Just a note: Joselyn Levesque is no relation to Triple H (Paul Levesque). We needed a last name for her and that was the only name we could think of.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
{Chapter 1}

Joselyn Levesque inhaled the crisp autumn air as she walked through the park heading toward the club her friends had invited her to. She didn’t notice the two sets of eyes watching her from the shadows; one set a luminescent green and the other a deep glowing blue. She was looking forward to blowing off some steam, having studied her ass off for much of the term so far.

She stopped at the edge of the park to adjust her boot a little. The knee high leather had begun to slip a little down her calf. Pulling the zipper up soon remedied that problem. She smoothed out her black skirt that came to just above her knees and cinched her black thigh length jacket tighter around her. The jacket concealed a red satin halter top, the scoop neckline showing off her favorite assets nicely.

“So, this is the one you’ve been stalking, little brother,” the owner of the green eyes sneered.

“She’s perfect,” blue eyes replied. “I shall take her for my mate.”

“You have high hopes for a mortal woman, little brother. Why would she agree to be mated with someone as deformed as you?”

“I won’t be deformed forever, Mark. You forget that I’m working with the healer every day. The worst of my burns have been healed.” He pointed to the mask he wore; the mouth was cut out of it so that it only covered his forehead and cheeks.

“I should have left you for dead,” Mark sneered at his little brother. “Ever since the fire you’ve gone soft in the head. Need I remind you why you have been so badly burned? Have you forgotten, Glen?”

“No, I haven’t forgotten,” Glen exclaimed. “Annabelle was a wicked temptress. How was I supposed to know she was working with that blasted hunter Flair?”

Mark shook his head at Glen. “You’ve always let your wonton desires cloud your judgement. If you had paid attention to anything besides getting laid you would have seen the signs that she was bait.”

“No matter,” Glen replied, his scowl turning to a smirk. “You found Flair and made him pay, didn’t you dear brother?”

“Next time we won’t be so lucky,” Mark reminded him, turning his attention back to Joselyn. She had met up with some friends and was heading into the club. “Why don’t you go find us a couple of tasty morsels to feed on. I have some business I need to attend to.”

Glen sighed. “Fine,” he replied watching as Mark started to walk away. He caught his brother’s wrist, forcing him to look back at him. “You’re not going to kill her.”

“Relax,” Mark replied with a smirk. “I’m merely going to inspect your potential mate to make sure she’s worthy enough for my dear baby brother.”

Glen growled low in his throat knowing Mark was going to do something to screw things up for him and Joselyn. His blue eyes glowed brilliantly as they turned from blue to amber to bright red. The demon within him coming out as his anger grew.

“Go hunt,” Mark demanded. “You need to feed more than I do. You’re of no use to me if you allow yourself to become weak.”

Glen’s eyes returned to their normal color. He knew that Mark was right. Since he had been rescued from the inferno their former lair had become he was weaker than his brother was. The wounds left him using all of his energy to heal; though he could still spare some for a good hunt. He stalked off, leaving Mark to his own devices, though in the pit of his stomach he had a feeling that something was about to go terribly wrong.

Mark set his sights back on the club that Joselyn and her friends had just disappeared into once Glen was gone. Without a second thought he stepped out of the shadows and headed toward the club. Once inside he glanced around for the woman his brother had become so taken with. Spotting her sitting with her friends and talking animatedly he smiled. He headed over to the bar and ordered himself a drink, settling in for a little while. He knew Glen would have his hands full with the hunt. He was confident he could take his time with this one.

~~~~~

Glen stood in the shadows watching the two girls walking and laughing, leaning on each other for support. He smiled, intoxicated, just the way he liked his prey. The blonde giggled uncontrollably as she nearly fell into the gutter as they crossed the street. The brunette giggled as well, though she didn’t seem to be as inebriated as her friend was.

Glen stepped out of the shadows a smile on his face; his fangs gleamed in the moonlight. Neither woman heard him as he trailed behind them. His smile widened as the women headed into a nearby alley; his eyes glowing from blue to amber to red. He could practically taste their sweet blood laced with whatever alcohol they had consumed.

“Kelly,” the brunette screeched as the blonde leaned against a wall in the alley emptying the contents of her stomach. “These aren’t my shoes! I borrowed them from my room mate!”

“Sorry, Brooke,” Kelly replied wiping her mouth. “Guess I shouldn’t have had that shot of tequila.” She offered a weak smile before retching and groaning.

“Can I help you ladies,” Glen asked as he entered the alley.

“We’re fine,” Brooke replied glancing at the tall stranger. “My friend just had a little too much to drink.”

“I can see that,” Glen chuckled. “You really shouldn’t be walking in this neighborhood all alone.” His eyes glowed a bright red and his mouth practically watered as he listened to the sound of Brooke’s heart beating faster. He knew that she was scared and she had every reason to be.

“We’re fine,” Brooke repeated. “Come on, Kelly.” She pulled Kelly up to her feet and attempted to walk past Glen, though he did not budge. It was then that she saw his eyes glowing in the darkness. She dropped Kelly, who sprawled to the ground knocking her head on the cold cement. “Demon,” she gasped, falling back on her ass and trying to crawl away from him.

“Yes,” Glen replied, knowing that Kelly had been knocked out by the fall. Brooke would be the real challenge. She had not had as much to drink as her smaller, blonde friend.

Brooke’s back hit a wall and she whimpered feeling trapped. “Please,” she begged. “Please don’t kill me.”

Glen squatted down in front of her, his fangs glinting in the street light. His red eyes bore into her as he touched her hair and the grasped her face. “Begging won’t get you anywhere, Brooke,” he said, his voice low and even. This was the best part of the hunt for him, the adrenaline rush induced by fear. The scent of her fear was almost intoxicating.

“You’re a…vampire,” she whimpered, hiccuping as the tears spilled down her face.

“Yes, one of the oldest in existence,” he replied reaching out with such speed that belied his great size. His large hand clamped around her throat, lifting her off the ground as he rose to his full height. Her feet kicked as she was deprived of precious oxygen. Her hands reached out trying to remove his mask to no avail. Soon she went limp in his arms.

With a satisfied smile he slung her over his shoulder before shouldering her blonde friend as well. Once he was sure his prey was secure he leapt into the air, soaring up until he landed on the rooftop of the building with a dull thud. He peered into the dark night adjusting his bearings until he spotted the mansion in the distance. Holding tightly onto the girls he began leaping across rooftops headed for home.

{Chapter 2}

Mark watched as Joselyn and her friends succumbed to the pulsating beat of the music in the club. His green eyes were fixed on the buxom blonde as she giggled and danced, spinning around and moving her hips to the beat. He licked his lips as he watched her, wanting nothing more than to steal her away for his own pleasures.

Soon enough he thought with a smile.

Joselyn caught sight of him watching her. Her sapphire eyes raking over him. He was much older than the type of man she was used to, but age had never meant much to her. She smiled at him, giving a flirty little wink. In response he tipped his glass at her and offered a smile of his own.

She was playing right into his hand. Mark chuckled to himself thinking of all the things he could do with the young co-ed. He knew Glen would be pissed, but who could blame him for wanting a taste of forbidden fruit.

“Jos,” her fiery haired friend giggled. “That guy at the bar is totally checking you out!”

“Yeah,” her brunette companion giggled. “He’s hot!”

“Jenny, you think every man is hot,” Joselyn chuckled rolling her eyes. “You don’t think he looks like one of our professors?”

“No,” the redhead exclaimed. “And if you don’t want him I’ll take him!”

“He’s old enough to be our father, Nattie” Joselyn said shaking her head.

“More experience, honey,” Nattie replied.

“Just imagine what he could do to you,” Jenny said giggling conspiratorially with Nattie.

“You two would know better than me,” Joselyn replied.

“I forgot we’re in the presence of the Virgin Mary,” Nattie teased.

“Not my fault I have standards,” Joselyn replied with a smirk.

“Jos, don’t look now, but he’s coming our way,” Jenny exclaimed. “Act natural.”

Joselyn’s sapphire eyes darted to the bar where the dark stranger had been sitting and found the seat now empty. She scanned the crowd for him and spotted him. Mark was making his way across the room toward them.

“Good evening ladies,” he said smiling warmly at them when he finally made it to their table. He turned his attention to Joselyn. “I’m very sorry for staring, miss, but you just looked so beautiful dancing.”

Joselyn blushed. “Thank you,” she replied.

“Could I buy you a drink,” he asked and then turned his attention to her two friends. “All of you lovely ladies.”

Joselyn was about to protest, but Nattie placed a hand over her mouth. “Sure,” she replied smiling wide. “I’ll have a sex on the beach.”

“Screaming orgasm for me,” Jenny giggled.

Mark smiled, knowing they were shamelessly flirting with him. It didn’t matter. He only had eyes for Joselyn.

“And for you,” he asked Joselyn now.

“I’ll have a rum and coke,” she replied with a smile.

Mark nodded and headed back to the bar to place the order for the drinks. Several minutes later the bartender placed the drinks in front of him before bustling down to the other end of the bar to tend to other customers. Mark glanced over his shoulder to see what the ladies were doing.

Seeing that they were talking amongst themselves he pulled several pills out of his pocket. He deposited two in Jenny and Nattie’s drink before dropping a single pill into Joselyn’s. He picked up the three glasses with ease and headed back toward the ladies.

“Thank you,” Jenny and Nattie said eagerly sipping their drinks. Mark nodded at them. Joselyn accepted her drink with a shy smile, taking a small sip.

“Perhaps you ladies would like to move to the VIP room upstairs,” Mark suggested.

“Sure,” Nattie said all smiles as the three women took their drinks and followed him toward the stairs to the VIP room.

At the top a man greeted them. He was tall, though shorter than Mark, with black hair and facial hair. His deep brown eyes raked over the three women before returning to Mark, who leaned down to whisper something in the man’s ear.

“Let no one enter this room, Thorn” Mark said.

“Yes, Master,” Thorn replied, waiting for them to enter the empty room before closing the door and standing guard in front of it.

Once inside the room the girls could see that it was done in shades of blue and purple. There were several plush chairs all around the room set up in clusters to allow for grouped conversations. Several small tables were set up around the couch and the chair clusters. A long couch lined one wall and a bar spanned the other.

Nattie and Jenny took a seat on the couch, sipping their drinks as they gazed around the room. Neither one of them had ever been on this side of the club. Joselyn slowly walked around the room, nursing her drink. She had already had one drink and she knew two was her limit.

“How do you like it, ladies,” Mark asked. His eyes were on Nattie and Jenny at the moment. He knew that the pills would be taking effect soon and then he could concentrate on Joselyn. He smiled as he saw their eyes glazing over as the drugs took hold. The two girls giggled in response to his question.

“I feel dizzy,” Jenny said.

“Met too,” Nattie agreed, setting down her glass on the nearby table.

“Why don’t you ladies lay down and rest,” Mark suggested. “I think the bartender was a little heavy handed with the alcohol in your drinks.” Both women obeyed, lying back on the couch and closing their eyes.

Joselyn watched this with great curiosity. Her friends hadn’t had nearly enough alcohol to make them drunk. She had seen them drink much more and barely slur a single word. She did, however, feel the effects of her own drink taking over. Feeling dizzy herself she sat down on the nearest chair, waiting for the room to stop spinning.

“Are you all right, Joselyn,” Mark asked.

“How..how do you know my name,” she asked, feeling like her mind was starting to fog over.

“I know many things about you,” he replied with a smirk.

“I..I should go,” she said attempting to get to her feet. The foggy feeling wouldn’t allow her to see straight and she stumbled forward.

Mark was there to catch her in a heartbeat. “Why don’t you allow me to take you home,” he asked. “You’re in no condition to be alone.”

“All right,” she groaned.

Mark scooped her up in his arms, carrying her out of the room. He stopped just long enough to speak to Thorn. “Make sure her two friends disappear.” Thorn nodded peering into the room where Nattie and Jenny lay on the couch.

With great ease Mark carried Joselyn out of the club and back to the small apartment where he and Glen had begun watching her earlier in the night. She handed him the key to open the door as she leaned against him for support. He opened the door and once again scooped her up into his arms, heading toward the bed that took up most of the main room.

He laid her down on the bed, caressing her cheek. “So beautiful,” Mark said barely above a whisper. “So untouched.” His hand slid down from her face to her neck before slipping under the silky material of her top and cupping her firm breast.

Joselyn groaned at his touch, feeling her skin light on fire. She knew she should tell this strange man to leave, but the alcohol induced fog wouldn’t let her. His other hand had snaked its way under her top as well and was now massaging her tender flesh.

Unable to control her own actions Joselyn pulled his face down to hers, capturing his lips. Her hands slid under his shirt, feeling his muscles ripple under her touch. Breaking the kiss she pulled his shirt over his head tossing it aside. He smiled down at her, having her right where he wanted her.

With a low growl he tore the flimsy top from her body before moving down to remove her skirt. Joselyn lay back on the pillows, her head still spinning as he shed his pants. He urged her legs open with his knee.

“You’re gonna enjoy this as much as I am, darlin’,” he rumbled in her ear as his fangs extended and plunged into the tender flesh of her neck, tasting her sweetness. Joselyn cried out in pain before her world went black.

~~~~~

Thorn headed into the VIP room at the club. With a sigh he realized that lifting the dead weight of the two unconscious women would be no easy task. He pulled out his cell phone and quickly dialed.

“Ken,” he said. “I need some help disposing of some…trash. Good. Meet me in five. You know the place.” He hung up the phone and looked at the women again. “I definitely call the redhead,” he muttered.

Five minutes later Ken Kennedy met Thorn up in the VIP room. “So, where’s the trash,” he asked with a smirk. Thorn pointed at the two women. Kennedy’s mouth began to water. “Tasty,” he said his eyes raking over both of them.

“I call the redhead,” Thorn said.

“Fine, too rich for me anyway. Brunettes are much sweeter,” Kennedy replied. “So, where we doing this?”

“Grab yours,” Thorn said lifting Nattie. Kennedy obeyed and followed Thorn out of the club and into an alley nearby.

“Seems a little dirty for dining,” Kennedy said sneering at the dank alley.

“Beggars can’t be choosers,” Thorn replied, his fangs extending moments before he plunged them into Nattie’s neck. Kennedy followed suit thoroughly enjoying the sweetness of Jenny’s alcohol laced blood. When the men had finished dining they tossed the bodies into a dumpster.

“Where is the Master,” Kennedy asked wiping the last remnants of Jenny’s blood from his face.

“Playing,” Thorn replied with a smirk. “Let’s get home and see if we can play a little ourselves.”

Kennedy let out a hearty laugh. “I call Mickie,” he said clapping Thorn on the back. “Love that little vixen.” Thorn simply rolled his eyes as they strolled back to their lair.

{Chapter 3}

When Mark arrived back at the mansion he was greeted by Thorn and Kennedy. He removed his long leather jacket and tossed it at the blonde man. Kennedy grumbled, but took it and hung it up for his master.

“Did you dispose of the two girls,” Mark asked Thorn.

“Yes, My Lord,” Thorn replied, bowing his head.

“Where is my brother,” Mark asked scanning the area.

“In his chambers,” Thorn replied.

“Good. I shall retire to my own chambers.” With that Mark headed up the stairs toward his room.

“Should we tell him that the girls were feeling frisky,” Kennedy asked Thorn.

“No, let him find out on his own,” Thorn replied. “I’m going to bed.”

When Mark arrived in his chambers he quickly shed his shirt and headed toward the bed. He stopped dead in his tracks, staring, unable to believe the sight before him. On the bed Mickie and Cherry were naked, fondling each other and giggling. Cherry caught sight of him watching them as she kissed Mickie and smiled at him.

“What do you two think you’re doing,” he demanded.

“Don’t you like what you see, Master,” Mickie asked, pouting at him. She crawled to the edge of the bed and motioned for him to come closer.

“You look tense, Master,” Cherry said joining her at the edge of the bed. “Let us help you relax.”

“Not tonight, ladies,” Mark said, tossing their discarded robes at them. “Go bother Glen. I’m sure he needs to get laid.”

The women quickly wrapped their robes around themselves and exited the room, knowing not to anger him or they’d be punished. Quietly they made their way down to Glen’s room, knocking on the door. They heard the muffled response and entered the room.

“What do you two want,” Glen asked looking up from draining the petite blonde in his arms.

“The Master didn’t want to use us for pleasure tonight,” Cherry replied with a sigh, dropping into a chair in the corner.

“Probably because some mortal slut pleasured him already,” Mickie replied with a frown as she dropped down onto the end of the bed.

Glen dropped the blonde and glared at the two. “What are you talking about?”

“He reeked of her,” Mickie said making a face. “He smelled like rum and cheap perfume.”

“Go back to your chambers,” Glen replied.

“But…we’re hungry,” Cherry whined, eying the blonde Glen had just dropped.

“And horny,” Mickie added.

Glen picked up the still unconscious Brooke and tossed her at the women. “Now go,” he growled. The women hastily got to their feet, grabbing Brooke and exiting the room. They scurried down to their own room to do with Brooke whatever they wished.

Glen picked up Kelly and drained her of the last drops of blood, knowing he’d need all his strength to deal with his brother. He exited the room, dragging the blonde behind him. In the hall he ran into Kennedy.

“Hey, big man,” Kennedy said smiling. Glen glared at him a moment before tossing the dead body at him, knocking him the ground. “I am not the trash man,” he yelled as Glen continued down the hall.

When Glen arrived at Mark’s door he kicked it in. Mark, who had been sitting up in bed reading, jumped a little. Truth be told he had been expecting this visit from his brother. He knew the whores would go tell him about the scent on him.

“Can I help you, Glen,” he asked, setting aside his book and standing.

Glen grabbed Mark and slammed him into the nearest wall. The portraits on the wall rattled with the force. “What did you do to her,” Glen growled.

“Who could you possibly mean, dear brother,” Mark chuckled. Glen slammed him into the wall again, creating a body shaped indentation in the plaster. Mark groaned as his head connected with the wall.

“What did you do to Joselyn,” Glen demanded. “I warned you! I told you not to hurt her!”

“Relax,” Mark said calmly, prying himself away from his angry brother. He examined the damage to the wall and sighed. He’d need to have someone fix that. “I didn’t hurt her…much.” Glen’s hands balled into fists. “You always do have such good taste in women,” Mark said seeing that his words were getting to his brother. “A shame she’s no longer pure.”

Glen let out a growl and slammed Mark into the wall again. The portraits on the wall rattled and fell to the floor. “You son of bitch,” Glen roared. “You knew she was mine!”

“Which is why she tasted so much sweeter,” Mark chuckled. “Forbidden fruit always does.”

“You TASTED her,” Glen bellowed. “How much did you drain her?”

“I only took a small taste,” Mark admitted. “But the weeping wound I left might take its toll on her.” He smiled seeing the distraught look on Glen’s face. “These mortals are such weak creatures.”

Glen slammed Mark into the wall before taking off out of the room. He was down the main staircase and out the front door in seconds. He leapt into the air, practically flying across the rooftops of buildings until he made it to Joselyn’s apartment building.

Quietly he crept though the door Mark had left open. Joselyn was on the bed, her blood staining the pillows. Mark had positioned her with her arms folded across her chest, as if she were dead. It was weak, but Glen could hear her heart beating.

He moved closer to the bed, examining the puncture wounds in her neck. He was taken aback. The holes had healed already. Glen knew this could only mean one thing. Joselyn was pregnant…with Mark’s child. Mark wouldn’t have sired someone he considered to be beneath him, unless he had a use for her.

She stirred on the bed, groaning. The drug Mark had slipped her was finally wearing off. She opened her eyes, blinking as they cleared. Spotting Glen and taking in his mask she pushed away from him, cowering in the corner of the bed and holding the sheet over her naked form.

“I won’t hurt you, Joselyn,” he said softly.

“Who are you,” she demanded. “How do you know my name?” She caught sight of the blood on the bed. “What happened?”

“My name is Glen. I can explain everything,” Glen said standing. “But I need you to come with me. Will you come?”

Something about the way he spoke to her put her jumpy nerves at ease. She nodded slowly. “I need to shower and dress,” she said softly.

“I’ll wait,” Glen replied, walking over to the window and perching on the ledge. He heard Joselyn shuffling about gathering her clothes and then the water running in the shower.

Twenty minutes later she was dressed and ready to go. “I’m ready,” she said softly.

“Good,” Glen said smiling. He held out his hand for her and she placed her tiny hand in his, allowing him to lead the way out of the building. “Hold on,” he said pulling her close to him.

“What,” she asked, unsure what he meant. She was startled when he placed her arms around his neck, holding onto her tightly before leaping into the air. The wind whipped her hair as Glen leapt from rooftop to rooftop.

When he finally stopped and landed down on the pavement they stood before a huge mansion on the outskirts of town. “You live here,” she asked in wonder. He nodded taking her hand and leading her inside.

“Kennedy,” Glen called up the stairs. The blonde man was there in seconds. “Take Joselyn to my chambers.” Kennedy eyed her up and down, smiling wickedly. “DO NOT touch a hair on her head or I’ll have yours.”

“Understood,” Kennedy replied. “Come with me, Joselyn.” He led the way up the stairs toward Glen’s chambers.

Glen made his way up behind them heading toward Mark’s chambers. He entered without knocking, though he did not need to kick it in this time. The splintered doorframe did not allow it to close properly.

“How is she, dear brother,” Mark asked, looking up from his book.

“How could you have been so stupid, Mark,” Glen growled. Mark seemed unfazed by this question. “Did you not realize that you could impregnate her?”

“That’s not an issue,” Mark replied as if he were bored with the conversation.

“The hell it isn’t,” Glen bellowed. “Her weeping wound…was healed already, Mark! Mortals don’t heal that quickly! She’s pregnant!”

Mark pondered this statement before smiling. “Well, I always wanted a child to carry on the Calaway name.”

“This is serious,” Glen growled. “Someone has to explain to her what’s going to happen, Mark.”

“Have fun with that,” Mark replied. Glen sneered at him. “I’ll raise the child, Glen. As for the pregnancy…I prefer you to do the wet work with that. Don’t forget to close the door on your way out.”

Glen glared at Mark a moment before heading out of his chambers, slamming the door on the way out. He smirked when he heard the wall and doorframe crack with the impact. With a sigh he headed to his own chambers to tackle the task of explaining what was going on to Joselyn.

He found her sitting on his bed, staring at her new surroundings. “This is some place,” she said.

“Joselyn, we need to talk,” he said softly, taking a seat next to her on the bed. “It was no accident that you met my brother, Mark, tonight.”

“What do you mean,” she asked.

“I had been watching you for some time,” he admitted. “I was hoping you would be my mate.”

“You’ve been stalking me,” Joselyn asked, confused by what he was telling her.

“My brother and I are vampires,” Glen admitted. “Two of the oldest in existence. I was taken with your beauty the first time I set eyes on you. I had hoped to take you as my mate.”

“By taking me as your mate…do you mean you’d have to make me a vampire,” she asked, realizing how crazy it sounded to speak the words aloud. Glen nodded.

“There would be a special ceremony where you would be bound to me,” he said. “That night, our first night together, you would be turned in the hopes of creating offspring.”

“I thought vampires couldn’t reproduce,” she replied.

“Sired vampires can not reproduce,” he replied. “My brother and I are pure blood. Pure bloods are few in numbers these days. Our union would have produced a new breed to perpetuate our race.”

“But they wouldn’t be pure bloods,” Joselyn replied. Glen shook his head no. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because, Joselyn, my brother drugged you tonight,” he said, his blood boiling at his brother’s actions. “He took your virginity.” She knew that she was no longer a virgin when she had awakened to find herself naked, a dull ache between her thighs. “He bit you, Joselyn, and left you for dead with a weeping wound.” Joselyn’s hand flew up to her neck, remembering the pain of the bite. “When I arrived your wound had healed.”

“He turned me,” she asked mortified. She did not want to live this life against her will.

“No,” Glen replied, pinching the bridge of his nose. “If only it were that simple. Joselyn, you’re pregnant.”

“That…that’s crazy,” she replied standing, placing a hand over her stomach. “That’s just insane!”

“Close your eyes,” Glen said also standing. She did as he asked. “Now concentrate. Listen to the sounds of your body. How many heartbeats do you hear?”

Joselyn listened to the sound of her own pounding heart and then realized that she heard something else. It was faint, but she could hear it. “Three,” she replied, opening her eyes. “I hear three heartbeats.”

Glen felt like he had been punched in the gut. Three heartbeats. Twins. “Joselyn, are you sure?”

“Do you want to listen,” she asked.

Glen nodded, crouching down and placing his ear to her stomach. He listened and sighed sadly. It was unmistakable. There were indeed twin heartbeats in her womb.

“Joselyn, this pregnancy is going to be very difficult. Even a single birth pregnancy would be difficult, but twins…,” Glen said straightening up. “If you don’t let me turn you…”

“I don’t want to live like this,” she replied shaking her head. “I will not feed off of blood for eternity.”

“Joselyn, please,” Glen pleaded. “If you don’t let me do this…you could die. Very few mortal women live through the birth of a vampire child.”

“It’s a risk I’m willing to take,” Joselyn replied standing firm.

“Will you at least agree to live here during the pregnancy so that I can take care of you,” Glen asked.

“I really don’t have much choice, do I,” she replied. “If I can hear the heartbeats it must mean that the pregnancy advances rather quickly.”

Glen nodded. “Three months,” he said. “I will have Thorn and Kennedy get your things tomorrow night. For now I need to get some rest.”

“Glen,” Joselyn said softly as she curled up on the couch. He turned to look at her. “Why do you wear that mask?”

“I was in a fire,” he replied softly. “Someone I loved very much betrayed me and I was almost killed. My wounds are still healing.” He sighed as he shed his shirt and kicked off his boots, climbing into bed. “Get some rest, Joselyn. I will tell you anything you want to know when we wake.”

Authors' Note: Phil (Brooks) = CM Punk. He'll be in future chapters.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
{Chapter 4}

“Here you go,” Hunter said setting down a cold beer in front of Shawn as he slid into the booth across from him. They had been on the hunt for several days before the trail went cold. They now sat in a dive bar trying to find a new trail to follow. Shawn was reading the local paper, frowning. “What’s with the puss?”

Shawn folded the paper and showed Hunter the article he had been reading. “Two college girls were found dead in a dumpster,” Shawn replied.

“Cause of death,” Hunter asked taking a sip of his beer.

“Exsanguination,” Shawn replied. Hunter stared at him blankly. Shawn sighed loudly, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Honestly, Hunter, would it kill you to pick up a book once in a while?”

“That’s what you’re here for, Shawn,” Hunter replied with a smirk. “So, cause of death?”

“They were drained of all their blood,” Shawn replied, shaking his head at his friend.

“Puncture holes in the neck,” Hunter asked, draining the rest of his beer.

“Doesn’t say,” Shawn replied scanning the article again. “But I’m willing to bet big money that’s what we’ll find when we pay a visit to the morgue.”

“Great,” Hunter muttered. “My favorite part of the damn job.”

“This is Calaway’s doing, Hunter,” Shawn said. “I can feel it in my bones.”

Hunter rolled his eyes and sighed. “You’ve felt it in your bones in every fuckin’ shithole we’ve been to, Shawn. What makes this one any different?”

“It just is,” Shawn replied downing his beer in one long gulp. “Let’s go.” He grabbed the paper and headed out to their car. With a sigh Hunter drained his beer and followed.

~~~~~

“THORN,” Mark’s voice echoed through the house. He stood at the top of the stairs clutching a newspaper in his hand. Thorn appeared moments later. “I thought you disposed of the two girls from the club.”

“Yes, Master,” Thorn replied. “Kennedy and I did.”

“By tossing their bodies in a fuckin’ dumpster,” Mark roared. He tossed the paper at Thorn. The younger vampire caught the paper and skimmed the article. “You were supposed to get rid of them where they won’t be found. You have to fix this…IMMEDIATELY!”

“It will be done, Master,” Thorn said bowing. Mark stormed off, slamming his chamber door behind him. Thorn sighed heading back down the stairs.

Kennedy met him at the foot of the stairs, Mickie tucked under his arm. “Did I hear the Master bellowing,” he asked, nuzzling Mickie’s neck and nipping it. She giggled and cuddled closer to him.

“Yes,” Thorn replied, grabbing Mickie and tossing her away from Kennedy like she was trash.

“What the fuck,” Kennedy growled.

“The bodies were found,” Thorn said.

“Uh…duh,” Kennedy replied helping Mickie up. “We tossed them in a fuckin’ dumpster.”

“Now you get the honor of going to the morgue to dispose of them again,” Thorn said.

“Why me,” Kennedy whined.

“Because you’re younger,” Thorn replied, his eyes flashing dangerously.

“Fine,” Kennedy sighed. “Go wait for me in my room, baby,” he said kissing Mickie quickly before glaring at Thorn. “I’ll clean up this mess, but YOU’RE the one who should have known better.” With that he stormed out of the mansion.

Thorn sighed, shaking his head. “You just can’t sire good underlings these days.”

~~~~~

“Are you sure we can get in this way,” Hunter hissed while Shawn swiped the key card and punched in the code that Phil had given them.

“Has Punk ever let us down,” Shawn replied. The panel beeped and the door to the morgue entrance opened. “What’d I tell ya?”

“Let’s just get this shit over with already,” Hunter grumbled as they headed in to search for the bodies.

As they rounded the corner to the drawers that contained the dead bodies they spotted a man leaning over two open draws. He sprinkled some powder on the bodies before they burst into flames. It was then that he realized that he had company.

“HEY,” Hunter yelled. “Shawn he’s burning the bodies!”

“I can see that,” Shawn growled grabbing the fire extinguisher off the wall.

“Hunters,” Kennedy hissed moments before Hunter shot a wooden stake through his shoulder. Kennedy yelped in pain before pulling it out and tossing it away.

He caught Shawn with a clothesline before the hunter could put out the fire. The extinguisher flew up in the air before landing on Shawn’s head. “Amateurs,” Kennedy snarled as he leapt for Hunter.

He didn’t have much time to react. Kennedy was leaping at him, fangs bared and murder in his demonic eyes. He pulled out his revolver and fired off four rounds. The bullets penetrated the vampire’s shoulders, chest and stomach stopping him in mid-leap.

Kennedy coughed, but laughed at Hunter. “You fool,” he cackled. “Bullets can’t kill me.”

“Ordinary bullets, no,” Hunter said calmly, picking up the bone saw from a nearby autopsy table. “Those babies are pure silver, motherfucker.”

Kennedy felt the silver kicking in. The poison was coursing through his veins as he got to his feet unsteadily. Hunter raised the bone saw, turning it on. He was fully intent on decapitating the son of a b*tch before him, but he needed information.

“Tell me what I need to know and I’ll make your death quick,” he said.

“Did you practice that in front of a mirror,” Kennedy chuckled, though he coughed up blood now. “You’ll get nothing out of me.”

Hunter raised the bone saw, but the smoke from the burning bodies was beginning to fill the room. His vision was impaired and Kennedy took advantage of this to sneak out through the window he had climbed in through.

“Shawn,” Hunter coughed realizing that they were going to asphyxiate if they didn’t get out soon. He found his partner and picked him up, dragging him out of the building. The bodies they had come to inspect were long gone and it wouldn’t be long before the fire department and police showed up and he didn’t want to be around when they did. They would have to find that vampire another day.

Hunter set Shawn in the passenger seat, the older man was just coming to. “What happened,” he groaned, feeling the goose egg that the fire extinguisher had left on his forehead.

“You lost a fight with a fire extinguisher,” Hunter replied, sliding behind the wheel. He slammed his hands on the steering wheel growling. “Damn it!”

“Did the vamp get away,” Shawn asked.

“Yeah and we lost the bodies too,” Hunter sighed. “I guess we have conclusive proof that the girls died at the hands of vampires.” Shawn quirked a brow at him. “What? You think you have the market cornered on using big words?”

