~Gabriel's POV~

Luke and I had decided to sit in a bench on the backyard of the old house, staying far away enough from the house that we felt safe and still hidden from sight of the street.

We really didn't need the fucking neighbors calling the freaking police on us.

As we sat there silent I thought back to the little vampire girl lying on the tower.

She'd been locked there; I could see it now.

First the hidden door in the pantry, then the magically locked door in the top of the tower, and last those ribbons that kept her as if dead.

The question was, why?

Why had she been locked away? What had she done?

Was she really a monster?

She sure didn't look like one.

And how did we manage to get in?

"What do you think about her, Gabe?" Luke suddenly asked, breaking the silence.

"I don't know, man." I told him sincerely. She scared me and attracted me. There was no denying it.

"She was really beautiful." He said a little dreamily. "Did you see her eyes?"

"Did you see her fangs?!" I snapped back at him even while the sight of her beautiful eyes rose again in my mind.

They had a light in them that shone with as many colors as a rainbow, interchangeable. Amazing.

Utterly, fucking impossible to paint, much to my disgust.

I just knew those eyes were going to haunt me for eternity.

"Well, well..." said a strange, feminine voice. "What do we have here?"

We snapped our heads up, expecting to see our vampiress only to meet another girl walking in our direction coming from the street.

I didn't know this chick. Had never met her before and yet the sight of her walking toward me filled my chest with a dread I had never felt before. Not even when my father threatened me.

Her eyes were chocolate brown, the same color as her hair, and yet I felt like I was staring a predator in the eye as she looked at us fixedly and licked her lips.

Luke and I stood up from our bench, preparing ourselves, knowing instinctively not to remain sitting and vulnerable in her presence.

"Hello there!" Said Luke, striving for charm and calmness in case we were wrong.

"Hi, my Dear." She practically purred at him and I felt my hands fisting at my sides in disgust as she looked at Luke from head to toe.

There was something very disturbing about this woman's gaze and I didn't want it fixed at my best friend.

"Oy! Don't you fucking call him "my dear"!" I snapped at her.

She glared at me. "Excuse me, where I come from "dear" is a term of endearment."

"Well," I stretched the word sarcastically, "Where I come from "bitch" is a term of endearment. Do you want me to call you that?"

She frowned then, her brown eyes acquiring a reddish glow while she bared her teeth at us.

"Shit!" Luke said beside me and I felt the urge to curse right along with him because amid all those pearly-white, perfect teeth were wicked fangs.

Another damn vampire.

"Seems that they have no problem with the fucking sunlight." I said inanely while trying to move my feet, my heart thundering in my chest, only to find I was rooted to the spot.

"Uh, Gabe?" Luke's voice was thin and shaky, showing his fear. "Can you move?"

"No." I said to him. "You?"

"Uh-uh." He answered.

"God damn it that bloody bitch from hell." I hissed. My lungs felt tight, my heart was beating too fast and I couldn't breathe properly.

This was the worst time for a panic attack.

"Yep. That is a good way to put it." He quipped and I would have slapped him if I could move.

The vampiress was now only a few feet away from them and from the look in her eyes I knew we were about to become dinner.

I closed my eyes and started praying, hoping that someone would help us; hoping that we would survive this shit; hoping that my brothers didn't arrive right at that instant, because I didn't want them to die as well.

A strong gust of wind suddenly whipped past us, throwing my hair in my face and bringing the strong scent of... orange blossoms.

"What the..." Luke's surprised and slightly confused tone of voice made me open my eyes and look around myself.

The day that had been sunny and warm moments before was now dark as night.

I glanced up at the sky and saw, impossibly, storm clouds gathering at a frenzied pace, hiding the sun and cooling the wind that whipped around us like blows of Mother Nature herself.

And, I was glad to see, these blows seemed directed at the bloody bitch.

My heart began to calm and my lungs filled with precious air.

The vampiress that had been so close to us before was now being pushed back by a strong gust of air that seemed to blow from nowhere.

Thunder rumbled above our heads in warning.

"You little bitch!" She was screaming at the heavens furiously. "Don't dare to interfere!"

The heavens obviously decided to answer her shouting, for a bare second later thunder rumbled through the air again and a lightening fell from the sky right between us and the vampire, singeing the earth.

"Fuck!" "Shit!" Luke and I shouted, scrambling back even though the bolt hadn't fallen close enough to us to cause any damage.

She yelped in fright and took another step back before glaring at us and turning her back, running away from the scene.

