Chapter 5

Christopher's POV

"So, how's it going?"

"How do you think?" I clipped, staring intently at the guest-room whilst struggling to come to terms with how far up shit-creek I'd gotten. The sheer shock of finding her was yet to wear off, and the resulting convolution of frustrated relief was growing in strength day-by-day.

"Yeah, I'll shut up," Cody muttered, sucking his teeth as he joined me in leaning against the banister. He watched the violently shaking door with an awkward wince, "Stupid question."

Danielle had woken up about thirty minutes prior, her shouts of enquiry quickly shifting into threats that would make Arnold Schwarzenegger's balls tighten. It was never the plan to bring her here, but I'd run out of options and this was the safest bet I had. I shouldn't have brought her here...

Sighing, I ran a hand through my dishevelled hair and ducked my head in exhaustion, "Sorry, man. It's just with finding her and this happening..."

"I know. Trust me, we're all as shocked as you are right now."

Despite everything, I snickered quietly at how unintentionally rude he came across, "Thanks."

"Well, it's the truth," He shrugged, unashamed to speak his mind after all these years. A moment later, he leant forward with his arms crossed to better hear what she was screaming, "...Wait, is that--?"

"--Russian."

"...Russian?" He repeated incredulously.

"Yeah, turns out she went to school in Russia," I explained lightly, nodding with lips pursed into a tight line. The ridiculousness of the situation grew with every fact I learnt about her, and as inconvenient as it was; she was now my responsibility whether I liked it or not.

"Oh."

"...A military school," I finished, adding the cherry on top of this already f*cked situation. The fact that she even existed was a miracle, but to say this was probably the worst-case scenario right now would be an understatement. I glanced at my best friend from the corner of my eye for the first time since his appearance, his eyes wide as I smiled painfully and added tightly, "She was top of her class."

"... Holy shit," He swore, blinking slowly as he turned back towards the door, "So she's not talking a big game right now?"

"Nope."

He kept looking between me and the door, "She could actually--?"

"—Yep."

"And she has no idea why's she's here?"

"None whatsoever," I quipped, turning around and leaning my hands against the banister that over looked the front door of my house, "However she has gotten it into her head that she's been kidnapped by vampires."

After a moment of processing he simply replied, "Shit."

My earlier attempts of talking to her hadn't exactly gone to plan. Walking in on her trying to smash the window open with a chair wasn't on the top of the list of things I was expecting and I was so taken aback that I froze, only just managing to catch her at the last second as she dropped the heavy furniture and made a break for the door.

Her cry of pain was an instantaneous reminder that I needed to be more delicate, my gut reaction being to immediately let go whilst barely dodging the fist that came flying towards my face. Apologising, the next few minutes were spent trying to explain what was going on but it quickly became a lost cause.

I left soon after the chair was once again picked up but this time aimed towards my head.

Neither of us wanted this. But I really didn't have a choice in the matter. The ambush was my fault.

I shouldn't have gone after her in the first place. Once I paid the rather unsuccessful apartment visit, I knew that I'd made a mistake. I should have kept my distance, and it would have blown over like some long-forgotten nightmare on her part.

But I panicked.

She'd seen me in a moment of weakness, and in a pathetic attempt to rectify the situation I'd gotten it into my head that I needed to find her and fix my mistakes. Much to the disapproval of the group, I tracked down the taxi which took her home and was able to convince the driver to reveal where she'd been dropped off. Worryingly, it really didn't take much persuasion.

"Hey, how's it going? Listen, this is going to sound really sketchy but yesterday you picked up a girl from the Johnson building around six, and I was just wondering—"

His eyes lit up in recognition, "Oh yeah, the blonde. Weren't you that friend we left behind? How you doing, man?"

"Ugh, yeah?" I said, taken aback by his sudden enthusiasm, "I'm good, thanks. Could you just let me know if she got home safe? I wasn't sure if—"

He nodded knowingly, waving me off from behind the wheel, "Oh, man. Don't sweat it. She made it back fine. Dropped her off on 33rd Street, 337 East. Watched her walk in. I remember cus she had no shoes on. Strange lady—no offence."

"Y-yeah, no. It's cool," I fumbled, blinking rapidly in confusion at the ease of obtaining the information I was prepared to fight for, "Ugh, thanks for letting me know."

"Don't mention it."

I'll openly admit that it wasn't my finest hour.

After finding the building and speaking to the concierge, I was once again thrown by how quickly I was able to find out her name and apartment number.

"Hey, Buddy," I began, fifty in hand just in case it would sweeten the deal as I prepared to schmooze my way into some information. I approached the reception where a young man in a uniform sat staring down at his phone, "I was wondering if you could help me out. I want to surprise my friend who lives in the building but I'm not sure which room. You might know her, she's a tall blonde... English accent—?"

Without even looking up he took the fifty from my hand and nodded to the elevator.

"—Her name's Danielle, apartment 14."

I blanked for the second time that day.

"Thanks..." I responded slowly, watching suspiciously as he continued to play some word game on his touchscreen. Pausing for a moment with eyebrows furrowed, I slowly made my way towards the elevator only to reach half way and turn back to confront the man, "Hey, should you be giving out that sort of information so easily?"

"You a cop?" He asked dryly, glancing up from his phone for the first time since our interaction.

"No."

"Then get off my ass," he commanded, pocketing the cash and going back to his game.

F*cking New York.

Sketchiness aside, unsurprisingly it all went tits up pretty quickly.

