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Chloe

Max was the first to react, sensing Kate's sudden shift and letting out a low, drawn-out growl. A warning. There was no way in hell she was going to let anyone else get hurt under her watch. Whoever was trying to sneak up on them would get a nasty shock if they thought they would be able to lay a finger on any of them. Looking over at the young empath and getting a read on her concern, Rachel sprung to her feet drawing her sword. If Kate was worried, that alone was enough to put the young hunter on her guard. Max getting agitated did so even more.

Rachel's eyes were fixed on Kate's as her gaze seemed to be following an invisible figure, moving across the ceiling towards the back of the house. A dull thud drew her attention to the open sliding door as Chloe appeared in the doorway. Blue ripped jeans, black skull top, and combat boots, her electric blue hair hanging down either side of her face looking like she had just woke up. Her lips parted just enough to reveal her pointed fangs, her usual blue eyes replaced with a deep crimson red, indicating the young vampire had not yet fed. This was bad… REALLY bad. Exactly the kind of situation she had wanted to avoid.

"Shit," Rachel muttered, climbing over the back of the sofa. She put herself between Chloe and the other occupants of the house, holding her sword down to one side defensively. Her heart was beating loudly in her chest at the prospect of having to fight Chloe, apprehension clouding her judgment.

The only time vampires were beyond reason was just after turning. Until they had that first meal, they had very little control. This was why Rachel had told Victoria to make sure she was fed before coming here. Not that it mattered right now. She would find out what happened later. For now, she had to prevent Chloe from killing someone she cared about and get some blood in her. Fast. Not the kind of challenge the young hunter would willingly take up. For one, it wouldn't be easy and she just didn't want to fight like this. Not like she had much choice in the matter. Chloe's red eyes quickly switched from Rachel to Joyce before settling on Kate, who had poked her head over the back of the sofa, ducking back down as their eyes met.

"CHLOE, DON'T!" Rachel's shouting plea went unheard as Chloe launched herself past the young hunter, flinging her out of the way and charging towards where Kate was hiding. Her lunge fueled by a single-minded desire… blood.

Without warning, Max's electric blue orb shot out through the back of the sofa. It turned a solid black as it slammed into Chloe's gut, sending the shocked vampire hurtling backward across the room and into the garden. She landed on the grass in an undignified heap.

Quickly, Rachel scrambled to her feet to see Max slowly climbing over the back of the sofa, walking determinedly towards Chloe as her orb zipped back to her. The orb turned blue and came to rest on one of her tails, her eyes fixed on the young vampire.

"Max," Rachel muttered as the wolf positioned herself between Chloe and her targets. The young hunter felt a small hand on her arm, looking down to see Kate now stood next to her. The young empath's eyes fixed on Max, getting a read on her. In the meantime, Chloe had sprung to her feet and was eyeing up the wolf that now stood between her and her prey. She let out a low hiss which was met with a low, firm growl from the wolf.

"It's ok, Rach. It's just a warning," Kate muttered, not taking her eyes of Max. There was no way Max would hurt Chloe, not too much, anyway. If she did, it would only to be to save her from herself.

Without warning, Chloe launched herself at Max, who met the vampire halfway shoulder slamming her. She was sent crashing once again into the grass with a hiss. Undeterred, Chloe sprung back to her feet, launching herself once again at Max. This time, her fist connected with Max's shoulder, causing the wolf let out a sharp yelp as the blow sent her crashing into the side of the house. The wooden paneling splintered and cracked on impact as Max collapsed in a heap on the floor.

Satisfied the wolf was down, Chloe turned her attention back to the young empath, who was now hiding behind Rachel. Without hesitation, she sprung at the two girls. Seeing her best friend lunging towards her, eyes filled with hunger and no sign of hesitation, caused the young hunter to hesitate in her reaction. Inches from the two girls, Chloe was slammed into the dirt by Max's black orb pinning her to the ground. The young vampire hissed angrily as she tried to wrestle the football sized orb, trying to push it off her.

Kate watched from behind Rachel as Max struggled to get to her feet. She was clearly hurt but didn't let that stop her as she limped towards the pinned vampire, placing her good leg firmly on Chloe's shoulder. She withdrew her orb to one of her tails, the color shifting once again to its electric blue color. Her face was now inches from Chloe's. Their eyes locked and Chloe's hissing quickly faded into silence as the two long lost friends remained in a deadlock.

Kate felt Joyce come up behind her, a mix of caution and apprehension emanating from her. "Kate," she muttered quietly, taking the bizarre and startling scene in.

