Ganked: Life Bitten And Taken

"Riley! Get down!" Kane admonished me for standing on the wide cement railing of the bridge that connected two parts of land, separated by a small river that ran from one end of the mansion's garden to the other. Flowers, rose bushes, stone pathways; the whole nine yards. It was gorgeous. There was even a weeping willow that casted shade next to the river. I usually went there when I wanted to think.

"Don't worry Kane. I'm fine." I turned to smile at him, watching him walk towards me. He grabbed the back of my shirt, making me fall backwards into his arms.

"I don't want to have you depressed, laying in bed again from some kind of injury." He explained, putting me back down on my feet.

I sighed and fixed my shirt, walking the rest of the way over the bridge. "Do you have to go again?"

Kane walked with me, but stopped and sighed. "Unfortunately. A Katherone is seeking revenge on his human family because they sheltered him too much."

"Great. I guess we'll have to plan on going into town some other time then?" I was disappointed. It was to be my first time into a city since my family was killed nearly three and a half months ago. But I desperately hoped Kane and the boys would get there before the psycho killed his family.

"I'm sorry-"

"Don't be. Just make sure no one gets killed." Huh. I never really noticed how calmly I spoke of death. As if it was nothing. My voice was flat, emotionless when I spoke of death, but other than that, I was beginning to recover. It still pained me to think about what happened, but I am now able to control my tears...at least when the boys are around. Kane, however, has seen an insurmountable amount of tears come from my blue eyes.

Kane was suddenly in front of me, lifting my chin with his index and middle finger. "I won't let anyone die, Riley. You know that's what the Semitar Circle was created for." He reassured me. For some reason he always felt the need to comfort me.

The Semitar Circle is an elite group of Jerichan vampires and the most highly respected werewolves that oversee the actions of all the vampires and werewolves.Whenever there was a serious fight between vampires and werewolves and the fight involved the death of humans, they gathered together in one place and discussed how to attack the problem. But they never gathered if the problem only had to do with one race. For example, if a group of vampires went on a killing spree, the higher ups took care of it. If werewolves fought amongst humans, or provoked vampires, the werewolves would take care of it. If the vampires and werewolves fought, and humans were killed as a result, or if the secret was about to be exposed, the Semitar Circle would take care of it together. Kane was a part of the Semitar
Circle.

"But this doesn't involve wolves and vamps."

"No, but the Semitar Circle is meant to protect human lives."

I nodded in understanding and looked down at the grass my feet were on now. Kane kissed my forehead.

"I have to go now. Try not to give Cami a hard time." He smiled softly, and I just glared at a tree.

"Why should I? That girl has nothing to be jealous of, but for some reason just won't let me be. She's the one who makes everything difficult." Cami was Kane's main maid. She was gorgeous, and in love with Kane. So when I entered the picture, she saw fit to be a pest. She would make inappropriate comments, try to trip me, threaten me, and spill soup in my lap and say it was an accident. She just come back from a two week suspension after making me land on my shoulder, putting it out of whack again. She always put on a sweet smile for Kane, though, and I never really told him everything she does to me...mostly because I find it amusing. I play tricks on her and tease her back. Hey it gives me something to do.

Kane just sighed. "If she bothers you that much I'll fire her."

I looked at him, shocked that he would put me before the maid he watched grow up. Cami is the daughter of one of Kane's previous maids. Her mother committed suicide after the father of Cami left her. Kane has raised Cami since she was five.

"Why in the hell would you do that? You know I'm just temporary. She's going to be working for you for the rest of her life."

Kane just kept silent, then turned and walked away. "I'll be back in time for dinner." He then disappeared.

I stood there for a minute, then walked back to the mansion.

"Aww. Did Kane leave you alone in the garden?" Cami stood at the door, grinning evilly.

"Yeah. I should really talk to him about leaving right after we make love." I sighed, pretending to be sincere, but it was hard to hold back a smile when Cami's face turned red with anger. She grunted and turned around to walk back in the house, slamming the door in my face. I opened the door and walked in, looking around for Cami. She was angrily dusting. I smirked and walked past her like I was a princess.

"Good morning Miss Riley." Shannon greeted me happily. She had become my best girl friend since I came here. Shannon was the nurse that took care of me, and the sweetest thing. She was an angel, and visited me every other day.

