𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝖙𝖜𝖔

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"𝐈 𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐄 𝐍𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐎𝐃 the desire you and your brother have to work so closely with humans." Florin was weeding through an unsupervised file, not particularly taking notice of the words written across the page. The light in Lana Gibbs' office, in the western wing of Forks Hospital, was bright, aided by the blinds of the window tightly closed, but the faint buzz of electricity was easy to tune out.

Lana snatched the file from his hands, noticing them covered with his black fingerless gloves. "I have never understood why you seek to bother me so much," she retorted, filing the folder back into the cabinet she stood in front of.

"It reeks in here, Lan." Florin paid no attention to her quip. "500 feet away and I could smell them."

Her brows furrowed as she turned to face him. "Florin, you're a tracker," she argued. "Of course you could smell them that far out."

"Be that as it may," he raised a finger before pointing it to her, "you're still here, every day, teeth directly on the pulse. As is Carlisle. That takes strength."

"We manage." Lana sought to stop Florin's trail dead in its tracks before he started sniffing out answers she fought to keep hidden. "Listen, there's something I need you to look into."

A sharp shh hissed from Florin as he then lowered his voice, looking up to Lana without raising his head. "There's a human hovering at your door."

Her blonde ponytail whipped around as she turned, but her demeanour immediately softened. "Charlie," she smiled. "Hi."

The man in the doorway was tall, with dark hair and a thick moustache, dressed head-to-toe in a black police uniform, fully decked with badge, vest, and gun. He had his hand raised to knock on the doorframe, but lowered it as Lana faced him. "I don't mean to intrude," he spoke.

But Lana was shaking her head. "No intrusion, Chief Swan." She gestured to her guest. "Florin's an old friend, we were catching up."

Chief Swan stepped forward, his hand extended. "Charlie Swan."

"Florin Donalto," Florin stood, his own hand still gloved as he shook the man's, even with his fangs threatened to bare. After not feeding for weeks, being this close to a human, touching one, could be disastrous if it weren't for Florin's exceeding tolerance.

"What brings you to our neck of the woods, Mr Donalto?" Chief Swan asked, his eyes flickering to Lana momentarily.

Florin noticed, but said nothing. "I'm a private investigator." It was a more savoury term than vampire who hunts other vampires.

"PI?" Chief Swan's dark brows hitched, looking to Lana once again. "Nothing bad, I hope?"

Shaking his head, Florin smiled. "Just chasing a lead."

"Well, if there's anything the Forks Police Department can do to help, you let me know." He turned to Lana again. "Could I trouble you for a patient file, Dr Gibbs?"

Lana smile widened. "You can trouble me for anything you wish, Chief Swan." Florin's phone ringing threatened to interrupt her, but she kept her focus on Charlie. "What do you need?"

"Excuse me," Florin whispered, stepping outside to take the call.

"Francis DeBaine," Charlie answered, watching as Lana's fingers hovered over the filing cabinet she had open.

A beat of silence passed as Lana let out a breath. "Frank?" She'd known Frank and his wife Josie for the few months between Lana and her family arriving in Forks to the DeBaine's untimely passing. "What's..." She didn't even know what or how to ask.

"Eloise," Charlie simply answered, but it was enough.

Nodding, Lana understood. Eloise DeBaine was Frank and Josie's daughter; sixteen, orphaned, and full of spite and determination. In the two years since Eloise's parents died, Lana had treated Eloise eight times for various injuries. Minor incidents; scrapes from chain-link fences that she'd been trespassing, scratches from barbed wire, gashes and gravel-rash. She was acting out, angry at the world for taking her family and leaving her in the care of her elder cousin, Francesca, whom she defied regularly.

"I won't ask," Lana noted as she handed over the file. "I just..." she sighed again, "I hope she straightens out."

Charlie was nodding, but there was something else on his mind. "How are you?"

The question caught her off-guard slightly, but she welcomed it. "I'm fine," she answered. "How are you?"

"Good, yeah, good," he was still nodding. His real question was begging to be heard, pounding to be let out. "Do you have any plans this evening?"

"Hm," Lana hummed. "I think I have a date."

Charlie's shoulders dropped slightly. "Oh."

A grin crept its way onto her lips. "Yeah, but he's taking forever to ask me out."

He looked up, studying her, seeking to know he wasn't misinterpreting her remark. His back straightened as he found his composure, clearing his throat. "Dr Gibbs, would you like to join me for a drink tonight?"

"I'd be honoured," she smiled.

"Can I pick you up at 8?"

She gave a single nod, noticing Florin in her peripheral, waiting just outside the door. "I'll be here." This finished her conversation, and Charlie exited with a smile, the folder gripped firmly in his hand.

"Mr Donalto," he said as he left, dropping his head slightly in acknowledgement.

"Lovely to meet you, Chief Swan!" The words weren't necessarily a lie as they left Florin's lips, but they weren't the whole truth. He turned on Lana, his eyes dark and narrowed. "Is that how you all feed?" he hissed. "By dating the humans? Are you wiping the memories of the whole fucking town, Alana?"

Lana glared at him, her teeth clenched and fangs beginning to protrude. "It's not like that," she seethed. "We don't feed on humans directly."

He chuckled. "Oh ho ho, let me guess," he pointed a gloved finger to her, "you're the inside source. You really do have your teeth on the pulse, don't you, Lan?"

She swallowed hard. "We take what we need to survive," she muttered. "That's all."

