Just a thanks to everyone that reads and comments and a Merry Christmas to all! I'm brewing some excellent post-Changing Light stories for you all, not to mention I'm working dutifully on my Lost Boys website so be sure to stay tuned for a long time to come!

The pounding of Detta's fists on Max's door mingled with the deep barks of Thorn from within. Surely this was against their rules. A little boy, just ten; he couldn't rightly function as a vampire. He couldn't survive; he couldn't comprehend what was happening. It just couldn't be. Max threw open the door looking harassed. Detta didn't know why. It's not like he was asleep.

She was still panting, winded from her rushed flight to Max's house, her voice came in gasps. "Say he can't do it! The boy is too young!"

Max frowned down at her. "Detta, what are you talking about? What boy? Who can't do what?" He wasn't inviting her in but stood firmly in the door, Thorn just behind him, sneering his fangs at her.

"David . . . the boy saw us. Star won't let David kill him. Now he wants to—"

Detta's words chocked in her throat as a pair of gloved hands reached around her neck and pulled her back. Her feet flew out from underneath her and she was thrown onto the bridge connected to the stoop she had previously been standing on. She could hear footsteps running along the wooden planks as David's words echoed in her ears.

"You're just a glutton for punishment, aren't you, bitch? This has nothing to do with you."

Marko bent down and wrapped a hand around her arm to help her up. He lifted her effortlessly onto her feet as she looked into his eyes. He agreed. So did Dwayne and Paul. She could feel their blood. They all thought the boy was too young.

"Where's Star?" Max asked.

"At the cave with the kid." David replied curtly.

"Laddie."

David's head whipped around to look at Dwayne, a frown on his face. "What?"

"His name is Laddie."

David just shook him off. "Whatever. Max, this doesn't concern her. She can't go running to Daddy every time big brother does something she doesn't like."

"It's not just me this time, David." Marko placed his hand lightly on the small of her back, a silent urge to silence her. She turned her head towards him slightly in acknowledgement and then turned back to David and Max. "Max, please. He's only ten."

David glared at her and Max looked lost in thought. "Come in."

The boys followed him in and Detta stood in place, knowing she wasn't allowed. She watched the backs of the boys file into Max's house and watched as the door shut on the light within. She turned her back on the cast-out and started to walk away when she heard the click of the doorknob and the faint squeak of the hinges as the door opened again.

"Detta."

She turned around to see Marko standing in the doorway. He stepped aside to show that she was to come in. She slowly walked up to him and stood in front of him, watching the emotions in his eyes swimming around, knocking into each other. She thrust her hand out and entwined her fingers in his hair, bringing his face to hers. Their lips met and, for that moment, all was forgotten. Marko placed a hand on either side of her face and held her there, not wanting to let her go. She parted their lips, letting hers hover just over his.

"I'm sorry."

He looked into her eyes and saw her apology. He wanted to take her away right then but he couldn't. "Yeah, I know. Me too," he whispered back.

"It's going to hurt, isn't it, his punishment?"

Marko nodded. "Yeah."

Detta looked down at her feet and walked into the house. Marko closed the door and followed close behind, eventually walking in front of her to guide her into the right room. They were waiting for her in Max's living room, all seated and waiting for the meeting to begin. She was officially one of them now, accepted into the fold, allowed to break bread with the rest of the family. The room was tacky, neon signs on the walls, gadgets everywhere. It was an odd way to show one's wealth but, Detta guessed, it played into Max's nerdy-trying-to-be-cool façade. Marko ushered her to the couch in a seat next to Dwayne while he grabbed an empty chair on the other side of the makeshift circle.

Max was rubbing his temple, his glasses in his hand. He placed them back on his nose before he spoke. "What's this about a young boy?"

Detta made to speak but her voice was quelled by the gentle placement of Dwayne's hand on her knee. She looked over to David who also looked ready to talk but he had silenced himself when he saw Dwayne's lips move. "We were testing Star," everyone knew what that meant. "There was a boy, Laddie, with the group we were feeding on. He's ten." Dwayne's voice was solemn. "David saw him, thought it would be a perfect kill for her."

Max's head jerked towards David, fury writ on his face. David merely rolled his eyes. "You're getting sloppy, David."

"It was a test, Max. And a perfect one at that. If she could kill the kid—"

"You know the rules. No children."