My heart was thundering in my chest and a glance at Luke revealed that he was as pale as I probably was myself.

We had escaped death by a hair thread and I wondered who had helped us.

Because the sky was already clearing and I sincerely doubted that lightening was from divine interference.

A sudden, sharp pain, in my head made me fall to my knees cursing. "Motherfucking shit..."

"Gabe!" Luke had kneeled beside me, his hand on my shoulder, shaking me, "Gabe, man. What is wrong? What is it?" The boy sounded panicked, which he had every right to be considering the circumstances.

And then, as fast as the pain came it went away, leaving in its place clarity and certainty.

"Fucking shit. That troublemaker is going to be the death of me." I said standing up.

Luke looked at me as if I were crazy. I ignored him, not feeling the need to explain myself right now, and started in the direction of the house.

I knew who had saved us and I knew she needed me.

And nothing was going to keep me from her or I wasn't named Gabriel Coleman.

~Sang's POV~

Sang closed her eyes and prayed for strength and for an end to her pain.

Her stomach had turned into a living creature determined to kill her, it seemed and her head wasn't too much better.

Using her powers when she was so weakened from years of forced sleep and no blood to sustain her had been extremely risky and foolish.

But the thought of allowing Marie to hurt those boys had somehow felt worse than death itself.

She hadn't been able to stop herself, for some unknown reason or some long dormant instinct, she needed to protect them and so she did, with great cost to herself.

Taking a deep breath she held it and then released slowly through clenched teeth. She repeated the process again and again, focusing all her attention in her breathing, hoping to distract herself from the pain.

So focused was she at her task that she didn't hear the sound of footsteps on the stairs, she didn't listen to the boys arguing as they rose to her chamber, she didn't notice the door to her room opening with a bang and an explosion of orange light.

The strengthening scents of vanilla and flowers, however, registered at her tumultuous mind.

"Gabe! What are you doing, man?" Blonde boy asked.

"Shut up, Luke. I don't have time to explain." Gabe said as he marched to her side, standing beside her bed with a serious look in his eyes.

He was practically glaring at her and she couldn't understand what had happened to cause him to change from scared witless of her to downright testy.

Her heart twisted painfully in her chest again, adding one more pain to her already abused body.

"What?" She asked timidly, trying to identify whatever it was that was annoying him so much so that she could fix it.

"What? You are fucking grounded, that is what!" He snapped at her, causing her to flinch.

His serious blue eyes caught her flinch and softened, the wildness in them retreating and leaving only concern and uncertainty. "You... you helped us, didn't you?" he asked sounding uncertain of himself.

She nodded her head slowly, knowing that a lot of movement would only worsen her pain.

"And you are in pain because of it, right?" he asked again sounding a little surer of himself.

"Uh. Gabe..." Luke tried to call for his friend again but Gabe just ignored him.

She swallowed before answering him "Yes." Her voice sounded low and raspy, probably from lack of use. "But you don't need to worry about it." She added.

He smiled then and let me tell you, that boy looked simply stunning when he smiled. "Stop being cute. You helped us, I will help you. A favor for a favor; that is the way things work."

She could only blink at him in confusion. This conceit, about someone helping her, was completely alien for her.

People didn't help her. She helped people and even then they always ran away, scared of her. Even her old friends didn't offer any sort of help. It was expected that she could deal with anything by herself.

She was, after all, one of the most powerful beings in the whole world. Or at least she had been.

Now she wasn't good for much of anything but at least she'd been able to protect these beautiful boys.

Beautiful and strange. They were invading her room and offering some much needed help.

Confusing. Astounding. Warming.

Luke huffed in seemingly annoyance and stepped up beside Gabe. He sent his friend a glare, which was also ignored and focused his chocolate brown eyes at her.

The smile he sent her way was heart-warming and she felt a flush heating her cheeks.

"You said before that you needed blood, Sweetie. Do you still want it?" Luke asked.

She glanced back at Gabe who just nodded at her and answered. "Uh. Yes, it would help greatly, but are you sure? I don't want to hurt you."

They blinked at her, seeming a little surprised by her question before they smiled at each other silently and nodded at her.

"I am Gabriel Coleman, by the way. But you can call me Gabe." He said before he lowered himself until he was sitting beside her in the bed.

"And I am Lucian Taylor. But, please, don't call me that. I prefer Luke." The other boy said as he stepped closer to the bed, looking down at her with mischievous brown eyes.

