Chapter Twelve

Natalie really felt like a third wheel as John and Steele began to explain to Gigi the so called vampire rules, she was still having a hard time believing all of this, her best friend was a vampire, and so was John, this all seemed so unreal.

Gigi though seemed to be taking the news better then natalie had expected, maybe cause she had already believed in the idea but natalie couldnt help but wonder what all of this meant now for Gigi and for everyone else, surely she couldnt just go on with life like she had before, things were different now.

Halfway through the conversation natalie had excused herself to the bathroom, in all honesty she just needed a moment, listening to them all talk about this as if it was nothing was a bit unnerving not to mention the drinks she had flowing in her were making her head fuzzy.

Her mind went back to Michael and she couldnt help but wonder, is this why he really left, was he afraid she would of found out, i mean eventually she would of right, its not like someone can go on for so long without aging or perhaps he wasnt planning on being around for a while to start with, now that thought was a bit depressing..

She stared at herself in the mirror, was any of this real, was she dreaming cause she sure felt like she was, her eyes looked red and glossy in the mirror and she stared at them more, somehow she was trying to make sense of all of this, a knock on the door startled her..

"You alright in there" John said outside the door and she knew she would have to come out and face him and so she took a deep breath and opened the door.."You ok?" he asked again..

"sure" she forced a smile..

"its alot to take in" he began..

"you think?" she said with a shake of her head..

"you know its getting late, we should head back" he began as she stared down at her knotted hands, could she really let him back in her house now after knowing all of this, was she even safe around him? I mean granted he hadnt tried to drain her blood yet, actually he had been the opposite but still the knowledge she knew now definitely changed things alot.."you know i wouldnt hurt you right" he asked as he looked at her.."natalie i wouldnt hurt you" he said again as she looked up at him..

"i know" she said quietly.."what about Gigi" she asked as he ran a hand through his hair..

"Steele said she could stay here until things settle down a bit" he began as her eyes got wide..

"she doesnt even know him" she said in shock, i mean technically now they were all the same but still, she definitely couldnt see Gigi going for this..

"its for the best plus she seems ok about it" John said as Natalie blinked in surprise..

"I really doubt that" she began as laughing was heard in the living room, it was Gigi's laugh and natalie stepped out of the bathroom and glanced down the hall and low and behold Gigi was laughing with Steele, it was shocking to see her like that, she looked comfortable, happy even..

"trust me Steele will take good care of her" John said as she continued to stare at her friend, it was amazing but looking at Gigi now, she looked different, more carefree then normal..Gigi looked at her as she stood in the hallway and she smiled a little bit as Natalie walked back into the livingroom and Gigi stood now..

"You ok Nat" she asked with concern as she walked over to her..

"were gonna head out of here" John said as he walked over to Steele..

"are you sure you want to stay here" Natalie said quietly as she looked at her friend..

"i dont really feel quite comfortable going home yet" Gigi said nervously...

Natalie walked off to the side as the guys continued to talk, Gigi followed as Steele kept his eye on her.."you dont even know him Gi" Natalie said with concern..

"yeah well its sort of irrelivant right now, dont you think" Gigi said honestly..

"I guess, im just...i mean what if he, what if" natalie began..

"im going to be fine natalie, i promise" she said reassuringly..

"what about Rex, what am i suppose to say to him" Natalie said as Gigi sighed a little.."he really likes you Gi, i mean he came over tonight" Natalie began and Gigi looked down at her feet..

"I care about him too Nat, but i cant just act like nothing has changed" she said as she looked up at Natalie.."I just dont have the hang of all of this, you under stand right?"

"I just feel like i am losing my best friend" Natalie said honestly..

"Your not losing me nat, you could never lose me" Gigi said as she hugged natalie and then she inhaled deep and quickly pulled back.."but i think i need to just lay low for a bit" she backed up some, before natalie could say anything John and Steele came walking over..

"You ready?" John asked as Natalie looked at him..

"its gonna be alright darling" Steele said towards Natalie as she sighed deep..

"yeah im ready to go" she finally said..

Natalie was quiet for the car ride home, she hadnt even fought with him when he took it upon himself to drive, honestly she was a bit drunk and with all the news she had learned today she wasnt sure if driving was the best thing for her.

John didnt say anything either as he drove, by the time they got to the townhouse he finally looked at her.."Gigi will be ok" he said as she looked at him..

"You keep on saying that" she said quietly..

"You dont believe me" he looked momentarily hurt but it passed quick..

"i really dont know what to believe right now and its late" she said as she got out of the car and so did he, they walked to the door in silence...

As they got inside John spoke.."You havent eatened anything, are you hungry" he said as she looked at him..

"No thanks i think im just going to head to bed" she said as she turned from him and then made her way down the hall, all she wanted right now was to lay in her bed and pray that she would fall asleep quickly..

