Hi, here comes finally a new update. I'm sorry it took so long to post it, but few things happened in RL... now I'm all ready to write new chapters for you :)
Thank you to my two great betas Ancholia and Moonjat!

Leaving or staying?

The door of the elevator opened and he caught strong scents that disturbed him. Anger, fear, revenge, all from vampires… and a human. Mick walked faster towards the office and the wind caught him as he stood in the middle of the room seeing Josef next to a broken window.

"Josef, what happened? Are you alright?"

His worry grew when he saw the livid face of his friend, a gun in his hand. Only then he recognized a faint scent that he knew and recognized.

Josef realized at least that Mick was here.

"We have to catch her before it's too late Mick. She was there ready to kill me when he appeared and she kidnapped him. I tried to shoot her but she was too fast."

Mick didn't recognize his friend, words were fast coming from his mouth without a breath.

"Did Aliana take Talbot?"

For a second Josef didn't understand, then all the things that happened before came back to his mind like an old movie.

"It has never been Aliana, Mick. It was Lola."

Mick froze in the middle of the office. He couldn't believe what he heard.

"I killed her, she was-"

"Dead, yes! We all thought that but somehow she survived. She's back for revenge and we have to find her. I lost precious minutes standing here!"

He grabbed the phone on his desk and dialed a number. Mick heard him talking to the Cleaner asking her to contact the other eldest vampires. His mind was lost, he remembered very clearly that night when she felt in the silver pool, her body paralyzed, the fire, Beth's reassuring face and smile… Beth. He suddenly took his phone in his pocket and dialed her number.

After a few rings she finally answered.

"Beth! you alright?"

"Mick?… yes…I'm alright". He heard some doubt in her voice. "Is everything okay?"

He hesitated to tell her what had just happened but thought it wasn't a good idea to worry her.

"Yeah... I just wanted to check if you were okay. I'll be home soon, can you wait for me?"

"Sure. Are you sure everything is okay?"

He smiled as he recognized her perpetual curiosity.

"I'll tell you when I'll get home."

He tried not to sound too alarming and hung up before giving her a chance to ask more questions. He noticed his friend standing beside his desk, concern and resolution in his dark eyes.

***

She looked at the phone in silence. The apartment was empty, only her breath and the sounds of the city were surrounding her.

She knew that Mick wasn't telling her everything, she could tell by the sound of his voice that something important had happened. Was it because of the murders? Or her visions?

The visions. Only thinking of the word reminded her of the cold eyes she'd seen earlier this day.

Beth lay her back on the couch, her eyes lost in the void, remembering every details of her last vision. It had been so different. She knew that it didn't happen here in L.A. It was something that happened a long time ago, somewhere she couldn't tell, only that it was a beautiful castle hiding dark and dangerous secrets… dangerous yes, even Coraline had felt the danger by entering the office… the cold voice, the temperature falling suddenly down… her breath getting colder… and his words like ice through her skin…

Blood is the answer

Beth suddenly froze and came back to reality. She looked at the phone still in her hand and dialed a number.

As Du Plessis answered she asked him to come as soon as possible.

***

He felt his body lifted in the air by a strange force but his body was lying on a rough floor and still he could feel it moving.

He slowly opened his eyes and thought that everything he'd felt was just a nightmare. His eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room and suddenly he realized that it hadn't been a dream.

Talbot was lying on the floor of a little room with no windows, only walls of stones and a little lamp in a corner where he could distinguish someone. The shadow of the figure was moving with the light.

Talbot's heart raced faster. He didn't remember much, just the face of the scary woman, Josef Kostan's shocked face and suddenly just wind and sounds from the city.

He glanced at her. She was cleaning a wound, blood slowly dripping on the floor and next to her leg, a glass of blood. She took the glass with her other hand and drank the vital liquid. The view reminded him of the night when he discovered that Beth was a vampire. He had been scared, even repulsed, but when he woke up, Beth was watching him with the same tender face that he had liked so much when she was still a human.

The vampire who was now cleaning her wound was a lot different. This one was a real monster and this made him realize how bad he felt after betraying her. Now he was paying for what he had done to her.

