You're Taking the Next Step

Summary: Night has fallen and the hunt is on. Can the Boys find the entrance to the Hotel? And just what will David do to Faer when he finds her?

Night had fallen and the boys wasted no time in searching their cave from top to bottom. The entrance to where Faer was, had to be around there somewhere.

Quickly an hour passed by before they all sighed and sat down in their respected places.

"I don't get it!" yelled David as he fumed quietly upon his throne. "How the hell did she get in there?!"

"Maybe she left the cave and went exploring? You know we've always suspected there to be another entrance to the hotel. We've just never bothered to go looking for it." suggested Marko as he chewed on his thumb. He was worried about the little sis. She was still healing from not eating for a week and since she never came out the previous night, that was just another set of meals she had missed. She had to have been starving by now if not actually getting sick. The human body could only take so much and with her mind in a constant state of fear because of James, that only made the situation that much worse.

"No. Now that I've had a chance to think about it, I don't think she would risk herself like that again so soon. Not after James caught her on the Boardwalk. The entrance has to be in here somewhere. Just, where?!"

"Well, put yourself in her shoes. She's human still, so where would she go first if she was just getting up?" questioned Dwayne. Immediately, they all looked towards the bathroom before they rushed to the door and crammed inside.

They left nothing untouched. Flying to the top, David and Dwayne felt the walls for any leeway, while Paul and Marko checked around the bottom, trying to make sure that nothing was out of place. Within minutes they were once again disappointed when they turned up nothing.

"She'd want food next." said Marko. "A week without food and part of a meal, she had to be starving yesterday."

"Too bad there's nothing in the kitchen for her to eat." replied Dwayne.

"Marko, you'll have to go on a food run later tonight after we've found her. Got it?" said David as they walked into the kitchen and froze. It stunk something horrible to their vampiric senses and cringing when they noticed the trashcan, David gave Paul a pointed look and the wild maned vampire shook his head.

"That is not my job." he said vehemently. "You always send Marko out for food and he's the only one who comes in here, so he should take out the trash. Not me!"

"Hey man! If I fetch it, you can trash it!" yelled Marko.

"I don't care which one of you trash it, just take the damn thing out! NOW!" Freezing as David's patience seemed to snap, Marko and Paul both grumbled before they turned to each other and quickly did a round of rock, paper, scissors. With a triumphant cry, Marko grinned widely while Paul cursed before he walked over to the more than overflowing trashcan and picked it up.

"Ugh…the ladies will never come near me now." he whined.

"Then go take a dip in the ocean on your way back." chuckled Dwayne while he and the others began to look over the kitchen with a more critical eye this time.

This had to be where she had found the entrance. There was no other place she could have done so, considering the third room was a little holding cell they had dug out themselves for late night snacks they wanted to keep around a little longer than a night. That room absolutely had no way out, they had made sure of it.

"Check everything." ordered David as he opened the cabinets and pressed along the back of them to see if something there would give while Dwayne and Marko checked the walls.

"Anything?" questioned Paul, returning from taking out the trash.

"No. Check that side."

"Can do big…bro.." Turning to start on his side, Paul's voice slowly died as he spotted something off, sitting just on top of the counter. "Hey Marko. When'd you get a cat?"

"Huh?!" All pausing in their jobs as well, the other three quickly looked to where Paul's gaze was set, each of them thinking that the youngest of them was just fooling around as he usually did when the air was somewhat tense. But it appeared that Paul was telling the truth, cause right in front of them was a black and white cat staring at them nonchalantly while its tail raised and fell lackadaisically.

"Marko? Have something you need to tell us?" questioned David as he looked at the cherubic vampire with a pointed stare.

"Don't look at me man. I didn't get a cat. The guys don't like them." It didn't take a genius to know that Marko was talking about his precious birds and snorting with disinterest, Dwayne just shook his head and started to step towards the feline that had decided to make itself at home in their cave.

"Then how did it get in? Cats don't come near the cliff." he mused, raising a hand so he could grab the thing. However, before he could touch it, the cat jumped off the counter and dove behind the fridge.