"What the hell was I supposed to do? He saw us. You know the rules about that, Max. No one can know. He knows. Now it's either kill or be killed and the sappy shack won't let me touch him."

"You would think, after your last indiscretion, that you would have learned. Apparently your punishment wasn't harsh enough."

Detta thought that that must refer back to the contract kill on her, how he had kept it from everyone, how he manipulated everything. She never found out what happened to him. Never even bothered to ask. She just didn't care. He tried to have her killed, twice. Considering he looked unscathed, as far as she was concerned, the punishment wasn't harsh enough either.

"Looks like we're trapped in a box then, huh?" David said snidely.

Max leaned back in his chair, his eyes closed in concentration. Detta's eyes jumped from boy to boy, reading each one of them. Marko was noncommittal. He knew Laddie was too young and didn't want him in the pack but he wasn't going to put up a fight if it went the other way. David just looked annoyed by the whole thing, as if this should have been resolved already. He didn't see what the problem was. Laddie should have been food by now. Dwayne was the most concerned although his face showed no signs of it. This was a child and he should be let go. Who would believe him if he told anyone? Tall tales spun by a runaway; he would be brushed aside anyway. But should he be turned, he, and not David, was going to be his mentor. Dwayne was the most placid of all the boys, the most able to handle Laddie, the most willing to commit. Paul, again, was beating with his own drummer, his fingers tapping against his knee. He would rather not kill the boy as his unusually unsmiling face stated but, like Marko, he wouldn't fight it. However, Detta noticed this piece of minutiae floating around in his brain; he thought it would be cool to have a little brother around the cave, someone to keep up with his own energy.

"Detta." Detta snapped out of her reverie and looked over at Max who was staring at her intently. "For the first time in this family, what you have to say actually matters. What do you think?"

She quickly scanned the room and noticed all eyes were on her; David's boring into her a little stronger than the others. She straightened herself up before speaking. "Well," she shrugged her shoulders, "he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. That's not his fault. He shouldn't have to die for it." David made to speak but Detta shot him a look before he had a chance to say anything. He quickly relaxed as she continued on. "However, he poses too much of a risk should we let him go." She felt Dwayne start to speak this time and raised her hand to silence him. "Considering the town, Laddie's crazy stories of vampires in Santa Carla might not be brushed off as quickly as we may think. I think the safest thing, for everyone, would be to turn him. But I say this now," she said, her voice getting stern and looking directly at Max, "I'm not a babysitter. He's not my responsibility."

"I can look after him," Dwayne interjected. "I'll keep an eye on him."

"And there's always Star. She won't let him out of her sight, not around us," Detta added.

Max looked at each of his children intently, searching for their truths. It was a moment before he spoke again, but his tone was filled with finality. "He becomes one of us. Keep a close eye on him." He motioned to Dwayne. "He's still a risk even after that drink. Now, I think we're done here."

At the store, Max was his usual self, treating her the same as he did before she was turned. In private, she was a burden, a child that wouldn't obey. A hassle. He treated the boys like this as well. If this was supposed to be a family, why not act like a father instead of someone just going through the motions and following a set standard of rules? Detta stood up and followed the boys out of the house, closing the door behind her. She was just about to mount the bike behind Marko when she felt a sharp tug on her hair as her head was wrenched back. She threw her hands up to the pair gripping her hair, looking around as she did and saw David out of the corner of her eye, a sneering smirk on his face. He pulled her away from the bike and brought her up against his body, his lips close to her ear.

"I think now's the perfect time for that punishment you have coming. Leave! Now!" he yelled to the others as he started to drag Detta to her house. "Scream and I'll make you wish you had never met me."

"I already wish I had never met you," she winced. "You're going to have to come up with something better than that."

She felt a slice at her throat and felt her skin open up. The blood oozed to the surface as she tried with all her might to quell the flow. David ripped at the wound more, making another mouth on her neck, and she was no longer able to stop it. She wasn't strong enough. The blood poured down her neck despite her best efforts to tell it otherwise and the lights started to fade around her. The roar of motorcycle engines was distant and, for a fleeting moment, she thought she was going to die. That thought was quickly eased when she remembered that this was a punishment, not a death sentence. She just had to get through this and it'd be all over. The lights dimmed ever more, she was no longer able to hear the engines and Detta succumbed to that familiar friend called darkness once again.

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