Bloody Nightmare

treehouse
"don't make me force you. it'll only end with you getting mad." she smiled at him, but it looked almost sad. until he decides he's ready, she is going to have a tough time adjusting to their new life together.

cabin
annie shrugged. she really had no clue how long work would take. the manager loved her so much at the sporting goods store, he had offered her an assistant manager position. there was probably going to be a lot of training for her to get to know the store and the lesser employees. "i'm not sure. i can always meet them later. it's not like they're going anywhere." annie wasn't thrilled about more wolves going. it was bad enough with all the vampires that lived in this town, but now add probably an equal amount of werewolves. heads were going to roll. she was being rather cold to nick too, which wasn't fair to him. this sort of thing was just new to her is all. "well vickie and i can go with you to the airport. i'm sure it'll be a lovely time getting to know everyone. i'll just drop annie off in town and then we can take the car when it's time to meet everyone. sound good?" serena looked across the table nick smiling and trying to save her sister.

 

treehouse

Valentine made a half whimpering half complaining noise in his throat and sat on the bed next to her, "But playing cards is such a....mundane thing to do. It's very human of you."

cabin

Nick flicked his eyes from Annie to Serena and back, "Yeah, sure. I don't know how well they'll take to meeting you later. My Beta isn't a patient man.... I'm not saying he's a good or bad man...but he knows he's not my Alpha...only my Beta. No one's forcing you to meet them now....I'm just saying the longer you make him wait the more he'll expect out of you."

 

treehouse
Ceril cocked an eyebrow and looked over at valentine. "do you have a better plan?" she took the deck of cards back from him andset thwm neatly on the bed. Ceril kept her hands in her lap, trying not to start anything.

cabin
Annie set her fork down harshly. It looked bent and mishapen where her fingers were wrapped around it.. "i don't see why it matters. I'm sorry nick, but it's not like we're joining them. We've done just fine on our own so far and more people just means problems." she stood abruptly and marched for the door. Annie picked up her shoes in one hand and stormed outside, slamming the front door shut.

Serena continued to sit at the table, shaking her head. Annie was too proud and hot tempered for her own good. "isn't anyone gonna go after sissy?" vickie watched her older sister shake her head and continue eating quietly. "she just needs to cool off. I warned you didn't I? I told you she wasn't going to like your pack coming." serena was talking to nick, even though she wasn't looking at him. Her eyes were a little too distracted by the potatos on her plate.

 

treehouse

Valentine leaned forwards again, removing her hands from her lap and set them around his neck, "I'm hungry." Releasing her hands tentatively he pulled the collar of her blouse down a bit more than necessary and ran his thumb along her neck. You're simply...too delicous to let sit out in the open and taste and not develop a craving for."

cabin

Nick bit down on his fork, though it was empty, his canine's grew and for once he was angry. "This is more than just pride. She needs to get over it and realize that a pair of werewolves can't just be left alone in a town filled with Vampires. If we left you two alone....sooner or later you'd be devoured and it would be on our hands. Vampires would develop a taste for werewolf and they'll come after the packs... I'm not risking such a disaster just because some stupid female won't accept reason!" he snarled around the fork and his teeth.

 

These must be the Lycan Hunters." Keel said, as he stopped howling. While he did here everything that was said between the two, he chose not to say anything about it.

 

treehouse
ceril smiled reluctantly and tilted her head to the side. it was supposed to be a compliment, but it felt more like she was being used. he had already consumed so much of her in the short time they had been together. "i'm glad you like the way i taste."

cabin
serena stood up from the table and pulled the fork out of nick's mouth. she also picked up vickie's plate as she reached for more eggs. "i think we're done with breakfast." she carried the dishes to the kitchen and dropped them into the sink. nick could say what he wanted about her sister, but she wouldn't tolerate it. annie had her reasons for not wanting to be a part of the pack and nick just didn't understand. he would just have to deal with it. serena started washing the dishes vigorously and through the sponge into the sink, splashing soap on her face.

 

treehouse

Valentine relaxed every muscle in his face and body and fell backwards onto the bed. "It's been far too long since I've fed properly....I should not take so much from my bride. I do, after all, want you to live and not as my source of food."

cabin

Nick spoke low and rubbed his forehead, "We're dangerous creatures, Vickie.... Wolves like me....that live in packs are dangerous to those like your sisters and you. I've overstayed my welcome. I should go....check on the homes for my pack and see if they're ready. And then...I should meet with the Vampire again...never hurts to double check." He stood, not bothering to try to calm himself to hide his teeth from Vickie or close his mouth. They'd receeded a bit but it didn't look natural.

