Chapter Two

John leaned his head back as he stared up at the ceiling of the darkened room. Not that it made a difference to him. He could see fine in light or darkness and right now all he could see was that red hair in his mind. Her name was Natalie and there was something about her. It was rare if ever that he became frazzled by a human but that had happened last night. He had been out looking for a quick bite and then her scent got in his nose. It intoxicated him and lead him right into the bar where she stood playing pool.

It took everything in him not to rush over to her, swoop her up in his arms and do as he wished with her. He watched her instead and then she looked right at him and it made his body harden. It was the first time in forever that he had restrained himself from feeding on a human. He had wanted to so bad but there was something behind her blue eyes, something that made him conflicted and he never got conflicted. It was irritating to say the least, especially since he was starving right now!

The sound of his office door opening made him sigh heavily.."What is it?" he grumbled as images of her disappeared from his mind.

"You sound exceptionally annoyed today" his second in charge said with a grin. His name was Steele and if his staggering height of nearly six foot six didn't freak you out then his long dark hair that reached his ass might do the trick. Steele smiled even further.."I do believe I have something that can change that" He walked to the door as the scent of humans filled Johns nostrils as two blond haired girls walked in. They had no idea what tonight would entail but their smiles were quickly becoming those of fear as John moved across the room so fast that the wind blew their hair.

John inhaled deep as he moved close to one of the girls and than he did the same for the next. "Her" John said quickly as he grabbed her arm and pulled her close as she gasped and whimpered slightly.

"Alright then sweetheart, its just you and me" Steele grinned, revealing two long fangs before he grabbed the girl and disappeared down the hall.

The other girl was shaking now as she stood in front of John.."Please don't kill me" she said with tears filling in her eyes.

John stared at her until her body relaxed and calmed in front of him. He would never get tired of that control he could have over a human."Shh everything is OK, you want to be here, don't you?" he touched the girls face as she sighed heavily. Her eyes covered in a haze as she looked at him and nodded.."Good, very good" he said as his mouth opened and immediately latched onto her neck as she let out a faint cry.

Natalie spent the majority of her morning off laying on the couch and well thinking of him. She hadn't gotten a name from him but she could still feel him, his hands on her arms. She laughed out loud at the thoughts running through her mind, honestly she should of taken Lovette up on his offer to go out weeks ago because maybe then she wouldn't be so sexually frustrated.

It had been quite some time since Natalie had been with a man, too long really but after her last relationship backfired she swore off men. That had been almost two years ago now. The thought of that man though, it had her all hot and bothered and she didn't even know him. Well she knew that he didn't take advantage of her when he had the opportunity, not that she would of protested that much. She let out a chuckle at the idea but then again he was so hot. If she closed her eyes long enough she could picture him in her head.

The sound of a knock on her door made her jump as she shook images out of her head.."Hang on a sec" she said as she quickly tried to clean up her mess of popcorn, soda and chocolate off the coffee table. As she got to the door she looked in the peep hole and saw Vega as she sighed heavily and opened the door.."Hey, whats up?"

"Hey, um can we talk?" Vega said with an unusual amount of worry in his voice.

"Yeah sure, come in" she said as he followed her in.."Want a drink or something?"

He shook his head no as he walked around the room.."Nice room" he smiled softly.

"Vega you've seen my living room like a million times, whats up" she said honestly.."Oh and I guess congrats are in order" she said with a roll of her eyes as she sat on the couch.

"I knew you were going to be pissed about that" Vega sighed as he looked at her now..

"Yeah well its not like its your fault, right"Natalie huffed.."I just apparently lack a certain body part" she said sarcastically..

"Buchanan its not really like that" Vega shook his head as she sighed..

"OK fine, whatever" she said as she looked at the TV.."So what brings you over Vega"

"I just, I.." he began to ramble as he paced some and now Natalie took notice. He seemed concerned and it wasn't a normal look.."Its the case and I swear Nat, you cant tell anyone and I mean anyone" he began as she sat up more now and swallowed hard. He only used her first name in serious situations. It made her uneasy.

"I wont, whats going on?" she said quickly.

Vega looked around quick and then sat down next to her.."Someone could be listening right now" he said nervously as her eyes got wide..

"Seriously Vega, I doubt that" she began but he hit the volume of the TV until it was blasting.."Vega what the hell" Natalie began as he leaned in close.

"This case is huge, even bigger than anything we've been taught" he whispered and she could barely hear him over the TV blasting..."they aren't killing them, they are...are" he began as a loud pounding on the door was heard and Vega jumped up and so did Natalie.."I have to go, meet me tonight at the docks at ten" he said quickly..

"Vega wait" she called out but he was already opening the door as her old neighbor from next door stood there. Her name was Miss Carmen and she looked pissed.