We were only in the city for a couple of weeks. We hardly left Ohio, as it was never a good idea for me to be in populated areas for too long. But a particularly stubborn Fae clan forced my hand, and I was required to make an appearance in order to broker a deal that would insure critical protection for the group.

There was a particular paranoia about this trip which I couldn't put my finger on, but miraculously that paranoia was what ultimately saved Danielle in the alley. Even though I was strongly advised to just leave things be, the niggling itch in the back of my mind made me want to keep tabs on her; just until we were out of town. Once gone, she'd be nothing but a painfully what if—a stranger in New York who had no idea of what she meant to me and of what could have been if the situation was different.

I had one of my men tail her from a distance for the remainder of our trip. It was a last-ditch effort to ensure that our New York visit had remained anonymous. He was meant to check in every hour, on the hour. But on our last day in town, after two missed check-ins I grew suspicious and pinged his phone's location.

Which led me to the pocket of one of Danielle's attackers.

My man was found passed out in an alley a few blocks down later that day, obviously having faced the same ambush that Danielle had.

We couldn't leave her there. Whoever they were, from what we found on their cells the chances of them working alone were slim to none. Inconvenience or not she was in this mess because of me, and I was obligated to look out for her until I figured out how we were going to work this out.

"Have you told Ashley yet?" Cody suddenly asked, the million-dollar question hanging in the air like a dead joke. I cringed internally at the thought of what I was going to have to do, still not fully sure how I was going to deal with things.

"...No," I eventually admitted, my frustration evident as the complexity of the situation grew and grew. I really wasn't in anyway equipped to deal with the likes of this. This wasn't on the cards. This was never part of the plan.

"Let me out right now, or I swear to God, I will skin you alive!" She screamed, her voice cracking mid-sentence as she proceeded to attempt to kick the door down. I winced whilst thinking of her head injury. She really shouldn't be overexerting herself right now.

ITS YOUR FAULT...

I groaned loudly, stepping back whilst keeping my hands on the railing and fully ducking my head whilst grumbling, "What am I going to do, Cody?"

"Well, I'll give you this. I wouldn't want to be you right now," He eventually chuckled, placing a hand on my shoulder and squeezing, "I mean, not only do you have the loudest human in New York to deal with, but she's a G.I Jane whose bout fifteen years too late."

At his words my frustration bubbled to ill-timed anger. He was my best friend and second in command to a group of over six hundred people. He'd been with me through everything that had happened in the past decade and had been nothing but supportive. He never judged and was unjustifiably kind at times where he truly shouldn't have been.

But in that moment, I could've decked him.

"F*ck off, man," I muttered, irritation seeping heavily into my tone.

He knew the situation I was in and was making petty jokes at a time like this.

"Oh Chris, come on. I was joking--" He defended light heartedly as I pushed off the railing and brushed past him to descend the stairs. His words only made my irritation grow, and worryingly the ever-present voice that was pressing into the back of my mind switched its attention away from Danielle for the first time since her arrival. Zeroing in on my friend.

WHAT DID HE SAY?

Leave it.

I could usually deal with it without much issue, but the appearance of a certain English woman brought Him closer to the surface than He'd been in years. Since discovering her in New York it was all He thought about. The possessiveness felt over her even after only a brief interaction was terrifying. I'd barely been able to hold Him back from the surface on multiple occasions.

But I was coping for the time being, even if I was just one bad altercation away from snapping.

"...Chris--!"

"--Cody," I pressed, pausing mid-stride with my tone audibly hardening as I felt the voice push towards the surface of my mind; a dreadful aura seeping into my words. The air grew heavy with the sudden change, even Danielle's banging fading to nothing as an uncomfortable prickle filled the air, "F*ck. Off."

It took a moment, but even with my back towards him I could picture his teasing smile drop as he realised what was happening. All light-heartedness vanished, "Yes, Alpha."

The title brought me crawling back to reality.

Blinking away my rapidly darkening eyes, my fists clenched as I tried my best to fight the bubbling anger that was building in my chest. Knowing the more distance we had between us the better, I headed for the stairs; descending quickly as I fought to keep control of the wheel.

"Crap," I gritted out, my knee suddenly buckling on the eighth step as His presence became too much and a familiar shooting pain began with force. I only just managed to grab on to the railing and successfully prevent myself from toppling head first down the stairs as the anger was ultimately snuffed out by the agony that began to pulsate through my chest.

Digging into my pocket, I fished out the pen that I always kept on hand and clasped the plastic tightly in my fist. Positioning it above my thigh I pressed down on the injector firmly, wincing as the needle penetrated my skin. The burning silver painfully seeped into my system as I slowly lowered myself onto the step.

Every f*cking time.

I'd been deliberately injecting myself with silver for years now. Whenever I felt as if He was rearing His ugly head, I had an injector pen on hand with enough silver in its solution to keep the shifting gene at bay until the urge was gone. It burned like fire and felt as if I was being seared from the inside out, but it was better than the other option.

Much better.

I'd gotten enough of a handle on it where I could tell when an attack was coming. It was usually whenever I got too emotional, or lost grip of the wheel for a moment too long. I hardly even had attacks now days.

But He'd been more active in the past two weeks than in the past two years.

My mind flashed back to the ambush and everything that had transpired. It was a miracle I even got there on time with the state Danielle was in. I couldn't leave her. Even though it would've essentially solved all of my problems, I physically couldn't bring myself to do it. I fought tooth and nail to save the woman who was messing up my entire life. I couldn't remember the last time I'd panicked so hard.