"You don't think…" started Marko as they all froze again, watching where the cat had disappeared.

"No way it's that simple." said Paul, shaking his head.

"Only one way to find out." finished David as he stepped up to the fridge and ripped it away from the wall.

"Huh."

Staring at the wall behind the fridge dumbfounded, the boys all subconsciously slapped themselves as they looked at the small door Faer had found little more than a day ago. In all the years they had spent in the cave, never once had they thought to pull the fridge out, which was kind of funny considering the thing had stopped working a long time before they had ever showed up.

"You don't suppose…" began Paul slowly as he scratched the back of his head and looked sheepishly out into their living room. "We've been living in the servant's area…do you?" The boys all had to admit, Paul's question did seem to be plausible. After all, the hotel that had been there before was said to be one of the grandest in the nation when it was first built. Heck, even Max had said it was a pity more of it hadn't survived when he first stopped by to see them when they had moved in originally.

"Who cares if this was the servant's quarters. It's worked fine for us. But now that we know there's more, I just want to see what's still there. Come on man, open the door!" whined Marko as he stared at David and the door eagerly. More of the hotel, meant more areas for him to explore. More private time from his brothers when they got to be too much.

Not that he was complaining really, it was just…everyone needed their space now and then and well, even though he and his brothers were close, they really could only stand each other so much before they had to take a break. That was why they had had fun digging out a tunnel and putting several rooms in it one year. There was a private space for each of them to just chill and mess up even more than their living room and no one, not even David, was allowed to set foot in them without permission first. It was a system they had agreed upon and it had worked well, even though the rooms left several things to be desired, like actual doors. There were so many nights when the boys were each woken up by one of them having fun with a conquest and well, needless to say, as much as they enjoyed hearing the story the following night, they did not enjoy listening to the tale be wrote.

"Come on David, open the door! Please?!" cried Marko and Paul as they watched their older brother stare at it for a moment before he raised his gloved hand, signaling for the two youngest to be quiet.

"When I open the door, the first thing we do is find her. If she's awake, don't startle her and don't make her scream. Like I said last night, we have no idea what state the rest of the hotel is in. Last thing we need is for her to scream and the building to tumble around us."

"Dude, I'm pretty sure if we haven't caused the rest of the building to fall from our antics, than a scream from Faer isn't going to do much." said Paul with a grin. But David just growled and Paul was quick to put his hands up in surrender. "Hey man, I'm just sayin."

"I'm not risking it. Not until we can look at the building more, understood? Now as I was saying. If she's awake, don't startle her. If she's asleep, don't wake her. Call for me and I'll take it from there. Got it?"

Nodding their heads, the boys all agreed before they turned their attention once more to the door. With a firm push, it swung open to reveal the short room before the second door and opening that as well, they stepped out into the time capsule that Faer had found the other day.

"Woah." echoed Paul and Marko as they looked up towards the ceiling. To say that their shock was great was an understatement. It was pristine, more so than they had ever hoped. If anything, it had looked as though the area they called home had taken more damage than the actual hotel itself.

"Hey David? Can we move in here?" asked Marko with a childish voice as he felt the need to explore fill him. However, David didn't answer and looking about, they quickly realized that he wasn't there.

"He went to find Faer." said Dwayne as he started to walk into the building, not really caring whether or not the other two were following behind him.

"Oh yeah. Gotta find the little mouse. Wanna bet on who finds her first?"

"Pff, you know David will and Mouse?!" mused Paul with a smirk while he and Marko started to follow behind Dwayne. "Where'd you come up with that?"

"Well, she's usually quiet…"

"And she's usually loud as well. Depends on what mood you catch her in."

"Well yeah, but her nature is generally calm and relaxed. However, what I'm really going off of, is that the little sis scampered away from us and crawled through a hole, like a mouse!"

"HAHAHA!" Holding his stomach as he laughed uproariously from Marko's explanation, Paul cried out and rubbed the back of his head when Dwayne quickly slapped him. "Hey, what was that for man!?"

