Bat Country

They ran at full speed for over an hour before they finally slowed down. Alexis had never been anywhere close to here. This seemed even more remote than she was used to, and there had not been any recent human presence for so many years that the scent would be gone to her in a matter of weeks.

Coming to field, there stood a large dilapidated structure of what looked like an old hospital, or maybe a prison. The moon shone bright tonight and it was foggy, creating an atmosphere perfect for a horror movie.

"Jesus Christ." Alexis commented.

"You can see why we use it." Brian replied, taking Alexis's hand and kissing the back of it.

Reluctantly, Alexis let Brian lead her to the building and through a gate that was falling apart.

Brian's stride was confident and he lead her to the double doors and kicked it open. It was a hospital. An old asylum. Inside it was dusty and dark, and the remaining pieces of furniture were either broken or very close to falling apart.

Strolling through the building, Brian lead her for a long while, down several hallways where rooms were still filled with beds with no mattresses, and barred windows.

At the end of a hallway, was a single door which Brian opened. Grasping Alexis's hand tighter, he walked down the flight of stairs behind the door and Alexis cautiously followed, the stairs creaking loudly with each step.

Once they reached the bottom, Brian quickly gathered a few items. They were candles. Placing them on a steel table, he reached for a small box and pulled a match out of it, striking it against the strip on the side and lighting the candles with the small flame so the room was not completely black.

Staring at the small flame, Alexis blanked out.

"Alexis?" Brian asked, after several minutes. But Alexis did not snap out of it. Instead she grimaced and kept staring at the candles.

"I hate this part." Alexis seemed to sound defeated.

"What part?" Confusion mingled in Brian's voice.

Alexis didn't respond, just covered her eyes.

"Alexis?" He asked stepping forward, before it hit him too.

Alexis managed to stay on her feet as Brian's memories flooded into her mind, but Brian struggled to stay upright and instead collapsed to his knees.

Alexis screamed and collapsed to the floor, bent over on the floor, pulling at her hair before flipping to her back and writhing uncomfortably. Growls escaped her as centuries of memories poured in, and while Matt's had been pretty brutal, Brian's were so much worse. Where Matt had killed two children, Brian had killed so many it was almost impossible to count them.

Since Alexis was so young, there was not nearly as much to take in and instead he kneeled on the floor shaking. When he could he crawled to Alexis and took her hand in his. She didn't respond, but instead he watched her growl and roll around in agony on the floor as her eyes flickered rapidly.

"Look at me." Brian said, lightly pulling her chin towards him so they could face each other. Alexis gasped at him, her eyes becoming so wild that only one eye would flicker at a time. "Can you hear me?" He asked her.

Squeezing his hand lightly, she kept her eyes on him, until finally her eyes stopped flickering and she seemed to control the spasms in her body.

After a few minutes, Brian's fingertips traced across Alexis's lips and she surprised him by shooting up and wrapping her arms around him tightly and using one hand to stroke the back of his head.

"I'm sorry." She whispered into his ears, her voice shaky as if she were on the cusp of tears.

"What the fuck was that?" Brian asked, hugging her back and nuzzling his cheek to the side of her head.

"We swapped memories. It happened with Matt too and I was hoping it'd not happen this time."

"You didn't have much of each other's blood, did you?." Someone else asked. Alexis was surprised because she hadn't even smelled anyone approaching. But she remembered that Brian had said she could turn her scent off if she was injured and wondered if it was possible to do it consciously.

It was Nikki, who Alexis could recognize from Brian's memories.

Brian stood up, taking Alexis with him. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing really came out which made Nikki laugh.

"I'm sorry for interrupting. I know it's an intimate experience." He said with a smile which he beamed at both Alexis and Brian. "The more blood you've shared, the faster it comes. Please," Nikki gestured to the table which had a few chairs haphazardly arranged around it. "Let's have a seat."

Brian easily took a seat with Andy shortly following him, Andy immediately kicking his feet up onto the table. Alexis however just watched Nikki, her eyes focused on him. She was studying him. Around 6 feet tall, his body was toned and had a light tan, covered in endless tattoos. His hair was dark and wild which contrasted to the blue of his eyes.

"I think she's a little apprehensive." Nikki laughed and smiled, looking at Brian.

"She's...been through some shit and she hasn't had a good experience when new people come around. I wouldn't take it personally." Brian told him, his eyes looking sympathetically at Alexis.

"That's odd. Our type is very social. Why would she have no good experiences with new people?" Nikki glanced at Brian quickly then back to Alexis, crossing his arms.

Looking at Andy, Brian then brought his eyes down. "Might have something to do with what Thor was doing to her."

Nikki's head snapped back to Brian. "Thor...as in the Thor I made?"

"That'd be the one."

"Let's see if I can open her up." Nikki walked up to Alexis and smiled down at her. "Relax. I'm not here to hurt you." Nikki held out both of his hands palm up. "Would you be so kind as to put your hands on top of mine?"

Alexis's eyes shifted nervously to Brian who nodded. Bringing her eyes back to Nikki, she watched his hands before slowly putting her hands on top of his. Looking back up at him, his eyes were dark and the irises were yellow, just like hers would get. She knew they didn't have the same effect on her as it would have on another vampire, or a human, and instead she felt the need to do it in return.

