Love Bites *Sequel to Insanity Bites*

Chapter 4: The Council

"On the contrary," Zayn hesitated, looking unsure of himself. "You're going to hate me for saying this-"

"We already do. So just get on with it," Harry interrupted making Zayn scowl.

"This game I played with you, was actually my idea. It started about three decades ago when I decided I was bored of drinking blood from things that couldn't be hunted. You must understand that at the time, I had lived long enough to forget what remorse felt like and humans were merely a source of food. There was a high profile case about a young boy who had murdered his girlfriend but he pleaded insanity and was placed in an asylum."

I nodded my head slowly as Zayn paused to read our reactions.

"He was healthy and he was the first rule I ever broke. I visited him at night and it was beautiful how he believed I was a hallucination. After weeks of persuasion and a bit of help, he hung himself in his room. It was the first time I had ever drunk such young, fresh blood which wasn't contaminated with cancer, heart disease, diabetes or anything else. After this incident, I proposed to the council a structured feeding schedule that rotated between eating the sickly, the mentally unstable and random murders. Even certain infamous serial killers like Ted Bundy and the Zodiac were actually ideas conjured up by me, to help us feed on healthy humans while keeping our existence a secret."

Zayn couldn't look at me anymore as he went on, instead he focused on his pale fingers that were knotted together in front of him.

"Not only were the council ecstatic, all the other vampires were as well. They incorporated my system almost immediately and groups of us would take turns to kill people based on our feeding schedule and designated target group of humans. Every vampire loved the mental health feeding period the most because that was where we were allowed to interact with humans as vampires without getting caught. We kept the numbers small and used our influence to publicize mental health disorders and serial killers in the media to create mass hysteria so that the public would never suspect us."

I tried my best not to react when in fact I was utterly horrified. My jaw clenched tightly as I slowly realized I was sitting across someone who has single-handedly killed thousands of people with his ideas.

"That is why the council wanted you to join them," I stuttered.

Zayn finally looked up at me and nodded.

"You were right about the murders, Rosalie. You were right about me convincing my victims to commit suicide only to have me kill them. Only it wasn't just me doing the killing."

"This is crazy," Harry exhaled as he ran a hand through his now short hair. His cheeks were drained of all their colour and his eyes were wide open in shock. "Is this related to my dad? About why he disappeared after the break in at the lab."

Zayn nodded again in reply. "Your father did the post-mortem for one of our victims. One of ours had become attached to his victim before he killed her and he had broken in to steal her body without the council's knowledge. Dr. Edwards saw him and what he was. When the council found out, he was sentenced to death and Dr. Edwards was blackmailed into leaving you and your mother because we couldn't kill him without arousing suspicion at the time."

I cast a wary glance at Harry knowing he must be feeling the way I was, like I had just been struck by a lightning bolt. He was staring into space, looking slightly lost and I remembered the small boy in the picture above his bed holding his father's hand.

I placed my hand in his reassuringly and his grip tightened around mine. Oddly enough, his warmth kept me from screaming out loud.

I saw Zayn's eyes focus on our interaction and a flash of pain crossed his features before it became stony and impossible to read.

"So I was your chosen victim, in your feeding schedule?" It was a struggle to get the words out without choking. I'd always thought Zayn had chosen me for some reason but now I realized it was much worse than that. I had been chosen by some twisted organized feeding system set up by none other than Zayn himself.

All his words, his kisses, his actions had been nothing but lies. I wasn't special in anyway, just a random target.

And the worst part was I couldn't even blame the council for it. It was all Zayn's fault, from the beginning.

"No, I chose you. I was given the choice between you and your mother given your family history of schizophrenia in our database. I chose you without a second thought because you reminded me of someone I knew when I was human," Zayn's voice fell with every word. "I was supposed to do the routine thing. Make you look crazy to everyone else and then kill you but I got attached."

He laughed a bitter laugh. "My very own system bit me in the ass, talk about karma."

"You got attached? Is that why they're after us now? Because I'm not dead?" I felt like I was falling and the only thing keeping me a float was Harry's hand reminding me I wasn't alone in this nightmare.

"Yes." Zayn's hands trembled slightly. "It didn't take long for me to realize I would never be able to kill you, Rosalie. That was why I made you that deal at the river. I meant what I said about leaving you alone if you swam out by yourself and if you died it would not have been by my doing. But you nearly drowned and I couldn't watch you die so I saved you. The council was not happy that I had been dragging your case for too long but I came up with a plan to save your life without exposing us. That was why I made you kill me that night, making everyone think you were crazy and then I could disappear because I was dead."

"I was the one who subtlety gave Aurora the idea to record your conversation with Melanie and to play it in school. I did it so everyone would believe your obsession with me that lead to you killing me. It was perfect and the council had no choice but to agree-"

"Enough," I cut him off and held my head in my hands. "I can't hear anymore."

"Rosalie," Zayn's voice was strangled.

"Please stop." Tears were flowing down my cheeks and falling on to my lap. I closed my eyes so that I wouldn't have to see his face but when I did, he was there haunting my vision.

"Maybe you should give her some space," Harry said sternly as he wrapped his arms around me protectively.

His words were met with silence and then I heard the sound of the stool being pushed away and footsteps walking out the kitchen. 

Hey I have no excuse for my delay except that I suck :( Sorry and thank you for your patience!!