Author's Note: WARNING...I use the 'F' word four times in this chapter. I think that in the situations these character are in, it's very, very, appropriate. Hopefully, you will agree. Moving on, thank you all my reviewers, you guys are wonderful. I very much appreciate the support. Okay, on with the story!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Shit, this is not happening," Kris panicked, fear evident on her face.

"Go back, go back!" Alec said frantically, pushing Kris backwards around the corner, only to run into another two trench-coated men. "Fuck!" Alec whispered angrily. Four armed cult guys against one transgenetic, he was going to get his ass kicked.

"494, nice to see you again," White said coldly, approaching them.

Alec looked around. They were completely surrounded. Kris gulped hard. We are going to die on a deserted street, she thought.

"Kris, looking lovely this evening," White said, finally reaching them.

Kris snorted. "Wish I could say the same to you," she replied cockily. She amazed herself with what she said. That was possibly the worse time for Alec's attitude to rub off on her.

Alec chuckled slightly. It wasn't a funny situation at all, but if they were to die, then at least White was insulted by Kris.

White smirked. "You think that's funny?" he asked Alec.

Alec didn't reply.

"Try this," White said as he punched Alec hard in the stomach, making Alec fall to the ground on his knees. "I find that hilarious," White added maliciously as he took off the brass knuckles he had around the hand he had punched Alec with.

Kris stepped protectively between Alec and White. "Lay the fuck off him! I'm the one who said it," she yelled at White. White was a coward...using brass knuckles on top of his cult-strength. Damn, I'm asking for a beating, Kris thought. But she had to try to stall and buy Alec some recovery time.

Alec wouldn't have fallen to his knees after a punch, especially in front of White, had it not been unimaginably painful. He looked so small against White and his three goons. Kris was terrified.

White looked at her, as though debating whether or not she was worth his time. "Fine," he replied icily, giving her a back-handed slap.

The blow threw her to the cold, rough sidewalk. It felt like she had been hit with an anvil, so she could only imagine what Alec was feeling. Slowly, she got up.

Alec was furious that White touched Kris, but he couldn't breath at the moment nor react in any way whatsoever.

White bent down to Alec, "Get up 494," he commanded.

As much as Alec didn't want to obey, he would follow the order since Kris' life was in danger.

Alec gasped for breath. "What do you want?" he asked fiercely once he recovered his strength, that menacing coldness back in his eyes.

"Oh, it's all so simple. I want Kris in the car and you dead. Take her," he commanded the man next to him.

"No!" Kris screamed, struggling in the man's grasp. She kicked and hit ferociously, and though the blows connected, they did not affect the man whatsoever. Damn cult people, she thought.

"Get your hands off her!" Alec yelled, lunging forward at the man holding Kris, but the two men behind Alec restrained him, slamming him to the ground.

"Have fun with the freak," White said to the two men who were busy hitting and kicking Alec on the ground.

"Alec, get out of here!" Kris screamed desperately, still struggling in the man's grasp. She wasn't even sure if Alec was still conscious.

"Shut her up," White said.

A rag came up to her face and she blacked out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alec grabbed someone's foot and twisted it ferociously as that man tried to kick him again. The man spun in the air and Alec reached inside the trench coat mid-spin for the gun he had spotted earlier. The other man pulled out his gun, but Alec was a nanosecond faster and shot him dead. The man with the broken ankle reached for his gun, realized it wasn't there, but Alec shot him before he could do anything else.

Alec had failed, White had Kris. He cursed himself. He had to get her back. He took out his cell phone and called Max.

"Yeah?" Max said, answering the phone.

"Max! White's got Kris!" Alec answered.

"What?!?!" Max yelled.

"Come pick me up. I'm on the corner of Fifth and Bentley. I got the plates, I'm calling Logan now for a trace."

"Right, coming," Max said, and they hung up.

Alec dialed Logan's number.

"Hello?"

"Logan! White's got Kris! I need to know the location of a car."

"Got it," Logan replied a few minutes after Alec gave him the license plate. "Sector Four, abandoned warehouse."

"Thanks."

"Meet you there."

Max arrived shortly afterwards on her motorcycle. "You look like shit," she said.

"No kidding. Four cult guys, two down," he said, pointing to the two on the ground.

"Damn..." Max whispered angrily.

"Sector Four, abandoned warehouse. Logan's meeting us there."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kris woke up groggily. Where was she? A warehouse? She looked around, gigantic rusty storage containers and crates littered the ground. It looked like no one was there. She was tied to a chair with coarse rope and her head hurt. Her face and wrists were terribly sore. She was scared shitless.

"Hey, baby, feeling alright?" a male voice asked her seductively.

"Who's there?" she asked, terrified, trying to regain all of her composure.

"Aw...I'm disappointed. You don't remember me?" the voice answered.

