.

"You can do it you know?" Cassie didn't look at me, but kept her eyes on the town in front of us.

Confusion took over, "Do what, baby?"

Cassie lifted her head and proceeded to pull her hair back into a ponytail. She smiled, laughing at my question.

"You can drink my blood, silly."

I quickly shook my head. There was no way I would do that. I had made a promise to myself that I would never drink from a human. The thought of doing this sickened me.

Before I knew what was happened, I pulled Cassie closer. I tilted her neck, all the while screaming in my head to stop.

I could almost feel my eyes flash purple. My fangs slipped into Cassie's neck, tears falling from face. Why was I doing this!? Why couldn't I stop myself?

Cassie whimpered, "That's..enough."

I tried to stop, but I couldn't. The sweet taste of her blood tainted my mind. I needed it!

"Vlad?" Cassie's voice was quiet. She was dying. The sound of her heartbeat began slowing in my ears. I was killing the love of my life, and I was enjoying it.

Her body went limp. I threw her down and stood up, starring at the town.

"Soon," I whispered, "I will taste all the blood in this useless town."

I woke up in a cold sweat. Glancing at my clock, I could see that it was almost noon.

To say that the dream shocked me was an understatement. The dream absolutely terrified me.

I desperately needed to talk to Otis. He would have answers; that I knew. Making my way downstairs, I realized that the house was eerily quiet. I crept into the dining room, hoping to see Nelly eating lunch. However, I was greeted with a note.

Written in Otis' sloppy handwriting, it read:

"Dearest Vladimir,

Nelly and I attempted to wait for you to awake. However, we had to go and get some blood. We shall return soon.

Yours in eternity,

Otis"

Great, now I had to wait. I decided to go see Cassie.

Telling her about the dream was not an option, but just her presence would cheer me up, that I know.