"David said be quiet. Don't piss him off even more than he already is. The last thing we need to do is make him angrier for Faer to deal with, understand?"

"You don't think David would…?" began Marko as he started to worry once more.

"Who knows? But we do know his temper and we know how he can get. Let's try to spare Faer as much as we can right now. He's going to put her through enough just for disappearing for a night. Let's not add to it."

"Yes Dwayne." answered Paul and Marko as their enthusiasm at exploring the place quickly died.

"Good. Then let's find her first and then we can explore. Got it?" Nodding their heads, the three moved to follow after their second oldest brother, their senses heightened as they tried to make sure they missed nothing as they passed.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Traveling up several floors, David began to grow frustrated the further into the hotel he went. He didn't think Faer would have gone this far in to hide, but then again, she was pretty unpredictable at times. It just depended on how upset or unsafe she thought she was, which of course, was a condition of being human. He could recall several instances where his nightly meal had been more thrilling than normal due to someone thinking they could escape his claws. They never could, but he did enjoy the extra amusement they provided as a result of their fear.

Looking around as he continued through, David was absolutely astounded by how well intact the hotel was and inwardly, he was making plans to move his brothers and him into the main area where it would be far safer. After the incident with the Emersons, he had been trying to think of someplace safer for his brothers and him to sleep but no matter where he thought of, the place was either too open or too close to Max for either of their comforts. No matter what, the two of them being on opposite sides of the city was truly for the best.

Pausing in his thoughts as he walked up to the fifth floor of the hotel, he inhaled deeply when he caught scent of something other than dust. It was a soft scent, like honey and milk combined with salt, not entirely unpleasant but it told him that Faer was somewhere in the hall. Wasting no time, he picked up his pace and concentrated on his hearing, trying to see if he could hear her heart beat through the concrete walls.

"….thump….thump…" Looking to the very last door on the right of the hallway, he used his vampiric speed to appear before it in a second before he placed his hand gingerly on the knob. He didn't want to startle her, even though he wanted nothing more than to throttle her at the moment, and he didn't want her to try to run from him again. "..thump…..thump….thump…"

'Her heartbeat is slow. She couldn't still be sleeping could she?' he thought as listened to her heartbeat for another minute. 'Then again, she's not exactly in the best of health at the moment. She's missed too many meals lately and she hasn't been drinking anything either. Her body could be trying to conserve whatever strength she has left.'

Turning the knob, he slowly opened the door before he made his way inside and looked around. He had come into a living room with everything covered in a good layer of dust and the windows shattered by the earth that had crushed it beneath its pressure. All in all, the room was still pretty decent for what it had been through, but then again, the entire hotel was a marvel to behold. If anything, it appeared that the only thing that had defected was the ground beneath the hotel and not the actual building itself.

'That's what you get when you build something on a fault line.' he thought with a shake of his head before he turned towards a large set of doors when his ears picked up a small moan. Within another second, he had pushed them open and moved to stand beside the bed, his eyes taking in the figure that was tossing fitfully upon it with concern.

"GASP!" Watching as Faer shot up panting, David remained silent as she took deep breaths and raised a shaky hand to her head, silent tears coursing down her cheeks while she tried to calm herself. "..he promised." she whispered brokenly. "he promised." David didn't say anything even though he wanted to know who she was talking about, but when a minute had passed and she took in another shaky breath, she paused, her head slowly lifting as her eyes looked blindly about the pitch black room, obviously having caught scent of something other than dirt and dust. "…d….david?" she asked hesitantly.

"I'm here." he replied, not bothering to keep up a charade since that wouldn't get him anywhere.

"w…where?" Spreading her arms out, she searched for her flashlight before she turned it on and blinked at the sudden light.

"Too dark for you?" he asked as he moved to sit upon the bed while she just shook her head no and turned away from him, her hand furiously trying to wipe away her tears. "What was it about?"

"huh?" Stopping in her task, she looked at him confused before he pointed at what she was trying to hide.

