Disclaimer: Same as last chapter. No profit, etc.

Author: J.A.K

Rating: PG-15

Summary: What would you do if your sister's rapist turned out to be your soulmate? This is the story of a girl who had to answer that question.

Author's Note: I am extremely sorry for taking so long, but I had finals-which were a killer but are finally over-and severe writers block. So with that in mind I wrote what I believe to be the longest chapter I have ever written for anything before in my life. FF.Net is down now but as soon as it's back up and running, this upload should be out before the new year. By the way, Happy New Year all! Hope you all enjoy it, like I hope you'll enjoy my update.

AN2: This one is the more urgent of the two, but I thought it would be better if I apologized first. All I have to say is that everyone, if they haven't before, should heed the rating. This fic is not PG-13, even though it's in the PG-13 section. As I've written from the beginning it's more like PG-15. I know people are sensitive about…stuff, I don't know what exactly, but I just don't want anyone telling me that they're shocked and/or appalled by the content of my fic. For the people who have been reading this story all along, I don't think this chapter is as serious as the warning might make it sound, but I don't know everyone's level of sensitivity. For anyone who's interested, this and my one other L.J. fic are the only two stories that are in the PG-13 category. The others are all rated R. Take from that what you will *winks.*

Sharmeen: I replied to your review almost immediately after I read it via email, but I guess I can tell you that I read your story and I think its great…as in really really good!

Umm.thanks for staying with this story. It's weird b/c I almost feel like I know you through these review and answer sessions *smiles*. NEways…Happy New Year and I hope you like this chapter.

Thade182: Wow.you love my fic? That's wonderful. Sorry for keeping you waiting for this chapter, but here it is. Hope you enjoy it. Happy New Year!

Terriah: You think that was wicked…check out this chapter *grins*. Sorry for the wait and I hope you enjoy. Happy New Year!

Redaura: In response to your questions, yes she died, but only because she saw and experienced though her visions, her future self dying. I did research for some of the Mythology stuff that has yet to surface. Nothing major, just typed some words in on google and clicked. Thanks for thinking I'm original and sticking through with this story. Happy New Year!

Thea101: I know this isn't exactly a speedy update, but the chapter is long. I tried not to put a lot of details when it came to their facial features, but I'll see what you think. Thanks for the review and Happy New Year!

Risrana: Hope you like this new chapter. As for the soul leaving her body thing, you'll just have to wait and see *winks* Happy New Year!

Arrylle Gamere: That was you under screen name Seanna?!! So you have been following this story for a while. Great!!! I hope you didn't think I feel off the face of the planet and neglected this story. I really didn't. There were times when I wanted to write some stuff for this fic but I couldn't because I had to study. And then when I thought I knew what I was gonna right, I suffered from the worst case of writer's block I've had to date. I didn't want my words to sound forced, so I just waited until everything could flow from my fingertips naturally. Enjoy and Happy New Year!

Crowdove: Thanks for appreciating the way I handled the issue of rape. I didn't really have to deal with it in this fic, b/c I knew it wasn't gonna be centered around that, but I have another fic in the Smallville section that exclusively handles that subject. Hope you enjoy and Happy New Year!

Irene: Thanks for thinking it's good. And as for the ugly thing, well Alexandra is only human so she's naturally flawed by human blemishes. But I imagine Kailand to be oh-so-fine. Here's the update and I hope you enjoy. Happy New Year!

Enough of my blabbering...on with the story!

#Chapter Eleven#

The Plot

"Is everything going according to plan?" The voice sounded disembodied. There was little to prove that anything had spoken at all, except for the fact that there was almost an immediate response to its query.

"The girl seems to be his soulmate," a slight hesitation by the second voice "I doubt that they will question the credibility of his word if she freely vouches that he speaks the truth." The person who spoke bowed his head even lower in an attempt to silently communicate to his master that the issue was above his control. Keeping his eyes firmly locked to the ground he asked, between stiff lips, if his master believed that everything they had done-which included making the Vampire Lord's testimony appear false-would go to waste.

