Between Rubies and Opals

Alex paced nervously around the living area, and looked at the clock on the wall. “Erin, where the Hell are you?” she whispered to herself. Another three minutes passed, when she heard Erin’s footsteps coming from the hallway outside. She breathed a sigh of relief when the door opened and Erin stepped inside. Still in her dress from the previous night, she had a happy smile on her face, and her eyes practically radiated a luminous, glow-in-the-dark green. She was happy.

Not for long.

“Hey Lex,” she greeted her with a smile. “You will never guess what happened…” Her voice trailed as she saw Alex abruptly stopped pacing and stood frozen on the spot, looking terrified. “Lex?”

“I need to tell you something.”

Erin shrugged out of her jacket and looked at Alex with a frown. “What is it? Are you okay? You look paler than usual.”

“I don’t know…” Alex stuttered.

“What happened?”

“What did you want to say?”

“What?”

“You wanted to tell me that I will never guess what happened? Before I interrupted you.”

“But Lex-”

“You can go first,” Alex frowned, but Erin could feel her silently deliberating with herself.

“Alex?” Erin asked, walking closer to her.

“Okay, on second thought, let me go first,” Alex said, still with a slight stutter.

“Okay,” Erin answered and frowned slightly.

“I fucked your brother.”

“What?”

“Okay, that was a bit harsh, but that’s what happened. I slept with Nikolai.”

Erin let out a laugh, but then realized that Alex was far from joking and Erin’s face turned serious in an instant. “Lex, you’re kidding right? Please tell me you’re kidding.”

“I’m not kidding,” Alex grimaced.

“Whoa, I don’t even know what to say,” Erin said flatly and ran her fingers through her hair. “I get chased out of my own house and you fuck my brother.”

Alex’s jaw dropped at Erin’s choice of words and she crossed her arms, shamefully trying to cover herself.

“How exactly did that happen?” Erin asked, but then shook her head. “Actually, don’t answer that. I don’t want to know.”

“Things were tense and we were shouting at each other. I was defending you, and he ripped my dress-”

“I said I don’t want to know,” Erin grimaced as she held her hands up in the air, silently hoping Alex would stop talking.

“It just happened, okay?”

“It just happened?” Erin asked calmly.

“Yeah.”

“That’s not even remotely an explanation, but okay,” Erin answered with a shrug, trying to vanquish the thought of Alex and Nikolai having sex from her mind.

“I wasn’t trying to explain myself actually,” Alex said defensively.

“Right, because you don’t need to, really.” Erin shivered and shook her head at Alex. She turned away, heading to her bedroom, knowing that it actually had nothing to do with her who Alex, and Nikolai for that matter, sleeps with. She only hoped that Alex would be mature enough to handle the aftermath of this momentary lapse of judgment. Again.

“Wait a minute. That’s it?” Alex called out to her and Erin turned on her heel.

“What?”

“You’re not going to make a big deal out of this?”

“Should I?”

“Honestly, I was expecting you to act like you normally would. By giving me this whole elaborate speech about throwing my cat at everyone.”

Erin grimaced and crossed her arms. “Do you want an elaborate speech?”

“No, not really,” Alex admitted and crossed her arms as well.

“Okay then, what’s the problem?”

“You’re punishing me, aren’t you?” Alex frowned, and narrowed her eyes. “By not giving me a piece of your mind, you’re indirectly giving me a piece of your mind.”

“No.”

“No?”

“No.”

“What the hell is with you, Erin?”

“Nothing, I’m tired.” Erin turned away and walked a few steps, before stopping again. She turned around slowly and looked at Alex.

“You’re mad at me, I can see it.”

“No, I told you, I’m tired.”

“I don’t buy it.”

“The topic of you and Nikolai is exhausting, that’s why I don’t want to say much about it. Besides, it’s none of my business.”

“He’s your brother, Erin and I’m your best friend. Of course it’s your business.”

“What do you want from me, Lex?”

“First off, I don’t want you to be upset with me about this.”

“I’m not, okay.”

“Then what’s bugging you?”

“Nothing is bugging me.”

“Are you okay with what happened at the manor? Your brother was pretty mean-”

“Nothing I haven’t experienced before.” Erin crossed her arms tiredly. “Anything else?”

“Where have you been all night?”

“With Sam.”

“Okay. He didn’t do anything to you, did he?”

