"Lucy!" Natsu yelled as he waved a hand in front of Lucy's face.

"What?" She stopped twirling the blood milkshake.

"I was asking if you heard if Mason is going to be let out or is he gone for good?"

Lucy signed as she swirled her milkshake. She knew the consequences of accidentally killing your prey when the council knows about your existence. Many vampires never come back and their ashes are forgotten in some crypt. Maybe the council is different now and hold honor but it could be front to hide the beast inside. She hasn't killed in years and hoped to keep it that way but blood was a drug, the thrill of the hunt was a drug too.

"I don't know Natsu. A hundred years ago they would have just burned him but maybe now they show compassion now." She doubted they showed compassion for her kind. Many mortals and creatures alike despise her kind with a burning passion. She helped the hatred grow by following Midnight blindly with no regard for life. She will forever hate that part of her, the part that has no compassion, no boundaries, and no control.

"That's not right. Why would they do that?"

Oh, sweet summer child, he was so childish it amazed Lucy that he even made it this far. "Because they hate my kind. Vampires terrorized mortals and other creatures for thousands of years. People are still afraid of us and the fact that we can only be killed in a certain way. Those ways include decapitation, burning, and a stake through the heart. That fear doesn't just disappear."

Lucy waited for his response but all Natsu did was sit down next to her with a sad expression. So, they sat in silence soaking in the busy guild. Once the sun began to set Lucy stood, "I am going to go to my apartment. I need a shower and some good reading time." Lucy entered her apartment and drew herself a bath. The warmth of the water made her sigh in relief. The tension left her body even the never-ending hunger. At that moment she felt human again especially when she thought of Natsu becoming her friend. He was so young and has yet to see the horrors of this world. She didn't know how long she sat in the bath until she heard the knock on her door and caught Natsu's unique scent of smoke wafting through a forest.

"I'm coming!" She quickly moved around her room and dressed before opening the door to see the panic on Natsu's face. "What is it?"

"It's the hunters they are snooping around the guild looking for vampires and well, dragon slayers. But, more importantly, they are looking for us and some other vampire who was spotted around here."

Lucy paused. She didn't sense other vampires around the area. Then again she has been hiding her magic signature and scent so maybe this one was too. "We should just camp out here. It's no use going to the guild and possibly leading them inside." Guilds were special, hunters weren't allowed to hunt inside guilds but it didn't stop them from trying. Very few escape the council after committing mass murder of magical beings but even with that knowledge some are so driven by the hunt; they would die for it.

Earlier:

Natsu sat back and watched the guild bustling about while snacking on a freshly cooked chicken leg. Gray was having an intense arm wrestle battle with Gajeel while Erza watched with an intense expression.

Natsu turned just as the doors slammed open, Bixlow came running, "hunters are here! They are close to the guild!"

Master Makarov slammed his staff to the ground to quiet the whispers. "Quiet! We are safe here at the guild. Hunters are not allowed to cause any trouble on guild grounds. If you feel unsafe we have sleeping bags in storage for those who want to stay. If they enter we will welcome them with good ol' FairyTail hospitality. Do we know why they are here?"

One guild member whispered under their breath, "probably because we have a vampire in our midst."

Natsu growled, "hey Lucy has done nothing to us. She is welcome here!"

"Really? Tell that to the hunters who probably came here to find her and will end up killing us all."

"Enough! We won't get anything accomplished from bickering like children!" Erza yelled. The one guild member slid back in the crowd head lowered.

"Besides I heard they are after some rogue that is some guy who has had a pretty bad rap In the past."

Natsu quickly stood racing towards the door, "I gotta go warn Lucy! Just in case they know she's here. We don't need another infestation raid they did the last time there were a few vampires in one city."

Lucy finally stood after Natsu finished his long description of who the "new" vampire in town was. From the whispers, he overheard as he headed towards her apartment.

"Eh, Lucy where are you going?"

"I'm going to find out who is paying Magnolia a visit because whoever they are they know how to hide."

"But the hunters."

Lucy held up her gate keys, "I can protect myself."

Natsu followed her, not wanting to let her go alone. He felt a strong connection to her and he didn't understand it. When they left the apartment they were greeted by Erza and Gray.

"And what are you two doing? There are hunters here, you can get yourself killed."

Lucy smiled as Erza, "well I'm already dead, technically. I need to know who's here, i don't want any trouble with another vampire bringing attention on me or the guild."

Erza elbowed Gray who cleared his throat, "alright, well Erza and I are coming with you two since flame for brains can't be trusted with not burning the town down."

"Hey take that back Ice princess!"

"Do I hear fighting?" Erza had a dark aura around her as she glared at the two.

Both grabbed each other, "nope! We are the best of friends!" They said at the same time. Lucy rolled her eyes and continued walking through the streets. She quickly turned down a small alleyway when the scent of fresh blood caught her attention. "Luce?" Natsu picked you the pace to keep up with her.

"I smell blood. Stay back, if it's the vampire I don't want you to get hurt." Her gums ached as her hunger flared. She ran leaving behind her friends and ran straight into a clear wall. Her nose cracked at the impact.

"Well, you aren't the one we are looking for. Pity you are a pretty thing except for that gushing nose."

Lucy cursed under her breath and turned to look at the hunter. He licked his finger which was bleeding, he had cut it to draw whomever they were hunting out. "Well, care to tell me who you are looking for." She touched Virgo's key and whispered, "tell the others it's a trap and to go to the guild." She felt Virgo's gate open and leaned back against the wall.

"I'm not at liberty to say but let's just say he needs to be exterminated."

"I will leave you to it, then. I hope you find him." She began to back up the way she came and went to run; only to stop when she heard the click of a gun that only shot up in the air. Her body froze in place as she heard the voice behind her, "well that wasn't very nice."

She knew that voice like her own. The voice that used to whisper sweet nothings in her ear. She heard the slump of a body, "get out of here before I decide to drink you dry." The hunter scrambled away and Lucy slowly turned to the voice. Natsu, Gray, and Erza were yelling her name as they turned the corner. Lucy met the eyes of the person she trusted the most to save her from Midnight, "Erik, you're alive?"

"I missed you too, Lucy."