"Vampyris..." Finn whispered, his eyes wide as he stared into the young boy's glowing red ones. "You've got good instincts... That'd have killed you if he'd made contact..." He placed a hand in front of her. "Go and get help. I'll be able to hold my own for a bit."

"I'm not leaving you alone with him."

Genesis knew all too well what the boy could be capable of.

"Go!" Finn scowled. "One of us is more likely to get injured if I have to protect you."

"Can't you use your Alpha Eyes on him?!"

"Well..." He bit his lip.

"He can't use them." A feminine voice sounded.

"Lyra?!" Finn spun, his eyes wide, bulging like a fish when he spotted the second woman standing next to the redhead. "Juniper too?!"

"Hush." The redhead, Lyra, spoke.

"Like hell I will!" The Alpha spluttered. "You're supposed to be taking care of things in Blagmoor!"

"We asked Lukey boy to take over." Juniper said, shrugging as she flipped her long brown hair over her shoulder. "Did you really think we were going to let you hog all the fun?"

"Rylan and Black are going to be annoyed, and that's an understatement."

"Shut up and get out of here." Lyra folded her arms. "That's an order."

"Yes, my Queen." Finn gave a mocking bow. "Come on, Genesis. These two should be able to deal with the situation."

"I think I might be able to help out."

Juniper stepped between them. "The girl says she can help out, so let her." Dark blue eyes bore into his grey ones. "You, on the other hand, need to go and inform our mates and the others."

"Genesis." Finn repeated, holding out his hand.

"Go, Finn." Lyra sighed.

"Not without my mate."

"Your mate..." Lyra spun, her brown eyes falling on Genesis as she stood awkwardly in the clearing. "Sweet..." She grinned. "Don't worry, Finn... We won't let any harm come to your mate..."

"That's not-"

"It's girl bonding time." Juniper pushed the man into the forest, not letting him get another word in, waving him goodbye as he slowly slunk away – knowing he was well and truly outmatched.

"Genesis, right?" Lyra smiled, pulling her attention away from her retreating mate. "I'm Lyra, but you can call me Ly if you want – seeing as how you're going to be living with me and the others."

"Ly, we don't really have time for chitchat." Her companion sighed, casting a glance over at the young boy who was currently frozen in fear.

Even Genesis would've been if she'd been facing off against the two Lunas.

They were powerful.

They'd have to have been, to be an Alpha's fated other half.

Her animal instincts were screaming danger at her, and she highly doubted the boy's were screaming anything different.

"Do you reckon we'll be able to take him down without hurting him too much?" Lyra asked, her hands clenched into fists. "I don't want to break something if I hit him with too much force."

"Wait..." Genesis licked her dry lips, her voice cracking ever so slightly. "Will you let me try something...?"

"OK..." The redhead glanced at her curiously.

"Promise me you won't tell anyone else about this." She bit her lip, one part of her wanting to spare the boy from a bloody fate while the other half of her screamed to keep her Gift hidden.

"Ladies honour." The pair of them bowed slightly in unison.

Relief flooded through her, shoulders sinking as she closed her purple eyes.

"Thanks." Blood red eyes reopened, her black hair turning as red as Lyra's as it began to glow. Small sharp fangs dropped over her lower lip, gleaming white in the fading sunlight. "Now..." Her gaze moved past the glowing network of veins she could suddenly see in the small boy's body. Instead, they locked on the pulsating red crystal embedded in the boy's body.

The source of his newfound Vampyris power.

She'd known it ever since he'd first appeared.

The niggling sensation had told her that the bloody power he wielded wasn't his own.

No.

It was hers.

She could sense every single droplet of her own blood, and that same sense was telling her that it was her blood inside that crystal.

Cursed blood.

She gritted her teeth, appearing behind the boy in an instant. "This might hurt a bit." She said, her sharp black nails ripping through his skin, retrieving the bloody crystal in mere seconds.

Two sets of red eyes faded back to their original colours, crimson glowing hair returning to its normal shades.

"Well..." Juniper blinked as Lyra descended on the boy, bandages in hand. "That was something..."

"I prefer not to talk about it..." Genesis folded her arms, gritting her teeth.

"Relax." The other girl sighed. "I keep my promises, and so does Lyra."

"That's good to hear."

"If you want to talk, though." Serious blue eyes met hers. "I don't mind listening... Sometimes it's better to talk, y'know?"

"I suppose-"

"LYRA!" A loud voice cut her off, an enraged Alpha King skidding into the clearing. "I thought I told you to stay in the castle!"

"I got bored." The Luna Queen shrugged.

"You're such a bad influence, Pookie Bear." A blonde Alpha wrapped an arm around Juniper's shoulders.

"You know me so well, darling." Juniper grinned as she was hefted up onto her mate's back.

"Genesis..." Grey eyes found her own, yanking her focus onto her own mate, who's gaze quickly darted down to her bloody hand. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine." She sighed. "But I think you should have a look at this..."

"A crystal...?" Pale blue eyes locked on the bloody gem, a certain redhead having been safely tucked under one arm.

"It's how the boy had that ability." She explained, careful to not use its name.

Not many people knew what the Vampyris ability actually involved, after all.

"So, Omega Taurus have found a way to reciprocate the Vampyris Gift..." Alpha King Rylan scowled. "That's not good news."

"Omega Taurus?!" Lyra growled.

"Easy, Ly-bear..." Rylan sighed, adjusting his grip on his mate. "I think this is a discussion we'd better have back at base..."

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