“No, of course not.”

“Okay,” Alex nodded and studied Erin’s expression for a second.

“Is your interrogation over now? I’d really like to go to bed.”

“I can see you’re mad at me. I’m sorry for sleeping with Nikolai.”

“I’m not mad at you, Lex.”

“Could have fooled me,” Alex muttered.

“I just thought that you were more resilient towards his powers of manipulation.” Erin’s voice was softer than usual, but had a firm edge to it. “You know he just used you, right? He used you to get to me, because that’s what he does. He uses people, Lex. You of all people should know that.” Erin looked at her, her heart breaking at the words she just said to Alex, but they were true.

“Do I look like a broken little schoolgirl to you? Do you really think it fazes me that he used me? Who the fuck says I didn’t use him?” Alex exclaimed, a slight hiss in her voice.

“Don’t hiss at me,” Erin said, feeling the itch in her upper jaw as her fangs desperately wanted to join the party. “Nikolai doesn’t get used, ever. He’s too much of a conniving prick to allow anyone to use him.”

“It was just this once. He caught me off guard. It won’t happen again.”

“Look, Lex. You’re a grown vamp, you can do whatever, or whoever, you want, but Nikolai…” Erin’s voice trailed and she sighed.

“He’s an asshole, yeah I know.”

“That’s not what I was going to say,” Erin said, shaking her head at Alex. “He’s an Originalus offspring, and you should be careful of him.”

“How do you know that?”

“I just know.”

“Wait, so if he’s Originalus offspring, then so are you,” Alex pointed out.

“No, my parents aren’t his real parents. They rescued him after the war in Polawar when his entire family was slaughtered.”

“So what exactly does this mean to me?” Alex asked, clearly bored.

“He’s strong as shit – physically and mentally - and messes with anything that is weaker than he is.”

“You’re saying that I’m weaker than him?”

“In theory, yes,” Erin nodded.

“Fuck theory,” Alex muttered.

There was a second’s silence in the room and Erin looked at Alex again. “You know he doesn’t feel the same way about you as you do about him, right?”

“I don’t feel anything for him, Erin.”

“Lex, you don’t have to pretend with me, I’m your best friend. I know you better than anyone. Admitting you have strong feelings for my brother would make it so much easier to deal with. In fact, everything would be so much easier-”

“Let me tell you something. Admitting it, means that I’ve gone soft, so I can’t do that. I can’t allow myself to get distraught every time he dismisses my advances and stomps over my heart. I will not allow him to have that power over me.”

“But that’s exactly what happened, Lex, and you didn’t even notice it. That’s how cunning he is.”

“Nikolai will never, ever, have me under his thumb,” Alex hissed again.

“I hope so,” Erin said sadly and opened the door of her bedroom.

“So are you going to tell me what happened last night?”

“No, it doesn’t even matter.”

“Erin, don’t be like that,” Alex whined, but Erin disappeared into her room, locking the door behind her.

“I cannot believe that she would do such a thing. My own daughter.” Cassandra paced through the office, biting her lip in frustration. “We’re failures.”

“What are you talking about, Cassandra?” Arjen asked his wife.

“We failed as parents, raising a daughter as defiant as Erina,” Cassandra said dramatically. “Mother was right about her.”

“Erin is not defiant, Cassandra.”

“Not defiant?” Cassandra uttered in disbelief.

“Then what on Earth do you call that stunt she pulled yesterday, Father?” Nikolai exclaimed.

“Erin has a mind of her own, she thinks differently than the two of you do. She does not hate the wolf race as you do. She’s made it crystal clear ever since she could talk,” Arjen defended his daughter. “Do you remember Timothy?”

“Her childhood mutt friend.”

“Yes, the one you killed and she was heartbroken for decades after. She never cared for this separation of the races. You know that,” Arjen said with a nod.

“Erina is still young and ignorant. She does not know the heartache and suffering that those blasted wolves cause.”

“Those wolves have done nothing to her to make her hate them.”

“They killed my family!” Nikolai snarled.

“You do not even remember your family!” Arjen growled at him.

“Are you siding with them, Arjen?” Cassandra gasped.

“No, I am siding with my daughter.”

“She’s gone against her race and her family, Father. How can you still support her?”

“The same way you still defend your family, who was slaughtered more than three centuries ago,” Arjen stated, and Nikolai backed off slightly. “She is my family, Nikolai, and I will never forsake her. This discussion is over!”

