Disclaimer: Twilight is the property of Stephenie Meyer, my OCs belong to me

This chapter is dedicated to Alphabloodwolf, WriterNMomma, maggiepie123, M-Bianca94, Asherah Isa, Anonymous Guest, Taylor eaglebear, Fadewind and Noble

Sorry this is late, I've had a lot of RL stuff eating into my writing time this past fortnight


Isla

"Perhaps you should take it from the top?" The doctor suggested.

"Um… Ok." I stammered as I thought it over. "Where to start? Well I guess you don't need to know about the week I spent bugging Drogo, although that's where it really started. I suppose this whole mess started on Wednesday morning. I was pissed with Drogo because he'd been ignoring me and I felt annoyed with my friends after the whole soda bomb incident, so I was moping by myself on the beach…"


Drogo is a jerk. That's the only explanation. He'd blown me off two days in a row. The first day having his friends fob me off, the second not even bothering to answer the door, but I could hear them whispering inside. If he didn't want to see me no more, all he had to do was say. That's why I hadn't been there since.

I was pissed with Drogo and annoyed with my school friends so I had nothing to do. I sat down on the beach wall and sighed heavily as I looked out over the breaks.

"You ok Sis?" I heard and I looked up to see my brother standing there. That was unusual, I never saw him this side of the beach.

"Kekipi? What are you doing here? It's your vacation. Shouldn't you be all snuggled up with Billie?" I said, hoping like hell he hadn't ruined his chances with her, I was starting to like Billie.

"Well we were, but then I thought I've never really shown you around my island. I'm taking Billie around hiking and stuff, do you wanna join us?" He said with the smile he used when he was up to something.

"You're not gonna be all over each other are you?" I asked, because I didn't need that right now.

"What's up with you? You're usually pushing us together." Kekipi asked and now he looked concerned.

"Yeah, well…" I paused and decided that I could try and solve my Drogo problem at least. "What do you know about Drogo?"

"He's Billie's friend." Kekipi replied and it looked like I knew more about him than my brother did.

"Do you know if he likes screwing with people?" I asked, cause you know, Billie might have said something.

"In what way?" Kekipi asked, and he was frowning like he was wondering where I was going with this and you know what?

"Doesn't matter." I sighed and stood up as I forced myself to smile. "So you're really inviting me out to your island?"

"Yeah."

"How long?" I asked, because I really wasn't up to travelling all the way out there if I was heading back in a few hours. I was starting to feel hot again, and irritable. I gave myself props for using 'irritable' in a sentence.

"The rest of the week if you want to." Kekipi said with a shrug, and that was a first, I actually felt excited and not just like I was faking.

"I'll need to pack some clothes and let Mom know." I pointed out.

"Let's go." He said and he swept his arm toward the Diner.

I felt my mouth drop open and I had to pick my jaw off the floor before I could ask, "You'll talk to Mom?"

"Of course I will." He said, like it was no big deal.

This day was starting to get better. Kekipi came to invite me to vacation for the week on his island with Billie, and whatever the hell it was that he had against our parents he was ready to get over it. Of course there was another problem.

"Where do I say I'm going?" I asked, just in case.

"Are you banned from visiting me?" Kekipi asked, and I guess he had no beef with me telling Mom I was heading to his place.

"No." I agreed.

"Then tell the truth. You're just coming to stay with me for the week. I'm sure Mom has noticed you're kinda down."

"She has." I admitted, I couldn't hide anything from her.

"Lesgo." He said, and motioned his head toward the Diner.

"Kay." I said and we started walking.

We went in the Diner, which was busy as usual, even this early in the day. Mom was behind the counter like usual, and Bonnie was on today. She was ok, but I know Mom preferred 'Mina' who knew the ropes better than Bonnie who had been working here every summer for the last three years. We went up to the counter and waited for a badly sunburnt tourist to grab his grub and leave. Once he was done, Mom looked up and smiled at me, then looked up further to Kekipi and smiled in welcome and joy that her prodigal son was paying a visit.

"Aloha Jimmy, I wasn't expecting you today." Mom said, like Kekipi popped in every day. "Are you here for lunch?"

"No thanks Mom, I won't be here that long. I came to ask Isla if she wants to come stay with me for the week. It's my vacation after all and it's been a while since we had sibling time."

"Yeah, that's true." Mom conceded, and she glanced at me, seeing if this was something I wanted. I nodded my head. "Ok. You can go, but don't let Big Jim see you. You know how Big Jim worries. I'll tell him later once you're gone."

"Mahalo Mom." I said, already feeling better now I had something to do as I leant over the counter to hug her. "Catch you later."

"Have fun." Mom said as she hugged me back before she held her arms out to Kekipi.

"Bye Mom." Kekipi replied as he hugged Mom, a little awkward like he was worried she would ruin his cool or something.

"Isla?" Mom called, as we were about to leave.

"Yes Mom?" I called back.

"You have fun with your brother, and there's no need to rush back." She said with a smile.

"Ok Mom." I replied and I felt a lot better. I was finally looking forward to my week.

We left the Diner and headed over to the house. Kekipi was in a rush, no local time today, but I guess he wanted to get back to Billie. I didn't blame him, and I suppose the quicker we got there the more time I could spend on his island.

"I'll be quick." I promised and run up the stairs to my room.

I grabbed my bag and threw in enough underwear for a whole week and a few spare pairs of shorts and t-shirt as well as my swimming costume. I grabbed my toiletries and changed out of the dress I'd put on this morning and pulled on a clean pair of shorts and t-shirt. It would be better if we were going hiking straight away. I knew Kekipi had a lack of spare beds so I grabbed my sleeping bag too. If it was dry I could use his hammock.

Then I clattered back down the stairs where Kekipi was still standing, looking around awkwardly. I couldn't remember if it had changed much since the last time he'd been here. Had Mom redecorated before or just after he left home?

"I'll carry them for you." He offered and before I could say no he grabbed my bag and sleeping bag.

I didn't mind so much though. I was choke excited and I couldn't wait to get out to his island. Then I thought of something, something I always wondered about but always forgot whenever he was close enough for me to ask.

"You know I don't think you've told Mom and Dad you live out on an island." I said.

"Because I haven't. I don't want them to know." He said in a low voice.

"Why don't you want Mom and Dad to know you have your own island?" I asked, hell if I had my own island everyone would know!

"What do you think they'd say about me living out on 'Wolf Island'? You know what everyone says about that place." He said, and he looked shifty again and I didn't know why. I didn't want to push it though, I had a whole week to get the answer out of him, but I wouldn't if I made him leave me behind, so I went with what I knew.

"That it's haunted by a wolf spirit? Yeah cause everyone knows Hawaii was teeming with wolves once upon a time." I said, rolling my eyes to show I thought it was all a lame joke.

"Well you know that animal spirits don't have to come from animals. Don't some people have animal spirits? Like totems?" Kekipi theorised, and I didn't know anything about that.

"I don't know. Have you ever seen the wolf spirit?" I asked, I mean it would be cool right? And maybe something that connected us back to our Quileute ancestors here where our Hawaiian ancestors lived.

"Don't believe in ghosts." He said in a way that made me think that maybe there were other things that he did consider real, but all that went out of my head when I realised we were walking into the public harbour.

"Why aren't we going to your garage?"

"Don't wanna be seen. I don't wanna get roped into a quick job that'll end up taking hours." Kekipi said, looking wary.

"I guess you have a point." I said, Kekipi was good, and with that came responsibility.

We got to Kekipi's boat and I jumped in and took a seat in the prow. We started heading out of the harbour and out toward his island. I sighed in relief as the keen ocean breeze made me feel a choke cooler than I had all week. It didn't help with Drogo giving me the cold shoulder for no reason. At least my brother wouldn't do that. Or Billie. I was sure Billie wouldn't abandon me. She could give me some info too.

"I'm glad I'm coming out here." I said, having to shout over the sound of the engine and the wind.

"You are?" Kekipi called back, but it was more to carry on the conversation, he already knew I was.

"Yeah. I can ask Billie about Drogo. I went on Sunday and there were these weird guys there. They gave me choke junk vibes." I hollered.

Why hadn't I remembered that? Oh right, I was pissed with Drogo, so I'd forgot that little detail from Sunday.

"Was Drogo there?" Kekipi asked, and suddenly his voice was all five-O and I frowned a little before I told him what happened.

"No. They said he was out. Like I said, I got choke junk vibes from them so I headed home. I went back Monday and there wasn't an answer, but I could hear voices inside. Like he was trying to be quiet to put me off the scent. It pissed me off really, if I'm getting on his nerves just say. That's why I want to ask Billie if he's a jerk."

"Ok." Kekipi said, but he looked worried and like he was thinking something over before he asked, "Did you go there this morning?"

"Fo' real? Course not. I know where I'm not wanted." I said, folding my arms across my chest.

"Right." Kekipi said and his worried face became plenny more worried when we rounded the bulk of his island.

Anchored out in the deep was a big, fancy ocean going yacht. There was a speedboat moored up at the jetty. I'd never seen anyone else out here, and Kekipi would have told me if he had other guests. What was going on?

"Maybe it's her parents." Kekipi said, but he killed the engine like he was worried it would be heard.

Luckily there was enough momentum to carry us close enough to the jetty so that Kekipi could throw a rope around one of the pylons and pull us in to the wooden dock. There was a sweet scent hanging in the air and it was making me feel woozy. Not to mention that heat was coming back like a bitch and I was choke angry and I didn't know why.

Kekipi motioned for me to be quiet before he got out of the boat. I kicked off my shoes so I could walk quieter when I followed him. We made our way across the beach and I screwed up my nose, as the sickly sweet scent grew stronger. It was hanging thick in the air around here. It was even up the path that led to the hale. Just as we were getting to the top of the cliff we heard the sound of the fight. Kekipi turned to me quickly and grabbed my shoulders. He looked scared.

"Run. Take the boat back to Hilo. Take my car from the garage and drive straight to Susie's. Keep the windows up." He said in a really low urgent voice as he shoved a set of keys into my hand.

"What?" I asked, frowning.

"Just do it!" Kekipi hissed and then without waiting for me to respond again he burst away from me so quickly I almost didn't see him move.

But I got a curious streak something bad and I just had to see what was going on. I crept to the top of the cliff and peeked over. That's when I saw Billie fighting with a group of guys who were sparkling in the sun like cut glass. Kekipi was running toward them and turned into a wolf. I felt my jaw drop open, my brother had just turned into this huge ass wolf, and now he was snapping and clawing at these guys.

The legend of the Quileute was true and these guys, they were Cold Ones, I knew it deep in my gut. Guess that's what Drogo meant when he said I'd know one if I saw one. They were strong though, even just one. I'd read that. The Quileute had packs and fought together, Kekipi was just one wolf against a choke ton of vamps. He was outnumbered and he was gonna lose.

As if the universe was trying to play to some sick irony, right on cue one of them had Kekipi in a death like hug and I heard a loud snap like a bone breaking. There was a yelp and then a whine and Billie stopped struggling and looked up with alarm. It was enough to get her caught and now a guy who wasn't sparkling got up from the floor, rubbing at his head but smirking.

"Well you can come quiet, or we'll kill the mutt." The guy said, and I knew him from somewhere.

"No!" Billie gasped and she was actually crying. "I'll go."

Kekipi growled and tried to get away from the guy holding him, he didn't want Billie to go. Ok so I was only one girl, and they were pretty good not to mention Cold Ones, but I am a black belt in Taekwondo so I can handle myself. Yeah, I could do this.

I grabbed a nearby stick and weighted it in my hand. It was heavy and had a lot of heft; it would make a good club. I broke from where I was hiding with my makeshift club held ready. I crossed the space quicker than I could ever have thought.

"Get your hands off my brother." I yelled, brandishing the stick threateningly.

Everyone turned to me, Billie looked horrified while the guys just took one look at me and laughed.

"I mean it." I growled, feeling my anger rise and that heat, it felt just about ready to burst out of me.

"Go away girl, this has nothing to do with you." One of the Cold Ones said.

"It has when you got my brother." I yelled and I whacked the one holding Kekipi over the head.

It was hard enough to break the branch, and it was solid, sun hardened wood, but the guy didn't even flinch. I don't think he even noticed until the broken piece fell past his eyes. I backed away, not understanding, but still he had my brother and I would take him down. And he grinned at me and squeezed Kekipi making him yelp again.

I felt the anger like fire in my gut. I just wanted to rip this guy apart. I ran at him and then I felt the fire grow and I was flying through the air as I felt myself explode. I landed against the guy that had Kekipi and he let him go, but Kekipi fell to the floor. I attacked the guy like a police dog, taking hold of his arm and pulling it, not letting go until I felt something hit me sharply in the ribs. I yelped and rolled, getting back to my feet and turning to face my new attacker. I might have a different body shape now, but maybe I could utilise some of my taekwondo.