"No." The response was quick, even, and calm. "The girl's family is being held here and Erebus and Night can then demand the girl's presence in exchange for their release."

Raising his head only slightly in confusion, the man voiced his concern.

"Will she really come?" He lifted his eyes a bit, but never actually dared to gaze upon the presence that lingered only a short distance away from him. "After all, the prophesy is common knowledge to them now after that fool broke through the defenses we placed in Europe" the man paused, still sore from the events that circled around that particular issue, as he had been the one to oversee the entire operation. He had been made to look like a fool in front of his colleagues, all because a half-breed had picked up a few smarts. The man rolled the muscles under his shoulder, smiling knowingly to himself. Aidan would pay, he thought. He would pay slowly and painfully.

He shook his head almost forgetting that he was in the middle of a conversation. "He won't allow her to come near any seemingly dangerous situations…she's too important to the structure and beginning of things to come."

The voice sounded like if it was grinning, if such an assumption was possible, and the man felt excitement run through his veins as apprehension that had been there only seconds before washed away at the prospect of being able to run the new Order. Whatever his master was about to say, was only going to be good news.

"She will find her way into his heart, and he will yield; though these things have been foretold to me I have nevertheless taken extra precautionary measures, as always." The voice paused. "I have already sent Agatha to disguise herself as one of his more trustworthy servants so that she can add even more persuasion towards the betterment of our cause."

"Then everything is settled, my master?"

The man waited for an eternity before the voice spoke.

"There is only one thing that concerns me." The voice paused again. "I wonder where she is getting these visions from. I want to know who is trying to help them."

The man almost forgot himself-so caught up in his own puzzlement-and made as if to stare at the figure before him. Thankfully, for the want of his continued existence, he remembered just in time.

"What visions? Will they ruin your plans?"

"No," came the reply. "The visions concern me only because they reveal too much of what is to happen…but knowing these lower beings as I do, they will never take the time to figure out what it all means…much less understand that the only way they could ever hope to win against us is to stay together."

Cutting off any beginnings of laughter-as the sound was far too disturbing for him to handle at the present-the man spoke up.

"Where would you like me to start looking for this person?"

This time when there was a moment of hesitation, the man knew for sure that his master was definitely smiling.

"Oh, I know just the place."

***************************************

Alexandra

He was staring at me, seemingly waiting for my response; but really, what could I say.

"What," I asked as the silence stretched on. His eyes were dark and inscrutable, belying the intensity that burned brightly behind their green depths. My shoulders, which I'd only just realized were tense, relaxed from their less than loose position. As I rolled my head from side to side, I quietly absorbed the fact that he was only wearing a white undershirt and a pair of dark jeans. Whether they were blue or black, I couldn't tell in this light.

He stepped forward with slow and deliberate strides and a faint blush crept to my face as I became conscious of the fact that he was staring at me just as intently as I was watching him.

"I need to put a ward around your mind so that you won't be susceptible to those dreams anymore," he paused in contemplative thought "or the visions for that matter."

The fact that he was now sitting on the bed-directly facing me—with one leg hanging freely along the frame, only dimly registered in my brain. I was too overwhelmed by what he had just said.

"Can you really do that…" moisture brought on by relief quickly came to my eyes, but I just as quickly pushed them away "Can you really stop the dreams."

He reached over with one hand and touched my leg, and I became acutely aware of his close proximity.

There was a long tense silence; the type that I had only recently become alerted to as his way of answering me.

"Done," he said in a voice softer than silk.

My mouth dropped in shock and I tried vainly to push away any vestiges of false hope that sprung to life inside of my body.

"You don't mean—"

That arrogant smirk settled itself gracefully across his lips, and I let out a heavy sigh of relief (or disappointment, I wasn't sure) that the mood that had just recently enraptured him, had let him go.

He gazed admiringly at his fingers.

"And all I had to do was touch you." He released a sigh of his own, but it sounded purely of contentment as his smirk grew broader. Looking at me with those alarmingly brilliant eyes, he said "They can do so many more…useful and very satiating things."

