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and come back to him.
     
    Hunger began to eat at his mind, and there was a time that he thought he would lose himself to his nature, but he was stronger than that. A part of him wanted to let that part of himself die, to let it end, as he blamed it for his loss.
     
    In the end, he too had to make a decision. He realized that if it wasn't for the vampire that he was, Heather never would have had anything to do with him. The fact was, it was all he had to offer. He wasn't truly human, and to deny his nature was the true crime. So he got up that night, and he found what he needed. With his new-found strength, he began the search, knowing that he could never again deny what he was. He was human and he was vampire. The one without the other couldn’t exist, but together, they were strong.
     
    Finding Heather's dreams that night brought peace to him, a chance to be with her again, and to share his feelings with her. Night after night his bond grew with her, until he knew where she was. He could feel her presence in the far off distance. She was a light to him, a flame in the darkness that drew him straight to her. He knew now that he could never survive without her, and yet as a human he needed to win her love, as a vampire, he would do it his own way.
     
    So it was, until recently when Chuck began showing up in her dreams. That phantom of her past began to work like a barrier around her mind, making it almost impossible to enter her dreams, and far too often he would find him as his adversary or nemesis, always there running interference or just straight out replacing him.
     
    So here I sit. So close and yet so far from all that matters in this world to me. He stood back up shaking his head in disgust. He was so tempted to just go claim his prize. It was his heritage to take what he wanted. It would be so easy, he thought. But the only problem is, why did I go through this hell for the last several months if I was just going to throw it all away and suggest her?
     
    No, he had to end this battle inside of himself. He would just have to win her over to him without using his abilities. The problem was, he had intended on doing it long range to start. Win her in her dreams, and then try to woo her in real life. It seemed like the best possible plan. Now, however, he wasn't so sure it was going to work.
     
    “ Damn ,” He mumbled as he walked over and grabbed his jean jacket. “I need a break from this.”
     
    An hour later Brian sat at a poker table across from six other people with a pile of chips stacked to his left and two cards on the table in front of him. So far, things weren’t going so well. He'd already lost over a hundred dollars in the short time he had been sitting at the table. A young guy dressed in a white sport jacket across from him, with short blond hair and a goofy-looking earring to match his perpetual smile, kept taking everything from everyone at the table. It didn't seem to matter what he had, the guy always knew what two cards Brian held.
     
    “I'll raise it $50,” the guy said as he put a couple more chips out onto the table.
     
    Brian looked at the table. A Jack of Spades, Queen of Hearts, and a Nine of Clubs sat on the table. Two people to the blonde's left folded. It was Brian's turn to act. He knew what he had as his hold cards, and they almost couldn't be any better. He had the Queen of Spades and the Queen of Diamonds. He had trips, and it was about time to put this joker in his place.
     
    Brian stared across the table at his opponent contemplating how much he should bet. He only came to the low limits to just blow off some steam and get his mind away from Heather. Instead, he found himself in a competition of wits with a hustler.
     
    “So, Friend, what exactly are you doing down at these blinds, may I ask?” Brian queried the young guy, hoping to throw him off his game and maybe get a tell at the same time.
     
    The blonde just shrugged his shoulders and gave him a big grin. “It's