"You woke up panting and you're crying. Both say you had a nightmare. What was it about?"

"oh…uh…nothing." David snorted before he grasped her chin and made her look at him.

"Don't lie to me. Now tell me what it was about?"

"…."

"Faer."

"you left me." she whispered.

"What?"

"YOU LEFT ME!" she screamed and covering her mouth because she had become more emotional than she had wanted, she tried to turn away from his shocked gaze.

A moment passed as he stared at the distraught woman, guilt filling him again because he knew he had done more damage than he had thought by leaving her on the Boardwalk alone. It had been such a good plan, but one that he had not thought too hard into. Yes, he was expecting people to come after Faer, but he hadn't expected her to get hurt, physically or mentally, and now she was paying for it with nightmares that appeared to be draining her of what little strength she had left.

"Faer." he said slowly as he moved his hand from grasping her chin to cupping her cheek. "Did you honestly believe we had abandoned you?"

"you…you said…we were going…to the cave. you…you said you wouldn't…leave me…alone! but…you…you…and james…" Wrapping his arms about her as she broke down crying again, David pulled Faer close to him while she wrapped her arms in his shirt and buried her head in his chest. "You promised!"

"I know. I know I promised and I didn't keep it." he said softly as he ran his hand through her hair, his senses just catching that his brothers were in the other room waiting silently. 'Marko, go get her something light to eat again. Take it to my room.'

'Can do.'

'Paul, go find a bonfire for us to crash later.'

'On it.'

'Dwayne, stay here. I'll need you to open the doors when we come out.'

'Take your time.'

Turning his attention back to Faer, David pulled her closer to him until he had her set in his lap, his arms tightening their hold about her as her crying settled to soft whimpers. For a moment, neither of them said anything, the silence was comfortable for them. However, David looked down concerned when Faer began to panic once more, her hand coming up to cover her mouth as she refused to look at him again.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his eyes and hands searching her for a possible wound he hadn't noticed earlier.

"not yet." she whispered which made him pause for a moment before he grasped her chin and tilted her head back. "please not yet."

"sigh…Faer," began David, unsure of what to do. It didn't take a genius to understand what Faer was pleading for. Now that she had calmed down some, her mind was starting to whisper what all he might do to her for punishment and at the top of the list was the one she had been fighting him on since Thanksgiving. She didn't want to drink the blood yet.

"not yet."

"Calm down."

"please david."

"Faer, calm down." he said firmer this time while he moved his hands to grip her shoulders and hold her up before him. "After everything you've done, tell me one good reason I shouldn't have you drink? Do you think we'd have this many problems if you were a half vampire?" Not sure of what to say, Faer simply lowered her head and shook it, a small sob escaping her throat. "Do you know how much easier it would be for me to find you if you drank the blood? How much less I'd have to worry about you getting harmed or killed by something stupid, like I see happen on the Boardwalk practically every day? Can't you see I want you to drink because it's safer for you that way?" But Faer just continued to shake her head. "Why don't you want to drink? Tell me the truth and don't use your lady as an excuse." he asked for what felt like the tenth time since she had figured out what they were.

"I…I don't know." she said.

"That's not good enough." he replied, his grip about her arms becoming tighter.

"I don't know!" she said again with more conviction in her voice. "I don't know! I don't know! I don't know! Please David, I won't run away again! I promise. Just please!"

"No! Not until you tell me why!"

"I'M SCARED!" Pausing in his anger, David stared at Faer with a critical eye while she turned away from his gaze as much as she could, another sob escaping her throat as she raised her hand to cover her mouth. "I'm scared." Sighing, David pulled her close to him once more and rested his chin atop her head. While it was a relief to hear something different coming from her mouth, he knew it was nothing more than a lie meant to appease him.

Faer was smart, he didn't put it passed her to lie to him with what he wanted to hear so he would proverbially take a step back. The only question now though was, did he continue to call her out or did he just accept it with a compromise on both of their parts? He wasn't about to let her get away from him with nothing being done to resolve the matter. No, Faer needed to take another step in truly joining the pack, he just needed to decide how he was going to do it and make her think she was willing in the process.

