Blood Relations Ch. 05

"You don't believe me?" Serena asked.

"It's been a very long day," Malcolm said. "I want to see you safe and happy. Parading around as dinner for a vampire does not meet those qualifications."

Serena shook her head and looked away.

"It's not like that," she said.

"You barely know him," Malcolm said.

"You barely knew Rose," Serena said.

Malcolm sighed and turned to Serena.

"I don't know an easy way to tell you this," Malcolm said. "But James thinks you might have a strange effect on men. That it runs in your bloodline. It drives them crazy."

"That's a cruel thing to say," Serena said. "Especially after my parents."

"I remembered things differently than Mr. Hawkins," Malcolm said. "How Adam is behaving? I was doing the same thing, maybe a little more reserved to reflect the times, but obsessions can be dangerous."

"I'm not interested in Adam though, we never did anything more than kiss," Serena said. "Even when I thought there might be something between us it doesn't even compare to how I feel about Lance. You fell in love with Kay at first sight? Why can't it be like that for me?"

"All it takes is one kiss. Because humans and vampires don't have mates," Malcolm said. "Only wolves do. I hate to break it to you, but it's the truth."

"I've kissed plenty of boys who didn't go insane," Serena said. "Ones that I went much further than with Adam. My father was a diagnosed schizophrenic. My mother dated other men after he was institutionalized. They never went crazy."

"I shouldn't have grouped your mother in there," Malcolm said. "That's not fair. It could skip some generations, or maybe you only have this affect on Supernaturals."

Serena didn't want to admit it, but things were starting to add up. It broke her heart to think the feelings she had for Lance were fake.

"It's not just supernaturals," Serena said. "The reason I wanted to leave New Mexico was because I had a stalker. Him, Adam, and Lance are the only three I've kissed since my 21st birthday."

Malcolm looked at her with concern. He reached out and touched her cheek.

"I am so sorry dear," Malcolm said. "You don't deserve any of this."

"So I can't ever kiss a man without him becoming obsessed with me?" Serena asked.

"It's not true," Lance said.

Serena spun around to see Lance and Hawkins approaching them. Lance came and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Serena took comfort in his embrace, but tears started to flow. She did have real feelings for him, but his were forced. Serena realized her mistake in letting him kiss her earlier. Whatever they might have had was gone in that single moment. Serena pulled away from him and ignored the hurt on his face.

"What do we do to stop it?" Serena asked. "Or at least fix Adam and Lance?"

"We will figure it out," James said.

"I don't need fixing," Lance said. "I want to be with you. I did long before we kissed."

Serena tried her hardest to give Lance a reassuring smile, but there was no way he could know that. Every ounce of happiness she felt earlier flushed out of her. Serena had never felt so empty in her entire life.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

All Adam could think about was the bite marks on Serena's neck. How could his best friend do that to him? How could she do that to him? Didn't Serena know she belonged to Adam?

"If you don't sit down I am going to get a tranquilizer," Piper said.

"I'm going to kill him," Adam said.

He started glancing around the room and spotted a wooden chair. If he smashed that it would make a decent stake. He started towards it, but Thomas stepped in his way.

"Shift," Thomas said. "You don't like this when you're in wolf form."

"I won't be able to stay in here," Adam said.

"Thomas is right," Piper said. "Shift. Go run. Come back at sunup. We can run with you if you want."

"No," Adam said.

He felt like his heart was shattering into a million pieces and being replaced with a giant black rock. They were right, in wolf form he didn't feel nearly as distressed. He wasted no time pulling off his shirt. Piper swung open the balcony doors and Adam headed outside, jumping as he shifted. Almost immediately a calm came over him. He pushed his wolf as hard as possible, needing to get all his aggression out.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Are you sure you won't stay in here with me?" Lance asked.

The two of them were in the basement of Malcolm's home. The king size bed did look welcoming and being with Lance was all that Serena wanted, but with the bombshell that was dropped on her tonight being close to him felt like she was taking advantage.

"I can't," Serena said.

"Don't believe everything they say," Lance said. "Whatever you are, it is what I want. I told you the first night we went out I wanted you, that was long before we had any physical contact."

"I know," Serena said. "But you were holding off because of Adam. It doesn't feel right sleeping next to his best friend in the same house. Especially if I am the one who did this to him."

Part of what Serena said was true. She avoided looking Lance in the eyes, knowing he could exercise control over her and force the truth out of her or worse, make her stay here.

"You don't have to be scared," Lance said. "I promise I will never hypnotize you again."

Serena looked him in the eyes. They were warm and welcoming.

"How did you know that was what I was thinking?" Serena asked.

"Centuries of reading people," Lance said. "I used to sense your lust towards me. It's gone now."

