Dawn Rising

The fight forgotten as tears sprang to Alex's eyes. Her anger diffused by his request. As proposals went, his was impromptu and rushed. Not the one she'd dreamed of as a little girl. With her knight in shining armor bent down on one knee, begging for her hand. But, he'd asked. His hot breath fluttered across her cheeks. His lips pressed against hers and created sparks that ignited a burning deep in her soul. She opened her mouth, urging him to explore its depths. She wound her fingers into his hair, pulling him closer and deepening the kiss. Suddenly she broke away. "You're asking me to marry you?"

Lucien grinned at the wheels he saw spinning in Alex's mind. The fire of her anger had been replaced with the flickering flame of love. The glow in her eyes was warmer and brighter, and he liked it a whole lot better than the heat of her wrath. "Since it came up in the conversation," he said with a faked, nonchalant shrug of his shoulder. "Yeah."

Alex fumbled with the flood of words. Everything she'd wanted to say rushed to her vocal cords at once. But, she could not get them out of her mouth in one coherent sentence. She'd never considered marrying Lucien. At least, not since the night of the accident ripped him away from her. After that, it was too painful to think about what might have been. For the first time, she realized it could happen. Lucien and she could be together. Forever, just like he'd promised. Somehow, despite the sudden rush of insanity in her life, they could make it work. "I...,"

Lucien gently pressed his finger to Alex's lips to silence them. Some moments didn't need words. This was one of them. "Shh, we don't have to talk about it now. First things first," he said, gently pushing her to her feet. "You need a snack and then some rest. I kept you up half the night."

Alex blushed at the thought of exactly how he'd kept her awake last night. "I didn't mind," she mumbled after him.

Chapter 36

The rumbling in her stomach and the heaviness of her eyelids told her that Lucien was right. Obediently, she shuffled off to the kitchen in search of something to tide her over till breakfast. The smell of the food wafted out to greet her as she pulled open the fridge. A wave of nausea struck her hard, squashing her appetite like a bug under the sole of a shoe. "Oh my god, something stinks."

She slammed the refrigerator door closed tightly. A look of disgust spread across her face. "It smells like everything in the fridge is rotten."

Lucien pulled out a chair and sat Alex down while he riffled through the cabinets and fridge to assemble her snack. "The food perfectly fine. Your sense of smell is out of whack. It will return to normal soon." He hadn't given food, at least not human food, much thought in the last twelve years. But, he still remembered her favorite. Peanut butter and honey on whole wheat with just a thin sliver of banana in between the layers.

Alex held her nose shut with her index finger and thumb. The roast in the oven, with over two hours to go, stank up the place terribly. Lucien fluttered about the kitchen, spreading peanut butter and honey on two pieces of bread. He peeled a banana and sliced it thin with the edge of a knife and placed it in between the pieces of bread. Honey oozed out over the crusts in a sticky, sweet, drizzle of gooey goodness as he put the bread together to make a sandwich. He took the empty chair beside her and set the plate under her nose. "Open up," he said, taking half of the sandwich, dripping honey down his fingers, and held it to her lips.

Alex opened, scowling at him as she took a bite. She exhaled in relief. The sandwich didn't taste too bad. Although it didn't taste the same as it did when she was a kid. She gulped down the bites, hoping Lucien wouldn't take offence to the grimace on her face. "Is this what food tastes like to you? Can you even eat?"

Lucien smiled an understanding and pensive smile. "I CAN eat, but it doesn't do my body any good. I must have blood to live. Even though things smell and taste bad to you now, once the effects of my blood wear off, everything will be back to normal. You are still human." He scooped up the last bite of the sandwich with his fingers, "Now eat up."

Alex obediently opened and swallowed mouthfuls every bite of the sandwich he fed her. She tried to sip on some milk to wash it down. But couldn't get past the smell. Finally, the last bite was gone. Alex stared at the empty plate in relief. Now, if she could keep from throwing up all over Lucien, everything would be fine "This will get better?" Lucien nodded, pushing her to the bathroom.

Alex enjoyed the fine spray of a long, hot shower. Finally alone, truly alone for the first time since she'd come into town, she had a chance to gather her scattered thoughts and assemble them into some kind of order. She couldn't imagine how life was for Lucien. She couldn't think beyond never getting to enjoy her favorite foods again. Life without Starbucks might not be worth living. She lathered up her hair, massaging her scalp with her fingertips and ducking her head under the spray to rinse it clean.