"david?" she asked shakily when he had remained silent for too long.

"I want you marked." he said firmly.

"But…!"

"I want you marked and I don't care how it happens." Grasping the back of her hair, David pulled her head back and leveled her with a golden gaze. "You are my responsibility understand? If anything happens to you, then I'll be the one in trouble. You can fight me all you want, but you're going to get marked and if you want to come up with a reason for why I'm forcing your hand, then you can think of it as punishment for one; not telling us about James coming to the house until a week had passed, two; trying to commit suicide two nights ago and then finally three; making us panic when you ran in here and hid. Got it?"

"please…"

"No! I've been patient enough with you! I'm not waiting any longer, no matter what Max says." With a stern gaze, he watched as she flinched harshly at his decree but went limp in his hold, her strength gone as her mind finally accepted that she wasn't getting out of it this time. "You'll see soon enough that I'm doing this to protect you."

"not yet." she whined childishly, a little fight left in her even though her body had given out.

With a smirk, David inwardly grinned as Faer finally played into one of his traps. In the four months that she had been there, not once had she fallen for a trap he had laid. She was always able to either steer clear of them, or turn them completely around on him. But this time, this time she had fallen completely into the snare he had set up and unlike the others she had wiggled out of, there was no escape from this one. He would get what he wanted and there was nothing Max could do since in the end, she would be consenting, just not entirely willingly.

Letting her hair go, David began to run his fingers through the strands once more as he pulled her close again. "I'm not always a monster, Faer." he said softly as he moved to cup her cheek and run his thumb along the soft skin before he leaned down and allowed his breath to tickle her ear. "I'll give you a choice. But before you answer, you must listen to everything I have to say first. Understand?" Feeling the surprise roll off of her in waves, David watched as Faer nodded her head quickly before she leaned back a bit so he could see that she had his full attention. "Say it."

"I'll listen."

"Very well. Now as I was saying, I'll allow you to choose, but first you must listen. When it comes to marking, there are several different ways a vampire can go about it. In your case, I'm giving you two, the top two in fact. You can either drink the blood and become half, or you can let me mark you physically." Confusion was quick to set into her eyes and continuing to talk, David tried to erase as much of it as he could. "If you drink the blood, then I'll let you pick your first meal and when you'll make your first kill. I won't push you as I have the others in the past. It will be solely your choice. Now, as for the second one, I can mark you physically by biting your neck and leaving a scar in its place. This will tell not only other creatures like us that you may cross paths with in the future that you are claimed by another clan already, but it will also help me pinpoint your location accurately within a hundred mile radius. This is because when I mark you, I drink a bit of your blood and therefore I am able to form a small mental bond with you for a short period. One, where I can do more than just enter your mind and whisper thoughts like we do with prey."

Immediately, David could see that this was the option she was planning to choose and hoping to dissuade her from doing so, he pulled out what he was sure would be the deal breaker for her, judging from what he had been told in the past.

"Of course, the stipulations of this choice are that I make it pleasurable for you." As he spoke, he let his voice drop down into a low purr as he leaned to the side and let his breath ghost her ear again, a small smile covering his face for all of a second as she shivered against him. "If I mark you physically, then I'll have the pleasure of seeing you fully naked again, only this time, I'll get to enjoy the sight. However, instead of just tasting your breasts and running my fingers along the hem of your panties, I'm going to explore every part of you until you're withering beneath me. I'm going to bring you to your peak over and over until you're nothing more than a panting mess upon the bed and as soon as I make you cum again, then I'll mark you."

He had to grin as he tightened his hold about Faer. She was shaking in his grip once more and unlike earlier when it had been in fear, now it was mostly lust that was making her shiver. He loved that he was able to do that, that he was able to whisper into her ear and make her whither without actually doing anything. If she was this excited by what he was telling her, then he was curious to see how she would be when she wasn't dazed and he had his fingers buried deep within her. Of course, he had to remember that he was trying to get her to choose the blood.