"Bag the bitch, we'll bring her with us." The guy who wasn't shining said, and damn, why was he familiar?

The Cold Ones surrounded me and I looked around trying to figure which one to bite first. I didn't get a chance. I felt something choke around my neck, one of them loopy metal things they use to neutralise gators. Then when I couldn't move one of them got on my back and put something around my head. I couldn't open my mouth. It was a muzzle. I shook my head to try and stop him tightening it, but it was no good. When I was released I pawed at the muzzle trying to get it off, it wasn't gonna happen. One of them pulled on the metal wire around my neck, choking me until I lifted my head and I could see that one of them had Kekipi in his arms again.

"Let him go." Billie was crying. "And her too. I'll go with you quietly. I'll do anything, just let them go."

"Sorry, the deal was for lover mutt there, not the girl." Not shiny sneered. "You've got nothing left to bargain with."

That was it! He was at Drogo's. He came to the door after the other guy, who might be one of the other Cold Ones, but it was hard to tell through the shimmer.

"No!" Billie gasped and tried to fight against the guys holding her.

I felt the cord tighten around my neck and my vision went dark for a moment as I heard Kekipi yelp. When my vision came back and I could get to my feet Billie was on her knees with her hands held in front of her. They were putting something on them before taping them in place with duct tape. Then they taped her hands together. She couldn't fight now and I was subdued and Kekipi was in bad shape.

"Let's get back to the boat." Not shiny said.

"Let him go!" Billie pleaded.

"Oh we'll let him go." He said with a nod as one of the Cold Ones hauled Billie up over his shoulder and stood so that she could see Kekipi.

Not shiny nodded his head in a very specific way and the one who had Kekipi grinned as he tightened his arms and Kekipi yelped, as there was the sound of snapping bones and soft tissue getting sliced. My brother went limp in the guy's arms. I growled and lunged toward him, ignoring the pull of the cords on my neck as I tried to get to my brother. Then I felt a sharp pain as I heard another snap of bone and my left arm, I mean front leg went from under me. They'd broken my leg and I couldn't get enough traction to muscle forward. I was yanked back and my legs went from under me as I watched them drop Kekipi to the floor.

Billie let out an anguished cry. I'd never heard anyone so much in pain before, but it was like she was being ripped apart or something before she started swearing and kicking at the guy who was holding her, but she wasn't going anywhere.

"Pick the bitch up, we're heading back." Not shiny said, walking toward the path.

I was hoisted up onto someone's shoulders and I was being carried away, I looked back at Kekipi until I couldn't see him anymore, just hoping he'd get up and do something, but he was just lying there, so still. So… Was he dead? I felt so empty then, lost and empty.

"Who does that filthy little half blood think he is ordering us around?" The guy carrying me growled to the one walking just in behind us, keeping the cord tight around my neck.

"Yeah." The other one agreed.

"I'm gonna stink of mutt for weeks." The one carrying me said with a sneer.

"Yeah, but you know the little freak is Laci's little pet." The other one said with a sarcastic chuckle.

"I can't wait until she gets bored and kills this one."

The two guys laughed and I figured they were talking about the not shiny one. When we got down onto the beach and in the shade of the cliff they didn't shine anymore. They looked like normal people. Pale yeah, but normal.

I was dumped into the speedboat and Billie was lying on the floor too. She looked into my eyes, but she couldn't say anything, they'd gagged her. She reached out to me, like in comfort, but her hands were covered in oven gloves, she couldn't reach me. The boat started and we were taken out to the big yacht I'd seen. They moved us inside quickly, down into one of the big cabins where we were dumped on the floor. They locked us in.

Billie lay there for a long while just staring. I tried to get to my feet to look around, but my leg really was broken and it went from under me. I whined in pain but managed to at least get up on my stomach. Billie suddenly looked at me and she wriggled around until she got up on her knees. She reached up with her covered hands and managed to remove the cloth that was gagging her mouth. She shuffled toward me and put her hands each side of my face as much as the binds would let her.

"Isla, I know this is scary and I bet you're confused about what's going on."

That was for damn sure.

"You need to change back to your human shape. That way the muzzle will fall off and at least I can tell you how to set the bone in your arm before it heals wrong."

What?

"Look, you need to calm down. Find a centre of calm and pull all that heat back down into your stomach. At least that's how my mother visualises it. Just pull the heat down." She said in a calming voice.

Calm? How could I find calm?

Of course panicking was stupid. I wouldn't get out of this panicking.

I had felt like I exploded with fire, so pulling the fire down made sense. I concentrated, pulling down the heat into my gut. I felt a shiver over my body and the muzzle fell forward against my neck. I reached behind me with my right hand and pulled it over my head. Billie was right, now I wasn't muzzled.

"Good." Billie said. "Now see that lamp? Take it apart and get the rod. Then see if there's some ties or some other stripped garments in the wardrobe. At least you won't have to rip it then."

I nodded and got to my feet. It was painful getting a pole from the lamp, but I figured Billie knew what she was talking about. I took the pole back to Billie then went to search in the wardrobe. It was full of male business suits as well as a few shorts and posh t-shirts. I grabbed as many ties as I could and took them over to Billie.

"What do I do?" I asked.

"Place the ties length ways across my hands." She said as she held up her hands and opened them as much as she could.

I put the ties across her hands as best as I could using only one hand. My left arm was really hurting now and it was taking all my strength not to cry.

"Now put the pole in place." Billie instructed and lay it down so the pole lay along her arm too.

"Now put your arm flat on my hands." Billie said in a calm voice.

"Which way?" I asked, and really I was stalling a little. I'd broken my arm once as a kid and it had hurt like hell when the doc had set it, even with a little local anaesthetic. I was about to do this with no numbness, and I had to do it myself.

"With your palm up." I just about heard Billie say through the pounding blood in my ears.

I nodded and had to move my left arm into place with my right hand.

"This is the hard part. You need to feel along your arm, and pull the bones level." Billie said, still in that calm voice.

"What?" I asked, I really had to do this myself.

"I'd do it if my hands were free, but right now you have to be brave. Otherwise your arm will heal wrong and it'll hurt a hell of a lot more if they have to be broken again to be reset." Billie explained.

"But we'll be out of here by then." I complained because I wanted to stall for as much time as possible.

"Isla, you're a werewolf now. You have super healing. That bone will be healed as good as new by tonight, as long as you set it properly. If not, it'll heal wrong." Billie said in firm tones, and I guess she knew more about this than me.

"Ok." I said as I closed my eyes and decided to do this by feel. Maybe I could pretend it was someone else's arm.

I found the point of the break and I pushed the bone down and back into place. I felt a roll of nausea but I managed to get it into place without screaming or anything. Billie's thumbs closed like a vice around my arm.

"Quickly, tie the ties as tight as you can. Use your mouth if you have to." She said urgently.

I tied them pretty good considering I was using one hand and my mouth. Well it held when Billie moved her hands away, though I had to not wave it around or anything, it wasn't that safe.

"Don't move it around too much." Billie warned.

She didn't need to warn me, I wasn't stupid, but I wasn't about to give her beef about it either. She looked scared deep down. She was just about holding it together, but then we'd both just saw Kekipi possibly die. I didn't give her no beef because looking after me was the only thing keeping her with it right now.

"Ok." I said instead.

"Now look if there's anything that will fit you in that wardrobe. I'm sure you'll feel more comfortable if you're dressed." She said.

"Dressed?" I asked with a frown, and then looked down at myself. I'd been naked this whole time. Great.

"You're clothes don't magically disappear and magically reappear when you phase." Billie said, smiling a little and I guess I should have thought about that anyway.

I nodded and got up. I pulled out one of the posh t-shirts. It was ginormous and was easy to pull on and covered me like a dress, but I didn't trust the Cold Ones. I pulled out a pair of pants and pulled them on. Shuffling awkwardly as I did it all one handed. Once I was dressed I went back to Billie.

"Are they Cold Ones?" I asked cause I needed it confirmed.

"Yeah." Billie said as she gave me a scrutinising look. "I take it you read the Quileute legends."

"I got curious." I admitted before I added, "Drogo told me a little, but I think he was covering. He's tied to all this too right?"

"Yeah." Billie said with a nod, well there was no use hiding things now.

"And that lol buggah, the one who wasn't shining, what's he?" I asked.

"Who Ritchie? He's a dhampir. A half vampire. His father was a vampire and his mother was human." She explained and gave me a careful look before adding. "Like Drogo."

"Oh god! Did he turn us in? He promised me…" I felt my anger rising again. It was bad enough that he'd shunned me because I'm an annoying kid, it'll be even worse if he betrayed us.

"What do you mean?" Billie said sharply, her tone cutting through the building anger.

"I went to visit him on Sunday, to tell him about meeting Gran and Gramps, but he wasn't in. That Ritchie guy was there and he said Drogo was out with his brother." I explained.

"Ritchie was at Drogo's house?" Billie asked and she looked sick.

"Yeah." I confirmed and I felt bad all of a sudden, because the look on Billie's face said bad news.

"There's no other heartbeats on here other than ours and Ritchie's. There's no other dhampir. I think… Drogo wouldn't give us away. I think they got lucky finding the island and I think…" She trailed off, shaking her head as she squeezed her eyes shut on the tears that were hovering there.

"Think what?" I demanded because I already had a good idea, but I didn't want to be treated like a kid now.

"Let's just hope it was quick." She whispered as she brushed the tears from her eyes.

"Quick? You think they killed him?" I asked and I felt sick and also like a creep, I'd been thinking all those junk things about him and…

"They wouldn't leave him behind if he was still alive. Too much of a liability since he could report them to the Coalition." Billie said, and that was a point, but I didn't want to hear it right now. I'd possibly lost my brother already today, I couldn't accept losing Drogo too. I needed a distraction.

"So what are you?" I asked, since she had to be something.

"I'm technically a dhampir, but I have a little wolf in me too." Billie replied with a smile and I felt my eyes drawn down to her stomach because.

"Not like that." Billie said, and she actually laughed. "My mom is half wolf half vamp, my dad is a vampire and I fell further on the vamp side of things."

"But wait, aren't the wolves and vamps enemies?" I asked because that's what all the legends said.

"It's complicated and I promise to tell you all about it when we get out of this. Call it an incentive." She remarked.

"I guess this isn't the time to get into long stories." I conceded.

"No." Billie agreed.

"My arm isn't hurting as much now." I said as I realised that it hadn't nagged at me for at least the last five minuets.

"Super healing is ono." Billie stated and I couldn't argue with that.

"Yeah. When it's healed do you want me to take the tape off?" I offered, nodding toward her hands. That had to be uncomfortable.

"Not yet. They could come back in at any moment. They might tolerate you being human, but they won't tolerate my hands being free." She said, looking down at the oven gloves with annoyance.

"Why?" I asked, I mean she was pretty good with the fighting, but there was more of them and we were on the water, not like we could fight our way out.

"I got a power. I drain energy from anyone. But only if I can get my hands on them." Billie said like it was nothing, like people had super powers everyday.

Of course, I could turn into a wolf, why couldn't someone drain energy from other people?

"I thought the oven gloves were weird, now it makes sense." I observed.

"They keep Billie safe." I said wryly. "Of course, they didn't need these. Normal gloves would have sufficed. When I was a baby, before I learned control, I had to wear mittens all the time."

"You've been a vampire since you were little?" I asked feeling shocked, what was that like?

"Since I was born." Billie said, like it was nothing again, and I guess to her it wasn't. It was her normal. "Us dhampir are dhampir from birth, we don't get triggered at puberty."

"Is that why only now the wolf showed up?" I asked, since I was sure Mom would have said something if I burst into a wolf when I was a kid.

"Yeah. I think you might have to blame me and Drogo too." Billie said as she shifted uncomfortably.

"Why?"

"Vamps being nearby triggers the wolf, and it can't tell the difference between veggies, carnies or dhampir." She replied and I frowned as I really thought that through. I'd had this ticking time bomb inside me that had been triggered and nobody thought it was a good idea to tell me I could explode at any moment? What if it had happened with those kehole in Honomu?

"Why wasn't I told any of this before?" I demanded, I couldn't help the anger I felt.

"That's why you were coming to stay with us for the week. I finally managed to convince Kekipi that you had to know. I should have come to Hawaii with him instead. We could have found somewhere there to tell you. Instead you were brought into danger and now… Now we have to escape."

I guess that was the most important thing right now. Getting out of this and getting home. Then I could lay into them all when this was all over.

"How?" I asked, because I had no clue. We had to be in the middle of the ocean by now.

"I don't know yet." Billie said, looking annoyed with herself. "I'll get us out though. I promise."

"I know." I trusted that she could.