Suddenly her eyes were upon him. She smiled slightly and he could see two white fangs shining in the dark light. She stood up, holding her glass of blood in her hand.

"Good you're awake. We are leaving soon, before they find us."

His heart beat against his chest and he couldn't stop himself from asking

"Where?"

She smiled as she answered

"To the only place where I'm sure we will kill him."

Talbot felt suddenly sick, the room began to turn very fast around him, only her blue eyes fixed upon him. Questions hitting him; where were they going? Who were they? But he softly fell in a dense darkness.

***

His nervous steps echoed in the office, pacing back and forth, waiting for his guests. Mick sat silently on a chair, watching his friend. He knew how this time was decisive for many of them and slowly realised that he himself would be a part of that decision.

The elevator finally ringed and the door opened followed by the sound of several steps. The figures appeared in the office and Josef, with no ceremony, guided his guests to another room.

The place was simple, three black leather couches and a low table in the center.

The vampires took place on the couches and stared silently at Josef who was the only one standing. Mick could sense that Josef was now angry.

"I asked you to come because the French bloodline has made their first strike."

Mick felt in part responsible for what the French bloodline had done. He was after all Coraline's exhusband. Then he slowly stared at the other vampires in the room.

The Cleaner, Guillermo, Logan and Henri listened to Josef carefully.

Josef kept talking.

"We finally know who the killer is and surprisingly enough it's Lola who was supposed to be dead."

Mick lowered his head, the weight of responsibility became heavier with each word from his friend. As Josef explained what happened, Mick remembered all the things that had happened lately. Coraline's death, Lola's return, the French bloodline… and all of them led him to one conclusion: he was the reason why everything had turned so badly.

Josef's voice rose in the room.

"We have to do something now! Richelieu has gone too far; he came into my territory and we have to stop him. Unfortunately time is against us but it is against them as well."

The Cleaner finally asked

"Do you think she's still in L.A?"

Josef smiled for the first time then the shadow of anger covered his face again.

"No, I'm sure she's planning on leaving the country soon enough and I think I know where she's going." He paused. "That's why we're leaving tonight."

Mick hadn't expected it to be so soon.

"Tonight?"

"Yes and here is what we're going to do."

As Josef explained to the Cleaner to take over his position in the community to look after the city. Mick realized that he had no choice. Everything had happened so fast since Beth was turned but he had no time to think, he had to make a decision. Stay with Beth or leave with Josef. He already knew the answer.

Josef turned to Guillermo and Logan.

"Logan I want you to keep an eye on my accounts while I'm gone. If one cent is missing when I'll come back, your head will fly through the sky. Guillermo, I want you to prepare enough bags of blood for my men. I don't care about your waiting list, I want all the blood you have. Is that clear?"

Guillermo answered yes but Logan rubbed his neck.

Henri looked at Josef with sadness and said.

"I'll come with you. I know my brothers too well and I know all the places by heart. If that woman is going to France, then I might finally be of some help. That's the least I can do for you."

Josef nodded, touched by the concern of the poor man sitting in front of him.

No one was talking, all thinking of their duty for the few next hours. Mick finally looked at his friend and took a deep breath before saying.

"I'm coming with you." He couldn't say more, he felt so ashamed and guilty of the situation. He had failed to kill Lola and was responsible for Coraline's deaths. This war was his doing.

Josef didn't answer but he knew why Mick had made this decision and how much it cost him to leave for France.

He pursed his lips then concluded

"Thank you and be all ready when I'll call you to leave."

Guillermo, Logan stood up and left the room. Only the Cleaner, Henri and Mick remained.

Josef turned to the Cleaner.

"Be sure that Rasputine doesn't try to take my place. He has some friends and when he knows where I am, he'll take his chance. I know I can keep my departure secret, so this is your responsibility to maintain calm and control while I'm gone."

The Cleaner nodded and stood. She put a hand on his shoulder and whispered in his ear

"Be careful. I'll send you two of my best men to follow you."

He gently smiled to her and saw her leave the room.

Henri stood up and looked down.

