Author: T.M. Mendes
Date: 2012-11-29 05:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Vampires; Paranormal; Romance; Supernatural; Fantasy; Paranormal Romance
Description: She gave me life again. She is the my entire purpose on breathing. Her blood calls out to me like a siren that I cannot ignore. Who is she you ask? Why, she is My Beloved.
Publisher: Wattpad

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My Beloved

By: T.M. Mendes

ISBN: 978-1-68030-121-2

©T. M. Mendes 2014

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

(Part one)

(Part two)

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Dedicated to Erin, my long time cheer leader from the beginning of my writing journey.

Chapter 1

Wendy

"Move it!" a nasty voice rang out in the hall of the high school.

Wendy turned around, making her blonde hair swirl around her like a fan. She bit her lip to stop the retort burning on the tip of her tongue. Standing there was the school's popular girl named Denise. She walked past Wendy, purposefully bumping her shoulder enough to hurt. Casting her eyes downward to hide the tears threatening to spill over from her blue eyes, she silently moved further toward the walls littered with various high school posters made by the cheer squad.

"Don't you just love her?" Wendy smiled when she saw her close friend Jamie was next to her. She saw her friend’s eyes were on the popular girl with anger and contempt in them. Jamie was protective of her smaller friend. Always has been since they met each other in the sand-box. She towered over Wendy's small frame at only 5'5" while Wendy herself was only 5' even.

Wendy shook her head and pushed her black framed glasses up even more, since they were slipping from her pert nose. Everything about her screamed fragile and pixie-like. Jamie threw her flame-orange hair in a messy ponytail while they stood there.

"I think she's just misunderstood."

Jamie looked at her with disbelief on her freckled face. "You're too nice for your own good. C'mon, let's get to class."

Clutching her books even closer to her frame, Wendy agreed and they both took off for their first period, which happened to be her favorite, English.

When they reached the shabby classroom, they went to take their seats in the back. Even though they were both classified as nerds by their peers in the school, they each found homework tedious and mundane. Although, Wendy will actually do her work, whereas Jamie will do her work at the last minute, while she was in class, making her barely pass subjects with a C- average. Soon, the class filled up with far more students than there were seats available. With budget cuts, all classes were overfilled. Unfortunately, this class included Denise and that always brought a sense of dread to Wendy. She sent a silent prayer that in this class she would not notice her, even though that seemed in vain thanks to this morning's incident. Without wanting to, she was now on the girl's radar.

"Good morning, class. Please settle down!" Mrs. Rush came in looking slightly disheveled, which without a doubt had to be due to being late by five minutes. Wendy and Jamie both liked this teacher since she left them alone in the back, never asking them questions.

Plus Mrs. Rush was a quirky sort of person, always getting overly excited about what subject she was talking about. Her hair was always in a very messy bun atop her head and it always came loose the more animated she became during class. "Today we're going to read about… treasure!"

Some students did perk up about that and it made Wendy smile to herself. This teacher could make a ball of yarn seem enthralling. Said teacher perched herself on her tall stool and opened a small booklet.

"Many years ago, here in our town of Mossy-Rock came settlers for the first time. They came from England in hopes of finding prosperous land and good fortune. It was slow at first, until one day, a man came into the small community wearing expensive garb and walking with confidence. His presence demanded respect and the townsfolk here knew, he was very rich.

“They wondered what was a man like him doing in their humble little town. Many fathers already began to think of marrying off their daughters with respectable dowries, but he turned them all down. Eventually, people left him alone. The next day more men came in to do this rich man's bidding, making the townsfolk that much more intrigued. Then the men and 'the mystery man,' as the town dubbed him, went off into the woods and disappeared for the next twenty days."

She was interrupted by a delicate snort from Denise. "Miss, this is stupid! When is it going to get good?" Her voice took a keening sound from the whine in her voice. It made both Wendy and Jamie cringe.

"Patience. Now let me finish. Ah, where were we? Oh! Here we go… nearly a month later, the mysterious man came back into town and started to converse with the townspeople! They soon learned he was off building his home in the far woods. It was a home grander than anything anyone in town had ever seen! They now knew why he brought all those men to help him build such a place."

Wendy's mind drifted to the mansion that was in ruins, deep within the woods. She had stumbled across it as a small child and sometimes went there to think, sitting on the once grand steps to draw what her heart urged her to. The mansion looked like it had seen better days. Walls were missing and the steps she sat on have all but crumbled. She had never even shown Jamie her special place. The place where she feels carefree and light.

"Parties were held there through the months and the townsfolk now knew just how wealthy this man was. His name was Vincent Gilmore and he had women lined up by his door vying for his attention." The guys broke off in chuckles and fist bumped each other, "Swag!" A jock laughed, making everyone else chuckle. Even Mrs. Rush let a little laugh spill out. "Yes, he indeed had 'swag' as you called it. Back to the story… he paid them all no mind and life within the small community went back to normal. One cold night though, the town awoke from a scream. Lighting their lanterns, all gasped when they saw in the street lay a young girl, dead with eyes open wide with fright. Her skin was paler than the moon and two puncture wounds graced her neck.

“The people grew scared and knew it had to be a monster who did this. A young girl came forward, out of the crowd gathered around the body, and said she saw who had done it. Immediately, they began to question her. She told everyone it was Lord Vincent she saw attacking the young girl just moments before. People grew angry and lit their torches to confront the man in question."

Wendy's heart began to beat just a little faster and noticed everyone's eyes were trained on their teacher in apprehension and devoted attention.

"They barged into his home without invitation and saw him standing there looking confused, but they saw the blood on his clothing and wasted no time in binding him. The father of the girl now dead grew so angry he grabbed the first thing he saw, which was a silver candle holder, and struck Lord Vincent. The crowd gasped as they saw how it burned him. Some people rushed into their own homes to find all the silver needed to detain him. Lord Vincent pleaded with everyone to let him explain, but they wouldn't listen. Soon he grew too angry and let them see his true form.

“Black eyes gazed back at them in hatred and fangs protruded from his mouth that made the lesser of the brave scream. They bound him with rope and with it various silver items to his body, which had him screaming in agony. A carpenter quickly made a coffin and some other people tossed in their best silverware and jewelry that had silver in it into the coffin. Lord Vincent tried to fight them off, but he was too weak with all that bound him and screamed out once more when they placed him in the coffin. His skin sizzled and he couldn't move. All the townsfolk began to spit on him and cursed him to hell before closing the lid on him and digging him a grave. It is said that the grave is still here, in our town near his old home. A grave filled with the purest of silver that are worth millions. The townsfolk marked his grave with a rock that had 'Evil shall perish in the depths of hell' engraved on it." Mrs. Rush then closed the book and looked at her class with a smile.

"Whoa! Do you think it's true?" a boy asked from the middle of the room with wide eyes.

Mrs. Rush smiled at him and shrugged. "I can't say. No one has ever found his home. Now the assignment today is to come up with a treasure story of your own. I want creativity and I don't want to hear any whining, understood?"

The class nodded and she told them all to get to work. Wendy's heart was in overdrive. She knew where his old home was! She went there a few times every month! Her eyes glanced at her best friend and wondered if she should show her? Something in her told her not to and that confused her. That place was the only thing she felt belonged solely to her. It felt almost wrong to tell someone else about it.

Everyone got to their own stories, but Wendy was still too caught up on whether or not this story Mrs. Rush read had some truth in it. Was there treasure near where she sat constantly? She felt bad for the man in the story, if that part alone was true. Back in those times, they killed a lot of innocent people due to suspicion, and it was unfortunate that he was another victim.

"Mrs. Rush? She's not doing her work!" Denise pointed to Wendy with a smirk on her upturned face. Jamie scowled at her, but remained quiet since all eyes were now on the two girls in the back row.

"I would focus more on your work if I were you, Denise, and stop trying to tattle like a five-year-old," Mrs. Rush reprimanded her, making her face flush with barely contained anger. The teacher then walked to Wendy with a slight frown, but then turned to see the class watching her every move. "Back to work!" she instructed, making everyone reluctantly turn back to their own writing. Squatting down to look at the girl who had nothing on her blank page, her frown deepened. "Is something wrong, Wendy? You've never not done your work before..."

Wendy looked down at her hands and let a small sigh escape her. Her thoughts were swirling with possibilities. If she were to somehow find this grave, she could answer her parents’ prayers. With her sick older brother in the hospital, her parents had to take out a second mortgage to pay the bills that were stacking up.

With a start, she realized her teacher was still waiting for an answer. "Um, I don't feel too well." Her lie was pitiful at best, but with the thoughts that consumed her, it left a paleness on her that made the lie believable.

Mrs. Rush nodded at her and quickly wrote out a pass. "Go on to the nurse then. I hope you feel better."

Wendy felt bad for lying, but she needed to see if she could somehow find this grave, and staying in school wouldn't put her curiosity to rest. She never thought about skipping and knew the school calls if you do, but she also knew her parents were at the hospital and would be all day with her brother, Markus.

"Text me later, okay?" Jamie whispered and looked at her with worry. The thought probably never crossed her mind that her petite friend would lie to a teacher, let alone do so to skip class. It made Wendy that much more sickened with guilt, but she pressed on. She needed to do this for her own sanity and possibly save her brother and her parents from the never-ending pile of debt. To anyone else, this would seem like a fool’s hunt, but it was the last bit of hope she had. Wendy nodded at her worried friend, gathered up her stuff, and carefully placed them in her bag. After a few minutes, she was out of the stuffy classroom and into the cooler hallway. The difference in temperature made goose bumps rise on her arms. She cursed herself for not wearing a jacket, forgetting that this old school had a faulty air conditioner and heater.

With hurried footsteps, she pushed the excuse note into the pocket of her worn-down jeans, making it crinkle in the silent hallway. Not wanting to be caught, she all but ran outside and didn't stop until she was in the outline of trees, all the while thinking someone must have seen her. Her heart was pounding in her chest and a voice whispered for her to turn back, this wasn't right. It was the voice that had always labeled her a goody-two-shoes. Not today, she thought with a determined nod and continued to her sanctuary.

She knew exactly how to get there from the school, or from anywhere in this small town. Her scuffed shoes brushed against dense ferns, and water from leftover rain on the plants soaked the bottom of her jeans. Her nose began to turn pink from the biting cold since it was still morning. Her ears picked up birds chirping up above the canopy and the rustle of leaves from the gentle wind.

Almost an hour of walking was done before she arrived at her destination. Her jeans were wet along with her shoes and her blonde hair turned frizzy from the humidity, even though it wasn't that hot. She worked up a small sweat from walking uphill to this place. Even though her body was small, she was by no means fit. So every time she came here it gave her a good workout, but that was the only workout she ever got. Even in her P.E. class she barely participated, if at all.

Her eyes took in the crumbling building and it brought a smile to her face. The blocks that once held up grand walls were now in piles on the ground and there was a large, thick oak door that still stood proud and tall before her at the top of the unstable stone stairs. She shook her head and reprimanded herself. She was not here for another of her daydreaming days. No, she was here to find the treasure. A delicate snort sounded from her at the silly thought. The whole idea sounded juvenile even to her! However, she was already here so might as well try.

For the next two hours, her eyes scanned tirelessly to find the grave, but came up with nothing. She remembered Mrs. Rush said it was near his home, but she couldn't seem to find it. Maybe it was just a story after all, she thought with a bitter frown. Wiping away the sweat that had accumulated on her forehead, she kicked a small stray rock and began to walk home… only to trip over a medium-sized boulder. A small yelp pierced the forest's dead calm as she landed in a heap on the dirt-covered floor. She hissed through her teeth as a stabbing pain began to radiate in her ankle. Tears sprang up in her eyes at the feeling of pain and failure resonated within her. She looked through slitted eyes, ready to yell at the rock that hurt her when her breathing stopped short.

"Evil shall perish in the depths of hell," she whispered to herself as she read the barely visible engravement on the stone. Her heart thudded irregularly when she realized she might have found it. With clammy palms, she brushed away stray debris and leaves, and her eyes got bigger when she confirmed that she’d indeed found what she was looking for. Looking around wildly, she cursed herself again when she realized she hadn't thought to bring any tools with her.

"Idiot!" she hissed to herself. Then her eyes spotted a long piece of wood that seemed perfect, so she started digging with it. The ground in her town was always soft from the constant rain and she knew it wouldn't be too difficult. She just didn't know how deep it was. After thirty minutes of constant digging, Wendy found herself out of breath and her clothes and skin caked with mud. The hole was now about three feet deep. She gave a small laugh, thinking what her mother would say. Her arms burned from the strenuous activity and she was close to giving up and coming back tomorrow, with a shovel this time, but she knew she wouldn't sleep tonight if she did that. Looking up, she knew it had to be around twelve or so since her stomach had been rumbling non-stop. She lifted the piece of wood once more and struck the earth.

Thud.

Her pulse quickened at the sound. This must be it! she thought with a huge smile. To anyone else she must have looked like a crazy person with how she was now dressed and the fact that she was digging up a grave. She could imagine Jamie trying to talk her out of it now.

With the wood, she scraped around the large box-like coffin so she could have enough room to open it and not stand on top of it. It took another thirty minutes, but she eventually succeeded when her feet were no longer on the wooden top. Her eyes widened when she saw a cross engraved on it and traced the carving with her dirt-caked fingernails.

Her guilt began to come back full force. This was someone's grave, not her way to help her family out of debt. At the thought of her family, her mind drifted to her sick brother. He has a heart defect that the doctors had only detected this past year. It was fatal unless treated with the right surgery. A surgery that costs more than a four-year tuition to Harvard, which is exactly what her parents were trying to pay with only a community college graduate kind of salary. With that thought in mind, she pushed away her guilt and started to pry open the lid.

She pulled too hard at first and sliced her index finger on a loose splinter. She cried out and stuck the bleeding finger in her mouth, but not before drops of it landed on the coffin and seemed to seep into it. The taste of iron and earth flooded her taste buds as she tried to suck the pain away. She shuddered from the taste, but it did help with the sting. Heaving a big sigh, she thought of how beat up she'll look tomorrow at school. With her limping from a bad ankle and probably bruises from the fall, it won't be long before rumors start to fly about. She tried to open it again, with her heart sprinting at the thought of what lies beneath, but she had to shove her fears aside for the time being. Finally, she pried the lid open with a loud creaking sound, which she thought only happened in horror movies.

She gasped and screamed as she scrambled to not get so close to the rotting corpse before her. There was still flesh on the bones, remarkably, but it was spotty as most of it was gone. The smell made Wendy gag and she gasped again when she saw what looked like fingernail markings on the inside of the lid. It was then that she came to a startling realization, that it truly was Lord Vincent, and that he was really buried alive! His clothes were tattered and torn but still looked to be in semi-decent shape, almost as if it was a zombie costume for Halloween, with its few holes. With a shudder, she realized there was dried blood on them as well. Her conscience came to the fore and she cursed herself for thinking this could possibly be justifiable!

Her eyes caught something shiny, and it was then that she saw what was left of the body was lying on a small mound of silver, just like in the story. Wendy bit her lip at the temptation. This could help solve her family's problem. Help save her brother's life.

With shaky hands, she reached in and grabbed a hold of a very old looking necklace that had a red ruby ensnared in the center. Her heart did reach out to the poor man with rope still wound around his body. Since she ignored her conscience from the time she started to walk here, she decided the least she could do was untie him as an 'I'm sorry' of sorts.

Black hair that could rival the color of a raven lay in a heap behind the head and had cobwebs and various bugs crawling through it. It disgusted her, but she was also disgusted with herself, grave robbing this poor soul. His eyes were long gone and that image will forever be burned in her memory. With eyes shut, she forced herself to untie him, if only to appease her guilty conscience a little. Without her knowledge, her bleeding finger dripped ever so lightly into the open jaw of the lying corpse. If Wendy had opened her eyes, she would've seen the two very pointy canine teeth that lay behind the rotting lips.

After that was done, she felt a little better despite taking the treasure back to her home. She wasn't sure how she was going to explain it. Maybe the truth, she wasn't sure. All she knew now was that this was the ticket to save her family. Gathering up all the silver that lay behind the body, she heaved it up and out of the hole before climbing out. Wendy knew she shouldn’t just leave the grave open so she shoved the rest of the dirt back in. She carried as much of the new treasure as she could in the gym bag she had the forethought to bring, stuffed the rest in her school bag, and walked back home.

Chapter 2

Wendy

"I-I don't understand!" Wendy's mother stuttered as she looked upon her only daughter with almost frightful eyes, taking in the mud and dirt that caked her clothes and hair, but most importantly at the fortune of silver that lay in front of her. When Wendy had finally made it home by walking a different path through the woods so she would end up in the backyard of her house, she called her parents and told them to get home immediately. She should have taken a shower, but she was far too busy looking through everything she had taken.

"I know it sounds crazy, but it's the truth. Listen, we can go a few towns over and pawn this stuff or something. Or say we found it in our backyard and get the money needed for Markus."

She had already explained to them what she had done. Wendy has never lied to her parents before and didn't want to start now. It was what made them so trusting of her. Her father, who had lightening blond hair and a slight protruding belly, eyed her with a torn expression. Her mother, Debbie, had tears welling in her eyes at the new hope that lay before them. She would commit murder if it meant saving her baby boy, so this option was much better in her eyes. She looked up at her husband, Jim, with hope-filled eyes that he knew he couldn't refuse.

"I'll go grab that old metal detector out in the garage. Wendy? When people ask, say you got curious and decided to do your own treasure hunt in our backyard. That's when you found this stuff, okay?" Jim hated that he was about to deceive the town that held most of his close friends. But this was for his sick boy that lay in a hospital bed an hour's drive from their home.

"After this is all said and done, we never speak of this again. Oh honey, thank you!" Debbie hugged her daughter to her body and didn't mind the dirt and mud on her own clothes. This was the type of thing the family has been hoping and praying for. It killed her as a mother to see one of her children so sick.

Wendy felt beyond tired and heard the tub calling her name. Letting her mother go, she sniffled, her nose running from the cold walk home. "I need a hot bath," she explained when Debbie looked at her with concern. That made her grimace as she looked down at her daughter and was reminded of how dirty she was.

"Go, go. I'll sift through this. We'll drive over to Vancouver tomorrow. I'll call the school tomorrow morning, excusing you."

Wendy felt relief at that, walked down the narrow hall, and slipped in the decent bathroom.

She sighed when she turned the silver-colored knob to hot and waited for the water to turn the right temperature. It would take a few minutes, so she began to undress, making goose bumps erupt all over her body the more clothes she took off. Steam curled up from the porcelain tub, giving her the signal the water was ready. Plugging the tub stopper, she took the rest of her clothes and underwear off, waiting for the tub to fill. She bent over to open the bottom cabinet and took out the sweet pea oils and poured some in, making the bathroom fill with the sweet smell.

"Ah..." she sighed when she descended into the hot water. It was borderline painful, but it felt too good to move. She lay back and closed her eyes and noticed for the first time since the whole ordeal that she was exhausted.

*****

About an hour later, Wendy woke up with a start and noticed… first, the water was now very cold, and second, the lights were off but there were candles on every surface possible. She felt confused. Then her back stiffened beneath the cold water when she felt that someone else was in the room. Her eyes searched the small room, but came up with nothing. She couldn't shake the feeling though. Was she going crazy?

"You are more beautiful than any dream my mind could conjure."

Her head whipped to the side and saw a man standing in the dark corner. The only corner in the entire room that was poorly lit. She was very aware of how naked she was and desperately tried to cover herself. "Get out!" she shrieked and briefly wondered where her parents were.

The man in the shadows chuckled and the sound sent shivers down Wendy's spine. "Cold, little one?" the man asked with amusement in his voice. She looked over and grabbed a small towel before wrapping her nude body under water.

"I said get out! Mom! Dad!" she screamed, trying to call for help. The man began to walk into the light and it was only then that she noticed the smell. It smelled like the open grave she dug up earlier that day. Her heart sprinted in her chest as she tried to catch her breath. With every step the man took, her pulse was steadily rising. A bloodcurdling scream ripped its way out of her mouth when his face came into the light. It was the corpse she had seen in the grave! Although this time he looked less decayed, but still extremely dead with his bony fingers. He had eyes this time, although they were pitch black and shone in the candle light.

His lips were pulled back in a smirk, but it cracked because of being unused for so long. She clutched the weightless towel tighter to her body when she saw pure black fangs that glinted like metal in the darkened shadow. "My Beloved," he murmured and stepped closer. Wendy began to shake with fear and shut her eyes tight, trying to escape this horrible place, however futile.

"Wendy?"

She shook her head in denial. This monster knew her name!

"Wendy?!"

*****

Her eyes snapped open and she let out a relieved cry. It was only a dream! She calmed herself, but only slightly. 'My guilt must be in overdrive,' she thought with a frown and quickly got out of the tub.

Not wanting to be in the room any longer, she wrapped herself in a towel and quickly fled to her room. She forgot her window was open, and shut it fast and closed the curtains. After slipping on her pink cotton nightgown, she got on her pillow top bed and snuggled under the covers trying to get warmer. She heard a knock on her bedroom door and peeked out from under the covers.

Her mother came in and sat at the foot of her bed. "Honey, I can't… thank you enough. What you did may have well saved your brother's life." Debbie's eyes watered and Wendy could see pride shining in her eyes – which was ironic considering her daughter went grave robbing.

"I feel so guilty, Mom! I even had a dream in the tub of the dead guy coming back for me!" Wendy felt a shiver pass through her at the thought of her scary dream just minutes ago.

Her mother gave her a comforting pat on the knee above the covers. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. But this will all blow over soon. I just wish you could've told us beforehand so we could have helped you out."

Wendy gave her mom a look that said she wasn't buying it.

"You would have walked with me to a grave of some ancient evil creature and dug it up to steal the silver that the body was laying on. Really?"

Her mom let out a laugh and shook her head. "Okay, maybe not. I wouldn't have believed you. But if I knew it was true, I'd be right down in the dirt with you. And this has to be enough for your brother,” she paused for a bit. “Well, I better get off to bed soon. I love you, honey." Debbie swooped down and kissed her daughter's forehead and walked out of the room.

*****

All through the night, Wendy couldn't fall asleep. She somehow knew that if she closed her eyes he would be there waiting for her. So instead, she looked at her gauzy curtains and waited for the sun to come up. Her eyes felt droopy by the time she could detect light on the horizon, but felt safe enough to finally sleep. Through the night, she thought she could feel eyes on her, but as soon as the sun started to come up, the feeling dissipated. Looking at her clock, she saw it was just past 5am so she took off her glasses and, with some reluctance, fell asleep.

"Sweetheart? You need to get up!"

Wendy groaned when her eyes refused to open, feeling beyond exhausted. Her eyes barely peeked open to see it was only three hours later with blurry numbers staring back from when she fell asleep, making it just past eight in the morning. Her eyes burned from lack of sleep and now she felt silly for not going to bed earlier. She wasn't going to let some dream control her sleeping pattern now.

She didn't want to alarm her mother so with great reluctance, she got up after slipping on her glasses, feeling more like the corpse she found yesterday than a human being.

"Oh, honey, are you alright? You look sick." Debbie was concerned for the paleness in her daughter's face and checked to make sure she didn't have a fever. Finding nothing else wrong, she still kept a wary eye on her, since it seemed she was about to collapse any moment.

"What every girl wants to hear, mom," Wendy joked, trying to detour the attention from her. Unfortunately, it didn't work when Debbie gave her the look. Wendy sighed and rested her face on the heel of her palm once she sat down at the table. "I didn't sleep well last night. It's fine though. I'll sleep on the way to Vancouver." She pushed up her glasses like always since they always seemed to want to slip off her face. She was surprised they weren't covered in dirt from yesterday's ordeal.

Her hair was a frizzy mess from not combing it out from the bath last night, but she had wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible. Her mom looked more worried when she saw her daughter had only thrown on her biggest, most frumpy, grey sweat-shirt with black sweat-pants to go with. Her dad, Jim, walked in with a grunt as a 'hello' and headed straight for the coffee machine. Debbie has been and always will be a morning person, while her husband and children barely talked for the first few hours of waking up.

"Jim, you can take your coffee with you in a thermos. We need to get going. I placed the items in the trunk so let's go," Debbie instructed and looked ruefully at her loved ones when they walked to the door with shuffling feet. Soon they were all on the road in the family car, and Wendy wasted no time leaning her head back in the backseat and falling asleep.

"You cannot escape me, little one."

Wendy jerked and saw she was in the forest on the steps of her sanctuary, only this time it felt like a prison when she couldn't move. Her eyes searched frantically for the face she knew was there.

"I apologize for my last appearance to you. You must have thought of me as evil. That was not my true form, My Beloved. You see, I have not seen myself for what seems like eons, and I grew ever anxious to meet you." His voice now covered her inner being like warm honey and made her feel safe even if a voice inside her was screaming at her to run, knowing what beast lay in the trees. His voice echoed not only off the forest trees, but in her head as well.

"Where are you?!" she yelled out, feeling frustrated and still slightly scared, even if his voice had soothed her biggest worries. She heard his smooth dark chuckle and felt a hot shiver race down her back.

"I must say, the clothes in this time are rather peculiar. Although, I seem to find, you can look ravishing in anything, Love."

She heard his footsteps to the right of her, making her head swing to catch a glimpse of the dead man. What she saw walk out from the hidden tree line made her breathing stop, but her heart starts up in a dead sprint.

His clothes were no longer tattered, but different. He looked to have stepped out of a movie set in the early 1800s. His coat was tailored to fit his large, tall frame and was the color of cobalt. Underneath was a ruffled kind of white dress shirt that was stretched to its limits over his expansive chest. His pants were wound around thick corded legs, and all in all he looked powerful. But what really made Wendy's breathing stop were his ice-blue eyes.

They pierced her soul and even though the color was icy, they couldn't have been more warm looking at her. His long black hair hung near his eyes, almost obscuring them from her view. His hair reached near his shoulders and normally she was against having any man with a long  hair, but to him it fit, and it made her want to run her fingers through it. "I see this appeases you more than our last visit?" He smirked at her and daringly walked closer.

Her fear came back to the forefront when she spotted those sharp canines again, only this time they were no longer like black metal. Now they were pearly white. They looked sharp enough to pierce titanium if they needed to. He saw the fear come back in her eyes and realized why. "You need not be afraid of me, My Beloved. I could never hurt you."

She felt the invisible grip on her fade away and she was once again able to move. He was only an arm's length away now and even though she was no longer a captive, she felt she couldn't move.

Something within her refused to let her flee like she wanted to. The larger half of her was beyond afraid, while the other smaller half - the one that seemed to be in control of her motor skills - refused to let her do so. He walked even closer and she could see the slight stubble of his unshaven strong jaw. She no longer smelled death, but only a sweet kind of smell that made her dizzy and want to smile.

His hand came up and cupped her jaw, sending little zings to her very heart. Her lips parted, ready to tell him to leave. She did not feel comfortable with what she was feeling and felt more and more like a slut with each passing minute.

Then he spoke. "Your lips look so soft, I must have a taste. Forgive me in advance, my Love, but I cannot resist your beauty." Without waiting another second, he swooped down and captured her lips with his own.

She was expecting his lips to be cold or even hard like stone, but not this. His lips were soft but firm against hers and he seemed to have a normal heat to them. Her defenses crumbled as she held on to his wide shoulders so she wouldn't fall. As far as first kisses go, this had to be the best in history, she thought. His kiss was sending her heart into a frenzy and her hormones out of balance.

His hands found their way to her back, heating her up in more ways than one, but then he pulled back enough to look into her sea blue eyes. "My name is Lord Vincent Gilmore, and I will make you mine." His fangs seemed to grow before he bent his head for her neck...

"Wendy? Honey, wake up, we're here."

Wendy jerked away and her hand immediately went to her neck, but felt no puncture marks, making her sag against her seat in relief.

Chapter 3

Wendy

The family managed to pawn most of the silver for a huge price, but they didn’t just stop at one store. They stopped at multiple pawn shops since they didn’t want to appear suspicious. Debbie held onto the necklace that had first caught young Wendy’s eyes the day before. “I think you should keep this.”

Wendy held the necklace before her as her mother gently dropped the trinket in her hands.

Something inside her told her to keep it so she unhooked the back and carefully clasped the back to have it hang just above the cleavage. The ruby shone in the small amount of sunlight, creating light on herself and her parents’ clothes. It was stunning and nearly had her entranced. Debbie gave her a grin and hugged her close before letting her go. “We now have enough for the surgery and to cover the bills!” Wendy was only half listening, but was still looking at her necklace.

With furrowed eyebrows, she saw it also doubled as a locket. This new discovery made her heart start to pick up in pace. She tried to open it, but the tiny clasp wouldn’t budge. Noting her parents were no longer with her, she looked up and saw them down the street a ways. Her eyes caught some movement in the window in front of her and she let out a loud gasp when she saw the man from her dreams, Lord Vincent.

“You belong to me, Little One,” he spoke from behind her. Wendy spun around quickly, making her glasses nearly flop off, but she paid no mind. He wasn’t there and when she turned back to the window, he no longer was staring at her. He was gone.

“I’m going crazy,” she muttered and hurried off to walk with her parents to the car. The necklace around her bounced with every step she took when she was in a steady jog to catch up. Fly-away strays of her blonde hair irritated her face as it whipped in her eyesight. “Thanks for waiting up,” she muttered to her parents who were too blissful to even hear. They were just glad their boy would get the care he needed. Wendy bit her lip in anxiety as she sat back in their small car. The only thing that placated her was the fact they were now going to go see Markus.

“Got your seat belt on?” Jim asked her from the front. Wendy rolled her eyes to herself and gestured to the belt that went across her torso. Jim nodded in approval before backing out of their parking space and hitting the road. Wendy knew her parents were now protective of her more than ever since Markus collapsed last year during a game, but it still felt suffocating from time to time.

The ride was filled with a more joyous atmosphere since the worst of the family’s problems was now behind them. Wendy let her head lull to the left of her since she was behind her mother on the passenger side and bit back a scream.

“Hello,” Vincent greeted with a coy smile. Wendy’s eyes shot to her parents in alarm and felt confusion when they seemed oblivious this man sitting beside her.

“H-How?” she whispered and unconsciously gripped the necklace in her hand for comfort. His eyes shot down to what she was holding and her breath was stolen when she saw him smile.

“I see you listened to the calling of the necklace, little one.”

Her eyes dropped to the necklace and her hands unclenched around it. Knowing it had something to do with him, she struggled to get it off, but the delicate-looking chain wouldn’t come undone, almost as if it was now welded together. “Get it off!” she hissed under her breath, fear momentarily forgotten. He leaned in, making her lean back against the cool window.

“That necklace called to you for a reason, little one. It knows you belong to me, therefore it belongs to you. Only I can open it and only I can take it off. Of course… you’ll be able to do so when I fully claim you to me.”

Wendy didn’t like the look that passed his face when he talked about fully claiming her. She wasn’t naïve, and having read a lot of teen romance novels, she knew what he was getting at. That subtle hint was enough to make her face inflamed.

“Take it off!”

Wendy’s patience was wearing thin, but she kept a wary eye on her parents, wondering how they cannot see such a large man sitting in the back with her. Vincent followed her line of sight and let out a sultry chuckle, capturing her attention once more. “They cannot see me because I’m not really here, Love. I’m appearing before you because our bond grows stronger everyday. I have abilities that are beyond your mind, but in due time I will share them all with you. I have to say this modern day carriage is so much more efficient than the old ones in my day. And the best part about it is you do not need to see a horse’s rear!” He laughed at his own joke, but Wendy looked at him like he was mad, or perhaps she was again entertaining the thought she was now crazy.

“I believe my dinner last night said the people call them cars?” he said more to himself than to her. Her face paled at his words and she tried to back away from him even more without accidentally opening her car door and ending up like a rag doll on the highway.

Her mother turned around and looked at her with concern. “Honey? Are you alright? You look sick.”

Wendy saw her father’s eyes peer at her through the rearview mirror and awaited her answer as he looked back at the road.

“U-Um… can we p-pull over? I need some air,” she stuttered. Her father immediately veered off to the right and stopped the car.

“Stay in here. I’ll be fine.” She didn’t need to have her parents asking if she was crazy when she looked to be talking to herself. Jerkily unbuckling herself, she flung open the door and took in deep breaths of air once she was out of the car.

“Are you unwell, my little one?”

She jumped and looked up from her crouched position to see him gazing at her, crouched down as well.

“W-What did you mean, ‘d-dinner’?” she asked reluctantly. He looked at her for a moment before his eyes narrowed.

“It seems time has not changed human’s perception of me. To all, including you, I am nothing but a monster.” His voice was bitter and angry, but somehow Wendy knew it was not directed toward her. He looked back at her. “Yes, I feed off humans, such as yourself. But it’s how I live, My Beloved. I never kill from feeding, because how can I drink my fill that much? I cannot do so just as much as you cannot drink a trough’s worth of water. Now can you please stop looking at me like I’m a part of your greatest nightmare?” His plea tugged at her heartstrings and she inwardly cursed her good nature.

“Have you killed before?” She had to ask and without hesitation he answered.

“Yes. Do you fear me?” he asked in return.

“Yes.”

Her answer hurt him, but he didn’t let it show. Determination flashed in his eyes, making her grow wary. He stood up and her eyes followed his every movement. Part of her reasoned it was so in case he wanted to strike, she could be ready. But another part knew it was because she was so captivated by his fluid movements.

“Well, then I suppose I will have to change your viewpoint of me. I bid you a good day, little one.”

She blinked and he was gone, making her confused as disappointment flooded through her. Her conflicting emotions were giving her a headache. With a deep breath, she staggered back to the car and silently buckled herself back in.

“What’s wrong? Should I call the doctor? I’m going to call the doctor.” Debbie went to grab her cell from her purse before Wendy protested.

“No, mom, I feel better. Just got a little car sick, that’s all.” It amazed her how easy lying was coming to her now, and with startling findings, she realized that this was one of the first times she’s ever lied to her parents and it made her feel sick all over again. Not wanting to have her mother call the doctor because she asked her dad to pull over again, she suffered in silence.

Her fingers played with the necklace she couldn’t force herself to hate. No matter the reason she has it, her heart wouldn’t let her despise the beautiful piece of jewelry. He was right, it did call to her. Even though he said only he could open it, she tried the entire way to the hospital anyway. For the next twenty minutes Wendy was lost in her thoughts, trying to make sense of what was going on in her life. Was this real? So far she has only seen this man once in real life and he was very much dead. A shudder rippled through her at the thought of the body. No, it can’t be real… but it seemed real.

‘Maybe I should consider seeing a shrink,’ she thought to herself. She looked down at the necklace and again tried to take the thing off even though her mind was begging her not to. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get it off. ‘How do you explain that one?’ that pesky voice asked with a sneer.

“We’re here, honey. Are you sure you’re okay? I’ve tried to get your attention for the last five minutes,” Debbie asked with a frown. Wendy got out of the car and gestured to her necklace.

“Was just trying to take it off so I can get a better look at it, but can’t seem to take it off. Can you help me?” she asked her mother sweetly.

‘Do not let her take it off, Little One! She will be badly hurt if you do!’ Vincent’s voice rang through her head in warning, making her side-step her mother’s hands. Debbie looked at her daughter with a worried expression and held her hands up as a surrender gesture.

“N-Never mind… let’s go see Markus.” She all but ran past them, not caring if she looked like a lunatic. At this point she was pretty sure she was! Hearing voices! She scorned herself and ignored the glance shared between her parents.

Wendy knew the way to her brother’s room by heart and held the elevator for her parents to walk through. It was an awkward silence that grew thicker by the minute. Finally their floor came up, making all of them give out a silent breath of relief. Wendy started to feel the excitement she was feeling earlier come back as she drew closer to the room.

“Hey, Mark!” Her voice chirped, not giving any hint of her anxiety in the background of her mind. By all accounts, everyone knew Wendy got her looks from her father while Markus got his looks from Debbie. He had auburn-colored hair that was pin straight like their mother’s and had her brown eyes. Markus sat up straighter, but started a coughing fit from the exertion from doing so. His family’s eyes saddened until Jim remembered their good news.

“Hey, little sister. Long time no see,” Markus teased with a weak voice.

Jim stepped to his side and beamed down at him. “We have the money, son. You can get the surgery!”

Markus looked thrilled, but cautious. “H-How?”

It pained Wendy to see him like this. He was always so strong and now he seemed weak and frail. Debbie placed a proud hand on Wendy’s back and pushed her forward. “Seems Wendy here is quite the treasure hunter!”

Jim then jumped in and told the story. Not the real one, but the one the town will hear. They wouldn’t tell him the truth until he was home. With him drugged up often, they didn’t want it to slip on accident.

“Way to go, sis! I mean, I know I said I was ready if I had to die… but I didn’t want to.” Wendy felt tears well up in her eyes when she walked over to his side and carefully gave him a hug. “Thank you,” he whispered. She knew then that all this craziness was worth it.

“I’ll go get the doctor and let him know,” Jim said with a choked up voice. It meant the world to him that his son had a bigger chance to live.

“So Wendy got any boyfriends I should know about?” Markus teased, but it made his sister give an uneasy laugh, when her mind flashed Vincent’s face.

“N-Nope! How about you? Any female nurses catch your eyes?” Growing up, Wendy became somewhat of an expert with diverting attention away from her.

Markus gave a cheeky grin. “There is this one nurse with the biggest bo-”

Debbie gasped. “Markus Nathaniel! You better say ‘books'!” she reprimanded her freshly turned adult son.

Markus gave her a sheepish smile. “I think you and I both know I wasn’t going to say books. Love you, mommy!” He gave her the puppy dog look he was so famous for and Wendy knew their mother was a goner.

Instead, Debbie sighed and turned to Wendy. “Your mind better stays innocent! I don’t care if you just turned seventeen. You two will always be my babies.”

They all laughed when something of a glimmer caught Wendy’s eyes. She looked at the window and sucked in a breath. The sun was going down, making her hair rise on the back of her neck. She knew, she just knew that he was coming for her.

Tonight.

Chapter 4

Wendy

"No, sweetheart, you aren't missing tomorrow too," Jim said to his daughter when she nearly begged to stay at the hospital overnight with her brother. He couldn't understand why she was wanting to stay so badly.

"Oh, c'mon dad! She has an A+ average, let her live a little," Markus said with an open pout that made Wendy want to roll her eyes at his over exaggeration. Jim pursed his lips and looked to his wife for answers. Debbie sighed and nodded tiredly.

"I think it's the least we can do, but, Wendy, you better make up for the work you've missed."

Wendy nodded jerkily, happy that she had the safety of the hospital to perhaps keep her from him.

"Goodnight, my babies." Debbi kissed both Wendy and Markus' head before walking out with her husband.

"Alright, why are you so jumpy?" Markus asked his baby sister with concern. For as long as he can remember, his little sister has always been the cool and collected one. Not this jumpy paranoid girl in front of him.

"I-It's nothing," she said, but he only snorted and shook his head.

"Try again. Don't make me get out of this hospital bed... My gown doesn't close in the back. I don't think you want to see that," he joked, making her let out a shaky laugh.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," she muttered and kept her eyes on the window even though they were four floors up.

"Enlighten me."

Wendy knew that with Markus she was always able to tell him anything. She turned to him with tears in her eyes, making him stop short. She then began to tell him the tale of all that has happened within the last two days, minus the dream where he took her first kiss. Once she was done, she dared to look up and saw a torn expression on his face. Like he wanted to believe her because she was his sister, but it was a pretty unbelievable story.

"I knew you wouldn't believe me," she whispered and looked down at her hands. Her glasses were fogging up from the unshed tears in her eyes. She felt fear take up the forefront of her mind when she noted the sun has long since dipped down into the hills.

"You really think this dude is coming, huh?"

Her eyes snapped to her brother and she reluctantly nodded. "I don't think. I know. Somehow I know he'll be looking for me tonight."

Markus began to scoot over with difficulty, but then patted the empty space on his bed. "C'mon, then. You're sleeping with me in this bed. Will that make you feel better?" he asked her with a soft smile. Even though he didn't quite believe her, he still believed she thought this was all real. Which meant she was feeling scared for real.

"Mark, you don't have to-"

A knock sounded at the door. Both their heads whipped to see who it was and when the door opened, it made a small scream escape from her and she shuffled to her feet.

"Y-You!" She pointed at him, but Markus looked at her, concerned.

"Wendy Bird, it's only a doctor. Relax. I'm sorry, sir, she's feeling a bit jumpy."

Wendy watched Vincent smile at her brother, making her heart rate pick up full speed. Markus looked at ease, which made Wendy feel helpless knowing she couldn't look to her brother for help. It was like some bad nightmare.

"Not a problem, Mr. Garrett. This hospital can get pretty scary at night. Never know what lies in the dark shadows." He said the last part with his eyes glued to Wendy. She hated to admit, but he looked good in the scrubs he was dressed in. It made his eyes stand out that much more.

Markus winced when he moved too much, making Vincent seize the perfect opportunity and came over to him with some kind of needle. Wendy stopped him in his path, making her body hum from the close proximity. "What do you think you're doing?! Get away from him!" she all but shouted in fear and anger. Markus' eyebrows shot up in surprise to see his soft-spoken sister act like that. Vincent raised his hands up innocently to show he meant no harm.

"Just giving him some pain medication." He walked around her and whispered in her ear, "I would be careful, Love. I would never hurt your family, but I will do what needs to be done to have you with me." His warning rang truthful and clear, making her snap her mouth shut. The only consolation for her right now was the fact she wasn't going crazy.

"Sis, calm down...I'm hurting so let the kind man through." Markus joked, but was also serious. It unnerved him to see her acting like this.

"If you hurt him, I will find a way to kill you," she muttered under her breath so only Vincent could hear. She didn't know where this confidence has come from, but she held on to it for dear life.

Vincent smirked at her when his back was toward her brother. "So there is a fire in you, Little One. You should take care of what you speak. It may backfire on you." The lust in his eyes spoke loud and clear, making part of her excited while the other part shake in uncertainty and fear. Vincent used her moment of shock and spun around as he quickly administered the pain medication by tapping into her brother's IV.

"That should help you." Vincent's smile seemed genuine, but he was also anxious to get his beloved back with him. He's waited too many years for her, and he wasn't going to let her slip away due to unneeded fear. Markus felt the slight burn of the drug, but grew used to it over the past few months and welcomed it. Vincent turned to Wendy with a serious expression. "Now come with me, my Love." Wendy was shaking her head before he finished his sentence and backed away. Her eyes darted to her brother and saw he was already drifting off, but she could see the concern in his eyes.

"W-Where...w-what are you talking about?" he slurred, now feeling he may have made a huge mistake.

"Relax, boy. Your sister will be safe with me. I will give her a life she deserves, for she is mine." Wendy detected a slight accent in his voice like he was from London that made her shiver.

Markus shook his head in a daze to try and clear it. "S-So what she said was true?" Markus wanted to kick himself for even allowing this man in the same room as his sister.

Vincent sighed and turned back to Wendy's brother. "That depends on what she told you." He flashed his fangs at him after he said that and that would have startled him if Markus didn't have pain killers flowing through his veins, but he still felt fear creep up into him. Not for himself, but for his little sister.

"Please....don't...take...her..." he managed to get out before his eyes involuntarily closed. Wendy let a single tear slip for her brother's words and prayed he would think this was all a dream when he woke up. But she knew he'd remember, especially when he wakes up and she's still gone.

Her stormy eyes rested back on Vincent and took a step back. She gasped when he was suddenly in front of her. His hands shot out to steady her when she stumbled back and stayed on her upper arms.

"We can do this easily, but that is completely up to you, Little One," he murmured in her ear as he bent down to her level. His warm breath made her body tingle and she mentally cursed herself. She was really beginning to hate her body if it kept betraying her like this. She wasn't about to just give in; her stubborn streak wouldn't let her. So she started to struggle and in vain as it looked like she barely moved within his strong grasp.

"Let me go!" she yelled, wondering where the hell the other nurses or doctors were.

"Maybe I should call you my little firefly from now on? I'm assuming you have chosen the harder way. Fine by me, let's go." He heaved her up over his shoulder, making her shriek. "You can yell as loud as you like, Love. I can fight off whoever comes in." His tone told her he wouldn't hesitate to kill whoever got in his way with her and that made her shut up.

When a knock at the door sounded, both of them froze. "I was hoping to avoid this," she heard him mutter, making her fear spike tenfold. She couldn't let him kill anyone! Before she could protest, he flitted over to the shatter-proof window and punched it open, making the alarm for the hospital go off. "Close your eyes, Love. This is going to be a big drop."

Wendy was too afraid to do as he said. Her eyes wide with fright, he leapt out of the window, making her emit a scream so loud it hurt her throat. It was so quick she didn't know how they were now across the street behind a building built for family members staying for loved ones. His hand came up and clamped around her mouth, cutting off her loud scream within a second after she started.

"As much as I love your beautiful mouth, Love, I really want to be able to hear." His face was so close to hers, she could feel his breath fanning her face. "I've told you before and I'll say it again… I could never hurt you." His voice was so alluring and soft she couldn't help but have her heart soften toward him just that little bit more.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked once he removed his hands. Her lips were still buzzing from the contact of his skin on her mouth.

His hands cupped her face, making her breathing stop. "Away. I have some friends up North that will provide us shelter, at least until I can build or find my own place again. Plus, we're going to need somewhere where I can keep an eye on you since you'll be newly turned-"

She interrupted him by stepping away. They were both hidden in the shadows so no one would see them and over the noise of the sirens from the recently called cops, no one would hear them either.

"T-Turned? Whoa, whoa, whoa! When did I agree to this?!" Her voice went up a couple of octaves from the fear that was quickly returning. He quirked an eyebrow and stalked closer to her, caging her in against the wall. "I will not tolerate you remaining human. You are too weak at this state, and I will not watch you wither and die like everyone else! You. Belong. To. Me!" His voice rose when he thought of all the horrible ways a human was vulnerable to die.

She pushed at his chest in anger. "I don't belong to you! And I am not going to be turned into a monster like you!" she yelled back at him. Her glasses were fogging from his breath and she furiously wiped at them.

His body pressed against hers and he captured her lips with his, in frustration and anger. She was frozen and didn't know how to react. This was her first kiss that was real, and was not as gentle as her dream not long ago. But it still held the same fire that curled through her veins. Her body betrayed her once more when she surrendered against him and hesitantly began to move her lips with his, but had to speed it up with the ferocity of his movements. He was angry with her words and he was showing it.

"That was poisonous words that just spilled from your lips, and I will give you this one reprieve. You don't know me!" He let his voice accidentally rose toward the end, but softened his gaze when he saw tears build up in her eyes. He sighed and tucked some hair behind her ear. "I will give you… three months at most to come to terms with the change that WILL happen."

Wendy realized then this was her new reality. "C-Can I please have a week before I have to go off with you? I need to say goodbye…. Please?" She tried to sound soft and she succeeded when his eyes looked lovingly down at her.

"Is that what you wish?" he asked her as his thumb stroked her cheek.

"Yes."

He lifted his face from her, looking over to the hospital where police cars were parked and with his skilled and advanced eyesight, he could see police in her brother’s room looking out the hole he had produced.

"This is going to take a while to make it go away. I may need to call in for help. But let me warn you now, my beautiful Beloved: if you try to flee, I will find you. Understood?"

She nodded quickly, knowing and now seeing what he was capable of. She wouldn't be stupid and try to outrun this. "Are you a vampire? I'm sorry, but I need to hear it," she stuttered and froze once more when his fangs flashed so close near her face when he bent down to her eye level again.

"Do you really need to ask, firefly?" He bent down to kiss the pulse point on her neck, making her suck in a quick breath. He chuckled at her reaction, sending his warm breath down her backside. "But yes, I am a vampire." Even though she shouldn't have been surprised it was still a shock to her system to hear them out loud. "Do you have, oh, what was she called it? A cell phone? Yes! Do you have one?"

Wendy was surprised to feel jealousy swirl through her at the mention of another woman, but stomped it out before she could analyze it. She reached into her back pocket and handed him the device. She tried not to laugh, given her current situation, when he had trouble using it.

"This is infuriating! Where is that 'key pad' he told me to use?"

Her curiosity spiked as she took the phone back and touched the keypad to show the numbers. "He?" she questioned. Yes, she was curious about the man he brought up, but she knew this was just a gateway to ask about the girl.

"An old friend. I have an ability to be able to get into people's heads so to speak, and asked him about this life. What to expect etcetera. He grew tired of me invading his dreams and said it caused him headaches. Of course, that was a lie, since our kind doesn't get headaches, but I got what he was hinting at. He told me a number to reach him at. I have to say, the leaps and bounds the world has made is astounding. Everything is so much faster." He looked down at her before dialing as he traced her bottom lip with the pad of his thumb.

