I guess love is the most important thing in life as well as the afterlife, after all.

Although I am still not sure about the whole marriage business. Eliot is trying to convince me that it's a great thing and that we should give it a shot, but I am still unsure about it.

After all, what does a piece of paper have to do with love?

The paper will yellow and fall apart, while love itself will stay eternal. Thus, I see no point in following those odd and senseless conventions.

It has been a year since our final showdown, and things have been quiet, too quiet perhaps.

I don't know what I expected from living in the mountains, but it's definitely not this feeling of boredom.

Don't get me wrong, the time I have spent with Eliot has been amazing, but he is still mortal and needs his beauty sleep. Thus, I spend most of my nights dreaming of my glory days when I could hunt freely and not care too much about other people's feelings.

What helps me is hunting for the animals in these parts. It keeps my senses sharp and my darling well-fed.

He insists that I could feed on animal blood, but I thoroughly dislike it. After drinking human blood for centuries, after having tried Healer blood, animal blood just doesn't cut it for me.

Still, things are much better than they ever were for me. I have found something I didn't know I needed, love and companionship.

Eliot is as great as I thought he would be, even more so, and I am enjoying every second of our lives together. However, I worry about the future. A Healer and a vampire in a relationship will probably cause some trouble, but I guess we will face it when we have to and not a moment sooner.

"Are you ready for today?" Eliot asks, coming up to me with his hair tousled from sleep.

"Hm, are you sure we even want to meet up with those idiots?" I say, feeling weird.

I worry that things might have changed between us that one year was enough to erase the connection I had with my friends. Thus, not going, not risking getting hurt sounds like a better option to me.

"Helen, don't be ridiculous, you missed them, and you know it," Eliot says.

That's true, but what if they didn't miss me?

"One year is not a long time in vampire terms," I say stubbornly.

"Maybe not, but if I've learned one thing about you in all this time we've spent together is that under that Ice Queen routine, there is one of the gentlest hearts I've ever known hiding," Eliot says.

"You do remember that I've killed people in cold blood and enjoyed it?" I ask, finding his statement odd.

How can he even think someone with so much blood on their hands can have a gentle heart? Besides, my heart is still dead even though it's alive enough to feel love for him.

"That's not you, it's your predatory instinct, and though it's a part of you, it's not all there is to you. Vampires are far more complicated than that. You can be the most vicious predator the world has ever seen but also the gentlest lover and a friend," Eliot says.

His words made me recall all the evenings we spent indoors, showing each other how much we truly cared for each other. If I were human, all those images of passion and tenderness would have made me blush.

"Now, tell me what's really bothering you," Eliot says, gently stroking my cheek making my skin tingle.

His touch is so tender and caring that I can't stop myself from spilling my guts.

"I have never spent this much time apart from Tobias. What if he is no longer my friend? What if the others have found their places somewhere else, not beside me?" I ask.

"Helen, all of them are your friends, and even if they had found their homes somewhere else, their place will always be by your side," Eliot says, looking deep into my eyes.

The way he makes me feel is indescribable, and all I want to do is somehow show him how much he means to me.

Instead, I allow my lips to do all the talking as I brush them gently against his. All it takes is that one light touch to ignite the flame that starts consuming us both as we kiss deeply while his hands engulf me in the safety of his embrace.

I want more, so much more. Every time we touch, it's like I need more of everything. More of those incredible sensations that wake up every nerve in my body, more of that sweet taste that only Eliot's lips can produce...

"Helen," he groans quietly.

"We can't do this now," he adds.

"I don't see why not," I say.

"We need to go, or we'll be late. Remember your friends, the reunion?" He says.

"Oh, yes. Right," I say, snapping myself from the daze that Eliot always manages to cause in my mind.

I dash to the other end of the room unsure if I can control my bloodlust or the other type of lust that is becoming even stronger than the first one. 

"What are you doing?" He asks, laughing at me.

"Just taking some precautions," I answer.

"Come on, stop being ridiculous, and let's go. We'll meet the others at Olivia's place," he says.

"Remind me again, why did Olivia agree to this? She didn't seem vampire-friendly the last time we met," I say.

"She wants to catch up with you and me. She likes you, vampire or not. Besides, researching the differences between vampires, humans, and Healers has become a bit of an obsession for her," Eliot says.

"Odd," I say as we exit our little cottage, our home.

Once we reach the beautiful house Olivia has started living in after her fall out with her father, I realize that all my fears were in vain. Tobias and the others have missed me as much as I have missed them, as Tobias, Cecilia, and Seymour run up to me, immediately engulfing me in a big hug.

Though I am still not big on hugs, I allow this one and even go ahead and embrace them in our odd, little group hug.

"Should I be jealous?" Alarcos asks, approaching me as well and noting his darlings hand around my waist.

I can see that he is still joking around. However, this time, I don't snap at him. I've actually missed his odd humor and strange jokes.

"Not at all," I say, looking lovingly in Eliot's direction.

"Yeah, I guess he is a good catch," Alarcos says, looking Eliot up and down with admiration.

"Hey, there! Stop ogling other guys when your boyfriend is around," Seymour jokes, breaking the hug and hurrying to move his darling's attention to himself.

"Jealous, are we?" Alarocs says with an enormous grin on his face.

"Always," Seymour replies instantly.

He proceeds to place feathery kisses on his boyfriend's face, making the other man look like clay molding to Seymour's touch.

"Ahem, come on guys, we all had one year to ourselves. Can we not start immediately with the public displays of affection, please?" I say.

"Fine, fine, buzzkill," Alarcos says, jokingly though I can see a hint of embarrassment.

It's a new look for him, but it looks good on him.

"Are you weird vamps just going to stand around like statues, or will you come in and at least try to act like humans?" Olivia asks, exiting the house.

We all proceed to go inside while she grabs her brother in a tight embrace and personally leads him into the house.

"So what have you guys been up to?" I ask.

"A lot. I think we have a lot of catching up to do." Cecilia says.

"But first of all, is anyone for a snack?" Tobias asks.

"You guys do know I am not here in the capacity of a snack, right?" Olivia asks, not sounding even slightly worried that we would feed on her.

"We wouldn't even dream of it. It's a wonder we didn't get sick the last time," Alarcos says teasingly.

"We would love something to drink, thanks. It has been a long trip," Seymour says.

Then as we sip some delicious bag blood, we start reminiscing about the year behind us.