Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It didn’t happen often when the leader of a pack of werewolves was murdered. Jaren spent time standing outside of the white rundown house, holding a cup of coffee in his hand, while the other held his phone that was pressed against his ear. He was called in about nine-thirty when he was about ready to head to bed. The news of what happened was spreading quick, and Jaren had to be at the scene to understand the complete impact of what was about to occur. 

“It’s a mess,” Jaren said into the phone. “The place will be cleaned up in the next twenty minutes once Charon gets here.”

“And what about the wolves?” his friend, Evan, asked. 

Jaren sighed. This was so incredibly messy that he couldn’t believe that it came to this. In all his lifetime, he had never seen this happen before, and he was assigned to it when he should’ve slept. “I’m not sure, they’ll want to confirm the body before it’s examined.”

“His scent might help with who did this.”

Jaren took a sip of his cold coffee, and grimaced, before turning away from the flashing red and blue lights. “This is complete bullshit. Who would do this? William wasn’t a threat to anyone, he was a fair leader, rarely making trouble.” Although, he didn’t keep tabs on what was going on within the city, so his own opinion hardly mattered.

“Right now, there’s only speculation, and maybe in a few hours, we’ll figure that out.”

He didn’t exactly have a few hours. William’s second in command, Randall Carson, will take up the mantle as leader of The Grey Clan. There will be a dispute about it amongst them, and if anything, they will also want retribution and justice for the death of William Grey.

“I’ll have to speak to Randall about this,” Jaren said, not liking the idea. He rarely associated himself with werewolves, but since William is now dead, there was no choice except figure out who had killed their Alpha. He already checked out the body, and William did not die the way werewolves usually go out. Something else had attacked him, and he was getting the feeling that once the wolves learn of this, their own accusations will make trouble for the other clans in the city.

Evan chuckled. “At least he’s not as aggressive as the others.”

“No, I guess he and William had that in common.” Jaren sighed as he walked away from the house. “I’ll phone you later.”

“Alright, have fun.”

Jaren rolled his eyes and hung up the phone. He was two blocks away when Charon’s white vans drove past him. 

He called Orion and gave them a report about what was going on and what he had seen. He had taken pictures of William’s body, including any evidence that the police officers and detectives had found inside the house. He overheard their whispers about the sight of William Grey. Young in appearance with short black hair, dark eyes that made his skin look more sickly than a normal person’s complexion. He was lean, about five foot and eleven inches, not as threatening as most pack leaders. He had gained the loyalty of his people, and kept the title for about six years. There were tattoos along his neck, and he had a strong scent of cigarette smoke sticking to his skin.

Well, of course he had only been in William’s presence on two separate occasions. Once when he stood on the far end of the room. The second time was of course when he was knelt before his corpse, and had a camera in his hand, the flash bright enough to reveal all the deep open scars of whoever had attacked him. There were even deep bite marks, knife wounds, and a bullet hole in a few places. Whoever had attacked William did a lot to keep him down.

The sight of his corpse might also elicit a bad response from the other wolves from his pack. He was hoping in some way that Randall wouldn’t be fueled with both grief and pain over his loss that he’d demand retribution before they gained enough evidence. There could be multiple people involved.

Not anyone can just take down an Alpha.

About an hour and half later while Jaren sat in a coffee shop, he was notified that there was an attack at Club Trinity. He rushed to his car and drove toward the downtown area of the city. He parked his car on the side and spotted a few police officers and Orion agents speaking to the party goers who were outside, the chatter amongst them flooded the entire area. 

He took out his badge of whoever tried to stop him from entering, and sauntered around, glancing at the men and women who was traumatized by what they had seen, or what they experienced. Some had splatters of blood on their skin, others didn’t. Some of them spoke vaguely, mostly that when the screams started, they were all rushed out. Not everyone knew why.

The club itself was a two story dark building with red doors, and wide windows. Light leaked out from the open doors that were held in place by two metal chairs. A woman was sitting on one of them, smoking a cigarette that burned halfway. She had a faraway look in her brown eyes, and from the way she was shaking, and the blood on her skin, she had been the closest to whatever happened.

Jaren approached her, taking out his phone and pressing record the second he stopped in front of her. “I’m Jaren Smith,” he introduced in an almost dull sounding voice that most likely would have given him a reprimand from a few associates in Orion. “I’d like to ask you a few questions.”

“I already spoke to the police,” she said, tapping her smoke and letting a bit of ash fall to the ground. Her brown hair was done up with faint streaks of blonde, her skin was beige with the traces of silver glitter along her eyelids, and down her neck, some had fallen on her legs and her fingertips where they were stuck to the cigarette. She looked like she had fun at some point before the attack. The obvious drops of blood on her arms was indication she had been incredibly close to whoever had done this.

“I’m not the police,” he told her. “I’m from another division that handles these kinds of issues a bit more efficiently.”

When he said this, he was aware of the way her gaze flickered down then back up, her thoughts moving around inside her head until the realization of what he meant came to the forefront of her mind.

“You’re one of them ,” she said, not bothering to look at him.

It wasn’t spoken in contempt, only mild surprise. Not like Orion wanted people to know, but they were never sent out for typical murders. This was a strange coincidence that had more than one agent out on the field. It was necessary since William Grey is dead.

“You spoke to another like me?” he asked her.

“I did.”

“Repeat what you told them, and if you can, tell me more.”

The woman peered up at him, and there was fear lacing in her brown eyes as the memory surfaced. Her trembled lips opened, and she relayed everything she told the other agents, then a bit more. She even sparked another cigarette after she flicked the burned one to the ground.

“There was only one?” he asked, confused. 

She nodded, seeming drained after recounting the recent event. “They don’t do that…” she said, her jaw clenching, “you know that, right? It’s against the rules to do that...and yet there was one inside the club, attacking people, ordinary people, and everything was a blur after that.”

Jaren pressed the stop button, thanked the woman for her cooperation and walked away. He stood on the sidewalk, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. This night was dragging on, and he only realized shortly that he had forgotten his coffee. He was about to head back until he noticed blood on the ground, droplets of it glinting from under the light of the lamp post. There was even a jacket not too far away, the collar had blood staining the fabric.

Jaren glanced back toward the police officers, some of them were flashing their lights toward the other side of the street, and most of them seemed preoccupied at getting the victims or at least the suspects out of the area. The ambulance had also arrived, two in fact. 

Jaren followed the blood, the fabric which he didn’t touch but took a picture of. Then he heard the slight growl through the trees on the other side that led toward an alley. The growl was heavy, a snarl rippling out, and Jaren took out his phone, flicking the light on and found not too far away from him, a dark shape in the shadows. They were lying on the ground, curled slightly on their side. 

It was a bad idea, but it was also his job. Jaren stepped closer toward the person, taking out his gun from within his holster inside his coat. “Are you okay?” he asked, raising his guard up in case they attacked.

With each step, the light began to accentuate the person’s form. Short dark hair, pale sunken skin, and golden eyes. Jaren was slightly confused, he had seen many people and some of them matched the description, but the way this person writhed on the ground, the way they snarled, and the gold began to change, a strange blackness overwhelming it.

“I know you…” Jaren whispered, trying to think of where he had seen him.

Blood. It flowed out of the corner of his mouth.

Jaren gritted his teeth, there was no doubt about it, this was the person who had attacked the humans within Club Trinity. “What you did is against the Covenant, you know that right?”

He was having troubles rising, slow and shaky, more blood seeped out, slipping down his chin, dripping on the asphalt, staining the dark coat he was wearing, the silk shirt underneath. He was too dressed up to have done this on purpose, unless he was the theatrical type.

“Why did you attack them?” Jaren asked, drawing closer. He couldn’t stop looking at the amount of blood that came out of his mouth. When he arrived, he made sure to look for any injuries of the ones who had blood on them, but none of them had a mark on them. Blood may have sprayed out, but they all seemed more traumatized than anything else.

“You bit someone…” Jaren said, glancing around. There was no one else around them. Did they run once they realized what happened? They can’t be left without treatment, but he had a few hours to figure out where they are before it sets in.

“I tried,” he said in a rough voice, heaving out a breath, “and I tried, but I thought maybe...a mortal would change it.”

What was he talking about? What did he do?

The man spit out blood, which almost hit Jaren who had stumbled back, then the man ran into the shadows of the trees. Jaren cursed under his breath and fired his gun, hearing a grunt, knowing for sure he hit him, but losing him down the alley, and when he reached the next street, Jaren grit his teeth at what he just lost.

He hadn’t been far behind, but now even the lights from the street lights couldn’t tell him anything. The entire street was still and empty. And he had another problem to deal with as he headed back toward the crime scene.

“Shit, this isn’t good.”

Chapter Text

“I’m going to throw up,” Jaren said, leaning against his car.

“Yeah,” Evan said, “I know how you feel.”

He reported in to Orion after he lost the man he had shot. He told a few of the Orion agents to follow the blood and see where it goes. The police officers had stared and muttered to each other when Jaren walked by them.

“Who do you think it was?” Evan asked, clearing his throat on the other line.

Jaren had his eyes closed, trying to think of what his next move was, but the man entered his mind again, and he had seen him somewhere. “I think it was Sebastian,” he said, finally answering after a minute as he opened the door and sat down in the seat.

“Sebastian?” Evan hummed, then he gasped while Jaren tried turning the engine on, and glaring at it when it wouldn’t start. “You don’t mean Sebastian Warren!”

“Yeah,” Jaren said, exasperated while turning the key, “that’s exactly who I mean. He looked familiar, he had a bunch of blood on him, kind of grey, sunken cheeks, hazy eyes…”

“Red?”

“No,” Jaren said, shoulders slumping, all the energy almost leaving him, “it wasn’t red, not the usual kind…”

Evan also sounded perplexed, a lot more interested than Jaren. “What kind of vampire doesn’t have red eyes after they feed?”

“A vampire who doesn’t attack a human nightclub at ten-thirty.” Jaren hit the steering wheel. “It doesn’t make sense. They were black, hazy, and the blood was fresh...he had bitten someone, and they got away.” Who was it? No one had seen anything. The woman had been close, but the rush had sent them out past the steel thresholds and into the crisp night. There was no telling where this person had gone too, and what kind of damage they were in. If it was serious, they’d die pretty quickly, if not...the injury itself will fester, and the infection from the vampire will spread throughout their body. Jaren needed to find them and administer a cure. 

“Can you get Anthony to make a cure for a vampire bite?” Jaren asked, trying the key again, twisting and twisting, listening to the engine hum then fall flat, again and again until the car finally started up. Jaren glanced down at his phone as he drove away from the nightclub. “Evan?”

“Huh? Yeah, I’ll get him to do it,” said Evan, sounding distracted. “Randall and his second are with Charon right now, examining the body. They’ll deal with that side of the investigation, but I’m sure you’ll also be notified.”

“I guess I won’t be sleeping tonight,” Jaren said, trying his best not to sound petulant. 

Evan chuckled, the sound warm in Jaren’s chest. “I guess not. I’ll sleep for you if it makes you feel any better.”

He sighed, “I guess so. I might have to drink more coffee. I’ll call you if anything pops up.”

“Alright, good night, SMii7y .”

The name was something they had come up with when they were younger, a nickname of sorts, and somewhat spoken in an affectionate way, but mostly they taunted one another with their respective names.

Jaren muttered Evan’s nickname while going down a street to his left. He parked it beside a group of pastel looking apartments, and decided to get more information about what is happening on the werewolves side of it. He’s not really sure of telling anyone about Sebastian Warren’s appearance yet, at least not until the scent is revealed, then he’ll bring it up.

Jaren sighed deeply as he placed the phone to his ear, and tapped his finger against the steering wheel. He hadn’t turned the heat up in the vehicle, and mostly sat in the night cold air. He needed to be awake for what was going on, he just hoped he can get a coffee later, or possibly soon.

The line was answered with a low sounding voice, barely deep, just smooth and bored. “How did you get this number?” Devon asked, the alpha of the west end Wolves Den. He was less intimidating than William Grey had been, but held the same amount of loyalty and strength amongst his own clan to keep everyone else in check.

“I don’t know,” Jaren responded honestly. “Orion passes over numbers and names every few weeks.”

Devon scoffed, sounding amused. “So little hunter, what do you want?”

“I’m hoping to ask you questions about William Grey.”

“Ah, yes,” Devon said, “I’ve heard about that not too long ago. Has Randall figured out who killed him, or has he died as well?”

“Randall’s fine, for the time being.” Jaren glanced in the rear view mirror, there was a light of a car driving past him. “There are some things I can’t inform—”

“I understand the seriousness of the situation, just ask your question.”

One. So confident of what Jaren wanted to ask him, but the idea of it was impossible. He had seen William’s body, he knew it wasn’t a wolf that had done it. The way the marks were didn’t come from another werewolf. It was replicated to look like it did. 

“I wanted to know about what your pack is intending to do now that William Grey is killed?” Jaren said, the tension within his own beating heart inside his chest was partially suffocating.

“William is a friend,” Devon said, “or he was a friend, and I wouldn’t have done anything to him, we were on good terms, like all the clans within the city.”

He sounded sincere enough, but it wasn’t what Jaren wanted to hear. “I’m just going to guess that you let your...second, Marcus, loose, am I right?” 

Devon chuckled, then the phone went dead, and Jaren sighed once again. This night was full of deep sighs. He set his phone down in the cup holder, started up his car, and thankfully it didn’t fuck up on him, and he drove down the street. He didn’t go back to Club Trinity, but instead he headed along the other streets where Sebastian was trying to head too.

About two-three blocks away from the club, he parked his car again, and got out. He shivered, and regretted not buying a coffee. Jaren sauntered down the street, glancing around the dark shadows that sunk into the crevices of houses, under trees, and amongst places the street lamps couldn’t touch.

“He went farther out…” Jaren muttered. There weren’t any Orion agents, and he texted a friend of his who was also working there during the late night about any new updates. Evan probably went home anyways, and Anthony...well...maybe he should just text him. Hopefully he got the cure ready, because it’s been about a half hour, and whoever got bit has a few more hours left until the infection takes over.

He was a little worried about what Sebastian had mentioned. He was trying something on a mortal. What did that mean exactly? And why was his eyes going a hazy black?

Vampires did not do that.

Jaren had been around vampires more than werewolves. He saw them when they were hungry, a blood lust that is hardly unstoppable unless the vampire is practically bathed in blood. Which is a terrible feat for Orion to deal with, and usually a vampire clan has a leader anyways to handle fledglings.

He walked another block, then another, and he checked his phone while standing in the center of a dead street. At least until he felt something watching him. A strange sensation that he recognized, but when he glanced around, no one was there. It was only him, alone with his phone staring up at him with eleven forty-five in the corner of his screen. 

“No need to get paranoid, not now,” Jaren said, letting out a nervous laugh. It was actually one of the things that somewhat got him in trouble. His nervous laugh. The anxiety spiking that made up his defense mechanism in the face of danger. Instead of being wide-eyed and afraid, his heart raced, his hands shook, and then he would be laughing, giggling, trying his hardest to shut the fuck up. It almost got him killed in the past, and he’s been trying to break it down since.

He crossed another street and came to halt at the corner of 14th block Rae, and spotted a hefty black wolf on the other street of him, staring with blinking white eyes. He had seen normal wolves, but the werewolves were bigger, like strange monsters born of shadows like all the other strange creatures Jaren had seen in his life.

“Shit,” Jaren said under his breath, then the wolf sprinted out of his sight, and Jaren was bolting down the street to catch up, which was a laughable thought, he wasn’t going to catch up with a werewolf.

He could try, and he was trained to track down certain creatures like this. However, tonight didn’t seem like it was going to be as difficult. The wolf appeared at the end of the street, abnormally large and fierce as it sat in the center of the road.

“You want me to follow you?” he asked, and sprinted after the wolf as it turned around and began to run down the long road to the end, then it disappeared into the darkness of a park. 

Jaren had gotten there when the growls and snarls started up, but it wasn’t coming from the wolf. It was standing a few feet away from him in a human form. He had already sparked up a cigarette wearing only black jeans with rips on the knees, no shoes in sight. He had shoulder length black hair, a soft tan complexion, and dark eyes. He didn’t seem all that interested in what was going on at his feet while two other large wolves encircled the area, making sure the dark form with strange ash blonde hair writhing on the ground was contained.

Marcus, the second in command under Devon, narrowed his eyes at Jaren. “Took you long enough, little hunter.”

Jaren ignored the spite in Marcus’ voice, and pulled out his phone. He was about to turn his light on when one of the wolves growled at him. Jaren glared back and said, “This is officially Orion’s business, not just the west end’s.”

“It’s ours,” Marcus spat, his glare was heavy in the dark beneath the orange glow of his cigarette. “We can smell the stink of blood mixed together, and not just mortal, something raw and foul. It may be part of regulation for you, but now that one of the Alpha’s is dead, and the stench coming off this thing is undeniable, things will escalate to an extreme level.”

“We’ll contain it,” Jaren said, already placing his phone to his ear.

“Quarantining this abomination?” Marcus asked, then taking a long drag while glaring at Jaren who was glaring right back.

“It’s either this or contacting Jen,” Jaren said, watching Marcus recoil at the name of one of the vampire leaders in the city.

He hadn’t expected Marcus to stay, nor from the looks of it, Landon and Eva. Both of them stayed in their wolf form while Marcus stood in the shadows with a cigarette between his fingers. It wasn’t long until Orion agents had arrived, and as Jaren stepped back, he had a good look at the fledgling that was still writhing in the dirt.

He blinked, unsure of what he had seen. The fledgling had black blood leaking from its mouth, the pale skin was slick with sweat, but the veins underneath made it look abnormal. More than usual on a newly turned vampire. He hadn’t seen his eyes from the way his white hair draped over his face, and when the Orion agents picked him up, he wasn’t able to fight when they administered a strong sedative to knock him out in several seconds.

By the time they left, and Jaren was about to head back down the street, the wolves were already gone, and possibly, his night was coming to an end.

Chapter Text

For once in his life he would love to have a long drawn out sleep. However, he was nudged awake by Evan who stood over him inside Jaren’s office at Orion. He grinned down at him, wearing a black jacket, and holding a tray with two coffee’s in one hand.

“What time is it?” Jaren groaned as he rubbed his eyes.

“About one…” Evan said, setting the tray down on the messy desk. There were papers everywhere, including a few books. Some had coffee stains on the white pages, and ink marks from the looks of it that came from a broken pen that burst on the inside.

“One…” Jaren grasped for his phone and when he looked at the true extent of the time, he groaned again and set his head on the desk with a thump. “You got to be kidding me. I only slept for an hour.”

“I thought maybe you’d be awake,” Evan said, plopping down in one of Jaren’s leather chairs on the side, “but you didn’t answer any of my calls or text messages, which made me think you fell asleep at your desk.”

“I had to do paperwork…” Jaren explained weakly.

“Yeah, I know, that’s why I brought coffee...maybe it’ll help.”

“Does it have cocaine in it?”

Evan arched a curious brow, “No, but I can get some.”

Jaren sighed and reached for his coffee. He pulled it out of the tray and took a sip. It was warm, and had a thin taste to it. “Why are you here? I thought you went home.”

“Oh, I did, but when I was about to step into my house,” Evan grimaced. “Orion called me back, told me about a fledgling had made it into quarantine. So, unfortunately for us, I had to come back and sort out some of the work on the sides for the others, including you.”

“You’re so generous.”

“I know.”

They both sat in silence with their coffee’s. Jaren trying to wake up from his rather sleepy disposition that only lasted an hour. He tried to do as much paperwork and add in reports, but after awhile, he simply succumbed.

“Have you said anything about Sebastian Warren?” Evan asked.

Jaren blinked at him and shook his head, “Not yet.” It was another thing he’d have to do eventually. Or sooner than later since Randall would end up either at Orion, or questioning up Devon.

“Maybe you should do that,” Evan advised.

Jaren sighed, pushing himself up with his coffee. “Let’s go, I want to see how the fledgling is fairing.”

Evan stood, but went still, and frowned at Jaren. “He’s dead.”

“What?” Jaren asked, wondering if he was still tired.

“The fledgling, he died about half hour ago.” Evan glanced down at his coffee. “I thought you were notified.”

Jaren knew no one had messaged him besides Evan. “I want to see…” They walked out of his office and down the stiff hallway toward the elevator. “Did you find out when you got back?”

“Yeah,” Evan said solemnly. 

It’s strange, even in Jaren’s sleep addled mind. He could feel the tension inside the elevator pulling. The inquiries of the truth becoming blurred by the simple act of death. It shouldn’t have happened like that. He knows it shouldn’t. When he first came to Orion, they had taught him everything, practically ingrained the knowledge inside his head to the point he didn’t have to ask questions.

Humans turning into Vampires don’t die that quickly.

It takes almost a day or two to take full affect. The infection itself is horrendous, the transformation unbearable. They’d have to be quarantined until they gained a grasp of a sense of self, or once the cure was administered to their blood stream that eliminates the infection before it could take root.

It was a more troubling thought if the human had died to the infection right away. It made Jaren think of what Sebastian had done, and brought up more questions of what it meant.

Once they left the elevator, they walked down another long hallway, empty of people, with closed doors and dark rooms. There was always a strong smell of dust, floor cleaner that made the building feel sterile, and the small annoyance of coffee that had a staleness to it. Other than that, he hated office buildings for the odd enclosed spaces even how open it was.

“Is anyone else awake?” Jaren asked as they walked down another hallway to their right. This one was shorter, and when they stepped past the threshold, they waved at a few secretaries sitting at their desks. They kind of just stared with bland expressions while Evan and Jaren continued on their way toward the Containment Sector.

“Anthony was too late to administer the treatment to the fledgling,” Evan said with a sigh. “He was a little dismayed by that fact once Brock confirmed he died inside the cell.”

“How did it go exactly?” Jaren asked. He knew how vampires turned, he had seen it a few times in the past when the Covenant allowed certain people to be turned and sired to one of the vampire clans in the city. It took awhile to get the approval, of course, and some humans usually regretted the decision and backed out.

It was fever like symptoms. Sick and twisted, they’d claw at their skin, tear their clothes off, break a few bones. They’d cry and scream, and try to break out of the cell. It was reinforced to take the brunt of a vampire attack, so they weren’t exactly getting out even if they wanted too.

“Quick,” Evan said, meeting Jaren’s eyes, “it was quick. And confusing to Brock, he wanted to do more tests while the fledgling was dead.”

“Did he?” 

“He’s still trying to get back to us about what he found, but currently, the fledgling is dead, Sebastian Warren is walking around as his sire, and one of the alpha’s in the city was murdered,” Evan said, taking another sip of his coffee.

At least Jaren wasn’t the only one that was tired. They walked toward a metal scanner, and stepped through. It did beep, but the security guard didn’t stop them from sauntering toward containment. There were a lot more cells throughout the sector for various creatures that got out of hand, or at least were still being studied.

Most of them were labeled already, and the most common were the vampires and werewolves. Sometimes a witch, but they hardly stayed for a full day before being released.

Evan grabbed his keycard and scanned it over a red light on the side of a metal door. It turned green right away as he grasped the handle, and pulled it open. Once they were inside, it was much more cooler and less restrictive.

“Brock,” Evan waved. He stood down the hall, wearing a white lab coat, and holding a tablet. He was marking things off with a woman standing beside him, then he passed her the tablet and she walked away from him.

“Good…morning?”

“It’s one,” Jaren said, agonizing at that fact as he took another sip of his watered down coffee. One of these coffee shops in this damn city should be able to make decent coffee.

“We want to see the fledgling,” Evan said with a pleasant smile.

Brock nodded, looking partially nervous. “I see...I...uh...he’s alive.”

“Alright, let’s go then,” Jaren said, wanting to get this over with. He’d have to tell Randall about Sebastian, but he wasn’t sure if he should get into contact with Jen and inform her of this detail either. Of course he’d have to speak to the head of Orion before that happened so he can have a better decision of what he was going to do.

Brock nodded and led them down the hall. He went on about the strangeness of the fledgling turning. He hadn’t seen it before, and was still doing tests. Of course it was difficult now that he was awake and moving around.

“Is he coherent?” Evan asked.

“Somewhat,” Brock told them, sounding uneasy. “He’s made a mess on the floor already, and torn one of his shirts.”

Well, at least he was awake, and maybe through the screaming, they could get something out of him. Jaren wasn’t sure if he was still tired, but there was a nervousness running through his fingertips and along his arms to his spine. Randall would surely want retribution over the death of William Grey, including Devon. Dealing with them will have to come after, and he was partly glad that they weren’t in Orion for the time being as he conducted his investigation.

“Has there been any news about the wolf packs?” Jaren asked.

“Nothing at the moment,” Evan answered, “but I have Jon looking into it, so hopefully in the next hour, he’ll inform me of their movements.”

At least he was assured of that, now he only needed to deal with the fledgling. They rounded a corner and came to a wide window that looked within one of the containment cells. This one was bigger than most, and usually housed a werewolf or something more dangerous. 

Jaren expected to see a hysterical, frenzied, fledgling. Not one puking black blood from his mouth, tears running down his face as he was on his hands and knees, fingers drenched in the blood, his clothes were wrecked, soaked, and there were even places on his arms where the skin was torn open thanks to the fledglings nails.

“How long has he been doing that?” Jaren asked, indicating the blood.

“Since he woke up,” Brock said, crossing his arms and frowning. “They don’t do that. His eyes have also changed to a strange black instead of red. It’s a different sort of development that we haven’t seen in vampires.”

“Have you seen it before?” Evan inquired.

Brock shook his head, “Personally, no, but I had Anthony look through the archives to find if there ever was one recorded.”

Jaren stepped closer to the window, examining the fledgling. He looked about their age, maybe older. His blonde hair was streaked with black blood, and some of it was torn out, left on the ground in a clump. He was panting hard, teeth gritted, then he coughed up more blood. It was an agonizing process by the way he gasped, choked, and moaned at the disgust slipping past his lips. Even his own body shuddered while more blood seeped out.

“What is it?” Jaren asked. “The blood, why is it that color?”

Brock sighed. “I took samples, and from the looks of it, it’s simply his blood. Changed somehow, and if anything, we might get more clarification of who his sire is, and if one of the werewolves comes here to sniff him out. I already sent a word out to the new Alpha in the Grey Clan.”

Jaren sucked in a breath as he twisted around, whatever sleep he felt against his mind was now gone. “You called them?”

“About fifteen minutes ago, they should be here…” Brock said as he watched Jaren rush down the hallway, Evan following behind. 

Before they could leave the sector, the door opened to one of the security guards letting in Randall Carson and his second, Avery Kim. Both werewolves looked down at him, their golden eyes seeming disinterested until Randall recognized him.

“Jaren Smith, right?” Randall asked, sounding formal and reserved. Similar to William, Randall was lean, pale, with black spiky hair and burnished colored eyes. He didn’t hold the same intimidation an Alpha usually has, but overtime, he might even gain that through the loyalty of his people. He wore a black coat with a white pressed shirt, the collar undone, and black dress pants with shiny black shoes. He was really...something. “You’re the investigator who seen William’s body.” At least he was taking this all in stride.

Jaren nodded, what he wanted to tell Randall was stuck in his throat, and he watched as Randall and Avery wandered past, directed by Brock who was telling them about the fledgling.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Evan asked him.

Jaren slumped his shoulders. “I don’t know, I was expecting something else, maybe anger or grief, but…”

“Vampires deal with death differently than mortals,” Evan told him.

Jaren nodded slowly, then they turned and joined the others with the anticipation of what he was going to tell the new Alpha and his second that there was a possibility a vampire killed William Grey.

Chapter Text

Jaren was nervous when he stared at the fledgling within the containment cell. He was no longer puking up the black blood, and was growling, ripping the rest of his shirt, and digging his fingernails into his skin. The sight of it was deeply disturbing as tears streaked down his face. He was saying something, but it was hard to understand as he slammed his hand down on the floor, the blood splashing upon his skin, into his hair, and along his shoulders.

A ragged scream tore itself from his throat, then his fingernails went to his neck where the bite was. The pale skin was dark around the wound, and he could see the veins beneath had also become dark. He scratched at his shoulder, on his arms, heaving out pants until he fell into the pool of blood.

This time, Jaren was able to see his eyes more clearly. He had risen, gritting his teeth and glaring at them on the other side of the glass. His eyes were shadowed, and the iris itself was a hazy black instead of a maroon shade that usually was found in starved vampires.

“We’ve called it Feral, for now,” Brock said, arms crossed as he stood on the other side of the two werewolves, while Jaren and Evan stood on their left. “The symptoms are quite new for a newborn, so we’re planning to do tests in the coming days.”

“Can you open the door?” Randall asked, sounding more interested than angry. It was a strange tone that left Jaren feeling odd. He wasn’t sure what Randall would do within the containment alongside the Feral vampire. His sense of self hadn’t centered yet, which would be dangerous for the average human.

“I’d say it would be a bad idea, and I’d need confirmation from a few higher ups,” Brock said, turning toward them, “but I’m also hoping this could somehow help the investigation.”

“It will,” Jaren and Randall said at the same time. 

Brock told them to wait a second as he administered a light anesthesia into the air vent within the containment cell. It’ll hold off the vampire if it tries to do anything it shouldn’t.

“I’ll be right back,” Randall told Avery, a small smile pulled at the corner of his lips as a way to reassure her.

The woman had short black hair with a fair complexion. She wore a black and white pant suit, and was staring indifferently at the vampire. Jaren had seen her before, but hadn’t been as close to her as he was now.

“You’ll be okay, right?” Evan asked while Randall followed Brock toward the door that would lead them into the containment cell.

“It’ll probably be a second,” Jaren said, passing his coffee to Evan and telling him to throw it away. Then he hurried over to Randall and Brock as the thick metal door opened. The stink of blood was raw as it wafted into Jaren’s nose, he covered a part of his face while the door began to close behind them. A precaution, but it still unnerved him now that he was inside a room with a werewolf and a newborn vampire. He had his gun, but he didn’t think it would stop either of them if it came to it.

The black blood had created a puddle on the ground where the vampire had torn his clothes, and pulled hair from his scalp. The stink of it was potent, as if there was something rotting inside the newborn vampire and he was trying his hardest to expel it from his body.

“Vampires don’t have this effect,” Randall told Jaren. He was standing a foot from the puddle, watching the vampire growl and snarl, then whimper as more blood left his mouth. It seemed his own emotions were torn apart by what he was experiencing. A confusion coiled deep inside of him that also yanked him into uncontrollable rage, then thirst, hunger, and pain. 

Jaren had never been inside a room with a vampire like this. He had only watched their transformation. To understand what they were going through, and to see it first hand. It was part of his training when he was recruited into Orion. It was mandatory. 

“Puking blood?” Jaren asked, and almost wondering if he’d ever get the festering scent out of his nose after this.

“Yes,” Randall said, sounding perplexed and nonchalant. “They don’t do this. His body is rejecting the infection, and the infection is speeding up the turning, doing so is changing the affect of the vampire. It’s almost mindless…”

“Have you seen anything like this before?” Jaren asked. He stood a foot away from Randall, and he was almost surprised Randall had allowed him to enter the containment cell with him, but whatever opinion he wanted to voice hadn’t come. Jaren almost wanted to leave, but there’s no point in thinking about that now.

“In certain situations,” Randall said flatly, “it’s a rare occurrence.”

What did that mean exactly?

“ You haven’t seen it, is what you mean, right?” Jaren inquired, watching the vampire gasp for breath once he was able to stop puking. His entire body was tense, his skin becoming an eerie grey, while the bite mark grew darker, spreading throughout his body.

“It rarely comes up in conversation,” Randall responded, then he stepped into the blood, not concerned about his shoes or the hem of his pants as they dipped into the black, sticky, puddle. He reached down quick and grasped the vampire’s face with one hand, fingers digging into his jaw, and pulling him up.

Jaren didn’t move, he watched the look the vampire was giving the werewolf. The fear in his eyes as he seemed to smell what creature was in front of him.

“What is your name, fledgling?” Randall asked the vampire in a smooth undisturbed voice.

He opened his mouth, wet with black blood, yet no words escaped him. He trembled, fingers curling at his sides. Jaren wasn’t even sure if he was going to try to attack the werewolf at all.

Jaren knew that werewolves and vampires had distinct scents toward one another. It’s the reason why vampires don’t hunt them for sustenance. The curse upon werewolves are repulsive toward vampires. A negative-negative effect of who they were to one another. Creatures on different spectrums, yet similar in design. Even the werewolves were disgusted by vampires, yet over time, the two species have become more cooperative to one another because of the Covenant pact that kept them from tearing each other apart.

“What is your name?” Randall asked again, tightening his grip and pulling a whine past the vampire’s mouth.

“J-John…”

“My name is Randall Carson.” He dropped the vampire into the puddle and stepped back alongside Jaren who took a sidestep from Randall. “This is Jaren Smith, an investigator who made sure a pack of wolves didn’t tear you apart. You should be grateful, fledgling, that you’re alive at all.”

John gasped, trembling, as if he had been pushed underwater, trying to gain a single breath of air. He looked between them, his eyes still hazy, his skin grey, veins pulsing black. “W-Where am I? Why am I here?”

Jaren frowned at the desperate questions. “An Orion facility. We take care of people like you.”

“Me?” John asked, looking down at the puddle he was knelt in. “Why did this happen...to me?”

“That’s what we want to know,” Randall said. “Your Sire, who are they?”

The question caught Jaren off guard, even if he was waiting for it. A tremble snaked its way up his spine, and he knew he’d have to explain sooner or later.

“I...don’t know, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The panic resumed as he stared down at his bloody hands.

“You were attacked at Club Trinity a few hours ago,” Jaren said. A cold unsettled feeling passed over him for a second then it vanished. “Were you aware of who it was?”

Randall glanced at Jaren, a narrowed look of suspicion. Jaren ignored it, trying his best to keep his composure. He also wanted information on why a vampire had walked into a club and bitten a human. It would be better if they hunted the vampire, but sooner or later, the Sire will want the fledgling, and vice versa. It was only natural for them to have that link.

John shook his head, his voice raspy, broken. “Too many bright colors, people, everyone was running...I was outside, looking for my friends...and then I was yanked to the ground. I felt pain, but I ran until I couldn’t, and the pain followed...it was too much, and I started to puke up this stuff …” He looked at his hands covered in the black blood, and he whimpered again, a cry falling past his lips.

Jaren sighed. So, the fledgling didn’t know anything, and Randall seemed done with him. The door slowly opened, and Jaren had to ignore the fledgling begging to leave, asking why this was happening to him, then the door closed on his cries as they stepped into the hall with Evan, Brock, and Avery.

Evan had his arms crossed, looking displeased. “It’s a blur then.”

“He had traces of alcohol and drugs in his system when he was brought in,” Brock said with a sigh. “I guess that would make sense to why he didn’t know what was happening before he died.”

“There was something faint about him,” Randall said, standing beside Avery. “I’d rather not accuse anyone yet, but first,” he looked to Jaren, “I want to know what you saw before you found the fledgling, you knew he was bitten, out of anyone in that club, you were only looking for one.”

The questions hung in the air as they all looked at Jaren. He knew he couldn’t hide it anymore. He wanted to tell the director of Orion first, then pass over the information to the wolves, and later the vampire clans. He guessed this night was just going to continue on a downwards streak.

Jaren looked into Randall’s eyes and said, “Sebastian Warren is his Sire.”

The flick of surprise was temporary in Randall’s eyes, but more so in Avery’s. She didn’t speak, but looked to Randall, a silent question of her own left unanswered as Randall contemplated.

“He infected the human without the Covenant's approval,” Jaren said. “I’m sure we all know what he had done beforehand.” The truth of it weighed down the five of them.

Randall sighed, seemingly tired. He could almost see the sadness in his eyes, the stress, his best friend died, he became the Alpha of a werewolf clan in a single night. Jaren wasn’t even sure how he was holding up, but he kept it stoically contained.

“The only way something like this could happen is through a witch,” Randall told them. “However, right now, I have to calm the other clans, including Devon’s. They’ll also want retribution for William’s death.” He looked to Jaren. “Keep Sebastian Warren a secret a bit longer, and that a witch had done this. If anything, Sebastian will be found in a few weeks, either dead or alive, it hardly matters. He only sired one vampire, and right now, we might even be able to use him to find Sebastian.”

Jaren nodded, then Brock was leading Randall and Avery toward the door to let them out of the Containment Sector.

“Well, now I have more reports to work around,” said Evan while Jaren walked toward the glass.

The fledgling was puking again, his body tense, the blood hardly staining his grey skin while the haze in his eyes darkened. He turned his gaze to Jaren, and instead of sadness and confusion, there was rage that snapped his teeth together. The twisting of his own change was going to last awhile until he’s able to talk coherently again.

“He’s not the typical kind,” Evan said, sighing.

Jaren shook his head. No. He wasn’t. He was an answer and a problem. “I’ll need to speak to him a bit more once he’s able to control himself.” If he’s able to control himself.

“What are you going to do in the meantime?” Evan asked.

Jaren rubbed his eyes and let out a deep yawn, “I might go sleep in my office, inform the director about Sebastian’s reappearance, and then figure out how a witch could possibly do this.”

“You doubt Randall?”

“No, not in the least, but I want more information about what is happening.” Jaren was about to walk off when he recalled something. “Can you get a report from Jonathan, I want to know what’s been going on with the wolves.”

Evan pulled out his phone. “I’ll get you something in the next few hours. Have a good few hours of sleep.”

Jaren rolled his eyes and smiled, he waved at Brock who was inside one of the rooms with his assistant, then he walked out of the Containment Sector, hoping a few hours of sleep can help him think more clearly of what is going on.

Chapter Text

By nine in the morning, Jaren ended up making his own coffee in the cafeteria. There were already more of his co-workers showing up, and most of them greeted him, and others walked past him. He was a little preoccupied with his own thoughts to notice anyone as he walked back to his office.

The first time since last night, he noticed one of the lights flickering down the hall. He didn’t slow when he spotted it, not like he bothered to acknowledge the shift. He kept walking until he stepped inside his office and sat down in his seat behind his desk. The folders he received by Evan, and a few from his other co-workers sat before him.

He had this feeling that sometimes surfaced when he thought too much. Succeed. The itch inside burning him, a reminder, complicated in every way that kept him from sleeping, from thinking, from doing anything else besides what he’s supposed to do. He should succeed, he should work and work and work until he’s satisfied.

“You’re not that old,” Evan said once, a smile curving upon his lips.

Jaren nodded, fingers shaking with a pen between them, “I know, but I have to do this.”

“You don’t have to exhaust yourself.”

Jaren could hardly explain it, but Evan knew what he meant, how he felt, and he didn’t like repeating himself.

By eleven, he finished most of his work, and dropped his empty cup into the garbage next to his desk, and he sauntered out of the office. He wanted an update on the fledgling, and because of what’s been happening, he thought of doing this quickly.

Last night, after Randall Carson and Avery Kim left Orion, Jaren had also spoken to the director. He told him everything about what’s been going on, and was instructed to keep everything under wraps from everyone else, at least until they gained more control over the situation, and who killed William Grey.

His work will have to simmer in the back of his mind for now.

He took the elevator to the Containment Sector. He didn’t know where Evan was, or Anthony. It didn’t matter, he messaged Brock that he’ll be headed that way, and apparently there was someone else there while he slept for the remaining few hours until he returns to Orion. Which he was fine with if he can have a few minutes with the fledgling.

There was some questions he wanted to ask, more than the ones Randall had asked him. And Jaren was getting the feeling Randall knew something from the way he didn’t bother lingering within the cell. His sense of smell was stronger than a human’s, and that only made Jaren more curious. However, he didn’t have that luxury and will have to figure out his answers on his own. 

He stood in front of the glass for about five minutes. The blood on the stark white floor was clean, and any torn skin or pieces of clothing were also gone. The cell itself looked like how it did before the fledgling was placed inside.

Jaren walked over to an assistant and asked where they placed the fledgling that was inside the cell. She mentioned another cell that was more enclosed, and told him where to find it. Jaren walked down another set of halls until he entered inside a room that needed his security card.

This area of the Containment Sector was more secure than the other areas of Orion. It was also secluded. 

Was he that dangerous that they had to place him in this area of CS? He must’ve been, most fledgling’s didn’t need this kind of treatment. He’d have to ask Brock more about the specific’s. Right now, he hoped he can get some information out without the fledgling becoming too wild with thirst.

He walked down the dim lit hallway, there was a strange chill in the air that barely seeped in his coat, but enough to give away the stiffness of the halls in the rest of the building.

He found the room that the assistant had referred him too, and opened the door. The quietness became more sealed in as he stepped toward the glass window. It was a one way mirror, and revealed a smaller room from the one the fledgling had been placed in. There was a bed on the side, and nothing else. The bright lights made the stark white of the walls and floors more unbearable.

The fledgling, however, was sleeping on the floor, curled against the wall. He had a change of clothes, a white shirt and pants, no socks or shoes. He looked cleaner, and less disturbed as he did when he was awake.

Jaren found a folder on the side and picked it up. He opened it and read the contents inside. It revealed personal information of the fledgling, including comments from Brock and a few other researchers and doctors.

John Keyes. Male. 26 years old.

He worked as a waiter, a dishwasher, he also did freelance a few times a year. A few dead end jobs landed him in clubs, spending most of his money on alcohol and drugs. It seemed he didn’t have much for a future either, didn’t think that far ahead.

He read Brock’s reports and found out a doctor had recently administered a sedative into the fledgling. His erratic behavior fluctuated, and they weren’t sure why. They were still figuring out how he turned so quickly, including the newer more aggressive symptoms.

“Hopefully this isn’t stupid of me,” Jaren said to himself as he pressed a button on the side of the door. It opened automatically, and will only open on the outside, however, once he’s in with no one to close it, the door will remain the way it is. He’ll have to be extremely careful, and if the fledgling shows any signs of being aggressive, he’ll have to figure out another time to interview him.

He sighed and stepped into the cell. It was well built for stronger creatures, more hungrier ones that needed a much more tighter area to keep them contained. From the way the fledgling behaved, he had to stay inside this place until they’ll able to gain a better perspective on what he was. 

Jaren stood a foot from the sleeping fledgling. His soft brown hair was splayed on the side, barely covering his pale face. His eyes weren’t as dark as they had been, while the dark veins had even lightened from the last time he saw him.

Swallowing thickly, Jaren nudged the sleeping fledgling once he sat down on the bed. “Hey, wake up, I need to talk to you.”

Truthfully, he had never done this before. He has seen fledgling’s in the past, been inside the rooms of a few when they were awake and less erratic. He had never been inside a room with one that acted in such a violent uncontrollable nature before. Usually a fledgling had a sire to help them, but this one’s sire wouldn’t be any help to them.

Jaren nudged the fledgling again. “Wake up. I need to speak to you.” 

The fledgling groaned after Jaren nudged him again, a bit harder, in the ribs. He turned slightly on his side, pushing away brown hair from his face before blinking his eyes at Jaren. 

He looked less like a fledgling. The pallor of his skin was healthy, while the dark veins were nowhere to be seen around his neck, besides the obvious bite mark that was still healing. It had gone purplish.

“W-Who are you?” the fledgling asked, moving back against his cell until his back hit the wall. He glanced at Jaren, then toward the door that was left open.

Jaren sighed, “If you think of running, I will shoot you and leave you in here for an additional few days while you continue turning.” The threat was mild since he needed to speak to the fledgling, but he also needed him to remain complacent while he asked his questions.

The fledgling breathed, then Jaren noticed his eyes becoming darker, but not to the extent of when he lost control. His hands even went to his neck, fingers curling before smoothing out the red marks he created.

“I’m not...I’m not...going to throw up anymore blood?” He was asking this toward Jaren who had no idea when he stopped throwing up. He still needed a report, and probably will contact Anthony about that later on in the day once Brock shows up. The thought of sticking around grates on the inside of Jaren’s mind.

“I’m not sure when you stopped,” Jaren said. “That isn’t why I’m here, I have a few questions to ask you and I need you to answer them.”

The fledgling was still terrified, panting, shaking, unable to actually stare at him without having a faraway look in his eyes. “You’re...the...the detective with…”

“Randall Carson,” Jaren said, arching a brow.

The fledgling wrinkled his nose, and Jaren almost smiled at the disgust making its way on his features. “Why...it wasn’t the blood...it was him, he smelled…awful.”

“He’s a werewolf, of course he’ll smell awful to vampires.”

The fledgling glanced back at him, brows arching. “Are you fucking kidding me? He couldn’t have been…”

“He is,” Jaren said, taking out his phone, finding the recorder, then pressing the red button to record their conversation. “Randall Carson is the new leader of the Grey Clan after William Grey was killed the other night, an hour after Club Trinity was attacked, including about half hour when I found you.”

“You...found me?” the fledgling asked, confused.

Jaren nodded, “Your sire made it easy to know that he had bitten someone, it was only a matter of time until I found you.”

The fledgling touched the bite mark, then he shuddered, legs pulling close to his chest. “He...bit me...why, why did he do that?”

This was what he wanted to get into. Maybe he’ll find some answers to what is going on. “I need you to go back a bit before it happened, what were you doing inside the club?”

“My friends…” The fledgling shook his head. “Are they okay.” 

“We don’t know,” Jaren told him truthfully. “I’ll get someone to look into it, and inform you.” He wasn’t sure how long the fledgling would remain with Orion, but knowing who his sire is, he wasn’t going to leave anytime soon.

He didn’t really want to think of the implication of that just yet, nor deal with it. He only wanted to speed this investigation so he can go home and sleep. Maybe a few more hours in his own bed will give him a better mindset than this.

The fledgling seemed too occupied with his own thoughts to think about what Jaren had said. He was shaken as worry and shock flitted across his face. It almost seemed as if he wanted to say something, but he couldn’t say the words to what they were.

“John…” Jaren said calmly, watching the flinch in the fledgling’s demeanor as he slowly raised his eyes to Jaren. “Can you please answer my question. What were you doing before you were bitten?”

“Partying,” John—the fledgling—said, in a matter-of-fact tone, as if it were obvious.

“I get that,” Jaren said, trying to hide the sarcasm that was about to slip through his teeth, “but how did your sire get into that club and bite you out of all those people inside that building?”

“My sire…” John muttered, tensing up in the shoulders. “You know who he is, right?”

“Answer my question,” Jaren said.

“You know him,” John spoke more adamantly. His eyes were darkening as the seconds past them both by, his fingers curling into the fabric of his white pants, but there was no aggression to his desperation. “Who is he, why would he do this to me?”

I don’t know. The answers are vague and without any help, they won’t ever be revealed. 

Jaren opened his mouth to speak John’s sire’s name, but then a pulse went straight through him and all words fell from his throat. He almost winced at the spikes of pain racing up his spine, along his neck, until a warmth fell upon him completely.

No…not now.

