Two hearts, one soul

Deepest, darkest secret

That's when the fire alarm began to blare loudly and everything turned into chaos...

From the moment they heard Calinico shout, everything went by so fast before Ana's very eyes. Christian grabbed her nightgown and gave it to her. He looked at her once more, before saying.

"Wear this, please. We have to get you all out! Follow me, OK? Take my hand."

Ana hesitated for a second, shaking her head.

"We have to go now, Ana. Stay behind me, OK?" Christian said firmly.

She followed his instructions and walked behind him. As they entered the hall, they saw a lot of smoke. Christian began searching for the others, but saw that the guest rooms were all empty. As he reached the end of the hall, one of Christian's maids told him that Calinico had gathered Elena, Mr. Steele and Kate. They were already on their way down the stairs.

"Mr. Christian... where, where is Miss Ana?" the older woman asked, her voice shaky.

Ana tried to keep up with Christian, but the smoke made it hard for her to breathe. So she stopped and gasped for air, but ended up inhaling the smoke instead. She began coughing and suddenly felt two arms around her, picking her up like she weight nothing.

"Christian." she whispered, as her heart rammed wildly against her rib cage.

Without saying a word, he carried her bridal style down the stairs. She had her eyes locked on his face and involuntarily inhaled his scent. Her left arm automatically landed around his neck for support, as she felt one of his arms under her legs. As his other arm was supporting her back, she couldn't help but close her eyes, her nose landing in the crook of his neck.

Ana was trembling, terrified and overwhelmed by the chain of events. Being so close to him, was one of the scariest things she had ever experienced. She was seeing him in a different light now. Everything had changed for her, now that he has revealed his darkest secret to her. This man... or part man/ part something else, he had saved her life for the third time now. Ana was so frightened, but she wasn't sure what she was afraid of. She had seen his claws not long ago, his eyes glowing yellow, his veins popping... and yet at the moment he was gently carrying her in his arms.

How was that possible?! When he threatened to hurt Philip with his bare hands, she believed that he was capable of being very violent. And yet at the moment, Christian was just plain, in control, polite, calm, human Christian. She didn't see one glimpse of that other side of him.

His sharp claws were replaced by normal nails and fingers and his eyes were its natural grey color. Ana was terrified of the inhuman thing he could become... so very scared of his other form...

~ The next day ~

As Ana looked in the mirror, she attempted to understand Christian's condition. She walked towards the balcony and admired the sunrise. The fire fighters were able to put out the fire that began in the library. But there was a lot of water damage. Until further notice, Christian decided to let them all stay at his hotel, including him.

"Calinico... So, now you can be pampered instead of pampering others." Elena joked, making the others chuckle.

The butler shook his head, frowning deeply, making the others smile. Calinico hated to sit around all day doing nothing...

"Well, I can assure you, Miss Elena that I will find something to do." He replied and walked away, as he decided to look for some chores to do.