There were footsteps above us and Billie motioned for me to be quiet and move back against the bed so I was next to her. I did that as soon as and had just got comfortable when the hatch opened. That Ritchie guy entered with another guy behind him, he was a lot paler than Ritchie and I guess that meant he was a vampire. He looked between me and Billie and looked amused. Ritchie looked angry.

"Why is she human?" Ritchie demanded, jabbing his finger at me, and under normal circumstances I would have chewed him out over that. No one points at me.

"Because one of your goons broke her leg. If she stays as a wolf it's going to heal weird. You really want that?" Billie demanded, like we weren't the prisoners here, but guests or something.

"Quiet down Ritchie. You got what you came for and got a little extra. There's no need to torment the poor girl. We don't want her to think we're savages." The vampire said firmly, before he smiled at me.

"You gonna block me on this one too?" Ritchie demanded, and there was clearly tension there.

"You can't handle the situation, you've proven it time and again. I'm in charge until we get back to Laci." The vamp said, and he looked pissed that Ritchie was even arguing in front of us.

Ritchie didn't like being told what to do, but I guess he was smart enough to realise what was happening here. He turned to us and grinned. It wasn't a nice grin and for some reason I really wanted to tear it from his face.

"I can't wait for you to meet Laci." He crooned.

"So I was right? You are doing this for pussy." Billie said with a snort, like she was teasing a lame ass.

That must have been a pretty powerful insult because Ritchie scowled at Billie before he stormed out. The vampire stayed behind.

"I'd be careful not to wind him up too much Red. I can keep him under control for now, but as soon as we get to Laci, well you're the wedding gift. Make of that what you want." The vampire said to Billie before he looked directly at me, and his eyes were really red! "The wolf? She's a little extra something. Such a pretty thing." He reached his hand out to touch my cheek or something, but that's one thing I wouldn't let them do. I slapped his hand away. "Yes. Perfect little thing. We need to mate you with a few of the dhampir boys first, but once you've whelped enough I'll enjoy experimenting to see if it's only the mouth venom that's poisonous to you wolves."

"She's just a child." Billie growled and she moved a little in front of me, like she was going to protect me.

"Not in my day. Besides, who knows how many years of produce we'll get out of this one before we have to put her down. I guarantee little girl, that you will know pleasure, but you'll die writhing in agony and screaming in pain, just like Drogo." I don't know, that last bit seemed kinda tacked on, but it cut something deep inside me. It was one thing to think Drogo might be dead, but to think he'd died in agony?

"What did you do to him you bastard?!" I growled and I was ready to rip his junk head off.

Billie yanked me back and I realised I'd made a mistake.

"Interesting." The vampire said as he smiled at me, and I realised he'd been baiting me. Wanting to know what made me tick. I'd just given something away!

The vampire chuckled as he left.

"You need to calm down." Billie said urgently in my ear.

"I want to tear him to shreds." I growled, although I was fighting back against the heat, but it was a losing battle.

"Maybe one day, but right now we need to get off this thing." Billie said calmly, and she was right.

It took a lot of effort, but I finally managed to pull the heat back down. But now I had to think about what the vampire had said. I felt sick and like crying.

"Does that mean they tortured him to death?" I whispered.

"I think he was just trying to trick you into revealing an affiliation." Billie said but I recognised that tone.

"You're lying. I know your lying voice now. I mean I thought you were before, lying to me, but I know it now. All the stuff you told me that was lies. It was to stop me finding out all this stuff?"

"Yeah." She admitted.

"Why?"

"Because I wasn't sure you'd make the change at first, you were just Kekipi's little sister, and then when I could smell the wolf about you I advised Kekipi to tell you." She said, and that was all the truth.

"Wait. Wait. Is…is that how you saved me from the kolohe in the park?" I asked, realising that she really was a super hero that day.

"By using my superior strength on those silly human kids? Yeah." She said, like she wasn't proud that she had to resort to beating human ass but it was worth it to help people out.

"You didn't know it was me at first did you?" I realised.

"I knew it was a bunch of idiots trying to mug someone. I couldn't let that go ahead." She said, like it was nothing to take on a gang of muggers on your own for a complete stranger.

"So my sensing the otherness about you was right?" I said with a laugh, I was looking for anything to help us through this.

Billie nodded.

"I'm ono, well for recognising there was something junk about you." I said, teasing her because it helped to laugh a little.

"You guessed right kid." She said with a wink.

Just then my arm started itching like crazy and it felt like it was on fire. I told Billie in case something was wrong.

"That's good. It means it's healing." She told me.

"Ok." I said, feeling a little relieved, but I couldn't wait until I could get this pole off my arm. "How long now?"

"Another hour and you can take the support off." She said and that was good to hear.

"And then?" I asked hopefully, were we finally making our escape?

Billie nodded.

That hour seemed the longest of my life, but finally I was able to take the pole off my arm. It still felt a little tender, but you'd never think my bone was broken only a few hours ago. That was amazing and I said as much to Billie.

"It's pretty cool." She said before she held her hands up. "Now can you get the tape off?"

I picked at the tape, wishing that I had something to cut through it. But I managed to rip it enough for Billie to slip the gloves off her hands. She opened and closed her hands a few times then grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet. She put her finger to her lips. Complete silence from now on. I could do that.

Billie led me over to the hatch and then she stopped, looking like she was listening out for something. Then faster than people should move, Billie pushed the hatch open and she leapt out and I was pulled out with her. It was like, one minuet I was down in the cabin and the next I was up on deck. I couldn't stand around wondering though, we had to get moving, find a boat we could steal.

Billie pulled me to the left side of the yacht and there was a lifeboat strung up on a frame. Billie motioned for me to help her get the boat down and it was easy to do. I guess that was the point. We dropped it over the side and it was a long way to the water. It was our way out though.

Billie took my hand and I saw her look, we were jumping and we'd have to swim for the lifeboat. I took a deep breath and got ready. I got ready to jump on Billie's cue, but a hand clamped over my mouth and I was dragged back by a cold rock strong arm that curled around my waist. I was trapped against the cold body of a vampire and now I knew why the Quileute called them the Cold Ones.

Talking of Quileute, being this close to the vampire, his cold against me, being trapped, and that junk sweet scent that was burning my nose with every breath, the wolf wanted out. She wanted me to change again, to let her take these monsters out. It's what we're built for. My human brain was quick enough to stop my instinct. If I turned into a wolf now the vampire would crush me like they'd done to Kekipi. This wasn't the time to fight. If it was Billie wouldn't be surrendering to the creep vampire again.

"Won't be that easy Red." Mr Creep whispered into her ear. "Although you've made our job easier, we're about to make our rendezvous."

The vampire who was holding me yanked me around and I fought against him a little. There was no need to be so rough, it's not like I could get away. I saw what they wanted us to look at though. A small cargo ship coming up on the aft side, but it still dwarfed the yacht, and that was massive to begin with. They were taking us on there. Well, the vampire would have to carry me on. I let my body relax completely and the vampire had to adjust his hold, as I became dead weight.

They lashed the yacht and ship together before a gangplank was lowered down from the ship. I was forced to bow my head, forced to kowtow to whatever was coming down off the ship. Ritchie was excited, bouncing around like a little puppy before he forced himself to stand to attention.

There was a woman walking down the gangplank, a vampire flanked by two burly vampires. She was beautiful, but it was all a façade. She wasn't beautiful inside and I could smell it. She stopped in front of Ritchie and stared at him. She looked right through him and this was the woman he betrayed his people for? She barely even saw him.

"Laci, I got her. Billie Black, I caught her. And a wolf too." He said excitedly.

Laci stared at Ritchie for an uncomfortable few seconds, and he shrunk slightly. The guy was an idiot, this woman didn't love him, she was just using him. I could see that in the few seconds I'd seen them together. Maybe she even abused him because he was shrinking away like he wasn't sure what her reaction would be. Had he done good or bad?

Laci turned to look at Billie, who fell to her knees when Mr Creep kicked the back of them. As she fell Billie's head lolled forward too and Laci sneered a little as she grabbed Billie's chin and yanked her head up. I had to hand it to Billie, she didn't look scared and that gave me courage not to show my fear either. Seemed the best thing with these guys was to show bravery.

Laci smirked as she turned away from Billie.

"This is the great Billie Black." Laci announced to the assembled vampires and they all laughed at her lame ass joke; did she pay them to hench or something? "Looks like she's nothing more than your average half blood after all."

Billie didn't bite so Laci turned her attention to me.

"She is not Native American." She said as she inspected me through narrowed eyes.

"Just get a sniff of her." Mr Creep said with a grin.

Laci took his advice and sniffed me before screwing up her nose.

"Oh yes. Definitely a strong smell of wet dog." She said, her look of mild disgust turning into a triumphant grin. "A marvellous haul, my comrades. We will rebuild our empire and Jane will fall."

"Aye!" The vampires chorused.

"And you my love." She said as she turned to Ritchie. "You've made me proud."

Ritchie straightened up, stupid guy that he was. All this for a little compliment? Seriously?

"You will be rewarded." Laci purred as she grabbed his chin a little roughly before they locked lips and I tried not to spew. Skank.

"Not to rush you Laci, but maybe we should take this onto the ship and dump the yacht." Mr Creep said, and judging by his face he thought the kissing show was a little gross too.

"You think you were followed?" Laci demanded and looked ready to slap a bitch.

"I doubt it, but we run into one of Jane's minions. We neutralised him, but you can't be too careful." Mr Creep replied.

"Then take the cargo on the ship." Laci said sweetly.

"I just need to package this one securely to avoid damage." Mr Creep said as he tightened his grip on Billie's wrists for a second and Laci smirked.

"Be quick about it." Laci sang before she grabbed hold of Ritchie and led him up the gangplank.

I didn't know what they meant by secure the package until one of the vampires stepped forward holding a straight jacket. Billie lost it when she saw that and tried to pull out of Mr Creep's grip.

"Behave or we'll kill your little friend." Mr Creep said in a friendly voice for such a junk threat.

"You won't. She's rare. A wolf, you need her alive." Billie argued as she still struggled and I hoped like hell they didn't call her bluff.

"Alive, yeah. Doesn't mean we can't hurt her though." Mr Creep said happily and the vamp who was holding me dragged me around in front of Billie and I felt his hand clamp around my wrist until I could feel my bones bend.

"Fine." Billie said reluctantly. "I'll put the jacket on."

"No funny business." Mr Creep said darkly as he let go of Billie.

The vamp kept hold of my wrist until Billie was safely in the straight jacket. Then we were led up onto the ship. They led us to the hold and Billie was forced into a chair and they shoved me into a cage. They threw a blanket at me and I fought myself free and got ready to run out, I don't know what I would do, but I could maybe turn into a wolf. There was enough room.

The vampire slammed the door at the last moment and as I growled at him in annoyance he picked up a metal bar and started moving it back and fore the bars. It was loud and echoed in the hold. It hurt my ears like no-ones business and I put my hands over them to try and block it out. The vampire grinned at me as he threw the bar to the side then sauntered away.

I turned then to see what was happening to Billie. They were setting up lights around her and put headphones over her ears. I bit my lip wondering what was going on. Then the vamps left us. I waited for them to come back and do something, I don't know, anything. But they just left us.

I sighed and spread out the blanket on the floor and sat down on it. I guess I'd conserve a little energy this way.

"Don't worry Isla. We'll get out of this." Billie shouted, like we were in the middle of a nightclub and I realised that maybe she was. Wasn't that a torture method? Blasting music non-stop into someone's ears.

Then Billie started shifting around in the chair. I watched, wondering what she was doing and then it clicked. She was trying to get out of the jacket. She was getting out of that jacket. It took a little while, but finally Billie was free. She grinned as she ripped the headphones off and then she crossed quickly to the cage.

I got up and rushed to meet her. I looked through the bars at her and Billie's grin widened as she winked at me. Billie moved around to the door and I followed her with my eyes. She looked at the lock for a moment before she sped over to the table and came back with a piece of wire.

She managed to pick the lock and she threw the door open. I rushed toward her, happy that we were free. I stopped dead as Ritchie emerged out of the shadows and he put his hand on Billie's forehead. She looked at me in shock and then she fell unconscious.

"You're ours now." Ritchie said as he slammed the door shut and dragged Billie back over to the chair. "Don't try to escape. There's nowhere to go but the ocean floor."

"What did you do to her?" I demanded, but he ignored me as he repositioned the headphones back on Billie's ears and then he left.

I went to check the cage door, but it had locked again. Damn! I wanted to check that Billie was ok, but I couldn't do that from here. She wouldn't hear me anyway. I paced back and fore the cage trying to think of a way out, but there really wasn't a way through solid metal.

I don't know how long I'd been there when Mr Creep came down the stairs carrying a drinks cooler while a vamp behind him carried a tray of food.

