I knooooow. I'm so lame. I'm not updating quickly at all.
I made the mistake of starting another story.
Plus I'm having a bit of writers block because I only have a very vague idea of where this is going.
And I've lost most of my reviewers so I lack motivation. :( Am I failing?

.CHAPTER.5.
devotion and desire

Despite the importance of this little powwow, Kaiya found it hard to concentrate. The night just seemed so much more beautiful than normally, and- despite the circumstances- peaceful. Both vampire clans stood at the edge of the bluff. The crashing of the waves below and the gentle but steady breeze that was forcing her loose hair too dance around her head kept trying to steal Kaiya's attention away. They were very nearly succeeding and, quite honestly, she needed it. When she was focused on the conversation at hand, she found it hard to fight back the tears. She still felt awful about betraying Michael. It wasn't until she felt eyes on her that she forced herself to focus on those around her. All three of the girls were glaring at her. She held on to her apathetic appearance, but she was quite confused. She didn't know why they were looking at her like they wanted to grab hold of the back of her neck and rip her spine from her body. Just then, Marko, probably sensing her inner confusion, took her hand in his and pulled her ever so slightly closer. Their shoulders touched and their clasped hands were hidden behind their backs. Eliza, Angel and Netty returned their gaze to the two male leaders as they talked.

David was in the middle of telling Alec what had happened. He had just finished explaining the circumstances that lead up to the night in question. This is what Alec was waiting for and what David had to be cautious with. He was careful not to break the stare they were holding because Alec might see that as a sign of weakness. He may see it for what it is- an attempt to keep him from seeing the truth. David risked leaving himself vulnerable to Alec's attack in hopes of convincing him that he had nothing to hide.

Before Kaiya had the chance to focus her attention on the words coming from David's mouth, Marko leaned close to her ear and whispered. He spoke quietly. He wanted her to hear him but was careful not to let any other vampire ears eaves drop. "I think they're jealous."

"Of what?" She spoke just as quietly. A human ear would have never heard her voice. I human eye would never catch her lips move.

"There are three of them and one male. It's just you with the four of us. You don't have any competition. You can see that those three love each other, but they all love Alec more. They get along now. But soon, soon they'll kill each other."

It was almost sad. Kaiya didn't know what to think. It's cruel what Alec does. He knows what's going to happen to them and yet he continues. Who knows how many females have been killed over him.

At the sight of Kaiya's lips pulling down at the corners slightly, Marko questioned her. "Do you pity them?"

That's what she was feeling. Not sadness. "Yes."

"I know what you're thinking, but remember this: I would fight for you. I would kill for you." Marko paused slightly and moved so close that his lips were brushing against her ear. "I would die for you."

She closed her eyes for a moment and squeezed his hand tighter. She leaned her head slightly so that the side of her head settled against his forehead. Just as she was going to speak, she opened her eyes and saw Alec staring at them- at her. She froze. Marko felt her body suddenly go rigid and he pulled away from her. Seeing her eyes locked forward, he followed her gaze. Once he saw what held her attention, he tried to regain it but she wouldn't look away.

She knew she probably should, but she wanted to be strong and confident. She held her ground successfully until Alec looked away from her eyes and let his run up and down her body. He moved slowly as he took in every inch of her. Marko growled lightly at him- not enough to really threaten, but enough to draw everyone else's attention. They had all briefly looked away as David pointed to something in the distance. But now, all eyes were on Kaiya, Marko and Alec. The boys stared at them with serious, questioning looks. The girls, however, glared and bared their teeth, but not towards Marko. Towards Kaiya.

She screamed a string of obscenities in her head as she realized they all thought that she was going to try to win Alec's affection. She didn't want it. She didn't want any of his attention. She especially did not want a pack of ferocious females ready to rip her spine out by the base of her neck. Sure she could defend herself as a human and she's much stronger now, as a vampire. But she was fairly positive that she wouldn't stand a chance against three blood thirsty girls who would be able to think of nothing but completely destroying her in the messiest way possible. She reached over and openly gripped Marko's hand, both to show them that she had her mate and to try and calm him.

Luckily, David spoke up before it began spiraling out of control. "Marko, why don't you take Kaiya down to the boardwalk? I'll tell Alec how to find Michael and then we'll meet you there shortly."

Despite being distracted by the drama with Alec and the divas, Kaiya visibly cringed at the mention of Michael. And Alec caught it. He smirked before turning back to David.

Marko turned to leave, leading Kaiya away by the hand. Neither of them spoke until they were in the middle of the Santa Carlans and the tourists that were gathering around the stores, rides and food stands.

"So, it looks like I'm in a bit of a pickle." Kaiya chuckled weakly at her feeble attempt to trivialize the problem at hand.

Marko surprised her by not responding but instead stopping dead in his tracks. The throngs of people behind him swore loudly as they nearly collided with him. Any other night he would have scared them with some sort of aggressive display, but not this night. Instead he quickly wrapped his arms around Kaiya's waist, puller her as close as possible and squeezing her so tightly that he would have snapped a weaker human spine.

"Whoa, Marko. You can still break my back and I would really appreciate if you didn't." She smiled, though she was being serious, as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Sorry," he apologized as he released her enough to be able to attach his lips to hers. It was an odd mix of love and frantic need. He wasn't rough or overpowering but he wasn't gentle either. It was unpredictable and amazing. Her mind danced in circles as their kiss deepened. After a minute or so, she suddenly broke the contact and stared into his eyes. Neither of them was smiling.

