Disclaimer: I do not own the Night World creation or any of its rules (soulmate principle, black irises, etc.). I do not own any of the characters in this story if they had appeared in the books. I've now read 'Soulmate' and 'Huntress.' I am only borrowing the creation of 'The Night World' from L.J. Smith and making a story of my own.

Summary: It was the night before the biggest wedding of the year. It was the wedding between Samuel Folan and Evangeline Yerken, two of the main descendants of the Maya. They had already had a son, Carter, who was three months old. But then fate turned. Vampire hunters charged in and started attacking. Many were wounded including Samuel's father, Xavier. Evangeline lost grip on her son and the vampire hunters took him. After a few minutes, the vampire hunters were satisfied and left. Samuel and Evangeline were two of the few that survived. As Samuel was the eldest Folan son, he was then the head of the family. Years after the tragedy, Samuel and Evangeline tried having another son to replace the one they lost but they had twin daughters and another daughter. But then another vampire hunter had gashed Samuel and now he is going to die. He can't pass his title back to his daughters as they hadn't married. Evangeline is trying to make her daughters marry or find out if somehow Carter had survived. If she doesn't succeed in one of the two, the title would be given to Samuel's younger brother, Alfonso. The vampire hunter that took Carter couldn't kill such an innocent baby so she put him up for adoption. He was then adopted by the Dereks and was then named Zach…

Author's Note: Sorry the summary was so long!

Feedback to Reviews: thanks Polished Gem for reviwein. yes, i noticed dat i hav made a few mistakes but now i try 2 proofread mor! thanx 4 ur comment and the reason i hav more description is because i took Becca's advice. thanx Becca!

Chapter Eight – The Truth, The Hard Way

Wayne's heart was throbbing. He could not believe that Carter was still alive! Carter was supposed to be dead. If he was, there wouldn't be as many problems. So poor Wayne had to do Edith's job from eighteen years ago: Kill Carter.

It was late at night, after one maybe. Wayne was waiting for Zach to go to sleep. But for some bizarre, he wasn't in bed yet. He had went into his room and had never return.

"Hi."

Wayne turned around in shock, almost falling off the branch he was sitting on. My Lord, it was Carter!

"Sorry, if I startled you," Cater said with a smirk. "We never introduced ourselves the first time. I'm Zach."

Carter, or Zach, as Carter preferred, stuck out his hand as if expecting a handshake. Wayne did not take it.

"So…what are you doing out at this time of the night? Or should I say morning?" Zach asked casually, withdrawing his hand.

Wayne was still speechless. He was a freaking vampire hunter, which meant he was cautious of his every move. Yet, Zach had managed to catch him out on his spying. How can he surprise Zach now? Zach was the one that surprised him.

"Not very talkative, today," Zach said with a frown. "Is there something the matter?"

Wayne cleared his throat and then swallowed. His throat felt rusty, Zach had scared the ghost out of him.

"I was just startled," Wayne said in a croaky voice.

"My bad," Zach said raising his eyebrow. "May I ask what are you doing outside my bedroom window?"

"I…I…" Wayne stammered lost for words.

Inside his jacket was a sharp but short wooden stake. He could easily plunge it through Zach's heart and all his problems would be over. But there was one glitch. Zach's senses were sharper at night and Wayne was sitting awkwardly on the tree. If he made a move to grab something out of his jacket, Zach could easily kick him off the tree. And it was a very long fall. Zach was standing on a branch, grabbing on two other branches with a hand each. He was practically towering over Wayne and he had the advantage.

"Am I making you nervous?" Zach asked with a smirk. He grabbed another branch with his left hand, making him move closer to Wayne.

"No…just still recovering from the shock," Wayne said giving a weak smile.

Zach cocked his head to the side and with his right hand, he scratched his chin. Then he peered closer at Wayne.

"What's your name?" Zach asked.

"Sean," Wayne lied. Telling a vampire who you really are is not very smart. Especially if you're a vampire hunter.

"Nice name," Zach commented. "But you haven't answered what you're doing outside my window."

Wayne was beginning to sweat. He had encountered a lot of things in his life but he had never sweat before. He was sweating now because he feared Zach. Killing him would be harder than he thought.

And another thing, he couldn't come up with a lie on the spot now. Lying was his second nature yet right now he couldn't come up with anything.

"You know how I said I would kill you if you told someone our little incident the other night?" Zach asked. Wayne nodded, grabbing the branch under him tighter. God, what if Zach killed him?

"I changed my mind," Zach said. "I'll kill you now if you don't tell me what you're doing here. I may look like an ordinary eighteen-year-old but believe me, I'm not."

Wayne's hands now felt slippery even though he was holding onto wood. Wood. That's it! Zach was in a tree right now, surrounded by wood! If Wayne lit up the branches, Zach would die. But then again, Zach seemed stronger than most vampires. He had Maya blood from both his parents.

"I'm going to give you ten seconds," Zach offered. He was no longer smiling, his eyes were looking savage.

"Ten…nine…eight…"

Quick! Wayne urged his dead brain. Come up with something!

"Seven…six…five…"

You can't die! Wayne screamed to himself. Just thing of something! Anything! You can't let a stupid kid kill you! You didn't come here to DIE!

"Time's ticking, Sean. Four…three…two…"

"Okay, okay!" Wayne yelped. He gasped in cold air, which didn't help his freezing body.

"Tell me why you're here and why you've been following me," Zach ordered leaning his face closer.