"And that's what? Two a month? Four, five?" He was getting cocky now, hypocritical as his coven did the same. "To feed your family of, let's see, one, two... nine vampires? All while the top dog is hot on your tail."

"It's ethically sourced!"

"It's stolen."

She wished she could use her powers on him, make him forget what he saw. Florin's sire line prevented that. "It's better than the alternative, Florin." She reached behind her for the newspaper she had taken from the waiting room earlier that day. "This is the reason I called."

Florin's eyes wandered the article before he sighed. "And this isn't any of your clan?"

Lana shook her head. "It's someone else. There's massacres all over Seattle, we wouldn't..." She inhaled then swallowed. "We think someone's creating newborns."

"To what end?"

She shrugged. "That's where my favourite tracker comes in."

"It's going to have to wait," he deterred.

His phone call. "What's going on?"

Florin tucked the paper into the inner pocket of his brown leather jacket. "You let us worry about that, Lan."

♱

"𝐈 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐄 going to major in horticulture," Francesca had her head tilted, reading the note she had been handed by her best friend only minutes earlier. The delicate handwriting was scrawled across the page with titles of the textbooks, most of which had already been obtained and stacked in Nadja's arms as they trailed the halls of the library.

Nadja shrugged, barely, her grip weighed down by the books. "I changed my mind."

"To psychology?"

"The study of the human mind," Nadja almost swooned. "It's fascinating, Chess. I really want to know what makes people tick."

Francesca's nose scrunched as she tucked another book under Nadja's chin. "Why?"

"Well," Nadja pondered, "Ed's always been good at reading people, and Alice has a knack for predicting behaviours, so I guess it just runs in the family."

"Naddy, you and your siblings are adopted."

"You know what I mean," Nadja retorted. "It could be environmental, influenced by my surroundings. Which," she pointed out, "is all the more reason to study psychology."

Francesca rolled her eyes, but her smile was stuck fast. She and Nadja had become instant friends when the Cullens moved to town three years ago. She figured they bonded over mutual loss; Nadja had been adopted, knowing only that her mother had died in childbirth, while Francesca had lost her own mother when she was 13, and her father had died before she was born. The two found similar interests, and spent most of their time together. They had both graduated high school together just shy of a year ago, even planning to attend the same college. They joked that if either ever got married, the other had to be married on the same day.

Francesca just didn't tell Nadja that, if given the choice, she'd marry Nadja's older adopted brother, Emmett.

Nadja dropped the final haul of books onto the front counter, and the spectacled librarian got to work scanning the barcodes. "Library card?" she asked, her tone soft and lulled.

Nadja handed over the piece of white plastic, retrieving the books as they were slid back towards her. Francesca had to tuck Nadja's library card into the back pocket of her own jeans as she watched Nadja lean back for a moment, adjusting the books in her arms as they exited the library.

The two had barely put their shoes to pavement before they heard a voice behind them, approaching from another storefront lining the sidewalk. "Need a hand, Miss Hale?"

They each turned, recognising the person instantly, his charismatic smile the first thing anyone was drawn to. His handsome features and firm biceps beneath his uniform were the second and third.

"Officer McKinley," Nadja beamed. She'd be tucking her hair behind her ear if her hands weren't already full.

"Ah, Deputy now actually," he tapped the badge he had strapped on his belt, beside his holster. "Promoted while you were in Alaska."

"Congratulations!" Nadja would've thrown her arms around him if she were able. "Clay, that's so cool. You'd have to be the youngest deputy in Forks history right?"

"That's what they tell me. Twenty-four at the time," he winked.

Francesca was kicking the toe of her converse against the weeds sticking up through the cracks in the pavement as the two others spoke.

"I'm so sorry I missed your birthday," Nadja said. "We just couldn't get away. Did you get my card?" Her brows were knitted together, her eyes glued to him.

His smile was soft, comforting. "I did, thank you. It was very touching."

Her concern melted away, making room for her smile to return. "We should really get going," she lifted her loot slightly, "these books aren't gonna hit themselves."

He chuckled, the melody warm. "Don't hit them too hard, Miss Hale," he warned playfully, "or I'll have you charged with assault."

There was a boldness creeping up from within her as Nadja's smile widened into a grin. "Will you hold me in contempt, Deputy McKinley?"

He stepped forward, leaning down and lowering his voice. She could smell his cologne, dark and welcoming, eager to draw her in further, combined with the scent of his blood. His pulse was soon the only thing she could hear. "Only if you ask nicely, Miss Hale."

"Okay!" Francesca interrupted, her hand hooked under the gap below Nadja's arm. "Time to go. Thank you for the nightmares, Deputy."

Clay chuckled again. "Have a good day, ladies."

Nadja was still blushing, not wanting to tear away from him, but Chess was firm. "Bye Clay," was all Nadja could manage as they walked away.

"Why don't you two just bone already?" Francesca scoffed. "Get it over with, get it out of your systems."

"It wouldn't work out," Nadja denied. "I don't think he's actually interested."

Chess frowned again. "Are you dumb?" She stopped in her tracks. "Were you not in that conversation? I could feel the pheromones oozing from the both of you."

"Hm." Nadja wasn't listening.

"Hm," her friend mocked. "Bet you'd like to study his behaviour."

Nadja's tongue was tucked firmly into her cheek. To anyone else, she looked deep in thought, daydreaming. Nobody would be able to tell she was willing her fangs to retract.