I woke later to find myself alone, unable to speak or move due to Margaret's compulsion. From the window, I saw it was now dark. At this time of year, it could have been any time between early evening and the middle of the night. Leah was gone, as was the tube connecting me to the blood that had left me drugged. My mind was clear now, though I had a splitting headache.

Margaret stormed in without warning, shoving my wide-eyed best friend ahead of her. Alarms bells exploded in my head as I waged an inward struggle against my invisible restraints.

"Explain yourself," Margaret snarled at me.

I gasped as the bond of compulsion lifted. "What is she doing here?"

"I am the one asking questions!" Margaret trembled with rage, her voice sharp as cut glass. Her eyes were like ice. "Why were Andrew Larsen and a host of other vampires at John Kelly's house?"

"I don't know."

Olivia stared at me, confusion and fear on her face. Margaret twined a fistful of long blond hair around her hand and yanked, pulling back Olivia's head to expose the pulse throbbing wildly at the base of her jaw. She bared her fangs.

"Don't lie to me!"

Olivia whimpered. I instinctively tried to go to her, and yet I couldn't move. "Calm down, okay?" I said, trying to keep my own fear in check.

Margaret's nostrils flared, but she didn't ease her grip. "I went to the coffee shop to find Olivia, only she wasn't there. Her boyfriend, however, was very helpful. Apparently, she grew concerned when you didn't show up and John didn't answer her call, so she decided to go looking for you."

I had told John not to accept any calls or texts from Olivia.

"Lucky me, I arrived just as John was compelling her." She jerked Olivia's hair again, causing her neck to bend at a painful angle. Olivia cried out as tears leaked from the corners of her eyes.

"You had better start explaining what was going on at John's because it looked an awful lot like treason!"

"You could have compelled any one of them to tell you," I said.

"Oh, but it's a lot more fun this way," she said through her teeth.

The crazed look in her eyes set my heart racing. "Margaret, please—"

"Did I not warn you what would happen if you crossed this family?"

"Margaret, I think you—"

With no further comment, Margaret sank her teeth into my best friend's neck. Olivia arched her back, a scream caught in her throat, but then her knees buckled and her body went limp. The swift violence of the moment brought back memories of Ian's attack.

"No!" I screamed as Margaret crouched over Olivia's lifeless body. "Help! Somebody, please help!"

Josiah responded to my cries first, followed closely by Thomas and Ian. Thomas hesitated only long enough to assess the situation. "Restrain my sister," he instructed Josiah and Ian. "She's not in her right mind."

Josiah placed a hand around Margaret's mouth to stifle her words as he and Ian dragged her away, struggling against her preternatural vampire strength. Thomas stared at Olivia, who lay still on the floor, her complexion a deathly shade of gray.

"Thomas, you have to help her."

He turned to me then. "She's not a candidate, Blake. She never was."

"I don't care!"

"But she—"

"Thomas!"

Closing his eyes, his lips moving silently, Thomas dropped to his knees beside Olivia. He took her hand in his. "Don't be afraid," he said, though she gave no indication of being aware of anything at all.

Thomas sank his teeth into his wrist and held the bleeding wound against Olivia's lips. Several seconds passed before she latched on and her throat moved in response to the life-sustaining nourishment. Only when the ashy pallor of her skin began to bloom with a soft pink did I finally take a breath.

"Thank you, Thomas." My voice was unsteady, even to my ears, and I realized I was crying.

"If it had been anyone else but you asking this of me . . ." Thomas replied, shaking his head. But that's all he would say.

He rose then and pulled two pints of blood from the refrigerator. He tore one open and immediately drained it, grimacing slightly. He poured the other into a mug and warmed it before holding it gently to Olivia's lips. Blood dribbled down her chin and neck, staining the front of her shirt. Thomas wiped it away with his thumb as he studied her.

"I always did like Olivia," He said. He turned a scrutinizing gaze on me then. "May I ask what you are doing here, Blake?"

"I'm on a social call."

"I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to sound accusatory."

I sighed. "Josiah drugged me and brought me here. And then June—"

Thomas's eyes sharpened. "What about June? And why are you just sitting there?"

"Why am I just sitting here?" I said, my voice rising. "Why am I just sitting here?! Because your psychotic sister compelled me not to move! And it was your girlfriend who force-fed me. Where were you, by the way?"

"I do have a life," Thomas answered shortly. "I don't spend every free moment sequestered in my home. Now explain about June."

I took a deep breath. "I got here and she hooked me up to a bag of bad blood. Then I passed out. When I came to, Margaret was holding Olivia hostage and going berserk. Then she nearly killed my best friend. That's what I know."

Thomas sank into the empty chair and leaned forward, elbows on his thighs. "I do not believe Margaret acted of her own accord."

"Well, no one compelled her to be a bitch. She does a pretty good job of that on her own."

"You don't know that," he said without looking at me, though I could tell even he didn't believe it. Andrew Larsen himself had said he'd never met a more powerful Compeller.

"Don't be stupid. She was under no one's spell. Your sister is a lunatic and a junkie. She was probably strung out on incompatible blood which, by the way, June knows all about. In fact, she didn't seem to find anything wrong with forcing it on me."

He shook his head. "Not my June—"

"Forget about your precious June for a minute." I had run out of patience ages ago. "How long am I going to be stuck like this?"

"I'll call John," Thomas said. "I'm sure he can help."

