AN: Thanks for reading :3 And yes, yes indeed Sam and Dean will be making appearances a little later in the story. This little group of trouble makers just needed to get that head start is all. Jenna's hardly scraped the top of the Hunter world, and Dean and Sam are pretty deep in it. Also: they aren't going to be the only canons to make appearances. I love me some original Supernatural cast. Anyway, onwards!

Chapter 3

Bruises and stitches and deals oh my

...

..

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Jenna sunk down a bit lower in her seat, holding onto her glass of orange juice loosely while her arm rested almost lazily across the drive-by old fashioned diner table. She was exhausted, honestly. She'd tracked the shapeshifter to this little truck-stop town, and now? Nothing. She had no idea where to go at this point, since the last victim had no family or friends to talk to. So, sulking while chugging down her favorite drink in the whole world seemed like the next best thing to do. What she could probably use though was a coffee, as tired as she felt. Too bad she never much liked the stuff.

She glanced down at the front of her oversized navy blue sweatshirt and frowned a bit. She needed to get the thing washed soon. It was starting to smell like fast food.

With a sigh, she lifted her free hand and brushed a couple of loose strands of hair back behind her ear. It was silly, really, why she even bothered to tie her brown hair back into a ponytail in the first place if she didn't care enough to tie back the long chunks that wiggled free and hung by her ears and cheeks.

She dropped that hand and shuffled around her pocket for a moment before pulling out an old, beat up, flip-open cell phone. She flipped it open and her thumb was slow about maneuvering her to the contact list and moving down past a couple of names she didn't ever call and stopped over 'hospital'.

Jenna stared at the word for a long time, her thumb hovering over the green 'call' button before someone cleared their voice just beside her table and made her jump, snapping the phone closed and looking up, straightening instantly and almost spilling her orange juice.

"I—haha, sorry—was just about to say it doesn't look as if the orange juice is doing much for you," the stranger said with what probably could have been an award winning white smile. He was tall and lean, clean shaven, and his long black hair was tied back into a neat ponytail at the base of his skull.

She blinked, feeling a bit of heat rush to her face, suddenly feeling so self conscious about her own mussy hair.

"Can I sit down?" he asked, his voice reminding her of the purr of a cat for some reason, but she only nodded quietly at his question, lifting her glass of orange juice and taking a small sip to give her mouth something to do if her voice wasn't going to work for her.

"You aren't from around here, are you?" he began, slipping into the seat opposite her and making himself comfortable, crossing his arms casually on the table. "It's just that…this is a small town. Most people you can tell, one way or another, if they're from outside or not. Are you…?"

"Yeah, just…uh. I'm just sort of passing through I guess," she said, looking up from the rim of her glass at him after shrugging her shoulders. "…Am I really that out of place?" she said with a snort, letting a small smile show.

He grinned at seeing it, and she ignored the little flip-flop her teenage-girl heart pulled. It was so strange. She'd spoken to plenty of…well, cute guys, but this one was flustering her just by grinning at her. She felt stupid for a moment, and scolded herself for it, but pressed the thoughts aside a moment later, focusing on him again.

"Just a bit. You look a bit…ruffled is all," he said kindly, and she looked down at her frayed, too-big sweatshirt. Beneath it, the thick collar of another sweatshirt could be seen. If he had spotted her before she sat down, he'd have seen worn down blue jeans and dirty shoes. First impression? Homeless kid.

When she didn't think of anything to say, quiet and scolding herself mentally again for even being quiet, he cleared his throat and said a soft apology. "Can I buy you a coffee?"

"No, no, that's…it's fine," she shook her head.

"I insist," he smiled. "That was rude, what I said. Let me make it up to you?"

She forgot she didn't like coffee and nodded mutely.

"Great," he said, that smile still there as he called a waitress over and asked for her coffee. During the order he glanced at her and asked if she liked sugar or milk in hers. She nodded to both questions and he finished the order, the waitress standing there for a couple extra seconds. Jenna wasn't sure if it was to make sure he had finished ordering or if she was staring at him.

Honestly, she hoped it was the latter. Then she wouldn't feel so stupid by being the only one flustered by the eye candy sitting across from her.

"Who are you?" she heard herself ask, and snapped her mouth shut as soon as the question left her, narrowing her eyes down at her orange juice as if it was all the drink's fault.

"My name is Conall," he said simply, and laughed when she just nodded again. "I don't bite," he told her.

She looked up at him then again. "I'm Jenna," she said after a second, and thanked him when the coffee arrived.