Jaren was about to rise from the bed until John had pushed himself to his feet, and shoved Jaren against the wall, his phone discarded on the ground as his fingers dug into his shoulders while his eyes began to shroud a deep red haze.

Not now. Fuck. Not now. Not this. 

“John,” Jaren gasped the second the fledgling’s mouth opened, revealing his fangs that had pushed through the gums where the previous ones had been. He was turning too quickly, it was unbelievable at how enhanced this was becoming.

“I smell it,” John panted against Jaren who was trying to shove him off. “I can smell you, the blood under your skin, in your veins, I can hear your heart racing, I can feel the blood...the warmth. I hate it. I hate it.” He sobbed.” I want it so badly!”

Fuck. No...no...not now...not now...why…why?

It was leaking from his nose and from the back of his throat. The pain was rising inside of him, a pinprick growing into a mass of uncomfortable pain that left him confused about what was happening.

Then John leaned down, and to Jaren’s shock, he licked the blood that slid onto his lip. He groaned and gasped, his fingers kept Jaren placed against the wall until he surged down and connected their mouths into a harsh kiss. 

Jaren tightly closed his eyes, trying to breathe as both pain, blood, and John’s tongue overwhelmed him. The fledgling licked at the blood that was filling Jaren’s mouth, moaning at the taste as his grip was becoming lax upon Jaren’s shoulders, including his weight.

He fumbled for the inside of his coat, then wrapped his fingers around the handle, yanked it out of the holster, and pulled the trigger.

John gasped, eyes full of shock at what Jaren had done before he stumbled back against the wall, sliding down to the floor where he had previously been sitting. “Y-You shot me…”

Jaren wiped the blood from his mouth, hands shaking. “You’ll be fine…” He slid off the bed, reached for his phone, and almost afraid he might not be able to walk properly as John watched him. “You’re not the only one who’s dying.” 

He staggered to the door, closed and locked it, before reaching into his phone to call Evan to ask what the fuck was going on.

Chapter Text

Evan turned the faucet on with a shaky hand while placing a glass underneath the running water. He had woken up in cold sweat, his phone ringing then going dead. He hardly cared as he slipped out of the bed and stumbled his way to the kitchen. It was the afternoon, and he was meant to wake up, well rested and ready to go to work.

However, that didn’t happen. He woke up with his legs feeling rigid, his body stiff, his throat dry and scratchy. The first few thoughts was if he was getting sick or something. Then the other thoughts came when he tried to move his legs and it was too difficult to do that.

He downed two entire glasses before making his way to the bathroom. He washed his face with cold water, gasping for air for a second before stumbling back into his bedroom. He grasped for his phone and blinked away the blurriness from his eyes to read the messages.

I had a dream. A nightmare. You have to call me.

Evan cleared his throat while reading the next few messages that came from his friend. There was a painful ringing in his ear that made it hard for him to concentrate before leaving his phone on the bed, then reaching for his dresser. He pulled out a few articles of clothing and tore off the ones he had been wearing.

It was way too hot, he barely started scratching his own skin during the time he dropped the clothes, and pulled on a fresh new shirt and pants. He left his socks as he grasped his phone and stumbled from the bedroom.

Evan wiped perspiration from his forehead as he looked for his wallet in the kitchen, then his bag, and his coat. He pulled his shoes on and walked out of his apartment.

He texted back his friend. I need food. Coffee.

He dug in his pocket for his keys once he rocked back and forth inside the elevator. His friend didn’t text back until he made it to the garage where his car sat. He struggled for a second to get the door open. His hands were shaking so badly, and he was lightheaded. 

“Fuck sakes,” he muttered, sitting in the driver’s seat. 

What do you want to eat? And are we going to talk about my dream?

Evan let out a trembled breath, then put his phone on speaker when he started up his car, and pulled out of the parking space. The phone rang for a few seconds then he finally answered as Evan drove onto the street.

“I need nutritions,” Evan told him as a way of greeting. 

“So no fast food?” he asked.

Evan shook his head. His mouth is dry, and he’s licking his lips, trying to find moisture. “I need fruit, Jon, I need...something...water...juice—it’s fucking hot in this fucking car.” The impatience cut through him as he curled his fingers on the steering wheel. There’s a small bit of fear rising inside of him that he might pass out.

“Okay, okay. Why did you leave your apartment? I could’ve come to you."

Evan let out a humorless laugh. “I know, but this isn’t only about me, not exactly."

“So, where are you going then? Orion?”

“No...I can’t go there, not now,” Evan said, realizing quick that he was panting. “Can you phone Jaren, tell him to meet me at the usual place. He knows what it means.”

“Uh...okay, but do you still want the fruit?”

Evan nodded, staring at the sunlight soaking the asphalt as the glint of metal from the cars came in and out of his vision. “I’ll call you once I’m finished.”

“What are you going to do? I need...Evan...I need to speak to you about my dream, it’s important.”

Evan stopped at a red light, and let out a deep sigh. “I know, Jon, I know what you’re about to tell me.”

“You do?”

“Yeah,” Evan said, tense. “I’ll talk to you later.” He hung up the phone and let out both a sigh of relief, and of pain. He was suffering again. Not just him with the physical effects, but Jaren as well. He’ll need to talk to Jonathan more about the dream he had. At least in the full context of what he saw, for now, he has to drive out of the city.

He hit another red light after thirty minutes of driving when he got a call from Jaren. He answered it, hoping there’s not a cop anywhere near him.

“Where are you?” he asked, trying his hardest to keep his mind straight. He wasn’t even sure if he was driving correctly after fifteen minutes of silence, but at least he hadn’t gotten into a car accident yet.

“We can’t go there,” Jaren said, voice raspy on the other line.

Evan frowned. “Why, what’s going on?”

“I...I…” Jaren started coughing raggedly, then Evan heard him spit something out from his mouth. “It’s been following me, it’s close by…”

Well, that’s unusual. It has never done that before, why now of all times? He almost wanted to ask Jaren more about what he’s seen, but the question is replaced with another that’s more important. “So where do you want to meet?”

“Rose Park.”

“Why there?” Evan asked, turning onto another lane so he could go onto the left intersection. He was heading the other direction from where he was intended to go. “It’s way too public.”

“Some unusual things are happening lately,” Jaren tells him. “Currently, there’s a snow storm over there.”

Evan glanced around the street. “It’s not winter though.”

“Yeah, I know, and no one’s talking about it on the news or anything, so I hardly doubt anyone’s going to notice us once we’re over there.”

He has no idea what Jaren is talking about, well...not exactly. He gets what he means, but the headache pounding on either side of his head is making him slightly confused, and maybe a little nauseous.

“Jon...called not too long ago,” he said, in a way to move the conversation along to something less extreme.

“What did he say?”

“He had a dream.”

“Don’t we all?” Jaren is chuckling on the other side, then he’s coughing again, and spitting something out. Evan hears a slight curse from him until his breathing comes back heavier.

“Yeah, we both know what that means, and I told him I’ll talk to him after we’re finished.” 

“That’s good then, make sure he brings fruit or something…”

“Yeah,” Evan said, making a sharp turn. It’s only a few seconds after he realized that Jaren hung up. He turned up the radio just to hear something other than his own rapid thoughts about what is going on with them. He knew Jaren is having it worse, and that this little meeting of theirs will keep them contained for a bit longer.

At least, that’s what he’s hoping it’ll do.

He drove until he arrived at Rose Park. He got out of his car and strolled toward the pathway with a yellow line in the center that goes around throughout the park. Today is a bit different than normally. Outside of the white barrier are sun soaked streets, an unbearable heat, warm and tantalizing to those who enjoy the weather.

Inside is a whole lot different. In the center of the park is a river that widened out toward a bridge that separated the section. Including the pathway that goes all around it for those who are either exercising or walking their dogs, and spending time with their children in the grass.

Rose Park is covered entirely in an unusual blizzard. A cold wind that bites as Evan sauntered along the path until he spotted Jaren standing on the bridge. There’s no one around from the looks of it, and when he waved to get Jaren’s attention.

Jaren wiped blood from his nose that has already dried on his pale skin. The bags beneath his eyes have darkened, while the ends of his brown hair are white with frost. He’s tense as he walks down the incline toward Evan. Then Jaren started coughing again, and a clump of blood appeared in his hand, he wiped it away, a bit of it has already stuck to his bottom lip.

“SMii7y!” Evan called as Jaren collapsed to his knees. He’s gasping, coughing, fingers reaching for his neck as if he can’t breathe.

Evan tasted the blood in the back of his throat. The raw iron and rot seeping into his skin, slivers of it leaking out as he slid on the grass, falling to his knees before Jaren who clutched onto Evan’s shoulders to keep himself from toppling over.

“I’m okay...I’m okay,” he said, but Evan isn’t convinced. Jaren is too sickly, too weak, and he almost looks like he’s about to pass out.

“We’re here,” Evan said as a way to comfort him. “We’re here!” This time he’s yelling to the sky, to whoever is listening because now that he's close, he can feel it , the intensity of it in his own skin, tightening on the inside as a familiar pain is brought to the surface. 

He coughed raggedly, trying to hold himself up alongside Jaren as he dragged them both to their feet.

“We’re here!” He reached into his coat and felt the coldness of the item in his palm. “Come on,” he says to Jaren, pulling him toward the icy river, hard enough for them to walk upon as they clutch one another, making sure they don’t slip.

The wind slowed as they drew close to the source of the abnormal winter. It’s not usually like this, he knows it’s not, and he’s unsure why that is. He might need to ask Jonathan more about his dream, and hoped that it gives them clarity.

The wind dies down, the cold is not as freezing upon their stiff clothes and shivering forms. 

“I told you once that death is not heat.” The confident voice rode the wind, followed by barking that only the dying would hear.

“We’re close,” Jaren murmured against Evan before he fell to his knees, coughing up more blood from his throat.

“We’re here,” Evan says desperately, taking out the item from his pocket and presenting it toward the man standing before them upon the center of the icy river, alongside a black dog with glowing silver eyes. “Take it.”

The man is strangely normal looking with short brown hair and fair skin. He’s tall with broad shoulders, wearing a dark coat that barely passes his knees, and black jeans with black shoes. He has his hands tucked inside his pockets, while wearing a smile on his face. Undisturbed by the freezing weather.

“Death is cold, and it will remain so until the end of days,” the man said as he walked toward the two, the dog trailing behind.

Evan had fallen to his knees, gasping for air as the pain rose steadily from his chest. Puncture wounds from a day long ago when death was so close.

“Take it,” Evan said, glaring up at the man as he stopped in front of them, “Brian.”

“Thank you,” he said, taking the gold coin from Evan’s shaky, bloody hand. He smiled pleasantly at it before pocketing the item. “The compensation of life has been given, and your contract has been renewed for an extended six months.

It’s difficult to breathe, but as the seconds go by, it becomes easier. Evan glanced back at Jaren who was holding a hand to his chest, eyes screwed shut, but he seemed to also be breathing fine.

Evan stiffened when he heard sniffling, and when he turned back toward the man known as Brian, and his dog who was staring right at him, nose right in Evan’s face.

“Uh…”

“Sorry,” Brian chuckled, his voice heavy with an Irish accent. “He’s always curious about you boys. Smelling the way that you do. Life and death twined together, unlike the living, you’re both hanging by a thread. It’s quite curious since Jaren seemed to be reeking of it more so for the past few hours.”

Evan leaned back on his knees, staring up at Brian peculiarly and noticing the winter air is slowly dissipating. “He said he sensed you.”

Brian grinned. “Ah, yes, he is a keen one, isn’t he?”

“I would’ve noticed.”

“I wasn’t hanging around you and your dreamer boy,” Brian said. “Jaren on the other hand has been around both werewolves and vampires. Including the fledgling that...kissed him rather provocatively.”

Evan frowned at that. “Maybe next time, you can give us a heads up.”

“I did, I gave you six months.” Then Brian swiftly turned and strolled away along with his dog.

Evan reached back for Jaren and helped him to his feet. They had to get off the icy river before it started crackling. He told Jaren about Jonathan again, and Jaren said they should leave his car, and Evan should drive to wherever Jonathan is.

“I want to hear what this dream is about,” Jaren said, wiping away blood from his mouth.

Chapter Text

Jaren stared at his orange juice sitting inside a glass cup. He was drained, arms shaking, legs heavy, mind spinning. It almost felt like a headache, just less painful without the need to throw up everything he had eaten in the day. Which wasn’t much besides a cup of coffee. 

Evan drove him to Jonathan’s apartment. The man lived in a beautiful place with white walls, floors, a nice vacuumed carpet, with white cupboards and a table in the center. The window was left open, and there was even a vase with flowers sitting on the counter. It smelled nice, and it somewhat calmed his headache.

In front of him sat a platter of fruit Jonathan had run out and bought. To their good timing, he had gotten back the second they pulled up in the front of the apartment. He wasn’t as worried, not like he had too since he saw them like this before. He did glance at their person just to check for anything abnormal.

“You threw up?” he asked Jaren.

He couldn’t speak, and the question was left unanswered, besides being visibly answered. Evan had gone to the bathroom and stayed there for an additional fifteen minutes while Jaren slowly ate some of the fruit. It was sweet, cold, and so much more than the biting ice that he experienced back on the lake.

The smell was strong as it rose in waves as they drew near the Reaper and his hellhound. A series of wet dirt, rotting corpses, and stale blood. Not something anyone would like to smell like, but apparently only the dying would understand it more than the living. And Brian wasn’t the type who lingered around others all that much, but Jaren was also getting the feeling the dog is what smelled like it.

“I have no scent,” Brian once told him when he loitered outside of a store, scaring a vampire who had wandered past him. He only allowed certain people to see him, and involuntarily to the ones who were close to kicking the bucket.

Vampires can especially see him because of their affinity to death. They are technically already dead, just not ripe for the taking. Brian hardly cared about their presence, and ignored them.

Jonathan sauntered into the kitchen and gave him a friendly smile. He was tall and not as lanky as Jaren would perceive him as. He always wore blue, and either baggy jeans, and sometimes with rips. Like him and Evan, Jonathan worked for Orion, but he kept his business to himself. He would consider Jonathan attractive, but Jaren hardly cared about that notion of other people’s appearance, at least when they opened their mouths and ruined the entire illusion. So why bother with the physical aspect when the other parts didn’t match.

 “Evan fell asleep...do you want to take the couch?”

Jaren shook his head. “No, I have to get back to work.” Another thing he was dreading to do. He wouldn’t deny that he was tired, but now that Evan was fast asleep, he didn’t really have to worry about collapsing. He had in the past, but that was when he and Evan didn’t understand their dire circumstance.

He ate a few more pieces of fruit and drank the rest of his orange juice. Once he set the cup down, he met Jonathan’s eyes and said, “What was your dream about?”

Jonathan gave him an awkward nod, “I was going to tell you and Evan, but he fell asleep…”

“You’ll eventually tell him,” Jaren said.

“I know.” Jonathan pulled the chair out and sat down, setting his hands on the table. “The dream...was of you and Evan...dying. Like actually dying.”

Jaren slowly nodded. He wasn’t sure about the specifics, but Jonathan had a knack of seeing into the future when he dreamed. Some of them could be avoided, others were nonsense, but the ones that were targeted toward certain symbolisms in their lives meant it was true, and the path they walked was inevitable.

“I’m thinking six months,” Jaren said, standing up and pushing the chair back in.

“Why six months?” Jonathan asked, brows furrowed, but they smoothed out when he realized what Jaren said. “That’s how much he’s giving you?”

It wasn’t ideal, but it was also six months.

“I have to get back to work.”

“Jaren, six months isn’t a lot of time to get another—”

He stopped, fingers curling as he narrowed a glare at Jonathan. “What Evan did to procure it is none of my business. And if your dream is correct, and Brian came around the same damn time, then it’s six months. You might want to also inform Evan of that, but everything else is not my issue at the moment.”

He then walked out, the exhaustion weighing him down as he sauntered toward the elevator. He didn’t eat enough, nor drink that much juice or water. Maybe when Evan wakes up, he’ll have his fill and energize them both. He wasn’t even sure how long he’ll be awake for now that Evan is taking a well deserved nap for holding him up on the ice.

Once he was in the elevator, Jaren leaned against the wall, closed his eyes, and let out a trembling sigh. He felt his chest where the scars were, the ones that burned when their time was close. He hardly experienced the effect, and Evan dealt with it more than he did. A strange twist for what they had done a year ago.

Jaren grudgingly made his way back to Orion where he stood to the side, watching as four Orion agents were escorting a young woman with long brown hair that went past her shoulders. She had fair skin, and brown eyes, and wore a black dress that barely went past her ankles.

“What’s going on?” Jaren asked another Orion agent who was standing to the side.

“The wolves,” the woman with a tight blond bun said, “found William Grey’s scent leading back to the Witches.”

Jaren’s brows arched, “They think a witch did this?”

“They don’t think,” the woman said, giving him a pointed look, “they pretty much know she was a part of it.” 

Jaren headed upstairs to his office, but he hesitated in front of the door. There was one other thing he wanted to do and that was to focus on the fledgling, except now that the witch was also a part of this entire mess, he had more to figure out.

He was right that the wolves were going to deal with this issue on their own, which did not help Jaren in the least. He wanted to make it clear to them that they would have to stay out of the way. He wasn’t going to like that conversation if he ever brings it up.

Jaren got himself another cup of coffee, grimacing at the awful taste and scowling at a few people in the cafeteria before heading toward the interrogation room. 

He already spotted Anthony standing outside, holding a phone in his hand before glancing up. “Hey, I was about to call you.”

“Can I get in there?” he asked him, pointing at the door.

“There’s already two other agents—”

Jaren grasped the door handle and pulled it open, Anthony sighed as he followed Jaren inside. The two other agents glanced at Jaren before looking away.

“Heard you were dealing with a fledgling,” one of them said with a bit of a snide tone. 

“I am, but I noticed I wasn’t informed that a witch was brought in,” Jaren said, walking toward the window that was two way. The young woman was sitting on the chair, her hands in her lap and not bothering to touch the metal table before her. There was already an interrogator in the room, opening files.

“Who is she?” he asked. She seemed...vulnerable. Her gaze was empty while looking down at the steel reflection, and she was shaking.

“Lila Woods,” the second interrogator spoke. She had short brown hair, wearing thin glasses, and was also holding a coffee cup, just not from Orion. Maybe he should’ve done the same when he went to retrieve his car. “A witch of the Oak Spirit Coven.”

The Witches within the city kept themselves away from the wolves and the vampires. They were much more secluded in their craft, including the loyalty amongst them was strong.

“Have you spoken to her leader?” he asked.

“No,” the man said, narrowing his gaze at Jaren. “The wolves handed her over, whatever they said or done is their own business.”

Jaren almost suppressed rolling his eyes. “What they all do—witch, vampire, and werewolf—is ours to consider, not for them to ignore. We have to know the details, and from the looks of it, Randall had done more than he should’ve to this woman.”

“Randall wasn’t the one who brought her,” Anthony said uneasily.

Jaren frowned. He figured in some way that Randall hadn’t, but he wasn’t sure since his best friend just died. “Who then?”

“Landon…”

Jaren sighed as he watched the interrogator finally speaking to Lila. “Does Devon know about this?”

“I don’t think so.”

Great. Another thing he’ll have to do today. He wasn’t eager to speak to the fledgling again, not after what he had done. The kiss was forgotten quick when Jaren staggered toward his car, but the memory of it was returning slowly to his mind. John was needed for the investigation, at least to find his sire whenever the man wants his fledgling to show up.

“I need to get into contact with Lila’s leader, and then I’ll have to speak to Randall and Devon,” Jaren said quietly to Anthony, taking a sip of his coffee. Yeah, he hated drinking coffee from this place.

“Have you spoken to Evan?” he asked.

“He won’t be around until the afternoon.” Jaren looked to Anthony. “Do you mind staying around for a bit, I need to make those phone calls, and then I’ll be right back.”

Anthony nodded. “It shouldn’t take long since Lila looks like she isn’t talking...probably without a lawyer, or her leader.”

She was pretty much a dead end for now. Jaren stepped out of the room and headed back down the hallway. That’s when he spotted another woman standing at the end, she had slowed her pace when she spotted him, and Jaren came to a quick stop in the hallway, his body stiffened as the entirety of the corridor became heavy.

“She didn’t do it.” The woman’s brown eyes narrowed into a glare at Jaren. She had a white shirt covering her brown skin, and blue jeans. Her curly brown hair trailed down past her shoulders. Whatever power a witch could manifest, it was immense, and could sometimes be uncontrollable to the ones who didn’t know of their own strength.

This witch was well known, and Jaren had worked with her in the past. 

Jaren struggled for words, “This isn’t..the place for this...Aurora.”

The room trembled with her power, then faded away in seconds. Jaren almost toppled forwards, but managed to catch himself. 

Aurora didn’t look bothered as she sauntered over to him, her glare softened. “She didn’t do what they say.”

“We don’t know that,” he told her.

Aurora crossed her arms, “Lila is a good girl, she wouldn’t associate with anyone for the murder of a werewolf.” She shook her head. “There has to be someone else who could’ve done this.”

“I want to get to the bottom of this,” Jaren said, smoothing a hand over his throat. He needed water, and from the looks of his cup that was now on the floor, he wasn’t about to start drinking more coffee. Maybe he needed fresh air. “I’m on my way to speak to your leader, if you want to—”

“No,” Aurora interrupted. “I’m staying here until I can take Lila back to our coven.” She stepped closer, and her voice lowered as her glare darkened. "And if those wolves dare touch another witch from Oak Spirit again, I’ll rip them apart.”

Jaren nodded. “I get it, you’re pissed, but threatening them isn’t wise.”

She rolled her eyes and walked past him, “I don’t care.”

Chapter Text

There was a protocol for the vampires, the witches, the werewolves to not attack an Orion agent. It was against the rules since outside forces like the police wouldn’t hesitate to kill them. Who they were to the world was a myth, a story twisted in everyway possible, and they were also nightmares, a grandiose source of entertainment and escape.

They were meant to be free, and the ones who know about them were meant to keep that freedom from being attacked by the humans. 

Jaren was leaned against the wall, catching his breath from Aurora’s magic seizing the entire hall. He didn’t blame her for the rage in her body, for the fear of Lila’s predicament. He was not in danger of her, and she had let go of his body, the weight in the air, in a matter of seconds.

He continued his way to the main floor and came to a stop when he spotted Brock appearing from the hallway to his far left. Their eyes met, and there seemed to be an urgency as Brock made his way across the room to him.

“When did you get in?” Jaren asked, almost having the urge to yawn.

“Twenty minutes ago,” Brock said. There were bags underneath his eyes, and he was shaking, he also smelled of fresh coffee. He was holding papers in his hand, including his tablet. “The fledgling is asking for you.”

He knew sooner or later he’d have to speak to John again, but he was safe within Orion, and that no one even knew where he was. For now, he was not a priority.

“Tell him I’ll speak to him later.”

Brock nodded and hurried off toward the elevator while Jaren sauntered toward the front doors, and pushed them open. The warm air had a sort of cold spring wind going on as Jaren headed for his car. Once he sat inside, he tried going through what he wanted to say to Vivienne Cane, the Witch Leader of the Oak Spirit Coven.

He hadn’t been the type of person who would go speak to a leader, but he had done so with the wolves, except Randall had come to Orion. Talking to Vivienne would be tricky, less then trying to get an audience with the vampire leader. He didn’t even want to think about it if it ever came to it.

Before Jaren started up the car, his phone buzzed from the inside of his coat pocket. He took it out and found a new report from another Orion agent. He stared at the words, reading it twice before letting out a groan.

Shit. This is getting worse and worse.

Jaren drove away from Orion, fingers tapping on the steering wheel at several red lights, while listening to the silence. He didn’t dare drown out the heavy thoughts in his mind with music. He needed to stay focused now that there was another murder. This one was a bit stranger than normally, but he had to be at the crime scene.

He parked his car near the back alley of third block Robert St. He grabbed his camera and walked the rest of the way, pulling out his Orion badge to get himself past the yellow tape. He spotted the Orion agent standing to the side. Her arms were crossed and she wore an all black suit with a white shirt underneath. Her sunglasses hid her green eyes as she turned and regarded him with a nod.

“Who is it?” he asked her, learning her name is Sasha Lowell. 

“Donna Kay,” Sasha said, looking toward the body under the shade of a tree and surrounded by thick grass. Yet from where Jaren stood, he could see the strangeness of the body, the curling black ends of the grass. There was even the strong scent of ash in the air, a burning body, almost sickly sweet. “She belonged to the One Eyed Raven Vampire Coven.”

Jaren nodded, adjusting his camera. He told Sasha he was going to take a few pictures of his own and walked past two police officers. They were quietly talking to one another, yet their conversation was mostly about how ugly the body had become, and their own pity was sharp on their tongue.

He took pictures of Donna’s scorched body. It was abnormal to human kind. Humans don’t burn like this. The woman’s skin hadn’t peeled, it was simply a grey ash, while her black hair was burned away, several clumps were left in the grass, blood alongside it.

From what he knew of the scene, Donna had fought whoever attacked her, and who eventually killed her. There were deep indentations in her arms, her neck, her legs. Her mouth was left open, as if she had been screaming up until her body became a burned out husk.

It was horrifying.

He walked back to Sasha who told him Chiron agents will be arriving to make sure Donna Kay’s remains are given back to her leader. Until then, they couldn’t do anything.

“What do you think attacked her?” he asked her.

She shrugged, “First thing that came to mind was a werewolf. A vampire nor a witch would have done what killed Donna.” She gave him a grim smile. “Nor a human could go up against a vampire. Whoever had done this made sure she was incapacitated until the sun rose, and they let her burn.”

Jaren walked back toward his car. Each step was heavier than he had thought it would. He was disturbed by what he had seen, yet the questions all piled up alongside it. Who killed William Grey, a leader of a wolf pack, and an underling vampire? This also made him wonder about John, and Lila. Why were they involved in this?

He turned the corner and came to a quick stop at the figure leaning against his car. “What are you doing here?” he asked, taking out his keys from his pocket.

The reaper smiled at him. “Oh, you know me, where death goes, I follow.”

Jaren rolled his eyes. “Do you know what happened?” he asked, unlocking the car.

“I don’t ask questions of how people die. If it’s their decision or not, death is death, like life, you all don’t have much of a reason for it, like it has no reason when it takes you for who you are.” He chuckled as he got into the passenger seat.

Jaren wasn’t sure how he felt about having a reaper smiling at him in his car. He felt as if it were normal, but if someone looked at him strangely while he talked to the air, then he’ll be the abnormal one.

“How is the investigation, by the way?” Brian asked.

He sighed. “I won’t be able to get any information from Donna Kay’s body until I get verified by her coven leader.”

Brian hummed. “And who is that?”

Did he even care or was this some sort of way to make small talk? Either way, Jaren just wanted to go back to Orion and figure out his next move in the investigation.

“Jude Camden,” Jaren answered quietly. He was yet another leader that Jaren didn’t want to speak too, if anything, Jaren was regretting not making more friends in the vampire community.

There wasn’t much else to talk about with a reaper as he headed back to Orion. He didn’t even buy coffee, and the regret ran circles in his head as he stepped into the foyer. Brian had his hands tucked in his dark blue jean pockets, and was smiling at everyone inside.

“Ah, life with all their pretty numbers,” Brian said, then he nudged Jaren in the arm, which somewhat disturbed him that he was able to be touched by him. “Some things don’t exist, but humans have a way of making everything exist. Isn’t that strange?”

Jaren frowned. “No.”

“What are we doing today?” Brian asked, following Jaren toward the elevator. 

He might as well speak to the fledgling and see what he wants. “Why are you following me?” he asked, standing in the elevator with the reaper. He didn’t bother looking at him and hoped no one was listening in on their conversation. He almost had the urge to glance up at the camera in the corner.

“Death follows death,” Brian tells him, rocking back and forth. “And I notice it follows you quite close at your heels. Why not loiter around a bit?”

“You have been until Evan paid you for that six months.”

Brian shrugged. “I only did that in the first few days before your time was up, no need to think I’m some kind of stalker.” He chuckled at whatever joke he was making as he once again followed Jaren down the hall toward the Containment Sector, he made a turn toward the detainment cell.

Jaren scanned his card over the keypad and went straight for the detainment cell. Once inside, the room was quiet besides Brock standing before a desk, and two computer monitors that were on and brightly displayed the tension on his face.

“Your friend has a smell of death too,” Brian says, grinning at Brock. “Except the difference with him is that he isn’t going to die any time soon.”

Jaren ignored Brian and greeted Brock.

He glanced up and the tension was somewhat smoothed away. “Ah, I see your morning has been going good.”

Jaren shrugged. “Somewhat. There was another murder.” He looked toward the detainment cell where the fledgling was inside. He wasn’t awake, and was sleeping on the bed instead of the floor. He seemed normal from where Jaren was standing.

“Is that why Jude Camden is here?” Brock asked.

Jaren arched a brow. Now that was surprising to hear. “He is?” No one had told him, yet again. He’s going to have to talk with Anthony about this.

“People gossip,” Brock sighed while organizing his papers, “and apparently he had come here to speak to the director personally. I’m sure it’s a surprise to everyone since Jude doesn’t take the risk to walk outside, but from what I know, he must’ve taken the tunnels. I’m guessing the victim was from his coven.”

“Well, isn’t he smart,” Brian mocked. He was leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. 

“Donna Kay,” Jaren said, taking a step closer to the glass. “She was attacked and forced to burn under the sun.”

Brock winced. “I see…”

“Can I see him?” Jaren asked, tapping the glass.

“Of course,” Brock said, and this seemed a bit too eager, and Brock noticed the odd look. “I mean...there’s something different about him, and I’m glad you came here so I can tell you.”

This was interesting. “You said the black blood was normal.”

Brock nodded uneasily. “I know. There are different factors in the last few hours since his breakdown, including the turning.”

“He’s finished?”

“Apparently,” Brock said, wringing his fingers. “Yes, he’s finished. From what I learned of the tests, that John can heal quickly like normal vampires, but from the wounds he had sustained from whoever had bitten him, he was meant to die during the turning. Someone like him...was not supposed to survive.”

 I thought maybe...a mortal would change it.

“Whoever had done this...wanted him dead?”

“I don’t think they would’ve done what they did if they wanted him dead,” Brock said, letting out a nervous laugh. “But I think from what happened to him, including his violent temper that has now lessened, and the immense vomiting, he wasn’t supposed to survive the transition until the blood within him,” Brock shrugged, “healed him.”

Jaren slowly nodded. There were a few questions that were eluding him, some that made him think about William Grey and Donna Kay’s death, and now John Keyes, who somehow managed to survive when they died.

Brock stood beside him on Jaren’s left side, while Brian took his right. “We did give him blood capsules to stave off the hunger, but he seems unusually healthy for a newborn vampire.”

“What about the black blood?” Jaren asked. “Why did it heal him?”

“I’m not entirely sure yet,” Brock said, “but from what I know and the tests I conducted since he was brought in. The blood is poisonous to both vampire and werewolf strains.”

Jaren hardly knew what to say about that besides asking if he can go inside. Brock didn’t seem unwilling as he opened the door, then closed it behind him as Jaren walked toward John. 

“Hey,” Jaren said, clearing his throat. He needed to drink a lot of water after this, maybe a coffee too. “John…wake up.” He nudged him a few times until Jaren caught sight of sleepy dark eyes before John slowly pushed himself up. The thin white blanket covered a portion of his body, and almost slipped off the bed before he grasped it.

“You’re here…” John murmured, a soft smile pulled at the corner of his lips, then he smelled the air. “You smell like me.”

Jaren opened his mouth, unsure of what to say about that.

“Isn’t he quite a strange specimen,” Brian said from a foot behind Jaren to his left.

John glanced up sharply, then stared toward the reaper. A disturbed look passed over his features as he pulled the blanket over his face, fingers curling into the fabric. “What the fuck is that?”

Oh, right. They don’t have a smell.

Brian snickered and stepped past Jaren to examine John’s strange form. He was shaking while Jaren simply watched the reaper leaning down to grin at the frightened vampire.

“This is Brian,” Jaren told him.

“What is it? What is it? What is it?” John asked, eyes wide as Brian stepped back.

“It’s quite unusual,” Brian said, smirking at Jaren. “You should kill it before the vampires consider it an abomination.”

“Out of anyone, I’m pretty sure you shouldn’t be saying John’s an it when you’re not even from this world.”

“I never said I wasn’t.” He walked to the other side of the room, and grinned in amusement at the two.

“Will they kill me?” John asked, unable to look away from Brian.

“No,” Jaren reassured him as he stood beside the bed. “You’re registered to Orion, so you’re Orion’s property and responsibility. At least until you’re no longer useful.”

John frowned at him, leaning close. “Will you come back?”

“Yeah…” Jaren said uneasily. There was a lot to consider now as the investigation was getting more messier and intense. He left the detainment cell and told Brock he’ll return tomorrow afternoon. Brian wasn’t as annoying as they headed back upstairs, at least until they walked into the foyer.

“Ah, look at this,” Brian said as he and Jaren noticed two odd individuals standing near the front desk. They looked like college students in clean black coats, the woman wore black tight jeans with black jeans, a leather jacket and a black shirt underneath. Her dark hair was pulled up into a high pony tail, while the other had messy brown hair and had a brown satchel over his shoulder, he held a book, and wore nice black shoes that reminded Jaren of Randall’s.

The two of them turned in synch, and even their expressions twisted into sneers. It would’ve bothered anyone except Jaren who was already tired of the day’s events and hardly reacted. At least until their sneers fell flat when they found a strangeness toward Brian who stood next to Jaren.

“I always enjoy when vampires have no idea what death is until they look it in the face,” Brian said to Jaren who dropped his gaze from the vampires who were now horrified of Brian, and his lack of scent. Everything had a scent, but reapers, they weren’t of the world that had a pulse, or that breathed air. Brian was death, a part of it that collected souls of the living. He seemed amused when others realized how...nonexistent he truly is.

Jaren couldn’t help the smile as he walked across the foyer toward the front doors. Once outside, Brian hummed quietly before coming to a stop, and Jaren seemed to notice the odd haunted look he was giving him.

“What is it?”

Brian spoke in an almost deadpan tone that sent a shiver down Jaren’s spine. “You should get back to your investigation on William Grey’s death, and how it connects to a vampire and a witch.”

Chapter Text

His smell is distinct and it fills the entire room. Kryoz is curled against the wall, shaking underneath the thin white blanket. He tries to ignore the scent, but since he had come out of the...transition, it’s been difficult to ignore the heightened senses he’s been given.

SMii7y’s scent is odd, and he’s only been inside the room once, but he sticks to everything as if he ran his hands along the wall, the floor, Kryoz’s hair and face. The other person who appeared in the room was another mystery altogether. He wasn’t sure who they were, but the moment he looked at them, his senses rang inside his head that something about them was wrong. It made his skin crawl as he looked at the ordinary man with a grin on his face.

It.

The single word made Kryoz feel less like himself. Not like he has been himself since he was bitten. The attack appeared in his dreams as if he was reliving the event over and over again. A few that stuck to his own skin because of it, making him choke out the black substance when his eyes opened wide, and the pain burned him as the mess continued to grow.

He really did think he was going to die all over again. Maybe a few more times, or that it was never going to end, and that he’ll have to live with it as he stayed trapped within the tight confines of Orion.

All he wanted was SMii7y, and the smell comforted him enough that he was able to sleep. Even now, he was okay closing his eyes and falling asleep. At least until he heard the door to the room beginning to open. He blinked his eyes a few times, expecting either Dr. Barrus, or someone else, maybe SMii7y, but his scent was too distinct...so it couldn’t be him.

And yet, there was no one entering the room. He stared at the open door, and slid from the bed when it stayed open and there was no other noise coming from the outside. He was slow in his approach before crossing the threshold and looked to where Dr. Barrus usually was, but he wasn’t there anymore.

“Hello?” he called, and went still at the small scent of something familiar, and when he looked down, there was a red capsule lying on the ground. He reached down, confused by its appearance as he took it between his fingers. Blood. His mouth went parch, and the clothes he wore was warm and uncomfortable as he stared it, almost transfixed, and without thinking about it he put the capsule into his mouth.

He was a vampire, right? SMii7y had given him one before when he had awakened up after...he died.

He didn’t bite down right away, he let the capsule sit on his tongue. Once he does bite down, the blood will swarm his entire mouth, and he won’t lie...he’s kind of scared of what his reaction will be.

Kryoz glanced into the room and SMii7y’s scent is still all over the place. Coffee, caramel, maybe a bit of smoke and...a dead body. He wrinkled his nose at that particular scent. He was one of the agents from this organization, the scent would always stick to him as much as the coffee in his mouth.

He bit down on the capsule, letting the blood fill and seep down into his throat. So parch, thirsty for more, and the scents all around the room are more stronger now. Dr. Barrus was in the room not too long ago, but he left...then someone entered afterwards, so close behind that they were able to unlock the door and leave behind the capsules.

He sniffed the air, teeth clenched, hands shaking at his sides as he looked for the rest of the capsules. They were here, somewhere on the ground, and he spots them in the low light inside the office. Small red capsules that he plucks from the ground, not bothering to hold back his hunger for the blood as he clenches down and breaks them. He moans at the taste, at the way his body is both cold and warm, but it isn’t as uncomfortable as it had been when he was transitioning into a vampire.

“I need more…” he said under his breath as he searched for the rest of the capsules, and then he was at the door to the room. Someone let him out and they were leading him away from the office, why? He pulled the door open and stepped out into the bright hall. Every part of him wants to recoil, to step back within the shadows, but he sees the capsules on the white floor and collapses to the ground, ignoring the pain in his knees as he reaches for the blood.

More. More. More.

He almost wants to laugh at those painful thoughts running in circles within his head. He knows what he wants, its an itch in the back of his mind, and as he takes the capsules within his mouth, his senses widen and he sprints down the hall. There’s more, but it’s varied. Two in each hall. One at the beginning and one at the end. He checked the doors when he passed them. A few are locked, one is unlocked, and when he listens to whispers coming closer, he hides within the room. Closing the door carefully behind him, and he waits until the sound grows then dims as the people walk by.

Kryoz slips out again, following the distinct scent in the air and pushes open a heavy door that leads to a staircase leading all the way down. One capsule on one floor, and he follows, taking the blood, letting out a groan at the back of his mind before wiping away some blood that had trickled from his open mouth. He licks the back of his hand, panting softly.

More. More. More.

He comes to a full stop on the stairs, barely falling as he grasps the railing as an image of SMii7y enters his head. A smile on his lips as he stands behind the bar. Another time when he’s pulling a tooth from a vampire, then standing beside him as Kryoz lays on the bed after dying. SMii7y’s scent clings even how far Kryoz has run from the room, it stays on him, and he shakes at the taste of coffee and caramel in the air. As if he stands before him without a care in the world.

More. Now that he’s able to think more clearly, the word isn’t really about the capsules or the blood inside. The taste itself is not appetizing as he had thought it would be. No. That’s not really why he’s chasing after these capsules. It’s the release that comes with it, the pain in his body, the loneliness he feels, and the tension that makes him want to claw at his skin. He doesn’t want these capsules as much as he had thought.

He continues looking for them anyways, picking them up and biting them, letting the blood fill his mouth. He’s not as hazy as he had felt back inside the room. That is a plus to all of this, and he isn’t assaulted by the pain of dying then becoming a vampire.

At least he isn’t empty anymore.

Once at the bottom of the staircase, Kryoz looks for more of the capsules and finds an elevator instead.

Beside the panel, a capsule had been broken and someone wrote with it on the white wall.

FLOOR C

“What the fuck is going on?” he asked, trying to rationalize what is happening as he pressed a button on the elevator and it slid open. It was a normal looking elevator as he stepped inside, and when he looked at the metal panel, it had all the top floors in numbers, then the bottom ones were alphabetized that only went to E.

He pressed the button that had been written on the wall, and held the handle that was on the side as the elevator descended. It seemed someone besides SMii7y was leading him out of Orion. Except, who could it be, it’s not like he had friends who knew about Orion, and he hasn't met many vampire friends .

As he thought about this, he stepped out of the elevator and awkwardly found himself standing before a long tunnel with round lights ten feet apart, yet still made this place look extremely creepy. And the other thing was that the capsules have continued upon each round light that had been installed within a metal panel in the cement. It sat in the center as he reached down and plopped them inside his mouth.

The tunnel had the stench of dirt, ash, and the possible scent of a decaying body. It seemed a little too specific. Maybe a sweetness after flesh burned, the droplets of blood that made itself into a puddle on the ground hardly gave off a nice scent. What he was trying to describe was that this tunnel didn’t smell nice in the least, even how clean it was. There was a stain upon the ground, in the air itself as Kryoz walked past each light, collecting the capsules in his hand, biting into them as if they were sour patch candies that he used to buy.

After fifteen or so minutes after, Kryoz found himself at the end of the tunnel and was standing before another grey heavy door. There was a keypad on the side, and written in blood beside it was the numbers to the keypad.

He pressed his finger on the buttons and watched the red light blink to green. The door unlocked, and he stepped inside.

Kryoz went still once again as the door behind him closed, and there was someone inside the wide square room within him. It looked as if it was another office room, but there were papers lying on the ground at the man’s feet, crumpled, ripped apart, or burned.

The man was clapping his scarred hands, a grin stretching across his face. He had pale skin, dark bags under green eyes, and curly brown hair. He wore a red and black plaid shirt with a white v-neck shirt underneath, a faded blue knee ripped pants, and black and white sneakers.

“Uh...who are you?” Kryoz asked, plopping another capsule into his mouth. The man looked younger than he was, maybe in his early twenties. He can tell just by looking at him and by the smell that this man was a vampire. He had a bag on the desk that was full of capsules, he can tell by the smell.

“Glad you asked.” The man had a distinct British accent. “My name is Basil, I’m a friend of a friend.”

“Of mine?”

He shrugged, leaning back against the chair he was sitting on. “We can be friends, I mean...I did let you out of your cage.”

Cage. Right. He was a little suffocated in there, his mind on the excessive vomiting while his body shook uncontrollably. The turning was not pretty as he would have liked, but afterward, they barely let him have as much of the capsules that were now in his hand, and the hands of this vampire.

“Why did you let me out?”

Basil’s smile stayed intact, but Kryoz could see the amused glint in his eyes. “Oh, you’re kind of an interest of mine ever since you got yourself bit by Sebastian of all people.”

Kryoz blinked at the name, at the night when he was turned. “You know...him?” he asked.

“Like I said, I’m a friend of a friend.”

“You’re friends with him?”

“Not really.” Basil stood and reached for the bag of capsules, then arched a brow at the ones in Kryoz’ hand. “I’m surprised you aren’t crazy like usual newborns are. They are a desperate bunch. Always wanting their next fix, but you’re standing there, eating them like—”

“Candy,” Kryoz said, shrugging.

Basil chuckled. “I think we’ll get along nicely if you have such good control and an interesting sense of humor.” He turned toward the door that led out of the room.

“You want me to follow you?” Kryoz asked. SMii7y’s scent flickered in his mind. If he walked out of the room with this strange man, he was getting further away from it, and a part of him didn’t want that.

Basil opened the door and looked over his shoulder at Kryoz. “They see you out of your little cage, they’ll kill you without hesitation. If you walk out without my assistance, you’ll burn in the sun.”

Kryoz gritted his teeth. Fucking bastard planned this. “Fine.”

“Good choice,” Basil said, snickering as he walked past the threshold, and Kryoz reluctantly followed him into the darkness of yet another tunnel.

Chapter Text

SMii7y’s phone went off, and he shot up into a sitting position at his table. He reached for the phone and answered it in a drowsy tone as he tried shutting his eyelids again.

“Hey, I thought of calling you...making sure you came to work,” Anthony said on the other line, sounding awkward.

SMii7y hummed.

“Do you know what time it is?”

SMii7y wasn’t even sure what he was talking about as he leaned down against the table, the smell of ink, paper, and coffee was briefly around him as he tried letting sleep pull him under again.

“SMii7y!”

“I’m here…”

“No, you’re not.” Anthony sighed. “It’s nine. You were supposed to be here at seven-thirty, if not, eight.”

“I am.”

“Are you falling asleep?”

All SMii7y did was hum again, his hand weak, then he dropped the phone beside him. He could still hear his friend talking.

“SMii7y, you know, that vampire you’ve been hanging around with...he’s gone.” Anthony’s voice was slightly far off thanks to SMii7y dropping the phone on the table, but the words were clear enough for SMii7y to open his eyes again.

“What the fuck do you mean, he’s gone?” SMii7y asked, picking up the phone again and sitting up. He stretched, letting out a groan as Anthony explained that a security guard noticed John walking around out of his cell on the cameras. They’ve been trying to look for him for the past twenty minutes now with no avail.

“Shit, shit,” SMii7y said as he got up, ignoring the way a few papers fell off the table and the chair hitting the floor. He sprinted for his bedroom, leaving Anthony on speaker as he tore the clothes off he hadn’t yet changed from yesterday and looked for new ones.

“I thought you would be in, but knowing your hours...and your car,” Anthony said.

SMii7y cursed as he buttoned up a white shirt, not caring that it was kind of wrinkled nor that he left the two buttons at the collar untouched as he reached for a black blazer on the side. Next was his pants and a pair of socks.

“Did anyone mention my absence?”

“I don’t think anyone cares.”

Wonderful. That means some people have noticed his absence, and he hardly wanted to get a complaint about it. SMii7y pulled his pants on, then his socks, and rushed from the room with his leather brown bookbag he bought spontaneously one time. He cringed at the sight of the papers and documents he left on his kitchen table and slipped his shoes on.

“I’ll be there in fifteen.”

“Make sure that you do, I’d rather not end up with a complaint of my own.” Anthony hung up as SMii7y opened his front door, stepped out, then locked it. He was still so drowsy, mouth full of stagnant coffee he hadn’t yet finished from last night. A lot had happened, and he wanted to go over some of the reports with William Grey’s death, including looking into the backgrounds of everyone who knew him. Of course, there was Donna Kay’s death, and including the witches who came into the picture ever since Lila Woods was brought in for questioning.

He dropped his bag into the passenger seat when he managed to unlock the door, then started up the car. The awful thing about this is that his car wouldn’t start for him. It was all painful swearing and almost wanting to get out and run to work like he had done once before. However, he needed to quickly get there instead of braving the cold autumn air.

It took almost twenty minutes until Anthony texted, asking if he was okay. SMii7y texted back a smiley face as the car finally started up. He drove, tapping the gas meter and hoping he wasn’t about to run out of gas on his way. He forgot to fill it up again last night. Damn it. To his surprise and relief, he makes it work and parks his car in the lot.

He grabs for his bag, then sprints toward the employee side door. Scanning his keycard and pulling the door open when the light turns to green. Once inside, it’s all stuffy and too many bright lights as he rubs his eyes again. He’s still tired, and wonders if he’ll ever have a decent night’s sleep without one of his friends from work waking him up and telling him that he’s late, and that a vampire that had been in captivity for its safety was now loose.