"Chow time." Mr Creep said as he dropped the cooler by Billie and took the tray from the other vampire and carried it over to my cage. "Eat up nice and then you'll get a bathroom break." He said as he pushed the tray through a slot in the bottom of the door.

"And if I don't?" I asked.

"Well you're stuck in there full bladder or not." He said with a shrug.

I didn't doubt they'd leave me in here so I ate the food. It was chicken and rice. It was a bit bland and the chicken a little dry, it really could have done with some sort of sauce, but it was better than nothing. I gulped down the water too, I hadn't realised I was so thirsty.

"Diego will show you to the bathroom when you're ready." Mr Creep said, indicating the Latino looking vampire beside him.

Diego would be quite handsome if it wasn't for the red eyes. I nodded and finished off my food as I watched Mr Creep go over to Billie. He took something out of the cooler, it was a blood bag, and he snipped off the valves with a pair of scissors. Then he removed the headphones from Billie and she turned her head as if to see where the music had gone.

"Chow time." Mr Creep said as he put the end of the pipe into Billie's mouth and she started sucking from it like it was a juice box.

I picked up my tray and stepped up to the door.

"Ready?" Diego asked me and I nodded.

Diego opened the door and took the tray from me and placed it on a box hidden in the dark.

"Drogo felt the same at first, but he soon changed his mind." Mr Creep was saying to Billie. "Now if you behave I'll remove the straight jacket and put you into a more comfortable pair of silk gloves. Wouldn't you like that?"

"Yeah." Billie murmured, but she sounded drugged.

"Oh and don't think about trying anything, or else…" Mr Creep said as Diego led me passed them, his hand on my arm to guide me on to the steps.

"I'll behave." I heard Billie slur as I started up the stairs.

"Good girl." I heard Mr Creep say as I got up on deck.

"It's this way." Diego said, gesturing toward the cabins.

"Can I just breathe in the air a moment?" I asked.

"You can breathe as we walk." Diego pointed out.

"So you're a vampire." I said as I went toward the cabins.

"Yeah."

"Ho brah, I didn't even know you lot existed this morning, and now… It's all so ono really. Are you plenny old?" I asked excitedly.

Diego stopped me and turned me to face him. He looked into my eyes for a long moment. Then shrugged.

"No. I've been a vampire for twenty years and I was twenty when I was changed. I'm gonna give you some advice, don't chat so much. I don't mind it so much, but the others can get loco about it. Comprende?"

"Fo' suah brah, I understand." I said earnestly before I gave him a smile. "You blame me for being curious?"

"It's suspicious." He said as he nudged me to start walking again. "Here's the bathroom. You got five minuets."

I nodded and stepped inside. It was small and clearly a workers toilet. I could sit on the toilet and wash my hands at the same time. There really wasn't the room to freshen up here, but at least I could empty my bladder and bowels so it was one less thing to worry about when I was stuck in that cage.

I washed my hands and looked into the grubby pitted mirror above the sink, but it was too small to make anything out really, to see if I looked any different now that I was a wolf. I flicked the water off my hands, there weren't and towels or a hand dryer, and stepped out of the bathroom.

Diego was standing there like a statue that came to life as soon as he saw me come out.

"Nice facilities you have here." I joked.

"Vampires don't need toilets so it's not high on our list." Diego explained as he motioned for me to head back to the hold.

"Never?" I asked as I started walking.

"Nope." He answered.

"But where does all the waste go?" I wondered out loud.

"I'm no biologist." Diego said with a shrug.

"Um…That other guy said something about venom. You think that waste turns into that?"

"How should I know? Do you know every function of your body? And I flunked out of science. School was boring." Diego said, sounding annoyed.

"I bet you wished you'd listened now." I said.

"I'm a procurer. I don't need no education, like the song says."

I shrugged.

"Now down the steps."

I walked down ahead of Diego and when I reached the bottom Ritchie had his hand on Billie's forehead again. He sighed heavily as he replaced the headphones and stepped back.

"I told you it wouldn't work." Ritchie said.

"I had my fun." Mr Creep said with a shrug.

"Billie? Billie? Are you ok?" I called as I run up to her and nobody stopped me as I knelt in front of her and touched her cheek.

There wasn't any response. She was still breathing sure, but this was, well I don't know. Her body was alive but she wasn't in it. That's the only way I could explain it.

"Come now Isla, back to your cage. The boys chipped in for a bed for you." Mr Creep said as he put his arm under my elbow.

I frowned as I stood up and made my way over to the cage, although I didn't take my eyes off Billie the whole time. She just sat there, staring ahead as the music pounded in her ears. I was so distracted by this that I was inside the cage before I saw my new bed. It was a doggie bed. One for like a Great Dane or something, but still it was a Doggie bed. At least they hadn't taken my blanket away and I had pillows now too.

I didn't make any moves toward the bed though, I just stood watching Billie. The vampires left us alone again and I was starting to feel tired. I didn't want to risk sleeping, but if I didn't sleep it would be worse for me. I arranged the pillows inside the doggie bed and curled up on my side, pulling the blanket over me. I don't know how I managed it, maybe it was survival instinct, but I managed to drift to sleep.

When I woke my head was on the floor. I must have moved in my sleep. I opened my eyes to find Mr Creep was watching me. He was lying on the floor outside the cage, his head turned to the side so he was staring right into my eyes as soon as I opened them.

"Good morning sunshine." He whispered, like we were lovers waking up together or something.

"Is it?" I asked since it could still be dark out, there was no natural light down here.

"Don't be sour." He said softly.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Watching you sleep." He crooned as if it wasn't the most creepiest thing in the world.

"Creepy much." I said, wrinkling my nose in disgust.

"Not really. I find watching mortals sleep so restive. It's the closest I can come to actual sleep now. Were you dreaming? It looked like you were dreaming." He said, ignoring my tones.

"If I was I don't remember." I said as I sat up and straightened out the oversized t-shirt I was still wearing.

"What a shame." Mr Creep said as he sat up and mirrored my position, crossing his own legs in half lotus. "Are there any dreams that you do remember?"

"Isn't that a little personal?" I demanded, scowling at him.

"Do you know how long it's been since I last dreamt?" He asked.

"I have no idea." I said blandly.

"A hundred years." He said and sighed.

"Wait. You told Billie that in your time I wouldn't be considered a child." I pointed out.

"I was baiting her." Mr Creep said with a shrug. "I think we should get to know each other."

"That's not some junk creep lie." I said, giving him a wary look.

"Lie?"

"Like that Ritchie kolohe lied." I said.

"How did he lie?"

"He said he'd let Kekipi go. He lied. Or didn't in that junk bad guy way. We said we'd let him go, didn't say nothing about letting him live." I explained.

"Yeah. That was low." Mr Creep said with a nod. "Ritchie's a little punk who lacks finesse in these matters. He has no idea how to conduct himself properly."

"And you do?" I asked in disbelief.

Mr Creep looked at me for a long moment without blinking.

"What did you think I meant when I said we should get to know each other better?" He asked.

"I've seen enough junk movies." I said flatly.

"Don't worry. I won't force you into anything. Where's the fun in that?" He said, giving me a smile and I didn't know what to make of his expression. "I just meant that we should introduce ourselves. My name is Jules. What's yours?"

"Isla." I said, wondering why he was asking since he already seemed to know.

"Like Isla Fisher?" Mr Creep asked.

Yeah, I might know his name was Jules, but he was still Mr Creep.

"Who?" I asked.

"Before your time I guess. She was an actress."

"Well I'm not. I'm just a kid." I said flatly.

"How much of a kid?" He asked, giving me a look that said he didn't think I was entirely innocent.

"All the way a kid." I said, glaring at him.

"A good girl." He mused.

I glared at him.

He laughed like I'd said a funny joke and I frowned.

"You don't have to be afraid of me. I can protect you if you're willing to accept it." He said in a low, intense voice.

"I bet it comes with a price." I said, folding my arms.

"Of course. But there's no rush. It really wouldn't do to kill you before you're useful." He said with a shrug.

"Mahalo." I said sarcastically.

"You will thank me later." He said with a smirk.

I shrugged, and glanced over at Billie. She was sat in the chair, still not moving, still just staring ahead.

"What did he do to her?" I asked.

Mr Creep looked over his shoulder like he had to check who I was referring to. He turned back and smiled humourlessly.

"Ritchie broke her mind." He said with no tone in his voice.

"What?" I asked, not understanding what he meant.

"Oh didn't you know Ritchie's little gift? He can make people think things. It's his method of interrogation. It works fifty percent of the time, but at least it's bloodless."

"Bloodless?" I asked, latching onto that word. "Is this the method you used on Drogo?"

"Tell me Isla, why were you visiting Drogo?" He asked.

"For surf lessons." I replied and he gave me a doubting look. "And he's my friend."

"Was your friend." Mr Creep said with a smirk.

"Is my friend." I said firmly.

"If you wanna lie to yourself." He said with a dismissive shrug.

"So anyway, was this what you used on Drogo?"

"At first. But Ritchie made a mistake in the mind maze and Drogo spotted the lie. It broke, so we had to use more traditional means." He said with a smile and I shivered. "Of course you can recover from, that's not always the case with Ritchie boy. Sometimes he breaks their mind. Billie of course, we didn't need any information from her. Ritchie was free to do whatever he wanted with her and he crushed her mind immediately." Mr Creep added, crushing something invisible between his hands.

"Poor Billie." I said, and I felt the tears in the corner of my eyes. "Why? She was already here. Already hurting. Why?"

"The guy's a douche." Mr Creep said as if he hadn't just been showing delight at the thought of torturing Drogo. "Got some big obsession with her. I mean, we came all the way to Hawaii just for her. If it wasn't for her running away to Hawaii we wouldn't have known about you and we wouldn't have had to kill your brother. That was your brother right?"

"Don't blame Billie for this. You had no reason to come looking for her." I said angrily.

"She's the enemy." Mr Creep said as if that was a valid answer.

"You're the bad guys." I pointed out.

"How do you know?" He challenged.

"You locked me in a cage and gave me a doggie bed and you crushed Billie's mind, that equals bad guy." I said, without hinting at a give in my argument.

"Then I guess we'll have to convince you otherwise." Mr Creep said as he got to his feet and went around to open the cage door.

"What are you doing?" I asked, feeling suddenly on alert.

"Do you want breakfast?" He asked.

I nodded.

"Then come on. I'll take you to the mess hall. Have your pick of the banquet before the kiddies strip it bare."

"Kiddies?" I asked as I stepped out of the cage, keeping a close eye on Mr Creep, I'd go wolf on him if I had to.

"You'll meet them soon." He answered, and it was obvious that's all he would say.

"Which way?" I asked.

"Go up on deck and I'll direct you."

I went up on deck and Mr Creep directed me toward a set of steps and I climbed them and entered the cabin area of the ship. I had to walk along a corridor that was swaying a little. I hadn't noticed it so much down in the hold but now I was walking around at a higher point on the ship it was more obvious.

The corridor opened out into an open space full of tables and chairs that were welded to the floor. There was a hot counter set along one side of the room with a kitchen behind it. There was bacon and eggs and other hot breakfast foods waiting. I picked up a plate and filled it with the bad food before I grabbed a good load of fruit for a bit of healthy food.

I sat down and tucked in. Mr Creep sat down opposite me.

"Would you like a drink?" He asked.

"Water please." I said between mouthfuls.

Mr Creep nodded his head then returned with a beaker of water. I took sips in between eating the food. I didn't drag it out. I was starving for one thing, and I didn't want to push my luck.

"Do I need to clean this?" I asked once I was finished.

"No. Tip your waste into the bin and place the plate on one of the trays in that trolley." He said, pointing over to those things.

I got up and carried my plate over. I tipped off the waste, just a bit of bacon rind and some tomato stalks that had ended up in what had obviously been tinned tomatoes, before I placed my plate and glass on one of the trays.

"Do you need the bathroom before you return downstairs?" Mr Creep asked and he was right behind me.

I growled as I spun around and the wolf leapt to the surface. I managed to push her back down but it was close.

"I don't think you should be that close behind me without warning." I said.

"Ah yeah. I heard you wolves are unstable when you first start changing."

I shrugged, I had no more idea about this than a human.

"Then we'll remove any undue stress." Mr Creep said with a smile.

"Well it's better for you right?"

"So it would seem." Mr Creep replied. "The bathroom's this way."

He led me to the exact same one I used when Diego took me to the bathroom. It could have been the day before, it could have been last week. How could I be sure?

I used the bathroom again and Mr Creep led me back to my cage. Was it weird that I was already thinking of it as my cage?

I was locked in but it seemed like Mr Creep didn't want to leave me alone quite yet.

"You still didn't tell me your dream." He said as he sat back down on the floor.

"Because it's none of your damn business." I said, not caring what happened now, I wasn't getting out of here.

