"Saige? Saige!" Deacon kept repeating my name, but I drowned out the sound. I was so lost and so miserable that I didn't care about anything.

I was hit with nostalgia and recalled a time when my brother put me first. It was the day before Christmas and our parents were working long shifts, so they couldn't shop for presents. I was devastated. Not only was I not getting any gifts, but my mom and dad wouldn't be here on my favorite holiday. I stayed in my room all day and cried. Alex must have heard me, because he went down the street to the nearest antique shop, traded in all his favorite toys, and came home with a beautiful metallic necklace that had purple rhinestones on it.

He then raced up to my bedroom and opened the door without asking, something I really hate that he does. I was laying on my bed; my head in the pillow, when he shook me. I sat up with water drooping down my face as he handed me the necklace with a huge smile.

He kept that smile perched on his face and said, "Merry Christmas, Sis."

I wore that necklace every day, even if it didn't match my clothes. It was because he put me first that I couldn't give up on him. I couldn't jeopardize who he was...who he is. But every second I spent lost in my thoughts was one second closer to losing him.

"Saige, we must get him to a hospital now!"

The loudness of his voice swarmed me, causing me to act quick and think later. I picked up his body, which sank in my arms, and ran outside.

Pansy, with guilt in her eyes, placed a hand on my shoulder. "I'm so sorry."

"Me too." That was all that came out. I knew it wasn't her fault, but the idea of blaming her felt way better than blaming myself.

I caught a sudden breeze against my skin. The air was peaceful, even as I was holding Alex with all the strength I had left.

With my back facing the door, my ears opened up to a conversation I didn't think I was supposed to listen to.

"He came out of nowhere, Deacon. I couldn't stop her!"

"I know."

Pansy then said fearfully, "If she bit me, who knows what could have happened."

"Let's just hope Alex isn't who they said he is," replied Deacon.

What does he mean by that? Who's they? Is Alex in more danger than I had previously thought? What aren't they telling me?

I looked down at my brother. Blood soaked his clothes and skin, but it never reached his hair. Those dirty blonde locks were still dirty blonde locks and I felt some weight being lifted off my shoulder because of it.

But I still needed answers.

The urge to whisper something in my brother's ear occurred to me, but it didn't matter. He wouldn't have been able to hear it anyways.

Deacon finally approached me and we left.

Time stood still while we walked. Alex was getting so heavy that Deacon eventually started carrying him. No one spoke a word and it got me worried about other things besides my brother dying. I worried maybe him dying would keep him safe, as selfish as that may sound. But I wasn't trying to sound selfish. It was probably the most selfless thing I have ever thought. It was the words "let's hope he isn't who they said he is" that made me feel this kind of way.

I wondered what was going through Deacon's mind. He hasn't said anything, so I could only imagine the thoughts running through his head. And I also wondered if he was mad at me for what almost happened with Pansy. I mean, they do go way back some thirty years.

"What were you and Pansy talking about?" The words just fell out of my mouth and a part of me was glad it did. They shouldn't be hiding things from me, especially when it involved my brother, right?

"She blames herself for what happened."

We never stopped walking as he kept a steady pace along the road towards town.

"And she should blame herself," I said. "But that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about Alex."

"Well, that's not important right now." His feet started to move faster and he was no longer walking at my side.

I yelled, "It is important!"

"It's not up for discussion."

"Stop it!" I yelled again, standing motionless in the middle of the road. "You sound like my third grade English teacher! He was just as stubborn as you are!"

"Saige, we need to keep moving! Your brother doesn't have much time." He pushed me forth, and he was right. But I wasn't about to go with him, not when it depends on finding out what he was hiding. There were supposed to be no secrets between us, and yet he was lying through his teeth.

...

He didn't speak and I couldn't wait any longer for him to tell me the truth, so he led me to a place in town I've never spent much time at, not even as a kid. Hospitals were always terrifying, but maybe that was because of the horror movies I would stay up all night watching. Michael Myers had killed an entire staff and a lot of crazies were institutionalized for just being crazy inside these walls.

However, the hospital clinic not far from the grocery store Pansy worked at had a touch of purity I've never seen before. Its outer walls of white with polished glass windows stuck out from all of the other dirty, unappealing places nearby. I wasn't terrified to enter like I was as a kid, which was very unexpected.

As we stood a few feet away from the building, I asked, "Will they question the bite on his shoulder?"

"I know someone inside who can help us. She's a witch."

"But don't all witches hate me after what my parents did?"

"Not her," he said. "She actually agreed with what they did. She lost her son during a C-section and would have done the thing if she could."

I let out a faint smile, feeling the relief flow through me. It disappeared just as the sounds of Alex moaning in pain occurred.

"He's bleeding out," I cried.

I followed Deacon inside and immediately heard him call out the witch's name. "Hallie!"

A woman rushed towards us. "There's no need to shout. I'm right here."

