The moonlight shines through my window, hitting the skin of my palm as I hold it above my face. My bed keeps me warm, soothing my goosebumps. The cut across my palm doesn't look as red or angry as it did when I first sliced the skin, but, for some reason, I can't stop staring at the small mark.

    Further down the same arm, another mark sits on my skin. This mark looks nastier than the one on my palm, possibly due to the small doses of venom Vampire fangs secrete into the body when feeding. The venom isn't dangerous, it just clears the blood of anything that could be harmful to Vampires. Sure, I could take some of Thomas's blood and heal myself in an instant. But, I've challenged my beliefs enough in a short period of time.

    Something was different about Thomas in that bathroom. I can't get his face out of my head, the way he looked as I dripped my blood into his mouth or the way he turned me away for my benefit over his. 

    I wish they could all just tell me what's going on but, whoever's doing this has made sure their secret can't get out. 

    Something Thomas said rings through my head, the way he repeated certain phrases over and over again.

    "Why did you become a hunter?"

    "Forget about the fledglings,"

    The way he stresses the phrases each time nags at the corner of my brain. It has to be a clue, he wouldn't put emphasis on them for no reason. Thomas is many things, stupid isn't one of them. He wants me to put the pieces together.

    Forget about the fledglings.

    Why would I forget about the fledglings? There are so many of them constantly being turned that to me, they seem like the most prevalent issue. 

    But, what if that's the point? To make Hunters like me believe the issue is the growing fledgling population, to divert our eyes from something deeper and more sinister below.

    My eyes widen, my body jolting up from the bed until I'm sitting up straight, my heart pounding. 

    The fledglings are a distraction. That's what Thomas has been trying to tell me since that night we found Alex.

    Jumping up from my bed, I fling the covers off my body and jump to a stand. I quickly throw on the long-sleeved black shirt and black skirt lying on the chair in my room, making sure to cover the bite mark on my wrist as I shove my shoes on. Before exiting my room, I make sure to shove my dagger into my thigh holder and a backup weapon into my shoe. 

    I know I told Thomas I wasn't going to go to that party, but, I never promised anything.

    "Leila! I'm going out-" I cut myself off as I push her bedroom door open, no sign of Leila. Her shoes and phone are missing from the room, telling me she's safe and just snuck out. I sigh, glancing at her desk to see her laptop unlocked on her text messages. 

    Unable to resist, I step into the dark room, my face slowly becoming illuminated by the glow of the device. As I get closer, I notice a series of emojis on the screen, most of them hearts or kisses. I furrow my eyebrows, confused until I get closer and can make out some of the messages.

    'I can't wait to see you tonight x'

    'I wish we didn't have to be a secret'

    Gross things like that mostly coming from my sisters' side of the conversation. 

    "What the hell?" I ask out loud, reaching for the mousepad and scrolling through her messages to try and find out where she's going. Not much further up, I see an address on the screen sent by Leila's secret boyfriend. I pull my phone out, trying the address into maps only for my gut to sink.

    Yasmin's house.

    I slam the laptop shut, tucking my phone into my back pocket and bolting downstairs. Alis sits in the kitchen, reading her book as she sips on her coffee. She looks up from the yellowed pages of her imagination, making eye contact with me.

    "What's going on?" She asks, immediately recognising the distress on my face. 

    "Leila's gone. I checked her messages and she's in the middle of a Vamp party," I spew out the words. She almost immediately drops her book to the table, discarding her still-hot coffee as she shoves her shoes on and grabs her keys from the door. 

    She doesn't say a word as she piles into her car, allowing me to close the passenger door behind me before she zooms off down the street. I glance at her face a few times, so similar to mine yet so different. Her expression is hard as stone as she floors it down the road. 

    I feel my heart belting in my chest, worry swirling itself around the organ and squeezing. 

    With the help of my directions, we make it to the house within seconds. Alis barely puts the car in park before she steps out of the vehicle. I kick the door open, jumping out and running towards the house without bothering to shut the door behind me. Alis doesn't mind, running beside me until we make it to the front door. She makes eye contact with me, signalling that she's taking the outside of the lavish mansion while I take the inside.

