"We have our own rules," Maya insisted.

Before he could reply, he heard the front door opening. Was the girl leaving? Panicked, Oliver fairly jumped at the door and ripped it open, peering out into the hallway.

Relief and dread collided instantly. The person who'd opened the entrance door was Blake, and behind him, Cain entered. Their gazes immediately landed on him.

"We've been looking for you," Blake said, his tone accusatory.

"f.u.c.k you!" Oliver replied. He wasn't in the mood to have another confrontation. The one with Maya was enough for one night. He turned away.

A moment later, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He swiveled and faced Blake, shaking off his hand in the process.

"I'm not done talking. Cain and I searched the entire city for you."

"You've found me. Now leave me alone."

"Not so fast, little brother. I wanna know where you went tonight."

"I don't owe you any explanations." And if Blake annoyed him any longer, he'd instead get a beating.

Cain suddenly looked past his shoulder. "Hey Maya, what are you doing here?"

Oliver turned quickly, tossing her a warning look. "It's none of their business."

"What's none of our business?" It figured that Blake wouldn't let go. Once he had gotten something into his head, he held onto it like a dog to a bone.

"Nothing!" Oliver bit out. "Now get out of my house, all of you and leave me alone!"

"Not gonna happen," Maya insisted.

"I live here, so you have no right to throw me out!" Blake interrupted.

"Guess, I'm not wanted here," Cain added and turned toward the door.

But Maya stopped him. "Don't leave, Cain, we might need you."

By now, Oliver was fuming. "The f.u.c.k we do! I'll handle this! There's no need for all of Scanguards to get involved."

Cain stopped in his tracks, his eyes suddenly narrowing as if he perceived a threat. "What happened?"

Oliver thrust his chin up. "Nothing happened! Would you all stop meddling in my affairs and leave me alone!"

He caught Cain exchanging a glance with Maya.

"I want you to keep an eye on Oliver while I confer with Gabriel and Samson," she said to Cain.

Disgusted at her treachery, Oliver glared at her. "I can't believe you're doing this! I trusted you. That's why I called you!"

"It's for your own good."

He raised his voice. "The f.u.c.k it is! I'm telling the truth! But you don't want to see that. You don't believe there's any good left in me. You've given up on me, just like everybody else!"

Maya put her hand on his forearm, but he shook it off. "That's not true. You'll see that when you've calmed down."

"I am calm!" But the tightness in his jaw belied his words. His gums itched, and he could feel the tips of his fangs extending.

"Yeah, I can see that!" Blake mocked.

Oliver pounced on Blake, before his last word had even left his lips.

"Stop it now!" Maya warned, but Oliver ignored her.

Instead, he slammed Blake against the wall and held him there, his body suspended in the air. "You little jerk! You wanna know what it's like to be a vampire, do you? Maybe I should just turn you and see how you cope with it, huh? Is that what you want? Is that why you're constantly provoking me?"

"Get off me, you f.u.c.king b.a.s.t.a.r.d!" Blake ordered, aiming his fists at him.

"You want a fight?" Oliver challenged.

"d.a.m.n it, Oliver!" Maya cursed and grabbed his arm. "Cain!"

A moment later, Cain attacked him from the other side. Furious, Oliver let go of Blake and spun on his heels. He felt his fangs extend to full length and caught sight of his hands: they had turned into claws. Yes, he was spoiling for a fight.

Raising his head, he looked at his two attackers, whose fangs had also extended, when he caught a movement in the corner of his eye. His head whipped in its direction.

s.h.i.t!

Ursula, the girl he'd rescued from an unknown vampire, stood in the door to the living room, her eyes wide in shock, her hands gripping the door frame for support.

"Oh G.o.d," she said breathlessly. "You're one of them. You're all like them!"

9.

With disbelief and horror, Ursula looked at the scene in the entrance hall. How could this have happened? She'd stepped from the frying pan into the fire. Nothing had changed. Her entire daring escape had been for nothing. She was still in the hands of vampires, only different ones this time. Despair spread inside her, pushing tears into her eyes.

There was no use in running: all four of them blocked the entrance door. Besides, she was aware of a vampire's speed and knew that if she tried to make it to the French doors in the living room that led outside to a terrace, they would catch her in no time. Particularly since she was still weakened from the recent blood loss.

Gathering all her remaining strength, she stared at Oliver, the man who'd rescued her. Well, maybe rescue wasn't the right word after all. He'd captured her. His eyes were red now, his fangs extended, and his fingertips were topped with razor-sharp claws. His mouth stood open, and his lips looked red and plump. And still inviting.

G.o.d, no! Her stomach twisted as she remembered the kiss they'd shared. She'd kissed a monster, the very creature she hated most in this world. And she had liked it; even now, there was no denying it. Her body had burned with desire, and she could only hope that it was solely an aftereffect of the feeding she'd been subjected to a short time earlier. Because she could never desire a vampire.

Before her eyes, the red in Oliver's eyes dissipated, and the tips of his fangs pulled back, disappearing in his mouth. Even his claws vanished as if she had simply been imagining them.

"You're vampires," she repeated, her voice flat.

Oliver shook off the hands of Dr. Giles and the dark haired vampire, who had been holding his arms. Dr. Giles? She probably wasn't even a doctor.