"Jenna," he said, clicking his tongue after saying her name. "…Nice to meet you."

She laughed, ducking her head. "Nice to meet you, too." She lifted her coffee, hesitating for a moment, before she took a sip, blinking because it wasn't nearly as bitter and terrible as she thought it was going to be. She liked it, even. "This is good," she said, tone surprised.

Conall smirked, eyes flashing. "Well. I'd hope so."

The girl wouldn't have believed you if you told her, but more than an hour passed by, the two talking quietly about this and that. They found they had the same taste in music (Jenna having a thing for Elvis and oldies), movies (she loved Charlie Chaplin), and food as well (steak cooked medium rare? They had shared a little fist bump, even).

Only when he steered the topics more in the direction to talk about herself did she get a bit hesitant, fiddling with her coffee and the sleeves of her sweatshirt. He'd asked her things like where she was from, if she had any brothers or sisters… The first few times Conall had just smoothly transferred to a different subject when she grew uncomfortable, but at the simple question "So what are you doing in town?" he wasn't easing off. He waited patiently, keeping quiet instead of asking something else.

"I'm…" She cleared her throat and took another little sip of her coffee. "I guess you could say this is a…um. Road trip?"

"A road trip, hm?" Conall played with his own drink—he had ordered himself a black coffee as their conversation went on. "I take it this is a road trip your parents don't know about then."

"I'm older than I look," she muttered, and he barked out a laugh.

"I'm not saying you're not old enough to be out on your own," he explained, tone apologetic. "You just have to wonder. I'm sorry, but you really don't…look as if this is a purely for-fun sort of trip."

"It's not," she said softly. When he was quiet she sighed and shook her head.

"You ran away?" he asked, tone losing the edge his smile gave it.

"…I'm looking for someone."

His brows shot up and he tilted his head. "Who?"

"Uh…an…uncle. Of mine. I'm…trying to patch up a bad spot between him and—and my dad," she said, voice quavering through the lie. She was always terrible at lying.

"…Really," Conall's smile seemed to melt away and he leaned back into his seat. "What's his name?"

"…Uh—"

"Jenna. I'm going to be perfectly honest with you," he said, and his tone dropped, making her blink. "I don't like being lied to."

She stared at him for a moment, a bit taken aback before she narrowed her eyes at him and placed her coffee mug on the table. "How would you know? And why'd it be any of your business anyway?"

"Oh, Jenna. Jenna, this is all my business," he purred, and suddenly he leaned over the table a bit, voice barely a whisper—just for her. "I know what you're really doing here, girl. You've been following me."

The color from Jenna's face bled out, but she didn't shrink back. She stared at him, eyes still narrowed, her teeth gritting together.

"I'll give you a warning. Because instead of trying to coax you outside so I could drag you off somewhere and kill you? I think I've decided that I like you a little bit. It's not every day you meet a girl who likes Elvis and Chaplin." His thick bangs fell in front of his eyes a bit as he ducked his head, grin widening. "One warning. That's more than anyone has ever gotten from me. If you're smart, and I'm guessing you are, you'll run back to wherever you came from."

"You—" she began, a mix of fear and anger thickening her voice. But she jumped, biting back a yelp when he reached forward and placed a hand on top of her head. His touch was light, gentle even, as he traced the backs of his fingers down the side of her face before gripping her chin lightly, forcing her to keep her eyes on him if she felt like looking away, and she hated all the heat that rushed back to her face.

"Little hunter. You don't belong on this side of the street. Go home, Jenna. Before I change my mind."

He stood, left enough money to cover everything on her table, and left without another word.

.

The hand closed tight around her throat was cutting off everything, and it didn't relent no matter how much she clawed at it, struggling under a grip so much stronger than she was. Pressed against the floor, her left arm bleeding from several ripped stitches and soaking through the bandages, she already felt close to passing out. But the shifter would loosen his grip and let her breath, laughing before his hold tightened again and she struggled to keep her heart beating.

"First person I've ever bothered to give a heads up to, and you turn around and shove it down my throat," he growled. "Literally."

"Nnk!" Jenna thrashed for a moment, adrenaline giving her fleeting bursts of energy. But the kicking and writhing was useless. He was strong.

"You want to know how much it hurt? I could get some metal and heat it up red. Put it on your tongue and burn it off."

"I'm—" she choked and his grip loosened a bit, eyes amused at her attempt to speak. "I'm not—not sorry," she gasped, cracking her eyes open and glaring at him. "You're…m-murderer," she hissed, sucking in a deep breath. "M-monster."

