Caius Vs the Werewolf

Written By:Basta'sGirl
You can read the original here:
All Credit goes to the original Author:

They were in central Russia hunting werewolves. Only for sport though, they wouldn’t drink, they would not taint their perfect pure bodies with the blood of those beasts. Even if they did choose to demean themselves by feasting on the wolves’ carcasses the experience would not be pleasurable, the blood would burn their throats like poison as it slipped down. Caius listened, he and the others were each about ten miles apart in the massive black pine forest the size of a small island. He moved like lightning without a sound through the thick trees and finally came to a clearing. A break in the trees which allowed the grey light of what was left of the day and the powdery snow hit the ground. He stopped and inhaled, smelling a thousand smells until he found the one he wanted. Putrid, rancid, a sharp smell that was heading his way at an unbelievable speed. It slowed, no doubt catching his scent. His scent, sweeter than flowers and honey, probably smelt just as offensive to the creature as the creature’s did to him. His impeccable hearing picked up a noise on the fringe of the trees that would have been inaudible to human ears, a shuffle and a twig snapping. Caius’ crimson eyes swept the trees until he found a dark shape crouching among them. The black shadow was so well hidden that the only things what were clearly visible were the beast’s eyes, two huge amber orbs staring at him, unblinking. The creature let out a low rumbling growl and stepped forward into the light of the clearing.

The wolf was massive, as big as a bear with broad shoulders and coarse black fur as dark as the velvet night. It snarled, its top lip curling up to show a row of white teeth. Caius smirked, revealing his own teeth, twice as white and twice as deadly. They sat in his mouth, a row of shining ivory razor blades. The beast padded its way around the clearing, encircling him. Caius undid the black cloak that was tied around his shoulders and slung it behind him, never once taking his eyes off the wolf. He stood in the centre of the clearing bare-chested. His skin was as white as the snow which fluttered around him and just as cold. Stone cold, stone hard. His white-blonde hair was a little darker and not as long as he would allow it to become in the future. He crouched down ready to attack, the creature mirrored him. They paused, red eyes met amber then, at the exact moment they pounced, both emitting a roar as they did so.

They were airborne, flying through the air at one another then clashing in the middle. A sound like two boulders smashing into one another sprang forth, causing the birds in the nearby trees to take flight, terrified, screeching. Caius felt the wolf’s skin press against his, red hot and burning. They wrestled violently, each trying to throw the other to the floor but where Caius lacked in size he made up for in strength, he threw the wolf with all his might back against a nearby tree. The tree cracked and shuddered, wood splinters flying through the air. The beast yelped for a moment but was on its feet again in a second, snapping and snarling. It threw itself at Caius and pushed him to the ground. Caius felt the wolf’s tonne weight pressing down on his chest, he felt the beast’s hot breath on his face and smelt it’s sharp putrid sweat. It bared it’s teeth ready to rip him, to tear him to shreds and kill him in the only way there was to kill a vampire.

Aro’s head suddenly appeared behind the wolf, his long black hair hung over its shoulder. In a second, his pale hands were around its thick neck, hauling it off Caius with all his might. Caius heard a snap and the creature fell to the floor lifeless. Aro stood above him, his scarlet eyes shining with the thrill of the hunt and kill.

“You should be more careful, Caius.” he said critically, offering a hand to help Caius to his feet. Caius did not need it, he ignored it and was on his feet in the blink of an eye.

“I could cope perfectly well on my own.” he said bitterly.

“Yes, it looked like it.” Aro said sarcastically.

“You stole my kill, my prize.” Caius snapped, poking Aro in the chest with is bony finger. Aro took a step back.

“I heard you struggling and came to help. Do not be ashamed Caius, it is a large and powerful beast, one of the older more experienced ones. It has fought our kind before and would not be easily beaten.” Aro said, calmly ignoring the finger that was jabbing in his chest with no effect.

“I did not need your help!” Caius screeched, practically shoving his finger up Aro’s nose. Aro took another step back.

“Very well Caius. Let us forget this ever occurred. Like I said before, in future you should be more careful for I will not be coming to your aid again.” and with that he turned and disappeared so swiftly and lightly that the snow that had begun to lie heavily on the ground was not even disturbed.

Caius stood alone in the clearing, shaking, seething with anger. The scalding heat of rage would have beat through his veins like poison had he a heartbeat and blood of his own. It seeped in daggers from his eyes and oozed from every pore in his body. He glanced down at the creature at his feet, sill, unmoving, its tongue lolling stupidly from its mouth. For a moment he stood watching the snow settle in its course wiry fur, then with a howl of rage he kicked out at its chest. He heard a rib crack. “Useless mongrel. Disgusting mutt!” he thought to himself. How dare it? How dare it make him look a weakling and a fool!? He turned and walked out of the clearing, picking up his cloak and throwing it over his shoulders as he went. He ran back to the castle they had temporarily inhabited, his black cloak swirling and whipping around him as he moved.

The others were not back yet, still enjoying the hunt. He sat in the carved dark wood chair by the fire and gazed into the flames. He hatched a plan, schemed a scheme, and by the time the others had returned with the guard he had returned to his usual pompous self. He stood and announced that he had something to say, the room fell silent, everyone waited with bated breath.

“I have decided,” he said, “that we cannot continue to allow the werewolves to rule the East. The endless havoc they cause is threatening to reveal to the mortals the truth, that the stories they whisper around campfires and dinner tables are not simply old wives’ tales, they are true-at least to some extent. And you know what will happen if the werewolves are confirmed to be real don’t you? Our existence will be confirmed also and we cannot allow that to happen can we?” The room was silent for a moment then everyone smiled, agreeing. All except Aro and Marcus. Aro raised his eyebrows and considered that by intervening in the fight he had actually damaged Caius’ pride more than he thought but he did not say anything. Marcus simply looked bored as usual.

“Bravo, Caius, darling!” Athenodora trilled, reaching out to stroke his cheek affectionately. Caius smiled, pleased with himself and turned to the guard who stood grinning in anticipation of continuing the hunt which they loved so.

“We will start tomorrow.” Caius said, “And make the filthy half-breeds disappear once and for all!” That night they celebrated Caius’ genius and the next day they began the quest which would push the race of the werewolf into near extinction in Asia.

Eternal Love

Written By: xXxrisenangelxXx
You can find the original here:
All credit goes to the author

--M--

He sulked down the empty street, the full moon cascading down along the sand-stone buildings and illuminating the pale skin covering him. He looked at his bare fore-arm and growled. He hated himself. Why did he have to be a monster? A vampire? Aro was such a bastard. He used him to find out whether or not their enemy had a lover, any kind of connection to a loved one. He hated having to use it.

