There was a calmness in the air when I regained consciousness. Like every was clearer and more vibrant. My hand raised to touch my neck but there was no bruises or pain like before. But this time there was something different I couldn't quite put my finger on.

I flexed my hands looking at them like I was looking at them for the first time. My whole body felt strange. I felt better than before, stronger instead of weak.

But I was still so thirsty. And my stomach ached with hunger. I hadn't eaten anything in the time I had been taken. Surely it was impossible to go without food for that long.

It wasn't long before the door opened and my dark haired tormentor entered with the glass of blood on the trolley.

But this time it was different. My focus wasn't on the the man standing watching me, it was on the contents of the glass. Instead of being revolted by the crimson liquid in the glass my lips watered and my hunger pains increased.

Without a word or threat I walked to the glass picked it up. The smell was enticing and I breathed it in. I took a sip and sighed as the liquid slid down my throat soothing the dryness. It tasted wonderful. No amount of logic stopped me from tipping the glass to my mouth and I gulped the rest of it hungrily.

It was only after the glass was finished did it dawn on me what I had just done. Horror filled me, overtaking the physical satisfaction as I set the glass down before I backed away form it, reeling from actions I'd had little control over. I sat on the bed and pulled my knees to my chin.

Disgusted with myself, I couldn't look at my tormentor in the eye. I felt the heat of his gaze on me. He hadn't needed to lift a finger to get me to drink the blood this time.

And unlike before there was no pain as I waited for my body to react to the blood.

When the door closed I didn't even notice because I was so tied up in knots over what I had done compared to how good it had felt on a physical level.

A few minutes later the door opened abruptly and when I looked up my tormentor threw some clothes on the bed.

"Get dressed," he commanded.

I stared at the clothes feeling unsettled and scared.

"Now."

He meant for me to get dressed while he watched because he made no move to leave the room.

I swallowed. His eyes were hard and unwavering like an impenetrable wall.

"You can either do it or I can do it for you." This time his threat only annoyed me. Couldn't they just give me a second to get my mind around what I had done.

"Yeah yeah I know," I mumbled getting off the bed.

In a split second I was up against the wall with his arm tightly against my windpipe just enough to make to uncomfortable and not enough to cut off my air.

"Keep your mouth shut and do as you're told," he warned, his lips a breath from mine. For the first time he wasn't calm. There was a spark of anger alive in his eyes.

He held me for a few seconds to bring the point home before he abruptly released me and I sagged against the wall. I coughed and rubbed my neck.

He stepped back to allow me access to the bed and the clothes.

I was rattled and scared. My hands shook as I undressed before I reached for the clothes he had brought and put them on. I was surprised when they fit perfectly.

Then he grabbed my arm and led me out of the room. My eyes darted around my surroundings trying to take everything in. He pulled me roughly from the room to another room two doors down. This room only had a table and a chair on either side. The one chair was occupied with a guy dressed similar to my dark haired tormentor in all black.

But there was an air of danger from this guy that sent my fear off the charts. When he smiled at me there was nothing friendly about it. His blonde hair was perfectly combed to his ears and his blue eyes were cool like glaziers. There was no warmth in his gaze and I felt he was more dangerous than my tormentor and that was saying a lot.

"Sit." My tormentor released me and I slid into the chair resting my hands in my lap as I watched looked from him to the guy who sat across from me.

"Avery," the blond stranger said.

He knew my name. I didn't know how that made me feel. Possibly a combination of unsettled and nervous.

"My name is Bryce."

He gave me a moment to take it in. I looked to my tormentor who was standing like a soldier watching over us.

"Silas is your handler," Bryce told me.

He finally had a name. Silas. It did nothing to soften his impression on me. Our eyes met for a moment before I looked back to the man across from me. Handler didn't fit what he had put me through. Tormentor was a more apt description of him and his actions.

"I have some questions for you." There was nothing friendly about his demeanor despite his words.

I had no doubt that I would be subject to severe punishment if I opted not to answer them so that wasn't an option. I had suffered enough. Silas' warning echoed in my thoughts. Keep your mouth shut and do as you're told. Surviving was my goal.

"Do you remember what happened before you woke up here?" he asked.

It didn't take me long to reply because I had spent a lot of time trying to reach through the chaos of my mind only to come up blank.

"No."

He studied me like he was trying to read the unspoken. "You don't remember anything about being bitten?"

What was he talking about? Then I remembered the marks on my neck. Bitten.

"Bitten?" I echoed trying to make sense of what he was saying.

He didn't answer but my mind was stumbling through what that meant. The two holes in my neck. The blood. It was a possibility I had only considered for a fraction of a second before brushing it aside as a crazy thought. It just wasn't possible, was it?

"Think hard Miss Grace. This is important. Anything you can remember about it would be very useful."

After everything they had done to me I wasn't sure even if I could remember I would want to help them. I shot a side glance at Silas before pulling my attention back to Bryce.

"Look I don't know what this is all about. I woke up a few days ago locked up with no memory of how I got here," I explained still not liking the fact that I still had no idea what was going on.

"That's disappointing." Bryce didn't look very happy and it made me fearful.

I wanted to agree but I remembered Silas's warning and kept my mouth shut. But the fear of what was going to happen to me made me speak up.

"What happens now?" I asked, before I swallowed.

Had I lived out my usefulness?

"Has it been successful?" he asked Silas, shifting his eyes to him.

Silas nodded. What were they talking about?

Bryce threaded his fingers when he leaned forward with a serious look.

"You're life as you've known it is over." My mind reeled from his words.

But what about my job? My parents? The enormity of it was too much to comprehend.

"What happens next is up to you," he glanced to Silas before continuing. "If you survive your training you'll be integrated into a team."

Training? Team? What was this guy talking about?

"I don't understand," I whispered, fearful that I was about to cry when I felt my eyes sting.

Bryce let out an irritated sigh. "Once you got infected there was no going back. We had no choice but to turn you fully otherwise you would have become a Scav. In our world human laws don't apply and only the fit survive. Succeed and you will get to live."

What was he talking about? Infected? I couldn't wrap my mind around that.

"Infected?" My voice cracked. "Scav?"

"You were bitten by a vampire. The venom from infects the blood, left as you were you would have become a Scav."

"A Scav?" I whispered. His words echoed in my mind,

He nodded. "They have no control over their primal need for blood unlike us."

From the disgust on his face I could tell he didn't approve of the Scavs.

"So that makes me a...?" I asked not sure I could take it but I had to know.