O.

Dawn opened her eyes slowly and blinked to see more clearly in the darkroom.  She felt like a train had run her over. She couldn't move her hand or any part of her body and when she tried to turn her head, it was followed by a banging headache.

The nightmare last night had felt real and horrible. Those were the only thought In her head, that was until she heard voices booming off the walls.

"You almost killed her!" A voice roared sending goosebumps up her arms.

"Well, I was carried away. You know how the holy blood feels like" he says indifferently like the other person was overreacting for no reason.

"I don't Seth and if she had died, how would you survive free of agony? You need her blood or you'd go crazy with pain!" The hard voice thundered again, but beneath the anger, Dawn could feel the concern lazed in them.

"The house is starting to feel suffocating brother. She has so little blood running through her veins and yet this whole place reeks of it. My control is slipping" a girl complained.

"Well control your thirst. You'd die If you drink from her now. Your brother has marked her as his" he said in contempt.

"I did it for us! The Massimo clan is looming over us in case you haven't heard their scent in this town!"

"You need to let the past go already Seth. Let's just..."

"I am not weak and pathetic as you are father!" He roared and the sound of his father striking him across the face rend the air.  Everywhere quieted down drastically before a bitter chuckle carried through the walls.

"Do you feel more powerful now, huh? I didn't want any of this. You made me a fucking monster and all I am trying to do is to keep us alive!"

"Maybe it's time we die!" His father stated gravely. The silence that followed felt deafening.

"She's awake," the girl whispered.

"I fucking know!" He snapped then walked into the room where Dawn lay. The other two followed, stopping at the door.

"Remember Seth, If she dies, you'll feel like your soul was ripped out of your chest and no other blood will ever satisfy you" he warned warily.

"I don't have a soul" he replied coldly.

She could hear the man's deep sigh before he exited.

"I'll talk to father," the girl offered and then left.

Seth walked towards her. He could feel the power of her blood in his veins. The scar he had all those long years was all healed and his strength and reflexes were a hundredfold more strengthened. He hadn't gone out in the sun yet, but he was sure that he was the strongest vampire alive and he had his blood supply right at his fingertips.

He looked at her and was surprised to be able to read her thoughts. He had not been able to read her before. It was possible now, considering the amount of her blood that he had consumed at a go. He was going to kill her but had stopped at the last minute.

He could hear everything that went through her head. She saw him as a monster and that only amused him. She was also putting him on a long list of those who had hurt her. He found it hard to believe that she had ever been hurt by anyone before. She looked like a very cheerful person with a happy life.

She also worried about her mom and her co-workers and then a man named Gabriel Micheal. She wondered if the cops were looking for her.

She held his gaze and the hate he felt for her felt hazy because the scent of her blood was all around him.

"Who are you?" She managed to get out of her chapped lips.

"Your Master" he replied watching the emotions dancing across her face. 

Her mind was racing with different thoughts. Most of which ended with him being a psychopath who had a fetish for blood drinking. She wondered if she would be dead before they discovered her missing.

"You won't die if you listen to me" he assured and she jerked to face him surprised that he knew what she was thinking.

"What do you want then" she cried out in frustration.

"Your blood"

Her cheeks turned pale as her mouth quivered. "You need a bloody doctor. No human drinks another's blood"

"You know it in your head that I am not a human, pretty one," he said and without knowing what it was that pulled him to her, he found his fingers stroking her cheek slowly. Tiny sparks of electricity tingled up his arms and he drew back sharply. Dawn was also looking at him with wide confused eyes.

"Why am I so weak?"

"I drank too much" he answered looking unrepentant. His eyes scared her while they glowed red and she couldn't decide if she was still in a nightmare or the real world. Monsters weren't supposed to be able to hurt you in the real world she thought.

The nightmare had gone on long enough and she wanted to wake up.

"You're not having a nightmare, pretty one"

"Don't fucking patronize me!" she snapped getting more furious as she felt a bit stronger. It was then she noticed she was been given a blood transfusion.

"Am not patronizing you"

"You kidnapped me and you drank my blood like a bloody disgusting carnivore! You have no rights to be using endearment on me so stop calling me pretty one"

"You would rather I call you babe then?"

"Are you freeking nuts! I would rather you call me nothing"

"Nothing it shall be then!" He responded smirking as he enjoyed the turmoil going through her mind. He found that emotions ruled this particular woman and those emotions influenced how potent and how strong her blood became. The strongest so far had been fear and anger. When she was calm or confused the scent was more endurable.

"Unbelievable!" She murmured low in her throat with venom.

He watched her and was suddenly wary of how uncanny her resemblance was to Masika. He knew what he felt when he thought of Masika. Blind raging fury. It made him thirsty too. Made him want to drink and the more he was in the same room with her blood smelling so thickly in the air, the more thirsty he became.

CAFE.

Gracie stood by the door after attending to most of their morning customers. It was odd for Dawn to miss a day of work and they all felt her absence.

Gabriel had been asking for her all morning immediately after he got to work and had only stopped after getting a business call that took him an hour to finish.

The customer also kept asking for Dawn to serve them. They also complained about the coffee tasting differently since it wasn't made by Dawn. It almost drove Gracie near insane to play nice and lie that Dawn was under the weather and she'd be back the next day.

Gracie tried calling her again but just like all her earlier calls, they all went straight to her voicemail.

Setting her phone aside, she looked up to see Mason standing in front of her with a flirty grin on his lips. Gracie rolled her eyes and gave him an exasperated look. "Not now Mason. I am not in the mood to be picked on, or flirted with"

"I didn't come to flirt" Mason replied with a frown.

Gracie made a face and he rolled his eyes at her expression.

"Well, that's what you always do, so..."

"Where's Dawn," he asked, cutting her off.

Gracie glanced around, then turned to face him, "well as we both can see, she's not here"

"But you're her best friend. If everyone doesn't know, you should".

"Wow thank you so much for pointing out my friendly obligations to me and making me feel worse than I already do"

"That was not my intention. I didn't mean it that way" he amended quickly trying to pacify her.

"Well, it had the same result so what are we still talking about," she asked crossing her arms and staring dead at him.

He sighed, shoved both hands into his pocket, and stared at the counter like thousands of dirt were suddenly on it. He subtly took two steps back, then turned around and walked to his post muttering under his breath.

"He's so fucking annoying, Damn it!" She cursed, uncrossing her arms and dragging her fingers through her hair in frustration. She looked up towards the ceiling trying to work the tension out of her neck.

The sudden rasp on the counter had her jerking back in surprise to face Gabriel.

His eyes seemed to ask the question "anything so far?", So she just shook her head

"Nothing yet. She's not answering her phone" she answered and Gabriel nodded, his expression dull and brooding.

He stared at the space Dawn always occupied and which she always managed to light up with her positive personality before walking back into his office.

Gracie swore under her breath. She hated that she cared if Gabriel was happy or not. It wasn't even him she needed to worry about.

"Mason!" She shouted and he jerked in surprise as he turned to face her. His expression screamed hostility. They'd never liked each other since they started working together.

"Now what?".

Gracie ignored the condescending tone he had used, choosing rather to keep the peace.

"Cover for me. I'm going to check on Dawn" she yelled at him as she took off her apron. She noticed the rude glances that were suddenly directed at her for raising her voice.

They should let loose sometimes, she huffed inwardly. Every time she worked, there was that one customer that made her want to commit murder.

She tried her possible best not to roll her eyes as she walked out of the cafe.

The weather looked great. She just hoped Dawn was home and there was nothing serious to be worried about.

*********

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