A/N:
Date 10-24-17

The pic above that I made for this chapter didn't exactly depict Storm the way I wanted since I couldn't find a guy with red vampire eyes that looked the way I wanted. Plus the pic was darker on the app I was using...

So that's sort of a more devilish, warped version of Storm.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Word Count: 2854

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Chapter 8: The Recurring Storm

"We can't do this anymore. We can't keep running from Storm and stumbling around in the dark, unsure of what we're supposed to do." I said to begin my explanation of what I needed to do.

Zane stepped away from me, studying my face as if he didn't think I was serious. "You mean, you want us to go against Storm? You want to attack him before he gets to us?" Zane asked incredulously.

"Not exactly." I replied uncertainly as I thought of how to phrase it. I ran a hand through my brunette hair nervously. "This isn't mainly about Storm. I believe he has Jake, which is why I really need to find my brother before even thinking about getting rid of Storm."

"How do you know Jake didn't just run off? Kids run away from home all the time." Zane reasoned, trying to understand my way of thinking.

"Because I know Jake. He would never run away and leave Lucy behind. Not willingly." I responded, sure that Storm would do this to get to me. And to get me to come out of hiding, which is exactly what we'll be doing. We'll be playing right into Storm's hands.

"Alright. So you plan on saving your brother then killing Storm, the leader of the biggest vampire clan?" Zane said for confirmation, lifting his eyebrow inquisitively.

"Essentially." I replied a bit sheepishly, resuming my earlier pacing. What was I doing? I'm not sheepish. I'm stronger than that and more confident in my decisions. I pulled myself together, clearing my throat and continuing my explanation.

"In order to have a chance at defeating Storm, we have to get your telepathy back first."

"My telepathy? You think we can get it back?" Zane asked me in a daze. "I'm not sure that's even possible, Alicia."

"No, you just haven't let yourself believe it's possible. You didn't want to get your hopes up." I said to Zane, who was gazing off as if he were lost in thought. I couldn't blame him. After all this time, however long he hadn't had his telepathy, it'd be shocking to hear that I wanted to get it back.

"We can find Jake and then find a way to get your telepathy back. We know they didn't take away everything because you still have prophetic dreams, so it's possible." I tried convincing Zane, but he wasn't having it.

"It's too dangerous. We should think this through, then decide against it." Zane argued, his eyes beginning to harden in resolution.

I stepped closer to Zane, trying to get him to understand. "Zane, we have to do this. Once we go find Jake, we won't have a better chance to get your telepathy back. You remember where it happened, right?" I inquired, knowing the question would hurt him but also knowing it might sway his decision.

"Of course I do." Zane replied a little harshly before staring down at his feet. "How could I forget?" He added softly.

I closed the distance between us and held his face in my hands, gently forcing him to look at me. "This is why I have to do this. And I know you're going to help me."

Zane put his hands over mine, pulling them away from his face and gazing at our joined hands. "Fine. But we have to be extremely careful." Zane finally agreed.

"Alright. I'd like to leave now, but it would probably be best to sleep first. Tomorrow we can-" Zane shushed me. I frowned but listened to whatever he quieted me for.

Someone was coming up the stairs to my bedroom in the attic.

Zane seemingly remembered me telling him he could hide in the storage room if needed, because that's what he did. Zane was in his hiding spot before I could blink. I didn't take the time to see who was coming by peeking into their thoughts or smelling the air to pick up their scent.

Instead, I used my super speed as quietly as possible and launched myself into my bed, pulling the covers up to my chin.

I heard the doorknob turn before the door opened silently. I made sure to breathe slowly to appear as if I was asleep like I said I'd be.

"Alicia." Lucy whispered to me as she stepped into my room and closed the door. "I know you're awake. Your thoughts are running wild."

I sighed in exasperation as I knew I couldn't deceive her. I pushed the covers away and sat up. "You were pretending to sleep in case it was Mom or Dad, right? I want to talk to you." Lucy said, taking a hesitant step forward.

"Then let's talk." I avoided the question at hand, but had no way to deny a conversation with my little sister. I couldn't lie to her. Except I was a bit worried because Zane could hear everything. At least he already knew that Lucy had telepathy.

"Are you feeling better?" Lucy asked as she went over and sat on the bed next to me.

"Yeah, a little. I'm just stressed." I answered, knowing she was talking about my visit to the hospital.

"Can you tell me what happened? Why did you faint?" Lucy inquired. I could tell she knew I didn't want to answer that, and yet, she asked anyway. If I didn't start giving her answers, she would probably start avoiding me.