"I know I warned you about what my brothers would do but I never could imagine this terrible path." He lifted his eyes and met Josef's gaze. "I'm so ashamed of my bloodline Monsieur Kostan. Too many innocent people have died because of them and another one has been kidnapped. I'm not strong Monsieur Kostan, but I know my brothers and I know their weakness, so I'll guide you the best way I can."

"Thank you Henri. Your attitude shows the last signs of the great bloodline your family used to be and I'm honoured to stand in this war next to you."

The two vampires shook hands before Henri left.

Josef walked towards his friend with sympathy.

"Go to her."

Mick, his eyes fixed on his crossed hands, nodded.

***

The apartment was plunged into silence, only the slow movements of the fire behind her, gave some life in the living room. Her eyes were fixed on the table in front.

Du Plessis looked intently at Beth who tried to find the right words. She inhaled and began to tell him her last dream. When she repeated the words the dark figure had told her, Du Plessis' face became suddenly very serious.

"Blood is the answer?" He asked her to be sure he heard well.

"Yes, blood is the answer. I can still hear his voice in my head, his cold terrible voice."

Du Plessis nodded, his eyes down. Beth watched him thinking, she knew that her dream hid something important, but she couldn't guess how or why this information would help her. Was she supposed to do something for or against the French Bloodline? Was Coraline trying to reveal to her a great secret? This couldn't be possible. Beth was a reporter, she only believed in facts, but since she'd discovered the existence of vampires, all her convictions had been disturbed by the existence of another world. So if vampires could possibly exist, why couldn't her visions be relevant?

Du Plessis was about to ask her something when the door opened to let Mick appear in the apartment. She stood up and went to him. As she approached, Mick took her in his arms and hugged her tight. Beth could feel something was wrong. She looked at him and noticed how pale and tired he was.

Mick saw Du Plessis standing next to the armchair and stared at Beth with a questioning look. Instead of answering him, she went to the kitchen and poured him a glass of blood. He stood next to her and without leaving his eyes from her, he took the glass she handed him. He followed her towards the couch and sat next to her.

"So tell me what happened when you called me."

Mick saw Du Plessis in the corner of his eyes, sitting in the armchair in front of them. He hesitated because he wanted desperatly to know why Du Plessis was here, but he exhaled and finally began to tell her what happened.

Beth listened to him silently but as he told her about Lola trying to kill Josef and kidnapping Talbot, she could see in her mind everything becoming clearer.

Mick paused, looking at his hands resting on his knees.

"Josef thinks that Lola is taking Talbot to France and he wants to move fast before it's too late."

Beth said nothing and felt guilty that Talbot had been kidnapped. If she hadn't shown him that she was a vampire, he wouldn't gone to Josef's office. Du Plessis could see how she was disturbed and turned to Mick.

"Do you think she's going to find help from the brothers?"

"I don't know. Josef only said that he knew where she was going. We're leaving in a few hours."

Suddenly Beth came back from her thoughts.

"I'm coming with you."

Mick looked at her and smiled. He could see that even in the most difficult times Beth was the same stubborn woman that he loved so much. When he realized that he couldn't let her come, his face became severe again.

"No Beth, you can't. It's too dangerous Beth. Lola won't be alone and there will be powerful vampires there."

Beth caught his words and anger slowly build through her body. She wanted to help, she had to be there for Talbot and she refused to understand why she couldn't come.

"Beth, Mick is right, it's safer for you to stay in L.A. You're too young and… too fragile." He thought of her visions and the last one was too important to let her go. She wasn't able to control them completely and he knew that if his brother or Sire would find about her existence and her visions, they would use them in some terrible purpose.

Beth looked at Mick and Du Plessis and felt betrayed by them both. The terrible feeling that grabbed hold of her being unable to do something to help was suddenly too much for her.

A heavy silence filled the apartment. The three vampires knew that they had reached a time when the decisions made would change their lives forever.

Du Plessis felt Beth's emotions and knew that it was time to leave and let Mick and Beth alone. He stood up. Mick looked at him and followed him to the door as Beth stayed in the couch, her head down, her hands crossed.

As they reached the door, Du Plessis told him that he would come back in an hour. Mick nodded and said in a low voice.