Arjen marched angrily over to the door and his jaw was tightly clenched.

“Father-”

“Not another word.” Arjen did not even bother looking at them, and exited the room.

“She could be in danger,” Cassandra whispered, and crossed her arms.

“She is not in any danger, Mother. We are much stronger than them. She could easily snap his neck without batting an eyelash,” Nikolai frowned, crossing his arms.

“She won’t,” Cassandra muttered.

“And that’s part of the problem.” Nikolai crossed his arms and looked at Cassandra. “That wolf makes her soft, and that will be the death of her.”

“I want her back at the manor, away from that savage dog,” Cassandra muttered, clasping her hands together. “If the governor were to find out about this, we are all as good as buried.”

“I know exactly what to do, mother. Only if you allow me to,” Nikolai said, his amber eyes glowing ominously.

“Do whatever needs to be done, Nikolai. Just make sure that Erina is not anywhere in the vicinity of whatever it is that you want to do.”

“Yes, mother,” Nikolai nodded, turned on his heel and walked briskly out of the office.

Nikolai’s footsteps echoed through the hallway as he diligently made his way towards the living area. He spotted Lukas by the fireplace and marched up to him.

Lukas turned and had a pensive look on his face, his jaw tightly clenched.

“You look troubled,” Nikolai glowered.

“As do you.”

Nikolai leaned in closer to Lukas and whispered, “I require your assistance.”

“Anything you need,” Lukas nodded obediently.

“I need you to accompany me.”

“Where to?”

“To show that mutt exactly what happens when he tries to invade our world.”

“Are we to kill him, because that would be the ultimate satisfaction?”

“The details are irrelevant, but for now, I want him to know that we are not to be crossed,” Nikolai muttered and narrowed his eyes at Lukas. “Do I sense a lack in your support?”

“Not at all, I-”

“He’s forcing himself where he does not belong, Lukas!”

“If we do this, she will hate us even more-”

“And if we don’t, she might get ravaged by a bunch of ruthless and savage mutts,” Nikolai muttered.

“Erina does not want me anywhere near her. She made that perfectly clear.”

“Do you love her?”

Nikolai’s question took Lukas by surprise and he hesitated, staring silently at Nikolai.

“Do you love her, Lukas?” Nikolai repeated.

“Yes, I do,” he answered simply.

“Would you do whatever it takes to make sure that she is safe?”

“Of course I would.”

“Would you kill for her?”

“I have in the past, and I still would. You know that.”

Nikolai nodded and placed his hands on Lukas’ shoulders. “Then do this with me, and I will make sure that you get exactly what you want.”

Lukas glanced at his friend for a few moments. The mere thought of that mutt with his paws all over Erina made his skin crawl in disdain and the hatred started to rise up in his chest. There was pure and unadulterated rage pulsating through his veins, and his vision blurred into a deep shade of red. A hissing sound escaped from his throat and his razor-sharp fangs emerged from behind his lips. “Lead the way, my friend.”

Erin opened her eyes and stared up the ceiling of her bedroom. She rolled over in bed and caught sight of her grandmother’s journal, lying on her bed side table. Reaching for it, she placed it next to her and sat up. She narrowed her eyes slightly and they gave off a soft green glow, which allowed her to see perfectly in the dark. The buckle unlatched easily and she flipped it open where she had stopped reading a few nights ago.

After she had read about ten pages, which were mostly about her grandmother and a man that her grandmother had revealed as Petrov, who she had a love affair with, she frowned and turned the page slowly. She listened for Alex, but the apartment was dead quiet. Eerily quiet. She continued reading about her grandmother describing her love for Petrov and she smiled slightly. That was exactly the way she felt about Sam. She stopped suddenly after she turned the next page and stared at an old photograph of Petrov, with Frank Morton.

“Frank? What the hell are you doing in this picture?” she whispered into the dark. She turned the picture over and gasped.

“Oh my hell…”

She slammed the book shut, slid off the bed, and got dressed as fast as she could. She grabbed a jacket, along with the journal and sped out of the room. Before she closed the door of her apartment, she grabbed her car keys from the counter.

Once she was in her car, she sped out in the direction of her family manor, like she had never before, tires screeching and engines blazing. She reached the manor and hastily parked - rather unorthodoxly - on the grass.

