Chapter Four

Tree Hill, North Carolina 2008

Recklessness wasn't usually a word Haley would associate with herself; she usually tended to think things through thoroughly, weighed up the pros and cons before she jumped into a situation but this time that didn't seem to be the case.

She was out looking for the hunters; now that she knew what Peyton had planned for them she couldn't turn the other cheek.

She had to get them to leave; she had to convince them to get as far away from town as possible.

She spotted the taller hunter Sam ahead of her, and started to follow, she thought about trying to get his attention, maybe calling out to him but it wasn't like they were old friends and she was sure he probably wouldn't appreciate the implication of familiarity.

Besides she needed to keep their meeting discreet, if Peyton knew what she was up to she could pretty much count on being beaten within an inch of her un-life.

The hunter rounded a corner walking into an alley and Haley quickened her pace to catch up. Once she rounded the same corner she was shocked to find it empty, stepping further in she stopped short

"Do you want to tell me why you've been following me?"

For the second time this week she found herself on the wrong end of a hunter's knife. She didn't sense any real immediate threat he wasn't pressing hard enough to pierce the skin, still she was nervous and weary and the blade at her throat was a little too close to her jugular for comfort.

"I don't want to fight you." The words spilled from her mouth as he pressed her into the brick wall behind them, Haley thought there was something almost weirdly kinky about the situation but the second the stray thought crossed her mind she shook her head, wondering exactly when her thought process started resembling her twins.

The hunter eyed her cautiously but continued to keep her pinned "What do you want?"

The tone of his voice, the slight flash in his eyes were enough to cause a little shiver of fear to race down her spine, still she wasn't about to let that fear show, she had too much pride to allow a human to get the better of her. Squaring her shoulders she looked the hunter directly in the eyes "Well first I want you to take that knife away from neck."

Sam didn't immediately do as she had requested, instead he spent a moment looking at her, and she figured he was trying to decide whether or not to hear her out. He pulled the knife away from her neck slowly sheathing it back in a holster at his side and then he stepped away just enough to give her some space.

Her hand went to her neck as she absent-mindedly rubbed the spot the tip of the knife had scraped "I came to warn you." she stated as she glared up at him, she probably didn't have the right but she was slightly peevish over the fact that once again the boy had gotten the better of her and she idly wondered if maybe she was starting to lose her touch.

"Warn me about what?" Sam asked wearily not sure exactly why he was even staying around to listen to the dark-haired vampire.

"You have to leave here; you and you're brother, tonight if you can."

"We can't leave," The hunter shook his head "Not until we finish the job."

Haley sighed in frustration "Hunters!" she muttered under her breath shaking her head at Sam's words "You don't understand! She wants you!" The small undead girl started rambling pacing back and forth in front of the tall man "The both of you! She's bored and you're going to be her new game!"

The hunter suddenly found himself resisting the urge to chuckle at how flustered the vampire girl seemed to be getting and instead chose to hone in on the fact he had no idea who she was talking about in the first place "Who's this 'she' you're talking about?"

Haley turned incredulous brown eyes towards the boy "Haven't you done you're research?" she shook her head in wonder "Peyton, my sire," she clarified wondering why the hunters were going after the coven when they had no idea what they were facing, it was like a recipe for failure "She's ruthless, vicious and obsessive and once she gets an idea in her head she zeroes in on it with like complete and utter concentration."

"And killing my brother and I is her latest obsession?" Frankly Sam wasn't too sure how to take that bit of information, normally he wouldn't be too worried but the simple fact that someone from her clan had taken it upon themselves to warn him about how dangerous this vampire was made him edgier then he cared to examine.

"I wish it were that simple." Haley answered another unnecessary sigh escaping her lips "Look I have to go," she'd already spent longer then she'd planned to spend out, Brooke would start to worry and on the off-chance that one of the others were at the lair she needed to make sure she got rid of the hunters scent clinging around her "If you're not going to leave at the very least cover your backs. There's a book store in town, McFadden books," She handed him a little white card she dug out of the pocket of her jeans "Go there, the owner; Marvin can get in touch with my sister or I if we're needed."

She was almost positive they'd be hearing from Marvin 'Mouth' McFadden sometime in the near future, she got the feeling these hunters weren't the type to run from a dangerous situation.

Sam looked down at the card she placed in his hands and started to talk "Hold on a second What's your…" he glanced up to find the vampire had disappeared just like she had done the first time they had met "Name?" Shaking his head and slipping the card into his pocket he turned and made his way back to his hotel room to speak with his brother.

Haley looked down from the rooftop she'd quickly climbed and made sure he wasn't being followed, a sinking feeling that she might have just started some kind of war between these hunters and her clan settling into her stomach.

BFCXBFC

"So which one was it? Was it the one who almost gutted me with my own knife or the one who kicked me in the stomach?" Dean asked his younger brother once he'd returned and told him about the conversation he'd just had with the vampire in the alley.

"I'm pretty sure it was the one who kicked you in the stomach."

The older hunter shrugged, a glare crossing his features as he thought back to the events of what had happened that night "Well obviously it's a trap." he decided there was no way that this girl Sam was telling him about was the real deal, she had to have some kind of ulterior motive "This Peyton chick sent her to trick you!"