He closed his eyes and heard the distant tolling of the clock tower five miles away. Three tolls. He leaned against the wall nearest him and growled. If he could burn in the sun, he would happily burn himself away and never have to worry about what others thought of him. Never having to hide from the sun and into the dark underground world that Aro had created, just for the vampires that joined his forces.

Deep in the fortress that Aro created, he had a sister, who was never shown among the other’s. For some reason Aro wanted to hide her, and Marcus didn’t know why.

He felt slightly happier than he did five seconds ago. Wait. What is this feeling? he thought.

“Who’s there?” he asked out to the darkness surrounding him. The soft pitter-patter of slippers on the stone ground reached his ears and he sprung towards the noise, sensing a feeling of fear run through him. He didn’t feel fear, someone was making him feel these emotions that he never truly felt unless he was facing something worse than himself, or Aro.

It didn’t take him long to catch up with the slippered feet and he caught the arm of the person. It was wearing a soft silk, and the fabric went past it’s elbow. “Who are you?” he grated out and blinked through the darkness, seeing that she had bright red eyes. Her blond hair reached to the middle of her back and flowed in the wind.

She stared up at him with shock, blinking to see more of him. She cocked her head to the left and leaned towards him. He backed away, but kept his hold firm on her arm. He was amazed she hadn’t cried out in pain yet from his grip. She was a vampire. “Who are you?” he asked again and shook her arm, making her whole body jostle at the movement.

She gasped and sighed, a smile on her face. “My name is Didyme.” she answered brightly, seemingly knowing that he was a vampire like her. “What’s your’s?” she asked and her white teeth flashed in the moonlight.

“Marcus.” he answered and looked around. “What are you doing out here?” he asked and released his hold on her arm.

Didyme looked over him, noticing that his hair was black and shaggy, unlike all the other male vampire’s in the coven. His eyes were black, as if he hadn’t fed in quite some time. His skin somewhat sparkled in the moonlight. He was wearing a dark blue, and that mixed wonderfully with his hair and skin tone. “I wished to be free and escaped from Aro‘s hold.”

“How do you know Aro?” he asked and backed away, it seemed like a blur to watch him.

“He’s my brother. He turned me.” she answered and walked toward him. Why is he backing away? she thought and made a noise as if she was trying to understand what was truly going on. Marcus felt a feeling of safety and stopped backing away from her. She put her hand to his face and felt the sharp planes on his face. His jaw angular and long.

“Where are you kept?” he asked and watched as her other hand went to his shoulder and traveled down his neckline of the shirt he wore.

“With the wives.” she answered blandly, “It’s unentertaining to say the least.” she added and felt the hard muscles in his body twitch at her touch.

Marcus felt his breath hitch and tried to hide it. What was going on? He was feeling an unusual feeling, and it wasn’t coming from Didyme. “Do you have a power?” he asked and felt one of the buttons on his shirt come undone.

“Yes. I can make others feel happy emotions.” That would explain why he was feeling so strange. “But most of the time they are to make someone else happy, that‘s around me.” she finished and traced one of his chest muscles with her nail.

Marcus shivered at the touch and grabbed the hand that was still on his face, it hadn’t moved. He looked at her hand and she stared up at him. What is this damn feeling? he thought and turned her hand in a few different directions and then brought each of her fingertips to his mouth, kissing each one.

Didyme stiffened and felt a rush of pure bliss run through her. She wasn’t afraid for once.

Marcus blinked his eyes forcefully and felt some kind of raw emotion run through him. He had asked a few other vampires who had found their mate what it felt like and the reply he was ever given was one that said that he would experience an emotion that he had never felt before and probably never would feel it again if he lost his mate, would come and it would feel strange. As if some part of him was saying that it wasn’t normal, but it was. This feeling he had at the moment reminded him of the description that the vampires had given him. He gasped and Didyme backed a single step away.

He caught her waist and held her still. “Don’t move.” he said and stared into her eyes. They were confused, but they seemed to know something as well. That inner part of his brain said that she was his. He cupped her face with his hand and she leaned her head into his palm, her eyes closed and she sighed. Marcus brought his face closer slowly, as if not knowing what he should do. Didyme opened her eyes and instantly brought her hands to his face, bringing him into a kiss.

They closed their eyes and moved closer together. The kiss becoming frantic and desperate. Marcus moved his hand to the back of her head and twined his fingers into her hair, feeling the luscious locks as if it were a fine silk.

Didyme pulled away and laid her head against his chest, his arms wrapping around her and holding her to him.

She’s mine. he thought and longed to know what she tasted like, but knew that if Aro found out, he would literally find some way to torture him if she was damaged in any way. She whimpered and shook slightly. “Shh. It’s okay.” he whispered and felt complete. He hadn’t felt complete since before he was a vampire and that was a very long time ago.

“Aro will know.” she whimpered and clung closer to him.

“Don’t let him touch you.” Marcus whispered and closed his eyes at the thought of Aro using either of them to get information out of each other.

Didyme looked up at Marcus and saw how intense he looked. “Will you take me back to the castle?” she asked and turned her face back into his chest.

Marcus hugged her tighter and softly answered, “Yes.” he picked her up and she gasped. “Just act as if I found you on the street.” he said and she nodded. He sprinted to one of the entrances and looked at Didyme. “I promise I’ll find you again.”

They entered the coven house and instantly a group of vampires surrounded them. Didyme covered her face with her hair and Marcus’ shoulder.

“Where is she?” Aro yelled over all the voices from the vampires. The two stiffened and Aro burst through the throng of vampires. “Why is she with you?” he asked, furious.

Marcus glared at Aro and answered, “I found her outside in an ally. I brought her back.”“I truly doubt it. How could she possibly get out of the tower?” Aro asked incredulously. Didyme whimpered and clung closer to Marcus. “I’ll take her up there.”

“I can take her.” Marcus said and glared at Aro.

“So be it.” Aro said and added, “Follow me.” Aro spun and walked quickly up a set of stairs.

Marcus followed easily and remembered every turn to get up into the tower that the wives were kept up in. Didyme shuddered at the thought of what Aro could possibly do to her for leaving the tower.

The door opened and the two wives looked up, obviously knowing that Didyme would have been caught. They smiled and continued reading their large novels. Marcus set Didyme down and she looked up at him, her eyes wide with fear. He gave her a crooked smile and pet her hair back.

Aro cleared his throat and Marcus glared at him. He nodded to Didyme and backed away, leaving the tower and Aro followed him, shutting the door and locking it. Marcus flew down the stairs and into a separate part of the house, shutting himself away.

--M--

Didyme sat down at the vanity in the room. Athenodora was behind her, egging her on about what she had done. She slowly brushed her hair, ignoring the giggling going on behind her. She sighed and rose from the vanity. “Oh come now Didyme, you can tell us what happened. Caius talks about Marcus all the time, he always says that he is brooding.” Athenodora said, putting her hands on Didyme’s shoulders.