Shawn shook his head. “Just get me back to the hotel so I can put some ice on my head,” he muttered leaning his head back on the seat and closing his eyes.

~~~~~

The frantic banging at the door of the mansion brought Thorn, Mickie and Cherry to answer it. When Thorn threw the door open Kennedy fell in on him. Thorn could smell the silver immediately.

“GLEN,” Thorn called as he dragged Kennedy over to the couch in the sitting room. He tore open Kennedy’s shirt to examine the damage.

“Ken,” Mickie whimpered, caressing his face.

“Give him room, woman,” Thorn yelled. “GLEN!”

Glen came down the stairs moments later. “Why are you yelling, Thorn? Joselyn needs her rest.”

“It’s Kennedy,” Thorn replied. “He’s been shot with silver bullets.”

“Hunters,” Glen growled. “Was he followed?”

“No,” Thorn replied. “Four bullets.”

“Take the girls and go,” Glen said seeing that Cherry and Mickie were weeping. Thorn nodded and gathered the women leading them out of the sitting room. Glen turned his attention to fallen vampire before him. “What have you gotten yourself into?”

“Fuckin’ hunters came out of nowhere,” Kennedy coughed.

“Relax,” Glen said, rolling up his sleeves as he took a seat on the couch next to Kennedy. He held his wrist out to the younger vampire. “Drink.”

“But…Glen…I can’t,” Kennedy protested. “You need your strength.”

“Don’t worry about me,” Glen replied. “If you don’t drink you’ll die, Ken.”

Reluctantly Kennedy took Glen’s hand and brought the wrist to his mouth, his fangs extending. The bigger man winced as the fangs pierced his flesh and Kennedy began to drink. He felt his strength draining, but did not stop Kennedy knowing that if he did the younger man would die.

~~~~~

Several hours later Glen knocked on Thorn’s chamber door. “Kennedy is going to pull through,” he said tiredly when Thorn answered the door. “He’ll be weak for a while, but he will make a full recovery.”

“Thank you, Glen,” Thorn replied. “I will tell the girls.” Glen nodded before heading for his own chambers to check on Joselyn and get some rest. He would need to pay an unexpected visit to the healer at sundown.

{Chapter 5}

“How are you feeling,” Glen asked Joselyn as they sat in the garden. It was sunset, Joselyn’s favorite time of day. It had been a month since she had moved into the mansion.

“The morning sickness was worse than I thought. Thank goodness it only lasted a month,” she replied rubbing her rounded belly. “Glen?”

“Hmm?”

“Mark doesn’t like me, does he,” she asked.

“What makes you say that,” he asked placing a hand on her belly. He could feel the twins moving under his large hand.

“He avoids me like the plague,” she replied with a sigh. “Everyone seems to. Mickie and Cherry just sneer at me. Kennedy just glares.” Tears were in her eyes. “The only one remotely civil to me is Thorn.”

“Pay them no mind,” Glen replied. “They’re all loyal to Mark and don’t like change.”

“I think I’d like to go lie down,” Joselyn said getting to her feet. “I find myself much more tired these days.”

Glen watched her head into the house and soon heard the snickers from Kennedy, Mickie and Cherry. With a low growl he stood and headed into the house. He found the trio on the couch in the sitting room, Mickie in Kennedy’s lap. Cherry was at his feet.

“What did you say to her,” Glen demanded.

“Who? Oh…her,” Kennedy replied pointing toward the ceiling indicating Joselyn. “Nothing…much.” Mickie and Cherry snickered.

Glen crossed the distance between them in two strides and grabbed Kennedy off the couch with one hand. Mickie went sprawling to the floor on top of Cherry. Both women screeched in terror as they watched Glen dangling Kennedy several feet off the floor.

“What did you say to her,” Glen demanded through gritted teeth.

Kennedy’s legs flailed as he tried in vain to get free of the bigger man’s grip. “I called her a slut,” Kennedy finally choked out.

Glen growled pinning Kennedy to the wall. “My brother RAPED her,” he growled, his voice deathly low. “How does that make her a slut?”

“So, you’re picking up your brother’s sloppy seconds,” Kennedy groaned. “What does that say about you?”

Glen glared at him a moment before tossing him dangerously close to the roaring fireplace. Kennedy felt the heat from the fire and skittered away from it. Mickie and Cherry were by his side checking him over in a matter of seconds.

“Stay the hell away from Joselyn,” Glen growled. “Don’t talk to her. Don’t touch her. Don’t even look at her. Understood?” He headed toward the stairs to check on Joselyn.

“You’re too attached to her, Glen,” Kennedy called, rubbing his sore throat. “You know what her fate is. You can’t save her. She’s already made her decision.”

When Glen arrived at the top of the stairs he was met by Thorn. “Don’t let Kennedy get to you,” he said. “You and I both know that Joselyn is a sweet girl. She did nothing to deserve this other than catching your fancy.” Glen hung his head. “Your brother has always been a cold hearted bastard.”

“And he never goes through heartache,” Glen replied softly. “Maybe he has the right idea.”

“Go be with Joselyn,” Thorn said patting Glen on the back. “She’s going to need you more as her pregnancy progresses.” Glen nodded and headed to his chambers.

When he entered his chambers he heard the sound of Joselyn softly weeping. She was lying on his bed curled up on her side. Quietly he sat on the edge of the bed, placing a hand on the small of her back. She sniffled and tried to stop the tears, but couldn’t. Glen pulled her into his arms, stroking her hair as she continued to sniffle.

“Why are they so cruel,” she asked softly.

“It’s what they are,” he replied. “Their inner demon has no off switch.”

“Sometimes I feel like you’re the only one who cares,” she said, hiccuping as she pulled free of him.

“Maybe it was a mistake bringing you here,” Glen said softly. “Perhaps I should take you away from this place. You’ll be better off without…”

She silenced him with a finger over his lips. “I want to be here,” she said softly. “I like spending time with you.” Her words touched him, but also broke his heart. If only Mark hadn’t interfered. She would be all his. The look of sadness in his eyes didn’t go unnoticed by Joselyn. “Why are you so sad?”

He sighed. “Joselyn, would you have ever been mine,” he asked softly. “If you had never met Mark. Would you have ever wanted to be with me?”

She thought about this long and hard. His height and the mask he wore made him a very intimidating figure, but one look in his eyes and she could tell that he would never hurt her. Getting to know him over the past month had told her that he was quite taken with her and would risk his life to protect her.

“Yes,” she replied honestly. “Once I got to know you…I believe I would have given myself to you.” Glen closed his eyes and turned away from her. “Did I say something wrong,” she asked.

“No,” he replied. “You should rest.” He attempted to stand, but she stopped him. When he turned to face her she slipped her hand behind his head, her fingers tangling in his brown curls, and brought his face down to hers. She pressed her lips to his and kissed him softly.

“I don’t want to rest,” she said softly when the kiss was broken. “I want you to be the first man to make love to me.”

“Joselyn,” he said, shocked by her forwardness. “I wouldn’t be your first.”

“Mark took what he wanted and left me for dead. I know that you’ll treat me the way I should be. I know that you’ll show me how I should be loved,” she replied, taking his hand and slipping it under her shirt. She kissed him again. “If I may not survive this birth...I want to be made love to at least once in my life.”

~~~~~

“Took you guys long enough,” Phil Brooks said opening the door to his apartment. He looked from Shawn to Hunter with a crooked smile, his lip ring glinting in the hall light.

“We hit traffic,” Hunter said shoving him aside and entering the apartment.

“What do you have for us, Punk,” Shawn asked.

“I did a missing person’s search,” Brooks said taking a seat at his desk and in a few keystrokes he brought up a newspaper article on his screen. “A twenty-two year old woman named Joselyn Levesque went missing around the same time the two girls were found in the dumpster.”

“So,” Hunter asked gazing at some action figures Brooks had on a shelf. He picked up the Ironman one looking it over.

Brooks stood, crossing the distance between them quickly and snatching the action figure from him. “That’s a rare piece,” he said. “You break it you bought it.”

“You’re thinking this woman’s disappearance has something to do with the vamp that got rid of the bodies,” Shawn asked before Hunter could pick a fight.

“The funny thing is that police suspect that she too was dumped somewhere,” Brooks said setting the action figure back on the shelf and heading back to his computer.

“Why’s that,” Hunter asked taking a seat next to Shawn on the couch.

“When they did a search of her apartment they found massive amounts of blood staining the bed. With the amount there they concluded that she couldn’t have survived such blood loss,” Brooks said running a hand through his shoulder length black hair.

“But she’s still a missing person,” Shawn asked quirking a brow.

“No body, no proof of death,” Brooks replied. “I think that if we find this woman…”

“We find that bastard vamp and ultimately Calaway,” Hunter concluded.

“There’s one problem,” Brooks replied frowning. “There’s no evidence of a struggle. No sign of a break in. The vamp who did this was either already inside the apartment when she got home or she knew him. Either way the trail goes freaking Siberian cold.”

“We’ve worked with less,” Hunter said. “I’ll call Bobby and see what he thinks of the situation and how to approach it. You did good work, Punk.”

~~~~~

Glen lay in bed with Joselyn in his arms, his hand resting on her belly. He could feel the babies moving inside of her. For a moment he lied to himself thinking that they could somehow be a happy family.

He knew too well that fate wouldn’t allow it. Odds were that she would never survive the birth of one child let alone twins. He cursed Mark for stealing happiness from him.

Joselyn stirred in his arms and he kissed the crown of her head, whispering sweet nothings in her ear until she settled. “Soon this will be over,” he said softly. “My sweet Joselyn.”

{Chapter 6}

“I get why I can’t go to a regular doctor,” Joselyn said as Glen helped her along the path toward David Heath’s cottage. “But does this guy have to live in the middle of nowhere?”

Glen chuckled, holding her hand and placing his other hand on the small of her back as they trudged through the wooded area that surrounded Heath’s place. “He’s a very gifted healer,” he said. “He’s the one helping me with my burns. David says that when all is said and done I will show no sign of ever being disfigured.”

“You’re not disfigured now,” Joselyn replied, stopping with a small squeak.

“Are you all right,” Glen asked, fearing the twins were trying to make an early entrance into the world. She was only two months into her pregnancy, but premature births had been known to occur.

“I’m fine,” Joselyn replied smiling, her hand on her belly. “Still getting used to the sensation of them moving,” she said with a small smile. “It feels as if they're running a marathon!”

“Before you know it this will all be over,” Glen said motioning that they should continue on. “Come. David hates to be kept waiting.”

They finally made it to the cottage and knocked. When the door was thrown open David Heath stood before them. “Nice to see you still have little regard for time, Glen,” he said with a smirk.

“And you’re still a whiny little bitch,” Glen replied with a chuckle.

Heath snickered, shaking his head and offered his hand to Joselyn. “My dear,” he said smiling. “You are looking just radiant.” Joselyn blushed and accepted the offered hand, allowing Heath to lead her into the cottage and over to where he would examine her. “Just lie down and we’ll see what those babies are up to.”

Glen watched as Joselyn did as she was told lying down on the bed that Heath had taken her to. Heath went to work making sure that both Joselyn and the twins were healthy. By the end of the exam Joselyn had dozed off.

Seeing this Heath quietly crept away from the sleeping woman and made his way over to Glen. “How is she,” Glen asked.

“She’s fine…for now,” Heath replied. “Glen you do know what will happen…”

“I know,” Glen replied raking a hand through his dark curls. “I’ve told her all about it. We’re both well aware of what is going to happen.”

“Somehow I don’t think she’s as aware of what will happen,” Heath replied gently. “This will be horrific for her.”

“What would you have me do, David,” Glen demanded. “Sire her in her sleep? She’d hate me forever. I couldn’t live with that.” He cast a glance at Joselyn’s slumbering form. “She made her decision. I have to stick to it…whether I like it or not.” With that he headed over to Joselyn, gently lifting her.

“Take care of her while you can, Glen,” Heath said softly to his friend. “Call me if you need anything.”

“Thank you, David,” Glen said as he exited the cottage to take Joselyn home.

~~~~~

“Wide load coming through,” Kennedy snickered softly to Mickie as he watched Joselyn making her way into the kitchen. Mickie covered her mouth and stifled a giggle.

Joselyn’s head whipped in his direction and she narrowed her sapphire eyes at him. “What was that, Ken,” she demanded. He looked at her dumbfounded. She shouldn’t have been able to hear his comment.

“Nothing,” he replied, knowing Glen would have his head for mocking her again.

“I definitely heard something come out of your mouth,” she replied. “One more snide comment from you and you won’t have to worry about Glen. I’ll kill you myself.” Her eyes flashed dangerously as she glared at him a moment longer. Once she was sure her point was made she headed into the kitchen to fix herself some lunch.

“What the fuck was that about,” Mickie demanded. “Why did you let that meatbag bitch talk to you like that?”

“Can it, Mickie,” Kennedy said heading into the kitchen. Something was different about Joselyn. She was no longer the shrinking violet she had been when Glen first brought her into the mansion. He took a seat at the kitchen table and watched as she pulled out a package of cube steaks.

“Why are you in here,” Joselyn demanded as she unwrapped the steaks, sprinkling spices on them in preparation.

“No reason,” he replied watching her closely.

She pulled out a frying pan and set it on the burner on the stove, waiting for it to heat up. She continued to season the other side of the steaks, absentmindedly picking up the bits of meat that fell off as she moved the meat. Without thinking she popped the bits into her mouth, reveling in the flavor. She set the meat into the frying pan to cook. Before she tossed out the styrofoam tray the meat had come in she brought it to her lips, lapping up the blood from the tray.

“New craving,” Kennedy asked bringing her attention to the fact that she was drinking animal blood.

With a disgusted yelp Joselyn tossed the tray aside and rushed out of the kitchen. Kennedy got up and shut off the stove before the food started to burn. It was then that Glen entered the kitchen. He caught sight of Kennedy and grabbed him, pinning him to the wall.

“What did you do to her,” he demanded.

“Nothing,” Kennedy groaned. “I swear! She’s developed a taste for raw meat, Glen. Ask her if you don’t believe me!” Glen released Kennedy and stalked out of the kitchen.

He made his way up to his chambers and found Joselyn lying on the bed. Her back was to him. With a sigh he took a seat on the edge of the bed. “Jos, what happened,” he asked softly.

“I’m changing,” she said softly. “Something is happening to me.”

“What happened,” he repeated gently.

“I was making myself some lunch,” she said sitting up, placing a hand on her very round stomach. “Glen, I was drinking the blood from the meat tray. I ate raw meat…and I…enjoyed it.”

“Pregnant women develop odd cravings,” Glen said with a smirk. “Be thankful you weren’t eating pickles, mustard and ice cream.”

“That’s not all,” Joselyn said with a sigh. “Kennedy made a wide load comment as I was passing by.” Glen’s hands balled into fists and his smirk fell. “I handled it.”

“That doesn’t give him the right to treat you as he wishes,” Glen growled.

“Glen, he couldn’t have been speaking higher than a whisper,” she said. “I heard him as if he were speaking directly to me. That’s not right. I threatened him and something about the way I looked at him made him back down.”

“Perhaps you’re developing vampire-like senses,” Glen replied. “I’ll mention it to David next time I talk to him.” She nodded offering him a tight smile. “Why don’t you go have your lunch? Ken managed to save it before it became charcoal.”

~~~~~

“Run it again, Bobby,” Hunter demanded. Shawn and Punk had crashed hours ago. The only ones awake in the small apartment were Hunter and Lashley.

“Hunter,” Lashley sighed, running a hand along his smooth head. “We’ve been running this search for a month solid. The police have given up searching for this girl. Maybe you should too.”

“I am not giving up,” Hunter replied, downing his millionth cup of coffee. “She's out there somewhere. I know it. Shawn knows it too. When we find her we find Calaway. We can't give up. We owe it to Ric.”

“All right,” Lashley sighed rubbing his bleary eyes. He typed in the search parameters and hit the enter key to initiate it. “You want weapons I can get you an entire arsenal,” he muttered as he grabbed his empty cup and headed over to the coffee pot. “This shit…I’m not good with. I think we should wake up Punk and have him tweak the search a bit.”

Hunter took a seat at the computer waiting for the search to finish. “Punk's been at it for three days. He needs a rest. That’s why we called you Bobby.”

“Lucky me,” Lashley muttered as he sipped his coffee.

~~~~~

“Thanks for coming, David,” Glen said welcoming Heath into the mansion.

“What you told me doesn’t seem like anything terrible, Glen,” Heath replied as he followed the taller man up the stairs.

“Joselyn needs to hear that,” Glen replied. “She’s not in any condition to make the trip to your place more than once this month though. She's been more tired that usual lately.”

Heath nodded, patting Glen on the back. “I’ll ease her nerves for you,” he replied smiling. “It’s the least I can do.” With that he headed into Glen’s chambers to speak to Joselyn.

{Chapter 7}

It was early dusk when Glen knocked on Thorn’s chamber door. Seeing the taller man before him he smiled slightly. “Glen, what can I do for you,” Thorn asked. With Joselyn so close to delivering the twins Glen rarely came out of his chambers.

“I have a plan to save Joselyn,” Glen replied. “I was hoping that you’d help me with it.”

Thorn cocked a brow at him. “Glen, short of siring her…” His words trailed off when he saw the desperation in the bigger man’s eyes. He sighed. “How can I help you?”

Glen smiled and slid his arm around Thorn’s shoulders, leading the way to the staircase. “I think we need to conduct a little hunt,” he said.

“Are you…are you thinking that the babies will feed on…instead of…” Thorn thought about it for a moment as he and Glen headed out of the mansion and prepared for that night’s hunt. “That just might work, Glen.” Glen simply smiled and lead the way into town.

~~~~~

“I oughta fuckin’ kill Hunter,” Lashley groaned as Shawn drove him to the emergency room. The wound in his thigh was becoming more and more painful by the minute and it seemed like Shawn was hitting every pothole in the road.

“It was an accident, Bobby,” Shawn replied. “You know how Hunter gets when he’s got new toys to play with.”

“New toys,” Lashley grumbled as he applied more pressure to the bullet hole in his thigh. “A fuckin’ five year old could have seen that the damn safety wasn’t on.”

“Come on,” Shawn said as they pulled into the lot by the emergency room. “Let’s get you patched up.” Shawn sighed raking a hand through his honey brown locks. “I hope John’s on call tonight. We don’t need another doctor questioning shit.”

~~~~~

“She’s perfect,” Glen said motioning toward the blonde buxom woman who had just gotten out of her car. From the look of her brightly colored scrubs she was a nurse at the hospital across the way.

“You have a thing for blondes, don’t you,” Thorn smirked.

“Ashley,” a shorter brunette called as she jogged over to her friend. She too sported bright scrubs.

Glen was about to speak when Thorn cut him off. “You take care of the blonde,” he said. “Let me handle the brunette.” He had a wicked gleam in his eyes.

“So, do you think Doctor Cena will be on call tonight,” the brunette asked with a giggle.

“Candice,” Ashley replied with a chuckle. “You know he will be. That’s the only reason you had your shift changed, ya horny bitch.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Candice replied with a chuckle.

“Excuse me ladies,” Glen said stepping out from his hiding place. “My friend is very ill. I hope I’m not wrong in assuming you’re nurses. Would you mind coming with me to check on him?” On cue Thorn groaned, the sound echoing through the parking complex.

“Yes, we’re nurses,” Ashley replied taking in the massive man before her. “Could you carry him into the hospital? From the sounds of it he needs to see a doctor immediately.”

“I’m afraid to move him,” Glen replied. “He really is not well.”

“Candy, go see if you can find Doctor Cena,” Ashley said, against her better judgement. Candice nodded and headed toward the exit. “Take me to your friend.”

Moments later Candice let out a terrified screech. Ashley’s eyes darted toward her friend and she could see a man in hot pursuit of her. “Candice,” Ashley yelled and attempted to rush after her friend.

Glen proved to be faster and he grabbed her around the middle. “Let go of me, you freak,” Ashley grunted as he lifted her off her feet. In desperation she brought her leg back, connecting with Glen’s most sensitive area. He dropped her to the pavement and crumpled in a heap.

Not wasting any time Ashley took off after her friend. “Candice,” she called. She stopped short when she saw her friend pinned to the wall in the small lot outside the emergency room. Her attacker glanced over his shoulder at Ashley, his red eyes gleaming in the street light. He hissed at her before returning his attention to the terrified woman before him.

“Get away from her,” Ashley yelled. Before she could move from her spot she felt something hit her from behind.

“Bitch,” Glen groaned as he lifted the now limp blonde by her hair. “Why couldn’t you have just come quietly?”

Ashley stared up at him bleary eyed. “Not in my nature,” she replied bringing her knee up. Glen was able to block this attack and chuckled at her spunk. The sound was a low rumble in the back of his throat.

“Ash,” Candice squealed as Thorn lowered his face toward her neck, fangs extended. She squeezed her eyes shut, unable to will herself to fight back.

“HEY! Let them go, you motherfuckin’ bloodsuckers,” Lashley’s voice cut through the night air.

Both Thorn and Glen turned their attention toward the voice. Lashley stood leaning on a crutch, his thigh heavily bandaged. Thorn and Glen exchanged glances before the bigger man began to laugh.

“What do you hope to do, hunter,” he demanded. “Beat us both with you crutch?”

“No,” Lashley replied, his eyes never leaving the vampires. “You’re going to die.” He pulled the gun he kept in the waistband of his jeans, cocking the hammer. “One hundred percent pure silver, bitches.”

“Bobby! No,” Shawn called rushing to his friend’s side. “That’s Calaway’s brother! We need him alive!”

“Get back to the mansion,” Thorn called to Glen. He tossed Candice aside like yesterday’s trash, turning his full attention to Shawn and Lashley. Glen looked from the hunters to Ashley and then to Thorn. “Forget the girl. It was a fool’s errand. Go be with Joselyn while you still can!”

“Joselyn,” Shawn muttered. “I knew it!”

Reluctantly Glen dropped Ashley, her head connecting with the cold pavement. He cast one last look at Thorn before taking off toward home. Candice scurried over to her friend, checking her over and attempting to carry her into the hospital. The scene unfolded in what seemed like milliseconds.

“Shit,” Shawn growled.

“Go,” Lashley called to him. “Follow him. I’ll be fine.” Shawn nodded and took off running after Glen.

“It’s just you and me now, hunter,” Thorn growled.

~~~~~

“Are you all right,” Cherry asked when she saw Joselyn exit Glen’s chambers. Now in the late stages of her pregnancy, Joselyn rarely ventured out of the safety of Glen’s room.

“Where’s Glen,” she asked weakly.

“He’s out hunting with Thorn,” Cherry replied. It was then that she noticed the small trickle of blood making it’s way down Joselyn’s leg. “Come with me,” she said taking Joselyn’s hand and leading her to Mark’s chamber.

“Master,” she called without knocking. Mark’s cold green eyes greeted her. He was not at all happy about being disturbed. “She’s close.”

“Fetch, Glen,” he replied coldly as he watched Joselyn double over in pain.

“He’s not home, Master,” Cherry replied.

“Damn it,” Mark growled. “Bring her over to the bed. Call David.” Cherry escorted Joselyn over to the bed and helped her get comfortable before exiting the room.

“I need Glen,” Joselyn whimpered, tears streaming down her face. She had dreaded this day since she found out about the pregnancy and being alone with the man who had raped and impregnated her was not easing her fears.

“He’ll be here,” Mark said sitting down on the edge of the bed next to her. He lifted the shirt that she wore to view her stomach. He could see the twins moving inside her. It was just a matter of time before they would make their entrance into the world.

He placed a hand on her stomach and nodded. “It won’t be long now,” he informed her before standing and leaving the room. Joselyn sobbed as her body was racked with the most intense pain she had ever felt.

~~~~~

“Son of a bitch must have springs up his ass,” Shawn panted as she jogged back to the emergency room entrance. His heart leapt up into his throat when he saw Cena and Candice as well as other medical personnel working on Lashley, who was covered in blood. “Bobby,” he called running to his friend’s side.

Cena held him back. “Get him on the gurney and into surgery,” he called over his shoulder. “Candice go check on Ashley.” She nodded and headed back into the hospital.

“What happened, John,” Shawn said no longer fighting Cena to get to Lashley.

“He was shot with his own gun,” Cena informed him, his blue orbs grim. “He has multiple gun shots to his chest. With any luck the bullets didn’t hit any major organs. What happened out here, Shawn? Where were you?”

“Chasing down a lead,” Shawn replied. “I should have never left him.”

“Bobby’s a tough son of a bitch,” Cena said offering a tight smile. “It wouldn’t shock me at all to see him come through this with no problem.”

Shawn tried to smile, but just couldn’t. He was afraid he was going to lose yet another friend to these monsters. Cursing under his breath he kicked at the wall.

“Shawn, go let Hunter and Punk know what happened,” Cena said. “I’ll call you when Bobby gets out of surgery.” With a sigh Shawn nodded and headed over to his car, not really wanting to face his friends. He knew he had dropped the ball and Lashley could pay the price for it. He couldn't stand the thought of Hunter and Punk's accusing eyes staring at him.

{Chapter 8}

“About fuckin’ time,” Kennedy said when Glen made it back home. “We looked everywhere for you. Thorn's been back for an hour.”

“Ran into hunters. Had to make sure I wasn't tracked,” Glen replied. “What’s going on?” It was then that he heard Joselyn’s pain filled screech from upstairs. “Joselyn?”

“It’s time,” Kennedy replied. “She’s been in labor for nearly two hours. David’s here, but he hasn’t been able to stop the pain.”

Glen took off up the stairs, taking them two at a time. “Joselyn,” he called. He headed toward the sound of her cries and found David speaking to her softly trying to comfort the scared woman. Mark sat silently in the corner, his eyes never leaving Joselyn.

“I’m here,” Glen said taking her hand and kissing the back of it. “I’m here, Joselyn.”

“Where…were…you,” she choked out. Her eyes went wide as she had another contraction and realization washed over her. “Dear God, they’re going to tear their way out of me!” Fresh tears slipped down her cheeks. “Why didn’t you tell me,” she demanded of Glen, her sapphire orbs full of betrayal and fear.

“I tried,” he replied, his heart breaking. “You wouldn’t listen.”

“I can ease the pain,” Heath said softly. “Joselyn, you’ll simply go to sleep.”

“And never wake up,” she said the tears pouring down her cheeks.

“Yes,” Heath replied.

“Do it,” Glen replied, kissing her forehead. “I couldn’t save you, my sweet Joselyn, but I will not sit by and watch you die a slow painful death.”

Heath busied himself with preparing the draught for Joselyn. Glen helped her to drink it, holding the small bottle to her lips. She brought his face down to hers and placed a feather light kiss to his lips. “Thank you,” she said weakly. Within seconds she closed her eyes and was silent.

“The birth has begun,” Heath informed them as claw marks appeared on Joselyn’s stomach. From the doorway Kennedy stood watching the scene. Cherry and Mickie were cuddled to his sides as silent tears streamed down their cheeks. Their hearts were breaking as they watched Glen saying goodbye to his love.

Soon a small hand tore it’s way out of Joselyn’s body. Heath took the hand helping the small vampire enter the world. A head of auburn hair and big green eyes greeted them as Heath helped the newborn the rest of the way out.

“It’s a girl,” he informed everyone as he placed the child by her mother’s neck. Small fangs sunk into the delicate flesh and she drank deep.

“She’s healthy,” Mark said coming over to see his newborn daughter. He smiled seeing the fruit of his loins thriving. “What about the other one?”

A small hand reached out and Heath once again helped the child enter the world. A shock of golden blonde hair and sapphire blue eyes greeted them. Heath smiled down at the newborn. “It’s a boy,” he said as he placed the child on the other side of his mother’s neck.

Mark watched him intently, frowning when the infant made no attempt to feed. “Something’s wrong with him,” he grumbled.

Heath had taken the little girl and began to clean her up. He turned his attention to the boy and frowned. “Give him a few more moments,” he said as he bundled up the girl and handed her to Mark.

Mark stared down into eyes that mirrored his own. She cuddled close to him letting out a content sigh. “You’re gonna be daddy’s little girl, aren’t you,” he asked tickling her chin. She cuddled closer to his touch, nipping his finger lightly. Mark chuckled.

“Clean up this mess,” he demanded of Heath.

“What of the boy,” Heath asked, noting he had yet to feed. He was growing more and more concerned that the child would fail to thrive.

“Kill him,” Mark replied before taking his daughter out of the room.

At his words Glen got to his feet, following his brother out of the room. “The boy is not lost,” Glen said, refusing to part with what was obviously the last remnant of his beloved Joselyn.

“He’s not Joselyn, Glen,” Mark replied. “No, he’s not. This, Glen, is the new Joselyn.” Glen glared at him as Mark held up the infant for him to see. “This is Joselyn Rose Calaway.” He chuckled as he cradled his daughter once again. “She’s Joselyn the way she was meant to be.”

“You bastard,” Glen growled before heading back into the room.

Heath had given the boy more time to feed, though he did not seem to have the desire at all. He had set about cleaning Joselyn up, stitching closed the gaping wounds in her stomach. He knew that her heart was moments away from beating for the last time. He could hear it growing weaker as he worked on her body. What he was doing at the moment was simply for aesthetics, so that Glen could grieve the loss without having to stare at the reason for her losing her life.

“Has he fed yet,” Glen demanded.

“No,” Heath replied preparing a small syringe. He brought it to the infant, but Glen grabbed his hand. “It’s a small dose of pure silver. He’ll feel no pain.”

“He’s not lost,” Glen said lifting the child and taking up a small knife Heath had used to sever the umbilical cords. He sliced open his finger and held it to the child’s mouth. “Feed, damn it! Don’t make your mother’s death for nothing!” To his surprise and pleasure the child began to suckle on his finger.

“Shall I tell Mark,” Heath asked.

“No,” Glen replied. “Take the child, David. Feed him any animal blood you can find. I’ll come for him soon.” His gazed turned to Joselyn’s prone form. Her heart had finally stopped beating. “I have something I need to do,” he said softly.

Heath nodded, taking the infant from Glen and bundling him up. As quietly as he could he left the mansion. Mark had no idea that his son was still alive.

~~~~~

“Hey, Bobby,” Hunter said poking his head into the hospital room a few days later. It had been touch and go for a while, but Lashley’s condition had finally stabilized and he was moved out of ICU.

“No Shawn,” Lashley asked grimacing as he shifted position in bed.

Hunter shook his head no pulling up a chair and sitting down. “’Fraid you’re stuck with me,” he replied. Lashley offered him a tight smile, in too much pain to laugh. “Small comfort to me, you won’t be able to dole out that ass whoopin’ you promised when I shot you.”

“Remind me when I’m all healed up to kick your ass,” Lashley replied.

“Oh yeah, it’s right at the top of my list of things not to fuckin’ do,” Hunter replied. “Look at it this way, this has got to have taken your mind off the hole I put in your thigh.”

“Fuck you,” Lashley groaned. “Shawn is still beating himself up about this, huh?” Hunter nodded with a sigh. “It’s not his fault. I let my guard down. You can be damn sure that won’t happen twice.”

Before Hunter could reply Punk ran into the room, a newspaper in his hand. “They found her,” he said waving the paper around.

“Who,” Hunter asked.

“Joselyn Levesque,” Punk replied and scanned the article. “She was found in a shallow grave in the woods. Their working theory is that she was kidnapped because she was pregnant and someone tore the baby out of her stomach then stitched her up and ditched the body.”

The truth of the matter was that Glen had grieved, cradling her limp body in his arms as Thorn dug the grave. It had been shallow so that she would be found quickly and put to rest properly. When the task was done he laid a single red rose on the grave and left, never looking back.

“Son of a bitch,” Hunter said slamming his fist on the arm of the chair. “Calaway was using her as a fuckin' incubator?”

“It would appear that way,” Punk replied.

“I have to get into the morgue. I need to see the body,” Hunter said as Cena made his way into the room.

“Those are words I never want to hear again,” he replied. “What’s going on?”

“Take care of Bobby, Doc,” Hunter said standing and pulling Punk with him. “Leave the other shit to us.” With that he left to find out what he needed to know.

~~~~~

“I was beginning to wonder if you would ever come for the boy,” Heath said when Glen knocked on his door a few days later.

“His name is Marcus,” Glen said entering the cottage and going over to where the baby lay, gently picking him up. “Marcus Anthony Levesque.”

“He’s done well with animal blood,” Heath said.

“Good,” Glen said, cradling the infant to his body. “Thank you for your help, David.”

“Glen, if Mark finds out that the boy still lives he will kill him,” Heath warned as Glen headed toward the door.

“He’ll have to get through me first,” Glen replied as he left the cottage.

Gently he placed the still sleeping Marcus in the sidecar of the motorcycle Thorn had loaned him. The infant did not stir when the engine roared into life. Casting a glance down at the last piece of Joselyn he had left Glen set the bike in motion, taking the child to his new home.

An hour later he pulled up outside of a small house on the outskirts of town. As he got off the bike and pulled Marcus out of the sidecar a woman came out of the house. Glen turned to face her.

“Is this the little one,” she asked with a smile, her raven curls fluttering in the breeze.

“Yes, Layla,” Glen said smiling sadly down at the child in his arms. “I wouldn’t ask this of you…”

Layla silenced him with the wave of her hand as she carefully took the still sleeping child from him. “You know my spells will protect him,” she said softly. “I can provide him safe haven until he is ready to stand on his own as a man.”

“Thank you for this, Layla,” Glen said. “I will be back to visit with him as often as I can get away. I must not make Mark suspect that he is still alive.”

“With my protection he need never know the child exists,” Layla said. Glen nodded before hopping back on the bike and heading off back to the mansion.

