I have to do this, I have to. Kaden's doing everything for me even in the face of his horrible father and he doesn't even know me.

I mean he knows me but he doesn't know me.

All he knows is that I'm Calla from the pet shop, I like food, and he loves me.

Okay maybe he knows more than that, but the point is I know his past, he's told me stories of his life long ago and I haven't told him a thing.

I am such a coward.

I sank onto the bed, burying my face in my hands.

I'm terrified of this. Kaden sees me as his perfect little flower, something beautiful. Would he look at me differently once he realize his so called beautiful thing was born from something ugly?

"Calla your mind is in a flurry, are you okay love?"

I looked up to see Kaden loosening his tie and trifling through the bottles of scotch and whiskey, his beautiful black hair tousled from running his hand through it one too many times.

He was stressed, so stressed.

Maybe I should just be sweet and caring and give him a shoulder rub. He doesn't need to know more about me does he?

"Calla?"

I bit my lip, "Kaden...you love me right?"

He laughed a bit, "of course, I love you more than anything."

I took a deep breath, "...remember how you asked me a while back what I was doing in that road in the middle of the night that lead to my capture?"

Kaden froze drink halfway to his lips, "yes."

"Will you let me tell you a story?"

He made his way to the bed, sitting beside me, "I'm happy to listen to anything you have to say."

I nodded, "Where do I even start?"

"From the beginning if you're willing, I want to know everything about you so the beginning seems to be an appropriate way to start."

"Okay...well as you know my mother faked her death 10 years before I was born because she believed the vampiric race and their empire to be morally wrong. I never knew my father, mom never talked about him much, I don't really think she knew him well either if you know what I mean." I peered through my lashes to see if his expression has changed but he was still looking at me with the same open warmth and love. "I was born in a river, well more of a stream actually."

He blinked, "what?"

I shrugged, "mom was a hippie, always told me giving birth to me in that stream gave her power to move on and the cold shock of the water started me crying right off the bat."

Kaden smiled.

I took it as a good sign and kept on going, "Mom raised me by daylight in the most beautiful hidden meadow until I was about 12 then she said it was too dangerous because I was budding into a woman, sleeping at night put us at high risk, we needed to find others. So we did. They were nice enough, rugged to the point where even the women looked like men. As I grew older they developed a dislike for me because I was so much smaller than they were. My mother you see while beautiful was scarred all over, her face, her arms, everywhere. She always said pain and loss was the price of freedom..."

The room fell into silence, I needed a moment to just remember and he knew it.

"She was also very strong, years of long hard work had built her muscle and broadened her back. She never wanted me to do too much hard labor because I was her baby, her little flower. But the others as I said didn't like that. They thought I was useless. as a year or two went but I was still young but budding into the woman I am today, I noticed some of the men in camp had started to look at me differently."

He went totally still beside me, "Calla.."

I waved him off, "The woman started to dislike me even more so, at the time I didn't understand it. But I did understand that the men found me attractive and I remember my mother once telling me that beauty was the best poison. So I became poisonous. I wanted to be useful so badly Kaden I really did so-"

"Calla!"

I looked up to see him furious, "what?" Did I do something wrong?

"I don't think I want to here any more of this, can't we skip this part?"

My brows furrowed, "no. this is important."

His jaw clenched.

"Whats wrong?"

"I just don't want to hear about you...you..."

"Robbing people?"

"what?"

"I started going to human neighborhoods we passed in the dead of night and turning my biggest doe eyed look on the wealthiest looking families men, conning them into allowing me inside, feeding me under the pretense that I would show them my gratitude in any way they wish. I would rob them out of all their food and valuables that I could carry when they turned their backs and high tail it out of there."

He looked utterly astonished. "oh."

"What did you think I was going to say?"

He glanced away, "nothing."

"anyways..The people we were traveling with began to see worth in me, my mother was worried but proud none the less. I kept up my routine for months, going out and coming back as quickly as possible...but like all things in life that changed." Another long period of silence before I choked out my next words, "I didn't know Kaden I didn't know I had accidentally stumbled onto a vampires land."

He took that in for a very long moment, "what happened Calla?"

"..that house was just so much nicer than the others, I didn't know the other houses were that of blood slaves I didn't know anything just that there was one really really nice house. It was my mothers birthday and I wanted to surprise her with something nice. So I went right for that one. an old man answered the door and as always let me in. I-I thought the robbery was going off without a hitch, I had even taken this really beautiful necklace for my mother and given it to her before I scampered up my tree to go to sleep." I felt tears pooling and spilling over my lashes, "I-I woke up the next morning to find them all dead." I let out a sob, the memories overtaking me.

Kaden pulled me into his, lap tucking my head under his chin, "shhh its okay baby."

"its not Kaden! they all died because- because of me!"

"its not your fault Calla."

I didn't believe him, it was my fault, but I was too tired to argue with him, I just wanted to finish my tale, "I found my mothers body last. She was completely drained of blood. the necklace gone. Kaden she was killed because they though she had robbed them."

"Calla..you don't have to keep go-"

I cut him off, "I was so high up in my tree they didn't find me...I always liked looking at the stars..you know that. And it saved me from death..but left me so utterly alone. I didnt go into another town for another two years. I had been able to live off berries and nuts I actually knew. I was terrible at hunting but got lucky from time to time. but...but I had traveled so far I ran out of forest I knew, I could no longer recognize edible plants from poisonous. I had to start stealing again but I was so afraid. I was only 16 and I still couldn't stomach the idea of what could happen. So I went to a small house. not too poor to the point where I would feel bad but not so wealthy where they would send someone after me." I took a deep breath, "but I messed up Kaden there was only a man home and I wasn't 14 anymore I wasn't pretty-cute I was a woman with clothes to small and eyes too wide." I bit back another sob, "he wasn't buying the act enough to leave me alone and...he decided that I should give him something first."

Kadens grip on me tightened.

"...That was the first time I killed someone."

This was the moment I feared most. The moment when Kaden would realize I wasn't his beautiful flower, I was ugly and tainted. I didn't deserve him.

Gathering my nerves I kept going, "It was so much easier than having to run around as fast as I could to get what I needed, I could stay for a little bit maybe sleep through the day in an actual bed..the first time was an accident..I-I didn't mean to kill him! I was so scared and he wouldn't let me go."

"It wasn't your fault Calla."

"...I know. That time wasn't but..."

"Calla?"

I sniffled, "but It wasn't just one time Kaden! I started to target men who lived alone and once I got into the house..it was game over for them and a night of luxury for me..I was out on that road that night because I made a mistake and woke up a neighbor. The vampires hunting for stray humans on that road caught me because I hadn't washed all the blood from myself."

My shaky breaths where the only noise in the otherwise silent room.

I couldn't even look at him in fear of what he would think.

I had just utterly destroyed everything Kaden had ever thought about me. I waited for what felt like years for him to say something, anything, or do something. Shove me off of him or shake his head...just some sign that he was angry.

But when he finally did move it was to flick off the lamplight, "The sun's coming up love. Its about time we go to sleep."

I sat frozen and astonished, that was it?

He pulled me down into the sheets with him, covering the both of us with a blanket and wrapping an arm around me. He kissed the back of my neck, "goodnight pet."