“You know I ran off. That much you know, but you cannot let Aro know.” Didyme said, looking at both of them. “Marcus found me while I was running away, he must of found out that I was out there somehow, but he didn’t even really know that I was Aro’s sister. Things went from there and,” she paused, unsure of how she could tell them what exactly happened.

“And?” Athenodora asked, pushing for her to continue.

Didyme smiled shyly and said, “I believe he is my…mate.”

Suplicia’s face dropped. “But how?” she asked, trying to regain her composure, “Every male vampire that you have met has fallen in love with you, what makes it different this time?”

Didyme looked down at her feet and answered, “I love him back.”

“You just met!” she screeched and stood up, flying at Didyme, “How you can you even be sure that he is your mate. If Aro finds out you know full well that he will do something rash!”

“You have no need to remind me of the danger this is to Marcus and I.” Didyme said, glaring up at Suplicia, “There is just some kind of feeling that is coming from deep inside that is telling me that he is my mate.”

Suplicia glared at her and growled. Athenodora pulled Suplicia away slowly, she was a ticking pipe bomb, one wrong word out of Didyme and Suplicia would blow up and surely try to rip her to shreds.

“Now Suplicia, there is no reason to get mad at Didyme. At least she has fallen in love. You know how you acted when you first met Aro. He was all over you. Now settle down and face the facts: Didyme is in love.” Athenodora said, coaxing Suplicia to calm down.

Didyme had spent enough time with Athenodora to know that she takes after Caius, he wants to always enforce the rules, and she knows what will happen if Suplicia snaps. Didyme shivered at the idea of that happening. “Think of your Aro, Suplicia.” Athenodora whispered into the angered woman’s ear.

Didyme walked over to the balcony and leaned against the rail, she had seen the play of Romeo and Juliet and felt like she was Juliet with the way that Aro was acting. If only Marcus would come out of nowhere and take her away.

She closed her eyes and heard the nearby tolling of the clock tower. The sun would rise soon and with the sun rising she would watch all the people in Volterra live their lives, making it seem impossible to complete her day without going insane. Soon Aro would come and take Suplicia, and Caius would take Athenodora. It was ritual, and it was this time of the day that they would spend together, like lovers. She sighed and felt Athenodora’s hand on her lower back. “Don’t worry Didyme,” she whispered, low enough that Suplicia wouldn’t hear, but loud enough to where Didyme could, “Marcus has a very thick skull, he knows now where you are held, he could come by.”

Didyme looked up at Athenodora and smiled. “If only life were that easy.” she whispered and continued to stare down at the still empty streets. The whole building that they lived in was a sign to so many of these people, a sign of fear in more than one way. It was considered abandoned, but it was in great shape still. A fortress for Aro. Didyme glared at the thought of Aro knowing everything that had happened to her and Marcus not more than an hour ago.

“Excuse me ladies.” Aro said, his voice was unusually bright, he never was truly happy. Didyme looked at him from the corner of her eye and saw that Marcus was among them. She stood upright and toward them in an instant. “We are here to relieve you from your safe tower for the day.”

Marcus stared at Didyme, as if he would lose her if he looked away. Aro cleared his throat and Suplicia was in his grasp quickly, she had her Aro. Athenodora smiled at Didyme before she danced her way to Caius’ arms. The two couples went downstairs, but Marcus stared at Didyme. She walked over to him and he closed the door. “You’re not going to take me away from this tower?” she asked and melted into his arms.

He hugged her tightly and took a deep breath, breathing in her lustrous scent, a mix between the luscious rose and the vexing lily, but there was that scent that stood out the most in those two flower like smells, the smell of blood. But the blood seemed to make her perfect, just the way she should be.

“I have other plans in store for us.” he rumbled and took her into a kiss. Didyme moved her small hands to his chest and started to slowly unbutton his shirt, revealing more and more of his muscled core. His skin was soft and had no signs of hair, except below his navel, but it was a light dusty trail.

He shivered and traced the lace holding her dress together in the back, untying that and slowly revealing more of her back. He longed to know what her blood scent was like, it seemed only right for him to know what she tasted like. Only Aro knew what she tasted like, and that was because he was the one who turned her. “Marcus…” she moaned and arched toward him, making him groan. She pushed his shirt away and traced her fingers along the muscles in his arms, feeling the way he flexed when she traced a certain muscle.

Marcus nuzzled his face into her neck, her hair falling around him. He slowly moved her toward the large couch in the room and laid her down against it. She smiled up at him and laced her fingers into his shaggy hair.

Didyme pulled his head down to kiss him, but his head moved toward her chest. She gasped and giggled. This was what she wanted. To be with the one she loved and to not ever have to worry about whether or not Aro agreed to it. Marcus looked at her and she saw the lust burning through his eyes. She smiled at him and nodded.

--M--

Marcus traced his fingers along her arm, she was looking up at him with a smile and he finally got to experience love with his one true mate. Maybe Aro would be okay with them. He stared into Didyme’s lovely eyes and kissed her.

The sound of feet running up the stairs quickly reached their ears and Marcus froze. He sat up and looked for a blanket of any kind. One was behind him, hanging on the back of the couch. He grabbed it and covered their bodies with it. If it was Aro or even Caius then he would never hear the end of it and Didyme would be a joke to the wives.

Didyme cowered into Marcus’ body and he growled. She slowly looked over at the door and saw Aro. “Damn.” she whispered and clung to Marcus as if her life depended on it.

“What?” the sound of pure agony ran through Aro’s voice. Marcus bared his teeth at Aro and was ready to fight if it came down to it.

Didyme held the blanket to her body and sat up. She looked at Aro and saw Suplicia behind him, fighting the intense giggles. Suplicia turned around and looked at someone. Athenodora started to laugh uncontrollably and the two women laughing couldn’t stop. Didyme closed her eyes and shook her head. Well at least they would have something to talk about. “Hello Aro.” she said sweetly and reached back to smooth Marcus’ hair.

They looked at her as if she were crazy. “Oh come now…” she whispered and kissed Marcus on the cheek. He froze, but after a sly grin was plastered onto his face.

Aro growled intensely and tensed to lunge at them. “Aro dear,” Suplicia said, “let them be.” She came up to his arm and took it, “Remember when we were like that.” she added and led him away from the room.

He stared at Suplicia as if she were a mad woman. No one ever took him away from attacking someone. But he allowed her to lead him away from the tower. Caius came in with Athenodora at his side, and her face was contorted into a painful look. A laugh threatened to break from her face at any second. “Well,” Caius started, “I see you’ve made Aro angry in less than a quarter of a minute, congratulations, that‘s a new record.” he looked down at Athenodora and said, “Would you like to spend the rest of the day with me?”

“I would be delighted.” Athenodora answered and smiled at Didyme, a slight wave to her as they left.