"The woman you're silently asking about was nothing but a meal to me. Rest assured she is fine, I did not harm her."

She looked into his eyes and saw he liked the fact she was jealous of someone else. Before she could say anything more, he was talking to whoever was on the other line.

"Yes, Darcy, it's Vincent. Yes, I am now using a cell phone. I need your expertise in making things disappear. Yes, it does involve witnesses. Don't take that tone with me, boy! I still have two hundred years on you! Did you forget the fact I was betrayed and left to rot in the ground for the last three hundred years?! Besides, you owe me for that one time in Prague... I thought so. I'm in a city named Vancouver, it's about a two-hour ride from where I last resided… Okay, an hour drive by those metal carriages. This is no time for corrections! The local police are here and I need to make my mistake go away. Alright… I'll see you in a few minutes." He handed the phone back to Wendy and she had to hang it up since he didn't know how to yet.

"Does he live near here? You said a few minutes?" It scared her that another vampire was coming, but she tried not to show it.

He chuckled darkly before piercing her with his stare. "He told me he was roughly a three-day 'drive' away, which should mean he'll be here in about fifteen minutes. We're very fast as you've witnessed."

She sucked in a breath and tried to smile. "C-Cool."

His gaze became concerned and he wrapped his arms around her. "Cool? Are you cold, Firefly?"

She choked out a laugh, but inside she was going crazy. It was such a war zone in her head it was giving her a headache.

"It's a term now. It's like a dulled down 'amazing'," she briefly explained, trying to get over the fact he was so close to her… again.

"I think I may need to be rid of this attire. It may draw attention." He spoke more to himself than to Wendy. He pulled away from her and this time Wendy did start to feel the bitterness of the cold when his heat was gone momentarily.

"H-How are you warm?" she blurted out, making her eyes widen fractionally from her own brazenness. Where had this courage come from? she wondered to herself, but chalked it up to having an adrenaline rush. After all, she was just carried out a window four stories up.

He laughed to himself before talking to her as he was taking off his scrub shirt. She gulped loudly when the white t-shirt he was wearing underneath rode up, giving her an impressive glance of his physique.

"I only grow cold when I go without blood for too long. It is what keeps me… closer to being human, you could say. I'll explain all of this to you in due time, Love. Although, I may need to feed again soon."

He looked distraught by the fact and Wendy couldn't help but ask, "Soon? Do you normally  f-feed a lot?" Bile rose slightly in her throat at the thought of feeding. She was never a fan of blood, only being able to tolerate small amounts of her own. He looked torn at her, which unconsciously made her step forward to comfort him. It felt foreign to her, but she decided to go with it for now.

"It is your blood, Firefly, that calls to me. Only yours until you are turned will fully sate my thirst, but be that as it may. I know you are… struggling to accept this situation."

Her eyes widened with every word he spoke. Even he knew she was not ready and may never be ready for that! However, a small part of her - the one that's now being a constant thorn in her side - was almost turned on by the thought. Like that part of her was begging for his large incisors to sink into the soft flesh on the column of her neck. It disturbed her to even think about wanting that.

"W-Well, thank you for considering me," she stuttered and looked anywhere but him. Vincent looked to want to say something, but froze for a moment.

"Looks like you can now meet my coven brother, Darcy."

Chapter 5

Vincent

He saw hesitation in her eyes at the mention of his long time friend. It hurt him to know she was so distrustful of his judgment. He realized, though it's a lot to ask for, especially in the beginning.

Before he could soothe her worries, his long time brother was at his side. They were opposites in the looks department in almost every way. Darcy had pale blonde, almost white, hair and had dark, nearly black eyes. His skin was always ashen pale no matter how much blood he consumed. The only way to tell he's fed recently was by the slight color to his cheeks.

"Oh, it's so good to see you in the flesh, brother. It's been too long." Darcy came up and hugged Vincent to him, feeling their old friendship rekindle.

"Indeed it has. Darcy, I'd like you to meet My Beloved, Wendy Garret, the one who gave me life once more." Vincent gestured to Wendy proudly with a beaming smile that nearly blinded her into a daze.

Darcy stalked slowly to her and lifted up her hand to kiss her knuckles, all the while maintaining eye contact. "I thank you for freeing my brother," he murmured lowly. Vincent could smell the apprehension and fear roll off of her from being so close to his friend and made a motion to clear his throat. Darcy chuckled to himself and stood straight again.

"A skittish one, isn't she?" he inquired and turned back to Vincent.

Vincent felt the need to protect his love from such a statement and brought her to his side. He was relieved to only detect a small amount of fear. A huge margin less than before. She felt safer with him and that comforted his soul. "Wouldn't you be if you were in her shoes?" he said with a lazy grin and a quirked eyebrow.

Darcy was going to retort when a police cruiser flew past them and parked at the hospital. Darcy let out a low whistle. "Incredible! You're out not even a week and you create this mess! And here I thought you to be the wiser and older one."

Vincent growled lowly at him, but it had a playful tinge to it. He turned his gaze downward to see his Wendy fiddling with her fingers in apprehension and anxiety. He would give her more breathing room so to speak if his possessive and selfish streak would let him. "You stay right here, love. We'll be back within a few moments."

She nodded hesitantly and then without warning, they were off. Vincent looked to his friend of centuries for guidance in this new world. They stopped once they were in the underground parking and away from any security cameras.

"This will take a little longer than normal, Vince. With all the technology, I will need to call in reinforcements to delete any files pertaining to this incident. I will let you sift through my mind later to know what I am talking about, but for now just trust my judgment," Darcy said with a grave look.

Vincent nodded and watched as his friend made a quick call to whoever he needed to help fix this mess. It was all new to Vincent. Back in his days it only took mere seconds to erase any problems of a breach in their secret. Now he realized, although the leaps and bounds of this new world are amazing, they can prove to be troublesome.

"Alright, I have Ericson hacking into their security files and erasing any reports they have already made and or are going to make. We're safe there. Now we need your brain capabilities to secure the others here," Darcy told him.

Vincent decided to be patient in asking what 'hacking' meant and in asking what were files. He'll get his answer in due time. He nodded, signaling he was ready. They both flitted inside while Vincent swept through the minds of the staff to see how far this little laps in poor judgment went. It wasn't until they hit the second floor where there were questions to what was going on. He could feel the staff’s questions linger in their minds, preventing them from doing a good job if they weren't distracted.

"It's been a while since I've done this, brother..." Vincent quietly whispered to Darcy on his right. They were hidden from eyes behind a service cart that stood tall with various items like towels and sheets.

Darcy placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder for support. "Let's shake that rust off your old bones, then, huh?" Darcy spoke with a smirk at the little jab. Vincent grinned mischievously and focused on the staff on their floor. Closing his eyes, he opened his mind and mentally connected with all of them. He could feel the strings of the subconscious tying to his. He then yanked at them and sifted through their memory of seeing the police storming through. He erased everything that happened within the last twenty minutes and let their minds go.

"I never get tired of seeing their confused faces!" Darcy snickered and laughed when the hallway was now filled with confused and stunned workers who were looking at the clock in bewilderment.

Vincent grabbed Darcy's coat. "We can have a laugh later. We need to go to the next floor."

They made quick haste to go to the third floor and repeated what happened on the floor below. Finally, they reached the fourth floor and quickly repeated once more. "Did you get the cops outside? I can hear them become frantic over the radio since no one is calling back," Darcy reminded him.

Vincent could already feel the fatigue washing over from overuse and not using his gift for so long. Nonetheless, he reached all the way outside and soon the radio calls stopped. He had to tweak the cops’ minds in thinking it was a false alarm, making all of them walk sluggishly out of the building and ignore the two looming shadows to the right of the hallway.

"Ah hell, Vince! How is the hospital going to explain the window?" Darcy groaned when they slipped into Wendy's brother's room. He was still out cold from the medicine Vincent gave him earlier, even with the commotion around him. The room was now colder than usual, thanks to the gaping hole in the large window. Darcy sighed and called another person. "You're lucky I have so many connections, brother," he muttered and asked someone to stop by and repair a window. "Alright, I'll go get your Wendy and flit on up here. Then I'll be sure to distract the nurses so they don't come in here."

With that, he waggled his eyebrows and left Vincent there without another word. He growled in irritation with his close friend. Darcy knew Vincent would want to go get her and have her in his arms. It was the price he paid with calling on him though. Even though he was his sire, Darcy knew he only used the bond they share until it was absolutely necessary.

The bond between a sire and a fledgling can be a beautiful or a destructive thing. Depending on who the newly turned vampire's master was. Vincent knew a lot of his kind who used and abused the ones they created. The sired person has no choice but to follow orders. They would do anything to make their master happy. Vincent loosened that tie long ago. He didn't like the idea of someone following him around like a puppet. The bond will always be there, but he didn't call upon it until the task called for it. So Darcy knew he meant business when he used it.

He never thought he would ever turn another person. Not because he hated who or what he was, on the contrary. He loved being a vampire, and always has since the day he was turned. He just never saw himself making that commitment, but when he saw Darcy lying on the dirt path miles from any village, beaten up and broken, something compelled him to save the poor soul.

"One beautiful librarian as you ordered," Darcy said, flashing into the room with a shaking Wendy in his arms.

"L-Let me go!" she said with a stutter. Her glasses were nearly off her nose, making her push them up with her dainty pointer finger. Darcy laughed and set her down with a wink. "And I-I'm not a librarian!" she said defiantly while crossing her arms. Her body unconsciously moved toward Vincent for safety, making him smile over at her. Her eyes rested on her sleeping brother and she sighed. She seemed completely drained so Vincent took the liberty of picking her up again, making her squeak in surprise. "What is the deal with you vampires, picking up people?" she muttered lowly under her breath, forgetting their superior hearing.

The men let out a laugh, making her face burn with embarrassment. "I love to hold you against me, that is why, Love," Vincent said, bending his head against her ear. He saw her shiver from it and internally smiled.

"So when are you two love birds leaving?" Darcy asked, fiddling with a pair of doctor’s gloves. He took out a pair of scrubs he snagged on the way back up here and put them on over his clothes.

Wendy quirked an eyebrow in question. "We are not love birds!" she said at the same time Vincent spoke.

"Not quite yet."

Darcy chuckled at the pair, but looked at Vincent for answers. "Oh? And why not! Might as well get the trip over with. Don't want to cut it too close with the sun now, do we?"

Wendy looked more interested with this piece of information.

"So it's true? You people can't handle the sun?" she asked, now feeling a little better knowing she'll be safer in a few short hours.

Darcy laughed through his nose. "Picturing us as a pile of ash, darling? Not very nice, but to answer your inquiry, no we can't. Because we are technically dead, our body doesn't do photosynthesis, therefore it repels any sunlight." Darcy's eyes looked positively entertained by the odd couple before him and it made Vincent annoyed.

"I've given her my word she has one week here to say her goodbyes and then she's coming with me."

Darcy looked in surprise at him. "A whole week? That doesn't sound like the possessive Vincent I know."

His teasing was grating on Vincent's nerves and it took a lot of restraint to hold back from yelling at him. The only thing stopping him was the fearful little Firefly in his arms. "Yes, well, it is rare for a vampire to have the bond with a human."

Wendy now looked up, confused, still trying in vain to get down from the arms that held her. "Why is it rare?"

Vincent looked down at her which made his irritation dissipate into nothing.

"It's like if you were to fall in love with a cheeseburger!" Darcy piped up with a laugh.

Her eyebrows shot up while Vincent's furrowed. "What is a cheeseburger?" he asked, making Darcy hit his forehead.

"It's a food! Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to opt for a healthier meal tonight and go snag me a nice little nurse." Now dressed in full scrubs, Darcy waltzed out and clicked the door shut behind him. Only then did Vincent set her down. He noted Wendy's face was now an ashen pale and she looked to be sick.

"Love? Are you alright?" He reached for her, but she stepped back and looked as if she was going to cry. Vincent realized this was the moment he was waiting for, her breaking point. He was both dreading and looking forward to it. He dreaded that she had to go through it, but he knew the sooner the better so she could move on.

"I am not your love! How am I supposed to be alright when that-that creature just left to go snack on some poor woman?! You drugged my brother! You punched out a window and then let us fall from four stories! You're a freaking vampire who intends to take me away from everything I know! I'm tired, and confused! Half of me wants to go with you and the other half is scared out of my mind! So NO, I am not alright!"

He could hear her rapidly thudding heart beat and it made him concerned. Her tears were building up, causing some fog to obscure her glasses. She angrily blinked them back and ripped the glasses off her face before wiping them with the hem of her shirt, muttering to herself. He could feel all the emotions coming off of her in waves. He sighed and sank into a rocking chair that was next to him and abruptly pulled her into his lap. She fought for a moment before realizing it was no use and gave up. He gently cupped her face to look at him so she would listen to what he had to say.

"You are so amazing, Wendy. I know that you are afraid. I know that you are confused, and I know that you want answers to your never ending questions. You may not believe it when I tell you, but I love you with my whole being, because my soul is drawn to yours. I am truly sorry for the disturbance I have caused in your life, but I would not take it back since it has brought me to you. I realize you don't love me...yet, but I ask that you would stop trying to fight so hard against something so natural. You were born to be mine, just as I was created to be yours. In this time, in this very moment, you and I will always be intertwined by fate. Can you let go of the control you hold so tightly in your grasp? I can give you my vow to never drink from you unless you permit me to." His eyes were beseeching to hers, making her sag against his hold and surrender for the moment.

"I-I...I don't know what to say." She gently took his hands and lowered her face away from them. He could sense her mind was still in turmoil, but it was less chaotic than just moments ago. He tucked her into him so her head rested on his shoulder and his hand rubbed up and down on her back. She dwarfed him in size and nearly looked like a small child compared to his towering stature. Her flaxen hair tickled the skin of his arms, but he felt completely at ease with her in his hold.

"You don't need to say anything, little Firefly. Sleep to clear your mind." He rocked them until she fell into a deep sleep.

Her lips were so close to his neck that it was hard to concentrate but he managed. To Vincent, his Firefly reminded him much of a small cat. She was fierce yet soft, a complete contradiction. Her blood was calling out to him like a siren that held the most tantalizing temptation he'd ever face. He could hear the blood running in her veins and it made his gums ache when his fangs threatened to come out. 'I'll need to feed in a few hours, before sunrise,' he thought to himself. Darcy walked back in a half an hour later with a satisfied grin.

"Her blood was spicy! Oh-" He cut himself off when he saw the sleeping girl in his brother's arms.

Vincent glowered at him. "I'd appreciate it if you would quit being so open with your feeding. At least until she can get used to the idea! Now, can you sit down so I can finally get a grasp on what has happened in the last few centuries?" he whispered to Darcy.

Darcy forgot what it felt like to feel that slight tug of the master/sire bond they had. He had the power to refuse if he so chooses because there was no real weight behind the request, but he didn't want to. He missed his close friend dearly all these years, so he sat in front of him and opened his mind to share what his creator has missed out on.

It took a full hour, but when Vincent was done, he sat back amazed and repositioned Wendy on his lap. He saw everything, the wars that happened, the technology that was raised and modern day transportation. "I can't believe it. This is amazing! However, the cameras have got to be a pain. Makes keeping our secret harder," he said more to himself.

Darcy nodded and stood up, feeling a slight fatigue from having his memories sifted through. "Yes, which is exactly why we need to be more careful. You should go feed, brother. The sun will be up shortly. Don't worry about her. I already have a trusted companion on her way to watch out over her during daylight hours. And since she's still in school, I took the liberty in making Anya a teacher of hers as well."

Vincent was pleasantly surprised at his friend's initiative. "Very good, but is she human then?" Vincent didn't like that a weak human would watch out for his equally fragile love, but what more could he do? Vampires cannot survive in the sun.

"Yes, but not to worry. Her allegiance lies with me. I found her when she was just ten on the streets of Russia. She is very loyal and I look at her like a father does." Darcy got this faraway look in his eyes and Vincent looked at him with a sad smile.

"She must look like Olivia then?" Olivia was Darcy's only child when he was human. His wife and daughter were slaughtered during a raid through their village. They thought he was dead, so they left him there. He crawled down the road trying in vain to get to them so he could kill them, which was where Vincent found him.

"They have similarities, yes," Darcy admitted almost reluctantly. Vincent knew not to press the issue and let it be. Sensing he only had so much more time before he had to rest, he quickly yet gently set Wendy down the miniature couch that also posed as a cot. He kissed her forehead before standing upright. "Can you stay here until she's here or will she be too long?" He asked him before he left. He would stay with her until the very moment before the sun rose, but he really did need to feed if he was going to withstand the calling of her blood.

"She should be here in the next forty minutes or so. I called her as soon as you called me. Lucky for you she was only a couple hours away from here running another errand for me. It will be close, but I'll stay here until she arrives since I've already had my fill."

With that, Vincent left, knowing his coven brother would not let him down.

He was outside within seconds and for once since he awoken, he was not bombarded with things on the street that confused him. Thanks to Darcy's memories, he knew what the long metal carriage was called, a bus. He knew everything he took in and it comforted him. Nothing felt worse to him than being completely confused as to what something was.

His eyes scanned the surrounding area until he heard the faint thudding of feet hitting the ground mid-run a few miles down the road. He flitted quickly toward the sound and stopped when he reached what Darcy's mind would call a park. He was hidden behind a thick and large oak tree when his eyes rested on a young female jogging down the dirt path. He saw her quick pulse beating just under the flesh of her neck. His ears tested the area and sensed no one else around. Coiling like a snake, his arm struck out when she just passed his form hidden in the shadows. She didn't even have time to scream before his fangs sank deep into her long neck.

His large hand covered her mouth as the blood coated his tongue and he drank in urgency. Consuming the sweet tinged liquid quenched his undeniable thirst. The woman couldn't struggle as in the moment his teeth pierced her flesh, she was left immobilized. This was a tactic mastered by Vincent within the first hundred years of his life. Having his fill, he retracted his fangs and sighed in relief from the ache. His eyes found her round terrified ones and noted she looked tired from lack of blood. "Go back home. You started to feel unwell so you decided to cut your jogging session short," he told her without looking away from her eyes, compelling her to do as he told her. She nodded in a daze and stepped away from him before slowly turning around and walking away.

With no longer feeling the ache from needing blood, he sensed he only had so long before the sun would rise. Seeking shelter in an abandoned basement, he hunkered down for the day. It was not the best accommodation, but it would have to do until he accessed his fortune and built himself a suitable home. Or maybe he would find one already built. That was new to him and it would save a great deal of time if it were done this way. Yes, he decided to himself, he would go house hunting within the next couple of days. Vincent saw the cracks of light from the dawn, making him yawn and close his eyes to dream of his little Firefly.

Chapter 6

Wendy

Wendy breathed in deeply before the last bit of sleep left her mind. She could feel the sun’s light behind her closed lids. With a loud yawn, she stretched like a cat and finally opened them. Confusion gripped her head when she saw she was facing a window that was blocked off with cardboard and a large note saying ‘under repair’. Last night flashed through her mind, making her sit up abruptly with a gasp. Her fingers clutched the necklace in worry as her eyes danced around the hospital room, only to land on her brother who was already awake.

“Oh hey there, sleepyhead. Thought you would never wake up. Man, I had the weirdest dream last night. I thought you were being kidnapped by some vampire dude and… why are you looking at me like that?” he asked after a moment, looking at the dread that colored his sister’s face. “Please tell me it was only a dream! It has to be! You’re still here!” He tried to deny, but Wendy got up and placed a calming hand on his shoulder with a forced smile.

“It was only a dream. I’m fine, see?” She knew it would do no good for her brother to know. She wanted to make sure her last week was a happy one for him. Quickly turning away so he wouldn’t see the tears rapidly building in her eyes, she dabbed them away quickly. The door to the room opened, causing Wendy’s head to turn to see if it was Vincent. She internally berated herself from the small hope that it was. Plus, it was daylight and she knew better, or at least she hoped she did.

A woman stepped into the room with pale blonde hair. It reminded her of Darcy’s fair hair, which in turn made her suspicious that this woman was even human. Her eyes were an alluring green and as she smiled, she could almost hear her brother sigh. “Hello, I’m Anya. Can we talk out in the hall?”

Wendy could detect a slight accent she couldn’t place. “Of course,” she muttered quickly. If this lady was a vampire, the farther away she was from her brother, the better.

“See you later, Anya,” Markus nearly all but breathed out in a daze. It made Wendy want to face palm herself. Anya has obviously already met her brother while she was sleeping.

“Listen, I don’t know how you’re out in the sun, but”- Wendy started once they were out in the hall. The staff was too busy to pay attention to their conversation, making the two girls more at ease with their discussion, but Anya interrupted her.

“No, no! I am not a… vampire. I’m human, just like you.” Anya had whispered the word vampire just to be safe. Wendy discreetly looked her over again, and although she was beautiful, there was a frail quality that did indeed say she was human. “Darcy sent me here to look after you while Mr. Gilmore slept.”

Wendy felt frustrated. Did he really think she had the gall to try and run away? She was too much of a ninny to try after the power he showed her yesterday!

“Well, your… services are not needed. I’m not going to run!” she hissed under her breath.

Anya sighed and shook her head. “No, I was not asked to make sure you didn’t run. I was asked to make sure you were not harmed. Darcy was very adamant about making sure you were taken care of for Mr. Gilmore.”

You would’ve thought Anya slapped Wendy in the face the way her face flinched back in shock. Wendy couldn’t believe that was the reason for having this woman here. Her ever warring self made her feel conflicted. On one hand, she felt like what Anya said had to be a lie only to ensure she wouldn’t raise hell from being kept under surveillance. On the other hand, her heart gave a measurable tug at the thought of Vincent caring that much for her.

‘Oh, who am I kidding?!’ she thought angrily at herself and crossed her arms for comfort. Anya tried to comfort her but it only made Wendy step back. “I need some air,” she muttered and tried to side step Anya only to be blocked. Wendy was feeling so frustrated it made her want to stomp her feet like a child. “I’m feeling suffocated right now, please just let me get some air.”

Anya shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I need to stay with you. I’ll be sure to give you space.”

Inside, Wendy was fuming. She felt like a baby who needed constant watching. Her hands flew up in frustration as she stalked off. “Fine!” she spoke through gritted teeth. A part of her felt bad for taking her anger out on Anya, but she had no one else to vent her anger out to. Anya followed silently behind her as they made it out into the courtyard. Wendy sat herself in front of a fountain and stared at it for the longest time.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured to the pale blonde. Wendy was never one to hold grudges, but she was just so confused and frustrated.

Anya took that as an okay to sit next to her on the bench. “I know it can be frightening, but they really aren’t that bad. You’re the lucky one. At least from what I heard, Mr. Gilmore looks at you like you’re his entire universe.”

The wistfulness in her voice made Wendy curious. “Darcy doesn’t feel the same way about you?”

Anya snorted to the question and shook her head. “No, he does not. He cares for me, and maybe even loves me, but… not in the same way I do for him. I wondered why for so long before I found a painting. One of this woman and a little girl.” Anya turned and faced Wendy with a sad smile. “The little girl looked so similar to me when I was younger. I put the pieces together and figured out that was his wife and daughter. He can never see me as a lover, but only a daughter he can’t get back.”

Wendy felt sad for this woman and hesitantly placed a comforting arm around her shoulders. “Have you… have you tried to talk to him?” She couldn’t believe she was trying to give relationship advice to the person that she hardly knew. Not to mention the fact she has zero dating experience and how Darcy was another vampire! Anya snorted bringing Wendy up short in her thoughts.

“Please! How is that supposed to work? ‘Darcy, I love you more than a friend for all these years so please forget that I look like your dead daughter’? That will go over so well.” Anya looked at Wendy and sighed. “I am sorry, that was rude and uncalled for. Come, let’s get back inside and get something to eat.”

Wendy agreed, wanting to get far from this topic as possible. They both walked in semi-awkward silence. Wendy thinking of Vincent despite her trying not to, and Anya thinking of Darcy.

“What would you like? Darcy told me anything to your heart’s content,” Anya said, flashing a shiny black card. Wendy grimaced to herself as she fiddled with her locket. She sighed in frustration when they got too close where the cooks were cooking. The steam caused her glasses to fog up.

‘I need to get contacts,’ she thought to herself with a grumble. Her eyes caught the reflection in the far wall on a large fridge and she gasped. “Good Lord, is that me?!” she squeaked out in near horror.

Anya followed her line of vision and grimaced apologetically at her. “I thought you knew and were just secure in yourself. It’s okay. We’ll get you cleaned up right after we eat, because I’m starving!”

Wendy tried to slick down her bird’s nest she called hair but it was no use. The curls were far beyond a finger brush over. She was surprised by how utterly tired she looked. Her skin was unusually pale from all the anxiety she’s gone through in the last twenty-four hours and her eyes seemed a little dull. To put it lightly, she looked ten seconds from dropping dead. It didn’t help that she had bruises forming from falling only two or three days ago. She shook her head at the pitiful sight and looked at Anya. “I need to fix this. I promise I’ll be right back.”

Anya looked torn between looking at the girl she’s supposed to watch and a large slice of pizza that was on a rotating plate.

“It’ll be fine,” Wendy pushed before walking toward a bathroom sign off to the side. She couldn’t hear following feet, making her feel less crowded in. Pushing on the large cold door, it creaked open. She noted she was alone and for that she was glad. She didn’t want anyone to see her more than necessary. Her face twisted up when she saw she was still in her sweats from the day before. Like any other girl, she was always self-conscious so she did tend to wear more conservative clothing, but these were just asking for her to get thrown into a convent. “Oh, you’re so beautiful!” she mocked in an attempt to sound like Vincent and snorted to herself in denial. He must have been blind to say that when she was wearing this outfit!

Blowing out a large breath, she turned on the water of the sink to cold and cupped the water to splash back on her face for a wakeup call. Reaching blindly for the automatic paper towel dispenser, she heard it go off and dried her newly fresh face. Keeping her eyes closed, she took off the sweatshirt to reveal a cotton cami underneath that was the color of grass on a sunny day. Her eyes were downcast to the ever flowing water as she got her hands wet once more to wet her hair down. Knowing no one else was in there with her, she bowed her blonde head and set her glasses on the counter next to her, making everything become fuzzy.

She placed her head under the cool water while running her fingers through her locks. Once satisfied, she rung her hair out to make sure she didn’t drip and flipped her head back up. “Ah!” she shrieked to see Vincent staring back at her. He smirked at her while looking slowly up and down. She blushed when she realized he was checking her out. Something that hasn’t happened too often in her short life span. “A-Aren’t you supposed to be sleeping?” she stuttered angrily. Turning around, she was ready to glare at him but he wasn’t there. Spinning around, she saw he was still there in the mirror.

“Can you sleep from sun down to sun up? No, as I cannot sleep from sunrise to sundown. This is all in your head, Firefly, but it helps when you have such capabilities as I do.”

Wendy felt anger seep into her bones. It was bad enough she had to deal with him at night but now during the day as well? She shut her eyes tightly and focused on pushing him out. “No! I need time to myself! Please just go until tonight,” she all but begged. Opening her eyes when she didn’t hear anything, she saw he was gone.

“I left of my own free will, Love. Do not think for a moment that you succeeded in pushing me out…”

His voice rang out clear in her head, making her eyes widen. A small pang of guilt shot through her heart at being so harsh toward him, but her no-nonsense side reminded her of what he was asking her. To eventually become like him, to never see her family after a week, to never see the sun again. Feeling no more remorse or guilt, she roughly grabbed her sweatshirt and stormed out of the bathroom after placing her glasses back on. She looked around and saw Anya sitting just over by the window entertaining herself with some grease-filled chicken strips.

With a loud huff, she sat down and stole some fries, chomping down on them angrily. “Did you have some kind of altercation in the bathroom?” Anya asked with the raise of a finely plucked eyebrow and continued with her meal not deterred by some stolen fries.

“He’s such a… such a-” She cut herself off with a growl and looked away completely angry. Anya laughed through her nose as she finished and delicately wiped her mouth with a white napkin.

“I’ll give you some advice.” She looked around to make sure no one was in hearing distance and continued. “Vampires are notoriously controlling. Most do it for power and just to be spiteful and evil. However, from what I’ve heard from Darcy over the years, Mr. Gilmore is one of the few who are genuine and actually does the things he does because he cares. You may be angry when I say this, but give him a chance. He grew up in a time where women weren’t so independent, so this is all new to him just as it is to you.” That stopped Wendy up short mid chew. She hadn’t thought about what it could be like for Vincent.

“I feel like if I give in… it’s giving up.” Wendy was just so stubborn.

“I heard he wants to take you away from your family. What if he decided to keep you here, at least until you’ve… turned?” Anya countered with a sly look. The more Wendy got to know her, the more she began to think this woman was far more than a pretty face. Wendy thought about it for a moment. Although she doesn’t want to be turned in the first place, that option would give her more time with her family and her friend Jamie.

“That sounds better, but it’s impossible. He’s impossible,” she said with a marred frown. Her finger came up to push the blasted glasses back where they should be.

Anya shook her head, making her hair swirl around her. “He may not be smart enough to listen to a woman just yet, but I can talk to Darcy so he can talk to him. I’m sure with more time with you, you’ll have him wrapped around your pinkie finger. But you have to at least give him a small window. If you make him think he has no chance, it could cause him to overreact and do something you’ll both regret. Another thing to know is vampires are very spontaneous and impulsive. Only very old ones can have more control, and even though Mr. Gilmore is one of the oldest, it will be like he was newly made for the first few months of waking up. At least that is what Darcy tells me.”

Wendy crossed her arms over themselves and took a sideways glance at her. Her wet hair was sticking annoyingly now to her back, but it was better than the frizz ball before. “And you just trust everything Darcy tells you?” Wendy asked skeptically and grabbed another fry before popping it in her mouth. It was quickly going cold and it left a slimy texture from the cooled grease that surrounded it.

Anya shrugged carelessly but you could tell she was irked with lack in trust, but could also understand where she was coming from. “Darcy took me off the harsh streets of Russia. I’m indebted to him and will gladly follow him anywhere. If it wasn’t for him, I’d probably be dead or worse. So yes, I trust everything Darcy tells me.” The last sentence had a bitter bite to it that nearly had Wendy flinching.

“Sorry,” she muttered and continued to pick through the food. Her stomach told her she was hungry but her mind told her she wasn’t. Anya nodded at the frail apology and accepted it knowing this girl was going through a lot. “My parents should be here soon. My brother has an appointment with his surgeon today to schedule the surgery.” With that subtle hint both girls got up and threw away their trash before heading back to Markus’ room.

“You know, your brother is quite cute,” Anya commented offhandedly in the elevator.

Wendy choked on her own spit as she looked at her in disbelief, “W-What?! He’s younger than you!” she cried out in complete shock from the almost random comment.

Anya chuckled to herself. “Relax. I was just stating an observation. Besides he’s not that much younger than me. He just turned eighteen so that’s only a six-year difference. Much better than the hundreds of years’ difference between you and Mr. Gilmore,” she quipped with a saucy wink. Wendy chose not to comment on the last statement.

“How did you know about Markus’ birthday?” she asked instead, steering clear of the subject of her and Vincent.

Anya gave a small shrug with a secret smile. “It is my job to know these things.” Her cryptic answer brought frustration back to Wendy but she otherwise stayed silent, choosing not to fight this round with her ‘babysitter’. The elevator dinged, signaling it was their floor to get off and Anya took the first step. She turned around abruptly to face Wendy. “He loves you, you know.” Her voice was soft before she turned around and marched back to Markus’ room.

“Yeah… I know.” That’s the problem, Wendy thought to herself.

Chapter 7

Wendy

The appointment went off without a hitch and the surgery was set for tomorrow morning. Wendy looked at her parents and saw how anxious they were to get their son fixed and it made her smile. They now had a strong hope to believe in. Markus was chatting away happily with Anya who politely smiled at him and kept up the conversation. Wendy laughed to herself quietly thinking her brother was a shameless flirt. When they first started to talk after the elevator, Wendy was worried but after seeing Anya deflect his pick-up lines with grace, she was fine.

"Do you know what this hospital gown is made out of? Boyfriend material." He sent a sly smirk her way and Wendy couldn't help but burst out laughing from her brother's lame attempt. Markus glared at his sister for ruining his 'moment'. Anya had to look away to quietly giggle to herself so she wouldn't hurt his feelings.

"I'm sorry Mark, but wow!" Debbie and Jim both shared a laugh when they saw how Wendy poked fun of him. They've noticed how she seemed more down these past few days and it worried them, but for now it seemed she's doing better.

Wendy chuckled and turned back to the magazine she was reading absentmindedly. Even though she felt a little more relaxed, there was that worry at the back of her mind. As if Anya could sense her thoughts, she looked over and gave her an encouraging smile. It didn't help much but it was the thought that comforted her.

"Alright, honey, are you staying with us or going home?" Wendy's parents asked but Anya stepped in.

"Oh, she's coming over to my place. It's only a short drive from here. I'll be sure to get her here in time to see Markus before he goes into surgery."

Wendy couldn't believe her! It didn't help the fact that Anya had lied to Debbie and Jim, saying she was another close friend. Wendy's parents were all too thrilled to hear she had another one besides Jamie. Before she could object, her mother clapped in happiness. "Oh good! That sounds like fun, right, honey?" Debbie said toward her daughter.

'Wow, mom, way to look out for your daughter,' Wendy thought with an internal eye roll. She faked a smile that looked more like she had a migraine.

"That sounds... great," she settled with and saw Anya beam at her parents. The worry began to seep into the front of her mind the more the clock ticked by. Without wanting to, her eyes all day have been constantly going between the large clock on the hospital wall, and the large window that was repaired while they were out eating lunch.

"You ready to go?" Anya's voice snapped Wendy from her thoughts. She nodded slowly when she saw her family watching, so for the sake of not wanting questions asked, she stood up and hugged each of them.

"See you tomorrow," she promised and walked out with Anya silently next to her. "Wait!" She stopped in the middle of the hallway, making Anya stop with her. Some nurses walked around shooting dirty looks at them. The two girls ignored them as Anya waited for why Wendy stopped. "I don't have any clothes," she said weakly, trying to stall. Wendy was always more of a mouse than a lion and the thought of going home with anyone she really didn't know sent her stomach in knots. Not to mention this someone was in cahoots with a set of fangs.

"Not to worry. You're smaller than me, but I'm sure we can find you something." With that, Anya grabbed Wendy's elbow and towed her with her outside. Anya's legs were much longer than Wendy's, causing the timid blonde to have to nearly run just to keep up with her.

"C-Can we slow down?" she wheezed out, mentally telling herself to work out more often to get in better shape.

Anya looked down at the smaller girl and frowned to herself before slowing down. "Sorry, I'm so used to having to walk so fast with being around the crowd I hang out with that I forgot," she explained briefly. It was quiet after that when they reached the parking garage. You could hear the echo of their feet hitting the cool concrete as Wendy followed behind Anya, since she had no idea what her car looked like. Although when the woman stopped, Wendy should've guessed it was something like this.

"This is your car?" Wendy's eyes slid over the sleek black paint. She wasn't a car person but even she could appreciate the design of this one. It had a sporty look and the paint was midnight black but as Wendy looked closer, she could see there was a slight purple shimmer.

Anya traced the hood with her finger and stroked it lovingly. "Yes, Darcy spoils me. Now get in and we'll head over to my place."

Not wanting to prolong the inevitable any longer, Wendy sighed and ducked to sit in the smooth-looking car. Her eyes glanced around inside and noted it was only a two-seater car and the dash looked more like some futuristic computer hacker’s sanctuary. There was a built-in screen that reminded her of a cop car since it hung slightly on her side. Anya noticed her staring and smiled.

"This car isn't just to turn heads. It helps me keep on what's happening with police talk. If anything pops up that could link back to a vampire, it's my job to inform Darcy so he can, in turn, inform the commission that is in charge of the area."

Wendy felt questions swimming in her head from the new information and breathed out a big breath. "Commission?" she asked weakly. By this point she wasn't sure if she wanted to know anymore, but her brain was nearly pulsing with the questions that stacked in her mind.

"Yes, the commission. In my opinion, they're self-righteous bastards who love to look down their noses at you. Their job is to make sure there are no threats to the secret of their kind. That's their whole purpose. Keep the world of vampires in the dark. No pun intended."

Wendy got more comfortable in her seat as she mulled it over. Moving her head over to the side, she looked at the world flying by. "So you live around this area?" She didn't know why she was trying to make conversation, but she thought it was better than to leave herself with the thoughts that made her dizzy.

"Not really, no. Darcy loves property and has so many I lost count. He likes to buy a house in every place he visits more than once. He likes to say 'property is power.’" Anya said with a slight laugh reliving a memory. Even though to Wendy it looked like she was happy, she could see the underlying longing and sadness in her face. It made her wonder if Darcy could see it. Sighing to herself, Wendy desperately wanted a shower and it was another twenty minutes of silence before Anya pulled into a gated drive-way. "He likes his privacy as most do," Anya explained when Wendy looked at her in question.

The drive-way was semi-short, but longer than most. The house was not what Wendy was expecting. It looked to be a normal one-story white house complete with a picket fence. Picturing the darker soul of Darcy from the brief moment she met him, it just didn't make sense. It felt rude if she were to comment so she stayed quiet and got out of the car when Anya parked. "I'm surprised you're not asking questions," the native Russian commented when she unlocked the door to the house. Inside was even plainer. It was like a picture though, as if this house was out of Home and Gardening magazine.

"W-Well...it's just..." Wendy trailed off, not knowing what she should say. Anya laughed softly and gestured for the confused girl to follow her to a door. When she opened, it looked like a normal closet... until Anya flipped the light switch over to reveal some kind of scanner. Placing her thumb on it, Wendy heard a quiet beep before the back wall of the closet moved to reveal a door. Gasping to herself, she looked at Anya with wide eyes.

"He likes his privacy." Anya smirked and opened the door to stairs that descended downward. Anya's heels clicked and clacked on the stone steps as Wendy marveled behind her. Her worn sneakers made quiet and dulled thuds. The more they continued, the colder it got from being underground. It was dark except for soft lights that were on the wall near the steps they were walking on. Finally, Anya stopped at another door before another scanner came out with a keypad. She typed in a number before the door clicked and opened for her.

Wendy thought to herself, 'this seems more like Darcy,' when she stepped into the underground home. The carpets were the color warm brown and the lushness of it gave way with every step she took. The room they were currently in was extremely spacious and had different furniture scattered throughout. Suede and leather seemed to be the main focus when it came to chairs and couches, as were earthy colors.

"I'll go let him know we're here," Anya said, taking out her phone. Wendy's fear started to creep back up on her.

"H-He's here?" she stuttered, not liking the fact she could be stuck down in this underground crypt with a vampire.

Anya laughed. "Usually he would be, but he had to bunk elsewhere for the day when it got cut too close waiting for me. Mr. Gilmore made sure Darcy would stay until I arrived. I felt bad for a moment that he needed to rush off, but that man can use a day without the luxury of his homes." Anya winked at her and dialed a number Wendy assumed was Darcy's.

"Good evening, Darcy. I have arrived with Wendy at the house. Don't get crabby with me, sir, you've had plenty of rest... Okay, I'll see you in an hour. Bye." Anya hung up with an eye roll. "That vampire is such a baby when it comes to waking up," she muttered and turned to Wendy. "Come with me. I'll get you some clothes and then a shower."

Wendy perked up with the thought of a hot shower and wanted to get one with enough time to finish before they arrive. Wendy was in awe of how a place of this magnitude was hidden underground. It was much like a warehouse except a little more warm and inviting with the electric fireplace and various knickknacks.

"Here you go. I'll go find something for you to wear," Anya spoke and opened one of many doors. Inside was a posh-looking bathroom that had an extremely large glass shower and a copper claw-foot tub next to it. On the wall that sat opposite of the tub there was another electric fireplace and a TV above it. It overwhelmed the small town girl slightly from seeing such an expensive room. She turned around to tell Anya her thanks when she realized she had already left. Walking in, she carefully took off her shoes while placing a steady hand on the granite tops. She didn't want to dirty this room with herself and felt extremely out of place, but excited nonetheless to use such a room.

When Anya returned, she handed her a pair of aqua colored sweat pants that had drawstrings so it wouldn't be so big and then handed her a white tank top with 'I only date vampires' on the front in bloody red writing. Wendy's cheeks burned in chagrin but Anya simply winked and walked out knowing Wendy wouldn't wear her cami or sweatshirt with it being so dirty now. Yes, she decided, I will definitely need to stay on my toes with that girl. Her thoughts continued to turn as she methodically began to strip and turn the large gold colored lever to hot in the shower. 'Or perhaps it is real gold?' Wendy wouldn't be surprised. She may have only been around Darcy for so long, but he seemed to be a person with extravagant taste.

She took off her glasses when the water started to steam and stepped in the large glass box. It was easily the size of a walk-in closet. Wendy didn't understand the reason for having one so big. 'Unless more people were showering at once.' Her thoughts stopped short, not wanting to finish that unsettling revelation and quickly washed herself, so she didn't have to be in there longer than necessary.

The soap she used smelled like jasmine and lavender. It was very relaxing and soothed her ever growing headache from everything she's going through. Releasing a comfort-filled sigh, she finished up and turned the heavenly water off before wrapping herself in a fluffy, soft, white towel that Anya had set out for her. She had to go commando much to her dislike since she refused to put on her old underwear and refused to borrow Anya's. Both options were more unappealing to her than not wearing any at all. Lucky for her the tank top had a built in bra that saved her from further dilemmas. Poking around the drawers, she found a hairbrush and quickly brushed her hair out so it wouldn't tangle painfully later.

"Thank you," Wendy said quietly when she saw Anya sitting on a plush suede loveseat near the fire, reading a book.

Anya looked up and offered a small smile. "It was no problem. Did you want to eat before they get here?" she asked, feeling peckish herself. Wendy nodded in reply, knowing the greasy fries from earlier did nothing to keep the hunger down now. She wouldn't be surprised if Anya could hear her growling stomach. "I'll make us some sandwiches. Sorry, I never did learn how to cook," Anya said sheepishly as she walked into an archway. Feeling curious, Wendy followed her and again was taken aback by the sheer grandiose of the room. Any chef in the world would be happy to cook in here with top of the line appliances and a stove-top that could feed an army.

"So... vampires eat?" Wendy asked hesitantly as she claimed a bar stool, watching Anya poke about the cupboards. The Russian laughed and nodded. "Yes, although it does nothing to sustain them. Vampires do enjoy the taste. Although, Darcy can't stand seafood," Anya said the last as an afterthought. After a few minutes, Anya was done and placed a cold turkey sandwich in front of Wendy with an identical one of her own. They ate in comfortable silence for once, making Wendy wish it could stay that way, but not five minutes into their meal she could hear the door click open. Her heart began to beat a mile a minute before she heard the footsteps.

"Relax, would you? They're not going to hurt you," Anya whispered even though they both knew the men in question could hear their every word.

"Easy for you to say. You've been living with one for how many years?" Wendy questioned with some bite, the apprehension clouding her maners.

"Too many," Darcy said as both he and Vincent stepped into the spacious kitchen. Wendy's eyes wouldn't leave Vincent's form. She felt strangely more at ease with him here and she mentally kicked herself from feeling that way. She was supposed to fear him, not want to go up and hug him!

Vincent sent her a smile, making her grateful that she was sitting down, so she wouldn't make a fool of herself by falling from weak knees. "Nice shirt choice." His comment sent Wendy blushing again as Darcy laughed when he read it.

"I thought you got rid of that horrid shirt?" Darcy commented at Anya.

She shrugged and smirked. "It's a nice shirt," was all she said before hopping off the stool.

Vincent strode over to Wendy in confidence that made all the guys back home in her school seem like mere boys. He held out his hand to her. "Can I talk to you for a moment?" he asked so politely and with such a smooth voice, Wendy had no choice but to nod her head in a daze and place her small feeble hand in his large warm one.

He took her into a smaller room for some privacy. It reminded Wendy of a small study, but with high ceilings. "I want to apologize..." Vincent began and sighed. "It has been brought to my attention that I'm not handling you very well." He sat down on the small brown leather couch and patted the seat next to him for Wendy. Feeling shocked at his apology she sat down without a thought. "In my time most women would do as they were told, and I now understand that's not the way things are done here. It will take some getting used to, but I do want to compromise. I don't want you to fight against this anymore than you have to, so I'm willing to let you stay for the three months, but... I'm staying with you."

This news brought Wendy up short. It seemed like she's speechless.

"...How?" She trailed off, making Vincent chuckle and pick up her hand, absentmindedly playing with her small fingers.

"You can thank Anya for that. Having a woman's perspective helps. I'm sorry I wasn't as perceptive as I should have been. But you need to understand how this is for me." He picked her up and set her against him. She noted he liked this position a lot... and reluctantly she admitted to herself she liked it as well.

"Since you've found me, something has been awakened. I feel unnecessarily worried for you, although it does seem necessary, since you are so fragile. You are my everything, and I can't get enough of you. Not to mention the fact your blood is a constant blanket over the back of my mind. I need to feed twice as much just to be sure I am safe around you. My moods are up and down, why... it feels as though I just turned yesterday! You make everything to me new again."

Wendy couldn't believe her ears. Did he really just say that?

He brought her face up to his. "You are everything I need to live for," he whispered against her pale pink lips and kissed them softly. She melted against him, wanting nothing more than to be closer. Would it really be so bad to give in for a few minutes? That thought made Wendy throw her common sense out the window if only for a short while. Her arms wound themselves around his expansive shoulders as she pressed herself to him further, wanting and needing to get closer.

Her fingers braided in his hair and she reveled in the softness of it. Her body felt alive and on fire as she felt his hands rub up and down her back sensually. She boldly took the first move as she traced his cupid's bow with her tongue. She could tell he was surprised but she thought if she was going to let go just in this moment, might as well do it thoroughly. They both moaned when they could taste each other as their tongues danced softly. Wendy froze for a moment when she felt his fangs. It was a weird sensation. They felt like ice with how cold they were.

Continuing with the situation, she noted he had moved them so he was now hovered over her on the small couch. He broke off the kiss to give her time to breathe, which she was grateful for. Her breaths were coming in gasps as he nibbled on her chin and continued his toe-curling assault as he made it to her long, slender neck. He groaned when his tongue came out and tasted her pulse point.

"Do it," she breathed, not really knowing what she was giving him permission to do. The high his lips have brought her was not letting her think clearly. Vincent, being equally affected, looked at her for a moment before letting his fangs pierce her flesh.

She stiffened with the feeling that accompanied it. At first it was cold. So cold it burned as if you were touching dry ice. That only lasted a moment before her entire world flipped off its axis. She moaned almost embarrassingly loud as her eyes rolled back from the onslaught of everything she felt. If she thought she felt high before, this made it seem she was planted firmly on the ground. His hands gripped her hips roughly as he tried to get more.

He could feel her blood leave her body, but she didn't care. All she knew was that she wanted more. Her nails dragged across his back as her lower stomach clenched. This was beyond anything she had ever felt or probably is ever going to feel. Wendy whimpered slightly when he stopped and looked at her. The sight before her should have scared her out of the room running but she was feeling too euphoric to care. In this moment, to her he looked downright... sexy.

His hair was wild from her fingers running through it, and his normally bright blue eyes were nearly all black, giving him a dangerous air that was also sexual. His lips were stained red and glistening with her blood and she watched with fascination when his tongue came out and slowly licked the remains away. Bending down, he licked away the few drops of blood that threatened to escape his attention before sitting back up and dragging her with him.

It was a few minutes before either of them regained normal breathing. After that was accomplished, Vincent stood up and carried her to another room. Wendy was a little light headed from the blood loss and what happened so she didn't really protest. She felt him place her on a soft bed before covering her up. He kissed her forehead before climbing in next to her. In some corner of her mind she wanted to ask why he was lying with her if he had already slept but was too tired to ask.

"Goodnight, my little Firefly," he murmured, kissing her hair and holding her against him so her head was on his chest.

Wendy sleepily closed her eyes with a big yawn and decided she'd beat herself up about this tomorrow morning. Right now she was beyond tired and wanted to thoroughly enjoy Vincent's embrace. "Good night, Vince..." She trailed off into a deep slumber.

Chapter 8

Vincent

His hands caressed her side profile with his fingers, paying extra light attention to her cheeks that were still flushed. Vincent closed his eyes, reveling in the feeling of being so satisfied from his thirst. He was sure though, it could cost him. He had been lost in the lust-filled haze just as much as his Firefly was, causing him to think unclearly and drink from her, knowing she wasn't ready.