 

treehouse
ceril laid down next to valentine on the bed and rested her head on his shoulder. she set her hand on his chest and twirled her finger in his shirt. "are you sure you're ready for this? a life time of...me?" she batted her eyelashes at him playfully.

cabin
vickie grabbed nick's pant leg. she didn't like that everyone was fighting and there were tears in her eyes. "don't go." she stared up at him, not wanting nick to go and blinked back the tears. serena walked out of the kitchen to gather the rest of the dishes from the table. she frowned at the sight of vickie holding onto nick's leg. "going somewhere?"

 

treehouse

Valentine met her gaze solidly, "I've waited a very long time for someone to come along who could handle me...all of me. I had made up my mind...male or female, if they could handle what made me...into me...I would stay beside them. I'm not about to give up now just because the one who can handle me is a little headstrong."

cabin

Nick stared at Vickie for a long time. "Just going to wait for my pack.... Serena...would you mind if Vickie came with me?" He stared at the little girl as he spoke. Kneeling, he brushed a finger under her eye to catch a few tears.

 

treehouse
she furrowed her brow and pursed her lips. "i'm not headstrong." ceril was glaring at valentine a little bit. That is, until she started coughing. She sat up and started spitting out blood from the coughing. It was getting worse. She had gone a few weeks without showing any symptoms and now they were apparently back. Her hands were covered in blood from her mouth and her eyes flashed with fear as ceril looked down at valentine. There was nothing he could do to help. She would probably die before ever finding the pureblood that turned her.

cabin
serena picked up the dishes and looked back at nick. "i don't mind. vickie go get dressed and then you can go out with nick." the little girl looked at him cheerfully, before rushing off to her room to change. "would you like to take the car? i won't be needing it and annie obviously left already."

 

treehouse

Valentine bolted upright, "Ceril?! Ceril...you can't leave me when I've just found you. We'll go to D.C. and track down the Pureblood that changed you."

cabin

"Yes...I saw the airport on my way into town. It's rather far. After I pick them up and drop them off, I'll be taking my Beta to the Pureblood Vampire Seth Balmore."

 

Treehouse
"valentine," she said weakly, "you're sweet. I'll be fine. There's no need to go all that way. D.C is a large city and he probably isn't there anymore." she looked paler than normal and appeared to be shaking. Her hands were all jittery and she leaned into valentine, giving him a shaky kiss on the cheek. "i'll be all right," she assured him. The truth is, she wouldn't be all right. Things were already getting worse and she would probably die before finding him. This is what scared her the most. She wanted to care for valentine, but getting attached meant he truly would lose it once she died. He was already unstable enough the way it was.

cabin
"just a minute." serena took the dishes to the kitchen sink and then went to find her purse. While she was gone, vickie came rushing back out to the dining room, afraid nick might already be gone. "i'm ready." her small body was decked out in pigtails, a pink dress, and white tennis shoes. Serena came walking out after her, holding the keys up in her hand. She smirked as she handed nick the keys to her car. "have fun."

 

treehouse

Valentine tightened his hold on her, "We have to do something." Terror crept along his spine. Terror of being alone again, terror of her death, terror of the madness that would swallow him without an anchor to reality.

cabin

Nick sighed, taking the keys and patting Vickie's head. He held the door for the little girl and headed out for the car. Slipping into the seat, he felt a bit more than restless. His pack had never liked him much...would they tolerate two lone wolves with a human sibling?

 

treehouse
ceril had stopped shaking and calmly stroked valentine's hair. if he didn't relax something bad was about to happen. she shushed him quietly and tried to speak comfortingly. he was more afraid of her dying than she. "hey, hey it's okay. i'm fine now. it'll all be okay." ceril had always wanted to be human again. to live and to die, and if this meant she would die in a semi-human way, she was fine with that. valentine had never been human, so he didn't understand. his whole existence he was trained for survival, never prepared to die.

