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The following seconds, minutes, however long it was, that passed after those last words were spoken seemed to blend into each other. Each movement was a blur; I could barely register what acts my body was committing as I lost myself within the dark depths of the rage that had consumed me, blazing like an inferno. And although I moved on auto-pilot, weaving through bodies, mindlessly slashing and tearing away at burning flesh, each cut, each snap of bone was deliberate. Was meant to hurt, to cause the most anguish that I could possibly solicit from these mongrels and every scream only fueled my fire, bringing out a part of me that I had kept hidden for centuries for fear of losing touch with myself and becoming nothing more than an animal.

The beast.

And powerful it was, the beast, almost too much for me to control. It had been caged for far too long, and sought to destroy everything in sight. And I let it.

I had slaughtered all but one of the hounds and emerged from the sea of blood and bone drenched in crimson and not at all sated. I shifted then, and charged through the blood toward the man. He braced himself, bearing fang and claw, ready for a fight. I pushed up onto my hind legs and swiped at his abdomen. His entrails came spilling out, hanging haphazardly down his body, swinging side to side with each movement. The hound screamed in pain and frantically began stuffing the organs back inside of him before the skin healed, and left his intestines protruding from his body.

My thirst for blood was becoming overwhelming. The smell of fear and pain wafted through the air, the scent nearly as alluring as a virgin's blood, and I moved in for the kill, grabbing the cowering man by the throat and slamming his back onto the hardwood floor. I plunged my claws into his stomach, pinching and twisting his organs, reveling in the agonizing screams that erupted from his throat.

He pleaded over and over again for me to spare him, to forgive him and his treacherous acts.

"Why should I be so kind to you?" my voice sounded hoarse as I answered him after I returned to my human form. I laid over him, naked and stained with blood, with my hand stuffed deep inside of him. I pulled again on his innards. "Hm?"

"Fuck!" His large hands wrapped around my own and tried to break free, to stop me from hurting him. I squeezed his neck tighter, causing him to thrash around violently in pain while gasping for breath.

"Please," he said, "I can help you find out who did this. Just please don't kill me."

"I don't know if I believe you."

"I'm not lying, really, Adrian, I can help you. I've always liked you," he said, and I ripped him up from the floor and held him against the wall, both hands wrapped around his throat.

"You have a funny way of showing it then," I growled. "Now tell me, who did this?"

"I can't tell you exactly who did this, only Riggs knew. He passed on most of the orders to us, after that, we started receiving them from vessels…but if you speak to some of the other Elders, they may be able to help you."

I raised an eyebrow. "Any Elder in particular?"

He shook his head. "Anyone older than you…even the demons; they know everything."

"You've been such a great help," I thanked him, and with one sharp movement of my hand, tore his head from his body, taking a decent portion of his spine along with it, and I grinned maniacally at the wet sucking sound it made. Hot blood sprayed across my face as his body hit the floor.

Satisfied now that they were all dead, I tended to Eric and Pam, removing the chains that kept them pinned helplessly to the floor and the silver that had been stuffed down their throats. I offered my wrist to the two of them to speed the healing. Both of them denied, and I watched the open wounds the silver made heal, frowning. I had the urge to rush to Eric's side, to take care of him, but restrained myself. Of all times to coddle, now was clearly not it. I was pissed, to the point where I could have shifted again and created more damage than I already had, but what good would that serve? I would have to save all my anger and take it out on whoever caused all of this.

I watched the vampires. Almost in unison, they began to rub at their throats, discomfort written all over their faces.

"Are you alright?'' I asked them.

"Fucking fantastic," Pam said and rolled her eyes. "I absolutely love feeling as if I actually cannot breathe."

Eric stood and grabbed my shoulders, holding me firmly in place. He lowered his head to look me in the eyes.

"Why did this happen?" his voice was hoarse still from the silver, and he had to clear his throat several times before he could speak normally. "I thought all of this shit with your hounds was over, Adrian."

I sighed. "I guess we both thought wrong then, because someone is still grieving over Riggs, and by the look of things, they're not going to stop until I'm dead," I glanced over at Pam. "Til we're all dead."

"Well isn't that just wonderful. You and your damn kind are about just as much trouble as Sookie," Pam held up her hands in defeat as she scanned the bloody bar, stacked with bodies of multiple species. "What the hell are we supposed to do about this, Eric?"

I cut Eric off before he could answer. "I'll send someone over to clean this place up. In the meantime, I want both of you to pack a suitcase—"

"May I ask why?" Eric raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not sure if another attempt on your lives will be made, so I want to get the both of you somewhere safe. Where they won't find you."

"If I remember correctly, not long ago you agreed to be mine; so, shouldn't Pam and I be fine as long as you're by my side?"

"Of course. And I will be by your side. But I have some…business I need to attend to, and I don't want either of you left alone while I'm not here."

"Let me go with you then."

"Eric, you'll die," I frowned. "I can't take you where I'm going. I wish I could, but I can't. It's too dangerous."

He let go of me and crossed his arms over his chest. Eric looked bothered by the fact I refused to take him, and I understood how he felt; I would probably have reacted the same way.

I ran my hand through my hair and ran through the list of places in my head that I could take these two, and every one of them just wouldn't do. Delilah and I shared a lot of the same friends, and as much as I trusted her, after tonight, I didn't want anyone knowing a damn thing. To bring him and Pam to any one of my properties or houses of friends would be too much of a risk.

I'd have to find someplace else for them, someone else to watch over them. But who?