It was going to be even harder to stay away from her now that he had had a taste. He nearly groaned out loud remembering the sweetness of it. How it coated his tongue and swirled his senses into a frenzy. She was perfect for him in every way. Although he was so much taller than her, he adored her small stature. Feeling more energized than he has in days from the blood, he couldn't sit still any longer. Pressing a loving kiss to her forehead, he slipped out of the room.

"Do I need to get new sheets?" Darcy asked with a wry grin, but it faded when he saw blood on the corner of his mouth that Vincent missed. Darcy stood up with apprehension. "Please tell me you didn't. Vince! You know she's not ready for what the bite will bring!"

Vincent let out a frustrated growl and hung his head. "I know! We both got carried away! I was a goner as soon as she asked for it."

Anya, who was sitting by this entire time, shook her head sadly.

"You know she's going to hate you for a while. Once she realizes what this means... just be prepared for the cold shoulder." Without another word Anya stood up to go check on Wendy.

Vincent hissed at himself and punched the nearby wall. Luckily, Darcy had this place built with titanium steel just for this purpose, when a vampire gets a little too angry. "What am I going to do? If I could take it back I would!" Vincent said with his hands up in defeated frustration.

Darcy blew out a big breath and sat next to his old friend. "The best thing to do is tell her what's going to happen when she wakes up. The sooner you get it done with, the sooner she'll get over it."

That made sense, but Vincent was still dreading it. Even back in his days, you were to always tread carefully from a woman's wrath, and he had no doubt his little Firefly will be a big, fire-breathing dragon once she finds out.

"On the bright side, you won't be so thirsty for a while!" Darcy tried to cheer his brother up. He couldn't fully understand what this will mean to Vincent's relationship with his Beloved, because his own Beloved died before he even knew her. That was years ago, right after he was turned and was still dealing with the loss of his family. He never had to know the fear of losing one. Although he knew pain, he had seen the torture a vampire goes through if he or she loses their Beloved by choice or death. It isn't pretty.

Vincent glowered at the floor and wished time moved slower so his Firefly would continue in an oblivious sleep. "I would rather have the burning thirst for the rest of my days than have the look of betrayal on her face that I know will come." Vincent placed his head in his palms and shook it, feeling like a weak human. He should've had more restraint!

Darcy sighed at his sorrow-filled friend and was briefly thankful he wasn't in his shoes. "You can't go back and undo it, Vince. Might as well face the facts and deal with it," Darcy spoke as he stood and went to the fridge for a blood bag. Vincent eyed it with confusion.

"Those are useful," he commented, thinking of how efficient this world has become yet again. These would save the hassle of going out so often to feed without the risk. Although the darker part of him enjoyed the hunt. Darcy made a face but sucked on the bag anyhow like a Capri-Sun from the tube at the top. "Trust me, it isn't that good as it is straight from the vein." He sat on the nearby bar stool, the same one Wendy sat at just a little while ago.

"Then why do you drink it?" Vincent asked, glad to take his mind off the troubling subject. Although the thinking was not completely shut off, it wasn't his focus right now.

His friend shrugged with a lazy grin. "I'm bored. Anya gets mad because I drink when I'm bored, emotional, or just for the hell of it. If she eats the way I drink, she'll get fat. Her words, not mine. Personally I think women nowadays need a little meat on their bones. You should see the 'models' they have now! They're all but twigs! That is what they call 'beautiful', showing off their rib cages. Remember back when curves were something to look for and have something to... hold on to? Those were the good ole days." Darcy gazed off into nothing thinking about the earlier days.

Back then women were encouraged to have a kind of curviness about them. Famous paintings all around the world and sculptures have shown that beauty then was a woman who was full-figured. It was strange for Vincent to look at the people on the street and see so many were all but starving themselves just to have that 'model look' as Darcy had put it. It was why so many women would wear those lung-squeezing corsets! They wanted to look curvier! Vincent shook his head again in exasperation. It never did matter to him what size a woman was. Of course he never really looked for a female companion for most of his life. He's bedded some in his years before he was cursed to that grave, but they were all too willing.

"Darcy, I'm headed to the store real quick. Oh and Vincent…?" Anya spoke, walking to the steel door.

Vincent's head snapped up in response. "Yes?" he answered warily when he saw the mischievous look in her eyes.

"Your little Wendy is awake." She winked and walked out whistling.

Darcy chuckled at her antics and stood up with the half consumed blood bag. "Good luck, ole chap!" he said, sauntering out of the room.

Taking a deep breath, Vincent walked slowly to her door. He knocked and waited for her reply. When he heard the soft 'come in,' he opened the door.

His apprehension melted away when he saw the lovely blush that graced her cheeks as she tried not to look at him but failed. "I think we need to talk." His voice made her shiver and thinking she was cold again he flitted to her side and raised the blankets so she was covered.

"Y-Yes, I think we should too... that... can't happen again. I don't know what got into me, but... I'm not a slut. I-I just don't know you well enough yet and-"

He cut her off with a tired sigh and took her hand. "I know, and I'm so sorry, but it has to happen again."

This sent a startled yet angry look on her face. "No, it doesn't! I think I should have a say over my body!"

He could tell her anger was building and rightly so. He cupped her face making her eyes soften just a fraction. She was slowly warming up to him. Well that was going to go away after he told her, Vincent thought grimly. "I'm not saying you have to because I want it to happen. I'm saying you have to because you'll be in pain if you don't let me bite you... and eventually die." His voice shook with an overwhelming sense of emotion from even saying it would hurt her and kill her. Just the split second thought made his undead heart squeeze painfully.

She ripped her face out of his grasp and looked panicked. "W-What the hell are you talking about?!" She was shutting herself off to him, he could see it and it tore at his soul.

"When a vampire meets his or her Beloved, it forms an immediate bond. It isn't strong at first until a first blood tasting. That happened while you unburied me. There was a reason you were drawn to my old home where I was in my coffin. You felt a pull there which was how you found it, but when that drop of blood was tasted from you, it awoken me and caused our bond to be ever stronger." He spoke while tracing nonsense patterns on the inside of her wrist.

He continued. "To strengthen the tie even more, the vampire must bite the Beloved, which was what happened earlier. But because of that, you're body has now become addicted to my bite. If you go so long without it, it will cause you extreme pain. It's your body's way of telling you of wanting to be turned. My bite will alleviate the pain, but only for so long. If you go too long without being turned, your body will shut down, and you will die." He looked pained at her. "Wendy, I'm so sorry! We were both thinking unclearly and I couldn't stop-"

She cut him off. "How long before the pain starts? And how long before my body will shut down?" Her voice was emotionless and that worried him. She removed her hands from his grip and looked at the comforter.

"The pain should start by tomorrow night." He saw her wince. "It will only increase until I bite you again, then it will continue to happen more frequently as time goes on. The longest I've ever heard of someone going without the turning process is two months. After that they seem to wither away." It was quiet for a few moments before she stood up and turned her back to him.

"Get out." Her voice was only above a whisper and it broke him to hear the pain in it. He raised his hand to touch her shoulder but she moved out of his reach. "Get. Out." Now she sounded angrier, and knowing she needed time for herself, he sighed and flitted out of the room quickly.

Once out, he paused and heard her start to cry. Gritting his teeth, he raced to a room far down the way and began to break furniture and tables. Darcy came to the room looking alarmed until he saw what was going on. Knowing there was nothing he could do with the state his friend was in, he leaned against the door way and watched Vincent destroy the sitting room. A wooden chair flew by his face, making him duck. Sighing loudly, he pulled out his phone.

"Anya? While you're out, can you order some new furniture for the far sitting room?... Yes, he is... I know, and thank you. Love you too, baby doll." Hanging up, he waited patiently for him to finish.

After a few more shattered end tables, Vincent sat on a couch that crumbled beneath him, but he didn't seem to notice. "What am I going to do? She's lost what little trust she had in me. I made her cry."

Darcy rolled his eyes and walked up to Vincent and took him by the collar to help him up. "Stop it! This is not the Vincent I know. You are one of the strongest vampires ever created! Suck it up and let her throw her little hissy fit. She'll get used to the idea of being a vamp."

Vincent seemed to straighten his back and realized Darcy was semi right. "You're right. I'm acting pathetic, aren't I?"

Darcy nodded sadly and clapped Vince on the shoulder. "Yes, you need to be a little firm with her. However, I would give her space for the next couple of days. Let her digest what will be going on with her, and set the ground rules. She may get pissed but she'll get over it."

Vincent growled and looked out the window. "I can't just give her a couple of days! She'll be in pain by tomorrow night!"

Darcy then lost his cool and threw his hands up in the air in frustration. "What the hell do you want me to say?! You're like my brother, damn it! Because you created me I can feel a fraction of what you feel, and I hate to see you this down about yourself! So deal with it!" he yelled and stormed out. Being in close proximity with his sire made him mirror Vincent's feelings more. So now he was angry, and upset.

"No good, stupid bond, making me feel like a sissy," Darcy grumbled under his breath and decided to hunt to let out his anger. A good drink will alleviate some of this emotion that he has no business feeling. Slamming the door behind him, he fled into the night stalking his next victim.

Vincent walked out of the room with slow precise steps. Only a vampire would be able to hear him walking. He came close to Wendy's door and heard her even breathing. Opening the door, he saw she had fallen asleep, but with closer inspection he saw her pillow wet with tears. 'She cried herself to sleep,' he thought with a grim expression. Sitting down quietly so as not to disturb her, he watched her. "I'm not being very good to you, am I? First night together alone, and I already made things more complicated," he spoke softly and tucked some hair behind her ear. She sighed contently and curled herself more towards him, making him smile slightly.

"Your body knows it belongs to me as I you, but you fight with me so. Although I love your spirit, Firefly, I worry with all this internal fighting you're doing. It will kill that light I treasure so much." Vincent bent over and kissed her cheek with such a feather light touch it didn't wake Wendy for a moment. Getting up silently, he went back out into the living room and decided to try the blood bag while he has nothing else to do. Opening the fridge he picked one up and opened the valve to taste. Sucking up the thick red liquid, he began to cough when the bitterness of it reached his tongue.

"This is awful!" he said with shock, wondering how his friend could stomach it. He could taste the plastic that made up the bag and the coldness to it just added to the factor. It was bitter, vile and he vowed to only have this in emergency cases. He heard the front door open as he threw away the still filled blood bag. Anya stepped in and his eyebrows shot up. "Why would you color your hair?" he asked. It took a moment to filter through what Darcy showed him to understand how she could do that. Her hair was no longer the blonde white color, now it was a lighter brown.

She looked away and shrugged a little too innocently, "Just wanted a change, that's all."

Vincent sat back and thought about it for a moment. Even he knew a woman wouldn't just 'change' her look for no reason. There was always a reason. "Wait. You went out after you talked to Wendy when she woke up. What did she say?" he questioned.

She now looked a little nervous and fiddled with her fingers. This surprised him since Darcy made her sound so sure of herself. "Nothing! Just asked how she was and then decided to do this while I was out." Her excuse was pitiful and he dug further into his memory of what he has witnessed in the last two days. He smirked slightly, which made her look alarmed. "You like him. No, you love him, and you can't stand the fact you look like his daughter." He said it so sure that she faltered and stepped back as if she was being threatened.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about-"

He cut her off. "Did Wendy tell you to do this?" he asked with an inquisitive face.

She straightened her spine and looked elsewhere but him. "Maybe, but I did not do this so Darcy would look at me differently, okay? I'm just tired of living in a ghost's shadow."

He understood that but still knew she did this so in hopes Darcy might see past her likeness to Olivia. She now looked completely different so she had a good shot. However, Darcy might be angry with the change since that was why he saved her in the first place. He stood up ready to try this 'computer' thing he saw in Darcy's head a while ago when he looked down at her.

"I wish you luck. You're going to need it for a stubborn man like Darcy." His voice rang with nothing but the truth, making Anya nod with a determined expression.

"Not that I need luck for what you're insinuating, because that's not the case, but... thank you." She turned away from him and walked away. Vincent chuckled to himself and couldn't wait to see the shock on dear old Darcy's face. Not a lot can shock a vampire but he was betting this will.

*****

Words failed her as Wendy stared at the wall from where she stood frozen. She didn't want to believe what Vincent had told her but even now she could feel her body give her a pin prickling sensation all over. As if her body had dulled into a white noise. Her neck ached, not because he bit there, but because she wanted his bite again. Gritting her teeth in frustration, she plopped down on the comforter and let out an angry growl. "This isn't fair!" she spoke suddenly in frustration. Flinging herself backward, she lay down to look at the ceiling. She never asked for this. She was sure there were girls out there eager to take her place, so why her? Ripping off her glasses, she cleaned them out of habit with her shirt. She was getting more antsy by the minute and even her clothes began to feel uncomfortable. Like she had a fever.

"This is ridiculous. I am in charge of my body, I can control it," she spoke firmly to herself. She tried to take her mind off of the situation by thinking of something else. Her mind went to Anya when she walked in earlier. Wendy can't believe the young woman listened to her when she suggested that she change her appearance! Nobody has ever really listened to her opinion before. Not even her parents or her best friend Jamie. She shot up, when she remembered that she indeed had a best friend, one that she hasn't called in a couple of days. Groaning inwardly at herself for being a bad friend, she fished through her belongings until she found her phone. Turning it on she saw she had quite a few missed calls.

Heaving a sigh, she pushed the call back icon and waited. After a few rings, she wondered if it was too late to call but saw it was only past nine. She really didn't sleep that long and she felt it. Wendy was ready to hang up and try again tomorrow when Jamie answered.

"Oh, so you do remember me? I was beginning to think you were a part of my imagination." Her curt reply made Wendy roll her eyes. She's been dealing with a lot of crap lately and she wasn't about to feel sorry for not talking with her friend for a few days. This new attitude stunned her. Before, she would start apologizing the second Jamie had stopped talking. Now she felt like she couldn't care less.

Not that her friend was a bad one. Jamie was just always the one who spoke her mind without thinking twice. "I've had a lot on my mind lately," was all that Wendy said, refusing to show her normal submissive self.

Jamie didn't say anything for a minute before she blew out a large breath. "Okay whose ass do I need to kick?"

That reply made Wendy give out a much needed laugh. She realized talking with her longtime friend proved to be a perfect distraction. "No, it's fine. I'm staying over at a friend’s house in Vancouver so I can see Markus off before his surgery." Wendy bit her lip as she waited for Jamie to stop sputtering in shock.

"Two things! One, Markus is getting the surgery and you didn't tell me?! And two, since when do you have other friends?!" That last question made Wendy frown. Was it really so hard to believe she had other friends in her life? Once again she felt the bitter sting from the mouth of her best friend. Jamie never meant to hurt her, but it was inevitable with the loose lips she was always sporting. At Wendy's silence Jamie sighed.

"Sorry, but I haven't talked to you in days! Last I saw you, you were sick and then I heard from the grapevine that you skipped? Do you know how worried I was? This is you we're talking about here. The one time I suggested we skip last year and you nearly had a panic attack!"

Shuffling on the bed, Wendy played with her blonde hair as she tucked her feet to the side. "Yes, I know. I just had my mind too preoccupied with everything." Wendy felt bad for leaving out the main reason but she wasn't lying. She just wasn't telling the entire truth.

"Well, that's what I'm here for. I'll lend a listening ear when you need it. How's Markus doing?" Jamie asked with some emotion in her voice. Wendy had to smile at her friend’s 'innocent' question. She knew Jamie had a thing for her older brother, but Markus was completely clueless. Her brother was more into sports than girls, which always seemed funny to her since he was so 'good looking,' as many other girls have put it. He's had girlfriends in the past but he usually dumped them and went single for football season when he used to play.

"He's excited but I think also scared for the surgery tomorrow. If all goes well, he'll live to see one hundred."

Wendy and Jamie continued to talk for the next hour. Joking, laughing, and a few nasty comments about Denise gave Wendy a much needed break. Wendy yawned and noted how exhausted she was, but her mind was too alert. When she said her goodbyes, she realized why. All she could think about was Vincent. Him and his fangs.

"This is so not going to work," she muttered as she tossed and turned. Nothing felt comfortable. Her own skin felt tight and itchy as she tried her best to fall asleep. Although she could feel herself start to drift, she couldn't quite get there. Her mind wouldn't let her. Sitting upright, she threw angry curse words at Vincent who was somewhere in this underground house. She stood up and walked to the door, feeling fatigue wash over her and a feeling of being pissed off. She wanted sleep and it just wasn't coming to her.

Wrenching the door open, she made her way to the living room thinking he would be there. She saw Anya and her new hair, giving her a momentary peaceful minute of distraction. "You look good."

And it was true. Anya’s darker hair made her alabaster skin glow and her eyes stand out more. She looked more dangerous instead of angelic. If it wasn't for her eyes, Wendy wouldn't have recognized her. Anya smiled in turn but went back to flipping through channels. "Do you think he'll like it?" she asked after a moment, not daring to look away from the television. Wendy nodded and had to give a small smile for how young Anya sounded.

Wendy knew Anya wasn't that much older than her, but the Russian often spoke with an air of maturity that greatly outmatched her own. Wendy always thought of herself as the most mature out of her class, and maybe that was true but, compared to the cool and calm of the used-to-be blonde, she looked like a regular high-school girl. Now though, Wendy could see the woman's insecurities and it was endearing. "I think he might be put off by the change since Darcy doesn't look like the person who enjoys change all too much, but he'll get used to it." Wendy hoped her intuition wouldn't fail her.

She had a feeling that Darcy would change his outlook on Anya if given time to the new look. "He's going to hate it," was her reply before they both heard the door opening. Anya now looked panicked as she stood up and straightened her clothes and put on an impressive passive face.

"Anya? Can you-" Darcy's voice died out as he walked into the room. His eyes trained solely on Anya.

She played it cool though. "Can I…?" She gestured for him to continue. Wendy quietly stepped back since it looked like Darcy was getting more agitated by the minute.

"What did you do to your hair?" His voice was low but Wendy gulped as she heard the simmering anger laced behind it.

Suddenly Vincent was by her side. "Stand behind me," he instructed, making Wendy's fear grow. She felt extremely guilty for suggesting it and now Anya was paying for it. However, when she peeked out from behind to look at the woman, she was surprised to see no fear or regret on her face. In fact, she looked a little spiteful!

"Do you like it? I think it's a much needed change." Her voice was even and sounded so sure. If it wasn't for the ever slight shake in her voice, Wendy wouldn't have seen the anger within her as well.

"I want it changed back!" he yelled out, losing his cool.

Anya squared her shoulders and stuck out her chin defiantly. "No. I like the new look, so I'm keeping it!"

Wendy watched with trepidation as Darcy shook with seething rage. "You are going to change it back and that's final!"

Wendy gasped to herself when Anya had the gall to smirk and walk closer to him. "Why? So I can go back to looking like your dead daughter?!" As soon as the words were out of her mouth, he slapped her. Wendy could tell he was holding back but only just. Being the mouse she was, Wendy cowered further in Vincent's back, hating the violence. She vowed to never give her opinion again if this was the result.

"Please help her," she asked Vincent in a small voice.

He tried to soothe her by wrapping his arm around her but still blocking her from harm's way. "I will step in if it gets too out of hand. You don't see it but Darcy is restraining himself quite a bit." His voice was quick, smooth, and quiet enough to only reach her ears.

She shook her head. "But he hit her!" she hissed, knowing full well Darcy could probably hear her, yet he was otherwise preoccupied.

"Yes he did. I will reprimand him for it later, but right now they both need this."

Wendy couldn't understand but stayed silent anyway if only to be sure Anya wouldn't be further hurt.

"I will not be a replacement any longer! My name is Anya, not Olivia. I am completely different from her. I have no blood ties to you! Stop looking at me as your daughter when I'm not! Until you can see that, I'm going to go on hiatus. I already have a bag packed."

Once again Anya managed to stun Darcy. He stood there with an open mouth. "B-But, you can't just leave!" he sputtered.

Anya jutted out her chin and flounced around him to the door where a small carry-on bag lay, and picked it up. "I can and I am!" With those parting words she opened the door and slammed it shut behind her.

It was quiet for a few moments before Darcy let out an angry roar. Wendy cringed into Vincent's back. "Darcy, calm down," Vincent instructed, making Darcy look at him in anger.

"No! I-"

Vincent cut him off by yelling at him. "Calm down now!" Wendy was shocked to see Darcy breathed out a breath before plopping himself onto a chair.

"Using the sire bond isn't fair, brother," he muttered before placing his face in his hands. "She can't just leave me." His voice sounded far away to Wendy, making her step out behind Vincent and want to say something. Vincent placed a cautionary hand on her upper arm.

"She did, because you used her. She's in love with you, and yet you look at her like you do just because she resembles your daughter. Which is why she changed her look. Maybe you should re-evaluate your feelings; otherwise you might lose her for good." Wendy was shocked she even had the courage to say it, and she would've laughed at Darcy's shocked face if the close proximity of Vincent behind her wasn't affecting her body.

"Is something wrong, Firefly?" he asked her. The tone of his voice told her he knew exactly what was going on.

She spun around and gave him a sarcastic smile, which made her briefly surprised by her boldness. "No, nothing at all. If you'll excuse me, I need to take a bath or something." Her resistance was waning quickly and she knew she needed to get out of the same room as him or she'll make a fool of herself. The knowing glint in his eyes said he found her abruptness funny. Huffing to herself, she all but ran out of the room. Once she made it to the room she slept in, she let out a squeak when she was turned around and pushed up against the door.

The fire that consumed her body made her know it was Vincent. "What are you doing?" she asked in a breathless whisper. She wanted to stay angry at him! But the stupid bond couldn't let her when he was this close. She felt his sweet breath wash over her face, making it known how close he was. It was too dark in the room for her to see since her eyes hadn't adjusted yet.

"Do you want me to leave?" he asked her with a low timber to his voice. It made her shiver and although her mind was screaming at her to tell him to leave, a sigh filled 'no' left her mouth.

It was like she was in a trance. She couldn't get her arms to cooperate and push him away. It almost felt like a dream to her with how out of body she felt. Her body was starting to ache even more, wanting to have him bite her. It was now borderline painful. "It hurts," she whimpered and tried to get closer to him.

His eyebrows dipped. "That's a lot quicker than usual," he muttered before swooping down and placing a gentle kiss on the column of her throat. She shivered in anticipation. "I'm sorry for causing you pain, Love, but this should help you feel better."

'No, no, no,' her mind chanted over and over again, while her arms pulled him closer. She could feel the scrape of his teeth against her skin and it nearly made her knees buckle. 'No!' her arms shot out and pushed him away. Not expecting it, he stumbled back in surprise.

"N-No," she stuttered.

He looked at her in disappointment. "It's only going to get worse, Love. But if you want to prolong your pain, then who am I to stop you." He flitted out of the room within a blink of an eye, making her sag against the wall in relief, and wanting. She flicked on the lights and dragged her worn out body to bed.

It felt like she had the chills and she spent the rest of the night not getting an ounce of sleep. It was about an hour before sunrise when Vincent knocked on the door. She knew this because her body started to hum in anticipation and her neck ached.

"We need to leave before the sun gets up. Anya was supposed to take you, but as you know she's not here. Darcy is calling on another human he knows to make sure you're taken care of today," he said while leaning on the door frame. "I know you're going home tonight so I'll be in your room the moment the sun goes down. Get dressed and ready, we're burning sunless seconds." Without another word he left, leaving Wendy to feel empty. He was shorter than normal.

She scoffed at herself. 'Shorter than normal,' like she knew what his 'normal' was. She hasn't even known him that long! "Stop being so pathetic!" she hissed at herself and got up. When her feet touched the carpet, she was surprised at how bad it felt. Like the carpet itself was uncomfortable on her feet. In fact, anything her skin touched felt almost painful. Even with that revelation, she still was too stubborn to go to Vincent. Walking to the en-suite bathroom, she turned on the water to warm. Removing her glasses as she got undressed, she did everything slowly. Her entire frame ached like she had the longest workout of her life yesterday. Stepping in the warm cascading water, she jumped back out. Every pellet of water sizzled on her skin. It was extremely hurtful so she quickly made the shower cooler.

The colder water felt better but only enough to get washed up and then quickly stepped out. She soon discovered even towel drying hurt so she settled on patting herself gingerly. "I can't go a whole day like this," she muttered as she just got done getting dressed in a long sleeved white shirt and yoga fitted pants with draw strings. She knew what she had to do, even if she didn't like it.

Walking out in the hall, she sighed in reluctance. "Vincent?" she called out.

Within a second, he was there with a patient look on his face. "Done being stubborn?" he asked, which in turn she nodded with a slight scowl. "Good. I hate to see you suffering. Let's go back in your room."

She followed him while her body started to hum in excitement. Like it knew what was coming. It gave her a much needed break from the aches.

"I'll be quick," he uttered before bending down to hold her in his arms and quickly went to her neck. She held her breath before she felt his elongated fangs pierce her flesh. The ache immediately went away, replaced by a blissful almost drugged-like state. A loud moan escaped her as she pressed herself closer. Every draw from his mouth made her buzz. Her lower stomach clenched as her nails dug into his arms. When he pulled away, she looked up at him through half-lidded eyes. "Better?" he asked with labored breath. His eyes were once again an almost midnight blue but was slowly returning to their icy color.

"Yes," she breathed and wanted to be in his arms like this forever and quickly squashed the disappointment when he pulled away.

"We'll leave in ten minutes. That will give us enough time to drop you off and come back here to sleep. Unless I could carry you there, in which case you'll have enough time for breakfast."

Wendy thought about being in his arms again if only for a few more moments and without hesitating, "Yes, I'm hungry so that seems like a good option."

He smirked, knowing her real reason before leaving the room. Oh she was in trouble alright. In trouble of giving in too soon.

Chapter 9

Wendy

"Be safe," Vincent murmured and bent down to kiss Wendy's forehead softly. She closed her eyes and let herself enjoy the moment before reality came crashing down once more. "There's another human girl-"

Wendy cut him off, "Girl."

Vincent sent her a confused look. "What?" he asked, not understanding.

"You always say 'human girl,’ or ‘human guy.' I'm human and it offends me how you separate them."

Understanding flashed across his face before he smiled down at her. "I sincerely apologize for upsetting you then." He took her hand and kissed the top of it, causing her to blush. Vincent was looking at the horizon and noted the black blanket of the night was quickly becoming a lighter deep grey. "I must go. I'll see you tonight. The girl's name is Dominica." He stole a very quick kiss before flashing away, leaving her in the lobby of the hospital.

In a daze she walked inside and went to the elevators. Stepping onto it, the doors nearly closed before an arm stopped it. A darker skinned woman stepped in. She had an aura around her that told Wendy not to mess with her. With the tight leather jacket, black cropped hair and even blacker eyes, she screamed intimidation. 'An assassin,' Wendy thought flippantly and trained her eyes on anywhere else but her. It was a long quiet ride until the elevator dinged, saying she arrived on the floor she was supposed to get off at, but so did the other woman.

"Are you, by any chance, Wendy?" The woman's voice was raspy and it suited her.

Wendy gulped and nodded reluctantly. 'Stop being such a coward!' she reprimanded herself.

"Hello, I'm Dominica. I believe you know of my arrival?"

Wendy sighed in relief, knowing the woman wasn't going to hurt her. "Normally, I don't take babysitting jobs, but the money was too good to pass up. Oh, and I don't do the whole, 'making friends' thing."

Wendy was sort of glad for this cold demeanor. It meant she didn't have to put up a front and try to be nice and talk to her. When she didn't say anything else, both girls walked to Markus' room. Wendy stopped outside the door though.

"Who are you to me? I-I mean, what am I going to say about how we knew each other?" Wendy asked while picking at her nails. Dominica was so much taller than any woman or girl she was used to. She was nearly six feet tall, and add in all the leather she was sporting, she looked dangerous. Definitely not someone anyone would think Wendy would hang out with.

Dominica sighed in annoyance. "This is why I don't do these kinds of jobs Just say I asked to do a college report on the kind of defect your brother has." Noting the look of surprise on Wendy's face, the Amazona got impatient. "I make it my job to know all aspects of any case or job I'm hired for. Now let's go in before I completely lose my patience and decide to kill someone out of sport."

That made Wendy jump as she all but ran inside her brother's room.

She forgot how early it was when she saw her brother still sleeping. His surgery was scheduled in another two hours so they'll prep him in an hour. Sighing to herself, she paid no mind to Dominica and sat down at a nearby chair. Her parents should be here any time now, which both comforted and worried her. They'll be wondering about the woman in the room. She was hoping they'd buy the college bit, but was still unsure.

"Oh, you're here early! Do you want some coffee, dear?" an older nurse asked when she walked into the room. Wendy politely declined since coffee makes her have anxiety.

"I would love some," Dominica said with an eye roll. Yep, it was official: Wendy did not like this girl.

"Er... sure, let me go get that for you real quick." The nurse looked confused as to who this was, but knowing Wendy was there reassured her some. When she left, Wendy bravely gave her the stink eye.

"What? If I have to stay here and watch you, I'm going to need coffee."

Wendy sighed and chose to just ignore the rude woman while flipping through an out-dated magazine that she had already read in the past two days. The nurse came back moments later with a cup in her hand but she wasn't alone. Her parents came in with tired smiles when they spotted their daughter.

"Oh, who's this?" Debbie asked with her head cocked slightly to the side. She bit back a yawn and waited for an answer.

Dominica put on a believable smile and walked to the couple. Wendy held her breath, making sure she wouldn't hurt them. "Hello, I'm Sarah. I'm doing a research paper for my college on the heart defect your son has. I hope you don't mind? I'm just going to be observing, you won't even know I'm here."

Wendy was stunned to see how polite Dominica was being. And Sarah? She guessed it was to protect her true reason why she was here.

Jim smiled and nodded. "It isn't a problem at all."

Wendy grimaced to herself at the fact how gullible her parents truly were.

Although Dominica was a convincing liar, if she were them, she'd ask for a student I.D. or something! Maybe with everything she's dealt with in the past several days made her less trusting. Wendy decided that was a good thing, she just wished she would've thought this way in different circumstances.

"Sweetie? You're awfully quiet. Are you okay? You know Markus will pull through this." Her mother sat beside Wendy and pulled her to her side for a hug. Wendy wished she was worrying about Markus. It'd make things easier for her. But she knew she had nothing to worry about with the surgery. It was everything else that had her on edge.

"I'm fine, mom. Really. I'm just tired." Wendy saw her mom look doubtful and apprehension seized her when Debbie's eyes widened, looking at her neck. "Oh my! What happened to your neck?"

Wendy's hand immediately went to the place Vincent had fed from and felt two raised marks. Congruent to his fangs. She internally cursed him from his stupidity, but more so, hers when she forgot she would need to cover them up. White hot flashes of need coursed through her when she touched the marks so she quickly stopped touching them.

"I-It's nothing! I fell and hit my neck on a corner." She wanted to hit herself because of the stupid lie, but her brain couldn't come up with anything better. Debbie frowned at her daughter before letting the subject go. Breathing out a silent breath of relief, she snuck a peek at Dominica and saw she was frowning at her. Did she not know of vampires? She made a mental note not to mention anything to her just in case.

Just then, Markus woke up with a slight groan. "What are you people doing here at this ungodly hour?" Wendy had to snicker to herself. They both hated waking up early. The only reason she was up was for her brother and the fact her mind wouldn't shut off.

"Whoa... who's the hottie?" he asked once he spotted Dominica. Wendy could tell she was trying not to glare at her brother and that fact made her want to snicker.

"This 'hottie' has a name. I'm Sarah and I'm doing a paper on your heart defect. I hope you don't mind."

Markus gave her a charming smile and Wendy wanted to roll her eyes at her idiotic brother. He was forever a flirt. "Not at all. Please, come sit, and I'll tell you anything you want to know."

Wendy could see Dominica had her jaw clenched with irritation and again, she had the urge to laugh. The whole situation was funny.

"Thank you, but I'll stay over here," she said through clenched teeth, trying to keep her composure.

Markus then made a big show of yawning. "Whew! Man, am I tired! Maybe I should just sleep then?" His implications were clear and Wendy did let a giggle slip out as Dominica all but stomped over to the chair beside the bed and sat down. "Wow, I suddenly feel much more awake! Okay, now ask away, beautiful," Markus said with a smirk.

"Pfft!" Wendy accidentally slipped out. All heads snapped in her direction and it looked like her parents were in the same state as her. Both Dominica and Markus were glaring at her. "S-Sorry," she stuttered, trying desperately not to laugh out loud. The whole thing looked ridiculous though! If only her brother knew who 'Sarah' really was. He'd still probably want to make a pass at her, Wendy thought with an internal eye roll. Giving her another pointed look, Markus went back to 'wooing' Dominica with his 'charm'.

Half an hour passed before a surgical nurse stepped in. "Hello, I'm Nancy, and we're just going to prep you for surgery. Here's some paperwork for you to look over and fill out. The anesthesiologist will be in shortly to go over the procedure, and then we can get going!"

Because Markus was eighteen, he had to sign the papers. Not even glancing at the words, he signed them.

"You idiot! You're supposed to read them!" Wendy said with an exasperated look.

Markus shrugged and leaned back. "I'm too lazy right now," was all he gave her.

The nurse chuckled and checked his IV. The door opened, revealing a male with doctor scrubs on and one of those surgical hats. His had pictures of clowns on them. "Hi, I'm Dr. Bartlet, your anesthesiologist. Now since I saw you've never had surgery before, here's what to expect. I'm going to put a mask over you once we get into the operating room for oxygen. This is to keep your lungs clear and open, okay? I'll then put the drugs into your IV to make you sleepy. It should only take maybe five seconds before you fall asleep, and the next thing you know you'll be awake in the recovery room. Very simple and easy. Of course there's always a chance for complications with the anesthetic."

Markus sat up straighter with some difficulty. "Like what?" he asked, making Wendy detect a note of worry.

Dr. Bartlet gave him a reassuring smile. "You may have trouble waking up but that doesn't happen very often. You're in good hands, and we'll take good care of you." The smile on the doctor's face was genuine and put a sense of ease over the family. Dr. Bartlet turned to said family, "Do you want to have a quick moment with him before we take him back?" he asked.

Debbie and Jim nodded as Debbie teared up. Wendy stood up along with her parents and they all gathered around Markus. Wendy bent over and hugged him quickly. "I'll see you later," she whispered and stepped back for her parents.

After another five minutes of tear-filled hugs from Debbie, Markus was ready. He looked determined but also scared when they began to wheel his bed away out into the hall. Once the door shut, they all sighed. It was really happening. Markus was getting the care he needed to live.

"I'm going to go take a walk," Wendy stated and began to go out.

Dominica jumped up. "I'll join you."

Her parents nodded in reply before Wendy left them.

"You really don't have to follow me, you know. I'll be fine," she said with a huff. She got a sense of déjà vu from her interaction with Anya. The thought brought the question on how she was doing but she didn't dwell on it too much.

"It is my job," was all Dominica said before turning back to silence. Wendy sighed to herself before going outside to breathe in the fresh air. Hospitals always felt stagnant to her. With its constant smell of disinfectants and the air of sadness surrounding the building, she avoided them at any costs. Even though her eyes felt heavy, her body felt jittery, so wanting to shake it off she decided to take a walk around the entire building. It was silent except for the cars off the freeway not too far away and the occasional honking of a horn.

Wendy's steps made dull thuds against the concrete from her worn out sneakers, while Dominica's were completely silent. Lethal. Even when she had high-heeled boots, you couldn't hear a sound. It made Wendy nervous but she reminded herself she was here to watch out for her, not to take her out.

"What are those marks really on your neck?"

That made Wendy stop short but she quickly continued walking. "N-Nothing. I told you, I fell." Wendy's reply was curt and gave off the distinct impression to leave it alone, but Dominica didn't care.

"Bullshit. Those look like needle marks. Tell me the truth. Are you using drugs, because if you are I'm out of here!"

Wendy turned around stupefied. "No! Of course not!" No one could doubt the truth in her voice so Dominica nodded.

"Well then that's all I care about."

Not saying anymore, they resumed walking. "Why did you get so worked up over the fact I might have been using?" Wendy asked a little reluctantly.

Dominica huffed and crossed her arms in defense. "None of your business." Her words left no room for argument so with a grumble to herself, Wendy continued her walk. They were now in the back of the hospital and it was even more quiet. Wendy got this feeling of foreboding in the pit of her stomach, making her pick up the pace.

"Stay behind me," Dominica instructed, obviously feeling something wrong. Cool wind nipped at the exposed skin of Wendy's arms. Her ears strained to hear anything that was amiss but came up with nothing.

"Hmm, what do we have here?"

Both eyes snapped to a man a ways away. Wendy felt fear ripple through her at the sheer size of the mammoth. He was built like a bus, wide and tall, with a stance like a bull that’s ready to charge. Wendy saw Dominica take a gun out from behind her swiftly.

"Darcy must really like you to hire this one here. My owner wants your head as an early birthday present." He spoke with a wry grin and took out a gun quickly and pointed it at Dominica. Wendy's blood was rushing in her ears, making it hard to concentrate. She wanted to run but she knew there was no way she cold dodge the bullet that was sure to fire her way if she tried.

"Maybe next time, Tiny," Dominica said with a sneer and shot at him. He dodged the bullet and in turn shot his gun as well. Wendy was expecting loud bags but quickly noted they both had silencers on.

"Run!" Dominica yelled at Wendy as she continued to shoot at the large man. Wendy wasted no more time as she took off sprinting trying to find cover. Her glasses were flopping wildly from the run. The back of the hospital was unfortunately barren of any hiding place so she knew she had to somehow make it to the corner where she can hide better. That was an easy three hundred yards away though.

"Ah!" she squeaked when a bullet whizzed dangerously close to her ear. She heard a grunt and dared to look back. She gasped when she saw Dominica tackle the man to the ground, sending both guns clattering to the ground. Looking ahead of her, she saw how close she was to safety but she worried for the other girl. Groaning out loud for her impossible conscience, she made a sharp U-turn and ran back. Her breaths were coming out in puffs. Dominica was grunting, trying to get the man to stay down as she fished out a knife but her eyes spotted Wendy running toward them.

"What the hell are you doing?! Get out of here!" she yelled, making Wendy stop short Determination surged through her though and she quickly spotted a stray board. Gathering up as much courage as she could, she picked it up and got close to the grappling duo. The beast-like man was gaining the upper hand but had yet to notice the small target approaching.

Raising the wood like a bat above her head, she slammed it down onto the man's head, causing his movements to cease. Blowing out a large breath, Wendy let the wood clatter to the ground and stumbled away. She could see he was still breathing, which made her glad. She didn't want to kill anyone even though he was sent to kill her.

Dominica shoved him off and turned her steely gaze to her. "You try anything like that again, and he won't be your only problem, got it? Now get inside. I need to take care of him. I'm sure you wouldn't want to see it."

Wendy understood what she was saying and quickly turned around. Her stomach was in knots and she felt sick.

"Hey!" Dominica shouted after a few moments and Wendy was some feet away. Wendy turned slightly to let the other girl know she had her attention. The wind blew her blonde hair into her eyes slightly, irritating her. "....thanks."

She barely heard it but she did. Nodding in reply, she quickly got out of there.

Her head was reeling from what just happened. Why did that guy say Darcy's name? Did she really have a close encounter with death? The whizzing sound from the bullet echoed in her brain like a track stuck on repeat. She was definitely shaken up and probably would be for a while.

'Wendy?! Please answer me!' she suddenly heard in her mind. It caused her to pause just outside the entrance to the hospital. She moved out of the way of the walkway path as she concentrated.

'Vincent?' she thought. She felt relief flood through her, and she knew it belonged to him.

'Are you alright? I felt your panic. I've been trying to get a hold of you for some time now.'

Wendy could hear the naked worry laced in his voice as he tried to find out if she was hurt. 'I'm fine. A guy... well, he tried to kill me but Dominica saved me,' she thought in reply to him. It was taking a lot of concentration and it was causing a quickly building headache.

'Show me,' he thought toward her. It confused her for a moment before she realized he wanted her to replay her thoughts. She walked inside the entrance to sit on a nearby indoor bench. She felt less exposed this way.

Replaying what had happened, she could feel the anxiety and the anger seeping into her mind from his. When she got to the part with the make-shift bat, she could hear him growl. 'You went back?! How could you be so stupid?! Do you realize you could've been killed?!' he all but shouted at her.

Angry tears threatened to spill over. 'Don't talk to me like I'm a child! I knew what I was doing, and I wasn't even hurt! I'm not about to sit here and listen to you berating me on what I should've done! What happened, happened. Now I'm going to go upstairs and wait for my brother to get out of surgery, so goodbye 'Lord Vincent!' She sneered toward the end and managed to cut him off.

She realized she's much braver when she wasn't face to face with him. Scrubbing her face with her palms, she got up and sluggishly went to the elevators. The adrenaline she was sporting earlier was quickly draining, making her lack of sleep quickly come to the forefront. With a start she realized she really did succeed in pushing him out of her head this time. Not knowing how she did it, she wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Plucking her cell out of her pocket, she saw it has been an hour since she left earlier. Groaning, she rolled her head back and waited for the elevator to stop at her brother's floor.

"Will this day ever end?" she muttered.

When the elevator dinged, she walked off and sat in front of her brother’s room on a long plush bench. She didn't want to face her parents yet. Not when she could feel her face still pale from what had gone down not too long ago. Flexing her fingers, she tried to get the blood pumping in them once more. The warmer air inside was bringing her body temperature back to normal. Her eyelids drooped as she curled herself further onto the seat. When the elevator dinged again, she saw it was Dominica. Silence grew thicker when she sat next to her.

"A fire truck should be heard soon," Dominica uttered before a nurse ran past them.

"Oh my gosh! The dumpster out back is on fire!" the nurse said in shock to another worker.

Wendy's eyes snapped to Dominica's but all she saw was a slight, barely there smirk. "I work quick," she murmured before dialing a number on her phone. "One is out, not sure how many more players are in the game, but I'll stay on home base to keep the bases loaded."

Wendy's head swam, and tried not to think of what that means. With that said, Dominica snapped the phone shut and stared at the wall.

Knowing she was fairly safe, Wendy let her eyes close and fell asleep.

Chapter 10

Vincent

“Can you believe her?! She just... She just shut me out!” Vincent huffed and continued pacing.

Darcy watched him lazily from the couch and yawned. “You woke me up for this?” His lazy yet slightly irritated drawl reached deaf ears as Vincent continued his outward thinking.

“Does she not realize how close she came to dying?!” He turned to Darcy with a glare. “And it was because you couldn’t pay another vampire from a loan he gave you?!”

Darcy yawned and laid back against the couch. “Oh, so now you acknowledge me?” That only set off another round of pacing for the elder vampire.

“Well… you did yell at her. Wrong or not, you never yell at a woman. That only sets them off. You should know better than I on that,” Darcy said in a semi bored tone. He was ready for bed and had just fallen asleep for the day when Vincent barged in. He was going to be cranky for the rest of the day, even if he fell asleep at this moment.

“Did you not hear what I said?!” Vincent yelled down at him.

Darcy grumbled to himself in a childlike manner and rolled his eyes. “Yes, I did. I’m sorry this prick has turned his targets on Wendy, but you wanted protection for her. That set off a red flag for this guy. He thinks whatever I protect is important enough to me.” Darcy was quickly losing his patience with his sire and wanted nothing more than to crawl back into his plush bed.

“Why on earth did you need to borrow money anyhow?! You’re well off!” Vincent was losing more steam but sounded exasperated.

Darcy chuckled and shook his head. “Who said it was money? No, I merely borrowed without asking.”

Vincent was close to ripping off Darcy’s head if he continued to play coy. “What-” he spat out through gritted teeth, “-did you ‘borrow’?”

The tired vampire yawned once more before offering a sly grin. “He had this… companion, as he would call her. He kept her because her blood was so sweet. I simply had a taste of her is all and played a little with her. Wasn’t my fault she got sick and died, but Ramiro is determined that I had somehow had a hand in killing his ‘prized’ blood source. He really should get over it, the big baby,” he muttered at the end.

“I would shut your mouth right now, Darcy. You have no idea how close I am to killing you.” The threat rang true, making the smart mouth pause, but only for a moment.

“She’s fine! I’ll fix this, but-”

Vincent cut him off by getting in his face. “No! I will deal with him! What. Is. His. Name.”

Darcy gulped and noted for the first time since he was rudely awakened, just how far Vincent’s anger goes when messing with his Beloved.

“Ramiro, Ramiro Delenta. He lives just North of here.”

His answer made Vincent nod to himself. “Good, because you and I are going on a little trip.”

Darcy groaned and let his head fall back in annoyance. “It’s daylight,” he tried but Vincent only gave him a cruel smile.

“Don’t test me. I saw in your mind how you have a car that has tinted enough windows that we can drive it. Now we’re going!” Vincent was in no mood to be tried now.

Darcy growled and grumbled to himself. “I hate your face so much right now.”

Vincent ignored the jab and proceeded to get ready. This Ramiro had no idea what he just got himself into. Vincent was one of the few more powerful, elder vampires left. He was to be up most respected by his kind. The commission had yet to learn of his awakening, and he was glad for that. Although most of the vampires in that board were close ‘colleagues’ you could say, they were always stiff. With monotone voices and blank stares it made any vampire, even himself included, cringe inwardly.

Going into a closet, he grabbed a very large, long, black cloak that would cover his frame, enough to keep away from the sun’s harmful rays. Although it was going to be overcast, the UV rays are always poking through. He saw Darcy dragging his feet behind him toward the underground garage. He rolled his eyes at his less than enthusiastic friend. He was already angry from the brief conversation that he had with Wendy. Yes, he was a little harsh toward her, but all he could see through her memories was how close that bullet got to her! And then she had the gall to run back into danger?! Feeling his anger come back up a few levels, he took a deep breath to calm himself. He tried to reach her again and nudged at her mentally, but to no avail.

‘Damn it,’ he thought. She figured out how to shut him out. Only she could do it, since they were now bonded by blood. He hoped she wouldn’t know how she did it so it didn’t happen too often. Not being able to reach her left a worrying feeling in his gut that refused to go away. He would be sick with worry by nightfall if she kept this block up. He needed to know she was okay twenty-four-seven.

It wasn’t long before they were in the sleek car with the dark windows. Vincent touched the interior. “This is quite remarkable,” he muttered and looked longingly at the driver’s side but knew that he couldn’t try to drive today. There were more important things at hand than learning how to operate one of these things.

“Ugh, this is such a waste of my time. I could be sleeping right now!” Darcy complained moodily and kept his gaze out the windshield.

Vincent scowled at him. “What if it was Anya?” he questioned, knowing that Darcy cared for her more than he would admit.

Darcy spared him a side long glance. “It’s different. I’ve trained her since the day I found her. She knows how to protect herself. So, I don’t worry about her.”

Vincent shook his head at him, knowing that wasn’t the truth, at least not all of it anyway. “I would have thought after all this time you would stop running from any sort of strong feelings,” Vincent spoke with a sigh.

Darcy shot him a glower. “You have no room to talk! Just… Ugh, shut up please. Your voice is giving me a headache.”

Normally, Vincent would be offended if it was anyone else talking like that to him, but since Darcy and he were so close, he really didn’t care. His sole purpose right now was to make sure his Wendy was safe. It was so surreal for him. To care so deeply for someone this fast, it nearly made his head spin. Such strong emotions that spanned over different spectrums. The worry he bears for her, against the love that all but spills out of his being. He could feel her fatigue through the bond and tried once more to get to her, but her wall wouldn’t budge. He was hoping once she fell asleep, her guard would be down.

“Darcy! Call your guard and ask how she’s doing,” Vincent asked when the thought popped up.

Darcy heaved a big sigh like Vincent had just asked him to work over-time. “Fine… oh, you’re in luck, she’s calling me.” Without further instructions, he pushed the speaker button located on the console. “Yes?” he answered, “is everything alright?” There was some rustling before the hired guard spoke.

“One is out, not sure how many more players are in the game, but I’ll stay on home base to keep the bases loaded.”

Vincent was thoroughly confused by this. His mind sifted through the information that Darcy had relayed to him and that sentence told him she was talking about baseball. He sat quietly though knowing his friend would explain after the call.

“Good. Strike them out. If our team is intact, then I will make sure to give you a raise. Call me if things change.” Without waiting for a response, he hung up. “Dominica said she took the guy out, and destroyed evidence. She’s still on high alert since she doesn’t know how many that bastard had sent. Knowing him, he’ll probably send a couple more once word gets out the first guy is dead. We should get there though before word gets out.”

Vincent sat on edge thinking of the dangers that lay so close to his Firefly. It took another thirty agonizing minutes to reach where they were going. It was silent the whole time, and Vincent wished they could’ve just flitted here. That would have gotten them here much quicker, but with the sun up higher, there was no chance of that.

