The sun had set some hours ago and waking up if I thought my sleep from the night before had been restful this one was something else entirely. I knew Ryan was a deep sleeper and I managed to stand from the bed before my absence was noticed and he rolled over, lazily opening one eye as the satisfaction was felt equally between us.

"I hope you're not planning on running" His amusement was clear, certain that I would be unable to get away from this place.

"Not at all" It was a lie but he didn't need to know that and right now I had no intention of it either. Walking into the bathroom I looked back to see he was again sleeping and went about washing my face before taking a moment to look at myself. I appeared as a shadow, a pale outline in the darkness of the room. Looking closer I gingerly ran a finger over my lips that were full and swollen from the assault they had just endured and the smile appeared involuntarily.

But this changed nothing.

Going back to the bedroom I dressed quickly, grabbing the Watchers boots I headed out into the kitchen surprised to find the remains of Valerie gone and the kitchen cleaned. I became instantly alert; I had not looked around properly and could I really have missed something vital like another resident or was there a guard outside the door? There was no sign of anyone and not wanting to waste the chance to get away, I went over to the windows and tried to open the door as quietly as I could.

Now I planned on escaping.

Looking down from the tiny balcony edge Andre had done as I asked and waving I got Owens attention from beside the Night Watcher van parked in the street. I had no idea what he had planned but clearly the curtains Andre and Valerie had set up for my fake escape hadn't been missed by him from where I had left them to hang down the building. But clearly he did have a plan and wolf whistle sounded into the night followed by the shrill whoosh of cord sounded from behind me and turning Terry was jumping down from the roof.

"Come on Lucy" He whispered, extending his hand I didn't hesitate it taking it as held attached me to his harness and we were hoisted upwards onto the roof. Cam and another I did not know went about pulling up the rope as they all moved efficiently like they were on some well thought out military style operation.

"What now?" I had no idea what was next, I only told Owen where I was, knowing he would know what to do. The other thing I had asked was for Mandy and my parents to be taken somewhere safe so since he was here, I prayed that had been done too.

"You come with me" Luke emerged from behind the air conditioning unit but something felt off from the low tones he spoke with and how his eyes never reached mine. He was usually full of confidence, and that was missing so all I could think of was my first rule, you can never trust a vampire.

"No"

"What?" Cam asked confused, "But he's like your friend"

"I'm not going to make assumptions over any of this family bullshit" I threw his own words back at him and he looked a little impressed.

"I told you that you were a smart girl, and to confident" He teased; stopping his approach he lost the playful attitude. "We leave now or do you sentence more to death?"

He looked between the three with us; it was a never-ending game, keeping the balance of a life for a life and he knew he had won when I nodded and walked towards him. "Where are we going?"

"Somewhere safe" I doubted that but followed him anyway, I didn't really have much choice. We took the stairwell on the other side of the building and seeing his bike I reluctantly got on behind him. To my surprise we ended up at the Corner Mile, which was still crowded even in the early hours of Sunday morning.

"How is this safe?" So far I didn't have a great record here and judging by the crowd who knew what could be lurking amongst it.

"He hates crowds, especially in places like this when it's not just humans or vamps around" Luke only nodded to the doorman and we entered without a problem. I stopped by the bar, not hesitating in ordering a drink as Luke stood at my side, glancing over the room like security.

"Its on his tab!" I yelled to the barmaid, who glanced at Luke and hit something into the computer. I guess he did have a tab. Three shots later I grabbed a scotch on the rocks and seeing I was done taking advantage of his funds we headed back up into one of the booths we had been in before. "Keep the door open"

I lingered outside, not willing to be trapped in there again but seems it didn't matter what I wanted as he rolled his eyes, grabbing my arm and forcefully shoving me inside, hitting the button behind him.

"You're already drunk?" Again he was like the parent lecturing a naughty child and I wasn't sure how to respond so took another sip, savoring the burn of the amber liquid. I hadn't eaten all day and my last meal was dinner on Friday so the alcohol I had just chugged down was reacting badly in my stomach. "I'm taking that as a yes and that's a good thing"

"Why?"

"It weakens your senses" I dropped the piece of ice I was crunching back into the glass noisily, his words made me sober up slightly because he was right. What was I thinking?

"Don't worry, it's a good thing. You'll be harder to track" He got comfortable in the booth, signaling for me to sit but I stayed where I was by the curtain.

"Is Mandy, are Mandy and my parents ok? What do you mean track?" The knitted jumper was perfect for the weather outside but not so much for the stuffy room and with the booze now flowing through my veins, I was getting hot.

