Rhys groaned and rolled onto his back. Anna was tossing and turning in her sleep and it kept him awake. He rolled onto his side and watched her. She moaned as she turned onto her side so that she was facing him. Her blonde hair was across her face. Rhys reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear. He let his hand rest on her cheek.

Hannah had the same blonde hair, but hers was much shorter. Hannah had been lying in his bed unconscious, just like Anna, as she was transforming. Her pale skin was littered with bruises and cuts from the rubble in the explosion. Her lip was busted from her fall when she was knocked off of her feet.

Between her injuries and the blood loss, Rhys did not think that Hannah was going to survive the transformation. When she did survive, he had hope for their future. That was all ruined when Hannah killed herself two weeks later. If he had fed her his blood that may have never happened.

Anna let out a whimper and her hand shot out. She hit Rhys in the chest. He slid his hand off her cheek, down her arm, and grabbed her wrist. Anna shook her head as she tried to pull her hand out of his grasp.

What was haunting her dreams? She had never acted like this in her sleep before. He wanted to pull her close to his chest and hold her, but he was afraid to wake her up.

He watched her as she slept uneasily.

--

Anna was sitting at the dock with her toes in the cold water. She stared out at the lake as the sun was setting. Her notebook was closed beside her and her pen was tucked behind her ear. Her hair was tied on the top of her head and beads of sweat ran down her neck. She had on a bathing suit and a pair of denim shorts.

She knew that Jonathan would be with the set of new recruits at the cottage. She escaped the chaos of training to write in peace by the water. She had not been training to kill vampires since her grandmother died.

Anna listened to the sound of footsteps walking down the dock. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of the sun radiating off her skin. She thought it was Jonathan walking behind her to make sure she was okay.

"What are you doing out here?"

Anna raised an eyebrow. It was not Jonathan's voice, but it was Rhys.

"I'm enjoying the quiet," Anna said.

"I know what you have been doing," Rhys said.

Anna opened up an eye. The sun was reflecting off of the water and the trees were blowing in the warm breeze.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Nothing happens without me knowing," Rhys said.

Anna raised an eyebrow. Rhys reached down to pet the top of her head. He crouched behind her and brought his lips close to her ear.

"I'm going to kill you, Anna Nightingale," he said.

Anna looked behind her to see Rhys. He was smirking. His fangs protruded and blood coated the bottom of his face. The dark veins were popping out from around his eye sockets. He raised his hand to show that his fingers were gripping Jonathan's hair. His decapitated head was dangling in Rhys's grasp.

Anna opened her mouth and screamed.

--

Anna was in a cold sweat when she bolted up in the bed. Rhys pushed himself up so that he was resting on his elbow. Anna scurried across the bed so that she was away from Rhys. He reached over to the nightstand and turned on the lamp. A faint glow filled the room. Anna was clutching her chest as she watched his confused expression.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I had a nightmare," she said.

"About what?"

Anna closed her eyes. Jonathan's head, with its rolled back eyes and ripped flesh, filled her mind. She shivered and rubbed her hands up her arms.

"I don't want to talk about it," she said.

"It must have been bad to freak you out this much," Rhys said.

Anna shook her head. She lifted the corner of the blankets and placed her bare foot on the cold floor. Rhys pushed himself higher so that he was sitting. Anna hurried over to the little desk and chair. Her leather jacket was thrown over the back of the chair. She grabbed it and slipped her arms through the sleeves. She had to get away from Rhys. She needed to space herself from him.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I need some fresh air," she said.

"You are in your pajamas."

Anna looked down at herself. She had on a pair of plaid flannel pajama bottoms. She zipped up the jacket to hide that she was not wearing a bra. Her hair was a mess on top of her head.

"I'll be quick," she said.

"I do not want you out there alone," he said.

"I need to be alone."

Anna slipped on her shoes without any socks on. She did not want to go looking for a pair. She knew she needed to get out of the room before Rhys stopped her.

