(A/N): Hi, it's Splat again =]. I know it's been a while since I've updated – I know and I'm super super sorry. I'm going to start writing the next chapter as soon as I upload this one but I don't know when it'll be up! I feel guilty because my reviewers have been awesome, and I'd like to say thanks to:
x0x-Twilight-x0x, rosabell, Vamps-with-Wings, PokemonKnight, turquoiseflame, goldenrose37, jazmine8448, puppy951, StephyluvsBL4eva, ICE WARRIOR, , NITESIDE IS DA BOMB, The Gasman, Rosalie Thomas, Ilovedamien!, PhoebRose, and Schizophrennic Muffin.
Loads of people have been asking what HoN book this is set in, and I think I'm going to put it around the beginning of Untamed – but I haven't decided whether to include Stark or not. Thoughts?

I opened my eyes a crack, and peered up at the scene above. Every part of me ached, so I relaxed my eyes but I could still hear what was going on.

"Fang, there's only one way she's going to stay alive…" Mom, of course.

"Well do it! Anything!" Fang. I think the two of them were alone, because I could hear anyone moving and the rest of the Flock had been unusually quiet.

I tried to feel my surroundings. I was on something soft…a bed, maybe? Yes, definitely – my head was propped up by a pillow.

"Fang, she's changing! You have to let her change and move into the House of Night, or she'll die! You already know this!"

"I know, I just didn't know it'd happen so…suddenly. I thought we'd have sometime. It's only been a day!"

"I'm so sorry, Fang." Mom said, sounding sad. "But she has to go."

I gathered enough energy to open my eyes and let out a weak "Hey…"

They both rushed over then, and Fang sat on a stool next to my bed, which I had a feeling he'd been sitting in for a while.

I broke into a coughing fit, making me sit up and bend over. Fang picked up a glass of water and handed it to me, a worried look on my face. He was so sweet.

I downed it, then looked up at my mom. "How long have I been out?"

"Just a couple of hours."

I nodded, then looked down, fiddling with my fingers. I think Mom kinda sensed our mood, because she kissed me on the forehead and left.

I looked up at Fang, and we spent a minute in silence before I spoke.

"I have to go." I said miserably, looking at him to judge his reaction. He had been staring at the carpet, but he locked his gaze with mine and simply breathed the words

"I know."

I could've stayed like that forever. Looking into Fang's eyes, studying his perfect features – it was heaven to me.

"The Flock are going to kill me," I said, breaking the intimate mood as I made Fang grin.

But of course, a nice relaxing moment can't stay a nice relaxing moment. Yet again I burst into a coughing fit, reminding both of us that I was dying. Fang helped me into the living room, where the Flock all resumed the exact same positions we had been in yesterday, before I'd broken off the conversation with my fainting – again. Man, I was getting sick of it.

We talked for a while, and the Flock told me what Mom had filled them in on while I was out last night. But of course, there were still questions.

"How do you know you can trust this House of Night place? You don't know anyone who's been there, or goes there." Iggy said, frowning. I was about to open my mouth to tell them I had no choice, when another voice interrupted.

"She does know someone who goes there." The voice said. A voice I recognized.

…Ella? My gaze immediately shot over towards the door, where she stood in all her perfect glory, her head held high and a sapphire blue outline of a Mark on her forehead.

I gaped.

"Ella?!" Nudge squealed, obviously not as lost for words as I was. "What…when…how?"

Ella slumped down in the only spare armchair left, and sighed in comfort.

"It happened three, four months ago," she explained in a bored voice. I imagined she must have had to tell this story a million times. "The Tracker found me at school. Marked me in the middle of a History lesson. It was horrible."

"I'm sorry," I said, having one of those rare moments where I was glad I wasn't a normal school-going kid. "I'm so lucky I was here. I would've freaked out if Mom hadn't told me about it – I had no idea vampyres even existed."

Ella smirked, and continued. The Flock all sat there, listening as she described the House of Night and the sort of things she did on a daily basis. As she talked, this knotting fear grew in the pit of my stomach, and suddenly I was really nervous. This whole thing was new for me; while I'm pretty sure the kids that went to the House of Night had grown up knowing about vampyres. I was joining the school mid-term, which, even though I was assured wasn't unusual, was still worrying me. People had already made their friendship groups and I wasn't sure if Ella would want me interrupting her life.

I tried to not worry and to pay attention to Ella as she described her teachers, but I couldn't help it. I curled up in my chair and started chewing my nails in thought.

The next night I couldn't sleep. I was tossing and turning with worries about my new life, what would happen to my Flock when I was gone, but the main reason I couldn't sleep was that I was dying. Every time I closed my eyes, a couple of seconds later I broke into a coughing fit that seemed to split my head open. It was painful. I paced my room, knowing I wouldn't be able to sleep.

Finally, I decided I may as well pack my things for the morning, when Mom had told me we were leaving for the House of Night. She was worried too, and I knew why. I was worrying about the exact same thing.

Would my being a mutant react with my being a vampyre? My cells were already mutating, every day, and I had absolutely no idea whether being a vampyre would change anything.

What if it killed me?

6 am. This was ridiculous.

I had woken Mom up with one of my coughing fits around an hour ago, and she'd said she couldn't stand watching me die any longer, and she booked us an early flight to Tulsa.

Although we had slightly different skin colours, Mom pasted my forehead with her foundation until the Mark was completely gone.

