(A/N: The next chapter is finally here! And from Nic's POV to! :) the next chapter will be fun to write...)

Dominic followed Aalix and Caius through the forest, heading to the Coven Headquarters'. So much for never joining the Coven. He felt terrible for having to leave Phoenix, but this was for her safety. He knew that she couldn't die but even so…he didn't want her constantly on the run from Caius. It was obvious that she wasn't the best fighter when it came to fighting vampires, despite her strength. She'd probably gone soft, holding back in any fist-fights against humans so that she didn't accidentally kill them.

At least she knew that he didn't really hate her. In all honesty, he wasn't sure exactly how he felt about her. Dominic knew he cared for Phoenix…but it was just all to tempting to sink his fangs into the soft flesh of her neck. Her scent was so sweet, so tempting. It took all his self control not to attack her and she was his best friend. He didn't want anything to happen to Nix. He just hoped that sometime in the future, he could leave the Coven without endangering her, and that she would forgive. And of course, it wasn't until after he made the deal with Aalix that he realized that Phoenix could be recaptured by the Lab.

Dominic had been so lost in thought, that he didn't notice when the other two vampires stopped, and he walked right into them.

Caius hissed, "Watch where you're going, dumb-shit!"

Aalix merely rolled his eyes at Caius and turned to Dominic. "This is the entrance to our hideout."

The three vampires were standing in front of a metal door on a brick building with spray paint across it and the windows boarded up. They were on the darker, more ghetto side of LA- the side that most people tend to ignore unless they have some…business to take care of(like buying drugs, dealing with gangs, looking for prostitutes blah blah blah).

"The hide-out is in this dump? I didn't know that you had such low standards, Aalix," Dominic said coolly.

Aalix laughed and Dominic blinked in surprise. "You should know that everything is not as it seems," he chuckled and opened the door.

Dominic regained his composure as the door opened, surprised yet again. The building's a fake- solid! Indeed, for instead of the door opening into a room, it opened to a stairway going down into an inky-black abyss with stone walls on either side and on the ceiling. The entire building was probably completely solid except for where the stairway led. Dominic warily followed Aalix, Caius behind him. He could hear faint conversation coming from below.

The stairs leveled out into an underground tunnel, lamps on either side that lit up the darkness. They continued to walk through the tunnel and the dirt floor beneath their feet became lush, fancy red carpet. The tunnel opened up into a large room with other adjoining hallways and rooms. In the main room there was a fancy couch, a big screen TV and a large table with four chairs centered around it. Vampires were milling around, glancing at Dominic and Aalix. It seemed that some of the doors led to rooms- why vampires needed bedrooms, he didn't know. He barely used his own bedroom back at Whammy's.

"Avril!" Aalix called out.

A gorgeous, tall, slender teenage girl lifted her head and walked over to Aalix. Her crimson eyes were rimmed with violet, and her slightly wavy chocolate-brown hair cascaded past her shoulders, with her side-bangs falling in front of one eyes. She wore a purple and hot pink shirt with the Famous Stars and Stripes logo on it, grey shaded skinny jeans, black leather boots, purple and pink striped arm bands that came up to her elbows(with holes for her thumbs), and a studded belt that was slanted across her waist. There was also a silver amulet with a large, purple amethyst stone hanging from it, set in silver.

"Yes, Aalix?" she answered with a silky-smooth voice. Her gaze slid over to Dominic, then back to Aalix. "I see that you finally convinced him to join us."

"All thanks to you, of course. Why don't you show your brother around?"

"Of course," Avril dipped her head and turned to Dominic. Caius and Aalix walked off and she smirked at Dominic

Dominic glowered at his half-sister. She had the gift of sight and probably engineered the entire plan to get him to join the Coven- she was very manipulative.

"Oh lighten up, Dominic. I think you'll grow to like the Coven and all its perks."

"Perks? What perks?"

"You see that table with the four chairs?"

"…yeah…"

"Well that's where the top four members of the Coven sit and plan things. They rule over the Coven even though Aalix is the leader. The other three are the vampires he considers most useful to him."

"So who are they?" Dominic was still trying to see how this was relative to the Coven's "perks".

"Aalix, Caius- trackers ARE among the most useful members of a Coven- and myself."

Of course. It figures that Avril would have wormed her way into a position of power. She was also very ambitious and cunning besides being a manipulative bitch. She and Dominic shared the same father. She'd tracked him down and learned that he was a vampire not long after he'd been bitten. Ever since then she'd been trying to become a vampire herself, she saw the effects of being bitten- the strength, the speed, the powers- as a blessing, not a curse, and she wanted it for herself. Though Dominic refused to bite her even though she'd asked him.

Avril smirked. "You're the fourth vampire."

Dominic snorted in disbelief. "Yeah, right Avril. Now seriously- tell me who the fourth vampire is so that I don't get my ass kicked."

"Dominic I'm serious. YOU are the 4th vampire in charge of the Coven. Aalix would be stupid not to have you at his side. He wanted you for years because of your powers- he's practically reserved the spot for you. Of course, they're even a ranking among the four and you're at the bottom- only to be expected."

Dominic blinked- Avril wasn't lying. He really didn't want this. He shook his head and changed the subject. "You know, I hadn't expected to see you here. I mean, I know you told Aalix all about me but…I didn't know you were a vampire."

"I'm still a newborn- I only became a vampire just after I turned 16."

Dominic at least 6 months older than Avril, and his birthday would be in another three so…Avril became a vampire right around the time that Aalix found out about him. "Aalix did it, didn't he. He changed you into a vampire." His eyes narrowed slightly. Most likely in return for the information she just gave him.

Avril smirked again. "Naturally. Besides, he saw potential and he doesn't regret doing it. Telepathy, visions of the future, forcing excruciating pain on a victim without even touching them- no doubt he thinks that he got the better end of the deal. You could say that he got two for the price of one."

Dominic frowned slightly. "Hmpth…well…"

"I'll leave you be," she said smoothly and sauntered off.

Dominic sighed and sat down on the couch. His thoughts flitted back to Phoenix. What was she doing now? Was she mad at him? Would she go look for the other bird-kids or stay on her own? Was she safe from the lab? Dominic hope he did the right thing to keep her safe…

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Avril narrowed her eyes at Dominic, as he sat on the couch and turned to Aalix. "He can't be trusted. He has no loyalty to us whatsoever. He's too focused on that freak of nature."

Aalix listened thoughtfully, Caius beside him with arms crossed and eyes narrowed. "And what do you propose?"

"A choice. Dominic will have to choose over his life…or his little girlfriends."

Caius's eyes lit up. "How do you plan to do that?"

Avril grinned slightly, a wicked grin, her eyes glittering darkly with malice. "Well…"

(A/N: muhahaha! Cliff hanger! Now go review it plz! also check out the poll on my profile and vote on which story should be my top priority!)