Marcus stared at them like a confused puppy who was just reprimanded for something he didn’t understand. Didyme looked at him and tousled his hair, “Oh don’t worry Marcus, just let him cool off.”

“Do you know how furious he will be?” he asked and stood up.

“Oh, I’m guessing he’ll want to rip our heads off, but he would have to learn this at some point, wouldn’t he?” she replied and stood up, taking the blanket with her. “And right now, we’re alone again, they won’t be back until tomorrow night. Suplicia and Athenodora will keep their husbands busy for some time.”

“And what about when they come back?”

“Then we’ll deal with them there.” she answered and kissed his arm, “Don’t worry. We’ll deal with it later.”

Marcus looked down and kissed her again. Only time would tell before Aro really did snap.

--M--

Marcus sat in the huge chair, the cushioning was extravagant and too soft, making him feel like he was sitting in a marshmellow. He stared at Aro from behind the desk, feeling like he was being interrogated.

“So I see that you have taken a fancy to my little sister.” Aro said, a glare resting on his face and never seeming to end.

“Yes.” Marcus replied and crossed his arms and sat more upright, trying to get away from the back of the chair.

Marcus chuckled slightly and shook his head. “It’s the same thing that you feel for Suplicia.” he said and closed his eyes. He could practically feel the love for Suplicia radiate off of Aro. “And you and I both know that you love each other with a passion that has escaped the ages.”

Aro glared deeply at Marcus and Marcus met the glare. “You do know that I could easily rip you to shreds at this very moment and the only person who would really care is Didyme?”

“That’s the only person I want to care, whether I die or not.” Marcus stated and stood up. “Now Aro, there is no need to get mad at me. I’m not the only one who is in love in this turmoil.”

“I suggest you sit back down Marcus.” Aro said, his voice full of seriousness.

“And I’m done here. You know how I feel about Didyme and if you want her side of the story, you can ask her.” Marcus said and walked out of the room. Aro sprinted in front of him and growled, pushing him back into the room. “You really want to make a scene? In front of all the vampires around us? And what exactly would you do if you didn’t have me here?”

Aro glared at Marcus like he did most of his prey, usually it belittled all, but Marcus had a strong spine. “Get out of my sight.” he spat and growled at Marcus as he sprinted out.

Aro growled loudly and punched the hard wall. “Damn it!”

--M--

Two Years Later

Didyme stared up at Marcus longingly. They had planned secretly were they would go as they made their trip across the world they knew. “Marcus… where should we go first?” she asked pointing at the map laid out.

Marcus leaned over her and pointed at the farthest place that they planned on going to.

“That far?” she asked and looked up at him.

“The farther we are from Aro, the happier we both will be.” he replied and kissed her lovingly.

“I suppose.” she said and smiled as he kissed her ear and nibbled on it. “How are we going to tell him where we go first?”

“I don’t know. I still have to go and recruit some newborns for Aro in some time, for a week. So I guess we can tell him before I head off.” he suggested and took her hands in his, clasping them and whispering, “We complete each other.”

“I know Marcus, you don’t need to remind me.” she giggled and kissed his cheek, “Although I do enjoy it when you do.” she added and met him in a kiss.

Marcus chuckled and released her softly, “I’m heading out tonight, I hope you don’t mind.”

Didyme looked over at him with confusion, “But I thought you didn’t have to go for another week?”

“I can leave whenever, but the sooner I get it done, the better. I can spend today with you and then I’m going to be gone. We need to tell Aro sooner or later.”

“Alright.” she said and stood up, twirling her way into Marcus’ arms as they went down into the main part of the castle.

--M--

Didyme sat at the vanity as she settled down for the day. She brushed her long hair slowly, wishing that Marcus would be behind her, watching her face through the mirror and teasing her slightly. It was a playful tease and it always made her want him more. He was always so happy.

The door opened quietly and she looked at it. It was Aro. “Hello Aro.” she said and stood up from the vanity. “Are you taking our news okay?” she asked and gave him a small hug.

He smiled stiffly and pulled away from her. “Is something wrong Aro?” she asked and backed away, hitting the stool to the vanity.

“Oh nothing unparticular.” he said and stared at her. Her hair was long as normal, but it was loose, normally she put it into a braid to keep it from getting tangled. Her night gown was short and a light pink color. “I don’t see why you wear that, you don’t sleep.”

“Maybe not, but it makes me feel human.” she said and sat down on the stool, spinning back to the mirror. “Besides, Marcus and I will be living with humans for a while, there is no reason why we shouldn’t at least act human” she added sarcastically.

Aro ground his teeth together and sneered. “So… How long do you think we will be gone with Marcus?” he asked, but Didyme heard the harsh sneer behind the question.

“Why do you hate Marcus so? He has given you nothing but honor and he’s given me pure happiness and bliss.” she said and looked at him through the mirror. Why was he acting this way?

Aro walked closer to Didyme. If he couldn’t keep Marcus here, then he would make sure he stayed here, Didyme was taking Marcus away from him and he wasn’t going to let that happen.

He quickly sliced his claws through her shoulder, the arm falling off. She stood up and kicked Aro in defense, sending him flying across the room. “Why Aro?” she asked weakly and put her hand to her shoulder, feeling her dormant blood.

“You will not take Marcus away from me!” he growled and lunged at her, taking her down and slicing his claws through her other arm. She fought fruitlessly and watched Aro as he brought his mouth down on her neck, severing her off from her body. He stood up from her figure and grabbed her fidgeting arm, throwing it on her pile of severed limbs. He took a match and lit it, throwing it onto her body. He watched as her limbs twitched in the flame and smoked into ashes.

--M--

One Week Later

Marcus came back to the coven house late in the afternoon, with three new newborns with unique powers, just for Aro. He ran into the main room and saw the despairing faces of the vampires. “What happened?” he asked and grabbed a younger vampire by the shoulder. She looked up at him and instant fear ran through her bones. “What happened?” he asked again and shook her shoulder.

“Ask Aro.” she answered and sprinted away in a blur.

“What?” he asked out loud and bewildered. He sprinted into Aro’s office, where Caius was with Suplicia and Athenodora. “What’s happened?” he asked loudly and stared at Aro furiously.

“I found Didyme.” he said, his voice all serious. “And she was all but a pile of ashes.”

Marcus froze and fell to the ground. Athenodora looked Caius and he shook his head, she looked at Marcus and sighed. Suplicia looked down at Aro and then at Marcus. “Who?” he asked slowly, he could break at any second.

“I have no idea Marcus.” Aro said solemnly and stared at his rigid body. “Get up.”

Marcus stared at him and kept frozen in the spot he was at. Athenodora looked Caius and glared at him. Caius stood up and grabbed Marcus by the arm. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.” He led Marcus away from the room with Athenodora following close behind.

Caius led Marcus into an empty room and Marcus screamed. Caius looked at Athenodora and nodded for her to leave. “Caius?” she asked wearily.

