"You have things dealt with, Lynnette?" Darius says stopping behind the couch.

Sierra gives Lynnette one last pleading look.

Greyson doesn't dare to look at Lynnette for fear of her telling Darius just to piss him off since he's been such a prick to her lately.

"I think we have things resolved, at least the worst of it. Sierra will be staying here in the seethe instead of running errands for you like she did and in return she promises that she won't start fights with Castielle."

Darius raises just one eyebrow at those words. "How did you manage to get her to make that promise?"

Three sets of eyes are turned on Lynnette waiting for her answer.

"I threatened something and Sierra didn't like it."

"Ohh? What did you threaten her with?" Darius is intrigued.

"What were you meeting with your father and grandfather about?" Lynnette turns the question around. Darius shuts up. "Right. Any way, I think, hope really that Castielle won't succumb to the darkness. That is if he doesn't kill himself first."

With those words Sierra's eyes widen in horror.

"Forgive me, I must go." Sierra races out of the room. Three sets of eyes watching her intently.

"She admit to it?" Darius asks the other two vampires.

"Not in so many words. Perhaps she'll be able to take the rest of his darkness away. I don't think she understood just how much her actions towards him contributed to his darkness. Hopefully she will be finding him and asking him for his forgiveness as well as giving hers. If she does then I think that he might just make it." Lynnette says thoughtfully.

"And if she doesn't?" Greyson asks anxiously.

"I don't know. His guilt from his actions of centuries past rides him pretty hard. The pain and anger of his abuse as a child as well as the anger of the times, the hate rides pretty strong. It's hard to dislodge something buried that deep for that long. He's strong though and with a bit of forgiveness he might be able to pull himself out of the pit he's been residing in for centuries."

"I'm sure that you've done your best. Your pets are wondering if they should stay elsewhere for the night?"

"Yes," Greyson answers for her. "I still need to talk to Lynnette and don't want any interruptions."

"Good. They were talking about spending the night with either Joanie or Lilla."

"They can spend it with Joanie, I don't want them interrupting Castielle and Sierra."

"Very well. You still need to eat, Lynnette, Micah." Darius says even as he walks slowly to the door.

"I'll make sure that she eats, Darius."

Darius merely nods doing his best to not slump his shoulders. Was keeping his father and grandfather's secret worth the relationship with his daughter?

They both watch as Darius fully shuts the door. They hear it click shut then Lynnette looks at Greyson expectantly.

Greyson now feels the shame that earlier Castielle had felt.

As time goes by Lynnette is getting impatient.

"Look, if all you're going to do is sit here silently then you might as well leave. I can't take this any more. I've already talked to Darius about being transferred to the council."

This brings Greyson's head up in shock and pain. "You mean the position you told Sierra about?"

"Yes, I'm not needed here and there at least I'll have something to do besides help Cassie with her homework. You won't need to go out of your way to avoid me since I won't be here."

"What about your pets?" Greyson asks shocked, he's unable to think straight. He never for even a second thought that she would leave the seethe.

"What about them?" Lynnette asks puzzled by the question.

"Are you going to split up the siblings or are you going to leave them behind?" Greyson asks starting to come out of shock. He's feeling more than a little sick. He's waited too long, he's lost her.

When Lynnette doesn't speak he notices that she is wiping tears from her face. "Neither, Darius has denied my request. Says that I am too big of a target to leave outside of the seethe. He can't afford to have me vulnerable."

"I'm sorry, so fucking sorry. I know what it's like when you are going through withdrawals and still I held it against you. I don't want you to feel unwanted in your home, Lynnette. You are wanted, very much so." Greyson says gathering Lynnette into his arms and holding her tight to him.

"Can't breathe," Lynnette chokes out. Greyson sheepishly loosens his grip on her but doesn't release her completely.

"I don't want you to go. Please, if you can't forgive me for being such a douche, then I'll ask Darius for the transfer. Castielle will make an adequate guard for you here and with the other guards you'll be safe enough leaving the estate."

Greyson is nonplussed when his words just make her sob even harder.

"I'm sorry, what did I say that was so wrong?" Grey wipes her face like he had when she was completely helpless and human.

"Shit," that's all Greyson can say before he bends down and kisses her. He kisses her hungrily and desperately. He fears that this will be the last time he'll ever be allowed to kiss her and so puts everything he has into it.

He never expected her to kiss him back just as desperately as he kissed her.

He breaks off the kiss before it can go any further. There are things they need to talk about before they can move things over to the bed. He hopes that the talk won't go sideways.

"Did you really mean to ask Darius to put Castielle over the council?"

"I would have, yes, but it was mostly an empty threat. Darius told me that he wouldn't place either of you or me there. Said it was too dangerous for me and couldn't allow me to be protected by just one of you." That had really hurt Lynnette. She has been taking lessons by Castielle and before with Greyson as well. But then Greyson pulled a ghost on her and so it's just been Castielle.

"I'm sorry you felt the need to ask for that." Greyson is sick. Why didn't he take care of things sooner?

"What about Castielle? Do you really think that he's better now?"

"I think letting out the guilt that he's been carrying around for four centuries will go a long ways towards helping him. I think getting Sierra's forgiveness will go even further. But until he loses that anger and bitterness from what was done to him as a child, there will always be the threat of him committing suicide."

"How long have you known that Sierra loves Castielle?" Greyson hadn't realized it until Sierra started begging on Castielle's behalf.

"Since I first met her. The way that she showed off her tattoo was to get his attention. She craved his attention any way that she could get it."

"That's why she was always fighting with him?" Greyson says in an a hah tone of voice.

"Yeah, she didn't know how else to get it. He feels guilty and she still had anger for what he did. But if he hadn't done that then she would have died a long time ago. She likely would have been violated many more times and she is now more aware of that than she had been before. I think that she will find it much easier to forgive him. Especially after what she heard here tonight."

"You may have lost yourself a lover," Greyson says softly. "Thank you for doing something so selfless."

Lynnette laughs derisively, "There was nothing selfless about me doing that. Castielle was starting to lose his fight with the darkness inside him. I love him enough to not want to lose him completely. Besides, he wants Sierra, he just doesn't know how to approach her after how everything started between them."

"You are still the most selfless person I know. I never thought that a vampire could be so selfless or loving as you are. Thank you." Greyson says and kisses her.

"Why, Greyson?" Lynnette asks once the kiss is over.

Greyson sighs. "Because at first I was pissed that you sent me away. I knew you were angry and hurting. I just wanted to hold you and take away your pain and you wouldn't let me. So, like a child I was pouting. Something I wasn't really allowed to do as a child. You would think that that would make me more mature.

"I'm sorry. After the first wave of stupid was over there was a wall of hurt between us and I thought if I waited that it wouldn't be so bad. But the more time and distance I put between us the bigger the wall became. Soon I didn't know how to break down the wall any more.

"I became scared."

"Don't do that again or Castielle won't be the only lover I lose." Lynnette tells him seriously.

It takes a moment for her words to penetrate and what they mean.

"You are going to forgive me?"

Lynnette sniffs, "I told Sierra that I owed you an apology, not you me. Forgive me?"

"Yes," Greyson says before kissing her passionately and taking her to her bed.

"You promised Darius that I would eat."

"Later, I'll feed you later." Greyson says before taking her lips with his and silencing her words.