"Name calling. Cute." He squeezed her neck again and she thrashed some more. "Hush, Jenna," he scolded when she let out a noise that was louder than the others she'd made. "I'll kill anyone who comes in here looking for trouble if you start attracting attention."

She grit her teeth and he nodded.

"Good girl." He lifted his free hand from the floor at her side, supporting himself on his knees and the hand around her neck. "Now keep your eyes open and watch the show," he purred, and her eyes darted to his hand. He held it off to the side a bit, fingers splayed, and grunted as the muscles in his wrist and hand seemed to twitch and vibrate, his fingers clenching as his nails elongated and sharpened, curving into wicked claws.

She couldn't keep back the low whimper that left her when he brought those claws closer to her, and closed her eyes when he brushed the tips against her cheek.

"Brace yourself," he said slowly. "This is going to hurt—"

There was a startling crash of splintering wood, and she bit back a cry when his claws jerked and cut into skin, raking thin lines down the bottom of her jaw, missing her cheek. The shifter looked up, a snarl ripping from his throat, a similar noise coming from the door.

Bristling as his eyes dropped to the two of them, Dustin hissed out a low curse and took a step closer. The shapeshifter released her, standing, but not budging from his spot over her.

"You really want to press this, vampire?" Conall hissed.

"Get away from the girl," he growled.

"Oh, you'd like that wouldn't you?" snapped Conall. "She's my goddamn catch." The nails on his other hand lengthened and grew into claws as well, and he tensed both of his shoulders, ducking his head and glaring at him beneath messy, matted hair. "You try and separate the wolf from his food, he'll snap you in two."

"Try it," the vampire snarled as his full set of fangs came into view, and without warning threw himself at the shapeshifter, tackling him hard and sending the two flying back and away from Jenna.

The girl stared up at the ceiling, muscles in her neck on fire while searing pain shot through her arm and the new marks on her neck. She tried to sit up to get herself out of there, but couldn't even manage to lift her head, and the ceiling began to spin above her.

She didn't have the energy to even look around as she felt a pair of hands lift her by her shoulders, her head lolling back. But Luca came into her line of sight as he slipped his other arm beneath her legs and scooped her up, holding her close as he hurried out of the small hotel room. She didn't see Deacon and Cole dart past into the room to help Dustin, her eyes having closed by then.

"I've got you," Luca said quietly. "I'm taking you to the hospital."

Jenna couldn't do a thing but let the vampire lay her out in the back seats of the truck, jumping into the driver's seat and starting the engine. He was silent, looking back at the hotel room where the fight was raging before he shoved the pedal to the floor and all but leapt out of the parking lot and onto the road, tires squealing as he put as much distance between the two of them and the shapeshifter in as little time as he could, knowing she was closer than ever now to drifting off forever.

.

Dustin's head snapped back a he was thrown into a wall, cracking the plaster behind the cheap wallpaper before he fell back to his feet, shaking his head.

"I'll kill you," Conall snarled. "I'll kill all of you—she was mine!" He threw an arm out, breaking through the block Deacon had thrown up and striking the man back as well, Deacon striking the television and breaking it. Sparks flew for a moment as the screen shattered and cut into delicate circuitry, but the vampire stood up again quickly, unphased and growling, fangs bared.

The shifter leapt for Dustin, ignoring Deacon and ramming him back into the wall, making the redheaded man hiss out a noise between his teeth as Conall dug those claws into his gut. But he reached up, wrapping his hands around Conall's throat, pressing his thumbs against his windpipe and narrowed his eyes when the shifter howled and drew back when the still-sensitive area was pressed, snarling and coughing as he staggered back.

"Damn…vermin vampire—"

Cli-click

Conall tensed instantly, and tilted his head, eyes falling on the small gun pointed in his direction. Cole held the weapon steadily, staring at the shifter with icy eyes.

"Guess what I just found under the sink," he said quietly.

"…What are you going to do with that?" he spat, baring his teeth. "Guns don't do shit—"

"Through the heart right?" Cole said slowly, and tilted the gun down a bit, aiming for the shifter's chest instead of his head. "Silver bullet. Right to the heart. Jenna knew what she was after."

"…" Conall stared at Cole for a moment, and the air was electric, the air nearly malleable with it. Slowly, the shifter lowered his head and dropped his clawed hands to his sides, never breaking eye contact with Cole. "…Fine. This round is yours." He moved fast, darting away from Dustin and shoving past Deacon, the black haired man stumbling into Cole's line of fire.