Sleep eventually did come for her, she was sure the alcohol had helped but her dreams, rather yet nightmares didnt make for a rested sleep. She drempt of red eyes, fangs and alot of blood and when she woke with a scream as she sat up she saw John come rushing into the room through the darkness...

"Natalie are you ok" he asked with concern as she sat up and breathed heavy.."hey its ok, your ok" he said as he brushed a piece of her hair back and she looked at him now, their eyes locking, they stayed like that for a moment as she swallowed hard, my god this man was beautiful, vampire or not.."you have no idea how beautiful you are" he said as his fingers lingered on her cheek and she had to look away, he was too close.."dont be ashamed of your beauty" he said as he tilted her chin some so that she looked at him..

And then it was happening, his lips were moving towards hers slowly, it was as if everything was moving in slow motion, she felt her own body moving towards his, her lips parting slightly as contact was made and then he kissed her, softly, almost as if in invitation and she was all to willing to accept as he opened his eyes and looked at her, they were a darker shade of blue now, it was hypnotic and very arousing..

And then as if time sped up her hands were in his long soft hair, drawing his mouth to hers as he pulled her against him, kissing her urgently, his tongue lapping roughly against hers as deep groans left his mouth..

And then he was pushing her down onto the bed as his weight pressed into her, she couldnt believe this was happening and she couldnt believe that she had been so willing, there was something about him, she felt so drawn to him, like ridiculously so but images of her nightmare came crashing back as her eyes shot open and as if he noticed a change in her body, he immediately broke contact with her mouth as her eyes opened..

She felt embarassed as she rolled her head to the side and he moved back some more now.."its too soon" he said low as he ran his hand through his hair..

She looked at him now..."yeah its just" she couldnt find the right words..

"I understand" he sat up now.."Listen im gonna let you get some sleep" he said as he stood up..

"John listen" she said as he got to the door and he stopped but he didnt look at her.."Im just really confused right now"

"get some sleep Natalie" he said softly and then he was leaving the room as she sat there..

John stood outside her door for a moment and then he headed into the livingroom..

Natalie laid in bed for about another hour but she couldnt sleep even though she knew that she would regret it in the morning when she had to head to work, she made her way into the living room where John sat in the darkness, he looked over at her..

"You dont sleep, do you" she asked as she stood there fidgeting with her hands..

"No, not really" he said as she stared back at her hands..

"How old are you" she had so many questions that needed to be answered..

"almost 200 i think" he cocked his head to the side as if he was thinking..

"wow, thats pretty old" she said as she looked at him, it was amazing how good he looked, i mean he looked better then good, he looked amazing..

"I was thirty one when it happened" he said as an explanation..

"Oh" she moved into the living room more and took a seat on a nearby chair.."how did it happen"

He stared back out into the darkness..."Michael had gone away on war, when he came back" he said low and she swallowed hard.."well lets just say that he wasnt the same person i remembered".

"Michael changed you?" she felt the lump forming in her throat..he just looked at her..."do you remember your family before" her words trailed..

"its a bit fuzzy, i remember more after the change" he began as his thoughts went to Lilly.."after a few years of being a bit out of control, i finally met the man who changed Michael, he was like a father to me"

"is he still alive" she asked with curiosity, it all seemed to make sense now, why Michael was so secretive, why he kept his family hidden, she was almost thankful for it now..

"he's nearly four hundred years old and my mother about the same" he said nonchalantly..

"wow" she said in shock.."do you talk to them?"

"fairly often" he said as he leaned his head back..

"have you heard from Michael" she couldnt help but ask.."does he know that i know"

He couldnt bring himself to tell her the truth as he sat there, part of him wanted to but he didnt want to deal with the consequences, she had already had too way to much information for a mortal to handle..

"No i havent" he said as she stared back at her hands..

"You know maybe its for the best" she said quietly and then she got up.."i think im gonna have some coffee" she said as she headed into the kitchen to make a pot.

As she waited for the coffee to brew he walked into the kitchen and she knew he was there but she didnt look at him.."do you think it was a vampire that killed those women" she tried to make small talk as he stood there..

"I know it was" he said as he walked into the kitchen more.."its just narrowing it down" he said as she looked at him now..

"How do you do that" she began with curiosity..

"trust me the lanview pd isnt the only one looking for him" he said nonchalantly..

"you mean others , like you" she said in shock..

"You remember the rules, right, well...killing is one of them" he said as she poured herself a cup of coffee..

"so you can go around and change at will but you cant kill" she said a bit sarcastically..

"I didnt say that" he said seriously..

"what does that mean, is Gigi in trouble" Natalie said with wide eyes..

"well not her, she couldnt help that but that vamp, yeah he will get his" John said dryly..