Erin ran up the front steps and barged through the doors. She rounded the corner leading to the ballroom, making sure to avoid her mother like a tetanus shot, and she found her father in his office.

“Erin! Is everything alright?” He stood up abruptly and took off his glasses.

“I need to speak with you. It’s urgent.”

“Very well.” Arjen closed the door behind him and motioned to Erin to take a seat. “Your mother didn’t see you, did she?”

“No, I made sure of that.”

“Good.”

“Let me guess, she’s utterly displeased with me and thinks I need to be taught some discipline?”

“Were you eavesdropping?”

“No, I just know how mother is.”

There was silence in the office for a few seconds as Erin took a seat opposite her father’s desk and looked at him, with distraught eyes.

“What is it, Erin? You look like you’ve seen a vamp hunter,” Arjen asked.

She placed the journal on the desk and took a deep breath. “I came across something, something that I couldn’t wrap my head around. The more I read, the more my relationship with Sam terrified me.”

“What did you read, Erin?”

“Before I answer that question, can I first ask you something, daddy?”

“Of course.”

“How did grandmama die?”

Arjen frowned at his daughter and sat on the edge of his desk. “You know how she died.”

“I know the story everyone told me of how she died. I want to know the truth. I want to know how she really died, and why.” Erin placed her hands on her lap and looked at her father. “Because it sounds to me-”

“Erin-”

“No, daddy. Don’t lie to me and tell me that she lost the man she loved and she killed herself. You and I both know that’s not what happened.”

Arjen sighed half-heartedly and looked at Erin. “She did lose the man she loved, Erin, and her depression was real.”

“Yes, he was killed. I know that.”

“Well, she didn’t kill herself; that much I know.” Erin looked at her father, silently begging for an explanation, and as well as the truth.

“Erin, please. This is a-” Arjen shifted around uncomfortably in his chair and looked at Erin, his brow creased.

“I need to know. Something’s happened to me two nights ago and…”

“What happened, Erin-love?”

“Answer my question first, please. What happened to grandmama?”

“Like you said, she lost the man she loved.”

“His name was Petrov, by the way. Petrov Mandzukic, and he was killed by the same people that killed her.”

“How do you know this, Erin?”

“It’s all in there,” Erin answered and pointed to the journal. “Have you never read it?”

“No,” Arjen admitted. “I couldn’t. It was too painful.”

“I’m sorry that I’m ripping apart old scars.”

Arjen gave her a reassuring nod and looked at the journal. “She was killed.”

“Yes, because vamps can’t commit suicide, Daddy. They can however die from sadness, and the only way out of the sadness is death, even if it is by someone else.”

Arjen looked at her for a moment before he spoke carefully and slowly. “She was killed by an ancient secret coven. Most of them were Originalii.”

“Ordered by Governor Wasilewski, because the government didn’t condone their interracial relationship,” Erin stated.

Arjen glanced at her in disbelief and a small smile ran across his mouth. “You’re a lot smarter than people give you credit for, Erin-love.”

“Answer the question, Daddy.”

“Yes, and also because of me,” Arjen said with a nod and looked over at his daughter. “Those years it was much worse than it was now. Wolves and vamps were forbidden to even interact with one another, so you can only imagine what an outrage it would be if the Originalii were to find out about me.”

“So who were the members of the coven?”

“I cannot disclose that information.”

Erin scowled at her father and shook her head. “You have to tell me, please.”

“What use is it to you now? All of this happened more than a century ago.”

Erin looked up at her father, not saying a word.

“Erin?”

“Yes, daddy?”

“What did you do?”

Erin brushed a lock of hair off her face. “Nothing too illegal.”

“That is not comforting,” Arjen muttered, scolding her silently.

“I know, I know, but I love him.”

Arjen closed his eyes for a second and then looked at her intently. “Please tell me it is not what I think it is.”

“I cannot do that, because I would probably be lying.” Erin shook her head. “Technically it’s not illegal-”

Arjen brought his hands up to his mouth and sighed slowly. “Erin, you realize how dangerous this is, right?”

“I know, but for him I’d risk anything,” she whispered and closed her eyes momentarily. “Daddy, I’m sorry if I disappointed you…”

Arjen glanced over at her, and there was not a shred of disappointment in his eyes. His light green eyes were warm and clear and filled with pride and love. “I could never be disappointed in you, Erin.”