"Do you hear how loud your TV is, do you?" she yelled at Natalie who quickly turned it down..

"So sorry Miss Carmen, the remote is broke or something" Natalie lied as she walked over to the door..

"Yeah well make sure it gets fixed, some of us like to nap" Miss Carmen snapped as she walked off in a hurry and Natalie stood at the doorway and inhaled deep and then closed the door. What the hell had gotten into Vega, and what did he mean by they weren't killing them? Killing what? The vampires? Natalie shook her head because that would be crazy if they weren't killing them, I mean why would they keep them alive? Her mind began to race as she quickly rushed back to her couch and her laptop.

John moved his head up and wiped his mouth as the blond girl lay on the couch in his office. She was still alive but barely. He usually could control his appetite but midway through his meal he began to think of her. Natalie. For a moment he lost control and a frenzy began on the blond girl. He had stopped just in time but only just. He walked to his phone and quickly dialed. "I need someone up here now" he said as he hung up the phone and walked over to his window. He looked out as images of her ran across his mind once more. What he would give to touch that satin smooth skin of hers. He wanted to taste her. He wanted to watch her scream in pleasure over and over. His body reacted immediately as he closed his eyes and imagined his body up against hers. The feeling of skin to skin contact made his body harden even more.

A knock on his door snapped him from his thoughts as he grumbled a low "Come in".

A short, stocky blond haired kid stood there, he was one of the newest recruits. His name was Rex. "Hey Boss you called" he said with his usual nervous tone.

"Yeah she's gonna need a medic" John said nonchalantly as he kept looking out the window and Rex looked at the girl and quickly walked over to her. She was barely breathing as Rex leaned down and picked her up.."Make sure she is compensated" John added as he still stood by the window.

"Yes Sir" Rex said as he quickly left with the girl in his arms.

John's mind wandered back to Natalie. He felt an overwhelming need to see her again and that was definitely not like him. He barely even saw the same girl more than once and those are the ones he had fucked and yet here he was completely consumed with a random human girl. Though he knew deep down there was nothing random about her.

She had wanted him, even with her mind scrambled due to drinking he could still feel her wants and it tore at him until he felt as though he would erupt through his own pants. He let out a small laugh at the thought, a human girl, what the hell could he possibly want besides the blood of this human. Nothing, absolutely nothing. He quickly shook the images out of his head and he groaned as his body continued to react. Right now the humans were the enemy. They were killing his kind day after day. This is definitely not how he thought things would work out.

Natalie sat at her laptop with a web page open that spoke about the myths of vampires even though she knew it wasn't a myth at all but very much true. She remembered the first time she had been told about them. She had believed it was a joke but that was until she saw footage of it herself. It was shocking to say the least and when she finally got to see one up close and personal it was even more mind blowing. There really were vampires out there, she couldn't help but wonder if vampires truly existed than what about all the other creatures of the night. The thought was frightening.

She began to write down the list of things that could kill a vampire even though she had a crash course in vampire 101, well it still wasn't enough. It was actually quite hard to kill a vampire. It seemed the only way to truly do it was take off the head and burn the body. The other objects mentioned like a crucifix, a stake to the heart, garlic and holy water only seemed to slow them down for a bit. They were definitely different than the ones in movies.

Vega's words replayed in her head. What did he mean by they weren't killing them? He had to be talking about something else because her team was formed for that very reason, to kill them though she had yet to have killed one.

She began to think about the new case and how they had formed a plan of sorts that had to do with an old mining area. That was all she knew, nothing more then the idea dawned on her maybe she could get there first, maybe she could take out the vampires. Her eyes grew wide with excitement. Then she would be allowed on the team. She could do this, she knew she could. Jumping from the couch she ran to her bedroom, today was the day to make her name be known.

John stared at his computer as the face of the red head Natalie looked back at him. It was fairly easy for him to find out her full name and with some help from his friends he was able to get into her background. He was somewhat surprised that she was officer of the law. She seemed so small to him but something told him that she had a fighter inside of her. He read further into her history and saw that she had been abandoned as a baby and was then left for the government to toss around. Something about the idea of how her childhood played out left him feeling pissed. She never had a family to call her own and by the time she was sixteen she had become emancipated. Through that time she had quite a few run ins with the law, all petty crimes like shop lifting.

By the time she was eighteen she had graduated high school and entered Lanview University where she studied Criminal Justice. She graduated with honors and then her life began as a police officer. She joined the academy right out of college and she got honors there too as well. She was one impressive woman. The sound of a knock on his door made him immediately close the page he was looking at as the door opened and his friend Steele came in.

"Busy?" he asked as he stepped in some more.

"Not at all, whats up?" John leaned back in his chair some.