~~~~~

Shawn listened as Hunter and Punk explained what they had discovered in their research and impromptu visit to the morgue. He did not look at either one of his friends as they rattled off what they now knew. When they had finished both men looked at him expectantly.

A small smile curled Shawn’s lips for the first time in days. “You did real good, boys,” he said.

“We still don’t have dick on Calaway,” Hunter fumed.

“True, but we now know what will surely be a major weakness,” Shawn replied. Hunter quirked a brow at him. “His child.” Hunter nodded a smirk curling his lips. “It’s just a matter of time before we find him.”

“Punk, looks like you're in for a bit of research,” Hunter said slapping the younger man on the back. “We know that this child is hybrid. Having both human and vampire lineage. What we need to know is how quickly it will age and what are the strengths and weaknesses.”

“And how we kill it,” Shawn said. Punk nodded heading over to his computer, in full research mode.

“While we wait for Punk to work his magic, how about I take you to see Bobby,” Hunter asked Shawn. With a sigh Shawn nodded, knowing that he needed to see his friend if he was ever going to rid himself of the guilt he felt.

{Chapter 9}

When Glen arrived home from visiting with Layla and Marcus he found Mark in the sitting room with little Joselyn. The child had grown significantly since her birth just three months ago. Glen entered the sitting room and watched as the small child with auburn locks pulled herself up to a standing position while holding onto her father’s legs.

“Look at what a big girl you are,” Mark chuckled scooping the child up. It was then that he felt eyes on his back. “Welcome home, brother,” he said never taking his eyes off of his daughter. “Why don’t you come hold your niece?”

Glen came over to the couch and looked down at the child in Mark’s arms. Emerald green eyes stared up at him a moment before chubby hands reached for him. She resembled Joselyn in so many ways that it pained him to even look at her.

“Go on,” Mark said smirking at his brother. “Hold her.” He held her up so that Glen could take her from him.

Tentatively Glen took the child from Mark, holding her out in front of him. She giggled, clapping her hands as he held her like that. Mark chuckled, watching his brother.

“She’s not toxic waste, Glen,” he said.

“Dada,” Joselyn said reaching out her arms for Glen.

“No, darlin’,” Mark chuckled. “He’s Uncle Glen.” Mark stood patting Glen on the shoulder. “Be a good man and take care of her for a little while. I need to speak to Thorn.” With that he left the sitting room leaving Glen alone with little Joselyn.

Glen sighed, cradling the child to him as he took a seat on the now vacated couch. “Your father seems to think that by leaving me alone with you I will be swayed to see you as a blessing,” he said speaking calmly, though inside he was raging. “I will never see you as a blessing. You’re the reason my Joselyn is gone now.”

The child looked up at him with wide eyes, not fully understanding what he was saying. Glen sighed, running a finger down her chubby cheek. “You are a beautiful little one,” he said, his heart conflicted. “I will not call you Joselyn though. I refuse.” The child grabbed hold of his finger as it brushed past her cheek again and suckled on it, her fangs pricking the skin ever so lightly.

“What was it your father called you the night you were born? Joselyn Rose? I shall call you Rose.” She plucked the finger from her mouth and gurgled at him. “You like that? You like the name Rose?” Happily she clapped, giggling.

“So, you’ve decided to rename my daughter,” Mark asked entering the sitting room. His green eyes were full of amusement. He hadn’t gone to speak to Thorn at all. Instead he had slipped out of sight and was listening to his brother speak. He made his way over to the couch plucking his daughter from Glen’s arms. “Rose, huh? You like that name do you, darlin’?” Again she clapped her hands and giggled. “Very well. Rose it is,” he said smiling down at his daughter.

~~~~~

“This is interesting,” Punk said frowning as he glanced over the info on his computer screen.

“This better be interesting to us, Punk, or your ass is grass,” Hunter said looking up from polishing his gun.

“I finally managed to hack into the medical examiner’s files,” Punk said glancing at Hunter. Shawn had gone to get some food for them.

“Only took you three fuckin’ months,” Lashley muttered, groaning as he shifted positions on the couch. He was recovering from his injuries well, but the healing was taking longer than he would have liked.

“I told you they were encrypted up the wazoo,” Punk fumed. “Why the fuck M.E. files need to be encrypted is beyond me.”

“What’d you find,” Hunter said tossing his gun aside and heading over to where Punk sat at the keyboard.

“According to this file Joselyn Levesque’s uterus was way too big for her to be pregnant with only one child,” Punk read.

“Shit,” Hunter growled. “Do they know how many?” He hadn’t planned on there being more than one child. It would be difficult enough to kill off one child.

“The best they can guess is she had twins,” Punk said reading on. He visibly paled at what he read next.

“What is it, kid,” Hunter asked seeing this.

“According to the M.E.’s notes what initially appeared to be animal claw marks on her abdomen…they were made from the inside out,” he stopped reading, visibly retching.

“Stay with us, kid,” Hunter said clapping him on the back. “We knew the findings would be gruesome.”

“I’m all right,” Punk said holding up a hand. “Just give me a minute.”

“Jesus fuckin’ Christ,” Lashley muttered. “That poor girl was ripped apart from the inside out.” Punk shot out of his seat and headed into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. Moments later both men could hear him emptying the contents of his stomach with a loud groan.

“Did ya have to say that, Bobby,” Hunter demanded. “Jesus! The kid was grossed out just reading about it. Did you need to paint that oh so vivid visual for him?”

“Kid’s soft,” Lashley replied with a shrug. “If he’s hoping to work in the field one of these days he’ll need to get used to a whole helluva lot worse than that.”

“I’m all right now,” Punk said coming out of the bathroom wiping his mouth on the back of his hand. “Musta been somethin’ I ate.” He smiled weakly at them.

“Course it was,” Hunter replied offering a crooked smile. He stood and headed over to the younger man. “Listen, kid, why don’t you go take a breather. Bobby and I can finish going through the files while you’re gone.”

“Thanks, Hunter,” Punk said softly as he grabbed his jacket and headed out of the apartment.

“Where’s Punk going,” Shawn asked entering the apartment with an armload of take out. “He looked a little pale.”

“We found something,” Hunter said helping Lashley over to the computer. “Punk finally decrypted the M.E. files.”

~~~~~

“Rosie,” Mark groaned as he bounced the child on his hip while she cried. “You have to quiet down now, darlin’.”

“Mark, quiet that damn child,” Glen fumed entering Mark’s room without knocking. “What is her problem?”

“Hell if I know,” Mark growled. “She’s been like this for hours.”

“Give her to me,” Glen said with an exasperated sigh. With just hours until sundown they all needed their rest before anyone could hunt. Mark gladly handed over the crying toddler. “For Christ sake, Mark. When was the last time you fed her?”

“Right before she was put to sleep,” Mark replied. “She can’t be hungry again. Not so soon!”

“She’s a growing girl,” Glen sighed. “She needs constant nourishment.” He headed out of the room and down the hall to Thorn’s chambers. Without knocking he entered. Mark was right behind him. “Kevin, send word to Viscera and Ken to gather up any animals they can find.” Thorn nodded exiting the room.

“My daughter will not be feeding on animal blood,” Mark growled.

“The amount of humans needed to feed her appetite as she grows would raise suspicions by the local police, Mark,” Glen replied. He had allowed Rose to suckle at his finger to keep her quiet. “Animal blood is the only way. Until we can teach her to hunt.”

“Fine,” Mark growled. “You’ll be in charge of her feedings from now on.” With that he turned on his heel and walked back to his chambers.

~~~~~

“Glen,” Thorn said a few nights later. A woman clad in a dark hooded cape followed close behind him.

“Who is this,” Glen asked. Rose, who had begun to walk little by little on her own now toddled behind him.

“My name is Ariel,” the woman said removing her hood. She smiled at Glen revealing glistening fangs. “Kevin thought that I could help with the little one. A sort of wet nurse, if you will.”

Glen looked from the woman to Thorn and back at the woman again. “Have you any experience with children,” he asked.

“Oh yes,” she replied kneeling down to Rose’s height. “Hello sweetheart. What’s your name?”

“Her name is Rose,” came Mark’s voice from the stairway. Everyone’s eyes turned to see him strolling down slowly. “You’re hired.”

“Mark,” Glen protested.

“She’s hired,” Mark replied scooping up Rose and handing her over to Ariel. “A woman can take better care of a child than you or I, Glen.”

“As you wish,” Glen replied through gritted teeth. “I need to go for a walk.” With that he headed out of the mansion.

“Thorn,” Mark said turning his attention from Ariel, who was now playing with Rose, to the man before him. “Follow my brother. He disappears way too often. I’d like to know where he goes.”

“Yes, Master,” Thorn replied bowing before heading out of the mansion as well.

It had been difficult for Thorn to find Glen’s trail, but he finally did and followed it to a small cottage on the outskirts of town. Creeping up to the window he peeked inside. What he saw caused him to gasp. He slapped a hand over his mouth in the hopes that the inhabitants of the cottage didn’t hear him.

Moments later the front door opened and Glen stepped out. “You can come out now, Kevin,” he said evenly. Thorn stepped out of the shadows. “Mark sent you?”

“Yes,” Thorn replied. “Glen…is that…is that the other child?”

“Marcus,” Glen nodded.

“If Mark finds out about this…he’ll kill both the woman and the child and make you watch before killing you.”

“It’s a risk I’m willing to take,” Glen replied. “Marcus has just as much right to live as Rose does.” He fixed his eyes on Thorn. “And if my brother finds out about Marcus I will hold you personally responsible for anything that happens to him. Are we understood?”

Thorn met his gaze a moment before turning away. “Yes,” he replied softly. “Your secret is safe with me.”

“Good,” Glen said. “You should get back to Mark and tell him you lost my trail.” Thorn nodded and headed off back to the mansion. He knew all too well that Mark would be infuriated at the news he was going to deliver.

“Glen,” Layla asked coming out of the cottage. “Is it safe?”

“Yes,” he replied turning his gaze on her. He smiled seeing Marcus in her arms. “I’ll see you two again in a few days. Mark is having me trailed. It’s not safe for me to come back too soon.” He kissed Marcus on the forehead. “Keep Layla safe, little man.” He caressed Layla’s cheek a moment before leaving them.

{Chapter 10}

The year progressed with little to no clues on where Calaway and the children were. Shawn and Hunter had resigned themselves to smaller hunts for the time being. Lashley had taken a few months to heal, but he was soon back on the hunt as well. With each slaying they hoped to gain some knowledge on the whereabouts of their prime objective. Needless to say their prey had been less than cooperative, though once in a while they turned up a promising lead, which was why Punk and Lashley were now huddled in the bushes near a forest clearing.

“Why are we here,” Punk asked at Lashley. “Why are those people in cages?”

“Keep your fuckin’ voice down,” Lashley hissed. “Shawn and Hunter want you to have some field experience, though Lord knows why. We all know your strength is computer shit.” Punk glared at Lashley, who didn’t seem to notice. “This is a vampire market. Those people in cages are…”

“Food,” Punk asked paling at the thought.

“Jesus Christ, kid,” Lashley groaned pinching the bridge of his nose. “If you’re gonna puke…don’t. The last thing we need is for the fuckin’ vamps to get wind of you upchuckin’ and storm us.”

“I’m not gonna puke,” Punk reassured him. “I can do this. You really think that the nanny will be here with the kid?”

“No way to tell for sure. We just gotta wait and see. Now shut the fuck up,” Lashley hissed and turned his attention back to the market.

~~~~~

“Come along, Rosie” Ariel said holding the child’s hand. Long auburn curls fell in soft ringlets down the child’s back, bouncing as she walked alongside Ariel. The raven haired vampire looked down at the child and smiled. “Perhaps we’ll find you a pet. Would you like that?”

“Oh yes, Aunty Ariel,” Rose said smiling wide, her emerald green eyes sparkling.

“Ariel,” Cherry said as she and Mickie brought up the rear. “You know that the Master won’t let her have any pets.”

“She’d probably just eat it anyway,” Mickie snickered.

Rose pulled her hand free from Ariel’s and glared at Mickie. “I’m tellin’ daddy you’re making fun of me,” she said crossing her arms across her chest. Cherry began to snicker and Rose turned her glare on the blonde. Her eyes narrowed to slits going from green to yellow to blood red. She let out an animalistic growl and lunged at Cherry, knocking the taller woman to the ground and pummeling her with her tiny fists.

“Joselyn Rose Calaway,” Ariel yelled pulled the child off of Cherry. “What has your father told you about that temper!”

“She definitely takes after the Master,” Mickie said giggling as she helped Cherry to her feet.

“Little bitch,” Cherry growled. In Ariel’s arms Rose was trying to get free to attack Cherry again.

~~~~~

“Motherfucker named the kid Joselyn,” Lashley grumbled. “Calaway is a sick fuck.”

“That kid’s gotta be about four,” Punk said unable to believe what he was seeing. “I know the research said that hybrid kids age faster, but they were iffy on exactly how fast.”

“Where the hell is the other kid,” Lashley growled looking around the market for another child.

“Maybe it didn’t survive,” Punk offered.

“Maybe,” Lashley replied. “I think we need to strike now.” He pulled a phone out of his pocket and sent a text message.

~~~~~

“Let’s go,” Ariel said setting Rose on her feet and taking her hand tightly.

Mere seconds after she had done that the marketplace was flooded with UV light. The sound of a motor racing could be heard and moments later various vampire merchants went flying as their bodies connected with the front grill of a pickup truck. They landed with sick thuds, smoking and writhing in pain from the light. The prisoners rattled their cages pleading to be set free. Lashley and Punk had left their hiding place joining Hunter and Shawn, who had jumped out of the truck.

“She’s over there,” Punk called. “The kid! She’s there with the three women!”

Ariel heard this and scooped up Rose, rushing to catch up with Cherry and Mickie, who were attempting to flee the area. Lashley was on her in mere seconds, grabbing her by the cape. She dropped Rose, who tumbled a few feet away. The child got to her feet, looking at her now scraped hands and knees and crying.

“ROSIE,” she screeched. “CHERRY! MICKIE! PROTECT HER!” The two women scooped up the child disappearing into the forest.

“Shit,” Lashley growled. “Punk! After them!” Punk nodded gun in hand and ran after the women and child. A few seconds later gunfire could be heard and Punk returned out of breath and limping.

“They got away,” he said. Hunter, who had joined Lashley in restraining Ariel. They both cursed under their breath. “I think I managed to nick one of them,” he said hopefully.

“Great,” Hunter fumed. “What were you hoping for, Punk? We could follow the trail of blood? Vampires heal fast you fuckin’ nimrod!”

“Hunter,” Lashley admonished. “You did good for your first time in the field, Punk. They could have gotten away from any one of us.” He smirked a little. “At least you didn’t puke.” Punk glared at him.

Ariel was laughing now as Hunter restrained her. “You think I’ll tell you anything,” she hissed. “You can go to hell.” With that she spat at Lashley.

He wiped the saliva from his face and glared at her, reaching out and grasping her chin roughly. “You’ll talk, bitch,” he said lowly. “Or I’ll break every fuckin’ bone on your body.”

Meanwhile Shawn had turned the lights off now that the marketplace was cleared and was releasing the prisoners from their cages. He had just helped a young blonde woman down from her cage when she hugged him tightly sending the air out of his lungs unexpectedly. He managed to pry himself loose and send her on her way before heading to the final cage which contained two young men.

“Please,” the dark haired man begged. “My friend needs help. He’s wounded badly.” He held up his hand, which had been on the back of his blonde companions head. It was coated in blood. Tears shone in his hazel eyes. “He needs medical help.”

“Hang on,” Shawn said shooting the lock off the cage. “We’ll get your friend some help, son. What’s your name?”

“Paul London, sir,” he replied sniffling.

“And your friend,” Shawn asked opening the cage door and helping London out. He leaned in and with London’s help got the other man out.

“Brian. Brian Kendrick,” London replied.

“Punk,” Shawn called motioning the younger man over. “Call John. Tell him we got wounded comin’ in. Take the pickup.” He tossed the keys to him. Punk nodded helping London carry Kendrick to the truck.

“You’ll never get a thing out of me,” Ariel screeched as Hunter fastened her to the nearest tree. Cold liquid was splashed onto her, dousing her hair and clothes. She screeched as it began to burn her flesh.

“Talk,” Lashley said holding up the large bottle of holy water. “Or I’ll dump the whole damn thing on you.”

“Never,” Ariel hissed, her burns already healing.

Hunter lit up a blowtorch a sadistic grin on his face. “Maybe this little baby will persuade you to talk.”

“If you burn me you won’t get the information you need, dumbass,” Ariel cackled. “Are you amateurs? Ric Flair hunted me. Do you think that you scare me? You couldn’t even hold his jock.”

Her head snapped to the side as she was backhanded. “Lyin’ bitch,” Shawn said glaring at her. “Ric was our mentor. If he hunted you, you wouldn’t be here right now. You’d be a pile of fuckin’ dust.”

Ariel began to laugh, spitting blood out of her mouth. “What a disappointment you must have been to him,” she said moments before Shawn backhanded her again.

“Cut her loose,” Shawn said, his voice deathly calm.

“But Shawn,” Lashley protested.

“I said cut her loose,” Shawn repeated.

When neither Lashley nor Hunter moved he grabbed the large hunting knife from Lashley’s belt and slashed the ropes. He caught Ariel before she could fall to the ground. With his free hand he snatched the bottled of holy water from Lashley and jammed it into her mouth. Ariel’s eyes went wide as saucers as the offensive liquid was forced down her throat. She struggled against Shawn, but he held her firm.

“Where’s Calaway,” he demanded removing the bottle from her mouth. She coughed and sputtered, smoke billowing from her mouth. She scratched at her throat, feeling the holy water eroding her esophagus. “No smart quips now, huh bitch? Where is he?”

“I’ll…never…tell…you,” she choked out, coughing up blood.

Shawn jammed the holy water back into her mouth, forcing her to swallow it. She coughed and wailed in pain as the liquid began to burn her from the inside out. She struggled against Shawn, but it was futile. He finally removed the now empty bottle, dropping her to the ground where she coughed and sputtered, gagging on her own blood.

“Where is Calaway,” he demanded. “WHERE IS HE?”

“Shawn,” Hunter said, not used to seeing his friend in this state. “She can’t answer you.”

“She’ll talk,” Shawn said grabbing her by the hair and holding Lashley’s knife to her throat. “Tell me where Calaway is or I’ll slice your fuckin’ head off.”

When all Ariel could do was whimper Shawn grunted a string of expletives before slicing her head off with one fluid motion of the knife. The head and body went in two different directions disappearing into piles of dust when they hit the ground. It all happened so quickly that Lashley and Hunter couldn’t stop him.

“FUCK,” Lashley roared kicking the tree.

“Damn it, Shawn,” Hunter growled, grabbing his friend and pinning him up against the tree. “What the fuck were you thinkin’? She was all we had!”

“She wasn’t gonna to tell us anything,” Shawn said shoving Hunter off him. “The bitch was a dead end.” He looked from Lashley to Hunter, seeing how pissed they both were. “Let’s go see how that wounded kid is doing.” With that he tossed Lashley back his knife and headed off toward Lashley’s hidden car.

“He’s a fuckin’ loose cannon, Hunter,” Lashley growled as he slid the knife back in place on his belt.

“I know,” Hunter replied with a sigh. “I think hunting Calaway all these years has finally gotten to him.”

{Chapter 11}

“We have to go back for Aunty Ariel,” Rose whined as Cherry and Mickie dragged her along.

“Hush,” Cherry hissed.

“HEY! STOP RIGHT THERE,” Punk yelled.

“Come on,” Mickie screeched scooping Rose up. Gunshots could be heard and Cherry yelped as a bullet grazed her shoulder and another imbedded in her thigh. “Cherry,” Mickie moaned as she slid the blonde’s arm around her shoulders to keep them all moving.

~~~~~

“Marcus,” Layla said as she entered the living room of the small cottage. “It’s time for bed. Marcus?”

She walked over to stand in front of him. Marcus sat on the floor cross legged, his wide sapphire eyes staring off into space and mouth agape. “Marcus?” Layla waved a hand in front of his face, but he did not react.

Growing more and more concerned she grasped his shoulders and shook him gently. “Marcus? Marcus, speak to me. Marcus, what’s going on,” she demanded, tears clouding her eyes. She clutched the child to her, sobbing. “Marcus, please talk to me!”

Just as suddenly as the episode had started it ended. Marcus’ eyes came back into focus and he looked up at Layla blinking. “She’s hurt,” he said frowning.

“Who is, Marcus,” Layla asked.

“The blonde lady,” Marcus replied prying himself out of Layla’s arms and heading toward the stairs. “She got hurt when the bad man shot her.” With that he headed up the stairs to bed leaving Layla wondering what was going on. She made a mental note to speak to both Glen and Heath about it the next day.

~~~~~

“Rosie, go up to your room,” Mickie said once the women were inside the mansion.” The child frowned, but did as she was told.

“It’s silver,” Cherry wailed. She had gone significantly pale on the way home. The poison was already working it’s way through her system. “Mickie, I’m dying.”

“What happened,” Kennedy demanded scooping Cherry up and taking her into the sitting room. He gently placed her on the couch. “Where’s Ariel?”

“They got her,” Mickie said wringing her hands.

“Who has who,” Mark demanded coming down the stairs with Rose in his arms. She was sniffling, her face buried in her father’s neck. “Why is my little girl all dirty and scraped? Mickie, what happened?” They were soon joined by Thorn and Glen.

“I’m so cold,” Cherry whined, shivering. Kennedy was looking over her wound. The bullet was deeply imbedded in her thigh and the poison had worked quickly. There was nothing he could do for her. “Ken…I’m so cold.”

“I know,” Kennedy said softly, finding a throw and wrapping it around her. “Just close your eyes, Cherry. Rest.” She nodded weakly, closing her eyes. Her breathing soon became labored. Fat tears slid down Mickie’s cheeks as she watched her friend expire right before her eyes.

“What the fuck is going on here,” Mark demanded, his cold green eyes boring into Mickie.

“Hunters,” Mickie said sniffling. “They ambushed the market. They took Ariel. I think they were trying to get Rosie, Master.”

“Did you see what they looked like,” Glen asked.

“There were four,” Mickie wailed. “It all went so fast. I think…I think Michaels and Helmsley were with them.”

“Son of a bitch,” Glen muttered.

“Master, they were after Rosie,” Mickie sobbed. “They wanted to hurt Rosie.”

“Why do the bad men want to hurt me, Daddy,” Rose asked her emerald orbs wide with fright.

“Because the bad men are mad at Daddy,” Glen answered for Mark. “They want to hurt Daddy by hurting you, but we won’t let that happen to you, sweetheart. Right, Mark?” A part of him wanted to go find the hunters and hand her over to them, knowing full well what kind of monster she’d grow up to be.

Mark glared at his brother, appalled that he would ask such a question. “Of course it’s right,” he replied trying to keep his temper in check. “Daddy won’t let anyone hurt his Rose Red.” He kissed Rose’s forehead, feeling that she was still trembling from the night’s activities. “Come, darlin’, let’s get you cleaned up and in bed.”

He looked at Cherry’s corpse on the couch and sighed. “Thorn, Kennedy, take her out back and lay her to rest.”

“Yes, Master,” Thorn said softly. Kennedy just nodded as he consoled Mickie. Thorn and Glen busied themselves with the preparations while Kennedy ushered Mickie up to bed.

Kennedy and Thorn carried Cherry’s lifeless body to the backyard. She had been wrapped in a white sheet. Glen had finished fashioning a funeral pyre for the fallen vampire. Kennedy and Thorn gently lay the body on the pyre.

~~~~~

“How’s he doin’,” Shawn asked London, who was sitting by Kendrick’s bedside.

The dark haired younger man looked up and sighed. “He’s got a bad concussion,” he replied softly. “Doc says he’ll be all right after some rest.”

Just then Cena came into the room. “Shawn, can I have a word?” Shawn nodded and patted London on the shoulder before heading out into the hall with Cena.

“What’s on your mind, John,” Shawn asked, showing no signs of his rage from the forest.

“You taking in strays now, Shawn,” Cena asked motioning toward London and Kendrick.

“The kid was wounded, John,” Shawn replied. “What would you have me do? Watch him die?”

Cena looked Shawn over and sighed. “You’re not sleeping well again,” he said. It wasn’t a question. Shawn scoffed. “Shawn, have you been having nightmares again?”

“John, I sleep enough to get by,” Shawn said waving off Cena’s concern. “Just concentrate on healin’ the kid.” He attempted to walk away, but Cena caught his wrist and made him face him.

“Bobby and Hunter told me what happened out there,” Cena said his blue orbs full of concern for his friend. “You stopped taking the pills I prescribed, didn’t you?”

“They were makin’ me all foggy,” Shawn replied wrenching his wrist free. “I get enough sleep to get by, Doc. Now do your damn job and heal the kid.” With that he stalked off leaving Cena staring after him. He knew that Shawn was close to his breaking point and short of being seriously wounded he wasn’t going to slow down to take care of himself.

~~~~~

Marcus lay snuggled up in his bed, the covers pulled up to his chin. He was asleep though his eyes were wide open, staring sightlessly into the darkness of his room. Softly he began to hum a melody he had only ever heard in these visions that haunted him.

Mark made his way outside, Rose holding his hand tightly. Glen arched an eyebrow at him. “Rosie wanted to say goodbye,” he murmured. “Go on, darlin’.”

Rose released her father’s hand and walked forward placing a single crimson rose on the body. “Goodbye, Aunty Cherry,” she sniffled. She returned to her father.

“Come on now, darlin’,” he said scooping her up as Thorn and Kennedy lit torches. “Let’s get you to bed.” They touched the flames to the pyre and within moments the entire body was engulfed.

Marcus sat up in bed, a strangled scream escaping his lips as the vision of the burning body replayed over and over in his mind. Layla’s footsteps could be heard in the hall moments before she appeared in his room. She skidded to a halt beside him, dropping to her knees to pull him into her arms.

“Marcus,” she said. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“She was burning,” Marcus cried.

“Who? Marcus, who was burning,” Layla asked, holding the child close to her. His body trembled as he continued to sob. “My poor boy,” Layla crooned. “What are you seeing that frightens you so much?”

It didn’t take long for Marcus to cry himself to sleep. Laying him back on the pillows and covering him up Layla pressed a feather light kiss to his forehead before heading back to bed herself. In the morning she would call Heath to see what he thought was going on.

~~~~~

Rose screamed in horror at the sight of the burning pyre and Mark forced her to look away, humming to her softly. “Don’t look, Rosie,” he crooned, stroking her auburn curls. “She’s gone now. Aunty Cherry is never coming back.”

Glen watched, his head cocked to one side, as his brother showered affection on his daughter. He was unaware that his brother could show love at all. Though she was a hellion at times Glen had to remember Rose was just a small child still.

“Aunty Ariel is gone too, isn’t she Daddy,” Rose asked, raising her tear stained face, her emerald eyes full of pain and sorrow. Mark sighed and nodded as fresh tears spilled down her cheeks. “Why, Daddy? Why are they gone?”

“Don’t you worry about them, Rosie,” Mark said, holding her tightly. “Daddy will always be here for you.” With that he brought her back inside to put her to bed.

Glen met Mark as he was coming out of Rose’s room. “Is she sleeping,” he asked. Mark nodded. “Mark, you know that what I said earlier is true. If Michaels and Helmsley are after Rosie…it’s to hurt you and while you’re down…”

“It will never get that far,” Mark replied. “They won’t harm a hair on Rosie’s head.”

“You can’t guarantee that, Mark,” Glen replied. “She’s headstrong now. Imagine how she’ll be in a couple of years when she’ll be the equivalent of a teenager.”

“They won’t harm a hair on Rosie’s head because her Uncle Glen is going to make sure she’s safe at all times,” Mark replied. “Are we clear?”

Glen cursed under his breath. “Crystal,” he replied glaring at his brother.

“Good. Now if you’ll excuse me,” Mark said nudging Glen out of his way. “I’m feeling a little peckish.” With that he headed downstairs and out of the house.

Glen just shook his head. Leave it up to his brother to want to hunt after losing an underling to hunters. Mark never ceased to amaze him. With a sigh he headed into Rose’s room to check on her before retiring to his own room to rest.

{Chapter 12}

“You were a maniac out there, Shawn,” Hunter fumed. “You’re slipping again, man.”

“I’m fine,” Shawn replied calmly.

“Hey, kid,” Punk said to Kendrick, who had been released from the hospital just recently. He glanced outside into the hall and shook his head as Hunter and Shawn continued to argue. With a sigh he shut the door to the apartment to drown out the men. “Why don’t you come sit with Bobby and I.” He slung his arm around Kendrick’s shoulders and led him over to the couch.

Kendrick took a seat between London and Lashley. Punk sat down in an easy chair. Kendrick looked from Lashley to Punk and back to Lashley, biting his lip.

“What’s on your mind, kid,” Lashley asked setting down the hunting knife he had been playing with.

“You all live here together,” Kendrick asked.

Lashley and Punk exchanged glances and started laughing. “Fuck no,” Lashley said still laughing. “If I had to live with Punk or Frick and Frack I think I woulda killed them all a long time ago.”

“No,” Punk said chuckling. “This is my place. The guys only stay here when they’re working a case.”

“What exactly are you guys,” London asked taking not of the various weapons on sticking out a trunk.

“Vampire hunters,” Lashley replied.

“How the hell do you go into that line of work,” Kendrick asked.

“It kind of chooses you,” Punk replied reaching into his back pocket and pulling out his wallet. He pulled out a picture and handed it to London and Kendrick. A dark haired beauty smiled back at them.

“That’s Maria,” Punk said smiling sadly. “She was coming home from work one night…” He sniffled and took a deep, ragged breath. “I heard her screams, but by the time I got outside…the bastards had ripped out her throat.” Tears clouded his eyes, but he refused to let them fall.

“I’m sorry,” Kendrick said handing the picture back to Punk. “She was beautiful.” Punk nodded, putting the photo away. Lashley reached out and gave Punk’s shoulder a little squeeze.

Punk wiped his eyes and forced a smile. “Hunter and Shawn saved my ass when I tried to get revenge on the bloodsuckers. Turns out they had been hunting the same nest for weeks. They realized I could help them with computer stuff and here we are today.”

“What about you Bobby,” London asked. “Why are you a hunter?”

Lashley sighed, clearly not wanting to talk about his past. “I was married,” he said softly, his eyes going to his ring finger where his wedding band used to be.

“Her name was Kristal. I was away in the service. When I was discharged I knew something was up. She didn’t meet me at the airport. When I got home I found the windows in the house had been blocked by newspaper.”

“Oh no,” Kendrick gasped, his hand covering his mouth.

“When I went up to the bedroom I found her,” Lashley said, his hand clenching and unclenching at the memory. “She practically threw me on the bed. That right there was red flag number one. She was stronger than I remembered her being. Much more aggressive too. When I pried her off of me she practically clawed my eyes out.”

He sighed. “She chased me down to the living room. That was when Hunter and Shawn busted through the door. They tried to shoot her, but she used me as a shield begging me to protect her from them. It was just like that. Just like flipping a switch. Suddenly she wasn’t this monster anymore she was my sweet wife.”

“What’d you do,” London asked. All three men were mesmerized by the story. Punk, despite knowing Lashley for a while had never heard the full story.

“He took the gun from me and calmed his hysterical wife down,” Hunter said startling the group. “Then he told her to close her eyes and pulled her into his arms.”

“And then I shot her,” Lashley finished. “She wasn’t my wife anymore and I knew she never would be again. Since then I’ve been working with his sorry ass.” He motioned to Hunter in mock disgust.

“Fuck you too, Bobby,” Hunter replied with a smirk.

“Where’s Shawn,” Lashley asked.

“Went for a walk,” Hunter replied with a shrug. “So, what brought on the trip down memory lane?”

“The kids asked,” Punk replied. “Shawn still upset?”

“I don’t know anymore,” Hunter replied with a sigh. “How about we go eat. I’m starved.”

“There’s a surprise,” Lashley said chuckling as he got to his feet.

“Just for that you’re paying,” Hunter said shoving the bigger man ahead of him.

~~~~~

Rose frowned as she bounced her ball idly. It was a beautiful sunny day, but she was stuck on the back porch, remaining in the shade. “Uncle Glen,” she said looking up at the large man. He was sitting with his feet up on the railing reading a book. “Why do I have to stay on the porch.”