What lay before them looked much like Darcy’s place. A quiet looking one-story house, but the wrought iron gate gave away the importance of this place. Vincent knew there was an underground home much like his friend’s. He saw there was some sort of keypad when Darcy pulled up, but there were no numbers.

Darcy turned to him. “Bite yourself.”

Throwing him a bewildered look, Vincent furrowed his eyebrows. “Why in the world would I do that?”

Darcy rolled his eyes, looking tired. “Because the scanner scans blood. More specifically, vampire blood. The gate will only open if a vampire sides, and since I highly doubt my blood wouldn’t set off some sort of alarm, I need yours. Now bite yourself, we’re losing time.”

Complying with his explanation, Vincent bit down on his palm and watched as dark blood pooled there. Darcy took his pointer finger and with a slight grimace, he rubbed it in the blood before placing the now coated digit on the scanner.

“Ow! Ah, hell! He added in a pricker!” As soon as he spoke, an almost undetectable alarm sounded. Human ears wouldn’t have heard it.

“Shit. I knew he’d do that. Well, here goes plan B.”

Before Vincent could ask what he meant, Darcy floored the gas pedal and stormed through the gate. The driveway was long but with Darcy speeding, they got to the front in seconds. The front door opened revealing humans armed with guns. They began to open fire but the bullets ricocheted off the window shield. “I’m so glad I invested in a bullet proof exterior,” Darcy muttered, making Vincent agree in silence. He could tell these bullets were silver and that meant they were deadly.

“It’s too bad you’ve never seen The Matrix, otherwise I’d tell you to pull a Neo, when we get out,” Darcy said with a slight snicker. He was more awake now that there was action.

Vincent glanced at the sky as the men that were shooting started toward the car. It was overcast, which meant even though the sun was behind the clouds, it would still harm them. Not as quickly, but it’d hurt nonetheless.

“On go?” Darcy offered, cracking his knuckles. Vincent nodded. “Go!” he shouted and they both flung open the doors. Lucky for them three out of the four men had to switch their clips. Flitting at incredible speeds, and using their cloaks as shields from the UV rays, Vincent took out the first guy by snapping his neck.

Darcy took care of the other one. As Vincent quickly moved to kill the last two, the one with the gun shot at him. “Arg!” he growled when the bullet bit at his skin on his arm. Luckily it was only a graze, but it burned. Forgetting the unarmed one, Vincent charged at him and flashed over to his side before breaking his neck as well. Darcy took care of the last one and soon they were inside, away from the harmful rays.

“C’mon, I know how to get down below,” Darcy muttered, quietly going into what looked like a small kitchen. Vincent followed his lead and they both stopped at a small kitchen pantry. Darcy lifted up his hand and twisted a jar of fruit, making a distinct clicking sound to the right. Vincent’s eyes narrowed as he saw a small door revealed in the wall.

“Now we probably want to be careful-ah!” Darcy cried out when a bullet whizzed by them. They both flattened themselves against the stone wall just inside the passage way. Vincent tuned into their minds and grabbed a hold of their will. He would’ve done this outside but he knew he could just kill them since he was angry. The gun fire stopped and Vincent gestured for them to move forward. At the bottom of the steep stairs, there were two more guards with guns ready.

“When we step inside, shoot yourselves in the head,” Vincent commanded. He was in no forgiving mood, by any means. These men were a part of the plan on harming his Firefly, to him that was unforgivable.

The door opened when Darcy pushed. Once inside, they both heard two separate gunshots behind them. “I would say that was cruel, but I know you’re royally pissed.”

Before Vincent could reply, an overweight vampire came into view. He had a pot belly with a goatee and a balding head of black hair. His eyes flashed black when he spotted Darcy. “I was expecting you,” he hissed but made no moves toward them. His beady eyes ran over Vincent. “And who is this?” he asked with slight intrigue.

“I am Vincent Gilmore.”

When he said his name, Ramiro froze.

“Gilmore? As in the Vincent Gilmore?” Nervousness colored his tone, making Vincent smirk inwardly. “B-But you’re supposed to be buried!”

Vincent clicked his tongue at him, now getting into predator mode. Ramiro scampered back slightly when Vincent took a threatening step. “My Beloved woke me up. Guess who you hired to take out?” Vincent’s tone was light but any fool could hear the underlining anger just simmering under the surface.

“I-I swear I didn’t know! I just wanted him to pay!” Ramiro cried and pointed angrily at Darcy.

Vincent sifted through his mind and grew more disgusted by the second. “I’m going to kill you, and I will do so gladly. You bring disgrace and fear to the vampire race! And I will not stand here and give you a free pardon when you threatened my Beloved!”

Ramiro kneeled where he stood, knowing it was no use to try and escape or fight, so he took to the begging route. “Please! I didn’t know! I will call it off, I swear it!” His tone was pleading but Vincent was unmoved.

“I’ve seen your doings, Ramiro. I’ve seen the destruction and pain you’ve caused in the last one hundred years! Harvesting children? You have a blackened soul that I will take pride in snuffing out.” With no more words, Vincent walked up to the cowering man at his feet and held out his hand for Darcy. Knowing what he was asking for, Darcy placed a wooden stake in his hands that he had in his cloak. Ramiro tried to beg once more but he was cut short when the stake pierced his heart. When his body began to deteriorate, Vincent stepped back and brushed off his hands.

“I almost forgot they used to call you the executioner,” Darcy muttered from off to the side.

Vincent spared him a look. “Used to? The only reason I’ve lost that title was because I was rotting away in a prison underground. Now let’s get back to your place. We’re done here.” Just as they began to walk to the door, a phone rang. More importantly, it was coming from the pile of ashes that was once Ramiro. Reaching down, Vincent took the phone out of the shirt pocket and pressed answer. “Yes?” he answered in a gruff voice.

“Yeah, boss. We got her, she’s dead.”

The phone slipped from his grip as he tried to grasp what the man on the phone just said. ‘No, no, no, no,’ his mind chanted. He would’ve felt the bond sever if Wendy had died. He desperately pushed and pulled at her mind, hoping she would open up.  If they indeed killed her… Rage built up inside him like no other. He even noticed Darcy take cautious steps back.

‘What?’ he heard her sweet voice answer back.

He let a huge breath escape him, but then began to get worried when he felt her sadness. ‘What happened?’ he questioned, praying she wasn’t hurt.

‘T-They… killed Dominica! It’s all my fault! I went to the bathroom and these two men were there waiting! She must have heard me scream because she came in and killed them with this knife. We both thought they were dead! We were walking away when one of them got up and shot her! Oh, Vincent! It was so awful!’ she broke off crying through their link.

Relief washed over him to know she was alive. The bastard on the phone was clearly lying to his supposed ‘boss’ so he wouldn’t get in trouble.

‘Where are you now, Love?’ he asked her quickly. He placed the phone back up to his ear. “Good. Come back here.” He hung up the phone. He would kill whoever comes through that door.

‘I’m at the police station. My parents wanted to come but I told them to stay since Markus would be out anytime now. It’s all my fault! I shouldn’t have left her in the first place!’

Vincent could feel the guilt pouring into her and made quick haste as he sent a soothing cam over her. ‘Shh, it’s okay, Love. It’s not your fault. This is what she was hired to do, to protect you and she did. You can’t blame yourself for that.’

‘But she d-died!’

Vincent could tell she was having a hard time with this and tried to console her. It was different for him viewing this from her point of view. To him, death was death, nothing more, unless it was of a loved one. Not some stranger. It was refreshing for him to able to feel this kind of innocence.

He sighed and paced the marble floors near the ash. ‘I know. Just please be safe. I’m sorry you had to witness that, but I’m not sorry because she died. She did so with honor, and I will forever be grateful she protected you. We will talk more later. There are a couple of things I need to take care of. I love you.’ He didn’t wait for her to reply, knowing she was going to ask questions. Instead he focused on thinking of ways to hurt the one who dared to kill Wendy.

Chapter 11

Wendy

She sat there on the uncomfortable plastic chair after she was questioned, and picked at her already dwindling fingernails. Her hand went to the necklace for comfort and then began to fiddle with it. With a resigned sigh, she sat back and started to count the tiles on the ceiling. Suddenly though, she felt indescribable rage shoot through her. Gasping, she sat up and had to clutch the seat on the sides so she wouldn’t do anything rash. Like grabbing the passing by police officer who conveniently and stupidly had his gun unlatched.

Her fingers ached with how much she was gripping the hard plastic, but all her eyes could see was the gun. She was just so angry! Desperately, she grabbed her necklace. “Calm down,” she whispered over and over again. After a few moments, with her chest heaving and sweat beading across her forehead, she felt herself calm down. Now that the anger and rage had left, confusion replaced it just as quickly.

“Are you okay, miss?” that same police officer asked, looking concerned.

A startled but relieved laugh escaped her lips as she nodded jerkily, making her glasses flop. “I-I’m fine, thank you.” He nodded and started to walk away. “Oh and sir?” He stopped and turned toward her but was still a few feet away. “Your clip is undone.” His eyes shot downward and she thought she heard him curse as he quickly redid the clip. “Thanks,” he whispered and hurried along, obviously embarrassed with the slip up.

Feeling rather exhausted from the flips her emotions just went through, she sat back once more, stroking the ruby necklace.

“Firefly? How did you figure that out?”

Startled out of her peaceful moment, she all but jumped out of her skin. She was still getting used to the whole communication through the mind thing. She scowled at the wall. ‘Do what?’ She was not happy she had to be interrupted from her brief moment of peace.

‘We’ll talk about it later, when I see you in a couple of hours.’ He left her mind, making her even more grumpy. Now she was beyond curious, and having no idea really how to contact him, she decided to wait. As her eyes strayed to the clock, her eyes bugged out a little.

“Stupid,” she chided herself and quickly got out her phone. She had to turn it off for the interview with the police. She turned it on and saw there were five missed calls from her mom and three from her dad. Groaning, she told the secretary she’s stepping outside to make a quick call. She would be free to leave if a trusted adult were to come pick her up. In which case would’ve happened by now if she remembered to turn on her phone!

“Hey…” she greeted her mother’s voice awkwardly, knowing she was in trouble for not checking in and whatnot.

“Don’t you ‘hey’ me, young lady! We thought you were still in with the police! I’m sending your father now to come and pick you up. Markus is still sleeping but the surgery went very well. How did everything go?”

Wendy could hear the worry in her mother’s voice and it made her feel that much more cared for, but also brought on the sting of having to leave them sooner than later. That thought brought that aching feeling back as her neck throbbed in time with her pulse. She groaned out loud once more, making her mother question what was wrong.

“Nothing… I just have a neck ache is all.”

She heard the click of her mother’s tongue and could only imagine her shaking her head. “Well, when you get back here I’ll give you a neck rub, okay, sweetie?”

Normally Wendy would be grinning at that offer since she rarely gets a massage from her mom anymore. Debbie used to be a massage therapist until she lost interest, but now the thought of her or anyone else for that matter, touching her neck sent repulsive shivers down her spine. It was strange but she could only chalk it up to Vincent. Obviously the bite was having more side effects then she anticipated.

“Um, no thanks. I’ll just suck it up.” A smirk threatened to bloom across her face at the play-on words. Shaking her head at herself, she turned back into the conversation.

“Are you sure you’re alright? You never turn down that offer, and you usually beg for one anyhow.”

A grimace flashed across Wendy’s face as she realized how out of character that was for her. Scratching the back of her neck, she let out a nervous laugh. “Yeah, I’m fine, mom. Just eager to see Markus.” She wanted to face palm. Eager? Since did she use words like ‘eager’? She heard silence for a moment before Debbi snorted.

“Okay fine, don’t tell me. You will eventually. See you in a few minutes.”

Wendy’s face went red when she realized her mother was trying not to laugh at her. With burning ears, she mumbled a quick goodbye and hung up.

“Will this day ever end?” she muttered to herself.

“Hey, kiddo! Let’s go!”

Her head snapped up to see her dad at the door. The secretary smiled at her and said a polite farewell. Scurrying to her dad, she followed out into the cool air. It was almost cold enough to see your breath, but not quite. She stuffed her hands in her pockets and had to double her steps if she were to keep up with her father’s long legs. “If everything continues to go well, then Markus should be out of the hospital in a little over a week,” her dad said as they got into the car. Nodding, she buckled herself in. The relationship she had with her dad was a strange one.

They never really had to talk to each other to know what the other was thinking. Thankfully, with everything dealing with Markus, he was less tuned into her to question her strange behavior. Her mother always thought they needed more bonding time, since it would seem that she really didn’t have a relationship with Jim. On the contrary, Wendy was more close to her dad, than to her mother. Debbie could talk for hours no matter the circumstance, which was where they differed the most. Markus took after her in that sense. He could talk all night long, while Wendy and Jim could sit next to each other in a room and not utter a word for hours. They both enjoyed peace, which was rarely earned in their household, with a chatty Cathy in the midst.

It took another few minutes but they were back at the hospital. Her stomach growled, making a new blush brush across her cheeks. Her dad chuckled and handed her a ten. “Let’s go get something to eat.”

Wendy cocked her head to the side slightly. “I can go on my own, dad.”

Jim grimaced in response. “I’d rather you didn’t. With what happened not long ago. It’d make me feel better if I went with you.”

Sighing and knowing he wouldn’t take no for an answer, she unbuckled herself and stepped out of the car. When she shut her door, it echoed around the parking garage.

Muted thuds could be heard when they were walking on the concrete of the level they parked on. Jim held open the hospital door as Wendy gave him a thankful smile. From being at this building so often they knew there where the café was and made quick haste to soothe Wendy’s ever growling louder stomach. Getting irritated with her frizzy blonde hair, she took the hair tie around her wrist and threw it up in a quick but efficient bun. Jim gave her an amused look before looking ahead.

“You should have that looked at, you know. It might get infected.”

Wendy knew right away he was talking about the bite marks on her neck.

“Oh, I’m sure it’s fine. See? Doesn’t h-hurt…” She made a show of grazing it but had to stutter when her lower stomach clenched. ‘Oh God, that was embarrassing! In front of Dad?!’ she thought with her face going red. Jim looked doubtful at her, no doubt thinking she slipped up from it hurting.

“If it looks like it’s getting worse, we’re having you checked out, okay?”

She nodded in her approval, but was silently panicking. It wouldn’t go away for a while since she could already feel the achy feeling for his bite again. There’d be fresh marks by tomorrow morning!

Wendy went for a grilled chicken sandwich and a side of fruit salad while her dad ordered a heart attack on a bun. Which was pretty ironic since they were in a hospital. She eyed the food distastefully on his tray, making him defend himself. “What? You know your mother is on a health kick. Might as well eat this since she’s preoccupied.”

Wendy poked the slimy looking burger with a fork. “I think it’s having a grease, baby,” she said with a mock shudder. Her dad rolled his eyes but dug in anyhow as they sat near a window.

“How are you holding up?” he asked after they were half way done with their meals.

She was poking at her fruit to stall, eyeing a nice looking raspberry. The memories of what happened earlier refused to leave her. Even when she was distracted, the images would still be there, just at the back drop. She shrugged as a response, refusing to meet his eyes. “It keeps replaying. Over and over again.”

Her dad didn’t say anything more, knowing that was all Wendy was willing to let out. They were both intuitive like that. Gazing back out the window, Wendy could still hear that horrible sound of bullet hitting flesh. The cry of agony, and the sick sound of blood dripping on the floor. The smells were all too vivid as well.

The coppery stench that had caused her to heave, and the smell mixed with cleaning supplies from the sterilized bathroom, proved to be a horrible combination. One thing though, was the site she knew she would never be able to forget. Not unless she was suddenly blessed with amnesia. The look in Dominica’s eyes just before she hit the floor will forever haunt Wendy’s dreams. Shock, fear, and hopelessness shone through her eyes before her body met the floor with a sickening thud. Blood poured out of her chest as her last breaths came out in rugged gasps. The shooter finally died from the blood loss, but not before taking Dominica’s life.

Shaking her head, Wendy came back to the present just in time for her dad to finish. Not feeling hungry anymore, she discarded her food and walked silently back with her dad in tow. Wendy could tell her dad wanted to say something, but held back. He was respectful in that sense and left her to her own thoughts. When they got up to her brother’s room, her eyes had strictly avoided the caution tape surrounding the bathroom down the hall and the police.

“Hey…” Markus’ weak voice reached her ears when she stepped in the room. The beeping from the heart monitor was louder than his voice. She noticed his eyes were barely opened and he looked exhausted and in slight pain. The medication looked like it was working by the daze in his gaze.

“Hey there, yourself,” she uttered softly. Even with all the craziness surrounding her, leaving her often feeling like the world was going to swallow her whole, she would always be there for her brother. “How are you feeling?” she asked when she stepped up next to him.

He gave her a lazy grin. “Like I’ve been kicked in the chest by a horse.” His answer made her chuckle softly. She was glad he was okay, and now all he needed to do was rest so he can finally come home.

Wendy noted it wouldn’t be long before Vincent came for her. She has just enough time to head home if she left within the next few minutes. “Hey, mom? I think I want to head home now.”

Debbie shook her head. “Honey, we only have one car…” Seeing the exhaustion in Wendy’s eyes, she sighed. “Okay, I’m staying here though. Jim? Can you take her home?”

Wendy felt bad that she was taking him away from Markus, but all she wanted right now was her own bed… and she reluctantly admitted to herself that she wanted Vincent as well.

“Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow, son, okay? Get well.” Jim patted Markus on the shoulder and kissed his wife’s cheek before walking out. Wendy hurriedly kissed her mother’s cheek as well and gave Markus a careful hug.

“See you later,” she promised and ran to catch up with her dad. She grumbled to herself for how he just took off, but he just chuckled and bumped hips with her. The drive back was silent, save for the music being played softly through the car speakers. Biting her inner cheek, she contemplated on how much has happened in such a short amount of time. She winced when her body seemed to ache even more. It was like she was going through withdrawals, and it hurt pretty bad.

“You okay?” her dad asked, although Wendy wasn’t paying attention.

Her eyes saw the last remains of the sun dip low behind the evergreen-covered hills. Like her body knew he was coming for her, it started to now throb with that feverish feeling, causing her to grimace more.

“Wendy?” her dad tried again, making her snap out of her thoughts.

“Y-Yes, I’m fine. Just tired, and not looking forward to school tomorrow.” It was a half lie, she really wasn’t looking forward to it, but more importantly she felt like getting out of the car and running to Vincent to make the ache go away. Hardly a subject to talk about with her father.

“Well, we’re here. I’m going to call your mother and see how Mark is doing,” her father announced once they parked.

She nodded absentmindedly and hurried into the house with the key she had to unlock it. Somehow she knew, she knew he was waiting for her. Taking the steps two at a time up to her room. Fumbling with the door knob from shaky hands, she flung it open. Disappointment met her with the empty state of her room. Scratching at the uncomfortable feeling of her skin, she sighed loudly and flung herself on her bed. Once again, nothing felt comfortable to her. Not even her smooth sheets or fluffy comforter.

“Is there something wrong?”

Her head snapped to the side and saw Vincent standing there with a slight smirk. It irritated her, but she bit her tongue so she wouldn’t say something foolish, causing him to leave her in this state. “Yes, you know what’s wrong,” she said with a slight frown. Fresh sweat started to bead at her forehead, causing her to groan.

He was by her side in an instant. “Tell me. I want to hear it.” His voice was smooth like honey on a hot summer’s day and made her shiver from it. It was alluring and oh so dangerous.

Part of her wanted to tell him where he can shove it while the other more desperate part made her say, “I need you. I need you to bite me… please.”

His eyes softened before kneeling over her. “You must keep quiet this time, Firefly. I do not want to alert your father. After I’m done we need to talk about what happened today.”

After he was done with his words he bent over to give her what she asked for.

Chapter 12

Vincent

Letting his fangs elongate, his tongue pushed past his lips to taste the pulse beating erratically on the slender slope of her neck. He felt his Firefly shiver before finally letting his teeth sink into the flesh. Both groaned lowly for different reasons. Vincent knew she groaned from the blissful feeling she was getting, but the taste of her always took him by surprise. He didn’t think it was possible but her blood tastes better every time. His large hands came around her to hold her to him.

“Vincent,” she panted and gripped his shirt, holding him there as close as possible.

It heated him up to hear such a tone coming from her lips. Her blood was sweet, but not overly so. It distantly reminded him of freesia with a hint of brown sugar. Every drop that splashed his taste buds gave him almost instantaneous energy and warmth. He knew he needed to stop since Wendy’s whimpers were increasingly becoming louder. Any more in volume and her dad would come in here to see an interesting show. Taking one last lingering draw of her addicting blood, he retracted his fangs and moved away enough to give her breathing room. They were both panting, and her eyes were closed.

“My life is so screwed up right now,” she muttered out of breath.

“How so?” he questioned. Of course he could guess but he loved hearing her voice. She peeked an eye open before snorting not so delicately. It was amusing to the older vampire but he kept that tidbit to himself. “Let’s see… I found out I get sick if I don’t have this really old vampire bite me, then I nearly get shot today, then I get yelled at by said vampire, oh and don’t forget someone got killed right in front of me, which I will never be able to get over, and then I get this blinding rage out of nowhere and almost grabbed a cop’s gun because of it…. and that’s just today.”

Putting it into that perspective, Vincent could see why she was so exhausted. He wished he could make this all easier for her, but it’s what happens when humans get involved with vampires. It’s why it almost never works, with it being so dangerous.

He would protect her with everything he had though. Even if it killed him, he would make sure she was safe. Which was why he wanted to turn her so quickly. Once she became like him, he wouldn’t have to worry quite so much. She’ll be more durable for his world. “It’ll get better… I promise.”

She sighed in response and slowly sat up so they could talk. “I’m guessing the rage I felt earlier was due to this bond?”

He nodded slowly and stood up, needing some sort of breathing room if he was going to think clearly. It was a hard feat with her large eyes staring back at him so closely.

“Yes. I was taking care of the men you didn’t see who were hired to kill you. These two men were the getaway route-”

He was cut off by Wendy. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! What do you mean ‘take care of’? Did you… did you kill them?” she asked hesitantly. He knew it might put her off even more but he vowed to tell her the truth unless it endangered her life.

“I was going to… I was so angry….

*****

“Looks like our guests have arrived,” Vincent muttered, hearing the faint sound of feet walking downward toward them. He cracked his knuckles and sent a malicious smirk to Darcy who looked just as ready. He used his hearing to listen to their conversation.

“Play it cool. He’ll never know if she’s alive or dead. We’ll get our pay and go,” one whispered in a pathetic attempt to not be heard. Vincent nodded toward his friend and they both waited. “What the hell? Looks like he killed another two guards.”

They didn’t say anything more before a knock sounded at the door.

When it opened, the two men stepped inside but froze when they saw Vincent standing there. “We’re looking for Ramiro,” the taller one with blonde hair said.

Vincent cocked his head silently. He turned to the side and gestured to the pile of ash. “As you can see he’s indisposed right now. Have a seat, this won’t take too long.”

The underlining threat was clearly heard as the two started to back up, but they bumped into Darcy who just smirked at the two. “Leaving so soon?” He chuckled darkly and took a step toward them.

The two men fumbled as they walked back inside where Vincent still stood standing. “W-What is it that you want?” the blonde asked. Clearly he was the ‘leader’ amongst the two, a poor excuse of one, but one nonetheless.

“Well, it just so happens the target you were sent to kill was My Beloved, so now you’re going to die. Much like that pathetic waste of space on the floor there.”

The two began to try and explain themselves, but the longer they were in Vincent’s presence, the angrier he became. “Please! We didn’t know! We didn’t even kill her! She’s still alive, we swear! W-We promise not to go after her, just please let us go!” His voice was grating on Vincent’s nerves, making his fangs flash downward for them to see. The smell of their blood was repulsive. The cowering mice cringed back when they saw his sneer at them.

Vincent listened in on their thoughts for a moment. ‘Shit, we’re going to die over some stupid blonde! I knew I should’ve done the job, at least that way I could’ve taken the bitch down with me!’ Vincent roared with anger and lunged. The men screamed as he picked up the blonde and tossed him across the room like he weighed nothing at all. Next, he picked up the red head and flung him upward to the ceiling and let him fall back onto the hard, unforgiving floor. His anger surged through him at lightning speeds as he flitted to the blonde and lifted him up by the scruff of his shirt.

“Sorry doesn’t cut it for a disgrace like you!” he roared before punching his face, making him drop to the floor. Both men groaned and coughed up whatever air they were trying to get.

Darcy came up to the red head and picked him up easily. His fangs protruded from his lower lip as he smirked up at him. “I’m suddenly very thirsty.”

The red head screamed in terror, “No! No, please, n-AH!” He cut himself off by screaming loudly when Darcy bit into his neck.

Darcy purposefully bit into the artery so the guy would bleed out. With Darcy taking his fill, the red head eventually stopped screaming with only a gurgle before he died. Throwing the body down, he grinned maliciously at Vincent. “That was fun,” he said simply and gave Vincent more room to deal with the blonde. Said victim was staring wide eyed and completely terrified. His eyes switched to Vincent.

“P-Please!” he begged, but Vincent saw his mind. How many people he’s killed and tormented over the years, and how he enjoyed every one of their screams.

“How does it feel to beg like all your other victims?” Vincent asked, bending down to the scum’s level. He cowered back against the wall with blood trickling down his lower lip. Vincent could see his reflection in the man’s eyes and saw how his eyes were completely black and his fangs were long with the anger he felt. Just when it felt like he couldn’t get any angrier, he heard a soft, sweet voice. ‘Calm down, calm down, calm down.’ Instantly, it was like someone poured cool water over him to calm him down. He knew it was the necklace as he backed away. ‘Why? Why did she have to figure it out now?’ he thought with an aggravated sigh and looked toward Darcy. “The necklace… she’s figured it out. You take care of him. I’ll watch.”

Darcy chuckled at that, knowing Vincent wanted this idiot for himself. He cracked his neck and walked up to them both.

The blonde’s gaze was now on Darcy. “Please! I promise I won’t kill ever again!” He was shaking looking into the merciless eyes of the pale vampire.

Darcy crouched next to him and grabbed him by the neck. “No, you won’t because you’re not going to walk out of here alive.” The cowering man tried in vain to get away from him but it was no use.

“Oh and Darcy?” Vincent interrupted just before he bit into the neck.

Darcy quirked an eyebrow. “Yes?” he answered with a smirk.

“Make it hurt,” was his only words before Darcy nodded and bit into the man’s neck. The guy screamed out in pain and agony, getting a taste of all the pain he’s inflicted on past victims. Darcy pulled back with blood dripping down his mouth and down his neck. The man bled out and his last sight was two smirking vampires before he finally died.

*****

“I don’t know what you want me to say…” Wendy said after a moment of silence.

Vincent stood up and paced the length of her room. “I don’t want you to fear me, but know this…” He trailed off and suddenly got close to her face, taking her breath away. “I will get rid of anyone who stands to harm you in any way.” His breath fanned over her face, making loose tendrils sway.

“You can’t just kill anyone who doesn’t like me, Vincent,” she whispered, half in fear, half still reeling from the bite and wanted to be closer.

“You don’t understand, Firefly. Anyone who doesn’t ‘like’ you in my world, won’t hesitate to try and rid you. Vampires are notoriously emotional. It’s who we are, so we don’t just get angry, we get enraged, we don’t get ‘sad,’ we get depressed, and we love harder than you will ever know.” His last few words were spoken in just above a whisper. He leaned in and captured her lips with his own. She sucked in a startled breath but clung to him as if he was the only thing keeping her grounded. To Vincent, her lips were like the richest and sweetest of wines that he could never resist.

Pushing her body down so she lay beneath him, they were both trying to breathe. When he pulled away only slightly, he heard her whimper in protest, making him growl in approval before swooping back down to kiss her once more. Her small hands wrapped around his neck as his arms ensnared her to him, ensuring she wasn’t going anywhere.

The moment was broken however when the turning of a doorknob could be heard. Quick as lightning, he flitted to her closet, leaving her feeling dazed and confused.

“Wendy? Did you want to come down…why are your glasses fogged up?” her dad asked once he stepped in the room.

A lovely blush bloomed across Wendy’s cheek as Vincent looked between the shutters of her closet. “I-I, uh, was reading under the covers again,” she answered and Vincent could hear the ring of the lie in her voice and prayed her father couldn’t.

Her dad chuckled and shook his head. “Honey, how many times do your mother and I have to tell you, it’s not good for you to read like that. Did you want to come down for dinner?” he asked his original question.

Wendy hastily shook her head and quickly took off her glasses so she could wipe them. “N-No, thank you, dad. I’m not hungry. Goodnight!” She dismissed him, making him frown but nod to himself.

“Okay, you’re going to have to walk to school, since I’m going back up to the hospital early in the morning. Goodnight, kiddo.” Her father shut the door and Wendy quickly looked around the room.

“Vincent? Vincent!” she hissed in the semi darkness. His dark chuckle reached her ears, making her spine straighten. Walking casually out of the closet, he stalked closer to her. Her hands reached out behind her to support herself on the bed when he bent over.

“Are you afraid of me now, Firefly?” he asked her in a quiet voice. He desperately wanted to read her thoughts but held back to give her some form of privacy.

With a loud sigh, she shook her head. “I know I should be. My brain is telling me I’m an idiot, but no, I’m not afraid of you in that way anymore. I blame the stupid bond…” she muttered at the end.

Vincent laughed but stopped when her words fully registered. “In what way then do you fear me?” he asked and cocked his head to the side when another blush heated her face. She was silent though, obviously hoping she wouldn’t have to answer. Deciding to have some fun, Vincent bent his head lowly to her neck and began to pepper small kisses. He could hear her heart beat erratically and it made him smirk against her skin. “Tell me,” he purred and nipped at her.

She stuttered as she shook her head. “N-No.”

Vincent realized he quite liked this game as he pushed her down so he could straddle her. Her eyes were wide as her chest heaved as if she had been running for miles.

Looking down at her, he caged her in with his arms on either side of her head. “Please, Firefly?” he asked against her lips, only having them brush. His eyes were boring into hers. Ice against the ocean as their gazes held and waited.

“I-I’m afraid that you’ll just throw me away when you’re done with me.” Her small voice pierced the atmosphere, breaking whatever spell captured them.

He looked down at her in shock before pulling away, only enough to help them both think. “I will never be done with you, Wendy. Not ever. You are mine as much as I am yours, never forget that or belittle that! I can’t grow tired of you as I can’t grow tired of breathing! You will see and feel what I mean when you’re finally changed.” That last statement brought a fire to her eyes as she pushed him away. Of course she wasn’t physically able to do that, but he got what she was trying to do and moved to stand.

“That’s the thing though! I don’t want to change! I barely know you! I-”

He cut her off by bringing her up to stand chest to chest. “Then get to know me!” he more demanded than asked, startling her into silence.

“What?” she asked hesitantly.

His gaze softened. “Then get to know me. Ask any questions and I will answer them.” He could see her indecision before she finally nodded.

“Okay. This is going to be a long night,” she uttered at the end with a sigh.

Chapter 13

Wendy

Her heart beat like drums with the possibilities that this night could bring. Licking her suddenly dry lips, she sat up straighter on her bed as she looked imploringly at Vincent. “What has the necklace got to do with anything? You never really answered.” She would start with that one, she decided.

Vincent nodded and then sat beside her, taking her hand in his. “It’s a long story, but that necklace controls me in a sense. It controls my heart, because in essence it is my heart.”

Wendy gasped as she picked up the ruby locket and looked at it closer, with it now seeming to weigh more. “H-How?” she asked, still looking at the finely detailed necklace. Vincent sighed and looked to the window. “A witch by the name of Serafine charmed the necklace in hopes that it would force me to love her. This was hundreds of years ago. We met as I was hunting for another feed and I happened to fall upon her. Compulsion doesn’t work on witches, as I quickly found out. The night was dark and cold and I found it odd that a young damsel was out on her own. Not caring since all I wanted was to quench my thirst, I then bit her.” He looked down at Wendy with a faraway look in his eyes.

“She didn’t scream, didn’t move… just stood there and waited for me to finish. It was startling but when I tried to make her forget, it wouldn’t work. She simply started to walk away while I was panicking. I had never crossed a witch before therefore I’ve never had that happen. Deciding it would be probably best to kill her, I was about to when she turned around. ‘Follow me, Vampire…’ Her voice…” Vincent trailed off before shaking his head. Wendy wouldn’t admit it but she was starting to feel the telltale signs of jealousy. “Something about her urged me to follow her, and so I did. No words were spoken during the short journey into the woods. Little did I know I was following a snake.”

Wendy took shameless pleasure knowing he didn’t like the girl from the tone he was using.

“We got to her place and I followed her inside like a lost puppy. Her blood was still coursing through my veins, so I was still feeling this weightless kind of aura around myself. Well after a moment, we, uh, we got intimate-”

Wendy’s face burned as she uttered a small, “Oh.”

Vincent paused and held her face in his hands. “I wish I could take it back-”

This time Wendy cut him off. “No, no, continue. What’s done is done.”

He nodded but didn’t continue until he kissed her forehead. “Afterwards, her blood had all but left my system, making me think more clearly. I wanted out of there and intended to do so quietly until she caught me near the door. She was so angry, screaming about how all of my kinds are the same and that she loved me. You can imagine my surprise at that. We didn’t even know each other and she was declaring her love for me? It was absurd! I told her, I was somehow under the influence of her blood. Otherwise I wouldn’t have bedded her. That set her off even more however. She screamed at me how she’ll get me to love her. Not wanting to stay there another second, I flitted out the door before she could say more, fully intending to stay away.”

Wendy was hanging on every word that spilled from his lips. “And then what?” she encouraged with a whisper.

He chuckled darkly and shook his head. “A few nights later I began to feel dizzy. Darcy was aiding me with the horses when I fell ill. For a vampire, that was extremely unusual and it scared us both. I felt like my heart was ripping out of my chest. He ran to get help and the moment he was gone, I got this urge to walk. Like I wasn’t in control. I heard ‘Come to me’ over and over again. For the first time since I was turned, I felt compelled. It was unnerving but there was little I could do about it. I flitted to where the voice was guiding me and to my shock I was at the young witch’s house.”

Wendy could tell he was reliving all of this so for support, she squeezed his hand.

“I’ll never forget when I walked in. Her hair glowed like fire, and her eyes were this bright green that literally glowed! She looked amazingly terrifying. In her hands was that very necklace around her neck. She clasped it around her neck and at once the pain and the feeling of being sick stopped. The second it stopped, I demanded her to tell me what was going on but she merely cackled. She told me, I was hers and now she owned my heart when she gestured to the necklace. I felt so enraged and tried to kill her but she grasped it, making me stop short. My mind went blank after that. I only got small bits of what happened that night. Most of which sickened me to think of. I was her puppet for the next five years.”

Wendy gasped and without her wanting to, she started to tear up at the thought of someone being imprisoned for so long in their own mind.

“What about Darcy? Couldn’t he help?” she asked, trying to somehow rewrite the ending, even if it already happened.

Vincent chuckled humorlessly. “Of course he tried. But he was newly turned and no match for a witch like her. Every time he came at her, she hit him with some detour spell. I never could figure out why she didn’t kill him Hell, maybe she was sweet on him, too, if that woman could have ever been sweet. I eventually got away from her though. One night after using me to kill a woman in town who denied her friendship, she was in a particularly good mood and decided to bathe. She fell asleep in the tub and I took that opportunity to quickly take the necklace off. Of course, she woke up but I still got it off and ran.” Vincent looked down at Wendy with a small smile.

“I learned beforehand though that only three people were ever able to wear it. Her, myself and My Beloved… you. It works differently when you wear it though. You see, when she wore it, it controlled my actions. But when you wear it, you can influence my feelings, but ultimately I decide what is best.”

Wendy cocked her head to the side as she tried to process all the new information. “Why does it work like that?” she asked as she played with the fringe of her overly used blanket. She was feeling more and more tired but refused to go to sleep.

“Well, because the necklace was made for you. Serafine knew this, but intercepted the spell and created a new one. A hybrid one, if you will. It’s why she was able to wear it, and even why I could wear it without it burning me.”

Wendy shook her head and looked at her lap. With her glasses threatening to slip off her nose, she pushed them back up. ‘I need to get contacts,’ she thought with a small frown.

Vincent’s finger came under her chin to lift up her face to his. “Such a terrible frown to be gracing such a beautiful face.” His comment made her blush ten times over and her heart fluttered.

She snorted to hide her blush. “That was cheesy,” she joked but had to really laugh at his bewildered face.

“Cheesy? How can words be any substance of cheese?” he asked innocently, and that just made Wendy laugh louder. She had to grab her pillow so her dad wouldn’t hear and laughed into it, and his face just made it all worse. He waited patiently though, silently enjoying her laugh.

When Wendy had finally got over her giggling fit, she sighed and wiped away a stray tear, still smiling. “Cheesy is a term now. It means… kind of a rendition of clichéd,” she said with a shrug.

“Well, even if it is ‘cheesy,’ as you called it, it was nevertheless true. Any more questions?” he said with a lazy smile.

Wendy thought about it for a moment and again, shrugged. “Tell me about yourself. Anything and everything. Your favorite color, what you like to do, that kind of thing.” She spoke just above a whisper, like she was suddenly self-conscious again. He nodded and surprised her when he suddenly had his back to the headboard of her bed and she was leaning back against him. “If you keep doing things like that, then I’m going to throw up all over you,” she warned him once the room stopped spinning. He simply chuckled and Wendy shivered when she could feel the vibration of his chest rumble into her back.

“Let’s see. I was born on January 16th, 1437, roughly 576 years ago. You have it so much easier than then… and it’s so much cleaner now as well. I was born into a wealthy family. My parents were a Lord and Lady of that time. I won’t go into specifics, but there were many bugs and people hardly bathed. A rich family would bathe maybe twice a year while the peasants would bathe twice in their lifetime!”

Wendy’s face screwed up at the thought. ‘Gross,’ she thought with a small snicker. Vincent lightly tapped her thigh to get her to listen again.

“My favorite color was gold, but I have to say it is now a sea blue, much like your eyes.” Wendy flushed and had to settle her heart from the indirect compliment. “I had a dog growing up named Archer, and he was a basset hound. I miss the old mutt. One time, he got into the chicken coop and killed two of them by simply barking loudly! My mother was so angry while my father was too busy laughing. I had twelve brothers and sisters. Six of them died before they were a year, which was quite common back then.” He paused to kiss Wendy at the top of her head. “I was twenty-three when I died, and came back as this.”

Wendy interrupted him. “How and who turned you?” she asked, feeling her curiosity peak.

He was quiet for a moment and Wendy wondered if she overstepped her bounds until he spoke. “I was walking along the path back to my home from the market. The sun had just set so I hurried along, knowing there were bandits and thieves in the area. I was a skilled swordsman, but knew they tended to come in packs, so I would be unmatched. I heard some rustling in the bush, making me start to run. I was foolish to think I could ever outrun him.”

Wendy’s heart picked up as the story began to unfold, only knowing too well how scared he must have been.

“Suddenly he was there, right in front of me. I quickly pulled out my sword to defend myself, but he just laughed. I was confused to see it was only him when I expected a band of thieves! When he grinned, I then thought I was dealing with a demon when his fangs flashed. I remember thinking, ‘This is it, I’m going to die.’ It was terrifying yet strangely exhilarating at the same time. I wouldn’t go down without a fight however and began to swipe at him, all of which he easily deflected. I was growing tired as it looked he was growing bored. He yawned at my attempts but I used that distraction and cut his arm. It was a shallow cut, but I nicked him. He was impressed and I’ll never forget what he said. ‘Maybe you’re more than a meal after all.’ It was then he lunged and turned me. I later learned from him that it was fighting skills that impressed him. He saw potential in me, which was the reason he turned me.”

Wendy was stunned and slowly turned around to face him, only then realizing just how close they were.

“Just like that?” she whispered and had to fight the urge to look down at his lips.

He gazed at her mouth though without trepidation and leaned in. “Just like that,” he answered and pressed his lips more firmly against hers. Would she ever get used to this? The fire that curled through her veins at break-neck speeds was alarming but so exhilarating. When he kissed her, she forgot all that was the cons to this twisted relationship, whatever you wanted to call it. All she could think about was how to get closer. She let out a startled squeak against his lips when he abruptly turned them over so he was above her. They broke apart with slightly labored breathing.

“Tell me about you. I want to know everything, Firefly.”

She would never tell him but she secretly liked his nickname for her. At least, a lot better than ‘Little One.’ She was dumbfounded by the serious look in his eyes though. No one had really asked about her, so it was a little unnerving. It was hard for her to concentrate with him pressing against her so intimately, yet so casually. “Uh… my favorite color is royal purple,” she blurted and wanted to face palm at how random it was. She closed her eyes tightly, reprimanding herself. It seems compared to Vincent, she was always clumsy, even in her words.

His silky chuckle met her ears as she peeked an eye open. He was smiling down at her. “Go on,” he urged as she slipped out a nervous laugh.

“Uh, my favorite animal is a horse, and I lived in this town and house since I was born. My birthday is December twelfth, I’m seventeen years old. Uh… I only have an older brother, whom I am close to.” With that last statement, it brought back the reality that she’d have to leave her family behind. Sighing, she looked to the side and closed her eyes so tears wouldn’t escape. Vincent captured a stray one that managed.

“I wish there was a way for you to stay safe and still be in contact with them, Firefly,” he murmured. Wendy could detect the slight note of regret in his voice, making her turn back to face him. “I hate that I am the cause of your sadness.” His voice was quiet and anguished, causing her to place her hand on his cheek.

“It’s going to be a while for me to get over any of this, but if I had to leave with anyone, then I’m glad it’s you.” Her words touched him as he placed a soft gentle kiss on her forehead.

“Go to sleep, Love. We have the rest of our lives to get to know more of the little things.” His voice lulled her to sleep even though she knew she would need to be up in a few short hours for school.

“Where are you going to go in the morning?” she asked through a yawn.

She was barely awake when he answered, “Never worry for me, Love. Go to sleep.”

She shut her eyes and let sleep claim her, knowing she was safe, even if it was in a vampire’s arms.

*****

“Wendy, wake up- What in the world? Why did you cover your windows?”

Wendy woke up with a start. The light from her ceiling fan hurt her eyes as sleep left her disoriented. “What?” she asked with a husky voice still thick from waking up. Her dad gestured to the side of her, making her look. She gasped softly to herself when she saw one of the blankets was nailed over the window, not a hint of light shining through. ‘Vincent!’ she thought with a brief scan of her room to see he wasn’t there. But she could feel him, he was close.

“I-I, uh… the light hurt my eyes. I had a headache yesterday.”

Her dad gave her a dubious look. “It was dark when we came home,” he stated as he crossed his arms.

“Uh… the moon was bright?” She thought she heard a snort but quickly dismissed it, only focusing on her father.

“Right… the moon was bright, when it was overcast. Okay, don’t tell me the truth. Get ready for school, I need to go.”

Wendy gave him a wide smile, too big of a smile that had him suspicious again, but he dismissed it and left. When her doors closed, she let out a big breath, then Vincent came out of the closet laughing. She threw a pillow at him in response. “Shut it! I’m not good at thinking when I first wake up. Plus I’m still extremely tired from lack of sleep.” She then gestured to the large, covered window. “Care to explain how you did that without waking me up?” Wendy asked but quickly got out of her bed and ran to the bathroom, leaving Vincent feeling confused.

“Firefly? Are you alright?” he asked through the door just outside her room.

“I-I needed to brush my teeth. Bad morning breath,” was her mumbled response, making Vincent want to laugh, but he held it in.

“To answer your question, and to put it lightly, you sleep like the dead.” Hearing her snort through the door, he chuckled and waited patiently for her.

“I need a shower so you better stay away!” she warned him as she started the water and took off her pajamas and glasses. Wendy took the quickest shower in her life seeing as there was a vampire waiting for her just outside the door. She growled at herself when she forgot her clothes and quickly wrapped herself up in a towel. “No peeking!” she said with clear warning. She didn’t hear a response when she opened the door. He was nowhere to be found. She all but sprinted to her room and saw he was lying on her bed with his eyes closed.

“I would leave you in peace but this is the only room that has no natural light.”

She could hear the smile in his voice, making her huff. “Fine, then I’ll leave. No good perverted vampire,” she muttered grumpily under her breath. She made him laugh as she slammed the bathroom door closed once she got her clothes.

She chose a white long-sleeved top that had a blue floral pattern on it and fit snugly, but not overly so. She matched it with a pair of dark-wash jeans. After throwing her hair up in a half-hazard bun, since her hair was still wet, she deemed herself ready for school. She was beyond irritated thanks to the lack of sleep.

“I’ll be waiting here for you when you get back. Please call out to me if anything happens. Darcy is working on getting someone in the school for you.” Vincent quickly kissed her goodbye as she walked her way to school.

Her messenger bag lightly tapped her thigh with each step she took. The cold morning air made her wish she had dried her hair better, but no matter. She was at the school within ten minutes. Jamie was there to greet her by the front doors.

“Hey, long time no see! How’s Mark?” Jamie asked, tucking a stray fiery curl behind her ear.

Wendy grunted in response. “Good,” was her only answer. She hated to be a grouch but sleep was her vice. She loved it and when she didn’t get enough, she turned into a Moody Mary.

“Wow, someone didn’t get enough sleep,” Jamie muttered and knew to stay cautious around Wendy today. It wasn’t often Wendy was like this, but when she was, Jamie knew to look out. Denise, the school ‘it’ girl, popped up in front of them, and Jamie sent a silent prayer that Wendy didn’t kill the girl.

“So like, we were wondering, like, why you never really like, talk to anyone else? Are you stupid?” she asked with a cackling sneer.

Wendy growled to herself and pushed past Denise and her ‘friends.’ When she reached the door to open it. she turned back. “Because I fucking hate you all.”

Jamie busted up laughing, only rarely heard the ‘pure’ Wendy curse. Leaving all of them behind, Wendy walked to her first period and hoped she didn’t fall asleep.

Chapter 14

Wendy

“It’s not that funny! I can’t believe I said the F word,” Wendy muttered at the end, causing Jamie to go into another round of laughter. They were both sitting by themselves in the lunch room, poking at the questionable lunch meat.

Jamie hit the table with her hand picturing the entire scene over again. “Man, I love it when you don’t get enough sleep! We should pull an all-nighter tonight so you can punch Denise in the face tomorrow!” Jamie’s ideas were always rash and not well thought out, but that’s what made her so entertaining. Wendy grumbled to herself and set her head on the table.

“Stupid Vincent, making me stay up half the night,” she said into the table, half asleep. She heard a loud screech, causing her to look up and see Jamie had the biggest grin on her face. Wendy realized she had said that a little too loud.

“You were with a guy all night?!” Jamie shouted but calmed down when she saw people staring.

Wendy’s face turned an unsavory shade of red as she ducked down further in her seat. “I didn’t!” she denied quickly. Her eyes looked around to make sure no one really heard and her eyes connected with Denise. The girl glowered at Wendy with a nasty sneer, making her turn around in her seat quickly. Now that the fifth cup of coffee had kicked in, she had more sense.

“Yeah, okay, that’s not what I heard. C’mon, you can tell me,” Jamie said as she pouted. Wendy rolled her eyes and knew if she told her anything, it would have to be severely edited. Wendy bit her lip knowing she was going to have to lie to her best friend. Somehow that hurt worse than lying to her parents. Her fingers touched the necklace around her neck for comfort.

Jamie’s eyes looked to see it and smiled. “Whoa, cool! When did you get that?” her orange-haired friend asked, leaning closer across the table to get a better look.

Wendy quickly put it under her shirt, making Jamie frown in question. “Oh, I found it in the backyard along with everything else.”

Jamie nodded. “I can’t believe you found all that stuff in your backyard! How cool is that? Especially since we were reading a story about treasure! Are you going to answer about this ‘Vincent’ character?”

Wendy racked her brain for a plausible answer. “It’s nothing! Just reading one of my books and in it was a main character named Vincent.” There, that was believable. Wendy does read a lot of books.

Jamie cocked her head to the side. “Really? Oh! It was one of those dirty books you like to read, like ones by Nora Roberts and all that!”

Wendy was now red from the roots of her hair to the soles of her feet. Yes, she liked reading those books. They were her guilty pleasure. Only Jamie knew she read those kinds of romance novels. Playing with a stray piece of hair that fell out of her bun, she nodded shyly. She couldn’t believe she resorted to admitting to reading THOSE kinds of books, just so Jamie wouldn’t find out. Wendy gasped loudly when she remembered all of her books were in her room, where Vincent was currently at.

“What?” Jamie asked, concerned.

