I think I might be doing some rewrites on this. Nothing major; I just had some new ideas for this story, and to make it work, I'd have to edit some of the chapters a bit. If I do-which I most likely will-I'll let you guys know which chapters to revisit.

Anyway, I apologize for the long wait for the new chapter. I had lost the notebook I wrote this in and found it earlier today, and since I had access to a computer, I typed it up.

So, I hope you like it, and thank you for reading!

Eric remained on the couch while I crept over toward Jade's unconscious body. She still hadn't moved in the minutes that I had been sitting beside Eric and as I lifted the door off of her and inspected the bleeding welt on the back of her head, I wondered just how hard she had been hit.

Decently hard, I guessed, and didn't feel bad at all. I rubbed at the back of my neck; the spot still burned slightly and I winced as my fingers dragged across my skin.

I reached down and grabbed a fistful of blood soaked hair and pull Jade to her feet.

"Get up," I said loudly and began shaking her like a ragdoll. Within moments her eyes opened and I could sense the pain coursing through her body; I was holding her a good foot off the ground by her hair. Her scalp was being tugged upward, and I was pretty sure that if I pulled any harder, I could rip the skin clean off of her head.

I smiled when her eyes met mine. "Oh, you're awake. Did you have a nice nap?"

Jade wriggled around. "Let me go. Please."

"You know, that really wasn't nice, stabbing me before. I didn't appreciate that. That hurt."

"I-I'm sorry, I was just doing what I was told to do. Please, just let me go," Jade pleaded, her red lips quivering as she spoke.

I looked back at Eric. He was perched on the edge of the couch, hands balled into fists, the tips of his fangs peeking out from his lips.

"What do you think? Should I let her go? She seems sorry enough," I turned my attention back to Jade and tugged harder on her hair. She yelped in pain and clawed at my hand in an attempt to free herself from my grasp, but her attempts were useless.

With Eric here, I felt stronger than ever.

I smirked and moved her closer to me. Our faces were less than an inch away.

"I like it when you scream. You wanna do it again for me?" I whispered and jerked Jade's body again, eliciting a scream, then a gasp as she was torn away from me.

I stood in the center of the room, dumbfounded, looking for whatever—whoever—that had enough strength to take her from me. I couldn't sense anyone in the room other than Eric and Jade, and after looking at the two of them and receiving confused stares from both, I began pulling off my clothes.

Hopefully, if my eyes wouldn't allow me to see, and my nose not let me smell whatever it was in this form, maybe if I shifted I'd be able to seek out whoever it was.

But I got as far as unbuttoning my jeans before an iron chain was suddenly wrapped around my throat, and pulled tightly, choking me. I clawed at the metal, thrashing around violently trying my hardest to remove it from my neck. After a few moments of struggling, I was able to step on one end of the chain and rip it off, along with a generous bit of skin.

I looked up to find Delilah standing in the doorway guarding Jade, her lips curled back in a snarl. Menace had replaced the usual neutral expression that she wore, and I stared at her in confusion.

"What the fuck, Delilah," I shouted, seething with anger. I kicked the chain away and peered around Eric, who had placed himself in front of me, holding his arms out like Delilah, protecting me. A deep growl rumbled in his chest as he stared at my attacker. My friend.

"I'm sorry, Adrian, really, but it had to be done."

I stepped out from behind Eric. "Any particular reason why?" Delilah still looked angry.

"I can't have any blood spilled. Come on," she said to Jade and began to lead her away.

I sped across the room and stopped in front of them. "You can't have any blood spilled? You have a whole club full of Vampires and fucking humans. You think they're not feeding down there?"

Delilah frowned slightly. "That doesn't matter. I can't have you harming an innocent human."

"Innocent? This innocent human tried to fucking kill me before. I think that warrants my wanting to harm her."

"Regardless of what she may have done to you, it's over now. I'll take care of it," she said and tried to push past me. I blocked her. "Adrian, move."

"This isn't over," I said, my voice low, dangerous. "She was involved with Riggs," I told her, and raised an eyebrow when her expression faltered. "I want her dead, along with any other person that was involved with him. Hand her over and let me deal with this."

"I can't do that."

"You most certainly can, and if you don't do it willingly, I'll take her myself," I warned, fangs dropping as I spoke.

She leaned close to me. "If you even try, I'll kill you along with that Vampire of yours. Leave the girl alone, Adrian."

"Why is she so important that you need to protect her? Am I missing out on something here, Delilah?" I asked. "Because I feel like I am."

She shook her head. "You're not missing out on—"

Eric suddenly appeared next to me, a manic look in his eyes and a mood to match. I was sure that if it were possible, his heart would have been pounding in his chest.

"What is it?" I asked him. "Are you alright?"

He nodded. "I'm fine. It's Pam; something's wrong with her. I need to get back to the bar."

"Go then. I'll meet you there," I told him. He hesitated, looking between Delilah and I. "I'll be fine. Just go."

Eric disappeared then, leaving me alone with Delilah and Jade.

"Now then. What the hell is so important about her that she can't be punished for her actions? And I want a real answer," I said.

She looked back at Jade. "I've said all that there is to say. This girl is no longer any of your concern. I'll deal with her. Do you understand?"

"No. I don't. I don't get why now I'm not allowed to kill something. My whole purpose in life revolves around death, and now that's being denied? Bullshit," I growled. "If you're really going to take care of her, I expect to see you covered head to toe in this cunt's blood. Do you understand?"

"Of course. Now go see what's got your Keeper in a frenzy…I'm sure it's something interesting," Delilah said, smiling to herself, and took off down the hall with Jade in her arms.

I stood there, alone, with my back to the wall wondering just why Delilah had intervened. As far as I was concerned, Jade was just another pitiful human swayed by Riggs, and whether I killed her or not shouldn't have mattered.

And I didn't know what Delilah planned to do with her when she got the girl alone, but at the moment it didn't matter.

What did matter, was finding out what had put Eric in a panic.