“Shit, John, what the hell happened now?” They talked nicely yesterday, so he didn’t expect John to react in such a way. There had to be a reason and he really wanted to know what that reason was now that he made it to work.

Anthony is waiting at the end of the hall and waves at him. He has two cups of coffee, and unfortunately SMii7y drinks his cold.

“I thought you’d be here earlier,” Anthony said as they walked toward Brock’s sector where the detainment cell was kept.

“My car wouldn’t start.” It was a painful twenty minutes, and he was even annoyed by the thought of it as he sipped the cold coffee. Somehow, it was still incredibly bitter enough that SMii7y had no inclinations to toss it in the nearest garbage. He didn’t like when his coffee was bitter, but it was enough to wake him up with each sip he took.

“Can you tell me what happened exactly?”

“All cameras were blacked out before the event, maybe thirty minutes or less, but enough time that once they came back, your vampire was making his way out of the cell and down the hall,” Anthony gestured with the hand he was holding his coffee with. A long white corridor that led toward a few more corridors, and farther down was the tunnels for the vampires’ use whenever they wanted to enter Orion during the daytime.

“What was he doing?” SMii7y asked.

“Following bread crumbs,” Anthony said, and SMii7y gave him a perplexed look, “in other words, whoever led him out of the facility, led him with blood capsules, enough to sate a newborn for several weeks.”

SMii7y hummed. Well, that’s not good. Who wanted to release John from his cell like that, and who actually knew about him being inside Orion. It wasn’t like the news was public knowledge, or that the city newspaper even wrote an article about it. Orion was a secure government organization, no one but the other supernatural factions knew of its existence, including others who were meant to know about it.

“Someone helped him escape,” SMii7y said as he and Anthony stood in front of several cameras within the security room that was close to the detainment cell.

“Seems incredibly likely, unless John enjoys following his own blood capsule trail, then that’s what most have considered after seeing the footage,” said Anthony, taking another sip and grimacing.

SMii7y told Anthony that he wants John’s background searched thoroughly again, including his friends and families, any enemies he might’ve made in the last two years. He needs more information to go on, and if this meant that someone knew John, and had knowledge of exactly where he was, including moving around Orion without detection. SMii7y doesn’t want to suspect someone within this organization just yet. Of course, SMii7y kept that last part a secret, for now.

He did ask about Brock, but he wasn’t in when it all went down. He had been at home, sleeping in his bed. Once he did find out, he was now in a meeting with several other doctors and researchers, including a few security to find out a way to make their side of the building more secure.

Anthony left as SMii7y dropped his half empty cup into the garbage. He followed the same path that John had made, memorizing the way he picked up each capsule and swallowed it. The look of euphoria had been on his face before he soon got used to the taste. Now, he had been only eager for so much more that was given to him. No wonder he followed the obvious path without complaint. A newborn like John would be easy to kill if it ever came down to it.

He pushed open the heavy door that led to the tunnels below. There were different junctions that allowed certain vampires into buildings throughout the city. They never went too far out. The city grid had no clearance in knowing about these passages unless they had to know for maintenance, which someone within Orion would take care of.

SMii7y descended the stairs to the bottom, then stopped when he spotted something in the corner of his eye. He peered down at it, then picked it up between his fingers. A capsule. Discarded to the side. A vampire wouldn’t ignore its presence like this.

“John…” SMii7y said under his breath, keeping the capsule in his pocket as he unlocked the door and walked within the cold damp tunnels, somewhat dark thanks to the lights that were embedded within the cement. He followed it, finding another capsule on the ground. What did it mean? Either John no longer cared for the capsules, or he was allowing them to be discarded because of who was leading him out of Orion.

Did he suspect the strangeness as well?

The tunnels themselves were only used for the vampire leaders like Jude Camden. Of course, he’d have to schedule a meeting so the tunnels would be left open for his use. Other than that, no one else had clearance, and that bothered SMii7y as he reached the room where the cameras had gone dead completely. Apparently, John had walked inside and that was it. No one else was seen or heard throughout the footage that they found.

He scanned the ground and found another capsule. Pocketed it, he walked by the chair sitting in the center, and pushed open the door on the other side of the room. He had to find John, he had to know where he was, and what was happening to him.

He just didn’t know where to start, and that made him hesitate, he stepped back from the door and scowled at it as it closed shut. Someone led him out and took him from Orion, from SMii7y’s safety. He had to find John, and unfortunately, right now, SMii7y had to locate more info before setting out.

Chapter Text

10:30AM

Brock opened the door to his office. It was good he was no longer sitting in a conference room with several other Orion researchers, scientists, and doctors. It was bad enough most of the blame was on him and his own lab.

John Keyes had gone missing from his own secure cell, and he couldn’t even seem to keep the newborn vampire inside of it. He tested it out on other vampires before John, so he didn’t understand how John could’ve escaped. At least when he did, most of the files hadn’t been taken out or deleted. Whoever helped him escaped the cameras, but they also didn’t seem all that interested in the files at all.

What was their end goal then? Simply to let John out of the cell during the day, was this a way to get back at the vampire for surviving something that William Grey and Donna Kay hadn’t been able too?

Brock sighed at those lingering thoughts as he closed the door and sat down in his chair. There were so much more he had to do today, and one of things was not to overthink his own thoughts. He had to make sure everything was backed up, and that if ever happened again, he wouldn’t lose anything.

After a few minutes, there was a knock at his door. The first thing that flashed in his head was the other doctors, or maybe even his supervisor. He really didn’t need one while working in Orion.

Brock turned in his chair and was about to get up when the light from the hall outside his room made him go still. The door shouldn’t have been left open. He looked up and stared at the open door, and not just the door, but at the figure standing in the threshold.

A tall man with brown hair and a smile on his lips. He was pale, and wore a black trench coats, jeans, and sneakers. He also wore leather black gloves as he closed the door to the room.

“Are you the one who let him out?” Brock asked, curling his fingers in his lap. Why would the person come back to this room simply to bother Brock? Or was his research truly what they wanted and John’s escape was a distraction.

“No,” the man said. “And I don’t normally say hello personally to most of Jaren’s friends, but he told me to bother someone else, so here I am.”

Jaren?

“You’re a friend of his?” he asked, then shook away the surprise. “Why are you here? This is an authorized room—”

“You know, Brock, I don’t care about this place being authorized, or that I don’t have any status amongst the researchers, scientists, doctors, and patients of Orion,” the man said as he drew close, making Brock nervous. “I can wander in and out whenever I want simply because this place reeks of death, and I can talk to you simply because you also have a touch of death on your skin.”

“What...do you want?” Brock asked him, sitting back against his chair as the man leaned down, turning his head, a smile spread across his face. He was a stranger, but he was also incredibly intimidating.

 “I want to be a pest today, Brock, so here I am, your pest,” the man said, taking a step back and peering around the room. “I’m Brian, by the way.”

Chapter Text

He was shivering, actually fucking shivering because of what was happening. Shit. He should’ve spoke him to the other day when he stopped by, actually fucking spoke to him then wandering home to his bed, thinking everything would be fine and dandy the next day. But nope, the newborn vampire had to get up and take a stroll out of fucking Orion.

“Jaren, you’re going to have to calm down, your stress levels are getting a little too high,” said Anthony who was sitting in the passenger seat, pointing a thin small rectangular device in his hand that was currently pointed at Jaren. Apparently, one of Anthony’s many jobs is to point it at the co-workers to see if they were okay for work, and if they weren’t, they’d either have to cut down on the caffeine, take a nap in the break room, possibly take a Tylenol, or speak to the building’s therapist about why they were feeling the way they were.

“Anthony, I need you to shut up,” said Jaren, drinking the rest of his coffee and getting back into the car. It was so damn cold he could hardly focus on his own shivering when he finally slammed the door closed. “We might need to make a stop at Jude’s place.”

Anthony grimaced. “Take me back to Orion.”

“No, you’re fine, you can come with me.”

“I don’t want too.”

Jaren turned on the car, turned the heat up to keep them both from freezing. “I don’t care, Anthony. I need someone there with me for moral support.”

“And what do you call this?” Anthony asked while Jaren drove out of the parking lot of the coffee shop.

“Moral support,” Jaren said, trying to recall where Jude’s coven hangs out at. “Did they move areas?”

“From the updated reports on the vampire and werewolf covens, I don’t think so.”

“You don’t think so?” Jaren asked, frowning at Anthony before driving toward a red light.

Anthony let out a sigh. “Well, ever since William Grey was murdered, and the other day, Donna Kay’s body was found, and a bunch of fingers are being pointed at the witches’ so-called involvement, Jude could’ve moved his coven to keep his group alive until things settled down.”

Jaren grinded his teeth at the work he was going to end up doing. He was not looking forward to any of this. And he really didn’t want to think about it, so he stayed quiet and continued the drive down the street.

Out of everything that happened, why did John have to leave? Shit. He should’ve said something, or at least done something. But what would he have done? There was nothing he could’ve changed about the circumstances they were now in besides calming John down about what was happening to him. And right now, all Jaren could do was his job and that was to investigate the damn murders.

“I can’t believe you’re bringing me to House of the One Eyed Raven,” Anthony said, almost sinking into his seat while hugging himself.

Jaren shook his head. He can’t believe any of this was actually happening. “I’m the one who has to go inside and speak to Jude Camden myself, unlike you.”

“Are you telling me that I can stay in the car while you speak to him?” Anthony asked, seeming to calm down.

“Yes. That’s exactly what I’m telling you,” said Jaren, feeling unusually fearful of his decision, but it was also protocol to ask questions to suspected people, and right now, one of the largest covens in the city didn’t look so hot when a newborn vampire has been unleashed to the public. Although, if anything...it was day time, and Jaren wasn’t certain if John would survive without yearning for the sun like most newborns usually did. He could end up finding his smoldering corpse like Donna Kay’s back in that alley.

He didn’t want that either. He disliked the thought of more bodies showing up here and there, even when it came from Werewolves, Vampires, or the Witches. He had to get this under control, and that meant not fucking panicking.

“We’re almost there,” Jaren said as a way to calm himself down. A few more blocks, and they were partially out of the city and toward a road that led to Jude Camden’s Vampire Clan. One of the prestigious clan’s in this area of the country. He has many places that he disappeared to during certain seasons, but from what Jaren knew, the murders in this city had stalled him from leaving. He was about to disembark until William Grey’s death was announced.

Then Donna Kay.

Jude, like the other vampire covens, had responsibilities to undertake, and since he was close to the Director of Orion, he decided to linger until the investigation was cleared. At least this is what Jaren was assuming.

They rounded several tall pine trees as the grey clouds thickened around them. It almost looked as if it were going to rain or snow soon. Either way, Jaren was still shaking in his body, fingers tightened on the steering wheel, heart thudding in his ears.

Shit. I really hope this goes right or this might end up terrible.

He was not idealistically friends with any of the vampire covens. He rarely talked to them, but he knew them enough from photo’s, videos, and other sorts when he entered Orion, of who they were, and who he was either meant to avoid or not.

And as an investigator,  Jaren was not supposed to waltz up to a Vampire leader’s incredibly nice estate, all white walls and black windows, covered in thick grey curtains. The entire structure was surrounded by a tall iron wrought fence with trees surrounding the area. From what he knew, there was an underground tunnel leading into the city, and one of them directly heading to Orion. Only Jude Camden, and another leader, was meant to know of its existence, and will authorized certain vampires to use the tunnels. Either that, the vampires could wander independently during the night without drinking the blood of the human civilians, nor fight amongst the other covens.

The gates opened for them as if they were expected. This idea didn’t sit well with Jaren as he drove into the courtyard of the estate.

“They do live well, don’t they,” said Anthony as he peered up at the incredibly white building.

“They’re immortals, I’m sure they have a lot they worked for over their long years,” Jaren said as he parked near the front steps. He sighed as he passed the keys to Anthony. “I’ll be out, don’t worry about me.”

“Oh, I won’t, but I’m sure the vampires will have fun with you,” Anthony said with a smile.

Jaren rolled his eyes then he got out of the car. The second he closed the door, his heart was hammering in his chest so loud he did not want the vampires to hear how nervous he felt, but now that there was no going back, he couldn’t ignore his duties to his work.

He took in a deep breath, then walked toward the smooth staircase to the top. The front door was a dark bronze with a silver handle. He thought of those horror books he used to read when he was young about Werewolves hating silver. He didn’t think Vampires disliked silver simply because they had it as their door knob.

Jaren knocked on the front door and waited for a few seconds, and right when he was about to knock again, the door opened to a woman with brown and grey hair, she wore a blue dress with silver lacings and brown flats. It seemed quite odd for this woman to wear these types of clothes while living with Vampires, but he didn’t want to judge outright simply because of her clothes.

“Jude’s expecting you,” the woman said before Jaren could ask for the Vampire leader.

“Uh, thank you,” said Jaren awkwardly as he stepped into the house once the woman widened the door for him.

Jaren wasn’t surprised by the absolute darkness inside the house. Although, in one room or another, there was light leaking past the thick grey drapes. Maybe it was for this woman in particular.

“I’m Rose, by the way, a friend of the family,” Rose said with a warm smile as she led Jaren down the hall.

“Jaren, I’m an investigator—”

“For Orion, yes, Jude did bring that up not too long ago,” Rose said. “He was almost waiting for someone to come and visit him ever since Donna was found.” The woman shook her head sadly, her brows were furrowed, and even her frown deepened with the grief she must be feeling.

“Yes, but there is more I wanted to speak with Jude about some other things besides...Donna,” said Jaren, hoping he wasn’t being insensitive about their loss. He wasn’t even sure if they felt it all that much simply because they were vampires, but that was his own ignorance.

Rose led him to a room to their left, and inside, Jaren’s heart raced, and he hated how the people within seemed to look either at their presence, or knowing he was nervous for being near any of them. He was not nervous, he was not...nervous...he was trying his hardest to believe that.

Rose placed a hand on Jaren’s arm, “They are kind people.” And with that, she left the room, and Jaren recalled the time when he had to stand at the front of the class during school, and present his damn work. This felt the same thing, but more dangerous and uncomfortable.

“You’re Jaren Smith?” Jude Camden asked. He was younger than what a Vampire Leader should look like. Although, the one before who ruled the House of the One Eyed Raven could’ve died recently, but Jaren wasn’t sure what recent meant when it came to the vampires.

Even from where Jaren stood, he knew Jude was taller than him, and he had short brown hair, while his face was pale with circles under his eyes and in the hollows of his cheeks. He was pretty, and it wasn’t the kind of thought Jaren wanted to think about at the moment. Jude wore a white v-neck shirt with black pants, ripped at the knees, he didn’t wear socks. He looked like a teenager, riled up and ready for a night to party or other reckless actions one like him would get into.

Although, he was a vampire, so the way he stood didn’t seem like most humans. He was otherworldly, a power within him made his presence strong and less nervous than Jaren who gave an awkward nod.

“I’m here to ask you a question,” Jaren said, clearing his throat.

Jude nodded, glancing to his right to two other vampires. Jaren noticed them when he had first stepped inside, but they stood like statues. Still and quiet. They also kind of reminded him of spiders. You don’t really notice them since they blend into the dark walls and floors. And from Jaren’s recollection, these are the ones who accompanied Jude to Orion a day ago, the ones who were frightened by Brian’s presence.

They were staring at him, then glanced around the room as if they were waiting to see Brian, but they didn’t. Vampires didn’t sense Reapers, and truth be told, both species don’t give a shit about each other since one collects death, and the other species are in a stand still of death.

“I have my own inquiries as well,” Jude said as he walked over to Jaren, but he did keep his distance. There was an odd look on his face, almost interested yet confused. “Please, ask your question before I get into mine.”

“I was wondering if you knew the whereabouts of the newborn vampire, John Keyes?” That was the question he was here to ask, simple enough, he had tried to calm himself with how easy it could be. Now that he was here, it was a little odd, misplaced.

“The newborn sired by Sebastian Warren?” Jude asked, he wrinkled his nose, then stepped away from Jaren. “I don’t like being accused simply because the newborn is a vampire. I wouldn’t really call him a vampire, he’s more accursed than the rest of us.”

At least Brian was right about the vampires’ opinion of John. They were disgusted by him, and for some reason, Jaren as well. At least Jude wasn’t too disrespectful besides giving them space to speak.

“I wasn’t accusing, I was only asking if you knew of his whereabouts,” said Jaren, trying to reel in a bit of self-control of his own vocabulary. He was allowed to bad talk others, but not the leaders of the vampire and werewolf covens.

Jude nodded. “My apologies. No. We haven’t seen him.”

Damn. So he wasn’t here. Or...he could be, but from the way Jude spoke about him, and the way he held himself before Jaren, he was telling the truth. Now what? Where could he be?

“What is the thing you...wanted to know about?” Jaren asked, trying his hardest not to be awkward. He was too awkward!

“Yes, I’ll be right back, I need to grab it from my office,” Jude said, taking another step back, then to the side, and he glanced toward the two vampires in the shadows. “Be nice.”

They watched Jude leave the room, and Jaren did not like the way he felt like a prey under the heavy gazes of the two vampires coming closer to him.

“You smell akin to possession,” the woman spoke. She had long black hair, light brown features with brown eyes. Her teeth were sharp like most vampires, and she wore a thin black shirt and jeans. Unlike Jude, she actually wore socks.

“Is it possession?” the other said. They both looked as young as Jude, the boy much younger, if he was human, he could be in his early twenties like Jaren. “Or hunger, or territory, or marked up.”

“I see no mark on him, Felix,” the woman said, stepping closer to Jaren. “I’m sorry for our perception of you, you’re quite unusual for a human with such a heavy, potent scent.”

“Janine and I have noticed this, alongside your odd friend, back at Orion,” Felix said.

Brian.

“He’s a reaper, he doesn’t really have a scent,” said Jaren, watching them oddly as they circled him like vultures. They smelled him, brows furrowed, frowning, the both of them weren’t even sure what they were getting off of Jaren.

“A reaper?” Felix questioned, looking to his friend, Janine.

“Yes, those people…things...creatures from an empty plane of existence,” Janine said as she took a step back, then frowned at Jaren. “They take vampires whenever a vampire calls for them. Reapers don’t listen all that well, but they aren’t normally cruel.”

“He’s not human or vampire, or he is a vampire,” Felix said as he folded his arms.

John? Are they talking about John now?

“He’s a vampire, but something’s wrong about him. Fucking Sebastian did something,” Janine shook her head and glared at the floor. “There’s a claim on you, Jaren. You’re practically soaked in his scent. We might need something or someone to wash it out once you leave.”

“His blood would taste vile,” Felix whispered, making a disgusted expression at Jaren.

Wait, what?

The door to the room opened, and Jude sauntered inside, holding some kind of document in his hands. He waved nonchalantly at Felix and Janine, telling them to leave the room. They listened without argument, and as the door closed shut, Jude was once more standing before him, although taking another cautious step away from Jaren, and the odd scent coming off of him.

“I managed to get copies of the reports from the Director of Orion, he gladly helped me pay respects to Donna Kay,” Jude said, passing the files to Jaren. “I do have copies of these as well, so you can keep them.”

And possibly because the scent was now on the document, and Jude was way too quietly nice and insulting for his own good.

“Thank you,” said Jaren, opening the file to see Donna Kay’s face. She was a young brunette haired woman. As young as most vampires. She looked to be nineteen or twenty years old. Her true age is placed beside her physical age. Her smile is infectious, but who she was and everything else was now burned away, like it had taken William as well.

What the hell was going on?

“Jaren,” His name felt odd coming out of Jude’s mouth. “I liked to know more information about the fledgling. Whatever he is and what happened to William and Donna could happen to many more vampires and werewolves. I’d rather not have chaos interrupting the peace throughout the covens, and if this gets out of control, more could appear and ruin the stability that has been built in this city, and the country itself.”

This was a lot, but now that he was standing before Jude Camden, even when he spoke to Randall Carson, and the Witches who showed up at Orion. This was so much more than what Jaren had anticipated, and the nervousness returned.

“Of course, if anything major comes up, I’ll get authorization to inform you about this, if not, then you might hear a tip in the future,” said Jaren, trying his best to appease both of them.

Jude nodded. “Thank you for coming here, I won’t take the offence of the fledgling, it makes sense another vampire would release him during the day. If anything, it could’ve been Sebastian.”

“That’s one of the ideas, but Sebastian doesn’t know Orion ever since he lost…” Jaren stopped the moment Jude raised a hand before him.

“I know, no need to speak of it,” he dropped his hand to his side, “and I’ll keep an eye out for Sebastian if he ever shows up. Whatever he is doing, he can’t do it alone.”

Jaren was let out of the estate by Rose, and he walked on weak limbs to the car. Anthony was sleeping in the passenger seat, and he woke him up  by tapping the window. He asked about what happened, but all Jaren could think of was coffee.

Chapter Text

“Where are we?” Kryoz asked, following behind the vampire named Basil. Since they met, Basil was careful with the instructions on how to avoid the sunlight. He explained that vampires burned when the sun hit them, a curse given to them by a witch when they were created.

Kryoz didn’t expect the history lesson when Basil started rambling off about it as if they were suddenly best friends. Was he always like this with newborn vampires? He was a little curious about the creation of vampires, but didn’t want Basil to continue his rambling, so he stayed quiet until now.

They entered another tunnel and for the next hour, they’ve been walking in relative silence besides sometimes Basil going off about something else that Kryoz needed to know about.

“We,” Basil raised his finger to the cement ceiling above them, “are under the Weaver Coven’s headquarters.”

Weaver Coven?

“The what?” Kryoz asked. It’s not like he was told of everyone’s name in the city, or at least the ones he should now know about.

“Jen Weaver,” said Basil, looking over his shoulder at Kryoz. “She’s one of the vampire leaders in the city. Controls a section like the other leader, Jude Camden.”

“Why are we under her headquarters?”

“It’s easier to make phone calls in another vampire’s presence than it is to do it in a werewolf den or a witches’ circle, so we made this our home for now.”

We? There were more people underground. Well, it’s not like the vampires would suddenly go outside and burn in front of the human populace out of a bit of fun.

“Does she know you’re underneath her…?” Kryoz almost snickered at the question.

“She doesn’t need to know anything,” Basil answered pleasantly. “Like Orion doesn’t need to know who took you.”

“If you’re not...one of the so-called leaders in the city, then who are?”

Basil chuckled. “So many questions, I expect that from a newborn.” He pushed open a heavy metal door at the end, and when they both stepped through, Kryoz could smell a strange scent in the air. Both metal, rust, and something else, it was a little potent, like the blood capsules. Was there...blood somewhere close by? “Jen, to me, would be a new vampire in the group of leaders in the city.”

“Jude Camden’s older?”

“Older is an understatement when it comes to Jen Weaver,” Basil said, leading Kryoz along a thin walkway toward a metal incline to the main floor of this underground hideout. It was a large circular room with vents on either end, the scent of stagnant water sat in the air amongst other things. “William would’ve been the oldest amongst Jude and Sebastian, but William is now dead. So, Jude took that crowning place, then Sebastian would be...maybe a few hundred years younger, but still one of the strongest Vampires in the city. Then there’s Randall Carson, the new Werewolf leader of the Grey Coven, but compared to Devon Fairstone, it’s a laughable comparison.”

Right. He should be careful about the questions he asks, it seemed Basil just loved to talk.

“What about you?” Kryoz asked, then an awkwardness set in when he noticed three other people inside the room. They were quiet, and sitting far away from them, their eyes were placed on him as if he were a small mouse finally spotting predators.

“Don’t worry about them,” Basil said, sitting down on a stool he seemed to have stolen from a bar, and beside him was a round ornate black table with a glass decanter and two glasses. The decanter looked to be filled with blood. The smell of it made Kryoz’s mouth water, and he forced himself to look away. “I told them not to interrupt us while we talk.”

Kryoz glanced at them, before looking away, then noticing Basil pointing at the chair, and he sat down across from him, ignoring the decanter.

“Are you...old?” he grimaced at the question.

Basil laughed, the sound echoed in the room, but he didn’t seem to mind. “Don’t give me that look. It’s okay to say it, at least to a vampire. When you’ve been alive for a couple of centuries, you kind of have to develop a different attitude towards life.”

Couple of centuries is probably nothing to a vampire.

“How old are you then?”

Basil sighed, pouring the blood inside the decanter into one of the glasses on the table. “Let’s just say, John...is that all the vampires, werewolves, and witches are newborns to someone like me. Children fighting amongst each other, and the oldest siblings are trying their hardest to keep them in line, but the parent...I can see those lines fracturing.”

It wasn’t really an answer, but it might as well be from the visual.

“So, you’re old?” Kryoz said, watching Basil set the decanter down.

“I’m old.” Basil picked up the glass and took a sip.

Okay then. What does that mean? Why was Kryoz here, why did Basil bring him to this place with three other vampires? He can smell their scent from where Kryoz was sitting, and maybe that’s from consuming the blood capsules. It’s not like he has anything to give them. So what if he was in Orion...oh shit, is that the reason why he was here.

Kryoz swallowed thickly, tapping his fingers lightly on the edge of the table. “What do you want with me?” he asked, trying his hardest not to want to believe the reality of why he was here.

Basil picked up the decanter again and poured the blood into the empty glass close to Kryoz. “I stole you away from your human companion because I’m curious about you, Kryoz.”

A centuries old...no...he was older, much older than five hundred years, or possibly a thousand, this old vampire...is curious about him?

He’s not honored by this, he’s petrified.

What the hell was going on?

“Curious about what?” Kryoz asked, watching Basil set the decanter down again, then gesturing to the glass.

“Isn’t it obvious, I want to know what Sebastian did to you.” He tapped the glass. “Have a drink, I’m sure you’ll need it with the conversation we’ll be having.”

Since being bit by a vampire, then throwing up so much blood, and having a taste from the capsules, he never actually...tasted a full cup of blood. It was...frightening to say the least. He didn’t want to hurt anyone if he got too out of control. And would he be able to control himself? Isn’t that the reason why Orion kept him for so long, to make sure he didn’t hurt anyone? What were they going to do once he was no longer useful? Ever since leaving Orion, he’s been feeling odd.

“Hey, you’re thinking too much,” Basil said, arching a brow at him. “It’s only blood. I had my friend, Skyler, grab some from Jen’s fridge.”

Kryoz glanced at a small pink haired girl who waved nonchalantly at them. He looked down at the glass, then tentatively picked it up. “You’re not poisoning me or something, right?”

“When has blood ever poisoned a vampire? Well...let’s not answer that, our system is dead, so we practically can taste whatever and get over it easily. Kinda like how animals can eat dead things, and humans can’t.”

“Cats can get sick if they eat something dead…”

“It’s incredibly selective, and right now, you’re a vampire in need of some blood, I can see you shaking.”

Kryoz glared halfheartedly at Basil, then he decided to just take a sip. Might as well see what he’s been missing. Kryoz took a sip from the glass, and felt his lip tingle, his heart racing, his body warming at the taste, then he took a longer sip.

It was better...than he would’ve liked.

No, it was amazing. It was like he stuffed his face with sweet berries and was getting sick from it. He drank the rest of the glass, and set it down, panting softly at the wired feeling he was getting in his head. He could possibly stay up for days if he drank simply blood.

Basil smiled. “You seem better than before, not so sluggish—” His smile faltered when Kryoz groaned, and only seemed to turn his head to the side in a curious way. “What’s wrong?”

No. It was like before when he tasted blood, when he had them in his throat and his body wouldn’t take it. This was wrong. Warning bells in his head. He was burning on the inside.

Kryoz choked, letting out a pained gasp, then he fell to the ground, ignoring the sharp pain in his knees, as he continued to choke and grunt, then the blood he had drank slipped out from his mouth, his throat burned as if it were scalding him from the inside, and hot tears ran down his cheeks as the blood became dark on the cement, a puddle, and he was shaking so badly.

Basil was out of his seat, grabbing the back of Kryoz’s shirt before he could fall into the mess. He still seemed curious, not as distraught, or disturbed like the other vampires in the room.

“That’s curious,” he said, mostly to himself, then he looked down at Kryoz. “Do you understand now? I want to know what Sebastian did to you.”

Chapter Text

“It’s strange,” Basil said.

Kryoz wiped the blood from his mouth. It was sticky and drying on his hands and down his neck, staining his white shirt. The taste was raw in his throat, all heat and disturbing clumps lathering the back of his throat until it all slipped out on the concrete floor.

One of the three vampires had left their place against the wall and passed Kryoz a towel. He didn’t say anything, he had an empty gaze about him, then he walked back to the other two as if nothing happened.

Kryoz wiped most of the blood from his face and heard a soft tapping sound. He peered up at Basil dialing a number on a phone. He gave him a small smile as he placed the phone to his ear.

“It’s a burner phone.”

Kryoz recognized the flip phone for what it was, and he struggled to stand to his feet when Basil greeted the person on the other end, and the voice itself was too keenly familiar.

SMii7y?

“He’s on the north end of town, if you look around, you might see him.” Basil hung up the phone and tossed it to the other end of the room, the other male vampire reached out and caught it. He swiftly turned away and disappeared into a narrow tunnel.

“What are you doing?” Kryoz asked, trying to ignore the dizziness that almost brought him to his knees again. “Why did you tell him that?” He wanted to ask how Basil got his number, but since he met Basil, he was finding things out that Kryoz wasn’t sure if he wanted to know about.

“How about I tell you a little bit about Sebastian—”

“Why should I care about him?” Kryoz asked, finally getting to his feet.

“Well, Sebastian Warren is your sire, and he was once the head to House Phoenix, or the Phoenix Coven. The names are given either by a new leader or the old.” Basil waved his hand nonchalantly. “Phoenix once belonged to Shane Lonechild, his middle name was Phoenix, so he used it as the name of his coven.”

Kryoz wasn’t sure if he cared. “What happened to him?”

“Shane died about four hundred years ago in a fire, it was a purge of vampires in one area of the country, and Shane died alongside half of his fledglings, while the other half scattered to the winds.”

“Sebastian is one of the fledglings?” Kryoz asked, then glared when Basil laughed. “What, what are you laughing about now?”

“Sebastian is a bit older than four hundred years, but he and Shane were good friends, so Sebastian honored his old friend and took over his coven, he even kept the name, at least until Phoenix became a dead coven about a year ago,” said Basil.

A year ago? Kryoz sat back down on the stool, ignoring the puddle of blood he had thrown up, and almost reached for Basil’s glass, except the vampire picked it up and took a sip. “What happened to his coven and everyone in it?”

“Infected by whatever Sebastian has within his blood.” Basil set the glass down and smiled softly at Kryoz. “They’re all dead from what I’ve heard, but from the looks of it, Sebastian’s been experimenting on certain people. Two are dead, and one survived the experiment, isn’t that interesting?”

Kryoz grimaced at Basil and his now traitorous smile that should look innocent, but isn’t. “Is that the reason why Orion has me locked away?”

“I wouldn’t say they wanted to keep you for long, but it could be a reason.”

“They already did tests on me.”

“Not a lot, I looked through the researcher’s notes already.” Basil wrinkled his nose and sat back. “The scent of death is going to lure out the shadows. Nonetheless, they have an inkling, but the full reason isn’t exactly...realized yet.”

“And what about you?”

“Well, it’s not like the werewolves or vampires want you, but I’m sure sooner or later, Orion will consult some witches.”

Kryoz blinked, then his mouth open fell open at the word. “They exist too?”

“What do you think created the vampires and werewolves? We didn’t just spawn from the crevices of hell for the mortal’s enjoyment once they all got bored with themselves.” Basil glanced down at the blood, his smile was faint as he seemed to be smelling it from where he was sitting. “Your blood, from what I could find out is quite lethal to vampires and werewolves, and your scent isn’t as interesting either, but it is potent once you end up covered in blood.”

Kryoz sighed. “That’s nice to know, I guess.” He actually didn’t understand why he was here with Basil. As the seconds ticked by, he was thinking maybe Basil was going to kill him. The person with SMii7y had said that the vampires would kill him eventually simply because he was some kind of abomination, then SMii7y had a wary expression when Kryoz asked if he’d let them kill him. He was meant to be reassured, but he wasn’t.

“Makes you an incredibly necessary but unnecessary fledgling, your sire is Sebastian Warren, but you’re also clueless of this world you now live in, and you’re having a glass of blood with me, the oldest vampire you’ll probably ever meet in your lifetime right next to the puddle you created simply for drinking my blood.”

“Your blood!” Kryoz grimaced at the puddle, then gave a disgusted look at Basil.

“You’re also incredibly disrespectful,” Basil said with a smile.

He was too oddly handsome in this dirty sewer he had found like some kind of common rat. And now he was either threatening Kryoz or trying to reassure him. Something SMii7y has been doing ever since he met him.

“It’s gross, that’s all,” said Kryoz, giving a vague shrug. He didn’t thirst for the blood as he would’ve thought, but there was still the hunger in him. It was softly clawing in his stomach, making its way up like stomach acid. Uncomfortable, unyielding, ready to be released from his throat. What did he want? And if he can’t live like all the vampires around him, then how was he going to live like this?

Basil hummed. “You know, this has been enlightening, and it is nice to meet you, John. Truly. You’re the first in such a grand creation, and I did have issues with how you’d be handled, but I think Orion can safely take care of you while I make sure Sebastian doesn’t create more.”

More?

“He’ll turn more humans?” Kryoz asked, sliding off the stool as Basil led him to the two vampires standing by the tunnel.

“He doesn’t even know you turned into a vampire, but once word starts to spread through the covens, he’ll surely find out one of the three survived.”

One of the three. “Who are they exactly…the ones who were bitten before me?”

“William Grey was the leader of the Grey Coven. He was a friend to many, incredibly well liked, and one of the eldests in the city. His coven has been taken over by his best friend, Randall Carson. Inheritance, if you will. Randall is his heir. Donna Kay is sired by Jude Camden, but I’m sure Sebastian wanted to turn the vampire leader, but she must’ve been walking alone when Sebastian found her. A shame, really.” He was shaking his head, brows pinched as if thinking of the ones he had brought up.

Kryoz was a little awkward that even though William had been the oldest, he had died by Sebastian, when Kryoz hadn’t. Including Donna Kay. It was...frightening how his life could be impacted once Sebastian finds out. If he ever does, and what would he do? Why did he even want to turn anyone else, they didn’t even survive the transformation.

“Skyler will take you to the Orion investigator, and I’m sure he’ll return you to Orion. I assure you, John, it’s better if you stay in their cell. If anyone knows about your existence, including Sebastian, then things won’t end well, it’ll probably make things worse.” Basil placed a hand on John’s shoulder then lightly pushed him toward the narrow tunnel where the girl with the pink hair led him through.

Ever since he threw up, his mouth has been dry, and he was really thirsty. Would the blood capsules help? He took one out from his pocket and placed it between his teeth, then bit down, letting the small bits of blood enter his mouth, easing the pain away, but it wasn’t enough. 

When would it be enough?

Chapter Text

He didn’t take him back to Orion right away. He was still trying to process the fact that someone had let John out. They didn’t leave a single clue of who they were, but the moment he found John standing under a storm drain, frowning at the sunlight he couldn’t touch, Jaren couldn’t ignore the fear that John could have died at any moment.

Except he was innocently standing in the shade, waiting for Jaren to get to him. They had to wait longer for the day to fade enough for them to make their way to his car. He had his windows tinted a long time ago, and it wasn’t for this purpose.

“Your car sucks,” John said, lying on the floor in the back. He had a few blankets covering him in case sunlight ended up burning him.

Jaren sighed. “I don’t want to hear that my car sucks from a vampire .”

“So, you’ve accepted the inevitable,” John said, “might as well if we’re ever going to start dating.”

He had started up the car, but gone still at what John had said. “What are you talking about? When are we ever going to start dating?”

“I’m glad you asked, I was thinking that we should start no—”

“That...isn’t what I meant,” said Jaren, pulling away from the street. “I can’t date vampires. I’m sure I told you before.”

“Don’t play by the rules, then,” said John, his voice slightly muffled thanks to the blankets.

Jaren did not like where this conversation was going. “Like you did, when you left Orion.”

“I didn’t technically...leave.”

“Oh yeah, then why are you in the back seat of my car, hiding like a frightened child? And there are security cameras that watch you leave, with complete free will,” Jaren said. He was surprised he hadn’t yet been fired thanks to this mishap, and he really hoped he wouldn’t have to have it on a permanent record of any kind. 

“I was curious—”

“Of a vampire that lured you out, and would have easily killed you!”

“He wouldn’t have…”

He? “Can you give me any answers to what you were doing with this vampire?” Jaren asked.

“So you can catch him next?”

“Yes,” said Jaren, shaking his head at the thought. “No. There are a lot of vampires who aren’t with Orion, they have their own free will to do whatever, besides murdering the living. The vampire you spoke of...he lured you out, and what...let you leave? I need to know more, John.”

John sighed as if it was some great weight,  “He said his name is Basil.”

Jaren almost swerved off the road when he registered the name. John let out a curse as Jaren righted himself on the road, ignoring the car going off behind him. He had to focus on driving, but his heart was thudding as he fixed the rearview mirror. “Are you serious...that his name is Basil?”

John hummed.

Holy shit. “Do you realize who that is?” he asked him.

“He did say something about what he was, but...he was really confused about it, you know. Made me throw up.” John always had a dull voice, and this time, he seemed more tired than usual. “What’s going to happen to me, am I going to die?”

He gritted his teeth at his questions. He wasn’t even sure how he was supposed to answer him. He hoped he’d sleep so Jaren could focus on driving, and reporting on what John had said. He ran his hand through his hair, feeling the way he was sweating in a matter of minutes.

John hummed again. “I can hear your heartbeat. Is that weird?”

Why were there so many cars out? The street was packed with them, and the vehicle he was in now was making him more claustrophobic as he thought about his time researching the different kinds of vampires. He knew he should know the older ones first, then the clans that connect the vampires together. They were all controlled by their Sire, or the leader that they’ve decided to follow.

Basil was well known simply because he used to work with many other vampire clans, including the human leaders like the early founders of Orion, or whatever organization it was before it changed to Orion. He even worked with the Werewolves, and kept the peace with the Witches.

After awhile, Basil no longer cared about conflict, and he vanished for hundreds of years. Sometimes being seen from time to time, but other than that, he was avoiding a lot of people. So, why return, and why kidnap John?

“Did he say anything important to you?” Jaren asked, heart still thudding, and his mouth had gone dry.

“There was a lot he said,” John muttered flippantly.

“John,” Jaren said, glancing over his shoulder, “I need to know more about what he said to you. This is important. Basil...he’s...a lot stronger than most vampires.”

“I know, he told me already, I thought he’d be more arrogant, but he was nicer than I took him for,” said John.

Well, it didn’t seem like John was tortured, and he was let go. It didn’t exclude the necessary measures of understanding what happened and what Basil wanted.

“Please, John…”

He was silent for awhile, and Jaren thought that he wouldn’t talk to him. It was awkward, sure, he was kidnapped by an ancient vampire and was now being dragged back to Orion. Inside of a cell, to be what...prodded at. This was Jaren’s job, he needed to know, and John was dangerous if left unsupervised.

So, why was Jaren taking another route away from the facility. He was regretting the action he made, but he didn’t turn around. He kept driving, not bothering to say anything to John, hoping he wouldn’t say anything. He didn’t dare want this to be real, it was already too much for Jaren as he urged himself to go to Orion while he made the opposite decision.

If he can get a report from John without Orion’s help, he’ll be able to submit it to his boss. Fuck, he was making a bad decision. He didn’t stop himself though, even as he drove closer to his apartment, into the underground parking lot, and parked in his spot a few feet from the door that led to the elevator.

Shit. This was a bad fucking idea.

“Where are we?” John asked, sitting up and looking around.

“A place where you’re not supposed to be,” said Jaren as he unbuckled his seatbelt. “Get out.”

“In the daylight?”

Jaren sighed as he opened the door, “We’re not directly in the sun, so you’ll be fine.” He caught John’s smile as they both stepped out of the car. He was still holding the blanket as Jaren told him to follow him to the elevator.

“You know, I kinda miss the sun,” said John as they stepped in the elevator. Both of them standing apart. “I used to take walks. It helped clear my head.” He chuckled softly, but Jaren didn’t humor him in whatever human reverie he was having as they stepped out of the elevator once they got to Jaren’s apartment floor.

Jaren was still trying to tell himself that this was a bad idea once he unlocked his apartment door and they stepped inside. He just allowed a fledgling vampire inside his home, and John didn’t seem to notice Jaren’s nervousness.

“Nice place,” said John, arching a brow at a messy display of Jaren’s cups that had stains on them. “So, are you going to tell me why I’m here, or...do you honestly like me enough that you’d compromise your job?”

Jaren’s lips parted as he stared at John. He really hoped he wouldn’t have said anything while he stayed in a quiet painful denial about his choices toward John. He really did not want to do this, but after hearing those words, and staring at John’s pleased expression, everything had fallen apart right before him.

Shit. What the hell is wrong with him?

Jaren said nothing as he turned away, heart racing once again as his hands shook. He took off his coat, ignoring the way he slipped his shoes off and almost tripped on his way to the bathroom.

He slammed the door shut, and twisted the faucet until it was ice water, and he splashed his face a few times. There was a small voice in the back of his mind that wanted him to scream out that he was a fucking idiot, and he shouldn’t have done this, but here they were. He couldn’t turn back. If anything, John could use this as blackmail and try to get out of the facility more and more thanks to Jaren’s silent insistence that he needed to know more.

Damnit.

He dried his face and opened the door, gasping quietly at the sight of John standing in front of him, smiling at his shock.

“Are you alright? You’re...freaking out.”

Jaren breathed heavily, hands still shaking as he stared at John. At the reality of his choice. “I’m...fine,” he managed to say as he stepped past John and into his bedroom. John followed after, and oddly enough, he heard him breathe in.

He gritted his teeth as he twisted around, glaring at him, “Don’t do that. Go back to the kitchen. Sit down, and don’t fucking touch anything.”

“You’re really touchy about bringing me here,” said John, shaking his head as he left the room.

Well, no shit. This wasn’t supposed to happen. He broke protocol, he could get fired for this, or worse than that. His job meant a lot to him, and that’s what made him do this in the first place. He wanted to get the information out of John, and he thought if he showed him a bit of trust, he’d be able to open his damn mouth about the vampire.

Jaren changed his clothes. He needed to change. He tore off his shirt and buttoned up another one, not caring for the loose black tie around his neck. He ignored the socks as he headed back into the kitchen where John had made coffee.

“What did I say about touching things?” Jaren said, shaking his head.

John smiled, stirring his cup. “You were taking forever. I can hear your heartbeat from here. Is that normal?”

“For a vampire,” said Jaren as he grabbed his own cup, hoping it was clean enough that he’d be able to use it, and poured himself some coffee, he added cream and sugar, tasting it for that slight sweetness on his tongue before turning toward John.

“I like the way you smell,” said John, leaning against the table with an almost dreamy look.

Yeah, this was a bad idea.

“You’re surrounded by a singular scent,” said Jaren as he sat down, “instead of the disinfected sprays in Orion. Don’t focus too much on it, John.”

He nodded, sitting up. “Of course. I mean...you do smell really good, and your heart...I wonder—”

“There is no wondering in this fucking apartment, okay,” said Jaren, feeling tense. “I need you to tell me what Basil told you. I need to know everything. Why he’s here, why he took you, what he’s doing, and why he let you go. Okay, John, this is fucking important.”

He had a tape recorder and placed it down, waiting for John’s confirmation as he took a sip of his coffee, when he placed it down on the table, he seemed a little concerned.

“Is that why you brought me here, to ask me questions you were inevitably going to ask me in Orion?” he asked, confused as he tapped his fingers against his cup.

Jaren sighed. Great, so this was his fault...and he was going to feel those consequences soon enough. “I thought it would be better to ask them with just me, and not a bunch of guards, or even cameras.”

John wrinkled his nose, glancing around the room. “This place could have cameras.”

“The only thing that’s really being recorded is this,” said Jaren, tapping the tape recorder, “once I turn it on of course, and once you’re ready, I will. I want the truth, John.”

John nodded slowly, and Jaren pressed the record button.

Chapter Text

Brian hummed. There wasn’t anything to do when he was stuck with a mortal companion like Brock Barrus. The researcher was careful with his job, and he knew when to ignore a nuisance. Brian wasn’t here to be one, but when boredom called, he couldn’t ignore the way he hummed louder, knocked over a few papers, circled Brock before appearing in his plane of existence and scaring him.

It was fun to watch the annoyance marr his pale soft features. A few hours had gone by, and Brian was leaning against a table when a commotion began. He almost wanted to think Jaren or Evan was about to walk through the doors, but he was wrong in that regard.

Instead, several people entered, filling the small space and making Brock scramble around as a young woman with long dark hair was spewing black blood from her mouth. She was groaning in the arms of a few men as they carried her toward the containment door. Brock had opened it quickly, and she was placed inside. The bright lights blinded most of them as they ran out, and the doors closed shut.

“Clean yourselves up,” Brock said, not realizing who he was speaking to.

Brian recognized the Alpha of a wolf pack, he ruled the West End territory. Devon Fairstone. Brown skin with a shaved head, his gaze was solely on the girl screaming in pain within the containment.

“She was bitten,” Devon said with an almost shuddered breath, he was holding in most of his anguish back as he met Brock’s eyes. “Is she dying?”

Like all the others who had been bitten before a mortal had survived it? Brian didn’t bother saying anything. None of the wolves could sense him, nor if he was in their mortal plane, they would disregard him. Like the vampires, the werewolves of this world found things like Brian disturbing, but they didn’t understand why. It seems as generations went, their kin completely ignored Brian’s kind. Which was fine with him.

“She was bitten,” Landon Clarke said with a snarl. He was Devon’s third in command to their pack, much more aggressive than his Alpha. He was almost as tall as Devon, his dark hair was cut short, barely touching his scalp, and there was a bit of mud on his pale cheekbone.

Brock was nodding, barely listening to the wolves as he spoke to a few assistants and doctors who had come into the room. They were anaylzing Eva Young before speaking to her completely.

“From what I know,” Brock said into the speaker, “you were recently bitten, from what and where?”

The girl’s mouth was open, and she was slightly lying on her side, blood leaked from her bottom lip and onto the white floor. There was even a bit of blood coming out from her brown eyes as she glared at Brock. “Se-Sebastian,” she managed to say, spitting out the blood. Her body began to convulse, and she started to scream.

Brock turned off the speaker, and her anguish had been cut off as he started analyzing and speaking to the doctors.

Brian hadn’t moved from where he was leaning against the table, and for a moment, he was kind of bored with what was going on until he spotted a woman walking into the room. No one seemed to notice her presence besides him.

Well, well, what do we have here?

“Selene.”