cabin
serena waved goodbye to them from the doorstep and then pulled out her phone. she scrolled through until she saw annie's name and pushed call. the phone rang twice and then picked up. "he left. you can come back now, since you clearly didn't go to work." "how...how'd you know?" "i saw you in the tree out the kitchen window. now quit hiding. we need to talk." serena waited a minute and then saw annie marching back to the house. when she reached the door, she slapped her twin. annie's cheek turned red and her eyes flashed with rage. "cut the crap annie. nick is a nice guy and you're being a *****. he doesn't deserve that. none of us deserve your attitude. quite frankly it's getting old and i'm fed up. why won't you just give these people a chance?" "why should i? we've done just fine on our own and by staying here it's just putting vickie at risk. this town is crawling with vampires and now it's going to be just as full with werewolves. it's too dangerous. we have too leave!" "no! we don't. i like it here and so does vickie. she would love it if you'd let her go to school. you need to move past what happened five years ago. it's not healthy. we thought this town would be a positive new change. why not let it be that? give them a chance."

car
vickie looked up at nick from the passenger seat. her sisters didn't let her sit up front, ever. she wasn't old enough, but with nick driving he didn't say anything about her climbing into the front seat. everything seemed so different up front compared to the back seat. "so where are we going?" she smiled up at him, excited to go for a drive.

 

treehouse

Valentine shut his eyes against visions of the future without Ceril. "Is this what Father meant when he said to love is to destroy? Or....was that me before?"

car

Nick exhaled slowly, driving was always a frightening thing for him. He never could stand the flashing lights and rushing sights. "Airport....the pack is here and I should pick them up. My Beta's going to reprimand me....for this town...full of Vampires..." His hands tightened on the steering wheel the closer they got to the airport.

 

~treehouse
ceril gave him a kiss and ran her fingers down valentine's cheek. "I'm sure that's not what he meant. love doesn't destroy things. loss does. have faith. i'll be fine. i promise." she gave him a kiss on the cheek and held onto him closely. he needed to relax or there would be nothing left of her little home.

~car
vickie sat in the car quietly. she could see nick was upset and she didn't want to bother him. after a little while she finally spoke up, quietly. "annie can be mean, but she doesn't usually mean it. you'll forgive her, right?"

~cabin
annie had stormed inside during the argument and serena kept reprimanding her. she may have been the younger twin, but that didn't stop her from standing up to her sister. "three things, that's all i'm asking. enroll vickie in school, apologize to nick, and give these people a chance. who knows, you may come to like them." annie rolled her eyes and slumped down onto the couch.

 

treehouse

Valentine eased on his grip on her and eventually let go. "You should not have to die like this...."

car

Nick let out a shaky breath, "I'll forgive her. Your sister is far more intriguing than she believes she is. My wolf will not let her go as easily as she may believe she can escape me. It's not so easy....wolves mate for life. N-not that I'm thinking about....I just...ah nevermind. Along with my pack they bring three children about your age I think...who haven't yet come into their wolf. They change next full moon."

 

~treehouse
"it'll be okay. maybe i'll luck out." she held her bloody hands up to his mouth. if he was going to restrain himself from feeding, he could at least taste what was already out of her body. "here. are you sure you still want to stay? you're allowed to leave. i wouldn't want you to suffer because of something that is out of my control."

~car
vickie's smile came back. she was excited to hear that there would be more people her age. finding out about sammy was great, but knowing there would be even more was terrific. they would be changing soon, maybe that meant she would be changing soon too. "will i change soon too?"

 

treehouse

Valentine shook his head, slowly flicking his tongue out to lick off the blood on her hands, "No...I told you I stay beside the people who can handle all of me. I will stay until the bitter end."

car

Nick eased into the parking lot of the airport and glanced at Vickie. "I don't know. Your sisters seem to believe you are all human. I find that a little....hard to believe fully. Perhaps something will bring out your werewolf genes when you meet the others. I'd like to say you will...but without truly knowing...that's just putting hopes in your heart." Shutting off the engine and stepping out of the car, Nick stretched and walked over to Vickie's side of the car. Holding open the door, he held out his hand to her, "C'mon. No use dwelling on something we can't change or know more about. Let's go get our extended family."

 

~treehouse
ceril smiled at him affectionately and wrapped her arms around his neck. "all right. then we better find a way for me to get better." she winked at valentine and fell on top of him, fangs glistening.

~airport
vickie took nick's hand and climbed out of the car. "okay!" she walked with him into the airport. the little girl was ecstatic meet all these other people, even though what nick had said was bothering her.

~cabin
serena swatted annie's legs off of the coffee table angrily. "if you're not going to go to work, at least help clean. this place should look spotless. i'm going to start cooking that food that's been marinading. i'm sure nick's pack is going to be plenty hungry for a real meal by the time they get here. airplane food is awful." she moved back into the kitchen and pulled the steaks and ribs out of the refrigerator, while the oven preheated. annie stood up grumpily and started picking up the living room.