The dark red eye which had stayed to not turn black finally changed where both his eyes turned black. He looked at them sharply, the corner of his eyes bringing out fine lines like the roots of a tree in the soil that stretched from the edge of his eyes to spread out to his temples. 

The fangs that were usually tamed for a pureblooded vampire after growth had now come out. The fangs larger which protruded out from his mouth making him look nothing less to a feral animal. 

Hearing something rustle outside, his face turned to look to the side, hearing the sound of the air that touched the window and then moved away as if glazing on it. The rain that had begun pouring had stopped leaving only the cold wind behind. 

Turning his head back, to look at the mirror, his eyes met his own as they transported back in time. The memories in his mind etched where he could feel it was as if yesterday that it had taken place. 

It was a few years ago when both Damien and Maggie were young children. Damien who stood at the bedside held his mother's hand, "You'll get better," said the boy. His eyes vacant unlike now which was always covered with mischief. 

His mother had been ill. It was a rare disease that hit a pureblooded vampire. The disease occurring one in every five thousand vampires. Her eyes had started to hold dark circles similar to the way humans looked when they were ill. Her body couldn't consume the blood anymore, as it stopped digesting it in her body. With the lack of blood which was the most essential part of a vampire's meal, the lady was losing her body strength which could barely hold the sight as it had started to dim which she didn't say but Damien had been an observative child. 

"Of course, I will. I still need to make both of you swim in the river," said the woman, her pale skin at the point of the palest color where one could easily say that she hardly had a few more days until her last breath, "Did you kill the maid?" asked his mother, her eyes though not able to see him clearly but looking at the outline of her son. 

"Yes," answered Damien diligently. The maid had tried to steal his mother's jewelry while she was sick in the bed.

But it wasn't just that. The maid had not only tried to steal but had also tried to poison his mother's already weak health. 

Damien looked emotionless, his eyes looking hollow to which his mother smiled, "Come here my boy," she raised her thin hand to him so that she could place her hand on her cheek, "You did well, Dami. I wish I was there to see the first kill. The first kill is always special for us purebloods because there's always a reason for it."

The woman on the bed could feel the hauntings of her son which he was still trying to process with the death he carried out. It wasn't uncommon for some of the pureblooded families who taught how to kill people at a young age. 

"Come here, Maggie, my sweet daughter," she raised her other hands where her daughter held her mother's hand. Her eyes holding back the tears, "Don't miss me when I am gone," the vampiress smiled. 

Though some of them believed that the lady of Quinn's family would die soon, the disease didn't allow her to have a peaceful death. It ate her life from her very soul, piece by piece taking its own time. Death of loved ones who were close was quite understandable to have the pain of hurt and loss but young Damien, to see his mother suffer like that with her spouting blood from her mouth instead of taking it in to keep herself healthy...it had upset him greatly. Enough to the point where his heart had started to corrupt without anyone's notice. 

A corrupted heart was as good as to a person who was dying as one would lose rationality in one's thinking while giving up their lives to the darkness. Maybe that was one of the reasons the young boy resonated with his dying mother. Without anyone's knowledge, the boy had corrupted his heart. He didn't know why he wasn't fully corrupted. There were traces of it that came in and out. 

But Damien was smart at the young age of eight. After all, he was a pureblooded vampire, the boy knew what his black eyes meant and slowly tried to learn to handle it. It was how he got into the black market. Strolling and finding out how to keep the corruption a secret for no one to know. Unfortunately, not everything could be kept under a secret where his sister and his cousin who the Lord of Valeria found out about it. 

Damien looked at his reflection, where the roots like nerves that had popped up came to simmer down. On Alexander's inspection on his eyes and the blood that ran in his veins, it was deduced that his corruption had taken place but it hadn't moved from the first stage which meant it wouldn't move further. At least for some time now. 

The rest of them had no clue as he had learned to control the corruption instincts where he at times felt the need to tear a person's head apart until he saw the blood spurting out. It made him wonder if it was part of his nature or part of who he had become because of the little corruption. Some of the higher up's had to be informed which had led Damien to be one his very favorite creature as the corruption never went to the complete stage. 

A heart's corruption in the pureblooded world was never a good sign which made him question why he was spared, unlike the rest who went on a killing spree once the corruption started. What was keeping him alive? Once he blinked his eyes, both of them turned back to red in color, a crooked smile gracing his lips. 

Coming out of the bathroom, Damien reached his hand to his back and pulled out the s.h.i.+rt he wore. Getting on the bed he looked at Penny who had decided to move closer to his side of the bed. 

He didn't lie when he had said that her blood had tasted sweet. Was it because she was a witch? Now that he knew she was a witch, he wondered about her parents. It was possible that her father who had run away was the white witch while leaving his human wife and daughter behind. For the second time in the hour, his hand reached back to touch her again. His hand stopped but this time, it moved forward to push away her the hair.