Chapter Eleven (Alexander)
My heart was pounding violently in my chest, making it ache as I sat on the bed by Mark as he slept, his lips parted as he wheezed and coughed every so often, spatters of blood flying up and onto his cheeks. Storm, who sat on a chair beside the bed, reached out with a Kleenex, wiping it away.
Amber came back with four mugs of warm chamomile tea mixed with honey. She handed us each a mug, then left one on the tray on the nightstand in case Mark woke up. She sat beside me on the bed as we watched Mark sleep, slowly dying as his lungs contracted tightly in pain, then expanded in agony.
"We can't just sit here and do nothing." I managed at last, looking at Amber and Storm, who didn't look at me. Amber just stared into her tea intently. I frowned, then looked at Storm, who just set his mug aside to take Mark's hand in his. He ran his thumb over Mark's knuckles, his eyes staring at the human intensely.
"We need to turn him." I said at last. Amber dropped her tea, yelping as the hot water splashed up her ankles and onto the floor. Storm snapped his head, glaring at me.
"As much as I approve of the idea, we can't. He'll die as soon as I drain him of even a little bit of his blood. He needs more time to recuperate--"
"We don't have any time," I snapped angrily, rising to my feet and handing Amber my tea as she scowled, watching me past her blonde bangs, "Mark is dying! People are out to kill him and we don't know why! The only person who could know is Mark! We need to buy ourselves more time. We need to turn Mark. He should be well enough by tomorrow afternoon and will be able to remember and tell us everything. Our abilities give us heightened senses, which includes our memory banks. Mark will remember who attacked him and he might have slight knowledge of why."
"But the transformation from human to a halfblood is painful and difficult," Storm warned, rising to his feet now too, "I told you before. I would've turned him, but you interrupted. I said I needed another month before I could try again. What makes you think a week is just fine? He needs another three to four weeks to recover from the loss blood. Mark's experienced enough stress now. Too much stress can cause him to go into cardiac arrest. As if breathing wasn't enough of a strain on him, now you're suggesting we give him a heart attack?"
"I never said that," I protested angrily, mildly surprised by Storm's sudden rush of anger, "If you move fast enough, you can make it! Just barely, but it'll be enough--"
"Not enough!" Storm cut me off sharply. I started to yell back at him, but Mark coughed, making us look down at him. Amber whirled around, setting the tea down to lean on the bed as Mark grimaced, his eyes slowly fluttering open before he twitched, glaring at us.
"I don't like waking up to a bunch of vampires." He grumbled, pausing to suck in a deep, shaky breath before coughing. Storm sighed in relief, leaning by the bed with the napkin to wipe any blood spatters off.
"Wha happened?" Mark murmured tiredly, his eyes drifting to look at me. I bit my lower lip, debating what to say before I went with the truth. I told Mark about the drugs, our visit, Kelsey, and the hints she'd given us. Mark's eyes flickered and widened.
"Her boots. She was the one who attacked me." He managed, trying to sit up, but he fell back with a loud choking cough. Storm grimaced and put an arm under Mark's back, helping him sit up and lean forward against his knees. Mark panted for breath, choking in pain.
"It hurts." He managed, grasping at his chest and cringing. I glared at Storm, who grimaced and looked away as he rubbed Mark's back gently.
"Mark, we want to turn you." I blurted at last. Mark choked again, this time, not from his illness. He jerked his head up, breathing hard as he stared at me past his hair.
"Y-You wanna what?" He stammered. Storm glared at me as he rose to his feet.
"No, we don't. If we try turning him, he'll die."
"Either way he's dead, so what's it matter anyway!"
"I rather him not die now!"
"What's the difference between now and later?!"
"Both of you shut up," Mark barked, then paused to cough, breathing heavily as he leaned forward, "You're not even married yet and you're already a-arguing over s-something stupid. I don't... want to die... not yet..."