"No," Serena said. "It's not."

She went up on her tiptoes and pulled Lance's face towards hers. The moment their lips touched it felt like electricity flowed through her body. She was tormenting herself by spending this time with him. She tried to break away, but he put his hands on her face, holding her in place as their tongues continued to feel each other. Serena brought her hands up against his chest and gave him a slight push away. He finally let go.

"I will be waiting for you as soon as the sun sets," Serena said.

Unable to look in his eyes for fear that she might stay on her own accord Serena walked out the door. She didn't turn around but could picture his dumbstruck face. It wasn't fair that leaving him hurt this badly.

When she walked upstairs Hawkins and Malcolm were waiting for her.

"I want to get some sleep for a few hours," Serena said. "Then I want a car to take me to my apartment, get my things and leave."

"I don't think that will help the situation," Hawkins said. "They will still feel the same way."

"I'm not doing it for them," Serena said. "Call me a coward, but I can't be near Lance feeling this was. It hurts too much. That he is saying these things to me, mimicking how I feel, but it could all be forced. I can't handle it."

Serena let out a sob. She felt Malcolm wrap his arms around her and rub her back. She let him hold her as she cried her eyes out.

"We will fix this," Malcolm said. "I promise you."

Malcolm started leading Serena towards a room. She would have just left now, but the exhaustion was too much. She needed a few hours and had to be gone by the time the sun rose.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

There was no doubt Serena was dreaming. She stood on a familiar battlefield, watching as canyons went off and gun smoke filled the air. A horse let out a loud whinny and bucked it's feet in the air, tossing the rider to ground. Serena recognized the brown hair and ran over to see Lance lying on the ground. His stomach was bleeding and there was dirt on his forehead. She went to wipe it away, but she was unable to touch him.

His breathing slowed and the sun went down over the hills. A shadowy figure appeared and latched on to Lance's neck. Serena backed away. The man bit his wrist and then pressed his wound to Lance's neck. Nothing appeared to happen as the man backed away from Lance's body.

She watched as the man moved on, looking over the other dead bodies. Serena's attention reverted back to Lance. His breathing continued to slow, but other than that nothing changed. She stood next to him for what felt like hours. The sky started to lighten. The man from earlier came back. He grabbed Lance's body and tossed it into a cart. There were at least twenty others in various stages of death under him.

The scene changed. Serena was in a cave. All of the bodies were lined up on the ground. Serena spotted Lance and went to him. He was cold, there was no life inside of him anymore. She looked at the remains of the others, none of them moved. She wanted to shake Lance's shoulders and wake him, but again she was forced to watch.

The shadowy man reappeared. He paced the line of dying shoulders.

"Another wasted batch," he said.

As if on cue Serena watched Lance's back arch and her breath rush out of his lungs. The man ran up to Lance. He bent down and pushed his hair away.

"I spoke too soon," he said.

Lance started coughing and gasping for air.

"Shhh," the man said. "You no longer require it. Relax."

In a moment he did stop. Lance felt for his stomach.

"It's gone," Lance said. "You saved me."

"I've been so lonely lately, I would say you're the one who saved me," the man said. "Arise my son."

Lance sat up and started blinking profusely. He noticed the other dead bodies and jumped to his feet, pressing himself against the cave wall.

"What have you done?" Lance asked.

"I saved you from death," the man said. "I tried to save your fellow soldiers here, but not everyone takes to the gift."

"Who are you?" Lance asked.

"I've gone by many names," he said. "You may call me...Thomas, yes I think I like that one for here."

She watched as Lance keeled over in pain.

"What horror have you done to me and my men?" Lance asked.

"None," he said. "Your fellow man took away your old life. I only gave you a new one. Follow me and I will show you how to survive."

Thomas went towards Lance and threw him over his shoulder. When they walked outside again the scene changed. Serena watched as the two of them stood outside a home.

"Following your past life will only lead you to pain," Thomas said.

"I can't leave my sister," Lance said. "Can't you make her as you did me?"

"You were going to die," Thomas said. "If your transformation failed nothing would have changed. She is still full of life. If we try and give her gift and he body rejects it her life will end. Do you see the difference?"

"I left her for war," Lance said. "Do you see the way she is living? She can't even feed herself. Is there anyway for us to provide for her?"

"I'm sorry, but no," Thomas said. "We need to keep moving. She will be a drain on you."

"She needs my protection."

"I cannot make the decision for you," Thomas said. "There is no rhyme or reason why some of us can continue on this way. If you try and change her, and it fails, she will die."

"I have to try," Lance said. "I can't leave her."