Sam didn't think that was the case; something was giving him the feeling she was on the level, that she could be trusted "You didn't see her Dean she looked genuinely scared."

"I think she's taking you for a ride bro," Dean tried to picture the girl in his head, she'd looked very much like a damsel in distress the night he and Sam had cornered her, she had that 'somebody please save me look' that he knew for a fact his brother was hard pressed to ignore "I think she fluttered her big doe eyes at you and played you like a fool."

"I just…" Sam shook his head unsure, on one hand Dean could be right, it was possible but still the petite vampire had been too natural, her fear too real to be acting and like he'd said before his gut reaction was she truly was trying to help "I got the feeling she was sincere. I think we need to look into this Peyton girl some more."

"I think we need to look into all of them some more." Dean nodded his head, his brother for all his bleeding heart ways actually did have pretty good instincts when it came down to the crunch, the least he could do was give him the benefit of the doubt for now and go with them "Where do you want to start?"

The taller hunter pulled out the card he'd been given and looked it over "Here." he said as he handed it to his brother to glance at "We'll start here."

BFCXBFC

Haley all but tiptoed up the steps of the mansion that served as the orders HQ and into her bedroom, she'd thought she'd actually gotten back unnoticed but the light tingle in her head alerted her to the presence of someone waiting in her quarters.

"Where in the hell have you been?" Brooke was lounging on Haley's bed, her arms crossed and a scowl on her face. Her sister's scent was different, she could pick up on something that wasn't supposed to be there, plus she'd been waiting for close to two hours, she'd started to worry.

"God Brooke you frightened me!" Haley tried to skirt around the issue

"You're just damn lucky I'm me and not Peyton," the older twin glared not letting her younger sister off the hook even an inch "Where'd you go?"

Haley walked towards her dresser and pulled out a new set of clothes "Promise not to freak out?" she asked as she took off her top and changed into the fresh one.

"Why don't I like the sound of that?" The younger vampire turned and looked at her sister wearily causing the older girl to wave her hand in defeat "Fine I promise not to freak out."

"I went to see that hunter," Haley thought the best way to tell her sister was quickly "Sam."

"You did what?" Well that explained the scent Brooke had smelt, it had been human, his.

"I had to B!" the shorter vampires defended her actions "the girls have some sick and twisted plan for his brother and him and I felt they needed to be warned."

"How could you be so stupid Haley Lynn?" Brooke jumped off the bed and started to pace angrily up and down the length of the room "If Peyton had of caught wind of what you were doing she would have punished you favored Childe or not." The older vampire couldn't understand why her sister was acting so out of character, so foolishly without concern for herself.

Haley's lack of disregard for her own well-being astounded Brooke and her sudden regard for that of two hunters was quite frankly pissing her off.

"I was careful." Haley assured her sister trying to set her mind at ease, she hated to make Brooke worry but she'd really seen no other way "I had to warn him."

Brooke noticed her sisters slip of tongue even if the younger girl hadn't.

She'd said him, not them. It just reasserted earlier suspicions she had about her sister's interest in these Winchester boys. She needed to know for sure though.

"Why?" She asked throwing herself into an armchair and resting her head in her hands "Why are you so fixated on this boy?"

"I don't know. He just…" the shorter girl shook her head trying to sort out her thoughts, if she was honest there were a lot of reasons, she just couldn't seem to pin one down "I just don't know."

BFCXBFC

Visiting a musty old bookstore wasn't exactly making Deans list of fantastic ways to start the day, in fact he was pretty sure as he and Sam made their way through the door that this was the last place he would ever want to be.

Sam looked pretty comfortable with the surroundings though and he felt a thousand different geek jokes flutter through his head.

They made their way past countless shelves of dusty old hard covered books until they reached the back of the store where the counter seemed to be. No one was watching the store so Dean tapped on the bell beside the cash register in hopes of attracting some attention.

Maybe a minute or so after the bell had been rung, a slender young-looking man came walking out of the back room and greeted the two hunters "Gentlemen. How can I help you?" His accent was strange, like a mix of a southern twang and clipped queens English; he was well spoken though and obviously well-educated.

"We were hoping you'd be able to give us some information." Dean wasn't about to beat around the bush, he wanted answers about these vampires and he also wanted out of the store, Just standing in it made him feel like he was ageing a hundred years.

"Yes?" The store clerk raised an eyebrow in query as he looked from one brother to the other.

"Local Vampire coven, led by some chick named Peyton, we need all the information you've got."

The clerks face went from open and friendly to shut off and withdrawn "Sorry I can't help you." He turned from them and went to make his way back out to the back of the store but Sam spoke up to stop him.

"Marvin right?" he questioned Marvin or Mouth as the few people who knew him called him turned slowly and faced the taller of the men in his store

"Yeah." he answered his body language still on guard but he relaxed his stance slightly.

"I was told if I needed help I could come to you."

"Who told you that?"

"I didn't get her name," Sam answered before picturing the girl in his head so he could describe her "She's about 5'6, Shiny brown hair, dark brown eyes, she talks a lot. Has a sister."

The book store owner nodded as he realized who sent them "Her name is Haley," he clarified for the taller of the two men as he smiled in an open gesture of welcome "And if she sent you to me I suppose you're okay. I'll help you with anything I can."