"Then we can't turn you. You're far too weak." Storm stated matter-of-factly.
"I r-rather you risk it, then let me lie here and choke to death on my own blood." Mark seethed past clenched teeth. Storm blinked and whirled around, looking down at Mark as he squeezed his eyes shut, breathing hard past his teeth, pushing blood past them and over his lips onto the bed. Storm winced and took a step back, shielding his nose.
The heavy scent of blood engulfed the room with the scent of death that only grew stronger and stronger. It was giving me a headache and so was Storm. He was putting this off because he was too scared to risk it. We just broke several human laws and laws set down by our kind. It was time to defy the laws of nature and let Mark live.
"I'm not letting Mark die." I snapped, then knelt on the bed, reaching out and taking Mark's face in my hands as he panted, blood oozing from his lips as he choked, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment before peering back open at me.
"Please." He panted. I started to lean in slowly, but Storm caught Mark by the shoulders, reeling him back and I expected him to just shove me off the bed, but I was stunned as Storm pulled Mark up against him and bit down on his throat. Mark choked and grabbed at Storm's arm around him, his blue eyes instantly filling with tears of pain.
"Storm!" I protested, but that was all I said. This was my idea. It was Mark's decision. And Storm was the only one who could do this perfectly. Storm sank his fangs deep into Mark's throat, holding Mark against him as he slowly sank onto the bed. Mark writhed for a moment, grabbing onto Storm's legs desperately as his tears spilled down his face.
"Storm." Amber took a step toward him, but Storm's eyes flashed, shocking us as they went from blue-green to red, then back again in an instant. We went still, watching as Storm sucked hard, devouring the last of Mark's strength. Mark panted now, his skin pale and cold as ice as he slumped back against Storm, his eyes glazing over. He stopped struggling and slowly fell against Storm's chest.
"Now, Storm! Feed him your blood!" I insisted quickly, glancing at the block.
"Now, before he dies!" Amber agreed hurriedly. Storm finally unlatched himself from Mark's throat as Mark's eyelids fluttered shut, his lips parted, but no sound escaping. No breathing, no wheezing, no coughing. Just silence. Storm brought his arm up and ripped it open with his fangs, bringing it around and shoving it against Mark's lips.
"What if this doesn't work," Storm demanded, even as he ground his arm against Mark's mouth, grimacing at the pain, "What if it kills him? What then?" I didn't say anything, just watched as Storm lowered his arm from Mark's mouth. Blood was smeared across his lips and teeth, a droplet oozing down his chin.
My heart sank.
No.
No, this can't be happening.
It should've worked. It always works! I'd read enough books and seen enough movies. It was supposed to have worked! Storm's grip on Mark tightened as we sat in silence, Mark's body lying limp against Storm, the blood coating his mouth.
"Storm--" I started in apology, but Storm ignored me and brought his arm to his mouth and sank his teeth in even deeper. He must have hit something because blood gushed wetly from the wound as he pressed it against Mark's mouth again. I grimaced.
"Storm, he's dead." I managed. Storm ignored me still, pressing his arm firmly to Mark's lips for a moment longer before he let Mark fall back on the bed. He knelt on top of Mark, a leg on either side as he brought his own arm to his mouth, sucking hard. I winced and Amber made a look of disgust as she went to touch Storm's shoulder, but he shrugged her hand off, making her blink in surprise.
"He's not dead." Storm responded, his mouthful of blood before he leaned down, turning Mark's face upwards. My eyes widened.
"Storm!" He didn't seem to hear me as he put his mouth on Mark's, letting the blood flow. Storm went back to his arm, sucked, then bent over and let the blood flow into Mark's mouth. I looked at Amber, who was frowning at the scene before looking at me. She mouthed that she had no idea what Storm was thinking, giving a shrug before we heard something strange.