According to her, she didn't want anything sexual with anyone unless they were her mate, and well, yes, he was her mate, but she didn't know that, yet. Faer picking the blood should have been a no brainer. She would have free reign to choose her final transformation and first kill. With the second option, he was literally going to make her submit to his whims and perusal of her body. Thinking, just knowing that it would be too much for her and she would just give in completely and finally drink. So to make sure he had in fact forced her "decision", he tilted her gaze up to meet his once more and leaned down until his lips were just barely brushing against hers.

"And the mark, Faer. I'll have to renew it. Every. Single. Night." The sound of her heart speeding up with newfound lust was not lost on David and grinning, he moved to close the gap between them when she reeled back quickly and tried to push him away once more. David couldn't stop the chuckle that escaped his throat at her reaction, but it was quickly washed away when her flailing died and she allowed her body to rest fully in his grasp. "Faer?" he questioned, concerned.

"di…dizzy. so dizzy." she mumbled and moving one of his arms down beneath her legs, he stood and held her to him as he made for the door.

'Dwayne.' he called, his mind now concentrated on getting Faer to their main living area and feeding her before he ultimately put her back to bed. 'We're leaving.'

'Yeah.'

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

'It's on the nightstand.' said Marko as he watched David walk out of the kitchen with a mostly unconscious Faer in his arms. Nodding his head, David flew up to the Jim Morrison poster with Dwayne and entered the small hallway that was hiding behind it.

'The little chika alright?' asked Paul as his two oldest brothers walked passed him and his room and continued further into the darkness.

'She's sick. Did you find a bonfire to crash?'

'Yeah, a good one too. You should see some of the girls there.'

'You're not bringing any of them home.'

'WHAT?!'

'I mean it. We crash it, we kill them, we burn them. That's it.'

'Aw come on David! My game's getting weak! All this stuff with Faer is throwing me off my groove!'

'I'm sorry my mate being stalked by her ex and our family being in danger is such a damper to your fuck life.' said David icily as he entered his room and lay Faer down on the bed while Dwayne followed behind him and turned on the few lamps he kept in there for when he had company, or well, used to have company. Faer being in the picture had officially destroyed his bachelorhood.

'Aw, come on David. You know I didn't mean it like that.' said Paul with a guilt ridden voice and for a moment, David didn't reply. 'David…?' started Paul, wondering if he had crossed a line with his oldest brother or not.

'I know Paul. I know you don't like it when things get serious for very good reasons. But this is something we can't ignore. So I need you to work with me. Once we get this sorted out, we can go back to partying.'

'….'

'Paul?'

'….'

'Paul, answer me.'

'It's not going to be like last time. Is it?' David and the others paused as Paul voiced his concern. The wild maned vampire didn't often get serious or worried, but when he did, there was always a valid reason behind it and now, Paul's reasoning for wanting everything to get back to normal was because he feared a repeat of three years ago. To be honest, they all feared a repeat of three years ago.

'No Paul.' said David after a minute of silence between the four of them. 'There won't be a repeat of last time.'

'Oh…phew!' Reverting back to his normal hyperactive self, Paul started to hum a random tune and snap his fingers as he made his way to the main cave where Marko was taking care of his birds, so he could wait for the other two. 'I was really starting to worry there bro! Hurry up, I'm hungry!' Chuckling while they shook their heads, David and Dwayne exchanged a look between themselves before Dwayne left David to finish taking care of Faer.

'Give me twenty minutes.'

'Take your time. I'll deal with the clown duo.'

Once Dwayne had left, David turned his attention back to Faer. She was still pretty limp but he could tell that she was conscious if just barely. Sitting upon the bed, he propped her up against his chest and grabbed one of the water bottles that Marko had placed on the nightstand beside the meal he had fetched.

"Here, drink this." he said simply as he held it to her lips and slowly tilted it up. At first, she didn't take it, the water simply rolled down her chin and David had to wipe it off before it caused too much of a mess. "Hey." he tried again, this time slapping her cheek lightly to rouse her a little more. "Faer wake up."