I stared at him for a few seconds-observing the predatory look that currently masked his features-and then moved back, telling myself that he was my soulmate and that he couldn't kill me.

His laugh was low and disturbing and I could see that he was genuinely amused.

"You can't possibly be scared of me now."

His chuckle quieted but his mirth was plainly written across his features. Folding his arms across his chest, he pushed himself away from me, so that his back was resting against the rear-board.

"I always thought that I had a generally scary appearance…as far as the whole dark scowl and waves of emanating power go," he shook his head and smiled "but you were never afraid."

He put his other leg on top of the sheet and folded them at the ankles.

I silently thanked God that the bed was abnormally large as I scooted further away from him.

"And now-at a time when I'm least likely to harm you-you recoil from me."

His expression changed, and I realized that, for some reason, he was angry.

The smile he previously wore, turned cold.

"At least you finally understand your place."

How dare he, I thought. Maybe he believed that I had undergone one too many traumas, and that he could now step all over my fragile psyche. Well that wasn't going to happen. I sat up as far as my back would let me, and tried to make the indignation that I should have been experiencing, discharge a remark that would hopefully cut him down a notch or two. Unfortunately, I was too tired to feel anything other than weariness pervade the realm of my body.

I pushed my tightly curled hair up and away from my face. Remembering that there were more important things happening in the universe, like the end of the human world, I pulled the sheet away from my legs and folded them, so that I sat Indian style.

"You know…just because one of your vampire lackeys said that I'm supposed to rule over this so-called New Order, or the fact that you stopped me en route to my escape, doesn't mean that I'm gonna stick around to see any of this through." My voice was soft but my tone was sincere.

His eyes appeared bland, as if he hadn't heard what I said.

"If you know what's good for you, you won't attempt to leave my property again." I shortly realized that he was nonchalant in responding to my words, because he had dismissed them all together.

Rolling my eyes, I told him, sarcasm deeply embedded in each word, that I was surprised that he was able to ingest any types of food because he always seemed to be completely full of himself.

His grin returned as he focused on my neck.

"Speaking of food…"

I balled my fists in frustration at his lack of cooperation.

"Is it possible for you to be serious about anything?" My hand hit the bed with each phrase I spoke "Can we please have a real conversation for once."

He appeared to find even more humor in my anger and I came close to actually hitting him.

For some reason, lines of indecision settled over his features.

"In the respect for the lack of time we have, I won't respond to that comment about wanting to hit me."

Wait.

I blinked a few times as I gave him a blank stare.

Had he always been able to read my thoughts?

"Like a book," he replied, running his eyes over the contours of my body. His focus settled below my shoulders, and I self-consciously crossed my arms "Like a very…good book."

My skin became flushed a dull shade of red. I was no less than horrified by the embarrassing implications that came with the prospect of him having always had the ability to see into my mind. At that moment, I couldn't help but recall that I had previously a likened him to that of a knight.

His smirk was broad and dazzling as he opened his mouth to speak.

"I found that comparison particularly amusing."

I was grateful for the darkness that helped to cloak the signs of my mortification; but no sooner had that sense of appreciation filled me, that I remembered-unexpectedly-that vampires had even better vision in the dark. This led me to think about all the other myths and legends I didn't know about this place called the Night World; which in turn led me to realize that we had done a complete 360 from the original topic of our conversation.

I gratefully accepted the support of the headboard and leaned into its strength.

"I hope you don't think that I fail to realize how you always change the subject whenever we talk about anything involving all this Night World…stuff." So my ending was weak, but my eyes were still dangerously narrowed, in hopes of having some sort of effect on him.

His hand started tracing the cotton that covered his stomach. As I watched him fingering the soft fabric between his forefinger and thumb, I couldn't help but notice how soft his face became when he was deep in thought. He stopped his actions suddenly and brought his head up so that he could stare at me unswervingly.