She gave them both a timid smile, feeling embarrassed at having two boys in her room, one of which was sitting in her bed as if he belonged there, and presented herself. "Hi. I am Sang Sorenson."

Gabriel smirked, "You are Trouble. That is what you are."

She widened her eyes at him. Was she really troubling them?

Luke slapped the back of Gabriel's head. "Stop being mean to her. She is as sweet as a cupcake and obviously don't understand that you are just teasing."

Gabriel rubbed the back of his head, shooting a glare at his friend before he turned apologetic eyes at her, "Hey, don't listen to me, okay? I was just being an ass."

She merely nodded, blushing at his choice of words, not knowing what else to say to them. Talking really wasn't her forte.

"So, how do you want to do this thing?" Gabriel asked suddenly sounding unsure again.

She fixed her gaze on his, wanting him to see how serious she was about this even while her stomach and head protested her hesitancy "You don't really have to do this." She paused to make sure he understood before going on. "But if you insist, you can offer me your wrist."

He could also offer her his neck, but that was a very intimate position and she felt herself blushing at the thought of being hugged close to his chest like that while she fed.

Gabriel didn't seem to notice her blush, or if he did he chose to ignore it offering her his wrist with a slightly concerned expression on his face.

He obviously didn't know a thing about vampires, she thought. And she was grateful, because she had a suspicion he wouldn't be offering her a vein if he knew she'd have free access to his mind afterwards if she wanted.

Sang kept this information from him, not because she was desperate for blood to stop her pain, but because she needed to keep him safe.

She seriously doubted that Marie had decided to attack him and Luke by chance, which meant she would need to keep an eye on these boys until she dealt with her sister.

Sang took Gabriel's left hand with her own left one, interlacing their fingers together in a firm grip, his skin hot against her colder one.

He jumped a little but didn't try to pull away from her, for which she was grateful.

Pulling his wrist to her face she laid a delicate kiss on his pulse point, a small reward for the small pain she'd cause him.

He took a sharp breath and she licked at his pulse slowly. Once. Twice. His breathing hitching each time and then she bit down.

He froze, breath held in his lungs for a moment before he relaxed. "Well, that wasn't so fucking bad, just a double prick, really." His blue eyes were bright and wild once again and he was smiling at her with a soft expression on his gaze, his cheeks a little flushed.

She was glad that he was okay, because she was more than fine. His blood in her mouth tasted like the finest ambrosia and she could feel as it flowed down her throat and through her body, sustaining her cells and giving her much need strength, stopping her pain.

In her mind she felt the slight stirring of that other, wilder, part of herself coming back to life, stretching its paws and scratching its claws against the cage where it was firmly kept.

She had to stop herself from taking more than he could give. She'd never tasted something so delicious, but the boy sitting at her side was more important to her than the blood that flowed in his veins.

With one more lick she closed the wholes on his wrist, leaving a small scar. She laid one more kiss at the place, causing his breath to hitch again and let go.

"Thank you, Gabriel." She said, giving him what she hoped was her warmest smile.

He looked dazed for moment before he snapped back to himself and smiled at her. "No problem, Trouble. Anytime, actually." He added with a flush to his cheeks that left her feeling a little confused.

He stood from the bed and stepped back, giving Luke some space.

The blonde boy sat at his friend's place and offered her his wrist without even asking if she needed more.

She knew she would need a lot of blood. She was already feeling better, but after being locked in the spell for hundreds of years it would take time for her to recover.

"Thank you, Luke." She murmured quietly to him before taking his hand much the same way she had Gabriel's.

"No problem, Cupcake. Have at me, I am all yours." He said, winking.

She blushed slightly and began giving him the same care she'd given his friend, a kiss, a few licks and finally a bite.

Luke didn't even flinch at her bite, but smiled happily at her, seemingly satisfied at being able to help her.

She didn't understand these boys. They were definitely weird, which was saying something for a vampire. But they were a good sort of weird and she liked them.

That feral side of her was growing stronger and more alert as she recovered her strength. Suddenly the creature raised its head and let out a loud roar in her mind.

Except that for Sang, that roar sounded suspiciously like a possessive "mine", as she took in the boys' scents.

Ignoring it for the moment she directed her attention to the boys.

Luke tasted just as good as Gabriel did and she wondered if it was them or if it was an effect of her long sleep.

Once she was done, Luke raised his wrist to his face and stared at the little scar.

It was then that she saw the blue marks.

AN: Okay, that is it for today and don't you dare to call a cliffy!!! ;)

LOL, see y'all next week *runs off before someone else convinces me of posting more*