"Alpha?" Cody asked concerned, coming to sit next to me on the stairs and placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder. I flinched at the action but eventually calmed down, breathing through the pain as I scrunched my eyes in an attempt to focus.

"I got it," I eventually mumbled forcefully.

How f*cking embarrassing.

The pain gradually decreased, allowing me to tentatively stretch my leg out after pulling out the pen and retracting the needle. Placing it down next to me on the stairs, most of the burning side-effects wore off, leaving behind the familiar tight feeling of the metal lingering beneath my skin, "Enough of the Alpha."

"Yeah well, I didn't know who was at the wheel. So honestly, I didn't want to risk it," He replied, his tone somewhat teasing but still serious as he held his hand out to help me up. Letting out a breath, I nodded and accepted his gesture. He steadied my posture as I stumbled to a stand, "Whoa, there."

"Thanks, Cody," I muttered, squeezing his shoulder and letting go of his hand, "I'm sorry. I'll keep it in check."

"Yeah, me too. I pushed it," He echoed, "I was out of line."

Opening my mouth to voice my thanks, I was cut off by the sound of a car pulling up outside, my ear twitching reactively as we both turned towards the driveway in response.

"That'll be William," I noted with a grimace, forced to forget about finding a way to apologise as the original situation moved on to its next step, "Let's get this over with."

I slowly made my way down the stairs with Cody behind keeping a safe distance, shaking off the ache in my legs as I opened the door with a tight chest, "Hi, Dad."

Mid knock, he sighed unsurprised, "Maybe one day you'll actually let me knock?"

"I don't think now is the time for pleasantries. Come in," I clipped coldly, stepping aside to let him in. To say my father and I had a complicated relationship was an understatement. He was one of the only family I had left, but we weren't exactly on good terms.

However, he definitely knew more about how to deal with this sort of situation than I did.

"Yeah, probably not," He agreed reluctantly, stepping into the house as I closed the door behind him.

He retired from leadership almost five years ago and no-longer lived within pack territory, having moved out to live on his own a few hours' drive away. This was the first time I'd seen him in months. He was thinner, his stature still tall but significantly less bulky. His hair was a brilliant white, the neat beard which had become a permanent fixture for as long as I could remember now a tad longer; effectively hiding the laugh lines that echoed a memory of a happy life before it all turned to shit ten years ago, "Where is she?"

"Upstairs," I replied, lips pursed as I put my hands in my pocket and tried to shake of the last of the pain.

He paused for a moment, glancing me up and down calculatingly as I stared at a spot over his shoulder, "... You good?"

A stilted silence fell, the knowledge of what had just happened not something I wanted to delve into as Cody looked away subtly in my peripheral. William obviously knew something was up, but we weren't in the habit of talking about my condition and now wasn't the time to start. I met his gaze and simply replied with a reassuring, "Yeah."

He held eye-contact and sighed quietly, remaining to be one of the few men who could before turning his attention to Cody who was stood a few feet away picking imaginary lint off of his shirt.

"Cody, you mind fetching her?" He requested, although we all knew it wasn't an option to say no.

"... Sure," He replied hesitantly, looking at me for conformation. I nodded and gestured for my father to enter the living room and wait. He complied, although watched suspiciously as I placed a hand on Cody's shoulder and guided him to turn around and walk back towards the bottom of the stairs.

"She seems to have quietened down a bit but, be careful with her," I instructed lowly, watching as William slowly entered the living room.

"I won't hurt her," He reassured.

"Yeah...," I nodded, squeezing his shoulder before looking him dead in the eye, "But I wasn't really thinking of you hurting her."

Danny's POV

"Let me out right now, or I swear to God I will skin you alive!" I screamed, my voice cracking from the sheer volume as I practically punched the door in fury; scolding tears threatening to traitorously spill down my cheeks.

Panic, fear and anger were now all that consumed me as I continued to pound with all my might on the ricocheting door.

I had no idea where I was, only that Christopher was to blame. I was filled with both worry for myself but more so for my sister. Lord knows how long I'd been out, and she was all alone in an apartment that he knew how to get into.

He'd made an impromptu appearance earlier but I was so scared that I didn't even consider listening to the madman. My attempt of an escape was thwarted by my less than pristine coordination, the room practically spinning as I was still recovering from what I'd consider a pretty heavy concussion.

When I'd initially woken up, the events that had led me here had been momentarily forgotten as I sat up aching in bed with my ears ringing and nausea sweeping over me. The fact that I was in an unfamiliar bedroom didn't register as I staggered into an en-suite bathroom and felt bile rise in my throat.

Falling down onto the toilet I ducked my head into the bowl, the room spinning in protest as I heaved dramatically and emptied my stomach of what little contents it had left.

After painfully retching out everything that I could, I groaned loudly and flushed away the evidence. Clumsily standing to the sink, I held onto the basin to steady my stance before slowly bringing my eyes up to grimace into large mirror.

I looked like the embodiment of trash, eyes red and skin ashen as I stared at the creature that stood across from me with a sense of dissociation. My hair was matted with dried blood still embedded in the roots. Two yellowing black eyes graced my already cut and swollen face, watering from the stinging lights of the bright bathroom.

If the bruises were yellow that obviously meant that they'd been there for a while, and as my brain began trying to process why I looked like this; I ran the tap.

It's funny. It was as if I remembered it had happened but the details were fuzzy. It's a rather sad thought that this had happened so many times before in my life; it didn't seem all that foreign for me to be waking up beaten and confused.