"What do you want to know?" The light that came from the moon caste a shadow that covered the right side of his face. When he spoke, my eyes fell-of their own accord-to his lips. They were soft and almost feminine looking.

My gaze strayed towards the loose strands that made up his hair. I knew that daylight would reveal their color to be a deep shade of red, but now, overcast by darkness, they appeared black.

He was extremely beautiful, I realized. Here I was, a person that a guy might not glance twice at, and my soulmate was the most physically beautiful thing I had ever seen. I looked down at my skin, forgetting about the question that still hung in the air, and wondered what he really thought when he saw me. I wasn't ugly or even plain, but I wasn't a show stopper either. About to go further into my self-deprecating thoughts, I was cut short when his words abruptly discontinued my reflections.

"If it's of any consolation to you, I think that had you been a Night Person, you would have fit right in…as you will find that an inordinate amount of us are, as you so fastidiously put it…beautiful."

A smirk formed across his lips as he looked at me with those shockingly green eyes.

I couldn't help the blush that crept along the back of my neck at his words. I had to make a better effort to remind myself that he could read my thoughts.

I shrugged with an ungraceful twist of my shoulders and told myself to move on.

"I know that you can see into my head" I looked hesitantly down at my fingers and then back at him "But…can all vampires do that?"

He leaned further against the board and folded his arms over his chest.

"Not all vampires have my abilities." I noticed that his words weren't said out of arrogance, but out of an open honesty that was sincere. "Every vampire has telepathic powers to an extent, but not all of them are gifted enough to master telekinesis."

I was extremely intrigued now.

"When you say telekinesis, you mean what exactly?" I followed where his focus went and saw that it now lay upon a vase that stood on a table by the oak door. He glanced at me with a wicked gleam in his eye and then balled his hand into a fist. With that gesture, the vase broke into tiny emendable pieces.

I couldn't help the small tremors that spread throughout my body as I realized just how powerful he was.

I shook off the feelings of fear mingled with fleeting impulses of excitement that flowed through my veins and continued my inquiry.

"Exactly how many vampires are out there?"

His eyes were disbelieving as they gazed at me.

"Now you said to play nice, but that was an incredibly stupid question."

Anger that I couldn't feel before now freely surged through me. Unfolding my legs, which had begun to cramp from their immovable position, I scooted back so that I now leaned against the head board.

Giving him a very long and hard glare I folded my arms tightly over my chest.

Amusement lightened the shadows that played indifferently over his features.

"Come now Alexandra, even you can admit it." His eyes drifted to the ceiling before they rested on mine. "How am I really supposed to know the amount of vampires that exist in the world?"

The response I had for him was quick and cutting, but what I really wanted to tell him was that my name sounded nice coming from his mouth. Remembering that he probably already heard what I said I mumbled a few expletives under my breath.

"Of course I am a Lord of the Night World, but that doesn't mean I keep tabs of every vampire that lives on earth." Even though his words sounded annoyed I could still see the mirth that danced around the edges of his mouth as he smirked at me.

God, he heard what I said again. Or didn't say really.

Leaning the back of my head against the wooden board, I sighed in exasperation. As I looked at the tall mahogany posts that cornered each side of the bed, I was reminded of something else that I had been meaning to ask him.

"If vampires are affected so negatively by wood, then why does it seem that everything in this house is made of it?"

A glimmer of what I thought was respect flickered from behind the cloudy depths of his eyes and I couldn't help but feel a warmth of satisfaction spread from the core of my stomach to the tips of my fingers.

"That was very perceptive of you, Alexandra." Instead of the usual annoyance that I felt from his teasing, I just shook my head, a small smile raising the right side of my mouth. "Only the most capable of my kind can handle the amounts of wood that make up my mansion." His shrug was infinitely more graceful than mine. "It's just a way of showing one's power."

There was a pause before he spoke again.

"Anything else?" I was surprised that he was actually being cooperative and had left behind the weird mood he had previously worn when he had first entered the room.

To his answer I could only think: Yea, there was a whole lot else.

