I ignore the shouts of anger thrown my way as I shove the drunk party-goes out of my path. It seems like the more of them I shove, the more appear in front of me. But, soon enough I make it through the crowd and to the doorway leading to the hallway.

The empty hallway makes me feel uneasy despite the fact it's been empty the whole time. Why is this particular part of the home so untouched by the party? Thomas led us away for a reason, it couldn't have been just to distract me.

What do they want with Alex anyway? There's a whole house full of drunk humans for them to feast on, why pick my friend? Just to piss me off?

Suddenly, black enters my vision and blocks the doorway off from me. Looking up, I see Thomas yet again, standing in my way. "Move,"

"I'm afraid the hallway's off limits," He informs.

"He's down there, isn't he?" I ask, referring to Alex. Thomas doesn't respond, instead just intensely stares at me. "What have you done to him?"

"Move along, Reid," He ignores my question, flicking his eyes over to the party behind me before landing back on me. I nod, turning my back to him as I close my eyes and exhale.

Then, before he has time to react, I lift my leg up and kick him as hard as I can with as much force as possible, sending him falling back into the hallway with a thud. Quickly, I step over his legs and enter the hallway he's desperately trying to keep me from. I look down at his face as I pass, smirking at him, "Enjoy the boot print,"

Just as I begin to run, I feel a hand grip my ankle. The action causes me to fall and hit the ground above his head. I jolt my leg out, kicking him once again on his shoulder, causing his grip to loosen on my ankle enough for me to wiggle free and jump to my feet. He does the same, flinging his body until he is up, facing me. "You really wanna play this game?"

"Bite me," I reply, keeping a distance from him as I wait for him to make his move. He instead smiles at the irony of the words, taking a step towards me.

"With pleasure,"

The second he gets too close to me, I reach for the vase on the hallway table next to me and throw it at him. It lands on his cheek and shatters, giving me enough time to turn and run further down the red hallway. I don't get far before I feel a force shove my body against the wall, the action causes me to fall to the ground yet again. Before I can process that I've just been flung against a wall, hands grab my wrists and turn me to my back, pinning me to the ground by my wrists.

I open my eyes, meeting his as he sits on my thighs, holding me in place so that I can't reach up and kick him. This doesn't stop me from squirming. "Give up,"

I don't stop shimmying despite his supernatural strength making it impossible for me to get up from his hold. The squirming moves me down enough for my legs to get more room, unfortunately also causing my dress to ride up a bit higher. I don't dwell on it as I use this extra legroom to kick out and hit the leg of another hallway table, the leg snapping off in a second.

Looking him in the eyes, I glare hard, "Not until you're all dead,"

Then, I maneuver the broken table leg on top of my shoe, tossing my foot around until the wood flies up over his head and lands in one of my hands. Before he has a chance to react and snatch the weapon from me, I lunge it into his shoulder.

He groans and lets go of my wrists, his hands jolting to where the wooden spike is sticking from his shoulder. I push him off of me and quickly roll away before jumping to my feet. He's kneeled on the ground as he glares at me and yanks the weapon from his shoulder before letting it drop to the red and gold carpet. "That wasn't very nice, Reid,"

"You're lucky I couldn't reach your heart," I sneer.

He then gets up and lunges towards me. I quickly press myself to the wall, avoiding his running rampage and use the opportunity to run again. He's quicker this time, his hands grazing my shoulders before I can move more than an inch further. I slip out of his hold, ducking down to grab the wooden spike from the ground and raising my arm above my head.

His eyes dart to the wood, the sight of it causes his once brown eyes to flash a bright red while his white canines grow into a point. He transforms before my very eyes.

I smirk, "There he is,"

My lunge forward is powered by pure rage, the anger causing aches in my muscles as I move. Unlucky for me, he dodges the attack, leading to the wood piercing the wall of the hallway where his head was. He then grabs me in a tackle, his arms and head near my waist as he pushes from the wall and sends my back crashing into the adjacent one.

I can hear his breath in my ear from the proximity, his forearm pressed against my chest and his knee between mine. His breath isn't laboured like mine is, a perk of being a vampire.

The second he opens his mouth to speak, I push forward and break out of his hold, dropping to the ground and kicking his ankles out. His body makes a loud thud as he hits the ground. I press my boot to him and rip the wooden piece from the wall before dropping down with a knee on either side of his torso.

He must have hit his head pretty hard when I knocked him to the ground considering how his eyes squint together and the fact he doesn't fight even as I raise my arms above my head, stake clenched between my fists.

"Die, you piece of shit," I spit, ready to plunge the stake into his heart. Just as I'm about to, I hear something from the end of the hallway. A small voice, trembling as it utters a single word.

"Michaela?"

I halt my movements, turning to the end of the hallway to see my little sister standing there. Shock is visibly presented on her face and a red solo cup is in her hand. She looks older, the way she's styled herself, her hair and her makeup give the illusion of someone wiser than fifteen.

