His words had me speechless.. What was I to say? I was supposed to announce it all to father after we defeated Adam. That was what Christian and I decided that night. Yet my lack of sneaking skills gave me away.. I found myself releasing a deep breath.. I was not lying. Not now.. Not when I promised I would end that hiding. I had to end it. At least to my brothers. They didn't deserve being lied in their faces. "How did you know?" My voice came out quieter than I intended, but clear enough to make him close his eyes in frustration, as if my confirmation had angered him.. "He saved you, before we got there.. Not to prove father's loyalty, was it?" Pressing his fingers over his eyelids, he leaned his elbows and his knees before continuing almost calmly.. "When he was holding you, I saw how soothed you were.. You passed out because you finally relaxed.. In his arms. And he.." He stopped, glancing at me. "The fear in his eyes.. He looked at you like you were the only thing that mattered to him." I found some kind of heaviness against my chest as he spoke about that previous night.. I still stood frozen on the same spot and said nothing.. No confirmation or a denial.. I wanted to see how noticeable it was.. Me and Christian.. Was it really right there for everyone to see? Jack shook his head slightly. "He didn't want to give you to me.. He was hesitating." I found myself nervously putting a strand of hair behind my ear and glancing on the side once more. I was not so very certain how to explain it to my brother.. To explain to him how I fell in love with a Le Boursier.. Nor did I know what his reaction would be. "It's not the first time he saved me." I found myself admitting, pressing my lips together to keep myself from saying something further and watching him sit up and take a step closer.. "You weren't kidnapped, were you?" "No." And that was the moment I saw that realization behind his eyes.. That's when I saw how he closed his eyes and clenched his teeth, showing just the reaction of frustration and loss of words I was supposed to expect.. "God," He rubbed his face with his palms, and I found myself sitting back on the window bench almost as if my legs could no longer hold me.. "What- what are you trying to do, Lana? Please tell me, tell me you have a plan, tell me it's just some wicked game you came up with, just-" He was starting to shout almost and I had to stop him.. So I interrupted. "I love him." I said. Goodness, did I really think this through? "It's not a game." And that was when he lost his patience.. "You ran from Alexander! In his arms?!" I closed my eyes, hoping his outbursts didn't wake anyone.. Running my hands through my hair, I seemed to seek some ease from the pressure over my head that was certainly holding me somewhat trapped in that moment.. "I do not need you to judge or assume right now, Jack. Dad will do that for you plenty when he finds out." I looked back at him. "Alexander is not the man he presents himself as.. He's the one that threatened me, not Christian.." Jack now walked towards me in seemingly a rush, kneeling before me and taking my hands in his. "What did he do to you? Is it a mind-compulsion.. A spell?" I found myself struggling with my breath in my throat.. I shook my head and tried caressing his hands with my thumbs, but at my denial, he once again looked on the side and closed his eyes.. "Christ, dad will kill both of you.." "He will if you keep shouting." "Answer me." I didn't know he was still expecting an answer for that.. I really didn't know how to explain it to him.. He would had never been able to understand. So I pulled on his hands letting him know he should stop kneeling, having him sit beside me where I could look at him well and perhaps read his expression. He was worried.. Panicked even.. And to think what my father would do.. God, it sent chills throughout my entire body. "He didn't do a spell on me. It doesn't work like that, Jack." I spoke calmly, or at least tried to.. Perhaps to somewhat calm myself as well.. "Witches are not all cruel.. Spells are not only dark magic.. Vampires are not monsters.." I gulped down.. "Not all of them." I suppose that was somewhat of a start.. But I still.. Oh I still had no clue how to explain the things I felt for Christian. Perhaps there were no words to explain really.. How was I to put it into mere words when I couldn't even explain it to myself at the beginning? "Then what happened?" He pulled his hands away from mine and I ran out of attempts to calm him.. He was very much certain he would see his sister dead soon because of it.. But I could swear to him he wouldn't. Not when it was all the realest thing I had ever felt.. Not for my love for Christian. So with a sigh, I started from the beginning.. "It all started that day of the holiday celebration.. More correctly, the night I ran away.."