"Why? Was it an embarrassing dream?" He pried.

I stared at him, not answering.

"Oh it was." He said with a grin. "Who was it about?"

I still didn't answer.

"I bet it was about Drogo." He mused as his grin grew wider.

I didn't answer but I felt my traitor cheeks burn in embarrassment.

"It was." Mr Creep said gleefully. "Was it a dirty dream?"

I didn't answer and I had no idea how to get out of this conversation.

"Not so much a child now are we." He mused and I shivered as a chill run down my spine.

Mr Creep got to his feet.

"Well, I got things to do. Can't sit around chatting all day." Mr Creep said happily as he got to his feet. "Bye."

I was left alone for what felt like hours. I paced the cage for a while. I lay on my back in the doggie bed with my legs up against the bars while I went through all the songs I knew in my head. They could give me a book or something.

I guess I must have snoozed because I heard someone call Billie's name. I looked over to see Ritchie sitting down in a chair in front of her. I leapt to my feet and watched him closely. Weren't much I could do stuck in the cage, but he would be witnessed.

Billie lifted her head.

"Hi Billie." Ritchie said, like they was old friends meeting up after a time apart.

I frowned and gripped the bars. I'd break through here if I had to. I didn't like his tone at all.

Billie didn't say anything in reply but Ritchie said, "I thought we could have a chat." Like she had.

Then there was silence, but Ritchie was staring into Billie's eyes and I guess this was how he got into your mind properly. I had no idea what he was up to, what he wanted from her now her mind was mush. I glared at him. If I had heat vision there'd be a hole through his head already.

"I'm not supposed to let you out." Ritchie said, not taking his eyes off Billie.

"Really? We're in the middle of the ocean, where can I escaped to?" Billie said in a monotone.

Ritchie leaned closer to Billie, like he was intensifying his mind beam. Or whatever it was called.

"I guess you don't like me that much after all." Billie said in a monotone.

"Hey!" I yelled, slamming on the bars.

"I do!" Ritchie said, ignoring me.

"Then prove it." Billie said, still speaking in that monotone.

There was a minuet where nothing happened then Billie stood up. I was hoping she'd kick his damned okole into next year but not so much. She took a robotic step toward him and robotically put her arms around him before she kissed him.

"Stop making her do that!" I yelled. "You're controlling her! It's not consent!"


"I thought you said he didn't rape her." The red head, I think her name was Leda, said.

"I'm going to kill him." Loki, another wolf, growled through his teeth.

"It didn't happen then." I said.

"Shall we allow Isla to continue?" The nice doctor asked.

I took a deep breath and got on with my statement…


I pulled on the bars, trying to pry them open, but it wasn't any good. I continued to rage and yell and slam the bars as Ritchie took hold of Billie's hand and began to guide it down toward his crotch.

"Don't you dare!" I growled and I felt the fire rise.

Well why not?

I threw off the clothes I was wearing. They might be rank but as far as I knew they were all I had. Then I let the fire take me. The pins and needles flashed across my skin and then I had four legs and a tail. I let out a howl of rage before I launched myself at the door. Maybe my huge wolf body would be heavy enough to break the hinges.

The cage shuddered, but I dazed myself more than harmed the hinges. I didn't need to try again because suddenly there was a commotion.

"Let her go!" Laci yelled as she ripped Billie off Ritchie.

Ritchie seemed confused for a moment.

"What do you think you're doing?" Laci demanded as she held Billie by her throat.

Billie didn't even struggle even though it was clear she was choking.

"I thought you wanted a child." Ritchie muttered.

Laci glared at him.

"Put her back under. This is not what I meant and you know it." Laci said coldly as she dropped Billie back in the chair.

Ritchie looked like he was about to answer back, but he obeyed Laci in the end.

Then Laci was in front of the cage.

"Well done wolf. You were a good guard dog. I think it's time for a treat."

I put my head on the side. I didn't understand.

"Change back to human and I'll send Diego down to take you for lunch. Then you'll have a reward when you get back."

I didn't really trust her but I didn't really have a choice.

"We'll give you some privacy." Laci said with a grin.

She stepped back to Ritchie, who'd just put the headphones back on Billie, before she grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the steps. I waited until I heard the door close then I pulled down the heat. I was human again and I quickly pulled on the rank clothes I'd been stewing in for the last day.

I'd just pulled my clothes back into place when Diego came down the steps. Mr Creep was with him too and he looked amused. I scowled a little, wondering what he was doing here when Laci had said Diego would be coming to get me.

Diego opened the cage door and motioned for me to come out.

I walked out and kept my eye close on Mr Creep.

"I heard Ritchie's been a naughty boy." He said gleefully.

I didn't comment, I mean what could I say about this? I was pretty sure Laci was the one in charge and I didn't know why Mr Creep was asking me. It could be a test for all I knew. That they wanted to see if I'd play them against each other. I decided then that I wouldn't.

"Come on." Diego said and I started walking to the stairs.

"Am I going to the mess hall again?" I asked.

"That's the only place to get food around here." Mr Creep answered.

"I was just making sure I'm heading in the right direction brah." I said as I climbed up to the deck.

"Let us guide you anyway. You don't want to get lost on this ship." Diego warned.

"That big huh?"

"Yeah." Diego said as he directed me toward the steps that led inside.

I climbed the steps then made my way to the mess hall. I could hear noise coming from in there this time and when I got in there it was full of people in the middle of lunch. The sound stopped as soon as I entered and all eyes turned on me.

"Aloha, is this where I get lunch?" I said brightly, but the silence didn't end and they all continued to stare at me.

I could feel the hairs stand on the back of my neck. All these people in here, they were half vamps. Like Drogo and Billie and Ritchie. They could all every last one of them be evil like Ritchie so I couldn't trust any of them.

I went to get some food. I got BBQ chicken and salad and piled on the fries that were available too. I mean they'd fed me dinner and breakfast, but what if I didn't get fed for a long time? There was dessert too, rich chocolate cake with thick fudge icing. I really shouldn't but my mouth was watering at the thought of it so I added that to my tray too. I grabbed a can of soda and headed to the empty table Diego pointed me to.

I sat down and started grind my food. Diego and Mr Creep sat down at the table with me. Now the noise returned to the mess hall, but they were all talking about me now. Wondering who I was, why the vamps were guarding me. I don't know, it was unnerving.

I just grind my food so I could get out of there quick. I didn't want to be the subject of their gossip. I finished and carried my tray over to the dumping point. Diego shadowed me the whole time, but Mr Creep remained at the table. I made to go to the door.

"Not yet." Diego said. "You're surprise will take half an hour. It's only been fifteen minuets."

"Oh." I said, and I looked around at the half vamps who were watching me again.

"Are you shy?" Diego asked, holding his head on the side as he looked at me.

"No." I said, frowning.

"Then why let the half bloods get to you?" He said, before grinning. "Don't worry, they can't hurt you. That's why me and Jules are here."

"Do I have to sit here though?" I asked, I really wanted to get out of here.

"Yeah. In ten minuets I'll take you to the bathroom and then you can return to the hold. But we have to wait here until then."

I sighed warily as I headed back to the table and sat down.

"I thought you Hawaiian girls always smiled." Mr Creep said with a smirk.

I gave him a wary look and didn't bother to answer.

Diego said something in Spanish. I knew enough words to be able to pick a few out and Mr Creep answered the same way. They were talking about me, I was sure, and I heard Laci's name in there.

Mr Creep turned his attention back to me.

"Forgive me Isla." He said with a bow of his head. "As my colleague pointed out, I'm being insensitive to your situation. Tell me when I'm being rude or else I won't learn."

"You're at least a hundred. If you haven't learned manners by now it ain't never gonna happen." I said flatly.

"She got you there." Diego quipped.

Mr Creep shrugged.

"This is so lolo. It's like being back at school. At the jerk table." I groaned.

"You often sit at the jerk table in school?" Mr Creep asked, looking amused again.

"Yeah." I said, deciding to play him at his own game. "You wouldn't believe how immature the guys are in school."

"Sounds like you're yearning for someone a little older." Mr Creep said with a charming smile.

"Only a little older." I said. "Not like a century older."

"Oh, well that's me out, but it looks like you're in with a chance there Diego." Mr Creep said happily as he tapped Diego on the shoulder.

"Couldn't handle the smell." Diego said in disgusted tones, but he winked at me, like he was on my side and insulting me to get at Mr Creep.

"Same." I replied.

"Anyway, it's time for you to use the bathroom." Diego said, getting to his feet.

I stood too and Mr Creep followed us as I went to use that little bathroom again. Mr Creep was gone when I came out of the bathroom. Diego led me back down into the hold. I stopped at the bottom of the stairs. Billie was lying on what looked like a hospital bed while a vamp was sat at her head, administering anaesthetic.

"I told you she's deep under." Ritchie complained.

"I know, but we can't risk her waking up and panicking." A different vampire stated.

"Here you are Wolf." Laci said, grabbing hold of my arm and dragging me over to the cage.

"Your surprise." She announced and I saw that there was a bed in the cage.

It was a comfy looking bed and a choke ton of pillows. The blankets looked snugly, but I couldn't help but think about the catch. There had to be one.

"Go ahead and enjoy. You earned it." Laci said as she guided me into the cage and slammed the door behind me.

I moved up to the bed, although it wasn't that hard since it took up half the cage. I tested it before I climbed up on it. The mattress was just right, probably one of them air sprung memory foam deals. I climbed into the middle of the bed and sat up on the mattress, happy for this little bit of comfort for the first time in forever.

I wasn't ready for sleep though and so I turned my attention to what they were doing to Billie. It looked like they were prepping her for surgery, but what the hell could it be?

"What are you doing?" I demanded, as they put Billie's legs up in them stirrup things so now she was so vulnerable.

Ritchie came up and leant his back against the cage.

"The doctor needs to concentrate, so unless you want me to crush your mind too you'll shut your mouth." He said, not looking at me.

"But what's going on?" I whispered so I didn't disturb the doctor.

"Just a routine check up." Ritchie said with a shrug as the doctor picked up a cylindrical something that looked nasty, and painful if he inserted it where I was sure he had.

Then he picked up a long thin complicated looking thing and that followed the nasty looking thing. That's when I noticed the screen. There must have been a camera on the other end because now I was seeing the inside of Billie. I wasn't sure what I was looking at, but the doctor must have had an idea because he gave a sound of triumph as he pressed a button and then he pulled out the complicated looking thing and it was bloody on the end. Then he pulled out the nasty looking thing and set everything aside.

"The IUD has been removed." The doctor said.

"Good." Laci said with a nod.

"We'll bring her out of the anaesthetic now so that her healing will begin, but I urge you to keep a close eye on her mind Ritchie. The last thing we want is for her to freak out and injure herself."

"I got this." Ritchie said with a nod as he took the place of the anaesthetist.

"I'll keep an eye on him." Laci said firmly and the doctor nodded.

I watched as the doctor gathered up his instruments into his bag and he left with the anaesthetist.

"See now why I had to stop you?" Laci said as she stood behind Ritchie and wrapped her arms around him. "Dr Cullen is always tethering the girls by denying them their biological right to procreate."

"Yeah." Ritchie agreed.

"It will only take a day and then she should be back into the flow of things. Then we can inseminate her."

Ritchie nodded.

"But not the way you tried." Laci said firmly as she yanked his head back with his hair and glared down into his eyes. "We do not condone rape. Is that clear?"

Ritchie gulped before he answered, "Yeah."

"I'm glad you understand my love." Laci said cheerfully before she kissed his forehead and let him go.

Ritchie straightened up a little as he smoothed his hair back into place.

"She's not coming round again." He said. "I really scrambled her brain. She's lost in the dark right now, thinking she's being attacked. I'm about to make her think she killed her little friend."

"To what end?" Laci asked.

"Just to torture her some more for what she did to me as a kid." Ritchie said flatly as he glared at Billie.

"What the hell could she have done that would justify such junk treatment?" I demanded before I could stop myself.

Ritchie stiffened and turned stink face on me.

"Bullying is such an ugly thing." Laci said, shaking her head sadly as she put a comforting arm around Ritchie.

"Ok." I said, not buying it, but I didn't want to hear none of their propaganda, so I didn't want to push it.

"Now hush Wolf, Ritchie needs to concentrate." Laci said firmly.

I sighed but fell quiet and watched them for a while as Ritchie sat there with his hands either side of Billie's head and Laci stood behind him, making sure he didn't try anything this time. They were there a good long while before they left. Billie was left lying on the bed.

"Billie? Billie can you hear me?" I called, trying to be loud enough for her to hear but not loud enough for the others to hear me.

I tried that for a long while, until my throat started to hurt from the strain, but Billie didn't respond any. She just lay there on the bed, not moving other than breathing. I slumped back on my own bed and pulled the blanket up around my shoulders and just watched her for a long while.