"Lei?" I almost whisper, dropping the wooden stake instantly. It lands beside his torso but I pay no mind as I push myself to a stand and walk over to the blonde. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"When you said you were going out, I assumed you'd be doing something boring, not coming here. Please don't be mad at me," She almost begs, closing her eyes. I look at the cup in her hand and snatch it from her grasp. She doesn't argue with me as I do. Instead, she lets me take it and put the rim against my nose.

"Is this beer? You're fifteen, Lei," I scold, crouching down and placing the cup on the floor. My carefulness is ironic considering the current state of this hallway thanks to the fight Thomas and I were in the middle of.

Speaking of the bloodsucker, I turn around and stand protectively in front of my sister. Thomas pushes himself to a stand, no longer affected by whatever head injury he previously had. His fast healing makes it almost impossible to fight these creatures.

I should have taken the chance when I had it.

"Is he one of them?" Leila whispers into my ear from behind. She isn't as conditioned as Alis and I, the sight of a leech is enough to have her bones shaking. At the same time, she doesn't see them as the threat that they are, only that they're scary-looking.

"You can say the word," He speaks, flashing his sharp fangs and wiping blood from his busted lip. "Vampire," He whispers in a sing-song voice.

"What the hell is going on in here?" A feminine voice rings through the hallway.

Sensing the tension, Leila grabs onto my bicep from behind and pulls in closer to me. I watch as Thomas rolls his red eyes, retracting his fangs back into his gums. I slowly turn, holding Leila between me and the wall to face the brunette girl standing behind us with her arms tightly crossed over her chest.

Yasmin Fucking Ward.

Yasmin does not look happy as she observes the damage done to her home. Instead of directing that anger to her friend, she turns to me with daggers in her eyes. "Do you plan on paying for those damages, Michaela?"

I bite my tongue, ignoring the hatred laced in her English accent. Usually, I'd have some side remake to throw back at her. But, the girl grabbing the the arm of my jacket behind me is enough of a reminder for me to de-escalate.

It's the reason why we never bring Lei to our hunts. She can't handle it. Her lack of awareness will only distract us and get us hurt. I can't protect her and myself at the same time, not against two of them.

By the way the two Vamps make eye contact, I can tell they're thinking the same unsettling thought.

"Cat got your tongue all of a sudden?" Yasmin continues, taking a step towards my sister and I, her heeled black boots making a thud through the red carpet. "C'mon, Mic. Where's that fiery spirit gone?"

"We're leaving," I murmur under my breath, holding Leila tight as I move to walk away. Before I can, a man steps out of the shadows and blocks our way.

It feels as though the air in the room gets sucked out in an instant. I can feel the walls closing in on me, the panic of knowing my defenceless sister is depending on me to save her. The man takes another step, inching closer.

Craning my neck, I keep my eyes on the man as I whisper to my sister, "On 3, drop to the ground and start moving to the exit,"

"What?-"

"Now!"

Despite her concerns, she does as I instruct and drops to the ground with her hands over her head. I then reach under the bottom of my dress to my thigh where my dagger's been all night and rip it out from the holder. In a second, I stab the weapon into his eye. He screams out in pain as I grab him by the shoulders and shove him against the wall next to me before I rip the blade out of his skull and drive it directly into his chest cavity.

His mouth falls open, his skin turning grey before cracking away until he's nothing but dust floating away in the wind.

Suddenly, I feel a tightness enclosing around my throat and my feet lifting off the ground. Before I know it, my back is being slammed against a wall. Yasmin grins at me, her red eyes full of hate and disgust.

I gasp for air, clawing at her tanned hands for any glimpse of release. She only squeezes harder. "I have had enough of you fucking hunters,"

She holds me up with a single hand which she begins to squeeze harder with a grin, the pressure sends an alert through every vein in my body. Without having time to think, I jam one arm under her bicep and the other on top of her elbow, using all my strength to push until I hear a satisfying pop.

She yelps in pain from her dislocated shoulder and drops me. The strength from my adrenaline rush must wear off quickly considering my knees hit the ground and I gasp for air. I don't have time to recover, instead reaching for my dagger on the ground all while still coughing and jam the blade into her thigh.

She groans through her teeth, her leg buckling as I rip the blade out and stand up. I mentally prepare myself for another battle against Thomas but, when I turn to the exit at the end of the hallway, nothing is there except my shaking sister.

So, I run, yanking my sister up to a stand and pulling her out of the hallway. I'm much more aggressive this time as I plough through the crowd of drunk humans, knocking a few people to their asses.

We reach the exit in record time, my hand reaching to rip the security door open just as I make eye contact with a pair of brown eyes from across the room.

Thomas stands there leisurely, smiling at me without moving a muscle as I yank the door open and disappear through it.

He doesn't come after us either as we book it down the driveway of the lavish home.

I can't help but question his decision mentally. He still has the perfect chance to stop me and even kill me. But, instead, he's nowhere to be seen. His tall frame isn't visible when I glance back at the house, meaning he doesn't intend to come after me. At least, not yet.