Wendy shook her head, feeling embarrassment flood through her. “Uh… I left a couple of them out. I’m afraid my dad is going to see them.”

Jamie snorted at that. “You have nothing to worry about! You said he’s going to be at the hospital with your brother. Oh man, can you imagine his face though if he did see any of the covers?! I’d be laughing for a week!”

Wendy had to shake her head at the thought. The covers always featured a strong man holding a poor damsel in distress. Her tongue burned with wanting to just tell her best friend everything but knew that wasn’t possible. Tears started to pool in her eyes at the thought that she can’t even really say goodbye.

“Hey, hey, what’s wrong, Wendy Bird?” Jamie asked and quickly switched to sit next to her.

Wendy laughed through her nose and sniffled at the nickname her brother made up, but it stuck since she was little. Wendy shook her head and tried to play off like she was fine. “I’m fine, just Aunt Flow is visiting soon…” Wendy again wanted to slap herself. Was today just put her foot in her mouth day or what?

Jamie hissed through her teeth and nodded in sympathy. “Yeah, I had mine just last week. Being a girl sucks sometimes, huh? Let’s head off to class. I heard we got a new teacher.”

Wendy’s ears perked up at this new information. It wasn’t often this town got anyone new. “Really? Who would want to teach History in some boring town like this?” Wendy asked with a bemused look. This was a distraction she needed and welcomed.

Jamie shrugged and threw her food away before grabbing one of the many hair bands around her wrists and throwing her hair up in her usual messy bun. Jamie always had a tomboy, laid back type of look for her, but it suited her personality, even if she was more in your face. Pulling a face at the jellied meat that was left on her plate, Wendy followed suit and both were soon taking their usual spot in the back of the History class. “I wonder if the new teacher is a guy or girl?” Jamie asked out loud, but her question was soon answered once the class settled when a slightly older male stepped into the room. Wendy had to admit even to herself, he was good looking in a rugged sort of way. Wendy immediately pictured the six-foot something, tan man with a cowboy hat on and some used up pair of jeans. His lighter brown hair was falling into his dark brown eyes and even though most girls in the class probably developed an immediate crush or infatuation, for some reason, Wendy was unfazed. Her mind kept picturing Vincent.

“Good afternoon, class. I’m your new History teacher, Mr. Roberts.” Even his voice held a southern drawl that was only just noticeable.

“Holy. Shit. I think I’m going to fail this class…” Jamie muttered from beside her.

Wendy held in a laugh. “Why?” she asked and Jamie waggled her eyebrows.

“Because I’ll be too busy staring at his ass.”

Wendy couldn’t help it as she burst out laughing, causing everyone in class to look at her. Mr. Roberts quirked an eyebrow in question. “Something funny, Miss…?”

With a red face, Wendy coughed into her hand. “Uh, Wendy, sir. Wendy Garrett.”

Recognition flashed in his eyes, making her confused. “Well, since you think my being a teacher is so funny, you can stay after and explain why.”

Her heart plummeted. She had never been in trouble before and as the class ooh’ed, she felt like she wanted to cry. Not wanting to make things worse for herself, she nodded mutely and tried not to overreact. It was hard though, since she’s always gotten along with all of her teachers since Kindergarten.

“Okay, so now he’s not so hot anymore,” Jamie muttered next to her, making Wendy smile to herself. Always the protective friend. Wendy was lucky to have her as she tried not to focus on the stares from the others in class, but it seemed Mr. Roberts heard Jamie’s talk.

“Would you like to say that a little louder? I couldn’t quite hear you…”

Now it was Jamie’s turned to blush. Wendy felt angry that this teacher was picking on the both of them for not too bad of reasons. As if sensing Wendy was about to speak up, Jamie put a hand on her shoulder and subtly shook her head.

“Yeah, I said, ‘You’re not so hot anymore.”

Some of the students in class snickered as Jamie raised an eyebrow daringly. Wendy saw his hand twitch and that made her feel a little frightened. Did he actually want to hit her friend? What kind of teacher was this?

‘Firefly? What’s wrong? I can sense your distress,’ Vincent suddenly spoke in her mind, making her jump slightly in her seat. A boy next to her gave her a crazy look before going back to his work.

‘N-Nothing. Just a new teacher giving Jamie and I a hard time. I’ll talk to you later. I need to concentrate.’ She could feel his hesitation but heard him sigh mentally.

‘Alright. Reach out to me if anything happens,’ he spoke and then left her.

“One more crack like that and you’ll be going to O’Shaque-hennasie’s office! Just because I’m new does not mean I can be messed with,” he said, pointing a finger at her.

He was more of a grouch than Oscar, Wendy thought with a slight shake of her head. Jamie zipped her lips in a sarcastic way before he finally started to teach. It was a long period before the bell finally rang. Wendy did her work diligently, hoping that would lessen any punishment she might receive. “Tell me if he tries anything on you,” Jamie stage whispered and left her with a wink, but not before giving Mr. Roberts the ‘I’m-watching-you’ sign with her hand.

“Please stand up here, Ms. Garrett,” Mr. Roberts said with an authoritative voice.

Gulping, Wendy shuffled to the front of his desk. “I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t mean to laugh, and it wasn’t even at you! I-”

He cut her off with a slight smile and shake of his head. “No, it’s fine. I was hired by Darcy West. Here…” He took out a bracelet with a heart on it. “Wear this. If you ever run into trouble, I’ll be there in seconds, okay?”

Wendy nodded dumbly as she shakily clasped it on her small dainty wrist.

“So… I’m not in trouble?” she asked hesitantly, making him chuckle.

“No. I just want to give off the impression of a hard ass. That way, when I eventually leave here, no one will care to ask.”

Wendy shuffled her feet and looked around the room. She was never good with people she hardly knew. “You really shouldn’t have taken the job…” Wendy said while biting her inner cheek.

Mr. Roberts cocked his head to the side with his eyebrows furrowed. “Why not? I was offered quite a bit, and you’re cute so that’s a plus.”

Wendy blushed furiously at being called cute. She wasn’t used to compliments and it was unexpected. It seems a lot of what this Mr. Roberts does is unexpected.

“Y-You shouldn’t say that! You’re a teacher! Well, sort of, but to everyone else you are!” she hissed under her breath, still not making eye contact.

He just laughed. “Okay, whatever, cutie. So why is it that I shouldn’t have taken this job?” he asked with genuine interest as he crossed his arms. His very large arms. Wendy looked at the clock and noted that if she didn’t leave, she’d be late for her last class. The ‘teacher’ noticed her distraction and took out a slip. “I’ll write you a late pass. Now answer.”

Wendy gulped and fiddled with her fingers. “W-Well you see, Mr. Roberts-”

He cut her off, “Please call me Asher when we’re alone.” She nodded jerkily and continued. “My last guard… she uh, she died. Protecting me. She was shot and I don’t want another person’s life taken because of me.”

Asher laughed in response as Wendy looked at him like he was crazy. “I’m sorry, but I already knew that. I get paid for a living to watch over people such as yourself. Even a couple of vampires. Yes, I know about them considering I’m a vampire hunter. Well… reformed vampire hunter.”

Wendy gaped up at him and stumbled back slightly to get her bearings. He chuckled at her response and Wendy couldn’t help but compare this side of him to the teacher part. He seemed so much more loose and care-free. “Vampire hunters are real?!” she whispered- shouted. Feeling a little sick from all this new information, she sat down at a desk.

“Yes, we’re very real. We have speed, so we can keep up with vamps. However, I don’t do that anymore. Well, unless it’s for a job like protecting someone like you, cutie.”

Wendy shook her head at the new nickname. “Can you stop calling me that?” she said when it was quiet after a moment. She didn’t feel comfortable with it and for some reason, she knew Vincent would be pissed if he knew.

“Oh, relax. I mean no harm, plus you’re a little too young for me.” That made her feel a bit better but suddenly he was in her face with a sultry smirk. “Of course… I can make an exception.”

Her eyes were wide and she was gaping like a fish with her heart pounding wildly. “W-What?”

He pulled away and started laughing. “Oh man, you should’ve seen your face!”

Wendy blushed with chagrin. With a twist of her lips as a sneer, she stood up and grabbed the late pass from his grip and was ready to storm out when he caught her arm.

“No, no, wait, I’m sorry. It wasn’t funny. Well, not that funny.”

After a moment, Wendy nodded and tugged her arm out of his grip.

“Thank you. And thank you for, you know, looking out for me,” she said awkwardly, trying to go back to a somewhat more calm atmosphere.

He nodded and flipped some hair out of his eyes. “This is actually going to be a pretty simple job. Mr. West already took care of the threat. I’m just here to make sure there are no more. Oh and your friend, Jamie, is it?” he asked at the end. Wendy nodded cautiously. “She’s pretty hot,” he said with a simple shrug.

Wendy gasped and lightly hit his arm, well to her she hit pretty hard, but she was sure he barely felt it. “She’s your student!” she reprimanded him and couldn’t believe Darcy hired him! This man could at least act professional! Not like some immature jerk! “How old are you?” she asked, suddenly wondering if maybe he’s younger than he seemed.

He gave her an amused look at the abrupt change in conversation but shrugged it off. “I’m twenty-five. Why, you like older guys?” he asked with wiggling eyebrows.

Wendy scoffed and shook her head. “I’m surprised you’re still alive if this is you acting professionally,” she muttered, but he heard and placed a hand over his heart.

“Oh, you think I’m unprofessional? Well, right now I may be, but if I see someone going after my case, aka you, I’ll kick their asses so bad! You’ll be so impressed, you’ll jump in my arms and demand I take you like the closet freak I’m sure you are.”

Again she gasped and decided she had enough. Straightening her shirt, she glared at him. Even if he towered over her, she was thoroughly pissed at him for talking to her the way he did. “You’re disgusting!” she spat and got to the door but stopped when he called her name. Why was he such a pushover?

“What?” she said shortly and tapped her foot, waiting.

He put on a puppy dog face and looked at his hands. “I’m sorry,” he muttered.

She studied him for a moment before nodding to herself and sighing. “It’s not fine, but I accept your apology. I really need to go though. I’ll see you around.” She just made it out to the all when he said, “See you later, cutie!” She cringed and whipped around to make sure no one heard, and luckily the hall was deserted.

“This man is going to make my eye twitch if I’m not careful,” she mumbled to herself and headed off to class. Hopefully, Darcy already informed Vincent on who was looking out for her so she wouldn’t have to explain today. And she prayed he wouldn’t ask her about anything to do with Asher. Wendy hardly thought he would be okay with the way he was acting toward Wendy, even if Asher claimed it was only innocent.

Chapter 15

Wendy

"How's Markus doing?" Wendy asked, talking on her cell. She was making her way slowly home, not really looking forward to being all alone with Vincent.

Her mom sighed but chuckled. "He's up and about, hitting on the poor defenseless nurses."

Wendy chuckled and shook her head. Of course Mark would go back to being a complete flirt only a day after his surgery. Any normal person would be lying in bed, groaning in pain, but Mark always hated being strapped to a bed. "Hit him over the head with a newspaper next time you see him doing that. That usually works," she joked and laughed when her mom snorted.

"He'd need a spray bottle. I swear that boy is nothing but a bag of hormones. It's a wonder I'm not a grandma yet." Wendy stalled outside her front door just a few moments longer to speak to her mom. "How are you, sweetie? Your Dad said you were acting a little funny this morning."

Wendy wanted to hit herself in the head. Of course her dad would mention it to her mom! They talked about everything! Shaking her head of the thoughts, she thought of an answer. "Yes, I'm alright. Just stressed about catching up with school." Again the guilt gnawed at her, at the feeling of lying coming easier to her. That wasn't a good attribute to have. Digging into her pocket, she fingered her keys for distraction. She was prolonging the inevitable. Her aches throughout school were dulled thanks to late last night or early this morning's bite. It was still there though, and she knew once she saw him her body would respond in the most embarrassing ways.

"Oh, I knew you shouldn't have stayed the first night. What's done is done though, I suppose. Just don't stress out about it too much, okay? You'll be back on your feet before the week is through."

Wendy was going to retort when a flashy car suddenly skidded to a loud, screeching halt in front of her house. Her fingers went to the necklace as she hastily got the keys out only to find the door was already unlocked. Of course it would be! Vincent was here, after all.

"Uh, Listen, mom, I got to go! Talk to you later, love you!" Wendy hurried out and was about to make a run back inside when the person stepped out of the car. Since all that has happened, Wendy has become quite paranoid and the fast car that happened to stop outside her regular house was not something that happened often.

"Ugh! I cannot believe that vampire!" Anya hissed as she stalked by Wendy without as much as a 'hello' and went inside. Gaping, Wendy followed in silently. Anya was pacing back and forth on Wendy's modest tan carpet, muttering to herself. Her newly brown hair was shimmering after her steps in fluid movements. "No good dirty vamp-" She was cut off by an alluring voice.

"What is going on here?"

Both girls jumped to see Vincent standing on the steps. Wendy panicked about the sun but she only just noticed how there were blankets covering the large windows.

Wendy's mouth went dry when she saw he was shirtless. Seeing that he donned nothing but some sweat pants that somewhere in her brain registered as one of her brother's, she licked her dry lips. Her neck began to throb at the sight of him, which had her quickly shaking her head. This was absurd! She had control over her body! Wendy's eyes shot up in surprise when Anya pointed at him in anger.

"You! Do you want to explain to me why Darcy is such an ass?!" She fumed and then continued pacing.

"What the hell did he do?" Wendy wondered out loud, bewildered. It was nice seeing a familiar face and seeing Anya was back again, but it didn’t look like her own doing.

"He cut me off! The credit cards that were in MY name, and he managed to cut them off! I swear I'll kill him! I'll-"

Wendy put her hands on the angry woman's shoulders to calm her down. "Breathe. Just calm down for a second. Don't you have a bank account?" she asked her, trying to not ruffle her feathers. It didn't seem to work though, because Anya got angry all over again. Okay, wrong thing to say, she thought.

"He froze everything! I only have two-hundred dollars cash on me, and that won't get me far! What? He thinks just because I have no money, I'd come crawling back to him?! Wendy, I'm staying here with you."

Wendy looked at her, startled at her abrupt change as she stared back at Anya.

"W-What? Anya, you can't just stay here. What about my parents-" Wendy was cut off by the sound of Anya's phone ringing. Vincent looked on amused and stepped closer to her. Feeling shaky, Wendy hastily turned and sat on the couch, but Vincent was next to her within a second. She gave a startled gasp and tried to scoot away but he caught her by the waist and held her to his side while playing with her hair.

"Yes, hello, Jim?" Anya started, causing Wendy to tune in. Was Anya talking to her father?! "I'm so glad you got my message! How are you? Good! I was hoping I could stay at your house with Wendy? My house is being fumigated and my parents are staying at this hotel out of town, and it would take too long to get to school. Thank you so much! I will, bye." Anya snapped her phone shut and stared pointedly at Wendy.

"You....uhg, I don't even know what to say! You don't quite look to be in high school," Wendy muttered and unknowingly leaned her head onto Vincent's shoulder for support.

Anya gave her a sly grin. "It's all in the way you act, Wendy dear. Now, where's the guest bedroom?" she asked with a slight huff.

At times like these, Wendy wasn't sure if she liked her or not. "Upstairs to your right," she muttered and snuggled more into her vampire, suddenly feeling tired. Her neck didn't hurt as much if she was touching him, which was a relief. Anya flounced upstairs to find the bed she'd be sleeping in.

"I found the most peculiar thing this morning..." Vincent trailed off. Wendy frowned when she could detect amusement in his voice.

She wracked her brains and sat up abruptly with a loud gasp. "No, you didn't!" she said with wide eyes and covering her mouth. Her face was already turning a shade of red.

"I didn't know you weren't as innocent in the mind as I once thought. Those books... they sure to paint a vivid picture."

Wendy groaned and covered her face as her elbows rested on her knees. She stiffened though when she felt his lips close to her ear.

"They were quite erotic..."

She shivered from the low timber in his voice. He sat back though and when she peeked through her lashes, she saw he was smirking. Rolling her eyes, she tried to maintain some dignity. "I read them for the plot line," she half-lied. The plot lines were usually pretty good, but saying that was like saying a guy watches porn for the plot as well.

He ignored that statement though and looked at her with a predatory glint. "I especially liked the one about the vampire."

If Wendy thought she couldn't get any more red, she was just proven wrong. "T-That was a birthday present from Jamie." That was true... didn't mean she didn't read it.

"How did you like your new teacher? Darcy tells me she is great at what she does." Vincent changed the subject when he saw how uncomfortable she was.

Wendy froze though. Darcy told him her teacher was a she? Did he enjoy making Wendy suffer?! Vincent noticed her change in posture and instantly become suspicious.

"She was there, wasn't she?"

Wendy fiddled with her fingers and trained her eyes not to look at his toned chest. It was a difficult feat, and should be rewarded with a medal! "Y-Yes... the teacher was. The teacher explained why they were there on my behalf."

Now Vincent's eyes narrowed. "Why do you keep saying 'teacher'?"

Pulling at the collar of her shirt, she felt suffocated as if she was in interrogation. Standing up quickly, she threw her hands up. "Fine! My teacher is a guy! Alright, he's a guy! Not a girl! And he called me cute!" She snapped her mouth shut, realizing that that last little tidbit wasn't meant to come out.

"What?" His voice was low and sounded dangerous.

She gave out a shaky laugh. "J-Just kidding. I-" She stopped when he stood up and towered over her.

"He complimented you in such a way?"

Wendy could do nothing but nod. "B-But he was just doing it for laughs! I'm sure he didn't really mean it..."

She was rooted still by his piercing gaze that had her entranced. "Oh, I'm sure he meant it, Firefly. Which is why I'm going to wring Darcy's neck tonight. I specifically said, no males!"

This new revelation made Wendy angry as she stepped away from his hold. "What? You don't trust me?" she asked with some attitude.

He shook his head with a wry chuckle. "Yes, of course I do. But you are so oblivious to the male population around you! Some of the younger males in your school better be grateful I don't beat them to a pulp with what they think of you."

This made Wendy laugh. "Oh, very funny!" Wendy crossed her arms, refusing to believe in what Vincent was telling her. It was simply impossible. If that were true then why on earth has she never had a guy ask her out? She didn't notice how close Vincent had gotten until she turned her head to face him, only to meet his chest. Before she could pull away, he held her to him and brushed the stray strands away from her face.

"Any man would have to be blind not to notice the incredible blue in your eyes, or the way your hair seems to captivate every aspect of light. How your skin is soft as rose petals and just as delicate, or how your lips scream and beg to be kissed and tasted. I even retract about only blind people would be unable to see, because just hearing your soft, sweet voice would have them gravitate to you. You, my dear Firefly, are completely unaware of your beauty, which makes you that much more sweet."

By the end of his little speech, she felt ridiculously lightheaded. He bent his head to kiss her softly on her lips. She whimpered from the overwhelming feeling that bombarded her. His words were like a warm blanket that wrapped around her and his lips sent her body into a hot frenzy. Her neck began to throb in time with her pulse, making her groan and try to get closer to him. He responded by pulling her body to his. His fingers released her hair from her hair tie and delved into the blonde tresses like it was a need. This kiss started out as a sweet innocent gesture but was quickly becoming something more. His tongue swept across her lower lip, making her whimper and open for him immediately. She couldn't get enough of his sweet taste. It was crisp like mint, but was as sweet as chocolate. Completely addicting by its own right, she clung onto him and by her body's own accord, she hopped up and wrapped her small legs around his sinewy hips.

Growling that reverberated deep within him, she felt it through his chest, making her shiver. She broke away for air. "Please!" she begged and turned her neck for him. He wasted no time before he pierced her flesh. She nearly screamed from the feeling of pleasure that coursed through her. She opened her eyes and in a daze, she realized they were now on the couch with him over her. She moved her hips slightly and with a gasp she realized just how excited he was. He moaned against her neck before pulling away with labored breath. His eyes were completely black while his lips were stained with her blood.

"Careful, Love. Do that again, and you'll be getting much more than you ask for." The dangerous tint to his words only further excited her, which had her squirming beneath him. He bent forward and licked away the stray blood that had begun to drip from her fresh bite mark.

Wendy noted that every time he bit her, her heart opened up to him that much more. It was unnerving yet exciting all at the same time.

"Is it safe to come down yet?" Anya's voice drifted down to them.

Wendy buried her face in his neck and tried desperately not to blush. 'Oh God, how much of that did she hear?' she though with a grimace.

Vincent laughed and gave the okay. Anya gave them both a disgusted look, but Wendy could also see longing. Was she thinking of Darcy?

“The sun goes down in just another hour. When Darcy gets here, which I'm sure he will be here, I'm going to put a wooden stake through his leg."

Wendy quirked an eyebrow. "Leg? I thought to kill a vampire you have to make it go through the heart?" she asked, looking from Anya to Vincent.

"True, but it will hurt like hell. And Vincent, don't you dare tell him either!" she said and went into the kitchen, helping herself.

Wendy looked at Vincent with her eyebrows up, but he just looked amused. "He needs the throwing around every once in a while. I look forward to it in fact, especially after what he pulled today. I'll have this teacher gone by tomorrow and a FEMALE teacher in place."

Wendy sighed and rolled her eyes. "Don't do that, Vince. From what I can tell, he'll be a good asset. He tells me he's a reformed vampire hunter, and from what I can guess, it means he has speed."

Vincent got off of her and began pacing, much like Anya was doing earlier. "He not only sent a male guard to watch over you, but a vampire hunter as well?! He has completely lost it!" Anger coated his voice, making Wendy cringe. No, he did not sound happy at all.

"H-He said a reformed vampire hunter-"

Vincent cut her off. "Reformed?! Ha! It's in their blood to destroy our kind! You can't just be 'reformed'! Never mind Anya staking him, I want a piece of him too!"

Blowing out a large breath, Wendy heaved herself up, feeling drained, no pun intended. One minute Vincent was finding things funny, the next he's sweet, then turned on, then angry.

Paying no mind to him anymore than she had to at the moment, she walked into her kitchen for something to eat. She saw Anya making eggs, which made her gag. Wendy hated eggs by themselves. She'd much rather have them in cake, like they should be.

Digging in her cupboards, she got out some M&M's and started to snack on them. Chocolate will never let her down. It has officially become her best friend. "Make yourself at home," Wendy muttered, seeing Anya look through her cupboards as well.

The saucy Russian sent her a wink. "Thanks, I intend to. So you and Vincent seem to be on better terms from what I heard from upstairs. Who knew you could be so vocal." Anya was joking but it made Wendy blush from head to toe.

Choosing not to comment on it, she changed the subject to small talk to fill the time. Wendy felt disgusted with herself when she noticed she finished off the entire bag of M&M's and hastily threw it away. Checking the time on the microwave, she saw the sun should be going down now, which meant she needed to take the blankets off. Her parents were gone for another night to stay with Markus so she wouldn't have to worry about them coming home to see them. It just unnerved her to feel so enclosed. So, quickly taking them down, she sighed when she saw the night sky. Turning back into the living room, she had to shake her head at the fact Vincent was still muttering to himself and pacing. Before she could go over to him, she saw headlights wash over them. Squinting, she saw Darcy come out of his tinted car.

"Run, Darcy, run," Wendy muttered to herself as she bit her lip.

Chapter 16

Wendy

Pursing her lips, she looked at the scene before her with crossed arms and was half tempted to call some kind of reinforcement. Who? She had no clue. Darcy looked like a deer caught in the headlights as Vincent and Anya both stood there looking furious.

"I see you've checked your bank account," he said and had the audacity to smirk slightly.

Anya growled lowly under her breath but smiled sweetly at him. "Yes, I did. Thanks so much for that! But here's how I want to repay you..." she trailed off and then took the stake out of her sleeve and flung it at him. Darcy didn't expect it so when it hit him square in the leg, he let out a pain-filled roar. Blood instantly started to seep out of the wound, testing Wendy's gag reflex.

"Okay..." he panted through gritted teeth. "I may have deserved that."

Wendy shook her head and looked away before any more blood could be seen. She was terrified by it, but couldn't help but look back when Anya stalked closer to him.

"It is MY choice to get some space from you! That was a real dick move!" she yelled and slapped him. Wendy gasped when his eyes turned flat black, but Anya stood strong. Wendy had to give the woman props for her courage.

"I think you forget who I am-" Darcy began in a low, dangerous voice, but Anya cut him off. "No! I think you forget who I AM! I have been nothing but loyal to you, and the moment you learned that I don't like to live in the shadow of your daughter and want my own space, you became this immature ass! Get it through your ancient thick head! I am my own person!" She yelled so loud, Wendy was worried her neighbors would call the police in concern. Darcy looked at her for a moment and seemed to be really looking at her. Shaking her head at his lack of response, Anya stalked upstairs and Wendy winced when the door slammed.

'One down, two to go,' she thought as she looked at a still angry Vincent.

Darcy paid no mind as he painfully took out the wooden stake. He hissed as it slowly dragged out. "Fuck, that hurts," he muttered and when his eyes wandered to Vincent, he huffed while he rolled his eyes. "Oh, I suppose you found out about her teacher that has a dick rather than a vagina."

Wendy blushed at his crude words, but it only made Vincent angrier. In a flash he had Darcy up against the wall with a growl. "I specifically told you, NO MALES!"

Darcy struggled slightly but seemed unharmed. "You wanted her safe? He's the best in the business!" Darcy defended himself but Vincent only pulled him away from the wall to just slam him back against it, two feet above ground.

"He's a vampire hunter!" Vincent roared in his face.

"A re-formed one! Times have changed, Vincent! It's not black and white anymore! There's grey area and this guy falls into that category. She will be safe with him, because he can not only defend himself from humans, but also our kind. It makes sense, and I wouldn't trust him without cause. He's worked for me in the past, and has given me no reason not to trust him."

Vincent let him go and let him fall to the ground. "I'm still angry. He called her cute." He grumbled at the end. Wendy rolled her eyes at that while Darcy chuckled breathlessly from being roughed up.

"Of course he would! Have you seen her? She's as cute as a bunny rabbit!" Darcy cooed and tried to be annoying but it didn't really work when he was limping. Wendy scowled at him anyhow and 'accidentally' knocked the couch with her hip hard enough for it to bump into his bum leg. "Ow! What is this, beat-up-Darcy night?! I didn't get a memo!"

Vincent sent Wendy a humorous look, considering she wasn't known to be violent. Sighing, Wendy left to go check on Anya as it seemed she didn't need to be there to make sure Vincent didn't kill Darcy.

"I hate him, I hate him, I hate him!" She heard Anya mutter to herself when she opened the door.

"You don't hate him," Wendy said softly not knowing where this compassion was coming from. She really barely knew the girl, but here she was trying to console her... again.

Anya nodded and sniffled slightly which surprised Wendy. "I do. He doesn't even care about me. Not the way I want him to."

Wendy felt stuck. She's never been in a relationship before so she couldn't give advice through experience. Maybe through general common sense might help?

"You're going to have to give him more than just a few days, Anya. He's a guy, of course he's going to need a little longer." Wendy tacked on at the end to lighten up the mood.

It worked when Anya cracked a smile. "I would've stayed away longer, but it's hard when you have no money, thanks to the ASS DOWNSTAIRS!" Anya hollered with her neck craned to the door, even though both girls knew they could hear them if they whispered, at least, if they were paying attention.

"You like my sweet ass!" was heard from Darcy in the room.

Wendy shook her head at the duo. They clearly should get together already, but it doesn't work out when only one is ready. Wendy saw a car parked outside her house and her eyes grew bigger when she saw it was Asher.

"Oh no, no, no, no," she muttered and quickly ran down the steps. Vincent already had the front door open however. She managed to snag Vincent's arm before he took a foot outside to her meet her 'teacher'. "Asher! What the hell are you doing here?!" she asked nervously, keeping an eye on the silently fuming vampire next to her.

The hunter smiled easily though, undeterred by the sight. "Oh, just in the neighborhood. Okay, okay! Geez, that look can kill a man! My job is to protect you, so that's what I intend to do. I would've been here sooner, but-"

Vincent cut him off. "You don't need to be here at all! I'm here, so you can leave. In fact, you are no longer needed-"

This time, Wendy cut him off. "As much as he's annoying, I would feel safer if he was around."

"Oh, thanks!" Asher said with a roll of his eyes, but Wendy could see he wasn't offended. If anything, he looked to find the whole situation humorous.

Vincent looked down at her and just stared for a moment before sighing reluctantly. "If I see or hear you say anything to her in a manner that is more than friendly, I will rip your throat out, one vocal cord at a time."

Wendy cringed at the mental image but saw Asher was unmoved. "Hmm, haven't heard that one before. Good one!" Asher spoke after a moment and pushed his way inside.

"Can you please try and get along? I hate confrontation," Wendy said with a slight frown. Lately it seemed that's all she's been surrounded by.

Vincent sighed and kissed her forehead. "I'm sorry, Firefly, for disturbing your life so."

She nodded but froze slightly when she heard the house phone ring. Sprinting to the kitchen, she snatched it up before Darcy could, although Wendy knew he was only playing with her since he could've easily done so anyway.

"Hello?" she greeted, slightly out of breath.

"Wendy, honey? Are you alright? You sound funny," her mother, Debbie, greeted her.

Wendy rolled her eyes in response, thinking how much of a worry wart her mother is. Without her knowledge, she did have two vampires and a hunter in her living room now, and an angry woman, who was equally dangerous. When you thought of things that way, her mother had every right to worry.

"Yeah, I was just on the other side of the house when I heard you call. What did you need?" She quickly tried to deflect the worry away.

It worked when her mother continued talking, this time not about her specifically. "I wanted to let you know your school called my phone earlier. Your new teacher, Mr. Roberts? He called and said you're getting a little behind on your history and suggested tutoring you for free! Isn't that great! Oh, but honey, you should've told me you were falling behind as much as you were, we would've understood."

Wendy gritted her teeth together as she gave Asher a chilling look. "Mom, I don't think I need a tutor-"

Her mom cut her off. "Oh, nonsense! It's free, and it will help, so why not? You're doing it and that's final, missy. I have to go. They're taking your brother to his PT and it always wears him out. Love you, and talk to you later." Without giving her another chance to protest, Debbie hung up.

"You... told my mother... I was doing poorly... in history?" Wendy asked as she slowly turned to face Asher completely. For the first time since she met him, he actually seemed nervous! Was he intimidated by her? A mere human? Yet he didn't even shake in Vincent's presence! It felt strangely empowering to have that kind of hold over him, since most of Wendy's life she's been viewed as a weak person. The one to look after, and the one who had no back bone. She reluctantly admitted a big part of her new attitude was thanks to Vincent.

"Uh, well, you see, you went from having an A to an A-, so technically, I wasn't lying." Wendy blew her top then. Everything just came to blow. She grabbed her ceramic mug and threw it at him, managing to hit his arm since he was blocking his face. "Ugh! I am so sick of the male population! You think you can just waltz in here and screw up what I have?!"

Asher now looked confused. "Wait, what-"

But as Wendy turned to Vincent, things were cleared up. "I had a good life! It was mediocre and bland, but it was safe! I was a nobody, just a wallflower, and now I'm cussing at girls in school, ditching class, and lying to everyone I love and care about!" Wendy stalked up to Vincent with angry tears in her eyes. "And it's all because you couldn't just leave me alone!"

Her voice broke at the end, because as mad as she was feeling right now, she couldn't stay angry at him. She could see the pain in his eyes as he gazed down at her. His hand came up and wiped away a stray tear.

"I wish there was something I could say that would make you feel better. But there isn't. All I ask is that you don't close me out. I am a selfish man, I know that. I promise you though, it will all be worth it." He bent down to ever so lightly brush his lips with hers. She sighed into him, the last remains of her anger dwindling.

Wendy knew she should be angry with him. Hell, she should be furious. She shouldn't yield to his embrace, or want him to kiss her the way he does, or worse, bite her. But here she was, leaning into him while wrapping her arms around his torso. It was silent for a few moments before someone interrupted.

"Well, wasn't that exciting? I feel like I'm in a soap opera! I'm going to go patrol the neighborhood before I lose my lunch from all this lovey dovey crap," Asher said with a mock salute, making Wendy shake her head. How that man can act serious, she'll never know.

"Sorry, about the mug," she muttered just before he left.

"Oh, that's okay, darling! Not the first time I've been hit with something by an enraged woman, and it certainly wasn't the heaviest either. So don't worry, you're still cute to me!"

Wendy clung to Vincent as Asher ran out the door, cackling the entire time. Vincent growled. "He's lucky you're here, or he'd be dead right now."

Wendy shivered from the truth in his voice, which made her frown. She looked up at him with a small, tired pout. "I don't like the idea of you killing anyone. Please don't kill anyone unless they intend to kill you or something like that, not because a guy calls me cute to get under your skin."

He looked down at her as if she grew another head. He was quiet for a moment before nodding with a slight smirk. "Alright, I won't kill unless someone endangers you, myself, or anyone else worth caring about. But it doesn't mean I can't rough them up a bit."

Wendy was going to reprimand him for that statement but saw in his eyes he wouldn't budge on that. Shaking her head, she stepped out of his arms and looked confused when he saw Darcy chuckling to himself. "What?" she asked and quickly looked down to make sure everything looked okay, as she discreetly touched her face.

"You. You just got 'the executioner' to say he wouldn't kill unless someone harms you. That used to be impossible, and the fact you just said you hated confrontation, yet you caused a pretty big scene. I'd say you were a walking contradiction!" He snorted and tested out his bum leg. He was now walking better but still held a slight limp.

Wendy quirked an eyebrow and turned to Vincent who was glaring at Darcy with anger. "Executioner?" she questioned with slight trepidation. Even though she'd seen him angry, her mind still couldn't fathom him being deadly enough to earn that name. It scared her, if she were being honest with herself.

"Another time. Right now you look completely exhausted. Let's get you to bed so you're not cursing at anyone tomorrow, alright? How's your neck?" he asked, easily deflecting her question.

She sighed as she rubbed it. "It's bearable." It only felt a little irritated, which was great because she would probably pass out from another bite with the blood loss. Anya then walked downstairs, studiously ignoring Darcy who was doing the same. Wendy rolled her eyes at the two, but then squeaked when Vincent had her in his arms, and carried her to her room. "I can walk," she muttered but secretly enjoyed being held in his arms again.

"I know," was all he said before laying her down on her bed. He climbed in next to her without being invited, but Wendy didn't mind so much. In fact, she lay her head down on his chest, much to his enjoyment.

"Tell me about that day. The day you were forced into the coffin." It was quiet for a moment, and Wendy worried she may have over stepped her boundaries. "I'm sorry if it's too personal. I was just wondering how much of the story was true and-"

She stopped when he started to chuckle, making her head move up and down. Fixing her glasses, she waited patiently.

"Always so curious," he murmured and kissed the top of her head. Sighing, he started. "You already know about Serafine. What I didn't realize was she had a little sister named Serryline. Only about six, if that, but she knew everything. Including how I 'hurt' her older sister. For a child, she was as devious as Serafine. To get back at the hurt I caused, she managed to track me down to here with a series of spells. I would go as far as to say she was more dangerous than Serafine. I was completely oblivious as to who she was then though. By the time she tracked me down she, was nine or ten, I suppose. She knew what I was and wanted to expose me."

Wendy's mind flickered to the little girl her teacher read about. Could she be one in the same?

Vincent continued. "She took her time. Waited for me to get nice and comfortable before she chose to strike. I was in my home when I smelled it. Fresh, spilled blood. I wasn't thirsty, but I grew rather fond of the townspeople and was concerned. I saw the body of a young girl named Patricia lying on the street. She was no older than fifteen, and I remember her father tried to get me to marry her, but I wasn't interested. I liked her though as entertainment, since she reminded me of my late sister. I held her in grief and was going to wake her family when Serryline came out of the shadows with the knife she used to kill her. I was so angry and demanded her to tell me who she was. She did, and to say I was shocked was an understatement. I was so fearful that she would somehow get a hold of the necklace that I ran. Left the poor girl there in the street. It was exactly what the little witch was counting on though. Soon I had the entire town banging on my door. I tried to explain but they gave me no room to. You know the rest."

Wendy was stunned into silence. "I'm so sorry, Vince. That must have been... Oh God, I can't even imagine. Serafine never knew about what her sister did?" she questioned and looked up at him from his chest.

He shrugged. "I have not the faintest idea. I presume not though. If Serafine knew, she would've moved me under her care as a sick twisted way to show I was hers. That's all behind us though, so no worries. If you have any more questions, they can wait. Good night, Firefly."

She boldly kissed his chest through his shirt and smiled. "Good night, Vince."

Chapter 17

Vincent

Morning came far too quickly for his liking. He licked away the small amount of blood that trickled out of her freshly bit bite mark. He felt her shiver and it made him smile, but he was also worried about how fast her need for the bite was becoming. He wouldn't voice it out loud, but it was definitely something to look into while she was away. "Be safe," he murmured and kissed her forehead while they were still lying on her bed.

She snuggled closer to him, making him smile. She was becoming increasingly more comfortable with him. "Can't I just stay here? I feel like I just went to sleep," she mumbled, already half way back to her slumber.

"As much as I want you to, I know you'll regret it later. It's the sleep talking, so you need to get ready." Vincent really wished sometimes he wasn't responsible, because everything in him wanted her to stay. They never had enough time together. She was still human with human responsibilities, which meant she needed to be up during daylight hours while he slept. Vincent was selfish enough to think he couldn't wait until she was turned so they can really be together, but he was also fair. Or at least tried to be.

Wendy groaned but got up, while Vincent lay back and thought about how adorable she looked. Bed head suited her, but he had to stifle a laugh when she walked into the door frame from only being half awake. Her eyes opened more in surprise and Vincent could feel the heat of her cheeks from where he lay as she grew embarrassed. "You didn't just see that," she muttered then scurried off to the bathroom.

"See what?" he called out in good humor. With his superior hearing, he heard her mumble to herself. He took a moment to think about how thankful he was to be paired with her.

She was back within minutes with wet hair and a pair of hip hugging jeans that made his mouth water, and a red top that brought out the rose color of her lips. Yes, he was indeed lucky. "What are you staring at?" she asked self-consciously and touched her face.

Vincent stood up and slowly walked to her. He could hear her heart speed up from his close proximity and saw no fear so he pulled her to him. "You look... there are no words for your kind of beauty."

She gave him a small smile in return. "You are such a charmer. I don't think I stand a chance." She seems to be in a better mood with a little more sleep but she frowned slightly when she looked into her mirror and examined her bite marks.

"Aw, Vince!" she whined and tried to cover them up. "I need to wear a scarf. It's getting worse with every time it happens. I mean crap, I look like I've received a hickey in the same spot for hours." She groaned and used cover-up even more. Vincent liked his mark on her. However, he knew other humans would ask questions. He flitted behind her, making her gasp and jump before blowing out a big breath. "Can we put a bell around your neck? Wow," she muttered before tying a scarf around her neck.

Vincent ignored her jab as he kissed the side of her head. "You're in a good mood," he murmured as he clutched her hips with his large calloused hands. She shrugged but turned to face him. "I can't explain it but I feel different. Oh well, I'm just going to roll with it. Please stay out of my things. I need to go if I'm going to make it in time for first period." She surprised him by leaning up and kissing his cheek. Now he was truly confused and for once he was stunned as she giggled and left the room.

Although he did like seeing her this carefree and light, it wasn't right. The Wendy he knew so far was a cautious sorts and never once initiated any physical affection, at least to that nature. It was puzzling and slightly unnerving. Shaking his head, he walked downstairs just in time to see her shut the front door behind her. Luckily the sun was just beginning to peak out from behind the hills, so Vincent quickly flitted around the room and replaced the blankets so they covered any windows. When he did it yesterday it was quite painful, however brief his encounter with the sun was.

"Darcy?" he called out as he made his way to the kitchen. His friend was there sitting on the stool, looking deep in thought.

"Did Wendy seem…?" Vincent trailed off, trying to find the right words.

"Annoyingly chipper? Yes. Made me want to drink from the short encounter. She called me Darcy-Dar." He shuddered and gave Vincent a puzzled look. "What the hell did you do to her? I know you guys didn't have sex. I would've heard that." He trailed off thoughtfully but ducked when Vincent threw a knife his way. Darcy rolled his eyes. "I'm sure she's fine, and if anything funny happens, Asher will be there to protect her. I mean, I can't see anything bad happening just because the sun is shining out of her ass. Unless... nah, it's too soon. Never mind." Vincent’s eyebrows furrowed as he pieced together the end of the sentence on his own. With a new sense of dread, they both looked at each other.

"I need you to get Anya to pull Wendy out of school as soon as possible," Vincent said grimly.

Darcy gave off an uneasy chuckle and scratched the back of his head. "It can't be. It's only been what, a week? That's not possible!"

Vincent growled and punched the counter, which then broke away a piece. "Does it matter?! I was already worried with her increasing want and need for my bite. I don't know how, but it's happening so much faster than any of us anticipated. Pull her out now, Darcy. While Anya is doing that, we need to get prepared to leave from here. I'll pack her things." Vincent's words were tinged with regret and sadness, knowing she was going to hate him for a while. After all the progress they made…

Wendy

"You want to hear a joke?" Wendy said with a huge, almost creepy grin toward Jamie.

Her best friend gave her a weird look but shrugged. "Okay." Wendy clapped her hands together quickly as they walked to their first class. "Why did Sally fall off the swing?" she asked Jamie with a sly grin.

Jamie sighed, almost annoyed with her chipper attitude, but played along. "Why?" she asked.

"Because she had no arms! Now, knock, knock!" she said with barely contained laughter.

Jamie quirked an eyebrow. "Who's there?" she asked with a reluctant sigh.

"Not Sally!" Wendy finished off with a laugh.

Jamie couldn't help it as she laughed. "Okay, that was pretty good. So why are you suddenly all 'the world is singing' this morning? You hate mornings," Jamie asked when they sat down.

"I don't know, but I just feel great! Is that a crime?" Wendy asked as she pulled out her notebook. Yes it was strange for her to feel this awake at this time of day, but like she said this morning, she was just going to roll with it.

Jamie snorted but chose not to comment anymore on her friend’s behavior. When Mrs. Rush came in, the class settled down. Jamie was once again surprised when Denise gave Wendy the meanest glare ever, but the usual mouse of a girl didn't cower at all!

"What?" Wendy asked with a quirked eyebrow, but Jamie just shook her head in amazement.

Mrs. Rush said, "I hope everyone enjoyed yesterday's day off from working on their projects in here, but today we resume!" The class groaned, making Mrs. Rush roll her eyes. "Stop complaining, you cry babies! Now all of you need to-"

"Ah!" Wendy hissed loudly as her hand flew to her neck. Everyone turned to look at her, making her turn red. "S-Sorry, um, I just-ah!" She yelled louder when the pain intensified. Jamie placed a hand on her shoulder for comfort.

Mrs. Rush started to walk toward her. "Ms. Garrett, are you alright? Do you need to see the nurse?"

Wendy was going to shake her head but a fire unlike she's ever felt curled through her veins, causing her to topple over onto the floor and scream. Her nails were trying to claw at the bite mark where it was all centering. Oh how she just wanted to die! It wasn't a fiery type of burn, it was an icy burn, which made it more painful.

"Ricky, call 9-1-1!" Mrs. Rush exclaimed but the classroom door opened.

"It's okay, I've got her! I'm a trained EMT," Asher spoke with authority and by-passed the other students who were looking on with scared faces. Wendy saw Asher's face through her haze of agony just above hers. "It's going to be okay. Let's get you to Vincent. He'll fix this, okay?"

Wendy wanted to say something, anything really, but the pain had her body paralyzed. At least she had enough control to shut her mouth to stop the horrible screaming. All she could do was writhe in silent agony as she prayed over and over again to just let her die.

Asher picked her up but winced in worry when it caused Wendy to scream once more. "I'm so sorry," he murmured. "I'll take her to the hospital." It was a false promise that the onlookers ate up, because who wants a screaming girl in their midst? At this point they'd believe him if he suddenly said he was a ballerina, just to bring some peace.

"I'm coming with you!" Jamie said and chased after them when they made it out into the hall. Asher growled lowly. "I'm sorry about this too," he muttered before spinning around as he hit Jamie over the head to knock her out. They couldn't afford to waste time, and having her tag along would only bring up questions that couldn't be answered. Jamie fell to the ground with a dull thud, and Wendy would have been furious if the pain that now consumed her wasn't her first priority. Thankfully the halls were empty and Asher wasted no more time as he ran all the way to her house. They were there within moments, so it was an easy reason why he didn't take his car.

Kicking the door open, he yelled out, "Vincent! Get your ass over here!" He gently placed Wendy on the soft sofa but she cried out again when another cold spike of pain coursed through her.

"Shit," Vincent swore when he flitted into the room. "Darcy, tell Anya to come back! Wendy's here!" Kneeling by her side, he shook his head. "I'm so incredibly sorry!" Wendy had no words as it seemed to feel like her mouth was so dry that sand would come out in any moment. "I'll make the pain go away," he murmured and bent his head to bite her. The moment his fangs sank into her neck, she sighed in relief. Never has she experienced that amount of pain before. Usually she would experience pleasure from the bite but she was still feeling nothing but relief. Like she had been out in a winter storm for hours and had just stepped inside a warm heated cabin. Vincent only took enough to relieve her as he pulled away.

"W-What... what happened?" Her voice was raspy from screaming so much. Asher quickly left to get her water while Vincent took her hand. He shook his head and sighed.

"Your body is reacting to my bite much quicker than anyone anticipated," he said slowly, letting it sink in.

Wendy cautiously sat up on the couch and focused on his face. "What does that mean?" She knew. She just needed to hear it.

"The reason you were feeling euphoric this morning was because it's like the calm before the storm. Everything seems good and right, until your body starts to fight for something you can't fully understand. Darcy and I didn't realize until after you left. I sent Anya to come get you, but it seemed we weren't fast enough. Wendy, I'm going to have to turn you sooner than we thought."

Wendy shook her head in anger. "No! No!" Tears gathered in her eyes as she stood up and toppled over the coffee table in rage. She felt fine now, but only physically. She thought she had more time! "How long?" she asked, trying to steady her breathing, not looking at him.

"Wendy..." he started but she held up a hand.

"How. Long." Her voice was low but that was so she could keep it from shaking.

"A week at best, judging by the time frame of what has already happened."

Wendy felt like the air was knocked out of her as she exhaled sharply. Her knees became wobbly as she sat down on the cushioned lazy-boy.

"A week? That's all I have left? Get out. Just leave me alone right now!" Wendy finished by yelling. Knowing she needed space, he nodded with a hurt expression and left her. Now alone to herself, she buried her face in her hands as she cried. It was either turn or suffer that pain more and then die. She wasn't naïve to think she'd rather die, but she at least wanted a better choice to make.

"Oh, I see he told you."

Her head snapped up, causing her glasses to fall. Growling under her breath, Wendy picked them up and put them back on. "Go away, Anya," she muttered while looking at her hands.

Anya raised her hands in surrender and left to go upstairs but paused. "You'll survive this," was all she said before continuing up the steps.

She'll survive this? She'll survive this?! Wendy shook her head in anger at everything. The moment she thought she'd maybe start to open up to Vincent, this happens! She wanted to stay angry for a while and knew if that's what she wanted, then she couldn't be around him right now. No, she wasn't running away, she just wanted the rest of the day to herself. She hoped her body would let her have that long.

Knowing everyone in the house was giving her space, she quickly ran out the door and hoped no one heard. It was a slim possibility, but it could be done if no one was paying direct attention. It surprised her when she made it all the way to the park with no one stopping her. Out of breath, she climbed up the blue, rusted monkey-bars and sat on top of them.

She'll have to say goodbye to everyone she knew. But how? Technically she can't just run away since she's not eighteen yet, but it's what she's going to have to do. Tears spilled when she thought of her family she's going to lose. Wendy thought of her mischievous yet kind older brother. Her hair-brained mother who cares and worries a little too much, and her father who always understood her without having to ask questions. How can she leave them? How can she write out the 'run-away' letter without having guilt eat her alive from all the lies she'll have to leave them with? What about Jamie? Her best-friend? Wendy hoped she was okay from that hit, but even in the brief time knowing Asher, Wendy knew it wasn't anything serious.

Maybe Wendy can put in her letter for Markus to look out for Jamie? Would that be too much to ask from someone who plans to break all of their hearts? So many questions that had no answers and gave her an oncoming headache. Her fingers curled around her necklace for support as it seemed her heart was breaking inside of her. Sorrow engulfed her mind. It seemed so impossible to leave everything behind. Wendy knew once they were gone, that was it. No coming back in ten, fifteen, twenty years to see how everything was. It wouldn't work well for anyone. Her hand slapped the metal bar in anger not knowing how else to vent. It wasn't like she could really talk to anyone about it.