The woman turned her head, and her icy blue eyes stared at him monotonously. She had platinum blonde hair that went along her back, she wore a black coat and pants, including black shoes. She disregarded the werewolves and mortals inside the room and walked over to him.

“Brian,” she said, clearing her throat, “it’s been awhile since I last saw you.”

He grinned, “Oh, yes it has, too long. You’re still picking apart dead wolves, aren’t you?” he asked her, indicating Eva inside the containment cell. Devon and Landon didn’t look well, and it wasn’t wise to leave impatient werewolves inside a small room like this when their own was in terrible pain.

Selene sighed as she leaned against the table alongside him. “I thought I had one, but it seems she’s holding on.”

Brian hummed. “It seems so, but from what I heard, wolves and vampires don’t survive this kind of poison. She’ll die soon enough, and you can lead her into the afterlife along with all her previous kin.”

“Dark,” Selene commented with a shrug as she crossed her arms. “And what about you? I don’t see anyone in here about to die, or on the verge of death besides Ms. Young.”

“I’m here to waste time, like usual,” said Brian. “I decided to have this mortal as a companion for a bit.” He gestured at Brock who was once again asking Eva questions. She spews more of the blood, becoming much paler than she should, and sooner or later, she’ll simply die from a lack of blood in her system.

“A mortal as a companion?” Selene inquired with an arched brow. “Are you serious? How strange, Brian, to ever consider the living as such.”

“It’s better than spending my time with werewolves and vampires, they all have a horrible distaste for our kind,” Brian said, smiling sheepishly.

Selene nodded in agreement. “I do have a question I like for you to answer, and most have always wondered this about you, Brian.”

“Go ahead.”

“How long will you remain on this mortal plane?”

He chuckled softly, watching the way Brock was typing on his keyboard, his heart racing inside his chest. “When they all die, of course.”

Throughout the commotion, Brock forgot about Brian’s presence. Although, it seemed no one had noticed, when Brock glanced over his shoulder where Brian was, he found he was gone.

Where did he go?

Right now, he really did not need to deal with a death reaper watching him do his work. Brock was shaky, his entire body thrummed with adrenaline at what he was working with again. Before, it was simply John who was infected, but this was an actual werewolf that was throwing up blood.

He wanted to figure out a way to keep her alive long enough so he can do tests on her like he had down with John. This, however, will be different simply because John was a human turned into a vampire, while Eva Young is a low rank werewolf that was bitten during the day.

“Where were you when you caught his scent?” Devon asked her. His voice was strong and in control as he spoke in the speaker. Brock wanted her Alpha to ask the questions to keep her calm while she was in a dehydrated state as her body was forcefully purging itself of the toxin.

Eva’s eyes were beginning to redden, and soon enough, she’ll lose control of herself, but she won’t be able to turn into a wolf. Not like this. “East end…junkyard. I…didn’t know what it was at first. He was there, that bastard was there!” She was beginning to sob and snarl, more blood seeped from her mouth, and her body was weakening by the minute.

There was a knock at the door, and Brock answered it while Devon talked to Eva. An Orion agent was standing out in the hall, leaning close to whisper to Brock.

“We haven’t heard anything from Jaren Smith, but we’ve had orders about Sebastian Warren.” The agent looked past Brock who was nervously trying to keep the man from entering the room. The last thing he wanted was to ruin the mood of a Werewolf Alpha while he comforted one of his own. This kind of thing needed to be delicate in nature.

“I’ll speak to them and have an answer in the next ten minutes, if you’re so willing to wait in the hall,” said Brock.

The agent nodded. “Of course.”

Brock closed the door, and when he turned, he was met with the quiet look from Devon’s third. It was almost a soft calculating expression that left Brock feeling uncomfortable as he stepped past him.

Devon turned off the speaker, letting out a deep sigh as he turned to Brock. His presence was as terrifying as any Alpha, including the vampire leaders amongst their covens. They were all so…frightening to be around.

“We’ll keep Eva here as long as we can,” said Brock, taking a breath, “however, I will not give you false hope, a werewolf has not survived this.”

He does not want to think about how a mortal turning into a vampire survived from Sebastian Warren. He still wasn’t sure how that came to be. There were questions he wanted to ask Brian, if he’ll ever appear again. Right now, those thoughts were for later use.

Devon nodded, keeping his gaze on Brock. “I understand. My territory has been infiltrated, and I will not stand for this.” He turned to Landon, the werewolf third nodded, before Devon looked back at Brock. “We’ll be going, will there be Orion agents heading there too? I’m aware of the interest in Sebastian Warren.”

Brock glanced at the door. “Yes. If you don’t mind, they’ll be heading there, but I’m sure they won’t get in the way.”

Devon looked at Eva for a second longer before sighing. “Update me about her status, I’ll return in a few hours.” He turned and left the room with Landon, and Brock frowned at the glass and the wolf heaving black blood from her mouth on the otherside.

The researchers inside the room were keeping track of her status as Brock took out his phone and dialed Jaren’s number.

Chapter Text

He did his best to explain everything that happened with the vampire, Basil. He thought he’d be nervous, but everything was so fresh, and that was probably SMii7y’s reasoning to bringing him here in the first place. He wanted to make sure that Kryoz recalled the details.

However, there was another issue. He might’ve drank Basil’s blood and ended up puking it up on the sewer floor, but the capsules SMii7y was giving him, well…they weren’t working.

They should work. When he first took them the second they began explaining his transition into a vampire, Kryoz wasn’t as ‘hungry’ or ‘thirsty’ as he should. There was a mild…rawness to the need he had never felt before, but this was a little different from his time in Orion. He had been stuck behind a door inside a claustrophobic room. Only his thoughts were his company, but sitting in SMii7y’s kitchen in front of the one person that Kryoz was most fond of.

Another thing he had joked about slightly when he met SMii7y. Sure, he found him cute and adorable, but it was more of a passing thought. Over time within Orion, things began to change. His feelings were changing, and he was a little afraid of what he’d end up doing if he wasn’t careful.

He came to a stop with his explanation, popping another blood capsule into his mouth.

“That’s all you can recall?” Jaren asked him.

Kryoz nodded. “Yes. What did you think I was going to say?”

“That Basil partnered up with Sebastian.” SMii7y had turned off the recorder and sat back against his chair, sighing.

“It would’ve been nice…to know that…” Kryoz swallowed thickly. This was getting worse, his mouth was dry and he was so…thirsty. Really thirsty. Like, he would do anything right now to sink his teeth into SMii7y’s pale neck. He wanted a taste, a drop, something to stop this unbearable thirst.

He took another pill.

SMii7y watched him for a moment before saying, “I should take you back to Orion. I have paperwork to do, and you aren’t looking good right now.”

Kryoz laughed uneasily as he combed through his short blonde hair, “What do you mean? I’m fine…like really, really fine.”

“I work in a place that occupies supernatural creatures, John,” SMii7y said, glaring at him. “I know specifically when a vampire wants to eat, and it’s bad enough I’m the only human in this room. That’s incredibly dangerous.”

“Why did you bring me here if you thought that?”

SMii7y had given him a glass of water and Kryoz drank it sparingly, even though his mouth was still parched, and there was a mild headache that was beginning to grow. It was so…uncomfortably hot inside the room. He almost wanted to take off his shirt. Well, not take it off gingerly, more like, rip it off. It was so hot. So fucking hot in this room.

“I got what I wanted,” SMii7y said, frowning at him. “And you’re panting like a dog. I don’t have anything else here for you, John. We’ll have to head back, and you’re going to have to deal with the fact that I can’t give you my blood. If you try to bite me in any fucking way,” he leaned down, looking into Kryoz’s eyes, “I will shoot you.”

Kryoz nodded, swallowing thickly again. He wasn’t going to lie, he wouldn’t mind getting shot by SMii7y. LIke, the threat itself was making this worse.

“Why aren’t the capsules working?” Kryoz asked as they left the apartment. He was staggering down the hall after SMii7y, like a stupid drunk wanting to keep up with his crush.

“I don’t know,” SMii7y said under his breath. “The capsules should work for a vampire, even a fledgling vampire, for a couple of hours. I don’t know why you’re burning through them so quickly.”

Kryoz groaned as he leaned against the elevator as the doors closed. The small room was beginning to fill with SMii7y’s scent. The warmth of his beating heart seeped into Kryoz’s clothes, making him itchy.

He quietly moaned, squeezing his eyes closed at the feeling.

“Come on,” SMii7y said, leading Kryoz out of the elevator and into the underground parking lot.

Once they were inside SMii7y’s car, Kryoz laid down on the backseats with the blanket covering his body. It was a slight reprieve, just not enough since the blankets itself had SMii7y’s scent. He was trying to discern most of what he could smell, but what he could discern was vanilla and dog fur.

“Hello SMii7y?”

Sounded like Brock...

“Hi, Brock, what’s wrong, you seem a little out of breath.”

“Uh, yeah…a werewolf came in earlier, infected, spewing black blood.” He groaned. “Paperwork, a lot of people screaming at me, and an undulated pressure that I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to when it comes from wolf Alpha’s.”

Kryoz wasn’t fully aware what Brock was saying, but he thought about Basil and the blood he had given him. The way he had thrown it up, the burn in his throat, the ache in his stomach.

It was almost like Basil was making sure that Kryoz could drink his blood without dying. Was he hoping this little experiment worked out? It’s not like Kryoz died from it.

Although, he didn’t die from Sebastian either.

Sire.

He didn’t feel any impulse to go to Sebastian. Right now, all he wanted was to remain with SMii7y, not locked up inside a claustrophobic room.

“I have a question, Brock,” SMii7y said after Brock was finished complaining to him.

“Uh, yeah, what is it?” Brock asked, sounding exhausted on the other line.

“I have John here and—”

“Are you bringing him back?”

“Yes—”

“Cause he was supposed to be here half an hour ago, and everyone thinks he burned up in the sun or something like that, he is a very special vampire, and I’d rather not have him ending up as ashes. So, just tell me straight, is he dead?”

SMii7y sighed, “No.”

The quick stops here and there told Kryoz that they were currently in traffic. He could hear people talking outside, their voices muffled in his ears as a headache grew stronger with each minute inside this suffocating car.

“Where is he?”

“I’m bringing him back, I just needed to ask him a few questions, but Brock…the capsules aren’t working for him.”

“What do you mean, he’s a fledgling vampire, it should be enough for an entire twenty-four hours, if anything, an entire week.”

“I know, I thought so too, but John started fevering up at my apartment and—”

“Your apartment!” Brock exclaimed, breathing heavily into the receiver.

“Yes, calm down, Brock! Just listen to me, okay!”

“Holy shit, SMii7y, you can’t be serious, okay…first a fucking Reaper started stalking me at my work, and now Devon’s fucking wolf is dying in contaiment, and you…fucking brought a fledgling vampire to your apartment! He could’ve killed you!”

SMii7y let out an irritable sigh. “I know, Brock, shut up and listen to me…wait, a Reaper? You can see them?” He groaned as the car began moving again. “Nevermind, the capsules aren’t working for him, Brock. Okay. He’s feverish. Apparently, Basil gave him some of his blood—”

“Oh God, please, SMii7y, I’m so damn stressed, I feel like someone’s going to kill me just because of this fucking phone call.”

“I know, I just need to know why the capsules aren’t working for him, tell me that at least!” His voice was growing louder and more strained, easing through Kryoz’s painful headache.

“Uh, well, he’s a fledgling, and he bit you when he was turned, right? That could be it, you’re his first blood. He might just be craving you. Kinda like an imprint, you know. Werewolves, babies, animals, whatever the fuck, they all do it. We imprint. Vampires usually with their sires. Maybe Sebastian couldn’t get to John since you interrupted, and John bit you instead.”

“Like a sire?”

Brock chuckled. “No. John’s sire is Sebastian. He was the one who turned him. But since you’re considered the first blood to a fledgling vampire, and during fevering, he isn’t even attacking you like most fledgling’s. They aren’t the patient type.”

“Well, he won’t be able to, we’re in traffic under a fucking hot sun, so he’s going to have to wait until we head back to Orion.”

“I have sedatives that might knock him out for a few hours if that’ll help,” said Brock, sighing again. “This is fucked, SMii7y, to have a fledgling imprinting on you, and one that has a sire like Sebastian who is targeting the Werewolves and Vampire Clans, this is getting messier and messier by the day.”

“I know, but right now, we’re going to have to do our damn job.”

“Yeah, yeah, I have to deal with this shit here at Orion, and hope no one ends up killing me.”

“Before I forget, you said something about a Reaper?” SMii7y asked, apprehensive.

“Oh yeah….” Brock was silent for a moment before saying, “I’ll tell you when you get here. I want to know why you brought John back to your apartment…I’m sure the higher ups would like to know that too.”

“Alright, see you in ten minutes.”

Chapter Text

"I think I'm burning up,'' John said, his mouth was parched and his skin was itchy. He was sure he'd catch on fire in Jaren's car, even if he did turn on the AC, it still didn't help.

"You're fine," Jaren said as he stared at his phone. They were waiting for his friend, Brock, to show up so they can bring John in without him attacking anyone. Not that John was in the mood to attack anyone. He was just really thirsty, and the tablets Jaren gave him weren't helping in the least.

He was lying in the back of the car, unable to stop himself from smelling Jaren's overwhelming scent. He wanted to ask…but he knew the answer already.

Can I taste your blood?

The question sat on his mind since Jaren turned off his car in the underground parking lot. There were already a lot of cameras, but it didn't seem to bother Jaren all that much.

“Come on, you have to get up,” Jaren said.

“I can’t…” He wanted to take his clothes off to relieve himself of the heat, but the scent of Jaren being so close was making his mouth dry. “I need—” Oh God, the words were going to fall out of his mouth in no time, and he was going to ruin this for the both of them. He couldn’t have that when Jaren has done nothing but be nice to him.

“I can give you more capsules, maybe that’ll help the headache,” said Jaren, taking out another from within the white bottle.

John scoffed, “I used to say that when it came to Tylenol.”

“Yeah, well, this is the only thing that will probably help you from here on out.” He passed John the pill, and he took it reluctantly. All he can smell from it was a powdery scent, and when he swallowed it. There was barely a hint of blood, or some kind of saturation of blood. And it wasn’t enough, it made the burn worse, and a groan found its way through his throat.

“Stop being dramatic,” Jaren said. “Get up. We have to go—”

He needed blood. He needed the pain to go away, and his thoughts came back to the sewer, to the taste of Basil’s blood inside the cup, to the way it spewed upon the cement. He couldn’t keep it down. Shouldn’t vampires like blood, shouldn’t that be the whole point of what he was now?

He grabbed Jaren, shoving him against the car. There was a look of panic in his eyes that John couldn’t comprehend until he forcefully turned Jaren’s neck, and sunk his teeth into his skin.

Where was the sweetness?

He sucked in a breath, and he stumbled away from Jaren who touched his shoulder, the blood easing through his fingers as he stared in shock at John.

“Why would you do that?” he asked him.

I’m a vampire. Those words wouldn’t ease through his mouth, and instead, he began spitting out Jaren’s blood. This can’t be right. He shouldn’t be doing this. Jaren smelled divine, as if everything right came from his blood, and not from whatever was happening to him.

“John?” Jaren said, frowning at the vampire that was staring at him in a daze. Blood eased out from his bottom lip, and he didn’t seem all there anymore. “John…what the fuck?”

He grunted when something hit him in the arm, and he turned to see what it was. It was a dart of some kind, and John toppled over, his eyes fluttering shut.

“Oh my God, Jaren, are you okay?” Brock asked, jogging over to him with a dart gun they only used for runners.

He nodded, his hand sticky with blood. “Yeah. I’m good.”

“He attacked you…you know what that means, Jaren,” said Brock, putting away the gun into a holster inside his white lab coat.

“No, we’re keeping this a secret,” said Jaren, walking over to John who was now passed out completely. It was a little confusing, and all Jaren could think of was that he wanted to analyze why John reacted in such a way.

“Keeping this a secret, are you serious?” Brock asked, coming onto John’ other side, and stared incredulously at Jaren. “What about the cameras?”

“We replace them,” Jaren said simply. He knelt down and grabbed a hold of John’s arm. “Grab the other one, we can drag him into containment. He can stay there until our research is finished.”

“What research?” Brock asked, grabbing a hold of John’s other arm.

Why did John react like that when he bit him? He was going to go on a rampage if he wasn’t properly controlled. Jaren was sure he could make sure that John was contained, the capsules were meant to help stave off the hunger. And yet, it had burned through him, and he bit Jaren in the neck. The blood was slowing as if John hadn’t wanted to fully break through the skin, just enough to taste the blood. His reaction towards it was disgust. How could a vampire look so disgusted toward blood? Is that how he looked when he drank Basil’s blood and threw it up?

If he was going to react like this, then how was he going to survive? A vampire needs blood to survive, if he doesn’t drink any, he’ll dehydrate and crumble.

“This isn’t good, Jaren, they’ll find out eventually, Orion always finds out what’s going on with their agents,” Brock said as they dragged John into the building, made sure they weren’t about to get caught, and hurried to Brock’s research lab. They placed John inside one of the containment cells, and locked it on the outside.

“He drank my blood and couldn’t keep it down,” said Jaren, sitting in one of the chairs. “If he doesn’t drink blood normally like any other vampire, then something is seriously wrong with him.”

Brock crossed his arms. “I don’t know. We’ll have to do some tests on him to see what is actually wrong with him, but right now, we can be in deep shit. They might even move him away from my area. Then you’ll have to deal with some other people who might not let you freely speak to him.”

That wasn’t what worried Jaren. He couldn’t ignore what John had told him back at his apartment. He only brought him there so John could feel comfortable in front of him to tell him the truth about the vampire that led him away from Orion.

“He told me about the vampire that took him,” said Jaren after a long moment in silence. Brock had gone over to a few desks to nervously rearrange a few things.

“Oh? What did he say about who they were?”

“Basil,” said Jaren, watching Brock’s reaction, “John said the vampire that led him out of Orion is named Basil.”

Brock slowly turned to face him, his eyes widened at the familiarity of the name. “No. That can’t be, right? There is no way…”

“It seems like it,” Jaren said with a sigh. He itched at his neck where the blood was beginning to crust upon his skin. He was glad John hadn’t bothered to bite down. He seemed a little rabid when he pinned Jaren against the vehicle.

Brock grabbed a wet cloth from the sink inside the room and passed it to Jaren. He carefully placed it on his neck, cleaning off the blood. 

“Not only is Sebastian still targeting vampire and werewolves, the only successful one currently can’t even keep down human blood,” Brock said, sitting in another chair. “Worst part of that is you’re his first blood, Jaren. He should be able to keep your blood down.”

Jaren didn’t like it either.

“And now we have…what, one of the original’s walking around like he owns the fucking sewers?” Brock covered his face and leaned back against his chair. “I don’t think I can do this.”

Jaren wasn’t sure either. He was tired, he wanted to sleep, and yet all he can really think of is coffee and finding out what Basil wanted from all of this besides his curiosity with Sebastian. If Devon’s wolf dies, things are only going to escalate with the clans.

“I have to find Basil,” Jaren said, not liking the idea, and uncertain of it at the same time.

“You finally came across Basil?”

They both turned to see Brian standing in the room, grinning at them.

Chapter Text

Jaren glared at the Reaper. Brian always knew something was going on, probably because no one expected him to be where they were. Not that any of the vampires or werewolves cared that much for the Reapers in the first place.

"Death keeps following at your heels, Jaren Smith," Brian said, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, and winking at Brock. Brock didn't react, he was tired and looked close to having an anxiety attack in his office chair.

"Where the hell were you?" Jaren asked. "And you know something about Basil?"

"Of course, I know something about Basil," Brian said, rolling his eyes as if it was an obvious answer, or the question itself was dumb. Probably both. "I've been around for a long time, and sometimes…a creature like myself comes across certain powerful dead things. One of them turned out to be Basil."

"You were there when he died?" Brock asked. "Like…as a human before he transitioned as a vampire?"

"Not really," Brian said, shrugging his shoulders. "Some other Reaper must've been there when the Witches enacted their spells, it's just the type of person I am who ended up learning a few tricks, and walking the same paths. One of them was Basil's."

"Do you have any idea what is happening then?" Jaren asked with a sigh. "I brought John back after his run in with Basil. However, I gave him some of my blood, but he started coughing it up. Aren't we bonded, why is he—"

"Sire," Brian said, yawning. "Give him to Sebastian, let him drink from his Sire, and after that, he should be fully transitioned into a vampire. After that, he'd be able to drink solely from the one person who he truly craves. Which is you."

Jaren shook his head, uncertain if Brian was going to help or not. "I was the first blood he drank…Sebastian didn't know if he'd turn or not. He didn't stick around when the werewolves took note of Club Trinity and the chaos that came from it.  Why would he need his Sire now?"

"Your vampire isn't the typical kind. He drank from Sebastian who has killed werewolves and vampires," Brian said, walking over to one of the containment rooms and peered inside the glass. The sick werewolf inside was groaning on the ground, but her eyes widened at the sight of Brian smiling at her.

"He can still smell my blood, he just…can't handle it, and apparently, he couldn't handle Basil's either," said Jaren, sighing. He never actually thought that this could get worse.

 "If he can't handle the blood that comes from you…" he said, sounding confused and contemplative. "The transition could be different, I mean…whatever Sebastian is doing to the vampires and wolves is obviously a violation."

Jaren wanted to figure out a way to stop whatever was happening, but handing John over to Sebastian Warren was not an option. "There has to be another way to handle this."

Brock stood by the computers, analyzing the werewolf that was brought in. She was still puking up blood and tearing at her arms. He administered a sedative inside the room to knock her out.

"I don't know how long that will be," Brock said, sitting in his chest and sighing deeply. He glared at the Reaper who was still inside the room, smiling pleasantly. "How about you help us out instead of observing."

"Oh, darling," Brian said, letting out a soft laugh, "that's what death does, we observe until the right moment."

"Is this the right moment?" Jaren asked, pointing at the werewolf.

Brian shook his head, smiling.

"The Reaper won't help, so now what?" Brock asked Jaren.

Jaren had no idea what they were going to do. If the virus itself was changing, then this wasn't good for any of them. They had to find out where Sebastian Warren was and stop him from turning anymore people.

"I think the best thing we can do is hunt down—"

Brock's phone went off, and his brows furrowed as he turned in his chair and picked the device up from the table. He answered it quickly while Jaren glanced at Brian who seemed rather cheery to be in their presence.

"Something else is going on, but you're not saying what it is."

Brian grinned at him, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"For the representation of Death, you're a shitty liar," said Jaren, shaking his head. "Fine, I don't need your help, I'll figure this out on my own."

Brock stood up from the chair, nodding his head and squeezing his eyes closed. "Yeah…okay, I'll…come down, check the bodies, the patients, whatever you need. Make sure no one else verifies them until I get there." He hung up the phone and let out a loud groan before looking at Jaren and Brian.

"Let me guess," Brian said, chuckling, "someone is dying."

"Shut up," Brock said before looking to Jaren, "two humans have been infected, but they aren't turning as quickly as John is."

Another problem arising out of nowhere. Jaren looked at the werewolf inside the containment cell. She was fast asleep on the ground, covered in her own puke and blood. Kryoz was going to end up starving inside his own cell.

"We have to find out where Sebastian is, we have to find out what the hell he is doing to these people." Except, where would he be? That was the only problem, wasn't it?

He was afraid that if he didn't think more about where Sebastian was, he'd end up losing his time with everything else.

Brock sighed, he grabbed a few things from inside his desk and crossed the room, "I need to check on the humans. If they turn or if they die, we'll find out the timeline of the infection, and how it varies as Sebastian continues to turn them. I'll have to watch over Eva Young and John Keyes, which is actually giving me a headache."

"I can watch over them for you," said Brian.

Brock and Jaren looked at him, surprised and cautious. "Really?" they both said at the same time.

Brian shrugged his shoulders, "That's what death does, right? We watch over the living until they kick the bucket."

Brock rolled his eyes, and Jaren sighed. "John is dead, Eva isn't," said Jaren, "but if you're willing to babysit and make sure they don't end up dying from the infection, then maybe you'll actually be useful."

Brian scoffed, walking over to Eva's cell and looking inside, "I am useful, what else is death meant for besides that?"

"I don't care," Brock said, "if something changes in any way, come and get me." He walked out of the room, leaving Jaren with Brian.

"Your growing friendship with Brock is kind of disturbing me," said Jaren.

"What can I say, I enjoy his company more than yours and Evan's."

Evan.

"I should call him, see what he's doing and if he can help with this whole Sebastian bullshit," Jaren said, walking out of the room and dialing Evan's number.

He was feeling a little more desperate as time went on. This isn't what he wanted, everything was going to shit. He wasn't even sure where he'd be able to find Sebastian Warren.

Jaren leaned against the wall, phone to his ear, eyes closing shut. Why couldn't this be easy? Nothing was ever easy, and in some way or another, he'd have to do this.

The phone was answered, and Jaren greeted Evan with a smile.

Chapter Text

Anthony passed Jaren a styrofoam cup of coffee. They stood in the break room around twelve in the afternoon. 

Jaren wasn't even sure how he was able to stay up for as long as he could, but he was pretty sure he fell asleep for a good five minutes.

"They're calling it the Feral virus, sounds good, right?" Anthony asked him, giving Jaren a sandwich.

Jaren nodded slowly, barely paying attention. "Yeah, sounds good."

"I thought it was a little much, but I did read the reports on John Keyes and the other two contracted victims, I also heard about a few vampires having it…they're hiding out right now, so no word about any of that," said Anthony.

Jaren massaged his forehead. "What?"

"You're not listening at all, Jaren."

He leaned his head on the table and groaned, finger tapping on the side of his coffee cup. "I know…there's so much I still need to look into."

He wanted to stop all this from happening. And he was doing his best not to overthink it, but he was losing that battle.

"Have you slept at all ever since you brought John back?"

Jaren shook his head. "No…I didn't." He has yet to think of anything else ever since he found out about the virus worsening.

"Maybe you should try."

He smiled at his friend, knowing he was only trying to help. "I can't…I have to deal with this." And yet, he wasn't sure if he had any real leads besides interrogating the witches again. If there was anything like a virus that could harm both Werewolves and Vampire's, then it had to have come from a witch. They were the ones that created the spells in the first place, they knew how they worked better than anyone.

He just had to figure out who did it and why? However, answering those questions were giving him a headache, and all he wanted to do was drink his coffee.

"I think this is far up my pay grade," Jaren said.

Anthony arched his brow, smiling. "Oh? Now you're giving up?"

"I'm not giving up. I'm just saying…I think I should ask the boss for a bit more on my check this month."

"Are you going to ask him?"

Jaren drank the rest of the lukewarm coffee and dropped the cup into the trash bin. "Might as well, nothing else to do until twelve when I get into contact with Evan."

"Let's just hope he's in a good mood this time," Anthony said, scowling. He mutttered something about wanting coffee soon, and Jaren agreed with him on both accounts.

He wanted to look more into Sebastian Warren, but since he was still waiting on confirmation from the other covens, he was uncertain if he'd be allowed to any time soon. He'll have to try and work around it, if that was possible. Unless another body shows up. He was hoping that someone written it up in a report so he can understand it then improvising. The virus reacted quickly is all he knew, it turned a human into a vampire in less than a few hours, maybe less than five. That was a frightening speed. He just hoped Sebastian Warren knew nothing about it.

Jaren's eyes burned from the lack of sleep lately, and even though the coffee could've been better, he really wanted to get a little bit more this month so he wouldn't have to think this was all for nothing. He headed for the elevator, and pressed the button that would push the elevator to the top floor.

His boss had his own office with several other people, and Jaren rarely went up to speak with him. This was a rare occurence if anything else, but the moment the doors opened, he found himself in front of two vampires, both of them looking at him strangely.

Damnit. Maybe he's busy today.

Jaren stood awkwardly. He wasn't normally bothered by the sight of a few vampires, and maybe he was a little tired of late. He stepped out of the elevator once they entered.

One of the vampires sniffled as the doors began to close. "I can smell the fledgling on that mortal…"

"Claimed," the other vampires said.

Jaren stopped short in the hallway once the elevator doors closed. He looked down at his clothes. He was sure that he took a shower at one point, and changed his clothes. Made sure everything was good for work. And yet, the vampires can still smell John. If anything, it was a little unnerving to say the least. He didn't like the idea of being claimed by someone, and certainly not a Feral vampire.

He took in a breath and continued his way to his boss' office. He knocked, ignoring the secretary's office, and the woman who was glaring at him.

"Come in."

He entered swiftly, closing the door carefully as he looked to his boss. He sat behind a desk with heavy bags beneath his eyes. He didn't seem overly pleased, and Jaren was sure it wasn't about him. 

"It's been some time," said Tyler Wine.

Jaren sat down in the chair, wrinkling his nose. "I should've talked to your secretary, or at least sent a memo, but I needed this information now."

"What is it?"

"A bigger cut, and if what is happening with the Sebastian Warren case is being implemented to other locations," said Jaren. He needed to make sure that it wasn't, but if it was, he wanted to know. It's better when he wasn't in the dark about the issue.

Tyler ran a hand through his blond hair, "I'd say Charon is an obvious understanding."

He figured. They were the ones cleaning up bodies.

"Anyone else?"

"No," Tyler said. "No one else but Orion. The virus itself hasn't spread anywhere else, which is a good thing. I'm a little skeptical though about why Sebastian Warren hasn't been caught."

He was wondering the same thing, but Jaren had been too preoccupied with Brock's analysis over a cure of some kind, and of Basil's sudden appearance and curiosity over John.

"Is there anything new on your end?" Tyler asked. "I'm sure I gave you clearance on Evan, he's meant to tell me everything, but for some reason, I have yet to receive any updates."

Jaren bit his lower lip. Damn. He really needed a cup of coffee. Thinking about this was getting a little more damning. He did talk to Evan a day ago, but the conversation was brisk.

"I'm not sure what Evan is doing, I only came up here for a guarantee," said Jaren, giving Tyler a smile.

Tyler had his own false smile, and he sighed. "I'll see what I can do. We are good friends, but I want an actual update from Evan. Make sure he knows that."

Jaren nodded, getting up from the chair. "Of course."

Right when Jaren reached for the door, Tyler spoke up again, "How's your vampire?"

Jaren frowned. His vampire. Feral vampire. The same one who was coughing up blood because he couldnt' hold it down. The same one who scented him, took his blood. The same one…who was in danger, who was dying, and in some small way, was reaching out for his dangerously hidden Sire.

"He's…fine," Jaren said, shrugging his shoulders. What else was he meant to say? It seemed whatever was going on, a rumor began to spread. John was his, but Jaren had his own problems that didn't stem from a lone, dying, vampire.

He had to figure out how to stop the virus.

Chapter Text

"I need you to tell me where Jonathan is," Evan said, shoving the vampire familiar against the wall. He pressed a knife to his neck, hoping that was enough to get out a reaction.

Harold whimpered at Evan's aggression and threat. "I don't…know where he is. He's not in Jen's territory!"

That was rather easy to figure out simply because Evan had already walked through.

Jonathan has been missing longer than two-three days. He wasn't answering his phone, nor at his apartment.

"You're lying," Evan said, pushing the knife against the man's collarbone.

"I'm not, I swear he's not here!"

Harold was the only other familiar he had threatened more than once, and he had come to know the man liked tea and bird watching, so when he found him at his favorite park, he had to ask his questions. There was no way in hell that he wouldn't have known. He was one of Jen's familiar's, offering his blood up whenever the vampires wanted something fresh and not wrapped in plastic or inside a glass bottle.

Evan let him go and walked away. Where the hell did Jonathan disappear?

"Having any luck?"

He scowled at the sight of the Reaper. "I was," he said, shaking his head at the sight of him. Brian always made him feel sick inside whenever he was in his presence for far too long. Maybe it was the fact that being around a being like him only reminded Evan of a fate he tried to escape from.

Brian chuckled. "Oh? It doesn't seem like it."

"It would be helpful if you…helped," Evan said, closing his switchblade and tucking it into his pocket.

"It would be, but I'm a Reaper, I don't do things for the living, and you and Jaren ask for too much."

Ah, yes, Jaren and his investigation on the infected vampire, Sebastian Warren. Strangely enough, no one has seen this vampire since he started to infect and kill vampires and werewolves, his sights turning on a human was strange, but it seemed to have worked out. The strange thing about that is Sebastian has yet to turn another human. All Evan could get from this is that Sebastian had no idea what happened with the newly turned vampire, John.

"If someone were interested in your precious, Jonathan, who do you think it would be?" Brian asked him.

"What?" Evan asked. That was a little strange, why would he ask that? Who would honestly be into Jonathan, he was a recluse. "You know something, don't you?"

"Look, I'm trying to help, even though I have no purpose in doing so," Brian said, shaking his head. "Jonathan would be considered a Seer with little control over his powers, right? And there's been deaths happening around this area that has the Vampires, Werewolves, and the Witches, out of them, who do you think benefits your Seer?"

"Jonathan's powers wouldn't pinpoint Sebastian Warren or any future deaths," Evan said. "They are linked to me.

"I wonder if they'll channel that ability through whatever they're trying to find," Brian said with a shrug. "I mean, Jonathan isn't exactly a normal human. The death that you experienced has touched him as well, and it's not like you're going to let that go, right?"

Evan hated when he talked to Brian, he never really made any sense. All he wanted to do was find out where Jonathan is, and if Brian was right. The witches had him.

He'd have to speak to a Coven leader. The only one that was nice enough around here was Vivienne Cane.

"Fuck," Evan said under his breath. The Reaper follows behind him, snickering at Evan's foul mood. He really didn't want death wandering after him, but there wasn't anything he can do abiout that right now.

"Is it like a cliche that you can see people's life spans, like…the time above their head," Evan asked him, waving his hand above his own head.

Brian looked up and shrugged his shoulders. "Time moves in a chaotic flow. There are moments when it stands still, other times, it fluctuates constantly."

"So you can't tell?"

Brian smiled gently. "I can see yours and SMii7y's."

Evan rolled his eyes and sighed deeply. So, the Reaper who has followed him since his first death decided not to help him, or is useless at helping him in the least.

"Thanks for your help," Evan said. He walked ahead, wondering how he was actually going to speak to the head Witch of the Oak Spirit Coven. The thought was despairing, and he hated doing something like this, but since Jonathan was missing, he had to find him.

"I figured you'd hang around SMii7y, he's the one who needs it," said Evan.

Brian smiled, hands tucked in his pant pockets. "Oh?"

"Yes, he has a rogue vampire with him, a newborn, with some kind of strain that is new and kills other species. How are you not interested in that?" Evan asked him. Wouldn't a Reaper of death be interested in the idea of death? However, Brian seemed more like someone who flitted through the world like a spirit, a ghost of some kind. He didn't hold a scythe, only on rare occasions, and it was much smaller than what Evan saw in films. And the dogs were simply there to sniff out the ones who tried to run from him.

Funny horror tactic, hardly worked on Evan who had been dying the last time he saw his hellhounds.

"I find you more interesting at the moment," Brian said. "Besides, I'm around death all the time. A silly little vampire killing others isn't as different as most contracted diseases."

Right…?

"Fine, but like the vampires and werewolves, I'm pretty sure the witches don't like you."

Brian shrugged, smiling flippantly. "I don't care."

With a sigh, they walked to the Oak Spirit Coven . They were housed in the same area as the pack who followed Devon Fairstone. One of his own had been attacked by Sebastian Warren, and remains in containment until Orion figures out what to do. If they can do anything for the werewolf.

However, that's not what was on Evan's mind. He needed to find Jonathan, and not having him by his side was bothering the absolute shit out of him. If the witches had him, then he'll have to drag him out of their annoying clutches. Although, he'd probably sentence him to a quick death, and he really hoped that isn't the reason why Brian stayed with him this entire time.

They reached the apartment building where the Oak Spirit Coven remained. They took it over, and kept to themselves mostly. However, things are changing, and Evan needed to ask a few needed questions.

"Do you think you'll find him here?" Brian asked him as Evan walked through the black gate and up the cement walkway toward the glass door.

"Yeah," he said. He pressed a button on the side, it buzzed, and he waited for a moment before he heard a sound on the other side.

"Your friend isn't here."

Evan scoffed, "Come on, don't be like that, once you say that, I know you're lying. Give him back to me, he's mine," Evan said, sneering.

The sound sparked a few times, and Brian chuckled from behind him.

"Do you really think the witches will give him up?"

"He doesn't belong to them," Evan said.

He spotted a witch walking towards the door, and he recognized her as Vivienne Cane. Tall with long dark brown hair and brown skin, her eyes were around the same shade, but when using magic, they glowed almost gold as the doors were shoved open, and a harsh wind surrounded them.

Evan and Brian stepped back, away from the leader of the Oak Spirit Coven.

"You have no right here, leave," Vivienne said.

Brian snorted, nudging Evan, "Looks like you got what you wanted, do what you can to get back what's yours."

Evan grimaced at him. In other words, good luck trying to win over Vivienne.

Chapter Text

John coughed, maybe his tenth time, in the last few minutes. He was far too warm, and wondered if dead things can get sick. He asked Brock a few times, but the doctor was busy dealing with something else.

He wanted nothing more than to claw at the door, at the window, in hopes he can break it. He didn't want to stay here anymore, he was getting warmer and warmer, and soon…he wasn't sure what was going to happen.

He was also thinking about SMii7y again. Where did he go? He thought of his blood beneath his skin. The moment he had those terrible intrusive thoughts, he tried thinking about something else. Anything else, but the seconds felt like hours, and he was losing his mind inside the containment cell. Maybe Sebastian Warren's blood was finally getting to him.

"Brock?" John murmured, his knees finally hitting the smooth white floor. "Brock! Where's Jaren! Bring him to me!"

The last time he drank his blood, he couldn't keep it down. It was like he was going to throw up, and yet…he liked the taste, he enjoyed it. Maybe it was Basil's fault, he couldn't keep his fucking blood down either.

His mind spun the entire time he sat inside the containment room. SMii7y is at the forefront of his thoughts, and yet, no one opened the door for him. He's left alone, and even if he had the strength, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to escape. They'd surely stop him before he even tried to leave Orion.

Maybe there were better things to think about, but when he attempted to try, he only found himself feeling too warm. He needed to shed his clothes, or get out of the container as fast as he can. He called out to Brock or SMii7y, maybe even Brian, but no one answered him.

He's alone, he's far too warm, and he is really dizzy.

"Let me out," Kryoz said, hitting the door. "Let me out!"

No one answered, and he slid down to the floor again, breathing heavily. His mouth was parched, and he can hear the sounds in his own body. It was weird, it was chaotic, and all he can do was mutter out his friend's names.

He groaned when Sebastian Warren came to mind. The man who bit him, forced him into this person that he didn't like. Maybe he had to go back to him, he was the one who sired him, it only made sense.

Kryoz closed his eyes, breathing heavily. He didn't want to go back, he didn't want to seek him out. He turned him into this, he destroyed his life, so why would he want to go back to the person who fucked everything up?

Even if he was desperate, he didn't want to go back.

Kryoz pulled at his collar a bit, trying to ignore the burn, the shiver wracking his body. He was not going to end up that fucking desperate.

As long as he remained within the container, the symptoms grew worse and worse. His mouth is dry, and his eyes hurt, and now he's dry coughing. He peered down at his arms and saw his veins, except their much darker, black even under the pale surface of his skin.

"What the fuck is going on?" Kryoz asked. He was sure vampires can withstand their own hunger for longer than this. It was actually a little pathetic. He laid down on the floor, wanting to sleep until someone showed up to feed him blood.

He needed blood.

Chapter Text

SMii7y stepped outside the building and walked over to the stairs, he took out his phone and dialed Evan's number. He wanted to check up on John, but lately, it seemed they had grown more close to each other and SMii7y would rather not make it more complicated. The job he had was far too much for him to deal with, and SMii7y wanted to choose his battles wisely.

Evan didn't answer his phone.

Where was he? He needed to speak with him about the case, even though Evan wasn't technically on the case itself, he just needed to talk to someone. Maybe someone else had a better perspective than he did.

He sighed deeply and decided to grab some coffee from a local coffee shop. It was better than walking his way back into Orion. He was sure John was fine, he didn't need SMii7y standing near his cell. He took the short walk to the coffee shop and checked his phone a few times. He texted Evan, but he was still not answering him.

After he stood in line and ordered a small cup of coffee and a glazed donut, he sat down at a table near a window.

He had no other leads in finding Sebastian Warren, and that was making him feel more and more frustrated. It wasn't like Sebastian knew anything about John or the vampire would be coming after him. However, he was still infecting people with the virus that was in his body.

How did he come into contact with such a thing? His thoughts went to the prospect of the witches. If a vampire that can lethally murder vampires and werewolves, but also change a human into a vampire, then this wasn't exactly a natural cause amongst their kind. It had to have been orchestrated by someone or something else.

Who?

SMii7y mulled those thoughts over a few times until a strange coldness ran over his body. Confused, he looked around and checked his coat. He didn't spill anything, and there wasn't anything sticking to him. Why did he feel…this way?

He coughed, a ragged sound, his fingers touched his neck, but there was nothing there. No wound, no marking. He shook his head, trying to push away the dizziness that formed in his eyes. He grabbed for his phone and checked the recent call.

Evan.

He dialed his number again and brought the phone to his ear. He was shaky, but holding his phone somewhat helped stabilize him.

"Jaren?" Evan's voice spoke into his ear.

SMii7y closed his eyes, nodding, "What are you doing?"

Evan let out a soft laugh, "Looking for Jonathan…"

"Where?"

"Oak Spirit Coven."

That was the feeling that ran through his body. The cold press of magic touching death.

"What the fuck are you doing over there? Why would Jonathan be there?" SMii7y asked, aggravated. He took a bite of his donut, biting down hard enough to ignore his own annoyance with Evan.

"They…sorta found out about him."

SMii7y was too tired of this shit. "How?"

"They're witches, what do you expect?"

"Okay, and I'm guessing you got into contact with one of them, what did they do to you cause I felt it too," SMii7y said, downing his coffee. It was much warmer than he thought.

Evan was quiet for a moment while SMii7y was leaving, and he can hear him speaking to another person. He listened closely, hearing the voice and finding it rather familiar.

"Is Brian with you?" SMii7y asked, digging into his pocket for his keys. He hadn't seen the Reaper in the last several hours, and usually he didn't hang out with anyone that was alive besides himself and Evan.

"Uh, yeah," said Evan. "He wanted to walk with me to the Oak Spirit Coven."

"Okay?" SMii7y said, finding that rather suspicious. Unless Brian knew something they weren't fully aware of yet.

"Vivienne Cane kicked us out," Evan continued. "Her magic almost shoved us both on our asses, but we're okay."

Brian, somewhere in the background, "Speak for yourself, she gives zero shits for me."

"She can't even sense what you are, shut up," said Evan.

"You're at the Oak Spirit Coven?" SMii7y said, mostly to himself as he unlocked his car and sat down in the driver's seat.

"Are you coming over here?"

"I need to check a few things out, so yes," said SMii7y. "I'll be there in a few minutes, so don't do anything crazy."

"Crazy, with a Reaper?" Evan said, sarcastically.

SMii7y hung up and started up the vehicle. He glanced one last time at Orion's imposing building. Kryoz will be fine without him, he needs to check up on things with the Witches, and stop them from doing anything to Jonathan. He was a Seer, so what?

He drove away from the building and several minutes after, he stopped by the curb and got out of the vehicle. Evan and Brian were waiting on the sidewalk, the both of them talking to one another and seemingly joking around.

They were fine, from the looks of it. That was good, at least he wasn't late for any other bullshit they were going to get into.

"How did they find out?" SMii7y asked.

"No hi or anything, just straight to business," Brian said, smirking.

"I'm working, and we're not friends," said SMii7y, looking from Brian to Evan who was smiling innocently at him.

"I have no idea," Evan said, answering SMii7y's question about the witches finding out about Jonathan. "I tried looking for him earlier, and well…I got a tip that the witches found out about his ability."

"His ability doesn't concern them," SMii7y said, shaking his head. He can't believe this. Maybe he'll be able to get answers for Sebastian Warren and the Feral Virus that's affecting the vampires and werewolves, but he'll have to deal with this issue. It was as important as any other.

"I know, I tried telling Vivienne that, but she wants nothing to do with me," Evan said with a sigh. "She doesn't know that Johnny's abilities only coerlate with us."

Brian snickered at the two, obviously amused by their predicament. "This just gets more and more rich, doesn't it? You two, always at the ends and outs of every problem."

"You're thinking too hard, they stole our Seer, and we only want him back," said Evan. He turned back to SMii7y. "How are we going to do this? We have no powers over Witches, and our Reaper won't do shit."

"It's interesting that you're here," said SMii7y, looking at Brian.

Brian shrugged. "I can't be everywhere, but I can be here."

"Shut up."

SMii7y rolled his eyes at the two. "If the front door won't work, we might as well sneak in. Let's see if we can find a window." He led the way, Brian and Evan following behind him as if this was a good idea. "How many witches did you see? Or was it just Vivienne?"

"Vivienne," Evan answered as they checked around the building. There weren't barriers, which was quite interesting, but it could also be because of Brian. Magic didn't work on him, or around him. Not that he cared that much about what other people did.

They spotted a window on the second floor, and with enough determination, SMii7y and Evan began climbing the side of the wall. He was grateful it was one of those buildings that weren't flat on all sides. There were ridges, easy enough for them to climb.

Brian watched from the ground, smiling at them, waiting for something to happen, probably.

SMii7y grunted as he pulled the window open and he climbed inside the room. It was a library of some kind, and there was no one inside. With a sigh, he reached out and helped Evan inside the room.

"Where do you think they are?" SMii7y asked him.

"If they have Jonathan, they could be doing some kind of ritual," Evan said, shrugging. "I want to know why they want him though. It's not like Jonathan has ever gotten into their shit before."

SMii7y he was sure the Witches can also see into the future paths, why would they need Jonathan. It made little sense to him, and the best thing they can do since he is their friend, and it is against the law to kidnap a human, including one that was under Orion's protection.

"Let's go find out," SMii7y said, leading Evan out of the room and down the hall.

Chapter Text

Brian rarely entered disputes like this amongst the unnatural people. He liked it though, watching them squabble together, trying to figure out how to start wars and how to end them.

His contract gives him free rein on the two who decided to sign it. Evan and Jaren stood outside the Oak Spirit Coven, and Brian had watched them crawl through the window.

They had tried their best to get out of the situation they placed themselves in since this partnership had begun. The mess they created only seemed to tie them together, and Brian followed like a loyal shadow.

Since he collected the dead souls of many, he knew for a fact that fate belonged to many, but to see it tangled between Evan and Jaren, he found it almost amusing. He wandered inside the building, following the trail and listening to the souls inside. There were a lot beneath his feet, and the cry of a Seer below. They'd surely get to him soon enough.