"She's ok, for the moment. Hungry and confused more than anything. But… if she goes at it again, I don't think we can rely on Max," Kate replied quietly hinting towards Max, who was panting quite heavily and clearly favoring one of her front legs over the other.

"Rachel," Joyce nudged the young hunter, who was still shocked. Shaking the shock off, Rachel turned to Joyce, who was holding a blood bag out to the hunter. Without saying anything, she took it and cautiously walked over to where Max still had Chloe pinned in their standoff.

"Chloe... Chloe, look at me," Rachel said firmly as she knelt down beside the young vampire whose eyes shifted from Max. She glanced at the young hunter for a moment before homing in on the bag of red liquid in her hand, instantly snatching it up and sinking her teeth into the plastic, draining it.

Joyce let out a sigh of relief as she watched her daughter feeding. She turned to head back into the kitchen to retrieve another blood bag from the fridge. Upon return, she noticed Max limping towards the living room with Kate at her side. Placing the blood bag on the table, she hurried over towards the pair as Max slumped awkwardly on the sofa. Kneeling next to the sofa, Joyce began feeling around Max's shoulder, earning a series of small whimpers and yelps from the wolf.

"You really are your mother's daughter, getting into fights," Joyce chuckled lightly as she continued feeling the wolf's shoulder. "Thank you. You didn't have to go that easy on her. I know it wasn't easy for you," Joyce reassured her, feeling sympathy for the young girl. "It's just dislocated. I'm afraid this is going to hurt a little."

"I get the feeling you've done this before," Kate observed curiously as she tried to direct Max's attention elsewhere on her body by rubbing a hand on her belly.

"Once or twice," Joyce replied as she pressed down on Max's shoulder firmly, earning a squelching click and a loud yelp, followed by a small whimper from the wolf. "That should do it," she proclaimed sympathetically, giving Max a reassuring scratch behind her ears as she got off the sofa to attend to her daughter outside.

Kate quickly seized her chance, taking her spot tucked into black fur. Max's usual internal struggle had given way to a temporary calmness.

"Nice to see you two getting along for once," Kate murmured sleepily. She could so go for a nap right now, but the evening was young and she felt there was a lot more to come. No sleep for thee. Max let out a reluctant sigh and Kate felt a small amount of frustration from Akira. "Oh come, on. If your mom trusted Akira, she can't be that bad," Kate sighed, rolling her eyes.

Max let out another sigh, her ears pricking up at the sound of approaching footsteps. She craned her neck over the sofa to see Rachel leading a sheepish looking Chloe by the hand towards them, Joyce not far behind. Kate poked her head over the back of the sofa giving a welcoming smile to the two girls.

"Kate… I'm sorry," Chloe mumbled sheepishly, not meeting the blonde's eyes.

"It's ok, Chloe. No harm done," Kate smiled. She didn't need her ability to tell that Chloe was feeling guilty. It was written all over her face and body language.

"It wasn't even you I wanted to… ya know," Chloe shrugged.

"Eat," Rachel finished the sentence in her playful tone, earning a slight scowl off Kate. Chloe let out a sigh of admission and nodded.

"Must admit, I'm surprised. It's not who I was expecting you to go for," Joyce added, curiosity in her voice as she came up behind her daughter, putting an arm around her hugging her. "So, who was it you wanted to… snack on?" she inquired, already guessing at the answer herself.

Chloe's eyes flicked towards Max for a moment before returning to the floor, sighing reluctantly, "The werewolf."

Max let out a disapproving growl, causing Chloe to stiffen. Kate just let out a small snicker of amusement. Max and Akira really didn't like being labeled a werewolf.

"So, why go after Kate?" Rachel questioned, sounding more than a little annoyed. She was very fond of Kate, more so than she would willingly admit. There was a reason she kept teasing the girl, and it wasn't just for entertainment, although it was fun getting her all flustered.

"Because I knew you would protect her." Chloe gave Rachel a knowing look, "As much as I wanted to go after the… wolf, I didn't want to hurt… it," Chloe replied, clearly unsure of herself.

"Maybe it's because you know HER," Rachel grinned knowingly. The urge to just spell it all out for Chloe was overwhelming, but she ideally wanted to wait till she was… well, Max again. Or rather, looking like Max again.

"I've never seen it… her, before in my life," Chloe quickly corrected herself with the new information. She caught sight of Kate passing Rachel a nervous glance and shifting awkwardly. "Kate?" she questioned the young empath accusingly.