Afterwards, she towel dried her hair and dressed in a pair of comfortable gym shorts and a t-shirt. Still locked in the privacy of the bathroom, she listened in on a conversation that took place in the living room. Her parents had always wondered how she knew every Christmas and birthday present she ever got before the big day arrived. The walls weren't sound proofed for shit. She heard every word Patrick and Lucien said to each other.

Patrick was back from dropping off Janine. Alex snickered at the apparent relief in his voice. Janine was hell on wheels with men in general. With a man she actually was attracted to, and there was no doubt she was attracted to Patrick, she was relentless. He planned to take over her guard so that Lucien could hunt. She bit her bottom lip; maybe she could slip out just to watch him. Lucien was all too eager to take him up on the offer.

Alex imagined how graceful and powerful Lucien must be when he was on the hunt. She had seen it, from his point of view. Fully curious, she wanted to see it with her own eyes. Hopefully quiet enough to avert Patrick's radar hearing, sensitive she tiptoed into her bedroom and shimmied out the window and into the last light of the evening.

The freedom she felt was overwhelming. She hadn't had a moment alone out in the open like this to come and go as she pleased since she had been back home. Alex lifted her face into the gentle breeze, using instincts she barely understood, borrowed from Lucien, to lock in on his scent. Darting into the woods, she followed the trail he left behind.

Lucien was so much faster than she; it was all she could do to keep up with his trail. Darkness was falling around her, tinting the woods in sinister shadows of black and gray. Alex stopped, turning around back the way she'd come, realizing she had lost his scent along the way. Suddenly, she became afraid as understanding dawned on her. The woods were bathed in inky black night. Any sources of light blocked by a thick canopy of leaves high over her head. Alex knew the woods around her house like the back of her hand. The problem, she'd never gone so far out by herself. And she'd never gone at night. Nothing looked familiar. Every tree was an exact replica of its neighbor. She was lost.

The smart thing to do would be to plant her butt at the base of one of those trees and wait for dawn. But, no one ever accused her of being smart. Her dad's old Boy Scout handbooks, moldering in some forgotten box in the attic, didn't cover this. Somehow Alex doubted there was a chapter dedicated to what to do if you were stupid enough to be caught in the woods after dark with a Rogue vampire thirsting for your blood. Randomly, she chose direction, carefully picking through the underbrush hell bent on tripping her up, hoping she was headed somewhere safe. Anyplace safe would do nicely.

Lucien lifted his head, sniffing the air around him. He had been so hungry that he hadn't caught Alex's thoughts and warned Patrick. He was linked to her now, feeling the fear roll off her in waves. He caught her scent; it was very faint, drifting about in the night current. Dropping the dazed deer, he bounded into the woods, tracking her. He worried that she had wandered so deeply into the woods that something else would catch her scent and get to her before he could. Facilitating the psychic link between the brothers, he called for help. Maybe, one of them was close enough to reach her.

Alex heard Lucien's voice in her mind, telling her to stay put and that he was coming. She heard the cracking and breaking of dry limbs and exhaled a relieved sigh. How could she have been so headstrong and placed them both in danger? She turned to apologize when a hand whipped out, catching her by the throat, mercilessly squeezing off her airway with an iron grip. She gasped for air, lifted off her feet, suspended above the loamy floor of the woods by a woman's fist.

Chapter 37

Alex stared into the cat like feminine eyes of her attacker, grappling at the steely hand wrapped around her throat with ineffectual fingers. The woman's eyes glowed a deep, emerald green, as they looked deeply, analytically into Alex's brown ones. As if the woman were assessing her true value. A smile, both maniacal and so reassuring, spread across full, rose colored lips. Yeah, at this point, Alex was pretty reassured all right. Reassured that she was going to die.

Alex kicked wildly at the female vampire, hoping to land at least one good blow before she passed from this world to the next. "Brother," the woman called out in a voice that was more of a purr than actual words, "Come, I have a present for you. Something you've lost." Casually, the woman, her grip still strong as steel around Alex's neck, lowered her to the ground.