"mmm." she moaned, inhaling deeply as he brought her out of her stupor. Blinking slowly, she looked up at him tiredly.

"I've got some water for you. Drink it." Placing it back to her lips, he began to tilt it once more and thankfully, this time, he saw her throat bob as she swallowed before she raised her hand to take hold of the bottle and started to drink in haste. "No!" he said quickly, pulling it back from her. "You'll make yourself sick and I am not taking care of you again!"

"mm…wha…what do you…call this?" she questioned softly as he placed the bottle back to her lips.

"I call it insurance."

"..for what?" David chuckled, setting the water down upon the nightstand before he grabbed the small bowl of soup and held it in front of them.

"For when I mark you." Immediately, Faer's cheeks went red and David's chuckling increased as he grabbed a spoonful and held it to her lips. "Eat."

"i haven't…decided yet." she replied instead of listening to him.

"So you'll drink?" he questioned firmly. Faer didn't answer, she just turned her head away from him. "If you don't answer, then I'll decide for you and we both know you don't want that." he said as he placed the soup down.

"…you…you're not just going to use me…are you?"

"Hmm?"

"if I…let you mark me. will you…toss me aside, afterwards?"

"Toss you aside? Tch." he scoffed incredulous at her inquiry, watching as she stared at the wall with downcast eyes.

"i wouldn't blame you. it's so easy to find someone…better."

"Better? I don't know what you're talking about Faer."

"someone prettier…skinnier, not so annoying. i'm sure you see dozens on the Boardwalk every…" Grasping her chin, David turned her face quickly before he touched his lips to hers, effectively stopping her tirade of self-loathing. For a minute, he made it forceful, his intent simply to hush her thoughts before he softened the kiss and moved his hand to cup her cheek. When the need for air became prevalent for Faer's sake, he pulled back slowly, allowing his lips to brush hers while he locked his gaze with her shocked one.

"You do annoy me. There is no doubt about that. As for someone skinnier, I'd take your curves any night. And pretty? Do you know how much makeup those bimbos wear? Faer, you tear yourself apart but you didn't think to ask me. I don't think that's very fair, do you?"

"you just want me changed. you'll say whatever you want to achieve that."

"Your words wound me."

"yeah, well the tales Paul and Marko tell are different."

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

In the Cave

"Achoo!" rubbing their noses, Paul and Marko looked at each other before they felt a cold chill run up their spines. To say it was creepy was an understatement, because the last time they had felt that, they had both been human.

"Hey Marko, did you feel that?"

"Yeah. What about you Dwayne?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Aw, come on man. A cold chill. You know, they run up your spine."

"Who did you piss off now?"

"Huh?" Looking at each other confused, the two youngest vampires both froze when a very menacing voice filled their heads.

'You've been telling Faer about our exploits!? When I get my hands on the two of you, I'll…!' began to yell David.

"Hey Paul, didn't you want to try out the new ride on the Boardwalk?" asked Marko sheepishly while Paul quickly nodded his head and the two ran for the cave entrance.

"Yeah. The one they opened last year. Been waiting to ride that thing for a long time now. Let's go."

Shaking his head as the sound of their motorcycles grew fainter and fainter, Dwayne just flipped the page of the book in his hand and continued reading.

'Did they run?' questioned David, his voice still semi angry.

'What do you think?'

'I think I'm going to have fun burning Paul's secret stash and Marko's favorite brush.'

'They never learn.'

'No. But they do make things interesting.'

'True. Is Faer asleep?'

'No, she's deciding.'

'Already?'

'Don't worry. I'm as surprised as you.'

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

David's Room

"david?" Looking at the platinum blonde with trepidation as he stopped talking and simply stared at her with an angry look in his eyes, Faer bit her lip and looked away from him, her voice coming out even smaller than what she had been using minutes earlier. "i'm sorry. i opened my mouth when I shouldn't have."

"…"

"david?"

