Everything goes deathly silent, like all life has ceased, the growls we had previously heard having disappeared suddenly. I strain my ears to hear something, anything, and it seems that not even Emerson or Remington can hear anything either, as they look around in confusion. Remington taps just in front of his ear, his confusion deepening the crease in his forehead, a golden glow beginning to shine in his eyes as realization seems to strike him. The attack was sudden, the glow in Remingtons eyes the last thing I truly focus on before chaos ensues. A blur lunges out from behind us, Emerson is thrown forward, a wolf snapping at his throat from where he had turned during the fall. I take out my own dagger and throw it in one quick movement, the whistle through the air following the weapon. The wolf falls over with a loud yelp, labored breathing escaping its muzzle as it gasps silently for air. My knife had pierced a lung. Remorse fills me, as it always does, but I shove it down. It was going to hurt Emerson, or worse.

Said vampire shoves off the wolf's now still form just as six other wolves jump out from the surrounding area. No sound is made. It's... like they've gone completely silent, but they were just growling a moment ago. How strange.

Two more appear, rushing at Emerson as he pulls out twin daggers from, well, I'm not quite sure where. Now that he can see them and knows what's coming, he relies more on instinct. I can tell the lack of sound is getting to him, sound sensitivity can be one of their biggest faults, but also their greatest advantage. They rely heavily on their sense of sound and smell. The boys are still weak from not feeding properly in days, but no matter what they are still old and powerful, so Emerson makes quick work of them. I'd imagine the blood I'd given them helped. Wait. Oh dear, I didn't tell Remington that I'd given his brothers some blood-

I gasp, pain lacing it's way up through my arm. A new wolf managed to tackle me to the other side of the clearing as I wasn't paying attention. The thud of my body hitting the ground is jarring, pain lancing its way up the nervous of my body, most prominent in my back and head, which had slammed into the ground. Stars explode behind my vision and I whimper just slightly at the pain, quick to shut off the noise. It begins dragging me by the arm, it's teeth ripping the fragile flesh. Still, I hold onto my knife, even when I can no longer see the two brothers. The wolfs golden fur begins to stain red with my blood as tears stream down my cheeks and a sob forces it's way from my throat. My shadows dig into the ground to hold me still, the sudden resistance makes the wolf angry, biting down harder than before and shaking its large head and causing my arm to dislocate from my shoulder. I yell out, tears slipping free at the pain. Why did I think that was a good idea? In my pained daze, the knife slips from my grip as the golden wolf continues to drag me further and further away from my family.

A burst of pain and panic is felt through my connection to Remington and Andy, and I wish I was paying more attention to figure out which emotion came from who. I can't focus, I can't focus. But I need to. I desperately need to if I am to survive. Steeling my resolve, I force myself to try and ignore the pain, trying to calm my panicked mind by concentrating on the slow thump of Remingtons heart, beating steadily.

'Where are you?'

"Such a nuisance. Maybe I should kill you now and save myself the trouble of dealing with you. Hm, I suppose I'd rather not. You'll be quite fun in the future and the doctor stills needs you, now that we've some... incentive. At least those vampires you're with will suffer due to my minions nightshade coated claws. *Minuere." So focused on Remingtons emotions, I failed to notice the woman as she saunters towards me, my vision clouded with the color red.

"I could finally see your magic in person. It has been too long since I've eaten a perfect soul." Her fingers grip my chin, nails digging into my cheeks harshly as she considers her options.

I spit in her face (God, my boys have made me so bold), and she smiles, bone white teeth pulling up into a wide grin that sends chills of fear down my spine. "Such a brat. I should just kill you now. Save myself the trouble of letting the doctor try to tame you so I could have a good meal."

A wave of her hand and a spell immediately drains me of any strength I had, falling entirely limp against my will. Eyes wide in fear and distrust, I gaze at her unsurely, tears staining my cheeks. A crimson handkerchief is taken out of the literal air and dabbed at my spit on her face, delicate hands folding the material back into a formal square shape before it disappears. A single manicured thumb traces one of the scars on my cheek, her hand warming up by the second. Is her hand really getting warmer? Am I getting cold that quickly? Is it blood loss? Shock from the pain of my newest injury?

'Elizabeth, where are you? Answer me, please.' Andy asks more firmly than before, desperation clear in his voice.

Her hand trails down to rest at my throat, still uncomfortably warm. I want her away from me. Go away. Go away. Please. The woman's fingers tighten, and suddenly its like my neck is on fire. I scream but no sound comes out as the woman's eyes glow like molten lava, unused to being burnt, as my flesh sizzles under her touch.