The man! Alex shuttered as she struggled to keep her toes in contact with the earthen floor beneath them. She remembered him from the attack. Eagerly, he drew closer. Sniffing at the air as if he were sampling a designer perfume at the cosmetics counter. "Ah, Sister, you've found her. I should give you the honors." He gestured widely with an over exaggerated bow to the bitch with her fingers painfully wrapped around her throat.

"No Brother, I insist. Consider it a gift. Happy Birthday, I believe the expression is," the woman purred, carelessly dropping Alex down onto a carpet of decaying leaves. Alex clutched her throat, coughing and sputtering, sucking in mouthfuls of air. She looked up at the man and shrank back at the eager smile splayed across his thin, pale, lips.

Before she could fully catch her breath, the man was on top of her. Somehow, it was a small comfort to know that he wasn't one to beat around the bush. Of all the ways to go, this wasn't a scenario Alex had thought of, till recently. There was no point to begging. She had nothing to bargain with. The only thing she could do was accept her fate with some measure of dignity and die. The scream that tore from her throat had nothing to do with acceptance or dignity and everything to do with the searing agony of fangs ripping through her flesh. There were worse ways to die, her mind repeated over and over in a mantra. Her screams said differently.

Alex felt her attacker's body tense beneath her fruitless attempts to free herself from his weight. She clawed at his face, trying to rid her body from his loathsome embrace. The Rogue flung his body off of hers with a series of curses. "Fuck," he spat. Strings of red-tinged spittle fell onto the pristine white of his shirt. "She's been marked. She's useless now," He growled, delivering a swift boot to Alex's ribcage, breaking several with the force of his blow.

Alex curled into a ball to protect her damaged ribs. The ground was tacky with her blood, flowing freely from the fresh wound in her throat. Haphazardly, as if the Rogue would have a change of heart and let her live, She clamped a hand down hard on her neck to staunch the flow of blood. There was a sharp snapping sound, her left wrist the ulna, most likely, as his boot found purchase with her arm. She cried out in anguish flailing like a turtle caught on its back against the pain.

"Now Brother, is that any way to treat a gift?" The Bitch Sister from Hell teased, kneeling beside Alex to scoop her up like a sack of potatoes. With a sigh she said, "I suppose, if you don't want it. I'll have to make due. It's such a shame to waste." The vampire pried Alex's hand away from the wound on her neck. Lowering her head, she lapped at the red torrent. "Tasty."

The girl might be below her brother's lofty standards. But, she suited hers just fine. So this little imp of a girl was the source of her brother's angst. Hardly worth the trouble she'd caused. Kore could smell the Sons all over the girl. The bitter scent of the Good and the True practically oozed from every white bread, Middle American pore. Detestable. Yet, the girl's spent corpse might serve some purpose. Let the Sons come for their little pet to find her dead, rotting on the ground, on their territory. What better way to let the locals know they had new neighbors in the neighborhood than to throw them a little party?

Alex felt her head grow light with each pull on her agonized throat. Good, it'd be over soon. There wasn't any pain, just one continuous ache everywhere. Alex hoped that Lucien would avenge her death and bring the duo to justice before they crept into town killing more. She was floating now; drifting along. She gathered her strength and pushed against the female one last time before she gave her body up for good. Her limbs grew cold and numb. But, she was still conscious on some remote level. Off in the distance, she heard the rapid rise and fall of rushed footsteps and voices.

The sounds of scuffling and shouting woke Alex. She struggled against the sensation of exhaustion that bound her, trying to open her eyes to see what was going on. She heard the deep rumbling of men's voices and a woman's shrill screech. She exhaled a shallow breath relieved when she heard the tenor of Lucien's voice. She hoped he was doing some serious ass kicking on her behalf. The thought made her lips curl in a weak smile. Her Lucien. Her protector. Succumbing to the blackness, she drifted once again.

The rogue vampires found themselves encircled by members of The Sons. The blades of their weapons reflected the pale light of a half-moon. Knowing they were beaten, the two cowered down, begging for leniency. The swiftness in which The Sons dispatched justice was legendary and feared amongst vampire kind.

