Forbidden LOVE

-23-

Speak of the devil I heard boots coming towards me and brushing past bushes, I could tell the difference... prowling Vampire's are slow and quiet, well they try to be quiet it doesn't work well for them.

"Hi stranger." I smile as I see him walk through the last set of bushes.

"Hi love, are you alright I found this?" He asked showing me the wood I pulled off.

"Oh yeah I'm fine, I had a couple of unwanted visors because of it so I threw it.. I got a tree branch caught in my leg on my way in here. I needed to come out, to let off some steam." I stopped talking abruptly because he looked up away from me.

"We HAVE to get out of here NOW!" He whispered urgently grabbing my hand, Shire heard him and followed along quickly. "My place we have to go, come on go run in front of me I'll protect you from back here. Go!" He whispered louder. I did as he asked and Shire and I both ran to his crypt. Puffing and grabbing my aching side I pushed his doors open and closed them and sat in there quietly, waiting for him to get here.

All I heard was growling and people or I don't even know getting thrown around, I heard whimpering and fighting going on outside I wanted to look but he told me to come in here so I didn't. After a few minutes everything went quiet and the doors got pushed open hard and loud as the smacked either side of the concrete walls.

Drake was still in his form, cursing under his breath. I wasn't sure exactly what to do, but I did the only thing I thought was right.. "Are you okay?" I said quietly not sure how he would react I've never seen him this way before.

"Fine! I just had to kill a good friend." He said throwing something against the wall. I walked up to him not even scared of him at all anymore and put my hand on his shoulder. "Tell me what happened, you've listened to my crap how many times its the least I can do for you." He went to push my hand away as he growled but his face started to calm down and change back to his hot looking self.

"My good friend Darius.. wanted to kill you. He knew you went in here, he followed us. I couldn't get any sense into his thick skull, I did what I had to do to protect you. He told me to kill you with him make it into a tag teamed lunch.. I said no, he tried to push past me, I found your stake on the floor you dropped in running in here and I killed him. Just like that one of my own turned to dust. I was angry at first before you spoke to me. Then I remembered why I was doing it." He said sighing.

"If you don't want to protect me, you don't have to... If you want to go back to being mortal enemies I'd understand, It's not like I'm scared of death these days anyway... I don't really care about much anymore. If you haven't noticed. All my friends have turned on me.. they all hate me because I'm being nice to you. It's all so messed up. I'm so worried about what's going to happen when Dad gets home. So if you wanted to leave, I get it I'm a total screw up anyway." I sighed truthfully.

"I want to ring your father's bloody neck if you want my opinion, but clearly you don't need it, you already know what I think of all of it. You're not a screw up, I don't want to hear you say that about yourself again." He said kind of coldly..

"What's that supposed to mean?" I frowned "I've just had a major argument with Ryan don't make me do it to you too." I said harshly.

"That's not what I meant love, I meant you know I want to kill the bastard, for breaking his little girls heart, he's your father, he's not supposed to do that to his only daughter. It infuriates me." He said coldly towards my Dad but kindly towards me.

"I'd die for you. You know that." He said sitting down finally, his pacing was making me dizzy. He was pissing me off now.

"What's going to happen when Dad gets back! You're going to get yourself killed, you've got no choice but to kill him, and I don't know how that's going to be for me, as for Lexi I don't even know what to think there."

"I don't want you to die for me! I need you!" I said really worried now, you're just going to let your smell for blood get in the way and do something stupid!" I snapped.

"So you have no faith in me now?" He snapped at me. For the first time he actually snapped directly at me.

"I didn't mean it like that..." I sighed so confused about everything right now I threw my head into my hands.

"Now you listen to me, I've been alive a bit longer than you, and dead a lot longer than that. I've seen things you couldn't imagine and done things I'd prefer you didn't. I don't exactly have a reputation for being a thinker a lot of the time, I follow my blood, which doesn't exactly rush in the direction of my brain. So I make alot of mistakes, a lot of bloody wrong calls."

"A hundred plus years and there's only been one thing I've ever been sure of in the last week especially, and that's you. HEY now, look at me, I'm not asking for anything, when I say "I love you," it's not only because I want you, or that I want to be with you.. at this particular time it has nothing to do with me or my feelings towards you. I love what you are and what you do, your kindness, your strength, your will power to keep going when things get tough. I've seen the best and the worst of you, you haven't quite lashed out at me badly yet but I know you will soon when all of this unfolds."

"And I understand with perfect clarity exactly what you are, you're one hell of a woman Ruby, and you can do this love, you will come out on top. I know this from the bottom of my heart." He said just staring at me.

"You think Vampire's don't have feelings well you're wrong there, we can feel and love and cry everything you can do... The only difference between you and I is my heart doesn't beat and blood doesn't pump in the same direction as you. Besides that we are the same."

"You love me?" I was listening to every word he said but he just... He cut me from my thoughts.

"I've always loved you. I just didn't know how to tell you, Until now." He said calmingly.