"what exactlly does that mean" she said as she blinked in shock..

"everything needs to go through the council, and if someone was thinking of changing another then it would have to go through them first, the council" he began as she looked at him confused.."think of it as the united states government, there are people who make rules and there are those who help to enforce those rules"

"will they kill him" she asked in surprise..

"No but he will probably wish he was dead" he said dryly..

"Oh" she said quietly and then she stared at her coffee.."do you miss it" she finally asked as he looked at her confused now.."you know, being...human" she swallowed hard..

"sometimes, its hard to watch people you care about die" he said honestly..

"have you ever changed anyone" she asked and he didnt answer now..

"You know it really is late" he said as he stood..

"but you dont sleep" she said as she watched him..

"You do and you have work in the morning" he said as he turned to leave the room..

"You know i am more than capable of staying awake and still doing my job" she said a bit sarcastically as he stood by the doorway..

"yeah well there are far more entertaining things to do then sleep Natalie" he said surprisingly as she swallowed hard and he looked at her.."so either i get some distance from you or maybe i wont be held accountable for my actions" he said as he left the room and she finally let out the breath she had been holding, hoy shit, what the hell was that?

John was in his room by the time natalie came out of the kitchen an as she got closer to his door she contemplated knocking but then what good would that do, her life was complicated enough and sleeping with yet another vampire definitely wouldnt make this uncomplicated, she quickly headed to her own room and closed the door.

Natalie decided to head to work early, there was no use sitting at home when she knew she wasnt about to get anymore sleep and so at nearly 6am, about two hours early she headed to work, atleast it would be the graveyard shift still and maybe she could get so work done, something to get her mind off of the last 24 hours.

She made her way to her office and the station resembled a deserted town, only a few officers about and a night guard who looked more than ready to end his shift, she made quick small talk with him and headed into her office, turning on the light and then closing the door as she walked to her desk but a sound caught her attention and she spun around only to see she wasnt alone..

"Jesus" she said in shock as she looked at the dark haired man who stood by the door, leaning on it actually.."can i help you" she said as her breathing began to escalate..

"I never thought i would lay eyes on you again, but here you are" the man said a bit sinister like as she gasped and backed up some..

"who are you, i think you need to leave" she said in the strongest voice she could muster, she had no idea who this guy was but his looks alone made her skin crawl..

"is that really any way to say Hi" the man moved closer and she instinctively grabbed for her purse but it seemed as though he moved with lightening speed and he was right there, pinning her to the desk.."I wouldnt do that if i were you" his fangs were right there and she gasped..

"what do you want" she said with fear as he kept her boxed in with his arms..

"you dont remember me, do you" he grinned as he leaned in more..

"Please...i dont ..." her body began to shake with fear..

"Oh...your so scared, arent you" he whispered as he leaned into her and inhaled against her neck as she gasped again..

"Please" she said with a shakened voice..

"You smell as sweet as i remember Lilly, so sweet" he whispered..

"Im not...Im not lilly" she said as her voice was barely audible..

"Oh trust me, you are" he grinned as he opened his mouth wide and she went to let out a scream as she saw his fangs come closer to her neck but the sound of the door opening made her jump as she looked up, she was sitting at her desk, confused, disoriented..She saw her uncle standing at the door with a strange look on his face..

"you ok sweetheart" he asked as he walked in more..before she could answer he spoke again.."how long have you been here, you didnt sleep here did you?" he asked with concern..

"No" she looked around the room more, was it just a dream.."I couldnt sleep so i came in early, guess i fell asleep after all" she said as she tried to understand what the hell had just happened..

"everything ok with you and Michael" he asked and she knew right now she didnt want to have this conversation with him..

"sure, everything is fine" she lied...

"well im glad, i just wanted to drop off these files" he said as he held some folders in his hand..

"sure i will take a look at them" she said as she stood and he walked over and placed them on her desk..

"You sure your ok, you look a little pale" he said with concern again and she forced a smile now..

"im fine, i should probably get some coffee though, you know to wake up a bit" she kept her forced smile on..

"Ok well you do that and take your time looking over the files" he said as he walked her out of the room and then she headed to the break room as he walked to his office, she quickly glanced at her watch and for a moment she stopped in her tracks, it was nearly 9 am, what the hell..

"Oh hey nat i got some of those samples back from the crime scene for you" one of the lab techs said as she looked up quickly.."You alright" he asked with concern..

"yeah, just a long night, about those samples" she said quickly..

"You know its the weirdest thing, there were definitely three different hair samples, one belonged to the girl, the others im not so sure, i ran them through the database and nothing" he said with a shake of his head..

"Yeah well maybe our killer has been keeping a low key for awhile" she began as he nodded his head..

"Your probaby right, but its weird, i mean the hair samples, they were aged" he said with a perplexed looked..