Kore bit her lip to still the words threatening to tumble out of them. She listened to her brother's pleading voice. The girl was not dead, yet. Kiros claimed that technically they had not committed murder within the territory and by the rules of the accord had to be released. Her stomach rolled in disgust at her brother's weak tirade. She heard the whisper of secrets as the girl's blood flowed within her veins. The blood bond between the girl and the one called Lucien was strong. She could hear the faint muddled sounds of his thoughts in her mind. She knew the whispers would fade too quickly. But, she hoped to glean enough knowledge to use it to her advantage. For now, she would play along and bide her time. She had little choice.

"See to it that they find their way to our boundaries," Lucien ordered, gesturing to his brothers. He would truly like to kill the two rogues. But, their strict code of honor forbade it. He wanted to reap revenge on them for hurting his Alex. He looked down at the couple, huddled low on the ground arm in arm, nursing one another's wounds. "You know the terms of the accord. If you enter our boundaries again you will be hunted. You have full knowledge of the penalty for taking human life within our territories. Do we understand each other?" He huffed as the duet nodded like a couple of bobble heads in a back windshield. Lucien watched the warriors quickly and none too gently usher the Rogues out of his sight.

Accords be damned. The accords had shit to do with why he let them go. And they probably knew it all too well. Lucien could kill them both on sheer principle of what they'd intended to do. The city was well within the Son's territory. Therefore, he had every right to kill them. He had no doubt these two were the Rogues they were looking for: the Rogues responsible for the disappearances. Killing them now wouldn't lead them to the missing citizens, or what was left of them. The Sons had a face and a scent to go by now. It was just a matter of time before he had them. And then...for Alex and the thirty some odd people who had the misfortune of crossing the Rogues' paths, he'd kill them.

It got his ire up to release the Rogues. They'd be back for Alex. But, he had to let this play out. If there were any chance that even one person caught in their net was alive, he had to take it.

Chapter 38

Gently, Lucien gathered Alex up into his arms. Her skin was a pale white, the dusky ashen color of approaching death. He grimaced at the taste of Rogue on her skin and sealed the puncture wounds on her neck. The wound was deep and vicious. Her blood trickled weakly from the deep gashes reluctant to heal. Lucien turned to the Shaman clutching her to his body.

"Brother," the Shaman said softly, resting a hand Lucien's shoulder. "She has lost too much blood this time. You cannot help her unless you want to share our grandmother's gift. It's too late for anything else. You must decide quickly. There isn't much time."

Lucien bit down into his wrist, releasing a torrent of crimson life. He had no idea what Alex would want. He'd promised her forever. And he could give it. She'd understand. He had no other choice. He had to keep her with him. He wouldn't loose Alex again; he would do everything in his power to save her. Her heartbeat slowed to a whisper, then stopped. Gently, he forced her mouth open, begging her to drink.

Alex felt the warm, savory, liquid roll along her tongue, teasing her to swallow. She coughed at the first drops of his offering coaxed down her ravaged throat. Her muscles trembled as she shivered against the cold that spread through her veins like killing frost on a November night. She gasped and sputtered, weakly pushing Lucien's wrist away.

Lucien looked up at the Shaman helplessly as he held Alex tightly against his chest. She was rigid with spasms. She was dazed, but awake. For some reason, the change wasn't happening. She should be going after his wrist, rutting for blood like a newborn for its mother's milk by this point. Panic and fear set in. She was alive. Her heart struggling to beat. Her lungs scrabbling for breath. But, no change. She was trapped in a netherworld between life and death, a fragile land between human and vampire. The Shaman shook his head. "Her body is rejecting the change. My blood would kill her. I am sorry, my Brother."

Carefully, Lucien scooped Alex up and darted through the tangled underbrush. He could not bear the thought of her passing in these woods. She could at least cross over in the comfort of her own bed. A tear trickled down his cheek at the thought of loosing her. But, what more could he do?

The Shaman was chattering feverishly on his cell phone, calling in long overdue favors. The girl's only hope was to receive a transfusion of human blood. Modern medicine might save her where their ancient magic had failed. It was worth a try. He made the necessary arrangements and darted deep into the woods, hot on Lucien's trail.

Lucien gently laid Alex down on the soft down of her bed and stretched out next to her. Tenderly, he hummed to her and stroked the fine crimson strands of her hair. He didn't notice the screeching of brakes or the commotion that was going on around him. His thoughts were filled with Alex. He inhaled deeply of her scent, marking it within the very recesses of his mind, fearful that he would never smell of her fragrant bouquet again.