Seconds after the first mouthful of Callie's blood, Sam's body began convulsing. Violent spasms made his head jerk viciously to tear at Callie's flesh, leaving her vein open. Blood spewed everywhere. Her hand flew to her neck in an attempt to stanch the flow until she could reach the towel she left in the laundry basket on the other side of the room. She packed the towel around the wound, returning quickly to check Sam. Blisters were forming on his lips and blood gurgled from his mouth.

"Oh God! Oh God! What's happening? Sam? Sam please, what do I do?" She shook him.

He vomited blood over her face and naked chest, running in tracks between her breasts.

Sid, his voice whispered faintly through her mind.

Sidney! she broadcast with urgency, Sidney, Sam's hurt! Help please Sidney!

I hear you. What's wrong? Sidney replied, her calm belying the urgency she felt through the link.

There's something wrong with Sam, he's having convulsions and spitting blood everywhere!

Project your memories to me.

Callie opened the door to her shields and sent all her memories from the moment Sam arrived in her home – she didn't bother filtering out the x-rated scenes.

He's like that from drinking your blood? Damn. Okay, you need to flush it out quickly, use water. Stick his head under a tap or something. Don't worry about him drowning at this point - just keep flushing until the water coming back out runs clear. We're on our way, maybe five minutes. You'll need to let me in when I get there. I'm bringing some shifters with me too. He'll need their blood.

Callie carried him to the bathroom and laid him gently down in the bath, rushing to disconnect the showerhead from the hose so she could put it in his mouth as a direct flush. Turning the cold-water tap on full, she prayed that Sidney would be quick.

You might want to get dressed before we get there. The shifters I'm bringing are all male... Although I'm sure they wouldn't mind an eyeful, Sidney sent as an afterthought. And rub some of your saliva into the wound on your neck. It will stop the bleeding.

Callie gingerly peeked beneath the towel - blood spurted and hit her square in the eye. She used the only dry corner left on the towel to wipe it. She then spat in her hand and inched it under the towel to rub it in, repeating again, and again until the bleeding stopped.

The colour of the water leaching from the side of Sam's mouth had gone from red to a faint tinge of pink when she checked on his progress. She also noticed his nakedness at this point and grabbed her robe from the bathroom door, laying it over him to cover his lower half at least. She flashed back to her room and grabbed the first piece of clothing she came across. Sam's shirt covered enough of her nakedness to pass muster. She'd just finished rolling up the sleeves when Sidney's voice echoed in her mind again.

We're only a minute away. Open the door and stand back. These guys will trample all over you if you're in the way.

She raced down stairs, barely touching any of the steps, and flung the door open just as Sidney's Audi pulled up behind Sam's BMW. Three huge guys pilled out of it and charged straight for her. She managed to duck behind the door just in time to avoid being crushed. When she peeked back out, Sidney was dancing on the spot, anxiously waiting for the invitation that would allow her entrance.

"Come in," Callie invited and followed at her heels as Sidney tore up to the bathroom to her sire.

Two of the shifters had turned the water off, removed the hose from Sam's mouth and lifted his limp body forward to allow a third to slip in behind him. He held Sam against his chest as a sharp, mean-looking knife was placed in his hand. He drew it across his own wrist to open a vein, allowing the thick, pungently sweet blood to pulse from the wound. Its intoxicating scent instantly filled the small bathroom and Callie staggered at the smell of it, her teeth lengthening to fill her mouth. She closed her eyes in an attempt to block out the sight of it pulsating in rivers of crimson. She could hear each beat of the shifter's heart calling out a tattoo of her name. With her eyes closed, she inched toward the bath, letting the smell guide her.

The shifter didn't bat as much as an eyelash as he watched her silent approach, but continued to hold his wrist to Sam's mouth so blood pulsed down his throat. A restraining hand clasped Callie's undamaged shoulder and snapped her from the lustful haze. She blinked and sent a silent Thanks to Sidney.

After only a minute more, he removed his wrist from Sam's mouth and covered it with a cloth before offering it up to Sidney who licked it clean - stopping the flow immediately. Callie watched with her eyes fixed on the source of her fascination and whimpered as Sidney's tongue slowly traced the deep cut, removing all traces of the potent elixir.

"Is he going to be okay?" Callie whispered, her eyes pleading for Sidney to say that Sam would make a full recovery.

Sidney lightly shook her head. "I wish I could say everything will be fine, but I just don't know. We may have got it before it did too much damage, only time will tell. Come on," she said, pulling Callie from the room. "There's nothing more we can do for the moment. Let me have a look at your neck."

They stopped abruptly at the doorway to the bedroom after Sidney's horrified gasp. "This is all your blood? How in hell are you still standing? You couldn't have more than a pint left in your system. Nico!" She called for one of the shifters.

"Holy crap!" A thick American accent swore when the man Callie assumed to be Nico stepped into the room to survey the mess. "What's up Sid?"

"Callie here is a little dry," she said, sweeping her arm around the room indicating the obvious mess. "Would you mind donating a little?"

Callie stuttered, "What? N...no Sam needs it more. There's a bottle in the fridge. I can grab that. I'm fine really." She walked backwards and stumbled over a shoe that lay discarded in the middle of the floor. It almost sent her sprawling, contradicting her claim. She edged her way towards the door, intent on going to the kitchen. The thought of having a strange, albeit good-looking bloke, moaning and writhing under her like Irene had, was too embarrassing. What if he decided he wanted something more from her. No way am I even going there, she thought.

