If there is any one driving force in the world, it's passion. Passion is a terrifying emotion. It pulls us to do crazy things, pushes us to our very limits to see how far we'll bend. Passion can be beautiful, sure, it can guide us to wonderful opportunities, in some cases, wonderful people who change our lives. But passion? It can kill.

I should've known becoming a vampire would be a fucking disaster. Though, who can blame my naivety? With startling blue eyes and a laugh that hushes storms, it was all too easy to get distracted and diluted into thinking my transition into the living dead would be easy. Sure enough, after two weeks of peaceful death, someone had to go and fuck everything up.

Phil comes booming in the front door of the flat like a hurricane, his hair messy and unkempt, his eyes wild, pupils blown. When his eyes land on me, he seems to relax slightly, letting out a long breath. I glance at the clock, noting it's barely past midnight. Phil left only an hour ago to hunt, I having opted to stay home and binge watch anime since I wasn't quite hungry. I quirk a brow up at him curiously, standing from my lounging position on the couch.

"What's going on, Phil?" He makes his way down the few steps into the living room and scoops me into his arms as if it's the only thing he's wanted to do, tucking my face in the crook of his neck. I don't hesitate to wrap my arms back around his waist, smoothing my palm up his back soothingly.

"Whoa, whoa calm down. Tell me what's going on." He shakes underneath my hands, letting out a second breath, wobbly and relieved.

"We have to go see Felix right now. Pj and Chris will meet us there but we have to leave. Marcus is bored. And we're next on his list." I tense against him, my body rigid. I don't bother to fake breathing, either, too stunned to do anything but try to absorb this information.

Marcus is coming for us. I figured we'd made it out unscathed, that we could just continue living blissfully as we had been for the past couple of weeks. It's been nice, learning to control my ability, figuring out my new needs and wants, adjusting to this new life. I moved myself completely into Phil's neat little flat, leaving behind the dusty apartment I'd called home just two short weeks ago. Things move quickly in this life, I've come to learn, but I move quickly too, much faster than ever before.

But not fast enough to outrun Marcus.

"What do we do?" I finally croak out, clearing my suddenly parched throat. Phil steps back, raking his long fingers through his jet black hair, leaving it dishevelled. His eyes are calculating, mind working a mile a minute if not faster, but I have a sinking feeling that it won't be enough. Phil's been around a long time but he's still terrified of Marcus and his friends.

"We go to Felix and ask him for help. I hate dragging him into this, but he's our only shot at getting Marcus off of our backs." Phil darts towards the bedroom, pushing the door open and piling some of our clothes into a duffel bag. He wastes no time, grabbing his stash of money and tossing me my phone and wallet. I catch both on reflex and stuff them into my jean pocket.

"And if he can't?" I ask though I'm unsure I want to know the answer. Phil sets the bag down on the end of his bed and turns to me, caressing my cheek briefly. It's a quick motion, unsettling.

"Remember when you asked if we could just run away?" His voice is soft, longing. I smile sadly and nod, capturing his hand in mine and tracing the still veins in his wrist. "We could always give it a shot." I chuckle without humour and look up into his startling blue orbs.

"Like you said, we'd never get far."

"It might be our only option."

I sigh and grab the bag off of the bed. "Will we ever get to come home again?" I inquire, sliding into my shoes and watching as Phil kills the lights before we head to the front door. Turning, he takes one last look at his flat, our flat, and smiles though it doesn't reach his eyes.

"We can only hope so."

Pj and Chris are sitting in Felix's office when we arrive. I can tell right away that Chris is agitated, his foot tapping rhythmically against the hardwood floor, the sound like thunder in the silent room.

"Phil, Dan, you two are alright." Felix expresses with a sigh of relief, capturing Phil's upper arm briefly and glancing at him with concern. Phil nods as I set the duffel on the arm chair next to me.

"Can you help us?" I ask abruptly, not intending to be so brash. Felix sighs and passes a hand through his golden hair.

"I can try. I wish I had more control over Marcus. It scares me how unpredictable he can be, how dangerous and unmerciful. That's what makes him so good at his job, but also a liability." Felix paces, creating an unnerving feeling to settle within me as I watch him move back and forth. I've come to notice that everything a vampire does is graceful, right down to the gruesome parts. It's something in the very hard wiring of us, the way our muscles react and move.

"What do we do?" Pj asks curtly, tugging incessantly on his mop of curls. Felix ceases his pacing to lean back against his desk, folding one foot on top of the other.

"Will he come after the two of you?" Felix directs his question to Chris and Pj, eyes flicking between the two of them.

"We're unsure if he sees us as guilty parties for being so close with Phil and Dan. Either way, we won't just let them flee or fight on their own." Replies Chris, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I wouldn't ask you to abandon your friends. This may be the safest place for the four of you, at least as far as I'm concerned. I'm hoping that Marcus won't start an uprising over this. Over something so simple." Shaking his head, Felix sighs. I fiddle with the strap on the duffel bag, pondering when my life became so difficult. The answer is simple: when it ended. My life became such a shit show when it ended, but I can't find any single part of me that feels regret. Something about this life, about these people, just feels so right that I can't make myself angry at Phil for bringing this life to me.

