From here on out, I want to give everyone a little disclaimer. Or claimer, technically. Since I'm taking ownership of something. I don't know. Anyways, I'm going to apologize once for this because I don't want to for every chapter. XD I'm sorry for any previous and future grammar errors, since I quite honestly don't read over much of anything I write. I write it all in one sitting, and then I upload it. So, yeah. Any errors...just don't mind them. XD Now, here you go! Technically this is the third chapter I've written in one day, since it's been less than twenty-four hours since I posted chapter seven and all. Anywho. Enjoy. Please. I'm so tired. XD

Sam rounded the corner so fast he ran smack into one of them—the tall one. Paul, he remembered from his vision. Paul was purposely in his way, blocking his path to the front door where everyone had gathered. Max, who was still wearing his suit and standing beside Marko. The platinum blonde that Sam knew he had gotten a name on before. What was it again? Devon?

Insignificant.

The brunette that had carried Michael into the car, now standing tensely next to Sam's winded brother. And oh god, he looked so aghast. Paler than Sam had ever seen him. Like he was stunned to the core—physically shocked until he was left all twitchy and sweaty and breathless. Simply put, he looked like he had risen from the dead.

He did, Sam reminded himself sadly. And now he walks among the undead.

"Mike," he breathed, trying to push Paul off of him. He hadn't been expecting Michael to show up looking fresh and renewed, but it was still dreadful to see him so…off. Scared. Hungry.

At least, that was what Sam associated with the dark eyes that he knew didn't belong to his brother. Michael's irises were black instead of their usual grey, but at least they weren't a solid black through and through, like the vampire that had attacked them.

Michael stiffened at the sight of his younger brother. He could hear Sam's heartbeat and the blood rushing beneath his fragile skin, and Michael was afraid that if he inhaled, he would do something he would never forgive himself for.

He restrained himself from throwing that douche off of his little brother and scooping him up and fleeing the scene. Instead, he focused on Max. His boss. He knew that they were the same now; he could sense it. Michael could also feel an invisible rope dragging him toward the middle-aged man. The force beckoned Michael closer, until his full attention was on Max and nothing else.

Max smiled warmly at him. "Hello, Michael. I think we have a few things to discuss." He extended an arm, inviting Michael in. The new vampire accepted the invitation before he even told his feet to move, settling his shoulder under Max's arm as the older man led them away from the others.

Sam held back from saying anything to the two, or going after them. They needed to talk; he would allow them that in peace. Even though Sam was fine with them going somewhere private to speak to each other, he was antsy to know some details himself.

Paul wasn't keeping Sam from doing anything stupid anymore, so the shorter blonde was able to step away from everyone until his back came into contact with a wall. He let his head fall back and exhaled slowly. He was aware that he was wearing the same bloody clothes from last night and his stomach was growling, but little else. Sam was debating leaving the space entirely when Paul broke the heavy silence with something aimed directly at him.

"You hungry?"

"What?" he asked, snapping out of his lazy stupor.

"Didn't you eat anything today?" Paul glanced at Marko, since he was the only one who was home and awake all day.

"I tried."

Sam felt a little guilty that Max had made Marko whip up some breakfast for their human "guest," only for Sam to walk away before he could eat any of it. But his guilt didn't go very far; the blonde had scared the shit out of him two minutes after that.

"We could go out somewhere," Paul offered with a shrug. "I could go for some regular food for once."

The offer was sincere, and Sam was so tempted to take him up on it. His stomach made some more noises. He felt like he would die of hunger if he didn't eat anything soon. And while Paul had certain vibes about him that caused some uneasiness with Sam, they weren't nearly as strong as the others'. And Paul also had never done anything to Sam to cause any distrust between them. Then again, he never did anything to gain Sam's trust, either.

Wait, didn't he bring me back here when I had a vision? And watch me while I was out?

Well…yeah. He did. Sam supposed being nice and eating something with him could give him the chance of saying thanks.

That is, if it was just them going.

"I'll pass," the brunette standing in the doorway said. "I'm not sticking around."

"Neither am I," seconded the platinum blonde. Max had the situation under control; there was no need for him to stand around. Besides…he had a different kind of hunger to satisfy.

That was much better. Sam gave Paul a small smile and said, "Sure. I'm pretty hungry."

He couldn't believe that for a few seconds, he had completely forgotten about Marko. The boy had remained silent, so Sam assumed he was either staying or leaving too.

The platinum blonde with the D name and the brunette left silently, and Paul and Sam were exiting the house as well. Paul left first, and then, as Sam was about to walk through the doorway onto the porch, Marko sidled in out of nowhere. He cut Sam off while shooting the seer a sharp look and flounced to Paul's side.

Sam gritted his teeth in annoyance but didn't say anything regarding that little "exchange." He knew Marko wasn't tagging along because he wanted to eat out somewhere in Sam's company. Hell no. Marko was coming because he didn't trust Sam enough to leave his vampire friend alone with a weak little human. It made no sense why he would be paranoid, but whatever. At least that meant Marko was overestimating Sam's abilities, right?