    I nod, wasting no time as I push the front door open and step through the threshold. The music hits my ears, sending me back to the night I first entered with Alex, the night before everything changed. 

    Shoving through the bodies, I stop to turn every drunk blonde girl around, none of them my sister. By the eleventh girl I turn around, I start to get annoyed. By this point, I've cleared the main dance floor and am closer to the hallway from last time. Something in me pulls me towards the hallway. I never found out what was down there.

    So, I make my way towards the eerily quiet hallway. This time, no one stops me at the entrance. I pull the dagger from my thigh, holding it up in front of me as I push down the hallway slowly.

    I approach the first door, preparing myself before I turn the knob and shove it open. The room is dark and empty, with no sign of anyone or anything. I move from the room to the next nearest door. 

     Without thinking, I turn the knob of the door and push it open, my dagger in front of me ready to attack. To my surprise, the sight that greets me is anything but danger. A girl sits on a wooden vanity, her head turned to the side away from me as a male stands in between her knees, his head buried in the crook of her neck.           

    My entrance must alert the couple to a new presence, both of them pulling apart and turning to me. The first thing I notice is blood dripping down the girl's neck, her skin slightly pale and her body weak. The sight causes my stomach to tighten, reminding me of myself from the other night.

    The male lifts his head, turning to make eye contact with me as blood drips down from his lips. The red eyes that stare back at me are familiar and foreign all at once.

    Thomas.

    "Reid?" He questions, his fangs retracting as he stares at me with rage swirling in his eyes. "What the hell are you doing here?"

    "I was about to ask you the same thing," I grit through my teeth, walking over to him and pushing him aside, my dagger still clutched in my hand. I turn to the girl, ready to help her down and lead her away. The first thing that catches my eye is her flashy gold necklace, her name spelled out in gold.

     Mikayla.

    "What did you do?" I snap, turning around to Thomas with rage boiling my skin. The sight of the blood on his face makes me sick, my body acts as a guard between him and the girl.

    "It's not what you think," He says, lifting his wrist up to wipe the blood from his mouth.

    "Not what I think?" I gape, moving my arm back to gesture to the girl, "She's almost dead!"

    "No, she's not," Thomas replies in a monotone voice, sounding annoyed with me, "This may be one of the useless details you don't learn in Hunter school but, drinking consensually from the neck feels... y'know,"

    "Feels what?" I snap, turning to help the girl down from the vanity as she slowly comes back to life. 

    "Good," Thomas says from behind me. I freeze, watching as the girl blinks back to consciousness, smiling at Thomas like a lovesick puppy. He appears beside me, holding intense eye contact with the girl as he speaks, "Go back to the party, forget this ever happened and continue like normal," 

    The girl, Mikayla, turns and walks out of the room without a word, almost like a robot. She shuts the door behind her, disconnecting my view from her.

    Almost as soon as the door closes, Thomas moves so he's in my direct line of view. I look up at him and scoff, shaking my head and putting my dagger down on the vanity beside me. "You're a piece of fucking work,"

    "Really? What you walked in on is no different than-"

    "It's a lot different! You fed from her and compelled her to forget!" I snap, not wanting to hear his lame excuses. The gold necklace flashes in my mind, tugging on it, "She has the same name as me, Thomas! Is that why you only took a few drops from me? Saving your appetite for someone that will sleep with you while you drink?"

    "Why do you care so much, huh?" He asks, tilting his head as he studies me with annoyance clearly plastered on his face. "Did you come all the way down here just to scold me for doing what you know I have to do?"

    "Oh, get over yourself," I scoff, crossing my arms over my chest, "Y'know you pretend to be so different and ethical but, truth is, you're just like the rest of your fucking kind,"

    "You know who I am! What I am!" He yells, throwing his arms out in frustration. "I haven't hidden that from you in the slightest,"

    "You chose someone with my name!" I yell back, unfolding my arms and pressing them against his chest to shove him back. He barely stumbles, leading to me only getting closer to him as he grabs my wrist, holding me in place. 