Ducking under the running faucet, I gulped down as much as I could to alleviate the dryness of my mouth and throat. I remember thinking how lucky I was to even have running water near, as I'd been in near identical situations beforehand with no such luxury for miles in either direction.

The aftertaste of bile was washed away as I satisfied my thirst, satiated after only a few quick mouthfuls. Once done, I straightened to a slow stand with a deep breath, shakily cupping both hands beneath the faucet in order to splash some cold water against my dry and crusty face.

Gently washing the grime away from my tight skin, I ran a hand through my knotted hair and flinched as it snagged on something particularly tender. Crying out in pain, I brought my hand away and slowly leant into the mirror for a better look. My eyes took a second to adjust, but as I slowly parted the matting, five or so stitches became visible running along the side of my head; the hair around it knotted and crusty but the stitching itself neat and symmetrical.

I lightly prodded the gash, wincing when it burned harder in response. What was I expecting to happen?

Glancing down at my reflection, I finally noted the unfamiliar clothes I was wearing. The grey tracksuit set was loose on my tall frame yet short on the tapered hem of my pantleg, reaching only mid shin. My sore feet were bare against the terracotta flooring, the chill of the tile welcome against my flushed skin.

Instinctively, I lifted the bottom of the sweater to reveal my midriff that was littered in red, black and blue. Bruises had bloomed all over my stomach and ugly red splotches had appeared from where blood-vessels had sporadically burst. I winced, noting how it continued all the way up to my collarbone, twisting my body to examine my sides and back which also graced some pretty gruesome discolouration.

"Shit..." I swore quietly, grimacing at the sight. I'd definitely been through worse, but this was by no means a 'light beating'. Curiosity peaked, I dropped the sweater and wondered back into the unfamiliar bedroom, determined to get some answers to what had happened to me.

The room seemed homey but sparse, the most notable aspect being a heavy double bed placed central against the wall with small bedside tables on either side. A weathered chest of drawers stood by what I assumed was the exit, with a chair tucked snuggly beside it which sat adjacent to the bathroom that I'd just emerged from. There was a built in American style closet in the corner which stood empty apart from a few towels tucked away on a top shelf, and other than a lamp and a rug-- the room was void of any decoration.

It looked like a guest room.

I slowly made my way to the exit to investigate, determined to figure out where I was and how to get home to my own bed. Shakily pressing down on the handle, the metal hinge didn't budge. How odd...

I knocked on the door after trying once more to jiggle the locked handle, calling out to see if anyone was there, "Hello...? Is anybody there?"

I took a step back when no one answered, frustrated as the events that lead me here tried their best to bleed through to the front of my mind. My heartbeat alerted me first, the sudden spike of dread that crept in before the figurative dam of memories burst forward enough to let me know that I was in serious trouble. Oh, crap...

It wasn't long before events escalated and there I was, chair confiscated and banging on the door as hard as I could in order to kick it down. All dizziness and pain had officially taken the back burner as the sheer will to survive had taken over. I needed to get out of here. No way in Hell was I going to get kidnapped by a vampire.

I gave one last shove before giving up momentarily in exhaustion, resting my forehead against the dark wood and crying out in frustration.

"Please," I begged quietly with a shaky breath, my aching fist pressed against the door. I hoped by some miracle someone up there would help me. Like God or, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

If there were such things.

After a few minutes of waiting for any sort of sign that help was coming, I scolded myself for my own insanity. If I wanted to get out of here, I had to do it myself.

He had to come in here at some point-- and when he did, I'd be ready.

One deep breath later I stepped back from the door and began formulating a plan. After a thorough investigation of the room, all I could find of substantial mass was the lamp. Christopher had taken away the chair I was using earlier, but if I was true to myself, I knew it wouldn't have done any more damage.

Confirming that it was my only option, I unplugged it from the wall and heaved it off the bedside table. It felt worryingly heavy in my aching arms as I began deliberating what I could do with it. I had to find some way to blitz attack before making a run for it in the quickest way possible.

"Okay, think," I muttered to myself, searching for an adequate hiding spot. The closet and bathroom weren't an option as they only had one exit, but if I was struggling to even lift it off the table, how on earth was I planning to whack someone over the head with it?

"...I got nothing."

I need elevation.

Noting the chest of drawers by the door, I concluded it was my best bet and just went for it. What did I have to lose?

Clumsily placing the lamp on top of the empty dresser, I shakily hauled myself up onto the heavy wooden piece of furniture with some difficulty. It was much easier to keep gravity on my side on this occasion, and dropping the lamp onto his head would be easier than throwing it.

Quietly deliberating how long I'd have to wait— a sudden knock rapping lightly against the door caused me to jump out of my skin in surprise. Eyes wide, I quickly discarded the ornate orange lampshade and held the stem of the light fixture tightly in hand with a sweaty grip.

The lock of the door turned as I held my breath in fearful anticipation, whoever was on the other side gently clicking it open. My heartbeat was in my ears as adrenaline began burning through my veins.

"Miss Perkins...?" an unfamiliar voice hesitantly called, slowly poking his head into view. The thin face of an unassuming black man with high cheek bones and short curly hair gazed around the room suspiciously, unaware of the impending attack, "Danielle? Hello?"

What the f*ck, Dracula has a friend?

Readjusting my aim, I briefly entertained the idea that he was my rescuer but ultimately decided that it was a risk I couldn't afford to take. My shaky hands steadied as I tried to put myself into a familiar mind-set that I'd spent so many years suppressing. I had to get out, it was now or never,

"C'mon guys, you heard what Chris said."