"How did you get in?" Jaren asked once Brian reached the staircase where the two were descending from.

"The back door was left open," Brian said, smiling.

Evan ignored him as he walked by, "I think they're downstairs."

"Is that a guess…or have you simply noticed that there aren't any people on either floors," said Brian.

"Dead bodies upstairs," Jaren muttered under his breath and he took his phone out.

"Don't call anyone until we find Jonathan," Evan said, looking back at Jaren.

"It's better someone knows we're here, and the Reaper doesn't count," Jaren said, dialing a number while Evan walked down the hall, checking each door he came upon. Some of the rooms were empty, but there was a strange rose scent all over the place, followed by lemon and rosemary.

"Ah, yes, the screams of the dead remind me that this isn't always fun and games," Brian said, sighing dramatically.

"Screams?" Jaren asked, his phone to his ear, and arching a brow at Brian. "Are you the one who's meant to take them…or is it someone else? Like that other Reaper?"

"Selene? She deals with wolves, I deal with mischivious mortals," Brian said, smiling at the way Jaren rolled his eyes at him. "I can't ever be funny with any of you."

"You're telling the truth, and that isn't funny," said Jaren, turning his back to Brian and began speaking to someone on the phone.

Brian wandered after Evan. He was still cursing under his breath that he couldn't find the basement door. Brian was currently watching the events playout. A strange group of people all over the place, the magic sings amongst them, heavy and soft. It looks like sparkles, and while the witches begin to leave the building, a few remain, and those are the ones who end up dying on the second floor. They are not meant to be here. They're intruders trying to retrieve the Seer.

"He's in good hands," Brian said to Evan.

Evan scoffed, "Which door leads me to him, Brian?"

Brian said nothing and continued to follow Evan. Jaren had reached them when Evan finally found the door that led down into the basement. Brian closed it behind them as they descended.

They used their phones to light their way, and as the musty air grew, so did the scent of candle wax and burned leaves. He wasn't too keen on what witches did nowadays, and he wasn't the kind of Reaper to pick them up when they eventually died.

Another Reaper did that, but he found them rather entertaining since they seemed to blend in with Evan and Jaren's cause.

"What the hell do they need a Seer?" Evan asked, keeping his voice low as they quietly walked along the floor.

Brian made little noise anywhere he went unless he wanted to, so he was able to walk briskly alongside them.

"Witches and their spells, they could be using them in some kind of way," Jaren said, staring down at his phone as if it was the most important thing he needed to focus on right now.

"They're quite creative, and a Seer's ability can be mimicked with the right amount of skill," Brian said, not keeping his voice low like Evan and Brian. They both glared at him for his lack of discretion, but he simply ignored them.

"The Seer's ability only works for us," Evan said, shaking his head. "Or did you two forget about that? I'm also pretty sure psychics are involved with most magic lately, so I don't see why kidnapping Jonathan would work in any of their spells."

"If that's the case, then they're about to be rather disappointed in the result," said Jaren.

Brian smiled at the two as they wandered down the narrow corridor to the end where most of the scents were mixing. They peeked inside and spotted Jonathan tied to a chair, and a few women and men were standing around a center of candles and burned paper.

Jonathan's mouth was covered in ducttape, and the second Evan saw this, he had entered the room.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked. The witches turned in unison, and stopped him from moving.

"Well, this is going splendidly," Jaren muttered to Brian.

"Are you regretting coming at all?" he asked.

"Kind of." Jaren stepped out from the corridor and raised his hands. "Kidnapping is against Orion's Accords, you're gonna have to return the Seer to us."

"Orion agents," one of the witches said, rolling her eyes at them.

Vivienne Cane, the head of the Oak Spirit Coven, approached them. Her gaze was heavy as she glanced between them, and ignored Brian altogether. He didn't mind, he liked watching the other supernatural species becoming uncomfortable with his presence. None of them could understand what he was, even if they knew already. Perceving something like him was strange to their own natural law.

He turned when another Reaper appeared from the shadows. Ian. He was a short man with golden blonde hair and wore a black trench coat. None of the witches noticed him either, and Brian joined him in the hall.

"What is it?" he asked.

"We have an issue, and I'd like you to come with me to discuss what must be done," Ian said, his voice monotonous.

Brian sighed. He was sure Jaren and Evan would be fine, and walked off into the darkness with Ian.

Chapter Text

"This is against protocol," SMii7y said, hand tucked into his pocket while Evan argued with the Witches about what they were doing with Jonathan. He was tied to a chair with duct tape over his mouth and was struggling against his binds.

"You have no authorization in taking in the Seer, let him go," Evan said, glaring at Vivienne and the witches that remained standing around the circle. Most of the candles within the room were covered in herbs, and some had been blown out with a smoky sweetness collecting in the air.

Vivienne had her hand on her hip, glaring down at the two. "Aurora, did you forget to lock the doors again?"

Aurora, who stood off to the side, cringed, "I…I'm sorry, Viv, I didn't know Orion agents would make their way here."

Evan scoffed, crossing his arms. "Jon's my best friend, of course I'd know if the idiot goes missing. So, let him go or we might have to write this up, and knowing you guys, it'll take most of your day in a holding cell."

"Right, like you'd actually want to deal with the paperwork," Vivienne sneered. "The ritual we're conducting might actually help with your case that has to do with the Feral Virus that's been making the rounds throughout the Werewolf and Vampire covens."

SMii7y, unable to stop his curiosity, stepped forward. "What do you mean? What does taking in the Seer have to do with that?"

"If you'd let me finish," Vivienne said, sighing. "The Seer is connected to most of the supernatural elements in the area. We wanted to concentrate on his power to see if he'd be able to find a witch. Her name is Lila Woods, and we suspect her of creating the virus itself."

Well, that was one way in locating a supposed suspect. SMii7y figured the witches must've created the virus itself since no human could've done it without proper training. And the vampires and werewolf genes don't usually interact like they do now.

"The Seer only correlates with SMii7y and I, his abilities won't work for any other witch or vampire or whatever else is in the world," Evan said.

SMii7y watched as one of the witches had stepped into the circle and pulled the duct tape off of Jonathan's mouth. He gasped, skin around his lips red, and he was speaking softly.

"Lila Woods…Lila Woods…Lila Woods."

Vivienne turned, seemingly pleased as Aurora began taking off the blind fold. Jonathan looked as if he wasn't fully focusing on everyone inside the room. It was like he was seeing more than he should, and he kept saying her name over and over again while another witch took off the rope that held him to the chair.

"Did Lila Woods create the virus?" Vivienne asked him.

"Lila Woods…Lila Woods…" he murmured.

"What the hell did you guys do to him?" Evan asked.

"A small spell, we're only concentrating on one person and expecting an answer, that's it."

"You could've used Tarot, or any other divination tool than using a Seer," SMii7y said.

Vivienne smiled. "Yes, that is a possibility, however, a Seer is rare, and to be tied to two fools like you, we figured his ability could be stretched a bit to your own work."

SMii7y still didn't like that. Was she implying she had asked Jonathan questions about them, including the contract Evan and SMii7y had given to Brian? Surely, Vivienne and many others must've realized they, at one point, fucked up, and that was why there was a damned Reaper in their midst most of the time.

"Did Lila Woods create the Feral Virus?" Aurora Sharpe asked him as Jonathan slid off the chair. The other witch had given him a paper and pencil, and he seemingly was scribbling words before crumpling it up and shoving it away from him.

Aurora grabbed a hold of it and passed it to Vivienne. At the same time, she allowed Evan to enter the circle to hold onto Jonathan who was still mumbling her name.

"We have protocols," SMii7y reminded the witches. "Unfortunately for you, you've kidnapped an Orion agent, and forcefully shoved out another. You'll all return to Orion to be questioned, and well…whatever happens, happens, I guess."

He figured the paperwork was going to end up tedious, but they're the ones who dug their own graves. SMii7y was too busy and hoped Tyler could get someone else to deal with it.

Vivienne passed SMii7y the crumpled paper. She had read most of the writing, and seemed almost pleased by what Jonathan had written.

"Like I said, this will help with your case, and whatever else you need to inquire about, surely this might even save a few lives," Vivienne said. She turned and began speaking to the witches, telling them to clean up the mess.

SMii7y looked at the writing, but it was hard to read now that most of the candles were being blown out. He followed Evan and Jonathan upstairs, and they headed outside of the Oak Spirit Coven's building. Once out on the street, Jonathan was still mumbling a few times before dry heaving. Evan was patting his back, hoping to calm him down from what the witches had afflicted upon him.

SMii7y scanned the page, reading the scribbled words a few times. He gritted his teeth and turned to look at his friends.

"What did you see?" he asked Jonathan.

His face was pale and sickly, and saliva dripped from his bottom lip. "I…there was a lot…it was all hazy…"

Evan rubbed his back. "Come on, Jaren, are you really going to ask him after what he went through?"

SMii7y scoffed and walked over to Jonathan, grabbing his jaw, "Tell me what you saw. What you went through was hardly anything to complain about. I need to know!"

Jonathan squeezed his eyes closed, taking in a few deep breaths. "It was all hazy…but I saw Sebastian…"

His name was written on the paper. Scribbled and barely discernible. There were more names, most of them tangled together, melting into one another. He didn't like that. He needed to know more.

"Tell me," SMii7y said, shoulders slumping as the desperation clung to him. More people were going to die, and he needed to stop it from happening. He had to find him, he had to solve this bullshit. Maybe Vivienne was right, maybe there was a witch who created it, but why were the names written like this?

Seer.

SMii7y and Evan believed that Jonathan was connected to them because of what happened all those years ago. He had to be connected to them. He didn't make a contract with Brian, but the connection was there. He had pulled them back, and Brian stitched them together as one.

No, Jonathan was touched by death, and he could see the deaths around him. He can sense death, and he became a seer who could only see the deaths of others.

"John…Eva…" Jonathan said, brows pinched as he squeezed his eyes closed. His skin was slick with cold sweat, and the smell of herbs and smoke wafted off of him from being underground. "Serenity…Quintin…Marcus…Lila…Lila…Lila…Lila…"

Jonathan fell to his knees and groaned from the pain. Evan continued to soothe him while SMii7y took out his phone.

His hand was shaking as he stared at the paper. The names were attached to one another, all of them connected to Sebastian.

His phone was answered on the first ring, but he almost expected to speak with Brock when another voice had made him go still.

"Hello, agent Smith, am I wrong? Or do you prefer me calling you SMii7y?"

"Who is this?" SMii7y asked, taking a step away from his friends. "Where's Brock?"

"Brock? The doctor…secreted away by a few Reapers', I suspect. I'm only here to speak with you, a less than careless thing to talk of, if you don't mind."

SMii7y swallowed, uncertainty clinging in his mind. He wanted to make sure John was okay, and if Eva was still alive. He needed the names of the others, he should've called Tyler first. He needed other people to know about what was going to happen.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"What I want is John to be let out of his cage," the man said with a sigh. "He wasn't supposed to return to the cage he's in now. However, my plan doesn't work with him being situated inside."

Okay, SMii7y can now guess who he's talking to. He licked his lips, folding the paper and tucking it into his pocket.

"Do you know what Orion Protocols are, Basil?" he asked the man. He looked over his shoulder, and Evan was on the phone while Jonathan remained sitting on the sidewalk with his face in his hands.

"I do have an understanding, however, unfortunately for you, agent, I'm not here to speak about protocols."

"If you don't care, why haven't you let him out by now?"

"Some of the objects in this building are soaked in an oil that is set every morning and noon, I cannot touch certain things," Basil said. "You and your people have odd rituals, surely you were in one not too long ago."

SMii7y glanced around. He had people watching them?

"By the way, I think your werewolf is dead."

He bit his lower lip at what he said. Shit. That doesn't help anyone right now.

"SMii7y, I called a cab, they'll be here in fifteen minutes," Evan said, sitting beside Jonathan on the sidewalk.

"I'm not letting him out…if she's dead, then John's going to end up dead too, there's no way around it," SMii7y said, walking over to Evan and Jonathan. "Whatever you're planning, it's not going to work, people are going to die."

"And that's why I need John out," Basil said, sounding more impatient than he was a moment ago. "The dangers surround us, your little death squad should know that by now. Sebastian doesn't know what he created."

"John is still being affected, the virus is killing him like any other."

Basil chuckled, amused. "Are you sure about that? There are stages to the virus itself. John is simply burning right through them. He seems…perfectly fine right now."

He needed to talk to Brock, to someone trustworthy than one of the first vampire's around. He didn't really know what Basil wanted, but this was the unlikeliest thing he needed.

"Ah," Basil said, "hello, doctor."

"Brock?" SMii7y said.

He heard clattering, and a sound of grunting and a muffled cry.

"Stop! Don't hurt him!" SMii7y said, gripping the phone.

Basil chuckled. "I needed someone to open the door. To let John out, I need him…his scent is intriguing to me. Others will find out what he is, what Sebastian has done. One way or another, I'm dealing with this on my own terms. I don't need Orion's help."

"SMii7y?" Brock muttered from somewhere within the room he was in.

SMii7y wanted to pace, but he kept looking down at Evan's confused face and at Jonathan who was leaning against his shoulder. 

"Don't kill him."

"I'm not going to…" Basil said. "Open the door."

Brock was breathing heavily on the other end of the phone, and SMii7y can hear something opening up and John's voice muffled by a terrible growling and seething. A cry had shocked SMii7y until the phone went dead.

"Shit," SMii7y said, staring in disbelief at his phone.

"What happened?" Evan asked him.

"I think…I think…John might've attacked them…attacked Brock and Basil?"

"Basil?" Jonathan murmured. 

SMii7y sat down beside him, his leg moving. "I think…he thought John was okay, but he's not…he's not okay…shit…shit, and Eva Young is dead!" He dialed another number. He had to tell Tyler what the fuck was going on. He had to make sure everyone in Orion knew that this might get so much worse.

Damnit.

"Cab's here," Evan said.

Chapter Text

Brian is rarely called away from his clients. So, he was surprised that another Reaper named Ian, needed him for something this…simple to deal with.

"She's going to die," Ian said.

They stood in a dilapidated house, staring down at a woman with long red hair. She was on the ground, having her second seizure since they arrived.

"I don't deal with vampires," Brian told him.

Ian shrugged. "I know, but this has to do with most of us dealing with the covens connected with the Feral Virus."

He kind of hoped he could deal with this situation on his own with the ones who were actually working on it. SMii7y might've hit a wall, but at least they were standing in a basement with a group of witches performing some kind of ritual. It was much better than watching a woman spit out foam from her mouth and twitch on the ground. Her body contorted a few times, and she was shaking.

Reaper's were not meant to help the living, not even the ones dealing with these kinds of circumstances. From what he found out, the woman had been bitten not too long ago, but Ian wasn't at the scene of when it happened. He was only sent while the woman was trying to control herself until she ended up in this situation.

No doubt, she was gonna die. Alone. Inside this boarded up house on the dirty ground.

Brian sighed. "I can speak to the detective who works on the case, but other than that, you're gonna have to stay until she dies."

Ian nodded his head as Brian walked out of the room, but before he could reach the door, Ian called out to him with a peculiar question.

"When they die…what happens?"

Die? Death? Brian wrinkled his nose at the question and peered over his shoulder at Ian. "They already died, I was there to hold their hand, as you are to hold yours to Serenity."

He left the house without another word. He knew what Ian was actually asking. The implication was there. What will Brian do, if he even feels an ounce of worth when it comes to SMii7y and Evan. The day they died, their souls touched and Brian was ready to pull them into the afterlife, but things didn't work out like that.

He stood in the alleyway and whistled. He can hear the faint sounds of barking in the distance, the howls that came from the hounds. He had orders to give, and if there were more already dying like the girl, then surely more Reaper's will have to be called forth from the damned.

The dark hounds appeared, ghostly spectors that drooled and growled, all of them with shaggy fur, dark and matted and rough from whatever death they served.

Brian smiled, and said, "Seek out those who long for death, that smell of an ailment made fresh of a witch's touch. Report your findings to a Reaper."

He had to return to SMii7y and Evan, and surely look for Brock and learn of whatever else they were doing. Maybe what he can tell them about the recent death might even help.

He took a step forward and the world was fluid. It was like he opened a door somewhere in the open street, and when he stepped down, he was standing in the doorway of Brock's research lab.

He glanced around. Blood on the floor, wet and dripping, someone had been dragged. He stepped over to the girl inside the containment. She laid quietly in the dark blood she had spewed. There was another Reaper inside, assessing the body and the soul that remained curled within, hoping to linger to a life that no longer could keep her.

"Brian."

He turned to face his friends, SMii7y and Evan standing in the doorway, including their seer who looked sick from whatever ritual he had gone through.

"Where's Brock?"

"Great timing, by the way," Evan said with his arms crossed.

Jonathan did not look pleased by the blood and stepped away from the room.

SMii7y was already walking past it. "Brock was sent to the hospital. He was attacked by John…the vampire, Basil, thought he'd be able to unleash him…for whatever fucked up plan he had in mind. It seemed to backfire."

Huh, so they had bad news and were still standing in front of that wall of theirs. It seemed Brian wasn't about to give them much else.

"I was called away to speak with another Reaper," Brian told them. "He found a girl, dying of your virus." He told them the address of where she was. She was probably already dead by now.

"What was her name?" Evan asked him. He looked weary, like he needed to sit down or fall asleep for a few days. His bags made the shadow thicken, and skin faint and possibly gray. The stress was surely getting to him.

"Serenity," Brian answered, watching SMii7y touch his jacket pocket and glance at Evan who's shoulders slumped. "What? You know something about her?"

SMii7y sighed. "No, we didn't until now…I just hoped it had nothing to do with her or anyone else…" He took out the paper. "The witches' spell managed to work. Jonathan went into a trance, used automatic writing, and wrote a few people's names."

Brian took the paper gently and unfolded where the writing was barely discernible. "Damn, he couldn't write a little thicker, could he?'

"Shut up," Jonathan said from the hall.

Sebastian. His name was in the center, and there were many other's. The girl, Eva's name was written next to Serenity's, including a few others.

"I sent a few hounds to look for any recent deaths," Brian said, passing the paper back to SMii7y. "If anyone had died in the last ten to twenty minutes since Serenity died, I would've heard back."

"Gross, you used hellhounds," Evan grimaced.

Brian smirked at him. "No fond memories of them gnawing on your leg."

"No, of course not," Evan muttered, stepping into the hall.

There were a few people entering wearing hazmat suits and told them to leave the room. Brian wanted to see Brock in case the doctor were to die. SMii7y and Evan glared at him, but he had to say it out loud since they didn't seem to want to.

"I'm sure he's not going to die," said Brian. "If he did…I would know by now."

"I have to report her death," SMii7y said. He waved them off and walked away while Evan and Jonathan followed Brian.

"He's a lot more stressed than he was an hour ago," Brian said, smiling keenly at the two behind him.

"Far too much going on, and nowhere to look," Evan said. "One moment, you think we know something, and then…we don't. SMii7y might even pull himself out, who knows. It could be too much for him."

"I don't think he'll do that," Brian said. Another hound appeared at the end, but it seemed more eager of the entire building, for the scent of death remained high. "SMii7y is far too interested in what is going on around him. He seems eager, possessed, even…to let this go. And now John is gone, he'll surely find himself going crazy until this entire situation is finished."

"He might need a vacation after this," Jonathan said.

"You all might need one," said Brian.  

Chapter Text

Kryoz was pressed against the glass. He had woken up in his own sweat, trying to calm his heavy breathing, but the second he heard noise, he stumbled up against the glass to see a familiar looking man. His brows pinched as he realized it was Basil, and he sat in Brock's chair, holding a phone to his ear. He wasn't looking at Kryoz, but he did glance over to another containment cell. Kryoz was pretty sure it held a werewolf who was fighting off the Feral Virus.

From what he understood, there weren't many who were able to do so, unlike Kryoz who seemed to be struggling with a fever that was making his mouth dry and his limbs shake. He wanted to ask Brock for more tablet's, but he wasn't in the room anymore. Where did he go and why was Basil here?

He scratched the glass, trying to get out, knowing that even if he bothered to drink from Basil, he'd throw it up. The taste of blood was mouthwatering, but his body seemed to repel it. Why? He was a vampire, was he not? How else was he meant to survive? He couldn't go around drinking animal blood, he figured he'd throw that up. The tablets curved his hunger enough he didn't need to shudder inside this cell.

But he needed it, it slithered in his body, making his mind ache for more.

The door opened the moment Basil had stood up. Kryoz' gaze went to Brock, the doctor, the researcher of Orion. The man who was calm in his words, and smiled warmly and it didn't feel as if it were sarcasm.

He was arguing with Basil who had sidestepped him, Brock stepped away and was seemingly glancing at Kryoz.

He was gonna let him out.

Kryoz shook his head.

No!

He hit the glass, fingers scraping against the white dented wall. No. You can't! You can't! 

His mouth was dry, but there was already saliva dripping past his mouth at the thought of blood. He was so hungry. He needed to quell that pain in his gut. He needed it to stop spinning inside the room.

The door opened, and Brock's voice was harsh as Kryoz leaped for him. Everything seemed to come in flashes as Kryoz' teeth gnawed into skin, and Brock's scream was all he could hear. Someone was trying to drag him off, but Kryoz kept growling, held tightly onto the flailing body beneath him. He bared his teeth to one of the oldest vampire's, and Basil was smiling down at him.

"Are you that hungry, dear friend?" Basil asked him.

Kryoz' eyes were wet, heart racing inside his chest, in his ears. The dull taste of blood filling his mouth and throat, and the sound of whimpering beneath him had Kryoz come crashing down around him as he turned to look at Brock.

His face was pale, grey even, and his eyes looked far too hazy, as if confused like a scared child. Kryoz scrambled away, allowing Basil to help him to his feet before dragging him out of the office.

Kryoz isn't sure how they ended up outside, but he's doing his best to spit out Brock's blood inside his mouth and throat, even though it has eased the burning sensation in his stomach. He's disgusted with himself, knowing that Brock was only trying to help during that entire time. The Feral Virus amongst the vampire's and werewolve's were still going on, so Kryoz was alright in staying within containment if he didn't end up accidentally hurting another person.

And yet, here he is, biting into the one person that is actually helpful, and isn't ignoring him most of the damn time.

Basil is standing a foot away, sighing at Kryoz' state. "I didn't want you to end up back in containment, now did I? Sebastian doesn't know anything about you, and I had to go out of my way to rectify the mistake."

Kryoz spit out more blood, and glared at Basil, "I'm not your fucking bait."

Basil chuckled. "You are, and you aren't, I still consider you a phenomonon, since you have yet to be affected by the virus itself."

"What are you talking about?" Kryoz asked, leaning back slightly on his knees. "I just attacked Brock, you were right fucking there."

"You did…but that was because they were starving you," Basil said with another sigh. "I figured Orion would know not to do such a thing. Vampire's needs at least a bodies liter of blood, maybe more, maybe three bodies."

"That's disgusting," Kryoz said, unsure if he wanted to imagine having to drink so much blood at once.

"Well, it's more like oiling up the joints in all that," Basil said, shrugging. "We're not technically human, we just look like it. And we don't need to feed as often, but surely giving blood tablets as a substitute isn't exactly smart. I always had high hopes for them, but I was unfortunately wrong."

Kryoz managed to stand, and Basil gave him another heartwarming smile.

"Do you feel good after feeding?"

"Brock's a friend."

"He's an Orion Researcher, hardly a friend…he also stinks of death," Basil said, wrinkling his nose. "I assume he's been in contact with more than one Reaper, but with the way he works, they probably stand around him a lot."

Kryoz had no idea what Basil was rambling on about. For someone who has been around longer than most, he liked to talk a lot and say things that Kryoz had little interest in.

"Besides using me as bait, what the hell do you want?" Kryoz asked him. He'd easily walk back to Orion, but after what he did to Brock, he was also afraid that they might kill him on sight. Maybe he deserved that a little. He didn't mean to hurt Brock, everything kind of…went haywire for a moment.

"Well, since you're so close to Orion, and you won their heart with your spectacular personality," Basil said, glancing toward the bridge where a car pulled up. "I'm thinking they got the information on who started the virus in the first place, because I can tell you now, dear friend, no vampire could make such a thing on their own. We have many facets, but the power to kill others with our own blood, unlikely."

A man had stepped out of the car. He was tall with dark brown hair and brown eyes, he wore a simple black sweater and jeans. He did not look in the least like any vampire, but Kryoz seemed far more like one with his bloodied white clothes and face stained with it. The man was indifferent to either of them and was waving them up.

Basil grabbed a hold of Kryoz and dragged him toward the man. "Jordan, this is John, John, this is Jordan Riley, a good friend of mine and the oldest amongst our little group."

"Older than you?"

"Do I look older than him?" Jordan asked, arching a brow and looking not impressed by Kryoz.

"Kind…of…"

Basil chuckled and patted John's back, "Come along, we can find a change of clothes, and start with the plan of flushing Sebastian Warren out from his hiding place."

"Didn't you try to do that?" Kryoz asked, getting into the back seat of the black sedan. Basil had taken the passenger seat, and Jordan sat down in the driver's seat. The car was still running, and there was some kind of radio playing about a dead girl.

"We didn't yet, I was just gathering some of the friends in the area, like Jordan here," said Basil, patting his friend on the shoulder as he began to drive away from the bridge.

Kryoz actually didn't remember how they got to the bridge, because he was pretty sure it was further away from Orion. He was also sure vampire's didn't have any special attributes that would be considered powerful.

"Where are we going?" Kryoz asked.

"We're gonna meet with a few other people that are a part of my coven," Basil replied.

Right…that made sense.

Kryoz leaned back aaginst the seat. His face was far to warm for this. He licked at his lips, a thought slipping through the cracks of his control. If only Brock bled a bit more…

He swallowed thickly and groaned at the pain that made him crave for more. He needed more…or he was going to throw up again.

"Is he alright?" Jordan Riley asked Basil.

"Yep," Basil said nonchalantly. "He went through another episode with the Feral Virus in his system. I'm not sure how many more he'll—"

"He's the one who has it?" Jordan Riley asked, glancing at Kryoz in the rearview mirror, a frantic angry look in his eyes.

"—go through," Basil continued, clearing his throat. "Yes, I already told you who we're picking up."

"I didn't think it would be this damn early," said Jordan Riley.

Basil chuckled. "I'd just pick up any damn vampire off the street? Come now, Jordan, you know me better than that."

"Yeah, and you like to fuck shit up, and not in the right way," Jordan Riley said, he had a slight accent in his voice that he was trying to stifle.

He was sick with guilt, and these people were still talking as if Kryoz wasn't dealing with another damn fever. He laid down on the back seats and curled against the upholstery. When he closed his eyes, all he could see were Brock's brown hair and pale skin, and the blood leaking out from his neck where Kryoz was gnawing into. He craved, his teeth throbbed with a need to shove them into anything that would spew blood. He needed pressure, a collection of warmth on his skin and filling his throat.

How could he do that? How would he be able to control himself? Basil wasn't telling him anything, and Kryoz was moving around in the back seat to ignore the pain in his body. Cramps along his stomach and chest, all the way to his throat until it created a migraine in his head.

Apparently, he only had a sip from Brock, not enough to curb the hunger that vampire's wanted.

No…it wasn't enough.

Kryoz squeezed his eyes closed, murmuring softly, "Jaren…"

"Agent Smith?" Basil said. "I called him before you had your early drink upon Brock Barrus. He was looking into a few things…and I'm guessing another attack had occurred not too long ago…"

He was rambling on, but Kryoz can see him in his head. Jaren's brown hair, his soft smile and softer eyes. There was always a sharp business-like tone in his voice. Tired shadows of a workaholic, and the sharp smell of morning coffee.

He wanted more…he wanted him between his teeth.

Kryoz bit his lip, suppressing a moan as warmth filled his face.

Chapter Text

There is far too much going on. Jaren is trying to calm his nerves, but every time he thinks about the fact Brock was attacked by John, he is regretting keeping him there. They should've taken him down into the sub-basement where many more dangerous creatures remained. He just thought that since he was important, he'd remain with Brock until they figured out more of what was happening to him.

That didn't turn out the way he had wanted. No. John was out again, and Basil had come for him again. Jaren had to make sure he didn't make the same damn mistake.

"SMii7y." He stopped, foot almost out the door of Orion when he glanced over at Anthony walking over to him. "Where are you headed?"

"I have to find John, the vampire escaped again." He tried his best to smile but even that was strained. "I can't talk, I have no idea where I'm going to look for him."

"Did you hear about the witch, Serenity?"

Ah, yes, he did actually. On the way to Orion. He wasn't on that particular case, but he also heard of what happened by the Reaper, Brian. He didn't understand why he cared about any of this, but apparently he had people on the other side watching this entire situation. Maybe it was a lot more than he anticipated.

"Yes, I know about it, I'm not part of that, you're gonna have to ask—"

"Did you know about Marcel and Scotty cleaning up the mess?" Anthony asked, cutting him off, brow arched.

They weren't part of Orion. Another group that cleaned up messes like this. "We had a run in awhile ago."

"Be careful, if they're part of this, then more will come when the other sector's find out Orion can't do shit on their own," Anthony said.

Another warning. He would've liked to hear this from Tyler than Anthony. If anything, all he could feel was the guilt swelling in his stomach as he turned and left Orion. The cold autumn wind brushed against him, and he felt the sting was good as the emptiness in his stomach.

He had to find the vampire, he can't let anything else get in his damn way.

Jaren grabbed for his keys and started up his car, and drove away from Orion. He kept looking down streets, but knew for certain that John wouldn't be walking around like this on his own. Basil would be keeping him somewhere damp, and he'd certaintly try to give him blood even though all he can do is take in small amounts of it.

He has nowhere to go, no idea what he's supposed to do. He found himself in a coffee shop parking lot, pressing his forehead against the steering wheel. He closed his eyes, he knew he shouldn't, but sleep took him anyway.

By the time he wakes up, his phone is going off. It only does that when a particular person phones him.

Wildcat.

He answered, rubbing his eyes. It's still daytime, and it's been almost an hour now. An hour too long, and he has gone nowhere, and he's actually a little afraid of what would eventually happen if he doesn't do something.

"What?" he answered, leaning back against his seat.

"I haven't heard an update in the last forty minutes, I'm guessing you're not doing what you're supposed to be doing, right?" Wildcat asked him.

Jaren stepped out of his car, slamming the door closed. "What do you mean exactly?" He walks toward the front door, a homeless man asking for money tells him to have a good day, but Jaren isn't having one. He's thinking a lot of basement spells, blood suckers, and wolves that howl at the moon, he thinks of death and a sacrifice made by twine hands, and he thinks about what kind of coffee should he get.

"Espresso, or no espresso?" he wondered, standing behind a woman with curly brown hair that smelled of lilac shampoo.

"Are you going to answer my question, I'm guessing you fell asleep in your car again," Tyler said, sighing deeply on the other side. He never hid his disappointment. Anger seems far too relevant for him.

"I didn't, and I'm getting a coffee," Jaren said with a sigh. He really didn't want to ignore what was going on, but trying to find out what happened and where John could be throughout the city was troublesome as it is. If he bothered to ask the Coven leader's, they probably think he'd be a nuisance, randomly showing up at their front door, asking them simple questions that meant little to them. He expected they were looking into Sebastian Warren on their own, and if they were willing to give up some information, Jaren wouldn't mind knowing about. He just wasn't in the mood to knock on doors and demand answers when he can look around himself.

However, the thought of actually walking into a sewer wasn't giving him any kind of good thoughts today. All John had to do was stay in containment, but he was gone, and Eva young, the werewolf who was infected with the Feral Virus, is now dead.

Jaren ordered his coffee, phone still pressed to his ear. Tyler was breathing into the phone, an indication he was still there but was probably doing something else while Jaren stepped out of the coffee shop.

He took a sip. "I don't know where to start. I was stuck with the witches, and then I heard Serenity Christian of the Crystal Flower Coven died around the same time John Keyes escaped from containment," Jaren said, walking to his car. "So, that's where I am, unless you have a better place for me to start."

"You could ask around about her, I'm sure the witches' wouldn't mind knowing that Orion actually cares for their coven's, and that they are the reason the Feral Virus was created."

Oh, right, he had forgotten to inform Tyler about Vivianne's coven.

"Uh, while I was helping Vivianne, I forgot to mention to you that they might've found the witch who had possibly started all of this." Jaren explained the entire thing as he got into his car and sat down in the seat. The cold air was no longer brushing against his face as he placed his coffee into the cup holder.

"No one has seen Lila Woods since?" Tyler asked.

"Hm, from what I got via Vivianne, they would be looking for her, so she could be with Sebastian Warren, wherever the fuck he is," Jaren said. Another place he couldn't search without a proper lead. All of it was chaotic, and now he was thinking maybe what Basil mentioned about John might work, but he would like the plan to work in a more contained setting. It wasn't possible now since Jaren had no idea where the vampire's were.

"It seems all you have to do is wait," Tyler told him. "I'll call you if I have anything else."

Jaren heard the click, sighed, and set the phone down in the second cup holder. He drank his coffee slowly, rubbing his eyes a bit. His body was getting more and more sluggish, and he didn't want to think about Brian right now. Evan seemed fine, but the whole thing with the witches made things worse. The only reason why they didn't want anyone touching Jonathan was the fact the witches would inevitably know.

That went out the window, but there was much bigger issues to deal with than a death pact with a Reaper.

He didn't get a phone call or a text from Tyler for the rest of the day. Jaren had driven around, even talked to Anthony about Serenity Christian, but he had said nothing about it besides old friends showing up to clean the mess.

There were a lot of things Jaren liked about his job, and one of them was discretion. He didn't like thinking about what other people did on their own terms, but he didn't mind his own. If they left him alone to do it, then he can easily leave them too. That was the whole system he set in place when he first learned of other factions that handled the covens in their areas, but they all worked differently.

Orion helped the displaced, easily understanding them like therapy, keeping them from running off the course as most vampire's would end up doing if they decided to eat more than they should. While the werewolve's are large animal's, and without a proper place to keep them, they'd run in packs, hunting whoever they wanted. These people may be supernatural, and commonly, abnormal to most, they still appeared human.

And Orion helped with that.

The other faction's, of course, had their different jobs and ideals.

Which is why Jaren rarely liked thinking about them. They can do it quietly, and move onto the next person who ended uo dead on the ground. However, because Orion can't seem to find Sebastian Warren, including a rogue witch, that only created more and more problems now that this virus was infecting others. To add onto that frustration, John ended up not complying with the virus, not like the rest who had died to it.

It was late, around ten at night, streets were mostly covered by cars, but Jaren had driven to the edge of the city where the darkness seeped in a bit too much. There were already two cars ahead of him, and a van to the side. He recognized the emblem on the side of it, a Reaper in a boat, holding an oar.

Brian came to mind again.

Coins that cost too much, that they had to dig for so they can continue walking and breathing on this plane of existence, so they can pretend what happened didn't happen until their time came close to an end again.

Jaren stepped out of the vehicle.

He had gotten a phone call moments before, Tyler seemed a bit frantic, maybe even stressed. Sometimes he sounded like that, and Jaren was far too tired and slightly unedged anyways, to care what Tyler was saying. All he did ask for was an address and he'll deal with it, like he always has to deal with it as an Orion agent.

He sighed deeply when he got out of the vehicle.

Three other Reaper's were here, they stood in the distance like ghosts. Sometimes humans, vampire's, and werewolve's can see them. Most times, they can't see them, or their own instincts tell them to ignore their presence.

Brian always smiled whenever someone did notice him, he found it entertaining. He enjoyed it.

Jaren, right now, was a bit cold as he walked over to the people sitting in the grass.

"There was an attack by Sebastian Warren," Tyler told him, breathing heavily into the phone, "it's just what you wanted, but it might be a bit worse than that."

"Address, Tyler," Jaren said, tense.

"Just do me a favor, I know you know them, but you always have this thing about them…don't do it."

Jaren frowned at the two people assessing the body on the ground. Two Orion agents were already here, taking samples of blood from the men. One lay motionless in the grass, bloody and torn apart, a part of him had barely shifted back into his human form. Another man was several feet away, barely breathing and staring at the sky with shock rippling across his face. A woman knelt beside him, tears streaking down her face.

Old friend.

Marcel stood up, a smile on his lips as he noticed Jaren, "Took you awhile to get here, Orion."

Jaren scoffed, "I've been waiting for this, Charon."

Chapter Text

Evan looked at the picture of the recently deceased girl who died in an abandoned house. She has long red hair and a pale complexion. She was five-foot-three, and wore a dark pink sweater with blue jeans. She belonged to the Crystal Flower Coven, the witches were already informed of what happened, but surely someone would have to speak to the leader.

He sighed and closed the folder. He was still in Orion, and was told to stay here, so surely someone was bound to get into contact with someone from that witch coven. Besides, he can't do it, he's been staring at Brock's unconscious body for the majority of the night.

It was almost morning, and Jonathan returned with three cups of coffee.

"Do your kind even drink this stuff?" Jonathan asked, passing the cup to Brian who was sitting in the chair near the window.

Brian smiled, "Of course we do, we enjoy it like many people around here do. Brock enjoys coffee, sweet things on the tip of his tongue, like the decay of dying corpses, all of it so equally as muddled as sugar packets in a steamy cup of morning coffee."

Evan frowned at him, unsure why Brian seemed like he was in a good mood. Nonetheless, Evan was happy that nothing was completely wrong with Brock ever since the attack happened. He thought for sure they'd have to prep him for a containment cell, but apparently, the Feral Virus hadn't connected with Brock like it has to many others.

And the vampire virus didn't transfer either. Orion had a system for these kinds of things, and after two hours of making sure he was okay and that he had a blood transfer to save him from the blood that was cleaned off his office floor.

He should wake up soon. Evan checked his phone for the fourteenth time since SMii7y left and when he received a text from Tyler. Apparently, Tyler had people coming to Orion, and he'll be out of the office by the morning to noon after the attack during the night.

He had messaged SMii7y, but he had yet to text back. If something terrible happened to him, Evan would feel the brunt of it, and right now, with how things were going along, their work schedules were going to be filled.

At least they had help.

"I figured you'd be hanging with SMii7y after what happened in the field," Evan said to him.

Brian was sipping on his coffee. He looked like any other guy with his short hair and pale face, although he had a thick irish accent, but other than that, he also wore simple monochromatic clothes that were more grey than black. His scythe was probably his cryptic words.

"I've done enough, I think," Brian said, shrugging his shoulders. "Only a few hounds had come back after that, but it seemed Tyler was estatic there was at least a hint of Sebastian Warren's location, right? I wonder if he thinks the natural enemies would fight one another instead of crying at each other's feet. I do think it's a wonderful speculation, don't you?"

"But, are you going to help?" Jonathan asked, sitting down in the second chair in the room.

Evan had been far too nervous to sit, but he was getting a little tired. Maybe he'll head home for a bit and sleep this tiredness off. He still wanted to find out if SMii7y learned anything after what happened, but a few texts unanswered was telling him as much.

"I'm already on my own case," Brian said, balancing his cup on his knee, "I can't exactly open up another, I'm sure you two understand that quite well."

Evan sighed. Alright then, well, at least he learned that one of their equally more interesting sources was no longer helping them. He was only entertained in his cup of coffee, and Evan wasn't going to clean it if he ends up dropping the fucking thing.

A knock came from the open door, and Tyler stood in the threshold, bags under his eyes were beginning to darken, and his brows were pinched and pensive as he glanced at them and at Brock.

"Fucking idiots," Tyler said, shaking his head.

"Hey, what happened last night?" Evan asked, unable to stop his curiousity.

Tyler arched his brow, "You want to know, walk me down the hall, I have to make a few calls," he said.

Evan followed, but Jonathan had stayed behind and Brian got to his feet, following behind Evan.

Tyler's clothes were a bit messy, and he was wiping something off his face. He took Evan's cup of coffee and had a long swig of it until Evan told him he can just have it.

"I like my job, but to always have someone breathing down my fucking neck like Charon, it takes awhile to get used too," Tyler said, shaking his head.

Brian chuckled. "Oh, did the dead already come that quick, maybe it would've been more fun with SMii7y."

Evan ignored Brian and said to Tyler, "How many came to clean up the mess?"

He knew for certain that Orion deals with their own messes, but with how the deaths were piling up in a short amount of time, he was getting the feeling Tyler was more embarrassed that he'd have to call Charon anyway. The first time they showed up early in the week was more of a fluke. They were meant to know, but the next few deaths of wolves and vampires, that was much different.

"Four," Tyler said, shaking his head. "I had one van out in the field on the south end, and another came for the girl who was found dead in the house," Tyler said, sighing deeply. "It's bad enough a witch was found dead, but sooner or later, the other organization's like Cypress and Erebus, might get in the way."

Evan almost wanted to ask how they would get in the way, that seemed more like stress and speculation. He didn't bother asking for reassurance of what he meant.

"Did you speak to the covens?"

"All night," Tyler said, groaning. "And let me tell you, I had many nights that weren't like this. I had to get into contact with the Crystal Flower Coven, and Cassia Graves was already busy at the time of me phoning her that she had hung up at least three times before I told her she had to meet at Randall Carson's house after he took over for William Grey, and then I had to talk with Devon Fairstone, but we all know how that conversation went…"

Evan sort've listened to what Tyler was rambling on about. He threw in a few curses as he spoke of Marcus Wright and Janine Hale, and that Devon was far too preoccupied to have a quick meeting with the witch and vampire covens, and it had almost fallen apart.

"I bet a few Reaper's hung around that meeting," Brian said, amused.

Evan had forgotten he was there and shivered at his presence. Brian noticed and snickered at him as the three of them stopped at the end of the long corridor.

"Anyway," Tyler said, exasperated, "I was already told about Brock's assessment, he'll make a wonderful recovery. I'd like you and Jonathan not to stand around, staring at his unconscious body, the idiot probably wouldn't like it since he's a workaholic. He'll only blame himself. So, I want you two, and maybe three," he narrowed his eyes at Brian who was grinning, "to check in with the witches, and to watch them closely. After what happened with Serenity Christian, I don't want anything more to come to its peak with what happened at the meeting. Trust me, tension's are high, and our priority is to keep the peace amongst the many coven's in our area. It's bad enough Charon is hanging around for the next week or so. I'm sure you know Marcel and Scotty, make sure they stay happy, they do report back to their superiors, and those superiors complain to me."

Tyler turned with a wave of his hand, and continued mumbling his way down the rest of the hall to the elevator.

Brian chuckled. "Oh, he's fun, isn't he?"

"He's stressed," Evan said, frowning. At least they had their assignment, and surely if something were to happen, they'd have to bring it to Tyler anyway. He'd like to keep it contained though, and maybe watch over Brock in case some other detective speaks to him of Basil and John.

"I need to talk to SMii7y," he said under his breath, turning around and walking back to Brock's room, unaware that Brian was no longer following him.

Chapter Text

Jaren stood in the autopsy room that Charon was using. He had a document in his hands, but he skimmed it and yawned. He had been here since the bodies were found, and Janine Hale, the vampire who was on the scene, was also brought in for examination. Her leader, Randall Carson, was going to speak with Orion, including Charon, about what happened.

They want to take Janine back with them, but unfortunately, if the virus had been passed into the werewolves, then surely, they couldn't take the risk that Janine was also infected.

"These samples can be taken back to Orion," Scotty said. He was wearing a full on white robe-like outfit with rubber gloves and a hazmat covering over his head.

"Why are you wearing that?" Jaren asked him, taking the small sample that sat inside a glass circular jar.

"It's a precaution."

"It doesn't infect humans," said Jaren.

Scotty glared. "You don't know that."

"I've been in contact with it for the past few days with werewolves and vampire's who were infected, this won't bother us," Jaren said.

"Shut up and take it back to Orion," Scotty said, walking back over to Marcel and two other Charon medical examiners. They were still looking over the bodies, and Jaren knew for certain this was going to mess everything up.

So much for trying to keep the peace.

He had his sample, but he was also told that Brock wasn't ready to go back to work. He'd be out for the next week or so until he recovered from John drinking his blood and slamming him into the floor.

That meant Anthony would have to cover for him, including the rest of the researcher's who understood a bit of what was happening. At least for now, it should be fine, but since Charon made themselves known, they'll be hanging around Orion until the virus ceases.

Jaren yawned again and left the room with the document and the sample.

Charon had stationed themselves in a small building on the west end of the city. He had bought coffee for Scotty and Marcel earlier when he knew he wasn't heading out any time soon.

He walked to his car sitting in the parking lot and sat down for a few minutes before starting the vehicle up. He'll have to bring everything he had to Orion and hand over the report to Tyler.

If they don't get anything from Janine Hale, then nothing has really changed besides the initial attack last night. Two vampires and a werewolf. Two dead. 

That was far too much for Jaren to deal with, and if Randall Carson didn't allow them to ask Janine Hale a few questions, then they probably won't receive anything concerning Sebastian Warren.

The damn vampire had eluded them for far too long.

Jaren cleared his throat, shaking his head of the fog that was making its way into his head. He didn't like the feeling, but tried his best to ignore it as he drove back to Orion.

He rubbed his eyes when he reached a red light. His phone had gone off, but he didn't bother looking at it until he reached the front steps of Orion. It was another bleak day, a bit cold against his black coat. The moment he stepped into the building, he looked down at his phone and frowned at Tyler's text.

Cassia Graves is here to speak about Serenity Christian.

"Okay?" Jaren said under his breath as he walked to the elevator and leaned against the wall after pressing the elevator button. The door closed, and he ignored the slight music coming from the speakers.

The second the doors slid open, Anthony was standing on the other side, holding a few documents, including a cup of coffee. His bags were heavy beneath his eyes, and he actually looked displeased to see Jaren.

"Did you sleep at all?" Jaren asked, stepping out of the elevator and taking the coffee from Anthony.

He sighed, keeping in stride with Jaren, "I was gonna ask you that. There was a lot to look into now that Brock isn't taking over the Containment Facility, even after what happened with Eva Young. It has been a terrible night…and now I had to deal with the blood in his office, and rearranging everything he had…"

Jaren blocked him out and took a sip of the coffee. It was slightly bitter with a sweet taste, but not enough to keep him fully awake. He might need to get another cup after his talk with Tyler.

"What is that?" Jaren asked, ignoring Anthony's complaints, and pointed at the papers under his arms.

"Documents about John Keyes, including the security footage," Anthony said with a sigh. "And Basil, who would have known he'd make another appearance in Orion without anyone realizing he was here."

Right, that was troublesome. Another thing Jaren didn't want to think about.

"Here," Jaren said, giving him the sample Charon had passed to him. "Charon extracted this from the werewolf, Marcus."

"What happened to them?" Anthony asked, looking pecularly at the dark substance inside, but when Jaren gave him a pointed look, Anthony shook his head. "Nevermind, forget I asked."