"I came because of your parents," Wayne said. He knew he was speaking fast but he couldn't help it. When he was nervous he tend to speak a lot faster.

"My parents?" Zach echoes, confused creases forming on his face. "You're lying. I can go inside right now and ask them if they sent you."

"No, not them!" Wayne said desperately. "Your biological parents!"

Zach's reaction was a surprise. Zach seemed to choke on thin air. And even in the darkness, Wayne could see Zach had paled.

"My…what?" Zach spat.

And that's when Wayne knew he had him. Zach didn't know he was a vampire, he didn't even know he was adopted! And that was going to make things a lot easier.

"You're biological parents, the ones that gave birth to you," Wayne said in his normal voice. The voice that was careless and at ease. "You always knew you were different, didn't you?"

"What are you?" Zach rasped.

"Not you, of course," Wayne said. God, as if he wanted to be a vampire! "I'm just like your parents. Human."

"What do you want from me?" Zach asked. Wayne wasn't certain but he thought he saw a flicker of fear in his eyes.

"Not much, it's what your parents want. Your biological parents," Wayne continued smoothly. "They're not like me, you know. They're like you. Vampires."

Zach lost grip on one of the branches and nearly fell off the tree. Wayne was finding this very amusing and had to use all his power to suppress a chuckle.

"Vampire aren't that bad, Zach. I'm friends with your parents," Wayne half-lied. Firstly, he was more that friends with Evangeline but he loathed Samuel.

"Did my…biological parents send you?" Zach asked.

"Sort of," Wayne said knowing that Zach was about to say something else.

"Why did they put me up for adoption?" Zach asked in a voice that may sound calm but Wayne knew better. Zach was trying to sound casual but he was only hiding his anger.

Wayne made his best attempt at looking upset. Acting was one of his best things.

"They were young," Wayne said softly. "They didn't want a kid. And vampires don't believe in killing each other. They had no choice."

Zach was silent for a moment and didn't look as confident as he did a few minutes before.

"So…there's such things as vampires?" he asked in a disbelieving voice.

"One would think so since you're one yourself. There are vampires, shape shifters, werewolves, witches…" Wayne said. "They make up the Night World."

"The what?" Zach echoed.

"Night world," Wayne explained carefully. "It's not a place, it's all around you. It has to be kept a secret."

"Then why did you tell me?" Zach asked.

"Have you been listening to me?" Wayne scoffed. "You're a vampire, you belong in the Night World."

"Then how do you know? You're a human," Zach said looking slightly confused.

"Shh…" Wayne said. "There are two rules in the Night World. One, never fall in love with a human. Two, don't let any human know that the Night World exist. I would be killed if they found out I knew. And so would the Night Person that told me."

"Let me get this straight." Zach no longer sounded confused but very angry. "My parents send you here after eighteen years not giving a damn about all the hell I've been through?"

Wayne nodded. This was exactly what he wanted. For Zach to hate his parents.

"Tell them to go screw themselves, this isn't over," Zach said climbing down the tree. "And Sean, my friend, do not follow me any longer. I don't need anyone. If I see you again, I'll kill you."

"Wait!" Wayne said desperately. How was he going to get close to Zach then if he was going to kill him? "Don't you want me to teach you things? Explain things?"

Zach looked like he was weighing the offer.

"You're a human, how would you know anything about a vampire?" Zach asked.

"I'm friend with vampires!" Wayne lied. "I know things like—like you need blood every day. That wood is poison. That—"

Zach silenced him with a hand.

"I'm not one of your vampire friends. Good-bye Sean, I hope I don't have to speak to you again," Zach said.

Wayne glowered after him. He got one thing right. He was definitely not one of his friends!

…………………………

I'm a vampire.

Zach could not believe it. He was a vampire. A creature that lived in the night. He belonged in the Night World whatever the hell that was.

And his biological parents didn't give a rat's a about him. And eighteen years later they decide to send someone to be their messenger.

For all Zach cared, they got get screwed. He never needed them, why should he now? He was going to forget everything Sean had said. Because he didn't want to be a vampire. It was a curse. He was going to forget everything that happened between him and Sean.

He had sensed that someone was watching him again. He casually flickered his eyes out the window and saw a dark shadow. So he crept outside and saw the same man again. Go figure.

He had to do something now. He had to find out why the couple living in the same house as he is never told him the truth. That he wasn't their kid.

…………………………

Ella tiredly went back to her room after a glass of water. She was so tired. She opened her mouth to yawn when a hand roughly covered her mouth and pulled her inside a room.

Ella was now wide awake. Oh God, was she being kidnapped? She was lucky she did karate lessons once. She bit the hand hard and stomped on his feet with her heel. Seconds later, her attacker released her.

Ella took a deep breath and whirled around. It was a guy, not bad-looking but too old for her, with dark hair and sideburns.

"Get out of my house!" Ella hissed. "Or I'll scream."

"I need your help!" the man said helplessly. "It's about Zach."

At the mention of his name, Ella felt hot, then cold, then hot again.

"I don't care about him," Ella growled. "Now, GET OUT!"

"I know why he doesn't want to be close to you," the guy was pressing on urgently. "Please, just give me a few minutes of your time."

"Tell me in one sentence why he doesn't want to be close to me and I may listen," Ella said hotly.

"Zach's a vampire," Wayne said.

Ella blinked, absorbed the words, then fainted.