"Hello, my pet." Vincent said when he walked back into the tiny room less than an hour later. Vanessa stood up and glared at him but said nothing. She saw the anger flash across his face but instead of slapping her he grabbed her by the hair and lifted her off the floor. She cried out in pain as he brought her up to his eye level and smiled.

"Hello, my pet." he said again.

"Hello." Vanessa replied through clenched teeth. Vincent chuckled and sat her back down on her feet. Vanessa raised her hands to her head and rubbed her burning scalp.

"You are so much fun." Vincent said as he sat down in the chair he had used during her meal. "It is a shame that I cannot make you immortal."

"Thank God for small miracles." Vanessa said as she tugged at the hem of the tiny gown she was wearing and wished it was longer. She was freezing.

"Are you in a mood, pet?" Vincent asked with sadistic amusement. Vanessa just wrapped her arms tighter around herself and did not reply.

"As I was saying, I wish I could make you immortal because one of these days I will not be able to control myself with you anymore and since you are a weak mortal you will die when that happens. But alas, only your mate can make you immortal.

"I wonder if he is desperately seeking you right now.... If you are hoping for rescue, you are going to be disappointed. I am very careful about who I let into my home and no one else knows where it is." Vanessa's teeth were chattering and her feet and hands were becoming numb.

"I'm cold." she said.

"Then jump around and warm yourself up." Vincent replied as he twirled his fancy rings on his fingers and looked down at his pale hands. Vanessa just hugged herself tighter and tried to think warm thoughts. There was no way she was going to jump around in front of this psychopathic creep.

"It surprises me that your mate did not make you immortal while he had you." Vincent looked over at her and smiled coldly.

"Of course you have already buried one of your children and so I doubt you wish to bury another."

"What are you talking about?" Vanessa demanded. She would chew her own arm off and stab him through the heart with her bone if he thought he was going to anywhere near her daughter.

"Fully mating with Kayleb would have made you immortal but not little Faith. You would have stayed young and youthful as your daughter grew old and died. A very sad situation for any parent to face." The look on his face told Vanessa that he did not really find it sad at all but his words had struck a nerve with her.

"Either kill me or leave me alone. I don't want your damn company." she spat harshly.

"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Such language." Before Vanessa had time to realize he was moving, he used his vampire speed and had her pinned against the wall.

"So beautiful you are, my pet." he whispered against her ear and his cold breath sent chills down her spine. She tried to yank away but his body was just as rock hard as the wall behind her and she could not move. She tried to bring her knee into his groin the way she had at the hotel but he blocked her with his own leg and then punched her in the face.

Vanessa felt blood fill her mouth as her teeth cut into her cheek from the force of his blow and her head spun.

"You will not find it so easy to defeat me anymore pet. I am in control now." Vincent practically purred against her ear. And then she screamed as his fangs sank into the soft skin on her shoulder and that fiery pain filled her body once again.

He pulled away and ran his fangs over her cheek, leaving bloody cuts along her jaw. Suddenly he hissed and yanked away from her as his nostrils widened.

"I shall be back, my pet." he said quickly and then he left the room, shutting and locking the door behind him. Vanessa sank to her knees as her body burned from his venom and she prayed that he would kill her soon.

***

"Knock. Knock." Lane called loudly, just before Jake and Hunter burst open the castle door and Kayleb jumped in front of them. Just as Damien said there would be, hundreds of sub demons were standing there snarling and ready to defend their boss.

"Paid bodyguards." Hunter said.

"I'm glad Laney isn't here." Angela added and Hunter nodded. Laney was deathly afraid of sub demons. As the sub demons charged toward the front door, Kayleb prepared to shoot the flamethrower in the crowd of them and Jake laughed.

"This is going to be fun." he said with obvious excitement. Lane shook his head and readied the AK-47 in his hands.

"My big brother has some serious issues." he said.

Screams of pain filled the air when Kayleb pulled the trigger on the flame thrower and all hell, quite literally, broke loose. As Kayleb pushed the mass of sub demons backwards with the flames, everyone else ran into the castle and began to shoot those that Kayleb had missed.

Soon the bullets were gone and the flamethrower tanks were empty. And still there were more sub demons than they could count.

"I love you Angela." Jake said, pressing a quick kiss to her lips.

"Let's kick some ass." she replied and he smiled, his golden eyes flashing.

"Aren't they romantic?" Lane asked Joey. "The air smells like a gosh damn sub demon barbecue and they're still spouting out words of love." Joey smiled.

"Focus, honey. There's a sub demon coming after you." Lane turned just in time to ram his fist into the approaching sub demon's face.

"Thanks, my little slayer." Lane said turning back to her with a toothy smile.

Kayleb fought side by side with his sister and during a lull in the attack on them he looked over at Angela and Joey just in time to see Angela take off a subs head with the long knife in her hand and Joey break a subs neck with a well delivered round house kick to the head with her combat boot. Jake and Lane were fighting side by side and working their way quickly through the mass of subs while Damien seemed more intent on watching over Kaylee and keeping subs away from her.

"Can you smell her, Kayleb?" Kaylee ask as she pulled her knife back out of a subs chest and the sub fell to the ground at her feet. Kayleb sniffed and over the stench of rotting and burning sub demon flesh, and the adrenaline and fear in the air he caught the faint aroma of apples.

"Yes." he said. "She's above us." he added looking up at the stone ceiling and barely looking down in time to stop a sub demon from stabbing him with a silver knife.

"What are you doing in my home!" Kayleb recognized Vincent as he came down the wide stairs of the huge main entryway with a flurry of coats and robes.

"Holy shit, the bastard looks like Dracula." Lane called out.

"Dracula was my father." Vincent replied coldly. "Did my brother not tell you that?" The remaining sub demons stopped their attack when Vincent snapped his fingers and they gathered around their leader, clearly ready to attack again at his command.

"You!" Vincent spat angrily as he pointed at Damien. "You let them to my home!" Damien just nodded and positioned himself several feet in front of Kaylee. Just far enough away to look like he wasn't trying to protect her but close enough to protect her if he had to.

"You," Vincent said turning his attention Hunter. "Step forward." Hunter did. He was covered in blood, both his own and subs. His jeans were ripped and bloody, his shirt was so badly tattered it was barely hanging on his body and his hat had been lost.

"Yes sir?"

"I knew your father."

"Okay sir." Hunter said as he pulled a wooden stake from the waistband of his pants.

"Are you going to kill me? I am your uncle.... Your father was my brother as well. Did Frances not tell you that either?"

"No sir." Hunter said, his gray eyes narrowing as he thought about the best way to get to Vincent.

"At least you have manners toward those that deserve them." Vincent said with an amused grin.

"I only call you sir because my mama raised me to do so... Not because you deserve it." Hunter replied matter of factly.

"Subs," Vincent said as his violet eyes flashed with anger and the subs all looked at him as if they were attack dogs just waiting for a command.

"The only way to kill him is to decapitate him. Take my worthless nephews head off." he hissed and the subs attacked. The family jumped forward to help Hunter against the onslaught of sub demons and Kayleb saw Vincent running back up the stairs. His only thought was to save Vanessa.

He launched himself through the air and grabbed onto Vincent's coat and threw him back down into the main room.

(Angela, Joey, we can handle them, you two get upstairs and find Vanessa!) Kaylee said to her aunts who quickly fought their way through the subs and to the stairs.

"Stop them!" Vincent called and a group of about ten subs broke off from the group and chased after the women as Kayleb started across the room toward Vincent.

"I'm going to kill you, you blood sucking son of a bitch." Kayleb growled.

"We have discussed your language." Vincent hissed back. Both of them lunged and met in mid air.