Hey everyone! I know it is so delayed this chapter and I do feel bad! I am preparing fro my driving test at the moment and am spending all my free time doing that so I apologize in advance. This chapter is short but I will get another up by the end of the week to make up for it. In the mean time, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own. And you will not sue.

Thank you for reading and staying with me all this time.

Chapter 37

Hueilen rose at twilight the following evening, eager to be out of the house. She knew that if she stayed much longer, she would no doubt be called upon by someone, either her own childe or friends to deal with some matter that had arisen.

In general, she did not mind this behavior. But her muscles and mind were cramped these past few days and craving a good work out, escape was imperative to the situation at hand.

Choosing a simple black shirt and track pant set, she grabbed a few spare bottles of blood from the freezer and headed out past the training grounds and into the mountains.

The sky, purple as a ripe grape, was clear and light; it yielded her no warning of the events that lay ahead.

*A*A*A*

Not long after Hueilen had left her plantation, Beth stirred in her freezer in Serafina's house. She had gone to the freezer before the others the night before, and thus it often allowed her the ability to rise a bit earlier.

Untangling herself gently from Mick's embrace so as not to wake him, she slipped into her robe and headed for the shower.

Washed and dressed sometime later, she headed for the kitchen, choosing to begin her day on fresh yet bottled blood rather than opting for an immediate freshie. Her early rising was also the product of her recent turning and still adjusting body but she had come to enjoy this first hour of twilight to herself, watching the last rays of angry orange fade to soft pinks and even gentler purples; the day disappearing as the night beckoned.

Sipping her blood, she relaxed at the window seat, contentment filling her frame of mind. The last six months had been nothing short of amazing; she was the happiest she could ever remember being. Crazy in love with a man who loved her to death and would give his entire being to protect her, surrounded by family and friends who had welcomed her in a human state and even more so now that she resided among them.

Forever in such a way she mused would be nothing short of sheer bliss.

For the next while, her thoughts drifted as she drained and refilled her glass of blood.

She was startled by a sudden knock on the door. Casting her senses forward, she recognized and immediately opened the door to Robert.

She smiled, inviting him in, drawing him to the kitchen and pouring him a glass of blood. He took a few mouthfuls before clearing his throat while she looked at him expectantly.

"I wanted" he began "to apologize for interrupting your training yesterday. I know I made such a mess of things. If I disrupted you while you were trying to train, I apologize"

Beth reached out and patted his hand reassuringly "not at all. We're fledglings, we're suppose to make mistakes…that's what sires are for"

Robert grimaced and all too late, Beth realized what she had said. "I am sorry" she tried to back pedal "I didn't mean…"

Robert held up his hand, his insides still smarting, his face cool "I know, please don't worry"

He looked down at the table, playing with the glass in front of him. "I just …am finding all of this overwhelming…and it is worse since I don't have a sire to talk to"

"I know Hueilen and the others are happy to talk if you want to" Beth encouraged.

Robert sighed, lifting his eyes to catch hers for a second "I know…but I mean when is the last time any of them where fledglings…Elaina was 55 years ago and after that its Devlin, who is past a century…I find myself completely at a loss at times…perhaps you don't feel it, you are with your sire…I am foolish to talk of such things"

"I do understand" Beth nodded "I feel overwhelmed all the time. I know I am lucky to have Mick, he is an amazing sire, we were close before, he is the love of my life, and all that instinct training has made our bond stronger still"

She paused for a second considering if her next questions maybe too bold though the reporter in her yearned to ask and know "what was your sire like?"

Robert paused, swallowing thickly "she was…amazing, no one could ask for better. She cared for me when I had lost everything in this world, brought me over as her own, taught me. I loved her desperately, still do" he replied truthfully.

Beth nodded her understanding; she could sense Robert's pain about the whole situation. Though he was trying to hide it, his feelings were written clearly all over his face. She knew how awful things would be without Mick by her side; the bliss she had contemplated mere minutes before would be dulled and voided beyond all recognition.

"Are the others up yet?" Robert asked looking around; he had sensed no other movement within the house.

"no, not yet" Beth informed him "Josef and Mick stayed up past dawn finishing a marathon eight ball tournament and Elaina stayed up too as she wanted to talk to Veli about something and waited until he came back from his final rounds. They should be up soon"

Robert drew in a breath; he did not dare believe his luck. He had merely come to apologies; he had seen the suspicion and distrust in Mick's face the night before and had not wanted the obliviously clever detective to make any deductions. But with Beth alone and her protectors lost in blissful sub zero, the time was nigh. He would seize this opportunity and lure Beth from the house, it may be the only time she would be unprotected.

"Beth, do you think you might like to come for a walk with me?"

Beth hesitated; she glanced towards the door as if she expected Mick to walk through it.

"We won't go far" Robert encouraged "I have to be back for some brotherly bonding session at midnight and we'll stay within the training grounds. I just could really use someone to talk to…and you're the first person to ask about my sire, everyone else just glazes over it as if it didn't matter"

His chin quivered "but it does matter a lot…to me"

Beth hesitated a moment longer before nodding her head in agreement "a little while wont hurt I guess. I'll leave Mick a note; that should be okay right?"

"Right" beamed Robert, nodding his encouragement, all the while praying his opportunity would not slip by.

They left the house moments later, Beth throwing on a grey jacket over her shirt.

"Beth, why don't we walk down by the river? It's within the realms of the training ground and we couldn't possibly get lost if we're near it?"

*A*A*A*

So that is it for this chapter. Hope you like it and are kind enough to review!