Rushing to the elevator, I pressed the open button but it was delaying. Unable to keep waiting, I turned to a set of stairs at the other side. Taking a deep breath, I dashed over there, ascending a circle of stairs to the second floor.

"Max!" I yelled but I only received echoes. As I glared around, I realized that the house has probably been unkempt all these years. There were cobwebs and dust everywhere. I held my breath for some minutes after thumping my feet on the stairs. The dust escaped into the air and lightly choked me.

"Where could he be?" Sighing, I rested on my knees for a bit before checking out the rooms on this floor. It was a huge mansion for a farmhouse. The paths were not only spacious, but widely built from each other. I banged the last room's door I checked and glared at the next round of stairs.

Throwing my phone in my pocket, I inhaled deeply and set up running up without stopping. By the time I got to the third floor, I found a door wide open. But when I entered, I only found an open drawer different from the other rooms. "I'm sure he's around here."

Taking that into account, I turned to three other doors to separate rooms. After running to the first one by me, I rushed to the second, panting after finding both empty. When I started breathing heavily, i turned to the last door and rushed there. Panting, I held on to the door, looking up slowly.

But my ears twitched hearing a paused footstep. "Oh you also came? I almost called you!" Ian retorted waving a dialing phone in the air. As i took a closer look at it, I realized it was Max. But when I looked down, I found Max lying on the floor. With Ian's feet on his open wound, Ian smiled at me.

"You're just right on time for the show. Stay right there, or I'll shoot him," Ian warned. Pulling the gun forward with his leg, he picked it up quickly and pointed it right at his head. "Max....Don't you dare!"

Chuckling, he got down and grabbed Max by his collar. Hesitant to stay back, I tried to move forward but he pulled Max back. "I'll wait right here without touching him. Go and bring the spell books."

When Max heard his condition, he shook his head meeting my eyes with a no glare. "I told you I don't know anything about that. My mom didn't mention anything about it. Stop pestering me and let him go!" Shaking his head in a playful manner, he slowly turned to me. "I'm not a fool. If he's here alive, you know where it is. I'm losing patience here. Bring along the potion Max took from me too."

Wriggling under his grip, Max managed to bite his hand making him loosen his grip. Falling on the floor, he struggled to get up and walk away from him while Ian winced over his bite. "You ungrateful boy! Get back here," he yelled.

Clenching his fists, Max turned to me with a scream. "Run!" With that, he struggled with his opening wound to hide from Ian within the numerous rooms. I stood still unsure of what to do. I wasn't running. I came here for him and I'll not leave without him.

After turning to me with an angry look, I tried to take the gun from him but he tossed me against the wall in a go. Hitting my back, I winced and tried to get back on my feet. I could see him running after Max along the hallway.

"Max," I muttered getting up quickly. While leaning on the wall for support, I rushed after them from behind. "Stop playing hide and seek. Come out or it will be ugly if I find you instead." Putting his hands beside him, he checked one room after another. While Max hid behind one of the cupboards in the rooms, Ian checked under the beds and other places.

As he took in heavy breaths, he realized that he left blood trails while running. "Come out now. I'm not enjoying this game of yours." When Ian passed by the third room, he found a blood trail leading to the cupboard. Within a second, he caught him with a tight grasp on his neck.

"Found you! Aren't you the cutest at hide and seek?" he asked pointing the gun at him. I rushed into the room and hit his head with a metal bar. Furious, he grabbed me with his other hand and threw me at the cupboard.

"Ian! That's enough. This is between us. She'll leave." Sighing, he pulled him out. Max tried to fight with him, but his unstable feet landed him till over the stairs. "Max! No!" I screamed. As I forced myself to stand up, I dashed down the stairs, holding him up.

He moved to the staircase looking at us while I tried to keep his wound uninfected. Blood had accumulated at the corner of his mouth. When he tried to breath out a few words, tears run down my eyes. "W-Why d-did you come here?"

Enclosing his wound with my hand, I shook my head. "Your wound. I'll take you out if here. Hang on," I muttered. It was looking worse than before. Catherine was right about the medicine not being trustworthy too much.

When Ian was about to grab my neck, Max held his hand and stared at him with daring eyes.

"How lovely. I've waited for this day for eighteen annoying years. Where is it?!" Ian echoed turning to me with a triumph smirk. Pulling Adrian up amid his struggles to his chest, he loaded the gun and pointed it to his head. "I'm not up for the games if you two. Go for them while I wait. If you play smart, I'll kill him and Catherine too."

He forced Max to stay put in front of him while he struggled to get his hands off him. My eyes widened in shock turning to Max in hesitation. "D-don't. Leave here with Cathy. Go now! Max accentuated, shaking his head. I couldn't save my mom, dad, Janessa, Kate and Tricia, but I'm not going to lose him too. Wiping my tears, I nodded.

"Okay. I'll tell you, but put that knife away and you must let him go. It's me you want isn't it?" Max tried to communicate with me with his eyes to tell me to stop but I didn't heed to him. He rolled his eyes contemplating on my proposal.