"I've been learning some things from Darvid, the vampire who marks you can also use it to locate you. When Dominik knows you're gone he'll use it to call to you and in turn find you"

"Who is Dominik?" I held back a burp and finally took a seat; well that's just great. There was another vampire involved.

"Dominik is the one who marked you?" He leaned forward confused.

"No that's Ryan"

"We just left Dominik's apartment, he was the one who paid Curtis to watch you. Was that not him?" I'd already told him it was Ryan so maybe he was one of the others who lived there, Ryan did say all the residents were vampire.

"No, that was Ryan" I quickly told him what I knew of him, how he came into town and came back a vampire. "So you must have got it wrong"

I felt proud of myself for working out that mystery, shaking my now empty glass I looked towards the door. "Can I go get another since we're hiding out here?"

Luke only nodded as I fumbled around managing to work out where the button was and looking back before walking out he was already on his phone. Finding the bar I ordered another drink, tapping my fingers to some new dance tune I knew Mandy would like and looked around curiously. Golden eyes told me all I needed to know about the few guys sticking to the corners, yet tonight the vampires all looked human and I struggled to tell them apart.

But that was just it, being human was their greatest camouflage. It didn't matter what they told us on the TV, what the scientist discovered or how we as the dominant species declared victory in the war - they had won. Most were completely unaffected by the Coming Out. They were in control, they always had been. To say they were the ones lacking kindness, an inability to love was a lie. I had been shown that.

"I did as you asked" Andre's appearance scared me; I wasn't expecting to ever see him again.

"Thank you" I grabbed my drink and decided to head back to Luke but he followed, "You can go now, I wouldn't let Ryan catch you"

"Who is Ryan?" I looked at him frowning but that conversation was cut short as the club doors burst open and the DJ stopped the music. The body of the doorman came flying into the crowd causing everyone to scream, running to other side of the room as if the distance would protect them.

"That guy" As people all froze around us; no one knew what to do as the furious vampire entered. Instantly the other vampires all changed their face but none approached and beside me, Andre was practically in tears.

"Time to go Trouble" Luke whispered in my ear, keeping his head down I followed his lead not expecting Andre to follow and slipping towards a back exit by the stairs Luke bumped it open but the shrill scream had all three of us stopping and looking back.

Ryan had gone up to the DJ's podium and I saw Darvid blocking the main entrance; a few others took their place around the stand and all had the same look about them that Darvid did, a hollowness that showed not all the information we are fed about the vampires was false.

"Now somewhere in here is something I want" His voice was raised, the microphone not really needed in the silence of the club. One of his followers grabbed a girl from the edge of the crowd, roughly taking her up to Ryan.

"Now I will count to three and if it isn't here by the time I finish counting, this girl will be the first to die. One" I went to move but Luke held me back.

"Don't be stupid," He growled.

"Two"

"I can't let him kill her," I snapped back, trying to free my am from his hold.

"Two and a half...." He was toying with us now. He knew I was here and knew I was going to like this.

"Three" The vicious growl ripped through the sound system muffled by the victim's screams and the chorus that erupted from the crowd.

"We go, now" Luke opened the door and Andre pushed past us running to freedom as the now limp body was tossed over the side onto the dance floor and another victim was taken up to the slaughter.

"Luke, he is going to kill them all" I took one more look at the crowd, seeing a man not to far from us turn a pinkish red color he phased out of sight completely distracting me. "What was that?"

"That's a cupid, if we don't leave now...." More screams echoed in the room as the body count made it to three and I was picked up over his shoulder and carried out of the club. Knowing what we left behind and from the rush on alcohol this time when I protested to be put down it was good a good reason.

"Or I'm going to puke on you" I was done quickly, not helping and I barely bended over before I was throwing up a horrible acidic bile that was pure scotch and vodka. After the initial removal of my stomach contents I stood against the all gagging, wishing I had some water. "Luke, he's killing people in there. We have to go back"

"He's a vampire, its what we do Lucy. Come on, let's get you some water and some food" I couldn't make myself go and took a step back towards the door when my arm felt like it had just been ripped from my body. I couldn't stop the scream; falling to my knees the pain had me close to blacking out. "What?"

Luke pleaded with me to tell him what was wrong and in the end had me cradled in his arms and we were running down the street when it stopped. Luke put me down gently as I adjusted my jumper and checked my arm before he sniffed me. "Did you have his blood?"