She shoved her hands in her pockets as she rushed out of the hotel room. She hurried down the hall and made her way to the elevator. She pressed the button and shifted her weight from foot to foot. She was taking glances over her shoulder to make sure that Rhys was not following.

The elevator dinged. Anna took a step forward as she was looking off to the side. She bumped into a body and stumbled back.

Drew was stepping out of the elevator. He had a girl in a tight dress next to him. She was hanging off of his arm and her chest was spilling out of her dress. Anna pushed past them and went into the elevator.

She heard Drew say something she could not understand, and she realized he was speaking French. The elevator began to close. A hand shot out between the doors and Drew pushed his way into the elevator. The girl had her hands on her hips and was yelling at Drew in French. She was silenced when the doors shut.

Drew smiled as he looked over at Anna. He tucked a stray hair behind his ear.

"You looked like you needed someone," he said.

"I just had a bad dream," she said. "I needed some air."

"I could go for some air."

"What about your friend?"

Drew chuckled and shrugged.

"You just saved a life tonight," he said.

Anna swallowed past the lump forming in her throat. She did not want to think about death right now.

"I'm surprised Rhys let you out of his sight," Drew said.

"I kind of barged out before he could say anything," she said.

Drew nodded. The doors opened and they stepped out into the lobby. It was empty, except for one person working behind the desk. Anna knew she looked out of place in the fancy hotel because she still appeared half asleep.

Anna sat on the bench in front of the hotel. Drew was next to her. His thigh brushed against hers. He put his hand on her knee.

"Want to tell me what happened?" Drew asked.

"I can't," Anna said. "It's too complicated."

"We are a group of vampires traveling across Canada while on the run from a bunch of hunters," he said. "I am used to complicated things."

Anna chewed on her lip. Drew was much easier to talk to than Rhys. She trusted Huxley with her secret, but she was unsure if she could do the same with Drew. She knew that she would have to tell them eventually. She thought it would be best to test the waters with Drew before she mentions anything to Rhys.

"If I told you something would you promise not to tell Rhys?" she asked.

The corner of Drew's lip twitched into a smile. He curled his fingers into Anna's knee. Her leg was bouncing as the tension built up in her body.

"Anna, you can tell me anything," he said. "Now, what is it?"

Anna closed her eyes and shook her head. She knew it was risky, but she needed to say something.

"My real name is Anna Nightingale," she said.

She opened her eyes and looked at Drew to see he was stunned. His jaw was hanging open and his eyes were wide. He dug his fingers deeper into Anna's knee. She sucked in her lip as she waited for his response.

"You are a Nightingale?" he asked. "Like, how much of a Nightingale? Is Jonathan like a distant cousin?"

She shook her head.

"He's my older brother," she said.

Drew took his hand off of her knee. He ran his fingers through his hair as he shook his head. Nausea was creeping into Anna's stomach and she thought that she was going to be sick. He leaned forward so that his elbows were resting on his knees.

"Rhys doesn't know?" Drew asked.

"No," Anna said. "I'm afraid of what he will do if he knows."

"I doubt he would kill you," Drew said. A weird sense of relief washed over Anna, but it was short-lived. "Although, I could be wrong and he could stake you."

Anna leaned forward and buried her face in her hands. She tried to stop herself from crying. She knew this secret could not be hidden forever. She wished Rhys left her bleeding on the concrete so that she could have spent eternity in heaven.

Drew put his hand on Anna's back. He tried his best to comfort her, but she was shaking her head.

"He cannot know," Anna said. "Please, promise me you won't tell him."

"Anna, I would never do that," he said. "Your secret is safe with me."

"Thank you."

"Does anyone else know?"

"I told Huxley."

Drew chuckled. Anna moved her hands away from her face and furrowed her brows.

"Why did you tell Hux?" he asked.

She shrugged.

"I just sensed that I could trust him," she said.

"And you did not think you could trust me?" he asked.

"If I didn't trust you, I wouldn't be telling you now."