"I want to thank you. Beth is the only thing that matters to me. I have protected her for so many years and for the first time in my life I won't be there to take care of her…" He paused, the emotions being to difficult to hide.

Du Plessis put a hand on Mick's shoulder.

"I'll protect her like if my own life depended on it. I promise you."

Mick saw him walking towards the elevator and finally closed the door. He saw Beth alone in the middle of his living-room and realized that it could be the last time he would see her.

He went to her and sat down. They sat both in silence, thinking of what would happen in a few minutes. They both knew that Mick would leave her there and go to France to fight against a powerful bloodline.

Beth was still angry but her anger gave way to a terrible sadness.

Mick inhaled and with a soft voice he asked her why Du Plessis was here.

Beth was about to tell him about her vision, but changed her mind.

She finally looked at him and tried to smile.

"He was just visiting me."

Mick knew that she wasn't telling him the truth; he could feel that she was hiding something important from him. He looked at her and suddenly heard his phone ring.

He looked at the screen and answered.

"Yes?"

"My car will be parked in front of your building in half an hour."

Mick hung up. He saw Beth looking down again. He exhaled; there was no way back, he had to leave. He stood up and looked down at her. He put a hand on her shoulder but she didn't move.

Beth couldn't believe what was happening. Few hours earlier she had finally had a taste of happiness with Mick and now the universe had decided to separate them again. She couldn't just stay there while he was packing. She needed air.

She went upstairs and arrived on the terrace where Mick and she held a picnic. Her hair was blown by the wind. Her lips could remember the soft touch of his lips when for the first time it was he who had kissed her. She quivered as she remembered how he had caught her arms and turned her towards him, capturing her lips and kissing her with passion. She'd resisted at first but the power of his kiss had taken control of her body. She'd let herself taken by him and responded to his kiss with the same passion.

She could hear Mick downstairs packing his weapons in a bag. She could picture all his movements and hated them, because each one was slowly taking him away from her.

Beth couldn't bear the idea of living here without him, while he was risking his life. She wanted to be with him against the bloodline that had destroyed so many things in their lives. She looked at the city at her feet as sadness filled her heart. How could he possibly leave without her?

Suddenly she heard his steps in the stairs, finding her on the terrace. She faced the city and she felt him behind her. She wanted to crawl in his arms and beg him to stay but her pride and her anger prevented her.

She suddenly felt his arms around her, squeezing her tight, his nose in her hair. She shivered as she felt him breathing in her scent so he could remember it. She turned around and looked at him. His face was palid. Tears filled her eyes. They looked at each other, both knowing that it might be the last time.

Mick slowly moved his hands towards his neck and took his necklace that he slowly put in her hands.

"I want you to keep it until I come back to you."

Beth looked at the pendant in her hands and couldn't stop tears falling down her cheeks.

"I love you so much Beth, life means nothing without you."

"So don't leave me." Her voice was only a whisper. She couldn't look at him but she felt the emotions emanating from his body.

"I can't." His voice was broken, he wanted to tell her that he had no choice, that all this was because of what he'd done in the past and that he had to do this for her.

In the street beneath them, a car approached the building. Josef was there, it was time for Mick to leave.

Beth couldn't look at him; she couldn't see him walk away from her, her head down, her eyes locked on her hands.

Mick held her tighter then kissed her on the top of her head. He looked down at her and finally turned around.

As she heard his steps moving away from her, she began to cry silently. She lifted slowly her eyes and saw his figure disappear at the corner of the door. She squeezed his necklace in her hand and cried.

Du Plessis appeared and took her in his arms.

"He left."

Her voice was broken, the words absorbed by her cries.

Du Plessis held her and tried to comfort her. They both stood on the roof of the building, the city living its own life. The wind brushed them and brought suddenly a loud growl from the street beneath them, full of pain.

Beth sobbed in Du Plessis' arms, feeling the pain from the growl from the man she loved most.

Minutes passed. Beth finally stopped her cries and looked at Du Plessis.

"I can't stay here."

Du Plessis nodded. They went downstairs and walked towards the living-room. Beth saw all her memories in each corner of this apartment that once was meant to be her home. She opened the door and without turning, left the place followed by the French vampire.

As the door closed, Beth felt her heart die.