Bat Country

"Matt..." Alexis said softly, finally stepping in the room and closing the door. She knew he was in the bedroom, but her whole body wanted to avoid it. It still smelled like vampire blood in here and it didn't help that she was still queasy.

He came out of the bedroom, but lingered in the doorway, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed. "Sit down." His eyes gestured to the bench.

Alexis looked at it and then back to him. From his tone she knew he was not happy and she felt like a cat stuck in a box too small. She wanted out.

"I can command you--"

"You're going to have to." Alexis interrupted.

"I command you to sit down." He said sharply.

Alexis took a deep breath and walked over to the bench and sat down.

"You fought my call for hours. You threw up all over yourself. You've been crying. You're scared. Most of that could have been avoided if you came the first time. You're starting to act a lot like your new friend Brian."

"I wonder why..." Alexis rebuffed.

"Quiet." Matt barked, uncrossing his arms and walking towards Alexis. Stopping in front of her, she looked away before Matt grabbed her chin and shoved her back while leaning down so their faces were very close to each others.

Alexis tried to steady her breath, but she was terrified as Matt's eyes were red now and not green.

"I made you, Alexis, and unless the unlikely day comes that I release you, you WILL listen to me." His voice was deep and hard and Alexis trembled beneath him.

A long moment of silence passed before a stray tear ran down Alexis's face making Matt's eyes turn green again. His face softened and he released Alexis.

"Jesus Christ." He said, turning away and running his hands through his hair before he ran them down his face. "You can go if you'd like, Alexis. I'm so sorry I got so fucking pissed. You're terrified of me and you have every right to not want me anywhere near you and here I am giving you no reason to want to be close any time soon. Forgive me. This is my fault, not yours."

Matt walked back into the bedroom and Alexis sat on the bench for awhile in the dark before a sadness washed over her. She knew Matt was crying because she could feel it and hear it. She thought of making a run for it, but Matt was not even conscious when he had attacked her and she wondered if she could actually forgive him.

Standing up she went to the door and grabbed the knob before letting it go and walking into the bedroom where Matt was crumbled onto the bloody bed sheets. Going to his side she watched for a moment before she reached out a hand and wiped at Matt's tears with the tips of her fingers. Matt took her hand gently and kissed it.

Alexis sat on the bed with Matt and waited until he calmed down.

"I hope you know that if I could undo all the shit we've done to you, I would. I'd take it all back if I could, just to have us the way we were before."

"I believe you. Do you believe time heals all wounds?" Her voice was soft.

"Yes, but you are still left with the scar. It'll never be what it was."

"That sounds human. I still love you more than I ever loved anyone in my human life. Our bond is different. You don't think you could have my entire trust again?"

"I never got Brian's back."

Alexis laughed quietly and smiled. "You always made it a point to remind me I was not like Brian."

That made Matt's mood improve and he was quiet for a moment.

"Where is Callie? I don't smell fresh presence."

Alexis swallowed hard. "About that..." her eyes shifted to Matt then back down to her hand. "The thing is...I kind of...killed her."

"What?! Why? When!" Matt shot forward.

"She helped the elves and I just...I was...doing the thing with my eyes and your fairy ex tried to take your head off and I went to attack her and Callie attacked me and I just...before I even realized it I had decapitated her."

"And what about Valary?" Matt asked carefully.

"She's dead. Her sister's dead. They're all dead." Alexis said, hoping Matt didn't ask who killed Valary.

"And Thor?" Matt inquired, after a silent period for thought.

"Very much alive. Although I tore one of his legs off trying to get to you when the elves took you. He came back once it grew back, pissed and tried to kill Zacky for Callie helping. Nothing about Johnny which was odd. I don't even know if he tried to hurt Johnny, but not to my knowledge."

"And?" Matt encouraged her to continue.

Alexis looked at Matt.

"The eyes?" He asked.

She nodded.

They were both quiet for what felt like a century before Matt stroked her hair.

"Look at me, please." Matt pleaded.

Alexis turned to him and he placed a hand on her cheek. "It will never happen again, Alexis. I will never hurt you again."

"I never thought it would happen once." She smiled weakly, squeezing Matt's hand and removing it from her cheek.

"I know, and I can't express how sorry I am. I care for you more than anyone else in my nest."

Alexis smiled. "One day at a time."

"Do you want to rest? I can change the sheets."

Alexis shook her head slowly. "I have my own bed for now."

Matt's disappointment slammed into Alexis like a wall of bricks. "I understand." He said quietly.

Without even thinking, Alexis hugged Matt as tightly as she could, and moments later Matt was hugging her back and sniffing her wildly, but where as they used to do this together, Alexis no longer felt the drive to scent lock him.

"You need to rest more." Alexis told him.

"I know, but I don't know if I will be able to." He said, taking a deep breath and nuzzling his head to Alexis's.

Pulling back, she looked at him and he looked back, confused.

Staring deep, she knew she had him. Kissing him softly she pulled away again and smiled. "You want to sleep, Matt. The news of the fight has made you very upset and sleeping will make it feel better."

"I'm so tired, Alexis..." She was shocked at how doing this was so similar to doing it to a human.

"Sleep, darling. But you won't remember that I put you to sleep. When you get up late tonight, you'll think I stayed here until you fell asleep."

"I love you." Matt whispered groggily, his eyes fluttering closed.

"I know you do." Alexis whispered back. Waiting until he was out completely, Alexis bolted out of the room as quickly and silently as she possibly could. Running through the silent nest, she made it to Brian's room where she didn't even hesitate, nearly ripping the door off. Closing it quietly she bolted it with the silver.

Brian had woken up and was leaning up in the bed with sleepy eyes. "I didn't think you were going to make it." He said tiredly.

Alexis turned to Brian and slowly took all of her clothes off before climbing into the bed, hovering her face over his.

Brian gasped when Alexis pulled him up and she began sniffing wildly at him. He recognized what she was doing. This was beyond impossible right now, she had only the most minute amount of his blood. She was scent locking him as her mate. He had seen her clearly do it to Matt but given that several impossibilities had already happened, he wondered how far it could go.

Having an idea that might bite him in the ass later, he leaned up and kissed Alexis's neck before biting into it. She moaned quietly, but kept sniffing at him as her fingers curled into his skin. Lapping at the small stream of blood, he waited for something immediate, but nothing happened. He had no desire to scent lock her.

"Alexis, stop." He told her, trying to move her onto the bed beside him but to no avail. She would not budge.

Brian started to wrestle Alexis off, but she still would not release him. She wasn't saying anything either, just purring quietly as she sniffed at him, her nose tracing beneath his jawline, and behind each ear.

Turning his head, Alexis's hair brushed across his face and immediately he paused. His mind was cloudy and thinking clearly was hard. He had not even the slightest thirst nor need to sleep. All urges were shutting down except for one.

Rapidly he pulled Alexis closer and pulled her hair back and ran his nose and lips along her neck and jaw, over her ear and into her hair. He began to scent lock her.

"We're going to be destroyed if we're caught." He mumbled across Alexis's skin as he pulled her closer.

"I could destroy them all, Brian. Don't give me a reason." Alexis leaned back and smiled at him with a laugh. She looked wild, and honestly she was. The most unpredictable and aggressive vampire here and he had never had the heart to say that no one here was prepared to handle what she was.

"You said you lov--"

"And I do, but I could still destroy them."

All Brian could really understand as he and Alexis rolled through his sheets was that he needed to get to the library downstairs and rummage through those ancient books for any reason that this could be possible.