The voices around me seem to blur even as the wind stops rushing around my ears. I bite my tongue hard enough to taste blood, my head falling back as I try desperately to keep my screams of agony in. 

     I hear the sound of a door being kicked open, and shouted words blending together as we enter a warmer environment. 

    "Dad!" I hear a voice I recognise as Thomas.

    Dad?

    The word makes my stomach twist for a number of reasons. His Dad must be within proximity for Thomas to be calling for him and the title stirs something like guilt and dread in my stomach, the note in my pocket weighing me down. 

    "What the hell is going on?" I hear the gruff voice of Lance. "You having a party?"

    "Does it look like it?" Thomas snaps. I open my eyes ever so slightly and through the blur, I can make out Thomas's face as his shaky hands hold me. "I need help. Vamp Venom,"

    "That's not my problem-"

    "I never ask you for a thing! I don't know what to do, just, please do the right thing. I know what side you're really on. Time to prove it," Thomas pleads, anger and desperation clear in his voice. 

    I look up at the ceiling, the carvings reminding me of an old castle. The lavishness means I could only be in one place. 

    "Alright. Get her on the table," Lance huffs.

    "Get me... the fuck... out of this house," I demand through clenched teeth, squirming in Thomas's hold in an attempt to leave his house. My words come out weak and broken and fall on deaf ears. "Thomas,"

    "Just, shut up. Don't be stubborn," His reply is harsh and firm. Before I can say anything to protest, a particularly harsh needle of pain rips through my body. I scream at the sensation, the sound of objects clattering hitting my ears as I feel myself being lowered onto a cold surface. 

      I feel Lance's presence at my aide, his fingers brushing my hair aside to better look at my wound. I feel too weak to resist his proximity or give him a well-earned kick. 

    "It's going to hurt at first but, it needs to be sucked out of her system," Lance informs, flashing his fangs in an instant.

    Thomas reaches his hand out, pushing his Father back, "Back the fuck up. You're not touching her,"

   I watch through my blurred vision as Lance stares at his son, tilting his head with a sick smile. Just when I think he's going to say or do something in mocking, he doesn't, "Then, be my guest,"

    I can tell Thomas hesitates by his lack of movement. His hands, still at my side, freeze and fall still. He opens his mouth to talk, but only stammers come out.

    "Hurry up, boy. The longer you wait, the further it spreads and the harder it'll be," Lance demands, his tone firm. 

    "Fuck," I hear Thomas whisper. I feel his hands leave me, his body moving to the other side of me where my venom-laced wound sits. I scream, feeling his fingers gently touch the wound.

    "Hold her down," I hear Lance instruct before multiple pairs of hands hold my legs and arms down flat on the tale. 

    Thomas's breath hits my neck as I thrash around in everyone's hold, my skin on fire more and more by the second. I can tell he's hesitating, scared to get close to me like that again. 

    Within seconds, he latches his lips onto my neck, his fangs sinking into the pre-cut holes.

    A scream unlike any rips through me, agony causing my toes and fingers to flex. "Thomas, stop! Stop, it hurts!"

    He rips his head back from me, the intense pain subsiding for a moment before the acidic feeling returns. 

    "I can't. I can't do it," I hear Thomas gulp, his body moving back from me the longer I squirm. He spits the infected blood from his mouth and into a bucket on the floor. "Someone else has to do it. I can't,"

    "What the fuck are you talking about? You have great control," Levi hisses, his hands securely on my right thigh, holding it down.

    "Thomas, now isn't the time," Yasmin warms him, clearly through gritted teeth.

    "Yaz, I can't," He defends, clearly torn about his decision. 

     "Will someone get this fucking venom out of me!" I yell, still squirming on the table underneath everyone's hold. Yes, hypocritical to say when I was just begging him to stop but, the pain coursing through my veins is a good excuse for me to not care.

    "I'll do it, for fuck sake," I hear Alex, his hands leaving my leg as someone else's replace them. 

    "If Thomas can't stop, neither can you," Yasmin objects. 

    "Yaz, it's clearly not the blood that Tommy can't handle," Alex states the obvious, his tone rushed and filled with annoyance. "It's about hurting her, which I can do. She's my best friend, I'll stop,"

    "Touching sentiment, really. But, can someone just suck the venom out already? I'd love my house back," Lance snaps from somewhere above my head, his hands firmly holding my forearms down. 

    "Forgive me, Mic," Alex whispers before sinking his teeth into me and drawing venom from my mouth. 

    I scream, my body thrashing even harder around despite the firm Vampire hold pining me down, "Alex!"

    He ignores me, my cries of pain not affecting him as he pulls back only to spit a mouthful of infected blood out. He immediately dives back in, drawing as much venom in one mouthful as possible. 

    "Almost done," Lance hums. I glance upwards, seeing how intently he's watching Alex's work. 

    Lance notices my stare, looking down at me with uninterest.

    "Once this is done, you're fucking dead," I snarl through gritted teeth, my back arching off of the table from pain despite it slowly getting easier. 