"Hey Shannon." I smiled.

"Do you want to go shopping with me today?"

I looked at her curiously. She seemed unusually excited. "Sure...for what?"

She held out her left hand and showed me the huge rock that was on her ring finger. "I'm getting married!"

"Wow! Is it Brad?"

She nodded. "Yep! We're getting married in two weeks. I wanted you to come, but I also want you to help me look for a dress."

"Of course I will." I smiled. Shannon smiled back and grabbed my hand.

"Good. We're going into town then."

I walked down the street, side-by-side with Shannon. She was practically skipping, talking up a storm about how Brad proposed to her last night at some fancy restaurant. I was busy looking at everything around me. I had never been to Scotland before, so everything was new to me. Not to mention I had been locked up in a mansion for months.

"Riley! Come on!" I looked around, then found Shannon waiting for me up ahead. I must've stopped at some point, staring at the big church across the street. I ran up to her with an apologetic smile.

"Sorry."

"It's fine. I know you've never been here before." She smiled back and took my hand, then kept walking. It took us a good ten minutes before we got to the first bridal shop. We walked in and were greeted by a young woman, dressed professionally.

"Hi. Is there anything I can help you with today?" She smiled sweetly. I could tell it was a genuine smile.

"Yes. My friend here was just proposed to and she would like to look for a dress." I answered, nudging Shannon in the ribs gently.

"Alright then. Did you have any ideas on what you want it to look like?" The girl, whose name tag read 'Terri', looked to Shannon.

"Yes, actually. Something elegant. No poofy arm things, no gaudy colors, and no straps. Maybe some beading on the skirting and embroidery on the top." She made hand gestures while explaining what she wanted.

"Well I have just the thing. Follow me please." She answered, walking further into the store. She walked over to a rack that was nailed to the wall and had twenty or so dresses on it, then rummaged through them all to find one that looked exactly like what she explained. She held it out in front of her. "How's this?"

"Oh! That's perfect!" Shannon squealed. "Can I try it on?"

"Of course. The fitting room is right over there," she pointed to her left, which was our right, "and if you need any help just let me know. Then you can come out here and stand on that little stage," she then pointed to our left, revealing a small stage about four inches off the ground, shaped like a circle, with mirrors on half of the circle.

"Alright." Shannon took the dress and walked into a dressing room. I stood just outside in case she needed anything. I looked around, seeing all of the happy women trying on dresses and flashing their fancy engagement rings. There was a woman looking at herself in the mirror, and her fiance came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. He reminded me of Jason. I suddenly found myself wishing that was me and Jason! I shook my head. Why am I thinking about him like that? I mean...he had always been my best friend, and I loved him to death....but was it a romantic kind of love? I asked myself these questions as I stared at the happy couple, then anger flashed through me. No. There's no way. Jason and I were just friends...not even that anymore. He left me. And so did my other so-called friends. I hate him. I could never-

"Riley? What do you think?" I snapped out of my trance and looked over at Shannon. She looked magnificent! Her deep orange-colored hair and pale skin really brought out her green eyes and cherry lips, and the dress just seemed to magnify her beauty.

"Wow! Shannon! You look gorgeous!" I smiled keeping my eyes on her.

"You really think so?" She asked, being her modest self. She walked over to the small stage and looked at herself in the mirror. "Wow. This dress is beautiful!" She twirled around in it, then stopped in front of the mirrors again. Terri walked up to us and smiled.

"That's a perfect fit."

"I'll take it!" Shannon said excitedly.

"Wonderful. Would you like to take it home today or leave it here until the day before the wedding?"

"Leave it. I don't want Brad to see it."

"Alright then. Would you like to look at some dresses for your bridesmaids as well?"

"Some other time." Shannon said.

"Ok then. Just let me go get a lay-away form and I'll be right back." Terri said before walking away.

Shannon went back to the fitting room and changed back into her normal clothes. After she got everything settled, she took me out to an early dinner. We talked girl talk the entire time. Something I've never really done. I always hung out with the boys.

Shannon dropped me off at the mansion. It was dark outside. I didn't notice that I had been gone for nearly six hours when I walked inside, and immediately found myself staring at the face of an angry vampire.