“Because Daddy says so,” Glen replied not looking up from his book. “Play with your ball like a good girl.”

Rose frowned deeper, she didn’t like his tone one bit. Her father would have doted on her, but Glen seemed to resent her and she didn’t understand why. Her frown suddenly curled into a smirk. Glancing at Glen to make sure he wasn’t look she began to bounce her ball. He smiled hearing the ball bouncing again and relaxed into his seat more.

“Oops,” Rose said losing grip on the ball. It bounced down the back steps and into the yard. “I’ll get it!”

“Rosie! No,” Glen yelled, on his feet in seconds. His book fell to the porch as he tried to stop the child from rushing down the steps and into the sunlight.

The light hit his skin as he clutched at Rose’s dress and he hissed as the flesh began to bubble instantly. He released her and she bounded down the steps into the yard. “ROSIE!”

“What’s going on,” Mark demanded hearing the yelling. He turned his gaze out to the backyard seeing his daughter happily playing with her ball. “ROSIE!”

~~~~~

“Marcus, come back here,” Layla called as the child bolted out the back door. “Marcus no! You can’t go out in the…” She stopped at the back door when she saw Marcus happily frolicking in the sunlight. “Marcus come in here please.”

“All right, Mama,” Marcus called as he skipped back into the house.

“Let me look at you,” Layla said, her nerves frazzled. She hadn’t been able to get hold of Heath in days and Glen was unable to speak or sneak away. She looked over the child and couldn’t find a single blister from the sun.

“Mama, what’s wrong,” Marcus asked.

Layla forced a smile. “Nothing, my sweet boy,” she said kissing his forehead. “Don’t scare Mama like that anymore. You were lucky this time, but you must not go out into the sunlight again.”

“But the girl did,” Marcus pouted.

“What girl,” Layla asked.

“The one who’s just like me,” Marcus replied. “She drinks blood too. Uncle Glen takes care of her and sometimes a man Uncle Glen calls Mark.”

“Marcus, how do you know this,” Layla asked.

“I see it,” Marcus replied with a shrug. “I see her playing with Uncle Glen and her Daddy. Mama…why don’t I have a Daddy?”

Layla sighed. “Your Daddy is a very bad man,” she replied softly. “If he knew you were alive he would hurt you and probably Uncle Glen too.” Marcus looked at her, his sapphire eyes wide. “Go play in your room,” she said finally ruffling his blonde locks. “I need to find you something for lunch.” He nodded and headed up to his room to play.

~~~~~

“It’s all right, Daddy,” Rose said smiling wide as she played with her ball in the full sunlight. Mark and Glen watched horrified.

“Rosie come back here right now,” Mark ordered.

“But Daddy,” Rose whined stamping her foot.

“Joselyn Rose Calaway,” Mark growled. When the child refused to listen he shoved Glen out of the way, heading toward the steps.

Glen grabbed him. “Mark, you’ll be ash before you even make it to her,” he said. “She’s not showing any signs of sensitivity to sunlight.”

Mark grunted a curse under his breath and shoved Glen away before jumping off the porch and sweeping Rose up in his arms. When he got back to the porch he was smoking and his arms and face were covered in blisters.

“Daddy,” Rose whined, her eyes filling with tears. “Daddy, your face,” she sobbed.

“You can’t go out in the sunlight, Rosie,” Mark said wincing as he set her down on her feet. “Do you see why?” He pointed to his now healing wounds. “We’re not like other people, Rosie. The sun will kill us.”

“I just wanted to play,” she said sniffling and hicupping.

“Play inside where I can keep an eye on you,” Mark replied looking pointedly at Glen. “Obviously Uncle Glen is much more interested in his book than your safety.”

“It happened so fast, Mark,” Glen replied defensively.

“It was my fault, Daddy,” Rose said taking Glen’s hand and kissing the back of it where his blister had finally healed. “Please don’t be mad at Uncle Glen.”

Mark sighed. “Fine, Rosie, I won’t be mad at Uncle Glen,” he said holding out his hand for her. Happy with his words she took her father’s hand and allowed him to lead her into the house.

{Chapter 13}

“Thank the Goddess you finally came to visit,” Layla said hurling herself into Glen’s arms as he walked through the front door. He could feel her trembling as he held her.

“What’s wrong,” he asked. “Did something happen to Marcus?”

“He seems all right,” she replied sniffling as she pulled away from him and wiped the tears away. “Glen, he’s been acting strange.”

“Strange how,” he asked looking around for the boy.

“He goes into trances,” Layla replied sinking into a chair at the kitchen table. “I can’t bring him out of them. When he finally snaps out of the trance he speaks of a girl and Mark and even you sometimes.”

Glen sighed. “What does David say about this,” he asked.

“I haven’t been able to get in touch with him,” Layla replied. “I’ve been sick with worry.”

Glen squatted down in front of her. “Don’t be,” he said cupping her face in his hand and tilting her head up so that she was looking him in the eye. “You know that he’s a twin,” he said. “It’s just twin telepathy, though it seems to be one sided.”

“What happens…”

“Rose has shown no sign of telepathy at all,” he said cutting her off. “Your spells seem to be holding.”

“Glen, there’s something else,” Layla said. “He ran out into the sunlight earlier.” Glen’s heart leapt into his throat. “He’s all right,” she said quickly seeing the concern on his face. “He didn’t have a mark on him.”

“Rose did the same today,” Glen replied standing up now. “She too was unharmed.”

“Perhaps because their mother was human…maybe they lack the sensitivity to sunlight that a true vampire would have.”

“I’ll have to talk to David about it, but you may be right,” he said. “Where is Marcus? I’d like to see my nephew before I head back home.”

“Up in his room,” Layla said smiling.

~~~~~

Shawn had been wandering around for quite some time. He didn’t want to head back to Punk’s place just yet. The sun had set a half hour ago and the weather had turned much cooler. He knew he shouldn’t be out after dark by himself, but at the moment he didn’t care.

“Hey, check out this old guy,” Johnny Nitro snickered to his girlfriend, Melina as they happened upon Shawn.

“Hey, Pops,” Melina cackled. “You lost?”

“Not at all,” Shawn replied turning around with an evil smirk curling his lips. “You two feeling frisky tonight? Huh, bloodsuckers?” His right hand was behind his back as he spoke.

Nitro sneered. “A hunter,” he hissed and then grinned wickedly. “I’ll bet your blood tastes so much sweeter than anybody else’s.”

Shawn smiled wide. “Hey, punk, catch,” he said tossing a bottle of holy water at the two. Nitro brought his hands up to catch the bottle, but Shawn whipped out his gun and shot it before he could. The glass shattered showing the couple with holy water.

“HOLY WATER,” Melina screeched as her skin began to bubble and smoke.

“Bastard,” Nitro growled, baring his fangs. “You’ll pay for this.” He was unfazed by his skin burning.

With a low growl he pounced. Shawn saw Nitro leave his feet, but couldn’t react fast enough and wound up pinned beneath the young vampire. Nitro glared down at him, smiling, his skin already starting to heal.

“Now we get to see how sweet your blood tastes,” Nitro said extending his fangs fully and lowering his mouth to Shawn’s neck. His teeth were mere inches from the tender flesh when Nitro felt a shock and flew back off of his prey. “What the fuck?!”

Shawn got to his feet and held up the stun gun. “Won’t kill ya, but it sure stings like a motherfucker, doesn’t it,” he asked with a chuckle.

“Enough games,” Nitro growled.

He lunged at Shawn again and once again proved to be faster and stronger. He landed on Shawn’s back as the hunter attempted to run away. Shawn landed on his face smacking his head against the rough pavement. Immediately a gash was opened up on his forehead and a small pool of blood formed under his head.

Shawn’s vision blurred as he tried desperately to hold onto consciousness. His gun skittered across the pavement stopping at Melina’s feet. She bent down and picked it up, scowling down at Shawn.

“You’re not a very good hunter,” she commented, touching her cheek where the last of her blisters was finally disappearing. “Guns won’t kill us.”

“I beg to differ,” Shawn replied as Nitro rolled him onto his back, pinning him to the ground.

“Johnny, let him up,” Melina screeched. Nitro obeyed her hauling Shawn to his feet. His head was swimming, but he did his best to stand on his own.

“Here,” Melina said thrusting the gun into Shawn’s hand. “Show us how you’re going to kill us with this gun.” The word gun was spoken with such venom.

Shawn gripped the gun, taking off the safety and taking aim at Melina. He smirked at her a moment before he spun on his heel and pulled the trigger. The bullet exploded from the barrel and penetrated Nitro’s chest forcing him off his feet.

“JOHNNY,” Melina screeched rushing to his side.

The force of the gun blast had knocked Shawn from his feet. He rolled onto his back to look at his handiwork with a smirk. The world was starting to darken when he heard familiar voices approaching.

~~~~~

“I kid you not,” Hunter chuckled as he walked with London and Kendrick. Lashley was shooting death glares at him as he hung back with Punk. “The damn gun went off and there was Bobby with a hole in his thigh.” London and Kendrick chuckled at the story.

“I’m glad you find it funny,” Lashley growled smacking both men in the back of the head before punching Hunter’s arm.

“Ow! Damn it, Bobby,” Hunter said holding his arm.

“Guys! Quiet,” Punk said listening. “Was that gunfire?”

“Shawn,” Hunter said realizing he hadn’t checked in with his friend in a couple of hours. “Come on.” He took off running in the direction of the sound, pulling his gun. Lashley and Punk did the same.

“Kids,” Lashley called glancing back at London and Kendrick who were following them. “Hang back. Don’t get involved. We know what we’re doing. All right?” London and Kendrick nodded.

The men rounded the corner just in time to see Melina leap onto Shawn’s prone form. She was screeching profanities and she beat on him. Stunned for a moment at the scene Hunter watched as she began to bash Shawn’s already bloody head on the pavement.

“Hunter,” Lashley yelled taking aim at Melina. “What the hell are you doing? She’s going to kill Shawn!”

Melina heard Lashley yelling and stopped battering Shawn. She hissed at him, her demonic eyes flashing. She stopped short of attacking the men seeing that she was outnumbered. With a banshee like shriek she grabbed Nitro’s body and dragged him off.

“Shawn,” Hunter called snapping out of his daze. He knelt down by his friend’s body. The blood was already starting to pool around his battered head. “You stupid son of a bitch. Why’d you do it? Huh, Shawn? Why?”

“I called John,” Punk said. “He’s sending an ambulance and he’s going to meet us at the emergency room.” Punk, London and Kendrick watched as Lashley and Hunter knelt by Shawn.

~~~~~

Hunter was pacing in the waiting room. Lashley sat with his head in his hands saying a silent prayer that Shawn would be all right. London and Kendrick were dazed, unable to believe that the man who had saved their lives was now at risk of losing his. Punk had gone to the cafeteria for coffee for everyone.

When the doors to the emergency room opened and Cena walked out Hunter practically pounced on him. “How’s Shawn,” he demanded. Lashley had joined Hunter and the two men stared at Cena expectantly.

“I’m not gonna lie to you,” Cena said seriously. “He’s got some real bad head trauma. That vamp bashed his head pretty good.”

“Is he gonna live, Doc,” Lashley asked.

“I can’t answer that right now,” Cena replied. “He needs surgery to alleviate the swelling on his brain. We’ll take it from there after the surgery. I have the best neurosurgeon in the city coming in to operate.” He sighed and shook his head. “I wish I had better news. Why don’t you guys go home and get some rest. I’ll call you when Shawn’s out of surgery.” With that said he patted the men on the back and walked away to check on his patient.

~~~~~

Glen was on his way back to the mansion when he heard crying coming from nearby. Following the sound he found a woman wailing over a dead body. He knew the moment he caught her scent that she was a vampire and the body belonged to her now dead lover.

“Miss,” he said softly.

Melina raised her head, glaring at him a moment before her expression softened and she began to wail again. “He’s gone,” he moaned. “My Johnny is gone.”

“Come on,” Glen said feeling sorry for the poor woman. “Come home with me.” Melina glared up at him. “There are others us where I live. We can take care of you.” Melina sighed casting a mournful look down at Nitro.

“What about him,” she asked.

Glen bent down and picked up the body. “We’ll give him a proper send off,” he said helping Melina to her feet. “My name is Glen.”

“Melina,” she said accepting his help. “Thank you.” Glen just nodded as he walked her back to the mansion.

{Chapter 14}

The months passed and Shawn remained in a coma. There was very little change in his condition. Hunter came every day to sit by his friend’s side. In a way he blamed himself for Shawn’s condition. Had he taken the time to actually talk to him instead of blowing up at him maybe he would have figured out what had been bothering Shawn so much.

Hunter sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “How long have you been like this, Shawn,” he asked softly. “Nearly a year now, isn’t it?” He sighed again. “Why’d you do it, Shawn?”

Candice poked her head into the room. She smiled sadly at Hunter as she entered to take Shawn’s vitals. “How are you holding up, Hunter,” she asked as she took Shawn’s pulse.

“As good as can be expected,” Hunter replied gruffly.

She watched Shawn for a few minutes. “His eyes are moving behind the lids,” she said as she checked the IV line. “That means he’s dreaming. Dreaming means his brain is still working.”

“I’m starting to wonder,” Hunter replied sadly.

Candice finished what she was doing and placed a hand on Hunter’s shoulder. “You have to keep the faith, Hunter,” she said bringing her face down to his ear. Hunter closed his eyes as her breath tickled his neck. “Don’t give up on Shawn. He’s still in there. He’s a fighter and he’s just fighting to get back to you and the others.” With that she placed a gentle kiss on his cheek.

Hunter slipped an arm around her waist pulling her into his lap. He wasn’t quite sure how or when their relationship had begun, but he was grateful to have her in his life. She comforted him in ways that no one else could and he almost loved her for it. “When’s your break,” he asked nuzzling her neck.

She giggled disentangling herself from his arms. “Hunter,” she scolded with a smirk. “Only you could be horny while I’m trying to console you.”

“I can’t help it, baby,” he said smirking, though there was a sadness in his hazel eyes. “You’re just so damn sexy.”

Candice chuckled and headed out the door. She poked her head back in just seconds later. “Meet me in the nurses’ lounge in five minutes,” she said softly, winking at him.

Hunter smirked and nodded as she left. He turned his attention back to Shawn. “Sorry, buddy,” he said patting Shawn’s leg as he stood. “Duty calls. I know you understand.”

~~~~~

“You did real good tonight, Punk,” Lashley said patting the younger man on the shoulder. With Hunter more interested in checking in on Shawn Lashley had taken over command as the lead Hunter. He had taken it upon himself to train London and Kendrick, figuring they could use all the help they could get.

“Yeah and you only got mildly nauseous when we cremated the bodies,” London snickered. Punk smacked him upside the head for the comment. “Seriously though you were all badass when you killed that one vamp as it leapt at Brian.”

Kendrick looked down at his shirt and groaned seeing the blood spatter all over it. “Next time can Paul be the bait,” he whined. “This is the third shirt that’s been ruined this week.”

“You gotta learn to duck and cover,” Lashley chuckled as they neared a bar. “Come on. Let’s get a couple of rounds. My treat.”

~~~~~

“Ash,” Candice said entering the nurses’ lounge. “You have to get out of here.”

“What,” Ashley demanded. “Uh uh, this is my break and I’m fuckin’ tired.” She eyed Candice up and down suspiciously. “Why do you want me gone?” No sooner had she asked the question then Hunter entered the lounge. “Nevermind. I’m gone. If anyone comes looking for me I’ll be in the cafeteria.”

“Thanks Ash! I owe you one,” Candice called as she watched the blonde leave. She then turned her attention to Hunter. “Come here you.” With a smirk he pulled her into his arms, kissing her long and hard.

~~~~~

“Uncle Glen,” Rose whined. “Why did you drag me out here?”

“Your father wants you to learn how to hunt,” he replied. “I think you’re still too young, but he seems to think otherwise.”

She was nearly three years old now; the equivalent of being close to twelve for her. She had grown significantly standing tall at five feet ten inches. She was developing into quite a beautiful young woman with a soft porcelain complexion, which made her emerald green eyes stand out even more. Her hair hung in soft auburn ringlets down her back, though she often wore it in a loose braid with curls framing her face.

“Daddy’s been teaching me to fight,” she replied a smile curling her pouty rose red lips. “He’s says I’m an excellent student.”

“Good, now pay attention,” Glen said scanning the crowded street. It was nearly Christmas and the humans would be out in droves shopping and attending parties. “Find someone in the crowd. Make sure you get their scent. It’ll be easier for you not to lose them that way.”

Rose scanned the crowd and spotted a tall, thin blonde man across the street. He was alone and though he seemed to be waiting for someone no one seemed to ever join him. “I found my prey,” she said smiling wickedly.

Glen followed her eyes and took in the man she was staring at. “No, Rosie,” Glen said shaking his head. “He’s no good.”

Rose glared up at him, her eyes narrowing to slits. “I want HIM,” she said crossing her arms across her chest.

“Rosie,” Glen groaned, knowing that he was going to be unable to talk her out of it. “You CAN’T feed on him.”

“I want him,” she said adamantly. Without another word she headed toward the man. He seemed to sense her coming toward him and started walking toward an alley close by.

“Rosie,” Glen hissed, following close behind his headstrong niece.

“Go on,” the man said dropping to his knees and baring his neck for Rose.

“Good boy,” she purred as her fangs extended.

“Rosie, NO,” Glen yelled grabbing her before she could penetrate the man’s neck.

“What the fuck is your problem,” the man demanded his blue/gray eyes boring holes into Glen. “I want this.”

“Rosie, he’s sick,” Glen said not releasing his niece. “This man is very sick. He’s dying. If you drink from him you’ll be sick too.”

“How did you know,” the man asked getting to his feet. “Yes, I’m dying. Cancer.” He scoffed. “Guess I should have listened when my mom said the cigarettes would kill me.”

“You poor thing,” Rose said taking the man’s hand. “I can make you better.”

“Rosie, don’t you dare,” Glen growled. She pulled free of his grip.

“Don’t you see, Uncle Glen,” Rose asked, tears in her eyes. “He’s suffering. I can ease his pain. Make him better.”

“Please,” the man begged. “I’ll do anything.”

Rose made him kneel again. She pulled a small knife from her belt and sliced her wrist. The crimson blood began to dribble down her arm.

“Rosie, no,” Glen groaned, but he knew there was no stopping her. If he prevented her from doing this now she’d only sneak out and do it when he wasn’t around.

“You’ll feel a little pinch in your neck,” she said soothingly to the man. He nodded, gulping past the knot in his throat. “Soon you’ll feel all better.” She stroked his blonde locks with one hand before bringing her face down to his neck and burying it there. The man groaned as he felt her teeth penetrate his skin and closed his eyes.

“You have to drink from her,” Glen said to the man. “Do it now before you poison her.”

The man opened his eyes and pulled Rose’s slender wrist to his mouth, lapping at the blood that was now flowing freely. The blood made him feel heady and he wanted more the more he lapped at it. Soon Rose pulled her mouth from his neck and wrenched her arm free from him.

“How do you feel,” she gasped, wiping away a trickle of blood from her chin.

“I don’t feel any different,” the man replied moments before he felt excruciating pain in his chest. “What…have…you…done…to…me?”

“It’s your body dying,” Glen replied helping the younger man to his feet. “The pain will subside soon.”

As he had promised the pain stopped and the man felt more alive than he had ever. He could smell so many new aromas on the wind. The world seemed so much brighter despite the darkness of night. “This is wonderful,” he said smiling.

He approached Rose, who was leaning on Glen for support, and kneeled at her feet. “You saved me from a slow painful death,” he said. “For that you will always have my allegiance.” He took her hand in his and placed a kiss to the back of it.

Rose smiled down at him, her eyes losing focus. The world began to swim and her eyes rolled up in her head. She pitched forward falling into the new vampire’s arms.

“Rosie,” Glen groaned. “Give me her.”

“I can carry her,” the man said effortlessly scooping her up into his arms. “Just show me where to bring her.”

“Fine,” Glen growled. “I knew this would happen.”

“She’s not going to die is she,” the man asked as he followed Glen out of the alley.

“No,” Glen replied. “Your cancer was quite advanced. You were sicker than you looked.” The man nodded. “She’ll be sick for a little while, but she will live.”

“Then I’ll stay by her side until she’s well,” the blonde replied. “It’s the least I can do for the woman who saved my life. Rosie, is her name? What a beautiful name for such a beautiful creature.”

“She’s a child,” Glen grumbled. “Don’t get any ideas. Yes, her name is Rose. What will we be calling you?”

“Adam is fine,” the blonde replied smiling. “Adam Copeland. What do I call you?”

“You don’t,” Glen replied as he led the way back to the mansion. “You better pray that her father is still away or your ass will be in the dungeons.”

{Chapter 15}

Marcus crept along the forest tracking a small deer. He was feeling a little peckish and this would do as a nice snack. Though he already was nearly six feet tall he was light on his feet and made little noise as he followed his prey. As the deer lowered its head to drink from a small pond he pounced, wrestling the creature to the ground. He could smell the fear dripping off of it and relished it. Holding the creature close to his body he sunk his fangs into the neck and drank deep. He could hear the heartbeat getting weaker and weaker as he drained it completely.

With a satisfied sigh he placed the dead animal aside and began to dig a hole with his hands. He always made sure to bury his prey when he was finished. Saying a prayer that Layla had taught him he placed the deer in the hole and covered it up. When he was done he dusted himself off and stood.

A wave of dizziness washed over him as he did so and he stumbled back, leaning on a tree for support. He knew all too well that he was having another vision of the girl named Rose, but this time it seemed to be much stronger. The forest began to spin around him and he dropped to his knees.

“I’m telling you, Rosie,” Melina giggled. “Those shoes are just to die for.”

“And the previous owner did,” Rose cackled as she admired the heels on her feet. “You can borrow them any time you want.”

“No,” Marcus groaned. “Not out here. Not where Mama won’t be able to find me.” His head was spinning and he couldn’t will his legs to move.

~~~~~

“And I think that dress is…” Rose stopped talking, sagging against the nearest chair.

“Rosie,” Melina asked. “What’s wrong?”

Rose didn’t respond. Her emerald orbs stared blankly. Melina grasped her shoulders and shook her gently. She didn’t respond, only stared off blankly.

Marcus looked around the forest, gasping. He had crept beyond the border that Layla had told him never to cross. “No,” he groaned, crawling to get within the border once again. “Mama will be so mad!”

“Who are you,” Rose demanded.

“Rosie, you know me,” Melina said, concern filling her brown orbs. “It’s Melina.”

“What’s going on,” Adam asked.

“Something’s wrong with Rosie,” Melina said wringing her hands.

“Go get Glen,” Adam said going to Rose. “Rosie? Rosie, it’s Adam. Come on, honey, snap out of it.”

“What’s going on,” Glen asked when Melina returned with him.

“I don’t know,” Adam replied. “She’s catatonic.”

Glen squatted down in front of her and grasped her shoulders gently. “Rosie,” he said. “Rose, sweetheart, come back to us.”

Hearing his voice Rose snapped out of her trance. She blinked at Glen, her head still foggy from the odd vision. “Uncle Glen,” she asked groggily.

“Come on,” Glen said scooping her up in his arms. “I’m putting you to bed.”

He knew all too well what had happened. He had spoken to Heath long ago about Marcus going through the same thing. He had agreed that it was twin telepathy. He had also agreed that Layla’s protection spells had kept the link from being a two way street. Glen knew that Marcus must have gone beyond the protective borders that Layla had set up for this to have happened.

“Should I contact David,” Adam asked following close behind Glen.

“No,” Glen replied. “She’ll be fine.”

“Has this happened before,” Adam demanded, not liking how secretive Glen was being.

“It’s nothing for you to be concerned about,” Glen replied glaring at him.

“Adam,” Rose said weakly. “I’m fine. Just tired. Please don’t worry and tell Melina not to worry either.”

“As you wish,” Adam replied with a sigh. He stopped following Glen and went to find Melina.

“There,” Glen said settling Rose in her bed.

“Uncle Glen, who’s Marcus,” she asked as he tucked her in.

“He was your brother,” Glen replied. “He died the night you two were born.”

Rose eyed him suspiciously. “He seemed quite alive when I saw him in my vision,” she said.

“That’s because you have a gift for connecting with the dead, honey,” Glen lied. “Remember you told me of the dream of your mother?” She nodded, seemingly pacified for the time being. “Get some rest and then we can go hunting later. All right?” She smiled and nodded, settling back on her pillows and closing her eyes.

Glen left the room and headed down the stairs. He was met by Thorn at the bottom. “Adam says that Rose went into some sort of trance,” he said softly. “Has she discovered that her twin lives?”

“No,” Glen replied. “I think she believed what I told her. I need to check on Marcus.”

“Go, everything will be fine here,” Thorn replied. Glen nodded and left the mansion.

~~~~~

Glen entered the cottage without knocking. “Where is he,” he demanded of Layla. His tone startled her and she pointed into the living room. Glen saw his nephew sitting on the couch and picked him up off of it by the shirt collar. “Are you insane? Do you have a death wish, boy,” he growled.

“Uncle Glen,” Marcus cried out, terrified by this side of his uncle. “Please.”

“Glen! What’s going on,” Layla demanded.

“Do you realize what you’ve done? She knows about you now, Marcus. How could you be so careless?”

Layla gasped realizing what Glen was saying. “Marcus, please tell me you didn’t go beyond the border,” she said, dread filling her.

“It was an accident,” Marcus wailed. “I was following a deer. I didn’t know how far I had gone until it was too late!”

Glen growled something under his breath and dropped Marcus back onto the couch. “I think I’ve convinced Rose that you were a vision of her dead brother,” Glen said perching on the back of the couch with a sigh. “You better pray that Mark doesn’t find out about this.”

“I’m sorry,” Marcus said hanging his head. “I promise it won’t happen again.”

Glen placed a hand on his nephew’s shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “Be more careful next time,” he said softly. He then turned his attention to Layla. “You need to keep track of him better.”

“I’m only one person, Glen,” Layla replied crossing her arms across her chest. “He’s a growing boy, a curious boy. Short of tying him to a tree how do you propose I keep track of him?”

“From now on,” Glen said. “He hunts at night. When I can come and keep an eye on him.” He looked pointedly at Marcus. “Understood?”

“Yes, Uncle Glen,” Marcus replied somberly.

~~~~~

Later that night after she had come back from hunting with Glen Rose feigned sleepiness and retired to her room. Once inside she slipped out of her jeans and T-shirt and pulled on a pair of black leather pants that fit her like a second skin and a crimson tank top. She had already inherited her mother’s curvaceous figure making her appear much older than she truly was. She finger combed her hair out of it’s braid letting it cascade down her back. Satisfied with her appearance she grabbed her jacket and opened her window.

She had just gotten her leg out when Adam entered her room. “What are you doing,” he demanded.

“Still a little hungry,” she replied with a smirk. “Don’t wait up, Adam.”

With that she jumped out, landing soundlessly on the ground. She looked up at her window and smiled, waving. Adam was now peering out the window at her as she headed away from the mansion.

“Damn it,” Adam growled, slamming his fist on the windowsill. She had snuck off before, but never after a hunt. He sighed exiting the room before he drew Glen's attention. The last thing Rose needed was her uncle angry with her.

~~~~~

Happily Rose wandered the streets taking in the sights and smells. Everything seemed so much sweeter with her forbidden independence. She debated whether she wanted to go to a club to dance a bit or just continue to enjoy the cool night air as it danced across her skin.

She caught scent of someone following her and smirked. Speeding up her steps to a brisk stroll she rounded a corner and waited in the shadows. She soon saw the man come into view. He was tall and she could smell he was also intoxicated.

“You gonna follow me all night or are you gonna introduce yourself, honey,” she said coming out of the shadows.

“My name’s Randy, baby,” he replied smiling, his blue eyes twinkling with mischief in the streetlight. “What’s yours?”

“Rose,” she said approaching him. She pressed her body up against his, smiling at the sharp intake of breath from him. “Mmmm, so sexy, you wanna come home with me?” She had fully intended to feed on him, but felt a sudden urge she had never felt before.

“What are we waiting for,” Randy asked leading her to his car. She took the keys from him and pushed him into the passenger seat. She didn’t fancy getting into a wreck tonight. “I like a woman who takes charge,” he smirked, placing as hand on her knee as she threw the car into gear and tore out of the parking spot.

It didn’t take long for her to make it home. She parked outside the gates to the mansion and led Randy up the long walk. “You live here,” he asked amazed at the sheer size of the place.

“Quiet,” she hissed as she opened the door and found the house quiet and dark. “I don’t want my uncle to hear you. He’ll kill me if I bring home one more guy,” she lied. Randy nodded and mimed zipping his lip and locking them.

She led him up the stairs and into her room, locking the door behind her. “Now,” she said smiling and shoving him back onto the bed. “Let’s see about relieving you of these pants.”

{Chapter 16}

Glen had just settled in bed with a book when he heard a strange noise come from Rose’s room. With a sigh he set the book aside and padded down the hall. He knocked softly on the door.

“Rosie,” he called. “Are you all right?” He tried the knob and found it locked. “Rosie?” He heard the sound again and this time realization washed over him. “Oh no,” he growled. “Damn it, Rosie, unlock this door right now.” She either didn’t hear him or didn’t care or both.

~~~~~

“God damn, baby,” Randy groaned as Rose collapsed on top of him after her release. She slid off of him, resting her head on his shoulder. “That was fucking amazing.”

“It was, wasn’t it,” Rose said smirking. “Hard to believe it was my first time, huh?”

Randy chuckled and then realized that she wasn’t laughing. “You’re serious? Holy shit, how old are you?”

“Technically three,” she replied with a snicker as she watched his confused expression. “I suppose in reality I’m closer to twelve though.”

“What the fuck,” Randy said scrambling from the bed, not caring that he was completely naked. “Shit! I could go to jail for this!”

“Oh come now,” Rose said sitting up on her knees on the bed, not the least bit modest in front of him. “A moment ago you were singing my praises.”

“Yeah that was before I knew you were jail bait,” Randy said raking a hand through his closely cropped dark hair.

Just then the door splintered inward and Glen stalked into the room. Rose grabbed the sheet and pulled it up around her naked form. Randy scrambled to get his pants back on, but failed miserably as Glen grabbed him by the throat.

“YOU SON OF A BITCH,” he yelled pinning the younger man against the wall. “SHE’S A CHILD!”

“What’s going on in here,” Mark demanded having heard the commotion as he returned home. He caught sight of the naked man Glen was pinning to the wall and then his daughter with a sheet wrapped around her nudity.

His cold green eyes locked on Randy, who was struggling to get free of Glen’s grasp. “Boy, you made a big mistake. THORN! KENNEDY!”

The two men entered the room upon hearing their names bellowed. “You bellowed, Master,” Kennedy said smiling. His smile turned to a scowl. “I could have done without seeing that,” he grumbled turning away from Randy.

“Take this boy down to the dungeon,” Mark said deathly calm.

“With pleasure,” Thorn said smirking. He loved a good beating and it had been so long since they had seen any.

“What’s going on,” Mickie and Melina asked entering the room with Adam close behind.

“Rosie,” Melina gasped realizing what had happened.

“I’ll deal with you later, young lady,” Mark said glaring at his daughter.

“Daddy! Wait,” Rose said catching his wrist as he walked away. “What will you do with him?”

Mark wrenched his wrist free. “That is none of your concern,” he replied coldly. “Take him away,” he said as Thorn and Kennedy each grabbed one of Randy’s arms.

“She never told me how old she was,” he wailed as he was carried away. “Can’t I at least put on my pants?!”

“Uncle Glen,” Rose sobbed as Glen followed Mark and the others out of the room. “What will Daddy do to him?”

“If he’s lucky? He’ll kill him right away,” Glen replied. Rose dropped to her knees and buried her face in her hands sobbing. “You brought this on him, Rosie. You should have thought before you gave in to your urges.” With that he left her room.

Mickie and Melina had followed the others out intent on watching the action up close. Only Adam was left in the room with her. He knelt down next to her and pulled her into his arms.

“It’s for the best, Rosie,” he crooned as she stroked her hair. “You’re way too young for this.”

