hello all. sorry it's been so long since i've updated. :\ but, there are reasons. concerts that got sold out. T.T broken toes. lots of practice. no internet. but i'm sorry. i'll try to do better!

now, here ya go. :) ch. 30. please R&R and enjoy.

34. Burn: Three Days Grace

It wasn't unusual to go downstairs and not find Edward anywhere. He thought it was best, considering everyone here, if they all hunted often—at least the ones staying here. So, they were all far enough away to not get caught up hunting us. If I had to guess, they were probably following Blade's scent a bit, seeing where he headed and making sure he's nowhere near. Emmett and possibly Jasper were probably close enough to hear me talk.

This was the perfect time to sneak downstairs and start some human experiences that Edward wouldn't approve of me getting in at my age.

It only scared me a bit, due to my recent discussion with Edward, to see Brynk quietly following behind me.

I laughed a little. "Hey, Brynk. You okay?"

She nodded and began rubbing on her arm a little. "Yeah. Just restless. Can . . . can I ask you something?"

I led her downstairs and into the kitchen, where I began concocting a drink I wanted to try—Amp and moonshine. Emmett helped me out and bought me some alcohol, which was hard to hide from Edward. I just wanted to try it, though. This wasn't gonna be a permanent thing.

Some could argue that getting a human experience in would be shooting up cocaine, or sleeping with about twenty guys in the period of a week, but I want normal human experiences. This is something I would do at twenty-one anyways, so since I'm not gonna make it to twenty-one as a human, might as well try this now.

Brynk laughed as I offered her one of her own and took it. "Wow. Edward seems . . . protective. I didn't realize he would let you drink."

I shrugged. "He doesn't know yet. I'll tell him, but he would overreact. Anyways, what did you wanna ask?"

She shifted uncomfortably, her smile leaving her and getting replaced by a trouble expression. "Today . . . Oliver and Sapphire were imprinted on, I think they said, by werewolves."

I nodded. "Yeah, they were. Things have really been different here in Fork, Brynk. Edward calls them shapeshifters, actually, though. He says they're not werewolves, technically, 'cause they shift on will, not 'cause of the moon."

She gave me a half-hearted smile. "That's kinda scary, since tonight's a full moon. Does that mean actual werewolves exist?"

I shrugged. "I mean, I guess. I've never met one, though, so I guess knowing about the pack could mean the others exist, too."

This wasn't it, though. There was a look in her eyes that proved this statement. Something else was seriously bugging her, and it was something she was struggling to get out.

Her eyes moved up to my face, studying everything about it carefully. "What about . . . vampires?"

The word almost caused me to panic inwardly, but I managed to block it off my expression and shrugged nonchalantly. "It's possible, I guess."

"So I was right," she said quietly, eyes moving away from me again. "They are vampires, and you're becoming one."

My eyes widened in surprise at how out of the blue she was, yet how accurate. "What?"

She shook her head. "I don't know. Maybe I'm just a little paranoid now that I know about the pack and all. Am I just paranoid?"

"Don't worry about it," I dismissed helpfully while I was jumping with joy in my head. "You're handling this huge news well, Brynk. You'll get a grip on it and stop looking at every person wondering, 'Is he a werewolf? What about her?' Trust me. I went through the same thing."

Not really . . . .

She continued shaking her head. "I have a feeling that I'm spot on about them, and you. You just can't tell me without endangering me."

I bit my lip, chewing through it a little as a twinge of pain began digging its way into my heart. There was no way to respond to that without giving it away, and as much as I wanted to, I couldn't do that. Flat out denial wouldn't work because she knew better. So, I simply changed the subject.

"I bet it's the perfect time for flashlight tag."

She grinned, and I could see the relief she felt with this new topic. "Should we wake up the others?"

"Sounds good to me," I agreed. "We'll make Oliver be it."

"So you guys can't sleep either?" Sapphire's unique voice laughed from the doorway with Oliver standing tall over her and Karma already slipping her skinny way into a pair of sweats.

My eyebrows rose. "You guys okay?"

Oliver shrugged. "Lots of stuff running through my head. It's been quite a day."

Karma snorted. "especially for you two. Leah and Brady are . . . yeah."

Sapphire's cheeks turned a rosy color as she turned away from the doorway. "I'm going to get some pants on."

"Irish trashcan?" I verified.

"Of course!" she exclaimed eagerly from what sounded like the other side of the living room.

Oliver laughed. "Same here, on both counts." And then, he disappeared off to his own room to do the same.

Karma's lips pursed together. "Hmm." She stepped towards the drink in my hand. "Can I try that?"

I handed the can of Amp and moonshine to her, which she took a big sip of thoughtfully. "Good?"

"Amazing!" she disagreed, eyes widening. "Can I have one of those?"

Brynk grinned at her sister's eager, little kid-like expression. "My thoughts, too."

"It's 'cause y'all are twins," I teased. Whenever I left my room, I always put on sweats, so I just need my jacket and snow boots. "I have extra snow boots if you guys wanna borrow a pair."

"Sounds good," Brynk piped happily. "In Phoenix, we really don't need them . . . ."

We got an intense game going. There were, of course, boundaries that had to be set. It would be bad to wander too far and find, say, Emmett or Jasper in the zone waiting for something out of the ordinary to strike.

Brynk and I decided on the same tree, which she had seen me climb in the time before as she was running to find her own spot. This time, we got there together, and we slid in the large hollowed out tree together. No one ever found us, but it was great because you had to know it was hollow to realize it.

Emmett told me about it. That's how I know.

Her lips pursed. "Isn't today Christmas Eve? Well, if it's past midnight anyways."