    "Spare me," He rolls his eyes. He looks down at my blood-soaked chin, the red liquid clearly staining my teeth as well. A smile spreads across his face, one of slight pride, "Each time I see you, you look more and more Vampuric," 

    "Bite me," I spit in his face, the blood spatting tiny droplets over his face. He doesn't even flinch, his smile only widening. 

    "Hold still," He grins, moving one hand to my head and pressing my skull down on the table, keeping me from moving it.

    "Dad," I hear Thomas warn lowly. I glance around, finding Thomas standing on my left with his hands on my hips, keeping me flat against the surface. 

    Lance sighs before moving his hand from my head, his hand back in its place near my elbow. 

    "That should be enough," Lance announces. Alex pulls back, spitting a mouthful of blood into the bucket. 

    Everyone's hands leave my body but I remain flat on the surface, my chest huffing. Slowly, I grab the edge of the table and pull myself to the side, leaning my head over the table just to cough out blood into the bucket below. My blood looks almost pitch black in the bucket, bubbling with hints of green mixed throughout it. The venom. 

    The thought of the venom causes bile to rise in my throat, vomit spilling from my mouth and mixing with the blood resembling black tar. 

    "There it goes," Lance voices, Leila jumping to my side as she holds my hair back from my face. 

    I spit the remnants from my mouth, slowly pushing myself up on my elbows to glare at Lance. I lift one arm, swiping my wrist over my mouth, "Leila, get the fuck out of here,"

    "Mic, it's okay-"

    "It is not okay," I snap, pushing myself up to sit and hanging my legs over the side of the table. I reach down for my boot, feeling nothing but emptiness and my ankle.

    "Looking for this?" Lance mocks, holding my dagger up with a twirl, "How stupid do you think I am?"

    "Michaela, pick your battles," Yasmin's attempt at advice hits my ears. I don't so much as look at her, my eyes stuck on Lance as my feet hit the kitchen floor.

   Just as I thought about letting it go for now, another person enters the kitchen.

   Zeke stops in his tracks when he sees us all in the kitchen, everyone's eyes trained on him, including Leila.

   Leila looks like a kicked puppy as she stares at the man she thinks she loves, her brows furrowed and face fallen.

   The look on her face is all it takes for me to launch, pushing past Lance and snatching a knife from the bench on my way. Before I can reach Zeke, I feel someone grab me and throw the knife away from me.

   I'm like a wild animal as Thomas holds my hands behind my back, pressing my front firmly against the wall and pushing his knee between mine. I can't escape his hold no matter how much I rip around like a bag in the wind.

   "Michaela, not right now!" Thomas warns, "You need to chill out,"

    "Get the fuck away from me, you asshole!" I yell, every attempt to escape his hold resulting in me being pressed harder against the wall. "Too scared to hurt me? What a fucking joke, Thomas. You and I both know it,"

    "Don't start, Reid. I'm trying to help you," He responds coldly, his use of my last name sending a chill down my spine. He sounds just like the old him. 

    "Thomas, take her upstairs, please," I hear Lance's bored but slightly amused voice. 

    Thomas sighs, pulling me back from the wall while still holding my wrists behind my back.

    "Daddy's good little soldier, huh?" I laugh almost uncontrollably in anger, my body jolting as he drags me away from the kitchen, "You're so fucking weak,"

    "Just until you calm down. You're still full of adrenaline," He tries to reason with me.

   "Fuck you!" I yell, making it as hard as possible for him to move me. Just as we approach the stairs, I turn to the group and yell, "If he goes anywhere near Leila, I swear to god everyone in this house will-"

   My voice is cut off as Thomas transfers my wrists to one hand, lifting his now free hand to clamp over my mouth. 

    "Zeke," Thomas calls his brother's name, his head nodding to the door behind us as we climb the stairs. Zeke rolls his eyes before disappearing in a flash, his lack of presence only slightly calming my anger. 

     Thomas pushes me further upstairs, leading me down a hallway as I thrash against his hold. I sound even more like a rabid animal as he pushes me inside his room and shuts the door behind me, sealing himself on the other side.

    I immediately run to the door, banging my fists against it in a rage, "Let me out, Thomas!"

    "I can't let you do what you want to do, Reid," He says softly from the other side. I bang my fists hard against the wood and the reappearance of my last name. 

    "I'm just Reid to you again?" I yell, resting my fists on the carved door, my chest rising and falling rapidly, "God, all this because I kissed you? You're so fucking sensitive,"

    "That's got nothing to do with it," He dead-pans, his tone firm.

     "You're such a fucking liar!" I yell once more, hitting the door hard towards the end. "All you've done is lie to me,"

     "I haven't lied to you, Michaela. You know that," He sighs, a small thump sounds on the other side of the door as if he's resting his head against it. 

    "I don't know anything! You won't even try and show me a hint," I remind, my hands still resting on the door, "The compulsion is such a cop-out. You like the control, you always have. I can only know things if you decide you want me to, I can't become a vampire unless you want me to and you never will. Because, deep down, you like that I'm some pathetic little human that you like to pretend you're caring for, it reminds you of the humanity you will never fucking have ever again," 

    The door swings open, my fists falling down by my side as Thomas glares me down. The stare heats my skin, my feet subconsciously stepping back as he enters the room and slams the door shut behind him. I clench my jaw, refusing to show any signs of fear.