Grumbles of multiple complaints echoed aloud as the door fully opened to reveal two larger, burlier men joining him as he entered the room. My eye widened even further. Holy crap they're massive!

Doubt clouded my judgement with the realisation it was three against one, but all thoughts of backing out dissipated once one of the two goons locked eyes with me, "Hey--"

He didn't have time to finish before I slammed the lamp down onto his head, the impact causing him to stagger back into the unassuming leader and for both to fall to the ground with a heavy crash. Crying out in fear, I jumped onto the second burly man's shoulders and managed to hook my legs around his neck; painfully gripping his hair for support as his face was suddenly buried in my crotch.

With balance my ballet teacher would have been proud, I squeezed my thighs as tightly as I could to stabilize myself whilst simultaneously constricting his airways. Positioning my body to obstruct his vision even further, I began slamming my elbows down onto his head to incapacitate him.

He began swinging his arms frantically to try and get me off, crashing back into the chest of drawers which resulted in a heavy hit on my part. Crying out, I miraculously braced myself for one final slamming blow to the head—the resulting crash as he fell to the ground music to my blaring ears.

Taking full advantage of the chaos I wasted no time in scrambling to leave, the man who'd initially called my name now up from the ground and blocking the exit, "Hey, whoa-whoa-whoa! Listen, please just—"

Without thinking twice, I straight up just kicked his knee out as hard as I could— Dracula's friend buckling in surprise whilst crying out in pain. Once distracted, I delivered what had become my signature move recently and punched him straight in the nose. It had the desired effect as he flew to the ground, my surprise attack playing through perfectly as I jumped over his downed figure and through the exit all within the span of about thirty seconds.

At least I knew I hadn't lost my touch.

The door opened out onto an indoor balcony overlooking the ground floor of a very large and bright house, the sheer speed at which I was going causing me to run straight into the sturdy wooden railing that had a perfect view of the massive front door right below.

Not exactly what I was picturing.

Not having the luxury to admire the scenery, I spotted the staircase about a dozen feet away and bolted for the landing. I descended immediately, taking two steps at a time whilst missing the last five completely as I traversed down the stairs that were flush against a wall filled with miscellaneous photographs.

"No, wait!" He shouted after me, a startled cry escaping my lips in response, "I can explain, please! We're only—"

Please don't be locked, please don't be locked!

Crashing into the door, I clumsily grabbed onto the doorknob and yanked. To my utter relief it retched opened, greeting me with a fresh breeze and bird song.

Nature had never seemed so beautiful.

And I hated that.

Trees lined the horizon in every direction visible, the house located smack bang in the middle of a nature reserve. There was a long arse road stretching onward for what looked like eternity, with rows of massive pine trees lining either side for as far as the eye could see.

Okay, I know for a fact Twilight had a Hell of a lot of trees in it.

Unable to stop I carried on through the door, frantically scanning the driveway and spotting a Landover parked a couple of dozen feet away. If I could make it to that I could probably use it to escape.

Clearing the three steps of the large wooden porch, I made it ten feet down the gravel driveway before a pair of arms snaked around my waist and yanked me backwards, my ribs screaming in protest as my arms were effectively pinned behind my back.

"No!" I screamed, my stomach on fire at the sudden jolt. My entire body was lifted from the ground as I began to kick and thrash in protest, my back flush against the chest of whomever was carrying me.

But his only response was to hoist me higher, my feet unable to touch the ground as I was carried like a child back towards the house. How strong was this guy?!

"Oh no, you don't," The familiar voice of Christopher growled in my ear, the chill of fear which ran down my spine in response gargantuan, "I'm sorry, but you can't leave just yet."

It all suddenly became too much as I began to become hysterical, the fact that I was so close to freedom coupled with the sudden unbelievable pain I was in becoming too much for me to handle.

"Net!" I screamed, kicking at his legs and continuing to protest as loudly and violently as I could, unaware of my apparent language switch, "Otpusti menya!" [No! Let me go!]

Near four years of not being able to speak English had really taken a toll on me, and to this day in extremely high-pressured situations, I'd switch languages unconsciously without meaning. It was as if my brain couldn't differentiate between them when the situation became too stressful.

Dragging me into the house he kicked the front door shut after him, taking my last attempts of escape even further away from my grasp. My muscles continued to scream in protest, my cries and thrashing unwavering as I fought his grasp.

"Change of plans, I'm taking her to the interrogation room. Have William follow me there," Christopher commanded to his friend who'd re-appeared at the top of the stairs, a bruised eye already forming as he looked down at us in shock. The two burly men also re-emerged, hobbling out of my room dishevelled and groaning.

If I were them, I'd definitely want revenge.

Christopher was still visibly struggling as I was hauled through to another room. I vaguely registered that it was a kitchen but was too focused on escape to notice much detail. His pace didn't waver as he marched us towards an open doorway leading down to a dark unknown staircase. My heart took off into overdrive once I realised our destination, anything that I thought previously to be fear paling in comparison.

"No, wait!" I screamed with increased vigour, thankfully able to prop my leg up against the doorframe at the last second and stop him from taking me down into the black unknown.

The deeper we went into the house, the harder it would be to escape. Also I had a pretty incessant fear of the dark.

Dr Lynn said it most likely stemmed from adolescence, and after some consideration I eventually pinned it to my time at school.

Whilst still in my training days, my academy had a rather unorthodox form of punishment which involved locking students in solitary confinement for days at a time. The room consisted of no light, no social interaction and no food. The longest I'd been in was four days.