“Just go. I’ll be fine.” Caius said and looked at Marcus, he continued to scream. “He just needs to get it out. Tell Aro to go ahead.” Athenodora nodded and disappeared. “Go ahead and scream Marcus, it will be over with soon.” Caius whispered once Athenodora was gone and he shut the door behind her.

Marcus stood up and charged at Caius. He blocked the blow and threw Marcus across the room, breaking a table. “Attacking me won’t make her come back!” he yelled and dodged another attack from Marcus.

--M--

Present Day

Marcus sat in the chair with no thoughts running through his mind. He could feel the power of love radiate off of the vampires who had threatened their lives and felt a pang of misery in his chest. He hadn’t felt that in such a long time. The mortal next to the century old vampire was frightened, she should be. But the vampire was protecting her. He should’ve been there that last week. He could’ve taken her with him and then they could’ve run off. Why didn’t they?

He looked at Aro and stood up. He couldn’t take this much longer. If he had to take one more look at those two he was going to be sick. He glared at them and walked away. If not for some unknown force he would not be here any longer. He hated his life. With out her… life was pointless.

He wandered aimlessly and eventually found himself in a secret garden. Took him years to find this. Actually he was with… Didyme when he did. She loved the place, for she went there many times before she was excluded from the rest of the fortress and he tried to go there just to remind him that she did exist, that she did make him whole, that she did make everything around him seem right. “Damn it!” he yelled and sat down in the garden. “Why can’t I be with her?” he asked out loud and cried in pain.

A War I Didn't Start

Written By: DiamondSummit
You can find the original here:
All credit goes to the author

Chapter One

The Beginning of Forever

Bree’s POV

Oh, I was so happy! My boyfriend, Patrick, had just taken me to the most beautiful restaurant and now we were walking on the beach. He was always so thoughtful like that. Like when other boys might take me to the movies, he drove me all the way to the ocean to make the date memorable. I had been dating him for two years and loved every second of it. I was completely in love with him. There was no other way to describe what I felt. It could only be love. So now I was standing next to him, holding his hand while watching waves crash under a full moon.

“Bree,” he said, turning me so we were facing each other. “I want to tell you something.”

“Go ahead,” I said, my quiet tone matching his. he nervously ruffled his hair.

“Bree, you are the most amazing girl in the world. When I think of being away from you, it hurts. I don’t know if you feel the same way, but I know that I love you.” he looked up at me, presenting a gold necklace out of his pocket. “I want you to have this, it was my mothers”. I wrapped my arms around him, happy tears falling down my face.

“I love you, too!” I said, kissing his face. I felt his lips break out into a huge smile against my own. He fixed his mother’s necklace around my neck. I knew how much it meant to him. His mother had been killed by the serial killers only a month ago. I couldn’t breath I was so happy.

We sat smiling under the stars just happy to be with each other for another hour. When we got up to leave, I heard a rustling in the parking lot. Slowly, two figures detached themselves from the shadows. They looked like they were glowing in the moon light. One was a boy with light blond hair, the other a woman with fiery red hair. both were extremely beautiful and both had bright red eyes. I pressed myself to Patrick’s side.

“Take the boy, I’ll change the girl,” the woman said. Her voice was sweet, yet sent chills up my spine. The blond boy started stalking toward Patrick. I put myself between them.

“Move, girl!” he snarled. “You will both die no matter what you do!” I froze. They were going to kill us! I looked to Patrick. His eyes were filled with pain. He kissed my lips before breaking away with a cry. in horror, I saw the boy had his teeth deep into Patrick’s neck.

“No!” I screamed. The life was going from Patrick’s eyes. What kind of monsters were they?

“Bree,” he whispered before falling to the ground dead.

I screamed as ice cold blades cut into my own throat. The woman was biting me. She pulled her teeth out and the burning began.

Three days later.

I opened my eyes at last. The burning was gone! Everything was clear, crystal sharp. Above me stood a blond boy. I sat up.

“What am I?” I said, my voice was clear and light.

“A vampire,” The boy answered. I nodded. I could remember nothing other then the burning. What ever I was before was gone now. I was a vampire. There was no question about it.

“Who are you?”

“Riley.”

“Who am I?”

“You are a soldier for the army. You will fight with us when we go to defeat the gold-eyes. You will hunt with us in the city of Seattle and learn to fight. That is your purpose. You’re name is Bree.” I stood up next to him. “Test your strength, Bree,” He ordered. I wrapped my hand around the flimsy gold chain that lay around my neck, like a collar. I squeezed lightly; the collar-thing crumbled and fell on the ground.

Riley smiled and led me away from the pounding waves.

“Welcome to the war.” He said and started running in the direction of an amazing smell. The smell of food. The smell of blood.

Chapter 2

Thirst

I followed Riley as we ran at amazing speed towards the good smell. We came up to the edge of a city. It occurred to me that not many people were out on the street. Looking up, I saw stars. Lots of stars. It was night but I could see like it was brighter than day. A lone person walked on the streets. They were upwind.

I caught the sent, and fire tore down my throat. I needed to drink. Sinking into a hunting crouch, I stalked forward through the shadows. A feeling was echoing in the back of my head, almost like a tangible thing. I pushed it away towards the human on the side walk. The human froze. So did I. could he have possibly detected me? No. experimentally, I pull the feeling back and the human continued walking. Maybe this would seem more interesting if my throat wasn’t burning. I pushed the feeling towards the human again and leaped.

It was perfect. The human froze again and I landed square on his back, carrying both of us to the ground. The next second, my lips and teeth broke the skin of his neck, and hot, delicious blood started flowing down my burning throat. Riley stood above me the whole time, watching me drink from my first kill. Once I was done, Riley picked up the body and threw it into the small strip of trees 50 feet away.

“Good job,” Riley said. “It seems you have a talent. You can immobilize people. For future reference, when you kill, you have to dispose of the evidence. You will only hunt when I say you can. You must kill humans only when they are alone. If you fail to follow the rules of the army, you will be disposed of.”

“Army?” I asked. “How many are we?”

“Right now, there are 13 vampires, not counting me or the creator. You will not ask anything about the creator, because when we face the gold-eyes, our minds will be looked at by one of their soldiers. They cannot see our creator’s plans, or else we will all die. When we arrive at the army base, the others may want to fight you. If you lose, you will die. It’s every man for himself, here.” I nodded.

We ran through the maze of the city; weaving in and out of alley, jumping fences, sometimes even scaling buildings that were in our way. Finally we landed in a dirty lot that was only accessible by climbing over a rotting, deserted building.

A quiet meadow in the forest of mankind. I smile as I realized how true that was. Humans scampered in and out of their nests like small rodents. They would know to avoid certain areas where the hunters lived. While they believed they were safe in their dens, we would hunt them. But hey, no human was built to live forever, so why not die to support those who do?

