Jaden woke and instantly overwhelmed by Blood Lust. She lost all conscious though except that she needed blood. She tried to sit up but discovered that she was still restrained. Snarling in annoyance, she jerked one of her wrists violently. The thick rope holding her arm snapped. With one arm free, she was able to break the other wrist out, along with severing the bedpost to which she was attached. The same treatment was given to the bindings around her ankles. The whole process took less than a minute.

The blood crazy girl was half way to the door when she heard a man chuckle behind her. Whirling around with a hiss, her eyes settled on a tall, lean, well-muscled Vampire with dark brown hair and eyes so black the pupils were indistinguishable. He grinned and said something her Blood Lust insane brain didn't process. All she realized was she was moving towards him with deadly intent, and she didn't care how badly he got hurt.

Resistance wasn't something she expected though, and her brain didn't even conceive how and where he'd hit her, but suddenly, she was flying across the room, only to collide with the opposite wall.

James jumped when he heard a loud crash on the other side of his bedroom door. It seems she is awake he mused, hoping she and Zachariah didn't rip apart his room in the process. Within, there was a loud, feral, snarl and a scuffling sound. It seemed that the former Agent was unhappy with the room's other occupant, and now sought to rid herself of his company. By the sound of her screams, grunts and snarls, she was not making very good ground. Then again, James pondered, I didn't do so well against Liam, and he's a weak Pure Blood. Fighting Zachariah must be pretty disheartening. A bang, which included a loud scraping sound, announced to James that a piece of his furniture was probably laying in ruins now.

A strangled gasp within the room declared somebody to be winning the fight, and James could easily guess who the victor was. An instant later, a feminine squeal of pain confirmed James' thoughts. For several moments, there was silence in the room, broken when the man within said, "You can come in now. But do be careful," there was a touch of amusement in his voice, "she may still be a little irritable."

James smirked and indicated Maddox move the large bookcase that blocked the door out of the way. It wouldn't have done much to stop the girl had she chosen to get out of the room, only momentarily slow her down. Once inside the room, James surveyed the damage with a grimace. His bedposts had been snapped off, a dresser and a table lay in splinters, there was a large dent in the wall, and the carpet was surely ruined by a large bloodstain pooling around his student. The girl lay on the floor in a daze, staring blankly up at the ceiling.

James was relieved to see that her eyes were no longer crimson orbs, which didn't give away where she was looking. Instead, they resembled Zachariah's eyes; black, so dark that the pupil was indistinctive from the iris. The eyes of a Pure Blood.

Behind him, a Vampire from Zachariah's entourage dragged a struggling human into the room. Instantly, the girl snapped out of her stupor and watched the mortal unblinkingly. Her eyes flashed to Zachariah, as she slowly got to her feet. He raised an eyebrow, and gave the smallest of nods. Some unspoken question seemed to be answered in the look, because the girl moved towards the squealing human.

James watched his student's face as she moved past him. Usually, he could tell every single emotion burning through her, but now, he was unable to read her cold, hard expression. With a look that could closest be described as contempt, the girl took hold of the smaller human's chin and pulled her eyes up to her own gaze. The young Pure Blood smiled as the human began to sob, and turned its face gently to the side, delicately sinking her teeth into the doomed girl's throat.

Only for a moment did she feed, and the human was still alive and conscious when the Pure Blood drew away. Turning, she stepped away from the sobbing girl, bowing her head slightly to Zachariah, as he moved to finish her off. She stared at the older Vampire as he drank quickly, no longer prolonging the human's suffering.

As the body hit the floor, James' student moaned, clutched at her head, and sunk to her knees. "What's happened?" she asked, in a trembling voice. "Where am I?" Kneeling at her side, James saw her eyes were no longer fathomless black, but their usual liquid chocolate brown. Eyes wide, she turned to stare at him, "It hurt so bad. What happened? Why?"

For a moment James blankly stared at her, unknowing of what she was talking about. Then he remembered the events of the night before. It felt like much longer ago. "Jaden," he said, feeling strange to call her by a name he knew wasn't hers, "there is something I have to explain." When she stared at him in confusion, he asked gently, "Do you remember anything that just happened."

She looked as if she were thinking hard and asked guiltily, "That man, did I hurt him?"

"What man?" James asked, also confused.

"The Faithful," she answered adamantly. "I thought I went after him. I told him to get out before it got too bad, but then I just lost it."

James smiled reassuringly, "No, he's fine. He got out like you told him." Nodding, Jaden got to her feet. "Jaden, what you experienced is a symptom called Blood Rage."

Frowning, she asked, "What's Blood Rage. Why have I never heard it mentioned before? Why didn't you tell me it would happen to me?" She now looked annoyed.

James sighed, taking a deep breath, "because it only occurs in Pure Bloods; and we thought you were a Half Blood. Liam was the one to figure it out."

The girl's eyes narrowed at the mention of Liam, then grew wide as what James said sunk in. "A Pure Blood?" she repeated, her voice cracking. "No," she shook her head, "I'm a Half Blood. I'm Ashmore's half daughter."

"Actually, that was just a cover," Zachariah said, stepping forward.

Jaden stared in disbelief, "Who the fucking hell are you?" she snapped.

Zachariah smiled and said, "I am the ruler of the Nichelle."

With a look best described as one just struck by lightning crossed her face as she chocked out one word, "Louis?" The phrase, oh god, I'm dead ran through her head.

Zachariah burst out laughing. James smiled slightly and the Vampire of Zachariah's entourage remained impassive. Jaden felt small and stupid. Once his bellows of laughter died down, Zachariah explained, "In the public eye, yes, my half brother is our leader. But, to those who know the existence of the Pure Bloods, which is very few average Vampires, I, Zachariah Nichelle am the true ruler." He shrugged, and then spread his arms wide, adding, "Louis is as much my puppet as James here is his."

Jaden uttered a tiny, "oh." Gathering her courage, she stammered, "Why…why did you say that my being Ashmore's daughter is a cover? Its who I am."

Nichelle shook his head, "About nineteen years ago, there was a pact made to strengthen the alliance between the League of Nichelle and the League de Myra. Three children were to be born. One was the child of the Vampire Benjamin Ashmore, Chief Commander Nathan Korr, and secret de Myra Faithful, Anne Korr. Her name was Jaden." The girl took a step back. Zachariah matched it with a step forward. "The second child was the son of Anna-Maria Gable and Thomas Drew," he continued. "His name was Graham." Zachariah took a second step as Jaden remained rooted to the floor. "The third child was my own; I, and the sister of the de Myra's ruler, had a child. Her name was Elaina." He watched as the girl's eyes widened. "Now, to protect Elaina, as Anne Korr's last act on earth, she made a switch, so that her child's place was taken by mine." He paused, and put his hands on the girl's shoulders, leaning down so he looked her in the eye. "Now which child do you think you were?" he breathed.

The child stood as if carved from stone, except she trembled as if there were an earthquake. In a voice that cracked and trembled, she whispered, "The third?"

With a smile, her father nodded and murmured, "I've missed you Elaina," as he drew her into his embrace.


right...again...no clue when then next chapter will be up...school is stupid...hate my life...the basic teenage ramblings...haha...reviews please!