"Marko, what was that about?"

"I needed to be close to you." He spoke quietly as he pulled away from her, only keeping hold of her hand. "Alec was looking at you like you were his next conquest. His prey."

"I noticed. But you don't have to worry, Marko. Even if I could leave- if we weren't fated, - I would never. I love you too much." Kaiya pulled their intertwined fingers in front of her as they walked, caressing the skin of his hand and forearm with her free hand.

"That's not what I'm worried about. It's Alec and his harem. I would really rather not leave you alone while they're still in town. Given the chance, I'm sure they would corner and kill you."

Kaiya flinched slightly. "I know."

He let go of her hand and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She kissed his cheek before grumbling lightly. "Can we not talk about this? I don't want to think about it anymore. Let's just enjoy the night."

Marko smiled broadly. "Hunt or play?"

"Hmmm... play. I want to hunt with the rest. I especially want to make sure I'm not at the mercy of Paul tonight," she laughed.

"I know you don't mean that. You'd fuck him if you had the chance."

"What?" She froze mid-step, nearly tripping herself. She looked at Marko's face expecting to see pain or anger, but only saw his normal mischievous smirk.

"It's no big deal. It's only a matter of time before you lust after all of them. We all share such a tight bond because the same blood flows through all of us. We each of some of the other's blood. From the beginning we've all been connected. Remember the bottle? It's mostly David's blood, but there's a bit of each of us too. David wanted it that way. He wanted us to be family. So it's going to happen. You're going to lust after everyone's blood and body every now and then. Sometimes we even catch ourselves thinking of the others in such a way."

"Really?"

"We vampires are very sexual creatures; that is no myth. That's why you crave contact so much. Why you feel so lustful. Haven't you ever thought about it?"

"Not really. Shit, I swear I'm going to be 500 years old before I even know half of what my species entails!" Kaiya shook her head in amazement as she forced her feet to start moving again.

"So it's all right if you want to test out any of your theories." Marko winked as he stressed that last bit.

"We'll see about that," she chuckled, slightly embarrassed.

"Ok. Playtime." She stopped and walked behind Marko. Placing her hands on his shoulders, she leaned in beside his head so that she could whisper in his ear. "Find me."

He immediately turned around to face her, but she was already gone.

-------------------------------------

"So this Michael kid killed Max?" Alec asked, somewhat in disbelief. "How did a measly half kill an old, experienced vampire?"

"He caught him off guard. I told you- Max didn't know that Michael rejected our way of life and he was too distracted with turning Lucy."

"Tsk. Max always did have a problem with getting too attached to females. He was so keen on finding his fated that he would often lose sight of everything else. I always knew it would be his downfall."

"It's a shame. Max and I never got along as well as you two, but he was still like a father to me." David was an amazing liar. He was sure he had Alec convinced until his serious face turned into one of curiosity.

"What is your girl's connection with Michael?"

"What?" David was caught off guard by his query.

"I saw her reaction when you said his name. It was a mix of anger and sadness. Were they lovers?"

"No," David relaxed a bit but still stayed alert. They were like family when they were human. When Kaiya accepted the change and he didn't, he tried to 'save' her. He nearly killed her."

"Shouldn't she want him dead then? Why does she still love them?"

"I don't know. They were family for so long." David became leery of Alec. He didn't understand his interest in Kaiya's feelings for Michael. "But she isn't going to stop you. She just feels a bit... guilty, I suppose."

"I still don't know why you didn't just kill them."

"We care for Kaiya. We couldn't do that to her, not as long as she still loved them. Frankly, I'm glad you're here. It's a loophole for us. A way to get rid of them without breaking our promise to her."

Alec just nodded his head as he looked over to where the girls were now trying to coax some conversation out of Paul and Dwayne. They were semi-successful. It was obvious the boys did not want to talk, but they knew they had to be civil.

David and Alec had wandered away from the rest once David was done explaining what happened to Max. The others were not concerned with the details. The girls were anxious to explore the boardwalk and the boys wanted to hunt.

"And you're sure about their location?"

"I haven't kept tabs on them, but I know that's the direction they headed. I'm sure Star told them about it. It was one of her favorite places."

"You have no qualms with me killing both of them?" Alec wasn't about to let David stop him- and David knew it- but it was still good to know.

"Please. Kill them both."

Alec smiled and extended his hand. David took it and instantly felt a horrible sensation deep inside of him. It was almost as if the sun was burning him from the inside out. He tried to fight it, to not let Alec know how awful it was to him, but his grip tightened considerably and he twitched once or twice. As strong as David was, he couldn't hold back the breath that he sharply exhaled when Alec let go.

"Just remember that. If you lied to me, I won't come after you. I won't go after your brothers. I'll go after something much more precious, much more vulnerable. Something that will hurt you all but leave you alive and suffering." Alec paused dramatically as his features darkened and an evil smile spread across his face. Despite knowing what was coming, David could not stop the angry growl rumbling through this throat as Alec continued.

"I'll go after the girl."

That was a bit mushy.
I feel like I'm losing touch with the characters. eep!
I think I need to go watch the movie again.

I really don't like this chapter, I wrote it too fast.
gross.