She stopped sobbing, hiccuping a bit, and shoved him away from her. “Get out of here,” she said, her eyes becoming just as cold as her father’s had been. When he didn’t move she screeched the order again. “GET OUT OF HERE!” Adam sighed deeply and left the room.

~~~~~

In the dungeon Randy had been chained up. Thorn had taken pity on the young man and given him his pants to put on first. Kennedy had already worked the young man over pretty good before Mark ever made it down to the dungeon.

Randy’s face was already a mottled mess of purples, blues and reds. His left eye was practically swollen shut and his bottom lip was split in two places. His chest and ribs sported the same colors as his face from Kennedy using him as a punching bag.

Mickie and Melina stood back with Thorn watching the punishment. All were waiting for the real show to start. It wasn’t long before Mark entered the dungeon.

He grasped Randy’s face harshly making him look at him with his one good eye. “You’ll be begging for death by the time I’m done with you,” he sneered. “You dared to touch my daughter. I should castrate you right here right now.” Randy gulped, whimpering a bit. “But that’s too good for you. It would be over too quickly. No, I want you to really suffer.”

With that said he removed his shirt revealing massive amounts of tattoos covering his well muscled arms and chest and accepted a pair of gloves that Thorn handed him. He made sure to pull them on nice and slow. The fear coming from the younger man was intoxicating and he wanted to savor every drop of it. With that task completed he got into a fighting stance.

The first punch landed in Randy’s ribs and an audible crunch could be heard. Mickie and Melina smirked seeing the pain being doled out. Thorn too had a smile on his face. The second punch landed square in the gut and Randy coughed up blood.

By the end of the beating Mark was out of breath and covered in sweat. Randy was broken and bleeding, blood trickling from just about every orifice. Mark looked at his handiwork and smirked, nodding his approval.

“Let that be a lesson to you, boy,” he said as he removed his gloves and slipped his shirt back on. With that he headed up to shower and speak to his daughter.

~~~~~

When he entered her room his wet hair was slicked back into a braid and he wore jeans with no shirt. Rose had dressed in the time waiting for her father. She sat gazing out the window. Her head whipped around to face Mark when he cleared his throat. She knew better than to speak first. He seemed to be sizing her up, perhaps checking to see if she’d be foolish enough to say something. He smirked when she realized her place and kept quiet.

“You disappoint me, Rosie,” he said taking a seat at the foot of her bed. “What were you thinking?”

“I’m becoming a woman, Daddy,” she said softly, fearing he would strike her if she dared to raise her voice to him. “Everyone says I’m too young, but I don’t feel young.”

“YOU’RE TOO YOUNG TO BE DOIN’ THIS, ROSIE,” he yelled. “AS LONG AS YOU LIVE UNDER MY ROOF YOU WILL DO AS I SAY!”

“MAYBE I SHOULD LEAVE,” she replied, reacting without thinking.

Mark was on his feet in a split second, backhanding her. She fell from her perch in the window, sprawling to the floor holding her cheek. When she looked up at him blood trickled from her bottom lip.

“Don’t you EVER raise your voice to me again,” he said lowly. “And if you ever pull something like this again I will wash my hands of you.” With that he turned on his heel and stalked out of the room.

Rose got to her feet, grabbing the first thing she could find and hurling it at her father’s retreating form. A glass vase full of red roses hurtled past Mark’s head and smashed on the wall in front of him. He stopped and turned, glaring at her.

“Keep it up and you’ll be kept in the damn dungeon without any food. Do you really think that I’ll be the least bit upset when you die? I never wanted you to begin with,” he said coldly and stalked off.

Rose threw herself on her bed, sobbing. Her father had never spoken to her so coldly. She felt as if her heart was breaking. By the time her sobs subsided her pillows were soaked. She dried her eyes and crept to her doorway. The house was quiet as she crept to the stairs.

When Rose made it down into the dungeons she found Glen surveying the damage Mark had done to Randy. He had just removed the chains that held him suspended and laid him down on the cold stone ground. She gasped, bringing his attention to her. “You shouldn’t be here,” he said softly.

“Uncle Glen,” she said sniffling. “He’s dying.”

“I know,” Glen replied. “All because you had an itch you needed to scratch.”

“He made me feel different,” she said softly. “I just wanted…”

“You can’t always have what you want,” he replied harshly, making her jump at his tone. “Mark made the mistake of spoiling you. I’m guessing that those days are over now…at least for a little while.” He brushed past her on the way out of the dungeon and up the stairs.

Rose went to Randy, touching his bruised and battered face, fresh tears filling her eyes. He groaned trying to pull away from her touch. She began to sing to him softly, stroking his head. He calmed down hearing her soothing voice.

“I’m so sorry,” she said softly. “I can make this right. I know I can.” She knew she had little time to waste. His body was dying and even the slightest hesitation would be his death sentence.

She pulled out her knife and slashed her wrist. She held it to his mouth and whispered instructions in his ear. He whimpered, tears slipping down his cheeks as he nodded. With that she sunk her fangs into the tender flesh of his neck.

When she pulled away from him she watched as the bruises and cuts healed right before her eyes. Randy coughed and sputtered as his internal injuries healed up. Once he looked normal again he sat up and looked at Rose, smiling.

“My angel of mercy,” he said reaching out to wipe a stray tear from her cheek.

“We’re no angels, Randy,” she said softly, hanging her head.

“What have you done,” Adam demanded seeing Rose and Randy. “Rosie, your father is going to kill you both!” With that he headed up the stairs. Rose and Randy hot on his heels.

“You don’t have to say anything, Adam,” she replied.

“And don’t you think he’ll notice the body is suspiciously missing,” he fired back. “You’re in deep shit now, kid.”

“What’s going on,” Mark demanded meeting Adam at the top of the stairs. Glen was close behind him. Mark's green eyes trailed behind the blonde to his daughter and then Randy. It didn’t take him long to know what she had done. “You’re severely tryin’ my patience, Rosie.” He shoved Adam out of the way and grabbed her by her hair. He brought her face to his, glaring at her. “You’re more trouble than you’re worth.” With that he tossed her down the stairs.

Randy caught her. “You son of a bitch,” he growled, setting her on her feet. He rushed up the stairs toward Mark, but Glen stepped in his path blocking the way.

“You don’t want to do that, boy,” he snarled. “You witnessed firsthand what Mark is capable of. You might heal now, but Mark knows ways to have it hurt like a motherfucker until it does.”

Randy backed down and went to check on Rose. “Are you all right,” he asked. She nodded.

Glen sighed seeing her clinging to the young man. Though he knew it would anger his brother he couldn't help having a soft spot when it came to Rose. “He can stay in the servants’ quarters with Adam, Mickie and Melina,” he said to her. “Your father’s anger will subside eventually. He will realize that this young man can be an asset if and when the hunters ever find us.”

Adam glared at Randy a moment. He had gotten used to being Rose’s favorite person and now he had to compete with someone who could give her what she had never wanted from him. “Come on,” he grumbled. “I’ll show you where you’ll be staying.”

{Chapter 17}

“Night, honey,” Candice said snuggling up in Hunter’s arms. He was staying at her place that night, not wanting to be alone. It had been nearly two years now that Shawn was in the coma. His hope was growing thin that he would ever speak to his best friend again. With a sigh he closed his eyes and let sleep take him.

“Stephanie,” Hunter called entering the small house they owned as he came back from a business trip with his father-in-law. “Honey? Where are you?” He looked around the living room and his heart constricted. The place was a mess.

“Aurora,” he called out to his daughter. “Sweetie, Daddy’s home.” He heard a noise coming from the back bedroom and headed in there. What he saw when he got there made him drop to his knees. Stephanie was sprawled out on the floor, face down. His four year old daughter was sobbing over her mother’s body.

“Aurora, baby, come to Daddy,” he said gruffly when he finally found his voice.

“Mommy’s sick,” she said softly as she crawled over to him. “She won’t wake up.”

“I know, baby,” he said pulling the child into his arms. She buried her face in his neck sniffling. “Daddy’s here now.”

He knelt there holding his daughter for what seemed like ages, unable to pry his eyes away from his wife’s lifeless body. Soon he felt Aurora squirming in his arms and felt a little pin prick in his neck. He pulled the child away from him, holding her at arm’s length, and gasped. Instead of his angelic little girl he was now gazing down on a demon.

“No,” he whimpered. “Not my baby.”

“What’s wrong, Daddy,” she asked his blood trickling down her chin. Hunter felt his neck and looked at his hand, deep streaks of red stained his flesh. “You taste good, Daddy.” She licked her lips, relishing the taste of his blood.

“Aurora,” he said as firmly as he could muster. He couldn’t understand what was going on or what had happened to his daughter and wife. “You were very bad to bite, Daddy.”

“Get down,” someone drawled out behind him. Unable to process the demand Hunter just stared at the two men before him blankly. “Shawn, get him out of here,” the older man with platinum blonde hair called. “I’ll deal with the child.”

“Don’t hurt her,” Hunter called as Shawn dragged him out of the bedroom. They hadn’t gotten far when gunshots rang out throughout the house.

Hunter sat up in bed. “AURORA,” he cried out. Tears streaked his cheeks.

“Hunter,” Candice gasped sitting up and placing a hand on his shoulder. “What’s wrong? Who’s Aurora?” Hunter ran a hand down his face. The dream had been so vivid. “Hunter?”

“Go back to sleep,” he muttered, brushing his lips against hers. “I’m all right. Don’t worry.”

She watched as he slid out of bed and headed into the bathroom. Moments later she heard the shower running. With a sigh she laid back on the pillows. Candice knew that if he didn’t want to talk about it he wasn’t going to.

Hunter stepped under the hot spray letting the water cascade down his tense muscles. Why after all this time had he dreamed about that day? He couldn’t understand it. He wished more than ever now that he could go to Shawn. He might not have the answers, but he would offer a sympathetic ear and some words of wisdom.

“Christ,” Hunter muttered as he ran his fingers through his hair. “I haven’t even thought about the night I met Ric and Shawn since…since Calaway killed Ric.”

~~~~~

Shawn found himself in a field of wildflowers. Everything was crisp and clean from the sky to the grass. There seemed to be no traces of darkness anywhere. Nowhere for vampires to hide.

As he walked around he looked down at himself and found he was wearing loose fitting white pants and a white tunic. No shoes were on his feet as he walked through the field.

“It’s not Armani, but it sure feels good on the skin, don’t it,” he heard a familiar voice drawl next to him. Looking up he came face to face with his fallen friend and mentor, Ric Flair.

“Ric,” Shawn said unable to believe his eyes. Flair sported the same outfit that he did. It dawned on him that he might be dead. “Am I…”

“Dead,” Flair replied. “No. You’re somewhere between. Stuck here as a matter of fact.”

“That couple,” Shawn muttered.

“Yes,” Flair replied. “You took a bad knock to your noggin, kid.” He smiled.

“How long have I been…you know?”

“About two years,” Flair replied. He grew very serious. “And Hunter is losing hope fast. He’s sinking into a depression, Shawn. You need to snap out of this coma.”

“Just like that,” Shawn asked. “If it was that easy how come I haven’t by now?”

“Maybe you needed a good friend to give you a swift kick in the ass,” Flair replied. “Are you ready, Shawn? Are you ready to go back and be the leader those boys need?” Shawn bit his bottom lip. “There’s a war coming, Shawn. More people will need your help as they head into battle.”

Shawn sighed, the place where they stood was so inviting. He didn’t want to go back to the harsh world that was his reality. “I’m ready,” he finally said making his decision. “If they need me I’ll be the leader they need.”

“Good man,” Flair said smiling and clapping him on the back. A flash of light exploded before Shawn’s eyes and he was blinded.

When he could see again everything was foggy, but he could hear the distinct sounds of machines beeping frantically. He fluttered open his eyes and the room swam into focus. He was in the hospital.

“Shawn? Shawn, can you hear me,” asked the blonde woman who came into view.

“Yes,” he rasped, his throat dry.

“Welcome back,” she said smiling. “I’ve paged Doctor Cena. My name is Ashley. I’ve been your nurse since you were brought in. Well…me and Candice. You’ll meet her later.”

“What’s going on here,” Cena asked entering the room.

“Hey, Doc,” Shawn said trying to smile though he still felt foggy headed.

“Holy shit,” Cena exclaimed. “Shawn. I never thought I’d see this day.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Shawn replied chuckling and then choking.

“Ash, get him some water please,” Cena said pulling out his penlight to examine Shawn. Ashley nodded and left the room to get a pitcher of water and a cup with a straw. “Jesus, if you needed a couple of years off from hunting you could have gone about it differently.”

“Ah you know me, Doc,” Shawn replied. “I never do anything the easy way.”

“You can say that again,” Cena said putting away his penlight and putting his stethoscope on. He examined Shawn for a while before he slung the stethoscope around his neck again. “Well, all your vitals check out, but I’ll need to run some tests to make sure everything’s in working order.”

Ashley came back with the water and held the straw to his mouth for him to drink. He took a good long sip. “Great, when can I get out of here?”

“Slow down there, Shawn,” Cena said. “I’m afraid you can’t just jump right back into hunting again. Your muscles need work. You’ve been lying there for two years without using them. You’ll need physical therapy to get back to the way you used to be…and even then you probably won’t ever be 100%. Muscle atrophy is not something to take lightly.”

“I don’t need my muscles to be a general in the coming war,” Shawn replied. Ashley and Cena exchanged worried glances fearing that Shawn had suffered some mild brain damage while he was in the coma.

“All right,” Cena said. “Ashley’s going to help you with anything you’ll need right now. I’m going to schedule those tests and call Hunter.” With that he left the room.

~~~~~

“Hunter,” Candice called through the bathroom door, rapping on it. He had been in there for nearly a half hour. “Hunter, Doctor Cena called. Shawn’s awake.”

The bathroom door opened revealing Hunter clad only in a towel. His hair hung loose and dribbled water down his chest and back. “Shawn’s awake?”

Candice nodded. “Doctor Cena would like to see you as soon as possible.”

Hunter’s face broke into a genuine smile for the first time in two years and he hugged Candice. She yelped when he lifted her off her feet and spun her around. “You always know the right things to say to cheer me up, baby,” he said pressing his lips to hers for a heart stopping kiss. When he set Candice back on her feet she felt weak in the knees.

“Any time,” she said weakly as she watched him gathering his clothes to dress and head to the hospital. She knew she shouldn’t be, but she was falling in love with him and she dreaded the day that he would inevitably end things. For the time being she told herself to enjoy the time with Hunter.

{Chapter 18}

The months seemed to breeze by, though Shawn barely noticed. His physical therapy had gone slower than he had planned on. Still he was grateful to be alive and reunited with his friends. Though it was grueling he was thankful that he no longer needed to be wheeled around in a wheelchair and could walk with the help of a cane. His hope was to eventually be rid of any kind of help walking.

“We come bearing gifts,” said London as he entered Punk’s apartment with Kendrick behind him.

“Ooh! So soon,” Punk said smiling. Shawn, who was sitting on the couch fiddling with his cane, quirked a brow at the younger men. “Remember I was tellin’ ya that Paul and Brian came up with a way to track the vamps while we’re in the field?”

“You guys done already,” Hunter said coming into the living room with a sandwich. Lashley was close behind him. “That was fast.”

“We figured you guys could use all the help you could get,” London said handing over the tracking devices.

“It’s the least we can do after all you guys have done to help us,” Kendrick added.

“Great,” Punk said taking the box and opening it up to reveal what appeared to be simple hollow point bullets. Once the bullet penetrated the vamp’s body the tip would embed itself there and act as a tracking beacon. “I just need to calibrate them with the laptops and we’re good to go.”

“Can’t wait to try ‘em out,” Shawn said itching to get back in to the field. Hunter opened his mouth to say something, but Shawn waved him off. “Relax, I know my limits. I’ll keep my ass in the truck with the laptop.”

“And I’ll be there to cover him just in case,” Punk said.

~~~~~

“Remember what I taught you,” Glen said leaning up against a tree. Thorn stood in a fighting stance. Marcus, who was now standing just shy of six feet five inches, also stood in a fighting stance.

“Begin,” Thorn said motion the younger man forward. Marcus charged at Thorn ready to attack, but Thorn quickly countered him, heel tripping him and knocking him on his back.

“You’re not concentrating,” Glen growled. “Look for his weakness and exploit it!”

“Again,” Thorn asked Marcus helping him up off his back. Marcus simply nodded getting into his fighting stance again. “Begin,” Thorn ordered once again. Yet again Marcus charged at Thorn and once again found himself on the flat of his back. He wasn’t quite sure what had happened this time until Thorn looked down on him with a small smile on his face.

Glen sighed pinching the bridge of his nose. “You’re still not listening to me,” he said. “You need to find a weakness and exploit it.”

“I’m trying,” Marcus whined. “Kevin is just too damn fast.”

“Maybe you’re just too damn slow,” Thorn replied with a smirk. Marcus scowled at him. “You’re relying too much on your strength and speed. I’m not a timid little deer in the forest, Marcus. You need to be able to think on your feet and adjust in the middle of an attack.”

“One more time,” Glen said.

Thorn and Marcus got into their fighting stances once again and this time Thorn opted to do the attacking. He took off running and lunged at Marcus trying to spear him down. Marcus however managed to move out of the way at the last minute and spun around, heel tripping the older man. Thorn landed on his back with a thud.

“I did it,” Marcus exclaimed and began to dance around the felled vampire. It was then that Thorn grabbed his ankle and pulled him down to the ground, rolling on top of him and pinning the younger man to the ground. “Aw man,” Marcus scowled.

“Never assume you’ve defeated a foe until you’re sure he is no longer able to attack,” Thorn said getting up and helping Marcus up.

“All right,” Marcus said. “I think I got it now. One more time?”

Glen looked to the horizon and sighed. “I’m afraid it’ll have to wait,” he replied. “The sun is almost up. Kevin and I must get home.” He pulled Marcus into a hug. “You did really well tonight, kid. I’m proud of you.” He wore a wide smile.

“Uncle Glen, do you think I’ll ever meet my sister,” Marcus asked.

Glen froze, his smile fading away. “For your sake I hope not,” he replied and walked away leaving Marcus staring after him.

Since the incident with Randy she had grown deceitful and cruel. The young man seemed to have a bad influence on her. Though she had made up with her father somewhat his confession about never wanting her had hurt her more than she ever showed. While she loved her father, she never fully trusted him again. Now that she was the equivalent of a sixteen year old girl she had grown more and more defiant of everyone except Randy.

“Your sister has had a rough year,” Thorn said. “It’s made her make some questionable decisions.” Marcus nodded that he understood before Thorn walked away.

~~~~~

“Again,” Rose panted. Her body was coated in sweat as she pulled her loose hair into a messy bun. She quickly shed the running pants she was wearing leaving her in a pair of shorts and a sports bra.

Kennedy groaned. “Can someone else take over,” he whined. “I’m beat. She’s got too much stamina.” They had been taking turns sparring with her and one by one she had worn them all out.

“Never been a problem for me,” Randy smirked.

“Then get your cute little ass over here and show me what you got, Orton,” Rose said smiling. Mickie, Melina and Kennedy all snickered. Adam simply rolled his eyes.

Randy casually strolled over to her, a cocky smirk on his face. “You already know what I got, baby,” he said wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close to him.

She smiled, nuzzling his neck. “You’re right, baby,” she said softly, nipping his neck. “I do.” With that she grabbed his hand and flipped him onto his back on the cold stone floor of the dungeon. “Apparently nothing when it comes to fighting,” she said straddling him. She knew it would drive him insane and he didn’t dare do anything about it with an audience.

Randy groaned as his pants grew tight. “Baby,” he whined. “Not here.”

“Oh for Christ sake,” Adam said throwing his arms up in disgust. “Would you two get a room.” With that he headed up the stairs to his room.

“What’s his deal,” Kennedy asked.

“Randy’s got what he’ll never have,” Mickie replied. Melina and Kennedy looked at her quizzically. “He wants Rose, but she doesn’t want him. Would it kill you two to pull your heads out of your asses some time?” With that she stormed up the stairs as well.

“Would it kill you two to pull your heads out of your asses some time,” Melina mocked. “I say we kill her now.”

“Seriously,” Kennedy said nodding. “She’s been a real bitch since Cherry died.” He then chuckled. “Ah, who am I kidding? She was a bitch before Cherry died. Just the good kind.”

Melina snickered and turned her attention toward Randy and Rose. “Should we turn the hose on them,” she snickered. Randy had rolled Rose onto her back and was now kissing her.

“Nah,” Kennedy smirked. “Let’s just go get a bite to eat.” Melina nodded and hooked her arm through the crook of his arm, which he had offered to her.

~~~~~

“Where’s Rosie and Randy,” a blonde asked.

“They’re…occupied, Beth,” Melina said smirking and wriggling her eyebrows at the blonde.

Beth smirked. “Jesus,” she snickered. “You would think they were breeders from the way they fuck constantly.” She nodded a hello to Mickie, Kennedy and Adam.

“Are we gonna do this or what,” an African American vampire grumbled.

“Calm your nerves Porter,” Kennedy said.

“Calm my…motherfucker I’m hungry,” Porter replied.

“Let’s just get this over with,” Adam grumbled. He didn’t want to hunt, but he had to eat to live.

The group split searching the streets for prey. Mickie had just locked her eyes on a man standing on the street corner. He was a little on the small side for her taste, but she could always catch another meal after this one. Licking her lips she crept up to him.

“Excuse me sir,” she said feigning innocence. “I was wondering if you could spare some change for the bus.” She pointed toward the bus stop he was standing by. “I’m a little short.”

“Sure,” the man replied reaching into his pocket. Instead of change he pulled out a gun and shot her. “Take that you fucking bloodsucker,” Kendrick growled as Mickie was knocked off her feet by the force of the blow.

“You son of a bitch,” Mickie growled, scrambling to her feet. She dug the bullet out of her shoulder and tossed it aside.

“Oh shit,” Kendrick exclaimed and took off running.

Meanwhile in the truck Shawn and Punk were watching the screen. A little red dot showed up following Kendrick’s blue dot. “Works like a charm,” Shawn said to Punk.

“Shit, Brian needs help,” Punk said picking up the walkie talkie. “Hunter, you’re closest. Brian’s got a bloodsucker on his ass.”

“I got him covered,” Hunter replied. With a smirk he pulled out his gun loaded with silver bullets and watched as Kendrick ran past him. He soon caught sight of Mickie following him and fired off a round. Mickie stumbled and rounded on him. He fired off three more shots before Mickie landed with a sick thud on the ground sputtering and coughing.

“Shit,” Lashley groaned coming over to where Hunter was. London was close behind him. “We could have used her to see if she’d lead us to Calaway.”

“He was saving my ass,” Kendrick said. “I was bait AGAIN, remember?”

“She’s not Calaway’s type,” Hunter replied putting his gun away.

“No, but I think I got someone who is,” London said smiling. I shot a blonde chick. Let’s go see what Punk can see on the laptop.”

They all made their way over to the truck and explained the situation to Punk and Shawn. Punk checked his data and rechecked it. Frowning he turned his attention to his friends and shook his head.

“The fuckin’ thing is defective,” Hunter said reaching for the laptop.

Shawn stopped him. “It’s not defective Hunter. All your beacons are working fine. This tracker was obviously a dud. It happens.” He sighed noting that it was almost sun up. “Let’s all go home and rest. Tomorrow is another day.” With that they piled into the truck and headed back to Punk’s place to crash.

{Chapter 19}

“Did you see Beth’s shoulder,” Randy snickered as he nuzzled Rose’s neck, his arms tightly around her waist. “It was all kinds of jacked up.”

“She’s probably gonna be scarred,” Rose said leaning back into Randy, smiling when he groaned as she brushed against his crotch. “Something wrong, baby,” she asked innocently. He shook his head no, but she could feel the bulge quickly forming as she continued to lean against him.

“What the hell is the damn hold up,” Adam demanded glancing to the front of the line they were standing in. The bouncer at the door to the club was carding some girls and obviously they weren’t getting in. They had decided to pitch a fit and hold up the line. He groaned raking a hand through his hair.

“What’s with you,” Randy asked.

“Nothing,” Adam murmured.

“Hey have you guys seen…” Rose’s eyes glazed over. Her emerald orbs stared off, not really seeing the two men she was with.

“Rosie,” Randy asked turning her around in his arms. She was practically limp. “Baby? What’s wrong?”

“Shit. Not again,” Adam groaned. “We have to get her home. Give her to me.”

“I got her,” Randy said attempting to pick her up. Adam too attempted to lift her and they wound up in a tug of war over her. “She’s my girlfriend.”

“I can get her back faster,” Adam growled. “Let go.”

~~~~~

“Uncle Glen,” Marcus whined as Glen trailed behind him. “I know what I’m doing.”

“Good, then do it so I can get home,” Glen replied watching Marcus stalking his prey. He took a step and a twig snapped spooking the animal. Marcus groaned when it scurried off. “Aren’t you gonna go after it?”

“But…”

“Go on, boy,” Glen said. “I don’t have all night. I need to eat too.” Marcus sighed and followed the animal deeper into the wooded area.

~~~~~

“You let go,” Randy growled at Adam. They glared at each other, Rose between them.

“Fine,” they both said letting her go. She landed on the ground with a thud, but didn’t snap out of her trance.

“Why’d you let her go,” Adam demanded, crouching down to pick her up.

“I thought you said you had her,” Randy said also crouching down.

“Uncle Glen,” she said, sounding terrified. “No. He can’t be.”

~~~~~

Marcus had just finished burying his kill when he felt the familiar wave of dizziness hit him. He stumbled through the brush toward his uncle. “Uncle Glen,” he groaned as she saw the blonde and brunette man arguing over who was going to take Rose back home.

“Marcus,” Glen asked catching him as he pitched forward. “What happened?”

“The border,” Marcus said, his voice almost ghostlike.

Glen looked around and groaned. How could he have been so careless. “I got you, Marcus,” he said lifting his nephew with ease. Quickly he carried him back within the protective spells. “Was Rose with Mark,” he asked setting Marcus back on his feet.

“No,” Marcus replied, his head still swimming. “She was with two men. One was blonde and the other had dark hair.”

“I have to get you home,” Glen said leading him back to the cottage. When he arrived there he informed Layla of what had happened and told her to remain in the house.

~~~~~

“What’s the meaning of this bickering,” Mark demanded coming down the stairs when he heard Adam and Randy arguing and Rose trying to quiet them.

“Father, I need to speak to you alone,” Rose said. She had recovered from her trance on the way home and spent much of the time telling both men to shut up as they argued.

“Of course, Rosie,” Mark said motioning for her to come with him to his chambers.

Adam and Randy watched her follow her father up the stairs before turning their attention to each other. It was then that something dawned on Randy. “Hey, Adam, you said not again when this shit went down,” he said. “This happened before?”

“About a year ago,” Adam replied. “She just went catatonic. Glen was here when it happened and he ushered her up to her room.”

“What happened though,” Randy asked. “Why’d it happen?”

“I never asked,” Adam replied with a sigh. “I’m goin’ out for a walk.” With that he left the mansion. Randy went up to Rose’s room to wait for her.

~~~~~

“What’d you need to speak to me about,” Mark asked when they entered his room.

“I don’t know if Uncle Glen ever told you about something that happened a while ago,” she said perching on the arm of a chair in the sitting area of the room. Mark took a seat across from her. “He told me I was seeing my dead brother. My twin.” Her words got his attention his eyes penetrated her. “Something about what Uncle Glen said didn’t seem right. It didn’t feel like a dream. It felt like I was there with him.”

“And this happened tonight,” Mark asked, very much intrigued.

Rose nodded. “Uncle Glen was with him,” she said. “Please tell me nothing has happened to Uncle Glen.”

“I assure you, Rosie, your uncle is still alive and well as far as I know,” Mark replied. “I’ll find out what’s going on. Why don’t you head off to…do whatever it is you like to do with your little pet.” He smirked at her when she rolled her eyes at him. “Would you tell Thorn to come see me,” he called as she left the room.

He sat back in his chair stroking his chin. “Glen, you’ve been keeping secrets from me,” he muttered. “And you know how I despise secrets.” Moments later there was a knock on the door. “Enter.”

“You wanted to see me,” Thorn asked closing the door behind him.

In a heartbeat Mark was out of his chair holding Thorn off the floor with one hand. “You’ve been lying to me, Thorn,” he growled.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Master,” Thorn groaned, struggling to break free.

Mark slammed him down onto the floor hard, pinning him there. “MORE LIES,” he growled. “When I asked you to follow Glen to see where he disappeared to…where he STILL disappears to you told me you lost him. Is that jogging your memory?”

Thorn realized what Mark was getting at and internally prepared for what he knew would be coming. “Where does he go,” Mark demanded lifting him up by his throat again. “Not talkin’? Well, I know ways to make you talk. KENNEDY! ORTON! GET YOUR ASSES IN HERE NOW!”

Kennedy and Randy came running when Mark bellowed. They were greeted by Thorn being hurled at them. “Take him down to the dungeon,” Mark demanded. Neither man wanted to argue with him when he was this angry.

“What’s going on,” Rose asked coming out of her room as Kennedy and Randy passed her lugging Thorn. They didn’t stop to explain things to her. She saw her father stalking after them and stepped in front of him to make him stop. “What’s going on,” she demanded.

“Daddy’s got some business to attend to with Thorn,” he replied staring coldly at the man’s retreating form. “Stay in your room, Rosie.” He turned his gaze to her. “That’s not a request. It’s an order. Understood?” Something about his tone frightened her and she nodded, retreating into her room.

~~~~~

An hour later Mark had broken every bone in both of Thorn’s hands and most of his body. “Still won’t talk,” Mark asked, making sure to not injure Thorn’s face. If he broke the man’s jaw he wouldn’t be able to tell him anything.

Thorn panted, not answering him. Mark cocked his foot back again, intent on shattering the last of Thorn’s intact ribs. “All right,” Thorn cried. He had held out for as long as he could and would have welcomed death at this point in time though he knew Mark wouldn’t kill him. “There’s a cottage,” he began, the details of where Mark’s son resided flowing from his mouth freely.

Minutes later Mark flew up the steps. He had to move quickly. The sun would be rising in just a little over three hours and he needed time to spend with his long lost son and his surrogate mother.

~~~~~

It didn’t take him long to find the cottage. He snorted seeing the protective spells surrounding the place. A witch. Killing her wouldn’t be much of a challenge, but he would enjoy the kill just the same.

He crept up to the cottage and peered into the window and saw Layla in the kitchen. It wasn’t long before his son came into view. He smiled seeing what appeared to be a tall, strong boy. Though the boy had sapphire eyes and golden blonde hair the family resemblence was unmistakable. It would be a shame to kill him as well.

Without knocking he entered the cottage. “Evenin’, ma’am,” he said coming face to face with Layla.

“Marcus! Get your Uncle Glen,” Layla yelled. Marcus stood paralyzed in his spot. The man he had only ever seen in visions now stood before him and there was deadly intent in his cold green eyes.

“Yes, Marcus, go get your Uncle Glen,” Mark laughed. “I’m sure he’ll love to watch the two of you die.”

“No,” Layla said clasping her hands together and chanting. She parted her hands as an energy ball formed between them. When it was about the size of a softball she hurled it at Mark.

It hit him in the chest with a spark. “That kinda tickled,” he chuckled. “Is that the best you got, witch?”

“Marcus, go,” Layla demanded. She had dreaded this moment since taking in the boy, but she was willing to give her life to protect him. Marcus finally found his legs and ran from the cottage leaving Layla to fight off Mark alone.

“Alone at last,” Mark sneered. “Just the way I like it.”

“You’ll never get him,” she said through gritted teeth as she formed another energy ball.

Before she could hurl it at him he pounced on her, pinning her to the ground. “Did you honestly think you could fight me,” he growled, his face inches from her face. “You’re a weak, pitiful bitch. I’ll be doing the world a favor by killing you.”

He wrapped his arms around her neck, intent on snapping her neck, but was hit from behind. “Get off of her, you son of bitch,” Marcus growled.

Mark sighed, dropping Layla. “Boy, you’ll just have to wait your turn,” he said as he rounded on his son. As he did so he swung and connected with Marcus’ jaw. The boy flew backwards and hit the wall hard, slumping over with his head in his chest.



{Chapter 20}

“Now, where were we,” Mark asked turning back to Layla. Once again she hit him with an energy ball though it had little effect on him. “Haven’t you learned by now that shit doesn’t work on me?”

She screeched when he roughly pulled her up to her feet by her hair. He dragged her over to the stove and lit the front burner, shoving her face down over the flame. Layla flailed, screeching as the heat licked her delicate skin. She tried everything in her power to break free, but he was just too strong. Soon the flames jumped, igniting her hair and she screeched louder feeling it burning her scalp.

Mark continued to hold her there amused by the sights and sounds, though he could have done without the scent of burning hair and flesh. It was then that he was tackled, making him release Layla. He landed on the floor with a thud and found his son kneeling over him, his face contorted into a sneer.