"No!" I stepped back offended. I'm not like them, why the hell would he think that?

"But I can feel it in you" I thought back to how long I had slept for yesterday and how good I felt waking up with a lack of bruises and soreness.

"Would it have made me heal quicker?" Luke nodded, raising an eyebrow at me. "Fucking bastard"

"There's a diner not far from here, we'll talk there" He started walking and I followed.

"I don't know why I keep following you 'Mr. he wont come here because he doesn't like crowds' " Luke ignored me and kept walking, finding the diner we found a seat in the back and I ordered French toast, water and a coffee. "What's a cupid?"

The waitress took my order and I remembered the man who disappeared. "Exactly what you think minus the dwarf stature and nappy. They love those clubs, feeding off drunken human desires. They are like the incubus only instead of your life essence it's the other kind"

"Is there anything that doesn't feed off humans?" I smiled at the waitress as she put down the water and coffee, taking a big gulp from both.

"Most demons, its just the ones that do are more frequently seen because they need to be around what nourishes them" That made sense but the sight of my own food had my stomach growling and I didn't exactly eat with the manners my mother taught me.

"Need more?" Luke asked amused but glancing towards the entry he tensed and I didn't put down my knife and fork as I dared to turn around but no one was there that caught my attention.

"I'm good, thanks," I muttered, finishing off the coffee but he didn't stop staring. "So how old is Ryan?"

"Dominik"

"What ever"

"Older than me"

"So he really was a vampire the whole time I knew him?" Luke nodded, fiddling with the saltshaker. "How old Luke?"

"Its rude to ask a vampire their age" He put down the salt, silencing as the waitress came to take away my plate.

"That's what he said"

"He was right. When I asked you what he was to you, you said he was no one" I knew he was only picking on what I told him earlier about what he had actually meant to me.

"He is no one to me, it just wasn't always like that"

"Obviously"

We fell into silence and all I wanted was to go home, sit on the sofa with some pizza and wine with Mandy and criticize Jerry Springer. It was nearly four in the morning but thanks to all my sleep and possibly the addition of vampire blood I wasn't tired yet but Luke was starting to look it until I realized what else that might mean.

"When do you feed?"

"When I'm hungry" His eyes met mine as he stared at me, not as Luke but as the vampire. Intimidation didn't have the same affect on me anymore.

"When is that?"

"Don't worry, I'm not going to have a midnight snack on you" But his words lacked any humor.

"You couldn't even if you wanted to"

"That's true. Come on, time to go" He paid the cashier and we headed back out into the street. I wondered where Ryan was, still killing in the club or had he worked out that I was gone? I was certain the pain in my arm was a message of that sort. We had only gone a hundred meters when Luke pulled out a set of car keys and the orange lights of the alarm being disarmed lit up the night.

"Do you just have transport parked all over town?" His bike was back at the club and he laughed back to being Luke not the vampire.

"I had no idea what tonight would bring so got a few things set up around the place" I got in, my gut instinct of not trusting him flaring back up and as he got in his phone rang.

"Did she? I can try to find to find her" He gripped the steering wheel with his free hand, his knuckles going white as the muffled voice on the other end was screaming at him. "Ok tomorrow at noon. I'll get Owen to cover it up"

"What was that about?" I asked doubtful he would share with me.

"Darvid. Apparently you're missing and they want me to try and find you as I am a familiar in your eyes. They also need the Watchers to clean up a mess at Corner Mile" I knew what that meant as he phoned Owen.

"No she is here, that's what I thought too" He passed the phone over and I smiled hearing Owens familiar voice.

"Mandy and your parents are safe. I had Gerri take them upstate to your Aunts and she is staying with them should anything happen. How are you?"

"I'm ok" I wasn't. Just the mention of my parents and Mandy had me tearing up and knowing Luke had just asked him to clean up the deaths I had caused, again, the guilt was eating at me. "Are you ok? Owen I don't want you or Cam or anyone getting hurt because you're trying to keep me safe"

"It's ok Lucy. What ever this guy wants we'll make sure he doesn't get it" I didn't feel any better after saying goodbye. It was me he wanted but for what I still didn't know. Surely he still didn't want to change me.

"What's going to happen now Luke? We hide until the blood moon?" Reversing the car he nodded, and I wasn't a fan of his plan especially from the way the scar was now throbbing.

"He is really not a great deal older than I am, perhaps four maybe five hundred years old but so much has happened in the years between then and now. Society has changed; our own culture has changed. We are masters of disguise, adapting as we need to so we stay off the radar"

Four or five hundred years old?