She froze. It couldn't be. It couldn't be. "Sean?" she whispered. But it couldn't be. Sean was dead. Sean was dead. Wasn't he?

"Hi, Kris," he said, emerging from behind a tall crate.

She must have been hallucinating. She must have inhaled something that made her hallucinate. That was the only logical explanation.

"You're dead," she stated to the hallucination in front of her.

"Well, technically, yes. But I'm real. Let me prove it to you," he said sweetly, leaning down and kissing Kris.

It felt wonderfully real. His warm lips on hers made her feel safe and loved. She had missed this so much. She wanted to touch him with her hands but they were still tied. That brought her back to reality. She pulled away from the kiss.

"Sean, you have to help me! This guy, White, he's here somewhere and he's dangerous. We gotta go help my friend! White's men were beating the crap out of him," she said quickly. She could ask Sean all her questions later, saving Alec was more important.

Sean looked at her calmly, but made no movement to untie her.

"Sean?" she whispered. Why wasn't he helping?

"I can't do that, Kris," he said.

"Huh? Sure you can. Find something sharp and untie me. Alec could be dying somewhere!" Kris replied frantically.

"Ah, Kris," Sean started, shaking his head slightly. "You are so naive...it's almost painful. For someone so intelligent, you don't want to see what's right in front of you."

Kris' head was swimming. She couldn't think. Sean....Sean wasn't helping.

"There's no way in fucking hell I'm gonna help that mutant freak!" Sean yelled at her.

It felt like Kris was hit in the gut, hard, numerous times. She denied it. It wasn't possible. Sean was a considerate, respectful, open-minded person. He was the love of her life. Time and time again he had showed her how much he appreciated her. He had been...oh God...too perfect.

"You're one of those cult people. Those thousand-year-old, perfecting-the-human-race people," Kris stated sickly. She wanted to throw up, her head was spinning.

Sean nodded. "Very good Kris, I'm deeply impressed. We're actually called Familiars. You catch on quick," he said sarcastically.

Kris closed her eyes to try and block the cruelty in his voice. It didn't work. "Why?" was all she could ask. She was in shock, no, beyond shock. What was beyond shock?

"Well, you see, the elders pick a mate for us based on our genetic compatibility. We further our race by mating with these people. And well, I matched up with you. So, I made sure I met you at that party two years ago and made sure I did everything in my power to make you fall for me. Who knew you were such a prude? How long did it take to get you in bed? Like a whole year? You have no idea how tired I was with you by the time I fucked you."

He was being so cruel. He had never been cruel. All of it was a lie. Kris felt like crying, but there was no way she was going to cry in front of him. He was her enemy now, she understood that much.

"I never got pregnant," she managed to spit out.

"Actually, you did. Remember when you were late by a week, twice? Well, you egg was fertilized but then it self-aborted. So, you had two miscarriages."

"How do you know this?" Kris asked. It terrified her that he knew more about her body than she did.

"Elders told me so. It takes three tries. Two miscarriages and then the third time you get pregnant, it's one of us," Sean explained.

"I'm not Caucasian," she said. All the men she had seen were Caucasian. Their offspring would be half Asian, if they were to have an offspring at all.

"Ah, yes, I asked the exact same question before I met you. Apparently it is deemed that we have a child. Don't ask me why, but I have a feeling our baby will be very special," Sean said with a touch of sick pride in his voice.

"You are not touching me," Kris stated angrily.

"Oh, yes, I am," Sean assured her, kissing her roughly to prove his point. Kris pulled away, not looking at him. It hurt too much to think that those two years of her life had been a lie she happily believed.

"And how is the happy couple?" White asked sarcastically, emerging from nowhere, so it seemed to Kris.

Sean smirked, Kris ignored him.

"Why did you pretend to be dead?" Kris asked him. That question had been gnawing at her since she saw him. All that anguish she felt when she heard he had died could have been avoided.

"Oh, yeah, I almost forgot that part. I went to the bar the day before I 'died' and a guy was really bothering me. We got into a fight and I killed him. I didn't know that he was an FBI agent, he just looked like a drunkard. Anyway, I was a wanted man and so I got in contact with Ames since he's an FBI agent and he made all the arrangements to stage my death. It was brilliant. I planned to come back for you when the investigation subsided, but then you moved. Ames traced you easily to Seattle, but when he saw you were involved with a transgenetic, it turned into a totally different thing. Assuming you would befriend him, and the other one, the girl, you could be the bait for their demise as well. It was a win-win situation! So, now, the guy is dead thanks to you and the men left with him will contact the girl and tell her where to find you. She will come here, of course, despite knowing that it is a trap, to save her dear friend, Kris. She, of course, will be destroyed."

Kris breathed heavily. All of it was fake, all of it was planned. "Fuck you," she cursed viciously.

"Patience, Kris, we'll get to that after the girl is dead," Sean replied menacingly.