"…"

"i'm sorry. i didn't mean to upset you."

"…"

"i'll drink."

Coming out of his anger, David looked down to see Faer panicking once more. It took him a minute to figure out why. She was guilt ridden, she thought she was to blame for his sudden anger and in trying to backtrack, she was giving him what he wanted.

"i'll drink! i'm sorry." David could see that she was falling back on what she had learned with James in order to protect herself. He had placed her in an intimate situation and the last time she had been in the same situation, she had been at the mercy of her then fiancé. He had to stop her, before she set herself back to when she was living in New York. "david, please…I…"

"No." he said his voice firm which silenced her shaking one instantly. Cupping her chin, he brought her gaze back to his once more. "You're not going to drink. I'm going to mark you and that's final. Do you understand?"

"…"

"Answer me Faer."

"yes david."

"Yes David what?"

"...i understand."

"Good." Lowering his head, he took her lips with his once more, the touch gentle and chaste before he moved away. "You're mine Faer." he said softly before he claimed her lips again. "My girl."

"yes."

"I'm not James. I'm not going to punish you for disobedience or if you make me look like a fool. If you can out do Marko and Paul in that category, then I'll be surprised. Really." At this Faer giggled a bit, before she wiped the small smile that had come to her face off when he grinned at her. "I'm not going to punish you, but you do as I say and you don't run from me anymore."

"ok."

"I'll protect you. The guys will protect you. James will never lay a hand on you, nor will anyone else."

"…" Watching as she inhaled shakily while she tried to turn her now tearful gaze away from him, he stopped her once more.

"Don't look away from me when you're upset. Don't ever, look away from me. My girl doesn't feel shame by her tears. Understand?"

"yes."

"There's a lot to learn Faer. But you'll get it. You just need to understand the first rule and the rest will be a piece of cake. You can even ask Marko and Paul if you want."

"…what…what's the first rule?" Chuckling, David kissed her lips once more.

"Just be yourself. Think you can do that?"

"maybe. …that was corny." David couldn't stop the burst of laughter that left his lips before he stood and set her upon the bed, her strength having recovered enough for her to keep herself upright for a few minutes.

"Now that sounds more like the Faer, I know." Walking over to the dresser that was placed against the far wall, he opened one of the drawers and pulled out a shirt before he returned to her side. "Put this on. It's not good to sleep in your clothes."

"you guys sleep in them all the time."

"We also hang from the ceiling when we sleep. Not beds."

"oh."

"Change."

"k." Taking a minute, Faer removed her clothes and threw them upon the floor before she took the shirt David offered her and pulled it over her head. She had to admit, the clean, cool item did feel nice against her heated skin.

"Under the covers." he ordered next and quietly, she followed his command before he drew the covers over her and sat down beside her. "Let me see your cheek real quick." Since the incident in the alley a few days ago, he hadn't had the chance to stop and look at the wound the Surfer Nazi had given her. He felt horrible that she had gotten hurt, he didn't think the bastard would have struck her, but he did.

"what did you…do to them?" asked Faer hesitantly.

"What do you think we did with them?" he asked bluntly in return as he trailed his fingers over a particularly sore spot and watched as she flinched.

"beat them unconscious?"

"If that helps you sleep at night."

"oh."

"Go to sleep. I'll be back in a bit." Standing, he pushed her down upon the bed and pulled the covers up higher over her, making sure she was settled before he leaned down and gave her a pointed stare. "Do not leave this bed. Otherwise, you'll be sorry."

"yes David."

"You don't have to be formal you know. You're my girl, not my pet."

"ok." Nodding his head that she had satisfied his demands for now, he closed the small gap between them and claimed her lips one more time, greatly enjoying the soft feel of her lips and hoping to ease her feelings of being in a relationship again. He knew there would be fear in her at the thought. James had done a lot of damage that she had been great at hiding until the man had started to appear in Santa Carla. He had his work cut out for him and he was going to take every chance he got to erase James from her mind.

"We won't be long. Go to sleep."

"k."