A low growl pulled me out of my thoughts. What did Riley say about the others wanting to fight me? How it was do or die here? Well, it wouldn’t do me any good by worrying. Bring it on, vampire army! Maybe my talent would give me an advantage.

The other 11 vampires slunk out of the shadows, looking like jungle cats. One in particular stood out. She had vivid scarlet eyes and sleek blond hair that was cropped at her shoulders. The others gathered around her, like she was a leader among them. She was the one growling.

I pulled my lips over my teeth to warn her off, but she responded by crouching into a hunting stance. Riley silently reminded me with his eyes that he wouldn’t help me. I nodded to him and sank down to mirror the challenger’s position. We circled for a few seconds. I started to push my talent towards her. She froze for half a second before shaking it off.

“You’ll have to do better than that, new one,” the challenger spat. “You didn’t believe you were the only one with a talent, did you? You’ll need a miracle to get that thing strong enough to work on a full vampire. Humans are easier; trust me, I know.”

“I’m still new at this,” I snarled. “Besides, I don’t need a gift to take you!” Cocky, I know. I just hoped it would work and make her think I was overconfident so she would let her guard down. She smiled a nasty smile. Oops, I guess that didn’t work.

“Trust me, youngling,” she was still smiling. “You’ll need everything you have to take me.” And with that, she charged.

Fighting was the most amazing thing ever. We came together with a crash; teeth snapping, hands flashing. For five seconds, we grappled with each other trying to hit a weakness. Then we pulled apart and circled again. Her eyes calculated my every move. Mine trained on her body and where her center of weight was.

We clashed again. This time she crashed down on me and tried to make me submit. I braced my weight to hold her off while twisting to bite her stomach. Growling, she pulled away again.

All the others were staring with calm faces. They didn’t care about me. If I died, they wouldn’t flinch. The challenger brought me back to reality by slamming into me again. This time she was successful in pinning me to the ground. Going for the one chance I had, I bit down hard in her shoulder. She screamed and pressed her bare teeth against my throat. Oops, again! I shouldn’t have exposed my neck like that! And now it would cost me.

“Let. Go. Of. My. Arm.” She hissed. I complied. It was too late for me to get back on top now, I was done. To my utter surprise, she sat up and looked at me funny. “She’s a good fighter. She does what she’s told,” she said, turning to Riley. “Hell, she fought ME off!” now she was smiling. Her mood swings were giving me whiplash. Standing up, she offered me her hand.

“Welcome to the army, kid!” her voice was now light and happy. Like I said, WHIPLASH! “I’m Sara. Sorry about the whole ‘fight to the death’ thing. We have to see who’s good. I’m the best fighter here, so I’m always stuck with it. Congratulations, though. So far, no one has been able to fight me off for more then a few seconds, let alone bite me! You’re a natural!”

Great. I was a natural at fighting and, ultimately, killing. I looked around the ‘base camp’, as Riley called it. This was my new home. My first day and look! I’d already made a friend in Sara. I just hoped first impressions prove wrong, because right now I was still a little scared of her. The other 10 started to warm up. One red hair boy stepped forward.

“Hi!” he said, beaming. “I’m Max! Sara is my mate. I’m glad you’re not dead! That would mean no more new people for a while-” Max continued to tell me about the wonders of living in a vampire army until I tuned him out. Looking around, I remembered Riley had said there were 12 vampires already here, 13 including me. In the shadows, a pair of gleaming dark maroon eyes caught my own. They belonged to a dark looking boy. He was pale like the rest of us, but his entire figure looked shady. He was simply staring at me. When I met his gaze, he turned and strode deeper into the shadows.

I’d found the 13th vampire.

Chapter 3

Learning the Ropes

I was still looking into the shadows after the 13th vampire as Max talked. The others in the army were still looking at me like I had an extra head.

“Is it always like this?” I whispered in the softest voice I could manage.

“Don’t worry,” Sara whispered back. “You’re new, they’re interested. It’ll blow over after a few days.” (The other vampires can’t hear while they are whispering. They may have great hearing, but they also have great vocal cords, so it’s possible for vampires to have private conversations that other vampires would have a hard time hearing and humans would have no hope of hearing.)

Glancing around at the other vampires, I noticed most of their clothing was ripped. Their physical features varied, but all had shocking red eyes. Was that what I looked like? Riley’s eyes were marginally darker then the others, but still bright scarlet. Why did the 13th vampire have maroon eyes? One vampire pushed my shoulder to get my attention. His face was very angular; from his eyes to his nose to his mouth to his jaw. Everything had an edge. His hair was a dusty brown, his skin was deathly pale. No, duh! I thought to myself. He is dead. Well, by human standards anyway. Funny, I remembered some human things, but had no actual memories. Breaking from my thoughts, I looked up at the one who had pushed me.

“What?” I asked. Who cared if it sounded rude, he shouldn’t have pushed me!

“Do you space out like that a lot?” he asked, smiling. I glared. Yep, that’s me; the psycho spacey vampire who, by the way, will kick your ass if you make another comment like that, bud.

“Yes, I do. You got a problem with that?” Say something, I dare you.

“No, it’s just different. Normally new ones are testing their limits. You haven’t tried to punch through a wall yet, so I’m guessing you’re not into that stuff.” His smile grew wider.

“Well, thank you for the compliment, I think… Um, by the way, what’s your name?” I hope that was a compliment, or else I had just embarrassed my self.

“Lester,” Lester said. “And you?”

“Bree.”

“Well, Bree, nice to meet you.” His voice turned from joking to soft and kind. I would have noticed if I hadn’t been doing a happy dance in my head. SCORE! I have a total of three friends! Sara, Lester, and Max! I’m on a roll! “Bree, you’re spacing again.” Lester reminded me. Oops, I have to remember to keep my spacing to a minimum. I must not scare off my three new friends. I noticed ‘oops’ is becoming a recurring theme here. That kind of worries me.

“So, these are my friends, Oliver and Jaro,” Lester pointed out two boys. Each waved at their name. Jaro was tall and wiry, with chestnut hair falling to his shoulders and high cheek bones. Oliver was built thicker then either Lester or Oliver and as tall as Lester. His platinum blond hair was short and made his eyes stand out all the more.

“Nice to meet you, Bree,” Oliver smiled, extending his hand. I shook it. Jaro was less formal.

“Welcome to the club, Bree!” he said, pulling me into a hug. He literally squeezed the air out of my lungs. Lester started laughing.

“Down, Jaro!” Sara laughed. Something about her laugh was off, though. Looking over, I say that her eyes were hard. Jaro released me from his death hug. Lester was still laughing, but his eyes had turned hard, too. They both stopped laughing at the same time and glaring at each other.

“Come on, Bree,” Sara hissed. “I’ll show you around the mill.” She then grabbed my arm and towed me across the courtyard.