“You bastard,” Marcus growled as he began to pummel his father. He soon realized that the bigger man was laughing as his fists connected. “What’s so fuckin’ funny?!”

“You’re wastin’ all your energy beatin’ on me and the poor little witch is burnin’ to death,” he chuckled.

“Mama,” Marcus cried turning his attention to Layla, who was lying on the floor, her face and hair a charred mess. “No,” he cried, tears streaming down his cheeks as he tried in vain to put out the flames enveloping her body.

“I guess your uncle never taught you to never turn your back on your enemy,” Mark snarled. Before Marcus could react he found himself flying through the air once again. He crashed through the window in the front of the house and landed several feet from it with a loud thud.

Mark remained in the house for a while longer. When he finally did come out the house exploded behind him. It wasn’t long before the flames overtook the small cottage.

“Mama,” Marcus groaned, getting to his feet. Mark watched him with an amused smile. The boy had heart he’d give him that. “No! Mama!” With that Marcus ran back into the cottage.

“Kid’s got more heart than brains,” Mark muttered shaking his head as he walked away. It wouldn’t be long before the cottage would be burned to the ground. As far as he was concerned he had killed two birds with one stone.

~~~~~

Rose knew she should have stayed home, but something told her to go find her uncle. She had been pacing nervously in her room when she was hit with another vision. This time it was of her father and he was with Marcus. She watched as he brutalized the woman that Marcus called Mama and then Marcus himself. The last thing she saw before the vision went dark was Marcus rushing into the burning cottage.

“Uncle Glen,” she called finally seeing him heading her way.

“What’s wrong,” he asked sensing her uneasiness. She explained to him the visions she had been having.

“You stupid girl,” he growled. “Do you realize what you’ve done?” With that he took off leaping from rooftop to rooftop headed toward the cottage.

When he got to the edge of town he could see the blaze. His heart constricted in his chest as he neared where the cottage had been. He knew the moment he arrived at the blaze that at least Layla was dead. The smell of burning flesh was heavy in the air. He could not see where Marcus was and that worried him.

As the blaze died down he spotted something or someone crawling from the flames. “Marcus,” he exclaimed realizing that his nephew did indeed survive. He rushed to the boy and scooped him up in his arms. “I am so sorry,” he said as he carried Marcus away. His face was burned as were his hands. He could feel that several bones had been broken as well. “I’ll take you to David’s,” he said. “He’ll patch you up.”

~~~~~

“I am so sorry that my father did this to you,” Rose said as she helped Thorn to his bed. She then started bandaging his wounds. Due to the sheer amount of injuries his healing would take time. She managed to bend his fingers back into place so that they would heal properly, but he would be unable to use them for several days.

“It’s not your fault, Rosie,” he replied groaning when she set the last finger in place. “You only did what you thought was right.”

“Uncle Glen seems to think…”

“You’re not responsible for your father’s actions,” he interrupted her. “Leave me for now. I must rest.”

She nodded and left him silently. When she got out into the hall her father passed her on the way to his room. The scent of burning wood and flesh was heavy on him.

“I thought I told you to stay in your room,” he said turning to glare at her.

“Are you going to kill me now,” she demanded. His eyes flashed dangerously at her. “I was taking care of Kevin. Forgive me for actually attempting to have a heart.”

He stalked over to her and grasped her face harshly. “You’re too much like your mother sometimes,” he growled. “You mouth off when you should know your place and shut your fuckin’ mouth. You’ve seen what I do to people who disobey and betray me.” He pointed to Thorn's room to punctuate the sentence. “Don’t make me do it to you.”

She pulled free from him, her green eyes as cold as ice. “I wish you weren’t my father,” she said and stalked off toward her room.

“That makes two of us,” he called, snickering when he saw her visibly flinch at his words.

~~~~~

“David! Let me in,” Glen called kicking the door, unable to knock with Marcus in his arms.

“What’s going…” Heath paused when he saw the condition of Marcus. “Mark found him?” Glen nodded. “Bring him in.” He stepped aside and Glen entered placing Marcus down on the bed so that Heath could take care of him.

“I knew this would happen,” Glen said pacing like a caged animal. “Why the hell did I leave them? I should have stayed.”

“And you would have been killed in the process,” Heath said as he looked Marcus over. “The boy is surprisingly resilient. He’s going to live despite his injuries.” Glen breathed a sigh of relief. “Leave him with me, Glen. I will keep him safe while he heals. You know I will.”

“But what if…”

“Your brother doesn’t like to come see me unless he has to,” Heath said. “Even then it takes a lot to make him come to me. I suspect your niece might need you right now. It couldn’t have been easy for her to witness her father trying to kill her brother.”

Glen nodded and left Heath’s place heading back home, though he didn’t know what he’d do if his brother confronted him once he got there. He hoped that she just might have enough sense to not mention anything to her father about anymore visions of Marcus. She could be a ruthless killer at times, but she also had a heart. Glen knew that was the one piece of Joselyn she had retained.

~~~~~

“Baby,” Randy said wrapping his arms around Rose’s waist as she stood gazing out the window. She hadn’t said a word to him when she came back to her room and that wasn’t like her. He knew that she and her father had exchanged words, but that was hardly something new since he had moved into the mansion. He kissed her neck, nipping it lightly. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Rose replied shrugging him off. “I’m just not in the mood right now, Randy.” With that she walked out of the room, leaving him alone.

She met Glen on the stairs and he looked from her up the stairs and back at her again like he was torn between speaking with her and going to bludgeon his brother. “He’s not home,” she said finally after a while of the awkward silence between them. “He left shortly after he came home and changed into some fresh clothes.”

“Good,” Glen said with a sigh. “I probably would have done something I would regret.”

“Uncle Glen…I’m so sorry,” Rose began, but he waved her off.

“I shouldn’t have lied to you about Marcus. I shouldn’t have lied to Mark either. I just couldn’t let him die the night you two were born.” He reached out and touched her cheek lovingly. “You two were all I had left of my sweet Joselyn.”

“Uncle Glen…” She bit her lip unsure if she wanted to show weakness in front of him. “Why is he so cruel to me,” she finally asked, tears shining in her eyes. “He tells me all the time that I was unwanted, but then he expects me to act like he never said it.” A tear slipped down her cheek and Glen wiped it away.

“Don’t let him get to you, Rosie,” Glen said. “When his time comes…and it will with the amount of enemies he’s made…you’ll be next in line to represent the Calaway name. He fears that because you’ve turned out to be what he could never be. You're both strong and soft at the same time. He doesn't understand that balance.”

“What the fuck are you doing,” Randy demanded seeing the two on the stairs, Glen’s hand still on Rose’s cheek. “Get the fuck off her you dirty old perv.”

Rose pulled away from him grinding the tears out of her eyes. “Don’t ever touch me again,” she hissed going to Randy, who wrapped a protective arm around her.

Glen sighed. Since Randy had moved into the mansion he had been extremely possessive of Rose. He claimed that Glen looked at his niece as if he was mentally undressing her. Though she didn’t believe it for a second she kept up appearances as if she did to appease him.

“One of these days you’re going to be thrown off the pedestal she’s put you on, boy,” Glen growled. “And you’re gonna fall damn hard.”

“Stay the fuck away from her,” Randy said as Glen passed him, his blue eyes growing colder by the second. Rose just cast an apologetic look at her uncle. She wished Randy wasn’t this way, but she was in no mood to fight. “Come on, baby,” Randy said leading her back to her room.

{Chapter 21}

“Rosie,” Adam said one night joining her on the back porch as she stared up at the starlit sky. It had been several weeks since the events of what everyone, except for Glen thought was the demise of Marcus. “Are you all right?” It had not gone unnoticed by him that she wasn’t her usual self.

She smiled at him and nodded. “Just thinking,” she replied.

“Where’s Randy,” he asked.

“Out with Melina and Ken,” she replied. “I didn’t feel like going with them.”

“I think I know what’ll cheer you up,” Adam said flashing her a smile as he stood and holding out a hand to her.

“Mr. Copeland, what are you up to,” she asked as she accepted it.

“You’ll just have to wait and see,” he said smirking as he led her through the mansion and out the front door. “Don’t ask questions, just follow me.”

She followed him out to the outskirts of town where a small two story house stood. As they neared it she caught the scent of two women inside. He motioned for her to be quiet and follow him over to a window. She peered inside and saw two women in the kitchen; a petite blonde and a slightly taller redhead.

“You have impeccable taste, Adam,” Rose said practically drooling at the prospect of feeding on the two women. “If they taste anything like they smell…” Her tongue snaked out and licked her bottom lip.

“I knew that’d cheer you up,” he said wriggling his eyebrows with a smile. “What do you say we have a little fun with them first?”

She nodded, creeping up to the back door of the house and trying the knob. It turned freely and she motioned for him to go around and check the front door. If the women heard or saw the knob they showed no signs as they continued their cooking and talking. The sun had just set not more than an hour ago and Rose was anticipating having a lot of fun with these women.

Silently she followed Adam to the front of the house watching as he tried the knob. When it turned with ease he smirked and opened the door carefully, making sure it didn’t creak. Silently they slipped into the house and stood in the living room listening to the women.

“Not too much salt, Amy,” the blonde one said as she chopped some carrots.

“Trish, calm down. I know what I’m doing,” Amy replied.

“Well, Jeff doesn’t like things too salty,” Trish replied. “He’s not like Matt.”

“They’re expecting boyfriends,” Rose hissed to Adam, who nodded. She smirked devilishly. “Good. I love dessert after a tasty meal.”

Rose’s smirk faltered when she felt a stabbing pain in her ribs. She grimaced and lurched forward bracing herself on the first thing she could find, knocking over a porcelain dog on the nearby table. It clattered to the floor shattering to pieces.

“What was that,” Trish asked hearing the sound.

“Probably just Matt or Jeff,” Amy said. “Guys, we’re in here!”

“That wasn’t one of the guys,” Trish said grabbing the knife she had been chopping things with. Amy grabbed a potato masher off a hook on the wall and followed her. Both women hugged the wall in the hall as they crept along.

~~~~~

“David,” Marcus panted as he went through the physical therapy Heath had prescribed for him. “This seriously hurts.”

“Nothing is gained without a little bit of pain, Marcus,” Heath replied from his perch on the porch. “You need to build up your muscles so that the next time you meet a foe in battle you won’t break so easily. Your body grew tall quickly, like a weed. Now you need to fill it out and make it sturdy like a tree.”

“Jesus,” Marcus panted doing what seemed the his hundredth sit-up of the night. “What am I? A fucking plant?” Heath simply snickered and shook his head. “I know, I know. Fifty more for the snide comment.”

A stitch was forming in his side just below his ribs and he wanted more than ever to stop, but he persevered pushing the pain to the back of his mind. He wanted to prove that Layla had not died in vain to protect him. Marcus knew without a doubt that Heath and Glen would be training him hard to take him one step closer to his ultimate goal; killing his father.

~~~~~

“Who’s there,” Trish asked timidly. The living room was dark, though Rose and Adam could see her clear as day as they hid in the shadows. “I have a knife.”

“And your friend has a potato masher,” Rose snickered, not moving from her spot. “What are you going to do cut us into pieces and then mash us?”

“Where are you,” Amy demanded, embarrassed that she had grabbed such a ridiculous weapon.

The light came on suddenly and both women gasped at the sight of Adam and Rose before them. Something about them made both women incredibly uneasy. There was something almost feral about them as they stood leering at the women.

Adam saw Amy cast a glance behind her and realized she was checking for the phone. It hung on the wall just behind her. She began to inch backward toward it, but Adam proved to be faster and ripped the chord right out of the wall.

“Uh uh,” he said smirking. “We’re the only people invited to this party.”

“What do you want,” Amy whimpered.

Adam smiled, licking his lips. “Just you,” he said and grabbed her.

Amy let out a scream and Trish lunged at Rose with the knife. Rose easily side stepped her, grabbing the blonde in a headlock. She pulled her head up by her pretty blonde hair and forced her to watch as Adam had his way with Amy.

“No! Amy,” Trish cried as Adam took his time having fun with the redhead. “I’ll kill the both of you,” she spat, trying to break free of Rose’s vice grip.

“Honey, you wouldn’t even begin to know how,” Rose said. “Now watch. I want you to see your fate, though I won’t be as gentle with you as Adam is being with Amy.”

She forced Trish to watch as Adam sunk his fangs into Amy’s neck and drained her dry. Right before Trish’s eyes the vibrant redhead paled. Her creamy skin turning a sick shade of blue. When he was done he lapped up the last drops of blood and dropped the body with a sick thud.

“Our boyfriends will be home soon,” Trish said as she was dragged over to the couch. “They’ll make you pay for this.”

Adam chuckled, as did Rose. “Honey, that's what I'm plannin’ on,” Rose purred. “Now hush. Hush little one.”

~~~~~

“I can not believe you had to go back for that,” Matt grumbled as they drove home.

“Trish asked me to bring home some wine,” Jeff shrugged. “She wanted dinner to be special.”

“Yeah, I’m sure Trish meant a BOTTLE of wine, Jeff, not a fuckin’ box,” Matt replied.

“I think she’ll just be happy I remembered,” Jeff replied with a smirk. Matt couldn’t help chuckling as he shook his head.

They pulled up to the house and Matt eyed it suspiciously. “Jeff, somethin’ look off to you,” he asked pointing to the house. Jeff turned his gaze in the direction he pointed and eyed the house. It was completely dark.

“What the hell,” Jeff asked heading toward the door. “Matt!” The front door was wide open. Matt soon joined his brother. “Do you think someone’s still here?”

Matt shrugged and motioned for him to be quiet as they crept into the house. Jeff pulled a lighter out of his pocket and sparked it to throw some light. Neither man wanted to put on a light for fear of scaring the intruder. They crept into the living room and Matt caught sight of a mass of red hair sitting in his easy chair in the light from the lighter.

“Amy,” he hissed. When she made no attempt to move he crept over to her and touched her cheek. Her head lolled to the side and he visibly paled in the small circle of light.

“What is it,” Jeff asked and brought the lighter to Amy’s face. Jeff stumbled back seeing that her eyes had filmed over and she stared sightlessly ahead. “Jesus! What the hell?”

Matt dropped to his knees in front of her. “Amy? Baby,” he said, not believing his eyes. He reached out and pulled her into his arms, her body already cold and stiff. “No, baby, please.” He began to rock with the body in his arms as he stroked her hair.

“Jeff,” came Trish’s weak voice.

“Trish? Baby, where are you,” Jeff asked. A lamp by the couch sparked to life and Trish sat there, her knees pulled up to her chest. Dried blood caked her neck and stained her shirt.

Jeff went to her side, pulling her into his arms. She buried her face in his chest, sobbing. “I was so scared,” she whimpered.

“How long has Amy been like that,” he asked gently as he stroked her hair and back. He hoped against hope that perhaps Amy could be saved, but deep in his heart he knew she was long gone.

“Jeff,” Trish said softly. “I think we should give Matt a little alone time with Amy.” She cast a sad look at the older Hardy brother cradling his dead beloved. Jeff nodded allowing her to take his hand and lead him out of the living room.

~~~~~

“That was great,” Rose cackled as she ran through the streets with Adam. “You always did know the right way to cheer me up.”

“I do my best,” Adam said taking her hand. When she didn’t pull away he got a little more brazen. “Rosie, you know I could make you happy all the time.”

She looked a him, a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth. “You do, Adam,” she said. “You’re one of the best friends I could ask for.”

Just then Adam pulled her into his arms, his blue/gray eyes looking deep into her emerald green ones. “I could make you happier than Randy could ever,” he said. “You know I could.”

“Adam,” she said trying to pull free of him. He held her tightly. “Adam, please don’t.”

Forcing her to look up at him he lowered his lips to hers, capturing them in a searing kiss. She groaned as he deepened the kiss, parting her lips with his tongue and twining it with hers. Growing frustrated that he was not heeding her protests she bit down hard on his tongue.

He released her with a growl, blood trickling from his mouth. She spit out his blood and glared at him. “Never, Adam,” she said. “NEVER do that again.” Her eyes bore holes into him. “I am not interested in you like that!”

Once he had recovered and the wound on his tongue had started to heal he shook his head. “Forgive me,” he said hoarsely. “I…I don’t know what came over me.” Her words had hurt, but he knew now that there was no chance that she would ever be his. Her actions had proven that to him.

“You’re forgiven,” she replied softly. “I think I will join Randy and the others after all.” Adam nodded, needing to be alone for the time being anyway. With that they parted ways.

~~~~~

“I don’t understand why they left me,” Trish said tears clouding her eyes. Jeff went to the sink and filled a glass with cold water, handing it to her. She accepted it, but set it aside.

“We need to call someone,” Jeff said realizing his brother shouldn’t be alone with a dead body. Someone had broken into the house and assaulted both women. Who knew what else they had done.

“Give Matt some more time,” Trish said watching as Jeff peered into the living room. Matt was still rocking Amy’s body in his arms.

Jeff didn’t see the change that came over his girlfriend. Her eyes changed from their normally bright brown eyes to a demonic red. She was soon sporting sharp fangs as well. With ease she snuck up behind him, her hands gripping his shoulders as she stood on her toes to try to bite him.

“Look out,” someone yelled, bursting into the kitchen.

Jeff spun around in time to see Hunter aiming his gun at Trish…or what used to be Trish. She was hissing at Hunter as well as growling. Jeff was trying hard to comprehend everything that was happening, but found it incredibly hard to wrap his brain around. Soon Shawn joined them.

“Son,” he said softly. “Please understand we’re not here to harm you.”

“Then why the hell do you have a gun on my girlfriend,” Jeff demanded. He glanced into the living room and saw London, Kendrick and Punk attending to Matt. “You better explain quick or I’m callin’ the cops.”

“We don’t have time for this,” Lashley said entering the kitchen. “Shawn you get the kid. Hunter waste the bitch.”

It all seemed to be a blur to Jeff. Before he could react Shawn and Lashley had grabbed him, making sure he couldn’t get free. Without needing any further prompting Hunter fired off three rounds at Trish. Jeff watched in horror as she slumped to the ground, sputtering and coughing up blood, her wounds smoking as the poison seeped into her system.

“MURDERERS,” Jeff screamed fighting against the men holding him.

“We did you a favor, kid,” Hunter replied. “She wasn’t your girl anymore. She was a monster.” With that he headed in to check on the others.

Lashley and Shawn released Jeff, who crawled over to Trish. She breathed her last breath as he took her into his arms. He sobbed, burying his face in her hair. Lashley attempted to pull him away from the body, but Shawn shook his head.

“Leave him be for a couple of minutes, Bobby,” Shawn said softly. Lashley nodded and the two men went into the living room, leaving the younger Hardy alone with his lost love.

~~~~~

London, Kendrick and Punk had finally managed to calm Matt down and got the full story on how the brothers had found the house. Shawn frowned as he listened to the story. He and Hunter exchanged glances and nodded, knowing exactly what the other was thinking. This screamed Calaway.

Jeff, who walked over and sat down next to his brother, soon joined them. Amy’s body had been covered with a sheet London had found in the hall closet. Kendrick had gone to do the same to Trish’s body.

“Why,” was all Jeff said glaring at the men who had just saved his and Matt’s lives.

“Long story short,” Shawn replied. “Your girls were attacked tonight by vampires.” Both brothers stared at them blankly. “They exist. We hunt them. That blonde in the kitchen had been turned and it would have been just a matter of time before she either killed or turned the two of you.”

“Guys,” Punk said hating to interrupt. “We really should burn the bodies.”

Jeff’s eyes snapped to the dark haired man, glaring at him. “You want to BURN my girlfriend?! Fuck no. I’m burying her properly.”

“Jeff,” Matt sighed. He had time to listen to the hunters before them and understood that this would be the only sure-fire way to know that the women truly were dead. “They’re gone. Why does it matter what we do with the bodies? Let them do what they have to.” Jeff’s bottom lip quivered, but he forced back the tears. He looked at the men before them and nodded sadly. He was far too sick with grief to put up more of a fight.

The others worked quickly getting together things to use for the funeral pyre. As they worked they explained what they were doing to Jeff and Matt. They wanted to make sure that the brothers understood exactly what was going to happen.

With the pyres made Shawn lit them, watching as the wrapped bodies blazed. Jeff watched, a lone tear streaking down his cheek. He had wanted to spend the rest of his life with Trish, but now that was taken from him. He didn’t know how, but he wanted the thing or things responsible for her death to suffer.

Matt too watched on as a single tear slid down his cheek. Amy had been his everything. Now he didn't what he would do with himself.

Turning away from the blaze Jeff looked to Shawn. “Teach me,” he said softly. “Teach me all that you know.”

Matt pried his eyes off of Amy's burning corpse and looked to Shawn as well. “Me too,” he said. He too wanted to make whoever was responsible for this pay.

“All right,” Shawn replied remembering what Flair had told him while he was in his coma. He slung his arms around their shoulders and led the brothers back into the house.




{Chapter 22}

Rose made her way to a club that she knew Randy and the others frequented. As she stood in line the bouncer caught her eye. She made it a point to flirt with the bouncers to get in without being carded, but something about this one appealed to her.

He stood very tall, nearly as tall as her father. He had dark hair and eyes with tattoos on his extremely muscled arms. She found her mind drifting off to thoughts of making him hers. Randy never entering her mind for a second.

The bouncer had been carding a young couple when he had felt eyes on him. Looking up his chocolate brown orbs connected with emerald green ones. He looked the young beauty up and down, taking in her curvaceous frame. She obviously knew how to dress to flatter her assets. The black dress she wore hugged her in all the right spots. Her long auburn hair cascaded down her back in soft waves.

He was attracted to her, no doubt about it. With a smile he motioned her to the front of the line. “Hello, Sweetheart,” he said, surprisingly soft spoken for his great size.

“Hello yourself, Gorgeous,” Rose replied with a small smile. “You gonna let me in? Or will I need to perform some sort of favor for that to happen?” The bouncer chuckled. She knew exactly what she was doing and it was driving him crazy. Rose leaned in closer. “I don’t mind performing favors,” she said winking at him.

“You don’t say,” he chuckled, arching a brow at her. “Tell ya what. You save me a dance and you can go in.”

“Is that all you want,” she asked pouting. “I was hoping we could have a little fun.”

“What’s your name, Sweetheart,” the bouncer asked smiling.

“Rose,” she replied. “And yours? Let me guess…Adonis?”

The bouncer laughed. “Dave, Sweetheart,” he replied shaking his head. “Go on in, Rose. Remember to save me a dance. I’ll be coming around to collect on my break.”

“You got it, Dave,” she said winking as he stepped aside to let her in. She grazed his body with hers as she passed and smiled at the low groan that escaped his lips. “Don’t keep me waiting too long,” she called over her shoulder.

Once inside Rose spotted Randy and Kennedy dancing with Beth and Melina. Randy caught sight of her and excused himself from Melina to make his way over to her. A huge smile was plastered on his face as he took her into his arms.

“I thought you didn’t feel up to partying,” he said.

“Still don’t,” she said pulling free of his grasp.

He quirked a brow at her. “Well, you’re at the wrong place for moping,” he replied. “What’s going on?” He attempted to pull her back into his arms, but she pushed him away.

She had spotted the bouncer making his way through the club out of the corner of her eye. He was scanning the crowd for her and she wanted to put as much distance between herself and Randy pronto.

“I’m not in the mood for your shit tonight, Randy,” she said and made her way through the crowd.

Randy watched as she headed toward the bouncer. He seethed as she took the large man’s hand and led him out onto the dance floor. Sometimes she could make him crazy with jealousy. It was a game they liked to play. He had no doubt in his mind that this was no different.

Making his way through the crowd he grabbed her by the wrist as she danced with Dave and pulled her away from him. “Game’s over,” he said staring daggers at the larger man. “Hands off. She’s mine.”

“You know this joker,” Dave asked hooking a thumb at Randy.

Rose groaned as Randy attempted to pull her into his arms. She shoved him away. “I’m not playing a game, Randy,” she replied. “I feel like a change. Dave here is going to be that change. Why don’t you go back to Melina? I’m sure she’ll have no problem consoling you.” Randy glared at the two of them. “Come on,” she said taking Dave’s hand and leading him further into the crowded dance floor.

Cursing under his breath Randy headed back to his friends. “Wow, never saw that coming,” Kennedy snickered. Randy shot him a look. “Come on, man. Seems to me this is reason to celebrate. You’re single and definitely in need of mingling. Grab a hottie, fuck her brains out and then eat her.”

Beth and Melina rolled their eyes. “You men always think with your dicks,” Beth said.

“And it’s a good thing for you,” Kennedy said grabbing her around the waist and pulling her close to him. She giggled and dragged him toward the dance floor.

Melina sighed, seeing the two. “Don’t they just sicken you,” she asked, but Randy’s eyes were on Rose and Dave. “Randy, you know how Rosie is. If she’s into that guy now…” She never got to finish her statement as Randy stalked off.

~~~~~

Rose was dancing extremely close to Dave, smiling when she could feel his body reacting to hers. She ground her hips into his and he groaned. “Sweetheart,” he said through clenched teeth. “You keep this up and I’ll have to fuck you right here on the dance floor.”

“Who says I’d fight you,” she replied turning around in his arms so that her bottom rubbed against his crotch.

“You’re enjoying this aren’t you,” he grimaced.

“Immensely,” she replied with a smile. “You could end your suffering. Just take me somewhere a little more private and you can have me.”

Dave nodded, taking her hand and leading her to the back of the club. Glancing around the club to make sure no one noticed them they slipped through a door and down a short hall. He pulled a key out of his pocket, unlocking the door at the end of the hall.

“This is my boss’ office,” he said, opening the door and ushering her inside. “He’s gone for the night.” He closed and locked the door behind them.

He pulled her close and lowered his face to hers, capturing her lips in a steamy kiss. She groaned into his mouth as he deepened the kiss, massaging her tongue with his. They half walked half stumbled over to the couch, never breaking the kiss. Reaching the couch they tumbled down onto it, limbs entwined.

She pulled away from him, slipping his muscle shirt over his head and running her hands down his well muscled chest and stomach. She leaned forward and flicked her tongue over the belly button ring and the sun tattoo that encircled his navel. She smiled when he groaned as she worked her way up to his neck.

He slid his hand under her dress, his fingertips grazing the crotch of her panties as she nibbled on his neck. He felt her nip harder as he began to massage her through her panties. Smiling he slid her dress up slowly, wanting to savor every inch of her. Finally he slipped her dress over her head tossing it aside.

~~~~~

Marcus was sitting in his room at Heath’s place reading when he felt an odd sensation come over him. It wasn’t like the visions he had had before. There was no dizziness and no disorientation. It was just flashes of Rose with some guy she had never seen before.

At first they were kissing, but soon both began to lose articles of clothing. He tried desperately to block the images, as they became more and more involved in their activities. It wasn’t until Rose had been stripped of the last remnants of clothing that he was able to block what would come next.

“Marcus,” Heath said poking his head in with a gentle rap on the doorjamb. Marcus was breathless, his heart pounding in his chest. “What’s wrong?”

“You don’t want to know,” he replied shuddering at what he almost saw. “All I have to say is my sister is a freakin’ slut! Jesus!” He ran a hand through his shoulder length hair as his heart rate slowed.

Heath snickered. “Not into watching your sister get it on, huh,” he asked with a smile.

“You’re sick,” Marcus replied. “I think I need to practice the blocking mediations a LOT more.”

~~~~~

“You are perfect,” Dave said smiling as he looked at Rose’s naked form. She smiled straddling his lap and lowered herself onto him with a soft sigh. “God you feel so fuckin’ good,” he groaned, gripping her hips and guiding her up and down.

“You wanna feel even better, Dave,” she whispered to him. He nodded, grunting. Smiling her emerald eyes changed to blood red and her fangs extended. From the moment she saw him she knew he would be hers. “You be a good boy and do as I tell you,” she said nicking her wrist with a fang. “Now drink,” she said holding it to his mouth.

Unable to argue or even think straight at the moment he obeyed, lapping at the blood trickling from her wound. It was sweet, what he envisioned sweet ambrosia would taste like. It made him feel lightheaded and only increased the pleasure he was receiving from her.

When she was sure he was close to his release she lowered her face to his neck, sinking her fangs into his flesh. When she pulled away she threw her head back feeling her own release coming quickly.

“Oh fuck,” he grunted as he felt a mixture of pleasure and pain wash over him with his release. It wasn’t long before she followed him, sagging against his chest panting. She slid off his lap to the couch next to him.

“How do you feel, baby,” she asked with a smirk.

“I want more,” he replied once the pain had subsided. Everything seemed to be so much brighter and the scent of her blood was beckoning him. He grabbed her wrist bringing it to his mouth.

“No,” she scolded trying to pull free of his grasp. He was stronger than her and managed to pull her back into his lap, once again lapping at the seeping wound on her wrist. “Dave, don’t!”

The office door burst inward and Randy stood there glaring at the larger man, who had released Rose out of shock. Randy picked up Rose’s discarded dress and tossed it at her.

“Get dressed,” he said. “We’re leaving.”

“Who the hell do you think you are,” Rose demanded slipping the dress back on. “You’re not the boss of me Randy.”

“Rosie,” he said unable to believe what she was saying. “He almost killed you!”

“What the hell are you talking about,” Dave demanded pulling on his pants. “We were just having some fun.”

“Jesus, Rosie,” Randy said shaking his head. “You had to pick a meathead! He doesn’t know what you just did, does he?”

“What the hell are you talking about,” Dave asked. He turned his gaze to Rose. “What is he talking about?”

Rose smiled up at him, slipping her arm around his waist. “You’re mine now, Dave, I’ve sired you.”

“Sired…as in…”

“You’re one of us now,” Randy said none too happy about it. Randy’s intense blue eyes glowed bright red and his fangs extended. “Let’s see what you got, Meathead.”

Finally comprehending what he had become Dave smiled, his brown eyes glowing blood red as his fangs extended as well. “Bring it on, Pretty Boy.”

Randy charged at Dave, but was sent flying back several feet with one punch. “This is fuckin’ awesome,” Dave chuckled, picking Randy up and slamming him down onto the desk. “Had enough yet?”

“Dave, don’t,” Rose yelled, throwing herself between the battered Randy and Dave.

“I’m not Dave anymore, baby,” he said smiling wickedly. “I am now Leviathan! With you by my side no one can defeat us!”

“Your father is going to love him,” Randy groaned getting off the desk. Rose glared at him a moment before punching him across the face. He slumped back onto the desk, out cold from the punch.

“Come on, Leviathan,” she said smiling as they gathered the remainder of their discarded clothes and quickly dressed. “Let me show you the finer points of our lifestyle before the sun comes up.”

{Chapter 23}

Marcus stayed with Heath for as long as he could, but after about six months of working on his mind as well as his body he was itching to get out on his own. It was with a heavy heart and much thanks for the kindness Heath had shown him that he struck out on his own. If he was going to accomplish his goal he needed to get experience in battle.

He sat above the city on a rooftop like a gargoyle watching the people milling about the streets. A strangled scream caught his attention and he knew he had found an adversary for the night. He stood at the edge of the rooftop gazing down, his eyes scanning for the vampire he knew was feeding. He smiled when he caught sight of her and simply walked off the edge, landing on the ground near her with a soft thud.

Rose had just finished draining a blonde woman dry when she heard the thud. Tossing the limp body aside she spotted a man clad in a long leather trench coat. The collar was pulled up over his face and all she could see was his blonde hair.

“Oh good,” she said smiling. “Fresh meat.” It was then that the man opened his coat, sliding it off his shoulders. She stared at him a moment, recognizing him and yet she didn’t. He reminded her a lot of Marcus, though he was much more muscular than she remembered him being in her visions.

“Give me your best shot, bitch,” he said smirking as he assumed a fighting stance.

“How dare you,” she exclaimed, getting into her fighting stance. She could sense something about him that was different. At first she had thought he was a hunter, but now she was sure he wasn’t.

His eyes glowed bright red and she realized the stories she had been hearing over the past several weeks had been true. Many vampires had been vanquished by what witnesses had called both demon and angel in one body. She was sure this man was the same being.

“You would kill your own kind,” she asked as they began to circle each other, sizing each other up.

“That filth was not my kind,” he replied. “And you’ll suffer their fate as well.”

At those words Rose charged him, attacking with a series of kicks. Each one was blocked. He finally grabbed her leg and flipped her into the air. She did a back flip and landed gracefully on her feet.

“Impressive,” he said a moment before he attacked with a barrage of punches and kicks. Rose deftly dodged and blocked each one.

“Stop it,” they both heard Glen’s voice bellow. He had been sticking close to Rose to make sure she didn’t get into trouble while she was alone. As he neared the scene he realized that Marcus and Rose were engaged in a battle that neither could win. They were too evenly matched. “Marcus! Rosie! Stop this,” he bellowed.

“Marcus,” Rose exclaimed.

“Rosie,” Marcus exclaimed.

“Yes,” Glen said stepping between them.

“You lied,” Rose said to Glen.

“Your father would have killed him,” Glen growled. “I would have done the same for you. As a matter of fact I did when you brought back that Neanderthal Leviathan. I protected you from his wrath, did I not?”

Rose hung her head and nodded. Her father had been none too pleased when she brought Dave home with her. He had been intent on killing the girl until Glen had convinced him that it had been his idea to add some muscle to the fold. He often regretted the decision as Leviathan became increasingly harder to control.

“So you’re my sister,” Marcus said circling Rose and snorting.

“What’s that supposed to mean,” she demanded, her hands on her hips.

“Oh nothing,” he replied smiling.

“Father should have killed you,” she said scowling at him and crossing her arms across her chest.

Glen smirked. They had been face to face not even an hour and already they were acting like siblings. “Come on, Rosie,” Glen said. “Leviathan is looking for you and you know how he gets when he’s kept waiting too long.”

“Fine,” Rose said glaring at her brother. “The next time we meet…”

“You’re gonna kick my ass,” Marcus taunted. “I’m shaking in my boots.”

“Behave,” Glen warned Marcus. “Stay off of Mark’s radar, boy. Understood?” Marcus nodded giving Glen a quick hug before he leapt into the air, going back to his perch on the rooftops.