It sounded like choking. Amber and I snapped our heads back to see Storm leaning away from Mark, blood streaking down his chin as Mark choked on the blood, swallowing it before gasping for air, his eyes flying open. Amber's jaw dropped as Mark grabbed at the bed, gasping for breath, his blue eyes shifting between red and blue, red and blue until they settled on blue.
"I can't believe that worked." I managed, stepping closer to watch as Mark writhed on the bed, squeezing his eyes shut and tilting his head back, arching his back off the bed.
"Hurts!" He cried out. Amber and I looked at each other again as Storm leaned forward to calm Mark down, but it only made him panic more.
"Mark. Mark, what hurts?" Storm demanded, scanning Mark over. My eyes fell on the rays of sunshine that bled through the clouds outside, shining at Mark's face and pinkening it.
"Close the curtains or he'll burn to death!" I ordered. Not a second later did Amber scramble onto the bed, closing the curtains quickly. Mark managed to rip himself away from Storm and backed himself up into the corner of the bed against the walls, breathing hard as he hugged his knees to his chest.
"Mark?" I asked carefully. Mark's blue eyes flashed around the room and he blinked hard every few moments, as if trying to focus on what he was seeing before he watched us cautiously, holding his hand out to keep us at bay.
"Who are you?" He managed, his voice shaking with concern and fear. Storm winced and I blinked in disbelief as Amber watched from behind me, her eyes wide in surprise.
"He lost his memory?" She asked, stunned. I sank onto the bed on my knees in frustration, running a hand through my hair as Mark looked at us, utterly confused as Storm sighed, rubbing his temples.
"Do you remember anything?" Amber asked for confirmation. Mark looked at her, his expression a grimace as he tried to think, then slowly shook his head, his eyes not meeting ours, like the answers were hidden on the bed sheets.
"I remember... falling asleep. I remember my chest hurting... Why? What happened? Who are you people?" He demanded impatiently, glancing at Storm and I. Neither of us spoke for a moment, just watched Mark try and contemplate what happened.
He didn't remember who we were.
He didn't remember being dead.
He didn't remember... anything.
How infuriating! We were so close to figuring out what Zephyra wanted with Mark! Be he dead or alive, apparently. Was it something they could harvest through his blood? His memories? Or just to desecrate his body?
Now we were back to where we started, running around blindly and hoping we were doing the right thing. I looked at Mark again, watching him stare at us and waiting impatiently for our response. I was surprised to see that the holes where his piercings once were had healed, the circles under his eyes having vanished.
In fact, his hair seemed silky and cleaner, his eyes clearer and glowing with his newfound abilities. His skin was no longer sickly pale or stretched over his bones. His skin held a healthy warm glow to it, the color returning to his cheeks.
He looked good as new.
Literally, his mind seemed to reboot itself. He didn't know me anymore. He didn't know Storm. He didn't know what we were, he didn't know Storm and I were...
My eyes widened. Could I do this? If I did, everything would change. I might just be putting us in more danger than before. I wasn't going to do this out of selfishness, though. I'd done enough selfish things to repent for.
"Who are you?" Mark repeated, cutting through my thoughts. This time, I answered quickly before anyone else could.
"My name is Alexander Grey. I'm your friend. This is my sister, Amber, and my other friend, Storm Gothica. Storm is your fiance." I stated confidently. Storm and Amber both snapped their heads to stare at me, eyes wide and jaws dropped. I ignored them and stared at Mark intently, watching the gears in his head move around slowly as he let my words sink in.
He loosened his grip on his legs, reaching up to cup the side of his head as if it were aching before he glanced up at us, confused.
"My fiance?" He asked for confirmation. I nodded matter-of-factly.
"You and Storm have been engaged for years now. Just waiting until you came to the right age."
"And what age is that?"
"Eighteen."
"So... I'm engaged to a guy?" Mark asked again, his cheeks flushing with color. Storm glared at me now, but I ignored him to nod, scooting forward a little bit.