'There you are, sweetheart.' Andy's voice is a gentle croon, and relief washes over me like a tidal wave, a strangled sob escaping my burning throat.

There's a flash of red, my shadows surging forward suddenly. Wait. No, those aren't mine. If I cannot control my magic, they don't listen to me, they do whatever they wish.

Andy lunges, shadowform eyes glowing red with fury, claws outstretched towards the woman. His horns nearly look physical, spiraling out from his head like some sort of strange, twisted crown. Embers trail after him like the stars in the sky as he makes contact with her. She lurches back away from me with a yell full of pain and surprise and I gasp when her hand leaves my throat, but the burning doesn't go away.

Frantically, my mismatched eyes search the surrounding area to give my mind some time to figure out a plan. The distraction Andy gave is enough. I... I can just shadow travel away. I think. Please, please let this work. I want to go back to them. I want Remington and Andy so bad I could start sobbing fully right now in my need to get back to them.

Blood leaks from my eyes, ears, and nose as pain lights up every nerve in my body. My mouth dribbles blood from the corner of my lips as I focus on a destination, focus on who I want to be with. "No! You fucking-" The woman begins, her piercing gaze muddy with an exhaustion I'd swear wasn't there before, raising her hands as fire lights in her palms.

The shadows swarm my body, the tendrils curling around and around at a quick pace before I'm gone.

I reappear next to Emerson and Remington, a cough of blood escaping my lips, "R-Rem, can you p-pop my arm back into its socket? P-please." Remington does so without question, flinching harshly as I whine slightly at the pain, worry apparent in his dark chocolate eyes.

'I'll kill her one day, I swear it.' I shiver at the sheer anger in Andy's voice, such incandescent rage startling me, scales quickly blossoming over Remington's cheekbones and lining his hairline.

"What happened?" He asks with a pained frown, Emerson walking forwards with a heart in hand.

I watch in slight disgust as he tosses it off to the side haphazardly, wiping his hand with a handkerchief. "A wolf dragged m-me off to a witch, at least I think she w-was a witch. She used magic, and... her eyes shone g-gold like your guys' do. I think she did something to the wolves to make them silent, like that spell we use at h-home." I reply, tiredness seeping into my bones to rest there for eternity alongside the pain (I'm so tired of this), "She mentioned something about how she would kill me if... someone... d-didn't need me. We need t-to go, we're still pretty close to where I w-was."

It hurts so bad to speak, but I need them to know what happened, need to know that they're all safe. Emerson hands me his handkerchief to wipe my blood off of my face, face shadowed by the storm cloud that was his anger, lips pinched. I wipe as much as possible but it had dried quickly so I hand it back to Emerson, intending to explain something to the boys next to me, and ask a question. "Where's Sebastian? Are... are either of you hurt?" I glance at Remington, having felt the brief flash of pain through our link, concern lacing my soft voice.

Emerson, even though he is so low on magic, raises a hand to try and heal the burning wounds on my neck and the sluggishly bleeding injury on my arm. It's like I can feel the imprint of her fingers on my skin fading away as Emerson heals as much as he dares with his low magic reserves. The pain isn't gone, not entirely, but I don't feel like my neck is quite literally on fire. It's a wonder I could force myself to speak.

"I got a wolf tooth stuck in my arm but otherwise I'm fine." Emerson laughs half-heartedly, as though he's just putting up a front, picking his hat up off the ground and dusting it off as we start walking back in the general direction of the house.

"And what about you Remington?" I ask, squeezing his hand ever so lightly to get his attention.

"I'm fine." He mutters, but I can tell he's lying, eyes glassy and unfocused behind the relief I see in them.

"He has a gash across his back." Sebastian appears next to me, covered in blood, a knife pointed at his throat, both of ours eyes wide in surprise.

Andy comments suddenly, though the connection is almost crackling and broken like static, making his words hard to hear. I could hear him fine earlier, what happened?

'He --- distracted wh-- -- noticed you were gone. Left him---- open.'

Once realizing it was Sebastian and taking into account Andy's words, I put the knife back in its holster. With a concerned frown, I grab Remington's arm, turning him as I move to look at his back. "Remington, why didn't you tell me?" I breathe out, overwhelming emotion manifesting itself as a thickness in my throat, "Why isn't it healing? He's fed recently."

As the questions leave my mouth, a wave of pain erupts from the bond and I stumble in turn with Remington. He falls forward suddenly, into Sebastian's waiting arms, unconscious. "We need to hurry to the Underground." He says, Emerson simply nodding in agreement, expression grave.