"I'm sorry you had to see this." He took a tentative step closer.

She flinched. Immediately, he stopped in his approach, his eyes looking at her full of regret. Regret? No, she had to be mistaken. She'd never seen any vampire exhibit such a feeling. Their feelings were limited to greed, hate, and l.u.s.t.

"I won't hurt you."

She listened to Oliver's words and suppressed the urge to laugh hysterically. Of course he would hurt her, just like the other vampires had. So why pretend? Why lie to her? Why torture her? Maybe he was more cruel than even Dirk was. More cruel because he came in a package that had almost made her trust him, almost made her feel safe. Only to dash her hopes later.

The tears that she'd held back until now escaped from her eyes, making their way down her cheeks, burning hotly. She didn't dare take a breath.

"Please don't cry."

His voice was soothing, and when she closed her eyes, she could imagine surrendering to it. Maybe it was time to give up, to stop struggling and accept her fate. She would always be a blood wh.o.r.e to them. They would never let her go.

She would never see her parents again. And she wouldn't be able to help rescue the other girls. With her next breath, a sob tore from her chest.

"I want to go home."

Her knees buckled, her vision blurred. She saw them move all at once, coming toward her. Would they drain her tonight? Would this finally be the end?

"I've got her," Oliver said to his friends, his voice sharp and unyielding.

Then she felt him lift her into his arms and carry her back into the living room. The gentleness with which he placed her on the couch surprised her, but maybe she was delirious. As soon as she sat, he pulled the blanket over her lower body and stepped back.

"You're safe here," he claimed.

The other three had entered the room behind him and stood close.

"Who is she?" one of the men asked.

The doctor turned to him. "Oliver brought her here."

He walked past her and stretched his hand out to her, giving her a charming smile. "I'm Blake."

She stared at his hand and pressed herself deeper into the sofa cushions.

"She's scared, can't you see that?" Oliver admonished him and pushed him aside.

"Well, that's probably because you scared her!" Blake countered.

"Stay out of it!"

"I live here too, so I have a right to know what's going on!"

Oliver glared at him, then looked back at her. "I think I have to explain a few things to you now that you've seen what we are." He cleared his throat. "You've already met Maya. She's a doctor, but she's also a vampire. And thisa"" He pointed to the dark haired vampire who hadn't said anything yet. "a"is Cain. He works for Scanguards. He's one of our vampire bodyguards."

So they called their prison guards bodyguards instead. Same difference!

Then he pointed to Blake. "That's Blake. He's my half-brother."

Blake squared his shoulders. "I'm human."

His claim stunned her. They had a human living in their midst? What for? As a constant source for blood? Her mouth gaped open as she stared at him. He was handsome, tall and a little broader than Oliver. And oddly, it didn't appear as if he was restrained in any way. He seemed under no duress. On the contrary, it appeared that he was self-confident and ready to pick a fight with Oliver at the drop of a hat. The hostile glares between the two hadn't escaped her notice.

"Human?" she echoed.

"Yes," Blake answered and smiled at her. "It's complicated. But let's just keep it simple. For all intents and purposes, this dude here is my half-brother. As annoying as he can be."

Oliver pressed his lips into a thin line as if trying not to contest Blake's comment.

"How are you feeling?" the doctor suddenly asked.

Ursula looked up at her, clearing her throat. "Dr. Giles, I really don't know why you care." Why were they still pretending to be concerned about her wellbeing? What difference did it make?

Maya raised an eyebrow. "First, please call me Maya, everybody does. And second, I do care, because Oliver put you into this situation."

Ursula's gaze drifted to Oliver, wondering what Maya meant with her comment. She noticed how his facial features tightened as he glared back at Maya.

"As I said before, I didn't do it!"

"Didn't do what?" Blake interrupted.

Oliver swiveled on his heels to face his half-brother. "Bite her."

"Nearly drained her," Maya added.

"You f.u.c.king a.s.shole!" Blake yelled. "How could you? Look at her! How could you do that to a nice girl like her?"

Blake's hands balled into fists and he swung. Oliver blocked his. .h.i.t, but before he could land his own fist in Blake's face, Ursula interrupted them. "He didn't bite me."

Instantly everyone went quiet and turned to look at her.

"It wasn't him who bit me," she repeated, unsure why she even bothered defending him.

"You remember!" Oliver's voice was full of relief. Suddenly his face split into a huge smile and before she knew what he wanted to do, he approached her and reached for her hands. He squeezed them hard.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" he said exuberantly, before he let go of her hands and turned to Maya, giving her a pointed look. "Well, Maya?"

Maya shrugged. "Well, the circ.u.mstances were . . . " Then she stopped herself. "I'm glad I was wrong. I apologize for judging you wrongly."

Ursula listened to the conversation, but nothing made sense. Why did it matter to any of them whether Oliver had bitten her or not? Why did they care?

"Since you remember, please tell us what happened." Maya pointed to her neck. "I know you were bitten by a vampire. Who was it? We need to know so we can stop the b.a.s.t.a.r.d from doing it again. Obviously whoever did this was out of control, leaving you half-dead."

Slowly Ursula shook her head, unable to trust her ears. Maya wanted to stop who'd done this to her? She must have heard wrong.