“But I-”

“You did nothing of the sort. You followed your heart and it led you to him. All I’ve ever wanted for you was to be happy and content with who you are, even though you never really knew the truth.”

“But Mother and Nikolai hate me.”

“Let them hate you. They’re ignorant vamps, what do they know about us anyway?”

Erin nodded and smiled slowly at her father. “I love you, daddy.”

“I love you too, my beautiful hybrid daughter,” Arjen smiled at his daughter and placed his hand on her cheek. “Now tell me, what has been happening to you?”

Erin took a deep breath and knew that once she told her father that she had transformed everything would change. Hopefully it would be for the better.

“You’re never going to believe it, daddy.”

Sam crossed the street and decided to walk through Methys Park, as it was a beautiful, clear evening. The sun had set a few minutes prior and it reminded him of the night he took Erin out for the first time. He recalled her smile, and her laugh. A smile formed on his lips and he dug his hands into the pockets of his hooded jacket as he walked happily down the pebbled path that lead through the park.

A rustle of leaves behind him made him stop abruptly and he whirled around. It was quiet around him and he shrugged it off, and continued through the trees towards his apartment.

There was a snap of twigs behind him again and a rather unpleasant smell filled his nostrils. He knew that smell all too well and whirled around. Three shadowy figures stood in the middle of the footpath and Sam narrowed his eyes.

“I’m surprised you didn’t send some other fools to do your dirty work for you,” Sam said in a low, irritated tone.

“You can’t send a novice to do a professional’s job, can you?”

“I guess not,” Sam shrugged. “What do you want?”

“What we want is irrelevant, mutt.”

“It’s more of what we need.”

“And what do you need? A life?” Sam smirked. “Oh wait, you’re already dead.”

A growl pierced through the darkness and Sam felt a tight grip on his neck. A strong forced motion caused him to fly through the air, and he landed on his back on the ground. A cold hand grabbed him, and shoved him brutally against a tree. Nikolai’s face came into sight, his amber eyes ablaze and his fangs, sharp as blades.

“You dare taunt me?” Nikolai hissed.

Sam shoved Nikolai away from him, and the vamp flew through the air. Nikolai landed on the ground, in a crouched position and shook his head. “Wow, you’re so strong,” he retorted sarcastically and lunged forward, scraping his nails along Sam shoulder, cutting through his skin. Sam howled painfully and smacked Nikolai to the ground. Nikolai lay on the ground for a second, hissing angrily.

“Contrary to popular belief, I don’t wish to fight with you,” Sam said with a frown.

“Because you know that’s a fight that you will lose.” Lukas came into view, and Sam growled angrily.

“You.” Sam narrowed his eyes, his eyes flashing violently.

“Yes, me,” Lukas smirked at him, giving him a cocky bow.

Within an instant, Lukas was in front of him, grabbed hold of Sam’s shoulder and sunk his teeth into Sam’s upper arm. Sam yelped aloud and grabbed Lukas by the neck with his free hand.

“You stay away from Erin,” Sam growled through his teeth.

“Hm, that’s funny. I was going to say exactly the same to you, mutt,” Nikolai suddenly said behind him and Sam was pushed down onto the ground, losing his grip on Lukas’ neck.

Lukas grabbed his shoulder and Sam heard a snap of bone. A sharp pain exploded in his shoulder area, and Sam knew Lukas had, quite easily, managed to snap his clavicle.

“You can break every single bone in my body, but I’ll never give you want you want,” Sam winced.

“There’s an idea,” Lukas laughed sardonically, pulling on Sam’s arm. His muscles strained and felt a tear in his bicep, gritting his teeth.

“You stay away from my sister,” Nikolai hissed in his ear.

“Or what?” Sam spat blood in Nikolai’s face. “Screw you, and your whore of a mother.”

“You will not speak of my mother in such a way!” Nikolai hissed and tore at Sam’s shoulder with his fangs.

Sam let out a pained growl and shivers ran down his spine. He felt the vamp venom pulsating through his veins, setting his insides alight in a massive inferno of pain and suffering.

“I will never stay away from Erin!” Sam called out.

“Then tonight you will die, mutt. Just as you mother did.”

Sharp claws cut through Sam’s back as he was held down by the three vamps. He tried to break their grasps, but they were too strong for him. One on one combat with a vamp he could easily handle, but not three of them. He could feel the blood seeping from his wounds as the world blurred around him.

