Alternative Part 2

"An alternative?" Cora frowned. 

"You are still a vampire," Grayson said. "You just will not allow yourself to be. If you let your heart stop…"

"No," Cora shook her head, her heart skipping ahead of her. "No, I'm not doing that." 

"Why are you so afraid of it? It is who you are. It is at least half of who you are," he said gently. "And there is no part of you that deserves to be hidden." 

Her forehead feathered at that. She hadn't thought of it that way. It was half of who she was, but it was the half that she didn't want. Not even her father wanted it.

"It is the half of me that is terrifying," she said tremulously, wetting her lips, and Grayson's gaze dropped there.