Anthony told him he was heading back to the office, and Jaren was too tired to wave as he made his way down another long corridor to Tyler's office.

He knocked on the door, trying to keep his eyes open.

"Come in."

Jaren yawned when he opened the door and found a blonde haired woman sitting in one of the chairs. She wore a mint colored dress with a brown coat over it. She had one leg over the other, and had her eyes intent on Tyler who sat behind his desk.

"Sorry about this, Cassia," Tyler said, "but work has been hectic."

He waved his hand at Jaren who passed him the document he received from Charon.

Cassia was looking at Jaren who had taken another sip of his coffee. "It seems you're having more troubles with the werewolf and vampire clans," Cassia said with a sigh. "And yet a witch had been targeted, knowingly that one cannot be infected by this Feral Virus you have dubbed."

"She is the first victim that came from the witch covens," said Tyler, reading the contents and glancing at Cassia. "The only reason we haven't found anything out about Sebastian is our limited knowledge of who he truly is. Unfortunately, because of what is going on, the vampire and werewolf coven's are making this increasingly worse by keeping their information from us."

"I wonder why," Cassia said in a sly tone. "You have done little to stop the murders from running havoc, and not only that, there is no indication that more have been infected in secret. Besides, of course, the vampire that you have harbored."

Tyler set the document down. "If you're implying something, please, Cassia, we're adults here, speak your mind."

"Have you thought of a cure?" she asked.

"We have," Jaren said without thinking. In this kind of situation, he actually should've left the room, but he stayed anyway. Maybe he was far too tired to care whether or not he should've left. Either way, he was pretty sure Brock had spoken about a possibility of a cure, and knew that it wouldn't have worked out anyway. The victims were dying too quickly for a cure to be a possibility.

"The paper I received from Vivienne Crane had given me some kind of understanding of who is next on the list," Jaren continued, passing the paper to Tyler. "It seemed they were dying one after the other, in quite easy succession and little doubt."

"Vivienne couldn't have conceived such a thing," said Cassia.

"He's friends with a Reaper," Tyler said nonchalantly.

Jaren caught the barest look of disgust on Cassia's face. Surely, most witches were fine with Reaper's, but they couldn't sense their presence as much as the rest of the supernatural creatures either.

Not that it bothered Jaren, Brian randomly showed whenever he liked, and that sent a shiver along his spine.

"Quintin, Marcus, and Lila," Tyler said under his breath. "They're dead, from what I can see with the document."

"The vampire and werewolf?" Cassia said.

Tyler nodded, and he allowed her to take the document from him. "Quintin was alive for several minutes longer, while Marcus had succumbed to his wounds quite quickly. We have yet to learn anything from Janine, I just hope Randall can allow us to gain some information from her, it might be helpful."

"He was infected too?" Cassia asked.

Jaren yawned again. "Quintin attacked Janine while under the Feral Virus, and Marcus attempted to save her, but it didn't go the way they had wanted."

They died, and Jaren had no idea what they were supposed to do. He didn't find any leads from this besides Janine, but even without her, he wasn't sure where Basil had taken John, or where Sebastian Warren hid.

"You can head home, Jaren, I'll call you if I need you for anything else," Tyler said. Jaren nodded his head and grabbed for the door, about to pull it open when Tyler cleared his throat. "And for the love of god, go to sleep."

Jaren smiled and walked out of the room, but the moment he did, he found Brian standing in front of him with a smile on his face.

Chapter Text

Kryoz had drank more blood in the back of the car before he was dragged out by Basil. Jordan Riley parked in an alley, yawning from tiredness or boredom. Kryoz kind of felt the same way, the drive here was pretty long, and all they listened to was the radio.

It seemed Basil was good at keeping his secrets to himself. Or maybe he didn't want to talk too much around Kryoz.

He wasn't too sure, and there wasn't anyone around to tell Basil's secrets too. He hadn't been in contact with any of his friends from when he was human. He had been locked away in Orion's containment cell, then stolen away. There wasn't too much information that was given to him freely. So, he was stuck in the dark, and now at Basil's side as the three of them entered a building.

A tall musculer man stood on the other side. One glance at Basil had the man nodding, pointing down the grimy steps of where the three of them were supposed to go.

Being an ancient vampire had some perks, not that Kryoz paid too much attention to Basil's importance. Jordan didn't seem to care all that much either.

"How long have you been with Basil?" Kryoz asked, walking side-by-side with Jordan as they both ended up in a long, more grimier corridor. It was kind of dark with a few flickering bulbs here and there. No one really seemed to wash the floor, there was caked dirt in the corners, and the smell of rot left in its wake.

Jordan gave him an empty expression. "I'm the oldest member of his coven."

Right, that's what Basil had told him, but he had been far too sick at the time of their introduction to fully process some things. It would make sense he did have a coven of his own with his age.

He just didn't see Basil as a leader of sorts. He was far too laid back, there wasn't much of an impressive aura about him besides the fact he can enter and exit certain places with little care.

Like he had done at Orion…and now this place. Kryoz didn't even know where he was.

"Is it just you?" Kryoz asked once they reached the end of the corridor.

"No," Jordan answered.

Basil rapped his knuckes on the metal door. There was a hole, and Kryoz noted it had slid open for a milisecond before closing, then the door was unlocked by some intricate mechanism.

A tall skinny man was on the other side, he was pale and glanced down at the three of them without saying a word as they walked by.

The entire room was mostly dark besides three lights that were placed by the walls, separated by a few feet. And the entirety of it were several people Kryoz did not recognize. There wasn't even a window, and if there had been one, it was blocked off.

A woman with long brown hair stepped past a group of people. She was thin and pale with brown eyes. She wore a black tank-top and jeans, there was a crescent moon necklace held up by a leather cord. She smiled warmly at Basil and Jordan.

"You made it," she said.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Basil said with a sigh, embracing her. She also hugged Jordan who returned the smile. It was probably the only smile that Kryoz had seen since meeting him.

The girl met Kryoz' eyes, there was barely any recognition there for a second, before shock rippled across her face as she looked at Basil.

"Is this him?" the girl asked.

Basil nodded. "Darlene, this is John," he introduced, "John, this is Darlene Porter. She is a temporary member of my coven, and the one who isn't prone to complaining, unlike someone."

Jordan rolled his eyes.

"It's nice to meet you," Darlene said, looking Kryoz up and down in more of an inspection sort of way than actually liking how Kryoz looked. "I'm glad that Basil brought you here, it's important that you're present."

Well, this should be good because every time he was in someone's presence like this, Kryoz always ended up throwing up one way or another.

"An update, Darlene," Basil said to her.

"I managed to speak with Randall Carson," she said, grimacing. "Trust me, it was difficult to get him to come here after what happened with William Gray and…the incident the other night."

What incident?

Kryoz almost wanted to know, but Darlene was already leading them toward the group of people who didn't seem to care who Basil or Kryoz was, while Jordan Riley was following behind with a lack of expression. Kryoz hoped to learn to read his face as it seemed they were going to hang out more.

Kryoz noticed a divide right away with Basil standing off to the left side of the room, and another group to the center, and then a group of people where they had been standing when they entered the room.

One of the people was a dark haired male, a bit spiky, he was listening to a woman standing beside him. She had shoulder length black hair and wore sunglasses within the room.

"You're late, Basil," the man said, watching him.

"Sorry about that, I had to retrieve someone from Orion," Basil said to him.

Everyone else around them began to murmur, making Kryoz feel strange as he soon found eyes staring at him.

There was a blond in the group holding a bottle of vodka in his hand, he tilted his head, watching Kryoz.

"Have you found Lila Woods?" Jordan asked.

"She's still missing," another person in the room spoke up.

Kryoz was getting the feeling that all these people could be vampires. With a bit of added senses in his body, he can already tell that a lot of them weren't either. Maybe werewolves were a part of this secretive meeting as well. He'd at least like to know how long everyone has been in this room, the stench was thick of blood and rot.

"Didn't she start it all?" another person in the crowd asked, more murmuring amongst the group.

Kryoz was confused about who Lila Woods is. He almost wanted to ask, but he decided that allowing his lack of information to not gain anymore attention. He still didn't know anyone else, and surely…he could end up torn apart thanks to what was inside of him.

"Orion hasn't been making any progress," a man said, shaking his head. "And I heard Charon took over the medical examination, rumors say they think Orion is hiding information about the Feral Virus."

Can any of these people hear his racing heart? Kryoz felt it won't be able to go down, not until he returned to open air then this closed box.

"Screw Charon, I heard that Cypress wants to get involved!" A woman called from another side of the room.

He had no idea what any of these names mean, but the voices grew louder around them. Basil and the man remained quiet, seemingly thinking about what to say next.

Darlene rolled her eyes. "Cypress regulate themselves quite well. They aren't about to start hunting, unless the treaty amongst the clan's are officially broken. Which won't happen." She emphazised the last bit, and Kryoz realized by the sight of her baring her teeth and the way her own energy changed, tempering the area she stood in. She was a werewolf.

"William Gray is dead," the blonde with the bottle spoke up in a sly voice, a dangerous smirk on his face as two of the people in front of him moved out of the way. He stepped forward, moving in a languid motion into the middle of the empty circle. "Sebastian Warren hunted him like he had done to the others. Every person who came across the Feral Virus, was involuntarily given it, and died. Yet, you bring his only true fledgling, the one who survived it inside a room full of vampires and werewolves. I'm glad for your pride, Basil, truly…I do credit that when the heir and now leader stands before us all."

Basil sighed deeply. "Who invited Linus?" he asked Darlene, completely ignoring the vampire who took another swig of his bottle.

"The third in command is currently missing in action," Linus said, stepping closer to Basil, but his gaze swept to Kryoz who stood a foot to the left of Basil in Darlene's shadow. "The second to Devon Fairstone's coven is dead, and you brought this…thing here? To what, is your plan to infect us all, Basil?"

"Truly, who invited you?" Randall Carson asked.

"I wouldn't allow Jen to come to one of these awful meetings," Linus said, grimacing. "None of you have yet to find Lila Woods, not that the witches are on her side. You might as well ask them."

"Most of the clans are not in the mood for such questions," Darlene said, glaring at him. "Besides, you're not exactly offering enough besides—"

Linus moved quickly past them, even if Basil could've stopped him, he hadn't. Linus placed his hands on Kryoz' shoulders, smiling keenly at him as Kryoz went completely still at his sudden presence.

"Marcus Wright is dead, don't you remember? Serenity Christian fell the other day, following Eva Young, and Quintin King."

Kryoz shuddered at the names falling from his mouth in an almost mocking way, but he did notice the way Randall Carson stiffening from where he stood. A sudden look of shock rippled across his face before he turned his dark gaze toward Linus.

The woman who stood beside him snarled at Linus who didn't seem to notice.

Basil sighed deeply, and he grabbed a hold of Kryoz the second the woman struck Linus, pressing him against a nearby wall.

"Jen Weaver should be at fault for allowing you to come here at all, Linus Blake," Randall Carson said, glaring heavily at him. His plain brown eyes had changed to a more golden reddish color. "Quintin King was my best friend, along with William Gray, and the nights they died was because of Sebastian Warren. I do not fault his fledgling for he was also meant to die, but it seems his mortality is what saved his life. The rest of us are not as fortunate."

Basil's hand remained on Kryoz' wrist. He was standing so close to him while Basil yawned.

"What is going on?" Kryoz whispered to him.

"I'm not sure," Basil said. "We're only here for information."

"Is there anything you…garnered from all of this?" Kryoz asked. The woman who pinned Linus against the wall backed off. Linus was then told to shut his mouth by Darlene or she'll send him back to his leader, Jen Weaver.

"Just one thing, but I'm not sure if it's good enough," Basil said, letting Kryoz go.

"Landon is missing?" The conversation began to move once more.

"After the other night, when Marcus and Quintin died," a woman answered in a hushed voice.

"Another one was there, right? Or is that all fucking rumors too?"

"Janine Hale," Linus answered with a sneer. "She's alive, either with Orion or Charon."

"Is she infected?"

"No one knows yet."

"Is Landon infected too? He has to be right, that's why he's missing!"

"He could be working with Sebastian!"

The murmuring of the group echoed and bounced off the walls around them. Kryoz was sweating where he stood, wiping it from his face.

"Landon wouldn't reject Devon Fairstone," Randall said in a calm tone, glaring at the group that went silent. "That is his Alpha, he knows loyalty more than most of you in this room." He shot a glare at Linus who took a swig of his drink.

"Interesting," Basil said under his breath when Jordan whispered into his ear.

What was interesting was that they bothered to stay in this room as long as they did. Kryoz wiped more sweat from his face. The heat was unbearable, and he was sure it came from the werewolves rather than the vampires.

"All that currently matters from here on out is that if Sebastian Warren continues to move about, infecting and killing others, the clans on the outside will be brought in, which is why there are a few here to contain it, not just Orion and Charon," Darlene said to them, looking at the group, including Randall Carson and Basil. "I represent those on the outside. The Feral Virus has remained, and right now, John is no true enemy to any of us. He has yet to bite anyone, and from what the information via Basil, he cannot stomach vampire blood. He can only take from human's, and even that is limited to his unique mutation."

Kryoz was getting the feeling the reason this group was brought in at all was because of him. He was here to be shown off, and that he was protected and cared for, and was not in the least, a threat.

He guessed that's also why Randall Carson is here, and Linus Blake.

Once the conversation amongst the rest of the group in the room continued to move, Basil had stepped over to Randall, Darlene being brought over as well. The three of them spoke to one another, and Basil nodded.

"Another time," Basil said to Randall, hesitating for a moment. "I do mourn William and Quintin, and all who had fallen because of Sebastian. Congratulations are in order for your new title, but not in this circumstance. Do call on me if there is anything you need, Randall."

Randall nodded his head. "Until then, Basil."

Basil reached for Kryoz' wrist once more, and began to pull him toward the exit of the room. Darlene and Jordan Riley followed behind.

"Where are we going now?" Kryoz said, finally able to breathe once they left the room and were in the long corridor, heading out of the building.

"My witch has told me about an audience that has opened up, but only to Nicholas, so we will see him shortly," Basil answered.

Kryoz frowned, brows furrowed. "I have no idea who Nicholas is."

"You'll find out soon."

Chapter Text

SMii7y was squeezing his eyes closed, hoping sleep would come to him. Unfortunately, all he felt was the sharp pain of annoyance that came from the man beside him.

Brian was tapping the dashboard and humming a tune, bobbing his head as if he were in his own little world.

"You said this was important," SMii7y said. He had hoped to go home and sleep for the time being.

"It is important," Brian said, sitting back against the passenger seat. "You're the one who wants to find Sebastian, right? Well, I've gone out of my way to leech information from a few old friends."

Leech? Friends?

"We've been sitting here for half an hour, I could've been home, in my bed," SMii7y said. Although that wasn't exactly true, he was just annoyed he was sitting here at all with the Reaper. Brian always found a way to dig his claws into SMii7y's impatience. His insomnia was getting worse and he'd like to think it had to do with the fact work was far more interesting of late. How could he not think that when there were vampires and werewolves all over the place, making a mess of one another.

Then there was the fact John was gone, and he really hoped that Basil wasn't leaving him somewhere to rot. Even if he hadn't met the vampire exactly, that could also be wishful thinking on his part.

He always kept people away from him.

And they all knew who he was on the outside, why bother hiding anything else besides the absolute truth that weighed on him.

Right now, it was the last thing he'd want to consider when the Reaper went about humming again.

SMii7y looked at his phone, texting Evan that he'll need an update soon. He didn't want to give him the details that he was stuck with Brian, but this wasn't the first time he sat in his car for hours on end, staring at nothing. Evan didn't need to know everything yet.

A few more minutes passed, and SMii7y was about to start up his car and drive home when Brian went completely still besides placing a hand on SMii7y's bicep.

He was staring toward the empty road that's been their view since leaving Orion. No one had walked past them since, it was so quiet that SMii7y always found the insects and birds more appealing than the Reaper who continued to pretend there was a drumset in front of him.

And now, SMii7y can see what he was looking at. A figure appeared from the shadows of the trees.

Like Brian, Reaper's all looked human. They went about their day, busying themselves on the death of others. They rarely looked intimidating, which they were not meant to be. They simply were supposed to reap the dead, and allowed themselves to be at the scene of the crime.

SMii7y didn't recognize him, but he also rarely noticed their presence unless Brian was talking to one. He was a short haired blond, maybe the same height as Brian once he and Brian got out of the car, and Brian was waving his hand toward him. The man did not look happy to see him. He wore pale blue jeans, sneakers, and a simple black sweater.

He was holding his phone like any teenager around, and was frowning deeply at the sight of Brian.

"Why are we getting our information from a Reaper?" SMii7y asked as they began to walk across the empty lot toward the man who remained where he was on the other side of the road.

"I received intel not too long ago via the hounds that he picked up a body," Brian said, smiling sheepishly.

SMii7y grimaced. "And why exactly is that relevant?"

"Ian reaps dead vampires," Brian answered. "And lately, there's a growing anomaly of vampires dropping like flies lately. So, I figured if we catch Ian on the job, we'll be able to figure out what happened."

"This is your plan? You'd be a terrible investigator."

"Technically, I'm a Reaper, not an investigator," he said, rolling his eyes. "I have been hanging around you and Evan for some time, and I find the resourcefulness of your practice quite inspiring."

"Resourcefulness?" SMii7y said.

"You're talking to me, aren't you? I mean, all you did was go knocking on doors of people who don't care about you," said Brian.

"What are you doing here?" Ian asked once SMii7y and Brian crossed the road.

"You're in the area, aren't you? And I'm betting that you'd like the deaths to lessen, I mean, first was Serenity Christian, and now the new victim of the Feral Virus," Brian said.

SMii7y blinked, surprised by the familiar name as he looked at Ian's perturbed expression. He held tight to his phone and appeared more as an anxious teenager given the spotlight when he really didn't want it. "You reaped Serenity Christian?"

"We were both there," Ian said, not looking away from Brian, and sneering at him before sliding his gaze over to SMii7y. "I decided to lessen the workload on my end, besides, this has nothing to do with the Feral Virus."

"Oh?" Brian said, sounding surprised. "Selene takes over the wolves, but who takes the witches?"

"I had Asa Lee handle that, but none have died in awhile." Ian shrugged, returning to a more brooding manner.

"Wait, you said this has nothing to do with the Feral Virus," SMii7y said, ignoring the two co-worker's conversing about who took what problem. He kind of understood that since he did the same with Brock and Anthony. "How did they die?"

Ian glanced at Brian, rolling his eyes at his wink. "Selene isn't in the area, I kind of knew the outcome by simply that. I don't know any other details of how he died, but it was Felix Rowe. He's a vampire in the House of the One-Eyed Raven. I'm sure his leader, Jude Camden, would like to know one of his members is dead. But I'm not that kind of messenger, all I do is reap the souls."

That doesn't exactly make any sense.

SMii7y gritted his teeth at the information while Brian was asking Ian where Felix Rowe's body was left.

He knew for certain the Reapers simply leave the body, it's not like they can drag it away for someone to find. The person died where they died, that was simply it. But it also made little sense about how Felix Rowe died since it wasn't connected to the Feral Virus.

SMii7y asked Ian about this, so he can know what he was getting himself into.

"People die all the time," Ian told him, now with a placcid expression as if the truth was so honest and fulfilling that there was no need to express any other way.

"You said something about Selene, she reaps the wolves, but she wasn't there," SMii7y said.

Ian seemed almost struggling with his thoughts, but his expression told SMii7y enough. He wanted to glare at SMii7y, but hiding this was difficult.

"There was a wolf nearby, he isn't dead, is what I mean."

"That's how he died is what you're saying," Brian said, smiling brightly at Ian. "Don't hold back, if you want the deaths to stop and return to its normal cadence, then it's better not to hold back information, Ian."

SMii7y rarely thought Brian could be intimidating, but with the strain of his words by the end of his sentence, he almost looked like he wanted to throttle Ian where he stood.

Ian sighed. "It was Landon Clarke."

SMii7y arched his brows, surprised to hear his name, but also waiting for more information. He was still holding back, and Brian noticed this too. He stepped closer to Ian, his smile still on his face but straining.

"Come on, you know more, you probably watched the whole thing."

Ian swallowed thickly, staring warily now at Brian. "I…uh, I got there by the end."

"And?"

"It was a dispute."

Well, again, SMii7y did not realize where this conversation was going. Ever since the fiasco with the Feral Virus began, he always expected a death to be connected to it. Maybe he really needed an hour of sleep to get through the rest of this investigation. And yet, a wolf going out of his way to kill a vampire is about to fuck this all up in the worst way.

"What kind of dispute, Ian?" Brian looked close to grabbing him and shaking the words out of his mouth.

SMii7y would've found this amusing if he wasn't tired. "Is Landon Clarke infected with the Feral Virus?"

"No."

Again, the surprises never end, and this made SMii7y groan.

"Fuck, this is not good…why were they having a dispute?"

"Like I said—" Ian was then grabbed by Brian and was being shaken right on the empty sidewalk. There wasn't anyone to see what was happening before SMii7y, but Brian was happily cursing at him as his Irish accent became more apparent by the second.

"Stop, please, stop!" Ian said, pushing Brian away from him and glaring. "I'm telling you the truth."

"Fuck off, you're not!" Brian said.

"And yet you're the one who said we shouldn't get too attached to the living, and that's what you're doing," Ian spat.

SMii7y rubbed his temples. "I guess we'll figure this out on our own. Thanks." He made a nonchalant wave to the Reaper, and walked past him. Brian was still cursing at Ian before finally jogging after SMii7y.

"He's in the park, probably going to bake under the sun pretty soon," Brian said, leading SMii7y down an alley.

"Why did he kill Felix? A dispute?" SMii7y said to himself, shaking his head about what would actually get them to cross the line of harming one another. There was a reason that the treaties remained where they were. The Feral Virus and Sebastian Warren might not be their only issue after this if Jude Camden decides to carry on the dispute from his fledgling to Devon Fairstone's third in command, Landon Clarke.

They reached the park and were staring down at Felix' body. He had died quickly, a swipe of a few claws along the front of his body, tearing open his throat. The sun had left the wounds open, but not enough to let the body burn completely as there were a few trees around them that kept Felix rightfully intact.

SMii7y sighed, looking at Brian. "Now what?"

Chapter Text

Evan tapped his fingers on the table, staring down at the paper in front of him. He wasn't reading any of it, he was distracted by a phone call.

"What do you mean?" Evan asked him, trying his best not to let his annoyance bleed out.

"Like I said, he's dead, so you should inform Tyler about this," SMii7y said.

"Me?" Evan said, incredulous. He stopped his tapping and turned away from the paper. He was the only one inside the empty containment room. He kind of wished Jonathan and Brock were here, but for now, he was alone. "Why can't you tell him about this? You're the one who found the body."

SMii7y cleared his throat. "Right, I should, but I'm also looking into something right now."

Evan knew the sound of that. He let his shoulders slump. "Did you sleep at all, Jaren?"

He was quiet for a moment and said, "Is that relevant to the case?"

"You can't just walk around as if everything is okay."

"I'm doing just that, and I'm fine."

"No, Jaren, you're not…is Brian with you?" It hadn't taken Evan long for him to realize that the Reaper wasn't with him and Jonathan, and he figured he had gone off to stalk someone else. This made far more sense, he just hoped SMii7y had gone home to sleep.

"He's the reason why I found him."

"The reason?"

"I'm not the reason!" Brian said from somewhere in the background. Evan rolled his eyes at the sound of his voice.

"Another Reaper came and reaped the soul already."

"And? You said this has something to do with the investigation, right?" Evan asked. He left the room and was heading straight for the elevator. His heart pounding, a rush of anxiety began to tremble into his fingertips as he pressed the elevator button. He watched the light above the doors blink.

"Well, at first I didn't think it had anything to do with the investigation until I found him dead, but the reason itself was intriguing," SMii7y said.

"One," Evan entered the elevator and pressed the button, he wasn't eager to find out what Tyler thought about this whole thing, "you're not on that case, you're on the one about John Keyes, don't you remember?"

"I know, I know." SMii7y sighed. "I haven't found a lead about Sebastian Warren, but I'm getting the feeling that this might be my lead."

Evan was curious to know how. "Have you called Charon? They took over the medical ward, including picking up any new bodies."

"Uh, yeah…no, no, I didn't," SMii7y said, sounding distracted. "I think if I can find Landon Clark, and then—"

"Bring him in after he killed Felix Rowe?" he wondered, not interested in knowing what Janine Hale was gonna think when she finds out one of her fledgling was killed by a werewolf. "You do know that this death could make it worse, we already have Charon hanging around Orion, and if we have any more wandering about…"

Evan stepped out of the elevator and headed to Tyler's office. Anthony was standing near it, wincing at something that Evan heard. Tyler was yelling inside his office, which could be either a good sign or a bad one.

"Who are you going to send if it's not me?" SMii7y asked. He was speaking to Brian and Evan can hear his car turn on.

Brian chuckled. "Once you two pass, maybe I should hang around Brock a little. I don't mind the smell of death when it comes from him."

"Give the phone back to Jaren," Evan said, then whispered to Anthony, "who's he yelling at?"

"I don't know," Anthony shrugged. "I have a few things for him, but…"

"I'll give them to him, I need to talk to him anyway." Evan took the paperwork from Anthony, and Anthony thanked him and walked off while Evan sighed at the way Tyler continued to yell inside his office.

He kicked the door.

"I don't know who to send, the body won't be able to stay in Orion because of the vampire coven's, we have no idea what's gonna happen since Janine had been attacked recently which killed both Marcus and Quintin," he said. And now Landon and Felix. What the hell was actually going on?

"Which is why I'd like to speak with Janine about what happened, because whatever did happen must've occurred along with the other two who died, which makes me think that there had been more people with Marcus and…"

The door to Tyler's office opened and Evan didn't exactly hear everything that SMii7y had said when Tyler gestured he can enter. His face was a bit puffy and flushed from yelling, and there was this obvious sign of anger in his eyes once he sat down.

Evan closed the door and set the paperwork down on his desk. "You're not going to like this," he said, and placed the phone on speaker, then told SMii7y to tell Tyler everything he had just told Evan.

Tyler was either glaring at Evan or the phone throughout the entire explanation.

"Once I find Landon, I think I'll figure out where Sebastian Warren is," SMii7y said, finishing his reasoning of where he was going now.

Tyler shook his head, eyes closed. "I'll have Charon pick up the body, and I'll inform Janine one of her fledgling's is dead."

He hung up and stared hard at Evan.

Well, Evan didn't like where this was going. "Who were you yelling at?" he asked after they shared a long awkward staring contest.

"Not only do I have Charon here, picking up bodies and informing me that my own medical staff are not up to date after what happened with Basil and John when they attacked Brock Barrus in his own fucking office." He hit the desk.

Evan flinched, but couldn't help smiling slightly.

"Now I have Cypress on my ass," Tyler said. "You know how they are about being specific. If Jaren truly thinks he can figure this out, I'd say he has until the end of the week. If he doesn't have what we want from Sebastian Warren, and the deaths come to a stop, then Cypress is taking over the entire investigation, completely involving themselves within Orion. My own seat can be jeopardized of these continuous attacks."

Evan furrowed his brows. "Are they doing the same thing with Charon?"

Tyler sat back and sighed. He was now looking at a portrait on the wall of two of his dogs. "I don't know, but they aren't the only one's I had contact with in the last hour."

Shit, Evan didn't like this.

"I spoke with Vivienne before Cypress called, and I was then informed about Erebus possibly taking over the witches' directory and the vampire's. None of the vampire coven's will speak with Orion once Erebus has its claws in them, and all we'll have are the werewolves, which aren't as helpful as you might think since now, I might even have a short conversation with Devon Fairstone that his werewolf, third in command, killed a vampire fledgling. One problem after the other, and it's all piling up because of Sebastian Warren."

Evan was about to speak, but Tyler slammed his hand down.

"Because none of my agents can find him, nor the witch who possibly conjured up the Feral Virus." He smiled at Evan, a strained look in his eyes.

"Erebus rarely makes an appearance, Tyler, there is no real point in them coming here when they know that Cypress might be here too," Evan said carefully, hoping he wasn't about to hit a nerve with Tyler.

"That's the thing," Tyler said, sighing deeply. "Erebus handles the vampire's, exclusively, the wolves and the witches can deal with themselves, but I figured the real reason is not because of the deaths around us, but because of a certain ancient vampire in our midst."

Evan gritted his teeth. "You figured it out then."

"In a way, I have," Tyler said to him. "You're not doing anything besides loitering around the office, Evan. I'd like you to find him, and maybe convince him to leave the area."

"He won't, not when Sebastian Warren wanders about," Evan said. Besides, how was he going to do that, there was no fucking way he was going to listen to him. He was a damn stranger, nothing more.

"He'll come to a conclusion that once Cypress comes here, takes over the division itself, then he won't linger for long," Tyler said, as if it were as simple as that.

"That's what you want me to do? Look for him and tell him to leave."

"Not tell him," Tyler said, glaring, "order him to leave the area before Erebus comes here. They'll search for him, I know they will. Cypress may do what they want afterwards, but I don't need Erebus here. You might be able to find John, since SMii7y seems more intent on looking for Sebastian Warren. He'll be dealing with the wolves and vampires from here on out. I'll have Anthony take over some parts of your work."

Evan didn't know what else to say. He stood up, nodded, and left the room. A few tense seconds of walking down the hall. He took out his phone and dialed Jonathan's number.

He would be home, nursing a fever from the last time he was attacked thanks to the witches' involvement.

He answered after the third ring. "Yeah?"

"I need you to find me a vampire."

"I can't…not after what happened."

"I know," Evan said, "I'll bring over some food, you can take whatever you want from me, and then I need you to find Basil."

Chapter Text

Kryoz retched on the smooth sidewalk in front of a beautiful white and blue house, near a group of trimmed bushes. He had one hand on Jordan Riley's car, heaving up blood he had consumed before the meeting earlier. He had been wondering why he was sweating the entire time, at least until Basil noticed it outside the building.

"You'll be fine," he said.

Kryoz wasn't fine. The car ride made him motion sick, and now he was trying to calm down. Basil stood to the side with Jordan Riley and Darlene Porter. She had decided to go with them after the meeting came to its conclusion on their end. She's apparently a part of another clan of werewolves, but not within the city.

She belongs somewhere else, but had only come in when Basil asked her too.

Kryoz trembled, finally finishing off the rest that was in his body. He was a little weak in his body as he spit out more blood and finally wiped his mouth.

"Why are we here?" he asked, staring at Basil. There had been a man here when they first arrived. Kryoz hadn't been able to find out who he was exactly when he started to throw up. Apparently, his name is Gabriel Monroe, he left a moment ago to seek out another lead for them.

Basil glanced at him. "Nicholas has information that we need."

"Like at the meeting?"

"The meeting was only reassuring us of what everyone else thinks about what is going on," Basil said. "Come along, John. We're almost finished, and by the time nightfall comes to us, we'll have everything we need."

Right, like that was supposed to answer his question. He groaned, and pushed himself away from the car and followed the three. He thought for sure that one day he'll find himself adjusting to this world, but he was being pulled in one direction and the next. By the end of this, he wasn't sure if he was going to live that long if he was having troubles stomaching blood.

Basil knocked on the front door.

"You okay?" Jordan asked him.

Kryoz nodded, holding his stomach. "I feel a bit colder."

"That's just you being a vampire," Darlene said.

Maybe. His head hurt, and it was a little difficult to focus, even when the door opened and a man stood in the threshold. He was a honey-blonde holding a glass of red wine. He wore a disinterested expression on his face, and had some sort of blue sweater vest and dark blue slacks. For it being in the middle of the day, he did not look impressed at the sight of any of them.

"Come in, before we all begin to burn," he said, leaving the door open and walking away from them as the four stumbled inside.

Basil wrinkled his nose once the door closed. A coldness blanketed most of them. "My lineage doesn't burn as quickly as most vampires," Basil said, already walking after the man that Kryoz figured must be Nicholas. He guessed he was around his early twenties.

"Is that why you gave me your blood a few days ago?" Kryoz wondered. The sewer wasn't really a good place to hang out, and the smell of both the blood and the throw up was much worse than he thought it would be. He just didn't think that it would continue through him after he drank blood in the back seat. He hadn't tried again.

Jordan glanced at him. "You're holding up quite well. I do wonder if it has anything to do with the Feral Virus within your body."

"I don't think so," Darlene said, walking past them. "He's weak, partially human as well."

"I thought I was fully a vampire," Kryoz said. "I did die at Orion."

Darlene smiled at him. "Yes. A difficult transition from one life to the next. You hungered for blood right away. It is a rare case, exceptional when it comes from something like Sebastian Warren. He must hate what is going on right now. If only he knew his fledgling was dealing with the same issue. He'd kill you on the spot."

Then he really didn't know why he was coming along with Basil and his wayward coven.

"He doesn't know I exist, at the moment."

"He's far too sick to even think of the consequences. I'm sure everyone is aware of this," Darlene said.

Kryoz wasn't sure if she was certain of it. He did die as a human. He was simply struggling with this odd transformation in his body. If he did manage to get through this entire situation, then how was he going to live his life as a vampire? He was throwing up bits of blood here and there. His own body rejected it, and yet, he was parched.

They entered a large white room with white carpet. There was a flat screen on the wall, and the windows were beginning to close with a simple button via the remote in Nicholas' hand. He had sat down on the end of the couch, taking a sip before placing it on the round glass coffee table. Everything inside the room was mostly plain, odd for a witch, if he was being honest. He always thought of clutter when it came to them, but maybe there was more of a mess somewhere else inside the rather nice home.

"If you're wondering where the witch is, I don't know," Nicholas said to Basil.

"I'm only here to gain information, Nick, just tell me what you know, and tell me truthfully, then we'll get out of your house," Basil said, arms crossed.

"Out of most of the covens and clan's, they are also looking into where Lila Woods is," Nicholas said to him. He had a slight pompous air about him, the way he spoke was intellectual, as if he was speaking to someone beneath him. He wasn't even looking at anyone else besides Basil. He still appeared displeased about this entire conversation and visit.

"They got nothing, from what I can understand," said Basil.

"Yes, however, you have come at the wrong time, there's already another death in the city."

Kryoz glanced at Jordan who was looking intently at Basil. Darlene frowned at what Nicholas said.

"Who?" she asked him.

Nicholas kept his eyes on Basil. "Felix Rowe, a fledgling under Janine Hale. while their sire continues to mourn Donna Kay. He died about half an hour ago."

Basil nodded slowly. "Was he a part of this? I don't think they'd go out of their way to start wars amongst each other when Sebastian Warren targets their own kind."

Nicholas, for once, smiled at Basil. Now perfectly pleased by the inquiry. "My informant tells me that it was a werewolf who killed him."

"A wolf killed a vampire?" Jordan sneered. "Are they desperate or something? Why go to such lengths?"

"The information isn't about Lila Woods, not exactly," Nicholas said, reaching for his glass of wine. "It was Landon Clarke, third in command to Devon Fairstone, Alpha of the West End."

Kryoz leaned himself against one of the plain blue walls, feeling the coldness against it. He was still a little nauseous, and everyone else seemed more interested in the conversation.

"It'll certainly stir more than what Sebastian has been doing lately," Basil said indifferently. "They didn't contract the virus?"

Nicholas shook his head. "As of right now, they both weren't infected. Apparently, they had gone out of their way to fight one another. Simple as that."

"Where's Landon Clarke?" Kryoz asked.

Nicholas glanced at him momentarily before returning his gaze to Basil. It seemed he really didn't like any of them, which he figured must be a witch thing. Maybe they all didn't really enjoy the presence of vampires and werewolves, but he only assumed this while keeping himself upright.

"No one knows right now."

"I have a witch looking for Lila Woods," Basil said to him. "I knew nothing about Landon Clarke and Felix Rowe's argument that led to his death. I'm not sure if it means anything to any of this at this point, all I care about is finding Sebastian Warren."

Nicholas smirked. "Then you'll enjoy this piece of information. I did use my abilities to know what certain types of people are doing. Like Orion, for instance."

Kryoz swallowed thickly. Whatever was going on with him, he can feel his throat closing up once again. Darlene noticed and stepped over to him.

"Are you alright?" she asked, placing a hand against his forehead. "For being a vampire, you're heating up."

"I need…I can't stay in here," Kryoz said, breathing heavily.

Darlene nodded, and told Basil she was taking Kryoz outside. He nodded, keeping his eyes on Nicholas while Jordan Riley stayed with him. She took him outside, near the car that was left in the shade.

"Is it the virus?" Darlene asked.

He had opened the door, sitting on the backseat, "I don't know. I just always feel sick when I drink blood."

"The virus itself was created by magic, maybe that in itself is rejecting you," she said.

Kryoz wasn't entirely sure what she meant. He didn't feel good, he was shaking now, but there was no real need for blood. Maybe he wanted water.

"Who's the…guy that was here earlier?" Kryoz asked, hoping to find a distraction from his strange sickness.

"Gabriel Monroe?" she wondered, brow arched. "Basil's witch, but he doesn't really belong to Basil. He's an old friend from another coven."

"Like you."

Darlene smiled warmly. "Yes, like me."

"Why…do you…uh…work with him?"

"Why not? Basil's the ancient vampire, powerful, influential. Easier to deal with than the normal vampires and werewolves."

Kryoz had no idea what she meant and laid down. "Can you…tell me what the fuck that means?"

"Most vampires have a need for others, a need for a coven, a clan, a group of people to rule over…Basil doesn't really need that, maybe he's old enough not to care for that, but he does make friends with people like me, Jordan, and Gabriel," she said.

Kryoz nodded. Like himself, and the others in the sewer, the vampires that seemed to want to protect him. They watched Kryoz, hoping he wasn't gonna hurt Basil. They would go out of their way to kill him if he ever tried.

"Are there others like him?" He had to take a few deep breaths just to get the words out. The world began to slowly spin off its axis, and he didn't like that. He was gonna throw up again, he felt it in his throat, the watery taste that made him try to swallow it down, but it wouldn't.

"There are some," she answered. "They aren't like him though."

"Do they need a coven?"

Darlene chuckled softly. "Oh, no. I mean, they're probably in the ground right now. Sleeping a few centuries off. Maybe it's something they want to do, they like to do. People are tired of living, vampires get like that too, so they sleep."

Basil and Jordan stepped out of the house, the door slamming closed and locking automatically.

"So, what happened? Did you get what you wanted?" Darlene asked.

Jordan had his phone to his ear, stepping off to the side, while Basil looked mildly perturbed as he glanced over at Kryoz who managed to sit up.

"From what Nicholas told me, Orion is having a hard time holding its position within the city, I wasn't too worried about Charon's presence," Basil said, sighing. "Cypress wants to move in by the end of the week. I think what happened with Landon and Felix made things far too worse for wear, which brings us to Erebus."

Darlene's mouth parted, staring at him with more of a horrified expression than shock. "No…"

"Yes," Basil said, nodding. "How are you doing, John? Do you need anymore blood? I have more in the back."

Kryoz was trying to steady out his heavy  breathing, but it was like a full on panic attack. Even his eyes were getting wet, and his chest tightened. Maybe he was dying again.

"I don't know," Kryoz said under his breath, quiet and shaky.

Basil nodded at Darlene who moved toward the back of the vehicle and opened the trunk. She took out two blood bags from the freezer and brought it over to Kryoz.

"It'll hold off the sickness," Basil told him.

He really didn't want to throw up anymore than he had too. Kryoz ripped open the top part and began drinking the blood. He hated the taste. As a vampire, he thought his taste buds would change, maybe he'd want more, but as time went on…he despised it. The iron filled his mouth, making him more sick, but he kept drinking anyway since it relieved the tightness in his chest, relieving the slight headache pounding at his temples.

Jordan walked over to them after hanging up the call.

He looked at Basil, a definite expression appearing in his eyes. "Gabriel found Lila."

"Really?" Darlene said, incredulous. "Right now?"

"Right now." Jordan grinned. "He wants us to go over before anyone else ends up finding them. It's best we figure out what is going on, because she did bring up the fact she knows where Sebastian is."

"Finally," Basil said, smiling down at Kryoz. "We're gonna find your sire, and we'll figure this whole thing out. Okay."

Kryoz nodded, still drinking the blood and about to move onto the next.

Chapter Text

SMii7y sipped the coffee Janine Hale had passed him. It was bitter enough that he hoped it would keep him awake for the next few hours.

Janine was glancing over at Brian who was inside the mostly dark room. He was tapping his foot on the ground with his arms crossed, an eager look on his face, and he didn't seem as perturbed as Janine did with his presence.

"I haven't heard from Landon Clarke since that night," Janine said.

"I'm not here to take you," Brian said after a moment, tilting his head slightly. "You don't need to worry about me too much."

"There were others that night." Janine turned her gaze to SMii7y, ignoring Brian.

"That's what they do, they reap the souls," SMii7y said carefully. "I'm not here to talk about the Reaper's. I'm here to ask for information about that night." He had no idea how long he was allowed to stay here. Sooner or later, Jude Camden was going to kick them out like he had done before.

Janine held a cup, he wasn't sure if it was filled with blood or not. She had long brown hair that had been recently washed, and wore a black tank-top and gray sweats. She looked mostly normal, if it weren't for the obvious appetite she shared with her fellow vampires, and the near death experience she had a few days ago with two individuals that were dead from different covens, including a recent death amongst her own kin, then she'd fit in easily with mortals.

The home had mostly muted colors, all white walls and black furniture, there was a large fireplace in front of them, but no fire was currently lit. A coldness settled over them, but SMii7y was able to easily ignore the feeling. There was a small light coming from a frosted window, but that was the only other light within the living room area of the house.

"Landon was there, but he hadn't been attacked by Quintin…who seemed to have contracted the virus," Janine said, looking down at her drink, avoiding SMii7y's gaze.

"Was Sebastian there?" he asked. He had to have been there for Quintin to have contracted the virus at all, to be given the damn thing so he'd go into a frenzy and attack others. From what they knew, Landon nor Felix hadn't been attacked, but that night, when Quintin was too out of control, it was Marcus who protected Janine. He was the only reason she was alive at all.

However, if that is true, the events lining up one way or another, then why did Landon attack Felix. What was the fight between them even about, unfortunately, he had only a few days to figure that issue out while searching for Sebastian Warren.

"I haven't seen Landon since that night," Janine said, taking in a deep breath.

"But he was there?"

She nodded. "He was there…"

"And Felix?"

"No," she said, shaking her head and taking a sip. When she lifted her gaze, her eyes fell back onto Brian who smiled sheepishly at her. "Felix wasn't there. I don't know why Landon did what he did, unless Felix had the virus too."

"He wasn't infected," SMii7y stated, watching her intently. He had to make sure that she was saying everything simply so he can gather more evidence. His tape recorder that he had in his bag was placed on the center of the table. She was staring at it, biting her lower lip as the conversation stalled for a moment.

While she seemed contemplative, SMii7y swallowed thickly, trying to get rid of this strange feeling in his throat. He knew he shouldn't have drank anything from a vampire. He set the cup down, and took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry that I'm doing this now," said SMii7y, hoping he sounded like he was sorry, but he was more than anything, frustrated by this entire conversation. The case itself was making him impatient. He still had no word where John Keyes had disappeared too, and it's been a day and a few hours since Brock was attacked.

He'll have to speak with him soon enough as well, it was his idea to keep John in containment for so long. He should've sent him down to the sub-basement and left him with the others.

Janine took in another deep breath. "He was like a brother to me."

Felix Rowe. He was closer in age to her than the other vampires of her coven, and was the latest vampire amongst their members. SMii7y actually didn't think he would die in such a way, not when Jude Camden kept his clan quite organized like the rest. He just wasn't sure what the werewolves were going to do once they find out what Landon had done.

"I want to figure this out, not just for Felix, but for the rest who have died, and that means…I need to know where Sebastian Warren is," SMii7y said. This entire time, he felt as if he was playing bad cop. Maybe he was, he couldn't exactly shove out a joke in the middle of this woman grieving over her adopted late brother.

Janine closed her eyes, her shoulders tense, and she nodded slowly. "He was there too."

SMii7y glanced over at Brian. He was still unmoving, like a statue, but his eyes remained solely on Janine. "Sebastian Warren?"

"Yes…I think he was after me," Janine confessed, meeting SMii7y's eyes, a look of rage filled them. "Landon had been there, chasing him off…and Quintin was infected moments after. Sebastian simply moved up a rank, that's all. He had been begging, screaming in the street, and we were forced to chase him into the field outside the city. Hoping to…contain him on our own. What were we supposed to do, watch another one of our own die out in the world, forgotten thanks to Orion and Charon?" Her voice rose inside the home, unsettling the quiet that had been there.

"That's what happened," she said, shaking her head. "Marcus and Quintin are dead, like all the others, and now Felix is gone too…and they're deaths will be forgotten."

"Jude was given authority to take Felix's body," SMii7y said, hoping to keep his voice steady. "Quintin was also given back to his clan, so was Marcus."

"It doesn't matter," Janine said, growing melancholy once more, her anger defusing. "They're dead, and Sebastian's still out there, along with Landon. He could be working with him."

"Why kill Felix Rowe if he was working with Sebastian?" Brian asked her.

She shot him glare, hissing at the sight of him. "I don't want to speak to your kind!"

Brian rolled his eyes.

SMii7y remained tense, ignoring the feud between the two. He really wasn't sure how much they hated Reaper's, many disliked the sight of them because of the idea of death. That could be it, but it was SMii7y who had sunk beneath the concept beforehand, he can still feel the coldness of the water at his fingertips. He ignored the thought, numbing at the back of his mind and kept his attention on Janine. She lifted her cup and took a comforting sip.

"The question remains, Janine," SMii7y said, tentatively, "why would he kill Felix, he was not subjected to the virus. From the looks of it, and from our own intel, they had some sort of argument."

"That killed Felix?" Janine asked, incredulously. "No. Felix wouldn't go out of his way to start arguments, not with the werewolf clans, and certainly, not on his own. I don't believe it."

"You said Landon left after…he left because Sebastian vanished from the area?" he asked, hoping to get back onto the topic of why he was there in the first place.

Janine sighed deeply. "Yes. He left when Sebastian had disappeared after he infected Quintin. Marcus tried to restrain him, and so did I…but Quintin bit Marcus…and in their feral state, they killed one another in the field."

SMii7y wasn't sure if he should ask anymore questions, reliving what happened that night was far more distressing to her, tears began to appear in Janine's eyes and they spilled down her pale cheeks.

"I think that's it for today."

SMii7y glanced over toward the doorway that led into the kitchen. Jude Camden stood there in a simple black shirt and pants. His features remain stoic and expressionless, even his posture was completely still, similar to the way Brian stood. His gaze was penetrating, watching SMii7y like he was prey, but he wasn't ready for the hunt.

