The first thing he felt when he woke up deep underground was hunger. An irresistible thirst for blood that requires saturation. But while hunting in the dark streets of Paris, a voice called out to him, calming, consoling, giving him the strength to control his thirst. Francesca del Ponce is a healer, a woman who radiates with kindness as much as the sun with light. But his obsession with her would surely turn him into what his twin brother had become, giving the world two monsters instead of one. And although he knew that she would be hot silk in his hands, knew that her taste would be addictive, he was afraid to take her, fearing for her life and her soul. And then she gives herself with a startling oath: “I offer freely and unconditionally. I give you my life, because it is my right” - and in the burning storm of long-forgotten feelings, he saw salvation.