It was the worst time of my life and as a result I always needed a light somewhere nearby when I slept. Be it a lamp or a television. Fair to say, I suffered from pretty serious Nyctophobia.

"I am not going down there!" I seethed, crying out as I propped my other leg up onto the other side of the doorframe and pushed with all my might.

"Calm down," He ordered, adjusting his hold on my squirming, "If you'd stop screaming, I could—"

"--No! I know how this works. You take me to a second location and I'm f*cked!" I cried, head butting backwards to try and catch him off guard. He saw it coming from a mile off and made sure to pull his head to the side, "I've seen Criminal Minds!"

"Oh, for the love of—" He swore, hiking me up further into his arms as I tried to wiggle an arm free, "If I don't take you down there, will you cooperate?"

Debating with gritted teeth, I grimaced as he shifted his hold that smidge too far to the left to pin my arm but as a result squeezed a particularly tender spot on my ribs.

"Mother f*cker..." I spat out, unable to reply as I focused on breathing through the pain. My legs buckled, and either not noticing or not caring-- he took my silence as the go ahead.

"Fine by me," I heard him mutter, stepping through the threshold.

This time I was so concentrated on the pain that had inevitable caught up with me, I wasn't able to throw my leg up in time and instead felt my foot flail into nothing.

"Okay, okay!" I screamed, squeezing my eyes shut in dread as we just stepped into the doorway. I knew the second we were down there I'd be at a disadvantage, and if I could keep vision on my side for this interaction, I'd take it.

"Alright, then," He complied, slowly retreating before turning around, "Let's get you to a couch."

The moment we had our backs to the door my resolve hardened, and as scared as I was it did bring me some relief that we hadn't descended into the darkness.

"I can walk you know," I snapped, my pain subsiding now that I wasn't thrashing around as hard.

"Oh, I know," He replied smartly, passing through the entryway with a closed front door.

"--Wait!" I couldn't help but protest as we marched passed, my head craning to the side as we walked by without hesitation.

"Nope," He replied simply, marching on without a glance. Twat.

We arrived to a large open-space living room occupied by several strangers.

The dark hard-wood floor was worn down beneath the bright warm lights of the tall ceiling, the grand burning fireplace being the main feature of the homely room with most of the furniture gravitated towards it. The walls were burnt orange and littered with the same style of miscellaneous photographs as the staircase, archways leading off to other areas of the house nearby. Everything seemed worryingly ordinary.

Why would a vampire house be this ordinary?

Standing by the fire was an older man with stark white hair and a short full beard, his face aged and sunken but still retaining some traces of someone who was once considered quite handsome in his day. He seemed solid for his age, tall and lean wearing jeans and a brown leather jacket with heavy hiking boots on his feet.

Stationed in the corner by a large bay window the three friends from earlier stood, staring at me intently and refusing to look away. I gulped in fear, my mouth suddenly dry as I noticed they weren't in the best shape thanks to me.

To say it was awkward to be carried into the room in front of all these grown men is an understatement.

Suddenly the earth was beneath my feet and my arms were released from confinement as Christopher stepped back from my hunched figure. The urge to turn around and punch him in the face was overbearing, but with the way the gruesome twosome were staring at me from across the room I decided against it.

"Miss Perkins, my name is William. I've been asked to come in and talk to you-- do take a seat," The older man introduced, watching me carefully whilst gesturing to the long tan sofa that faced the burning fireplace.

I stared at him calculatingly, heartbeat in my ears as I pondered what on Earth was going on, "... I'll stand, thank you."

"Please," He insisted, before taking a seat in one of the vacant armchairs nearby, "You're not in the best shape and my son hasn't exactly been treating you with a light hand."

My eye twitched at the word son.

Swallowing to alleviate my dry mouth, I'll admit that my intrigue was peaked as I stared at Christopher's father in curiosity. Only a few minutes ago I assumed that I'd been kidnapped by a singular vampire, now suddenly I was meeting his father?

Hesitating I reluctantly did as I was told and made my way to sit down, carefully lowering myself into the seat as I gingerly held my midriff in pain.

"Thank you. So, I understand we've got a bit of a problem on our hands," He began, leaning back in his chair and watching me with both a sense of caution and fascination, "First things first—I take it you know why you're here?"

"...Because some twat attacked me," I replied begrudgingly.

"Yes, that is part of it. But from what I'm aware, Mohammed Lee won't be bothering you from here on out."

"...I wasn't talking about him," I muttered, turning to pointedly look at Christopher who was in the process of sitting down.

I could've sworn I saw a ghost of a smile twitch across William's mouth upon my words, but it was quickly replaced by a heavy sigh, "Right. Well, the reason you're here Danielle, is because the likelihood of Mr Lee working alone on this endeavour of his... well to put it bluntly, it's slim to none."

I gulped at his words, my mind jumping to conclusion but wanting to hear it aloud, "Meaning...?"

"Meaning that the chances of this happening again are pretty strong," Christopher interjected, his words matter of fact and open to no room for interpretation, "It would only be a matter of time."

I felt my face begin to burn at his words, the whole situation overwhelming as I looked down at my bruised knuckles and back to him in a mocking disbelief, "Vampires known for mugging, are they?"

"No," he replied, lips pursed, "But I told you, we're not vampires. And as horrible as it sounds, you're lucky it only got to where it did. There's no knowing how far they'll take it next time. And there will be a next time."

