Of all the things Beren told him in those few hours, what he'd done to Gerda was the worst of it. It was a wonder to him that she would even speak to him or look him. It also explained why she was more than a bit flip with him at times, evading his questions and changing the subject. "She'll always care about you," Beren said, knowing his thoughts. "She'll just never let you close to her again. Not ever. You have to let her be and live 'er own life. You have Serena now. Let Gerda find another - if she will. Of anything you could do to make up for what you did, that would be it. Leave her be. Alright Seth? Are we clear on that?" "Aye, we're clear on that." He fidgeted with his hands and sighed. "I've been so arrogant." He half laughed to himself. "Damn...." "You'll be fine. You know, you can always talk to me and your mother if you need to. Just remember, you aren't that one any more." "But if you wiped my memory clean, why do I remember her?" "I don't know why you remember her. Then again there are many people who claim they fell in love with someone at first sight...felt like they'd known them all their lives. And you can damn well bet they didn't remember anything of their previous life. Perhaps it is a body memory, imprinted somehow inside you. I can't answer that, for there are things greater than all of us put together that work in mysterious ways. "We taught you - again - to control your vampire side." Beren sat up, leaning toward Seth and waving a finger at him, "But DON'T YOU EVER channel that other part of you. You leave it be too. That's another reason I...we hesitated to tell you all of this. You know what you are now, but that doesn't mean you have to tap into it. If you ever do, I will know and I will come down on you like The Wrath of the gods...I swear it." "I believe you," Seth breathed seeing the look in Beren's eyes. He meant business. "Is that everything?" "Pretty much. For all practical purposes, you died and were reborn, but because you are a born vampire your body remains the same. So you keep that in mind, what Gerda said. The body's the same, but the mind is not. You know now the havoc and chaos you caused. Let it be a lesson son, an' no temptation to revist it. I couldn't take you down before, but I can now and I will. That's not what we want though. We're a family again. That's what we want." ***** And now back to happier things.... Thank you for looking, for your comments and favs dear friends. I hope your week is going well! Cheers! Rayvn