"Timothy, if your sister is the surprise that the seethe leader brought, I'm going to warn you now, I understand that she is your maker. That being said, if you show in any way that you want to be with her, we are over. I know, that's terribly hypocritical of me. You've had to watch me be with Travis and even my brothers and yet, I can't, Timothy. She's your sister and your maker and I can't bring myself to accept it. I've not had problems with you being with other females, or other people in general. You've asked and I've accepted you being with my brothers, my bonded. I know I'm over reacting once more. I know that I shouldn't have so much trouble with her, but as long as she realizes that you are off limits now, I won't have a problem with her." Melissa looks miserable as she tells him this as they are about to enter the hotel to meet the seethe leaders once more.
"Melissa, you don't have to worry about me being with her. There isn't any one that I want more than you." Timothy tries to reassure her, but doesn't think he succeeded when he looks at her.
"I'm sorry, Timothy, but if she kisses you and you reciprocate we will be through. I can't, not her." Melissa turns from him not wanting him to see her cry.
Timothy sighs, pulls her into his arms and holds her. "I won't kiss her, Melissa. Yet, she might kiss me and touch me."
"Just don't let the kiss last or kiss her back. Remove her hands in any way you have to." Melissa sighs. "I know, I'm being unreasonable. Perhaps it would be better to just end things now rather than you having to put up with me being so unreasonable."
"NO!" Timothy says far louder than he had intended. Panic flooding through him. He can't lose her, not now. When this mess is over he wants to mark her and have her mark him. "I won't let her touch or kiss me and if she somehow does then I won't return it. I swear, just don't leave me. I need you, Melissa, I need you more than I ever imagined ever needing any one."
Melissa looks at him and there are still tears in her eyes. "How can you need me like that, Timothy? I've caused you so much trouble since I came into your life."
Timothy looks at her and smiles gently, "The trouble was mostly caused by me being an arrogant douche, not you. You've taught me a great deal these last three years. I love you, Melissa. I love you more than I ever thought it was possible to love any one. You are incredibly generous and loving. You give more of yourself to others than any one I've ever met.
"Travis is besotted with you because of this. I've seen many of the female vampires throw themselves at him and he doesn't even see it. Your brothers date because they know that they have to maintain appearances. In time when it is time to change lives we can make it so that they aren't your brothers, but for now it is necessary. They hate every second of it though."
Melissa snorts. "Please, they may hate not being able to date me, but you can't tell me that they hate being with others sexually."
"Believe as you will, Melissa, I can't force you to believe me.
"Now, if you are ready we have some seethe leaders to confront." The amusement Melissa was feeling evaporates as if it never was.
"I will kill whoever is responsible, Timothy, no matter who it might be, friend or foe." Melissa warns.
"I understand. Just make sure that you get proof and show both Cliff and myself and at least one other council member." Timothy soothes her even while reminding her of the need for proof to keep another war or purge from happening.
"Of course, I wouldn't do anything else." Melissa says soothingly even as they both continue on their way to the small ballroom where the seethe leaders and some of their members are congregating.
Melissa stops suddenly upon opening the door. She turns a bit white and Timothy braces her. "Are you alright? Should we have them come back tomorrow?" Timothy asks mentally.
"Some one, at least one perhaps more is guilty, that is in this room." Melissa retorts the same way. The anger towards her specifically and towards Timothy more generally is strong. It is like a punch to her gut. She recovers quickly and hides how the feelings are affecting her. Instead she uses the feelings to feed on.
She sifts through the vampires in the room, but it isn't until she comes face to face with another female vampire that she finds the source of the animosity. "Delilah, long time no see. I'd like you to meet my girlfriend, Melissa. Melissa, this is Delilah, my sister and maker." Melissa looks Delilah over. There is just something about her that makes her hackles rise.
Melissa looks into Delilah's mind. What she sees makes her sick. She gets absolutely furious. She goes to share the information with Timothy and Cliff and the one other council member that knows about her being a psychic vampire.
Timothy stiffens with the information and Cliff moves over to her even as the other council member quietly moves the other vampires out of the way.
"Stop touching my boyfriend, bitch." Melissa hisses at Delilah. Melissa can see that Timothy is doing his best to move away from Delilah but figures that she is using her maker bonds on him to keep him in place.
"He's mine before he was ever yours. He'll be mine after you are gone," Delilah hisses venomously.
Melissa uses her mental ability and severs the bond between maker and child that holds Timothy. Immediately he moves back. "Why the hell would I want to be with someone that did an act of war against my seethe? Set things up to start a new purge using my loyal seethe member and child to be the start of such a war?"
Delilah looks at him with jaw dropped, she had no idea that he had any idea that her act against Melissa was found.