That's his mistake, one I will not make the next time I have a chance at him.

I run to the nearest car, bending my elbow and jamming the bone through the window. It shatters and sends an ear-piercing alarm through the night air as I unlock the doors. Leila climbs in almost faster than I do, buckling her seatbelt while I rip the cover under the steering wheel off and hot wire the car.

The car roars to life. A drunk man comes stumbling down the stairs, shouting something out to us. I ignore him, turning the car to drive and ripping out of the driveway fast enough to leave a large tyre print on the cobbled driveway.

Take that, Yasmin.

The car swerves as I barrel onto the road and speed away from the vamp headquarters. Leila is dead silent beside me as if she's too scared to even move the wrong way. I sigh deeply, attempting to calm myself before losing the battle and banging my fists against the steering wheel.

"Fuck!" I yell, stopping my attack on the wheel as I lean back in my seat. My chest heaves with the weight of the night's events, feeling how unfinished everything is. "What the hell were you doing there, Lei?"

"I was trying to have fun, I-"

"Fun? Well, I'm glad I risked my life and left Alex behind in the name of your good night. Was it just as you imagined?" I cut her off, rage filling my body like a glass under a water fountain.

"I'm sorry, Mic. I didn't know," She apologises, her words coming out muffled due to her heavy sobs.

"That's the problem. You don't know because you don't have to! Because I take that burden for you," I shout, keeping my eyes on the road and trying to stop my shaking hands from steering us off course. "This is what you do with that? Go to parties of strangers at fifteen? God, Lei, what a stupid decision to make,"

She sobs beside me, unable to respond to my harsh words. The sound causes a tightness in my chest, guilt suffocating me. But, I have to be harsh, I can't be gentle and sugar-coat this to her. If I do, she won't take me seriously and I may not be there next time. So, I continue.

"You know what's out there. The type of things that take advantage of silly drunk girls and drain their life force. These things are ruthless. Why would you ever risk coming near one unprotected?" I question, trying to wrap my head around her lack of logic and reasoning.

I sneak a glance at her only to be met with the sight of her blonde hair as she gazes away from me and out the window at the passing trees.

"They're people too, y'know,"

Her words feel like a punch to the gut. These creatures that killed our parents and create war paths of destruction and casualties simply because they can, that's what she considers to be a person? Someone incapable of feeling and rationality?

"You may be lucky enough to be shielded from their descrution but, not everyone is. Do not mistake looks for a soul because I can assure you, there is nothing human about those things," I warn, the words tasting like venom on my tongue, soiling my tastebuds.

"You only say that because it makes you feel better about killing them!" She shouts, turning from her position and looking out the window to face me, her eyes wide. "Just because some of their kind is bad, doesn't mean they all are! Humans do horrible things every day but you don't go around killing them!"

"This is different, Lei. These things are unnatural. Don't you dare talk about something you know nothing about! Just because you are too sheltered to know any better-"

"Why do I have to apologise for not ending up traumatised and miserable like you and Alis? You two push me out so much and are surprised when I don't think and act like you but what did you expect? Why do I have to feel guilty for being normal?" She almost screams, frustration cracking her voice as she does so. My hands grip the wheel so tight my knuckles turn white, a motion that causes her eyes to flick over to my hands before darting back to me.

"Because your happy little life comes at our expense and you waste it on fantasies and recklessness. If you catch you at another party or drinking underage again, I will fucking kill you, Leila. Do you understand me?" I mutter, the pure unadulterated rage weighing on my vocal cords until I'm unable to speak at anything above a lowered tone.

She huffs, turning back around in her seat with her arms crossed over her chest. "Wouldn't be your first kill, would it?"

I decide not to reply to her, shaking off her naive arguments enough for us to make it back to the driveway of our home. I swing onto the concrete with a screech, not bothering to turn the stolen car off as I eye the garage door in front of me. I readjust my hands on the steering wheel and turn my neck to crack it, ignoring Leila's curious gaze.

"Get out," I demand.

"Aren't you coming inside?" She asked, glancing between me and the red door of our house.

"No," Is the only reply I offer her.

I have to go back and get Alex. He has no idea what's waiting for him at that party, what hopefully hasn't gotten to him yet. But, he would never leave me if the roles were reversed. Not in a million years

Leila sighs and grabs the door handle, pushing it open just as headlights brighten the interior of the car. I glance into the rearview just as the lights cut off, my sisters' green eyes staring back at mine through the windshield.

I groan and drop my head back against the headrest, immediately switching the car off. God, everything that could possibly go wrong tonight has and the big mouldy cherry on top is my sister's shitty attitude and even shittier lecture I'm sure she has prepared.

Ready to face the music, I climb out of the stolen car, the leftover shards of the smashed window scraping the backs of my thighs. I pay no mind to it as I close the silver door behind me, watching as my sister exits her vehicle.

"What the hell is going on here?"