    "The last thing I have wanted is to control you. It's not my fault you make stupid fucking decisions that you have no idea of the consequences," He snaps, his back brushing the door, his chest almost brushing mine. 

     "Oh yeah? Decisions like what?" I tilt my head slightly in mockery, "We both know what decision you're really upset about. Why don't you man up and deal with it?"

     "You think you have such a big effect on me, it's hilarious," He grins, laughing lowly without humour. "I've kissed girls before, don't think so highly of yourself,"

    "Girls with my name or was that just the one time?" I cross my arms over my chest, a slight grin overcoming my face at the way his face drops, "You're gonna tell me that wasn't projection?"

    "And what was Levi? Just heat of the moment?" He squints, returning the same energy.

    "There it is," I laugh bitterly, throwing one arm up to gesture to him.

    "There's what?" He asks with a sigh.

    "You're not mad that I kissed you, you're mad I kissed Levi," I laugh again, fake pouting as I tilt my head and size him up, "That wasn't projection, Tommy. Maybe I just really, really-" with each really, I take a step closer to him, "really wanted him,"

    He looks down at me, a smug grin overcoming his face. The expression confuses me but I don't let it show on my face, "Is that so?"

    "Mhmm," I hum with a smile on my face.

    "Then why did you say my name? " he asks, squinting slightly but not letting his smile falter.  "Alex's walls are very thin, Michaela," 

    "You're so cocky over a simple mistake," I scoff, crossing my arms over my chest and turning my back to him. I turn back around, the fire inside me re-igniting, "If we're talking about projection, let's talk about why you didn't let me become a Vampire,"

    "Here we go. Please, tell me your stupid theory," He rolls his eyes, leaning back against the doorway and crossing his arms over his chest.

     "You don't want me to become a Vampire because you never wanted to become a Vampire. You're clinging onto my humanity as a way to cling to yours. News flash, that was gone the day you ended someone's life for your own insatiable hunger like all you leeches do. You can't help but take just to satisfy yourselves," I snap, the hatred towards his kind building in me until it reaches a tipping point.

    His face softens, millions of thoughts dancing behind his eyes, "Maybe you're right. But, if I were you, I'd keep my voice down. Leila might hear you and I'd hate for her to find out that's how you really think of her," 

    "Don't you fucking talk about her when you're defending the people who killed her!" I shout, shoving him hard enough for his body to press flat against the door. 

    "Killed her? She's still here, Michaela. They turned her-"

    "They killed her," I correct, seething as my hands grasp his t-shirt and keep him pressed against the door.

    He stares down at me for a beat, his eyes unblinking, "Work on your poker face, Michaela. Eventually, Leila is gonna see how you're avenging her death rather than her betrayal," 

    "You think I can help it? I was raised this way," I reply, pushing him and letting go of his shirt, "You used to be understanding of that,"

    "Not when you use it as an excuse. Leila didn't choose this, she was forced into it. Before anything else, she's your sister-"

    "Don't lecture me about family, Thomas. You of all people," I laugh bitterly, turning on my heels. I spy a picture frame on the bedside table, blurry figures in the photo as I race for the frame and hold it up, not bothering to look at the picture. "This is your family, Thomas. This pathetic ass, murdering, psychotic family,"

    With that, I throw the frame at the floor with all my might, glass shattering around my feet as the photo sprawls across the floor. Embarrassment heats my cheeks, feeling instant regret for behaving in such a way.

    Thomas's wide eyes follow the frame before lifting up to meet mine, "This isn't my room, Michaela. Levi lives here too,"

     My brows furrow, and my eyes search the environment around me. This room is different from the one I snuck into that night; photos of Levi with other people scattered around the room only prove it.

    "Shit," I whisper, dropping to my knees instantly to pick up shards of glass and drop them into my palm. A bubble rises in my throat, blocking the airway as I hold back emotion, "I shouldn't have done that, it was too far,"

    "Is that your way of apologising?" Thomas asks, his voice gentler as he drops to his knees across from me, picking up his own shards of glass. 

   I don't answer, clenching my jaw tightly to ground myself. He holds his palms out, waiting for me to dump my pile of glass into his hands. I do, picking the frame up and placing it onto the bedside table I snatched it from. 

    Thomas moves to the bin, dumping the glass inside as my fingers brush the edges of the photo. I pick it up slowly, holding it gently as I observe the photo of Levi when he was younger, grinning with missing teeth as he holds onto a blonde woman beside him.

    That must be his Mother. Estelle.

    Guilt nips into my gut so hard I'm surprised I don't start leaking stomach acid through my nose. 

    My fingers get caught on something on the back of the photo, going underneath what seems to be a fold in the picture. I furrow my eyebrows, turning the object to the side as I unfold the paper.

    The rest of the photo becomes clear. Another member of the family stands next to Levi's Mother, with an authoritative grasp on her.

    My stomach tightens, bile rising inside of me as I stare into the eyes of the hidden man.

    I could never forget that face.