"Before we get into what happened to me before," I noticed his body tense slightly at my words "I want to know how many other types of…people there are in the Night World besides vampires."

He slowly stuck out three fingers. As his mouth opened again, I only just realized that everything he did was with a deliberate purpose. Nothing was rushed or hurried. Everything was according to his pace. It was because of this that all of his movements had a certain sensuality behind them.

"Well…the three most basic I guess are witches, shapeshifters, and werewolves." He pushed a finger down as he said each one. "Then you have dragons which are just an off-shoot of shapeshifters" he paused as if considering "Or really shapeshifters are an off shoot of dragons," his eyes were piercing as he stared at me "then you have everything in between."

I tried to ingest all that he was telling me while reminding myself that all of this wasn't the makings of some cruel dream.

"By everything in between you mean."

His tone was uncommonly patient.

"I mean that while it's not usual, vampires can mix with witches, shapeshifters with werewolves." His grin was mischievous "Even humans and Night People can have children…but that, according to law, is most illegal."

My eyebrows rose at that comment while my arms fell from their position and hung loosely in my lap.

"So you guys have laws too."

He let out a sound that sounded too refined to be a snort, but was equivalent in its meaning. "Not those moral rules of society you humans live by." I was offended by his superior sounding tone. "There are only two laws that the Night World has." He held out those long dexterous fingers again. "Number one is that you can't tell a human about the Night World; and the second one is you can't fall in love with one."

My muscles tightened in my jaw.

"One?" His eyes didn't waver as they met mine. "One what?"

His response was immediate and crisp.

"A human of course."

"I know that you ass, but why do you insist on making the word sound as if it's a disease?" A light bulb went on in my head as a brilliant thought occurred to me. "Weren't you once human?"

He had an answering smirk as he opened his mouth.

"That means nothing in the grand scheme of things. And besides," his lips curled even further "there are some of us who were born as vampires."

My previously tight jaw hung slack with disbelief. In every universe that an author had ever created about vampires, never had a vampire had the ability to be born into their status.

"But that can't be possible." My left hand gripped the black sheets that were gently nudging my hips.

Again he took his time in replying.

"You'll find that nothing is impossible in the Night World, Alexandra."

I closed my eyes, quietly accepting the truth in his words.

My lips were partially closed as I responded to his words.

"I guess that would explain why I had a visit with death and…yet I'm still here." My voice sounded sad even to my own ears, and I silently wished that I could keep pretending that I was strong enough to be unaffected by…everything.

"I won't live to see the end of this thing will I?"

I opened my eyes so that I could see and hear his response with equal measure and I noticed that, for the first time since I'd met him, he looked uncertain.

"I'm not sure." His words were low in pitch, but firm.

I tried ineffectively to ignore his answer along with his company as I slid over the bed and went to stand by the window.

I was strangely comforted by the sight that befell me. The moon was absolutely stunning from this angle.

His hand on my shoulder startled me, along with the loudly buzzing presence that thrummed through the recesses of my mind.

"You're not too old, Alexandra" what was he talking about, I thought irritably "I can still turn you into a vampire." His tone was both serious and sincere.

Was he crazy? Was he absolutely out of his freakin' mind?

I pulled my shoulder out of his grasp, angry with him and angry with the world.

"I thought that kinda stuff was illegal anyways."

His sigh was long and sounded overly impatient.

"Well seeing as how I have neither revealed to you the existence of the Night World, or have I fallen in love with you I think we're safely out of dangerous waters with that one."

I hung my head and shut my eyes, trying not to hear the logic that graced his words or the hurt that was spawned from them.

I was extremely surprised, to say the least, when he grabbed me with an iron grip by the forearm and spun me around to face him.

His teeth were white and bared, and a small growl escaped from his lips.

"I am trying to give you a fighting chance to face this thing."

My resolve was weak and my need for comfort strong, so I did what seemed natural and kissed him. I stood on the tips of my toes, put my hands on his shoulders, and kissed him.

It didn't last long, however, as he pulled back from me, his expression shocked and aghast.