"Yes, thank you, Janine, for letting me ask my questions," SMii7y said. Janine nodded, managing to wipe the rest of her tears from her face. He reached for the recorder and stopped it from running. He turned to Jude Camden and thanked him for allowing Orion and a Reaper into his home.

Seconds after, SMii7y and Brian stepped out of the house. They strolled towards SMii7y's car that sat down the road.

"What do you think?" SMii7y asked him, clearing his throat of the lump he has been dealing with for the last half hour.

"I think it was a good idea to keep most of the vampire's inside, but if you're considering I say something more of an insensitive manner, then Janine Hale sent Felix Rowe to his death," Brian said cheerily.

SMii7y side-eyed him, but knew he wasn't wrong. Maybe Janine knew that too, but it was far too much for her to even say. The possibility brought tears to her eyes, which was quite rare for most vampires. They rarely cried, even in distress and torture.

He unlocked his vehicle and they both sat down. SMii7y didn't start it up, not right away. He was staring off at the road, feeling uncomfortable in his black coat.

"Janine told Felix, Felix found Landon, and for some reason, Landon killed him..." SMii7y said, uncertain if that was the right order of things, but it seemed like it.

"Felix might've wanted to protect Janine, so he confronted Landon before sunrise, and they ran into a dispute, possibly misinformation collided together, and Landon accidentally killed Felix," Brian said, smiling wryly at SMii7y.

That could be right too. He tried to start up his car, but he was having troubles with it. He gave up after ten minutes, and stared down at his phone when he received a text.

There was a missed phone call from Tyler, another from Evan, and one from an unknown number, including a text message.

"Holy shit," SMii7y said under his breath, trying to start up his car again.

"What?" Brian asked, curiously. "Is Tyler finally losing his marbles?"

"He's lost it a long time ago," SMii7y said, finally managing a smile after so long. "That was John, they found Lila Woods."

"And?" Brian said, picking up his phone and finding the message. "Well, well, maybe he isn't as useless as you thought."

SMii7y grunted, managing to get his car to start. "I never said he was useless." He texted John back, told him he was coming that way and to wait for him so he can interrogate Lila Woods.

His phone went off as he drove away from the street, and Brian decided to answer while SMii7y drove.

"Hey, Ev," Brian said, smiling happily. "Oh, yeah, Jaren is here…driving like his life depends on it. We have a lead on a…what? Uh…okay?"

"What?" SMii7y said, glancing at him.

"Evan says a witch is dead." Brian snorted.

"That isn't funny, which one?"

"Exactly, which witch." Brian laughed again.

SMii7y grabbed his phone from Brian and placed it to his ear. "Who died and where?"

Chapter Text

Evan stared at the sky. It was almost evening, and he had yet to hear from SMii7y since he spoke to him on the phone. Apparently, he had something else to do, and there was already Charon agents surrounding the dead witch.

He fidgeted on the sidewalk where he stood, staring at a recent text he received from Jonathan.

Delirious: Did you still want to come over?

He was a little nervous about what he was going to tell Tyler. He had a lead on Sebastian about two hours ago. He had spoken with Vivienne Cane about a witch named Aurora Sharpe in her coven. She had done the spell a few days ago with Jonathan to get the names on the piece of paper.

Aurora told him she had a few things she wanted to discuss. He was going to keep it secret, at least until he arrived to find her dead.

He kept cursing under his breath, because he knew that telling Tyler about speaking with the witches wasn't going to go well. They had five days to figure out what to do about Sebastian Warren.

"I didn't think you'd be on this case."

Evan lifted his gaze to Marcel walking over to him. He was giving him a small friendly smile. And Evan tucked his phone into his pocket. "Do you know what killed her?"

"From what we know about the virus, it doesn't infect witches," Marcel began, glancing off towards the two white vans. There were a few Charon agents sampling the grass and leaves that surrounded Aurora Sharpe's body. They didn't want to move her just yet.

"And yet…?" Evan asked, watching Marcel. They might have known each other a few years ago, but work was work, and whatever conversations they once held couldn't be touched upon anymore. It was Marcel's organization that was entering Orion's territory, and Evan was still bothered about what Tyler told him about Cypress and Erebus.

Marcel shrugged. "We'll figure it out in a few hours. Vivienne Crane is already at Orion, if you wanted to know." He smiled, as if he knew the chaos that was brewing, and the panic in Evan's body that wasn't fully contained as he had hoped.

"Thanks…" Evan said, dryly.

"By the way," Marcel stepped closer, looking peculiarly at Evan, "have you died already…again, I mean?"

"We gave ourselves another six months," Evan answered. 

Marcel nodded slowly. "Yeah, I saw…Brian, I was wondering why he was around here. He looks easier to see now, maybe it's the two of you."

"We do work with Orion, we see deaths all the time."

"Sure, but not this much, he must love what is going on." Marcel waved and walked off back towards the van's, and apparently, Scotty who was waiting for him to help assess the damage.

Evan did notice another strange figure in the distance. She seemed a little shy, and was watching Charon move about as they began to lift the body into one of the van's.

He walked over to her. She was a bit younger than the others he had seen, her hair was to her shoulders, cut straight and even. She wore black rimmed glasses, a magenta colored sweater, beneath that was a darker purple dress with simple black leggings. Her boots had a heel, and there were chunky bright bracelets around her wrist.

"Have you done it?" he inquired.

She glanced at him, a nervous look flitted across her face. "Uh, what?"

"Have you reaped her soul yet?"

"Well, yes, I have…but I always watch the bodies first, to see how they're handled," the girl said nervously. She glanced at the van that was about to drive off, and back to Evan who had his hands tucked in his jean pockets. "I didn't realize you can see me."

Most people can't see Reaper's. They either looked far too normal that no one cares enough for their presence, or they were invisible to mortals, besides vampires, witches, and werewolves.

"I've died before," Evan said, shrugging nonchalantly. "Were you here when she died?"

Maybe he can dig for more information from a Reaper. But the girl looked far more nervous about his question and had somewhat stepped away from him as if he had offended her in whatever way.

"I'm sorry, I cannot give away that kind of information," she said to him.

He nodded slowly. "That's fine. I was only asking."

"Was she, perhaps, a friend of yours?"

"No, I've never spoken to her until recently," he said. He didn't have many friends with witches, there were some things he'd rather not cross the line, and the witches had done just that with Jonathan. Now his best friend's disposition was all over the place.

The girl bit her lip. "I, uh, have to go."

"Any more witches dying?"

A small smile appeared on her lips. "I cannot divulge that." She turned and walked quickly down the street.

He texted SMii7y that Charon has the body, and a Reaper had been around only recently. He gained no information, and will be heading over to Jonathan's place. On his way back to his vehicle, he coughed a few times as he unlocked his car and got in.

Tyler had texted him on the way to Jonathan's house, and Evan was dreading to see what his boss was about to tell him.

He had lost his lead, and he wasn't sure where to look now. He grabbed food before finding himself on Jonathan's doorstep, ringing the doorbell while peeking a glance at his text, and the last few missed phone calls. He got one from SMii7y, and two from Tyler.

The message made him cringe.

Wildcat: Are you going to explain what happened or am I going to have to fire you?

Jonathan answered the door, his dark hair was a bit wild as if he had just taken a shower, but Evan realized quickly that he might have a fever and it was sweat making his hair stick up.

"Hey."

"Hey." Evan stepped inside and placed his phone into his sweater pocket.

Jonathan seemingly had noticed the text beforehand as Evan closed the door. "Is he having another fit?"

"He might," Evan said with a sigh. "I was supposed to meet with Aurora Sharpe…" he caught the dismayed look on Jonathan's face when he had wrapped an arm around Evan's waist, pulling him closer, "but she's dead."

"What do you mean she's dead?" Jonathan asked, his arms going still as he looked down at Evan. "Aurora isn't on the list I gave SMii7y."

That was the other thing that ran through Evan's mind. How can she be dead when she wasn't on the death list that Jonathan created because of the witches.

"She's dead," Evan said, almost wanting to lean himself closer to Jonathan. "She died about two hours ago. Charon took their fucking time cleaning up the site and packing the body up. I had enough time to speak with a Reaper that showed up, but she said nothing about how Aurora died. So now, I'm at square fucking one, and I might get fired for this shit. Cypress is going to screw everything up..." He mumbled the last bit when Jonathan touched his face and kissed him gently.

Evan relaxed in the feeling of his best friend, wanting nothing more than to hide from the world. "Don't get me sick, idiot."

Jonathan grinned. "Anything else you want to rant about?"

"SMii7y might have a lead on Sebastian Warren, so I'll let him handle that."

"And you'll…what, ignore Tyler?"

"He'll live when I go back tomorrow," said Evan, shrugging.

Jonathan led Evan to the living room of his small apartment. The windows were covered with curtains, keeping the sun from shining brightly onto them. There were blankets and pillows piled up on the couch, and they climbed inside of it so they can watch a movie together.

Evan coughed, feeling a tightness in his chest. Maybe Jonathan wasn't the only one getting sick, or maybe it was the anxiety of Tyler's message sitting impatiently.

"I can get you something to drink," Jonathan said, getting up.

"Yeah, sure." Evan stared down at his phone, unsure if he should look at Tyler's text. He was so tired, a growing headache was making itself known at his temples. When Jonathan came back with juice, he drank most of it right away and asked what movie they were going to watch for the evening.

He laid himself against Jonathan, and closed his eyes to the sound of his heartbeat.

Chapter Text

An Hour Ago

"He keeps texting me," SMii7y said, dropping his phone into his pocket, and shaking his head at the absurdity of the concept of work and friends. Maybe he was a little stressed, so what, he couldn't help feeling a bit pissed off about his circumstances when he found himself unable to leave the tiny circle.

"You could've asked for help at any given time," Brian said, smiling sardonically at him. He stood out of the circle. Witches couldn't hold death, and apparently, that also meant Reaper's. The second the man had SMii7y, Brian had waved nonchalantly in a mocking way.

"Are you going to help me if I ask?" SMii7y wondered.

"I'm more curious why you're in the circle," Brian said, looking over at the witch with soft blonde hair. He seemed perfectly in control of where he stood. He wore a dark blue jean jacket and somewhat baggy pants. He was impatient, ignoring the sight of SMii7y and Brian while seemingly waiting for whoever he worked with.

"I didn't realize they were going to do this," he said, crossing his arms. He was a little annoyed that he had ended up in the circle at all. This was also a violation in Orion's Orders amongst the clans and coven's, but this witch was rather new, he didn't belong to any of them. That meant, he worked solely with Basil, and surely there were more on his side.

SMii7y would rather wait for the answers then, he was tired of this, his eyes burned and his limbs ached. He felt a shiver run through him, and he was a little parched for something to drink. He did ask Brian to grab him a coffee, but the Reaper only smiled at him.

He was curious how Basil got his number at all, but he was more than anything happy that it was Kryoz who decided to text him. Well, it could've been Basil signing off with Kryoz at the end of the text, but SMii7y will pretend it was Kryoz simply because he knew he was still alive.

Ever since he was taken for a second time, he had been hearing far too much about the security of Orion since then. And well, he was no longer sure if it even mattered if Kryoz came back at all. Although, it might help ease Tyler's mind, but there was far too much filling his boss's mind, so he'd rather leave it alone until it got worse.

"Hey!" he called over to the witch that was ignoring him, "where's John, the infected vampire? Where is he?"

He continued to ignore him.

"Do you think he'll answer me if I ask?" Brian asked.

SMii7y grinned "Go ask him."

Brian walked innocently up to the witch who finally glanced at him. His face remained impassive, but as Brian drew closer, the witch stepped back.

"Hey, we just want to know how long we're gonna be here, some of us work," Brian said to the witch.

The man scoffed. "They won't be long."

"I wanted to interrogate the witch first," SMii7y called over to him. "Lila Woods, right? You guys have her, and since I'm part of Orion, I deserve to hear what she says before anyone else."

The man rolled his eyes, muttering under his breath.

"Hey, he's not ignorant," Brian said, walking back over to SMii7y. "I don't think he knew where we were coming here until you started shouting Basil's name."

"Well, maybe Basil should've told his witch that we were coming along," SMii7y said. He was a little annoyed that no one was here to begin with besides the witch, and that he was trapped in some damn circle. Now, all he could do was wait it out and hope that Basil had something to say about Lila Woods and Sebastian Warren.

"What are you thinking about? More coffee?" Brian asked.

"More like the werewolves and vampires all lost a few people on either side, and yet I'm curious about where Landon Clarke is, and what will happen when he's eventually found," SMii7y said.

"Always working, aren't you?"

"I always have to be." He sighed. The witch wasn't gonna let him out of the circle, even if he was an Orion agent. "After all this, will the leaders of each clan and coven forgive one another for everything that's happened, or will Cypress' presence be enough to quell an ensuing war?"

Brian chuckled, swinging his arms. "Ah, you're thinking about that…I'm not sure, maybe they should come along. Give everyone something to be scared of. Cypress will look for a way to get under everyone's skin, and then there's Erebus, they only go for extremely powerful people. I'd say Randall and Devon should be careful, while the witches will have to remain quiet as well if they don't want the attention on them."

"That's the thing, I understand Cypress making itself known after Sebastian kept adding more deaths upon his roster, but Erebus?" SMii7y closed his eyes, trying to think about the outcome, but he was so tired and his mouth was dry.

He heard a noise and it was drawing closer. He turned his head at the same time as Brian and the witch. A vehicle was coming over to them. A red car slowly making its way down the road before stopping several feet from SMii7y.

The witch moved, his shoulders relaxing, the tense look on his face had disappeared. It seemed this was Basil's group. SMii7y was relieved by this, he really wanted something to happen and he wanted out of the fucking magic circle he was trapped in.

The driver was the first to leave, a short haired man with dark skin, he wore an disinterested expression at SMii7y, and went straight by Brian to the witch who was already walking over to the vehicle. The passenger side was a pale man with dark bags beneath his eyes, he resembled a sickly person who rarely went out into the sun, which only told SMii7y this was Basil, he also recognized him from the CCTV footage at Orion when he kidnapped Kryoz.

"Gabriel, why is the Orion agent in a circle?" Basil asked, stepping out from the passenger side. He carried the same impression of an angsty adult in his early twenties, stressed to the brim, and giving his witch a curious and tired look.

The witch, Gabriel, rolled his eyes and made a sweeping motion at SMii7y. The magic around him was gone.

A woman came out from the vehicle as well, long dark haired, and her brows were furrowed as she looked at Basil. She was almost thin as rail and had a pale olive complexion, she wore a dark shirt with a black coat over it.

"He's not doing good, Basil," she said.

"Uh, Brian?" SMii7y said, turning to look at his friend who arched his brows.

"What?"

SMii7y was glancing around the street, almost expecting to see another Reaper. Relief found him quickly, and Brian seemingly was reading his expression and smirked.

"Oh, do you think your vampire will die? Surely, Ian would hate the two of us right now if he showed up."

"Well, I don't want him plucking John off the street."

"We don't actually pluck anyone," said Brian, crossing his arms.

One of the doors was shoved out, and SMii7y caught sight of John landing on the road, dry heaving. The woman had a hand on his back, trying to calm him down, a second after, a pool of blood left his throat, landing on the ground like a strange pile of vomit. It was more liquidy than solid, and it kept coming until he managed to stop.

"Fuck," the driver muttered, glaring at Basil. "You're gonna have to do something about that, I don't want him in my car if he keeps throwing up the blood."

The Feral Virus was still rejecting him.

"No Reaper's yet," Brian said in an almost sing-song voice.

SMii7y rolled his eyes and walked over to the group. Most of them were ignoring his presence besides the driver who turned out to be also a vampire. He was glancing at the cloudy sky.

"Where's Lila Woods?" SMii7y asked, looking at Kryoz, hoping he didn't sound too cruel. He still had a job, and Kryoz remained alive, there was only one other thing in mind that needed to be known.

"Hidden," the witch, Gabriel, answered.

"Oh, you talk," SMii7y mocked, sneering. His gaze fell on Basil, watching the disinterest stick to his face so thoroughly. Did he care about Kryoz, or was this all a means to an end. "I need to speak to her about Sebastian, where is she?"

Time was running out, not only for them, but for SMii7y's fucking job. He had to get this taken care of.

Kryoz groaned, wiping away the blood from his lip. Dark spots began to appear around his eyes, and while he writhed slowly, everyone else seemed more fixed on Basil.

"Like Gabriel said, he's hidden away, for now," Basil said.

"Then why are we here?" SMii7y asked impatiently.

"If you're so curious, John has a liking towards you, and he's been having an issue with normal blood," Basil said, as if in explanation.

SMii7y knew what he was getting at, and glared at him. "It won't work, he threw up my blood too, and yours. The virus is making a mess of him."

"We know that, certainly," Basil drawled, "and we figured out a—"

SMii7y hadn't realized what happened until he hit the road. The flash of pain was harsh, he was sure the back of his head had hit the ground but he was soon being cradled, fingers dug into the side of his head, pressing him close as a growling grew above him. He clung to that body, gasping out breaths as he stared up at Kryoz.

His teeth were bared, eyes darker than they had been before. He glared at Basil's group, and seemingly, Kryoz had knocked Basil over just to get to SMii7y.

Brian was standing off to the side, almost looking hazy, a faint smile on his lips.

"Y-You can't," SMii7y murmured.

Kryoz pushed his head to the side and bit into his neck.

Flashes of water filled SMii7y's mind. He had tried to breathe once, gulping in cold water, filling his lungs,making things worse as he flailed for the surface. He hoped to feel warmth, anything but the cold darkness he was currently experiencing.

And now, it was the same way.

It was leached away from him, and he once more, became cold.

Chapter Text

Kryoz' hand shook as it stroked SMii7y's hair. Basil and Jordan were muttering about the sunlight, even though the glass was meant to repel that. Jordan really didn't want to stand out in the street.

"He's not going to throw up," Basil said.

"He did, at least four other times, remember?" Jordan said, hands flexing on the steering wheel of his red car.

"He did that out on the street."

"We had to stop two other times, don't bullshit me."

"Can I ask a question," Darlene said, glancing warily at Kryoz and SMii7y, "why was there a Reaper standing off to the side?"

Kryoz had forgotten Brian's entire presence the moment he had attacked SMii7y. Maybe he went somewhere else, but he hadn't come with them the moment Kryoz was peeled off of SMii7y. There was this kindling rage inside of him, growing with extreme ferocity, but the second Basil had calmed him down, Kryoz realized the error of what he had done.

"Is he okay?" Kryoz asked, knelt on the ground, staring at SMii7y's unconscious body. Did Brian take him? Is that why he was here?

"He's fine," Darlene said, she and Jordan were knelt over him, while Gabriel was glancing at SMii7y's unconscious body.

Apparently, it had been Gabriel's magic to restrain the sudden bloodlust that went through Kryoz' body, he had calmed him while Basil kept a tight grip onto Kryoz' arms.

He was glad that even after all of that, SMii7y wasn't infected by the vampire virus itself, and he only fell unconscious because Kryoz had taken too much of him. When they moved him to the car, Kryoz held tight to his body, placing him on his lap and letting SMii7y lean his head against his shoulder. His shallow breaths sent a quiet relief through all the guilt that was built up.

"Why did we pick up SMii7y here when we could've brought him to Lila Woods?" Kryoz had asked.

"I wanted to see how you'd react with him," Basil said in his monotonous tone. "I didn't think you'd react so quickly in his presence. I do wonder what kind of connection you have with him."

Kryoz did not like that he had used his feelings for SMii7y like that. He might've wanted to stay with him back in Orion, but to test out the hunger Kryoz had been feeling for the last few hours, was far too dangerous for a human. He could've killed SMii7y, and that was the last thing he'd want.

"He's a friend to Jaren Smith and Evan Fong," Basil answered Darlene's question. "Some Reaper's have clients, people they watch over like a monitor, waiting for them to die because of a near death experience. Possibly, at one point, the two Orion agents must've died which brought the Reaper forth. A bargain was made between the three, and now he lingers close to the two. He must've left when he realized he didn't need to watch over Jaren, and had hurried off to the other."

Kryoz wondered if he had told Basil about Brian, or if he had ever known about Brian. He was trying to rack his mind when he learned about what Brian was to SMii7y. Now that he was thinking about it, SMii7y kept that to himself, and he really didn't know much about Evan either.

He touched a strand of SMii7y's hair, looking down at his soft face, barely sun-kissed, maybe he stayed inside a lot. The city was always covered in clouds, and there was a distinct scent of coffee coming off his clothes. Did he spill coffee on the front of his shirt, maybe it remained on his coat for however long. Did he go home at any time, there were bags beneath his eyes, deep shadows that kept telling Kryoz that SMii7y rarely slept.

Was that a side effect of his death or having a Reaper nearby? Maybe work was all he cared about…

"How are you feeling?" Darlene asked him. Her gaze fell onto SMii7y's face for a second. "You don't look as sick as earlier."

He was gonna mention that he did have SMii7y's blood before, but he had thrown that up as well. Yet, at the moment, he really didn't feel nauseous, he actually felt at ease with SMii7y so close to him. He didn't want anyone to touch him, there was this strong annoyance whenever he thought of someone taking him away.

However, the guilt returned at the sight of the semi-dry blood on SMii7y's neck and soaked into his shirt collar. Maybe he was pale because he had taken his blood, but with everything going on, he still figured it was because SMii7y rarely stood out in the sun.

"I'm…fine," Kryoz murmured, keeping SMii7y against his chest. "I shouldn't have done that. You shouldn't have put SMii7y in danger!" He glared at the back of Basil's head.

"I need to know how far you're gone when you're in the Feral state," Basil said as if it were as simple as that. He always had a nonchalance to him, and Kryoz figured it was because of his old age. Maybe he really didn't care, or it was all some type of sick experiment.

"Fuck off, I could've killed him! An Orion agent, you already said that Cypress coming here was bad enough, if he dies—"

"If Jaren Smith dies, Erebus would be here by now, hunting me down, and separating every known vampire, werewolf, and witch that's in the area." Basil sighed deeply. "They only go for people like me. And since they'll deem Orion not suitable to handle the clans and coven's, they'll keep Cypress in place until Orion is consumed by it. You're an interesting part of this, so they'll handle you in careful experimentations until they have no real use for you anymore. Sebastian Warren will obviously be killed by the end of this, which only makes sense if we find him before that all ends up happening."

He always sounded sure of himself, and Kryoz was getting a little tired of hearing it. Sure, it made sense, but if Erebus was coming into the city, they wouldn't simply go for Basil, they'd take the leader's of each of the clan's and coven's. It wouldn't even matter who died when or how, they'd all be separated.

Did this happen before? It seemed likely that it did, and maybe not recently since Basil wasn't completely bothered by the possibility.

Kryoz on the other hand was a fledgling vampire who can barely stomach other people's blood.

He was eager for this to end as much as anyone. He just felt his end was different.

SMii7y remained sleeping for the duration of the drive, and by the time they reached a rather nice house, it reminded him a lot of Nicholas'. Three stories, clean and relatively well kept, and quiet. There was a gate that kept others from coming in, and Jordan had to speak into some sort of comm to address that they've arrived for the meeting Basil and his witch, Gabriel, had put together.

"Why here?" Kryoz asked him.

"It's safer," Basil answered, as if that was meant to mean anything. Kryoz said nothing else, of course, because how should he know what place was safe or not. Maybe he was better off remaining in the car.

"The Orion agent wants to speak with Lila. we'll give him what he wants," Darlene said, smiling warmly at him and looking down at SMii7y's sleeping face.

Kryoz has been holding tight to him since they picked him up. And now that they were here, he wasn't even sure if he wanted to wake him up yet.

"I never thought vampires could be this…territorial," Darlene said.

"Not many are," Basil said with a sigh. "After a hundred years or so, some allow themselves to move on from the idea of keeping people together. But they would also have to be my age to get to that point."

Kryoz wondered if that's why certain vampire coven's were always kept close to one another, like a small hive of bees. It also reminded him of the witches', but he wasn't sure about asking Gabriel about who he was associated with.

Jordan stopped the vehicle behind another, and Kryoz spotted a pink haired girl standing ominiously off to the side. Her face gave little away besides patience as she kept her eyes placed on Basil who was getting out of the car.

"Who is that?" Kryoz asked when the passenger side door closed.

"Skyler," Jordan answered him with a yawn. "A loyal follower of Basil."

"Like the rest of you?"

Jordan scoffed. "Yes, like the rest of us."

Kryoz ignored the sarcasm in his voice. It was quite obvious they were all good friends with Basil. But surely one or two of them must think far more highly of him for being quite older than most vampires.

"Her coven died out about two hundred years ago," Darlene said, shrugging as the three of them watched them have a conversation. Another car appeared behind theirs, and Gabriel stepped out, along with another man. He had short black hair and a pale face, a scowl was on his lip, and his hands were tucked in his black sweater. He did not look like he wanted to be there.

"He brought in Reed too?" Darlene said, shifting in her seat and leaning close.

Jordan rolled down the passenger side window a bit. "Maybe he thought you wouldn't help if he asked."

"I would've."

"Loyal follower," Kryoz muttered.

"Jen might not like the blood, you'll have to wash up the vampire," the man, Reed, said. He glanced at the window where Kryoz was behind it with SMii7y in his lap. Kryoz didn't look away until the man pulled his attention back to Basil.

"I'd like to speak to her about something before we head in, but Gabriel, I need to make sure this entire area is well kept and secure, I don't want anyone else knowing we're here," Basil said.

Gabriel nodded. "No Reaper's, what happened to his friend?"

"Gone, it doesn't matter," said Basil, looking at the pink haired vampire. "Inform Jen that only three of us are going in, the rest will stay out here." Skyler nodded and headed for the front door to the estate and entered swiftly.

Jordan rolled the rest of the window down as Basil peeked inside, looking straight at Kryoz. "Wake the human, tell him what is about to happen. I don't want him getting the wrong idea either. And after all this is over, he is leaving alone. Do you understand, I don't want to sneak you out of Orion's sub-basement. If Cypress is coming in, they'll let Charon dissect you."

Well, that was not a nice imagery, and Kryoz began to prod at SMii7y, whispering his name and watching his eyes flutter open.

"W-where are we?"

"You wanted to talk to the witch, so…here we are."

Chapter Text

"What happened to being correct?"

"I never said it was the truth."

Brock smiles within his bed, his legs hung from the side while he was checking his phone. He seemed a lot better the last time Brian had seen him, and like most people like Brock, he wanted to get up and start moving again.

"Have you told them about it?"

"They can figure it out on their own."

Brock continued looking at his phone. "You mentioned that it's not enough anymore. What do you mean by that exactly?"

"It's not enough," Brian said, shrugging. "I thought it would be enough, but it's not. They've held out for far too long. It won't work this time around."

Brock placed his phone down and met his eyes. His head tilted slightly, confusion filling his eyes. "You'll let them wander about…just like that?"

Brian stepped closer, nodding. "Just like that.

"Where are we?" SMii7y asked. He was a little groggy when the door opened, and he stepped out with Kryoz right behind him. His hand was placed on his side at first before moving along his arm.

"Jen Weaver's," Kryoz said, a slight rasp in his voice.

SMii7y was still trying to figure out how he got here, and who the people around him were. His memory remained a bit blurry. He was cold and weary, his legs were shaking as if he had ran for too long or if he was simply hungry. When was the last time he ate? It's been awhile since he really had to ask himself these interesting questions since they rarely came to mind. Was it really that rare though? Should he be concerned about that particular issue, even while he was seemingly surrounded by other vampires and werewolves.

His gaze kept finding Basil who was speaking to two other people. The man that owned the red car, and the witch that trapped SMii7y in a circle earlier.

"You don't have to stay there long." A woman had stepped over to them, her gaze solely on Kryoz who remained behind SMii7y. "You can always come back out. I'm sure the Orion agent can deal with this along with Basil."

"I don't know, I'm not sure if I want to leave him there," Kryoz said.

John's voice sounded so far away, and SMii7y was trying to grasp a hold of it. Of anything, since he wasn't feeling well. Colder and warmer, and strained all over, as if his clothes didn't perfectly fit him.

He felt this way before. Weakened at one point, when he allowed Kryoz to bite him, to taste his blood, and to later watch him throw it up. What a strange turn of events, if only he can ask Brock why this was happening, but maybe the point was the Feral Virus changing within him. Maybe it didn't look the same as it did earlier.

Wait, then why did…

SMii7y took a few deep breaths and shakily touched his neck. Brian wasn't here, he had left seconds before…before…it happened.

Dried blood, crusting on his skin. He looked down at his white shirt, and there was blood on the front, soaked into most of the collar. He did not look professional in the least.

Even his sweater was stained a bit. He zipped it all the way, fixing the outside buttons while Basil finished speaking to his coven members ? He might have to ask about who these people were to each other.

"Come on," Kryoz said to him as comfortingly as he could.

SMii7y wanted to know for awhile where Kryoz had gone off too, and now he was acting as if they've been with each other since he left Orion. That was another violation, but he couldn't find it in himself to speak a bunch of terms to a group of people who didn't belong to certain kinds of covens and clans within the city.

At least until they were reaching the front doors of Jen Weaver's house. He had been here once before, but that was awhile ago. He didn't have enough of his memory to care, and she rarely made trouble with anyone.

A girl stood at the front door, she had opened it and was smiling warmly at Basil who stepped past her.

"Hello, Skylar, nice seeing you again," SMii7y said.

Her smile dropped at the sight of him, but he didn't take it to heart as he and Kryoz entered the house. The door closed behind them, Skylar remained on the other side. Maybe not all of Basil's people were meant to enter. Sooner or later, Orion might've given Jen a warrant to search her house, or even ask to be spoken to about what was going on. It didn't really cross SMii7y's mind. Jen didn't seem completely aware and was better off.

He almost wanted to ask why all vampire houses had this cold feeling inside of them. Most vampire clans kept to themselves, or close by to one another. But since the Feral Virus became known, the vampire leaders had all members remain in doors.

So, walking along a hallway with a tall ceiling made everything seem cold and otherworldly. Her walls were painted eggshell white, and there were several paintings on the walls that possibly depicted older vampires from her clan, maybe past leaders.

Her former leader passed the mantle off to Jen about sixty years ago. But SMii7y didn't know every little piece of history amongst the vampires. He didn't think too highly of that just yet.

"Is Lila Woods here?" SMii7y asked, looking at the back of Basil's head.

"The witch, Gabriel, brought her here," Kryoz said, whispering to him, still holding onto SMIi7y's arm as if he were an anchor or a prisoner.

SMIi7y felt more of a prisoner, and he almost wanted to tell Kryoz that there was no way in hell he'd be able to escape a group of vampires and werewolves. Although, from the girl outside with the moon necklace, he was thinking she was the only wolf around, but the man with the dark hair who stood off to the side like a shadow made him think he was another one too. The scents were all different, cold and indifferent, and far too warm with a strange musk scent. Maybe even sweat, but he wasn't sure if vampires and werewolves can go through the same issues as human's do. He was sure some have more of an amplified nature. He should look into this later.

SMIi7y shook his head, trying to get himself out of this brain fog while they continued walking down the hall to the staircase that led into a dark basement. He clutched onto Kryoz' hands this time around since there weren't any lights, and the last thing he'd want is to fall down these steep stairs into oblivion.

"Why did you bite me?" SMii7y whispered to him. John's hands were cold to the touch, as if he sunk his hands into a bowl of ice water.

"I…that was a mistake, I'm sorry about that," Kryoz said, chuckling nervously.

SMii7y wanted to see the look on his face, but he was relieved that Kryoz was okay after all this time. Many questions ran through SMii7y's mind, wondering over and over again of where he had been, and why he hadn't come to him? It had to be Basil's doing, maybe he convinced Kryoz not to wander off, and that they were expecting to find Lila Woods anyway.

The descended the rest of the stairs and entered a few dark rooms. He really had no idea if there were more people down here besides the ones he had come down with. If anything, the vampires could be sitting around like spiders, watching them idly as they wandered by.

That was not a good image and it crawled nervously up SMii7y's spine.

It seemed after all this time, Kryoz was actually fitting in easily with the vampires and werewolves. Maybe he was better off like this, and SMii7y really didn't have anything to worry about. After all this ends, then what was gonna happen, will Kryoz pick a vampire clan to fall into, or will he disappear along with Basil?

Those thoughts came to a startling end when a bright light flashed most of them, and he heard the groans coming from Basil and Kryoz.

"What the fuck?" SMii7y murmured.

"Sorry about that, boys," a woman said, chuckling amusingly at the three.

SMii7y blinked his eyes a few times, and recognized the short dark haired woman standing off to the side near the lamp she had turned on. She was a bit taller than SMii7y, maybe about Basil's height. She wore black coat and jeans, and she had a hand on her hip.

Her gaze was focused on the other person sitting inside the room.

SMii7y looked from Jen Weaver to the girl sitting on the floor, curled up against the stone wall. Manacles kept her where she was, and seemingly, she couldn't escape it even if she wanted to.

"Your witch is quite powerful, Basil," Jen said.

"If only Gabriel was down here to hear the praise from you, Ms. Weaver," Basil said, his eyes stayed firm on the girl.

She looked about twenty years old with straight blonde hair, her face was pale, and there was a pinkish pallor on her cheeks. She was wincing from the bright light that the rest of them were assaulted with a moment ago.

"It has been some time, Jaren Smith."

He glanced at Jen Weaver, a small smile pulled at the edge of his mouth. "It has, hasn't it? Orion's been unable to get anyone inside the house, I'm surprised you're able to let me in."

"Promises, promises," Jen said, grinning. "The witch might know where Sebastian Warren is. If you can get something out of her, then every clan and coven inside the city might not be so afraid anymore."

He was more surprised after it was said that they allowed John inside the house. Maybe Basil didn't tell Jen about John being infected with the Feral Virus, or maybe they hoped to reveal him to Lila Woods that…

The girl was staring at John with fascination. "Y-You're…alive. You're actually alive! I knew it! I told him…many times, that there was someone out there…that could take it! And you did it, you're a brand new fledgling, Sebastian's! He'll be so happy!" She squealed, seemingly ignoring her current predicament.

John was mildly uncomfortable and stepped into the shadows of the room to flee from the girl's excitement.

SMii7y sighed and stepped toward Lila Woods. He knelt down a foot from where she was sitting. "My name is Jaren Smith, I'm an agent of Orion, and I have a few questions for you about Sebastian Warren."

Chapter Text

He took out his recorder so he would listen to it later. There were so many questions already running through his mind, but one thing kept coming back to him.

The scribbled writing that Jonathan made had Lila Woods name on it. Wouldn't that mean at one point, she'd end up dead.

"Come on, Orion, we don't have a lot of damn time," Jen Weaver said. She's the vampire leader of House Weaver. She stood near the bright light that was screwed to the wall. Her arms were crossed, watching intently with her reddish orange eyes.

The rest behind SMii7y was John, the strange feral vampire who was more or less afraid of the witch that was in front of SMii7y, and curious at the same time. Surely, he wanted to get a bit closer to learn why he was targeted. The witch herself, Lila, kept staring eagerly at John like some sort of specimen that had yet to die. Maybe that was what was going through her mind, either way, they weren't exactly here for John,

Basil was the other one inside the room. Bored and placid in his demeanor, arms crossed, always so patient, but whatever was in his head confused SMii7y. He knew the dangers of what was going on, and he stayed anyway. Although, SMii7y found him far more efficient than most people he knew, besides SMii7y's boss who was blowing up his phone.

"Where is he?" SMii7y asked her steadily. "Where is Sebastian Warren?"

"He's not here," Lila said, giggling, her eyes remained fixed on John who was seemingly trying to hide behind Basil near the doorway.

"Well, that is quite obvious," Jen murmured.

SMii7y did his best to ignore the bystanders. "When was the last time you've seen Sebastian Warren?"

"Mmm…a week ago."

SMii7y tapped his leg, trying to think of what happened a week ago. All he could think was the fact that Marcus and QUintin were killed, but he also thought about Brock getting attacked by Kryoz. That wasn't a week ago, it was only a few days ago. SMii7y couldn't believe it hadn't been that long.

"A week ago?"

She nodded slowly.

"What were you two doing?"

Lila glanced at him, a grin appearing on her lips. "Guess, smart guy."

"Where has he been holed up this entire time? He must know that he's a wanted man."

"He knows, but it's not what he cares about," she said, sliding her eyes back over to Kryoz who remained behind Basil. "I wonder what his bite can do to a vampire centuries old."

Basil said nothing, and SMii7y guessed he wasn't gonna respond to the witch who didn't seem all that bothered about being in someone's basement. He figured she would start crying and begging, but she seemed at ease.

"From what we can understand, only a witch could conjure something like this to the surface, what was the point in making the feral virus for Sebastian Warren?" SMii7y asked her. "I'm guessing it must be because he wants his coven back, am I wrong?"

Lila finally looked at him, which told him enough of the answer, but he needed it vocalized.

"He lost his a long time ago, I only wanted to make it a reality," Lila said, staring into SMii7y's eyes.

"It backfired," Jen said.

Lila glanced down at the ground. "It wasn't supposed to."

"It did," SMii7y said, watching her. "Not only did it backfire, but it took a few people with it. Did you know that it would do that, or was it something Sebastian hoped to achieve?"

Lila shook her head. "No. No…he said it wasn't part of the plan. It was never, never part of the plan. He said that he only wanted what he lost a long time ago." She pulled her legs to her chest, shuddering. "I only wanted to help him achieve it."

SMii7y glanced back at Basil, his gaze flicked to John, and to a girl standing in the darkness. HIs brows furrowed, confused of who she was, but everyone else didn't seem to notice her. She was staring at Lila.

"Seven people have died since this all started," SMii7y told her, returning his attention to Lila Woods. His finger tapped against his leg, he wanted to remain calm while questioning her, hoping she would spill about where Sebastian was.

"Eight," John said, clearing his throat.

SMii7y ignored him. "Vampires, werewolves, a witch," SMii7y said. If only he had more information about the witch who had recently died and he wondered why she was even there in the first place. He hoped to speak more about this with Evan, if he ever got the chance to get to that point. He still needed to talk to Tyler about these new events, and thinking about work was giving him a migraine. "Including a human, all infected by the Feral Virus."

Lila let out a short laugh, a smile twitched on her face. "The human…was a good experiment."

"Why do you say that?" Basil asked, finally speaking up after the last five minutes of his silence. Although, from here on out, SMii7y wished everyone would remain quiet while he interrogated Ms. Lila Woods. His work had to keep its integrity.

"The vampire died first, the werewolf died next." Lila shrugged her shoulders. She had this almost stuck up expression on her face. The fear that had been there was now gone, and she leaned her back against the cold rock of her current prison. She stared at SMii7y for a second, her gaze passing Jen Weaver, to Basil, and falling quick upon John Keyes who kept his presence near the doorway. "He only wanted to see what would happen to a human. Not his fault that he died so quickly. But…Sebastian doesn't know, does he? Not yet. And when he does…"

"He's not going to know," John said, sneering.

"How could he not?" she asked him.

"John is deteriorating," SMii7y said to her, hoping to watch her expression falter, but her eyes landed on him. She seemed almost thoughtful before nodding her head. "Even when turned, the virus continues its rampage through his body. He's not dead. They're usually dead after…a few hours."

"Days," Jen said, crossing her arms. "Eva Young lasted the longest out of all who were bitten by Sebastian."

SMii7y would like to know how she knew that, but there was no point in asking anyone else any more questions about that.

Lila shrugged, glancing away from Jen as if she didn't matter to her. "From what I know, Donna Kay died not too long after. A few hours. Sebastian was testing, that's all."

SMii7y didn't like the sound of that, he had seen first hand what happened to the bodies afterwards. "Besides the vampires and werewolves who expired quite quickly because of the bite. What about the witches who died?"

"What about them?" Lila asked in an almost snobbish voice.

He almost wanted to think that she was trying to distance herself emotionally from the dead, but he really wasn't sure about that at this point. "Serenity Christian was found dead in a house. She has no past drug use, nor any enemies of any kind that could go after her in such a way. Leaving her lifeless inside an abandoned house. Aurora Sharpe was also killed, a few hours ago, actually." He sighed, shifting slightly. "She was found in a similar manner, not a house, but a park."

Lila stared at him for a moment, shaking her head slightly. "I have no idea what you're insinuating."

"I'm not insinuating anything, not yet," SMii7y said. "Did you kill them?"

"No."

"Lila, they were not bitten by either a werewolf or vampire, they were killed by magic," he said to her. He recalled the short phone call he had with Evan, but he also had to remind Evan, including Brian when he was stuck inside the magic circle earlier, that he had seen witches dead before.

It was rare, far rarer than the vampire and werewolf clans. The witches were more forgiving, but when they betrayed each other, they all had a speciality. It was easy to know who did what, and to pinpoint the person who used the magic. Besides, Lila Woods belonged to the Oak Spirit Coven, her leader was Vivienne Cane, and Vivienne figured it would be Lila.

The magic that created the Feral Virus also had the added defect when used against others. It wasn't perfect.

The witches died in a similar manner.

Lila Woods killed them, but for what reason?

"I didn't kill them," Lila said. "I wasn't near any of them when it happened. You can't blame me for that. I don't even know Serenity Christian."

"When did you find her?" SMii7y asked, glancing at Jen and Basil.

"Nick said she was on the street," Basil said, looking at Jen who was staring down at SMii7y.

"He brought her in this morning," Jen said, glancing at Lila. "I do wonder where you came from afterwards. We can bring Nicholas down here, ask him what direction you were walking to and from, and well…the Orion agent knows someone who was there."

SMii7y returned his attention to Lila. "I have friends in Charon who picked up the body, Lila. This whole thing can become a process you won't like."

"I didn't kill her," she said, tense, without looking at any one of them.

"You didn't know Serenity, but you knew Aurora," SMii7y said, hoping to stay calm. He was getting tired again, his body sluggish. For a second, his ear started to ring, and it irritated him. He wasn't sure if it was because of the girl in the shadows. He didn't want to look back to see if she was there.

"I didn't kill her either," she said, stubbornly.

"Did Aurora find out what happened?" SMii7y asked her. "Did she figure it all out, what you and Sebastian were doing all this time?"

"You're assuming things, and it means nothing," she said, glaring.

"The only reason I'm bringing this up, Lila," SMii7y said, calm and careful, watching her intently while she looked away from his gaze, her uncomfortable feeble position did nothing to him. He felt nothing for her, for any of this, and he just wanted to go home. "Is that there is no way a witch would do this for a measly vampire like Sebastian Warren?"

"Measly?" she scoffed. "You don't even know him."

"You do, though, don't you?" he asked, lowering his voice slightly. "You know him quite well. You spent time with him. You did this all for him. Some dangerous spell, to warp whatever was happening with him? You made him into something, a virus, feeding on others, killing them all. The only one who survived it is a human who is dying much slower than all your test subjects before him."

Lila glanced warily at John. "They weren't supposed to die."

"William Gray has a coven of his own," Jen said, sounding like she was about to step forward and hit Lila. "Donna Kay, Eva Young, Marcus, Quintin, they all had someone who they considered their leaders of their clans and covens, including Serenity and Aurora. Sebastian had no right in doing so. And not only that, he went after a human who didn't want this either!"

Lila shook her head, pressing her knees closer to her chest. "He lost his coven, how could I not help him!?"

One confession, they only needed the other.

"What about Serenity and Aurora?" SMii7y asked, hoping to keep calm while Jen seemed to have moved closer. He really didn't want her killing Lila Woods, not when the woman stood in the shadows, watching the scene before her spiral out.

"No, it wasn't supposed to happen!" she said, shaking her head.

"What do you mean exactly?" Basil asked. "Were they close to finding out?"

"They-they weren't supposed to find out!"

The room went quiet, and Jen sighed before walking out of the room.

"Did you want to come back with us?" Basil asked John.

SMii7y stood slowly, his knees aching from being knelt for so long. He grasped a hold of the recorder, turning it off. "It's not exactly a confession, but it's good enough for you to be taken to Orion." Tyler wasn't gonna like the fact Jen had kept Lila in her basement, but it was better now that Lila wasn't resisting against them.

"Uh, I'm not sure," John said.

The woman from the shadows stepped into the room, and mostly everyone seemed to ignore her but SMii7y and Lila.

Lila shuddered at the sight of her, pushing herself back against the wall and letting out a frightened squeak.

The girl with the dark hair and black frames came to a stop next to SMii7y. She wore several bracelets and colorful necklaces, while her clothes were mostly a black coat and jeans.

"She's not dead," SMii7y said.

"It was only a precaution," the reaper said.

SMii7y figured this was the one that Evan spoke to earlier. He didn't think she'd show up like this.

"Did you think she'd get jumped?"

"She is a girl, stuck inside a room, full of people who highly dislike her," the reaper said, a small smile on her lips. "I'm also here to monitor you."

SMii7y didn't want to hear it. "She's coming with me. You don't have to be here anymore."

"I won't be able to leave, not completely," the reaper said to him as SMii7y took the cuffs from Lila's wrists and dragged her to her feet. Lila kept her eyes away from the girl as SMii7y led her out and back upstairs.

It was too early.

Far too early.

Brian watched Brock organize his files while a few cleaner's from Charon began to fix the confinement rooms that sat across from his desk, including the other that was used to keep Kryoz inside.

"Are you going to let them stay?" Brian asked, curiously.

"No, but if Cypress integrates itself, then I have no wiggle room left in Orion," Brock said with a sigh. "I'm not against it though, if I have to stay, I'm willing to work with them. What about you?"

"Hm, what about me?" he asked.

"What are you planning to do when your work is finished?"

Brian hadn't fully thought about it. "I might stay with you, or I might find someone else to haunt."

Brock smiled at that. "I'm sure you'll figure it out. I mean, you like this whole thing, don't you?"

"It keeps me occupied."

"With Evan and Jaren, the way that they are? Are you sure keeping it from them is wise?"

Brian wasn't certain what Brock was getting at. It wasn't exactly about keeping it away from them, but the proclamation of what it meant to actually die. He just hoped they were willing to live a little during the time they bargained for.

"A flip of a coin, Brock, that's all I was able to give them."

Chapter Text

"Did you eat?" Jonathan asked, standing in the threshold to the kitchen. He wore blue shorts and a loose t-shirt, and was yawning with messy dark hair.

Evan had peered up and nodded. He tied his shoes, fixed his coat, and checked his bag. He was gonna head to work first since Jonathan had the afternoon shift, and Evan couldn't exactly ignore Tyler anymore. He's been blowing up his phone since the other night, and Evan wanted to ignore him but sooner or later, Tyler might end up on the front steps, banging his damn fist against the door. He might even break down the fucking door just to get to him.

"I guess I'll be heading out," Evan said to him, smiling softly at Jonathan. He was now leaning against the post, and Evan didn't bother resisting the need to press himself against him. Jonathan returned the smile as they kissed, and Evan had the urge to stay, but this feeling he was forced to resist.

