"You'll never grow old." - David

FOUR

She woke to the smell of blood, it didn't cause the usual ache in her gums. Then there was a painful grunt from the cave. Her left forearm started to burn, causing panic through her veins. She quickly got to her feet, away from the bundle of blankets to arrive in the main area of cave. Another grunt was heard, followed by a wave of pain causing her to head in the direction of another entrance, one she hadn't explored.

Before she could enter the darkness, Dwayne hooked an arm around her waist. His strength halting her from moving forward to investigate. "He is fine." The male vampire didn't need to explain who "he" was, she had instinctively searched him out.

"Doesn't feel like it." Her teeth clenched.

Dwayne studied the woman, taking in the crazed eyes, tight jaw and the cradling of the arm. "You shouldn't be that effected." He muttered, knowing from his own connection with his family. The agony across the young vampire's face said otherwise.

"What's happening?" She whispered against him.

The small voice brought back memories of Dwayne's sister, causing him to angle her away from the entrance and towards the couch to have their backs to the scene. "Punishment."

She fell silent at the explanation, taking a seat beside the tanned vampire.

Marko suddenly came into the cave, an anxious air surrounding him as he bit at his nails and couldn't sit in one place. His behavior had her fidgeting with the edges of the couch cushions until Paul and David walked into the main room. Each male held a dark astrosphere that warned her. She tried to catch the eyes of Paul, though he looked everywhere else except her. "We're rollin' out." David headed for the motorbikes outside. Marko was quick to appear at Paul's side, while Brandy eyed the slumped shoulders as she followed behind the trio. She didn't need anything said, she knew that Paul's treatment was about her presence. What didn't make sense, was the extent of pain from simply sparing her life.

"You're with me." Dwayne nudged her towards his motorbike, her eyes going to Paul who seemed focus ahead of him.

Her jaw clenched, preventing herself from speaking out about his behaviour. She climbed onto the bike behind Dwayne, knowing that punishment had to do with her existence.

She rocked on the balls of her feet at the board walk, another night with the Lost Boys around her. The laughter of Paul sounded to her left, Marko making a comment, while Dwayne scuffed his boots on the cement and the smell of smoke from David's cigarette reached her. She felt the boys were simply there, not for protection but keeping tabs on her movements. She'd gotten to the 'fuck them' stage tonight.

Brandy wasn't focused on them, it was the aching of her gums that held her full attention. She was nervous about feeding, though it was overpowered by instinct. With each passing human, she inched further from the boys, her nose leading her in the direction of a sweet aroma.

Her gaze landed on a brown skinned woman, her black shoulder length hair bounced with each step. She watched her among the others, passing the board walk stalls without realizing the woman was within reach of hunters. The dark-haired woman moved further from the crowds and down the residential streets.

Without a backwards glance at the Lost Boys, she followed instinct to the streets away from the crowds. Brandy couldn't decide on the reason to her fascination with the woman, there was a vibe that caused self-awareness. The clicking of the victims heels, matching the beating of her heart, unaware that she would become the next meal for the evening, then the adrenaline would spike through the woman's heart.

She was a couple of meters from the woman, light on her feet and could faintly hear the carnival ride screams. She started to increase her pace, her gums aching with the victim within reach. It was the violent tug in her gut that made Brandy realize that she couldn't move, the woman in front of her paused in place as well.

"I don't like being hunted." The female answered with a matter of fact tone, turning around to meet the eyes of the frozen vampire. "My guess, you are a young one." She lifted Brandy from the ground, a grip tightening around her throat. "You need to learn your place in the food chain." Brandy realized she didn't need the air to breath, but the steel grip on her throat caused her lips to tremble. "A warning, don't touch my coven Brandy." The hardness in the female's voice cause a quiver in her gut before she was suddenly thrown into the brick wall of the townhouse.

As her head bounced off the brick to the ground, images flashed before her eyes. A camp fire with women laughing and the wind blowing strands of hair while they sat at the cliff edge. Then a harsh laughter echoing around the camp, causing fear through them. As quick as the scene unfolded in her mind, they disappeared as her hazy mind focused on the empty spot. It made Brandy question how long she'd been unconscious.

With her body shaking, she stood on unsteady feet and glance around the area to find herself truly alone. Slowly she made her way back towards the lights and sound of the board walk, her mind jumbled with the encounter. She didn't understand what had occurred, there had been prey, yet she'd been the one trapped.