It was oddly…powering, to know that someone was wary of you because they thought you posed some kind of threat. And it was a really nice exchange. It was the reason Sam didn't back out of the whole going-out plan right then and there.

Paul was looking back at Sam, waiting for him patiently. Sam gave him a sweet smile and joined up.

"Please. Have a seat," Max offered once the door was shut securely behind Michael to his cozy little office. Well, that's what Michael called it, anyways; there was a mahogany desk in front of a fireplace, old bookshelves and chairs. An office, pretty much. The fireplace was lit. There were no signs of electricity, so the flames and a couple candles provided the only light in the darkly-themed room.

It looked like a vampire hangout, for sure.

Michael checked out the room for a long moment, making sure it didn't look like anything could suddenly become some kind of torture device. Hey, he wouldn't be surprised. But it looked safe, so he slowly took a seat in a comfy chair pushed up against the large desk.

Max sat down as well, directly across from him. The older gentleman folded his hands on the smooth, nearly empty desk (did he even use this room or was it just for decoration?). "What's going on?" Michael spoke first once they were both seated, crossing his arms over his chest and trying to give Max the most deviant look he could muster. "I woke up under your backyard feeling like I was going to die. What the hell happened to me? To Sam?" His defiant expression was worked for, but the anger in his voice wasn't. "They said…they said I couldn't come out until the sun set because I'd burn." And I wanted to attack someone…

"Nothing has happened to Sam," Max assured him. "He was bitten, but that should have little to no repercussions." He waved the matter off. "No, let's focus about you, Michael."

Michael eyed him carefully before he spoke again. "What did you do to me."

Max fixed his glasses. "I suppose starting from the beginning makes the most sense." And then, despite just fixing them, he removed his lenses and set them upside-down on the desk. "I don't even need these. They're so bothersome, but." He flashed Michael a smile. "I need to maintain an image."

The brunette gave him a look that literally translated into: What?

"It was a coincidence you happened to apply for a job at my store the day after David told me about Sam. I didn't realize you were related to him. The vampire that attacked you was mainly after your brother, and sadly, you lost much more blood than my boys anticipated. They were focused on killing the rogue vampire and disposing of his body properly. Your heart stopped—I'm not sure for how long, but you were very dead when David and Dwayne brought you to me.

"My blood is only beneficial to other vampires that are under my wing. It's an upsetting fact, when I'm faced with cases like yours. The only good my blood will do to a human is change them, and they have to be alive for that. For future reference, I'll have you know that another vampire could always assist you if you're in need of quick healing. However, it's not possible to bring a human back to life with a vampire's blood alone."

"So how did you do it?"

Max smiled at him again, making Michael feel like a stupid, uninformed child who was being educated by a mentor. "I've been gifted with a very valuable resource lately. A bright jewel I was able to obtain several years ago." He looked over Michael's shoulder and had a wistful look on his face. He wasn't telling Michael straight-cut facts, like the brunette had hoped. No, Max was telling stories. And he was getting quite carried away with them. "He brought you back to life. I've been told the extent of his abilities, but I've never seen anything quite like it. It was incredible. Your heart started again, and then I was able to turn you in order to bring you back to your full capacity—and further."

"Brought me back to life?" Michael asked disbelievingly. No fucking way.

"I wouldn't lie to you, Michael," Max said seriously, locking eyes with him again. "Marko is an incredible, rare being that saved your life and I am very grateful." Michael was tempted to ask why Max was grateful, but the man continued. "But—" of course; there was always a but "—the amount of blood you received from him was…extensive, and unlike your brother's harmless bite on his neck, there are consequences to that."

Great.

"List 'em."

"Well, for one, you're going to want more. You've probably felt it around him already. It'll take some time for the craving to wear off, but as long as you keep your distance I'm sure it'll be fine. The other consequences are small and insignificant to what I really want to focus on right now."

"And what's that?"

"Our connection."

Michael snorted and rolled his eyes. "What connection?" he drawled. It was a front that was pointless; Max saw right through it.

The much older vampire stood, and suddenly Michael became very conscious of how quiet the rest of the house was to his newly sensitive ears, how huge the desk appeared to be, and how totally closed the door was. He didn't want to say Max sauntered around the desk to him, but…yeah, he sauntered, while trailing his fingers absent-mindedly along the wood, a couple pieces of paper, and finally…the back of Michael's chair.

He froze, and Max paused. "There is one more thing that must happen before your transformation is complete." Michael's throat felt too dry to speak at all. "I'm your creator, and therefore I have authority over you. But not yet. First, you have to give me something. Willingly." His hand found Michael's shoulder and the brunette cringed.

"I won't." Whatever it was, he refused.

"Oh," Max said, voice dropping as he leaned in to Michael's ear, "yes. You will." Max squeezed Michael's shoulder, and Michael wondered if that was supposed to be calming or something. It made him tense up even more. "Relax. You'll be consenting before you even know it."

There was no more time to react as fangs pierced the tender skin of Michael's neck.