"I can feel your thoughts running wild." I double checked my mental walls because of her words, even though I knew she couldn't actually read my thoughts. Lucy could only feel their activity, like how she could tell if I was sleeping or not.

"Whatever's going on with you, I can handle it." Lucy announced softly. "I know I've been pushing you, but I think I have the right. I've been giving you time, but it's been weeks since this started." Lucy confronted me in the gentle but defiant way she had about her.

I pulled away from Lucy, putting my head in my hands, not knowing how to make her understand without telling her anything. "I know, Lucy. But I don't know what to do. I just can't tell you right now. And I won't lie to you, which is why I'm telling you I can't say anything." I told my sister, running my hands through my hair with my head down.

"Fine. I'll make it easy on you." Lucy said in a monotone voice like she was trying not to get mad. I glanced quickly at her, trying not to make her angry.

I glanced quickly at her, hoping she wasn't about to quit on me. I braced myself for the words I knew were coming. She would say she couldn't do this anymore, or something along those lines.

"I know what you've been hiding." Lucy confessed quickly like she was shoving a heavy weight off her shoulders.

I froze at the confession, the ability to breathe leaving me as I pulled my legs to my chest, feeling like a scared little girl. I couldn't lose my sister. And her knowing I was a vampire would ruin our relationship. She wouldn't understand and would hate me for what I had become.

"You know?" I said in a daze, still not breathing or moving a muscle. Maybe she didn't know anything. Maybe this was a crude tactic to get me to talk.

Or maybe I had been horrible at hiding my cold skin and the way I acted had changed too much for her not to realize I absolutely wasn't the person I used to be. I had slipped up on a few things like not remembering my eye color had changed and I had a new hairstyle, so why wouldn't she be able to put a few things together and come to the right conclusion?

"Yeah. I know you brought someone here with you. I want to know who they are." Lucy demanded.

"Wait, what? Lucy, we're the only ones in the room." I tried to distract her with a confused expression, wondering how in the world she knew about Zane. She couldn't know.

We weren't talking loud enough earlier for her to hear us. The floor in my room was thicker and almost soundproof. We would've had to be blaring music or shouting to be heard.

"Don't play dumb with me, Alicia." Lucy retorted with narrowed eyes, surprising me with her tone. My sister never acted like this towards me. But I had also never had to keep secrets from her either. I must've pushed her patience too far and she had finally snapped.

"I can feel their thoughts in the storage room." Lucy told me, pointing to the door that Zane was hiding behind.

I didn't know what to do or how to fix this. Could I even fix it? I should've known she might be able to feel his thoughts, but I hadn't realized that she'd progressed that far with her telepathy.

"I can't read their thoughts though, which is why I had to ask you about it. Are they like us? Is that why I can't read their mind?" Lucy inquired, causing me to anxiously try to come up with some excuse for why I would have someone, who was of the opposite gender, hiding in the other room.

"When did you even learn to feel people's thoughts like that? It takes a bit more concentration to feel someone's thoughts rather than read them, and I didn't teach you that yet." I rambled to change the subject slightly, buying myself some time to think.

Zane had to have been listening to the whole conversation, but he couldn't escape. There were no windows in the storage room because there was no need for any. The room was for storage, not for people to hide in and be able to escape if needed.

"That's it." Lucy snapped while spinning on her heel. "If you won't tell me who it is, I'll find out myself." She announced as she headed for the door to reveal Zane.

"Lucy, wait!" I exclaimed before jumping off the bed and running in front of Lucy to keep her from finding Zane.

Lucy came to a halt when I rushed in front of her. "Wow. I forgot how fast you can be." Lucy said, sidetracked for a moment by my speed. Her words made me realize that I just used my vampire speed in front of her. But I decided to ignore that for the time being because she didn't notice the speed was supernatural.

Lucy remembered the task at hand and crossed her arms, waiting for an explanation. "Tell me, or I won't be the only one knowing that you're hiding a possible fugitive." Lucy threatened me.

I sighed in resignation, knowing I had to tell her about Zane. "Alright. Just don't tell, okay? They're only staying for tonight." I informed Lucy, making sure to not reveal too much yet.

Lucy didn't reply, wisely deciding not to promise anything until she knew more. Sometimes I wished my sister wasn't so wise.

"They helped me escape from the vampire and needed a place to stay for the night." I told Lucy, careful not to lie. Zane did help me escape a vampire, just not the vampire Lucy's thinking of.