"So if he isn't that much older and the oldest you've met is a thousand, why does he have so much power over you all? He creates newborns and can mark, even if it is accidental - I would expect him to be older" I was glad we go onto the main road back towards the city, hoping we'd be going to Owens warehouse.

"The man who changed him taught him well and he was made on a blood moon. We believe vampires created then are stronger too so with that guidance and such a start, he has been able to take out vampire's triple his age and that was within his first fifty years" Apparently that made him infamous amongst their kind and Luke seemed impressed.

"He even killed the one who made him" Something about the way he said that made me believe that wasn't a common occurrence. "Yet you managed to be chosen by him to be changed only to then stab him and survive?"

Pulling up at Owens warehouse it was just as comforting as going back to the apartment and getting out the car I headed straight over to the door, knowing the spare key was kept under the loose brick on the corner of the wall.

But we never got that far.

"Haven't seen her Lucas?" Darvid growled from where he had Luke pinned against the hood of the car and the size difference was enough to know he didn't stand a chance. I knocked the brick and getting the key I had just got it into the lock when I found myself in a similar position against the door of the warehouse.

"You really thought you'd get away" Ryan hissed beside me, turning me to face him, his white shirt was smeared with red and I closed my eyes not wanting to see it. "Look at me when I'm talking to you!"

I shook my head, holding my breath as his face was in mine. There was always an instant reaction, flight or fight and my mind was telling me it was time to take flight. Any struggles against him were pointless and instead he only laughed.

"Well Lulu, what do I do with you now?" Pulling my with him I was thrown beside Luke who the second felt Darvid's released shoved the giant back to stand in front of me as if to defend me. So much for thinking he was one to be on our side.

"Let me go and pretend none of this ever happened?" I knew I was being a little to unrealistic.

"What part? Where I wake up to find you gone or the part where you tried to kill me?" He pondered, pacing in front of us he stopped to glare at me yet his face relaxed from the vampire which only made it harder for me.

I returned it, knowing I should back down and not push him again especially since he had this little crowd to perform in front of but I couldn't do it. He was intimidating and clearly had no reservations about killing humans as he saw fit but it was hard to imagine someone you'd spent so much time with, trusted, loved - as a monster. It would be like Mandy going on a rampage; I'd never believed it.

"All of it, especially the part where you were going to kill me"

"Kill you? I was going to give you life" He looked at Luke, again glaring. "Leave."

"Not without her" He defended stepping up to Ryan.

"You don't have a choice. I believe he is your brother? You would be smart to work with me rather than against" Ryan reached for me as Luke stopped him.

"I do not care who you are Dominik, I do not care about your games or the fact you have marked her. My family is not for your taking" Ryan swung out; his hit sending Luke flying backwards across the car and into the gravel.

"Luke!" I went to run around to check on him before Darvid grabbed me, tying my wrists together I kicked out at him, managing to hit him in the groin and kept going as Luke didn't get back up only to then have Ryan grab the rope that bound my hands.

"Do you care about him?" He asked flatly.

"Yes"

"Then he will live, for now. If you try to escape again he will be the first die. Then the wolves before Jay, your parents and Aunty and of course dear old Amanda" He knew where they were? I stopped struggling, looking back at Luke who finally stood up.

"Why do they call you Dominik?" I managed to ask as I was led to the other side of the building where his car waited.

"That's my name. Dominik Rian" He said it with an accent, something European and I could only nod as even that had all been a lie. "Ryan Miles was the boy I killed two states over the day before I arrived. I needed a new identity and wanted to lay low, and turns out it was exactly what I needed" Getting in the car he sat in the back with me with only Darvid joining us as the driver the few others moved off after we pulled away and I hoped Luke was going to be ok.

"Well Dominik, how do you live so long knowing everything and everyone around you will die" I don't know why I asked that question, I know it made Luke sad but he dealt with it. Who ever he really was had been dealing with it for even longer than Luke had.

"Well, every now and then you find someone worth keeping around and please, call me Nik" He half smiled before turning to look out of the window and I did the same as we made the journey back to his apartment. Only now I began to mourn exactly what I had lost that night when he showed me who he really was.

-----

Might redo parts of this one, go abit more into what happens at the club as I'm not 100% on it. Done a few different endings but getting to that point isn't sitting right with me at the moment.

So what do you think will happen? Will he kill her or is he waiting to change her?