I licked my suddenly dry lips, turning away from his burning gaze and towards William's as I prepared myself to finally ask about the elephant in the room. I wasn't even sure if I fully wanted to know, but quietly I asked, "... What are you?"

William grimaced slightly, "Danielle, please understand— "

"—What," I interjected, not wanting to beat around the bush, "Are you?"

"We're shifters," Christopher answered instead, earning a sharp glare from William.

"... and those are?" I eventually asked, feeling my fear grow a little bit as I had a feeling no matter what it was, it wouldn't be good.

"Shifters...harbour the ability to change their human form into another," William explained cryptically, not making the situation any clearer in my mind. What the hell does that mean?

"Like what, drag queens?" I pressed in disbelief.

Dracula's friend snickered quietly in the corner, the entire room turning to look at him disapprovingly as he brought his hands up in defence and leant back against the tall cluttered bookshelf he was stood by. I turned back to William pressingly, "Change into what exactly?"

"Wolves," Christopher finished once again.

I blinked, "...Wolves?"

No... No...!

I blinked several times as my brain tried to process this information, "You're...werewolves?"

"No, not necessarily," Christopher corrected.

"You're...werewolves?"

"No," Hamish shook his head, "Shifters. Very different."

It was as I just couldn't compute. My eyes glazed over as I stared blankly forward, blinking several times whilst it hit me that this was really happening. This was real, I'd seen it. I was living it. My brain just couldn't take anymore.

I was in a house... with werewolves.

Werewolves...

"...Danielle...?" I vaguely heard someone call, too deep in thought to react. I couldn't even move my body as I spiralled into what this meant.

"...I think she's gone into shock," Another voice commented, my hearing mostly consisting of the overwhelming sound of my heartbeat at this point.

A slow, ludicrous smile stretched across my face as the ridiculousness of the situation sunk in, my raw reaction being to just laugh. All this time I worried I was being hunted by vampires, but turns out I was worrying for nothing. They were just werewolves.

Scary, bloodthirsty... werewolves.

Continuing to painfully laugh, I subconsciously began to shake as the reality of being in a lot of danger that I was seriously not equipped to deal with hit me in a wave of nausea. Even in full health, I had no idea how I'd even begin to tackle this situation. They're real. They're actually real...

Pressure on my shoulder just as a traitorous tear rolled my cheek brought me back into the room, my eyes snapping up and laughter dying to see that William was reaching out and had his hand on my shoulder. The shock of having one of them touch me jolted me into fight or flight mode, and with wide eyes he concerningly asked, "Danielle...?"

I physically screamed as I threw myself over the back of the sofa, my eyes wild as I accidentally kicked Christopher in the leg, "Ow, what the f*ck?!"

"Stay the Hell away from me!" I cried, backing away from the now highly alert men. Both stood up from their seats and watched cautiously as I began shuffling backwards to find an exit. All rationality went flying as I stared at them wide-eyed. Werewolves...!

"Danielle, calm down."

"You calm down!" I cried back, not knowing what else to say as I literally hit breaking point. I didn't care what happened, I just had to get out of that room and away from them now. Pull yourself together woman!

"Please try to understand," William tried to explain, "You can't leave."

"The Hell I can't!" I bellowed, my eyes darting towards the three friends still stood tense in the corner. Were they wolves too? Were they all wolves?

Werewolves!

"You're not safe if you leave," Christopher said seriously, stepping around the couch and slowly making his way towards me. I began cursing myself for going to work that day, heck I wanted to smack myself for even moving to the States in the first place. I should have stayed in Cornwall where the biggest threat to my life was an overly-confident seagull.

"Oh, how convenient," I snapped in return, relief washing over me as I hit a wall and began hurriedly shimming across it.

"Listen, Danielle," William interjected, visibly trying to remain patient, "I know it's a lot to take in--

"---Oh, you think?!"

"Look, it's not ideal—" Chirstopher began.

I interjected gobsmacked, "--Not ideal?! You're f*cking joking me: not ideal. Are you having a laugh?"

William sighed, "You don't understand, the men who ambushed you... they're bad people."

"And what? I'm meant to take your word for it? The werewolves? They said the exact same thing about him," I glared, pointing accursedly at Christopher, "Hell, how do I know this isn't just one big plot that you've all cooked up together, hmm? Needed another moon sacrifice, did you? Well, you can f*ck right off if you think it's going to be me. You've picked the wrong girl to kidnap, you f*ckers."

"Danielle, you seriously need to calm down," Christopher pressed, his eyes wide in warning.

I stumbled in my footing and refused to relinquish my glare, "If you tell me to calm down one more time you condescending twat, your nose isn't the only thing I'll be breaking."

WEREWOLVES.

"This isn't a conspiracy; I swear. We're not working with Mohammed Lee," he said seriously, refusing to break eye contact as he followed my shimming figure. The sudden presence of a body in the nearby archway I was aiming for caused me to jerk to a stop, the leaning figure of Dracula's friend smiling sadly as he blocked my escape. I whipped my head around to the corner where I thought he'd be standing with the other gruesome twosome, only to find them both shrugging apologetically at his absence, "He's dead. It's sorted. But his friends are still out there, and they want blood."

"Look, right there!" I cried, once again pointing accursedly, "You're being way too casual in the fact that you've straight up just murdered a guy in the street."

"He would've murdered you!"

"Yes, because of you!" I argued, my voice several octaves higher than usual as I stammered, "S-so you think my kidnapping would be justified because of that? Should I thank you? Is that it? For being the better guys and not also kicking the shit out of me?"