"Deacon move—!" Cole shouted, but cursed, dropping the weapon and running after the shifter, stopping in the middle of the dim parking lot, tuning his ears carefully to catch something to follow. But there wasn't anything to hear; he'd gotten away. "Dammit," he said under his breath.

"Fucking—fuck!" Deacon threw his arms in there, standing just outside the doorway. "Fucking brilliant! So the bastard got away!"

"Yes, he did," Dustin said, tugging his shirt away from the skin of his abdomen, looking down at the dark points of blood there. The wounds would heal closed soon though, and he knew it.

"Where's the kid?" Deacon asked, turning and looking at Dustin as the redhead slowly made his way out of the hotel room into the cool night air. "Luca take her back to the house?"

"No, Luca took her to the hospital," Dustin said, and looked around the parking lot, taking in a deep breath. When Cole asked him about the wounds in his stomach, Dustin waved him off, saying he was fine. "Deacon, Cole, the both of you, start…packing up all of her things. Double check everything, we aren't coming back here."

Cole hesitated, staring at him. "…What's going on? What are we doing?"

"First, we're going to check her out of her hotel early," Dustin said, tone soft. "And then we're going to bring her things to the hospital. And then…" the man looked down at the red stains on his shirt again, and was quiet for a few seconds. "…We'll talk about it later."

.

"So…so she was attacked by a bear and then mugged? And the attacks were within a day of each other?" A nurse stared at Jenna, sound asleep. She had to have been the fourth or fifth nurse who had asked Luca the question.

Her body had already been given new blood and an iv, and everyone was saying she would pull through fine. Not without her scars, but she would be alright. The bruises around her neck were dark, and the cuts below her jaw were thin and shallow enough to just let them heal on their own without stitches.

It had been two nights since Conall's assault in the hotel room. She had only woken up once since then, and that was to eat.

Luca had been playing the part of the worried, terrified uncle. He hadn't left the hospital room once since she had been admitted and given her own room. Especially not since Dustin and the others had stopped by later that first night after she was settled for the most part and told him that the shifter was still alive. He couldn't leave her alone.

And with the 'talk' Dustin kept hinting about having once she was well enough to talk back, he doubted the redhead wanted to either. The four of them had their moral code, and leaving a kid to her grisly, inevitable fate without stepping in and trying to stop it was something none of them could stomach.

"Yes," Luca said softly, and the nurse covered her mouth with a hand. "She's a strong one though, she'll pull through."

"Oh, of course she will, honey," the nurse said, and touched his shoulder sympathetically before moving over to Jenna's bed to check the machines that were monitoring her, jotting a few things down on a clipboard before leaving the room and closing the door softly behind her.

Luca heaved a sigh and leaned back in the uncomfortable plastic chair, closing his eyes as he leaned his head back. It was a good thing vampires didn't need to eat every day like humans did. Once a week was healthy enough and kept them going and strong.

For a moment he wondered just what on earth he and the others were getting themselves into, and as if on command, the thought was broken by the group themselves.

Deacon shoved his way in first, graceful as ever, and dropped himself down in a seat beside Luca, Cole moving in next and sitting beside Deacon as Dustin closed the door behind him and sat on Luca's other side. Deacon and Cole had been playing Jenna's cousins, while Dustin was Luca's brother and her other uncle.

"She wake up at all today?" Deacon asked.

"Once. She had some lunch," he said.

"Good thing this room doesn't have any fuckin' windows or you'd have one helluva burn, eh?" Deacon grinned and Luca ignored him.

"Did she say anything to you?" Dustin asked, and Luca shook his head.

"I don't think she can talk right now. But she wasn't scared. In fact…when she saw I was here…she fell back asleep."

Dustin grunted. "Good."

The four sat in silence for a few minutes, the steady rhythm and beep of the machines surrounding her along with several machines from nearby rooms filling their heads with white noise.

"So what are we gonna do about her?" Deacon asked twenty minutes into the quiet. "I mean…the hell are we doing? I understand the whole checking up on her thing—and I'm cool with it—but are we going to let her—"

"I told you that we would talk about this when she wakes up," Dustin said calmly, interrupting him. "And not before that."

"I don't know about you," Deacon muttered. "But I don't wanna just let the kid walk outta town by herself."

"…I'm glad to hear you say that," Dustin said softly, and Deacon blinked.

"So that's what you wanna do, huh?" Deaon went on. "You want us to go with her? Wherever the fuck that is?"