    "You don't get to pick and choose when you want to accept what I am, Reid. I didn't realise she had the same name as you but, If I don't drink I die," He reminds me, his grip firm around my wrists. "Why does it bother you so much that she has the same name as you?"

    "It bothers me that you drank the colour from her skin," I say, ripping my wrists out from his grip and stepping back, "You didn't have to take so much from her,"

    "You have no idea what it's like," He laughs bitterly.

    "Spare me the boo hoo sob story, I have things to do," I roll my eyes, shoving past him towards the door

    "Says the one who uses their parent's death as a guideline for how they live their life," He mutters from behind me.

    My body freezes inches away from the door, his words sending a cold chill down my spine. I spin around, facing him and the anger in his face. Silently, I take a few steps towards him until I'm right in front of him. 

    "Is that so?" I laugh, a fake smile plastered on my face. His face looks more pale than usual, almost as if he regrets saying the words. I drop my smile, that old hatred for him resurfacing until I see him the same way I did before, "At least my Father didn't kill me but, hey, you're clearly burying your sorrows in anyone that bares a similarity to me so, godspeed,"

    With that, I turn my back to him and storm out of the room, ignoring how he calls my name after me. 

    Anger boils over me, my rage spinning in different directions. Anger towards Thomas and his words, anger at Leila for coming here in the first place, and even anger at Thomas for distracting me from looking for her. 

    Truth is, I don't know why I'm so surprised by what I stumbled in on. Thomas is right in the sense that I've known what he is from the beginning, so why should I care if he sucks some girl dry, it's well within the expected behaviour for someone of his species.

    I guess, some small part of me expects him to be different somehow. 

    I also can't help the way my parents' voice drifts into my head. Their rules and routines that I once ignored led to a life-changing event. I let them down then by not taking hunting seriously, when I see Thomas in full Vampire mode, a part of me feels like I'm letting them down once more.

    Too deep in my thoughts, I don't notice someone in front of me until I hit their shoulder hard, turning around to see someone out of the ordinary. A man smiles at me, his beard littered with grey hairs, matching the short hair on his head.

    What the fuck is this old man doing at a party?

    "Penny for your thoughts?" He asks sarcastically, something sinister about his tone of voice. An uneasy sensation comes over me, something inside me telling me to get the fuck out.

    "I think I'm getting a phone call!" I yell over the music, giving him a sarcastic smile as I turn and begin to walk off.

    "I don't hear a phone ringing, Michaela," He says. The use of my name stops me in my tracks once more. I turn, meeting the evil smirk on his face as he looks over my rigid posture. "You shouldn't lie to people,"

    "You probably shouldn't be here, old man. Guess we're both doing things we shouldn't be doing," I snap, the annoyance in me from Thomas still fresh. 

    He laughs loudly, something I said tickling his funny bone just right, "I see why Tommy likes you so much,"

    Furrowing my eyebrows, I look over his face. Features of his face tug a familiarity in me, specifically his deep brown eyes. I look down, my eyes coming in contact with his bruised knuckles and a funky ring on one finger. The ring is raised with swirling patterns on it, the same pattern I found stamped into the skin of Thomas's abdomen as I cleaned him up.

    "Lance?" I say out loud, looking up to meet his uncanny eyes, 

    "Ah," He sounds, smiling even wider, "You've heard of me,"

    His eyes drift down to my neck, focusing on the area where my multiple necklaces fall in a jumble. I don't need to ask which one he's looking at to know the answer. He's staring at the red one with fire blazing in his eyes, showing me he knows what it is. The necklace all hunters wear proudly like a family crest, the one containing the blood of their first kill.

    "Sure have!" I fake encouragement, pressing my lips into a line as I look over him. I don't acknowledge the necklace brushing against my skin, the one that distracts him enough that his smirk drops for a second. At my words, he looks back up at me with a cocky grin, one that reminds me of Thomas, "Bye now!"

    "I sure hope you find your sister!" He calls after me.

    I ignore him, holding my arms closer to myself as I walk faster in the direction of the kitchen.