Teaching Elian was challenging and rewarding in equal measure.
He was eager, enthusiastic, and utterly lacking in control. His first feeding attempt nearly killed the donor before Kieran pulled him off.
"I'm sorry!" Elian cried, horrified by the blood on his face. "I couldn't stop. It was like... like nothing else existed except the hunger."
"That's normal for newborn vampires," Aiden soothed. "It took me weeks to learn control. You'll get there."
They practiced constantly—control exercises, speed training, strength management. Kieran taught combat skills while Aiden taught emotional regulation and ethics.
"Why does it matter if I drain bad people?" Elian asked during one ethics lesson. "Like, if someone's a murderer or rapist, why not just kill them?"
"Because the line between justice and murder is thin," Aiden explained. "And once you start deciding who deserves to die, you become judge, jury, and executioner. That's a dangerous path."
"But you killed Elena Volkov. You told me about the battle."
"That was war. Direct threat. Very different from hunting humans who've committed crimes."
"So we just let bad people exist?"
"We let human justice systems handle human criminals. Our job is to exist alongside humanity, not rule over it."
Elian struggled with these concepts, but he tried. And gradually, he became not just a vampire, but a good vampire—controlled, ethical, kind despite his power.
"You're a natural parent," Kieran observed one night, watching Aiden help Elian through a particularly difficult craving.
"I remember being new. Being scared. Being overwhelmed." Aiden smiled. "And I remember having you to guide me. I'm just paying it forward."
"He adores you."
"He adores both of us. We're his family."
And they were. Movie nights together. Training sessions. Long conversations about immortal existence. Elian brought new energy into their lives, reminded them what it was like to see the world with fresh eyes.
"Do you think we could do this again?" Aiden asked a year into Elian's vampire life. "Find another dying person who needs saving?"
"You want a bigger family?"
"I want to make a difference. We have the resources, the knowledge, the capacity to give people what we gave Elian. Why not use it?"
Kieran kissed his forehead. "You're going to end up with a house full of vampire children, aren't you?"
"Would that be so bad?"
"No. It would be beautiful. Chaotic, but beautiful."
So they decided: every few years, if they found someone worthy, someone dying, someone who wanted the gift of immortality—they'd offer it. They'd build a family across the centuries, a legacy of love and second chances.
It was ambitious. It was unprecedented.
It was perfect.