"I told you we're not—"

"Yeah, talking about it until she wakes up. Well at least get the okay from all of us before that. It'd suck if you asked her and some of us decided we didn't want to go," Deacon growled, and Dustin was quiet for a minute.

"…It's up to all of you, really," he said. "I'm not having us uproot if everyone doesn't agree. And I'm not having us split up either."

"I would go," Cole said after a moment.

"Fuck yeah I'd go," Deacon hissed. "Not a lot around here ever going on anyway. And that shapeshifter fuck pisses me off. He touches her again I'll—" the other three ignored the graphic, violent threats that Deacon spat, Luca looking at Dustin while the youngest vampire went on and on.

"I'll follow you, Dustin. I've always followed you. And if there was ever a good reason to finally leave town…this is it." He looked over at Jenna and let out a breath. "She…doesn't seem like a bad kid either. She's strong." Luca steepled his fingers for a moment, letting out a sigh. "Still. We need to be sure all of us know what we're really dealing with. She says she hunts things like the shifter."

"And ghosts n' shit," Deacon added. "Fuckin'…fighting ghosts. It's like we're joining the Ghostbusters."

"Dangerous a good word," Luca said.

"Pf," Deacon snorted. "Fuck danger. I'll take on anything."

…

More silence.

At one point another nurse with her blonde hair tied back in a bun came in to drop off some late-night dinner for her in case she woke up, and trotted out of there after nodding at the quiet, brooding little bunch.

"...So…what, is this gonna be a repeat of last night?" Deacon said when the nurse had left. "I mean, how long is she going to stay knocked out like this?" He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck, yawning. Really, it was their morning. He'd only woken up a couple of hours ago, just after the sun set.

"She woke up earlier today. She might not wake up again at all tonight—"

There was a breathy, strained noise and the four looked up, watching Jenna's good arm lift and press over her eyes for a moment.

Luca was the first to stand, and dragged his chair over before placing it closer to her bed, sitting beside the tray with the still-warm food. "Jenna?"

"Wh…" She swallowed, and her hand drifted from over her eyes to her throat, wincing.

"Don't strain yourself kid," Deacon huffed from the foot of her bed where he stood.

"…" She blinked a few times, taking in her surroundings. When she had woken up last she remembered seeing Luca sitting by himself in the chairs pressed against the opposite wall. Seeing the four vampires who had rescued her from the shifter really wasn't that much of a shock.

But quickly enough, her eyes dropped to her dinner, and the instant she saw the mashed potatoes and chicken her stomach growled loudly.

"Eat your dinner," Luca coaxed, "We'll talk while you get some food in you, okay? And…hold on—Cole? Cole, go ask one of the nurses for a writing pad and a pen so she doesn't have to talk if she has any questions."

Cole nodded and disappeared out the door.

Jenna grunted as she sat up, favoring her injured arm—all wrapped up in fresh bandages and new stitches—and placing it tenderly on her lap before pulling the tray closer and grabbing up the little plastic fork. When Cole came back he handed her a small notebook, placing it beside her along with the pen before he moved back to the wall and sat down.

She took a bite of the mashed potatoes first before grabbing the notebook, taking a few extra moments with only one hand to flip it open and uncap the pen, actually swatting at Dustin's hand when he tried to help. She scribbled for a moment before placing the notebook on her knees, the sentence she wrote facing them, taking another bite as she stared at them over her tray.

What are you all doing here? the notebook asked.

"Checking up on you," Dustin answered honestly. "We were worried."

Jenna tapped the white plate with her fork for a moment, watching them before taking another bite and reaching for the notebook. She took another minute to scribble something else, and replaced the message on her knees again.

I'll be fine, it said.

"We don't doubt it," Dustin went on. "But…" he glanced at Luca, who cleared his throat.

She pulled the notebook back again.

You finished the job with the shapeshifter right?

Dustin let out a breath and looked back at her. "When…we broke into the hotel to help…the shifter got away from us during the fight." He frowned when she paled, and ignored the sting of disappointment in himself at the failure. "…We're sorry," he added after a moment, tone soft.

Jenna looked down at her notebook before she shook her head and placed the pen on top of it, eating silently for a few minutes, keeping her eyes on her plate.

Deacon's fingers drummed over the plastic footboard of the hospital bed, eyes darting between the girl and the notebook before he grunted and spoke up. "We want to go with you," he said, and Dustin actually hissed at him, eyes narrowing while Jenna's head shot up as she stared at him.

"Deacon," the vampire growled.

