They'd gone straight to Sam's house, bursting back inside in the middle of a late tea. Surprised heads turned their way, including Star who often came over for meals. Lucy was the first to jump up, marching straight over to the gang.

"What's happened?" she asked, hands flying to her mouth. "Is anybody –?"

"Nobody's hurt," Sam interrupted, reaching for his mother and guiding her back to the kitchen. He told the others to wait at in the living room while he went towards the kitchen. Edgar nudged Alan and nodded to the windows. A silent order to keep an eye outside and his brother obeyed, taking position.

"Sam, what on earth is the matter?" Lucy asked.

"Remember last summer? With the vampires?"

There was a slight shudder through Lucy and she clutched her stomach, feeling it gurgle. "I remember. Too well."

"We didn't get all the vampires," Sam said. In the corner of his eye he saw his brother Michael put an arm around Star. "There was one we killed at the cave. Marko. At least, we thought we did –."

"We can't stay here," Lucy said, turning to everyone else. "We'll need to go someplace safe."

"This is the safest we're going to get, Lucy," Grandpa said in all seriousness. "We know the house. All the exits. Where the weapons are. I still have plenty of my old weapons."

"Mom, Grandpa is right. We can't run away from vampires. They'll only hunt us down. We need to stay here in a place we know and we'll sort it out." He gestured to his friends.

"Sammy –," Michael began but Sam held up a hand.

"We can deal with it."

"Sam, you're only sixteen. This isn't going out and happening to come across a vampire to stake. This vampire will be out for revenge. And you've told me there's a new pack in town. It's too much to fight against," Lucy said.

"I'm helping," Michael said.

"Michael, it's too dangerous. This is Marko. He's more capable than he looks." She glanced at Bonnie who was fighting back hysterical tears and the girls shared a wordless understanding with each other. They both knew what Marko could be like and they both knew the other was very much aware of it. She got up, heading straight for Bonnie and threw her arms around the quivering girl.

"Mom, who can we turn to for help?" Sam asked.

Lucy struggled for an answer. The truth was there was nobody. No other vampire hunters who were more experienced and older. No police. Her youngest son had been braving the nights since last summer, telling tales of every vampire he had staked. There was nothing delusional about what he had been achieving. He wasn't a child anymore and the Frog brothers were more than the bumbling, amateur vampire hunters they had been.

"I don't like this," she whispered.

"I don't either," Sam admitted. "But nobody comes after my friends and family. We'll get the place all defenced up. Set curfews. I'll come pick you up at the hospital if you have to work nights on reception."

She placed a palm against his cheek, trying to smile. "Oh, my brave boy. You promise me you'll be careful."

"We can go up against anything, Ms Emerson," Edgar said, smiling proudly but she didn't return it. Maybe their techniques had gotten better but they were still as cocky as ever. Arrogance wasn't reassuring.

"We need to group upstairs," he said, "Everybody in Sam's room."

"How are you feeling?" Sam asked Bonnie. Courtesy of Lucy, almost everyone now had hot chocolate in their hands to warm them up. Only Alan passed, not really craving the taste of what was usually his favourite drink. For the first time he did not find the idea of melted marshmallows and cream mixed with the chocolate appetising. He frowned slightly when Sam brought another steaming cup up and passed it to Bonnie, being reminded of why he couldn't bring himself to have a drink himself.

"I thought that part of my life was over," she muttered.

"We'll kill him for good this time," Edgar said. "At least it means we know the reason why we're being targeted like this. Marko survived and he's joined up with another vampire for revenge."

"But why this vampire? What does this Logan guy get out of revenge?" Bernice asked.

"There'll be a connection. Just not sure what. Maybe he's an old pack member that moved to another one, maybe he was actually related… I don't know," Sam said.

"Was there ever any mention of a Logan when you were half?" Edgar asked Bonnie.

She shook her head. "Never heard of him. But there was probably a lot they kept from me until they knew I was completely loyal to them."

Edgar gave a disappointed sigh, glancing at his brother. Alan stayed near the chest of drawers, keeping a distance from everybody else and right now he was looking away, completely disheartened. Edgar felt the guilt himself. It wasn't enough to be able to track down the Head Vampire. They still had no clue who they were actually dealing with. How long would Alan be able keep fighting for while they were still trying to piece this puzzle together?

I'm supposed to be the one who looks out for him, he thought. I don't even feel like I have faith in myself.

"Maybe I should get to know these vampires," Alan said, quietly. "Pretend I'm losing the battle."

"I tried that," Bonnie said and gave a cynical laugh. "Worked freaking well for me, didn't it? If Marko is involved, he won't making the same mistake he did with me. Half vampires are untrustworthy. Period."

"Maybe we can get the information from one of them. Charlotte maybe?" Edgar cringed when faces turned to look at him. "Maybe we need to act harshly."

"How? Hold one hostage and torture information from them?" Bernice asked. Her blonde hair bounced as she shook her head. "That's not us."

"I don't know how else we're going to get the information we need. Unless some stranger has been dating a parent, finding a lead isn't going to be as easy as it was with Max."

"We're not sinking to that level," Sam said. "Look, this might take a while to sort out so don't go rushing into desperate measures. It's only been one day."

"One day too many. Remember how quickly Michael tried to attack you?"

"He controlled it. It was the one time."

"Star had been half for quite a while too," Bonnie said.

"I'll manage it," Alan spoke up, glaring at his brother. "But it doesn't help when you're insisting I won't be able to handle this all the time."

"I don't mean it like that."

"Have I attacked anyone yet?"

Edgar ducked his head. "No."

"There you go. Maybe I'm stronger than you think. Wanting blood isn't something that I'm feeling now and again that will randomly make me snap. It's constant. I've been wanting it since I was turned."

Edgar gave a shudder and Alan scowled.

"Sorry if that creeps you out but you need to understand that I am actually managing." He suddenly straightened up. "Like Sam said, it's only been a day. We've barely got started in an investigation so you need to stop acting like we're failing already. Everyone needs to ask their parents. See if there is anyone new at their work. Check out any new stores that are open and monitor the staff. If this Head Vampire is anything like Max we'll find them."

"Me and Bridget will keep an eye out at work tomorrow," Bernice said and Alan nodded. He glanced at Edgar who shrugged lightly.

"Okay. We'll do it," he muttered. But there was still a nagging voice in his head that wasn't allowing him to feel any better about the situation or feel any confidence.

What if this Head Vampire doesn't mingle like Max? Then what?

He stayed quiet. Even as everyone made a list of any new shops and their parents workplaces. The comic store, they decided, was safe seeing as most of the employees were actually present in the room or an adult member of the Frog family. Mrs Teahan, Bernice and Bridget's mother, was a teacher which ruled out vampires there and her after school drama classes were full of children from ages ten to eighteen. They were all from the local schools and as far as Bernice knew, there were no more places available for new students. Both her classes were fully booked up and she was the only teacher there.

But for the rest of the adults, they all had jobs that could be vulnerable to the appearance of a vampire. Stage manager, paediatric, hotel receptionist … all jobs that expected the adults to work nights and with other people. Any vampire could walk into one of those jobs.

Edgar watched everyone continue to plan, even Alan who had a determination in his eyes that he was struggling to gain himself. All he really felt, and could only feel, was a twisting sickness in his stomach. The others were so sure that everything was going to be okay and to Edgar it all seemed incredibly naïve because there was another path that no-one had mentioned and it even appalled him to think it because he felt like he was doubting his brother.

If Alan turned… what then?

Thank you for reading! Please feel free to leave a review. Chapter 15 will be up next Saturday. :)