Blindly her shoulders bumped into people on the board walk, her feet shuffling against the cement footpath, her mind in a haze as her heart led her beside Paul. The Lost Boys fell silent at the disheveled appearance of the young vampire who didn't acknowledge them at her return. "You lost a fight." David answered bluntly, taking a puff of his smoke.

Paul clenched his fists, rage sweeping through his body at her appearance. He flexed his fingers to ease the tension before reaching up to Brandy's forehead to the blood at her temple, her blood. "Who was it?" He asked softly, reminding him of their first encounter.

Marko stood beside his rock star brother quietly, waiting to hear the answer himself. He watched the two unconsciously lean closer to one another, seeking comfort. It was unfamiliar to see Paul react with such affection towards a woman.

"I don't know." She answers with confusion.

Paul reached for the bandana hanging from his back pocket and dubbed away the blood on her forehead. There was no wound once the area was cleaned – benefits of their nature. He consciously slipped into her mind, trying to see the events of the night. The sight of the dark haired woman made his gums ache with hatred. "Nisa."

"Bloody witches." Marko muttered under his breath.

Brandy heard him effortlessly, her body tensing beside Paul in disbelief. "Witches?"

"You didn't think we were the only supernaturals alive." David mocked, her eyes flashed in anger at him.

"The witches should know better." Paul murmured.

"They are testing us." Dwayne stated.

"The witches will get it in due time." David assured the group, wanting to catch the witches off guard, while Nisa wasn't prepared for them. "Think of it as a learning curve." His eyes on Brandy, watching the sharp nod of her head and Paul's tense frame beside her, the rock star wouldn't push the situation considering the punishment earlier lingered in his mind, he needed to be smart.

"What else is out there?" She hesitantly questioned, looking at David for answers.

"Shapeshifters." Marko supplied with joy. "They are fun to play with."

"And there is the Centaurs, Erlkings, Wendigo's whom we shouldn't come across here." Brandy couldn't comprehend the creatures that Dwayne spoke of and turned to Paul for reassurance.

"Like he said, they don't cross the border." Paul pulled the woman into his side, wanting to wipe the concerned expression from her.

Following Paul's lead, Marko changed the topic. "When are we going to the carnival to pick out some food?" The curly vampire whined, causing Dwayne to wince at the pitch.

"We'll see if the guards on duty." David answered with a smirk, leading the way to the screams and flashing lights.

A perfect picnic for a vampire. Brandy thought as they slowly walked into the mass of bodies. Then again, it would be perfect for any supernatural being. "Have you ever seen others?" She whispered to Paul.

He pulled her into his side, giving a reassuring embrace. "Only David has come across some centaurs."

"Centaurs?"

"Beasts, half horse and half human." He explained, keeping his eyes ahead on David. He didn't want to mention the Wendigo, violent spirits that are cold hearted with no code. The Lost Boys murdered for survival, picking their victims for the crimes of their past. Unless someone got in a rage, no one was flawless. If the tribe was flawless, Paul wouldn't have come across dear Brandy. His eyes flickered to the woman beside him, arm linked with his own and wondered what her reaction would be if she ever discovered the truth, a situation he didn't want to dwell on.

Tonight has proved to him that he couldn't ignore the bond forming between them. He had felt her pain earlier that night, only his stubbornness prevented him from acknowledging it and seeking her out. After the hand out from David, he was frustrated with himself for not acting that night and placing himself and his family in possible danger. A fresh vampire meant mistakes, mistakes that could harm one of his brothers. Seeing Brandy walk towards them, with her disheveled appearance and bloodied face – he couldn't lie about the connection between, or that he considered her as family.

"But we have witches." Brandy stated, her mind to focused on the supernatural world to recognise the expression on Paul's face.

"Like us, witches can blend into the human world. There used to be more tension between the two covens, but Max made a deal with Nisa."

"Max?" The woman asked in curiosity.

"You'll meet him soon." He assured, knowing that it would be a matter of time before they would be summoned by the head vampire to introduce the latest addition to their family. Paul wasn't sure how Max would feel about Brandy been a product from his bloodline, not directly connected to David or Max.

"There are so many things that I need to learn about this world." She muttered to herself.

Paul didn't have the heart to tell her that she'd only been exposed to a tiny part of their world.