The scene changed again. This time Lance was standing over a body. It was of a young woman. Thomas walked in the room and placed his hand on Lance's shoulder.

"I tried to warn you," Thomas said.

Lance pushed his hand away.

"You should have left me for dead," Lance said. "This gift, as you call it, is not natural."

"Of course it's not," Thomas said. "But it is your none the less. Now say your goodbyes and we will leave here, together to start our new life."

Serena watched as Lance broke down. He dropped to his knees and grabbed ahold of the body's hand. He started apologizing, but then stopped. He looked up and right at Serena. She felt her heart jump in her throat and then shot up in bed. Her forehead was covered in sweat.

Her first inclination was to run to Lance, tell him how sorry he was, that it was a stupid mistake and he couldn't blame himself for his sister's death. But then the realization set in. More than anything this past dream reassured her. Even if what Lance was feeling was real there was no possibility the two of them could be together forever.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

When Serena left her bedroom she headed downstairs. It was just after noon. She expected to see Malcolm, but instead Piper was pacing back and forth by the front door. Thomas looked on at her with confused eyes.

"Is everything okay?" Serena asked.

Serena wasn't sure if Piper wanted to see her at the moment, but to her surprise her sort of friend ran to her and gave her a huge hug. Serena brought her arms up and patted Piper's back.

"Adam's missing," Piper said. "I'm so sorry Serena. Hawkins filled us in."

"What do you mean missing?" Serena asked, ignoring Piper's apology for her condition.

"He went for a run and was supposed to come back at sunup, but he never showed," Thomas said.

"You guys can't track him?" Serena asked.

"The woods out here are too dense," Piper said. "That's one of Juliet's attractions to other packs. There are too many people to scent out one particular one. Especially on a holiday weekend."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Serena asked.

Her dislike of Adam vanished last night. While she had no romantic inkling left towards him she didn't want to see him suffer. The word suffer brought tears to her eyes. He was in pain, all because of her.

"I think it's best you avoid him," Piper said. "Malcolm told us you're leaving. I am sorry we didn't get to know each other better, but it is probably for the best."

"Where is Malcolm?" Serena asked. "He is supposed to give me my travel itinerary and set me up with the driver."

"I'm not sure," Piper said.

"He left this for you," Thomas said.

Serena walked over to Thomas and grabbed an envelope out of his hand. She opened it and saw a plane ticket inside, along with a note.

Dear Serena,

I am sorry I won't be here to send you off personally. There is another pack matter at hand. I told my driver to wait outside for you. He will take you to your apartment to gather your things and then the airport. In two days Kay and I will join you. The three of us will spend the rest of the summer enjoying the world and hopefully getting to know each other better. I fear this is what I should have planned from the onset. While we might not be as acquainted as I would like I have to say that I am very proud of your accomplishments thus far in life. I hope we can work together to tear down all your roadblocks.

Malcolm

The plane ticket was a one-way to Sweden. Serena knew that it was light out almost twenty four house there. She doubted it was a coincidence that was where Malcolm picked.

"I think it's time for me to leave," Serena said.

"I am sorry we never spent more time together," Piper said.

"I bet you're wishing you never met me," Serena said.

"None of this is your fault," Piper said. "Nobody blames you."

"Could you do me one favor?" Serena asked.

She felt guilty asking Piper for anything, especially because her brother was stuck in the middle of all this. But she couldn't think of another way to get the message to Lance.

"Tell Lance not to blame himself for his sister," Serena said.

She watched Piper muddle through her statement, but the brunette only chose to respond with a nod. Serena gave her another hug before opening the door and heading out to the driver.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

As the car pulled away Serena felt her heart ache. She pictured Lance in the basement dead asleep. If she had known her touch could be so destructive she never would have let him near her. Serena hoped she got on the flight fast. As soon as she was in the air maybe the pain would go away.

The driver stopped in front of her loft.

"Take all the time you need," he said. "We have about four hours to get to the airport and only need two."

"I shouldn't be long," Serena said.

She opened the door and stepped out. The accounting firm was closed. Serena looked at this tiny building and couldn't believe she'd built such a connection to here in such a short amount of time. She pulled out the keys and went inside, taking her time to walk up each step taking it all in.

When she walked inside her focus was on the bed. Twelve hours ago she was sitting on it with the love of her life, but in such a short amount of time all her dreams were vanished. She grabbed a pillow and picked it up, hoping that there was some hint of Lance let on the item. She frowned when it smelled like nothing but her.

Serena was ready to walk towards her closet and pack up again, but before she could walk away a blinding pain hit her in the back of her head. She brought her hand up as she fell to the floor, but before she could block it another whack came down. Her body hit the ground, all she could see was a pair of men's shoes before her vision went black.