I am inwardly seething about Lideri's plot to pacify me.

What a jackass. Who does he think he is?

Well actually, he is the leader of an elite group of Hunters, so he is a pretty big deal.

Ugh, that sounds like something Zach would say.

My internal arguing is brought to a halt by Henry's arrival. I open the door to a large bunch of roses, blocking my view of him.

"Sweetheart!" He gasps when he lowers the bouquet and sees me. "You look outstanding." He leans forward to give me a kiss hello and I try my best not to flinch away. "I'm sorry I've been so quiet and I haven't seen you for a few days, I had some business to attend to."

"So you said. What business was it?" I try to keep the accusation out of my tone as I take the roses and go into the kitchen to fill a vase and put them in. I have a feeling it had something to do with going on a killing spree.

"Nothing to worry your pretty little head about." He follows me and kisses my temple. While I arrange the flowers, he stands behind me, placing his hands on my waist. I try my best not to shiver at his proximity, but I can feel my skin crawl.

I turn to face him and put my hands on my hips, stepping back from him slightly so he loses his grip on me. "You know; if you want us to be in this relationship, I'm going to need more honesty from you." I'm almost impressed by how convincing I sound.

"Fine." He leans against the kitchen counter, a look of resignation on his face. "If you must know, I was helping my friend track down a hunter who was hell bent on killing him."

"A h-h-hunter?" Shit. Shit. Shit.

"Yes sweetheart, a Hunter. There is a whole organisation of them trained to kill people like me," he tells me and I try to paste a look of shock on my face. "But not too worry, I killed him so I am quite safe."

No you're not.

"You killed him?" I wonder if it's someone that Zach and Caleb knew. Maybe he was a friend of theirs. My heart clenches at the thought.

"Would you rather he killed me?" he asks me. I want to answer truthfully and tell him that yes, I would rather he died than some poor innocent Hunter who was just trying to make the world a better place. But I can't do that. I have a feeling he wouldn't appreciate it too much.

"Henry," I rack my brain for what I can say. What would the girlfriend of a vampire act like? Obviously, I can't be too compliant. Given my reaction to him when I found out, it would be too suspicious if I suddenly started seeming okay with this. Nor can I show him how I truly feel. I need to find some sort of middle ground. "If we are going to keep dating, I need you to promise me that you won't kill anyone else. I can't stand the idea of innocent people getting hurt."

His eyes darken and he leans back on the kitchen counter. "You think that a vampire hunter is innocent? They kill us Peyton, how is that any different?"

Because you're a monster.

"Okay," I concede, knowing this is a battle I will lose, probably making him angry in the process. "Fair enough on the hunter, but what about the people you feed on?"

"I'm sorry, darling." He grabs my arm and starts walking me towards the door. "But I cannot promise you that, I need to feed to survive. Now enough of this sordid talk, let's go for dinner."

He takes me to a restaurant in the quiet part of town. It should be romantic, and in any other situation, it might have been. But all I can think is that it's a good thing because it will give Zach and Caleb a good chance to get to him without witnesses.

I try my best not to look around and see if I can spot them, but it's extremely difficult. In the distance, I think I can just make out a black car. But I can't be sure if it's them or not, after all, thousands of people probably drive the same type and colour cars.

Henry spends the whole dinner talking about our future together. Last week, I would have given anything to hear him talk like this. But now it just makes me feel slightly ill. I sit and listen, pushing my lasagne around my plate. I hadn't wanted it anyway; Henry had ordered it for me, despite my protests.

"Are you alright, sweetheart?" He reaches across the table and touches my hand. "You're playing with your food."

"I had a big lunch," I mutter and he seems to believe me, nodding and carrying on talking as though there was no interruption.

"I've been thinking," he says. "There's a way that we could be together forever. I could make you like me."

My head snaps up and I gape at him in disbelief. "What did you just say?"

"Think about it, Peyton." He leans forward in his chair, an earnest expression on his face. "All it takes is one bite, close enough to the heart. The transition is painless enough."

"Why would you ever think I would want that?" I ask incredulously, barely able to grasp onto the implications of what he's suggesting.

"So we could be together forever." He looks hurt; he had obviously been expecting me to be excited about this. "Don't you want to be with me for eternity?"

