After what feels like hours of sitting and staring at Alis, I push myself up to a stand. I drag my eyes away from her, bending to pick the daggers up from the ground and hold them tightly in my grip. 

    The door kicks open and Thomas appears in front of me in a matter of seconds. Alex stands beside him, looking down at my unconscious sister. 

     "I think I broke her ribs," I mutter numbly, putting the daggers down on the dining table beside me. 

    "I got it," Alex responds, crouching down beside Alis and biting into his wrist before dropping his blood into her mouth. 

    Watching the pair, I turn and push myself up onto the dining table, blood from my palm transferring to the surface. 

    "Shit, your arm," Thomas motions to the broken skin. He immediately lifts his wrist to his mouth, allowing his fangs to appear before I reach forward and stop him. 

    "No, I don't want any more of that," I shake my head, gesturing over to the cabinet above the stove, "There's a first aid kit in there, get it for me?"

    He nods, grabbing the box and handing it to me in an instant. He watches me like a hawk as I open the box and take out the supplies I need. "Need any help with that?"

    "No," I reply coldly, opening the bottle of cleaning solution and pouring it over my wound. I bite the inside of my cheek, holding in the sounds of pain. 

    "You're seriously going to give yourself stitches?" He laughs without the humour, an obvious attempt to lighten the mood.

    "Of course, she will. Never seen someone so stubborn," Alex joins in, pulling a chair up beside me before taking a needle and thread from the container. He looks up at me, ignoring my look of disagreement, "Just gotta push her a little,"

    "Are you sure you should be around this much blood?" I ask, looking down at him as he finishes wiping the blood from my arm. 

    "Yeah, I'm sure. If not, G.I Joe will sort me out, isn't that right, Tommy?" He sends a cheeky grin Thomas's way, only smiling wider as Thomas rolls his eyes. Alex turns back to my damaged skin, holding the needle up to my arm, "Stay still,"

    The second the needle penetrates my flesh, my free hand reaches out in a jerk movement to grab onto and squeeze Tommy's hand. He doesn't react as I squeeze his limb so hard I'm sure he's bruising, only watching my stitches carefully. 

    "Someone compelled her," I speak into the silence, distracting myself from the pain despite it's familiar nature. "Her eyes were clouded and she just... sat there in the dark until she saw me,"

    "Shit," Thomas whispered to himself. I turn to him with furrowed eyebrows as Alex finishes mending my arm, wondering what he knows. Thomas looks up at me, his face more pale than usual, "If she's been compelled to kill you she won't stop until... well, until she does,"

    "Great," I grit my teeth together, pushing myself off of the table to look at my sister as she stirs. "Maybe we should restrain her then," 

    The boys nod in agreement, all three of us working together to tie her to one of the kitchen chairs. I stand back, staring down at my sister as she slowly begins to wake up. A part of me feels guilty because of how much I want to untie her and let her attack me, so I can defend myself and channel all the anger I feel into hurting her as much as she's hurt me. 

    I don't trust Tommy's family, not by a long shot. But, I don't trust much of mine either. No one feels innocent. 

    "I think she's been compelled for a long time," I whisper, more to myself. The two boys turn to me, each of them with a look of sympathy on their face. I glance at Thomas, flicking my eyes back down. I hate the anger I feel towards him. It's unjust, he can't help that he has to keep things from me. But, a part of me wishes he could just give me a sign somehow to not trust certain people. "I went to your house,"

    "I know," He responds. My eyes shoot back to his, searching his calm face for a sign. How could he know? And why does he seem so calm? "I knew you were going there, I also know you're a damn good hunter. You don't need me to shadow you, not when you're that determined. Plus, there are cameras all over that house, if you lost that fight, I'd be there,"

   My eyes feel glued to his face, something in the way I see him shifting. I always thought he offered to shadow me because he saw me as weak, but maybe, the offer was only ever to let me know I didn't have to be strong 100% of the time, to let me lower my guard around the people I love. 

    "I know how hard it must be to see your loved ones become something you've hated your whole life. You would never adjust if you were on high alert every second," He smiles sadly, almost as if he's reading my mind and confirming every thought. 

    I clear my throat, feeling like my layers are stripped away under his gaze and hating how cold it makes me feel. I quickly nod at him and advert my eyes, saying a silent thank you without making myself feel any more bare. Turning to Alex, I ask the dreadful question, "What do you remember about the night you died?"

    "Not much," He sighs, shoving his hands into his pocket and staring at Alis, his body shrinking into itself as if it's remembering the last time it saw the woman tied up. "I remember being in a purple room, drunk. I think I heard someone come in and hid from them. Next thing I know I'm pulled out of the dark and feel a pain in my stomach. When I looked up, I saw... her,"

    Thinking back to it, Alis was missing the night of the party and didn't come back till after me. That gave her plenty of time to be there and kill Alex. I just can't think of any reason why she would. 