"What? Look at her, she's about ready to fuckin' cry," Deacon growled back, meeting the eldest's stare hard. "I want her to know we aren't gonna fuckin' ditch and let her wander off somewhere without a little extra help."

"Watch your tone," Dustin said, tone dropping again, masking the old flash of anger. "This isn't up to you—"

"I know it's not up to me, Jesus! I'm just telling her that—"

A dinner roll bounced off of Deacon's head, and the four vampires blinked, heads turning to look back at Jenna, who had snatched up her notebook and was scribbling again vehemently. Instead of placing the message on her knees when she was done, she simply held it out in front of her.

I don't want anyone going with me.

"Bullshit! Why not!" Deacon almost barked.

"If you don't watch yourself, you're out," Luca said, and Deacon clenched his jaw.

She scribbled again.

You'll all end up getting butchered.

She paused, then flipped the notebook back around and wrote something else.

Literally.

"Jenna," Dustin started, and shook his head. "Jenna if that's your only concern—"

"Drop it," Deacon cut in. "We held our own against the damn mutt, and I bet we could have taken him if he hadn't run off in the first place."

"Deacon—" Dustin began, tone dipping into icy again.

"And ghosts and shit? If you could do it, why the fuck couldn't we do it? Kid, you can turn us down, you'll be walking out of this hospital with a big ol' target on your back and no one around to help if that shifter fuck tries to—"

"If. You. Interrupt me again," Dustin growled, agitation dripping from his voice. "You. Are. Waiting. Outside."

Deacon crossed his arms and glared off to the side, snorting. But he was quiet.

Jenna brought her notebook closer to her, quiet.

"I know this is strange. Very strange. You don't know us, for starters." Dustin said.

Jenna blinked.

"Secondly, we are, in fact, vampires."

Deacon mumbled something under his breath along the lines of "We're supposed to be trying to convince her to let us go" with a few added curses tossed in, but was quiet enough to avoid Dustin's glare and a kick outside.

"But you're in terrible shape at the moment, no offense. You won't be able to speak without hurting your throat for at least a few days, and your stitches will take at least two weeks to heal completely."

Luca nodded at this, watching her.

"Does your arm hurt right now?"

Jenna looked down at the clean white bandages, wrinkling her nose before lifting her hand and wiggling it back and forth in a 'so-so' gesture.

Dustin only nodded. "And when that shapeshifter left…he made it apparent that he would come back. He said we'd won 'this round' before running off."

She looked down at her notebook, fingers clenching over the cheap black pen.

"Luca was—is a doctor. He can replace the bandages and he would know what to look for if you let him check the stitches over. And…honestly, finding out that…well." He crossed his arms loosely, glancing at the other three for a moment. "Finding out that things like shapeshifters and ghosts even existed…it makes me curious. It makes all of us curious."

"Left out, is more like it," Deacon mumbled. "If all these other vampires know shit, then—" he paused when Dustin focused his stare on him and quieted, frowning after letting out a huff.

"If anything, think of it as teaming up, I suppose," Luca said, shrugging his shoulders a bit. "Both parties gain something from the deal. I'll make sure your arm heals up, we'll be there to help you if that…shapeshifter shows up again. And the four of us leave this little speck of a town and learn more about what we've apparently been missing out on for the past thirty years since turning."

He grinned then. "And we're not so bad. You already know this, but we're on a strictly animal-only diet. Cole doesn't really talk much, but he's nice enough. Dustin used to be an incredible cook; he could probably try and relearn a couple of those skills." Luca smirked when Dustin snorted. "…And Deacon's an asshole, but you get used to him."

Deacon flipped Luca the bird and stalked back to sit in the chair beside Cole, crossing his arms and glaring at his boots, elbowing Cole when the vampire grinned.

"It's up to you, though, of course. One hundred percent your decision. You just have to write down 'no' on that paper and we'll leave you alone. We'll walk right out of the room and you won't hear from us again." Dustin looked back at Deacon and Cole for a moment. "And you don't have to decide right now. You can—"

But Jenna had lifted up her notebook and began to write something, so Dustin quieted.

When she flipped the pad around, Dustin let out a breath and nodded, smiling a bit before moving back to the wall and taking a seat beside Deacon. Luca glared at the youngest vampire when he pumped a fist in to the air and just about shouted something about "finally leaving this fuckin' town behind" and "kicking that shifter fuck's ass" and began to say something else when Cole elbowed him.

On the paper was a single word, and Jenna placed the notepad down on her lap again to finish eating when she was sure everyone had read it.

Deal.