I must have been dazing out again because Billie was on her feet and stumble around knocking things over.

"No… No…!" She cried out before she let out an ear-piercing scream.

I slammed my hands over my ears as I watched Billie fall to her knees and she held out her arms but her hands went limp at the end of them.

"I need my hands." She whimpered. "I need…"

She fainted on the floor.

"Help!" I yelled at the top of my voice. "I know you lot can hear me! Help!"

It was Mr Creep who came down the steps. He was smirking at first, like I don't know, maybe he thought I was trying something, but as soon as he saw Billie on the floor he rushed to her side and called up the stairs, "Red's down."

Mr Creep lifted Billie back onto the bed.

The doctor came down the steps, a needle at the ready.

"She's out now." Mr Creep said, as he inspected Billie. "But she was on the floor."

"She… I think she was acting out a dream." I whispered, maybe it would be helpful.

"What did she do? What did she say?" The doctor demanded as he moved quickly up to the cage and looked in at me, but I couldn't see his eyes because the light glared off his glasses.

It gave me the heebie-jeebies and I actually had to work hard to push the wolf back. She wanted to rip this guy apart.

"She screamed and said something about her hands as she stumbled around." I said wondering if I really should be telling him this now.

"Interesting." The doctor mused. "I have not witnessed Ritchie's power take in this way before. He must have really done a number on her mind."

The doctor continued muttering to himself as he left the hold once more.

Mr Creep came over to the cage and actually looked sympathetic.

"Did Dr D'cruze frighten you?" He asked.

I shook my head.

"He can be intimidating, but he has his interests and there's no getting between him and them." He said with a shrug.

I didn't want to know what his interests were.

"Are you hungry? It's around dinner time I think."

I wasn't particularly hungry after what had happened, but I knew I wouldn't get to eat again if I refused him now. I nodded.

"Come on. I'll take you for something to eat." Mr Creep said as he went around and unlocked the door for me.

I got out of the cage and started walking to the stairs but I couldn't just let Billie lying there alone.

"Can I visit her?" I asked.

"You'll owe me a favour." Mr Creep said, like it was a warning.

"Ok." I said, I'd do whatever to just see that Billie was ok.

"Then go ahead."

I moved to the bed where Billie lay, she was breathing steadily and her eyes were closed.

"Billie." I said, and touched her cheek. "Billie can you hear me?"

"Oh no…no…no…" Billie murmured.

"Billie?"

"They killed her! Why can I hear her?" She gasped.

"Billie, I'm not dead." I said softly.

"You're a ghost. They exist you know. They just don't know it sometimes. I'm sorry." She muttered.

"Billie, I'm still alive. And why should you be sorry?"

"They killed you because of me and now they took my hands." She murmured.

"No. You're hands are still here." I said.

"They're not." She whimpered and tears streamed down her cheeks.

"No." I said as I brushed her tears away. "They're still here." I added and took her hand. "See."

Billie shook her head but her hand clasped around mine. I felt weird all of a sudden, like I was tired and drained. I gasped and fell to my knees. I felt an arm around me and I was pulled away from Billie.

"Looks like we need to keep the gloves on her." Mr Creep whispered. "But let's keep it our little secret. Play a little trick on Ritchie. What do you say?"

"What?" I asked, I couldn't understand.

"Shhhh." Mr Creep said softly and I was being carried?

I wasn't sure but I was out on deck and it was dark. I was in a cabin which was a little on the bare side, but a lot better than my little cage. I was sat in a comfy armchair. There was a tray of food in front of me.

I ate the food. Like a robot at first, but my body got the message and I started gobbling it down. By the time I finished I felt like me again and I could actually wonder where the hell I was.

"This is my room." Mr Creep said. "Not much, but you should see my pad back home."

"Your room?" I asked, feeling sick, was he about to call in that favour?

"I thought it would be better for you. I know you didn't like eating in the mess hall with all the kiddies. It's their dinner time now so it's full again." He said in reasonable tones.

"Ok." I said, weakly.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to ask for that favour yet." He said with a grin. "Like I said, you're genes are valuable so I'll have to wait. Of course if you're a good girl I can protect you and make sure that you get one of the handsome gentle boys and not one of the animals."

"Why does it have to be any of them?" I asked.

"You'll get to choose. If you're really good we might even let you go on dates." He enticed.

"Dates?" I asked, was he serious?

"Yeah. Check out the guys. See if any of them appeal to you."

"I guess that wouldn't be so bad." At least I could drag it out some.

"Would you like to freshen up? There's a shower through there and yes there's a lock on the door. I also got some clean clothes you can dress in. They'll still be a bit big for you, but better than that crap you're wearing."

"Mahalo." I said as I stood up.

"I'll start the shower for you and get you clean clothes." Mr Creep said and stepped through a door.

I was suspicious of this good treatment, but if it meant I could wash the yuck out of my hair I'd go along for now. I heard water flowing and Mr Creep came back into the room. He got some clothes out of a little compartment and handed them to me.

It was a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. They were bigger than my size, but at least they were clean. I stepped through the door into a tiny bathroom, although it was bigger than the one they'd taken me to the last two days. The door did lock and I clicked it into place and moved the bin in front of it before I stripped off.

It was good to shower, but I didn't linger, the longer I was here naked the more vulnerable I felt. I wiped and dressed and left the bathroom. Mr Creep wasn't there and I felt worried, what kind of test was this?

I didn't have long to wonder because the door opened and Mr Creep stepped in with a hair dryer in his hand.

"You have all that beautiful thick hair, don't want you to be uncomfortable." He said.

"Mahalo." I said and reached for the hair dryer.

"No." Mr Creep said, holding it away from me. "I'll dry your hair. It'll be quicker."

I wasn't too sure about that but I couldn't really argue. I sat in the chair he pointed to and let him dry it.

"Shame we haven't got any flowers." He mused as he pulled back the front of my hair and held it in his fingers, smiling at me in the mirror.

"Maybe when we reach shore?" I suggested.

Mr Creep smile widened.

"Let's get you back before Laci finds you gone." Mr Creep said and I stood up.

He led me out of his cabin and through the ship. It was quite a way before we reached the steps for the hold. When I got there I noticed that there was a change. There was a curtain on a rail that ran around the cage.

"What's this?" Mr Creep asked.

"Wolf has earned some privacy. This will give her it when she sleeps." Laci said with a smirk.

I could feel the tension between her and Mr Creep. Some power play was going on here.

"Back in your cage Wolf." Laci said as she nodded to it.

I obeyed and she shut it behind me with a clang.

"Like I said. Privacy." Laci said, smiling at me as she took hold of the edge of the curtain and pulled it all the way around the cage.

I was almost plunged into darkness, but there were lights pointing up from the floor. I hadn't noticed them before. I frowned, wondering what this was all about. Then I heard a noise coming from the bed.

I looked to there and there was a guy getting out of it. Tall, athletic build of African descent. He grinned, his teeth bright white against the darkness of his skin. Then he dropped to his knee in front of me.

"I'm honoured to be chosen." He said.

"Chosen?" I asked, wondering over the space in here.

"All my brothers wanted you too, but you choose me." He said, still on his knee.

"I did?" I asked weakly.

"Yes." He said and shot to his feet and right in front of me in one move. "Now I will love you."

He reached out for me, but I brought my hand up quickly and caught him under the chin. Turned out half vamps weren't nearly as hardy as full vamps so he stumbled back a little.

"This is foreplay?" He asked and made to move against me.

Ok, if he wanted a fight.

I let my taekwondo head take over and started sparring with him until it seemed like it was getting serious. I had to end this before I turned into a wolf again, there wasn't any room in here, and so I went for an illegal move. I brought my knee up and connected it with his groin. He collapsed down, clutching at it and he actually started crying.

"Are you ok brah?" I asked, completely confused now.

"My brothers didn't say it would be so painful. They said there was foreplay and then we would connect and then you would have a child in you." He said in a strained voice.

"They did?" I asked, what did this have to do with anything?

"Yes. We played and connected. It was painful. Is it done?"

"Um…yeah." I said, figuring it was better to play along with this for now.

"Then…I am…your protector now." He gasped.

"My protector?" I questioned.

"Just as…" He trailed off and I kinda felt sorry for him.

"It'll pass soon." I said, and tapped his shoulder.

I really didn't know what to do but wait it out until he was finally able to sit up.

"Feel better now brah?" I asked.

He nodded his head and then shot to his feet.

"I am your protector now." He said as he looked into my eyes with an intense look and he took my hand.

"Ok." I said, feeling a little flustered and I searched for something to ask him. "Do you have a name?"

"What's a name?"

"Well my name is Isla. What do they call you?"

"One five, zero two, twenty ninety six dash two." He replied.

"All of that hey brah? Well that ain't a name." I said.

"What is a name?" He asked.

"It's who you are. So people know you from other people. The vampires they all got names right? Like Laci and Diego?"

The guy screwed up his face as he thought about this.

"Why don't you choose your name brah?" I suggested.

"Can it be that?" He asked.

"What?"

"Brah. I like that. It's what you call me." He said with a smile.

"But that's not a…" I trailed off and took in his eager face. "Sure. Why not? Howzit Brah? I'm Isla."

"Isla." He repeated and I nodded.

"Do you need to call the vampires now?" I asked, hoping he'd get quickly out of my cage.

"No." He said, and shook his head. "I am your protector and I will protect you from them."

"Ok." I said, trying to figure out how to get my own space in here.

"You should rest." He said, and nodded at the bed.

"I'm ok." I said.

"No. You are having my child. You must be comfortable. That's what they say."

Ok, so he really believed that. I sighed and climbed into the bed.

"I will sleep here." He said and pointed at the floor.

He curled up there and I felt bad for him again. He was clearly retarded, and I meant that in the literal sense. Whatever this guy had been through, they'd stunted his mental growth. Well he thought that me kneeing him in the balls was sex so he obviously didn't have a fully working adult brain.

At first I got into bed and tried to get to sleep, but I couldn't when he was curled up on the cold floor.

"If you're my protector you need to be in good shape right?" I asked.

Brah lifted his head and looked at me.

"I am in good shape."

"But not if you don't get a good night sleep. I can scoot over and you can sleep in the bed." I offered.

"We will only sleep?" He asked hopefully.

"Yeah." I confirmed.

He leapt quickly to his feet and ran eagerly to the bed. He got up on the bed and lay with his back to me. That was fine by me. I turned from him and could drift to sleep now I didn't have to worry about him being uncomfortable.

I don't know what time it was, but I heard something and I sat up in bed. Brah was snoring his head off and I thought that's what had woke me at first. Then I heard it again, whispering voices. I think if they hadn't been whispering I wouldn't have been suspicious, but I felt a chill down my spine and I had to check on Billie.

I got off the bed and went to the bars of the cage. I reached out and lifted the bottom of the curtain until I could see Billie, still lying on the bed. But there was a mattress now on the floor. It had been done out in sumptuous blankets and pillows so it didn't look like a sad relic of a drug den, but it still gave me the shivers.

Then I heard the girly giggle and watched as Laci lay back on the pillows with her arms thrown over her head. She was wearing a lacy nightdress, the type they put on the succulent virgin who the vamp was about to sink his fangs into in all them old horror movies. The innocence the nightdress was supposed to represent was lost because the skirt was hitched up above her knees.

She beckoned with her finger and Ritchie leaned in to kiss her. And then they kissed for a long while, Laci wrapping her fingers into his hair in a way that had to be painful, but he seemed to enjoy it!

They were both moaning as they started moving against each other. I was caught then. I was watching two people have sex in real life. I'd never watched anything with a sex scene in it higher than a PG-13, and here I was getting a live show. I should look away, but I couldn't. Not even when Ritchie reached his hand down and moved a little and then thrust before he moved his hand back up to Laci's face. She let out another giggle as she brought her legs up around him and he started thrusting against her and they were both making a lot of noise.

I glanced back at Brah for a moment to make sure he was still asleep. Last thing I needed was for him to see this and get how babies were really made. I was hoping to hold him off on that for as long as possible.

When I looked back Ritchie was moving faster.

"Are you close?" Laci whispered.

"Yeah." Ritchie gasped out.

"Good." Laci said as she pushed him away from her and forced him onto his knees.

She got something, a pot, and held it in front of him so that when he blew his load it was into that pot. As Ritchie knelt there panting, Laci got to her feet, the long skirt of her nightdress falling down to preserve her modesty. She put the pot carefully on the trolley and picked up a big syringe. She syringed up the liquid while Ritchie got to his feet, zipping his flies and pulling his clothes back into place. Then together they used it to squirt that liquid into Billie.


"That's why you need to give her plan B or something Doc." I said.

"I see. That is awful." The doctor said, looking absolutely disgusted by the whole thing. "I will have to check Billie over immediately. Esme, will you assist me?"