I slid down to the fetal position, and she did the same. It was kinda fun listening to Sapphire, who was it this round, wander around us, but until she passed, I didn't answer.

"I think you're right," I finally agreed. "We can check to be sure, but I think that's about right."

She leaned over to give me a gentle hug, the kind of hug I didn't mind from her. Usually, I was a guy only hugger, but something about Brynk made certain hugs okay. "I'm really glad we got to do this, Mayze. Edward . . . he's great, and super protective of you. Not to mention Oliver and Sapphire finding their . . . love?"

"Imprinting can mean either love or friendship," I explained, smiling happily at the thought. "The werewolf—or shapeshifter, really—and their imprint live until the shapeshifter makes the decision to give up their shapeshifting ability. From there, they grow old together like any normal couple."

"So, they stay the same age until they mutually decide to give up their immortality?" she asked curiously.

I nodded. "Well, I say mutual, and it can be, but it can also be a one person deciding thing. The shapeshifter has the power to turn it off, but he's also bound to the imprint. Their every will and wish is their command. They'll do anything for their imprint."

She snickered. "Saph's gonna love that."

"She can actually tell him to grow a spine," I informed her. "But, we'll let her figure that one out on her own. Until then, let's enjoy watching her irritation."

"Agreed."

After a while of more talking love, boys, and changes, we mutually decided that it was probably best if we got out. They were probably either worried or tired, so getting out was a good idea. It wasn't hard to do either. There were ridges to give us places to climb out. I showed her how, and she followed.

She shivered a little and laughed. "Of course, you would love it best here. Cold as balls here, and you love it."

I grinned. "I have always loved colder things. The summers are amazing. Lots of rain and little sunlight. Higher suicide rates, sure, but . . . ."

She grabbed my wrist gently and began rubbing her fingers across the scars, some fresher than others. "Care to explain this?"

"Not really," I sighed. "I will, though. Let's just say things were rough from about June until . . . two weeks ago? Three, maybe."

Her eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"Edward was gone for a while, and I was . . . well, I was raped," I said honestly, shrugging. "It just got rough, and I was raped after Edward left, so I had to kinda get through alone. Or that's what I thought anyways. It led to cutting for a while, somehow. I'm still not sure when that started."

She looked upset but nodded. "I . . . Mayze, if I had been here . . . ."

"There's nothing you could've done," I assured her. "Don't worry about it. I'm more than happy now, and we're gonna make this Christmas break the best da—"

I was cut off when the two of us were tackled from behind, pinned down by two cold, unnaturally strong arms. Brynk tried to scream, but he had his hand clasped over her mouth before she could even get out a sound.

When I managed to turn and look at the man who pinned us, I wasn't too surprised to find myself looking into a pair of glowing blood red eyes. He looked torn apart, so upset.

"There weren't supposed to be two," he whispered brokenly. "I have to, though. You know too much now."

I tried to get a word out, but he threw me to the side and took Brynk's arm in his. She would've struggled, but he used his vampire abilities that vampires of all kinds had and captivated her. When he did that, she was all but useless.

As he bite down, she let out a soft scream that was, once again, muffled by his hand. I did the best I could when I ran and tackled him, but that only left her bleeding and changing.

I tried getting to my phone, but he snapped it with his foot.

"Please don't fight," he pleaded. "I have to feed, and I do it as little as possible. You have to understand!"

"Try animals!" I yelled in his face. "I know plenty who do and live happily!"

His eyes widened in absolute horror as he took a step back. "You . . . you know the Denalis?"

"Well, yes," I said darkly, eyes tightening. "I'm engaged to one of the Cullens. You can't hurt me, or her! Trust me, that's not what you wanna do! Just try an animal, please! I know it doesn't work the same, but please? Just leave us alone!"

He disappeared almost as suddenly as he had appeared, and I was desperate as Brynk began screaming and thrashing around in agony. I knew what she was going through, and I had to stop it. With no phone, there were only two options. Neither seemed grand, but only one ended with my friend walking away from this a human.

I began sucking the poisoned blood out of her wrist. It had a sickly bitter taste to it for a bit, but once I got the venom drained, the blood actually tasted, disturbingly enough, good.

She stopped screaming but was utterly shocked as I released her arm and began spitting out the remaining poisoned blood behind me. "Mayze . . . what just—?"

"That's exactly what I would like to know!" Edward exclaimed quickly, eyes wide as he made a sudden, way too fast appearance. He was twitching a little as he looked at my mouth, noticing the fresh blood lingering there. More than that, he could smell it dripping down Brynk's arm.

"A vampire just attacked us," I explained quietly, shrugging a little. "Not Blade. Promise. I've never even seen him before, though. If it helps, he had a British accent."

Brynk must've been thinking back to him because recognition flashed across his eyes as he sighed. "Alistair. He's a good guy. Just hunted in the wrong area. Did you tell him who you guys were?"

I nodded. "He freaked out and left after that. She was burning, so . . . yeah . . . I kinda had to stop that from happening."

Brynk was still shaky as Edward pulled her into his arms, the same way I usually protested. After all this, especially the running around, my leg was killing me, but I would get used to it.

"I was right?" she guessed, and I just nodded. She didn't need words right now. Right now, she needed sleep, and I desperately hoped her sleep wouldn't be haunted by nightmares about Alistair or werewolves.

Edward seemed to have the same thought as he sat her on her bed and rushed to inform Carlisle about what happened. They treated her medically, giving her some blood to make sure she was okay, but mostly, they were watching me.

I was the weird human who drank human blood . . . and liked it.

Something's beyond wrong with me. I'm just sick.