I was ill, and I was exhausted. I slept in the car, I slept in the little tin can they called a plane – although I was dying to throw open the emergency exit door like Gazzy had done and stretch my wings. I hadn't been flying since the day I got Marked – I had been feeling too sick, and I had had too much on my mind to even think about relaxing.

And since I'd been Marked, I hadn't even had a chance to think about Fang.

Four hours later we drove up to the House of Night. It was a massive building that looked like it had been built in the dawn of time – but had somehow still managed to survive all these years. We drove in through the gates, which were open [as if they were waiting for us] and through the magnificent grounds. The road led us up to what I could only assume was the entrance to the school – a giant door that was made of very old wood to match the building. Just outside the door was a stone bench that I took a moment to sit down on. The illness, the feeling of death that had been haunting me had immediately eased up as I arrived on campus, but nothing could protect me from the extremity of the change I was going through. A couple of days ago, I had no idea vampyres even existed, but here I was now, about to commit to being one for the rest of my life.

I took a deep breath and looked up at my Mom's concerned face, and shook my head at her to let her know I was okay. Mom laid a hand on the iron door handle and pulled it down, and I got my first glimpse of my new home.

I didn't have a lot of time to admire it though, because my attention was immediately distracted by one of the most beautiful people I've ever seen turn the corner to come and greet me. Every feature on her heart shaped face was ultimately perfect – her huge, almond shaped eyes were the deepest green I could imagine, and her skin was absolutely flawlessly smooth. She had full, perfectly sized lips and her nose was the ideal size and shape. Her hair was the colour of blood, which I felt was completely appropriate. Ella, who had been standing behind me, walked forward and bowed, one fist over her heart.

The strange woman returned the salute, before turning to me. "Hello, Max. I am Neferet, the High Priestess at the Tulsa House of Night." Her voice has full of warmth and was peculiarly musical, as if she was about to break into dance any second.

"Hello," I said meekly, nodding my head at her in a weird sort of greeting. I felt nervous, out of place, and I wasn't used to not having my Flock by my side to back me up. I felt completely and utterly alone.

"Thank you so much for bringing her in, Dr. Martinez. I assure you she will receive the same care and devotion as your other daughter has." Neferet said, smiling at my mother.

Mom beamed up at Neferet in admiration, before pulling me into a hug and assuring me she'd see me soon. I hugged her tight, trying to keep in the tears that threatened to spill down my cheeks. But then she slipped out through the old wooden door, and she was gone.

"Why don't we have a chat alone, Max?" Neferet asked, moving gracefully towards me and putting a comforting arm around my shoulders. "Ella, why don't you go and fetch Zoey Redbird? I'm sure she'd love to greet our new student."

Ella nodded, shot me a reassuring look, and left. And then I was completely alone with Neferet, whose charming personality didn't falter a bit as soon as we didn't have company anymore.

She led me down the corridor to an empty classroom, and we both sat down.

"So, Max, how long has it been since you were Marked?" she asked, her emerald eyes looking kindly into mine.

"Um, two days I think. I don't know. I kept fainting a lot." I shot her a sheepish grin, which she returned with a look of confusion.

"How odd. Most fledglings come in on the very same day they're Marked – the illness gets too intense for them to survive. We've even had a fledgling come in unconscious only five hours after she was Marked. It's amazing you were allowed to last through the night, let alone two days."

"Oh," was all I seemed to be able to say, but it didn't matter, because Neferet had plenty.

"I also notice your Mark is black, as opposed to the usual fledgling blue. Do you know why this is? It's most strange."

Yeah, well, I'm strange. I felt like replying, but instead I answered her question with a simple denial. Of course, it was a lie: I had a suspicion. I wasn't your average fledgling: I was a bird-human-vampyre mix, so it would make a bit of sense if I didn't have the Mark of an average fledgling.

"No, not a clue."

"Ah, well, I'm sure we'll find out in time. Only one other vampyre in the whole world had an unusual mark, and she happens to reside in this very school. She's the leader of the Dark Daughters: Zoey Redbird. "

As if on cue, Zoey entered the room and said: "You rang?"

Zoey was quite pretty, with high, prominent cheekbones, wide hazel eyes, and long, dark hair that was like a waterfall down her back. Her skin was pale and flawless like Neferet's, but it was none of these features that made her beautiful. Surrounding the coloured in sapphire moon that was identical to Neferet's were swirls and patterns that reminded me of a labyrinth. Although Neferet's extended Mark only surrounded her eyes, Zoey's ran down her cheekbone, down her neck and disappeared underneath her sweater. It was beautiful.

"Wow," I said to Zoey. "Your Mark is gorgeous."

Zoey looked a little taken aback, but she smiled warmly at me and said:

"I'll show you to your new room – you'll be sharing with me since my roommate passed away a while ago."

She said the words awkwardly, which I could only assume was because she still wasn't over her roommate.

"Oh I'm sorry," I said, not sure what the protocol was for a situation like this. But apparently I'd done the right thing because she smiled at me again and led my out of the room.

(A/N) Kind of a crappy chapter, not much happening in it – but the next one [should have] LOTS of drama. And it had the Flock!

Please R&R, as always, if you want more! And, as always, I'm open to new ideas, so don't be afraid to say what you want to happen in a review! After all, this story is for YOU [and so my friends don't kill me for not editing and uploading another one XD].