"Of course." The vampire lady with the brown hair who was standing next to him answered.

They both went over to Billie and the woman, I guess she was Esme, pulled the curtain around the bed.

"She's in good hands." Seren said, tapping me on the shoulder. "Carlisle is the best doctor there is."

"Well he has got centuries of experience." Loki joked and they all laughed.

"Well Billie will need all the help she can get. I'm sure Carlisle will be shaka when it comes to healing her body, but she's lolo at the moment."

"My dad is a psychiatrist." Seren said.

"And if worst comes to worst then me, Dad and Mags can try going into her mind and fixing it from the inside." Loki said in serious tones.

"You can do that?" I asked.

"Well I am telepathic." Loki said with a shrug, and he had talked in my mind earlier.

"Ho brah! I can't believe you're actually a wolf. That both of you are wolves." I said, including the silent Rupert too.

"There's more of us back home." Rupert said.

"There's more here too." Loki added. "My sister and her pack. Not to mention my dad."

"I can't wait to meet them." I said with a grin.

"I hate to bring your mind back to that awful time, but did anything else occur when you were on the ship?" Leda asked.

"Well nothing like as bad, but I guess I could tell you how we came to be in the middle of a field in… Where the hell am I?"

"Mexico." Loki replied.

"Mexico? Fo' suah?"

"Yep."

"That's mind blowing." I said, they really had taken me to a whole different country. "Well, here's how we ended up in Mexico."


I didn't sleep again that night, or even close my eyes for long. Every time I did I saw Ritchie and Laci and what they did together. It was sickening. I stared at the bars as I lay with my back to Brah, wishing the night would end all ready. At some point Brah turned over and his arm went around me, but I didn't move it. I just lay there trying not to close my eyes because of poor Billie.

I heard footsteps near the cage and then the curtain was yanked open. I felt Brah jump awake.

"Oh look at the two little love birds." Laci crooned as she opened the curtain completely.

I sat up and tried not to glare at her. Then I saw that Mr Creep was there too and he didn't look happy at all.

"Come on half blood, time to wake up." Laci said and poked Brah with the rod she had in her hand.

Brah woke up fully and jumped up and slunk away from the rod.

"Leave him alone." I said, glaring at her now I had a reason. "There was no need for that."

"No. But it was fun." Laci said, unrepentant as she dropped the rod on the floor and it landed with a metallic tinkle.

"It's breakfast time." Mr Creep said coldly as he went and opened the cage door. "Come on, Isla." He added, making it clear I had to go alone.

I started to move to the door but Brah was suddenly in front of me.

"She goes nowhere without me." He said firmly, but I could see the tremble in his body, he was afraid.

"Look, half blood, you've had your fun." Mr Creep said, unamused. "Now piss off."

"No." Brah said defiantly, although he was still shaking. "She has my baby now. I must protect her."

"You don't need to do that." Mr Creep said, exasperated.

"I don't need to, but I want to." Brah replied. "I will protect her."

Mr Creep growled and reached into the cage. He grabbed Brah by his shoulder, yanked him out of the cage and shoved him stumbling to the floor.

"Brah!" I called in alarm as I ran after him.

He was pushing himself up off the floor when I reached him. His nose was bleeding and there was a big gash on his forehead.

"Oh god!" I said in sympathy as I reached out gingerly.

Laci was suddenly there, her pale fingers locking around Brah's upper arms.

"Waste not, want not." She said before she started lapping the blood right from the wound.

Brah made no move to stop her, but I could tell by his face that he didn't like it.

"Get off him you psychotic bitch or I'll go wolf on your okole." I growled.

"You won't be doing that." Mr Creep said in my ear. "Wolf women lose their ability to phase when they're pregnant."

"Fo' suah?" I asked, I'd just lost a weapon.

"I'm not lying. All you need to do is try and we'll soon know if that snivelling little runt managed to do his job right." Mr Creep mused.

"Why do you have to be so cruel to him?" I demanded.

"He's food. Nothing more." Mr Creep said blandly. "We might have brought him out to stud, but he is still food. Think of us as farmers and you're the exotic new cow we're cross breeding with a bull from the local stock."

"Well I always heard things about farmers and their animals." I said coldly.

I felt Mr Creep stiffen and he sucked in air angrily. I'd got to him, after all he'd been giving me the come on.

"It's breakfast time." Mr Creep said firmly. "Half blood, you need to go back to your room."

"No." Brah said firmly, even as he winced and looked pained.

"Isla, breakfast now. This half blood must learn his lesson." Mr Creep said coldly.

"I'm not going anywhere with out him." I said firmly.

"You will listen to me." Mr Creep growled and yanked me up by my arm.

"Careful there Julie, you don't want to kill the cow." Laci said as she licked blood from her lips. "If they want to be together so much then let them."

Laci's eyes travelled to the cage before they went back to Mr Creep and she grinned. Then she lifted Brah up as easily as if he was a kid and threw him into the cage. He landed awkwardly by the bed and I winced in sympathy.

"Well, you wanted this." Mr Creep said and pushed me so I stumbled back into the cage.

I run to Brah to check he was ok as Mr Creep slammed the door behind me.

"You ok Brah?" I asked as I touched his shoulder.

He moved and managed to turn onto his back. His face was bruised and swollen and he had a new gash on his chin. He must have hit the bed frame or something. I grabbed one of the blankets off the bed and went to hold it to his chin. He pushed my hand away and shook his head before he pushed the gash closed with his fingers.

"You've made a very bad choice." Mr Creep said, and I turned to see that he was standing at the cage door, his pale fingers curled around the bars. Laci was nowhere in sight, but I didn't know if that meant she'd gone completely or that she was lurking somewhere.

"You said you'd protect me. Let me have a choice. I didn't get a choice. Well I'm choosing now. Brah is sweet enough, and don't they say better the devil you know?" I asked.

Mr Creep frowned slightly.

"How can he protect you? You saw how easily we over powered him." He spat.

"This isn't about him protecting me. This is about him living up to his responsibilities. Isn't that how it's meant to be?" I asked.

Mr Creep didn't look convinced.

I thought for a moment and wondered how to really play this. I was sure there was bad air between Mr Creep and Laci. Definitely sure now. Maybe he'd over stepped a line taking me to his room and this was Laci's way of reminding him who's boss. I got to my feet and walked to the door.

"I'm nothing but meat right? I have to do as I'm told. I'm not a mindless animal. I got thoughts and I got feelings, I'm making the best of a bad situation. You said yourself you got no intentions for me until I've birthed a few keiki, well this is me getting it done."

Mr Creep gave me a careful look, trying to figure out the game I was playing.

"You want me to take you?" He asked.

"I really got no choice in the matter any more, but the way I see it is this. It does good to get cushy with you vamps, at least you get treated like a person then. Look at Ritchie. He gets a name and doesn't get thrown about and thought of as food."

"Then you would be using me." Mr Creep whispered.

"I see it as we'd be using each other." I said with a shrug.

"Of course you could be saying all of this to get me on side and take it all back once Laci has no more use for you." He said suspiciously.

"I won't. How can I? I owe you." I pointed out.

"That's true. But I want proof." He said softly as he leaned closer to the cage.

"Proof?" I asked, suddenly regretting that I'd started this.

"I want to be sure you're worth it. Kiss me." He challenged.

"Kiss you?" I said stupidly.

"Well, if you can't even kiss me, how can you do anything else?"

He had a point. If I couldn't even kiss him how could I do anything else?

I took a deep breath and closed the gap between us. I found my centre, like in Taekwondo and put that same discipline I had over my body to make my eyes be flirtatious enough and to make my face look like this was something I wanted. Ignoring the fact that his sweet scent was making me feel queasy I placed my hands over his, and they were cold, like wrapping my hands around ice. I ignored all the instincts that were telling me to recoil away from this abomination and I pushed back against the wolf who suddenly wanted out to play.

I met his eyes, moving closer to him and I pressed my lips to his. His lips were cold and felt like smooth stone. It did not feel like I was kissing a person, even when he moved his lips a little against mine. It felt, well maybe like kissing one of the sex robots. Well maybe not, weren't they made to feel like human skin?

Whatever. This felt wrong, even if the wolf wasn't growling in the back of my head to be let off the leash, this would be wrong. Even if I was still just human, kissing something that felt like a moving statue rather than anything living.

I was impressed that I managed not to barf and actually looked up into his eyes as I pulled away.

"Have I convinced you?" I asked.

"For now." He said as he moved one of his hands from under mine and reached up to stroke my hair back behind my ear.

I was impressed by my control that I didn't flinch away from him.

"And even if you're choking back the wolf right now, you're a good enough actress that I can look passed it." He said softly and he lent forward and placed a kiss on my lips before he pulled away from the cage altogether. "Have fun kiddies." He said with a wink and then moved fast to the steps and disappeared.

I sighed. What had I got myself into?

"Are you mine?" Brah asked behind me.

I turned to find him standing a few feet behind me. The gash on his chin was now a thin healing line and the swelling on his face had gone down a lot.

"In what way?" I asked, because he didn't seem to get metaphor.

"You have my baby. You are mine."

"As in a girlfriend?" I asked.

"As in a mate." He said, frowning at me, and the way he said the word wasn't like friend, but like animals have mates.

"Well, I guess we are." I said, wondering where this would go.

"Then why did you kiss him?" He asked, glaring at the steps as if Mr Creep was still there.

"Because he thinks I'm his."

"I will kill him." Brah said darkly.

"How?" I asked.

Brah looked at me with confusion.

"He can move you around like a rag doll. You got no way to do it."

Brah looked offended.

I moved up closer to him and I placed my hand carefully to his cheek because it was still a little swollen.

"I'm not trying to trample over your masculinity, but you're a half vamp and he's a full vamp. You might get in a few lucky punches, but what good's that against stone. Don't you worry about me, just concentrate on this." I said and took his hand and placed it to my stomach. "Through all this I am yours, and no one will take it from you."

"I am yours." He said and fell to his knees before me. "My lady."

I stepped closer to him and hugged his head into my stomach and he sighed happily. I smiled myself as I stroked his hair, it felt fuzzy and soft under my hand. We stayed like that for a while. I really couldn't think what to do instead. We were two people stuck in a little cage and there wasn't much for entertainment.

"I'm glad you chose me." Brah whispered.

"Me too." I said, after all, I could have 'chosen' someone a lot worse.

"You're so warm and soft. I've never…"

"Never what?" I asked.

"This hug is the longest of my life." He said sadly.

"That's sad." I said.

"We don't have much comfort. He was right. We are animals. They are farmers."

"Inhumane farmers." I said sourly, we needed something to lighten the mood somehow. "Hey. Why don't we play a game or something?" I suggested.

"Like what?" Brah asked as he moved his head so he was looking up at me.

I searched my head for games to play without anything.

"I spy?" I suggested.

"What is it?" He asked.

"You don't know I spy?" I asked in disbelief.

He shook his head.

I stood back.

"Ho brah, you got a serious lack of upbringing." I said aghast as I sat on the bed.

"Yes." He said as he got to his feet.

"Well I'll teach you I spy." I said as I tapped the bed beside me and Brah sat down.

"Ok. So I'll go first. I'll spot something and say 'I spy with my little eye something beginning with…' and then say the first letter of the word and you have to guess. Got that?"

"I think so." Brah said, not looking sure at all.

"Ok. I spy with my little eye, something beginning with… um… b."

"Like the stinging thing?" He said with a frown.

"Like the letter b." I said as I looked carefully at him. "Do you know what letters are?"

Brah looked as if he was about to say yes but then he shook his head.

"I guess it's too much for to hope they actually taught you anything." I grumbled.

"Can you taught me?" He asked.

"Teach. I'll teach you some. It'll pass the time at least. Ok. So letters. There's twenty six of them in the English language…"

I went through the alphabet with Brah a few times, and even taught him the alphabet song. He liked that, was actually impressed with my singing.

"I do that. I didn't know what it was called, but the singing I do it all the time. I hear it in my head and I sing it with my mouth." He explained.

"Well you are an ono singer even if you're only singing the alphabet song."

"Do you know others?" He asked me eagerly.

"Well mostly ones from home and they're not in English." I replied.

"What's English?"

"The language we're speaking right now. I learned a lot of traditional songs when I was a kid and they stuck in my head." I explained.

"What does that mean?"

"Traditional songs?" I clarified.

"Yes."

"Well they're the songs that were sung on my island long before the white man came. I come from Hawaii, but I guess you don't know what that is either."

He shook his head.

"It's where I come from and I know the old language. I can teach you some of the more basic songs. You can get the noise right even if you don't know what they mean yet."

"It would be good to have more songs."

So I taught him a few of the more simpler songs, but you know they all had that good melody that you got nowhere else on Earth. He was pretty skilled, it was a shame he was a wasted talent being used as nothing but a farm animal by the vampires.