After a few seconds of thinking, he nodded quietly. "You're right. I'll let him go right after you bring them." I nodded and pretended to walk back slowly. Unable to watch me destroy the world to save him, Max pushed him away with his remaining strength, poured a white powder in the air and fell on the floor after.

Wincing in pain, he held on to his wound and covered his nose with his other hand. Obstructed from seeing properly, Ian moved around screaming. I decided to take advantage of this situation. With my hand covering my nose, I scurried to him and pulled him to a safer side. He turned around curiously, following my movements.

As Cathy set up some explosives out of the room, the room started shaking before dismantling into pieces. I closed my eyes, spreading my hands to meditate. To cover it all up, I threw my hands in the air forming a circle within us, making the ground shake.

Ian supported his body with his hand on the pillar while standing up. The building was breaking apart gradually. "Come on. Let's go. I'll help you!" I said squatting around him.

Adjusting his hands around my neck, I supported him as he got on his feet with my help. I walked with him slowly outside directing away any approaching broken wood from the ceiling.

"Damn you Clara Dickson!" Rushing out along the stairs, we took quite a lot of time because his wound had opened up, weakening his movements. When we got to the exit, I saw a car approaching us. Cathy got down immediately rushing to assist me.

"I managed to hold him up for a while with the explosives. Let's go!" Nodding, I opened the back seat and helped him sit, before rushing to the other side. Cathy drove while I sat beside him. I made him resting his head on my lap as I tried to nurse his wound with the kit from the backseat.

"Stop by the drugs store." She affirmed with her eyes and drove sideways. We dropped by the drugs store to purchase some pain relievers and others.

After getting back to my house, Cathy helped me adjust him on the bed. Bit he had gone unconscious by the time we got to my room. "This is pretty bad. He's lost a lot a lot of blood. He refused the ones I gave him too. I'll go for it. It's good I didn't send them back. Watch after him until then."

Sweating and being delusional, he kept murmuring in his sleep. Cathy left to fetch some medication and blood. The life exchange, my blood can keep him up at least until Cathy gets back. Without hesitation for even a second, I rushed through my pocket and took the pocket knife out. As I sat by him, I slit my wrist lightly before dipping droplets of my blood in his mouth.

After a few drops slid down his lips to his mouth, he suddenly woke up and moved his head pulling my hand away. His body started shaking. He touched his head wincing in pain. I stepped back wondering why it didn't work in him. "Max!" I screamed. He struggled to keep still on the bed moving his head back and forth. With his hands trembling so much, my eyes flickered in confusion.

Cathy rushed in with another bowl of water. But when her eyes traced his movements, she made her swift turn to me with a sigh.

"What did you do?!" Cathy complained trying to calm him down. As she got closer to stabilize him with the stabilizers, she traced droppings of blood on the floor and traced it, finding my wrist slit.

She passed a piece of cotton and pain relievers to me with a piece of paper with a number.

"Call Allan. Tell him to come as soon as possible." Before she could complete checking up on him, he got up and pushed his way out, running off down the stairs. In urgency, Cathy turned to me as I stood still, wondering whether to go after him or call first. "Call this number now! I'll go after him. Hurry!"

I was about to protest but she scuttled out before I could utter a word. My hands were trembling with the number in my hands. Taking my phone from the table, I dialed his number but it went straight to voicemail every time I tried. I rushed outside descending the stairs.

My phone rang from my pocket when I got to the door. I run my hands through my pocket and drew it out. "Yes. Hello?" I commenced panting ad I run, "It's Clara Dickson, Max's friend. Cathy said I should contact you. Max's not good."

I texted the address to his number and disconnected the call, putting it back in my pocket. But it began ringing again, this time was different. It was from the principal. "Come to school right now." I wondered why, "I don't have class today." Glaring at the empty screen, I wondered if she accepted my request.

A picture was exposed on my screen from my social media. In front of the school, over thousand parents were standing with protest boards stating, "WE WANT OUR WARDS!" My jaw dropped. OMG! What's happening? I glanced around the house but they were nowhere to be found.

I checked the house and saw Cathy trying to reason with him. He looked different now. His red alarming eyes which stared into mine weirdly when he saw me approaching from behind.

"No. Clara, don't come near us!" Cathy screamed after he pushed her to the floor. But I didn't step back. "Max!" I cried hugging him from behind. The cold breeze from the approaching night brushed over me making me shiver.

He struggled to break loose. But with time, I hit his shift spot behind his neck. He finally gave up struggling and went unconscious again in my arms. "I've called him. He'll be here soon," I alluded while holding on to him.

We covered him with a blanket and waited for Allan. With a sad face she turned to me, "Your blood cause a retaliation in his body. Werewolves and vampires are enemies. A vampire could donate blood to a werewolf but its vice versa is fatal."

"What are you trying to say?" I asked, staring at him. "He's in a critical state now." Turning to the door, we heard a knock on the door.

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