Kate averted her eyes from Chloe's, swallowing hard as she let out a sigh. "Rachel, PLEASE tell her. You guys are killing me here. I got you practically exploding in excitement, Chloe feeling confused, Joyce feeling guilty and apprehensive, and then there's poor Max here feeling nervous as all hell… oops." She clapped her hands over her mouth, realizing what she just said and quickly shooting Rachel an apologetic glance.

Chloe stiffened staring at Max, her eyes wide. Max lowered her head, laying her ears back while Kate hugged her reassuringly. Kate stared at the young vampire as she stood there motionless. Her emotions, however, were in overdrive as a barrage of emotions erupted from her. Confusion, anger, doubt, relief, joy and realization. It was hard to keep up with and distinguish between all of them.

"Max is a werewolf?" Chloe muttered questioningly. Max let out a disapproving grumble, causing Kate stifling another small giggle.

"She's Ahri, to be exact," Rachel corrected. The distinction was important, especially considering how hostile both Max and her passenger were to the term 'werewolf'.

Chloe glanced at Rachel, then back to Max with a frown as something dawned on her, causing her to turn to her mother with an accusing scowl. "You knew. YOU KNEW and you didn't tell me!" she shouted accusingly, balling her fists at her sides.

"Chloe, calm down," Rachel urged, putting herself between Chloe and her mother. They didn't need another fight. One was enough for today.

"You knew what Max leaving did to me and when I asked you why, you said you didn't know... You knew all along!" Chloe continued shouting angrily over Rachel's shoulder, her eyes reddening as the young hunter placed her hands on her shoulders.

"Of course I knew," Joyce snapped loudly. Her sudden raised voice stunned the angry vampire into silence as tears began running down the older woman's face. "How could I not… You think it was easy for me. I lost my husband and one of my best friends," Joyce muttered, passing a quick apologetic look towards Rachel. "Then I lost a girl I consider my own daughter, as well as two of my other best friends, never to see or hear from them again."

"Chloe, Joyce was about to tell us what happened before you showed up. Hear her out and PLEASE calm down," Rachel pleaded, desperate to bring some sort of order back into this conversation.

Chloe looked from Rachel to her mother and back to Rachel before sighing. "Fine… did you at least save me any bacon, I'm starving?"

"We haven't had any," Joyce replied with a small smirk. wiping her eyes. At least her daughter still had a healthy appetite… even if normal food wouldn't completely satisfy her anymore.

"Then why can I smell it?" Chloe asked.

Rachel frowned as she gave a sniff. "Odd, I can smell apple pie."

"I smell fresh toffee," Kate offered, feeling rather confused.

Joyce let out an amused laugh, "And for me, it's black cherry meringue. Never could cook that right," she frowned, annoyed with herself. The three girls and Max looked at Joyce questioningly, making her hold up her hands defensively. "Don't look at me," she said nodding towards Max, "what you're smelling is Max." Seeing all three girls turn and look at a now even more confused Max, Joyce let out a chuckle. "Vampires have a similar thing, although it's much subtler. From what we were able to figure out, it's just a means to make friends, to draw people in. It simply plays on what you like the most, which makes sense when you think about it. Ahri are, after all, very social creatures.

"I can only imagine what it's like for vampires," Rachel offered, giving Chloe an apologetic smile.

"Certainly explains why Victoria ran out of the classroom the way she did," Kate added.

"And why that asshole attacked Max the way he did last night," Rachel finished, frowning at the memory.

Getting comfortable in the living room, the girls sat on the sofa. Kate on the end snuggled into Max's fur, the wolf's tails wrapped around her, Max's head resting on Chloe's lap as the bluenette ran her fingers through her fur, while her other hand rested in Rachel's.

"You have no idea how much I missed you, Max," Chloe said softly, earning a gentle whimper from Max. Passing a quick glance at Kate, Chloe saw a pained expression on the empath's face as she slowly shook her head. "Maybe you do… I just wish I knew why." She let out a drawn sigh, trying to get her head around all this.

"Well, maybe I can fill in a few blanks," Joyce offered as she took her seat in the armchair, tucking her legs under her.

And that's all folks, well, for now, PLENTY more to come.

I enjoyed writing this one, Don't call Max a werewolf :P

Are we enjoying this, anyone have any predictions yet, let's hear it in the comments, someone has to have an opinion :P

I 'might' a big might, put the next chapter up tomorrow evening, things are getting interesting and this is just the start :D

Stay happy