Anya wouldn't fully know how she felt since she's grown up around vampires almost her entire life. No, Wendy had no one she could just get it all out with. Having that feeling made her feel like she was caged in, and the cage was only getting smaller by each passing breath. Looking up, she noted how late it's gotten. She guessed she must have been here for at least the last three hours. Her butt was sire, but her heart still hurt.

"You want to come down now?"

Her eyes spotted Asher leaning against a beam from the play equipment with a small frown marring his features. Sighing, she nodded and hopped down, but being up there for so long made her legs not cooperate. Before she hit the ground, Asher was there to make sure it didn't happen.

"Come on, we need to get ready to leave. I told Vincent to let you blow off some steam, but it seems like you haven't made much progress. I think you need another three months to let off what you have built up," was all he said before they slowly walked back.

Chapter 18

Wendy

It was quiet in the living room as she gazed around. Her two suitcases were packed by the door, reminding her of what had to happen. She bit her cheek hard enough to hurt so it would take away the sting in her heart. Now all was needed was the letter. The letter that sealed her fate and would make this all more real.

Closing her eyes, she willed herself not to fall apart but Wendy jumped when her cell rang. She’d have to leave that behind too. Her mom’s name flashed on the screen, and ignoring the look of the others, she chose to pick it up “H-Hello?” was her shaky reply.

“Hey, honey! Just wanted to let you know your father and I are picking up dinner then we’ll be home. I can’t sleep one more night in that awful cot, plus your brother is recovering well, so we don’t need to stay there tonight.” Her mother’s voice was bittersweet to her. On one hand, she was glad she could talk to her once more, but on the other hand, it made leaving that much harder.

“O-Oh… sounds good.” It took everything she had not to break down and cry like she so desperately wanted to.

It was quiet for a moment before, “Sweetheart? Is everything alright? You sound upset.”

Closing her eyes, she was ready to reply when suddenly she was airborne as Vincent carried her to the other side of the room, making the phone drop to the floor and caused Wendy to scream. “Let go of me!” she yelled as angry tears rolled down. Her small hands beat at him in confusion and anger. She could hear her mother’s frantic voice on the other end and grew more alarmed and confused when Vincent nodded at Darcy. Darcy then picked up the phone and turned it off.

“What the hell are you doing?! Let me go!”

Vincent let her go with a sigh and when Wendy made a go to pick up her phone to call her mom back, he shook his head. “This way, you won’t be betraying them. They won’t go on for the rest of their lives thinking, ‘what did I do wrong?’ or, ‘will she come back?’ This way they can channel their anger and hurt to someone who took you away. Me, not you.”

Wendy shook her head when she realized why he did that. “They’ll still be heartbroken over this-”

He cut her off. “Yes, but they’ll heal quicker knowing that the more time grows with you gone, the lesser the chance of you coming back. If you were to simply run away, they would be stuck hoping that you’ll eventually come back. Now we need to go, I’m sure that call will have them calling the police.” He turned to Darcy and Anya while Asher watched silently. “Tear this place up. Don’t destroy anything valuable. Just make it look like a struggle, okay? We’ll meet you at Darcy’s soon. Asher, you follow them when they leave.”

Wendy didn’t know how to feel about this new arrangement. A part of her knew this way her family wouldn’t hate her, but it would devastate them, thinking she’s probably dead.

“We need to go,” Vincent said as he held his arms out to her. Although she was still hurt by the whole situation, she just couldn’t resist the comfort his embrace brings, so she let him carry her bridal style while he left her bags to the others. Her neck began to throb painfully, causing her to groan to herself. Not already! Knowing what she needed, Vincent took her outside before biting into her. Sighing in relief, she laid her head against his shoulder once he pulled away. He made it quick, but Wendy noted it didn’t bring the immense pleasure as usual. It was embarrassing to ask but her curious mind wouldn’t let it rest.

Before he could take off, she blurted it out. “Why doesn’t it feel the same? I-I mean, it f-feels relieving but…” she trailed off with a red face.

He let a small smile slip but didn’t look at her. He was respecting her boundaries that she put up in the past few hours. It hurt him, but he wanted to make this transition as painless as possible. “Your body isn’t recognizing my bite as pleasurable any longer. It’s only seeing it as a way to appease its need, so to speak. Much like an addict with their vice of choice.” It made sense but it was all so weird to think that her body basically had a mind of its own in such an extreme way.

“Hold tight,” he murmured in her ear. She shivered slightly but tucked her head into the crook of his neck, trying not to cry. Her eyes went to her house once more before it suddenly disappeared. It was like they were flying through the cool night air. All of this didn’t seem real to Wendy. She felt like any moment she would wake up and find this all some amazing, scary, hurtful, incredible dream. Tightening her hold on the collar of his jacket, she scrunched her eyes closed while she tried to shield herself from the icy wind. Her glasses were secure on her face for once, to which she was grateful for. She’d hate to have to double back to find them in the dark.

It was minutes later before she felt the wind stop, which gave her the okay to look. They were at Darcy’s again. Vincent set her down without saying anything, but let her take it in. She stayed quiet and listened to distant frogs and the soft rustle of leaves. Turning around abruptly, she looked at him with a torn expression.

“I don’t know what to feel!” she shouted, feeling this volcano of emotions sprout about. He stood there letting her get this out. She paced back and forth. “This isn’t fair! I want to hate you! I want to hate you so bad, but I can’t! You, you… arg!” She went up to him and hit him over and over again, trying not to cry.

He then wrapped his arms around her. “I know, I know,” he murmured and kissed the top of her head. Her emotions seemed to be on a never ending high as tears leaked out.

“Why am acting like this?! I feel so conflicted it hurts!” she said with gritted teeth and white knuckles from gripping his shirt too hard.

He pulled her back enough to really look at her. “It’s normal, and it’s going to increase until the day I turn you-”

She turned away feeling frustrated, yet also wanting to kiss him like crazy.

“Everything is falling to shit because of that stupid bite! I lost my will to do what I want. I lost my family but… ah! Why do I love you?!” she yelled, feeling relieved to get it all out. Oh yes, she was venting and surprisingly it was to Vincent. It was too late to stop what she said though. With wide eyes she slowly turned back around. “I-I… no, it’s too early!”

Vincent was looking at her in shock as well. He stalked up to her with passion-filled eyes. “By whose standards? The rest of the world’s? Our relationship is completely different from others!  I fell in love with you the moment I connected with you! Why is it so difficult for you to admit you love me back?” He ended in a whisper and caressed the side of her face.

Their relationship was different, that was true. Not many girls can say they found their ‘soul-mate.’ It’s just so hard to wrap her head around the fact that everything in her said she loved Vincent. Her common sense kept reminding her of of the things why she shouldn’t. By all accounts she should want nothing to do with him! She couldn’t lie to herself, not about something this big. “I… I love you. There, you heard it-”

He kissed her, cutting her off. She sighed into him and just told herself to forget for now. As they say, ignorance is bliss. Wendy then decided to tuck away the heartache she felt with losing her family and come back to it later. She felt like it was selfish but how in the world was she supposed to deal with this? There was nothing she could do now.

His lips were coaxing her into a more relaxed state as he held her to him with firm hands. She whimpered against him and held onto him as if he were her lifeline. Even with this whirlwind of chaos around them, when Vincent kissed her, it was like the world melted away. Nothing else mattered; it was just him and her.

As quick as he was, Vincent flitted both of them inside so she didn’t catch a cold. Her mind felt like it was spinning as his tongue swept across her lower lip and it made her tremble. She opened up to him, and not just with her own mouth but her entire being. Call her stupid, call her crazy or irresponsible, but she was in love with this vampire. Despite all that happened and the fact that her life has been turned upside down, she had never felt more alive.

He made her feel excited! Almost every minute since she met him, she felt important, wanted, and loved, not by another family member, but by a man. It was something addicting and entirely life-changing. Before all this, she was just breathing, only living to be a wallflower, nothing more, nothing less. She was like on a never-ending adrenalin high.

Breaking away, she greedily took in air as he looked at her. “I know everything is different, but this will be great,” he promised her with sincerity in his voice.

She took in a shaky breath and removed her hands from the collar of his shirt. “I hope so,” she murmured and took one of his hands in both of hers. “I’m going to try really hard to start accepting whatever this is. I need you to promise to be patient,” she said slowly since her mind was still in a hazy state.

He nodded and bent down to kiss her forehead. “I promise. C’mon, let’s go downstairs. We won’t be staying here for very long. Only the next few days. I bought this house in the country Canada, but it will take the next few days to accommodate my way of life, and soon to be yours as well.”

Wendy wanted to ask how, but she felt too exhausted to voice it out loud.

“Oh, shut up!” they both heard from the front door. They were now on their way down into the home below. Wendy rolled her eyes when she recognized it as Anya’s voice.

“Don’t tell me to shut up! You shut up!” Darcy argued back.

Wendy heard a groan of frustration. “For the love of twinkies, may they rest in peace, both of you shut up!” Asher said in a huff and stomped down the steps, only to run into Wendy and Vincent.

“Oh, thank God! Maybe you two can baby-sit these two!” he said with an eye roll and stalked passed them to go in the door that led downstairs.

Anya and Darcy quickly followed, arguing all the while. “You’re so stupid!” Anya said through gritted teeth.

“Hey, guys,” Darcy said quickly before passing them. “When did you get to be so bitchy?!” he asked with a snippy tone. The door shut behind him, leaving both Wendy and Vincent to themselves.

“I got bitchy when you became a dick!” they heard Anya yell back. Wendy looked at Vincent with a sigh.

“How about we get out of here for the night? I’ll take you to this spot. I hope it is still there after all these years. C’mon, we’ll be back in time before sunrise in a few hours.” He held out his arms, letting her choose.

Wendy didn’t need to think about it when she heard the distinct sound of smashing glass and Darcy yelling, “Hey! That was one of my favorite vases!”

She nodded desperately and hopped up into his arms.

“Close your eyes,” he instructed near her ear. She did as she was told and for the moment enjoyed being close to him. She knew the moment she was outside when she once again felt the cold air whip around them. She realized on the run to wherever they were headed that she quite enjoyed his smell. It was comforting and reminded her of her relaxing bath oils, like her eucalyptus and spearmint one. It was only minutes later before they stopped. She could hear the sound of water close by, which made her open her eyes.

“Oh my gosh!” she breathed out in a gasp. Vincent was quiet as he set her down. Wendy took in the sight before her. There was a small quiet pond that looked almost like a perfect oval. Willow trees encircled the far half while long grass enveloped everything else. It was by far the most serene place she’s ever seen with her actual eyes, and she stood there drinking it in. “Vince, it’s so incredible,” she said with a sigh.

Vince chuckled lowly and came up behind her to ensnare her waist with his arms. “I came here often before I was trapped. It was the perfect place to think. I almost built my home here, but I felt it would destroy the tranquility here.”

Wendy could imagine Vincent way back before her time, sitting here at night just taking everything in.

“I wish I could take this place with me,” she whispered and leaned into him.

He kissed the side of her neck, making her shiver. “Me too. We’ll come back to visit if you want?” he offered as he nuzzled the crook where her neck met her shoulder.

She instantly shook her head. “No, at least not for a while.” She paused. “It’s too close to home, and it would hurt too much,” she explained softly. He nodded but didn’t say anything else. Her little locked up feelings about her family were rattling in her mind, but she firmly shut it out. She was too tired to deal with it now.

“Sleep, my little Firefly. I’ll bring us back in in a little while.”

She nodded tiredly and had to smile when he laid them down in the cool grass, but she felt warm next to him. He tucked her into his side and protected her from the cold wind.

Chapter 19

Vincent

He breathed in deeply as if to fill his soul with the cool night air. His eyes trailed down his Firefly’s profile, drinking her in. The moon was full tonight, casting a soft glow on her already pale skin. It was a breathtaking sight to see. His fingers lightly traced her sleeping face, making her mumble in her rest. Her scent surrounded them, making his gums ache. One of the things he failed to mention to Wendy. She wasn’t the only one affected by this. With her need growing for his bite so he’ll eventually turn her, the need to bite her and drink from her increasingly grows as well.

Everything in him ached to sink his teeth into her soft flesh, but the love he had for her thankfully prevented him from going too far. Once again he pushed back the beast within him for her sake. It will all be easier once he turns her. A selfish thought considering all she’s had to give up because of him, but he knew things would work out. She was going to have to leave eventually, now it’s just sooner than expected. He wished her family could somehow stay in touch but it would be too dangerous for them. Wendy has been aware for the past month, and look what kind of dangers were lurking for her! Humans were not designed to survive with his kind. It just wouldn’t do.

He stayed outside with her a little while longer before the sun came up and carefully picked her up and flitted back to Darcy’s place. Luckily it was quiet, which meant Anya and him have stopped their bickering. Maneuvering Wendy in his arms carefully, he opened the door and stepped in.

“Was wondering where you two went off to,” Asher commented, throwing up a ball and catching it repeatedly. “You might want to go check out the news downstairs,” he stated and stood up before heading to the small kitchen.

Vincent hurried downstairs and walked in. Wendy stirred slightly but otherwise stayed asleep while he flitted her to a bedroom and shut the door behind him.

“They already got the media involved in this. We’ll need to lay low for a while,” Darcy murmured with his hands fisted at his mouth as his elbows rested on the tops of his knees. Vincent looked at the T.V. and saw Wendy’s picture flash and the quiet murmur of the news story that only he and Darcy could hear.

“Young Wendy Garret was last seen at school yesterday afternoon. Her mother talked to her on the phone yesterday evening but the call was cut short when her mother heard her daughter scream before the line went dead. We have Carols at the scene with the parents this morning.” The picture went from the woman news anchor to the front of Wendy’s house with two crying parents.

“Please, if you’ve seen her, please let us know! Oh baby, if you’re watching this, know we love you and we’re never going to stop looking for you!” Debbie cried as she leaned into her husband who was trying to stay strong. Feeling guilt eat at him, he turned off the T.V. quickly. He turned to Darcy who was looking up at him.

“Never let her see the news for the next few weeks, okay? I need to go check on her.”

Darcy nodded but as Vincent walked out of the room, he spoke up. “I love her,” he said in a defeated voice talking about Anya. Vincent turned around with a slight smile.

“I know. We all knew. Now it’s time Anya heard it from you.”

Darcy shook his head. “She can’t. Not right now.”

Vincent quirked an eyebrow. “Why not? I think now is as good as any time.”

Before Darcy could answer, a knock sounded at the door. Vincent looked up at the clock and saw the sun should be up right now, so who was at the door? Darcy and he both got ready as he answered the door with caution. No human would know about this place underground unless they were involved with vampires, but neither of them could hear a heartbeat. When Vincent opened the door, he was surprised to see three men dressed in black suits head-to-toe with some sort of helmets covering their faces as well.

A hum-like hiss came from his mouth in warning. These three were vampires, and by the looks of things, they got around in the sun with these suits. One of them held up their hands in surrender before taking off his helmet. “No need to worry, old friend. It is I, Fredrick.”

Vincent looked at the man before him with long white hair and a clean shaven face. He recognized who it was. The other two took off their helmets as well. Both Vincent and Darcy recognized them as Michael and Tobias. Three of the twelve on the Vampire Board or Commission as some call it. Vincent made a smile appear on his face by force. He didn’t want anything to go wrong. These men could order the killing of Wendy if they so choose. ‘I’ll kill them first,’ he thought with an internal growl.

“Hello, friends! How odd, I was going to send for a letter letting you all know I am back!” he lied easily. Vincent knew he could easily dispose of these three with his age and ability, but doing so would bring down the reign of the others… all one-hundred-ninety-seven of them. There were two-hundred on the board of commission in total. Not even he could withstand that kind of power.

Tobias stepped forward with a slight smile on his aged and stoic face before clapping Vincent on the back. “It’s so good to see you again. How did you get out? It was rumored only your beloved could do it…” he trailed off with a quirked eyebrow.

Vincent cleared his throat. “Yes, well, that was indeed true.” It was no sense to lie because any vampire could clearly hear her heartbeat. It wouldn’t look good on their part if he lied. If it came down to keeping Wendy safe from them, he would kill them regardless of the repercussions.

Michael then stepped up and circled Darcy with a slight sneer. They never did get along. “Hello, Darcy,” he quipped with a dangerous glint.

Vincent could see Darcy was trying not to growl. Stepping in, he tried to get the focus back on him so a fight didn’t break out. “How are things, friend?” he asked, looking at Michael, making him look away.

“Very good, very good. Tell me, can we meet your beloved? She must be a lovely creature to be paired with an old one such as yourself?”

Vincent want to tear off his head from suggesting it considering now, everyone was looking to him for the answer. Through gritted teeth, he nodded. “Of course. Just a moment, I must wake her.” Flitting into the room where she lay, he gazed at her. If his heart were to beat, it would be beating right out of his chest. Taking her out of this room would put her in danger and that made him scared for the first time.

He bent over and gently kissed her lips. “Wake up, darling. I need to prepare you to meet some old friends,” he whispered against her.

Her eyes fluttered open as the smallest smile graced her lips. “Hey. Who am I meeting?” she asked, pulling away to yawn delicately.

He found her utterly adorable and tried to focus to what was on hand. “Wendy, I need you to listen carefully, alright? These men are part of what my kind calls a Commission. They’re very powerful and very ruthless if addressed the wrong way. Please only speak unless spoken to. I say this because I love and care for you and I don’t want to see you even in the same place where you might get hurt.”

Her eyes were wide now with her heart pounding a mile a minute. “W-What? Are they going to hurt me? I-”

He cut her off with a simple kiss. “Not while I’m here. You have nothing to fear here for I will lay them down if they dare try to harm one hair on your head. For now they simply want to meet you. That’s all.” He could tell she was confused but she otherwise stayed quiet. “Now c’mon, we need to get this over with,” he muttered but waited as she prepared herself. He had to look at her with soft eyes as she hastily patted down her bed hair and straightened out her glasses.

“Are you ready? You look fine, no, you look beautiful,” he corrected himself as he took her hand to meet his lips. She blushed and looked away. Keeping her hand in his, they walked out silently. He felt her stiffen when she saw the men dressed in black. Indeed they all looked intimidating. His hand tightened in hers to reassure her. She smiled weakly in response.

Fredrick smiled at her and stepped up. “Hello. It is so incredible to meet this old man’s Beloved. Might I say, you look ravishing.” He finished by grabbing her hand quickly and placing a kiss on the same hand Vincent did. Vincent held back the growl that threatened to spill from deep within him.

“T-Thank you,” she stuttered and tried to calm her racing heart.

Tobias then stepped up, followed by Michael who took his time kissing her hand. This time Vincent did let out a slight hiss in warning, making Michael give an up-to-no-good wink.

“I see you’ve bitten her already. I would presume her time is coming within the next couple of months, by the looks of it?” Fredrick inquired with a passive face to everything.

Vincent let his eyes leave Michael so he wouldn’t be considered as disrespectful. “No. Actually the bite seemed to have taken quicker than we’ve anticipated. She’ll be turned by the end of this week.”

The usual emotionless face of Fredrick turned into a surprised one. “Really? How odd. Would you like us to look into it?” he offered the two.

“That won’t be necessary, thank you. We’re looking into it,” Vincent respectfully declined. Wendy fidgeted next to him and he sensed her ever growing discomfort as it was quickly turning into pain. She would need the bite again and soon.

Tobias inclined his head. “Ah, it seems we should come back again another time. The young maiden here needs Vincent as it seems. Let us go and we shall keep in touch.”

They placed the helmets back on their heads to protect the skin that may be burned by the sun.

“I don’t like them,” Wendy muttered once they were gone. She shivered next to Vincent with the creeps she felt from them, especially Michael.

He turned to her and framed her face with his palms. “Neither do I, but we must play nice. Like I said, I will protect you whatever the cost. Now show me your neck, Firefly.”

She tilted her head to the side with a slight sigh. “Sometimes I wish it would feel pleasurable again,” she said softly, stunning him just as he was about to bite into her.

“What?” he asked and watched in fascination as she flushed from head to toe.

“I-I didn’t say that out loud, did I?!” she asked, horrified.

He chuckled darkly and backed her into a wall, making her gulp. “Yes, you did. I can make it more pleasurable if you’d like?” he said with a sultry voice and kissed her just under her jaw line. “Darcy, leave us,” he ordered.

“Aw, fine, whatever. It’s not like this is my house anyway. Oh wait, it is!” he said sarcastically and flitted away.

Vincent could tell she was going to protest but one nip to the soft spot by her ear had her melting into him with a soft moan. His fangs scraped against her skin in the most pleasurable of ways. “You are so delectable, my little Firefly. So soft…” he murmured into her neck as his tongue flicked out and lightly skimmed over the skin. Her small hands gripped the tops of his shoulders as her body nearly shook with desire. He finally took her lips with his own in a bruising force. Thankfully the wall was behind her or both of them would have fallen to the floor.

She hopped up and wrapped her legs around his waist, wanting to be closer to him. He felt the same way as his hands held her by her bottom. He couldn’t resist as he squeezed her to him, making her squeak with surprise but then moan in satisfaction. His tongue danced with hers but she cried out slightly when she accidentally cut her tongue on one of his fangs. He kissed her deeper though and Vincent could feel she was getting hotter with each passing moment. Breaking away, he kissed down her neck before biting into her without notice. She moaned so loud that he wouldn’t be surprised if Anya heard it on the other side of the house.

Her blood filled his senses and made him impossibly more aroused. He sucked once more before feeling her tremble and then let out one more long groan as she went slack. Pulling back, he felt a proud smirk on his lips as her dazed gaze met his. “How was that for pleasurable?” he asked, only slightly being out of breath.

“You made me have a-an… I’ve never had one before…” She trailed off with her face still flushed from what just happened.

It made him that more proud to give her that satisfaction as he gently kissed her swollen lips. “I’m honored to take you to heaven and back. And I’ll be much obliged to make return trips if you so wish.” He finished with a wink.

“T-Thank you, b-but I need to lie down. I’m feeling a bit woozy.”

He leaned away from the wall with her legs still around his waist and carried her to the couch. She blushed and ducked her head into his neck, making him chuckle. He kissed the top of her head before he sat down with her straddling him. She gasped when she felt how ‘happy’ he was. She looked so lost that he had to put her mind at ease. With a simple peck, he shook his head. “You owe me nothing, my sweet alluring Firefly. I loved watching you fly just then. I do need to discuss something with you however,” he said more seriously at the end.

She waited for him with a worried look in her eyes. “What?” she asked.

“I need to tell you how to become a vampire.”

Chapter 20

Wendy

She tensed on his lap as her brain possessed what he just said. That one sentence brought her back from cloud nine and made her want to groan in frustration. She rested her forehead against his and nodded mutely while she closed her eyes. She felt his hands come up and rub her arms in comfort.

“It’s not a pretty process, but it won’t take more than a couple of days,” he started before removing her from his lap, only to maneuver her so her head lay on his lap and she was looking up at him with imploring eyes. He stroked her hair which made her feel content.

“Then what?” she asked hesitantly. She wouldn’t admit this but a small part of her was looking forward to spending the next eternity with Vincent. Although it was easier to admit it to herself since she spilled how she loves Vincent no matter how absurd that sounded.

He sighed, making his cool breath fan her face gently. “I have to ready myself for giving you the changing bite. I haven’t told you that you are not the only one affected by all this. While you crave for me to bite you, I am addicted to your blood. It gets increasingly stronger with each passing moment. What that means is that the last couple of days, I can’t bite you.”

Wendy gasped before she sat up.

She already knows it’s going to hurt. Her body is going to be screaming for him to sink his fangs into her, but he won’t be able to. “Why?” she asked with a slight tremble to her voice. She was never a big fan of any kind of pain.

He kissed her forehead and leaned back. “You have been getting small doses of this chemical, if you will, within my fangs. Letting it build up will give you just the amount you need to change. It’s different if a vampire isn’t bonded with the human as I am to you. Like Darcy, for example. For me to change him, I had to drain him of his own blood and replace it with a lot of my own.”

She thought it over for a few moments. “Will it hurt? The change I mean,” she clarified as she already knew it would be excruciating just waiting for him to bite her.

“No, you will be comatose, so to speak. From what I remember, it’s like you haven’t slept in days and all you want to do is sleep. It’s because your blood is slowing, much like how you feel from blood loss. I have to time it right though. I can’t bite you too late or too early. Either way will kill you. If I bite you too early, your body wouldn’t get what it needs or wants, I should say, and shut down. If I bite too late, I will give you too much.”

Wendy felt anxiety grip her but Vincent soothed her by caressing her face. “I. Will. Not. Let. That. Happen. Alright?”

Her heart told her to trust him, so she did and nodded to let him know she was okay, he sighed.

“What’s it like? To be a vampire, I mean. I’ve read stories and they talk about how hard it is in the beginning…” She trailed off, half wanting to know, the other half cringing at the prospect. He let a fond smile slip onto his face. “It’s like you’re born again, for lack of better words. Everything is so much sharper than before. Almost as if you spent your human life with plugged ears and looking through glasses that were permanently fogged. Everything smells richer than before. The earth no longer smells like dirt but rich spices that are without descriptive words. Your touch…” He trails off and gently glides a finger down the side of Wendy’s arm, making her shiver. “…is also beyond thinking clearly. Of course, your emotions are heightened as well. That does take practice to rein in. For the first few months, it will be like you’re permanently on your monthly.”

She blushed at that and tried to picture what it would be like. “W-What about bloodlust?” she asked hesitantly. A cold shiver ran its way down her spine at the thought of hurting anyone.

“That is a myth. You’ll feel thirsty as if it were a hot day and nothing but blood will satisfy, but do not worry. It will be like you are a newborn in a sense. Yes, a new baby must eat quite a bit at first but they never eat a lot. You’ll only need small amounts of blood in the beginning, maybe a few ounces about six to ten times a day. And just like a growing baby, your appetite will grow but the need to feed as often will get smaller. In the beginning your body is getting used to everything.”

It made sense to her now as she nodded to herself. “When are you going to stop this whole not biting thing?” she asked, not really wanting to hear the answer.

Vincent sighed apologetically and looked into her eyes. “Now. From now on, I cannot relieve you.”

Just hearing him say those words had her body flare up with soreness. “Two days?” she squeaked out, trying to calm herself down. The thought of it escalating to the point to where she was in school, it terrified her. That pain had been so dominant over her that she shuddered just reliving the ghost of it within her memories. If she wanted to live, then she had to do it.

Vincent kissed her forehead and stood up. “We should get to bed. The sun is up and I want to get you on a more appropriate sleeping schedule.”

Wendy had to admit she was more than tired, even after sleeping a little bit. From Vincent taking blood to what has happened in the last couple of days, it really drained her. She took his hand as he led them back to the bedroom.

“Hold on one moment,” he murmured in her ear, making her shiver. She turned and saw he was in the closet before coming out with a large t-shirt. “You can sleep in this. I promise to take you shopping once it’s safe to. In the meantime, you’ll have to borrow Anya’s things. She did go out and get you undergarments. However, She wouldn’t let me see them.” He muttered at the end, sending Wendy a cheeky grin with a wink. She blushed before grabbing the shirt and murmuring a small ‘thanks’ as she scurried to the bathroom.

Once behind the shut door, she let out a shaky breath. When she looked into the mirror, she saw her eyes were alight with emotions that were swirling inside of her. It took her by surprise but she rather liked the glint showing off how she felt alive.

Stepping out of her clothes, she quickly placed the large t-shirt over her head and untucked her hair that was spilling out. She happened to look down the counter and spotted contact lenses with a sticky note attached to them. It said: ‘Got these for you… used Darcy’s credit card. They’re the kind you can sleep in. -Anya’

Wendy had to smile slightly. She’s always wanted contacts. Not because she doesn’t like the way she looked in glasses but because her glasses always slipped off her face. They were so expensive though and her parents could never afford them. Not caring how Anya knew her prescription for them, she slipped off her glasses and flipped open the carrying case. She was excited to try them!

“Arg!” she grunted when once again she failed to put them in. The last five minutes have ticked by slowly and she has yet to place them in correctly. “C’mon! It’s not rocket science,” she muttered and tried once more. She finally did it to her left eye before struggling with her right. After another two minutes, she finally had them both in. Blinking fast, she saw herself clearly. And she thought her glasses could make her see! That was nothing! Not compared to how clear everything was now! Shaking her head, she jumped when a knock sounded at the door.

“Are you alright in there?” Vincent asked, making her chuckle as she opened the door.

“Anya gave me contacts. Do you like them?” Wendy asked while biting her lip. It felt funny not having to push up her glasses constantly. Her fingers itched to do it out of habit.

Vincent gave her a curious look. “What are contacts?” he asked, looking her up and down trying to guess what she was asking about.

Wendy had to laugh at that. She sometimes forgot that Vincent was new to all this new stuff. “They help me see, instead of using glasses. They’re clear but if you look closely, you can see them,” she explained but her breathing sped up when he leaned forward and stared into her eyes.

“That is so peculiar. How amazing!” His breath fanned over, making the bite on her neck sting with want. She pushed it down though. At least she was able to do that, for now. Vincent noticed her heart speeding up, making him smile down at her. “Come on, let’s get to bed.”

She nodded and scurried around him as another flash of want rolled through her. She dizzily shook her head and focused on anything but his fangs.

When they climbed into bed, Vincent grabbed her and held her to his side. She did feel more comfortable in his arms. She smiled slightly, snuggling her head into the crook of his arms as she was on her side facing him, while he lay on his back. Closing her eyes, she pressed a small kiss to his skin before falling asleep.

“Hello?” Wendy’s voice echoed in the dark. She felt like she was being watched but she couldn’t see anything. She heard a small laugh before a blinding light shone on her, making her squint into the darkness. Trepidation and fear curled through her as she looked out into the unknown.

“You? You’re his ‘Beloved’?” the voice spoke with amused disgust.

The voice echoed so badly, Wendy couldn’t tell whether it was a man’s or woman’s. Her eyes scanned again and again, but she came up with nothing. “W-Who are you?!” Wendy asked with fear laced in her voice.

The ground beneath her shook as the person laughed with a maniacal edge to it. “In due time you will know, but until that time, let’s have some fun.”

Wendy’s heart began to sprint within her chest. The place she was in suddenly lit up, making her scream. Flames engulfed everything around her. She could feel the heat surrounding her and it was getting so hot that it began to hurt. “Help! Someone help!” she screamed and tried to run but everywhere around her was scorched with the red flames that licked at her skin. Tears tracked down her face but soon sizzled dry from the heat before it could make it past her cheeks. Feeling exhausted from lack of oxygen, she collapsed onto the only spot that wasn’t eaten up with the fire. “Please, Vincent,” she whimpered.

“Wendy?! Wake up!”

She was jolted awake and when she saw Vincent there along with Anya and Darcy, she cried with relief and hugged herself to Vincent. He held her close but she had to hiss, making him pull her back to look at her with worry. Her eyes followed where the pain was coming from and saw that her forearm has a burn.

“Oh my God!” she cried and jumped back while shaking. ‘That’s not possible! It was only a dream!’ she thought with tears tracking down her face.

“Whoa, this is some Freddie Kruger shit,” Anya muttered. “I’ll go get something for the burn,” she said, about to leave the room but Vincent stopped her.

“No need.” He bit into his palm and as the blood pooled into his hand, he placed it quickly on the burn.

“Ah!” Wendy screamed in pain and tried to get away from him. Vincent’s face was filled with so many emotions as he held Wendy fast to him. Sorrow, regret, determination, and most of all, anger. The pain was a lot to deal with. Wendy felt like someone was cutting into her skin with a hot knife. “What are you doing?!” she yelled, trying to wrangle herself free.

“I’m so sorry, but I promise it’s almost done,” he said to reassure her and he was right. After another minute, the pain began to fade and he took his hand away. Taking the blanket, he wiped away his blood and Wendy wiped away the tears as she saw her burn was gone. She was still reeling from what happened. “Wendy? What happened?” Vincent asked slowly.

“F-Fire, everywhere. A voice. I couldn’t tell if it was male or female. It said, ‘You? You’re his Beloved?’ like it found it humorous or something,” she said shakily as she shook her head with fresh tears. “I-I’m sorry, I don’t want to talk about it,” she stuttered. Saying it was like reliving it. Wendy was terrified of fire. When she was little, her old house went up in flames. Her family and herself had nearly died.

Vincent nodded. “That’s okay. But we still need to know what else. If it’s okay, can I see in your mind? It’s painless, only a little uncomfortable.”

Wendy thought it over and nodded slowly. She just didn’t want to talk about it. Vincent sighed and closed his eyes as he still held her in his arms. She now understood how it would feel uncomfortable. It felt as though there was pressure. Like someone else was in her head but there wasn’t a lot of room. It only took a few seconds before Vincent pulled back slightly and cursed.

“What did you see?” Darcy asked and actually looked worried for Wendy, along with Anya. It was then that Wendy realized these people have grown to care for her and vice versa.

Vincent shook his head. “I don’t know who it was, but it has to be a vampire. Only another one of us can have a gift like that,” Vincent spoke through gritted teeth. He looked down at Wendy, and his eyes softened. “I will make sure to catch whoever has done this to you,” he spoke as he bent over and kissed her forehead. She relished in the comforting feeling, his lips on her skin making her nightmare disappear.

“Do you have any clues as to who would do this?” Darcy inquired as he asked Anya to get a cool washcloth to help Wendy clean up the sweat on her face.

Vincent shook his head with a grimace. “Not too many people know about Wendy, at least not of our kind. It’s funny though, how we got a visit today by three commission members and Wendy just so happened to be attacked in her sleep,” he muttered with a glare against the opposite wall.

Darcy shook his head, perplexed. “You think someone in the commission is behind this?! They all may be stuck-up assholes, but they don’t torture someone who hasn’t done anything to them! Especially a Beloved of an old one such as yourself! Do you realize what you’re implying?” Darcy said with a crazy look in his eyes.

Wendy was confused as to why Vincent’s thinking would be such a big deal. He nodded though and looked back down at Wendy. “Yes, I know.” He paused as he took Wendy’s hand in his. “It means someone in the commission is a traitor.”

Darcy shook his head and muttered to himself.

“What if you’re wrong?” Wendy asked hesitantly. It seemed to be a big deal to accuse these men of any sort of treachery. Vincent looked at her, not saying a word.

Darcy, however, spoke up. “If we’re wrong, it means we would have pissed off two hundred plus vampires who won’t hesitate to kill any of us.”

Chapter 21

Wendy

She felt sick to her stomach at this new revelation. Will she ever be safe? Who was trying to hurt her? Shaking her head, she lay back and tried to process everything.

Anya let out a dry chuckle. "You are just little Miss Popular, aren't you?" she joked, but all she got was silence. "Tough room," she muttered before going out into the hall.

Vincent stroked the side of Wendy’s face for comfort.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but if we are going to do this, then we need to be smart about it," Darcy spoke up from across the room, looking down at the ground, frowning in concentration.

Vincent scoffed and stood up. "You think I'm so callous to just waltz in there and accuse at will? I'm not suicidal."

Darcy put his hands up in surrender. "I never said you will. I was just thinking out loud."

Wendy felt like at any moment she could snap. She was so tightly strung. That nightmare, whatever it was, had her muscles aching for release, but she couldn't relax. She could still feel the heat, and the pain the fire caused. Not as badly but it was still there. Still heard the laughter of whoever made her go through it.

"I need a bath," she muttered, the hot water sounding more appealing by the second.

Vincent shook his head. "I can't be away from you right now, not even in the next room. After what just happened, my instincts are to keep you by my side. At least for right now until I've calmed down. Here, I'll give you a massage."

Wendy thought over what he just said. Normally she would be angry from being told no, but the latter option sounded even more appealing than a tub of hot water. She shyly nodded her head.

"That's my cue to leave. I'm going to go talk to Anya and brainstorm what we can do. Hopefully she doesn't stake me again," Darcy said as he walked out.

Vincent nudged Wendy to roll over onto her stomach with her back facing him. She sighed deeply when his fingers started to gently dig into her skin. Groaning, she closed her eyes in bliss, making him chuckle above her. He was straddling her back in a provocative way that normally would have her shivering, but she was in nirvana with his skilled hands.

He worked out a knot that had her hissing slightly. "You're so tense," he murmured and bent over to kiss her back.

She did something that shocked both of them when her hands reached back and lifted her shirt so she can really feel the massage. "Sorry, the shirt was getting in the way," she muttered, slightly embarrassed by her brazen behavior.

He didn't say anything for a moment and she was afraid she over-stepped but she had to gasp when she felt his lips graze across her now bare back. "Relax, Firefly. I am certainly not complaining."

Somehow, without even looking, she knew he was smirking.

"What's going to happen, Vince? It seems like every time we have a good moment, something else happens," she murmured, her eyes getting a little droopy, but she wouldn't let herself fall asleep. She knew whoever it was that burned her was waiting for that. It was her gut that told her so.

The room flickered around her, making her tense up. Vincent's voice sounded muffled like she was under water or something. When she tried to move, she found she couldn't! "Vincent?! Help!" she cried out in alarm. The room was pitch black all of a sudden. She couldn't hear or see anything. She could feel like she wasn't on the bed anymore. In fact, she was on her back now. Feeling around, her breathing increased when she felt like she was in a small enclosed box.

"Let me out! Help!"

Her fists pounded above her in fright. Closing her eyes, she tried to calm down. When she opened them, she gasped when she was back in the room under Vincent, with him still on top of her back.

"Firefly? Are you okay? What were you going to say?" he asked with concern as he felt her tremble beneath him in fear.

She turned around abruptly and clung herself to him. He rubbed her back soothingly as her shirt fell back into place. "D-Did I fall asleep?" she stuttered with tears falling down.

He pulled her back to look at her in confusion. "Wendy, you were just going on about possibly taking our relationship to the next level, which by the way threw me for a moment, considering you were so brazen about it-"

She cut him off as she jumped away from his arms as she started to shake.

"Vincent, I never talked about that. I thought I was asleep and being attacked again!"

Vincent now looked more confused and alarmed. He stood up and walked to her. "You were just talking to me though. What did you 'dream' about?" he asked urgently.

She relayed to him what happened, making him curse out loud. Wendy felt like someone poured cold water on her with the way her frame was vibrating. Her heart pounded in her chest as her mind kept replaying over and over the feeling of being trapped in that small box. She never thought she was claustrophobic, but she was just proven wrong. "H-How was I talking to you when I was experiencing that?" she asked with fear in her voice.

"I need you to calm down, okay? Darcy!" he called out, making Wendy wince.

"How can I calm down?! I was burned in my dream not long ago, and then I have some sort of out of body experience, while whoever the hell was talking was trying to talk you into sex! And you want me to calm down?!"

Darcy chose that moment to walk in with a slight hiss. "Oh, you never tell a woman to calm down." He winced when he saw how hysterical Wendy was.

"Not. Now, I think Wendy was just possessed," Vincent said through gritted teeth.

Wendy jumped from that news. "What?!" she cried out, feeling shivers of disgust run through her.

Darcy snapped his fingers. "Wait a minute! What about that one vampire on the commission who had that affair with you way back when? She's certainly vindictive enough and has the ability to briefly take control of someone if she tries hard enough. What was her name?" Darcy trailed off with furrowed eyebrows.

Wendy's eyes narrowed as she looked at Vincent. "If this is all about some stupid vampire who is jealous, I'm going to be so pissed," she uttered with a disgusted shake of her head. Vincent sighed and tried to comfort her but she took a step back. "I really don't want to be held right now. My skin feels creepy-crawly," she explained, looking now at the ground.

"Her name is Megara," Vincent answered Darcy's question and looked away from Wendy's downturned face.

Darcy winced when it appeared he remembered. "Man, she was something else. Could make you guard your man bits with one look," he said with a shiver. "Definitely a major step up with you, darling." Darcy finished with a saucy wink to Wendy who had to let a small smile slip through.

"Do you know what can help?" Vincent asked, wanting to make sure Wendy was as safe as she could be at this point. His friend nodded but was looking at Wendy with a calculating look.

"What?" she asked, looking at herself.

"How do you feel about needles?" Vincent asked. That one word had Wendy's heart kick start and caused her to gulp loudly.

Darcy nodded to himself. "I see. Well, I'm going to go get this kit I got soon after you were put into the ground. You need to make sure she doesn't pass out. I need her coherent."

Wendy looked at Vincent with wide eyes who started to walk to her but she backed up.

"No way! I am not getting stabbed with God knows what! Vincent, please! I'm terrified of needles!" She could tell her plea hurt him.

"I'm sorry, but I trust Darcy. He knows this, whatever it is, will work."

Wendy felt like a baby but she did start to cry. She couldn't help it! She was completely terrified of needles. Fire and needles are her worst nightmares. When she was little, she got stuck by a stray needle on the ground while playing outside. It was rusty and made her foot swell. Her parents were scared because her foot almost got amputated. She and needles just didn't mix.

Vincent wrapped his arms around her for comfort. "It will be okay. Just breathe, alright?"

She nuzzled her face into his shirt trying to calm down. 'Why me?' she asked, wanting to throw a very immature hissy fit, but knew that probably wouldn't be too attractive. Just as she was getting calm, Darcy walked in with a very old-looking box. Her heart started to race again. By this point she'll have a heart attack! Her fingers curled into the fabric of Vincent's shirt, almost trying in vain to cling herself to him, but knowing he could easily part with her. She felt his lips on the top of her head.

"Bring her over here, and hold her down," Darcy commanded.

Immediately she tried to run but Vincent held her fast to him and carried her to the bed.

"What is it?" Vincent asked out of curiosity and to make sure it was okay.

Darcy got into the large bed and faced them with his back against the headboard. "After you were cursed into the ground, I went everywhere trying to find you a way to get out. I stumbled across this enchantress who worked for a past King. She didn't have anything, only this." He held up the box. "When I asked her what it was, she said it helps keep anyone at bay who wishes to control another by their mind. She has continued to help me throughout the years so I have no reason to doubt her sincerity. She lives on through the blood line of her ancestors. That's the only way she could survive for so long. It's quite remarkable-"

Vincent cut him off. "Can we get this going?" he asked impatiently.

"No! Vincent, if you betray me like this, I'll never kiss you again!" she tried to threaten in a weak voice.

He looked into her eyes as he lay her down next to Darcy who was sitting up, box in hand. He caressed her face lovingly. "If you don't do this, you won't be in charge of who you kiss. Megara will be. Please, just try and relax."

Looking into his imploring eyes, she really did try, at least until Darcy opened the box and took out an extremely large syringe that was easily four inches long. Black liquid was in the vile part, making her try and escape again.

"Oh no you don't! Vincent? A little help!" Darcy muttered.

Wendy felt her face being grabbed since she couldn't tear her eyes away from the giant needle. "Is this going to hurt?" she asked just before Vincent made her turn away to look up at him. He was bent over her to capture her attention.

"Not at first," Darcy muttered before sticking her with it. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly from the slight sting. When he pulled away, she opened her eyes and looked down.

"Oh, that wasn't so-ah!" She broke off screaming and trying to claw at her arm.

"Hold her down!" Darcy ordered as Vincent covered her body with his.

Wendy was in agony. Plain and simple. It felt like every millimeter of the tissue in her arm was trying to claw free of her. Her eyes looked down through her screams and she saw black ink-like substance seeping up her arm. Where the pain was, the ink was also. "Oh God! Get it out! Please get it out!" she screamed just as Anya walked in with Asher.

"Whoa, is she having a baby or something?" Asher joked but was staying back as far as he could.

"Breathe, Wendy, breathe!" Vincent tried to soothe her, but this was too much. She started to pass out but Darcy slapped her face hard enough to keep her awake but soft enough not to hurt.

"No! She needs to stay awake. If she passes out, it gives Megara a free pass at her. Wendy needs to be the dominant soul in her body," Darcy explained when Vincent growled at him for hitting his Firefly.

She thrashed her head back and forth in absolute pain, trying to get at the arm that was throbbing. She wanted to tear it off. At this point, her neck was now in pain also. It seemed this black liquid was triggering her need for Vincent's bite. "My neck!" she cried out and tried to touch it but Vincent held her hands. It was becoming too much. The black swirls were traveling at a slow pace up her arm and she didn't know when it would stop!

"How much longer?" Vincent asked. She could hear the desperation in his voice. Sweat was coating her body from the struggling to get out from underneath him.

"Only another minute or so."

Although it wouldn't seem long, that 'minute or so' felt like hours to Wendy as she thrashed underneath Vincent and screamed until her throat was raw. Her neck was throbbing in time with her heart beat, which was very fast. Luckily though, the pain in her neck was livable while her arm was another story. Her body arched upward as a terrible spike ran through her. When the spike dissipated, the pain left her all at once. Except for the now dull throb in her neck. Her body slumped downward again, exhausted beyond belief.

"What is that?" Vincent asked, making Wendy begrudgingly open her heavy eyes and look to where his eyes were. Over her shoulder, there was a black mark. Nothing special looking about it. It was the size of a dime and just as circular. It was completely black and from a distance it looks like a birthmark whereas close up it looks like a tattoo.

"What the hell?" she muttered before her head felt too heavy and she was forced to lay it back down the pillow.

"Relax. You're going to feel pretty tired for the next few hours. Don't worry about sleeping. She can't get you until that thing fades. It protects from all supernatural beings," Darcy said when he got up from the bed to make room for Vincent to lay next to her.

"How long will it last?" Wendy asked with a yawn, feeling like nothing happened besides feeling like she hadn't slept in days.

Darcy silently closed the box with an inaudible click of the old latch before he answered. "Not as long as I'd like. Maybe a month. It would be longer but with your change coming up, it will burn up faster. Normally it's up to six months. I'll leave you two alone." When he passed Asher and Anya, he gave Asher a very heated glare before knocking his shoulder past him and stalked out. What was that about?

"We'll leave as well. C'mon Asher, let's go get that dinner you promised me," Anya said and Wendy had the 'ah-ha' moment.

Darcy was jealous, of course he would be. Rolling Wendy’s eyes at the stubborn duo, she let her eyes close. Before she fell into a dreamless sleep, she felt Vincent kiss her forehead.

Vincent

Looking down at her, he never felt so relieved as to see her peaceful. It wasn't fair that she was constantly being attacked by his past. Part of him thought how better off she would be if he never existed. However, what's done is done, and he knew that if he left now, it would kill them both. Knowing she was safe, he got up quietly and slipped out of the room, only to find Darcy pacing back and forth with a murderous expression on his face.

"I hear Anya is on a date," Vincent said lightly, not taking offense from Darcy’s warning growl. Vincent rarely feared anyone, and Darcy was far down his list.

"I can't believe her! Here she comes all 'When are you going to see me not as your daughter?' and 'I love you,' then she pulls this?! What the hell?!" Darcy pointed a finger at Vincent with a determined look. "She's trying to make me jealous! I knew it! Oh, if she thinks I'm confessing to her now, she's got another thing coming! I will not be outplayed!" he declared and stalked out of the room.

Vincent looked bewildered after him and shook his head. Darcy was only digging himself into a hole he may not ever be able to get out of. In the short time knowing Anya, he got the impression that she does not back down easily. Both of them were idiots, Vincent decided before checking in on Wendy. It has only been a few minutes but he needed to be near her. No matter how much his fangs almost pulsed to bury within her neck, he would resist. Vincent knew this was only the beginning for the next couple of days.

Soon he wouldn't be able to be in the same room with her, let alone the same house. Darcy already informed him there was a room in here that he will lock himself into so he wouldn't be tempted before it is time. When he walked back into the room, he flitted to her side and brushed stray tendrils away. She murmured in her sleep inaudibly before slipping deeper into sleep. Vincent thought back to where he thought he was talking to her, but in reality it was someone else. The change had been so swift and so fluid that he didn't notice and that scared him.

It means the vampire had been watching Wendy for a while now to learn her habits. Sure, it shocked Vincent when 'Wendy' brought up the subject of sex but not enough to raise suspicion. It had to be Megara though. That vampire was a poisonous flower. Beautiful to the eye but incredibly deadly. She only needs to possess you for a moment before she had one of her many 'followers' stake and/or kill you. But the fact she didn't want to kill Wendy but be her scared him even more. She must know he would never leave Wendy for her, so if she were to become Wendy... he shuddered to think about it. Megara was crazy enough to do it too.

He has to keep a close eye on her. Although with the protector in her system, it will keep all of it at bay. Bending over, he kissed her softly, just light enough to not wake her. He would die for her if it meant she'd be safe and happy. For now he will get rest with her since it won't be too much longer before he won't be able to be near her.