"Yea. There's nothing wrong with that. Our people don't frown upon same-sex marriage as humans do." I assured helpfully. Mark seemed to accept that for a moment with a short nod, before he blinked and looked at me, worry clear on his face.
"Humans? Wait, what am I?" He asked, touching at his arms and legs before looking at his hands, watching his fingers twitch. I hesitated now before glancing at Amber, who held her hands up and backed away.
I shouldn't bother her with this. It was my fault. It was my problem. It was my friend. I looked at Storm, who shook his head at me.
I knew they were disappointed in what I'd said to Mark, but I had to. Storm loved Mark. I wasn't doing this for me, I was doing it for Mark and for Storm. They'd gone through enough hell in one day and Storm had proven that he wasn't just going to treat Mark like a play thing. He loved Mark.
"We're creatures of the night," I began calmly, making Mark furrow his brow in confusion, "Our power is increased by the moonlight, by the starlight. We live for centuries, we don't age once we reach the Check Point. We feed on the blood of other living creatures, particularly humans. Their blood gives us the power to maintain our youthful appearance, the power to maintain the abilities that set us apart from humans. We can see things better. We hear things from several blocks away. We can heal faster than any humans. We can smell things as good as any wolf."
Mark stared at me for the longest time, then lowered his eyes as he slowly reached up, brushing his fingertip under his lip to reveal a pair of sleek fangs. He gasped and pulled his hand away, obviously frightened for a moment before he looked up.
"S-So... Like, vampires?" He asked at last. I winced, then shook my head, kneeling comfortably in front of him like a tutor might.
"We aren't vampires. Vampires are the names humans have given us because they're scared. They fear that which they do not understand. We're not dangerous bloodsucking creatures." I responded sternly, making Amber clear her throat loudly, holding up a finger.
"Ah, except for our little friends back at the hospital." She stated. Mark blinked and looked up.
"Hospital." He stated, as if he suddenly remembered something. Storm and I shared quick looks before looking at Mark, who was holding the sides of his head, grimacing in pain.
"I remember a hospital... I can't... There was a woman there." He managed, his muscles flexing under his hospital gown. Storm frowned, reaching out and touching Mark gently on the shoulder, making Mark look up.
"It's all right," He said gently, "You're safe as long as you stay here. We're protect you." Mark stared at him for the longest time, still tense for a moment before his expression softened in trust.
"Mkay..." He replied softly, looking at Storm, who only seemed pained. He was probably going to kill me once we were alone, so I made a mental note not to go anywhere alone.
"Well, this is all fine and dandy," Amber began, folding her arms over her chest, "But we still have a few problems. Firstly, Zephyra isn't going to give up on chasing Mark down. Chances are, they're going to get the humans involved in this, another dirty trick against the laws of our kind. We can't kill healthy human beings, so fighting them off with be near impossible. And even if those idiots show up here themselves, what are we going to do if they bring back up? We're not completely safe here."
"What're you suggesting?" Storm asked, reluctantly scooting closer to Mark to touch his hand reassuringly. Mark didn't tear away, but nor did he snuggle. He just looked at Storm's hand for the longest time as if it were a foreign object. I glanced at Amber, who frowned.
"We need to leave Wolf Creek. It's not safe here. Whoever's after Mark knows we did it. They'll know where we live. Not to mention, mom and dad are bound to know everything by now. That is their hospital we just trashed." She muttered, making me grimace.
"What about school?" Everyone looked at Mark, who blushed and shifted uncomfortably under our gaze.
"I mean, do I go to some kind of school?" He asked, confused, glancing at each of us before looking at Storm, who gazed at him with obvious pain on his face. He wanted to tell Mark the truth, he did, but I had a strong feeling that his affections were winning the battle in his head.
"You did." He answered, making Mark look up as Amber snorted, putting her hands on her hips.
"Did. Past tense. I think you rather risk a detention than death, again." She added under her breath, making Mark cock his head in confusion before he coughed. Everyone snapped their heads to stare at him as he rubbed his throat, sticking his tongue out like a dog panting.
