A/N: Hope you're enjoying the story. Just wanted to say thanks for reading! :) Please let me know if you find any errors or things which don't seem quite right to you. As always, don't forget to review and let me know your thoughts on the direction the story is taking, your predictions on what is going to happen in future chapters, etc. Reviews are extremely helpful and are good motivators, helping get the next chapter written and published quicker!

Special thanks to:

kinanbon x3 - thanks soooooo much for the reviews :) my first ones, and they were extra helpful in getting me to work on the story in my spare time :D

Chapter 6

General POV

Ash looked from Mary-Lynette to his two sisters anxiously.

"Well? What is it?" he demanded after the silence and anxiety had become too much for him to bear.

"Okay, well, we know you guys have thought about this before, but you need to understand that the situation is completely different now. The circumstances have changed entirely," Rowan began in a motherly tone.

"Please," Mary-Lynette said in a tone which was oddly harsh for her normal calm voice. "Get on with it!"

At this point Kestral butted in, "We want to change you to a vampire!" she blurted out quickly.

Mary-Lynette looked up at Ash, alarmed. He simply stared directly at Kestral as though she had lost her mind.

"What are you thinking?" he hissed.

"Well, we were thinking that at least this way your soulmate won't die!" Kestral hissed back.

Rowan butted in to keep her siblings from arguing any more. "Mary-Lynette, what do you think?" she asked her close friend in a motherly tone.

"I'm not really sure what to think," she replied with a hint of anxiety in her voice.

If I became a vampire, I'd be strong and beautiful like Ash, she thought to herself, not allowing Ash to hear her.

And I'd be one with the night, and I'd be able to see so much of the sky with only my eyes, and… I wouldn't die!

Mary-Lynette was comforted by these facts. She could become a person of the night. More importantly, she would be able to live with Ash forever!

"I'll tell you what I think," Ash began, startling Mary-Lynette. "I-I…" Ash faltered. Mary-Lynette could see rationality taking over in his mind.

"I-I … I guess it would work. But only if Mary-Lynette consents to it," he finally said, looking at her for her approval.

Mary-Lynette nodded vigorously. If I'm a vampire, she told him, then we won't have to worry about any of this. I could even go back with you to Circle Daybreak and actually be of some use!

"It's settled then," Rowan announced. "Mary-Lynette will become a vampire!"

At that moment, Mary-Lynette's brother, Mark, and his soulmate, Jade, walked into the house. Just in time to hear Rowan's announcement. Mark came bolting into the living room, Jade on his heels.

"Mare's becoming WHAT?"

"Mark, I'm slowly dying. This is my only way out," Mary-Lynette explained to her raging younger brother.

Seeing the logic, he slowly calmed down.

"All right," he finally consented. "But I'll only go along with this on one condition."

Five pairs of eyes stared at him questioningly as he smirked.

"I'm not gonna be the one to tell Dad."

Ash felt Mary-Lynette stiffen beside him as her brother delivered his final blow. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and rubbed them in a dire attempt to thaw her frozen features. His attempts failed miserably. All he managed to do was make Mary-Lynette turn her head to give him an ice-cold glare.

"What did I do?" he asked her innocently.

There is no way we can tell my Dad all this stuff, Mary-Lynette told him through the soulmate link. Each word covered in ice. For one thing, he'll never believe you guys are vampires. Second, he'll NEVER consent to me become one if he miraculously does believe us. Thirdly… Well- well. It just won't work!

Ash could sense Mary-Lynette getting more anxious sitting in a room with her extended family. That was probably why she was using the soulmate link to talk with him. It was much less embarrassing than voicing her concerns aloud. Nevertheless, Ash wanted to be able to talk to her.

"Hey Mary-Lynette," he said finally. "Do you wanna go for a drive?"

She looked at him strangely.

"I don't have my car here, but I can go g—"

"I'll drive." Ash cut her off sharply. Mary-Lynette began to worry. What was bothering Ash so much? It wasn't like she had meant her offer to be offensive. She had just assumed that she would drive. Looked like she had assumed wrong.

Driving away in Ash's fancy car, Mary-Lynette felt disgruntled. Then she realized that Ash probably had just wanted to show her his car – typical guy. After a short while, they reached a place that looked oddly familiar to Mary-Lynette. Suddenly, it dawned on her.

This is the spot, isn't it.

Ash nodded. Of course. He just had to bring her to the spot where she more or less murdered her best friend. It didn't matter if he was a werewolf and was trying to kill her soulmate. She had still killed him. This was also the very spot where Mary-Lynette had decided to become a vampire, then changed her mind. Why would Ash bring her here of all places?

"Ash, what are we doing here?" she finally asked aloud.

"You'll see."

Mary-Lynette had no choice but to follow Ash out of the car and into the forest. Once they were a ways in, he turned and looked at her.

"I know you're nervous about telling your Dad about my sisters and I and our plan," he started. Mary-Lynette tried to interrupt, but he cut her off.

"Fortunately, I have a little plan of my own." He grinned at Mary-Lynette, who took a step back.

"Ash –" she said before giving a little shriek as he quickly stepped towards her, wrapping his arms around her waist.

You're too easy to scare. Was the only reply she got.

Well, what's this idea? She asked nervously. And I'd like the answer to be in words. Not actions.

"Well," he spoke aloud. "I was thinking we could maybe start turning you into a vampire now. That way if your Dad wants to object, he won't be able to. He'll have no choice but to agree because the process will have already been started."

Mary-Lynette pulled away and looked up at her soulmate. His ever-changing eyes were a deep brown. They were full of sorrow. She could clearly see that he was heartbroken. And why wouldn't he be? She supposed. She was heartbroken as well.

"No. We can't do that," Mary-Lynette explained, looking down at the ground between them. "My Dad has to be okay with all this. If he's not, if he'd rather see me de-dead than one of you, I don't know what I'll do then. But for now, I can't let you change me."

Ash gazed at her with his sorrow-filled eyes. "If you insist."

But, he continued in her head. If your Dad doesn't consent, there's no way in hell that I'm letting you die. I'll take you away from here and change you. I'm not letting you die…..

Mary-Lynette embraced her soulmate tightly.

"C'mon. Let's go for a walk."

The two stepped out of their embrace and started walking towards the car parked on the road. Though neither of them said it aloud or through the soulmate link, they both knew that they would have to tell Mr. Carter their plan to keep Mary-Lynette alive. They might as well get it over and done with.