Chapter 22

Wendy

Scrubbing her face of sleep, she turned over and saw Vincent asleep next to her. Staying quiet, Wendy studied him. His raven-colored hair was splayed over his pillow while his jaw looked strong as ever. His large hand was on top of her hip in a show of possession. As her eyes scanned his face, her neck started to really throb in a way that wasn't ignorable. Hissing quietly, she put some distance between the two of them. That small sound of pain had his eyes snapping open.

"Firefly?" he questioned but his nostrils flared. In a millisecond he was across the room, away from her with his arm over his nose and mouth.

"V-Vincent?" she questioned with a stutter when a ripple of pain went through her. It was worse but still livable. Every cell in her body was trying to push her to go over to him and offer her neck to him. It was such a primal feeling that she literally had to hold onto the bedposts to stop herself from going over to him. Her knuckles turned white with the effort. His eyes were completely black. No whites whatsoever and it scared her as well as excited her. Her body seemed to know what he wanted as her body wanted to give him exactly what he was craving.

"Stay away," he growled, making her skin zing. His voice was rough and with the timber of his voice so low it made her body tremble.

"Darcy! Anya! Asher?! Help!" she called out, knowing that without help, neither of them was going to stand it much longer.

The door busted open with an annoyed-looking Darcy. "What now? Oh," he muttered when he took in the situation. Shaking his head, he flitted to Wendy's side and grabbed her before getting out of the room. He handed her off to Asher.

"Go. Take her on the other side of the house. I'll deal with Vincent."

Her body began to flare without being in the same room as him. "Ow! No, let me back in there!" she called out and just as she did, she heard a feral growl that made her shiver in slight fear.

"Sorry, but I'm not letting you near him when to him, you look like a Big Mac with fries," Asher muttered and quickly ran to the other side of the house. It seemed the farther away they got, the more the pain intensified.

"Oh God, I'm supposed to endure this for the next two days?!" she cried out and tried to claw at her ever aching neck. Asher restrained her without difficulty despite the fact how she was using all of her strength. "Let me go!" she screamed and managed to hit him between the legs. She was dropped to the floor with a groan of pain. Wasting no more time, she sprinted back to the room.

"Vincent!" she called out in some kind of voice that seemed a lot more alluring than usual. It surprised her, but all she wanted was for him to bite her. When she got into the room, she gasped and held back a scream. The pain and need was still there but fear was overriding it.

"Shit! Get her out of here!" Darcy growled and continued to hold Vincent down. Wendy covered her mouth in terror as his black eyes glared back at her. He was snarling viciously and trying to break Darcy's hold. Darcy cursed. "Never mind, forget her! Just stick him with the silver!" he ordered when he was starting to lose his grip on him.

Vincent let out a roar when he saw Anya come at him with a syringe filled with what looked like liquid metal. He flung Darcy off of him and made a B line for Wendy. She tried to turn and run but it was too late as he pushed her roughly against the wall. His hands held onto her upper arms and squeezed painfully. Just as his mouth was about to descend to her neck, he suddenly pulled back with a pain-filled cry. Stumbling back, it gave Wendy enough room to dash to Darcy's side and see Anya holding a now empty syringe. Now that he wasn't as dangerous, her pain was flaring up again, making her want to run to him.

"Run!" Vincent growled in a wicked voice. Wendy blocked out the pain as much as she could along with the want for him, and ran out of the room with her heart pounding. She ran into Asher who caught her around the waist.

"You're lucky I'm so forgiving. Otherwise I wouldn't think twice about spanking you for kicking me the way you did," Asher semi joked and carried her off, undeterred by the growling vampire just inside the next room.

"It hurts," she whimpered as she tried not to thrash about. Asher sighed as he placed her on a bed that was in the guest room. Her eyes caught something shiny and she had to gasp when she saw chains on the bedposts. "W-What are those f-for?" she stuttered, her fear coming back to the fore.

"I don't think we need them yet, but eventually, we'll have to detain you," Asher spoke with a grimace. She groaned as another wave hit her but she was angrier now.

"Why didn't he tell me?!" she yelled, trying to focus on anything but her neck.

Blowing out a breath, Asher took a chair and straddled it backward before looking at her. "I could see why he didn't. I mean think about if he had told you before, you would've been worrying like crazy."

Wendy was losing her focus fast so she shook her head to clear it. "B-But they pumped him with silver..." she trailed off with a whimper. 'Oh God, could this get any more painful?' she thought but had to scream as she arched off the bed when a tidal wave consumed her. Asher pulled over to her and wiped away sweat with a damp cloth he got from the side table. They must have readied the room beforehand, she thought briefly.

He tried to keep her mind preoccupied. "They had to. You saw how he acted when he saw you. In his state of mind right now, all you're to him is a meal. It's why we'll need to continue to pump him with the stuff because when the time comes to finally turn you, he won't be able to stop. But with the silver in him, he'll be more subdued and able to think a little more like himself."

Wendy tried to nod but all she could do was scream.

"How is she doing?" Anya asked from the doorway.

Wendy could hardly focus but strained to hear their conversation through the ringing in her ears. She felt delirious!

"As good as she can be. How's Vincent?"

This piqued her interest and she tried harder to listen.

"He's a little better. Might have to give him another dose of silver though. He's now in the room tied up with the titanium chains, so he won't be going anywhere in his weakened state."

Wendy shuddered as a ripple of sharp sting flashed through her.

"P-Please..." she gasped before her mind shut down and she passed out.

Anya

"This is insane," she muttered when she saw Wendy sag against the bed. At least she could escape, even just for a little while.

Asher snorted, gaining her attention away from the girl on the bed. "Are you saying you wouldn't go through this for Darcy?" Anya glowered at him and promptly turned on her heel and left the room. "I thought as much!" he called out with a laugh, making her grind her teeth and clench her fists. To think she actually asked him to dinner! It was a disaster! All he seemed to know was how to annoy her! Shaking her head, she stomped down the spacious hallway.

Whoever ended up with that bozo needed to get their head checked, she thought with a slight quirk of her lips. On her way to see how Vincent was doing, she grabbed an apple to toy with. When she got to the room, she could hear him hiss and cuss at Darcy, which made her want to smirk. Sticking the apple in her mouth, she bit it enough to hold it in her mouth so she could tie her silky brown hair up. She then fixed her red mini leather jacket that stopped at her rib cage. She took a chunk out of the juicy apple but stopped abruptly when she realized what she just did.

She just fixed herself up before seeing Darcy! Wanting to punch a wall, she yanked the hair tie out, knowing he liked it better up. Readying herself, she took another bite before stepping into the room. Her high-heeled boots clicked on the cement, making both vampires look in her direction. Vincent hissed menacingly at her, making her roll her eyes. She's had to deal with her fair share of idiotic vampires in her lifetime.

"Anya," he greeted like cardboard. Vincent thrashed against the chains but they all knew he was too weak to break them.

"Go. I'll babysit the hungry monster," she spoke, only looking at either the wall or Vincent. It hurt too much to look at Darcy. Once this was all over, she was going to try and leave again.

He stood up and went to leave but paused at her side. She held her breath, thinking he might say the one thing she was longing for. But with a slight shake of his head, he left the room, with her heart.

Wendy

"Oh God! Please make it stop!" she screamed so loud her throat felt raw. She was now tied up after the last hour of trying to get past Asher to find Vincent. If she thought earlier was bad, this made it seem like a bee sting. Her muscles ached from not being able to relax and keeping them tense.

"Damn it, Wendy! You're bleeding," Asher said in exasperation.

Her wrists were bleeding because she was trying to slip the chains off, but it was tearing at her skin. She growled at him, yes, she literally growled in anger. Throwing her head back, she screamed once more.

"Good God, she has a pair of lungs," Darcy muttered, walking in.

"Just kill me already!" she shouted and arched off the bed, trying to almost get away from herself and the unspeakable anguish. Her blonde hair matted against her forehead from the sweat and blood smeared her upper arms along from her lips from biting them so hard.

Asher came over and wiped away the blood. Normally it would hurt but she wasn't focused on small pains like that. No, she was focused on the monumental fire coursing through her neck and radiating off the rest of her body.

"This sucks. Please wait a little while before you do this to Anya. I really don't want to have to go through this again," Asher muttered, making Darcy whip his head to the side to look at him with wide eyes.

"Who said I was going to?! Even if she wanted me to do it, I doubt I would. I mean, I'd be better off just letting her stay human." Darcy denied Asher's claims.

Wendy saw the hunter roll his eyes but everything was becoming blurry again as unconsciousness licked at the corners of her mind.

"You two are so stupid. Why don't you stop wearing your ass as a hat and look around you? You clearly love her, and she clearly loves you. It couldn't be more obvious if you were to dance around with a sign above your head saying, how you care for her. You may live forever but she won't. Think about it," Asher finished while wiping the sweat away with a cool cloth. "Isn't this a trip, me being the voice of reason?" he said with a shake of his head as Darcy left. Wendy let herself slip and welcomed the small reprieve from the pain.

Vincent

His veins burned from the silver in his system, but the very small part that was still sane was glad they did it. It meant he couldn't hunt down Wendy and drain her like he wanted to. The more animalistic part wanted nothing more than to find her and rip her throat to drink her sweet blood. The scent caused his mind to haze over this morning and he was literally seconds away from snapping at her. He felt like a monster but he just couldn't stop hissing and fighting against the chains. Anya looked bored and was now playing some sort of game on her phone involving pigs. The lack of respect made him angrier.

"Let me go!" he growled at her. His vision was turning red, which meant his eyes were no longer a solid black but a blood red. It's what happens to vampires when their body is insane with thirst. It's the only time they can drain a human and actually kill them, otherwise they are incapable from drinking that much.

Anya sat up more straight, and glared at him. "I don't think so, Dracula. Now can you shut up? I'm on the last level," she muttered and went back to her game, completely at ease as she kicked her feet up and placed it on the chair next to her. Vincent thrashed against the chains again when he wanted to kill her. Sighing, Anya let her phone sleep and looked at him, irritated. "Can you stop growling and hissing like some animal? It's annoying."

Vincent knew she was playing with him but he was angry anyway. The monster in him wanted to rip out her heart for showing such disrespect.

"Don't make me give you another dose of silver, because I will!" she warned him but he didn't care.

All he cared about was finding the delicious-smelling girl. The monster didn't even recognize Wendy as his Beloved, which infuriated Vincent. He was hanging on by a thread but he'd hang on, for Wendy. Although this animal was now in charge of his body, he would be damned if he lost himself. If that happened, Wendy would die. Snarling at Anya, he bared his fangs at her.

"Okay, you asked for it," she muttered and picked up a gun from behind her. She pointed it at him and pulled the trigger.

He screamed when the silver vial emptied from the dart on his chest. He was hoping she'd be stupid enough to deliver the silver by hand so he could kill her. His body felt like it was burning and you could almost hear his blood sizzle. Steam literally started to come off of him from the burns.

"You bitch!" he hissed and tried at her again but now his body was far too weak and Vincent could think a little clearer. The red haze had receded, but it was only day one. There was another day to go and it was only going to get worse.

*****

The next day was such a blur anyone could hear both Vincent and Wendy's screams. Finally though, it was time. Anya pumped Vincent with enough silver to not kill him, but have him be extremely weak. His eyes were now completely red and unwavering even with the silver in his system. Wendy was beyond words as she now just screamed. Darcy helped drag Vincent into her room where he was able to lift his head. The sane part of him wanted to cry. She was thrashing on the bed as if she was possessed and blood smeared the sheets, making the monster try to jump and take control, but with the amount of the crippling metal in him, he could finally think a little clearer.

"Go ahead," Darcy encouraged him and had to lay him down next to her. When Wendy saw him, she went crazier, trying to get to him. He was so weak that Darcy had to place his head on her neck.

Vincent let his fangs come out... and gave her the final bite.

Chapter 23

Wendy

Coolness, that was what she was feeling. The feeling was like popping a peppermint piece of gum in your mouth, except it was her whole body. It was so relieving she nearly sighed. Wendy knew she was lying on a bed, that much was clear. Everything else was a blur as she tried to remember where she was and why. Her mind replayed everything that happened in such clarity it startled her! She snapped her eyes open and had to gasp.

"Wendy?"

Her head snapped to the side so quick it would have put a crick in her neck.

"Vi-ow!" she shrieked when something bit into her lower lip. Her fingers touched her lip and brought it back to see dark blood. Her finger very carefully felt her mouth and had to scream when she felt two very sharp points bite into the skin on her finger pads. Jerking them away, she sat up and looked around and when her eyes rested on Vincent's, she felt a little better. He reached out to her slowly, almost as if he were afraid to startle her.

"Breathe, Firefly. Try and calm your mind." His voice soothed her like never before. Almost like a soft lullaby.

Her eyes closed as she did what he asked. The buzzing in her mind almost immediately receded to the background of her head, making her feel more peaceful. Her eyes darted around the room and noted they were alone. "V-Vincent? Am I... am I a..." she trailed off, trying to feel what was different from her human self. She did feel a little cold, but that was normal for her anyway. Her vision has improved to the point she didn't think she needed her contacts or glasses ever again. Everything else felt normal though. It was strange; something was missing. With a gasp, her hand flew to her heart and felt no thudding.

"Yes, Firefly. You're now a vampire. You blacked out after I bit you. Now here we are. I'm so sorry you had to go through that."

Something in her wanted to almost purr at the sound of his voice. It unnerved her and made her want to check herself into a mental institution. Her feelings for him seemed to have magnified instantaneously. It stole the breath from her lungs and nearly had her topple over. Was this how he felt for her all the time? Shaking her head to clear the startling new revelations, she looked at him.

"I feel strong," she uttered in surprise.

He let out what sounded like a relieved chuckle and walked up to her. Slowly he cupped her jaw with both hands and this time she did let out a slight purr of contentment. She felt only the very subtle hint of heat grace her cheeks of embarrassment and wondered why it wasn't more since something like that would have made her entire face flush. "You need blood to feel more alive, if you will."

The thought of drinking blood did not appeal to her in the slightest but, when the door opened and Darcy came in with a small, maybe five-ounce glass filled with the red substance, she felt hunger possess her.

"Good evening, sleeping beauty. So glad you're not screaming your head off anymore." He winked at her and handed the glass into her awaiting hands.

She paid no mind to his little quip as her eyes looked over the red, thick liquid in her palms. Her nose and head told her it smelled good, while the logical sense in her told her it was gross and vile. Vincent rubbed her arm up and down to try and encourage her. Squeezing her eyes shut, she downed it like the shot it was and had to gasp as the taste flooded her taste buds.

Everything about it was exotic and new. It still had that metallic twinge but she found she rather liked that part now. It made her palette explode with new awakenings of flavors that had never been discovered. Opening her eyes, she let out a blissful sigh.

"Good, right?" Darcy joked before backing off when Vincent gave him a look. "Okay, okay! I'll leave," he grumbled and walked out with slow exaggerated movements.

"That was unexpected," she uttered, but let out a squeak when she flitted into Vincent's arms without meaning to. "H-How do you control this?" she asked with a slight stutter. She wasn't sure if she liked the speed yet, as her mind was still getting used to having these abilities.

"It's like you’re learning how to walk again. Take one step at a time, and eventually you will get the hang of it."

It did make sense, she thought with a slight mental shrug. "How come I feel strong, yet tired at the same time?" Confusion seeped into her voice as she peered up at him.

"Of course you're tired, Firefly. Think about it. Your body is now completely changed, and with that you will feel like you've run around the world and back again." He turned around and began to massage her neck, making her moan out loud. Wendy was now only just feeling how tense and wound up her entire body was.

"What now?" she asked when they moved to the bed as he continued to relax her.

He paused slightly before massaging the middle of her back. "Now you rest. I don't want to hear any buts either," he said quickly at the end when she opened her mouth. Huffing, she rested her head back down. A mischievous thought bloomed in her head as she flipped over so quickly it even startled Vincent as he was now straddling her. "What is that look for, Firefly?" he asked with an accusing smirk.

She crooked her finger to motion him closer, making him bend down and listen to what she was going to say. Her warm breath graced his ear, making him shudder. "Catch me!" She giggled and pushed him off before flitting out of the room with a giggle. Yes, she felt tired, but she also felt awake. It was an odd feeling, but what better way to run off the small bout of energy than running?

It felt exhilarating to run this fast! The cool breeze running through her hair was amazing, and it made her laugh. She flitted past Anya, making the Russian drop her book and scowl at her, but she had a small smile on her face so Wendy wasn't worried.

"Looks like someone is enjoying their speed," Anya muttered even when Wendy was now far away from her, but she still heard her.

It was all so incredible, but she laughed when Vincent caught her. He kissed her neck with a slight chuckle. "You're going to wish you didn't do that," he warned her.

She looked at him in confusion before her body sagged against his when a wave of fatigue fell over her. It was almost as if her energy was never there! Groaning, she let him pick her up. His soft chuckle met her ears and she fought the urge to stick her tongue out like a child.

"How come I feel so juvenile?" she asked with a twist of her lips. It was almost as if she reverted back to being twelve! She always did hate that age.

He smiled down at her and flitted back to the bed. "Your brain is trying to process everything, so in a sense it's kind of out of order. Don't worry though, you'll feel more like yourself in a couple of days."

She nodded against him and slowly fell asleep.

Vincent

Laying her down, he kissed her forehead with a sigh. There was going to be a lot of ups and downs for the next few days. Leaving her to sleep peacefully, he went out of the room. Truth be told, he was tired himself, but he didn't need to sleep as much as his Firefly did. He could go another couple of days without it.

Asher paused beside him and inclined his head to Wendy's sleeping form just on the other side of the door. "How is she?" he asked, making Vincent glare in turn. He still wasn't fond of the little hunter. The irrational part of Vincent wanted to rip Asher's head off for ever flirting with his Wendy, but knew his Firefly would be upset if he did that.

"Fine." His answer was curt, showing his feelings for Asher.

The hunter rolled his eyes and huffed. "Oh, relax, would you? So I called her cute, so what? Get over it and realize that I don't like her like that and even if I did, she only has eyes for you."

Vincent knew he made sense, but his possessive side wanted to annihilate him. "Just stay out of my way," he muttered and stalked past him.

"Wow, if I knew you'd be this big of a baby, I would've called her ugly," Asher remarked with a teasing glint in his eyes.

Vincent spun around and shoved him against the wall. "What did you say?" he growled dangerously. He knew he was acting petty and childish, but his emotions were already high-strung with what happened the last few days. This cocky hunter took the last straw.

Asher was suddenly looking angry, which was a first for Vincent to see. "Get. Your. Hands. Off. Me," he said with a slight snarl.

Smirking dangerously at him, Vincent took him by the throat and hurled him down the hall into the living room.

"What the hell?!" Anya shouted in outrage as she walked in from the door.

Both men ignored her as Asher quickly got to his feet and they began to slowly circle each other. "You know what? I think Wendy is hot! In fact, I'd love to have her in my bed, screaming my-"

Vincent cut him off as he flitted to him with an enraged growl. He went to punch him quickly, but Asher dodged and punched Vincent in the stomach, and although Asher put a good amount of strength behind it, Vincent was stronger.

"I'm going to enjoy this," he said with a hiss then punched Asher in the face so hard, the hunter fell down onto the floor.

Swinging his legs around, Asher managed to cause Vincent to fall as well. They were about to lunge at each other from crouched positions when they froze as a distinctive click of a gun rang through the room. "If you don't stop acting like children, I'm going to treat you both like one by shooting both of you with wooden bullets. You may not be a vampire, Asher, but it will still hurt like a bitch," Anya spoke with an angry smirk.

They both slowly got up with their hands showing to show they meant no harm, well, more harm. "Asher, stop trying to rile him up! You're worse than a small boy! And Vincent! I know your emotions are everywhere at the moment, but damn it! Stop throwing temper tantrums! Ugh! It's like I'm living with two six-year-olds!" she exclaimed as she holstered her gun back into place by her ankle, under her pants.

"Sorry," they both muttered as Darcy walked in the room. Taking in the scene before him, he looked at Anya. "Anya? Can I talk to you for a moment?" he asked but didn't wait as he strode past her and walked into the study.

Vincent saw her roll her eyes before she followed silently, but just as she reached the door, she turned around. "If I come back out here and find you two are at it again, I will personally make sure neither of you can walk right," she warned and left them.

Anya

Her heart started to beat a little quicker as usual when she was alone with Darcy. She quietly cursed herself for her natural reaction. Darcy gazed at her, not saying a word, making her grow more and more frustrated. "Is this all you wanted? Because if it is, I'd rather be out there babysitting thing one and thing two." Her smartass reply was a cover-up and they both knew it.

Taking slow, deliberate steps, Darcy cornered Anya. "How long have we known each other?" he asked in a quiet voice. He wasn't that close but it was close enough to have her heart nearly beating out of its ribcage.

"Too long," was her curt reply. Oh, how she wanted to run from this room. It was too much to be alone with him now.

He smiled slightly and shook his head. "You don't mean that," he murmured and walked even closer to her.

Anya was frustrated with herself. She hated feeling weak and vulnerable! For crying out loud, she's fought with vampires before! And won! But with just one smile from Darcy, she turned into the helpless school girl she hated.

"Yes, I do. I think we've known each other too long."

He smiled even broader this time and now was only just a couple of feet away. Wanting to run from this room, Anya turned to do so, but suddenly he was there and she gasped. His warmth was radiating from his body into hers. Flashing a wicked grin, Darcy bent down. "I'm sorry I was treating you the way I was. Forgive me?" he asked with sincere eyes that made her want to close the last few inches and cover his lips with her own

They both knew she would forgive him. It was her curse in a sense. "N-No," she stuttered pathetically and let out a small whimper when his lips brushed against her own.

"Maybe this will help?" he suggested before closing the gap. She sucked in a surprised gasp as her world froze. Her eyes drifted closed before surrendering herself to him. She didn't know what changed his thinking, nor did she care. Even if this was some fluke, she was going to enjoy this sensation

His palms framed her face as he deepened their kiss. She surrendered herself completely to him, knowing most likely she'd kick herself for it later. The kiss was sweet, or at least it started out that way, but with one whimper from Anya, Darcy snapped. He brought her closer to him and ravished her in a way she only dreamed about. Her hands came up and delved into his thick white-blonde hair. She bit his bottom lip, making him groan. When they both broke away, they were panting pretty heavily.

"Please forgive me? These last few days have made me think. Of you. Of us. I was so stupid to treat you the way I did. Can we give this a go?" he asked, looking into her eyes with an almost desperate expression.

"I've waited my entire life to hear that from you," she whispered and kissed him again. Holding tightly to him, her heart soared with finally getting what it's been after for so long. After all those days and years fantasizing over what his lips would feel like, she finally had the real thing. It was even better than what she imagined. Now she knew though, with tasting him now, she would die if he decided to leave her now. It would slowly kill her. 'My life is yours,' she thought silently and enjoyed this incredible moment.

Chapter 24

(Part one)

Wendy

"Now try again," Vincent ordered softly, making Wendy sigh. Closing her eyes, she focused on her surroundings, trying to find him. This underground house was a lot bigger than it looks, and it already looked big! Right now Vincent was training Wendy how to hone in on her vampire skills. It was a lot more difficult than she originally thought. Concentrating, she listened to everything around her. That wasn't the difficult part. The hard part was trying to pick apart which sound belonged to what then trying to find Vincent in the midst of it.

She could hear the faint ticking of a clock two rooms down, then the soft pitter patter of Asher and Anya's heart upstairs. The curtain rustled with the slight breeze of the vent next to it. Squeezing her eyes shut, she concentrated harder. On the very other side of the house she could hear breathing but no heartbeat. Flitting to the sound, she had to grin when she saw Vincent in the small library, waiting for her.

"That was a lot faster! Good job!" he praised and scooped her up in a hug. It's been a long couple of weeks for Wendy. She felt a little stir crazy being stuck in the house, but understood she needed to control her abilities before she could go outside where humans were. It wouldn't look good if she suddenly flitted in front of others.

Kissing the side of her head, he set her down with a grin. Suddenly though, there was a crash. "Stay behind me," he said with a stern voice as the two of them flitted upstairs. Thankfully the sun had just gone down, making it safe for them both.

Wendy burst out laughing at the sight before her. Anya and Asher were covered in various ingredients, like flour, sugar, and some kind of paste. "Laugh it up, princess. Maybe you need a hug?" Asher said mischievously, making her cry out and duck behind Vincent trying not to laugh. She's honestly never felt so happy. Her thoughts were cut off when the sound of a TV turning on had them all stop short.

Flitting to the living room, she gasped as tears welled in her eyes. Her family was on the news. 'Oh God, how could I have forgotten them?!' she thought when pain surged her heart. They were all crying, begging for whoever had Wendy to release her. Vincent hugged her from behind, causing her to turn into him and cry.

"Can someone turn that off?!" Vincent asked in a growl. Asher's eyebrows furrowed when he clicked on the remote. "It's not turning off..."

Vincent interrupted him when Wendy cried harder as she heard her mother’s sobbing become louder. "Unplug it!"

Asher wasted no more time as he unplugged the TV, but all were astounded when it still didn't turn off. Asher then threw it on the ground and jumped on it until it was completely dead. Wendy felt like she was a mess. This had to be the worst feeling. Like thousands of hot knives stabbing directly into her heart. Vincent wasn't kidding when he told her vampires feel more emotionally. How she wished she could rein this feeling in, but her heart wouldn't allow it! Vincent cursed and fled the room with her into their bedroom. He shushed her soothingly and tried to calm her down.

"Can I see them? Please?" she begged when her heart gave a painful squeeze.

He kissed her forehead. "It's not safe right now, but I can project you into their dreams if you want," he offered, making her perk up a bit. It was still hard since that blasted drawer she locked away a while ago burst open.

"I'll take it!" she said instantly, wanting to see them again. She hated feeling this emotional, but Vincent told her it was to be expected. She was getting better at ringing them in, but having to see something like that, her family in tears, was too much. Laying down, she peered up at him. "Oh Vince, I'm sorry I'm such a mess. It's just... I miss them, you know? And now with all these heightened emotions, it feels as if they died or something," she tried to explain but she saw in his eyes she didn't need to.

"It's alright. I've been there myself once. Now close your eyes and try to sleep. I know it feels funny now since it's dark out but your family should be sleeping by now."

Wendy calmed herself with great effort and relaxed her mind. It took another hour before she convinced her mind she was drowsy enough to sleep.

*****

Wendy gasped as she looked around her old room to find herself alone with her mother who was sobbing into her old pillow. "Mom?" Wendy took a tentative step forward but froze when her mother's eyes snapped to hers.

"W-Wendy? Oh God, Wendy!" she exclaimed and ran to her. Wendy felt the undeniable relief flood from her mother into her. It was short lived, however, when Debbie pushed back to look at her with a broken gaze. "This is a dream, isn't it?" her mother questioned.

"In a way," Wendy answered vaguely.

Debbie choked out a broken cry before grabbing Wendy up in another hug. "Where are you?" she whispered into Wendy's hair.

Sighing dejectedly, Wendy took her mom by the hand and led her to her old bed. "Mom, I wish I could tell you, but it wouldn't be good for you to know. I am safe, and I promise one day, I will come back to see you all."

Debbie looked up at her daughter with a confused expression. "I-I don't understand."

Wendy tried to rein in the feeling of guilt for making her mother feel this way. "I'm so sorry, mom," Wendy cried and enclosed her arms around her. "Please trust me when I say it's better this way-"

Debbie cut her off by angrily getting up and lifting her arms. "How?! How is it better to have my only daughter gone?!" Wendy was beginning to think this wasn't such a good idea to do this when her mom heaved out a heavy sigh and kneeled down before her. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be wasting this precious time with you. Come here, baby."

They spent the next thirty or so minutes just embracing one another and making idle chit chat to avoid the pain. Knowing she had to go visit her brother and dad, she let go of her mom.

"Go to sleep, mom. I love you," she whispered and Debbie was helpless but complied. "I don't want to go to sleep though. You'll b-be gone," she spoke through a barely there voice as her mind succumbed to a deeper sleep.

Suppressing another cry, Wendy closed her eyes and thought of her dad.

*****

"Daddy?" Wendy spoke quietly at seeing her dad sitting on a bench at the playground she played. Following his line of sight, she saw herself when she was only eight years old, laughing and giggling away as her brother chased her. Walking to her dad, she sat next to him.

"Hey, Princess," he murmured and slowly looked at her with a sad smile. "Came here to say goodbye?" he offered and Wendy had to stifle her tears when she saw his lower lip tremble ever so slightly. Leaning her head down on his shoulder, she nodded.

"Sort of. Dad. I just want to let you know that I-I'm safe, and God, I love you so much, dad."

His hand grabbed hers and squeezed it for comfort. "I know, sweetheart. I love you, too. You don't know how much I miss you, but..." he trailed off, looking into her eyes. "I can see you're happy. Why can't you at least visit?" he questioned with a slight wobbly voice.

"I can't right now. Maybe someday."

They were both interrupted when her eight-year-old self was laughing and tugging on her dad's hand. "Come play with me, daddy! Please? Mark ditched me." Her younger self pouted cutely.

"In a minute. Let me finish talking with this young lady, okay?"

Little Wendy nodded, making her pigtails flop, then she skipped away.

"You keep your promise, do you understand me?" he made clear and kissed her forehead. "Go on, I have a feeling there isn't too much time and I know you left your brother for last."

Wendy had to shake her head with a watery smile. "You always understood me the best. And I promise, one day I WILL be there to see you guys again."

Hugging him to her one last time, she cried silently when he got up and chased around little Wendy. Closing her eyes again, she focused on her brother.

*****

"I remember this place," Wendy murmured as she looked around. She was outside looking at the lake in front of her. Spotting her brother at the end of the dock looking at the water, she walked up to him, taking a deep breath.

"Wendy Bird?" he asked with a voice that showed how incredible seeing her was.

"Hey there, Mark," she said in a soft voice. Standing up, he engulfed her in a hug. It was strange, she felt every bit as human as before she turned. That had to be Vincent's doing.

"Where are you? Please tell me so I can find you. Or... are you d-dead?" he asked with a broken expression.

She placed a palm against his cheek and shook her head. "No, I'm not dead. But I can't tell you where I am. Know that I am okay. Take care of mom and dad, okay? How is everything?" she asked, feeling fatigue wash over her. It took a lot of concentration to stay in their dreams and it was beginning to take its toll.

"How do you think? We're a mess! Mom can't stop crying, dad is even less talkative, and Jamie is searching hell and high water for you. So yeah, not so great!"

Wendy was hurt by his harsh words but she was sure they'd get by without her. They needed to. "Please don't be like that, Mark. You know I want to see you and you know I would have a pretty good reason if I couldn't, and I can't. Not now. You guys will move on from this, I know it."

Markus stepped back and shook his head angrily. "No, we won't! Damn it, Wendy! How can I just move on?! You're my baby sister! You were taken from us and you expect me to just shrug it off?!" he yelled in anger and confusion.

"No! I don't expect you to just shrug it off, but I do expect you not to think your life will be on pause until I can come see you! Live your life, Mark. Find a girl to marry and give mom and dad lots of grandchildren!"

He shook his head angrily as tears rolled down. Storm clouds were rolling in, reflecting his mood. "How is this even possible? How am I talking to you now? Oh my God. It's that crazy vampire story you told me in the hospital, isn't it?! That was real! He took you, didn't he?!"

Wendy knew he was spot on and that also told her she needed to get out of here. Rushing forward, she hugged him tight and kissed his cheek. "Leave it be, Mark. I love you," she whispered.

But before she rushed out of his dream like being sucked out, she heard him say, "I will find you, Wendy!"

Chapter 24

(Part two)

Wendy

Gasping, she sat up as if she were breathing again after being under water for too long.

“Wendy? Is everything alright?” Vincent asked her with worried eyes.

Her eyes connected to his as she shook her head sadly. “No. Oh God, that was so much harder than I thought.”

When she relayed to him what went down with her brother, he growled. It was a deep baritone that sent a shudder down her spine. “Don’t worry, Firefly, he can’t find us.”

Wendy let a small frown slip on her face as she pulled away to look up at him. “No, don’t be angry at him. He has every right to react that way. If it was the other way around, I’d be furious too.”

“He made you cry,” Vincent said stubbornly as he rubbed her arms up and down.

Gingerly placing her fingertips under her eyes, she found she was in fact crying. “I’m fine. I will be.” Reassuring him, she leaned up and kissed him softly. It was just going to be a quick soft gesture, but his hand came up behind her and held her head to him. Smiling against him, she sunk into his feel and tried not to let her mind get too mixed up. But having his warm, firm lips against hers wasn’t going to make it easy.

Well, if he was trying to distract her, it was working! His large hands were caressing her sides that caused her to shudder against him. His tongue traced her bottom lip, making her moan. He chuckled at her as her face heated up slightly. She was able to flush easier since she had blood just yesterday.

“Shut up,” she mumbled and then continued to kiss him. Raising her leg, she hooked it around his hips to pull him closer to her. Vince growled lowly in his throat that sent thrills through her. Her breathing was coming in gasps as she tried to settle herself better.

“You have no idea what you do to me, Firefly,” Vincent said with his voice husky and low.

She felt a little cheekier than usual as she pressed into him more. “Oh, I think I know exactly what I do to you,” she said with a wink, referring to how excited he felt. His chuckle rumbled through him as he dipped his head to the crook of her neck.

“You are turning into a little vixen,”

Before she could respond, he bit into her, causing her to arch as the pleasure assaulted her. Wendy felt like she was high. There were no true words to how it felt. If she thought him biting her felt good as a human, this was no comparison. Her nails bit into his shoulder blades through his shirt as she tried to keep some of her dignity by not screaming down the whole house. She felt her fangs grow in response as a sudden overwhelming urge to sink her teeth into him pushed at her. Having no choice but to comply, she turned into his neck and returned the favor.

Vincent pulled away enough to stop biting her as he groaned loudly. ‘This must feel as good to him as it does to me,’ she thought while snickering in her mind. The taste of him was explosive. She compared it to if sex and heroine had a baby, this taste, this addictive sweet taste, would be it. Just as she pulled away to catch her breath, her mind flashed before her.

She saw Jamie and Markus walking through the woods and somehow she knew it was near where she currently was. It was snowing out and it looked like they were arguing. Wendy screamed as she saw a blur of a vampire come in a swipe at her brother. Jamie screamed and jumped back, and Wendy looked around for anything to help her distinguish what day it was. She knew she was in a very small clearing and it had a small pond next to it. Looking down at her watch, it had the date in it. There in pink numbers, it said it was December fifteenth.

The scene blurred as she blinked her eyes back into focus and saw Vincent looking worriedly down at her. “What is it, what happened?” he asked frantically.

She felt an iciness wash over her when she realized what she just saw. “Vincent? I-I don’t know how, but I just saw what’s going to happen in the future with my brother and Jamie.” Her voice shook with how freaked out she was as she tried to keep it together.

“Are you certain?” he asked with a concentrated look.

She nodded frantically. “Yes! In one month, Jamie and Markus are going to try to find me somehow, but they get attacked by a vampire. I couldn’t see the vampire’s face though.” She couldn’t and wouldn’t let anything happen to her brother or her best friend.

He cradled her face in his hands. “It’s going to be okay, alright? I promise.”

Wendy saw in his face he wouldn’t let anything happen to her loved ones, for which she was grateful.

“Can you describe where they were at? I may know the area if it had any type of land markings.” he asked. She then recited what she saw, like the small pond, and small clearing.

He nodded to himself. “I know where that is. It isn’t far from here, maybe a mile or two, but the question is, how did they find us?” he asked more to himself.

Wendy hadn’t a clue as to how, but all she knew was that they had to save them from whatever attack they were under when the time came.

“We have a month to figure it out, so it will be fine,” he assured her.

Sighing, she sat up and looked at him. “Vincent?” she started, “what does this mean? Can I see the future now?” Her voice was a little skeptical; she didn’t want to believe it.

He shook his head slowly as he tried to think himself. “I’m not sure. It is odd, but until this becomes a regular occurrence, we won’t know for sure.”

Deep in her gut, something told her she wasn’t behind the vision. Her eyes followed the ‘tattoo’ on her upper arm that proved she was safe, but was she? Shaking the feeling away, she gave him a small smile before hopping out of bed.

“Don’t you want to pick up where we left off?” he suggested with a smirk and patted the bed to prove his point.

Sticking her chin up, she flounced to the door. “How about you finish on your own?”

He growled playfully before crouching before her. She squealed and flitted out the door. It was times like these she was so thankful he could distract her.

She didn’t want to think about what could happen.

She ran past Darcy and Anya who were kissing in the hallway, making her grin. They have been getting along VERY well these past couple of weeks. Wendy was ecstatic to hear they were finally together! They still tease each other almost non-stop but now they can shut each other up by kissing. Laughing away, she felt an arm reach out and she squeaked in alarm. She was slammed into the wall on the far edge of the house, making her groan from impact. Her eyes saw Asher in front of her, staring down with blank eyes. “A-Asher?” she asked hesitantly.

“You’re coming with me.” His voice was void of any emotions. She struggled against him as he started to drag her up to the steps. The sun was still out though!

“Asher, stop!” she screamed. He almost made it to the door when they were both knocked down. Wendy scrambled away from him on instinct as Vincent wailed on him. Darcy ran in, taking in the scene before pulling Vincent off of the hunter.

“Let me go! He almost killed her!” Vincent’s roar was deafening, but Wendy knew he was holding back because he was stronger than Darcy. He didn’t want to hurt his friend.

“Just hang on a minute! Can’t you tell he’s not acting right? I know you don’t like the guy but you know as well as I do that he wouldn’t normally do something like this!”

All eyes looked down at Asher, who lay on the floor staring at nothing.

“I. Don’t. Care!” Vincent spat through gritted teeth. He was shaking with rage that was barely contained and it rolled off in waves.

Wendy got up quickly and placed a calming hand on his shoulder. “I’m fine. See?” Her soothing voice worked as he calmed down, but only enough to not kill Asher.

“Anya, I need you to look after him in the lock up room,” Darcy asked her, which made her nod. Taking his arms, she dragged him to the other room.

Wendy felt a bubbling anger storm through her from all the things that have happened so quickly. It seemed that now that Vincent was calmer, her emotions had enough room to fan out.

“I am so sick of this!” she cried out, waving her hands  in an open motion. At that exact moment, the lamp next to them blew up, causing all of them to jump. “What was that?” she asked slowly as her anger receded.

Vincent and Darcy shared a look and nodded. “You think so?” Darcy asked Vincent’s unspoken statement.

“Mind clueing me in?!” Wendy asked with frustration.

“Wendy, why are you so annoying?” Darcy asked with a disgusted expression.

Her eyes widened at the unexpected insult. “Darcy, what-” She was interrupted when he scoffed.

“I don’t know what Vincent sees in you. You’re pathetic,” Darcy continued. Vincent looked like he was going to intervene but Darcy held up a hand, stopping him.

Wendy’s blood began to boil. “Darcy, if I were you, I’d shut up,” she warned him when she felt her fangs slide down.

“Why? Are you going to hurt me? Please! You are nothing, nothing but a-”

Wendy’s hands flew up and the chair behind him blew up, causing her to scream in surprise.

“Sorry about that, Wendy. I needed to ruffle your feathers to see if it was true,” Darcy explained quickly when her eyes swung to him again. She placed her hands on her hips, still not getting it.

“I think we found out what your ability is,” Vincent murmured as he flitted behind her to hug her waist.

“What?! H-How is that possible? I thought the future seeing thing was my thing… maybe.”

Darcy cocked his head to the side. “Future seeing? Where was I?” he asked, making Wendy reluctantly explain what happened. She was still peeved at him for saying what he did but now understood why he did it.

Vincent kissed the side of her head. “It does make sense that you have an ability, a powerful one at that. It comes with the territory of having someone like me as your Beloved.”

Wendy blew out a breath and stepped away.

“Well, can we figure out how to control this thing? Preferably before I blow Darcy up?” she asked, not wanting to hurt anyone.

Chapter 25

Vincent

“Watch where you’re using that thing!” Darcy cried out when Wendy blew up another piece of fruit next to him but it nicked him in the arm.

She felt frustrated, which wasn’t helping her concentration. It was only making it worse. “Sorry but it’s a little hard to concentrate using this thing when I don’t even know how I’m doing it half the time!” she said, exasperated.

Vincent came up behind her and held her hands.

“Just breathe, Firefly. This power is tied to your emotions, so you need to rein yourself in.”

She tried what he was saying and breathed in and out, feeling calmer by the second. What she felt though when she was calmer, was a low buzzing of sorts in her hands. She could feel the power just below her finger tips as if it were dancing below her skin. She focused on her hands and then pictured the apple just off to the right instead of looking at it. Taking a deep breath, she closed her fists and opened them quickly. Hearing a pop, she opened her eyes and saw Darcy was now covered in apple, almost as if someone had covered him in apple sauce.

“Why was I picked for target practice again?” he asked rhetorically and wiped off the side of his face.

Vincent suggested that in order for Wendy to concentrate more, she needed an incentive to not hurt anyone. Darcy was forced into the job much to his annoyance and even slight fear. It was a funny sight really, and you would think after being together now, Anya would fear for Darcy but she was actually laughing. Vincent originally wanted Asher to be in Darcy’s place, but the hunter was still catatonic. Anya was sitting researching on how to help with her laptop, but not getting anywhere.

“Believe me, I think it’s stupid too. Vincent, I’m serious, I could really hurt him!” Wendy said with worried eyes.

Vincent shook his head in response and kissed her cheek. “You won’t. You’re good to the core and I know you won’t let yourself hurt him.”

Her brain felt tired from all this training they’ve been doing for the last two weeks. And she was only now getting how this power worked. It was strange though, it wasn’t anything she could grasp or hold. But it was more of a burst of energy that couldn’t be tamed. It was like telling a feral lion to play with a kitten’s toy.

“Now do it again. See if you can rein it in again,” Vincent said softly behind her after he placed another apple next to Darcy.

She got why he was training her past exhaustion. She knew he wanted her to be able to defend herself from whatever wanted her out of the picture. So, closing her eyes, she tried to do what she just did again. Breathing in and out slowly, she focused on the now more prominent buzzing just below her palms. Her mind imagined the apple next to Darcy as she closed her fists and then opened them quickly. Opening her eyes, she saw Darcy was covered in fresh apple mush once again.

“Great job!” Vincent praised as it seemed she was finally getting a handle on her power.

Darcy gave a sarcastic smile and wiped off the excess apple juice from his face. “Oh yeah, great job. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to take a shower.”

Wendy tried hard to not laugh at his expense but a little chuckle did slip through.

“Laugh it up!” he conceded grudgingly, making Wendy burst up in laughter. Laughing felt good right now. With everything that seemed to happen so quickly, it felt nice to let loose.

“You guys are mean,” Darcy said before leaving the room with an immature pout.

Anya rolled her eyes and walked out after him. “C’mon, you big baby, let’s get you cleaned up,” she called out after him, making Wendy laugh again.

She felt Vincent squeeze her from behind in a loving gesture before facing her. “I love your laugh,” he murmured before placing a sweet kiss on her lips. It made her smile slightly at the feeling as she gazed up at him when he pulled away.

“Maybe when this is all over, I can do it more often,” Wendy said with a slightly sad smile, thinking of all the obstacles they had yet to face.

Vincent looked at her for a moment before offering her a hand. “C'mon. I'm taking you out for tonight,” he said, making her look at him with surprise but the ever growing smile on her face told him she very much liked the idea.

“Really?” she asked, almost afraid he'd take it back at the last second.

He chuckled and brushed the side of her face with his fingertips. “Yes, so go get dressed and I'll handle the rest.”

That was all she needed to hear before running to her and his room and going through her clothing options. Over the last couple of weeks, Anya has taken to buying and or ordering Wendy’s clothes, so she had quite a choice to choose from. Something flashy caught her eyes before she reached for it and grinned. It was perfect.

The dress was a navy blue but had a silver accent that shimmered with every move she made. It stopped just above her knees and flowed from the bust down. Getting undressed, she slipped it on. It was backless but it had a built in bra in the front so she didn't have to worry about that. Moving to the long mirror that was on the back of the closet door, she marveled at how it made her look. It made her look older in a sophisticated way. Moving to the dresser next to her, she picked up this blood-red lipstick Anya had let her have. After swiping on a couple coats, she then put on a light shimmering eyeshadow before she deemed herself ready. Her eyes found some red pumps, so she quickly put those on. Wendy left her hair down as it was tame and had nice waves going through it.

“All ready!” she said with a big grin as she flitted to the living room. She saw heat enter Vincent's eyes, making her swell with feminine pride.

“You look exquisite.” He took her hand and then kissed the back of it. He was all ready to go in a red button-down with black slacks that made Wendy want to rip it off him. The shirt stretched over his expansive chest and impressive back. Wendy knew from experience that any women tonight were going to be thinking lustful thoughts. He led her outside, just as the sun was setting, to a nice sleek car. Vincent, when he wasn't training Wendy, learned how to drive. He was surprisingly very good at it.

“M'lady.” He opened the door for her, making her smile to herself. Most would think he was trying to be funny but he was being serious. In his time it was customary to open a door for a woman.

“Thank you.” Her voice was soft as she enjoyed not having to strain herself for once. Vincent held her hand as they drove out of the driveway. “So why are we driving?” she asked, not minding the extra time with him.

He shrugged. “Why not?” sad his only reply.

The quiet purr of the car was the only sound but it was nice. A very welcome change to the chaos at the house. Resting her head back, she looked over his profile. He looked so carefree at the moment. It was different from his normally serious self. Of course she loved every side of him, but she found the soft smile that played at his lips a welcoming side that she hoped would stay for a while.

The moon was full tonight, casting everything in a cold glow. It took another few minutes before Vincent pulled in front of a very nice restaurant. There was a vallet there waiting and the boy opened Wendy's door and helped her out.

“Thank you,” she said with a smile that seemed to stun the young boy. She wasn't used to having the sort of charm that came with being a vampire.

“Not that this place isn't stunning, but I didn't think Vampires could eat.” Her voice was low enough for only Vincent to hear.

He chuckled and kissed the top of her head as they walked inside the grand-looking place. “Trust me,” he said with a wink.

The host greeted them with a warm smile that accentuated her elderly wrinkles. “Welcome. Just two?” she asked as she stepped out from the podium.

“Yes, but we'd like to sit somewhere darker,” Vincent informed the lady who nodded with an understanding grin.

“Right this way.”

Wendy was intrigued and allowed Vincent to take her arm like a gentleman as they followed her to a side door.

It had a spiral, intricate staircase that led down. Wendy looked up at Vincent with a raised eyebrow, to which he just gave her a secret smirk.

“Private or non?” the host asked once they stood outside two different doors.

“Private,” he answered with a nod.

The host gave Wendy a secret wink, which in turn made Wendy want to blush although she didn't quite know why.

The hostess opened the door and looking inside made Wendy gasp. It was so beautiful! A large crystal chandelier was in the middle with hundreds of twinkling lights imbedded in the ceiling, almost like stars. The color scheme in the room was red and silver but it held a very warm feeling. Off to the side was a very large and comfy-looking blood red sofa. Then in the middle held an intimate-looking table that had silver trimmings while the rest appeared to be crystal.

“Thank you. Oh and bring the very best you have,” Vincent spoke and gave the lady a generous tip. She left with a small bow and clicked the door shut behind her.

“Is there a lot of underground places for vampires?” Wendy asked with an incredulous laugh. Her laugh stuttered to a stop when she felt his lips skim her neck in the most enticing way.

“Believe me, I was as pleasantly surprised as you are. Darcy informed me that most high-end places have an underground sort of thing just for vampires.” While he talked, his lips were tracing the length of her neck, making her tilt back to give him more room. It was nice, more than nice to have this alone time with him, rather than getting interrupted in that full house.

“Ahem.”

Perhaps she thought too soon. They both turned to see a young man holding a blacked out wine bottle. He gestured to the table and held out the chair for Wendy. Vincent sat across from her with a pleasant smile, that is, until the waiter's hand lingered on her shoulders.

“Good evening. My name is Carlos and I will be your waiter for tonight. If you need anything at all, please do not hesitate to ask,” he introduced and began pouring the blood into two crystal wine glasses. The smell tickled Wendy's nose in an enticing way.

Vincent said, “Yes, I would like very much if you keep your eyes off her chest before I tear the heart out of yours. Understood?”

The young Hispanic waiter gulped and nodded jerkily.

“Sorry, Sir, it won't happen again.” He then scurried out of the room.

Wendy had to laugh at the man across from her. “You couldn't help yourself, could you?” she asked with an indulging smile while sipping on the body temperature blood.