"I'm really thirsty." He managed.
"I'll get us some glasses. Someone get him some clothes." Amber added, glancing at Mark, who blushed as he looked down at his hospital gown.
"Alex, lend him some of your clothes." Storm commanded, his voice thick with malice. I had a feeling that the beating I was expecting was coming very soon. Storm rose up off the bed at the same time I did.
"Wh-Where are you going?" Mark managed, reaching out and grabbing Storm's arm. Storm froze instantly, staring at me as I stared back. Slowly, Storm looked down at Mark, who was on his hands and knees on the bed, looking up at him with eyes that begged him not to leave.
"Uhm... Nowhere, just to shut the door." Storm assured, touching Mark's hand. Mark relaxed and sat back on the bed on his knees, watching Storm glare at me before I left the room quickly. The sound of him slamming the door shut behind me made me wince. I rushed into my room, grabbing a pair of black jeans and a black hooded vest with short gray sleeves. I paused, grabbing up a couple wristbands to go with and some blue ankle socks before I headed back.
I paused to see Amber standing outside the door, her ear pressed to it. I glared, approaching her as she ignored my presence to listen in.
"What're you doing?" I hissed. Amber glared at me, holding a finger to her lips and gesturing with her head for me to listen as well. I rolled my eyes, then hesitated, nibbling my lower lip before I pressed my ear to the door to listen.
"I don't understand. What did I do to make people want to kill me?" Mark was asking, his voice obviously upset. Storm's heavy sigh followed.
"We don't know, Mark. We were hoping you could tell us, but... Something must have went wrong when... When we saved you."
"I've got a headache..."
"It'll go away once you get some blood flowing through your system. You're probably parched. You haven't drank any in... a very long time."
"It feels like it... So... uhm... Are we really engaged?" Mark asked, sounding embarrassed. There was a long pause, some shifting followed by footsteps. Amber and I frowned at each other until the door flew open and we almost fell over into the room, scrambling to straighten ourselves before Amber almost spilled the blood on the floor, making Storm glare at her.
"Eavesdropping is rude." He stated, then stepped aside and gestured us in. Amber and I shared looks before coming inside to see Mark sitting on the edge of the bed, slowly rising to his feet. He wobbled a little and Storm was instantly by his side, taking his arm to steady him.
Mark leaned on Storm as Amber handed him a tall glass of O positive. Mark hesitantly took it and brought it to his lips. He looked scared to drink it until Storm reached out, putting his hand on the bottom of the glass, urging Mark to drink silently. Mark looked up at him, questioningly, but Storm just gave a small, sad smile.
Mark relaxed, then closed his eyes as he tilted his head back and Storm poured the blood down his throat. Mark's tongue flicked at the rim of the glass as it emptied the last droplets into his mouth. He lowered the glass, licking his lips and touching his fangs with his tongue before looking at the clothes I'd brought him.
This time, we all left to let him change, waiting downstairs for him to join us for another glass. However, as soon as we got into the kitchen, Storm had me by the front of my shirt, slamming me into the fridge, making me wince as Amber gasped, dropping the tray to grab onto Storm's arm.
"You idiot! How could you do something so selfish?!" Storm snarled, baring his fangs at me dangerously as a string of saliva connected top fang to bottom fang. Amber tugged on his arm, glaring at him.
"I don't give a shit who you are, that's my brother you're pinning down, dickface, so lay off!" With the final word past her lips, Amber tore Storm's hand away from shirt, making me wince. Amber got between us, glaring at him firmly as Storm rubbed his arm where Amber's nails had raked through his skin.