"I got word that the humans are trying to ambush the mine" Steele said with a huff.."Seriously when will they learn, its like dealing with damn children"

"Do we have all the doorways locked and sealed?" John asked with a sigh. He knew it would only be a matter of time before the humans came sniffing around. No one actually lived in the mine itself but they did use the entrances there to get to the underground. Thats where most vampires lived, it was like its own world.

"All sealed but I don't know for how long" Steele sighed.."Maybe if we made an example of a few of them then.." he began as John shook his head..

"Were not killing the humans, we already have a war on our hands" John said with a sigh as he ran his hand through his hair..

"Yeah well its not like we can just talk to them" Steele laughed some..

"We have to send some men over there just to be on the lookout, we cant afford for them to find the tunnels" John said as he stood now and so did Steele.

Natalie geared up and headed out of her apartment. She had on her regulation issued uniform and gun. It was loaded with silver bullets but those would only weaken a vampire, so she also concealed her hunting knife in her boot. She took one last deep breath and then drove off.

The mines were located by the outskirts of town. She had been there a few times as a teenager. It was the go to place to drink and not get in trouble. It was getting a bit dark out now though and the idea of what she was doing was beginning to play on her fears. She contemplated calling Vega but she quickly dismissed that, she could do this, she could!

She parked her car in the nearby woods so that it wouldn't be spotted and she walked slowly as she studied her surroundings. The fact that there wasn't any lights leading her way made it even more creepy as she used her cell phone to light her way. With the mine so close by she sped up a bit as she pulled out her gun and made her way to the side of the mine. There she tried to control her breathing as her heart raced continuously. Her mind began to over think as she stood there, it seemed pretty stupid that she would go there alone. She had almost given up when she heard voices outside of the mine. They were quiet but coming closer and when she heard Vega's voice she knew that his team was all there. She panicked and ran into the mine to hide. It was definitely way darker in there than she had imagined. She literally felt her way around, nearly falling a few times due to the lack of light.

The mine smelled of dirt and mold, definitely not an inviting smell. There was not one sight of a vampire around even when she used her cell phone for a small bit of light. The voices of her comrades got closer as she backed into the mine even further. She looked for something to get behind but it was just open space and then her eye caught something. Something that had flashed light off of her cell phone as she pointed it that way. It almost looked like a door and she quickly got over to it. Though it had no handle she was almost positive it was a door. She saw hinges on one side and so she looked for an area to pull on but there was none then she remembered her knife and she pulled it out quickly began to pry the door open. Much to her surprise it cracked open some and just as she was about to sigh in relief the sight of two eyes staring back at her made her let out a squeal as she stumbled back, falling onto her ass. Her phone fell too, the sound of the glass breaking on it only added to the fear she felt.

A hand came down on her arm and yanked her up as she let out a scream now. Within seconds shots were being fired and she fell to the ground as she tried to avoid them. Each shot lit up the place more and more. She gasped at the sight of at least ten vampires dodging bullets as they got closer and closer to her comrades

She took the only opportunity that she could see and she darted for the open door but not before a bullet pierced her arm and she let out a scream as she fell to the ground. She slammed the door shut with her foot as she quickly got herself standing. The pain in her arm was intense and burning bad. She thought quick and grabbed her top, using her knife she cut a large piece of fabric off to use as a tourniquet. She was bleeding pretty bad but she pushed past the pain as she tied the fabric onto her arm. The shooting could still be heard as she stood there in what seemed like a hallway. There was a light at the end of the hall and she headed towards it quickly. She knew the longer she bled out, the more likely she would be hunted by the vampires or she would just pass out from blood loss.

As she neared the end of the hallway she heard voices once more and she ran now towards the light but something on the ground, a rock perhaps send her flying face first into the ground as she landed with a loud grunt. The wind knocked out of her as she laid there gasping for air and then she heard a voice right above her.

"Oh wow, fast food" a young male said as she tried to move herself but it was a pathetic attempt.

"Damn Tyler, she ain't fast food no more" another male laughed and she continued to try and scoot herself but one of the vampires grabbed her leg and dragged her backwards almost violently as she cried out in pain.

"Thats right darling, cry out because it only makes your blood that much sweeter" one of the vampires laughed and then without a seconds notice her flesh was being pierced by two sets of fangs as she cried out even louder. She tried to fight the vampires off but she was losing consciousness quicker than she imagined and then everything was turning dark until that was all she was surrounded with.

John had smelt the blood loss immediately as he got into the tunnels that lead to the mine and then he heard a scream, one that was attached to a familiar human. It was her, Natalie. He just knew it and so he ran faster.