"Andy, have you been there before?" I ask aloud, a cough bubbling up my throat.

'Yes.'

"Show me."

He does, an image of an open door, the entryway a swirling purple mass like a galaxy. No more needs to be said as I grab onto the two conscious brothers, disappearing in a swirl of inky vines. I lay a hand on the wall to balance myself as my vision goes white and I feel nauseous. Shaking my head in a futile attempt to get rid of the dizziness, I watch in a daze as Sebastian lays Remington on a nearby couch, his back facing up. Loud, bass-heavy music reverberates through the walls, thankfully muffled heavily so I can hear decently well. I cough once, twice, unable to stop myself from falling into a coughing fit. I feel like I'm about to fall over but I look to Remington instead, ignoring the concerned glances Sebastian and Emerson throw my way.

The four gashes are long, stretching from shoulder to hip. His black dress shirt is ruined, wound swollen purple and oozing tainted blood. He is pale, which is odd because he had been a healthy tan earlier today due to feeding recently. Purple veins glow like poison in his veins, nutting out haphazardly from the wounds. All along his body, little white flower buds are beginning to unfurl at a snails pace. They would be pretty if my boys hadn't explained exactly what they were the cause of earlier today.

"Nightshade, one of the only things that can be lethal to vampires. If we can get most of the poison out of his system I might be able to heal most of it." Emerson states unsurely, ripping the rest of Rem's shirt off in a haste.

"He needs blood doesn't he? To override the stuff in his system? If he has enough of untainted blood, it will diffuse the nightshade, right?"

The eldest and youngest glance at each other, Emerson looking away to avoid my intense gaze and Sebastian giving a solemn nod of his head. "Yes, but you can't give him yours."

"What?! Why?!" I exclaim, standing up from my sitting position by the couch, desperation and confusion and so much more overcoming me.

I pause, swaying gently on my feet as my vision goes white again before clearing. Emerson moves to stand next to me, gently taking my elbow to help steady me. Hazel eyes glint in worry, glancing between Remington and I. "It's... a soulmate issue, well, more of a theory." Sebastian begins unsurely, running a hand through his hair in frustration.

"We think that if a vampire drinks the blood of their soulmate, no matter the species of their significant other, then they'll want to mark them as soon as possible. Remington doesn't want to do that to you until you're ready anyway, and he doesn't think you are. So we're not giving him your blood, as much as I believe it would help. We'll find something else to flush the nightshade out. If I can find someone in the Underground soon enough..." Sebastian trails off.

Mark me? What does that mean? Is that some sort of way to solidify our bond or something? If so, it doesn't matter. I'll do it if it means Remington will be okay. I love him.

'Do you realize what you're committing yourself to?' Andy asks, voice clear of any opinion he may have as our connection fizzles in and out.

'I don't care. If it'll help him, I'll do anything. I'd do the same for you. I'm not losing either one of you. I refuse.'

"If we don't do something he'll die Sebastian. Nightshade pollution like this... it's lethal. The wolves knew that. They were trying to kill us and we're so weak right now they're about to succeed."

Emerson's words cause a metaphorical knife to lodge itself into my heart, tears welling up in my eyes for the umpteenth time today, panic squeezing my lungs.

No. No, he's not going to die. Neither of them are. I can't lose them. I love them and I won't stand for them leaving me. The room darkens around us, shadows lengthening, stretching towards me.

"You can't, Emerson! I forbid it. We have to use our supply, or try something else! I promised him!" Sebastian shouts desperately, frustration bleeding into his voice, louder than I'd ever heard him.

"We have nothing left! We used the last of it days ago! Your promise to him means nothing if he is dead!"

I make my decision.

"No!" Sebastian roars, pupils blown wide, body frozen in an aborted movement forward as too stiff fingers reach towards me.

It was too late. The knife had already slit my wrist, the vertical wound dribbling blood almost immediately. I purposefully missed the artery but it still hurt, yet I was so used to pain that this was nothing.

In the background, I could hear Sebastian struggling against Emerson's hold, yelling expletives into the air that were ignored.

"He didn't want this! I thought you of all people would respect that Emerson!"

"I love him too much to let him die, no matter his wishes! We've lived too long for one of us to die like this." Emerson snaps back, his tight embrace not loosening as I bring my wrist towards Remington.

Tilting his head slightly to the side so there was easier access, my wrist hardly touches his lips before his teeth are sunk into the flesh, Remington's eyes open. colored the same crimson shade as my blood, black veins crawling along his temples and around his eyes.

::

The last, like, three chapters have seemed super short to me but I also like where I've left them. Might join them up at some point.