"What do you think you're doing?"

I rested my weight on the balls of my feet, but my hands stayed where they were.

"I don't know what I'm doing," my eyes searched his for countless seconds, but soon fell on his lips "And I have to admit that I no longer care."

There was a beat of silence.

"I think you're confused." He made as if to take a step backwards, but I held fast, keeping him precisely where he stood—which told me that he really had no intentions of moving at all.

"I think you're confused Kailand," he took a shallow breath as I said his name "We all could die at any moment," I continued to speak to his lips "And I don't want to go not knowing what it's like to fu-"

This time it was him who initiated the kiss. His lips were as soft I had thought them to be, but were rough as they moved over my mouth. I could barely conceal the groan that rose from my throat as he grazed his tongue across my teeth.

The feelings that occurred when we touched each other before intensified tenfold, and I thought I was going to die from bliss. Never in my life had I experienced such pleasure from a kiss. Never in my life had I experienced such pleasure.

I wondered silently if he felt the same way.

His hands strayed from where they had been and grabbed my waist, pulling me flush against him.

I pulled my mouth away from his, needing to breath. He however, didn't seem to be bothered by that prospect as he transferred his kisses to my neck where his teeth lightly grazed the skin there. My body shivered with barely restrained emotion.

I grabbed his neck tighter and he in turn grabbed my waist in an almost painful grip, nearly lifting me from the ground.

It was a good thing his hold was so secure because my legs felt as if they were currently unable to support my weight.

His name was a whisper on my lips and I heard him groan in response.

So caught up in what we were doing, I barely heard the knock that came from the other side of the door.

Kailand must have heard nothing, because he continued with his ministrations, even going so far as to push my body against the wall.

"My Lord?" The voice was hesitant as it spoke.

"My Lord, your cousin requires your presence," the voice seemed to find strength, and it rose in decibel. "My lord he says it's urgent."

I tried to pull away from his body, but I was trapped between him and the wall, so I took my hands from where they rested on his shoulders and grabbed either side of his head. Only when I tugged gently on hair did he stop and look up.

"Kailand, I don't know if you heard, but I think Thierry wants you."

The look in his irises took my breath away. I wasn't use to his eyes being so intense from desire.

"I heard what the maid said," the smirk that formed on his lips was nothing less than sexy "but I, like you, don't care."

The more time his mouth spent away from my skin the more I regained some of my sense.

He went to kiss me again, but I pulled my head away.

"Kailand you should-"

My sentence was cut off by the woman that stood behind the door, who insisted that Kailand respond at once.

"Are you alright my Lord, should I call—"

He let out a groan of frustration before he spoke.

"I'm fine Alatza," his words were slow and strained "now go away."

"But my—"

I winced when he tightened his grip on my hips and he immediately relaxed his clasp.

"I said go away."

There was a pause.

"Yes my Lord."

He bowed his head slightly and slowly let go of my waist.

As reality gradually made its way back into my mind I wondered if things would be as they were before any of this happened.

He stepped back, annoyance written across his face.

"What the fuck could Thierry want now?"

I ignored his question and moved around him sitting on the bed, weary and emotionally drained.

I was in the process of closing my eyes when his voice broke through the silence.

"You can sleep while I'm gone," his gaze roamed the width and length of my body "the dreams won't trouble you anymore."

I began to lie back as he made his way out of the room.

"By the way…thanks for doing that." I pulled the sheet up until it brushed my chin. "I didn't thank you before for stopping the dreams and I just, well…" My words trailed off. Exhaustion came over me with authority and I barely heard as his footsteps briefly paused and then continued out through the door.

A smile was on my lips as I drifted away into sleep, and for the first time in months, I wasn't scared as I began to dream.

AN3: I must warn you all now that the story will get slightly more racier than it is at the moment. I hope you all enjoyed what you read and I hope you saw that I took into account what you guys said, and added only slightly more detail. Hopefully not enough to ruin anyone's perception of what they thought the characters should look like.

Reviews are greatly appreciated and muchly adored!