"aged?" she swallowed hard..

"Usually hair samples are only like a year old at best, i mean we lose hair all the time but those two other samples were alot older"

"how old are we talking here" she asked as she looked at him..

"well im having an analysis run on them again cause there has to be some sort of mistake, i mean..." his voice trailed..

"bradley, how old" she asked again, more urgently now..

He looked around so that he could make sure no one was listening.."over a hundred years old" he said as she gasped.."I know, freaky, right...im sure it was a mistake" he shook his head..

"sure...a mistake" she said nervously..

"well i will see you later" he said as he walked past her and she stood there, she was shocked and even more confused then before now..

Natalie drank about two cups of coffee as she sat in her office, thankfully the files on her desk kept her pre-occupied as she tried not to think of her very vivid dream, seriously all of this talk about vampires was apparently weighing a toll on her body..

She became deep in concentration on the file before her when a knock was heard and she jumped only to see John come in..She went to say something but the look on his face changed as he looked around.."who was in here" he said almost frantically as she looked at him confused..

"Uh, hello to you to" she said sarcastically..

"Im serious, someone was here" he said as he walked in more and looked around..

"This is a police station, alot of people are in here, what is your deal" she said with annoyance, she seriously wasnt in the mood for this right now..

"Yeah well im sure you dont have many of my kind frequenting your office" he said as he looked at her and she suddenly remembered her dream and apparently he had noticed the change in her.."what? What happened?"

"nothing its just" she remembered her dream some more as he came up to her.."i just, i had this weird dream" she began..

"a dream?" he said as he looked at her..

"there was this guy" her voiced trailed..

"and... Natalie what happened with this guy" he said with aggitation..

She looked at her hands then at him.."he...he called me Lilly and then" she looked back down.."he went to bite me" her words came out quietly..

"son of a bitch" he snapped as she looked at him.."thats wasnt a dream natalie, that was real, he was here" he looked pissed and she just didnt get it, she didnt understand it, how could that of been real?

"But it was a dream, i fell asleep, i woke up" she began to ramble as fear began to course through her body..

"I knew i caught his scent" he continued as he began to pace now..

"Your freaking me out" she said honestly..

"I should of known that he was gonna come" he said as he shook his head..

"what the hell are you talking about" she said with a scared voice..

He finally stopped pacing and looked at her.."that man he is the one that killed" his voice trailed for a moment as he thought of how to say this.."he killed Lilliana" his words made her gasp as she stood there..

"he what, what the hell does that have to do with me" she began as she remembered his words and she felt sick.."Oh my god he thinks im her"..John turned from her now and she felt even sicker.."what arent you telling me, why the hell would he come here, im not that girl, im not lilliana" she began and John sighed deep...

"but you are" his words shocked her as she looked at him..

"what? Are you crazy" she said with a shake of her head.."im natalie, you know this"

"I know none of this makes since to you but its true, you are lilliana,...reborn" she had to sit as he stood there..

"No...i cant be, im not...this is crazy" she said as she began to breathe heavy..

"why do you think we have such a connection Natalie, even how things were with Michael, Natalie its true, you are her" he said quietly..

"Your just trying to mess with my head" she snapped..

"Im trying to be honest with you" he said honestly..

"Bullshit, by feeding me some crazy story, seriously maybe you need some therapy" she said angrily, this couldnt be true, it just couldnt!

"Look at me natalie, look at me and tell me you dont feel something, something so strong that you cant deny it" he said as he moved closer to her, she couldnt speak.."you cant deny it cause its real, and your soul knows, you love me, you belong to me" he began as she got up now..

"You really are out of your mind" she snapped at him as her heart raced just as the door opened and her uncle walked in..

"is everything ok in here" Bo said with concern as John backed up from her..

"yeah its fine, John here was just leaving" she said quickly as her uncle looked at him..

"well not before i talk to him" Bo said seriously..

Natalie felt her stomach twist into knots, what the hell was it now?

"Is there something i can help you with" John said dryly to him..

"actually there is, when was the last time you saw your brother" Bo asked as Natalie swallowed hard..

"what does this have to do with anything Bo" Natalie looked at her uncle..

"he left town didnt he" he said to her and she blinked in shock.."I called the hospital, he left a few days ago" she didnt know what to say..He looked back at john.."where is your brother"

"what does this have to do with anything" Natalie finally interjected.."Ok so he left, end of story" she was getting mad now..

"one of those hairs that you found belonged to him, Natalie... Michael is being charged as a suspect in those murders" Bo said seriously and she couldnt help the gasp that left her mouth..

"My brother is no murderer" John finally spoke loudly as Bo looked at him..

"then tell me where he is cause he has alot of explaining to do" Bo said as he looked at the both of them and Natalie had to sit down, she literally felt like she would faint..