~~~~~

It was about an hour later when Marcus heard a scream from below. He leapt down off the rooftop he had been perched on and surveyed the scene. He had been sitting on top of the hospital relaxing. Now he stood in the lot just outside the emergency room.

It was then that he caught sight of the blonde being chased into the parking garage. He quickly followed, spotting a vamp cornering the woman. She whimpered as she cowered on the ground.

With a low growl Marcus grabbed the vamp, tossing him aside. “Run,” he said to the blonde. She looked up at him and nodded, taking off. Marcus rounded on the vampire, letting his inner demon show. “You like to pick on blondes? Come pick on me!”

Ashley had made it halfway to her car when she realized that the man who had come to her rescue was in danger of losing his life. With a groan she headed back. As she rounded the corner she saw the man slice the head off of the vampire that had been attacking her. She stood there dumbfounded.

“Are you all right,” Marcus asked seeing Ashley there. He could smell her fear, but it was mixed with confusion.

“Yes,” she replied finally finding her voice. “Are you a hunter?”

“Something like that,” Marcus said smirking at her. “You should get home. It’s not safe for beautiful women to be out alone at night.” Despite the darkness he could see the blush creep into her cheeks.

“Maybe if I had a strong escort to protect me I’d be safer,” she replied smiling now. She had no idea what had come over her. For some reason she trusted this stranger.

“Perhaps,” Marcus said walking over to her. He could sense that her fear had subsided. Now that he could see her up close he could see that she really was beautiful. “Are you saying you’d like me to escort you home?”

Ashley chuckled, shaking her head. “At least let me buy you a drink,” she said. “You saved my life.”

“Fair enough,” Marcus replied smiling. “Lead the way.”

Ashley smiled leading him to her car. She unlocked the passenger side for him and went around to the driver’s side. Sliding behind the wheel she started the car and pulled out of the garage. They drove in silence, Ashley wondering where to take this man.

“This isn’t a bar,” Marcus said smirking when they parked outside an apartment building.

“I hope you don’t mind,” Ashley said. “I just couldn’t think of any place where we could talk without having to shout over bad music.”

“Why would I mind a beautiful woman taking me home,” Marcus asked. He smiled when he saw the blush creep into her cheeks again.

“Come on,” she said getting out of the car. “I just hope my room mate and her boyfriend aren’t home.” She pulled keys out of her purse. “They’re kind of loud.” Marcus nodded that he understood.

She led him down the hall toward a door at the back of the building. Opening the door revealed a small living room. “Make yourself at home,” she said motioning toward the couch. She tossed her purse on an end table and then went toward a doorway and peered into a room just off the small kitchen. “We’re in luck. Candice and Hunter aren’t here.”

She headed into the kitchen and he could hear the clinking of bottles before she returned with two beers. “Hope you don’t mind beer. It’s just about all we have,” Ashley said, handing him a bottle and taking a seat across from him.

“Beer’s fine,” he replied taking a sip. The truth was he hated the taste of beer, but to get to know this woman he’d tolerate it. “So, you’re a nurse?”

“Uh huh,” Ashley replied taking a sip of her beer. “Most rewarding job I could ask for.”

“I bet you’ve seen some crazy shit in your line of work,” he said.

“You have no idea,” she replied rolling her eyes. “And most of it is vampire related. The doctor I work closely with kind of specializes in patching up hunters.”

“I see,” Marcus replied. “So, how is it that you’re still single?”

Ashley chuckled. “Wow, you cut right to the chase don’t you,” she asked. “I was in a relationship a while ago, but things didn’t work out. I guess I’ve just been too busy to actually pursue a relationship.” She sighed. “God, that sounds so lame to say out loud.” Marcus didn’t say a word, simply smiled. “I just realized we’ve been sitting here talking and I don’t even know your name.”

“Marcus,” he replied.

“Ashley,” she replied smiling. “I’m sorry, Marcus. These scrubs are killing me. Would you mind if I changed?”

“Not at all,” Marcus replied.

“I’ll just be a couple of minutes,” she said setting her beer down and heading into her bedroom.

Seeing that she didn’t bother to close the bedroom door Marcus crept over to get a peek. He watched as she peeled off the scrub top and removed her bra, letting it fall to the floor. Next she removed the scrub pants and walked over to the dresser and pulled out a nightshirt. She was about to slip it over her head when she felt eyes on her. Turning around, holding the shirt over her bare chest she saw Marcus standing there.

“I’m sorry,” he said embarrassed to have been caught.

Ashley smirked. Feeling bold she dropped the shirt and pulled him into the room with her. “All you had to do was ask,” she said taking his hand and placing it on one of her breasts.

Marcus began to massage it, enjoying the feel of her flesh in his hand. His other hand cupped the other breast and began to massage it as well, rolling the nipples between his fingers. Ashley moaned, enjoying the sensations coursing through her body.

Soon Marcus finally pulled her close to his body lowering his face to hers and capturing her lips in a fiery kiss. She groaned, her hands slipping under his shirt, feeling his muscles rippled under her touch. With ease he lifted her into his arms and carried her over to the bed.

She had managed to removed his shirt and was working on his jeans when they heard the front door open and close, closely followed by the sound of Candice and Hunter talking. “Ash? You home,” Candice called.

“Yeah,” she called. “Just give me a minute.” She looked up at Marcus, disappointment in her eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s all right,” he said. “I should probably go.” He pulled his shirt back on and waited for her to slip on a pair of shorts and a shirt before they exited the bedroom.

“Oh! You didn’t say you had company,” Candice said smiling.

“Marcus, this is Candice and that lazy bum on the couch is Hunter,” Ashley said.

“Yo,” Hunter called grabbing the remote and turning on the television.

“Marcus was just leaving,” Ashley said glaring at Candice.

“Was nice meeting you,” Candice called after Marcus and Ashley. She turned her attention to Hunter. “I think Ash was about to get lucky when we came home.”

“I told you we could go back to my place,” Hunter replied with a smirk.

“Yeah and do what? Watch Shawn lecture the Hardys on the finer points of vampire slaying? I wanted to be alone.”

“Yeah, and that worked out well,” Hunter snickered.

“You’re such a dick sometimes,” Candice said crossing her arms across her chest and pouting.

“True, but I’m your dick,” Hunter replied pulling her into his arms and nuzzling his neck. Though she wanted to remain mad at him Candice melted into him.

“I’m going to bed,” Ashley announced once she had come back from walking Marcus out. She looked at Candice, who was about to ask for details on how the two had met. “He saved my life tonight. I brought him here for a drink. That’s all.”

“Right,” Hunter replied with a smirk. “Because you’ve turned your bedroom into a bar.” Ashley groaned exasperatedly at him. “What? You’re a grown woman, Ash. If you wanna fuck a total stranger you have that right.”

“Good night,” Ashley called as she headed toward her room.

“Hunter,” Candice groaned. “I thought you were going to make an effort to be nicer to Ash.”

“Sorry, baby,” he said. “Force of habit. I’ll apologize in the morning.” Candice nodded, satisfied with his words. She settled in next to him to watch some television.

~~~~~

Out on the street Marcus stood staring up at Ashley’s window. He could still feel her hands on his skin. It was a sensation he had never felt before and he wanted more of it. With a sigh he headed off to work off some of his frustrations by killing some more vampires.


{Chapter 24}

Ashley was at work writing notes on her patients before she left for the night. She found her mind drifting off to Marcus on more than one occasion. There was something different about him. She could sense it, but she had no idea exactly what it was. With a sigh she glanced at the clock on the wall. Quitting time finally.

Ashley’s thoughts were still on Marcus as she headed to her car, which fortunately was parked at the curb by the emergency room. As she neared the car she saw someone leaning against it. A smile spread across her face when she realized it was Marcus.

“I didn’t think I’d see you again so soon,” she said.

“I couldn’t stop thinking about you,” he admitted returning her smile. “May I accompany you home tonight?”

“You don’t need to ask,” she said unlocking the passenger side.

Once again they drove in silence, but it was a comfortable silence. He reached out and took her hand, lacing his fingers with hers. Something about her just made him want to feel her skin on his all the time. He didn’t fully understand it, but he knew he didn’t want the feeling to end.

Once she had parked outside her apartment building she led the way to her apartment. “Candice and Hunter are supposed to be staying at Hunter’s place tonight,” she said. “We’ll be all alone.”

“What ever shall we do with ourselves,” he asked with a smirk as they entered the apartment. She had just closed and locked the door when he spun her around, crushing her lips with his. She let out a surprised squeak, but then relaxed enjoying the kiss.


She broke the kiss several minutes later, desperately in need of air. “Bedroom,” she panted the lust in his eyes mirrored in her own. He smirked and nodded, scooping her up in his arms and carrying her to the bedroom.

Gently he laid her down on the bed and shed his leather jacket. She crooked a finger at him beckoning him to join her on the bed. Quickly he kicked off his boots. She kicked off her sneakers as he joined her, capturing her lips in a heated kiss.

His hands slid under her scrub top, slipping it over her head. She sat up a little to help him remove the garment. He tossed it aside and slipped his hands behind her back, unclasping her bra and slipping it slowly off. That too was discarded to the floor.

Licking his lips he dipped his head down, kissing a trail across her collar bone and down to the valley between her breasts. Ashley let out a sigh, running her fingers through his hair as he nuzzled his way over to one breast, taking a nipple in his mouth.

“Oh Marcus,” she moaned. He continued his sweet torture until she couldn’t take it anymore. She pulled his face away and slid is shirt over his head, tossing it aside to join her discarded clothes. She then went to work on his jeans, slipping a hand inside and cupping his rigid member.

He groaned feeling her hand on him and turned his attention to ridding her of her scrub bottoms and panties. Together they made quick work of the remainder of their clothes. Marcus stared down at her a moment, wanting to take in the sight before him.

Finally unable to take the lack of action on Marcus’ part Ashley rolled him onto his back and straddled him. “I wanted this so badly last night,” she said softly, her voice husky. Slowly she slid down the length of him. He watched as she threw her head back, moaning. Everything about her was perfect and he wanted to savor her.

~~~~~

“You wanna tell me why we’re outside this shit hole,” Leviathan demanded of Rose. They were standing outside of Ashley’s apartment building.

Truth be known she had no idea why she had wandered to this part of town. She had never seen the place before, but she knew something was going on here. She could feel it in her bones.

“Levi,” she said smirking at him. “Is someone feeling a little restless?” He smirked and nodded. “Could you use a little release?” Again he nodded. “Good,” she purred, taking his hand and leading into the alley between buildings.

Once in the shadows she pushed him up against the wall, her hands already working on relieving him of his pants. With a soft growl he scooped her up into his strong arms, a hand slipping under her skirt and tearing off her panties. He pinned her up against the wall, an evil smirk curling his lips.

“Why didn’t you say you wanted to fuck, baby,” he rumbled.

~~~~~

“Oh God, Marcus,” Ashley whimpered, her hips bucking to meet his thrusts. He had long grown tired of her slow torture and flipped her onto her back kicking things into high gear. He was trying his hardest to fully satisfy her, but her whimpers and moans were making it hard for him to control himself.

“Ashley,” he groaned feeling himself getting close. “You feel so damn good!”

“Marcus,” she exclaimed as she came, wrapping her arms and legs tightly around him, pulling him deeper into her with each thrust. He followed close behind before collapsing on top of her.

“Am I crazy or was that amazing,” she panted, running her fingers through his hair.

“It was,” he said slipping off of her and pulling her into his arms and kissing her softly. They lay there for a while in silence before she opened her mouth to speak, but quickly closed it. “What’s wrong,” he asked brushing some strands of hair out of her face.

“It’s just that…I don’t want you to think that I’m some kind of slut,” she said softly. “I don’t go around bringing complete strangers home and fucking them.”

“Well, that’s a good thing,” Marcus chuckled softly. “Ashley, I wouldn’t dream of thinking of you that way. I can tell that you’re not like that.”

She relaxed, resting her head on his shoulder. Marcus held her listening as her breathing evened out. The night had been just amazing and though he knew he shouldn’t complicate his life with Ashley he couldn’t help feeling drawn to her. There was something about her that he just couldn’t get enough of.

He closed his eyes, intent on sleeping with this beautiful woman in his arms. Something wouldn’t allow him to sleep. He finally realized what it was. He could sense Rose close. Gently rolling Ashley onto her pillow he quickly dressed and exited the apartment.

When he made it out to the street he spotted Rose coming out of the alley between buildings. He felt his blood boiling and went to confront her. “Spying on me now, sis,” he demanded.

Rose spun on her heel. It had taken her a while to realize why she had been so drawn to this location. “Well, if it isn’t my dear brother,” she said with a smirk. She eyed him up and down, circling him so that his back to the alley. “Finally popped your cherry, huh?”

“Get the fuck out of here,” he growled.

“Or what,” Rose taunted.

“I’ll make you wish you had never clawed your way out of our mother’s womb,” he growled.

“Hey asshole,” Leviathan growled finally coming out of the shadows. Marcus spun toward the sound of his voice and was blindsided by a punch that sent him flying. “You’ll have to get through me to get to her.”

Marcus landed with a thud at Rose’s feet. She looked down at him, obviously amused that her pet was taking care of this threat. “Still gonna make me wish I was never born,” she taunted.

“Fuck you,” Marcus snarled.

Rose snarled down at him, cocking back her foot and kicking him hard in the ribs. He held his side, coughing and gasping for air. Leviathan glared down at him, his blood red eyes glowing brightly. On his face he wore a sick smile.

“Is that the best you got, apeman,” Marcus groaned as he got to his feet.

“Killing you is going to be so sweet,” Leviathan growled.

Marcus’ sapphire eyes glowed bright red and his fangs extended as he unleashed the demon within. “Bring it on, you fucking gorilla!”

They had been engaged in battle for several minutes when Ashley made her way outside. She saw Marcus fighting off a large man and gasped. He was outmatched and she knew it. She rushed over toward the men, but was caught from behind.

“MARCUS,” she screeched when Rose restrained her.

“Uh uh, chicky,” Rose purred. “This party is for the boys only. Don’t worry it’ll be over soon…with my Leviathan victorious.”

Hearing Ashley’s voice Marcus turned his head in her direction. Seeing his demonic eyes and sharp teeth Ashley gasped. She had no idea that he was one of them.

“No,” she whimpered. “No, Marcus. Please tell me they didn’t turn you!”

Rose heard this and began to laugh. “Turn him? Sweetheart, he was BORN like this,” she cackled.

Ashley groaned pulling free of Rose’s grasp. She looked from Marcus to Rose and shook her head unable to wrap her head around what she had just learned. She stifled a sob and ran back into the building, wanting to put as much distance between herself and Marcus.

“Ashley,” Marcus called attempting to chase after her. Leviathan grabbed him.

“Where the fuck are you goin’,” he growled. “We finish this now!”

“Leviathan,” Rose said satisfied with the pain she had just caused her brother. “Leave him.” The large man looked at her quizzically and released Marcus, watching as he made a beeline for the building.

“Why didn’t you let me waste the fucker,” Leviathan growled.

“Patience, my love,” Rose said smiling. “We wait until he’s too heartsick to go on and then strike. By then he’ll be begging us to do it.”

“I love how your mind works,” Leviathan said with a chuckle as he slipped an arm around her waist.


{Chapter 25}

It had been several days since the fateful night that Rose revealed to Ashley that Marcus wasn’t human. She had been avoiding him at all costs, switching her shifts at the hospital and taking alternate routes home. She knew all too well that he could easily track her through her scent, but she didn’t care.

She never told Candice of the tryst. She was far too embarrassed to have allowed herself to open up for a demon. Tears sprang to her eyes whenever she thought of the night of pleasure they spent together. Never again would she allow herself to be so damn naive.

Marcus had taken the hint when she refused to see him. He spent his times fighting, nearly getting caught by hunters twice. He was almost hopeless. Almost, but not quite. The run ins with the hunters had opened his eyes. If he was caught and possibly killed he could not accomplish the one goal he had set for himself. He intended to make his father pay and that was the one thing that kept him going.

He was fighting off a hell bitch of a vampire one night when he ran into two men. One had long raven hair and the other sported short rainbow colored hair. He sliced off the female vampire’s head and turned his attention to the men. He didn’t care that he still sported his fangs and demonic eyes. These men were inexperienced hunters and he could sense it.

“Show me what you got, hunters,” he hissed at them.

Matt and Jeff stood there dumbfounded. This vampire had just killed off one of his own kind. Neither one of them knew how to react.

“We don’t want to fight you,” Matt said. Marcus scoffed.

“You just wasted that vamp,” Jeff said.

“Bitch had it comin’,” Marcus replied.

“Matt, Jeff,” Shawn said coming out of his hiding place. He had been along to monitor the brothers’ first hunt on their own. “What are you doin’? Don’t engage the damn thing. Kill it!”

It was then that he caught sight of Marcus. He couldn’t believe his eyes. Though the young vampire before him sported blonde hair there was no mistaking his heritage. This was one of Calaway’s children.

“Son of a bitch,” Shawn growled pulling his gun from his waistband. “Motherfuckin’ Calaway!” He cocked the hammer on the gun, sneering at Marcus. “Give me one fuckin’ reason not to waste you right here right now!”

“I see you’ve met my father,” Marcus said, his features returning to human. “You want a reason? How about I want to kill the motherfucker probably as much as you do?”

Shawn was taken aback by the confession and he lowered his gun. “What?”

“Funny story,” Marcus replied, sure that the hunters wouldn’t do anything to harm him. “You see he’s tried to kill me…on more than one occasion. So, yeah, I want the motherfucker dead.”

“Shawn,” Matt said finally coming to his senses. “What are you doin’? Kill the damn thing.”

“Didn’t you hear what he said,” Jeff asked. “He wants Calaway dead too.”

“Doesn’t change the fact that he’s a fuckin’ vamp,” Matt replied. He reached over and grabbed Shawn’s gun, attempting to wrestle it away from the older man.

“Cut it out, Matt,” Shawn growled, wrenching the gun from the younger man’s hand. “We’re not killin’ this one.”

“Have you both gone insane,” Matt growled. “He’s a bloodsucking son of a bitch! We kill them! Get with the killin’!”

“Matt, shut up,” Jeff said. Something about Marcus was non-threatening. He couldn’t explain it and he couldn’t understand why his brother didn’t sense it as well.

Matt turned his attention toward the horizon and smirked. “Doesn’t matter anymore,” he said. “The suns comin’ up. The fucker’ll be dust in a manner of minutes.”

The rising sun’s rays shone down on where Marcus stood. The three men watched in awe as Marcus closed his eyes, his arms outstretched on either side as if he was being crucified on an invisible cross. He was completely bathed in sunlight when he burst into flame.

“NO,” Shawn exclaimed realizing Marcus was his only chance to truly get close to Calaway.

Marcus began to laugh and the flames extinguished. “Nifty, huh,” he said smirking standing in the sunlight with no problems. “A little trick I learned from my uncle. He’s quite handy at manipulating fire. He’s good, but my skill far exceeds him.”

“You’re…you’re not dust,” Matt said. “What the fuck?”

“I’m not quite full vampire,” Marcus replied.

“He’s a hybrid,” Shawn said smirking. He had to admit the fire trick was pretty impressive. “He’s both vampire and human in one body.”

“The best of both worlds,” Marcus replied smiling. “Because I can manipulate it fire can’t harm me.”

“Who the hell are you,” Matt demanded.

“Marcus Anthony Levesque,” he replied bowing before the men. “And my mission in life is to avenge the deaths of two women I hold dear to my heart.”

“One has to be your mother,” Shawn said. “Who’s the other?”

“Her name was Layla and she was the only mother I ever got to know,” Marcus replied, his eyes taking on a cold glint. “Calaway burned her alive and tried to do the same to me. I was able to keep the flames from harming me, but Layla…it was too late.”

“I’m sorry,” Shawn replied. “Why don’t you come with us? You could be a huge asset to myself and my friends.”

Marcus nodded. “I suppose helping some hunters couldn’t hurt,” he said.

“Shawn,” Matt fumed. “What the hell? He’s still got vampire blood. CALAWAY blood flowin’ through his veins.”

“Matt,” Jeff groaned. “Haven’t you been listenin’? He wants Calaway dead just as much as we do.”

“Come on, son,” Shawn said motioning for Marcus to follow him to the truck. “Let’s introduce you to the others.”

~~~~~

“Ash,” Candice said excitedly when she got home. “You’ll never believe who’s working with Hunter and the others now.”

“Who,” Ashley asked looking up from the novel she had been reading.

“Marcus,” Candice smiled. “And you’ll never guess what else.”

“He’s a vampire,” Ashley asked marking her place in the book and standing.

“You knew,” Candice asked following her into her bedroom.

“Yeah,” Ashley said bitterly.

“Oh…honey is that why you’ve been moping,” Candice asked. “Look, he’s not like other vamps. He’s…”

“Save it, Candice,” Ashley said. “He’s got fangs, doesn’t he? He drinks blood, doesn’t he?”

“Only from a butcher shop,” Candice interjected. Ashley arched a brow at her. “He doesn’t drink from humans.”

“Doesn’t change what he is,” Ashley said slumping to the bed. Tears stung her eyes, but she forced them back. “I can’t believe I was so stupid to let him…”

“Oh,” Candice said taking a seat next to Ashley and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “Honey, he’s not like other vamps. He’s a hybrid. Both human and vampire. He’s going to help Shawn and Hunter accomplish their mission. He’s a good guy.”

“Look, just mind your own damn business, Candice,” Ashley said shrugging her arm off. “I opened myself up and I was hurt in the process. It’s not going to happen again.”

“I think you’re making a mistake,” Candice said standing. “But it’s your life. Your decision.” With that she left the room.

Ashley finally allowed the tears to fall. Was Candice right? Was she really making a mistake cutting Marcus out of her life? She buried her face in the pillow allowing the frustrated tears to fall.

~~~~~

“And you’re sayin’ you have a twin out there,” Hunter asked Marcus, who nodded. He had told the hunters all about his life and his relationship with his father…or lack thereof.

“And she lives with Calaway,” Shawn asked. “You’re sure of this.”

“I saw it in visions since I was a small child,” Marcus replied.

“Can you lead us to where their lair is,” Lashley asked.

“It doesn’t work that way,” Marcus replied. “I get flashes of my sister because we’re twins. I’ve seen her inside the place, but never what the outside looks like. I wouldn’t know where to begin to look for this lair.”

“Damn it,” Hunter growled, punching the wall.

“Hunter, relax,” Punk said.

“Yeah,” London said. “We’ll find him soon.”

“Not soon enough,” Hunter growled and stormed out of Punk’s apartment.

~~~~~

“So, my brother has decided to join hunters,” Rose said. She had spent much of the day while Leviathan slept concentrating on her link to her twin. After many tries she was finally able to see what he was up to.

With a smirk she looked at the waning sunlight. “And now there’s a hunter on his own out there,” Rose said. “And it’s almost sundown.”

She looked at Leviathan as he softly snored beside her. The hunter was a big man, most likely adept in hand to hand combat. She would need back up. With a sigh she smacked Leviathan upside the head.

“What the fuck,” he growled opening his eyes and glaring at her.

“Levi, darling, get dressed,” She said slipping out of bed. “I’ve got a mission that I know you’re gonna love.”

Leviathan’s glare turned to a smile. “Does it involve fuckin’ your brains out,” he asked reaching out and pulling her back to the bed. He nipped her neck.

“No,” she replied pushing him away and slipping out of the bed again. “Control your damn libido. We’re going to hunt a hunter.”

“Sweet,” Leviathan rumbled, tossing aside the covers and grabbing his clothes.

{Chapter 26}

Hunter didn’t really know where he was going. All he knew was that he needed to get out in the air for a while. The summer night was cool despite the sweltering heat of the day. Sunset seemed to cool everything down and for that he was thankful.

Rose eyed the large man, a small smirk on her face. Originally she had planned to kill him outright, but now looking at him she had changed her mind. He was almost as big as Leviathan and with his hunter mentality he’d be a huge asset to her side.

Hunter stopped walking feeling eyes upon him. “You can come out,” he said reaching into his waistband and frowning. “Shit,” he hissed. He had stormed out of the house unarmed. Not good.

“Looking for a weapon, hunter,” Rose asked finally emerging from the shadows. Leviathan was right behind her. Her stiletto heeled boots clicked on the pavement as she lazily walked forward.

Hunter eyed her up and down. She wasn’t in her demon form and the auburn hair and green eyes were a dead giveaway. “You’re Calaway’s kid,” he said. It was a statement not a question.

“Oh, you’ve heard of my father,” Rose said smiling. Behind her Leviathan was growing impatient.

“Yeah, motherfucker killed my wife and daughter,” Hunter replied. “So, you come to finish off the family? Because you’ll need more than that goon to get the job done.”

“Motherfucker,” Leviathan growled and took a step forward. Rose placed a hand on his massive chest to stop him. He glared at her wondering why she would be wasting time with banter when they could be killing this hunter.

“Not yet, Levi,” she purred. “I’d like to talk to this hunter a little longer.” Leviathan growled. “Patience. You’ll get to have your fun. I promise.”

Hunter rolled his eyes. “If it’s all the same to you I think I’d rather get it over with,” he said. “I mean you’re lovely and all, but…ya know.”

“Just what I wanted to hear,” Leviathan said chuckling wickedly.

“You gonna talk all fuckin’ night or are ya gonna bring it, bitch,” Hunter taunted.

“We’ll see who the bitch is when I’m through with you,” Leviathan growled.

The two men circled each other. Hunter smirked, knowing that if he got this big vamp angry enough he just might make a mistake or two that he could capitalize on. “Yeah, I’m guessing by the end the only bitch will be her,” he said pointing to Rose.

With those words Leviathan lunged at Hunter, his large size belying his great speed. Unable to move out of the way fast enough Hunter closed his eyes and braced for impact. Leviathan hit him with such force that he was knocked back several feet, the behemoth of a man landing on top of him.

“That’s gonna hurt in the mornin’,” Hunter groaned.

“You won’t make it to mornin’,” Leviathan growled, grasping Hunter’s head and attempting to twist it off.

Unable to truly match strength with the large vampire Hunter resorted to the only thing he knew that would get Leviathan off of him. He brought his knee up hard connecting between the large man’s legs. Leviathan growled in pain and rolled off of Hunter, holding his aching groin.

Rose rolled her eyes. “I swear,” she grumbled. “If you want something done right you have to do it yourself.” Hunter had just gotten to his knees when she grabbed his trapezius muscle in a vice grip.

“AH! YOU BITCH,” he growled feeling the excruciating pain radiating down his arm, making it go numb almost instantly.

“Guess you were right,” she snickered. “In the end I was the bitch.” With that her eyes glowed blood red and her fangs extended moments before they pierced his neck.

~~~~~

“Damn it,” Candice grumbled as she dropped her keys. She bent over to pick them up and felt hands on her waist. Gasping she straightened up and spun around. She sighed in relief seeing Hunter standing before her. “Hunter, you scared the shit out of me!”

“Sorry, baby,” he replied. “You just look so fuckin’ sexy.”

She scoffed. “I’m in my scrubs,” she said shaking her head. “Only you could find scrubs sexy.”

“Does that mean I don’t get any lovin’,” he asked pouting.

“Come on in, ya big lug,” she said chuckling. “Ashley is still at work. We’ll have the place to ourselves for a couple of hours. We can be as loud as we want.”

“When has Ashley ever stopped us from being loud,” he asked as she opened the door and let him inside.

“Just shut up and get your well muscled ass in the bedroom,” she said smacking him on the ass.

“I love it when you’re bossy,” he said taking her hand and practically dragging her into the bedroom.

Once there he wasted no time stripping her and himself. With a low growl he lifted her into his arms with ease and slammed her down onto the bed. She let out a started squeal at his newfound aggression, but she loved it.

~~~~~

“Has anyone heard from Hunter,” Shawn asked. His friend had been gone for hours and he had just realized that Hunter’s gun was sitting on the end table by the couch.

“I’m sure he’s fine,” Lashley said looking up from the computer screen. He and Punk were checking some things and showing Marcus what they had been doing.

“Yeah,” Shawn said with a sigh. He knew Hunter was capable of taking care of himself, but the fact that he was unarmed worried him. “I guess you’re right.” He sat down on the couch next to the Hardys and turned his attention to the movie on the television though his mind was elsewhere.

~~~~~

“Oh God, Hunter,” Candice moaned in the throes of passion. It had never felt so good with Hunter before and she relished every moment of their lovemaking.

“You’re so beautiful, baby,” he panted. “You know what would make you even more beautiful?”

“What,” she asked breathlessly.

“Death,” he said his eyes glowing blood read right before he sank his fangs into her neck.

“Hunter,” she whimpered as he drained her.

She soon went limp in his arms as he finished up with a soft grunt. “Sorry, baby, you’re just too tasty,” he said to the corpse. He quickly dressed and covered Candice up. He smirked, imagining Ashley’s face when she found her best friend dead. “Damn, I am an evil bastard,” he said chuckling as he left the apartment.

“Aw, Rosie, why’d you have to sire this prick,” Leviathan grumbled when Hunter came sauntering up to them.

“Have fun,” she asked him ignoring Leviathan's query. Hunter nodded. “Tied up that loose end?”

“Yup,” Hunter replied and looked at Leviathan. “What’s your problem? Still talking like a chipmunk from the nutshot?”

“Rosie, let me kill him,” Leviathan growled taking a step forward and balling a fist.

“Behave the both of you,” she said. “Come, Hunter, you have to meet my father.”

“I look forward to it,” Hunter replied smirking.

~~~~~

When they arrived back at the mansion Thorn and Glen were in the living room. Glen looked up and hissed seeing Hunter. He thought his niece had finally lost her mind.

“What are you doin’ bringin’ him here,” he growled.

“Uncle Glen, relax,” Rose said smiling. “He’s one of us now.”

Glen eyed Hunter up and down. He could sense the change in the hunter and smirked. “You’ve sired a hunter,” he said. “Rosie…I don’t know whether to slap you or kiss you.”

“Is Father home,” Rose asked with a satisfied smile. Glen nodded and pointed up the stairs. “Good. Levi, make yourself comfortable. I have some introductions to make.” With that she took Hunter’s hand and led him up the stairs and to her father’s chamber door.

She knocked and waited. Inside they heard Mark grunt that they could enter. Rose opened the door leading Hunter into the room. Mark looked up from his desk and got to his feet, toppling over the chair he had been sitting in.

“What is the meanin’ of this,” he demanded.

“Relax, Calaway,” Hunter said not intimidated by the man he had hated with every ounce of his being. “I’ve joined your team now.”

Mark came around the desk and eyed him up and down, circling Hunter. “Rosie, you’ve sired a hunter,” Mark asked. She nodded proudly. Mark’s scowl slowly changed to a smile and he embraced his daughter. “You’ve done me proud, darlin’. If only you could have gotten Michaels as well.”

“In due time, man,” Hunter said smirking. “You just leave that up to me.”

“Helmsley, I think this is the start of a very rewardin’ relationship,” Mark said shaking Hunter’s hand. “Rosie will show you where you’ll be stayin’.”

