My arms were pinned to my side from Stephen’s embrace. He held me tight, but not enough to hurt. He thought I would struggle. I had never done this before, so honestly I didn’t know if I would.

I felt his lips graze just above the large vein in my neck and shuddered. “Are you sure about this Ann,” He asked in a husky voice. I could tell he wanted to tear through the flesh and devour the crimson wine that flowed beneath. “There is no guarantee.”

Breathlessly I replied, “Yes, I know it will work.” It was my only hope. I needed to see the way Stephen saw. I needed to view the world in vibrant colors and dark shadows. “It has to.”

“Not even the council has heard of a case like this. They wonder themselves if it will work,” His lips brushed my skin as he spoke.

I moaned from the sensations flowing through my body. The touch of Stephen’s lips awakened things low in my body. I pushed my neck harder against his lips. “Let’s not keep them waiting.”

I felt his mouth open. He gently pressed the tips of his fangs against my throat, but no matter how gentle he wished to be, the pain was still there. His fangs pierced my skin and the pain turned to a searing burn that flowed through my entire body.

I screamed. My body had felt as though it were on fire. My blood felt like it was boiling through my veins. I tried to get away, but Stephen held me still. I didn’t have the strength to escape him.

The burning moved to my heart. The rhythmic beats began to slow. I knew the end was coming. I knew I was dying and I didn’t care. I had been dying for a long time.

Cancer had been stripping away my life force for two years. My body had diminished and dilapidated until I was nothing but a walking shadow of death. My end was near, but I had barely had a chance to live.

Stephen had offered me a way out. A way to live, if only by the moon, I could still live. If it worked. No vampire had ever turned a cancer patient so far gone. To be brought over you have walk on the brink between this life and the next. I had been doing that for a long time now. Stephen was worried that before the turn could be completed, my soul would be too far gone to bring back.

The myth that vampires had no souls was just that, a myth. A ruthless lie brought about by the supposed men of God so that the world would fear and damn the undead. They wanted humans to view vampires as monsters.

Yes, vampires could kill, murder, and rape among other things. Then again, so could humans. Vampires could also love, have compassion, and help an old lady cross the street if she was out at midnight. I’d seen it. Okay, not helping a little old lady at midnight, but I’d seen love. Stephen loved me unconditionally. No one without a soul could love.

I didn’t know if Stephen was still drinking from me. I couldn’t see, I couldn’t hear, and the only thing I could feel was my heart beat so slow, it was almost non existent. Then there was nothing.

I woke in darkness, but I could see clearer than I had ever seen in the light. The stars glowed brilliantly in the sky. I had never remembered seeing them that bright before. Not even in the country.

“How are you feeling?” Stephen asked me. His voice was clear, soft, and smooth. A few minutes before his voice had been husky and seductive, but it hadn’t sounded as beautiful as it did now.

I looked over at him. His face glowed effervescent in the night. I reached out and caressed his cheek. It was like as soft as touching a cloud. “You feel like silk.”

He smiled. “You’ll get used to it. You’re not human anymore. Everything will be different. The elders will be pleased to hear that it worked.”

I smiled and pulled him to my lips. We kissed, and it was fresh, passionate. I felt things tighten low in my body. I wanted more. More than just sweet kisses. I wanted sex mixed with the fresh scent of blood. I was hungry and filled to the max with lust.

I wanted food and sex. Two things I hadn’t been able to have in a very long time. I had been too sick to enjoy those wonderful things. Now, it was all different. Everything was new now that I had been born again. I was cancer free and I was able to experience what I hadn’t as a human. I had the feeling that living as a vampire was going to be better than any life I may have had as a human. Even if I had been able to lead a full and healthy life.