The sight of his men, Tim and Tyler feeding off her in a frenzy made him lose it as he grabbed Tim and tossed him into the wall and Tyler then looked up at him as John shoved him hard off of her. She was barely breathing and her heart beat was weak. Thats when he noticed the gun shot to her arm. He looked at the two vamps who were now getting themselves up, immediately they took off as John knelt down by her body. Gunshots were heard all around him as he looked at her and then towards door where voices were getting closer. He knew she was dying and so he reacted the only way he knew how to. He bit down on his wrist as blood began to pour out and he placed it over her mouth as she laid there. The sound of the door being thrust open hard made him look up as three heavily armed men stood there.

"Get away from the woman!" one man yelled as John slowly got up, blood covering him as the mens eyes got wide, one by one they began to shoot but he moved fast and he was gone within seconds.

"Out of my way!" Vega yelled as he ran over to Natalie's side who was covered in blood.."We need a medic, we need one now!" he yelled at the men beside him and then he looked back down at Natalie.."Just hang in there Nat, it's going to be OK" he said with worry consuming him.

Natalie felt the darkness all around her as she cried out for help but all she heard was her own echo. It was so dark she couldn't even see her own hands in front of her as she kept walking.."Hello?, Anyone?" she called out as a tiny bit of light filled the dark space and she ran to it."HELLO!" she yelled as she ran to the source of light which happened to be a door. Opening the door made blinding light hit her as she held her hands up to her eyes to block the harsh light.."Hello, is someone there" she said as she kept her eyes covered and then she heard something, almost like someone walking past her and she gasped.."Hello?" she said again.."I know someone is there" she said as she slowly began to move her hands from her face, blinking repeatedly she finally saw an absolutely gorgeous room, like a living room It was encased in all white, including a white sofa and chair as well as white drapes. The place was beautiful as she looked around, no one was there. She walked to the couch and felt the material, it was soft and inviting. The room smelt of fresh baked cookies, it was intoxicating.

Meanwhile back at Lanview Hospital Vega paced outside Natalie's room. She hadn't woken up yet and her injuries were minor, just scrapes even though she laid covered in blood. It made no sense not to mention she hadn't woken up yet and the doctor said he couldn't quite explain it. Her vitals were fine, all he could think was that when she was ready she would wake up.

Vega looked up as his boss came over.."You want to explain to me why the hell she was there!" he yelled as Vega swallowed hard.

"I don't know Sir, this is Buchanan were talking about" Vega said quickly.."Were lucky we got to her when we did because that damn vampire was trying to drain her blood" Vega shook his head as he looked back at her door.

Natalie walked over to two large doors, her mind still confused about where she was. Was this in the mines? Was she dead ? The doors opened before her and much to her surprise she was overwhelmed with the scent of salt water as it crashed below. Where was she?

"It's beautiful isn't it?" a familiar voice said from behind her as she jumped and spun around. There he was, the man from the other night.

"You? How did you?" she began to ramble as he walked closer to her and she backed up quickly as her heart raced.

"I think you know by now that I'm not going to hurt you Natalie" his voice was just as smooth as he was but Natalie tried to fight the temptation racing through her body.

"Did you do this? Where am I" she demanded as she continued to back up until her back hit the railing on the balcony

"You know you were a lot more carefree last time we met" he smirked as he came closer to her and she swallowed hard. Natalie quickly looked over the railing then back at him as he got directly in front of her. "We both know your not going to jump Natalie" he said as he stood there and then his hand reached out toward her face.

"Listen I don't know what your up to but" she began to say as his hand came to the side of her face, his fingers grazing her skin as she inhaled deep. She finally mustered out "Stop that , ok" came out as more of a whisper than anything.

"You don't really want me to stop, do you Natalie" his fingers trailed down her neck as she shuddered some at the feeling of his fingers dancing across her skin.

"Am I dreaming?" she whispered as his fingers danced across her collarbone and then back up her neck..It had to be a dream, that was the only logical explanation, that or she was dead and right about now she didn't care which one it was.

"This could be better than a dream" his words encased her as his mouth moved closer to hers and then she felt his lips devour her mouth. His mouth possessed hers in a strong passionate kiss that had her begging for more. This was one hell of a dream and she didn't want it to end but slowly he pulled back as she whined her disapproval. His hands stayed on her face as he looked at.."Wake up and come to me Natalie" he whispered seductively..

"But... But I'm here now" she protested as she moved her face to his.."Please" but just like that he was gone as she looked around frantically.."Come back, come back!" she shouted.

Vega was staring at her quiet still body in the hospital bed. He had actually prayed to god to make her OK, she just had to be OK. He had never admitted it before but he loved her, he had loved her for years and once she woke up he was going to let her know. Time was precious and he didn't want to waste anymore of it.

He put his hand on top of hers as he looked at her, she looked so peaceful and beautiful laying there. He was just about to say something to her when her body jolted up in the bed as she screamed!