"Henry, we've been dating for less than a month," I point out. "You can't just whip out what is essentially a marriage proposal and expect me to jump up and down and say yes. Never mind the fact that yours would include turning me into something that needs to kill people to survive."

Even for a normal relationship, this is moving far too fast.

"I love you Peyton, and I will not be without you." His hurt expression has morphed into one that closely resembles anger. "I have lived for many years and never felt this way. So whether you like it or not, one day you will become like me."

"Whether I like it or not? If you really do love me like you say you do, then you wouldn't force me to be something I don't want to!" The few people who are in the restaurant turn to look at us as my voice raises. I can only imagine what they think we are fighting about.

"That's enough, sweetheart," he says through clenched teeth. "You are making a scene. Ultimately I don't need your permission to turn you."

Screw this.

I have had enough, plan or not. I cannot sit here and continue this conversation. I can't stand the thought of Henry turning me into a vampire like him. And the way he tells me I have no choice in the matter makes me reach my boiling point. Zach and Caleb will just have to find another way to kill Henry, because I cannot keep sitting at this table.

I push back my chair and throw him one last look of distaste before marching towards the door. I can hear him scramble for his wallet and push his chair back to follow me, but I have finally reached the exit after only stumbling once in my shoes.

I open it and let the cool night air calm my temper a little bit. I am not exactly sure what my next move will be. I don't even know for sure if Caleb and Zach are here yet, so I start walking up the road, hoping for a taxi or a friendly face.

I don't get very far when Henry appears in front of me.

"How did you-,"

"I am very fast Peyton." His eyes are filled with anger and his jaw is twitching. I feel panic rise to the back of my throat as I see them shift from blue to crimson. Looking around I see the street is empty, no one to come to my aid should Henry decide to hurt me.

Come on Zach and Caleb, anytime now.

Henry grasps the top of my arm painfully and begins marching me to his car. I stagger along behind him, dangerously close to toppling over. "Before you knew, you were compliant, and you followed my every wish. What makes you think you are allowed to change now?"

"I-," but I don't have a chance to finish. We reach his car and he grabs me by the shoulders and slams me against it. Pain jolts up my spine from the impact, and I'm sure his fingers will leave bruises from how tightly he's holding me.

"Damn it, Peyton!" Specks of spit fly from his mouth and hit me in the face. "We had something very special. I will not allow you to destroy it!"

I can feel tears leaking from my eyes and running down my cheeks. Panic clutches at my throat and my heart pounds in my chest, almost as though it's trying to burst right out of my rib cage. I'm not sure exactly what to say. I'm terrified that anything I do say will make him even angrier.

Visibly, he seems to soften, his grip relaxes slightly. "I'm sorry darling, I-," but he doesn't finish his sentence.

A loud bang erupts from the car behind us, and Henry's gaze leaves mine. I turn just in time to see Zach climbing over the roof, a large sword in his hand. He leaps down to the ground, thrusting his weapon straight through Henry's chest as he lands, burying it deep.

Henry's eyes shift back to blue as he frantically grasps the hilt of the sword and attempts to pull it out. He staggers backwards a few steps before falling to the ground, landing with a heavy thump. The sword sticks out of his ribcage like a joystick. But the momentum of his fall has pushed it upwards a bit and he finally manages to yank it out.

"Caleb, now!" Zach shouts and Caleb comes running from the other side of the car, also wielding a sword. He raises it high in the air above Henry's head and brings it down in one smooth motion. It whistles through the air, slicing through Henry's neck like butter and hitting the ground on the other side.

Henry's severed head rolls away. His eyes are open, still registering shock and back to crimson. His teeth are elongated past his bottom lip. Just as Caleb had said, his body bursts into yellow flames that shine bright under the moonlight. The fire licks the ground, before disappearing quickly, dying down until there's nothing left but a pile of ash.

A gust of wind blows, swirling the grey remains of Henry. I tear my eyes away from the sight and look at Zach and Caleb who are both still panting from exertion. The blades of their swords glisten in the moonlight.

Who the hell even owns a sword these days?

And that is the last thing I think before everything goes black and I collapse to the ground