Bree woke alone.She realized after a minute that she was once again in Zane’s bed.She remembered what had happened, Zane’s rage at her, and became terrified. I have to get out of here! He hates me.He’ll kill me! When she started to get up, her legs over the side of the bed, Zane’s voice spoke from across the room.
“Ah, you are awake.”He was sitting on a gold leaf renaissance chair that had deep cushions.Then he got up.
Bree panicked and shrunk back against the headboard.The burns on her arm seemed to rip into her with a blinding pain. When Zane approached her she cowered.There were no words that she could think of to say.She knew Zane was merciless when he came to humans.And he thought she had betrayed him yet she had no idea how or why or what or anything!But, that didn’t matter.Nothing mattered except for the fact that Zane would probably hurt her now more than he ever had before.
And she was very, very afraid.
But what Zane did next made her nearly fall over with shock.He came to the side of the bed and took her hands in his, then knelt with his head on her lap and wept bitterly.
Bree didn’t know what to do.She just stared down at the top of his head as his body shook with sobs.Zane – wealthy, powerful, insensitive, cruel, fierce hater of mortals – was crying on her lap!She didn’t know what had happened that day or why.But one thing she did know was that Zane was very, very sorry for what he had done to her.
Bree reached out with her hand, then stopped just short of Zane’s head.She had only touched him once, that night on the balcony.She still feared him greatly, he had proven to be a very moody vampire, his disposition changed like the weather.Yet, she had never seen him so reduced to such pain.She then slowly lowered her hand until it brushed Zane’s hair.She was surprised at the softness of it.Because he was a vampire, she never expected him to feel so human.When he didn’t respond, she carefully ran her fingers through his hair.She did this a few times before putting her hand on his shoulder, rubbing it gently.She could not feel if his body was cold or hard, like vampires were supposed to be, because of the leather he wore.She ran her fingers over it, then back over Zane’s head.
“Zane?”
He sniffled. “What?”
“I don’t know what happened.I don’t know why you were mean to me earlier.But it doesn’t matter.” Bree’s voice was soothing now, and Zane’s crying became softer. “I know you wouldn’t have done what you did without good cause, true or untrue.But that doesn’t change the fact that I care about you.”
Zane raised his head to look at Bree.His face was wet and his eyes were red and swollen.The hair that hung down over his face was now sticking to his tears.Bree reached over and brushed it aside.Zane protested her kindness. “I listened to the words of heartless liars. I will not blame you if you do not forgive me.”
Bree gasped. “What lies?”
“That you were going to poison me so that I could never impregnate my wife, if I ever were to have one.Which isn’t looking like a possibility right now.”
Bree was silent and still.Too still.Zane returned his head to her lap and cried once again.Bree sat up then and Zane looked up at her.She saw the fear and remorse in his face and his eyes were a sad shade of slate gray.It hurt her to see him like this.It was like he was a completely different person.. vampire.. but he didn’t seem like a vampire now. It could have been the human in him emerging, she didn’t know.Zane’s mother seemed human too but she was completely a vampire now and has been for a thousand years.Had it not been for her pale complexion, nobody would have guessed it.
“Zane, please stop crying.I forgive you.You didn’t know.”
“I never should have believed the deceptive words of my slaves!”
Bree slid out of the bed and knelt beside Zane.She took his hands in hers then bowed to him as he continued to kneel next to the bed.When she leaned up against him, snuggling her face into the cool leather of his clothing, he felt he would burst out sobbing with joy.She was so sweet, so forgiving.Even after everything he had done to her… she still had so much to give for a woman having come from nothing but poverty and heartache.
As he held the now softly weeping Bree to him, Zane wondered why he had been given such a blessing.He didn’t deserve her.Up until now, he had nothing but contempt for mortals.He had destroyed so many, enough to populate a good sized city.And along comes this tender girl and he had done nothing short of terrorize her and make her suffer intense torture and pain.He thought back on those first few days after he had met her.There were so many times that he had come only seconds away from eating her, from draining her.It made him violently sick inside now knowing that he could have devoured the one girl who would have saved him.
But she was here.She was here, with him, in his arms, submitting to him.She was still afraid of him, he could scent it in her breath.He wanted more than anything to wipe that fear away from her forever, but he knew that it would take time.He had turned on her once, in her mind he figured that she would think he could turn on her again.
“Bree, you don’t have to submit to me.”She raised her head up to look at him.He looked down at her, there was respect in his eyes and face.“Please, I rather you didn’t.”
She pulled away to look at him and flinched from the pain in her burned arm.Zane caught a glimpse of it.It was an ugly shade of red and purple and dotted with large gray blisters.He knew that if they broke she could get a terrible infection.Zane still didn’t understand his good venom enough to know if it could cure an infection.A burn infection could spread to her whole body.“Oh, Bree… I’m so sorry.” He shuddered at what he saw.How could he have done this?He could still lose her if she got an infection! Was his hate so strong that he couldn’t even see the severity of Bree’s wounds?
“The scars will vanish once you become a vampire.”She looked at him quizzically. “I’m sorry… if, if you want to become a vampire.I would be delighted to spend the rest of all time with you.”
“Are you asking me to be your wife?”
“Yes.”
Bree almost burst forth with sobs.She could live forever with that pointed answer so characteristic of Zane, an answer that brought both terror and joy.She held back her joyous weeping and rested her head once again into Zane’s chest.There had definitely been way too much crying for one day.