Glen entered the room as Rose and Hunter were leaving. “Can you believe it,” he asked Mark. “Our little Rosie sired a hunter.”

“Of course she did,” Mark said proudly. “My little girl is chip off the old block. You make sure that young man gets whatever he needs while he stays here.”

Glen nodded as he left, though Mark’s words had sickened him. He spent much of his time telling Rose she was unwanted, but now that she had done something he approved of she was his girl. There was no doubt about it that Mark was a horrible father. Then again how could he not be with a black hole for a heart?

{Chapter 27}

“Candy, you home,” Ashley asked setting down her bag and heading toward the bedrooms. It was surprisingly quiet in the apartment and she wondered if her friend had gone to Hunter’s place. “Candice?”

She peeked into the room and saw a lump under the blankets. “What are you doing sleeping,” she asked with a chuckle. “It’s the middle of the day.” She crept forward when the other woman didn’t stir.

She got to the bed and kicked it. Still Candice didn’t stir. “Good Lord,” she chuckled grabbing the blanket. “What’d Hunter do fuck you to death?” With that she threw back the blanket and jumped back.

Candice lay on the bed completely naked, her eyes staring blankly and her tanned skin a sick shade of blue. She had been a nurse too long to not know that her friend was dead. She retched and rushed into the bathroom emptying the contents of her stomach into the toilet.

“Oh God, Candice,” she whimpered as she slid down the wall. Fat tears slid down her cheeks. It hadn’t gone unnoticed that there were puncture wounds in Candice’s neck. She knew a vampire was responsible for this. Once again she retched and emptied the contents of her stomach.

Shakily getting to her feet she made her way to the phone and called Shawn. “Shawn,” she sobbed. “Candice is dead. A vampire got her.” She listened as Shawn spoke. “She’s in her bed.” She listened again. “All right,” she said sniffling. “I’ll wait for you.”

~~~~~

“That was Ashley,” Shawn said to the others when he got off the phone. Marcus’ head snapped up at the mention of her name. “Candice is dead.”

“Fuck,” Punk exclaimed. “What happened?”

“Vampire,” Shawn said with a sigh. “Ash found her in bed.” He ran a hand through his hair. “All right, Matt and Jeff you’re with me. Paul, Brian, Punk and Bobby you guys keep trying to get in touch with Hunter.” Lashley nodded as Matt and Jeff prepared to head over to Ashley’s.

“I’m comin’ with you, Shawn,” Marcus said. Shawn opened his mouth to argue, but Marcus waved him off. “Ashley could be in trouble and you know I can help.”

“All right,” Shawn said. “Come on.” With that the men left.

~~~~~

When Ashley opened the door for them her eyes were puffy and red rimmed. “She’s in her room,” she said softly, not noticing Marcus was with them.

“Are you all right,” Marcus asked Ashley, gently grasping her shoulders.

She shrugged him off glaring at him. “Why is he here,” she demanded.

“Ash, calm down,” Shawn said gently. “Marcus is here to help.”

“How do we know he didn’t do this,” she screeched.

“Because this was done by a freshly sired vamp,” Marcus said. Shawn groaned. “Shawn, I’m sorry. It’s Hunter. They’ve turned him.”

“How do you know,” Ashley demanded. “You could be saying that to cover up what you’ve done!”

“Because Candice isn’t my type and she’s in there naked as a jay bird. It's obvious that she was killed during sex,” Marcus replied with such venom that Ashley flinched. “Hunter obviously lured her into the bedroom, screwed her and killed her.” Ashley bit her bottom lip, though it didn’t stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks.

“SHIT,” Matt groaned. “He was our best asset.”

“All right,” Shawn said getting everyone’s attention. He hated the thought that his best friend was capable of such a horrific crime, but he pushed it to the back of his mind. “We’ve lost Hunter. That doesn’t mean we’ve lost the battle. Let’s take care of Candice’s body and move on.”

The Hardys busied themselves with preparing the body, taking it into the alley between buildings. There they set the pyre. The shadows were pushed back by the dancing flames as the body burned.

Ashley watched the flames for a while before leaning on Marcus, who wrapped an arm around her. No tears fell from her eyes now. She couldn’t cry anymore. Candice was gone and nothing could change that.

“I’m so sorry,” she said softly to Marcus. “I shouldn’t have accused you.”

“I’m not mad,” he replied. “I’m just thankful you’re safe.”

“Come on, Ash,” Shawn said once the deed was done. “You’re stayin’ at Punk’s place tonight. It’s not safe for you here.”

Ashley nodded, allowing Marcus to lead her back to the truck. They rode to Punk’s place in silence. Learning that Candice was gone and that Hunter was now the enemy weighed heavily on all of them. Shawn closed his eyes leaning his head back against the seat while Jeff drove. A single tear slid down his cheek. He knew that he had to do something he had hoped he never would…kill his best friend.

~~~~~

“It’s ringing,” Lashley said putting the phone on speaker. They had been trying to get in touch with Hunter since Shawn left with little luck.

“What the fuck do you want,” Hunter answered the phone.

“Hello to you too,” Lashley said smirking. “Where are you?”

“Just having some fun,” Hunter replied.

“Listen man, we have some bad news we need to tell you,” London said.

“What?”

“Not over the phone,” Punk replied.

“Fine,” Hunter sighed. “Meet me at that dive bar we like to go to after a hunt.” With that he hung up.

~~~~~

A half hour later Hunter sauntered into the bar and joined the others at a booth in the back. “So, what’s goin’ on?”

“Candice is dead, man,” Lashley said.

“Damn,” Hunter said solemnly before laughing. “I guess that’s what happened when I fuckin’ sucked her dry.”

“Son of a bitch,” Lashley said clutching his gun, but not wanting to use it in a public place.

“Go ahead, Bobby, shoot me,” Hunter laughed. “I know you’re just itchin’ to. Wait, you won’t because you haven’t got the balls to brandish a firearm in front of civilians!” Chuckling maliciously he headed out of the bar into the night.

“Motherfucker,” Lashley yelled slamming his fist on the table. “They fuckin’ got Hunter. Son of a motherfuckin’ bitch!” Lashley was still fuming when a smile spread across Punk’s face. “What the fuck are you smilin’ about?”

“If he’s still got his beacon,” Punk said. “I can track him…maybe back to Calaway’s place.”

“What the hell are we sittin’ around here for,” Lashley said understanding what Punk was getting at. “Let’s get you to a laptop.”

~~~~~

Ashley was sitting on the couch at Punk’s place when Marcus handed her the cup of tea and took a seat next to her. “How you holdin’ up,” he asked softly.

“As good as can be expected,” she replied, offering him a wan smile. “I mean my best friend was just murdered by her lover. Yeah, I’m peachy.”

“And not at all bitter,” Marcus said smirking. She chuckled a little for the first time since discovering Candice.

“I want him dead,” she said with such venom in her voice. “I want Hunter to die a slow painful death for what he did to Candice.”

“Ashley,” Marcus said taking her hand in his. “He’ll get his. I don’t know how slow and painful it’ll be, but you have my word when all is said and done he’ll be dead.”

Just then Lashley and the others came back. The men were yelling and cursing up a storm. Shawn quieted them down and asked for one of them to explain what was going on.

“We had him,” Punk groaned. “We fuckin’ had him. We had the location of Calaway’s place and just like that it was gone!”

“Hunter’s beacon was working fine one minute and the next it was gone,” Kendrick explained. Shawn frowned, knowing exactly why that was.

~~~~~

“Come on, you son of a bitch,” Hunter groaned as he dug in his shoulder with a knife. “Yes,” he said finally locating the beacon that they had all had injected under their skin. “Try tracking me now, motherfuckers.” He said watching the wound on his shoulder heal before his eyes. He dropped the beacon on the floor and crushed it with his foot.


{Chapter 28}

“Finally some competition,” Rose said smiling as she pulled her auburn locks into a bun. She had been sparring with Hunter to see how he fared, but he grew tired of it and Beth Phoenix had taken over.

“Again,” Beth asked pulling her blonde locks up off her neck into a ponytail.

“This is the hottest shit I’ve seen in a long time,” Hunter said to Leviathan, who nodded with a smirk. Though initially he had disliked the hunter turned vampire Leviathan had managed to make friends with Hunter. “How about you ladies lose an article of clothing for each take down,” Hunter snickered.

“I second,” Kennedy said with a smirk.

The men laughing it up distracted Rose as Beth tried to sneak up on her. She grabbed Rose’s arm, but found herself hip tossed onto the cold stone floor. Beth attempted to pull Rose down to the ground with her, but found herself being kicked hard in the shoulder, practically dislocating the joint.

“I believe that means you have to lose an item of clothing, Beth,” Rose said smiling.

Beth stood glaring at Rose, holding her sore shoulder. She rotated it, feeling the joint pop back into place and smirked at Rose. “You’re good,” she said and swiftly dropped her pants to the hoots and hollers of the men.

~~~~~

“Guys,” Punk exclaimed. “I got somethin’!”

“You found Hunter,” Shawn asked making to Punk’s computer first.

“No,” Punk replied. “It’s a vamp beacon.”

“Do you think Hunter did this,” Shawn asked, hopeful that his friend was trying to help them from the inside.

“No,” Punk replied. “Remember a while back Paul shot a vamp and the beacon didn’t work?” Everyone nodded. “Somethin’ must have happened. Maybe the vamp was struck just right and that little light is the result.” Punk smirked. “That’s not the best part.”

“What is,” Lashley asked.

“That light is exactly where I remember Hunter’s beacon bein’,” Punk replied. “My friends we have found Calaway’s lair.”

“Nice work, Punk,” Shawn said smiling for the first time that day. “Boys, let’s mount up! We got some vamps to kill.” He headed away from the group to grab as many weapons as he could carry.

“Shawn,” Lashley called catching up to him. “You think maybe we could use a little back up?”

“Who’d you have in mind,” Shawn asked strapping a large hunting knife to his thigh.

“Rhodes and Holly,” Lashley replied. “There’s not far. They could meet us by sundown.”

“Call ‘em,” Shawn said nodding. “We could use all the back up we can get. Plus Bob and Cody owe me one.” He turned his attention to Ashley. “Ash, I need you to get in touch with Cena. We’ll probably have wounded and we’ll need him to patch people up.”

“No problem,” Ashley said heading over to the phone.

“Boys, let’s go kill us some vamps,” Shawn said, determined that if this was to be his last stand he was going to go down fighting.

As everyone filed out of Punks place Ashley caught Marcus’ wrist before he could leave. “I want you to come back to me in one piece,” she said.

“You have my word,” Marcus replied smiling. He tucked a finger under her chin tilting her head up and caught her lips in a tender kiss. “When all is said and done I’ll come back to you.” With that he left with the others.

~~~~~

“Father,” Rose said barging into Mark’s room unannounced. “The hunters are coming.”

“What are you talkin’ about,” Mark demanded. “No one knows where we are.”

“They have some tracking device,” Rose said holding up a bloody piece of metal that looked like a tiny ball bearing. “Hunter pulled it out of Beth when I told him of the vision I had.” She then recounted seeing Punk find the locator beacon on his screen and the hunters preparing for battle.

“Rosie, darlin’, you don’t have visions anymore,” Mark replied. “Marcus is dead.”

“No, he’s not,” Rose replied. “He’s alive and he’s with the hunters.”

“Son of a bitch,” Mark roared slamming his fist down on his desk with such force that it went right through the wood. “Get everyone together. Tell Orton and Copeland to guard the gate.” Rose nodded and left the room. Mark ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “So, Michaels wants a battle? I’ll give him one.”

~~~~~

When the hunters finally arrived at the mansion the sun had just set. They had met Cody Rhodes and Bob Holly on the way and driven over to the mansion in a convoy of heavily armed trucks.

“We gonna do this shit or what,” Holly asked hopping out of his truck and grabbing a shotgun from the back. Cody hopped out of the passenger side packing some pistols and back ups in holsters.

“Hold your horses, Holly,” Lashley said as he grabbed some weapons and tossed them to London, Kendrick and the Hardy brothers. Shawn was taking care of Marcus and Punk.

“You boys really don’t want to tangle with us,” Adam said sauntering over toward the hunters. He caught sight of Matt and Jeff and smirked. “Do I know you guys?” The brothers shook their heads. “Oh right,” he said smirking. “Which one of you was bangin’ that sexy redhead?” Matt’s entire body stiffened at the mention of Amy. “She was fuckin’ sweet!”

“Motherfucker,” Matt growled knowing that the blonde vamp before him was the one responsible for killing Amy. Without regard for his well being he rushed Adam.

“Matt, look out,” Jeff called seeing Randy coming up to help his friend. He whipped out his gun and fired off two rounds. They struck Randy in the shoulder and chest and he fell to the ground.

By this time Matt had tackled Adam to the ground. “DID YOU ENJOY EATIN’ HER, YOU PRICK,” he yelled pummeling Adam’s face with his fists. “DID YOU ENJOY KILLIN’ THE ONLY WOMAN I’VE EVER LOVED?”

“Let’s go,” Shawn called to the others seeing the gate was unguarded. Lashley grabbed the wounded Randy, dragging him behind him as they headed through the gates.

“Matt, come on,” Jeff yelled.

“Leave him,” Marcus said to the younger Hardy. “This is something he has to do.”

Jeff cast a glance behind him at his brother who had bloodied Adam up already and was continuing to pummel him. With a sigh he turned and followed the others through the gates. He knew once Matt had killed the blonde he would join them.

“DO YOU ENJOY ATTACKIN’ DEFENSELESS WOMEN,” Matt growled. He finally let up and stood, his knuckles bruised and bloody. “GET UP!”

Adam did what he was told, his face a mask of blood. He spit out blood and teeth and glared at Matt. “You feel better now,” he demanded. “Because I have a little secret to tell you.” He smiled viciously. “I didn’t just kill your girl,” he said tauntingly. “No, you see when I started to drain her…I heard TWO heartbeats.” Matt paled. “That’s right. She was pregnant. What are you gonna do about that, tough guy?”

Without a word Matt pulled out one of his guns and emptied the clip into Adam’s chest. The blonde vampire looked down at the smoking bullet holes, already feeling the silver seeping into his system, and dropped to his knees. Matt walked forward, nudging him down to the ground with his foot while reloading. His brown eyes were cold as ice as he brought the gun up and shot Adam right between the eyes. With his task done he followed the others through the gate.

~~~~~

“Son of a bitch,” Mark exclaimed as he watched the hunters coming up to the mansion. “Kennedy, get Viscera. Tell him we have some unwanted guests that need to be eliminated.

Kennedy nodded and left the room. Mark looked at his daughter, Leviathan, Hunter, Thorn and Glen. “Rosie, Glen I want you to stay with me. The others are expendable.”

“How touching,” Glen muttered. “Didn’t know you cared, Mark.”

~~~~~

“Let us in or we’re using this piece of shit as a battering ram,” Lashley yelled pounding on the door.

“Let them in,” Randy groaned. “I’m wounded here. Shit! This burns.”

“I could take care of that for you,” Shawn said grabbing his hunting knife and digging out the bullets. Randy screamed as the blade cut into his skin. “Better?”

“No,” Randy growled, trying to break free of Lashley’s grasp. In his wounded state he was too weak to do much.

“Doesn’t really matter,” Shawn replied with a smirk. “The bullets were pure silver. You had them in you long enough to kill you slowly.”

“Guys, I hear something,” London said placing an ear to the door moments before it opened revealing a mountain of a man standing there.

“Which one of you wants to be first to get crushed,” Viscera asked with an evil smirk.

“Shit,” London exclaimed and scurried back toward the others. Viscera’s hand shot out and grabbed him by the shirt collar. “Guys! Little help here!”

Just then Marcus ran forward and tackled Viscera. The large man let go of London out of shock as he stumbled back a bit. “You have a death wish, boy,” he growled.

“No,” Marcus replied smirking. “But you have a date with death.” He turned his head to the side so that he could see the hunters with one eye. “NOW!” With that he ducked and Shawn and Lashley opened fire on the large vampire. When their clips had been emptied Viscera fell backward sputtering and coughing.

“Can’t be too careful,” Kendrick said handing London a large bottle of holy water. Together they doused the large man until he was smoking. There was no way he was getting up from that.

“Split up into teams of two,” Shawn called as they made their way into the mansion. “Give a holler when you find Calaway.”

“Nobody is to touch him,” Marcus demanded. “That motherfucker is mine. Understood?” Everyone nodded and split, Marcus going off on his own.

{Chapter 29}

London and Kendrick searched the lower floor. They had just explored the kitchen, finding little in there besides cobwebs and a fridge full of alcohol. They were coming through the living room when they spotted Melina and Beth.

“Hello ladies,” Kendrick said smiling. Both women were clad in bikinis that left little to the imagination. “Going for a late night swim?”

Melina and Beth chuckled shaking their heads before their eyes glowed a bright red and their fangs extended. London and Kendrick groaned pulling out their guns. Kendrick fired a round at Melina, but she did a split dodging it.

“Flexible,” London said. He attempted to fire off a round at Beth, but she grabbed his hand. “Not gonna save you sweetheart,” London said pulling the trigger. The bullet went right through her hand and into her chest, lodging in her heart.

She stumbled back, eyes wide. Melina caught her as she fell backward. “Beth,” she cried. “Talk to me, honey!” Beth’s mouth opened and closed, but no sound come out. She coughed up blood and was still.

“Now that’s a shame,” Kendrick said his gun aimed at Melina. She glared at him, dropping Beth’s body. “Where’s Calaway?”

“You think I’ll tell you,” Melina screeched. “I’m going to claw your damn eyes out right before I eat you.”

“Think again, sweetheart,” London said grabbing Melina from behind and holding a hunting knife to her neck. “Tell us where Calaway is!”

“NEVER,” Melina screeched.

“Suit yourself,” London said and sliced her head off.

“Dude, brutal,” Kendrick said as they watched her disappear into dust.

“Shut up and help me move the grate in front of the fire place,” London said. Together the men set various pieces of furniture on fire. They wanted to make sure that none of the vampires escaped.

~~~~~

The Hardys had made it to the second floor where Kennedy and Porter confronted them. They soon found themselves engaged in battle with the formidable foes. It seemed that the two vampires had the upper hand until Rhodes and Holly came the brothers’ aid.

Holly had a flame-thrower. While Cody doused the vampires with gasoline in a super soaker Holly fired a jet of flame at them. They screamed as the fire licked their skin, flailing about until they fell over the railing, plummeting to the floor below.

“Thanks,” the brothers said. Holly and Rhodes nodded in response.

“Let’s find Calaway,” Holly said and the brother nodded following him.

~~~~~

“Hello, boys,” Hunter said smirking when Lashley and Shawn rounded a corner. He was lazily leaning against the wall outside Mark’s chambers. “Lookin’ for someone?”

“You know damn well we are, Hunter,” Shawn growled. He aimed his gun, but couldn’t bring himself to shoot the man who had become a brother to him.

“Calaway’s right this way,” Hunter said pointing to the door he stood outside.

“You gonna let us in or do we have to fight you,” Lashley demanded.

“Oh Shawn can go in,” Hunter said shrugging. “As for you, Bobby, I believe we have unfinished business.” With that he unleashed his inner demon.

“Shawn, go,” Lashley said when he realized that Hunter was stalking after him. “I’ll take care of this.”

Shawn stood there torn between wanting to kill Mark and wanting to stop his best friend from hurting Lashley. “Let’s go,” Marcus said grabbing Shawn’s arm and dragging him toward Mark’s room. He had come out of nowhere. “The boys are setting this place ablaze. We need to pay my dear old dad a visit and get out of here before there’s structural damage and we’re trapped.

Marcus kicked in the door and found himself face to face with Glen and Thorn. He had known this would happen. Glen and Thorn lived with Mark. It only made sense that they’d become his bodyguards in this kind of situation.

Shawn, his gun still drawn, raised it to shoot both men. He squeezed the trigger, but Marcus knocked his hand aside. The bullet grazed Glen’s shoulder and embedded in the wall next to him.

“What are you doin’,” Shawn demanded. “He’s Calaway’s brother.”

“I know who he is,” Marcus replied. “He’s also the man who saved my life twice. My uncle. The only blood relative who even gave a fuck about me.”

“Do you want us in hand to hand combat,” Glen asked smirking wickedly. “I doubt you’ll survive.”

“You go,” Shawn said. “I’ll take care of these two.” He realized that this was something Marcus felt he had to do on his own. Something about the demeanor of the two large men before him made him sure that they wouldn’t kill him. He could sense their disgust with Mark.

Marcus nodded slipping past the two large men deeper into Mark’s room. He spotted his father sitting at his desk. Rose was perched on the edge of it. There was no sign of Leviathan.

“This ends here, old man,” Marcus said making his presence known.

“Uh uh,” Mark said motioning to someone out of Marcus’ line of vision. When the person came in he saw Leviathan with Punk in a chokehold. “You take one step forward and your friend here gets his neck snapped like a twig.” As if to emphasize Mark’s point Leviathan tightened his grip on Punk.

“Marcus,” Punk grunted. “Don’t worry about me. Kill Calaway.”

Rose slid off her father’s desk and sauntered over to Punk. She ran a nail down his cheek, drawing blood. “Is that bravery or stupidity,” she asked licking the blood off her nail. “Mmmm, he tastes sweet.”

“Don’t you dare hurt him,” Marcus growled. “This is between you and me, old man. Leave him out of it.”

Mark stood, coming around the desk slowly, rolling up the sleeves on his shirt. “Don’t you remember what happened the last time you tried to fight me? You didn’t fare so well then, did you, boy?”

“Things change,” Marcus replied taking off his trench coat and tossing it aside.

Smirking Mark got into a fighting stance. “Show me what you got, punk,” he said.

“You’re in for it now,” Rose said smiling.

“Shut it, slutbag,” Marcus snarled moments before lunging for Mark’s leg. Surprisingly he was able to knock the big man down. Mark was able to fight him off and got to his feet.

“You’ve improved,” Mark said. The quickness of the attack had taken him off guard. It was a mistake he didn’t intend to duplicate.

Punk could feel Leviathan’s grip slipping as his attention was drawn to the fight. Taking advantage of this he slipped from the larger man’s grasp and grabbed the gun from his ankle holster. “Marcus,” Punk called and tossed the gun to him.

“What are ya gonna do, boy, shoot me,” Mark demanded with a snort.

“As a matter of fact I am,” Marcus said pulling the trigger, firing off three shots. In the blink of an eye Mark grabbed Rose, pulling her in front of him as a shield. Her green eyes grew wide with shock as the bullets penetrated her chest.

Leviathan, who once again had hold of Punk, dropped the younger man. “NO! YOU BASTARD,” he yelled grabbing the gun from Marcus and attempting to shoot him.

Mark dropped his daughter and grabbed Leviathan’s hand, turning the gun on the large man. He then squeezed the trigger, emptying the gun into him. Leviathan fell to the ground with a loud thud. Marcus stood dumbfounded. He hadn’t intended to harm his sister.

“Poor Rosie,” Mark said tossing the gun to the floor. “Turns out she was expendable as well.”

“You monster,” Marcus growled.

“Yes, I am,” Mark said with great pride. “You don’t live as long as I have by having a heart of gold.” He watched as Rose sputtered on the ground. The silver was effecting her much more slowly than a full blooded vampire.

Marcus watched his sister a moment before glaring at his father. “This ends now,” he growled before bursting into flame and rushing his father.

He speared him down to the floor. Mark’s clothing caught fire, his skin bubbling in the heat. Marcus managed to pin him to the ground, grabbing the hunting knife he had strapped to his ankle. With one swift motion he sliced Mark’s head off.

Mark’s eyes grew wide in shock moments before he disappeared into a cloud of dust. Marcus fell to the floor, panting. The flames surrounding him extinguished and he turned his attention to Rose, crawling over to her.

Glen and Thorn stopped battering Shawn when they no longer heard Mark’s voice. “Is he…” was all Glen could say not seeing his brother anywhere.

Punk nodded. “Marcus killed him,” he said.

It was then that Glen caught sight of Rose. “Oh no,” he said rushing to her side. “What happened?”

“He used her as a shield,” Marcus growled. “His own daughter.”

Thorn and Shawn watched from the doorway. Punk joined them feeling that Glen and Marcus should have some privacy. “Are you all right,” he asked Shawn, who nodded. His lip was bloody and a gash had been opened up on his forehead, but he was still standing.

“We have to get the bullets out,” Glen said tears stinging his eyes. Marcus handed over his knife. “Rosie, sweetheart, this is going to hurt. Do you understand?” She nodded, though her eyes were losing focus.

Glen began to dig the bullets out. Rose screamed as the blade cut her skin. “Got them all,” he said tossing them aside. Wiping off the knife he slit his wrist and held it to Rose’s mouth. She made no attempt to drink. “Come on, Rosie, you have to drink.” She obeyed her uncle.

“Guys,” London said rushing into the room. “This place is gonna start to collapse soon. We have to get out of here.”


{Chapter 30}

“Do you think you can walk,” Glen asked Rose, who nodded, already feeling stronger.

Together Glen and Marcus helped her to stand. London was tossing some gasoline that Holly had given him over the room and lit a match dropping it as he followed the others out of the room. Glen, Rose and Marcus brought up the rear.

As they made it to the doorway, Rose was jerked away from her uncle and brother. Turning around the men saw Leviathan engulfed in flames. Rose was in his arms, the flames licking her skin.

“ROSIE,” Glen yelled attempting to get her back. Marcus held him back as the room behind the flaming behemoth became an inferno.

“SHE’S MINE,” Leviathan growled dragging a screaming Rose deeper into the blazing room.

“She’s gone,” Marcus said snapping his uncle back to his senses. “You can’t save her!” Glen hung his head, feeling as if he had failed his niece. “We have to go,” Marcus said feeling the mansion becoming structurally unstable. He grabbed his uncle’s arm and dragged him down the stairs.

The hunters all made it out of the house. Thorn, Glen and Marcus weren’t far behind. Together they stood watching as the mansion was enveloped in flames. It was then that they saw Hunter coming out of the house, a limp Lashley in his arms.

“Leaving so soon. I think you forgot someone,” he said with a smirk. “How would you like Bobby? Rare or Cajun style?”

“Hunter,” Shawn yelled seeing that his friend was about to toss the unconscious Lashley into the inferno. “We both know it’s me you want.” He stepped forward. “Here I am. Let’s handle this man to man.”

Hunter smirked. “Didn’t think you had the balls to handle things man to man, Shawn,” he said. “Fine. Catch.” He tossed Lashley at London, Kendrick and Punk. The larger man knocked the three smaller men down.

“Get him out of here,” Shawn ordered. “All of you get out of here. This is between Hunter and I.”

“But Shawn,” Matt protested.

“You heard the man,” Marcus said. “This is between them.” With the help of Thorn he ushered everyone away. Glen picked up Lashley and carried him away.

“It’s just you and me now Shawn,” Hunter smirked. “Too bad. I prefer an audience.”

As he spoke Randy, who everyone had forgotten about got to his feet. The silver had only weakened him. He grabbed Shawn, holding his arms behind him. “Come on, Hunter,” he growled. “I got him. Do what you want to him.”

Hunter smirked approaching Shawn. He cocked back as if to punch Shawn, but instead grabbed Randy. “I don’t need your help, kid,” he growled, snapping Randy’s neck and tossing him into the flaming mansion.

“Come on,” Shawn said punching Hunter across the jaw.

Hunter was stunned a moment and stumbled back before glaring at Shawn. “So that’s how it’s gonna be, buddy,” Hunter chuckled. “Fine.” He lunged at Shawn, tackling him to the ground and unleashing a series of punches to his face.

Shawn managed to get free kicking up to his feet and kicking Hunter in the jaw as the larger man stood. “I knew you’d give me a challenge,” Hunter said snapping his jaw back in place.

“I don’t wanna kill you, Hunter,” Shawn said.

“And that’s your problem,” Hunter said smirking. “You lack heart.” Hunter chuckled to himself. “And you’re REALLY gonna lack heart when I tear it out of your chest while it’s still beating.” With that he lunged at Shawn, who side stepped him. Hunter landed head first on the concrete porch.

The blow knocked him silly for a moment and Shawn jumped on him, grabbing his head and bashing it on the steps some more. “Damn you for making do this,” Shawn growled as he continued to bash Hunter’s head. When he finally stopped he was breathless. Realizing that Hunter was unconscious he reached for the hunting knife he had strapped to his ankle.

He grabbed a handful of Hunter’s hair, but couldn’t bring himself to finish the job. Hunter’s eyes opened and he looked up at his long time friend. “Do it,” he growled. “Damn it, Shawn, don’t you dare go back on your promise to me! I don’t wanna live like this!”

“I’m sorry,” Shawn said, tears filling his eyes. Taking a shuddering breath he grabbed a handful of Hunter’s hair and sliced his head off. Shawn fell to the ground as Hunter disappeared in a cloud of dust, the tears streaming down his face now. “Oh God,” he moaned. “I’m so sorry, Hunter!”

When he composed himself he limped his way back to the trucks. “How’s Bobby,” he asked. Everyone knew better than to ask about Hunter.

“He’s still out,” London said.

“But he’ll live,” Kendrick replied. “Nothing Doc Cena can’t fix.”

Shawn nodded, pulling the keys to his truck out of his pocket and tossing them to Matt. Without another word they all got in their trucks and drove off. Many of them needed to be treated for minor injuries. Shawn knew he had at least one broken rib from his scuffle with Hunter.

~~~~~

“Where will you go,” Marcus asked Glen and Thorn. The two men had accompanied the hunters to the hospital to help get Lashley inside safely.

“I hear Europe is a nice place,” Thorn said.

“Very accepting of vampires,” Glen said smiling. “You take care of yourself, kid.” He gave Marcus a hug. “We’ll be in touch.”

Marcus watched as Thorn and Glen walked away and disappeared jumping across rooftops. As he turned around to head into the hospital he was all but tackled by Ashley. She took his face into her hands and looked him over a moment before smiling and planting a long, hard kiss on his lips.

“I was so worried,” she said when the kiss was broken.

“I told you I’d come back,” he said smiling.

Just then Shawn and the Hardys exited the hospital. “Thank you for your help,” Shawn said. The gash on his forehead had been stitched and he sported a bandage over it. “You tell your uncle and his friend he won’t be hunted by any of us.”

“I will,” Marcus said.

“Come on, boys,” Shawn said to the Hardy brothers. “If you’re gonna be my new partners we need to do some work.” Matt and Jeff followed Shawn closely listening as he spoke.

“What happened to Hunter,” Ashley asked turning her attention back to Marcus.

“Shawn had to kill him,” Marcus said solemnly.

“Good,” she said and then realized how cold that had sounded. “Not for Shawn, but…he killed Candice.” Her cheeks flushed.

“I know what you meant,” Marcus said smiling. “So, when’s your shift over?”

“Soon,” Ashley replied. “I just need to check on some patients and report to the next shift. Will you be here when I’m done?” Marcus nodded with a smile. He watched as she walked back into the hospital.

~~~~~

A few days later Marcus was at Punk’s place with Ashley. Lashley had been released from the hospital after being held for observation due to a concussion. He had asked everyone to gather at Punk’s place because he had an announcement to make.

“So, what the hell did you ask us all here for,” Shawn demanded. He had been moody, still dealing with his grief.

“Brian, Paul and I are going to be clearin’ out of here,” Lashley explained. “There’s an epidemic goin’ on over on the West Coast and we figure we could lend a hand. Bob and Cody have already gone ahead. We plan to follow them in a couple of days.”

“Sorry to see you go, man,” Shawn said shaking Lashley’s hand. “I’m sure there’ll be a lot of people sleepin’ better at night knowin’ you’ll be protectin’ them.”

“We’ll be back anytime you guys need back up,” London said.

“Yeah and of course if Paul and I come up with anymore nifty gadgets to help in the hunt,” Kendrick said.

“Good to know you’ll have our backs,” Shawn said shaking their hands as well. “Right now I think we got it covered. I got Matt and Jeff and Punk and of course Marcus is always around to lend a hand.”

“You call us if you need a hand,” Lashley said pulling Shawn into a hug.

~~~~~

“Shawn seems so sad,” Ashley said as she lay in bed with Marcus later that night.

“He had to kill his best friend,” Marcus said lacing his fingers with hers. “Let’s not worry about that right now.” He pulled her close to him kissing her. “For now I want concentrate on loving you.”

“Again,” Ashley giggled as he kissed and nipped her neck. “My someone is feeling frisky tonight.” She moaned when he reached the spot on her neck that drove her insane. With a content sigh she allowed him to pull her under him, enjoying as he lavished attention on her body. She was happy that despite all of the death and sadness she and Marcus had a happy ending.