     "Who turned you? It couldn't have been Alis, she's not a Vampire," I question, looking at the red blood over her skin, blood that would be black if she were a Vampire. There's no possibility of her being one.

    "That, I can tell you," Tommy's voice breaks the air. Both of us turn to him as he looks between us, his eyes settling on Alex as he reveals the name, "Yasmin did,"

    "Yaz?" Alex repeats in shock.

    "Why would she do that?" I ask, remembering how she tried to kill me that same night. 

    "Yasmin is... complicated. I don't know her exact reasons but, I know she marked him," He nods towards Alex's hand where a faded pink mark still sits on his skin. 

     "You told me you chose Alex for a reason and now you're telling me Yasmin only turned him for an unknown reason? Why the change?" I ask, thinking back to the night Alex turned and Thomas told me 'it had to be him'.

    "I couldn't really tell you the real reason," Thomas laughs bitterly, gesturing to my still-unconscious sister beside us, "Besides, it was easier if you were too angry at us to kill Alex. If you were mad at us, your mind wasn't focused enough. I knew you wouldn't kill him but, it was just a precaution,"

    "Were you really thinking of killing me?" Alex whispers, gulping at the thought. I turn over my shoulder, shaking my head in response. Alex was the beginning of the end for me, once I broke the code by letting him live, I slowly drifted away from being a hunter. 

    "Your Dad mentioned something about where Alis went after Leila died. Do you know where?" I ask Thomas, trying to remember key points of my conversation with his scum family. 

    "Yes," Thomas responds, his demeanour serious and still, "But, I can't tell you,"

    "Is it bad? Where she went?" I ask quietly, feeling a sickness fester in my stomach at the idea of my sister's betrayal, forced or not. It makes me wonder how long she was truly under someone else's spell. Thomas looks away from me, only making the nausea worse. He can't bear to look at me. I follow his gaze, waiting desperately for a response.

    "Yes," His one-word answer feels like a punch to the gut. 

    "There has to be a way to... reverse the compulsion," Alex stammers for the right words, my line of vision turning to him as he studies my sister. "We can't kill her and we can't just let her kill Michaela,"

    "The only way to stop this kind of compulsion is... not an option," Thomas informs, stepping close to my sister as she stirs more frequently. 

    "What do you mean 'not an option'? What is it?" I ask, following his movements and grabbing his shoulder to force him to face me. He shakes his head, looking away from me once more.

    "If I tell you, I won't be able to talk you out of it," He refuses, shaking his head against the mental torture of the information. His vagueness only raises my curiosity, my hands squeezing his biceps to try and stop him from turning away from me.

    "Don't make decisions for me. Tell me what it is," I plead, watching the way his jaw clicks as he stares down at me. I know my words only cause more conflict, a part of him wanting to allow me to make a choice while another part wants to keep the secret, "Tommy. Tell me,"

    He breathes in deeply, looking up and rolling his shoulders before turning back to me, "Your heart would have to stop,"

    The organ in question skips a beat, my hands falling from his body as I look away from his face. That can't be the only way, after everything, the answer can't be to either turn myself into a Vampire or Die. 

    "Is that the only way? My heart stopping?" I ask quietly, Thomas nodding his head in confirmation. 

    "What if we stopped my heart and brought me back?"

    "Mic..." Alex trails off, stepping beside me with a sad look on his face, "It's a lot safer for you to turn,"

    "No," I shake my head, refusing to accept the cards I've been dealt. "I don't care if it's safer, I don't want to-- I can't become one of you, not willingly," 

    Thomas and Alex look at each other, their facial expression conveying millions of arguments of words between the two of them.

    "It's not safe," Alex protests verbally.

    "It's what she wants," Thomas argues, finally turning back to me with a stern look on his face, "But, if shit goes south and it looks like we can't bring you back in time, I'm turning you. You have to promise to be ok with that,"

   "I'll live with it if I have to," I agree, turning to Alex who chews the skin of his lip in uncertainty. 

    "If that's what you want, then, I'm not going to stop you," Alex finally nods in agreement. 

   Letting go of a breath I'm holding in, I finally turn to my sister, the nerves of what's about to happen hitting me at once. But, I'd rather die than have to kill the woman who raised me while drowning in grief. Despite all the rage I feel towards her at this moment, I know it will pass. She's been compelled, and I have to hope the Alis I grew up with is still in there. 

    "Let's do it then,"