Drew slid himself closer to Anna. She sat straighter and looked at him. He cupped the side of her face with his hand.

"Thank you," he said. "I want you to be able to trust me. I promise I am not going to say a word to Rhys."

"Thank you," Anna said.

Drew's gaze lowered to Anna's lips. Her chest tightened as he leaned in closer to her. His thumb ran across her cheek.

"Can I be honest with you?" he asked.

"Of course," Anna said.

"It breaks my heart to see you with Rhys."

Anna raised an eyebrow. She grabbed Drew's hand, which was cupping her face, and pulled it away.

"What are you talking about?" Anna asked.

"Rhys has you brainwashed and you know that," Drew said.

"Because I drank his blood?"

Drew nodded. He turned his hand over in her grip so that their fingers were laced together.

"I know you do not want to be obedient to him," he said.

"He said he did it so I'd survive the transformation," she said.

"I would have rather let you die," Drew said. "You shouldn't have to live being a slave."

"A slave?"

"If you drank anymore you would have been."

Anna hated the compulsions she had to follow Rhys's orders. She did not want to listen, but she couldn't help herself.

"Is there any way to reverse it?" Anna asked.

"You have to get away from Rhys," he said. "It's the only way to break the bond. Distance is quite useful. Huxley used to be enslaved by a vampire until we pulled him away."

"Lucia?"

"Hux told you about her?"

"No, but Rhys did."

"If he were to be around her again he would be compelled to do what she wants, but for now he has his own free will."

"Sounds nice to have that back."

Anna let out a nervous giggle. Drew smiled. He squeezed her hand.

"If we go to Niagara Falls, there are going to be a lot of vampires," he said. "I'm sure we can find a few other people to join or we could just leave ourselves."

"Leave?" Anna asked.

"You need to get away from Rhys," he said. "And I am not going to let you be on your own."

Anna was biting down on the inside of her cheeks to stop her jaw from hanging open. Her chest fluttered and her throat tightened as Drew leaned in closer.

"Anna, I really like you," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

"I thought you loved Sybil," she said.

"What?" He knit his brows together. "No, I did many years ago. It was nice to just relive those memories. Eternity can be lonely, but I want to prevent that."

Anna's lips parted, but before she could say anything Drew closed the gap between them. He pressed his lips against hers. Anna was frozen, but she melted into his kiss. He snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her in closer. Her lips tingled and if her heart could still beat it would be fluttering. She pressed her hands against his chest. She pushed him away from her and left a small space between their lips.

Nausea sat heavy in her stomach as she thought about Rhys. She seemed to think that she was betraying him, but she knew she had no loyalty to him.

Drew leaned in for another kiss, but Anna pulled away. She shook her head and pulled his hands off of her. She stood and gave him an awkward smile. Her eyes darted around the front of the hotel to make sure that Rhys did not follow her outside. She did not want him to know what had happened.

"Thank you for listening," Anna said. "I should really go back to bed."

"Anna-" Drew said as he stood.

"Good night," she cut him off.

She turned on her heels and hurried back into the hotel. She rushed across the lobby. When she got to the elevator she pressed the button multiple times to try and speed it up. Drew did not follow her inside, so she was alone in the elevator.

Her head was spinning as she thought about Drew's kiss. The smell of his cologne lingered. She stumbled out of the elevator and made her way down the hall. She forgot to take a hotel key, so she knocked on the door. Rhys opened the door seconds later and scowled. He grabbed her arm and pulled her into the hotel room and slammed the door shut.

"Never leave like that again," he said.

"I wasn't gone for long," she said.

"You better not have killed anyone," he said.

"Of course not!"

A dim light from the lamp filled the room. Rhys laid down on the side of the bed. Anna unzipped her jacket and threw it on the desk. She pulled the elastic out of her hair and ran her fingers through her strands. She crawled into the bed and curled up in a ball as close as she could to the edge. Rhys turned off the lamp and they laid in darkness.

Anna struggled to fall asleep as she thought about Drew's kiss.