Melissa had learned everything that she needed from Delilah. From the group that was assembled some of the vampires that participated in the attack against her brothers were present. She forces them forward and the others that knew and were part of the conspiracy to start a war are brought forward.
"You made a huge mistake, bitch. You didn't know the players of the game fully. I am under the care of not only Timothy, but also under the care of Cliff here, you know, the ancient vampire? My brothers that are MY bonded are also under his care." Melissa smiles a very reptilian smile. "Another thing you should have found out before you attacked is what kind of vampire I am. Timothy didn't make a sucker or a sensualist," Melissa allows for the words to sink into those that heard her speak. As the words sink in, horror takes over their faces.
Delilah turns white. Melissa smiles evilly, "I know everything and so does Timothy, Cliff and the council." She looks from Delilah to her accomplices and smiles delightedly, "All their seethes will be gone over and all dissidents will be dealt with." Melissa looks at the seethe leaders and finds them sick and looking with horror at the guilty parties.
"But you five, you I get to deal with right now." Melissa gets ready to strike when a voice stops her.
"Wait, Melissa," the voice says and not expecting it Melissa stops and turns shocked. There is TJ and at his side both Travis and Tad.
Melissa smiles delightedly, "Travis! Welcome, you three are just in time for some justice."
The three move to her side and look with contempt at Delilah and those at her side. "There is one missing, Mel." TJ tells her.
"Yes, he couldn't come because of the wounds you gave him when they attacked you." Melissa says smoothly.
TJ smiles at this. It wasn't a killing wound, he hadn't destroyed the heart or detached the head but it was a good start. "He will be dealt with after this."
"Wonderful, might I participate?" TJ asks looking at the ones that attacked him and his brother the day before. They in turn are looking at him like they've seen a ghost.
TJ smiles wickedly at him. "Wondering how the death wound you gave me didn't kill me? You can thank my mistress, even though she was more than a thousand miles away she sent me healing strength. Then Cliff was there and finished healing me. Within hours my mistress was there and she turned me because I begged her to, not because I was dying."
"It will be permitted, Melissa, just try to keep the blood from getting everywhere. Too much blood will make explanations difficult to explain away.
Melissa nods and sends to TJ exactly what to do, she thinks that he has the ability to do what needs to be done. Melissa starts with the terrified vampire at the end of the row. Suddenly he collapses and his seethe leader doubles over in pain. Melissa looks into her mind and finds out that the seethe leader had no idea what was going on, so she let her be.
TJ takes the one that had given him the death wound yesterday and does the same thing.
Melissa takes the next one and TJ takes the last of the accomplices, in all cases the seethe leaders were clueless about what their vampires were up to. They are all, every one terrified that they will be set in a war against Timothy for the actions of their vampire acting out.
Finally Melissa gets to a very terrified Delilah, "If you kill me, Timothy will never forgive you."
Before Melissa can say anything Timothy speaks, "Will you permit me, Melissa?"
Melissa nods once, she watches as Timothy walks up to his sister and with tears falling down his face he removes her heart and crushes it in his hand. This had been done so quickly that Delilah hadn't even realized that Timothy had killed her. "Tim-" Delilah starts to say before falling on the floor dead at his feet.
Travis gently takes the destroyed heart from Timothy and Melissa gently leads him away from his dead sister. She takes him to where he could wash his hands. It's a good thing that he's wearing black clothes so the blood couldn't be seen.
Cliff has already called in people to clean up the mess and remove the bodies before the human authorities get involved.
"I'm sorry, Timothy. I know you love her." Melissa intentionally uses the present tense of the verb. It hurt Timothy terribly to kill her. She just hopes that he won't hate her now.
Timothy pulls her close and holds her fighting back his sobs. They stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity. TJ, Travis, Cliff and Tad keep all others away from them, giving them what privacy they can.
"Melissa, are the rest free to go?" Cliff finally sends to her.
"Yes, the rest with the exception of the one recuperating in his seethe are innocent. Their plan was for Timothy to start the war in my name. Hence the fake seethe markings. Not even their seethe leaders were aware of the plan. You might want to talk to them about them paying more attention to their seethe members and loyalty, not just to the seethe but to the vampire race. Their actions were working towards showing the humans that vampires exist."
"Yes, I will have a very long talk with each of them about that and their loyalty to the vampire people that they themselves have." Cliff says mentally but Melissa flinches at his voice. He is more than a little angry.
Cliff goes to the ones that he wants to talk with and excuses the rest. Among those that he keeps is the seethe leader from Europe that brought Delilah with her. She is white and still trembling at what happened to Delilah, still wondering what the hell happened, since most had no idea.
Cliff will make sure that she and the others will find out.