"It's your brother who just ruined all our lives even more! First you bring that damned human to dinner as if to mock me! Second, you seem to think there's hope that you'll end up with your filthy human lover! For your information, this does not make anything final! When my father finds out that Mark is not a pureblood, much less the pureblood he chose after decades of searching, he'll kill him! Maybe not even! He could turn him into a blood bank! And you! May the Goddess have mercy on you because when he finds out that this is your doing, he'll make your life a living hell by killing off everyone you love, including that pathetic, sniveling wrench of a human you lust after like some-some fucking horny teenaged girl!"
Storm's voice shook everything inside me and for a split second, I was scared.
Storm was terrifying when he was angry and it didn't help that his irises went from sexy blue-green to dangerous bloody red, his sleek ivory fangs glinting in the chandelier lights.
After that split second ended, I was angry and hurt.
"I didn't do this for me," I snapped angrily, clenching my fists and moving Amber to the side as she grimaced at the argument, "I did this for you and Mark! If I can't be happy, someone should be happy! So what if I die? I had nothing to live for anyway! Married to you for the rest of eternity just so I could be some kind of yakuza wife to a pack of male vampires?! Are you fucking kidding me? I'd rather have your dad slash my throat open a hundred times over than ever getting married to someone I didn't love!" Storm winced, but it was brief before he glared at me.
"As if you'd do something for anyone else! Ever since I showed up here, it's always been about you. You risked Mark's safety bringing him to a household full of the vampires you claim to loathe so much! You dragged Mark in further by just talking to him! Not only that, you impudent little brat, but you risked all of us by dragging us to some stupid, pathetic human celebration where Mark was hurt! All just so you could hump that God forsaken blood bank!"
"Shut your damn mouth!" I barked and lunged at Storm, who caught me around the waist, taking my arm and tearing it behind my back, slamming me into the island counter top.
"Stop! Stop, you're going to hurt him!" Amber protested angrily, making a move for us, but Storm drew my arm up higher, threatening to snap it. My bones creaked dangerously close, my muscles twisting and tensing in pain as Storm ground my cheek against the marble counter.
"How dare you lie to him. How dare you use him like that. Mark was innocent. He would've never had to suffer any of this if it wasn't for the stupid Grey Family Narcissism." Storm sneered at me, tightening his grip on my arm. I seethed past clenched teeth, glaring up at him.
"How can I possibly have a relationship with Nicholas if he's human, you idiot?! How can I have a relationship if Mark's the one who's in trouble?! I know it's my fault! I'm trying to take some responsibility for it, so let me go before I disappoint Mark by telling him you're a eunch!" I spat, pausing to breath hard against the pain in my shoulder and arm.
There was a long pause as Storm glared down at me before finally stepping back so we had a good five feet between us. I pushed off the counter, turning to glare at him. We just stood in silence until there was the sound of someone clearing their throat and we looked up as Mark emerged from the hallway, holding his empty glass of blood.
"Uh, would it be too much to ask for more?" He asked uneasily. I glanced at Storm, who sighed, then shook his head, approaching Mark, only to pause and check Mark out quickly.
The jeans hugged him snugly and the vest was just a bit loose on him, but made him look far younger and far more innocent than he was with his memory. He also had a speck of blood in the corner of his mouth and I was surprised as Storm leaned in, licking it off. Mark's face flushed as Storm took the glass to refill it.
"Did you guys have a fight?" Mark asked, noticing the way Storm simply brushed past me as if I didn't exist. I frowned.
"Your fiance has a stick up his ass." I muttered under my breath, although, Storm could hear me anyway judging by the way he slammed the fridge door shut after retrieving some A negative. Mark grimaced, shoving his hands into the pockets of his vest.
"I didn't mean to cause all this trouble. I'll try remembering as best I can." He added quietly. Storm stopped pouring the blood for a moment, then looked down as he finished pouring, handing the glass to Mark without looking at him.
We stood there in silence for a while, no one saying or doing anything. I glanced at Amber, whose expression had worked into a frown. She went to say something by the way her lips moved, but suddenly there was knocking on the front door and everyone went dead still.
They'd caught up to us at last.