“You should know your place, mutt.” Nikolai spat a mouthful of blood onto Sam. “You stay away from Erina, or your stupidity may be the death of you.”

Nikolai, Lukas, and Lionel, who had was compelled to stay quiet the entire time, each kicked Sam in the ribs one last time and disappeared into the shadows. Sam rolled over onto the pebbled pathway and coughed, spitting blood onto the ground next to him. The burn in his veins exploded once more and he let out a miserable howl, before everything went black.

Erin’s tires screeched as she parked her car in front of Sam’s apartment building and quickly climbed out. She ran up the steps leading to Sam’s apartment and stopped in front of his door. Fishing the key that he gave to her out of her bag, she unlocked the door and went inside.

“Sam!” she called out to him as she closed the door behind her. There was no answer as she put her bag down on the counter and looked around.

“Sam, are you here? I’ve got really big news! You’re really not going to believe it-” She stopped abruptly as there was no answer and walked through the living area, towards the hallway.

“Sam?”

When she noticed smears of blood on the floor by her feet leading to the bathroom, she let out a terrified gasp.

“Oh my hell! Sam!”

She ran through the blood, to the bathroom and skid rather ungracefully into the bathroom, where she found Sam on the tiled floor of the bathroom, covered in blood.

“Sam!” she gasped and knelt down on the floor next to him.

“Erin…”

“Oh my hell! What happened?” She felt tears in her eyes as she scanned him over. He had large and deep gashes on his arms and on his back, with blood seeping from them. Those marks were definitely vamp claws and she shook her head in disgust. “Who did this to you?”

“I’m okay.”

“No, you’re not. I’m calling Gowan.”

“No, I’m fine.”

“You’re bleeding all over the place! You’re not okay,” she frowned and dialed Gowan’s number.

“Hello?”

“Gowan, it’s Erin.”

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

“Sam was attacked and he’s bleeding and I-”

“Okay, I’m on my way.”

“Thank you, Gowan.”

The call disconnected and she slipped her phone back into her pocket. She shifted herself closer to him and he took her hand, which was now covered in blood, as were her pants and her shirt.

“Gowan’s on his way.”

“I’m fine really. I heal fast.”

Erin bit her lip and looked at Sam. His blue eyes were duller than before, but had a strange glow to them. It was both troubling and reassuring at the same time. She took a few deep breaths, as her throat started closing up and she looked away, but she caught sight of the blood in the hallway. She blew out a breath, to calm herself down and glanced back at Sam. “Sam?”

“Yeah?”

“Who did this to you?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Of course it matters. Who was it?” Erin asked, studying his face. “Oh no, don’t tell me…”

“What?”

“I know that look.”

“What look?”

“It was my brother, wasn’t it?”

“And your stalker,” Sam winced painfully.

“What? Lukas?” Erin exclaimed and her eyes started to glow.

“His bite definitely is worse than my bark,” Sam grimaced as he raised his arm, revealing torn skin and blood.

“Oh my hell! That son of a vamp-whore. I cannot believe he stooped so low…” Two tears ran down her cheeks and she looked at her beloved Sam, sliced and diced like stewing beef. “I’m so sorry.”

“Hey, why are you apologizing?”

“My brother did this to you.”

“And?”

“Oh, Sam.” Erin shook her head and planted a kiss on his damp hair. “Do you remember when we had our first date?”

“That’s not something that I could ever forget,” Sam forced a smile.

“Remember when I told you that I don’t broadcast what I am to others?”

“I remember.”

“This is exactly why I don’t.” Erin wiped a tear from her cheek. “I hate it when they do things like this when they don’t get their way. This isn’t the first time, and it won’t be the last. They’re a bunch of animals.”

“You really do hate them.”

“I do, and I can see why you hate our kind. We’re the animals, not you. We do exactly what we want and never suffer the repercussions of our actions. We’re selfish and arrogant and horrible things,” Erin scolded herself and ran her fingers lovingly through Sam’s hair.

“Erin?”

“What?”

Sam wiped the tears from her cheeks, and whispered, “You’re not like them.” He took her hand in his own bloody hand and squeezed it. “You’re amazing.”

At that moment, the front door burst open and Gowan suddenly appeared at the end of the hallway. “Sam? Erin?”