"I don't want John coming here. It's not safe. Your father—"

"My father is not here, and I imagine Josiah will be busy with Margaret. That leaves you, me, and Ian."

"And June."

"And June," he echoed.

"What are you going to do about her?" Though she was the love of Thomas's life, that didn't change the fact she had betrayed me.

Thomas remained silent for so long I didn't think he was going to answer. "I don't know," he said at last.

**********

"What happened?" John demanded, taking in the sight of me sitting immobile in the chair and Olivia still passed out on the floor. Thomas, bless his heart, had at least hooked her up to a bag of blood and found a pillow to place under her head.

Waiting for John to show up had given me plenty of time to wonder what kind of a vampire my best friend would turn out to be. Based on John's and Thomas's previous warnings about what happened when humans with incompatible blood types became vampires, I knew the transformation probably wouldn't go well. I could only hope, with guidance, that she would be able to lead some semblance of a normal life.

Rousing at the sound of John's voice, Olivia put a hand to her head. "I have the worst hangover ever."

"Can you help me?" I said to John. "I feel like the Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz."

"Oil can," Olivia squeaked. She tried to laugh, but only managed a groan.

John knelt in front of me. "You may move now."

My muscles relaxed at once, and I would have fallen out of the chair altogether had John not been there to catch me. "Ugh . . . my entire body hurts."

Thomas handed me a pint of warm blood, which I eyed with suspicion. "You're not tricking me, are you?"

He frowned, looking mildly hurt. "Don't you trust me?"

I sniffed at the blood, but it smelled okay. "I thought I could trust June."

"What's June got to do with anything?" John asked.

Taking a deep breath, I recounted the story to John, starting with the tainted blood supply that Josiah had given me and him showing up at my house that evening, finally ending when Thomas made Olivia a vampire.

"Flush all the blood Josiah gave you down the toilet," I said. "I won't accept any more bags from him."

"So now we're back to square one of being short on blood," John said.

"That's the least of our concerns." I nodded to Olivia stretched out on the floor with her hands to her head, moaning and groaning like she'd spent the night partying.

"Can someone call Marcus?" Olivia said. "Tell him . . . tell him . . ."

Kneeling next to her, I smoothed the hair away from her forehead. "Don't worry about Marcus."

She opened her eyes and blinked against the harsh fluorescent lighting. She lay there for a moment, her forehead wrinkling. Then she sat up and looked around at the industrial appliances. "Where the hell am I?"

"The Abernathy mansion," I said. "In their kitchen."

"Huh. It's not what I expected."

John, Thomas, and I looked at each other, but none of us said anything in response.

"How did I end up here?" she said. Long, pale fingers found the tube of blood running from the bag into the bend of her arm. "What's going on?"

A shaking hand went unerringly to the wound at her neck, and I recognized the look of panic that flitted over her face. Moving closer, I put a steadying hand on her arm. "Libby?"

Right on cue, Olivia let loose a bloodcurdling cry. John clamped a hand over her mouth, but it barely muffled the sound. "We have to get her out of here," he said. "No one can find out that Thomas made her a vampire."

I saw the look John gave Olivia and knew what he was thinking: Thomas shouldn't have done what he did.

"He did it for me," I said as John helped Olivia to her feet. "I asked him to."

John clenched his jaw, recognizing the intended barb. Thomas had done for me what he refused to do himself. "We'll talk about this later. I'm more concerned about getting out of here before Josiah discovers we're gone. Have you seen Ian?'

"I'm here," he said, rushing through the door to John's side. They embraced briefly, their faces mirror images of relief.

"Right," Thomas said. "Everyone, follow me."

We made our way outside under cover of darkness, Olivia whimpering and muttering omigod omigod omigod. Ian yanked open the back door of the car and John pushed her inside.

"We can't take her home," I said.

"What do we do with her?" Thomas asked.

John ran a hand through his hair. "I suppose she can stay at my place for a while."

Looking at my watch, I was relieved to see that it was just a little past eight. "I'll call her mom and tell her we're having a sleepover at my house, and I'll tell my mom we're having a sleepover at Olivia's. It'll buy us a little time." I met John's eyes, hoping I appeared more confident than I felt. "I can help keep an eye on her."

"Good idea," Thomas said. "She'll need your support tonight. I've got some things to take care of here, but I'll come over as soon as I can."

"Does this mean you're with us?" John asked.

Thomas's jaw hardened. "I suppose I don't have a choice."

John turned to Ian. "You're coming with us, aren't you?"

"I've struck a deal with Mr. Abernathy," Ian said. "I cannot leave or he'll go back on his word."

"You can't stay here," I said. "The line has been drawn, Ian. Whatever it is you're afraid of, we'll protect you."

"Blake is right," Thomas said. "You should go with them, whatever the risk."

Ian's eyes flitted to John and he nodded.

I threw my arms around Thomas's neck and squeezed. "Thank you," I whispered. "Olivia is my best friend. I don't know what I would do without her."

He pulled back. His gaze was unflinching as he looked me in the eyes. "Don't thank me yet."

Climbing into the back seat next to Olivia, I cradled her head in my lap and stroked her hair. "It's okay, Libby. Everything's going to be fine," I said to ease her crying. "You're not alone. We're going to help you through this."

Soon after pulling away, Olivia closed her eyes and fell asleep. I called our mothers and made the necessary excuses that would cover us, at least for tonight. After that, it was anybody's guess what would happen next.

*****

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