I'll Justify My Reasons With Your Blood

Night was quickly approaching as it consumed the daylight thunderstorm. Jared was sure that Shadows would send someone after us, and for several reasons – I’m technically a member of his clan and it’s illegal to live with other clans, and he surely wants to taunt Jared with the fact that he stole his crown.

Even in his weakened condition, he continued to run the fastest out of the four of us. I stared at him with such a strong amount of admiration. Even though he lost the battle, I knew he wouldn’t lose the war. He’s capable of anything…I know he is. And I trust that he will save both races from Shadows’ evil reign. It might just take some time.

Mai’s apartment complex was fairly innovative and located on the outskirts of the downtown area. “Don’t worry, my room is only on the third floor,” she announced, noting Jared’s exhaustion. The building was roughly fifteen stories high, so I’d say it was a good deal.

We scrambled into the elevator and made our way into her newly furnished room. “Are you sure you just moved in today? I can’t believe all of your stuff is already moved in,” I noted, scanning the decorated living room.

She shrugged, “The guys that moved me were really nice. Plus I was paying them good money.”

Shannon was the last one to enter the apartment and he made sure that the door was closed and locked tightly behind him. “Mai, we’re gonna need some supplies,” Shannon said, grimacing at the sight and extent of Jared’s wounds.

“I gotcha covered,” she nodded, getting up and heading toward the bathroom.

“Wait, how do you know what we –?”

She returned with what I’m assuming to be all the correct, based on Shannon’s reaction. She smiled sheepishly as she set everything down on the coffee table. “This isn’t the first time I’ve dealt with vampires, you know.”

“Why don’t you tell us a little more about what exactly you know,” Shannon suggested.

Mai grabbed some ground powder substance and sprinkled it over Jared’s wounds that were caused by the Roulette, since those were the hardest for him to heal on his own. Next, she held her wrist out in front of Jared’s mouth. “If you’re gonna get better, you’re gonna need some human blood,” she muttered, keeping her eyes locked on her work.

Jared was hesitant. He knew the taste of human blood was the best, yet he always tried to stay away from it unless the human was willing, which would technically be now I guess. He sighed, unsure, but gave in to the offer nevertheless. He sunk his fangs deep in her skin and sucked the blood out rapidly, as if he was dying from thirst.

The weird part was that Mai didn’t even flinch when he bit into her skin. She kept working, ignoring the fact that her blood was being drained, wrapping some gauze around the wound. Jared pulled away and licked over the four teeth-inflicted holes, which quickly disappeared shortly after.

“You want to know what I know?” she asked suddenly, turning to face Shannon and addressing his previously stated question.

He nodded, urging her to continue. I could tell that her past wasn’t something she was hoping to have to deal with after moving away. I wonder what could’ve made it so bad?

*Shadows’ POV*

Eventually, all that was left in the cathedral were the rotting corpses of hundreds of vampires. A great number of Jared’s clan has been wiped out today, and I won’t stop until his entire clan is completely wiped out.

Zacky, Syn, Rev, and Johnny all entered the meeting room and sat around the table, joining Alex and myself. “So, what’s the deal, Shads?” Zacky asked kicking his feet up on the table.

“I’m glad you asked,” I grinned, “the plan is simple, really. We’re going to make things how they used to be back in the past…back when vampires were truly feared. Dracula and my father were the only motherfuckers to ever get it right, and we’re going to follow in their footsteps. There will be a newly established royal court that will be built on the ashes of the capital building in LA.”

I pulled a small plastic model of the city out and placed it on the table before slamming my fist into the miniature building and placing our new palace in its place.

“That’s great Shadows…but what do we do about that bitch?” Synyster asked. Of course he would be the one to bring that up. How cute, he misses her.

“Don’t worry, Gates, your girlfriend will be back soon,” Alex laughed. Syn shot him a bitter glare.

Suddenly, the door flew open revealing one of Alex’s men, Brandon. “I followed them, sir. They’re staying in an apartment only a few miles from here. There are four people there.”