“In the bathroom,” Erin called out and within a second, Gowan was there with her, kneeling next to Sam.

“They sure cut you up good, Sammy,” Gowan grimaced, checking for any signs of arterial damage.

“Can I step out for a few seconds?” Erin asked, politely.

Gowan looked at her with a frown and asked, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, it’s just all the blood. It’s-” Erin pulled a face and fanned her face with her hand.

“Oh, right, I completely forgot about that,” Sam winced.

“You go, I’ll handle this,” Gowan said to Erin.

“Are you sure, I can stay and help-”

“I got this, Erin.”

Erin nodded as she stepped over Sam and made her way to the lounge. Her fangs were itching and a tingling feeling in her fingers made her aware of how thirsty she really was. She was still half-vamp after all.

After she thoroughly washed her hands in the kitchen, she wiped her leather pants with paper towels, but she knew her blood-soaked white shirt was beyond ruined. As she walked out of the kitchen, she sat down on the couch and felt her eyes fill up with tears.

Nikolai had done a lot of shitty things in his lifetime, but this definitely topped the list.

She shook her head, snapping her eyes shut and felt the tears run down her cheeks. She dropped her hands onto her lap and sobbed, “I’m so sorry, Sam.”

She heard shuffling noises coming from the bathroom, but she kept her eyes closed. The less she saw, the better for her.

About an hour later, which felt like an eternity, she heard Gowan’s footsteps and she opened her eyes, jumping up from the couch.

“Is he okay? Is he going to make it?”

Gowan smiled slightly and nodded. “He’ll be fine. He just needs to sleep it off for a couple of hours. Vamp venom makes him cranky, and trust me, you do not want to be around him when he’s cranky.”

“As long as he’s okay,” Erin breathed a sigh of relief.

“He’s fine.”

“Thank you, Gowan,” she whispered and hugged him.

Of course it took him completely by surprise, but he returned the hug nonetheless. When she eventually pulled away, he gave her an awkward smile and moved away quickly.

“What exactly made you call me?”

“You’re his best friend, Gowan. He’d want you here.”

“Thanks, Erin,” Gowan frowned and looked at her. “You know, I was wrong about you. You’re nothing like the others.”

“Thanks.”

“And I’m sorry about treating you the way I have. It’s not every day that I meet a vamp with the decency that you have showed us. Sam is really lucky to have someone like you.”

Erin gave him a bright and grateful smile and nodded slowly. “Thank you.”

“You really are his happily ever after.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Has he ever told you about the psychic he went to? Well, he didn’t actually go to her, I took him.”

“Is that the orange haired woman?”

“Yeah, Madame Pelt.”

“Madame Pelt?” Erin crinkled her nose and frowned. “What, is she like a wolf fortune teller?”

“She’s a paw-reader.”

“That’s funny,” Erin let out an amused laugh, but stopped abruptly when Gowan looked at her in a disapproving manner. “Sorry, but I don’t believe in that kind of stuff.”

“Why not?”

“It’s not real.”

“Okay, let me get this straight. Your friend Alex compels men to do whatever she wants them to, you’re dating a 324 year old wolf and you yourself are a 300 year old vamp, but you don’t believe in paw-readers?”

Erin suppressed another giggle and shook her head at Gowan. “Sorry, that word gets me every time.”

“You’re strange.”

“Thank you.”

“So anyway, Madame Pelt told Sam that he was going to meet a girl and she won’t be what he expects,” Gowan said and looked at her. “You.”

“That’s so strange and wonderful at the same time,” she answered, clasping her hands together.

“Yeah, she knows her stuff.”

Erin nodded and looked at Gowan. “Where did you say she was?”

“Down by the old courts by Telekov,” Gowan answered. “Just don’t go when it’s dark, it’s not the safest of neighborhoods, not even for a vamp.”

Erin nodded wordlessly and crossed her arms. There was a moment of silence between them, and Erin looked over at the front door.

“Gowan, I’m quickly going home to get changed, and…” Erin’ voice trailed. “I’ll be back before he wakes up.”

“Sure, I’ll be here.”

“Thanks, Gowan,” she nodded and walked over to the door.

“Erin?”

“Yeah?” she asked and turned to him.

“Do what you have to, but just be careful, okay?” Gowan said with a frown, and she knew that he knew exactly where she was going.

“I will,” she said with a nod and left the apartment.