"Why do you always have to be so vague? I'm going to find out eventually. Can I get a name before I meet this secret someone?" Lucy asked, clearly annoyed at me.

I decided to give Lucy his real name because there wasn't a reason not to. Besides, I was introducing her to my boyfriend, even if she didn't realize it. It was supposed to be a special moment with my little sister, but it couldn't be.

I didn't want to complicate everything by telling her that I'm technically Zane's girlfriend. It would be especially horrible to mention that because as soon as Lucy sees him, she'll be able to tell he's a vampire by his eye color.

"His name is Zane." I said quickly, wishing she didn't know that I had him hiding in the other room.

"Wait, it's a guy? You have a guy hiding in there?" Lucy exclaimed angrily. She made a move to go around me and open the door to the storage room, but I stopped her by grabbing her arm.

"Hold on, please. Zane's probably heard all of this. You don't need to freak him out further by cornering him in a small room and demanding answers. I'll tell him to come in here." I negotiated with my sister.

After she agreed grudgingly, I walked over to the door and opened it. The small room was too dark to see much, so I didn't immediately see Zane and neither did Lucy, although I was trying to block her view as well.

I was surprised that Zane had stayed quiet the whole time. He could've got my attention by directing his thoughts to me until I listened, but he must've realized that Lucy could've picked up on those thoughts as well.

Even though I knew for a fact that Zane had heard the conversation, I called out to him. "Zane, you can come back in here now."

My heightened eyesight adjusted to the darkness just as Zane stepped away from his hiding spot. Lucy still couldn't see him, but I could. Zane blended into the dark in his all black ensemble.

I wished he had chosen something else to wear. As soon as Lucy realizes he's a vampire, that outfit will make him look more intimidating.

Zane's dark blue eyes lifted to meet my gaze. I could tell he was a bit unsure of what to do but was trusting me. "Zane, this is my sister Lucy. Lucy, this is Zane." I introduced the two like everything was normal as I moved out of the way and Zane walked into my bedroom.

Zane stared at the floor, dropping all of his confidence suddenly, while Lucy studied him. I was extremely glad that he came in timidly. It would give Lucy a good impression of him. Sort of.

"Nice to meet you." Lucy held out a hand for him to shake, shocking me with her manners. I figured she would be asking questions right off the bat. "But only because you helped save my sister." Lucy added with a sly smile. I almost chuckled, but I held it back while watching the exchange.

Zane immediately shook Lucy's hand, raising his gaze to meet hers, using proper etiquette. My eyes widened as I realized what was about to happen before it did. "Nice to meet you too." Zane replied with a slight smile, pretending to be embarrassed by being caught in hiding. It was a good act, if Lucy hadn't seen his eyes.

As soon as Lucy saw Zane's dark blue eyes she gasped and ripped her hand out of his grasp, simultaneously grabbing my wrist and pulling me backwards with her. "That's a vampire." Lucy said stricken, her eyes not leaving Zane for a second while she spoke to me.

"He helped me, Lucy. You may not understand, but not all vampires are bad." I tried to explain quickly, but I wasn't sure she was listening to me.

"I recognize him too. From your memories." Lucy glances at me for an instant before returning her attention back to the vampire in front of her.

I blanked for a second before remembering the incident that occurred weeks ago. I was communicating telepathically with Lucy when I lost my concentration and accidentally sent her a memory of what was happening.

She saw Zane and Dalton standing together, going over our plan to escape the building full of vampires. That was right before I found out what a traitor Dalton was.

"Lucy, he's an ally." I informed her to defend Zane, trying to make her understand. But it had taken me awhile to get used to other vampires, so how could she?

"You trust him?" Lucy whispered fiercely at me. I cast a look to Zane who was staring at the floor, awkwardly shifting from foot to foot.

"Absolutely. He helped me get away from Storm." As soon as I said that, Lucy flinched at the name she associated with a traumatizing memory. The same way I used to do. "Then Zane came here to make sure I was home safe. He's not like the others, Lucy."

My sister inched back a bit more, at unease standing anywhere near a vampire. I couldn't blame her for being cautious, especially since I was the same way until a few weeks ago.

"What happened to you, Alicia? Not that long ago you would've killed any vampire that came close to you. And now your friends with him? You can't trust him! He's not even human." Lucy exclaims, causing me to glance away guilty.

I didn't know what to say or do to make the situation better. I couldn't possibly tell her that I was a vampire.