"I'll ask Marzia to set you guys up in the rooms at the north end of the building. There's higher security there and I'll keep my best guards outside. If you need anything, you can call me." Phil nods and shares a few brief words with Felix as I shuffle the bag back onto my shoulder. When their conversation stops, Phil heads toward the door with Pj and Chris, striking up another conversation. I make to follow them when Felix' hand on my arm halts me.

"Your mind is whirring, Dan, but I need you to know that I will do everything I can to keep you all safe. I'm sorry about all of this, Marcus should've been stopped ages ago, but I never thought he'd do something this stupid, to threaten someone so revered and important." I raise a brow and glance at Phil.

"Revered?" I question softly. Felix nods and fixes the cuff of his navy blazer.

"I'm not surprised he didn't tell you. He's very humble. Phil could have my job, hell, he could have any job he wanted, anywhere, simply because of who he is. It was probably about 180 years ago or so when Phil was changed. You should just ask him about who changed him." It's a clipped, short explanation and leaves me with a million more questions than I had prior, but Felix just smiles softly and nods toward the door. "You guys have some time to talk it out, now go, Marzia will take you to the rooms now." I thank him and drift to the door, sliding my hand in Phil's as we follow Marzia down the brightly lit hallway.

I don't miss the way Chris intertwines his fingers with Pj's, a simple action, yet amplified by the subtle squeeze he gives it. I guess I never realised that through his tough facade, Pj is probably terrified like I am. Chris acts as his anchor, channelling his calm, collected ways to Pj in order to keep him sane. I can see how they fit so well, like magnets, always destined to be connected.

Marzia takes us through a maze of hallways and soon we're in a section of the building that resembles apartments or maybe hotel rooms. I didn't think the entire building consisted of ways to help and aid the supernatural, but I guess I should've known better.

She speaks briefly in her chime soprano to several vampires dressed in black. The guards Felix spoke of, I assume, before we're lead into room 1089.

It's sectioned off nicely, the main area hosting a lounge that then branches toward the kitchen. There's an open doorway to a bedroom on the left, and a mirroring one on the right. Phil thanks Marzia briefly before guiding me toward the bedroom on the right.

I ditch the bag on the sofa and look at Phil, seeing him kick his boots off and shrug out of his leather jacket.

"Phil?" He looks up as he lays his coat on the back of a chair. I take that as a cue to continue. "Felix said something that struck me as odd," I begin as I change into a pair of grey joggers and a black v-neck t-shirt. Phil hums for me to continue as he changes into plaid pyjama bottoms and a grey shirt to match. He sinks into the mattress, lifting the heavy duvet and waving me over. I find I'm quite exhausted, potentially due to the onslaught of the situation at hand, the suddenness in which everything went wrong. Once we're settled, I decide to continue.

"He said he didn't understand why Marcus would dare cause such a ruckus over you when you're so important to our people," Phil coughs into his hand and looks down at the duvet shyly. I lean into him, waiting for a response I know he'll eventually give.

"Well, I wouldn't say important because of who I am, I'd say important because of who I know." I raise a brow and trace shapes on the inside of his forearm.

"Who do you know?" He sighs but it doesn't sound annoyed, just tired.

"You're not going to believe me if I tell you." He argues vaguely, leaning back to look at me. I stare into his blue eyes with my own brown ones, daring him to try me. He smiles slightly before intertwining our fingers.

"Everyone thought Dracula was a myth, but in all honesty, it wasn't fully false. He sort of existed, but not in the way the media portrayed him. It was society's way of making a gruesome occurrence 'Hollywood.' It's easier to swallow that way, I guess,

"Anyway, 'Dracula' was a vampire whose name was Emilian Ivanov Drakula. He is the reason we have laws, the reason we are what we are, the reason we function the way we do. No one is really sure how vampires came to be, I assume we always were, a missing part in history that no one cared to document. Either way, Emilian is the reason we're known. He would lure pretty men and women into being with him before either draining them of their blood and killing them or changing them." I look up at Phil when he stops speaking to see a faraway look in his clear eyes, as if he's remembering a time, a place that I'll never know.

"I was one of those men. I was heading home one night after picking up medicine for my brother. I'm glad he wasn't so ill that he wouldn't have lasted the night since I never made it home. I left the medicine on the doorstep the next evening, once it had all went down, but I'd never see them again. I couldn't. Emilian lured me away, asking for help, saying that a wheel on his carriage had broken and he needed a hand in fixing it. I was too trusting, too kind, and I followed him. He changed me, luckily, since the other option was definitely worse." Phil smiles sadly at me, focusing his eyes on me again.

"You're a descendent of Dracula?" I clarify, cocking a brow. He nods sheepishly.

"Unfortunately, yes. But because of him, I'm classified as one of the purest vampires to exist. Someone who should lead, or something. But I just don't see myself doing that. I did it for a couple of decades, but it never stuck." I laugh breathlessly and lean my head on his shoulder in disbelief.

"This is crazy," I confess eventually. Phil chuckles, smoothing his hand down my arm and clicking the light off, sending the room into darkness.

"Get some rest, I trust we'll be safe tonight. Felix will do everything in his power to keep it that way. We'll need to be well rested in the morning." I nod feebly into the crook of his neck before letting my eyes fall closed, letting the exhaustion finally pull me under.