"I'll see you later," Jonathan said to him.

Evan stepped back, feeling this twisting ache in his chest before heading out of the house. All his warmth faded from his body, and a coldness replaced it. Evan walked down the steps to his car and when he sat down, he let out a deep sigh.

"Shit," he said under his breath as he took out his phone. He asked SMii7y for a progress report about what happened the other day. He had been with Kryoz, and Basil's group, interrogating the witch, Lila Woods. She was still alive, so Jonathan's list might be wrong, or something could've changed to deter Lila from dying. Either way, the mess remained where it was and unfortunately for Evan, SMii7y wasn't telling him where Basil was.

He wanted to beg him, but doing that in front of Jonathan wasn't a good thought. He had closed his phone, ignoring Tyler's texts and calls, and slept all night. Now, he'll have to deal with the consequences he had been ignoring, and started up his car to head to Orion.

About five years ago in his early twenties, he started working at Orion thanks to Tyler's contact. He had met SMii7y around that same time. Jonathan had yet to work there, while Brock and Anthony were regulars. Whatever love story he had with Jonathan had gone smoothly over the years, they were best friends sleeping in each other's beds, spending time watching movies and having dinner together.

While his relationship with SMii7y was mostly for work, that hadn't gone exactly the way he had thought. He blocked out most of what happened a few years ago, and was trying to swallow the lump in his throat ever since.

He tapped his fingers against the steering wheel, watching the red light in front of him. It was another dreary day in the city, a bit of rain covered his car. He should've asked about Basil, pushed SMii7y to tell him where he was.

It seemed love was getting in the way. Evan didn't want to come out and say it. Maybe SMii7y didn't know about it either. Maybe he hoped that if he was on their side, they'd be able to cooperate with him.

He rolled his eyes at the thought. SMii7y should know better than that, but it seemed he really didn't.

Whatever he was trying to win over, he probably won't get what he wants. Besides, from what he knew personally is that there was no fraternizing with any of the clans, and even though John Keyes was not part of any, SMii7y couldn't go out of his way and have the kind of relationship he has with him.

Evan would like to remind him of this, but he's been ignoring his messages.

The light changed, and Evan drove the rest of the way to Orion. He tried his best to push away the stress once he got out of his car and headed for the front steps. There was a slight chill in the air that was relieved the moment he stepped through the front doors. He showed the front desk his badge as he headed for the elevator. He stood there with a few other office workers, some had gotten off on their individual floors, while Evan was more concerned with Tyler.

By the time he reached the top floor, Evan was making his way down the hall, past several rooms. He sniffled, disliking how stuffy this entire place felt as he trudged his way toward Tyler's office.

His hands were getting a little sweaty as he curled his fingers and was about to knock when the door abruptly opened.

He blinked at the sight of Tyler, well dressed in a white shirt and tie. There was a distinct laundry scent coming from the room, followed by coffee.

"Come in," Tyler said, leaving the door open as he walked back to his desk. "I was expecting you before sunrise after ignoring my messages yesterday."

"Wanted you to cool down," Evan said, closing the door and plopping into one of the seats in front of Tyler's office desk.

Tyler was staring at his laptop, a dry look in his eyes before he turned off whatever he was looking at. He glanced at Evan, a measured look and breaking it quickly as he turned away from him.

Evan's jaw clenched. "Jaren is with Basil's group, including John Keyes."

"Yes," Tyler said, clasping his hands together as he was now turned toward the window that was behind his desk, he wasn't looking at Evan anymore. "Jaren informed me about this…maybe an hour ago. That one rarely sleeps, does he? Told me enough to consider what to do with the two of you."

This isn't what Evan wanted, but he expected this type of situation to come. The conversation would've veered to being laid off one way or another, even after what he said about Cypress and Erebus. He hadn't seen anyone from that company here within Orion's building, but sooner or later, they'll make their way in like Charon did.

"Which is?" Evan asked, slumping against the chair. 

"We all make our choices one way or another, isn't that right, Evan?"

He didn't know what to say about that. "Did he say where he is?"

"No," Tyler said, sighing.

This wasn't helping him, and he can already feel the tension growing inside the room. Damn, maybe he thought he was safe from all of this, but now that things were getting to that cusp, he was realizing quickly how wrong he actually was.

"Do you want a coffee?" he asked, getting up.

"No."

Evan stared at Tyler, wondering what was going through his head before leaving the room. He would've liked it better if Tyler put up a fight. All this time knowing him, Tyler got angry, annoyed, sarcastic, but never quiet.

Not like this.

Reality was setting in. Evan walked down the hall, and smiled when he found himself on the same path as Anthony.

"Haven't seen you in awhile."

"Thought I wouldn't," Anthony said, joining him at the elevator. Evan pressed the button, and Anthony gave him a wary look. "You spoke to him?"

Evan shrugged, letting out a scoff. "Define talk. He didn't say shit."

"He's got phone calls coming in all damn morning, and a scheduled meeting with Vivienne Crane in the afternoon. He talked with Devon yesterday, and well…let's just say, that even Cypress called in about Felix Rowe's death.

Evan cursed under his breath, and when the doors opened, they both stepped inside.

"He's stressed, I get it, I really fucking get it," Evan said, sucking in a breath, trying to calm the panic he was feeling in his body. A terrible, trembling rush that made him think of his anxiety.

Maybe he did fuck up.

"You have no idea," Anthony said to him. "He spoke to Cassia Graves the other day, came out of that conversation with this…strange look on his face. Like he couldn't believe some of the things he was dealing with. The deaths piled up, they didn't come here, they go straight to Charon's facility."

"So, you think that after all this time…Orion might be over?"

"Over? I don't know about that," said Anthony.

The doors opened when they reached the main floor, and they headed for the breakroom.

"We might be sharing space with Cypress, but Erebus might…review Tyler's position, including the agents aligned with him."

"Ah, that's why he was so quiet with me," Evan said with a sigh. "I gave him nothing the other day. Didn't do what I was supposed to do, but it's not like I do it every other week."

"We have no idea what is going to happen," Anthony said, grabbing a styrofoam cup when they reached the break room. There were a few workers sitting at the tables, but they were all mostly ignored as Evan and Anthony poured themselves coffee, adding sugar cubes to their small cups.

"All I can do now is to…get Basil to come in," Evan said, sighing at the thought and the possible trouble that would come his way.

Anthony chuckled, taking a sip of his coffee. "I'd like to see the day that would happen."

"He came here twice before, on his own."

"Not for anyone but John Keyes."

Evan nodded, stirring his coffee. "Exactly."

Chapter Text

When SMii7y wakes up, he's pretty sure this is the second time he's woken up against John and inside the red car. They're the only one's inside of it, and his mind is a little hazier as he tries to grapple upon his memories.

He recalled what happened during the interrogation with Lila Woods, but even that confuses him. They took her out of Jen Weaver's house, and Basil had talked to her while SMii7y spent a few minutes with John. He had texts and phone calls, not just from Tyler, but from Evan, Jonathan, and Anthony. Out of the two, he only responds to Anthony and apologizes for being MIA.

After that, SMii7y sat in the car and fell asleep. John is right beside him, holding him gently, fingers light in his hair. When he shifts, he can feel John doing the same thing, he clears his throat once they look at one another.

"Finally got some sleep?" John asked, smiling softly.

"I don't even remember falling asleep," SMii7y said, uncertain about how long it's been. The sky had darkened since the last time he saw it. He fumbled for his phone that's tucked inside his pocket.

He has a few text messages from Tyler and Evan, but they've died down in the last few hours. Evan is asking about Basil and where he could be, and SMii7y is getting the feeling that this inquiry meant something more ever since Tyler brought up Erebus and Cypress .

He couldn't say anything just yet. There was something he needed from them, an understanding so he can locate Sebastian Warren. He almost thought Lila Woods would've fought against them, but she's been quiet ever since.

The Reaper, Asa Lee, has been staying close to her, watching over the witch. Lila didn't seem eager enough to move while being closely watched. He was glad that most living people were always scared of what would inevitably become them.

SMii7y once thought about it, but he allowed it to happen at the time. How could he not when he had felt nothing at all when he was at the brink.

"Where's Basil?" SMii7y asked, trying to get out of the car.

"Not too sure if he's still in Jen's house. He said he got an update," John said, peering out the window. His eyes at a strange sheen to them, like an animal's reflecting off light. It was easier to see in the dark for him while SMii7y struggled, he pushed open the door and clambered out.

"I need Lila Woods to come back to Orion with me," SMii7y said, placing a hand on the car to steady himself. He felt like the world was slightly tipping, he almost thought he was about to fall, even when John left the car, helping to steady him.

He really should text Tyler back. The stress must be getting to him, and the last thing SMii7y wanted was to get a message that he was fired.

He wasn't exactly banking on it, but he felt like he was pretty damn close to that conclusion.

"What about me?" John asked.

SMii7y went still, trying to connect the pieces he currently had, and the other piece was John. He was here, quiet at his side, and still an infected vampire. He couldn't exactly roam free on his own, even how much SMii7y wished he could.

His job always came first, and SMii7y had to close off everything else. Why should anything matter beyond what he wanted since he started working at Orion. He did his best to rectify his mistakes, to keep people in line, to make sure that at the end of the day, he got to go home.

"You'll have to come back with me too," SMii7y said to him. "For now, I need Lila, and maybe convince Basil to leave."

He took a step forward until John let out a bitter scoff. He stopped, glancing over his shoulder at him, his arms crossed over his chest as he frowned deeply at SMii7y.

"This doesn't have anything to do with Orion, you know that, right?" John said.

He had to wrap his mind around that measly fact. He wouldn't understand what SMii7y had to do to get to this point in his life, his career.

It was so damn easy at first, then everything slid into a ditch, making itself home.

"They just want to find Sebastian Warren, just like you and the rest of you Orion agents. That's all. Basil has enough understanding of this type of circumstance. He gets it."

SMii7y chewed on the thought, nodding slowly. "I would like to speak with him about this."

John took a step forward. "When was the last time you slept?"

"Does it really matter to you?"

"You look a bit sick."

"Just take me to Basil."

He didn't mean to sound bitter. Maybe it was the lack of sleep, the need to return to work. It was like the world was ending and he needed to do something about that. If he doesn't, then he'll find himself drowning under the weight of it all again.

They walked up to the front door of Jen Weaver's house in hopes to look for Basil, and came upon Skyler, one of Basil's vampire's. He wasn't sure if she was an official member, they all seemed like friends rather than an actual coven. She was leaned up against a wall, smiling slightly at the sight of John. Her hands were tucked behind her while she leaned against the doorpost. She told John that Reed showed up and Basil has been talking to him for awhile at the front gate.

He had no idea who Reed was, and John didn't know either besides telling SMii7y that Basil brought people in to deal with Sebastian Warren. He was too tired to tell him that this wasn't meant for outside interference and it was Orion's issue. However, with Cypress and Erebus making itself known, he wasn't sure if it even mattered anymore. It took too long to track Sebastian down. He's still hiding out somewhere, and SMii7y only wanted a clue to find out if he left or not. With Lila's presence, he wasn't sure if her clinginess was vice versa.

They walked down the driveway, a bit of curve to the front gate. Basil and Jordan were talking to a tall pale man with dark hair. He had his arms crossed and wore a disgruntled expression. He wore jeans and a leather black jacket.

At least it wasn't Basil's witch, SMii7y wasn't interested in getting stuck inside another magic circle.

"I think he's a werewolf," John said, sniffing the air a bit. "A bit of a dog."

The man glanced over, narrowing his eyes at John. Basil didn't even look, while Jordan was yawning a bit.

"John, Jaren, this is Reed, he's replacing Darlene while she calms a few faction's downtown, they heard about Cypress coming in, no one really wants to end up picked up by that organization," Basil introduced in a flat tone. "Reed, John is Sebastian's only living fledgling. Jaren is an Orion agent who is currently not arresting any of us."

"Are you more focused on Sebastian?" Reed asked SMii7y.

"I'm also interested in knowing the whereabouts of Landon Clarke. He killed a vampire, I want to know the reason for his actions." And if he'll be able to get him back to Orion. He probably won't come nicely.

"I spoke to his pack leader, Devon Fairstone, recently," Reed said, glancing at Basil. "Ever since Marcus Wright was killed, Devon had more of his wolves hunt Sebastian down. It's bad enough his second is dead, and his third might end up with Cypress. Devon is handling this much easier than the other clans."

Randall Carson was still mourning William Gray.

The vampires were all over the place.

Things are getting worse, not just for them.

"Where is he?"

Reed shrugged. "No idea."

"Are we able to find him through a witch?" SMii7y asked, hoping he was able to hide his impatience. He was well aware he'll have to speak with Tyler, but no one else needed to know what was happening until SMii7y found Landon. "She can stay with you for the time being." He glanced at Basil who gave a short nod.

"If she'll allow this to happen," said Basil.

"Let's go grab her," Jordan said to John, and the two of them walked back to Jen Weaver's house.

"Friends with the Reaper inside?" Basil wondered.

SMii7y shook his head.

Reed took out his phone from his jacket pocket and answered it. He stepped back, turning slightly and speaking in a low tone.

"Devon Fairstone," Basil said to SMii7y, glancing at him. "About Cypress and Erebus…"

"I don't know enough, but I'm pretty sure the containment of Sebastian Warren will calm them down," SMii7y said. Yet, he wasn't really sure either. He rubbed his hands together and sighed. The world felt liquidity, the ground was soft under his feet, as if he was going to fall through. He shook his head of those thoughts, hoping to remain where he was instead of getting lost in old memories.

"So, you're not sure whether they'll come here or not, from the way things are going, I think they'll come here anyway," Basil said. "I'd like to have this cleaned up quickly, and leave before they arrive. The last thing I'd want to deal with is their organization's getting in the way. Orion was lenient towards the vampires and werewolve's. Beyond that will only make things worse. Even for me, since they do have more witches on their end."

"Landon can't be harmed," Reed said, hanging up the phone and tucking it back into his jacket. "Devon wants more information, and he'd like Landon not to be taken to Orion just yet."

"He killed Felix Rowe, I have to take him to Orion, if I hold out on apprehending him, then this is just more fuel for Cypress. At this end, it won't matter what Devon wants," SMii7y said, hoping he didn't sound like he was coming off whiny. He was still a bit tired, even if he slept for awhile.

"It's what he wants, maybe a short conversation, Devon is a better alpha to his wolves than most," Reed said.

"Did he tell you that?" Basil asked, arching his brow in question.

SMii7y turned at the sound of Jordan and John escorting Lila Woods over to them. She was hugging herself, and almost looked petulant. Jen had given her a better room to sit in than the basement. Skylar was walking behind them, while the Reaper was keeping her distance.

"This better be good," Lila said, glaring at SMii7y. "Or are you taking me to Orion?"

"Well, you're a witch, and I'm wondering…if you're able to find Landon Clarke?"

"Who?" she said, grimacing.

"The third to Devon Fairstone."

"Us witches don't partake in the wolves."

"And yet Sebastian killed William first," said Jordan, shaking his head in disbelief.

SMii7y sighed. "We just need a general clue of where he is. If you're able to pinpoint where he is, then…?" he said, a bit skeptical.

"You do have wolves with you," she said, glancing at Reed. "You'll do nicely."

"For what?" Reed asked. He appeared he didn't want to touch a witch, and seemed fine where he was standing.

"I need a conduit. Vampires and the human won't help, nor your…Reaper will either," she said, narrowing her eyes to the left.

Asa Lee was standing in the shadows a few feet behind them. She gave no indication of caring what Lila said.

"Fine," Reed said, shaking his head. He stepped closer, glancing at Basil.

"You'll be okay, witches are known to find other wolves…but the connection itself will be shaky since he is not part of your coven," Basil said, shrugging.

Lila touched Reed's hand, and took it firmly as she closed her eyes.

"Did anyone die while I slept?" SMii7y asked the Reaper.

"A lot of people died," Asa Lee said in her flat voice, "but if you're more concerned about this city, then no. I'm appointed to the witches. They're all currently alive. The vampires and wolves seem alright as well. Are you alright?"

SMii7y tensed. "I'm fine."

John was frowning at SMii7y. "She really doesn't bug you or anything?"

"Does her presence make you feel as if there's bugs under your skin?" SMii7y asked, smiling. "Human's are more…relinquished of control with Reaper's. I'm sure you've seen one when you died too."

"I don't recall…"

"He was turning into a vampire when he died," Asa Lee answered, staring at SMii7y from afar, but her voice was like a wind against his ears. "Reaper's don't need to entangle themselves in a soon-to-be vampire. Although, you did have one with you."

Right, he has yet to see Brian, maybe he went to bother Evan or Brock. He really should call them again.

Lila cleared her throat. "Landon is sleeping in a park, he's pure white, beautiful yellow eyes."

"Wolf form? He must be cold." Jordan chuckled to himself.

"That doesn't exactly narrow things down," Basil said to Lila.

She took in a deep shaky breath. "A few blocks away, past a school, there's a pathway, it's dark…there's no one there."

"Is that good enough?" Reed asked, looking at Basil.

"It'll have to be, he's asleep, he ain't going anywhere," said Basil.

Reed dragged his hand out of Lila's, scowling at her.

SMii7y, however, was not finished. He looked at Lila, watching her trying to focus. "You're coming with us, and I want to see Landon myself," he said, meeting Basil's eyes. "There is something else this witch can do for us."

"Let's go then," said Jordan, already heading back to his car.

SMii7y watched most of them walk off, and he took his phone out, and dialed Jonathan's number. If there's anyone he needed to speak to about this growing issue, it was going to be him.

Chapter Text

Evan tapped his fingers on the table, staring at the coffee maker. He's been overthinking about what was about to happen to Orion, and where he was gonna be sent if they didn't think he was right for this job anymore. They might just fire him, and he wasn't sure if that was a good thing yet.

He was hoping to speak with Tyler again, but the last time they spent a few minutes in each other's space, he knew that Tyler was irrevocably enraged about the developments with the vampire and werewolf clans. He wanted Basil in Orion, but that was proving difficult to give.

Besides, he had looked into the situation with Erebus, and they were actually getting their people closer to Orion. He already spotted a few of their agents here and there; they had an insignia of an Ouroboros on the front of their coats which indicated who they were. Most people weren't aware of them as much as others weren't aware of Orion or even Cypress.

He took his cup and went to see Brock. He heard that he was a lot better after he spent some time in the infirmary. He was a workaholic, so all he wanted to do was to stay in his office. He reached the elevator, rode it down to the third floor and headed along the mostly empty hallway. He only saw researchers and scientists on certain floors, this one held at least three, including Brock.

Evan knocked on the door and tried the doorknob, but he was confused why it wasn't opening. He knocked again. Brock should be here, but maybe he had gone home. He scoffed, as if Brock would go home when there were better things to do, like his work he hadn't been able to touch since Kryoz had attacked him.

"Brock, are you in there?" Evan asked, knocking on the door.

He heard nothing.

"Come on, Brock, I know you're in there," Evan said, knocking again, a bit harder to emphasize he didn't really want to go anywhere. But fuck, if he wasn't in his office, where would he be?

His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he pulled it out, arching a brow at Delirious' name and picture before answering it. "Hey." He turned and began making his way back to the elevator.

"Sorry for bothering you…"

"No, it's fine, I was about to bother Brock, but he isn't answering," Evan said, pressing the elevator button and stepping inside the second the doors slid open.

 "I just got a text from SMii7y…he wants me to meet him at a park," Jonathan said, sounding a little nervous.

Evan's brows furrowed. Curious and confused, but wondering if this was something he can take advantage of. He knew SMii7y must be with Kryoz, and essentially, Basil. That was the only other reason why he didn't return to Orion yet. And why Tyler was pissed off. They were all on a precipice of losing everything, and it looked like SMii7y cared little for it. On the outside, it seemed like it. "Why?"

"I don't know. He said he had some sort of lead on the werewolf issue, so he wants me to go to the park," Jonathan said, sighing. "I wanted to tell you in case you're still on the whole Basil thing."

"I am," Evan said, taking a sip from his coffee and pressing the button to the main floor. His anticipation is growing, everything slowly coming together. "What park?"

Jonathan told him where he was meeting SMii7y, and Evan made sure that Jonathan didn't say anything to him. He knew SMii7y had some sort of bond with Kryoz. He didn't question it, there was a lot that he didn't yet understand about what was actually going on with them, but the last thing Evan needed at the moment was to lose his job over it.

He walked out of Orion and went for his car parked in the parking lot. He didn't receive any notice from anyone else, which was fine with him. He also had a gun in the back that was meant to take out certain types of vampires and werewolves. He knew that SMii7y wanted the werewolves which is why he was working with the vampires, but it didn't do any of them any good if they didn't do what they were supposed to.

And Evan wanted to keep his job.

He drove to the location, ignoring the sight of the bridge and the lake beneath him. There was this sudden chill making its way up his spine, but he ignored it as he continued his way toward the park.

All he needed was Basil to come back, whether he liked it or not. And this was the only time he was probably going to get the chance to do it.

The chill over his body wouldn't go away, and he thought about something Jonathan had brought up to him once. He had a few dreams over time that became concerning for him. Dreams that told him what he was supposed to do. Of course they weren't obvious, so he'd always have to guess what they'd ultimately be.

Sometimes it would be a case, either vampire or werewolves. The witches wanted nothing to do whatever he could be, but they did tell him he had prophetic abilities, which had surprised Evan because why would they need him for anything, at least not until recently when they wrote down the victims of Sebastian Warren.

But with time, things can change, so he didn't think that the people written on the page would inevitably die, but he was a little more interested in Jonathan's dream.

The first time it…happened.

Jonathan dreamed of ice in the summer, cold water drenched over a dying body. He dreamed of a sun that was covered by clouds, and he was unable to do anything about it.

The only way Evan could handle such a dream was to find token's, and they were exceptionally rare.

He parked on the side of the curb and got out quickly. He opened the back part of his car and took out the case with the weapon inside. He made sure he had two other bullets on him, while another remained inside the chamber.

He'd have to be careful around here since there were vampires and werewolves in the area. With a deep sigh, he headed for the park, checking for the street where SMii7y or Jonathan's car would be. He didn't see any of them, which made him think they could be parked on the other side.

It was getting late, so the darkness should help him with sneaking up on the group. If he's able to do that without getting caught. He wouldn't mind waiting for SMii7y to find the werewolf and ask him his questions about the recent death.

Then afterwards, Evan will secure his future with Orion and remain employed instead of fired. He'll just have to deal with the aftermath of what SMii7y will eventually feel about his whole situation when he hauls Basil back to Orion.

As he walked to the end of the road, and crossed to the next, he stepped onto the grass and entered the park. There was a cold chill once more making its way up his spine, and he felt something warm all over before he reached up and touched his nose.

His brows furrowed at the feeling of wetness at his fingertips, and stopped where he was, covered in shadow of a tall tree as he stared down at the dark liquid staining his fingertips.

"What the fuck," Evan said, heart racing at the sight. He tucked his gun into his pocket so he can use his free hand to touch his neck. There was always an onslaught of other symptoms, but all he got was blood. He wiped it on his sweater and continued into the park.

He can hear other people speaking, and he slowed his steps, making sure he wasn't about to make any notable noises that could gain their attention. He just needed Basil, no one else.

SMii7y and Kryoz was there, they were louder than the rest, while some he didn't recognize. He glanced about and spotted Basil standing off to the side, hands tucked into his pant pockets. Oddly enough, he looked far more comfortable and suitable for who he was, he gave off an air of boredom in the presence of werewolves and vampires.

Landon was no longer in wolf form and was pulling his clothes on, talking to SMii7y and the group. Evan watched Basil from where he was, keeping a hold on the gun, and hoping he wasn't about to lose his job if he missed.

It was either going to be him, or Cypress and Erebus will make quick work with Basil.

A noise made most of them look toward a different direction, which had Evan's heart pounding inside his chest. He almost thought they were all going to look his way and see what he was about to do. He had stayed immensely quiet, gun still fixed on Basil while SMii7y had asked Landon something, and Evan figured this was the end of that conversation. All that mattered was to end this.

All he could think about was his work…

His job, everything he had built up, his friends, Jonathan…his life…

The same chill he had felt earlier became colder all throughout his body, making him uncomfortable with his growing decision. He counted to ten, letting himself grow calmer as the night continued to fall, darkening each of them into shadow.

5…6…7…8…9…10…

He pressed down on the trigger, and shot the dart at Basil. For a second, Basil had heard it, glancing over at Evan, but it was already too late for him to do anything.

SMii7y and several others, including Jonathan, looked toward where Evan now stood. He had his excuse on the tip of his tongue. 

Until he was grabbed by cold hands, dragged close to a person he didn't know was there, and an arm pressed to his neck as he was slightly lifted off the ground.

Everything he worked for…so close…

Chapter Text

Ten Minutes Before

SMii7y walked across the street where Basil was waiting, his hands tucked in his jacket pockets. He was looking over the stone railing and into the water below. He didn't want to look at the lake, recalling the frozen ice at his fingertips.

Jonathan had shown up not too long after, wrapped up in a plush blue coat and shivering. He kept his gaze away from the werewolves, vampires, and witch. Lila didn't not appear to enjoy the cold weather either. He needed confirmation, and Jonathan had nodded, telling him that it was strange there were even walking around so close like this.

And unfortunately, he told him about Evan's lack of eating lately. "Getting closer each day…you know this will happen eventually. Maybe that's why Brian has stayed away for so long. He doesn't like it either."

"It's his job."

"He appears a bit more clingier than that. But we all know what will happen…did you find another coin?"

SMii7y had shaken his head, tried to ignore those thoughts twisting around him. All that mattered was getting his work finished for the night. He'll talk to Evan in the morning.

A smile tugged on Basil's lips. "Lila said the wolf should be over there. A few good questions, and that's all you're going to get. I don't think anyone wants this to go the way you want it, Jaren."

He scoffed as they began walking towards the John, Lila Woods, Reed, Jordan, Skyler, and Asa Lee. The Reaper kept her distance, which he didn't mind, but SMii7y smiled at the sight of the vampires and werewolves giving wary looks at the Reaper. He was still wandering about Jonathan's inquiry about this situation. He had messaged him when he didn't answer his call, and had hoped he'd make his way over to the park that sat on one side of the lake. It was pretty dark out now, and he didn't see anyone wandering the park trails, a few cars had gone by, but no one bothered them as the group began to make their way deeper inside.

"Don't get close, I'm here for questions, and you'll all just get in my way," SMii7y said a little colder than usual. He hadn't slept correctly in a few days, and he was shivering within his coat. He also didn't enjoy standing near this lake, a few weeks ago, he almost got pulled underneath.

The vampires and werewolves scoffed, all of them disgruntled as he headed into the park. Jonathan had remained on the road, and he wasn't too sure if he'd follow. SMii7y knew Basil would linger behind but keeping his distance. He wasn't too sure about what he was going to do about him just yet. He'll have to tell him that he needed to return to Orion after this.

SMii7y did his best to adjust his vision in the dark as he glanced around. The all white wolf should've been easier to spot, but he had been harmed not too long ago. He shouldn't be moving around. But with SMii7y's added information about werewolves, they usually healed 20% slower than vampires, which was a little odd since vampires were walking zombies.

Nonetheless, he had to get what he needed from Landon, and that was the truth of what happened a few days ago. If he was the one who murdered Riley. He knew for a fact that Landon was the one, he just needed him to confess.

As he drew deeper within the forest, Basil had gotten closer, and SMii7y glanced over his shoulder to see the others also following behind. He didn't see Asa Lee. Maybe she stayed behind, and maybe he wasn't too concerned about the prospect of any of them dying.

Why did she linger for so long? She was only here for the witches. Was Landon dead, or did she think with this large of a group, that they were all going to kill each other? He didn't like it either. The feeling that one of these people were going to snap, and he still had to force three of them to come back with him.

"How the hell am I going to do that?" he whispered. He had been incredibly confident about his chances before, but maybe he was being delusional. Those thoughts could help him forward, but for how long? He wasn't too sure anymore.

"Up ahead," Basil said.

SMii7y sighed, looking inside the darkness and spotting a strange figure. At first, he thought it was a large white blanket, but then they stood up as if shedding it. With each step, the man had pulled on a coat. The dark saved him from decency, at least. He had also a bag with shorts, and as SMii7y and Basil walked up on him, he didn't appear threatening.

"I was wondering when Orion would come for me," Landon said. He had short dark hair, pale skin in the darkness. His eyes reflected gold before dimming to his normal eye color. He was thin, and maybe the same height as Basil who stood a few inches taller than SMii7y.

"I just need your confession, and once I get it, you'll come back to Orion with me without a fight," SMii7y said, hands tucked in his pockets, fingers wrapped around his phone. This was all that mattered. Getting to this point, hoping it would be enough before he dealt with everything else.

"A confession?" Landon scoffed.

"Yes, a vampire was found dead awhile ago…around the time you disappeared," SMii7y said. He was sure it was Landon. Why would he disappear, why not go back to his alpha? No, he knew it was him, the guilt and the shame of what he had done forced his hand so he wouldn't be able to stare Devon Fairstone in the eyes.

Loyalty goes a long way when it comes to the wolves.

"And you know it was me?" Landon wondered.

The others were getting closer, slowing their pace so they wouldn't spook the werewolf. Of course, it seems Landon didn't care about them, that there was an audience of some kind. He kept his gaze on SMii7y, always stoic and demanding respect from others. SMii7y had grown accustomed to werewolves when they did this, and over time, he didn't fear them as much. The violence, however, was unpredictable. But if Landon wants to show his support for his clan, then he won't attack an Orion agent. Besides, having Basil beside him actually made SMii7y feel less fear.

"Everyone is accounted for, but you," SMii7y said. "Felix died in the field, torn apart. Why did you kill him?"

Landon stared hard, then finally looked away, clicking his tongue. "Everything's been chaos since Sebastian Warren spread his disease amongst the vampires and werewolves. The second William Grey and Donna Kay died, everyone was on edge. Someone could be infected by what Sebastian was doing. But no one had love for him either. We were all sent into our dens, hoping he would just…give up on his endeavors, whatever it was. But that didn't happen."

Basil twitched, glancing to the side but said nothing.

"Why did you kill Felix Rowe?" SMii7y asked again.

"He and I were not infected, but it was during the time when Marcus was…he almost killed Janine on the outskirts of the town," Landon said. "I escaped. I didn't know who else was infected, and then…Felix showed up, found me with blood on my body. Asked me questions about what the wolves were going to do. I told him to mind his business, but paranoia had swept through all, and one thing led to another, and the heated dispute between us was far too violent." He shrugged. "I crossed a line."

SMii7y sighed in relief. He had his phone recording the conversation in his pocket. "It seems like you have. You'll come back with me. You'll be checked out, just in case. Your alpha will be notified and brought to you. We'll see what we can do, I'm sure under the circumstances we're all dealing with, Janine will come to some understanding."

Landon scoffed, "Let's not speak of hope and faith, not yet, Orion."

Click.

SMii7y blinked, and Basil was touching his neck as if there was something there. Landon appeared confused as he turned his head, backing away as they all heard the rustling in the leaves and grass.

What was that? SMii7y shuddered, teeth clenched at the sight of Sebastian appearing from the darkness, holding Evan, arm wrapped around his neck, keeping him lifted from the ground.

"All I have to do is bide my time," Sebastian said.

Lila had stepped out from the group, smiling at Sebastian as if he was some ancient and powerful relic she was about to worship like a cult member.

"Do be dear, sweet girl," Sebastian said to her.

She nodded, fingers raised, then she seemingly began to push downwards, and all the vampires and werewolves groaned and fell to their knees. Her smile widened as she kept her gaze heavy on Sebastian.

Evan…came here for Basil.

SMii7y's breathing was heavy, shaky, and his gaze went to Basil who was knelt down, taking out the dart. Would it be enough to force him into unconscious?

There were too many vampires and wolves here…

The recording was still going inside his pocket.

"What do you want from all of this, Sebastian?" SMii7y asked, trying to keep his voice from trembling.

Sebastian glanced at him before he turned his attention to Kryoz, a smile on his lips as the vampire struggled to stand.

"An experiment…many test subjects…all around, so rare amongst human kind…and it is vampires and werewolves combined…" Sebastian said, tilting his head, keeping Evan suspended from the ground as he choked him. "They died, of course. One after the other. I thought a powerful vampire would suffice. William Grey perished as a weak vampire like Donna Kay. I was disappointed by this point. Angry, that I couldn't seem to get it right. I bit a human man…"

"Fuck…you…" Kryoz growled.

"And he turned," Sebastian said, smiling down at Kryoz, "not only that…he remained alive for so long, the infection hasn't killed him. Maybe a few symptoms once in awhile, but it has yet to deteriorate. The experiment…survived."

SMii7y growled, hating the look in Sebastian's eyes, the way he knew that if John lived through the ordeal. Then he can easily turn other human's into his own malignant abominations.

He couldn't have that.

"One out of hundreds," Sebastian said, "no…thousands of deaths, all to come down to you. Join me…my clan, rebuild it with me. You don't have to stay with Orion, in this town, with these frightened beings. You can feed all you want."

"No!" Kryoz yelled, gutteral. "I don't want anything to do with you! You…you ruined my life, you killed me!"

Sebastian clicked his tongue, "If you really feel that way. More attached to one being and the next, then I think…I should rectify that."

SMii7y couldn't ignore the cold running through his body when Sebastian held tight to Evan, and bit hard into his neck. Evan struggled, gasping, blood leaking out from the wound as Sebastian tore through skin. Shock rippled out through SMii7y as Sebastian let Evan go and his body fell to the ground. He might've heard a choked sound coming from somewhere to his far left. Maybe it was Jonathan, a cry tearing from his throat as Evan remained unmoving.

Chapter Text

Everything in SMii7y's world came to a startling pause at the sight of Evan's body on the ground, bleeding and unmoving. It was getting cold and weak by the second. Even if he were to fall to his knees and nudge Evan, he wouldn't respond to him.

This wasn't a bite made by a vampire to turn another human. No, this was all out murder, this was worse…simply because Sebastian grew angry with Kryoz' response and killed Evan. He didn't just kill him…

Basil shook his head, growling under his breath, then he lunged forward the second Kryoz grabbed Lila, shocking her out of the reverie she had on Sebastian. SMii7y remained in the chaos, staring at Evan's body. He was shaking so bad, and his ears pricked at the sound of water nearby. The rush of it in the cold and dark, and all that mattered in front of him no longer came to mind.

He thought he could do this before the time came, maybe if he managed one more case that hadn't brought them to their knees. Then he would go happily. No more waiting it out, no more wishing they had more months, more time. They had to live with the decisions they made, and that's all that mattered now.

There was nothing else.

The second Evan died, so did everything in SMii7y.

Basil was attacking Sebastian, both of them disappearing into the darkness as the sounds of two vampires thrashing and breaking trees continued. Lila screamed, and while SMii7y winced at the sound, Kryoz had done something to her to silence her noise. Maybe he covered her mouth with his hand, knocked her out, killed her.

He didn't know, there was nothing in him that cared what any of these people did anymore. Every second of staring at Evan's body had gone cold inside of him. He can feel it even now, his hands were shaking, but there was a pain beginning to form in his legs, in his head, his mind.

His heart raced with anticipation of what was about to happen, and SMii7y felt it coming, he shuddered and bit his lip as warm tears fell from his eyes and down his face. The wolves and vampires went after Sebastian, but it was Delirious who was knelt at Evan's body, crying his name. And Kryoz, who was looking at SMii7y, asking him something.

He couldn't answer. The sounds went out, and all he could feel was his heavy breathing, his heart racing, and the rush of the water nearby.

He guessed that was it.

Everything he worked for gone in seconds, and nothing else mattered anymore. He turned away from them, the darkness, his friends, the one person he had to push away for the integrity of his self, and he began to walk away from them.

He didn't know where Brian was, he almost figured that he would be here and not Asa Lee. Maybe she figured the witch would die eventually, that she knew Lila would be killed here in the woods. Maybe it was Sebastian who would die next, maybe it would be Basil.

Of all he figured that would survive the most, it would be Evan.

But he was the first to go, and SMii7y had to go next.

There was no walking around it any longer. The shock rippled out in his body, making him shake at what had happened. It was right in his hand before slipping between his fingers. And he still couldn't do anything, and as much as SMii7y wished to cry out in hope that there was a way to save him, a way to fix everything.

He had to accept the fact that there was nothing more he could do.

SMii7y shuddered as he drew closer to the water. The lake where they died, the lake where the car had slipped and crashed through concrete and right into the ice filled water. He had struggled when the water began to fill the car, and he yelled at Evan to get out. They couldn't push the doors opened, they fought, and with the water filling their lungs.

He wished, he wanted…he cried out, and his fingers gripped onto another, and he was yanked out on frozen ice, and the sunlight shone down on them. He almost expected them to fly up like angels, but instead, a man appeared from the mist, followed by dogs that barked at them and almost chewed at Evan's leg.

He smiled, flipping a coin. "You've done well for us, and I don't think we want you to finish just yet. You can live a little longer, a year should suffice."

The coin fell into SMii7y's hand, a token of their life, a way to pay the ferry back once they were done in the life that was given to them.

SMii7y, after a year, held no coin in his grasp. Time had run out, he just didn't know how it would look. He almost hoped Brian would simply show up and take them away from their beds, and into the night, they would got wherever they'd find themselves.

He just didn't know he would watch Evan die. A tether of his own life hanging in the balance.

"There is a way to quicken death to your door," Brian told them, smiling. "If one of you dies, the other will go with you. That is the only thing I can give. Your life is now bound to each other. One goes, the other will follow."

It was enough to take the coin, take the time to live their lives. When Delirious has shown up that day, he knew they would die, he knew because the moment he touched Brian's arm, death was connected to him as much as it was connected to Evan and SMii7y.

He would be there too, a witness…

"This was always meant to happen," SMii7y said, taking his coat off and dropping it on the ground, followed by his shoes.

"SMii7y!" Kryoz called. "Hey…what do you think you're doing? Come on, you're okay…Basil is still alive, you know. He has Sebastian, and Lila…she's just on the grass in the trees. The-the vampires…are watching her. Don't…please don't go into the water."

He swallowed thickly, eyes still filled with water as he stared at the lake. He was meant to die there, he was meant to go back. He glanced over his shoulder at Kryoz, and tried to smile, "Go to Orion. Take Sebastian and Basil with you. Finish what I started. Please. Just do this for me."

He didn't listen to anything else Kryoz had said as he stepped into the cold lake, shaking from head to toe as he fell in.

He wanted to stay. He wanted to live.

But he was already dead, he's been dead for so long.

He only wished that he finished his work, retired, and gone to do something else with himself.

Everything he worked for was fading away in seconds as his body was wrapped up in the coldness of the lake. He let the water in, drowning himself along with Evan who remained dead in the park.

Maybe Brian would show up, drag Evan's body into the water next. He'd smile, give a eulogy at their grave.

SMii7y wasn't too aware now that he was drenched in water, his body stiff from the cold and dark, but there was arms wrapped around him. They held him tight as if that was enough to keep him from shivering, from dying as he choked and sank.

He didn't know what was happening, maybe it was better that he didn't know at all. He let his mind drift away into darkness, allowing it to happen anyway. At least until he choked again, on water and air this time. He was confused, his sight was blanketed by a darkness he knew too well.

"It's okay! You're okay."

The familiar voice made him groan as he tried to focus on what was happening to him. He blinked, body sluggish and shivering as he looked up at two familiar individuals right before him.

"What…what is going on?"

Kryoz was knelt down beside him, shaking along with him, his hair was sticking to his face and his mouth had blood. Eyes filled with worry as he went in and hugged SMii7y tight to his chest.

"I'm sorry," Kryoz said, panting, "I…I've never done it before."

Done what?

He blinked at Brian who was standing on the slant. It appeared he had come from the bridge not a few feet away, wearing Brock's coat and had his arms crossed. He wore a bemused smile on his lips as he looked at the two.

"W-What…what are you talking about?" he asked Kryoz, looking from him to Brian. "I'm dead, aren't I? I'm supposed to be dead!"

Brian shrugged, looking toward the trees. The sky was growing lighter, which told SMii7y he had been dead for some time, maybe the entire night. "Well, you are dead, SMii7y. I can't really get around that, now can I?"

Wait, what?

Brian sighed as he headed toward the trees. Asa Lee was standing at the top between two trees, her hands were covered in blood.

"Is Selene here too?" Brian inquired.

Asa Lee nodded slowly, "The witch, Lila Woods, is currently dead. Sebastian and Basil are alive and well, but they are gone. Landon, Skyler, and Reed, are dead too. It seems you're only here to pick up one and not two."

SMii7y felt his body shudder at what she said as Brian stepped past her. "No…no, he can't be dead!"

Kryoz held him tight, "You're okay. You're alive, you're with me now."

"No, John…let me go…I was supposed to die, we're supposed to die together!" SMii7y cried out, trying to shove Kryoz away from him.

"What was I supposed to do?" Kryoz asked him, shaking. "I tried to get you to stop, but you kept walking. You drowned in the water. I…I couldn't bare it, after all this time! What was I supposed to do?"

"Let me die!" SMii7y said, finally pushing Kryoz away and scrambling to his feet. But his body was still weak, and he couldn't make it up the small hill to the trees. He couldn't see Brian taking Evan's body away, he wouldn't be able too.

"Some people are not meant to stay alive this long," Asa Lee said, watching him from where she stood, head tilted slightly. "You were only given a reprieve of that, dear fledgling. If you don't run far enough to darkness, the sun will burn you alive."

"I was supposed to die," SMii7y said softly, heart thudding in his chest, pained by the decision of another, pained he wasn't dead in the lake where he was supposed to be a long with Evan. No, he was not meant to stay alive this long, he was supposed die!

"Come on," Kryoz said, taking SMii7y's arm gently, and pulling him to his feet. "Let's go…there should be some place we can hide from the sun."

"The bottom of the lake," SMii7y muttered, letting Kryoz drag him away from the edge, ignoring the ache in his neck where he had been bitten. He glanced back, but Asa Lee was gone from where she had been seconds before.

He didn't know where Kryoz would take him. He was still shaking from the lake, from his supposed death, and the bite on his neck. Kryoz had never turned a human into a vampire. He didn't have a coven to run back too, he was a rogue vampire turning another, and that would mean punishment.

This was the last thing SMii7y needed to think about when they found himself inside a tunnel, the sunlight streaked through the clouds, and SMii7y was held tight to Kryoz, shivering and feeling ill in the pit of his stomach.

He did not know why Kryoz would do this, but he couldn't pull away from him. His life, his existence, was taken from him in more ways than one, and there was nothing he can do to take it back besides trying to off himself again.

Not that would change a thing.

At least until Brian showed himself again, standing at the entrance, foot in the sunlight while SMii7y watched him from the shadows.

"Not doing so well in your new life, now are you?" Brian wondered.

"Don't joke about this…I was supposed to die," SMii7y said.

"Not like I could've let you," said Kryoz, arms crossed, standing to the right of SMii7y, "I did say I was sorry for taking that chance from you."

SMii7y was a little clammy since he woke up, his clothes stuck to him. He was living in squalor, which wasn't how he thought of his future. "I don't work for Orion any longer. As much as they want to keep the peace amongst humans, vampires and werewolves, they won't allow a vampire to be a part of their organization."

Brian scoffed, "You and I know that it wasn't going to work out anyway. Sebastian is gone, so is Basil. Your vampire," he indicated Kryoz, "just turned you, which makes you his sire. Whatever so-called hold on Kryoz would've had with Sebastian is now lifted. Maybe that's a good thing."

"I felt no need to go with him anyway," said Kryoz.

"Maybe, maybe not," Brian said, shrugging. "Sebastian knows that he has some hold on you, and his own blood makes this everyone's problem. It seems it hasn't transferred to you, Jaren, unless…it diluted on its first try."

"Maybe," SMii7y said, sighing deeply. He had no interest in anything anymore, and he wasn't sure if that had to do with being bitten by a vampire.

All he could think about was Cypress and Erebus making their way through the city. It wasn't going to be safe, and SMii7y hated the fact he was now on the other side. He didn't have much power besides the fact he'd have to listen.

"I did tell someone where you were," said Brian, looking to the side, and a moment after, Basil showed up with a smile on his face.

"What the fuck? Figured you would've left town," said Kryoz.

Basil stepped into the light. Even though he was a much older vampire who can stand the sunlight for a time, it still bothered him. "Oh, I think I would've done the same, but I have some unfinished business." He smiled down at SMii7y who cared little for his presence. "I can get you both out of here, and you can hunt down Sebastian."

"Your vampire and werewolf are dead," SMii7y said, standing up. He was shaky, almost uncertain of he'd be able to stand until Kryoz stepped over and made sure that he could.

"Yes, they are dead, I do feel sad about Skyler and Reed, but I mentioned the threats that would inevitably happen if they were to join me," Basil said. "Gabriel, Griffin, and Jordan Riley, can escort you out of the city. I can remain with Darlene, and possibly the Reaper." He glanced at Brian.

Brian shrugged, "Why not? I don't mind lingering with Brock for the time being, and there's something else…I have to keep my eye on for awhile."

There was no where for any of them to go. No where for SMii7y to run, he'd have to forget about what he thought was his and move on. He had no choice anymore.

"Fine," SMIi7y said, frowning. "I guess that's the plan."

"Ah, yes, and I do consider the both of you joining my coven," Basil said, looking at both SMii7y and Kryoz.

"You want two fledglings?" Kryoz asked, confused.

"I don't mind, and I'm not overly judgemental," said Basil, clasping his hands together. "I'll deal with any issues here, even though Orion is about to go under because of Cypress and Erebus, but things must change. That's just how it is. We must go along with it, in whatever way we can. I'll have someone pick you up by dusk. Until then…"

They watched Basil walk off, but Brian stayed behind, and he stepped in the shadows toward SMii7y.

"Our plans did not work out, did they?"

"I was cursed either way," said SMii7y, shrugging. "I just didn't think Evan wouldn't be here…with me."

Brian smiled softly, "You'll be fine. Hopefully Cypress and Erebus don't hunt you down. Sooner or later, they will find out."

SMii7y reached into his pocket and took out a piece of paper. "Give this to Brock. Tell him thanks for everything, even if I couldn't deliver what we wanted."

"Sure," Brian said, taking the paper. "You are now free of the curse, SMii7y. Even if it doesn't seem like it. Death can't hunt for you any longer."

SMii7y watched Brian walk away, and he leaned himself against Kryoz. "Just the two of us…"

"I am sorry," Kryoz murmured.

"Oh…no, I mean, Sebastian was the one who technically murdered us, so why wouldn't we find some semblance of understanding with one another," SMii7y said, looking out at the warmth of the sun that he could no longer touch. The lake had reached him, after all this time since the first, it had finally gotten to him.