"Good." Nikki smiled again, giving him an unsettling appearance. "I'm not going anywhere. Just let me in when you're ready."

After a few seconds that crawled past, Alexis's eyes began to match Nikki's.

"Perfect." Nikki whispered, his thumbs gently holding onto Alexis's hands.

The experience was hard to describe. A fluttering in her mind as she felt Nikki searching through her memories. He seemed to find what he was looking for, because his face seemed to gradually get more and more irritated.

Brian looked at Andy who was watching his Maker closely.

"He really doesn't like whatever it is he's seeing." Andy said coolly, never bringing his eyes to Brian.

When Nikki's eyes returned to normal, he waited for Alexis's to do the same before kissing both of her hands. "He'll never touch you again, ever. That's a promise. Unlike your piss poor excuse for a maker and even his piss poor excuse for a maker, I keep my promises."

So fast she didn't even realize it, Nikki had placed her in a chair and was sitting next to her, his hand never having let go of Alexis'. He had felt the sudden security she had when they had touched and he was doing his best to reinforce that feeling.

"I should have destroyed Thor after I released him." Nikki muttered at Andy.

"I tried to do it for you." Andy retorted easily.

"I remember." Nikki seemed to lament before he turned to Alexis and Brian. "Andy told me you could potentially have some serious issues with Matt?"

Brian and Alexis looked at each other before Brian's mouth opened slowly and his eyes came to Nikki.

"I..." Brian rubbed his forehead. "Jesus Christ." He wasn't sure how to explain all of it.

"I was mated to Matt. After the attack...I stopped feeling him. It was just like he wasn't there at all. I slept with him, I'm sure you saw how beat up he was..." Alexis said quickly.

Nikki stayed quiet and nodded her on, stroking the back of her hand with his thumb.

"He woke up the next night and he..." Alexis swallowed and looked at Brian who gave her a sympathetic look for having to revisit this again. "He raped me and fed from me...a lot."

Andy put his fingers over his mouth and raised his eyebrows, exchanging a glance with Nikki.

"I could barely feel our bond then. When he woke up for real..." Alexis ran a hand through her hair. "Um..."

"She was almost able to completely overpower Matt." Brian finished. "She was even able to hook him."

Nikki's eyes came up to Brian's with surprise and then down to Alexis. "That's a large man. You overpowered him?"

"Almost. He could keep up with me a little, and he still wasn't 100% but I used my eyes and stopped him." Alexis said quietly.

"And the only commands he can get to stick are things that don't really require much effort. He could get her to put gloves on. But he commanded her to relax and that's when she attacked him." Brian told Nikki.

Nikki nodded and was silent for a moment. "He took in so much of her blood that she's able to control it to a degree, and he has too much of her blood to control her now." Nikki looked back at Andy and leaned back, never letting go of Alexis's hand. "You said you were mated to Matt?" He asked, looking down at Alexis.

"Yes." Alexis responded sadly.

"And now you're mated with...Brian?" Nikki verified.

"Yes." Alexis looked at Brian.

Another moment of silence. "I can tell you why the bond broke." Nikki said with a nod. "He died to you. He was gone long enough for your blood to think he was dead. When he rose so quickly and he...hurt...you...your bond was still weak enough to be there, but the attack made you sever it. Much like a spider casts off a broken leg. It was of no use to you anymore. I'm not sure what would have made you mate to Brian though."

Brian pursed his lips. "I read something where it said a vampire once rejected his mating bond to remate with the Original vampire who was the one to drain him and take his human life. It was insinuated that somehow the vampire was attracted to his human blood."

"Wait..." Nikki said, his eyes shifting back and forth between Brian and Alexis. "Matt didn't drain her, you did?"

"I was unperfected." Brian looked down, his face full of shame.

"She smells like vanilla and cinnamon." Andy commented, picking at his fingernails. "So I could see how being unperfected could lead to draining her. Hell, being perfected I'd probably drain her."

"You can smell my human blood?" Alexis asked in shock.

"Andy, the comment was unnecessary and we don't need to frighten or offend her, and yes dear, we can. You're so young that the fragrance lingers, and we have nothing human left, really. Our senses are very strong. You'll get there pretty soon. It will surprise you."

"Nikki. He won't release her. He was too thrilled when he made her, it'll just never happen. But since she rejected the mating bond, and the maker's bond is fragile...I'm scared that aggression will lead to something awful." Brian said urgently.

Nikki stared at him for a long while. "You're correct, absolutely. But if he won't release her...would he release you?"

"I've been trying for 250 years. It's doubtful." Brian conceded.

"Okay. Imagine for a moment that Matt discovers your level of intimacy, and he will. Have you guys physically mated?" Nikki asked cautiously.

"Yes." Alexis responded, almost embarrassed.

"Imagine he discovers you in one of those moments where your lust makes you need to mate and mate now. You will have them. Mark my words, it will be unbearable and he will catch you. Matt is still mated to her, even though she is not mated to him. When he finds you two together, someone is going to pay the price. He will most likely destroy you, Brian. And after he does, he will seriously maim Alexis."

Alexis and Brian stared wide eyed at Nikki.

"I don't want you to lose your life, Brian, and I really can't allow him to even come close to injuring Alexis." Nikki said honestly.

"Our first priority," Andy interjected. "Is getting you two out of the nest as soon as possible."