“What was that about?” I whispered. Max had joined us, sporting a matching scowl.

“Lester and friends aren’t exactly friendly towards us,” Max mumbled. “You see, Sara is the most powerful vampire here, minus Riley. Lester is extremely competitive and wants to take Sara’s place. Right now Riley recognizes Sara as second in command, but if she losses one fight to Lester, she won’t be. Even you getting your teeth on her threatens her position and boosts yours.”

“Look, Bree,” Sara spoke up. “You can be friends with who ever you like, but look out for Lester and his friends. They will probably try to get you to join their group because you had a shot at beating me. You’ll have the same pressure every where. Even now, I’m trying to get you to understand in the hope that you’ll stay with us instead of going to them…” she trailed off. At least she was being honest with me. I already trusted her more then I probably should.

“Can’t I be friends with both of you?” I asked.

“Maybe for a little while, but a fight will break out eventually. Then you’ll have to pick a side.” I nodded. Shouldn’t an army be united with a common goal, not divided in a quest for power? They had led me into the mill building.

“So, on a different note, there are some things you should know about life here,” Max continued, his voice lighter then before. “You may not leave the mill. You may not hunt without Riley’s permission. When Riley calls us for training, you must come. If you fight another vampire to the death, you must burn them at night.”

“Wait, is that how you kill a vampire? By burning them?” I asked.

“Yes, you rip them up and burn the pieces,” Sara said it like it was the weather, not how we could be killed. “You have to have Riley’s permission to fight to the death, though. That only means no burning, I’ve ripped many people to shreds,” Sara smiled wickedly. I just stared at her. She shrugged.

“Do you want to explore on your own for a little while?” max said while smiling at the expression on my face.

“Sure,” I said. I needed some time to think without being interrupted by fighting vampires. Sara and Max walked back out into the courtyard. I started wandering. The inside of the mill was, in one word, empty. A slice of sun had come out and was shining through the few windows that weren’t boarded up. It was actually bright here, like people had forgotten to board up all the windows in this section. Shards of stray light were reflecting every where. Looking around the corner, I saw the 13th vampire standing there. Sparkling in the sunlight.

“What do you want?” the 13th asked quietly. His voice was deep. It was nice, it reminded me of thunder. Not loud, but powerful all the same. His back was to me.

“I’m just looking around,” I explained. “Who are you?”

“No one important,” he replied. I walked a closer until I could see behind his chin length hair. It was almost black, but not quite; more of a dark brown. His eyes were maroon like I remembered. He met my gaze and turned back to the window.

“Why are you’re eyes darker?” I asked. Deep, rolling laughs shook his frame.

“I don’t exactly follow the ‘rules of the army’, so Riley doesn’t give me the ‘privilege’ of hunting.” He snarled at Riley’s name. “You should go,” he continued. I opened my mouth to argue, but he cut me off. “Trust me, its better if you go right now. I need to be alone for a little.” His voice was soft, yet commanding. If he wanted to be alone, fine. I turned to go. At the edge of the room, I looked back at the 13th.

“Can you just tell me your name?” he turned his head to me and stared with his maroon eyes.

“Altan. My name is Altan.”

Chapter 4

Training

I left Altan to be alone. Strolling back out into the courtyard, Sara and Max strolled over stood so Max and I were flanking Sara. Sara then led us to an overhang over the main doors leading into the mill. She jumped up and lounged on the wet concrete. Max followed, sitting down next to her. I jumped up last and leaned against the back wall.

“So Bree,” Sara said, leaning into Max’s hand as he stroked her hair. “You know about our group and Lester’s group. How much do you know about the others?”

“The only one I know outside of those you said is Altan,” I answered. Max and Sara stared at me funny. “What?” I asked. Why was everyone looking at me like that today?

“Altan’s power is the ability to disappear,” Max said slowly. “He can disappear for up to one minute at a time. Once he has it developed more, he’ll be unstoppable. That’s the only reason he’s still alive.”

“What do you mean ‘still alive’?” I asked alarmed. He seamed nice enough to me. Sara looked off into the distance.

“He doesn’t listen to Riley. He fights on his own terms.” She said softly. “He’s a good fighter, too. Too good to kill. Riley thinks once his strength goes down a little, he’ll obey the rules a little more. Then Riley will allow him to rebuild his strength. He could uproot me if he tried. But what do you know about the others?”

“Nothing.” I looked out over the courtyard. The other vampires were in small groups.

“They,” Sara pointed out two girls sitting together, “are molly” she pointed at the one with blond hair “and Isla,” she gestured to the one with black hair and tan skin underneath the paleness, “they will side with us if need be. They were born around the same time.” She then pointed out a boy with dark curly hair and a girl with strawberry blond hair. “Those are Eli and Kendra. They will stick with Riley. They don’t care who’s next in charge, just who’s in charge now. And lastly,” she growled, “Grace and Hope. Don’t let their names fool you, they are deadly. They have telepathy with each other, so when fighting together they’re unstoppable against a single opponent. They double team that one person, fighting in perfect time. Two on two with them is easy, though. They get overwhelmed easily, since they can’t control their power.” The last two were identical, both with ringlets of tawny gold. The only difference was Grace had a crescent scar on her cheek and Hope had one on her shoulder.

“Where’s Riley?” I asked.

“He hunts and talks with the creator during the day then at night we do fight training.” Max explained. “He should be back soon,” he said looking at the small shard of sun exposing the sunset through the clouds. At his words, Riley jumped down into the clearing.

“Everyone! Gather for training!” he called over the mill. People started assembling in a line. I noticed Altan slip out of the cover of shadows in the mill. The setting sun cast a soft red light over the clearing before slipping away. In that second of light, I saw Altan more clearly. He had scars covering almost all of his neck and shoulders.

“Listen, Bree,” Sara pulled me aside quickly. “Every time a newborn is brought here, Riley has us rip the newborn apart to see how long they can go on fighting.” I swallowed loudly. This wasn’t going to be fun. “He should pick out some easy fighters, someone where you actually have a chance of fighting off. He feels if you give up, he won’t know what you’re capable of. Just ignore the pain. It will go away in the end. Good luck.” She straightened up. We were now all standing in a line. Riley’s eyes moved up and down our ranks before coming to rest on me.

“Separate into teams,” he ordered. “Sara, Max, Bree, Eli, Kendra, Isla, and Altan are in one group. Oliver, Lester, Jaro, Molly, Grace, Hope, and I are in the other. Bree, you’re new so let’s start with you fighting from your team. Grace, Hope, you’ll be fighting for our team. No one can join the fight until I join.”