Nico stepped in front of the door to block her escape. "Don't be afraid of the big bad wolf, sugar. I'll leave the biting to you," he promised with a wink.

Sidney frowned at her. "What's the problem? Oh I see." She laughed at Callie's thoughts. "Nico here is well used to donating, and I'll hang around if it makes you feel more comfortable."

"Look, I don't even know how to..." She waved her hand at his neck and gnashed her teeth. "You know. I've only done it once before and that just kind of happened." She tried to push past the living wall blocking her escape.

He finally moved at Sidney's nod and followed both women downstairs to the kitchen. Callie lifted the bottle from the fridge and poured what remained into a beaker. She sighed in defeat when barely a mouthful decorated the bottom.

"Fine, but you'll have to show me how."

Sidney led them into the living room. "What happened to your furniture?" she asked, then scanned Callie's open thoughts. "Never mind." She pulled over a footstool that looked as though it had survived reasonably well and plonked Callie down on it. Nico sat with his back to her on the floor between her legs. "Just let instinct guide you...bend down and sniff his neck..." Callie's teeth extended as she inhaled, catching his musky scent. Sidney's voice appeared as a whisper in her mind. Close your eyes if it helps and let the predator take over.

Callie did as instructed. She felt herself drawn downwards, her tongue flicking out and licking skin. She could taste the salty tang of his masculine sweat and the fine hair that coated his skin made her tongue tingle. A steady rhythm beat beneath her tongue and she struck suddenly. Her teeth pierced his vein and she latched on as he flinched.

Sidney sat cross-legged on the floor and watched the expression on Nico's face change from a grimace at the sudden attack to one of pure pleasure. His eyes rolled back in his head and a secret smile graced his lips. The shifter had never shown emotion or anything else while donating before in all the years Sidney had known him. She found herself fascinated at the transformation that overtook him. His breath hitched and became open-mouthed panting. Short, sharp gasps escaped his mouth and his hips rocked back and forth - becoming more frantic as he neared completion. His sudden loud raspy groan was ripped from his throat as his hips jerked forcibly upwards just once more. Callie withdrew and licked the wound then ran her tongue around her lips with a satisfied smile on her face.

Sidney frowned in confusion, tilting her head from side to side, examining both their faces. "That was different," she exclaimed. "I almost feel like a voyeur watching you two."

Callie looked away in embarrassment. "Is he okay?" she hesitantly asked.

"I'm more than okay, Sugar. That was ...amazing." He sighed, taking her hand in his to kiss it. "I think I'm in love."

Sidney's burst of laughter eased the tension of the moment. "Wait till I tell Pete his Alpha has finally succumbed to a woman's wily ways."

Nico chuckled. "Like he's going to believe you."

"Not to change the subject or anything," Callie started, feeling her head clear of the bliss-induced haze, "but why did Sam react that way when he drank from me?"

"Well." Sidney deliberated, rising from the floor to pace the length of the room. "I think it may have been one of two things, or perhaps a combination of both. One – you drank recently from the witch Irene. I saw that in your mind, and I'm honestly not sure how you survived that, but it may have something to do with you being a witch yourself. You drinking from her might somehow have affected Sam. Your being a witch is also the second possibility, even if you don't smell like one. Witch blood is poisonous to us. That brings me to my next question, one that I've been unable to see in your mind. How was Sam able to turn you without taking any of your blood in the first place? I mean he has to drain you first, and then feed you his blood. Why did it not affect him then?"

"According to Sam, I drained of blood from the stab wound to my stomach. So all he had to do was make me swallow his blood and voila." Callie shrugged, lowering her gaze to Nico who was still sitting in front of her. She ran her hand through his hair from front to back letting it come to rest on his shoulder. "Thank you Nico. That was ...tasty."

"Anytime, Sugar. I mean that, absolutely anytime you fancy a snack you call me. I'll be in the country for a time, and while I'm here I'm all yours." He handed her his phone. "Give me your number and I'll text you so you have mine."

"Eager much?" Sidney sniggered and dragged him to his feet and shooed him back upstairs. "Go check on Sam and the others." To Callie she said, "Once he's stable we'll move him to his home."

"Maybe you should all stay here? It's bigger than the flat. There'd be a bit more room for everyone," Callie suggested.

"Hmm, don't you know? Sam has a fairly, big estate - too big if you ask me. It's more like a hotel with fifteen bedrooms - all with their own bathrooms attached. Five reception rooms and a kitchen that any five star restaurant would be envious of. It's fully staffed too. You should come with us," she decided, all but making Callie's mind up for her. "Go throw some things in a bag. You can drive Sam's car back because those three are too damn dangerous, what with driving on the wrong side of the road all the time. Sam would kill them if they so much as put a stone chip on his precious car."

It took until four in the morning before Sidney felt Sam was stable enough to be moved.

Nico rode with Callie in Sam's car. "For security reasons," he insisted when Sidney snorted at his declaration of riding shotgun.

Neither Callie nor Nico spoke for the entire journey, but it was a comfortable silence that neither felt the need to fill with idle chitchat. It took a further hour to get Sam settled in his room and another hour to make the staff stop fussing over them all and leave. In true vampire form, the sun was just starting to rise whenCallie finally got into bed and fell into an exhausted sleep for the day.