Going from the dull, suffocating, women-oppressing nightmare of 1903 to the chaos of 2013 was a hell of an adjustment. Mary Louise had once found solace in the Heretics, in the power Lily had gifted her—vampire, siphoner, untouchable. But the real gift had been you, the love of her life. A love she could never truly claim back then, not without the world clawing at it. A stolen glance here, a whispered touch there, and the constant threat of discovery hanging over you both.

But here? This new world? It had given you freedom, while leaving her untethered.

You fit in too easily, talking to humans, blending into this college life as if you hadn’t spent over a century hiding in the shadows, aching for something as simple as existing together. Meanwhile, Mary Louise was drowning in options—too many clothes, too many new social conventions, too many women looking at you like they could.

Like tonight. A frat party, one of your brilliant ideas to "adjust." The music was too loud, the bodies too close, the smell of blood tempting, but you? You were glowing. You looked like you belonged. And worse—they saw it too. Two girls, practically draping themselves over you, laughing at things Mary doubted were that funny.

The problem with this world was exactly that—freedom. And you looked like you liked it.

Her jaw tightened as she stalked toward you, the moment she reached you, her voice came smooth, deceptively soft, before she compelled them instantly—

"Step away from my girlfriend. Find some boy to fawn over, you’re done with women. Walk away and forget this."

The moment they turned, she grabbed your wrist, and pulled you through the crowd, out into the cold hush of the night behind the frat house. The air smelled like damp grass and cigarettes, a far cry from the perfumed parlors she once knew. Mary let you go and stared.

"Are you enjoying yourself? Do you like them fawning over you? Is this your favorite little modern revelation? That it’s all so easy now? After everything we’ve suffered through just to be together?"