A small snarl touched Sara’s lips. She wasn’t happy about me facing Hope and Grace. Neither was I for that matter. We separated until Sara’s team was in one line with Riley’s directly parallel to it about 30 feet away. I stepped out of my line towards my opponents. Grace and Hope looked at each other once before they started stalking towards me with growls building in their throats. They mirrored each others movement perfectly, right down to identical growls. I growled back. My growl was deeper, fuller, then theirs. Their growl sounded like a wild cat. Mine was like cracking thunder. I knew I should be scared, but I couldn’t manage it. They were challenging me, and I would prove that I wouldn’t take it. We had progressed to the middle of the space between lines. They started to circle me. Reaching deep down, I found my power to make people freeze. It would only work for a second, but that was all I needed. If Sara was right, when they were fighting, stunning one would be like stunning them both. I just hoped that Sara understood what she was talking about.

Throwing my power toward Grace, I leapt at Hope. My plan worked. Both of them were stunned and I managed to tackle Hope to the ground before they could react. As I was pinning Hope down, she woke up and started struggling. A half a second later Grace landed on my back and started pulling at my shoulders. I gritted my teeth and leaned down, biting Hope’s neck. Hope and Grace cried out as I clamped down. I got ready to pull Hope’s head from her shoulders when an outside force unclenched my jaw. The same force pushed me off Hope and onto my back. I struggled, but it was no use. Grace and Hope jumped up to take advantage of my weak position, Hope holding me down like I just did to her and Grace pinning my legs. Sara gasped and let out a full roar directed at Riley. Nearly all the other vampires were growling at him. Riley simply smiled.

“Riley! How dare you?” Sara snapped. “She almost beat Hope! How could you interfere?”

“Easily,” he replied. “I still have to know how she takes getting ripped up, and if I have to force her to submit using my power, I will.” I threw my legs up, trying to dislodge Grace, but it was no use. Grace had a firm hold and Riley’s power kept beating me down.

“Returning the favor,” Hope whispered before sinking her teeth into my neck and jerking her head up. The result was a long gash that led from the base of my neck to the bottom of my collar bone. Along with mind blowing pain. I screamed. Riley smiled. Hope and Grace laughed. My head fell back, Hope’s venom burning in my skin.

Then I heard a roar and both Hope and Grace were thrown off me. Altan stood above me in a protective stance. His lips were drawn back in a full snarl, deep growls ripping from his chest. He sounded like an avalanche or water fall, his tone drowning out the weak kitten snarls coming from Hope and Grace. Suddenly his form flickered and he was gone. Hope and Grace stood wide eyed waiting for him to show himself again. Riley scanned the battle field for his invisible foe.

I felt a hand cover my mouth to warn me not to jump. Then soft fingers started gently rubbing the cut Hope had left me. Altan’s invisible fingers were pushing all the venom out of the bite and it slowly began to disappear. My own venom sealed the cut shut, with only a faint crescent scar to show where Hope’s teeth had marked me. I felt Altan’s hair fall against my cheek as he worked to get my neck fixed before Riley saw.

He wasn’t fast enough.

His body became slightly visible again without him noticing. Riley noticed, though. Riley crouched and sprung in one movement. He was fast. I was faster. I threw out my hand, knocking Altan away, before rolling onto my shoulders and pushing off. The timing was right so my feet hit Riley square in the chest. Riley flew away and landed flat on his back. I stood up and roared Riley down. It was pretty intimidating.

To bad I didn’t factor in Grace and Hope.

They hit my side, one after the other. Hope bit the top of my left arm and Grace got my right shoulder. I dipped my head and fixed my teeth into Grace’s neck. Riley wouldn’t stop me this time.

I pulled up, ripping Grace’s head from her shoulders. Hope screamed. I didn’t wait to behead her. Their bodies fell silently to the ground. I looked around the fight that had broken around my ears.

After Riley joined the fight, it turned into a full blown battle. Eli was already in piece and Kendra didn’t have much of a chance. Jaro was fighting Kendra with ease. Oliver and Max circled each other. Isla and Molly were taking occasional snaps at one another. Lester and Sara were locked together, trying to force each other to step down with pure strength. The most fearsome fight was that of Altan and Riley.

They were clawing at each other’s faces. They pushed against each other, but neither could unbalance the other. Both had wide snarls. Both were growling and roaring. Altan’s maroon eyes were bright with fury. Riley slashed and found purchase on Altan’s neck. Oh no you don’tmy lips drew back into an involuntary snarl. Riley was jerking his head to tear Altan’s neck. Taking off running, I leapt half way across the clearing and landed hard on Riley’s back. My knees holding on to his waist and my hand next to Altan’s on Riley’s shoulder. I had so much momentum, it pushed Altan and Riley back a few steps.

“I like to be able to fight my own battles,” I snarled into Riley’s ear. “Don’t you?” He twisted his head to try and bite my face. I threw my power at him and bit down into his neck. Then I ripped up, causing an identical gash to the one Hope had given me. Altan bit into Riley’s jaw as my power faded away.

“Go,” Altan said through his hold on Riley. I nodded, brought my feet beneath me, and pushed off. Jaro had just finished off Kendra and was moving toward Max. I blocked his path.

“Well, Bree,” he said. “Aren’t you lucky no one has torn you up yet? I remember my first time getting beaten. It was hell, but at least once it was over I knew how to dismantle a vampire. I’m sorry, but if I have the chance I’ll do the same to you. That’s just how things work here.”

“Why, thank you Jaro!” I said sarcastically. “So nice to know you’ll rip me limb from limb if you get the chance! What a friend you are.” He laughed.

“Well it doesn’t sound too good if you put it that way!” he cried, still laughing. I smiled a little then attacked. Anyone could tell he didn’t have anything against me. Like he said, that’s just the way things go here.

Jaro was a good fighter. He almost got me on several occasions. Almost being the key word there. After a little while, Riley called for everyone to stop.

“Once again,” Riley spat. “Altan has broken the rules once again.” His voice was deadly quiet. “Jaro, Molly, hold him.” Jaro and Molly darted forward and grabbed Altan’s arms. Altan curled his lip slightly, but otherwise gave no sign that he had been overpowered. Riley walked up slowly until he was only inches from Altan. Riley’s hand shot out and pushed Altan’s head back, exposing his neck. I took a step forward, but Sara put her hand on my shoulder as a warning. Riley leaned in and bit deep into Altan’s neck. Altan involuntarily cried out before squeezing his eyes shut and going silent. When Riley released a moment later, I could see the cut was deep and full of venom.

It would make another one of many scars.

Riley stalked away and the rest of the army dispersed. I walked over to Altan, who still had his eyes closed tight. I lay on hand on his shoulder so he wouldn’t be startled. He didn’t even open his eyes. He would know me by my smell. I started rubbing the bite on his neck, mimicking what he had done to me to get the venom out. Slowly, the bite began to heal. Once it finally left its scar, it was lighter then the others. Altan opened his eyes at last.

“Why?” he asked.

“Returning the favor.”