"I'm trying to help—"

"—kidnapping me is; not helping!"

"Danielle, please!" He suddenly boomed, his voice raising several notches in volume as he lost patience. The room stilled, the others visibly taking a subtle step back at he stood silent for a moment, "... You're bleeding. I know you think you're invincible but you're badly injured. You need to rest."

"I can rest at home."

He shook his head, "They'll get you at home."

"I'll take that chance," I replied confidently.

"Yeah, well I won't."

I licked my dried lips and tried to form some sort of cohort conversation, "Why?"

I saw him lose patience almost instantaneously, "Oh, for the love of— "

"—Why do you care?" I cut across, watching his reaction intently as he suddenly went silent. You could have heard a pin drop as the question hung in the air, "Why do any of you care what happens to a random woman in New York?"

"...Because," He eventually answered, his response lacking even to himself.

I narrowed my eyes, "Because, what?"

"Because I'm not about to let your death hang over my head. Now are you going to cooperate, or not?"

"... You can't just kidnap me," I cried loudly after a pause of response.

"We're not kidnapping you. Once all of this has blown over we'll take you straight home. We're not trying to hurt you, Danielle. We're trying to make sure that you survive the year," William interjected, his stoic figure still sat on his armchair as I began debating my options, "The minute we figure out who was after you and what they want, you can forget any of this ever happened."

"So, you're saying that if I stay here until you sort this mess out, I go home scot-free?" I asked, my resistance wavering in the slightest bit, "Even you have to admit that sounds like a bit of a stretch."

"We don't want you here as much as you don't want to be here, English. Trust me," Christopher remarked, my eyes darting from William back to his as he stood tensely a few feet away.

I gulped, "How long?"

William sighed, subbing the back of his neck as he leant back in his chair, "It's hard to say."

"Ballpark it."

He pursed his lips in thought, "A couple of months..."

"Months?!" I repeated almost immediately, the time-frame being far too ridiculous to even consider. I was thinking a couple of days at most let alone a few months. Just as Christopher was about to open his mouth and protest I interjected, "No. I don't care how dangerous it is. I can't just uproot my life for that long. I've got my job, Lilly—"

"She'll be safe, they don't know where you live," Christopher interjected.

My eyes widened and watered in fear as I gestured widely to the great unknown, "How can you say that? They knew my work—"

"We've been watching the building since you've left, there's been no one suspicious and they would've checked on you by now if they did."

"And I'm meant to trust you with that? How do I know you haven't already--? You could be--" I stammered, chest heaving as I tried my best not to cry from how overwhelming the entire situation was.

"English, take a breath."

"This is psychotic," I sobbed, a rogue tear threatening to roll down my cheek.

"I'm sorry, I really didn't mean... Please, just trust us with this. Your gut must be telling you that this is the right call?" He said gently, his face seeming genuinely concerned as I fully leant back against the wall and felt my lip quiver in betrayal.

I lowered my gaze and began weighing my options. If he was telling the truth, wouldn't it be best if Lilly had extra protection? Even if I called some people on my end, I doubt they'd know how to deal with a wolf if one showed up.

At least these guys had a sort of... well, personal experience on how to deal with them.

But that meant that I'd have to trust them in the first place. There's no way of knowing if what they're saying was the truth. Could I risk it if they were lying?

However, suddenly all I could think about was the attack in the alley. The kicks and hits playing in my mind on loop as the pain that was all too fresh echoed in my mind like a bad recording. If they could hunt me down at work and do that, would they do it to Lilly?

Could I risk it if they were telling the truth?

Taking a moment to compose myself, I took in a few deep breaths before shakily asking, "There's no way I can go back? No way you'd be satisfied, if I just lay low?"

Christopher said nothing, William eventually having to interject with a look of earnest, "This is the safest option. I'm sorry."

I shut my eyes in disbelief at what I was being reduced to.

It was a Catch 22.

Even if they were lying and I did get back to New York, they knew where I lived. They had access to my building and were able to bulldoze their way into my office without issue. I'd have to go into hiding, but there was no way Lilly could travel in the state she was in. The stress could induce her, and Lord knows the last thing she needed was a pre-mature baby or worse.

There was no way I'd leave without her.

And that's only if they were lying. If they were telling the truth, that was a whole different ball game entirely. Was the safest option just to go along with it?

"I want to speak to her. I want to speak to Lilly, before anything," I said, voice hardening as I laid out my conditions.

Christopher nodded understandably, "Of course, I'll get you a cell."

"If I stay, and anything happens to my sister..." I warned threateningly.

"Nothing will happen."

"But if anything does," I repeated, making sure to keep eye contact as I tried my best to stress how serious I was on this issue, "I will kill you."

I knew that I got my point across. There was no malice or fear in my eyes as I said the words as mater-of-fact as I possibly could. I needed him to understand that this wasn't a what if or a flippant figure of speech. I'd taken someone's life before, I was more than ready to do it again when it came to my sister's wellbeing.

"Understood."

"And if I stay, you'll take me home after all this has been solved?"

He nodded curtly, "Within the hour."

I took a deep breath through my nose, letting it out through the mouth as I tried my best to think of any way out of this situation. I ran over everything in my head but came up short as I continued to hold my ribs and attempt to dull the aching throughout my body. Shutting my eyes, I prayed that I didn't come to regret my decision and eventually nodded—more to reassure myself than anything else, "Okay."

"Okay, what?"

"You get me that mobile, and she's okay...?" I said, "I'll stay."