Rhys pushed Anna against the wall. He put his hands against the wall and trapped Anna in. He glared as he looked at her. The tightness returned to Anna's chest.

"What was that?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"This is why I can never leave you alone."

Anna raised an eyebrow, encouraging him to explain himself.

"You almost ate a guy in a club full of people," he said. "We just got here."

"I could restrain myself," she said.

"I doubt that."

Anna scowled. He put his hand under her chin. She gritted her teeth as she struggled to raise her hand and push him away.

"You are staying by my side for the rest of the night," he said.

"You would love that, wouldn't you?" she said.

Rhys cocked his head to the side.

"What is that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"You are in my head," Anna said. "And, every day it is getting worse. Why would you ever do this to me?"

"You needed my blood to survive," he said. "I told you that you would have never survived the transformation."

"What about the other time?"

Rhys chewed on his lip and closed his eyes as he tried to think of an excuse. He did not open his eyes until he heard Anna sob. Tears were rolling down her cheeks. She wiped them away while her eyes were cast down.

"You should have let me bleed out on the ground that night," she said. "I wanted to die with Jess. She was the only one who understood me and now she is gone. I'm just a lifeless bloodsucker now. You are right. I am hungry and I wanted to eat that guy. We should just go."

"No," Rhys said. He tried to ignore the feelings of guilt that were burrowing deep into his mind as he watched Anna cry. "We are all going to feed tonight."

Anna raised her head to look at him. Her eyes were rimmed with red.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"All of us are going to feed tonight," he said.

"Isn't that going to gain attention?"

"That is the point. We want the Nightingales to come."

Anna wiped away the remaining tears. She had tried her best to prepare herself to see Jonathan, but she was not ready to see her brother yet.

Rhys brushed the back of his knuckles along Anna's cheek. It brought Anna back to her conversation with Drew last night. She was soon going to be completely enslaved to Rhys. If they were to kiss, Anna was going to lose her free will. She wanted this fight to be over so that she could leave with Drew.

"Do you want to get a drink?" Rhys asked.

"No." Anna shook her head. She did not want anything that would make it harder to stay away from Rhys. She could already feel herself breaking.

She was physically tired of this internal fight. Part of her wanted to cave into it. Rhys being so close to her made the temptation even worse. Without thinking, she put her hands on Rhys's shoulders.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"I want my mind back," she said. "I want my life back. I need to stay away from you."

"Stay away from me?"

"Yes." She did not want to confess, but the words came off her tongue without any control. "Drew and I are going to leave once this battle is over."

Anna squeezed her eyes closed. She wanted to pull Rhys close. She wanted her lips on his. She wanted his hands all over her body.

She never had these thoughts about a man before. She knew she only had them now because of the hold he had over her. Her grandmother would be so disappointed.

Anna opened her eyes when Rhys cupped the side of her face. She could not handle the tightness in her chest anymore. She was losing her internal battle. She had to give Rhys what he wanted.

Anna leaned forward and pressed her lips against Rhys's. He kissed her back and pushed her into the wall. Electricity ran through Anna's body. Her lips tingled as she melted into Rhys's hold.

Anna thought her kiss with Drew was good, but this was amazing. Rhys's kiss was hungry as he claimed her.

This was the moment Rhys had been waiting for ever since he saw Anna. Her flowing blonde hair and beautiful blue eyes reminded him of Hannah. The way her lips felt against his was different from his kiss with Hannah. Anna tasted delicious and it caused him to moan.

Rhys pulled away for a second, but Anna jumped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. She forced her lips onto his. Rhys's hands shook as he put them on her hips. He pushed her away.

Anna opened her eyes. The eyes that Rhys had fallen in love with were now glazed over. A blank expression was on her face. She leaned forward, but Rhys pulled away.

Anna had fallen into a deep trance. All she wanted was to please Rhys. She could sense that he wanted her submissiveness. She went to kiss him again, but Rhys leaned back. She bent down to get on her knees. Rhys shook his head and stopped her.

"Why did I do this?" Rhys muttered.

He slid his hands around Anna's waist. He pulled her in and Anna thought he was going to kiss her again. He dodged her kiss and placed his lips on her neck. He curled his fingers into her waist before he sank his fangs into her neck.

Anna cried out, but it could not be heard over the sound of the pounding music. She grabbed the fistfulls of Rhys's shirt as her body was taken over with ecstasy. Her toes curled and she let out a moan. Every nerve in her body had been taken over. Rhys drank greedily from her neck. Anna's knees gave out from underneath her, and Rhys tightened his hold to keep her on her feet.

Rhys struggled to let go of Anna. Her blood was the most delicious thing he had ever tasted. Her moaning and clawing at his back made the moment even greater.

Rhys pulled away from Anna. Her eyes were closed for a moment before they fluttered open.

She looked at Rhys to see blood dripping down his chin. She blinked a few times before her mind cleared. She brought her fingers up to her throbbing neck and saw that they came back with blood. She gasped as she pushed Rhys away.

"What did you do?" Anna asked.

Rhys smiled. Anna punched him in the chest. He grabbed her fist and kissed the back of her hand. She pulled her hand free and slapped him across the face. Rhys's head stayed to the side while he continued to smile.

"Why the hell did you bite me?" Anna asked.

"It is nice to have you back," he said.

Anna arched an eyebrow. Rhys still had a smile on his face and it made Anna mad. He hurt her and now he was happy about it. He reached for her face again and Anna swung her arm. Her palm tingled after it connected with his cheek.

"Don't touch me again," she said. "What are you talking about?"

"Anna, just stop for a moment," he said. Anna grabbed her bleeding neck and glared at Rhys. "Close your eyes and tell me what you are feeling."

"I'm not closing my eyes," she said. "I want answers, Rhys."

"Close your eyes."

"I am not closing my eyes."

"I am telling you to close your eyes."

"And I am telling you that I am not going to."

"Exactly."

The realization washed over Anna and her jaw hung open. She no longer had the need to please Rhys. She was not compelled to him. She was able to disobey Rhys with no trouble. Before she had to force herself to not follow his orders.

"You drinking my blood reverses this?" Anna asked.

Rhys nodded his head. A new anger consumed Anna. She swung her fist and Rhys ducked. He narrowly dodged Anna's attack.

"What is your problem?" he asked. "I thought that you would be happy."

"Happy?" Anna was shaking with rage. She balled her fists up at her sides. "You watched me slowly lose my mind for over a week. Instead of reversing this - like you knew that you could - you just watched me go crazy. I am not happy at all."

"Anna-"

She raised her hand. Rhys flinched thinking that she was going to attack him again. She left her hand between the two. It was a silent motion telling him not to speak.

"I want you to stay away from me," Anna said,

"Are you still leaving with Drew?" Rhys asked.

"I'm not discussing that with you."

Anna grabbed her neck and stormed away from Rhys. She weaved her way through the people as she made her way to the bathroom. Rhys wanted her to come back, but Anna had no urge to return.