There was concern in her hazel eyes when she told Deacon to put him on the gurney. It was hard to imagine being a nurse and put on the spot to save someone you didn't even know. It almost sounded like a bad career for me to have.

She strolled him down the hall, wheeling him away from me, away from his monster. The thing that hurt most was realizing that the one who hurt him was still inside of me, just waiting to come out and play. And when it does, who will be next?

"He's going to be okay," said Deacon, wrapping me in his arms like a towel. But all I did was cry into his sleeve until it was drenched in tears. It should be me dying, not my little brother.

...

Deacon holding me still didn't feel like it used to as I moved away and wandered off. It didn't feel right in his arms, like it almost stung being close to him after what happened earlier. I couldn't explain this feeling or even begin to understand it. All I knew how to do was breathe and even that was painful, since my brother was fighting for his life in another room because of me.

I turned around and Deacon was gone, but I could hear his voice talking to Hallie. "What's the verdict? Is he going to be okay?"

"What, are you and your girlfriend having trouble in paradise?"

"Yeah, you could say that." Why didn't he correct her? We weren't dating, were we? I mean, a few kisses doesn't automatically make us a couple.

"Well, he's definitely improving. The bite wasn't effective enough to kill him, but he will be unconscious for several hours."

I mute her voice from my ears when other sounds passed through one ear and out the other. I found myself walking down long halls of dimmed lights and closed doors. I should have turned back, but I was being urged to go on, to explore. The walls of beige had unusual markings and the floors were as shiny as the glass windows outside, which was weird.

I came across doors with red x's on them. It signified something bad, something dangerous. I wanted to stop exploring, but I couldn't remember how I got here or how to get back.

It only took a minute later for me to trip over something. As I laid there, I turned over on my back and saw a mop in a yellow bucket. I went to get up and inspect it until I heard noises coming from all the doors with red x's on them. Sounds of groaning, screaming, and loud pounding began to ring in my ear as I raced down the hall to escape it.

I covered my ears, but my werewolf hearing made it seem louder and louder to the point where I wanted to faint. I kept running with heaviness in my breathing.

A sudden hand grabbed me from behind and pulled me aside into a dank and dark closet.

Turning on the lights, Deacon looked at me and asked, "Are you alright?"

"Did you hear the noises?"

"What noises?" I thought he would be able to hear them, knowing he has super hearing like I do, but maybe the noises were all in my head, like my mind was playing tricks on me.

We exited the closet and I followed him to a small room by the main entrance. Inside was Hallie, her hair now in a messy bun, and Alex, who was lying on a bed unconscious.

I rushed to his hand, kissed his hand gently with my lips, and glanced at Hallie. "When can I take him home?"

"Saige, there's something you need to know," said Deacon with apprehensiveness, almost as if there was something wrong.

"I don't know how to tell you this, but..." I quickly turned towards Hallie, her voice soft like an angel as she continued, "He can't go home with you. He must stay here for a few days."

"Isn't he okay?"

"Yes, but that's not the problem." Hallie put down her clipboard and pointed at the stitches on Alex's shoulder. "He may have been healed this time, but another bite from you will kill him instantly."

I began to fear the monster within me. What if I can't control it next time? What if I kill my brother? I will lose a part of myself if I do. The innocence inside will be gone, destroyed. I soon glanced at her and asked, "How is that even possible?"

She looked at me with more concern as she placed her hand on my arm. Her heart was beating rapidly and the tone in her became distinct and hollow. "There was venom in your canine teeth that was transfused into Alex's blood stream. I was able to remove some of it, but because the bite was deep, I will have to keep him here for a couple nights."

Deacon started to act weird. "Venom?"

"Yes?"

"Can the venom harm anyone, even vampires?"

"It can harm anyone who has been in contact with her blood or her canine teeth. But where the venom originated from is still unknown. She shouldn't even have access to it. She wasn't born with it, so she must have drank or came in contact with some kind of toxic herb."

He hesitated for a moment. "It was me."

"What was you?" I asked, feeling odd about this whole situation. It didn't make sense, even as she tried to explain it. Venom in my teeth? It's hard to imagine that being a thing, let alone it coming from a toxic herb. I never drank or was near any kind of toxic herb.

Deacon then said to Hallie, "When Saige was hurt, I fed her my blood. But when she refused it, I fed on her. At first I thought I was drawn to it, but now I'm not sure."

"Maybe that could be the source of the venom. Did you drink anything around the time you fed on her?"

"Yes, but it was only tea."

I thought he was going to say a blood bag, but never mind.

"Could you stop by with a sample made? I can possibly find out what kind of herb it was and help Alex heal quicker."

"I'll come with him," I replied, trying to avoid the conversation they were having. But to think that Deacon was the reason my brother almost died hurt deeper than a knife cutting through skin.

We left Hallie to attend to my brother's needs, but I didn't like to leave him behind. He was one of the few family members I had left. He was my only sibling, my only brother. He was my motivation to keep going on even when I wanted to quit. And I just hope she can protect him better than I ever did, better than I ever will.