“How could I? You are a true vision and I know I have my work cut out for me.” His compliment made her blush delicately before she stood up and then walked over to him before sitting herself on his lap. She felt him stiffen in surprise and his eyes grew hotter.

“Firefly?” he questioned with a slight upturned grin.

Her hands came up and around so they played with the nape of his neck as she tilted her head to look through her lashes. “I'm going to enjoy every single moment we have right now since this is the first time we've been alone in too long.” She wasn't sure where this new found vixen was coming from, but she wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth from this confidence.

Without waiting another second, he crashed his lips onto hers in such passion that it left her breathless. Sucking in a breath from the sheer fire that consumed them both, she let herself forget everything. Everything but Vincent. She would get back to training tomorrow, Wendy decided. Things quickly escalated like never before as his large hands worked to peel the dress off of her. She broke away breathing heavily.

“Wait, the door...” she moaned as he began to suck on her neck.

He kissed her now bare shoulder. “They know not to disturb,” he murmured before picking her up then flitting over to the large couch.

Her fingers longed to feel the hard muscle that lay below his shirt, so without asking, she ripped off his shirt and sent the buttons flying in every which way. His low growl vibrated between both of them as he hovered above her. “Careful, Love,” he warned when his eyes almost appeared to be glowing with liquid blue heat.

She dared him by lifting up and trailing her fangs down his chest lightly. His thick corded muscles contracted at the feel and he shivered slightly. Without warning her, he bent down and bit on her shoulder.

Wendy screamed, feeling euphoria course through her. Her legs wrapped around him in an attempt to get closer. Her dress was now down and scrunched at her waist, revealing her bare chest and panties. They were midnight blue and were silky to the touch. All courtesy of Anya. His eyes silently asked her if she was sure, to which she answered with a kiss.

Trailing her fingertips lightly over his bare chest, she breathed in his comforting scent. She felt like jello and sore. It was a good kind of sore though, the kind you wouldn't mind feeling all the time. That devilish thought caused a small blush and smile to cover her face. They were both lying naked with a light sheen of sweat that slicked their skin and told the world what they were finished doing. Biting her lip, she looked up at him and smiled when she saw his eyes were closed but he had a contented smile on his face. She knew he wasn't asleep since his hands were trailing erotically down her spine.

“I love you,” he murmured softly and kissed the top of her when she lay her head back down on his chest.

She grinned against his skin and kissed his chest. “I love you too.” Her brain registered how, if she were human, she knew she would feel incredibly bashful and embarrassed of lying so bare next to him, but none of those feelings were there. Only love and a feeling of bliss. A frown marred her face as her eyes looked down his sleek and hard body. “I bit you more times than I thought,” she muttered almost more to herself.

He laughed and playfully smacked her bare bum. “Likewise. I have to say you were quiet the hellcat.” That statement did cause a blush to appear, but not so prominently. She was feeling thirstier than ever.

“Why do I feel so thirsty?” she asked as her eyes sought out the blood bottle. She flitted over to it then flitted back to lay by his side. Taking a swig, she offered him a drink.

He took it with a chuckle. “We exercised quite a bit. Our body needs more blood, just like a human would need more water.” Makes sense, she thought. He brought the blanket over them that lay over the back of the couch and covered them both. “Sleep. I'll wake you in a little while. We're going to have to train when we get back.”

That statement made her yawn as she nodded tiredly. “You sleep, too,” she mumbled and snuggled closer to him. He chuckled again and agreed. After that little session, they both need rest. Good thing he paid for a day in this room.

Chapter 26

Wendy

Snow began to fall as Wendy ran to defend herself. Her breath was coming out in pants as it showed in the cold December air. Her eyes swept along the dead-looking forest for any signs of life, but found none. Feeling frustrated, she closed her eyes and listened. When she heard a twig snap, she took off to whatever made the sound. Suddenly though she was tackled from the side, making herself and her attacker fall to the ground. The ice-like ground sent shivers down her spine as she groaned and looked up to a smirking Darcy.

“Never focus on just one sound. Open yourself up to everything. Had you not been so focused on Vincent breaking that twig, you would’ve heard me coming at you.” He grabbed her hand and helped her up gracefully, as the rocky terrain crunched under her hiking boots.

Huffing and brushing herself off, she glared up at him. “You can make it just a smidge easier, you know. You move like a ghost,” Wendy said, looking down at her now snow soaked pants.

“You know that's not how it will work when there's a real fight,” Vincent spoke as he emerged from the trees.

Sighing, she nodded and gave Darcy a mischievous smile. “Again,” she conceded and let them both run away from her. Taking a deep breath, she tried to concentrate again.

After more hours of practice and failing, she was finally able to pinpoint the both of them. It took her so much time to learn to do this because she was still clinging to her human thinking rather than her newly turned vampire way of thinking. When she subconsciously let go, she then was able to detect several things at once. Like the faint crunch, a mile or so down the terrain where a rabbit ate, then the slight thrumming of a humming bird’s heart in the next clearing over. It was all so amazing! Her ears snapped to the right when she heard a foot fall onto the earth, but also heard the slight swooshing of a flitting body. Smiling to herself, she turned at the last second to dodge Darcy’s attack.

“Ow!” he cried out when she nicked him with a small amount of her ability. She grinned then turned around again before giving Vincent the same token as he tried to sneak up on her. All Vincent did was wince as he grinned at her.

“Good job. Now again.”

Her mind felt exhausted but complied. A thought occurred to her though. “How about I try my hand at the stealthy part? I hide and try to sneak up on any of you?” she offered. Vincent agreed, saying it would be good to come at it from a different angle.

Minutes later, she was deep in the woods trying to dispel her scent and any noise that could give her away. Wendy was slightly tired of training so hard lately, but she knew that her vision would surface in just three days. That being said, she wanted to be ready for whatever comes at them. Her eyebrows furrowed when she heard the stomping of feet and low arguing.  Curiosity got the better of her as she flitted toward the noise. Stopping to hide just behind a few large bushes, she gasped.

“Jamie! We have been walking for hours now! I don’t think you know where you are going!” Markus growled as another branch smacked him in the face.

She smirked back at him and flipped him the bird. “I know where I’m going. The fortune teller told me and pointed on the map here.” She held up a crinkled map that had a circle drawn on it. Wendy couldn’t believe it! It didn’t make sense! They weren’t supposed to show up for another three days!

Closing her eyes, she reached out to Vincent. It was difficult since she hadn’t done it in a while. She couldn’t form words but sent her distress instead, making it clear she needed his help.

“How?” he asked quietly a second later next to her. It would have made her jump had she not expected it.

“Well, we never said that vision I had was normal. If anything, we should have expected things to not exactly happen like what I saw.” Her frustration was evident in her voice but was no louder than a breathy whisper so as not to let the two know who were still arguing thirty feet away.

“Well, this was obviously right, just not the date. Darcy is on his way with Anya in case we're dealing with more than one vampire.” He wrapped an arm around her shoulder for comfort.

Moments later, Darcy and Anya were there but hid themselves by the bushes as well.

“Damn it, Jamie! We should just turn back and try something else! My man berries are freezing off!” Markus growled, but his comment made Anya snort with laughter, which in turn made the duo freeze.

“You heard that?” he asked Jamie slowly and took out a wooden stake that surprised all of them.

Wendy muttered, “Well, I guess my vision was wrong in something else too.”

Jamie looked at him, shocked. “What the hell? Why do you have that?” she asked, looking around her carefully.

“I told you a vampire took my sister. I'm just showing up prepared.”

Wendy turned to Vincent with wet eyes. “Please, don't hurt him. Let me talk to him first,” she pleaded.

“If he tries to hurt you, I'm sorry but I will have to step in,” he said with such seriousness that Wendy didn't doubt him for a moment.

Nodding, she went to step out when a blur rushed past her, causing her to cry out in shock. All of them jumped out from the bushes when a male vampire had Markus by the neck, snarling with red eyes. Jamie jumped away screaming at the suddenness of it all.

“No!” Wendy snarled as a blanket of rage settled over her bones from seeing her brother in harm’s way. Without thinking, she flitted to the vampire and grabbed him by the back of his neck and flung him away with such force that the male lost his grip on Markus and hit a thick tree, causing it to snap.

“Protect them. He's mine,” Wendy growled. No one messes with her loved ones just because they were hungry.

Vincent backed off and stood guard, knowing she had to do this. He didn't want her to, but he also knew there was no stopping her, at least not without hurting her.

“What the hell is going on?!” Markus yelled, gripping his neck as it turned an angry shade of red. His eyes darted all around, landing on Vincent. “You!” He tried to get up but was a little too weak.

“Relax. Answers will be given after your sister is done. You may not want to watch this,” he advised as all eyes turned to the slowly stalking Wendy.

“Argh! I'm so thirsty!” the male cried out angrily and tried to swipe at her, but with his thirst clouding his mind, it made his moves sloppy.

Wendy grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt and slammed him against a nearby tree. “How dare you try to hurt them!” she screamed and with a yell that would make any warrior woman proud, she sunk her fangs into him, cutting at the artery before finally taking a broken branch and stabbing him in the heart. Instantly he was ash, giving him no chance to even scream.

Turning around, she heard Markus and Jamie gasp as her hair was wild and blood dripped from her chin. Her eyes slowly turned from a frightening black to her normal blue. “P-Please... don't be afraid of me. I'm still me,” she spoke weakly, not liking how she could smell fear coming from her brother. Jamie looked stunned. Taking a deep breath, Wendy grabbed her necklace for support, feeling instantaneous comfort.

“I-I think I need to sit down,” Markus muttered, looking like he was going to be sick.

“You are sitting down,” Wendy offered with a grimace type of smile. Soon though, he gave his consent to talk about it back at the house. It was dark after all. Only the moon provided light, since the snow has long since fallen. They would've flitted but both Jamie and Markus weren't comfortable with that. It pained to see the slight fear her brother had for her, but at least he wasn't running.

*****

“Someone start explaining before I stake tall, dark, and creepy like I've wanted to do since I woke up from that dream,” Markus demanded, glaring at Vincent with such hatred Wendy was surprised Vincent didn't back hand him. Not that she wasn't grateful, it just didn't seem like Vincent.

“The only reason I'm not beating his face in is because of your request, Firefly,” he uttered in the silent room. Markus scoffed, showing he didn't mind going around with him too.

“Please. Can we be civil for a moment? Mark, do mom and dad know you're gone?” she asked after she made sure her face was clear of any blood.

“I told them I need to find myself. They expect me back in the next few days.”

It surprised her hearing this. “They let you go? Just like that, after having a major surgery only a couple months ago?” she asked dubiously.

His glare startled her before giving a bitter laugh. “Mom and dad have changed. Not a lot but enough to take notice. Mom is a mess and dad doesn't talk, like at all. I don't know. I guess after the dream they're better, but... why can't you come home?” he ended brokenly and stood up before hugging her to him. “I don't care if you now have fangs! You're still my sister!”

Tears welled in her eyes as she felt his hot tears pool at her neck.

“I'm so sorry, but I just... I can't. It's too dangerous. You shouldn't even be here! Look at what happened for being involved for only a couple of hours?! You get attacked!” She pushed him away just enough to look at his face. It was slightly comical since he had a good foot and a half on her, yet they both knew she could fling him like a rag doll.

“I don't care! I'm your big brother! I'm supposed to protect you, not the other way around!” He broke off with a growl before kicking the bar stool next to him. He stormed down the hallway.

“Can I have a minute with Jamie? You guys try to cool down Mark.” Wendy sighed and looked at her best friend.

“So you live here, huh? Where's your room?” Jamie asked, sounding weak herself. Wendy offered Jamie her hand to show her. With a shaky sigh, Jamie let her lead into a quiet room that had a large bed. “Well, at least you're living nice,” she joked with a grimace-like smile.

Wendy rubbed her eyes, feeling tired, and sat on the bed. “I’m so sorry you had to find out like this,” she muttered. With her senses, she felt Jamie climb up behind her and began to play with her hair like old times.

“I understand,” Jamie murmured and hugged her from behind. “Although you looked scary as hell out there. I know you're still the same girl who ate a worm on a dare when we were younger.”

Her joke made Wendy crack a smile. “Hey! I got five dollars out of that,” she said with a chuckle.

Jamie's hand stilled on the back of her head before she spoke. “You know what I'm thinking right now?”

Wendy turned her head and cocked an eyebrow. “What?” she asked but her eyes widened and a gasp left her lips when she saw Jamie held her necklace before her and clasped it around her neck.

“How it took you that long to do as I wished. You really are stupid and I have no idea how in the world Vincent got stuck with a nobody like you.”

Wendy felt frozen. Her eyes couldn't believe the deceit before her.

“J-Jamie? H-How? What?” A shiver crawled down her spine as Jamie laughed.

“I'm surprised Vincent didn't recognize me,  although I was fairly young.”

Wendy looked her over as it dawned on her. Gasping once more, she maneuvered off the bed. “Serryline, Serafine's sister. But how?! You should be dead! And you're wearing the necklace!” All these questions were partly because she needed to know and partly to distract her.

“Oh, dear Vincent didn't know that when my late sister cast that spell, it extended to her bloodline. As for the being alive part, well... it helps when you steal some souls. I've waited the last five years for you to finally grow a pair and dig up the old bag of bones. But wow, you were so dimwitted!” Her answers only caused more questions.

“Five years?! I've known you my whole life!” she yelled, hoping someone would hear her.

“Oh, you can scream all you want. They've been 'put on hold,' so to speak. And all those memories you hold so dear... nothing but implants by yours truly.”

Wendy knew she was in trouble so she tried to run but was flung and smashed against the far wall. She tried to bring her hands up to blow up the traitor but couldn't move a muscle. “What are you going to do? Why are you doing this? Are you going to kill me?” she asked in hopes that whatever spell she cast over her loved ones would wear off.

“Heavens no! That would defeat my whole plan. You see, because of your dear 'Vincent'” -she sneered his name- “my sister was left mad and eventually took her own life years ago. I promised her I'd get her the revenge she sought, while maybe having a little fun. So no, I'm not going to kill you.” She paused and walked slowly up to Wendy with an evil smirk as her hair seemed to glow a fiery red.

“I'm going to let my sister come back... using your body.”

Chapter 27

Wendy

Gritting her teeth, Wendy tried to fight the invisible hold that Serryline had on her. It was useless however, like a candle trying to stay lit during a hurricane. “Please! You don't need to do this! Why can't you let it go?!” she asked, trying to fight the tears of frustration that threatened to spill. She hated feeling this weak. She had just gotten used to feeling strong, and now it was stripped away from her.

Serryline let out an incredulous laugh as she took out a small red velvet pouch from inside her jacket.

“Let it go? Let it go?! No! Because of Vincent's selfish ways, my sister lost all her heart! Was forced to retreat within herself until she killed herself! So no, I am not going to 'let it go.' I'm going to bring her back, let her have her fun like she deserves and then kill him. Simple, really. Now hold still. Oh wait, you can't move.” She finished off with a laugh.

Wendy wanted to bang her head as the feeling of helplessness surrounded her.

“This should be over quickly. Don't worry. After a while you'll grow weaker, then eventually fade. Won't even hurt.” Serryline finished off with a wink.

Wendy glared at her with hate-filled eyes. “So everything, everything in our... my childhood with you was a lie? You made it all up? Put memories that don't exist in my head and into everyone else's?!” Wendy grew angry at the betrayal that seized her heart. Her mind sifted through all the 'memories' with her 'best friend' like a flip book.

“Cool, huh? Got to say that took a lot more magic than I was used to. Had to kill quite a few people to accomplish it, too. Let me say if 'Jamie' did exit, then she would not be friends with someone as boring as you. I mean, holy crap, girl, watching paint dry was more exciting than talking to you for the last five years!”

Wendy's fangs slid down as the anger she was feeling left a bitter acid taste in her mouth. “Screw you!” she yelled, making Serryline tsk her in mock disappointment.

Opening the velvet bag, she brought out a white powdery substance. “It's not drugs if that's what you're thinking.” She paused and gave her an evil grin. “It's baby's bone pressed into fine dust. Not cheap, mind you.” Wendy gagged as she thought of what the witch was playing with. It made her stomach roll. “Close your eyes,” Serryline instructed but when Wendy refused, she huffed and snapped her fingers, forcing the helpless vampire to shut her eyes. Wendy felt Serryline blow in her face. Without meaning to, she inhaled sharply as an instinctual reaction took over. Her mind wanted her to throw up when she knew the witch just blew the powdery bones in her face. “Good girl,” Serryline mocked when Wendy started to cough violently.

'Vincent!' she tried to reach him again through her mind but it was no use. All she heard in her mind was static. “What did you do to them?!” Wendy asked, still unable to open her eyes.

She heard her chuckle darkly. “I simply put them on pause. It will wear off soon enough. Which is why we need to get a move on it!” she spoke with enthusiasm. Wendy felt herself being slowly lowered to the floor until she was lying down. She felt a rag being put over her mouth so she couldn't talk right. It smelled sickly sweet and soon she was dizzy. “Just a hint of Moon's powder, again I say not cheap, quite an expensive little plant, but I've learned it works on vampires like chloroform works on humans! So just relax. It will be over soon...” Her voice faded as Wendy fought to stay conscious, but it was no use.

*****

Blinking her eyes, she looked around in confusion. She was in a dark cold room and the only light was coming from an intricate-looking large mirror. “What? Sister? Is that you?” Wendy was shocked to hear her voice speak but she wasn’t doing the talking! ‘Oh my God! Serryline did it!’ Wendy thought on baited breath. She wasn’t in her body anymore. She saw the young witch grin at her.

“Yes, dear sister. I brought you back from the dead.”

Wendy wanted to pull her hair out with feeling so frustrated. Concentrating, she tried to give her the will to move her body but it wouldn’t work. She knew they were hugging when all she saw was Serryline’s red hair.

“Whose body is this?” Serryfine asked, looking down at the feet and inspecting. It was even more annoying because Wendy realized she could only see what her body was seeing.

Serryline smirked. “It is Vincent’s Beloved’s body. Here, I think you’ll need this.” Serryline then proceeded to put the necklace back on Wendy’s body.

She heard herself gasp. “You didn’t! Oh my goodness, this is… this is wonderful!”

Screaming out in anger, Wendy wanted to trash whatever room she was in but found there was nothing to trash.

“Get out of my body!” Wendy screamed and saw with satisfaction when Serryfine grasped her head with a hiss. “She is a lively one, isn’t she?” Wendy heard her ask.

Serryline didn’t look bothered. “Don’t worry, she’ll fade soon enough. Now, I’m going to go over how she acts since I was her ‘best friend’ for years. Then by that time everyone else should unfreeze. Here’s the plan though: You can have your time with Vincent, but in the end we will kill him for all the things he’s put you through, alright? This would’ve happened sooner if that stupid tattoo had faded more quickly.”

Wendy wanted to bash both their faces in for thinking of such cruel thoughts.

She only half-listened as Serryline listed Wendy’s different traits. Sinking to the ground, Wendy pulled her knees up and cried. She’s never felt so helpless and knowing they were going to hurt her loved ones made her heart ache.

Vincent

“Like I was saying, my intentions are good for your sister. Now can you stop pouting like an insolent child? She needs you right now.” Vincent growled at Markus, feeling his frustration reach new heights. Markus shrugged but stalked out of the room to see his sister. “Wendy? Your brother has something to say if you’re done with Jamie.”

He heard them walk out of his room and turned to face them. His eyes scanned over Jamie again, still feeling like he should know her somewhere. Shaking his head, he bent forward and placed a small kiss on Wendy’s lips.

She surprised him however when her arms snaked up to his neck and held him there, deepening the kiss. There was a slight niggling in the back of his mind but he pushed it away and enjoyed this brazen side to his Firefly. “As much as I enjoyed that, you might want to settle down for your brother’s sake.”

She smiled up at him but nodded. “Yes, right, my brother.” She spoke almost reluctantly and Vincent understood. He hugged her and then proceeded to lead her to the living room where Markus was sitting.

“I know you’re scared he’ll be angry, but he’s better. Just remember that he’s your brother.”

Wendy nodded and looked down at Markus with a small smile. “Can you forgive me?” she asked with her arms open for a hug.

Markus rolled his eyes but stood up and hugged his sister. “I’m still pissed, but yeah, I forgive you. I’m just glad you’re okay for the most part.”

Vincent looked at the clock and frowned. “That’s odd,” he murmured, catching everyone’s attention. Wendy held his hand but winced subtly. “I could’ve sworn it was eight not too long ago. Now the clock says it’s twelve.”

Wendy gave him a small peck on the cheek. “Blame it on old age.” She winked, making him playfully growl.

“I am not old. Well, not physically.” He felt the niggling feeling at the back of his brain again, but Wendy stood up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek.

“So, Jamie, what’s your take on this?” Markus asked her with an eyebrow raised.

The red head shrugged innocently and blew out a breath. “I don’t know. I think it’s all kind of cool.”

Wendy looked confused and glanced up at Vincent. “Cool? I don’t get it how can it be cold?”

Jamie let out a nervous laugh but it made Vincent chuckle as he tapped her nose. “Very funny,” he said, remembering how he said that to her when they first met.

“Right… ow!” She winced and grabbed her head.

Vincent looked at her concerned and rubbed her back. “Are you alright, Firefly?” he asked, but she only nodded and seemed better.

“Yes … just stress. How about you and I lie down for a while?” she trailed off suggestively, making her brother groan.

“So I did not need to hear that. I think I need to sleep for a week.”

Vincent ignored him and took her hand, feeling heat flash between them. “I would love nothing more. It has been a tiring day.” He scooped her up, making her giggle as they flitted to the room.

Wendy

“No, no, no, no!!” she screamed and hit the walls when she saw through the mirror that Vincent placed Serryfine on the bed. Her heart cracked but anger pushed her forward. She let her anger go as she tried to blast her way out. She heard the witch scream as she grabbed her head.

“Wendy?! Wendy?! What’s wrong?!” Vincent looked at her in alarm, but it was like he really was looking at Wendy through the mirror. She ran at the mirror as tears of anger and frustration flowed and tried to hit it but fell through when she felt a surge of determination run through her.

She opened her eyes and looked down to see her body again. It was all so confusing but she wasn’t about to let this opportunity slip. Gripping Vincent’s hand, she winced when she felt Serryfine rage within her trying to get control back. Wendy knew she was going to succeed in just a few moments, but all Wendy needed was a few moments. “Vincent! Please, I need your help! Serryfine is taking over my body! It wasn’t me you kissed. It was her! J-Jamie i-is not J-Jamie! I-It’s S-Serryl-line!” She gasped before slipping back under and she was back in the room with the mirror.

“No!” she screamed but listened intently and looked at Vincent since Serryfine opened her eyes.

“Just kidding. I wanted to see the look on your face.” The giggle sounded wrong and if Wendy closed her eyes, she could swear she could feel the anger and fear coming from the witch.

“Oh… okay. Not a very nice joke, but effective. You stay here. I need to grab Darcy and ask about that vampire in the woods.”

Wendy felt her heart break when she saw Vincent leave the room, seemingly undeterred by what happened. She gripped her hair, feeling drained. She had to use a lot of her energy for that little stunt and knew it was slim to none she would ever be able to do it again. Wendy saw she was suddenly looking at herself and realized Serryfine was looking into a mirror with a glare.

“Try something like that again, and I will be sure to bed Vincent and make you watch! You little snake! How dare you try to toss my and my sister’s plans?! Just shut up and enjoy being alive while you still are.” She finished with a sneer.

Rage burst through her veins but Wendy was still too drained to do anything drastic, so instead she tried to blast the walls again, making Serryfine shriek and grab her head. “You little cow!” She hissed but straightened up when Vincent walked back in with Darcy.

“Darcy has a theory,” Vincent started and turned her around to face him directly. She saw her mirror tip as 'Wendy' cocked her head.

“Do tell,” she urged Vincent but hissed and turned around quickly. Wendy gasped as she saw Darcy standing there with an empty syringe. “W-What?” she heard Serryfine slur drunkenly.

Vincent spun her around and glared. “Serryfine, get out of Wendy's body or so help me-”

She cut him off with a dizzy laugh. “You'll what? Hit me? Go ahead! You'll just hurt her, too! Serryline!” she yelled but was only met by Darcy's dark chuckle.

“You think I had only one of these bad boys lying around? Your sister is detained for now. I know you won't get out willingly so you just go to sleep while we figure out a way.”

Wendy saw her mirror dimming and before it completely blacked out, she heard Serryfine say, “I will get you all.”

It was completely dark then. Like she was in a large box.

“Oh why, this is pleasant.”

Wendy whipped around and saw flames engulf the ceiling while a tall red headed woman stood there looking at her with a sneer. Seeing the resemblance of Serryline, Wendy knew who she was. Squaring her shoulder, Wendy stood up, ignoring the heat that threatened to weaken her more.

“Serryfine,” she hissed.

The witch smirked. “Wendy,” she said in turn.

It was quiet for a moment before Wendy charged at her with an angry yell. Serryfine began to run as well, both intending to hurt the other.

Chapter 28

Wendy

Wendy’s hand flew up and settled with a satisfying smack across Serryfine’s face. The witch fell to the ground as the fire began to grow. She was going to kick the evil woman’s face but was flung back and hit her shoulder painfully on the wall behind her. Flames licked at Wendy’s skin, making her hiss and lunge back at Serryfine.

“Give. Me. My. Body. Back!” She paused at every punch that connected with the witch’s face. Spitting out blood, Serryfine kicked Wendy’s legs out from under her, causing her to fall. Wendy coughed when Serryfine’s foot pressed on her throat. It seemed as though Wendy was significantly weaker than normal, thanks to being stuck in her head for this long.

“I don’t think so!” Serryfine growled out and pressed harder.

Wendy’s thoughts began to dim from lack of air as she tried to think of a way out. Having an epiphany, she brought her hands up and used her power. Serryfine was flung backward so hard you could hear the crack of the wall behind her. If Wendy could use her full power, she would’ve been able to blast her to pieces but because her energy is quickly depleting, it only knocked her back.

“You’re going to pay for that!” Serryfine shrieked and ran at Wendy who was still on the ground trying to regain her breathing. She felt as though she hadn’t slept in weeks and she just ran a marathon. Everything in her was fading. The heat was too much, and it made her realize that they were both going to die if one didn't leave. Her body wasn't made for two souls even if Serryfine's was blackened.

Barely able to side-roll out of the way before the witch stomped on her, she got up on shaky legs. “You need to leave now! We're both going to die if you don't!”

Serryfine's labored breathing was proof of that but the evil red head cackled like a crazed woman. She looked more terrifying with the flames behind her.

“I know. At least I can take you with me!” She screamed before kicking Wendy in the stomach.

Wendy struggled to breathe as the wind was knocked out of her. Concentrating on the blurry figure in front of her, she used her power again. This time was even weaker but still managed to knock Serryfine off her feet and next to the dancing flames. Wendy coughed and hobbled over away from the witch to regain some sort of energy. The fire had yet to touch the wall with the mirror as she held herself up with it, trying to breathe. Her mind felt dizzy as if she drank far too much while her skin felt overheated and she knew she didn't have much longer. Her thoughts shifted to Vincent and her loved ones. No. She couldn't give up, not without a fight.

“That was cute, but I'm stronger!” Serryfine cackled hatefully and then charged at Wendy once more.

Wendy was prepared for that however and sidestepped the witch before grabbing her shirt and slamming Serryfine against the mirror, making it break into shards. Seeing an opportunity, Wendy bent down as quickly as she could and grabbed a large jagged piece before holding it up to Serryfine's neck. Breathing hard as blood trickled from her lip, she bared her fangs at her. “I warned you,” she hissed and sliced the witch's neck open.

Serryfine tried to gasp but only could cough up blood. Stepping back, Wendy threw the shard to the side and wiped her mouth with her hand. She watched as the life drained out of Serryfine's eyes.

She cried out when she felt burned on her arms. Looking around, she saw the only place not engulfed in flames was in front of her where Serryfine laid. Her eyes drifted upward and saw the ceiling was completely on fire.

“Help! Vincent! Please!” she screamed, trying to will him to hear her. 'C'mon wake up! Wake up!' she thought frantically and tried to see a way out. There was a boom before the walls started to crumble. Blinding white light peeped through the cracks. It scared her as a splitting headache began to form in her head, which she deduced to what was happening around her a large factor. Her nose began to bleed from the strain she was under. Wiping it away, she collapsed next to Serryfine, feeling like she was going to die any moment.

The ground beneath her shook like an earthquake as the rest of the walls fell down. And the blinding light brought her darkness as she passed out.

Vincent

“Do something! She's burning up!” Vincent felt like he was losing his mind as he watched his Firefly literally fight for her life. He couldn't do anything to help her either. Darcy had told him she needed to do this herself otherwise she'd never get her body back.

He turned around and punched through a wall as she cried out again. He could slowly feel his eyes going red as his rage took over. He felt so foolish to believe it was his Wendy for even a moment! His tortured eyes looked over to where she lay and had to grit his teeth when she took in a ragged breath. Flitting over to her, he took her hand and kissed her forehead. “You can do this. Please, you have to do this.” He begged her to keep fighting but had to flip over a side table when she whimpered.

“I should’ve killed her when I had the chance!” He was going to storm out when Darcy asked him where he was going. “I’m taking my anger out on someone who I can hurt,” he spoke darkly and flitted to the holding room where Serryline was chained up and gagged.

Anya looked up startled but then silently walked out, knowing he needed to do this. His eyes burned holes into hers. She glared at him defiantly but he ignored that as he stalked closer. Grabbing her chin, he made sure she was listening.

“I’m going to make you wish you never messed with my Beloved.” His voice was a deadly calm as he turned around to see the table off to the side filled with various sharp devices. He had to restrain from snapping her neck when she laughed behind her gag. They placed it on her so she couldn’t say any spells. Picking up a knife that had sharp teeth on the edge, he turned around and brought it to her eye. “You won’t be laughing after this. You’re going to find out why I was so feared in my time.”

*****

Closing the door behind him, he saw Anya waiting outside. While wiping off the blood with a rag on his hands, they had a silent conversation where he told her not to go in there if she wanted to keep her lunch. “When this is all over, send Darcy in there to clean up. She should be dead by then if she isn’t already.”

He was walking away when she asked him what he did. Her voice was curious but he could detect the slight tremor as though part of her didn’t want to know. Before opening Wendy’s room, he looked back at her. “I taught her what ‘see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil’ really means.”

Anya’s eyes widened but she stepped away from the door so she wouldn’t be tempted to look. Vincent walked in and flitted to Wendy’s side where she whimpering, still growing hotter. “Has there been any improvement?” he asked his friend desperately.

Darcy shook his head sadly as he monitored her. “Her temperature keeps rising. Anymore and she just might combust. If she were still human, she would’ve died a while ago.”

That news didn’t sit well with Vincent as he growled. “I can’t lose her.” His voice was quiet but anyone who heard him could hear the grief.

“I know. I’m going to get some more ice,” Darcy said and grabbed the tub that was filled with ice but now was lukewarm water.

When Darcy shut the door behind him, Vincent broke down. He could hear her brother pacing back and forth out in the living room while Wendy’s breathing was raspy at best. Taking her fiery hand, he kissed the back of it. “Please,” he begged but the only response he got was a struggled breath. He took a blood bag and slowly fed her to give her strength but the help from it was minimal at best.

He froze however when he saw her eyes flutter but then yelled out for Darcy when her heated skin reached an all-time high. He knew if she had a heartbeat, it would be skyrocketing.

Suddenly her breathing stopped all together. Freezing, he stared down at her as his world crashed around him. “No. No, no, no, no, NO!!” he screamed as Darcy came in with a bucket of ice. He dropped it and flitted to Wendy’s side.

Seeing her lifeless state, he looked sorrowful at his friend. “I’m so sorry-”

Vincent cut him off as he looked at him with blood red eyes and shaking rage. “Get out!” he roared. Darcy knew not to mess with him and he quickly got out of there. A few moments later, anyone could hear the cry that came from her brother, but Vincent was too enraged to care. He tore up the bedroom until all that was left were cracked walls and the very bed Wendy was now still lying in.

Sagging in defeat, he kneeled next to her and lay his head down on her stomach to cry. Something he hasn’t done in a very long while. ‘Why her?!’ he thought bitterly but staggered back when she suddenly inhaled loudly with a gasp and sat up. Her eyes were unfocused before she fell back with lack of energy. Vincent couldn’t believe it! Taking her hand, he grabbed her attention as she struggled to breathe properly.

“V-Vincent?” she stuttered and he let out a breathy relieved laugh before kissing her soundly on the lips, but he suddenly pulled back.

“This is you, right?” he asked and looked into her eyes. He saw nothing but pureness there that only belonged to Wendy. She coughed and nodded.

“Yes, it’s me. I kicked her ass.”

He laughed again, which made Darcy come in to question his sanity but he stopped short when he saw Wendy alive.

“So glad you could rejoin us,” he joked but knew he needed to give these two some time together. He left to give Markus the good news but stopped short when Asher walked up, looking slightly dazed.

“What the hell happened?” Looking into the room, he frowned at the broken state it was in and looked back at Vincent and Wendy. “Redecorating? Not a look I would go for, but then again, I’m not a vampire,” he joked groggily before patting his stomach. “Why does it feel like I haven’t eaten in forever? What the hell happened?”

Darcy shook his head and steered him out of the room. “C’mon, let’s get you some food and we’ll explain just what you missed.”

They left both of them alone, making Vincent look back at her.

“How are you feeling? Do you need anything?” he asked with worry lacing his tone.

She still looked pretty weak but stronger than she was. “I’m just incredibly tired. I thought I was going to die there for a second,” she uttered through barely parted lips.

He shook his head and chuckled humorlessly. “You did there for a moment. God, I thought I lost you. Please, never do that to me again.”

She raised her hand and placed it on the side of his face. “Believe me, I never want to go through it again. Where’s Jamie- I mean Serryline?” she asked with a frown.

“Taken care of. There is no way those two can hurt you again, alright? I’m so sorry I didn’t realize sooner! I should’ve realized it wasn’t you.” The shame in his voice spoke volumes, making her shake her head.

“It’s none of our faults except for them. They tricked and played us. I’m just glad it’s all over.”

He kissed her again softly on the lips, causing her to sigh softly. “Lie with me for a while?” she asked weakly. He was helpless but to comply as he got into bed next to her and carefully situated her so she was half lying on his chest. He kissed the top of her head with a relieved smile on his face. It was funny to think all of the emotional toil he’s gone under in the last fifteen minutes alone, but nothing could compare to the bliss he was in now, knowing his Beloved was now safe.

“I love you,” he spoke as he took her hand. Lifting it to his mouth, he kissed the inside of her wrist and let his fangs scrape gently against her skin, making her shiver.

“I love you, too,” she said with a tired sigh and let a more peaceful sleep take her.

The End

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Here is a sample from another story you may enjoy:

1: Some Bad News

•Evelyn Jo •

“Do you think he’s dead or unconscious?”

I turned to look at Drake, who had his hand over his chin, skeptically looking at the motionless middle-aged man sprawled on the ground.

We were on our way to go get some delicious food when we found this guy in an alleyway nearby. He was actually one of the guys that owed us money for giving him a few special things. He had a business suit on, but his tie – which used to be light blue – was now covered in dirt and what seemed to be dry blood. So obviously, this had caught our attention since something bad must’ve happened to him. I mean, there had to be a reason he was here, like this.

Suddenly, Drake kicked the guy without any hesitation. He kicked him hard, and right in the stomach, making the guy roll over to his side. We all stood in silence for a few seconds, as the other two guys from our group – Ian and Darrel – inched closer to hear the man, in case he made any human sound at all. The man then groaned after a couple of moments, and Drake gave an approving look with a slight nod.

“Unconscious, all right. Still alive, but barely.” He then walked around the man, his hands linked together behind him, as he seemed to be deep in thought. I wanted to roll my eyes at him, but all I did was smile a little at how cute he was actually being right now. “What should we do with this guy then?”

“I say we kill him,” Ian immediately said, not missing a single beat. He shrugged right afterwards, as if it was no big deal that we would be killing a guy that already seemed to be on his deathbed by now.

“Psh, I say, we take out everything he has that is actually valuable, and then dump the helpless body in that Dumpster,” Darrel suggested, as if it were obvious that it was the best idea ever conceived. He also pointed to the huge, green Dumpster right in front of us.

“Okay, Darrel’s idea it is.” Drake didn't even think twice about it. He motioned for Ian and Darrel to get to work, as he turned and stared right at me. I bit my lip and crossed my arms over my chest just as he came up to me to put his arm around my shoulders. “Cold?” he asked me.

I shook my head, watching Ian grab the guy by the arms and pull him up in a sitting position, while Darrel checked all of his pockets – finding a watch, a wallet, and some tickets.

“Wrestling tickets!?” Darrel yelled excitedly, as he and Ian high-fived each other. I couldn't help but laugh at the two idiots. Good thing there were actually four tickets, though. We all loved going to wrestling tournaments considering these guys wrestled too, and even took the time to show me a few moves, which was actually a lot of fun.

Coincidence that there were enough tickets for all of us? I think not.

“Scared?” I scoffed at Drake's question, just as he slid his hand to rest on my waist, pulling me closer so our stomachs could touch. He grabbed my face and gently pushed my wavy, brown hair away so that he could clearly see me.

“I don't even think we should be doing this,” I honestly told him. “We just saw him here… I mean, sure he owes us money, but what if we get into trouble when we technically didn't do any damage to him?”

“Oh, Eve,” Drake smirked, lightly pinching my chin as I moved my head away, raising one eyebrow at him. “You always make it sound so difficult. You've been in this group for quite a while now. You shouldn't question what we do with the people that don’t understand the consequences. Like this guy, clearly.”

I thought about it right then. What we did to people was way, way worse, sometimes, but I couldn't help but wonder who did this. Or if the guy actually did something to himself before we got to him.

“I always wondered…” Ian then came up to us, eating some French fries from a white paper bag. I gave him a disgusted look. Where the hell did he find those? In the Dumpster? “How come we hardly called our ‘little group’ a gang?”

“If you want to call it that, then fine, whatever. Doesn’t really matter.” Drake turned back to me, and then lightly kissed my forehead. I smiled as I felt his soft, warm lips on me. “Now, let’s bail.” He grabbed my hand, and then we all walked out of the alleyway together.

I’ve been with this gang ever since I was in the 10th grade. Now, I was in my senior year, which means I've been with these guys for about two years now. I had reasons why I decided to join their criminal gang. But it was a very touchy subject for me, so I always kept it a secret. And Drake was the only one who really knew about my past. But hey, the past was in the past. It made us who we are today. And the bad stuff will continue to haunt us no matter what. But sometimes, we just had to forget it all – because now, the future is nearer, and it is actually more important.

Anyway (sorry, sometimes I get all deep and shit), what we actually did was break a few laws here and there – do drugs, rob, and hurt people, if we thought it was necessary to do so. Basically, we did anything a good and innocent kid wouldn't dare do.

Drake Lancaster was the eldest. He was 19, and out of high school, known as the leader of the gang. He was also my boyfriend ever since I started hanging out with him and the other two. He had dark eyes and short, dark hair. He was also the one who had saved me from my past misery, and showed me his rather interesting way of living.

Then, there were Ian Cohen and Darrel Ivanova. Those two, you could tell apart from their looks since Ian had light brown hair and light green eyes, while Darrel had blond hair and dark blue eyes. But their personalities were very alike. They were the jokesters and the more lovable ones. But don't let that always fool you, because like us, they were complete hell once you messed with them.

I was clearly the only girl in the gang. I went by the name Evelyn Jo. I was more of the feisty type, having a mischievous attitude that was actually serious sometimes, which was usually when I decided to get tough on people. I did a few bad things, and was taught how to fight and rebel. I had long, silky brown hair with big blue eyes, and was thin with olive skin. I had looked innocent once, but all of that had obviously changed.

That was the whole group right there. We were the type of people parents warned their kids about, but of course, not a lot of people knew who we were since we always kept our faces hidden while we were doing something that might involve jail if we ever got caught.

Drake was the only one who's ever been in juvie though, for four years, when he was just a bit younger. The rest of us have not yet done anything that would’ve sent us to juvie, mostly because we weren’t planning on getting caught. But who knew? Anything could happen.

“Ugh.”

I sipped my Coke and looked up at Drake, who was looking down at his phone with a frustrated look on his face.

“We gotta go,” he said, putting his phone back in his pocket.

“Whoa, whoa! Right now?” Ian asked, looking up from his French fries, which were stacked up on top of each other like the game Jenga.

“Psh, yeah, we’re kind of in the middle of something here?” Darrel shook his head at Drake. But Drake only slammed his fist on the table and got up. He pointed at the two guys.

“If you guys aren't in the car in 45 seconds, I’m fucking leaving you here.” He was off after that, leaving right through the back door.

I knew then that we had a drug deal coming our way, which would explain Drake's harsh attitude. He hated missing a deal because of us. Or rather, because of Ian and Darrel here.

I deeply sighed, grabbed my jacket, and stood up from the table. I stopped to look at the two morons, who pretty much seemed way more excited than a little kid on Christmas morning. Typical Ian and Darrel.

Then I did the only thing that would wipe those happy faces off immediately. I grabbed a French fry from the bottom and yanked it off, making the whole tower fall… along with their pretty faces.

“Evelyn!” they both yelled in unison, getting glares and weird stares from the people around us. I only looked back and glared at them, mentally telling them to mind their own damn business.

“Get your asses outside and in the car, unless you want a pissed off Drake smashing your heads against the trunk.”

A loud groan was heard all the way from where I was seated in the car. Drake suggested we leave this one to him, so we could go home right afterwards. But I admit, I hated being left out. My fist needed something to punch right about now. What?! I always had the need to, even when I was pretty calm.

Hmm... I pursed my lips in boredom. Maybe I could play that one zombie game on my phone. I do have to beat that one level after all.

“Hey, guys, is my phone back there? I need to…” I cut myself off when I turned to see the two morons sprawled across the back seats with their mouths hanging wide open as they practically slept like babies. They snored and Ian even had his fist halfway inside Darrel’s mouth. Pathetic. A little gross. And stupidly hilarious.

I shrugged and jammed my fist on the horn button, earning yelps and grunts right after the loud beeping was made. The car moved as they both woke up, and I even heard one of them hit himself hard on the ceiling of the car. I just smiled innocently as if I hadn't done a single thing.

“What the hell, Evelyn?” Ian asked, just as Drake slid in with four large packs of money. He gave me one, and then tossed the guys their share.

“Why did you beat the guy up?” I asked, remembering the loud groans from earlier. Who knew, maybe the guy was making Drake pretty mad and I bet he regretted it a lot by now.

“What?” Drake asked with a confused expression. I raised my eyebrows at him until he realized what I had meant. “Oh, the guy just slipped on some wet mud, that’s all.”

“Let me guess. You just laughed, like, a lot. And then, you didn't even think about helping him up. You just grabbed the money and left.”

He just nodded as if it wasn’t a big deal.

“Pretty much, yeah.” He started the engine and drove off. I didn't miss that smirk on his lips though. “You know me so well, babe.”

“I know you so well... because I totally would've done the same thing!” I laughed and playfully slapped his arm.

He only chuckled at me. “By the way, why'd you press the horn? I didn't take that long.”

“First, you lasted ten minutes and you know how impatient and bored I get in only ten minutes. Then, I decided I wanted to play a zombie game and remembered my phone was in my bag in the back, but these two were sleeping.”

Drake glanced at the guys from the rearview mirror and sighed. I think they were sleeping again…

“Doesn't quite surprise me,” he said. “Let's go home now. This was a pretty busy day.”

We got to our house in less than fifteen minutes. We all lived together in a one-story house that had two bedrooms. It was painted light brown and black, and we did keep it very clean due to Drake's slight OCD.

Ian and Darrel shared a bedroom, while Drake and I shared another. We had separate beds, since we never really went that far with each other – even with being together this long. I was a virgin, but I guess most people wouldn’t expect that from someone like me. Although, it was a probability, since I was really good at playing with boys. Drake let me share his bed sometimes (for some reason, not quite willingly). And I have to admit, it was very fun to do. But that was all I ever did. I was a criminal, yes, but I wasn’t sexually driven or anything. And I was glad Drake wasn’t like one of the asses who demanded sex, or thought it was the only way into a relationship. He really was a good guy deep down, even with all the bad stuff he’s involved in.

I opened the front door to our house with a small smile on my face, and realized how tired I actually felt right then. Once I looked up though, my heart practically stopped beating at the sight in front of me.

There, standing right there in front of us, was my high school principal, the supervisor of the whole district, a guy from social services, and some other guy that looked like a cop in disguise. Well, to me he looked like it.

Shit. This could not be good.

Wait, how the hell did they even get in here? Ugh... Ian must've left the damn door open. Again. We seriously had to stop letting him be the last person to leave the house.

“I swear she did it,” Ian immediately said, his arms raised in defense as he pointed at me.

“It was aaaaall her,” Darrel mimicked, pushing me forward.

I quickly turned to glare at them both.

Yeah, nice to know you guys have my back!

“U-um... what’s going on?” I asked in the most angelic voice I could muster.

“Evelyn Jo,” my principal said, and as always, he never failed to look so happy (note the sarcasm, please). “We have some very important news to tell you.”

“W-what is it? Am I in trouble?”

I always asked that, even though I already knew the answer to it. But hey, maybe – and just maybe – one day, it would be different.

Ha! Good one, Evelyn.

Okay, it was no time to joke around at that moment.

“Well, that and,” the supervisor spoke up this time, “we are here to tell you that you will be moving schools. Again.”

What? No, no, no. There's no other school left in the district!

Okay, so maybe wrecking the principal's car and setting almost half of the school on fire wasn't really a good idea, now that I really thought about it. But still, I must admit, it was pretty damn awesome!

“Considering you have no legal guardian and you're under the age of 18…”

“Whoa, whoa! She has me,” Drake chimed in as he pressed his hand to his chest, giving them both a hard look. “I'm 19. Besides, she's turning 18 in just a couple of months. I can actually take full custody of her.”

“Sorry, sir, we meant legal guardians, not pretentious boyfriends,” the supervisor continued. “It’s true you can take full custody, but I honestly think you're the one causing her to behave in such a terrible, rebellious way – which is why the police will now keep a close eye on you and your little friends over here.” He looked at Ian and Darrel almost disapprovingly. “I mean, we could take you to jail, but we have no proof of the things you might've done in the past. Yet.”

That’s when Ian and Darrel practically started hiding and backing away as if they weren't even involved in this whole conversation. But then, they cursed under their breath when they bumped into some police officers that had appeared right by the door.

“What the he—”

“No comment,” the supervisor said in a stern voice, interrupting Drake, who seemed ready to pounce on him right then and there with the look he was giving off.

“So,” the principal started, “we will have to take you away, Evelyn. But you have two choices.” He made a stupid, dramatic silence and I realized I also wanted to pounce on someone… “First choice is the Orphanage.”

What?

No... I didn’t want to go back there. I had to live there ever since I was little, considering I had never met my birth parents. But those people at the Orphanage treated me so bad. I thought they were supposed to be good and nice to us, but they never were. It got me mad. So mad I just…

I clenched my fists and tried to stop thinking about that cruel, evil, and disgusting place. It was literally disgusting, too, by the way. They never cleaned the place. Instead, they made us do all the dirty work for them.

“Or we have a wonderful state, New Jersey, where you will be taken to attend yet another public high school, which incidentally will also be your last. There, you will be living with a young psychologist, who will talk to you about your problems.”

“But… but, you can't do that! I don't have any problems!” Who the hell do these guys think they are? Telling me where I can and can't go? I know I did bad things, but did that seriously mean I had to do all of these?

“Yes, we can,” the stupid supervisor spat back. I wanted to punch him right now, but that wouldn’t do me any better, seeing as the cops were here with us. “Unless you want to end up somewhere way worse than the Orphanage.”

Oh, dammit. Dammit! There was no way out of this one now.

If you liked this sample then check out The Bad Girl and The Good Boy, available on Amazon!

Copyright © 2014 by T.M. Mendes

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Please don’t be stupid and kill yourself. This book is a work of FICTION.
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Acknowledgements

First and foremost, God. For giving me the love of writing and making this all possible. You are my rock and safe place.

To all my fans and followers, you are all so incredibly amazing! I can’t say that enough! You push me tobe better and to continue writing! I love you all so much!

My publishing agent Le-an, you are the best! You’re so patient with me when I’m not with myself. Thank you for being you!

About this author

T.M.Mendes was born in Mesa Arizona where she and her family moved to Washington State.

She has three siblings and two loving parents. When she isn't writing, T.M.Mendes works as a caregiver to special needs adults and is a youth leader at her church. She loves to read and loves to draw almost as much.