“Is that one girl with them?” Rev asked, recalling his encounter with her.

Brandon nodded, “I believe it’s her apartment they’re using.”

“I think I’ll go pay her a visit,” Alex grinned, heading out.

“Alex, bring her to our meeting place,” I ordered.

Everything was going to work out perfectly. By tonight, we’ll run this town and have those girls under our control.

*Mai’s POV*

It was kind of ironic that I ended up with the former ruling family of all the vampires. Of course I knew who the Letos were…they were the talk of the town, in addition to someone named Shadows, although I don’t know what he looks like exactly.

Just watching the three of them during a couple of minutes, I was able to learn more about them than my reports told me. It looked like Nikki was no longer human. And even though they were each vampires, something seemed different…almost like the brothers and me were all together and she was the outsider, which seemed very strange. I made a mental note to do some extra research on her before deciding to share a little bit about myself with them.

“I grew up in Chicago. It was my home and I’d never imagine that I’d have to leave it. The vampires stayed hidden for quite some time, but then something happened and they made their presence known. If you wanted to survive, you needed to learn how to fight what you would be up against. Small, secret groups were formed in which people were trained to hunt vampires. We learned everything there was to know about your kind. That’s how I knew what would be needed to help you heal.”

“If you knew how to defend yourself, why did you leave?” Jared asked.

“Would you enjoy beginning and ending each day wondering whether you’d encounter a monster?” I spat.

“I’m just saying…if you know how to kill what you fear, why leave? Those people there that don’t have your skills need someone to protect them.”

“Well, that’s their problem. I couldn’t take it anymore. As far as I knew, Chi-town was the only place with an uproar. I’d always wanted to go to California, so that’s why I chose here.”

“I hate to say it, but I think you’re going to be worse off here than you were there,” Nikki said.

“Now that Shadows is in control, we’re all screwed.”

It finally became too dark in the room, so I walked over toward the window to close the blinds and flick on a light switch. As I was going to close the blinds, I could’ve sworn that I heard some sort of noise outside – like someone was on my balcony. If something was out there, I didn’t want them to be worried.

“Hey, why don’t you guys go make yourselves comfortable in the guest bedroom? Sorry, there’s only one bed but it’s big enough for you guys, I promise,” I offered, turning around with a forced smile.

“I guess that’s the best we can do,” Shannon agreed, joining Nikki in helping Jared walk down to the room.

I waited until I heard the door shut before I grabbed my gun and approached the door. Cautiously, I twisted the lever and kicked the door open, stepping outside with my gun extended outward. I checked both directions, but no one was there. Maybe I’m just on edge because of the hectic day I’ve had. Yeah…that’s it.

Just as I was about to turn and walk back inside I heard a thud behind me, like someone just landed there. I froze in place hearing the person breath heavily behind me. I took in a deep breath to try and boost my confidence before I spun around and slammed the barrel tip into his chest.

“You might want to be careful with that, someone could get hurt,” he said, tightly gripping the gun and crushing the metal inward. “Problem solved.”

“Who the hell are you?” I demanded, regretting not heavily arming myself.

“Well, I can guarantee you don’t know how to kill me. Vampires can’t hurt you, but I can,” he replied. My silence was taken as confusion, so he offered another hint. “You should be happy it’s not a full moon tonight.”

My eyes widened as I made the connection. He was a werewolf. “Now that I know what you are, tell me your name,” I said strongly, foolishly hoping he’d be intimidated.

He chuckled a little as he stepped forward, allowing the light coming through my windows to illuminate his face. “You don’t have to act all strong to impress me,” he chuckled, “although I will say, it is pretty cute.”

I glared at him before closing the gap between us by trying to slap him across the face. In one swift movement, he gripped my hand with his steel hold, and I could feel the bone being pressured. I groaned in pain as I felt my body drop to my knees.

“The name’s Alex Varkatzas and I’m the leader of the wolf pack. And you, my dear Mai, are coming with me.”