It was funny that I was starting to feel comfortable in Brah's presence. I don't think I was anywhere near feeling comfortable enough to actually have sex with him, but if it came to it, and most likely it would, I could go through with it if it was him. Cause let's face it, I wasn't getting out of this. No one back home even knew I was missing yet and they'd taken me out on the water. I could end up anywhere, but it wouldn't be home. If I had to be pregnant by one of these half vamps then why not Brah? And maybe I could work it so it was him all the time. After all, wouldn't it be better if all the first lot had the same gene base. At least then there'd be no risk of incest.

I had a week maybe before I'd have to actually try anything, but it was a thought.

As my stomach growled I realised that a good couple of hours had gone and we hadn't been given anything to eat.

"I guess they're starving us." I said.

"That is something they would do." Brah said softly.

"I guess we'll have to think of other things to take our mind off it."

"Can you tell me about your homeland?" He asked.

"I guess." I said, and then told him some stuff about Hawaii, answering his questions as they came.

They didn't feed us all day and didn't even look our way when one or two of them would come in now and then when they checked on Billie. Eventually it felt like it was late so I pulled the curtain around the cage. After all, if I had this little bit of privacy I was gonna take it.

"We may as well sleep now." I said, pushing back against the hunger pangs.

"Yes." Brah agreed.

I climbed into bed, scooting across as far as I could. Brah lay down behind me.

"Isla. When I woke my arm was around you." He said.

"Well if you want to…" I trailed off, I had to get used to him touching me.

I felt Brah put his arm around me and pull me in close to him. It was strange but I felt better with his warmth behind me. I found it worked a lot better if I pretended that it was Drogo behind me and not Brah. I drifted to sleep and dreamt of Drogo.

"Wake up!"

My eyes snapped open and I found that I had my lips pressed to Brah's. The last thing I remembered from my dream was kissing Drogo. I jumped up to face Diego who was looking in at us.

"Time for food." He said as he pushed a plate of chicken through the slot in the door and then threw something at Brah. It was a blood pack. I was too busy watering at the mouth at the scent of the chicken to care. I dove onto the floor and started to grind them. It was only on my third leg that I realised it tasted weird. I sniffed and…

"Drugged." I gasped, but it was too late, it was already in my system and my vision was going black…


"Did they do anything to you?" Seren asked, breaking me out of the flow of my statement.

"I don't know." I said with a shrug. "I don't think they did. It was more to knock me out when they transported us to the truck."

"The truck we found you on?"

"Yeah."

"So anything else happen after you blacked out?" Loki asked.

"Well not much. I blacked out and when I came around I was in a smaller cage…"


This smaller cage only had a bench. Brah was in there with me, we were both propped up on the bench but that's because there wasn't much room. Billie was in a cage across a small walkway. I could feel the movement, that it was more like being on the road and I could hear the engine anyway. I figured out fast we were in a truck, like maybe one of them prison trucks.

After a while Brah came around. He gave a start and tried to stand up but hit his head on the cage above us.

"What is happening?" He asked.

"We're not on the water any more." I replied.

"They're taking us back to the farm." He said and he gave me a sad look.

"The farm?" I asked.

"The place I was born." He said and sighed. "I thought we were free from there. They told us we wouldn't go back."

"Maybe it's because of me." I said in apologetic tones.

I felt him look at me for a long moment, I really wasn't sure how he'd take it. I thought maybe it would make him angry or annoyed but he took my hand and gave it a squeeze before he said, "You're worth it."

I felt guilty then for tricking him. How would I actually get around to explaining that kneeing him in the balls wasn't how babies were made? That was gonna be messy.

We travelled for hours without stopping longer than at traffic stops. I actually thought I was imagining it when we came to a stop, but there was shouting and urgent voices as the doors opened and closed. Then there was a long while where there was nothing.

"This is not usual." Brah whispered. "We should be in the farm."

"We're not?" I asked.

"I don't think we are." Brah said with a frown.

Then something thumped the side of the truck, making us jump and there was growling that called up the wolf in me. Only this wasn't calling the wolf up for us to go tearing the enemy apart, but to come out and play and run in the deep forest. I felt my hope rise even before the doors opened and two white girls came in, and then two completely naked Native American kane. But I just knew them as wolves as soon as I saw them.

The one girl opened the cage and went to see Billie and the red head came up to the cage me and Brah were in.

"Don't worry we're hear to rescue you." She said in light voice as she gave me a friendly smile.

"It's ok Isla, I'm a wolf too." One of the guys said. "I'm Loki and this is my girlfriend Leda. Now let's see if we can open this door."

He inspected the cage and I saw all the colour seep out of his russet skin. When he was as white as the vampires he took hold of the door and pulled it open easily. Then the colour got back in his skin as he stepped inside the cage.

"Let's get outside and we can figure out a way to get you safely across the…"

"You bitch! Are you trying to hurt me?" Billie yelled, cutting him off and we all turned to see that Billie had the brunette pinned against the cage by her throat.

The guy next to her looked agitated like he wanted to rip Billie away from the girl but didn't want to hurt Billie either. Then he got this weird look of determination on his face and he moved his hands toward the chair and Billie went flying back into it.

Had that guy just moved Billie with his mind? Loki and Leda seemed to brush it off.

"Don't worry. Seren's telekinetic. She has been since she was a baby. It's something I've known all my life, so it's not so strange." Loki said with a shrug.

"But…" I began.

"It was the man." Brah whispered into my ear and Loki frowned.

"Nah. Rupert isn't telekinetic. He's just a wolf."

"Just a wolf?" I asked, wondering what the hell that was supposed to mean, but I shook it away because I was more interested in what was happening with Billie.

Seren and Rupert had been talking quietly about getting a pair of gloves on Billie. I guess the vamps had removed them from her, maybe in case someone tried to rescue her. There was one problem though, Billie was convinced her hands had been cut off, but I guess they didn't know that. I moved quickly passed Loki and Leda and crouched down beside Seren just as she said, "Now I have to figure out how to get these gloves on her. I have no idea what triggered her."

I tapped her shoulder and she looked at me.

"I don't know if this helps, but Billie's thinks those kehole cut her hands off. I've been trying to tell her for two days it's not true, but she thinks I'm a ghost." I explained.

"That's why she…" Seren replied and she put her own hand to her own throat and made a choking noise.

I nodded.

Seren gave me a warm smile and she reached out and stroked my cheek. She had a gentle touch, like a doctor.

"Don't worry. We'll get out of here." She said before she got to her feet and turned to Billie. "Auntie Billie? Can you hear me?"

"I think it's better if we get outside the truck and let Seren get on with this." Loki said as he helped me to my feet. "And what about the dhampir? Is he kosher?" He added in such a quiet voice I was sure I heard it inside my mind.

"Yeah." I said, and started toward daylight. "He's my protector at the moment."

"What does that mean?" Loki asked.

"I'll tell you later, but he needs to be rescued too."

"Ok." Loki replied.

I had to jump down out of the truck but then I was on solid ground under a high hot sun. I breathed in the air. It was dry and dusty and no hint of the ocean breeze I was used to living so close to the Hawaiian coast, but still I was on solid ground and I was out in daylight. It was only in that moment that I realised I'd actually been convinced I'd never see it again.

Then I felt someone grab my arm, I nearly jumped at them, but it was Brah. He was clutching on to me as if he was afraid of something. He was looking at Leda with fear, I couldn't think why.

"Well Isla, looks like you get to run with a pack." Loki said with a grin. "Well a small pack."

"What do you mean?" I asked with a frown.

"You're gonna run back with us to the medic tent. It's the quickest way for us to travel, as wolves." He replied.

"I have to run?" I asked, not sure I had the energy for it, not to mention that Mr Creep told me that wolf women couldn't phase when they were pregnant, now wasn't the time to get into beef with Brah.

"Look, I can't carry three people and I don't think Rupert can either." Loki said as he leaned in close to me, which was a little weird considering he was still naked. "I think that you can turn into a wolf and carry your friend there. We'll do it like this ok. Seren will hold Billie on Rupert's back and they'll run point. Leda will be on my back and I'll take the right flank, and your friend can ride on your back and you take the left flank. That way Seren can cover us all with her shield. And you don't have to worry about those gross clothes you've been stewing in for the last few days, there's spare clothes in the field hospital that are more your size."

"I know you can do this Isla." Brah said softly and I wondered if he knew I'd been lying to him the last few days.

Well I was taking it as permission to just reveal the truth now. I straightened up and nodded my head. "I'll do it."

"Ok. Just phase, unless you don't mind stripping." Loki said with a shrug.

Then he took a few steps back and just like that exploded into a huge wolf. I think he was bigger than Kekipi had been. I wondered how big I was compared to Loki.

"It's not that difficult." Rupert said and I turned to him just in time to see him explode into a wolf too.

Rupert lay down on the floor so Seren could help Billie up onto his back. He was a big wolf too. Leda climbed up onto Loki's back and they all turned patient eyes on me.

It was now or never, but I had to get Brah onside first. I turned to him and hoped he wouldn't make a big deal just yet.

"Brah. I'm gonna turn into a wolf now. I'm a need you to climb on my back and hold on tight. Da' kine?"

Brah frowned and I was worried that he was about to get into this right now, but he nodded his head, and I guess he thought that this could wait until we were safe too.

"Good kid." I said and tapped his cheek.

I took a deep breath and opened the floodgate on all that heat I'd been pushing down through all the vampire abuse I'd had the last couple of days. The fire boiled up through me like a back draught and I felt the release of the energy before I dropped down onto four paws.

Before when I'd been a wolf it had all been quiet in my head, but now I heard minds. I mean that's the only way I could describe it and well I knew it through these other minds. It was the pack mind, that's what it was called. But it wasn't either of the guys here near me, but a load of girls. They were busy with something though so I pulled my mind away from them and stood up.

Is everyone ready? Loki's voice sounded in my mind.

He moved in on Rupert's right, and I remembered what he said about us running in an order. I moved in on the left like Loki told me to do earlier.

Seren? Loki said, and I heard him even though he wasn't talking to me.

I felt something like static pick up my fur along the left side of my body and there was a crackling in the air. Was that Seren's shield?

There was a lot to ask about but that would wait until later. Now it was time to run and I felt this pull deep inside me, this felt right. There was no junk about it, I was running with my pack brothers like I was always meant to.

Rupert was leading us up over a hill and along a crest. I didn't take in much more than that of my surroundings. I was too focused on running. On how it made me feel ono and how I couldn't wait to explore this more, maybe in the forests I'd seen in my dreams…


"Well then we got back here. Seren fainted and I was shown where I could go to change back and get dressed, and well there's no more." I said with a shrug.

"Well I guess there's more we can talk about later." Loki said as he looked over my head. "But right now someone else wants to talk to you."

I turned to find that Brah was standing behind me, but his head was bowed and he looked sad.

"You wanna talk now Brah?" I asked.

He raised his head and met my eyes. He looked solemn. He looked up at the other people around us.

"Is there somewhere private?" I asked.

"You can use the place where you changed." Loki said, pointing back to the little cubicle made up from curtains.

I nodded and signalled for Brah to follow me. He followed me in silence until we were in the cubicle. He stopped me before I could even frame a question.

"They might not taught me reading, but they teach us about sex." He whispered. "They do want us to mate after all."

"What? So why did you?" I asked.

"Play along with your assumption?" He finished.

I nodded.

"I made a promise that I wouldn't force my mate. She would always have to be willing. The slam to the chin was a good indication, but I thought sparring could lead to other physical actions, but the knee to the balls kind of sealed it for me. You didn't want me."

"Sorry." I said.

"It's not your fault. They put me in there like a," he laughed derisively, "chosen bull to mate with the exotic cow."

"They're junk." I said.

Brah nodded.

"So you really don't have a name either?"

He shook his head.

"You still want to be called Brah?"

He shrugged.

"You really took a beating for me, even though you knew I was lying." I said with a frown.

"Well yeah, but I got to stay with you in your comfy bed." He said with a grin before he leant in close to whisper in my ear. "And I was hedging my bets that if I was around you enough you'd change your mind and ask me to mate with you. You are beautiful and except for the lies, you seem like a good person."

"Mahalo." I said and touched his cheek. "And you're a good person too."

He shook his head.

"No?"

"I'm not a person yet. I need to learn how to be. But I can now. I'm free of the farm." He said with a big smile.

"Yes you are." I said with a nod. "So shall we go see what happens now? I don't even know how I'll get home from Mexico."

"We'll find out." Brah said with a nod and we stepped out of the cubicle to see what was happening next.


Thank you for reading

Sorry it was a bit repetitive at the start, but I wanted to give you the clear-cut point of where Billie went under the mind control.

Reviews, as always, are greatly appreciated

Gemma x