A/N - this is an additional chapter as part of the edit

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Michael's steely eyes paled as he press his firmly over the bullet hole. I made the mistake of looking down at his hand and seeing the blood, my blood, seeping from between his fingers.

"Don't look at it," he ordered.

I lifted my eyes up to his and saw the panic cracking through his stony expression. Blood was haemorrhaging everywhere and he couldn't control it. He pulled me closer to his chest and looked straight into a dark alleyway.

"What should I do?" He yelled.

"Is she one of them?" A nervous voice of a man called back.

"No, she isn't one of them. She's Francesca's daughter."

"Ah, shit! What have you done, Grayson!"

Two men came running out alleyway towards us. One of them was holding a revolver in his hand with a laser sight and silencer attached to it. When he saw me, he raised his hands in the air defensively and said, "I'm sorry, Mikey. I thought she was one of them."

"Does she look like one of them, Grayson?" Michael snapped.

"Shit, Mikey. I made a bad call."

"You fucking shot her."

"I know, but she moved so fast, I just thought..."

"She was scared, Grayson."

Grayson looked down at me, his eyes full of remorse.

"I just wanted to go home," I shivered.

Grayson put his gun away and dropped down next to me.

"There has to be something you can do. She's just a kid," he asked.

"There is nothing I can do. Those bullets are meant to kill vampires," Michael replied.

"Well, couldn't you give her your blood? It's supposed to heal any wound, according to your file."

"There are limitations to my blood."

"We can't let her die, Mikey!"

"I would need to give her a significant amount of blood. The kind of amount that would trigger an irreversible binding."

"If it saves her, then who cares?"

"You don't understand. What you are asking me to do is forbidden."

"What if I order you to do it?"

"Grayson, I don't think you understand what it would mean for her, and for me!"

"Mikey, as your superior, I am ordering you to save her life with your blood."

"Fine," Michael hissed, "But I want it put on record that I objected to this."

Michael gazed down at me and said carefully, "You will need to drink my blood to live. My blood is special and it will heal you fully."

He bit into his wrist and pressed the open wound against my lips. Reluctantly, I opened my mouth and let the warm hot blood drop down onto my tongue. It tasted strange, but not unpleasant.

I took a gulp and tried pushing his arm away.

"No, you need to drink more," he whispered, holding me closer.

I took another mouthful of blood and felt the heat sliding down my throat. Warmth spread through my chest and I started to feel better.

Michael pulled his wrist away from me and the pain in my chest faded.

"Is she okay?" Grayson asked.

"Yes, she will live," Michael replied.

Grayson looked at me and said, "Sorry, kid. I thought you were one of those bad eggs, you know the ones that-"

"Hey," Michael cut him off, "She doesn't know any of that."

Grayson's mouth clamped shut and he changed the topic.

"I guess we better take you back to your parents," he said.

Michael lifted me up in his arms and carried me back into the hotel. Grayson and his partner followed close behind.

We went up the stairs, Michael carrying me all the way. I rested my head on his shoulder, feeling weirdly safe in his arms. Logically, I knew he was straight up danger... but after tasting his blood, he seemed different to me. It was probably down to the blood loss. I was feeling kinda of drunk at this point.

"Hey, Michael," I asked. "Why didn't you want to give me your blood?"

"There are complications that can happen when a vampire drinks another vampire's blood."

"Like what?" I pushed.

"It's complicated, but when one vampire's blood is compatible with another vampire's blood, it can form a pair-bond between two vampires."

"A pair-bond," I echoed.

I remember my grandma once explaining to me about how birds would pair-bond. She used to keep parrots and the parrots would get lonely if they didn't have a girlfriend or a boyfriend to keep them company.

"So," I began, "Does this mean that you're my new boyfriend?"

"Lorna, try not to over think things too much. You have just been shot."

"Yeah, you're right. My last relationship was a disaster and I need time to recover from that. You see, my ex-boyfriend was a drunk and a complete asshole. The last time I saw him, he threw a glass bottle at my head."

"What? Did he hit you?" Michael asked.

"No. I dodged it with my ninja moves," I laughed.

Michael didn't seem to find it funny. In fact, his expression darkened and his whole body hardened.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, I will," he replied. "Can you do me a favour and stop talking about your ex-boyfriend?"

"Sure thing."

"Thanks."

The rest of our short journey was completed in silence. Magda and Francesca were waiting in the corridor, completely unaware of the chaos that had unfolded earlier.

As we approached, Francesca runs up to me and let out a cry when she saw the blood stains on my pyjama top.

"My baby!"

She tried snatching me out of Michael's arms, but neither he or I was ready for that. His arms tightened around me and he took a step away from her.

"She's been badly injured. You have to be careful with her," he explained.

"What happened," Francesca yelled.

"Grayson accidentally shot her," Michael said.

Francesca lunged for Grayson, screaming, "You shot my daughter!"

Magda grabbed her by the waist and dragged her backwards.

"I'm sorry, Fran," Grayson said, "Your girl is fast. She outran Michael for fuck's sake. When I saw her hurtling out the building like lightning bolt, I mistook her for... well, you know what."

"Damn it, Grayson. You only got one oar in the water!"

Magda pushed Francesca back and added, "Too many innocent vampires have been mistaken for one of those monsters, Grayson. It obvious to anyone with two eyes that our Lorna is not one of them."

"This was my bad, I know," Grayson admitted, "But it's okay. Michael saved her."

"No one can save a vampire from one of those bullets unless," Magda gasped, turning to Michael. "You didn't."

"I had no choice. Grayson ordered me," Michael said.

"Michael, hand Lorna over to Francesca. I need to talk to you three idiots alone."

Michael obliged Magda and carefully passed me over to Francesca. Holding me close, she took me back inside the hotel room and placed me down on the bed.

"What's matter, I don't understand. Michael saved my life- why are you angry with him?" I asked.

"It doesn't matter, sweetie. Here, let me run you a bath so you can clean yourself up," she said disappearing into the bathroom.

I laid back against the pillows and stared at the closed bedroom door. Outside I could hear muffled voices. I strained my ears, trying to pick up on Michael's voice.

The flavour of his blood was still in my mouth.

I should've been running to the bathroom for a toothbrush and a bottle of mouthwash, but instead, I listened to his voice while savouring the aftertaste of his blood in my mouth.

The hotel door burst opened and Magda marched into the room. Through the open door I saw Michael in the corridor, staring at me.

Magda slammed the door shut and starting yelling in language I couldn't understand.

Francesca came out the bathroom and tried to calm her down.

"Magda, hun. Calm down. Try speaking in English."

"I can't. I'm so bloody mad!"

She vented a bit longer in her own language and then eventually said, "We have to go back to London."

Francesca let out a sigh of disappointment and asked, "Are you sure? The bond might not be definite."

"Come on, Fran. You saw the way he was holding her. They won't be able to stay apart."

"Wonderful. I can't believe those idiots screwed up our babymoon!"

"I know, but at least we will get to introduce Lorna to everybody," Magda said and turned to me. "We will go back to London and you can meet your aunties, uncles and cousins."

"Will Michael be there?" I asked.

"Maybe," Magda replied in a cool tone. "Maybe."