It took us three more hours to treat everyone we could, by now the sun has set behind the mountain rocks and it took its toll on the team. Leila is as pale as a ghost and Xavier retreated to the shaded trees to take a nap. Also, I have a feeling Nate kept on giving too much of his blood seeing as some of the people around us are running around with an excess of energy and he seems completely exhausted himself.

"Thank you for all your help." Rob thanks us coming to our little handmade camp. "I'm afraid to think of what would have happened if you didn't show up when you did." He shudders.

He comes to sit next to me near the small fire we started.

"How's your father ?" Leila inquires switching back to her doctor mode.

"He's fine, he should be up by tomorrow."

"Glad to hear it." She nods.

"If you don't mind me asking I have a few questions though." He starts and I know right away were this is going. "How did you know there was going to be an attack ?"

"We weren't sure." I cut in. "But a lot of clans and tribes have been attacked recently."

"Who are they ?" He demands angrily. "What did they want ? I still don't get it. They wouldn't say a word and just enjoyed killing us. They didn't take anything either."

"These wolves are following orders."

"Wolves ? You mean vampires right ?"

I frown. This is bad in so many ways.

'They are forming a supernatural army too.'

How did they succeed though ? Most clans hate each other.

'Well, how did you do it before'

Revenge. I sigh. They are channeling their rage and hatred for the others and showing them a common goal.

"I thought vampires were peaceful creatures now ?" I question.

"We are. At least I thought so."

"Did you recognize any of them."

"No. I'm telling you, they didn't utter a single word so I couldn't catch an accent or anything. And there were at least fifty of them. Some were wearing masks, I guess not to be recognized."

"You probably know them because otherwise they wouldn't have been able to find this place and they wouldn't need to hide behind masks. Do you have any enemies, or someone your brothers might have pissed off ?"

The shadow of a smile breaks on his face.

"Of course you would assume they did something."

"Vincent may be preaching for peace but the twins and Ben are still troublemakers." I smile.

"Last time I saw them they were cheating their way up a casino in Monaco." Leila adds to prove my point.

"Let's just say, they are still young." He shrugs absolutely unfazed by this piece of information.

"Right ! I forgot we were talking to Robert the Fourth, first rule breaker of the century." I laugh.

"It was a life time ago. Anyway, I'll ask around and see what I can find. You say you don't know what they want ?"

"The few prisoners we could get didn't give us much but we know that someone is controlling them. I'm guessing they are attacking out of revenge, but we don't know what the bigger picture is."

"Then why did you come here ?" He asks dubious.

I turn to Nate who remained quiet until now, calmly observing our exchange.

"My name is Nate Turner." He starts introducing himself formally. "I'm the alpha of the pack of California."

"Nice to meet you." Rob nods.

"As Hope said, we heard that people were attacked all around the world." He continues and I see Rob twitch at the mention of my name.

I told you, only the few people I trust know it. I've known Nolan's family for generations and they were always people you could count on. That's probably why I kept visiting them and why I know so much about them. They never asked too many questions about me even though vampires are curious by nature, their long lives make them hungry for knowledge, and that's how they know so much about everything, especially medicine. Vampires aren't immortals because immortals don't exist.

'Ahem.'

Right, I'm the exception.

Thanks to the use of blood vampires acquire more time. The fresh blood slows down the decay of their cells and metabolism making them near immortal, being able to live for a few centuries. However the more they grow old the more their skin becomes smooth and gray and in the end they transform into a sort of statue. That's the statues you can find in the museums. During their last years they prepare their final appearance with precision as if preparing a spectacle.

"My pack was also targeted by rogues and the other packs and us decided to form a coalition to fight against them. We would like for you to join us." Nate finishes.

"You have to understand something, we vampires don't mingle with the rest of the world." Rob says. "We took part in the first wars, the bloodiest of them," He smirks at his own joke and I roll my eyes.

Vampires and their blood.

"And as most of the people there we didn't come out of it unscathed. It didn't matter on which side we stood." He glances quickly at me. "There were a lot of casualties. We lost a lot of our men."

Well then. I guess they always knew who I am.

'Smart creatures indeed.'

"That's why we try to avoid conflict now. We don't want history to repeat itself."

"I understand. However I don't think you really have a choice here. Theses rogues are targeting you too." Nate answers him seriously.

"True. Then what do you offer ?"

"For starters I would like to send you some of my men to train your warriors and protect your people."

"We'll also need your help to spread the word around and convince the other vampire clans and the tribes down south." I chirp in.

"Is that all your highness ?" He laughs and I can't help but beam at him.

'It's been too long since we were called that !'

"If you come across any wounded, we have the means to help, just have your doctors ask."

"Alright. I'll talk to my father and let you know. However, the Council might be a problem."

At that point my wolf is laughing hysterically, unable to hold herself. I can almost see her sprawled on the ground cackling and rolling around.

"I'll take care of it if it happens." I smile sweetly.

Rob bids us goodnight and walks back towards the chief's hut.

"I'm going to take a last stroll." I inform Leila as she inspects the her bags.

"Sure. Don't wander too far." She smirks.

"I got lost once. ONCE." I cry exasperated shooting my arms in the air and stomping away.

So what if I went out one night and lost myself in some woods. So what if I spent a week there because my wolf wasn't talking to me and refused to help me out when it kept raining and I couldn't sniff my way out. SO WHAT ? I was hungry, sure. I was cranky, of course. I was smelly, definitely not. But I didn't die. I broke down half the trees on my way to make sure of the path I came from, I scared off every living creature in those woods even though I refused to eat them without turning into my wolf first. They should all be thankful really. In fact I was training my soul and body, meditating under the flowing cascade and increasing my strength by hitting on wood and rocks.

'Yeah right.'

Shush !

"So you guys know each other. You didn't tell me you had so many aces up your sleeve." Nate interrupts my internal monologue as I march purposefully through the trees.

"I'm full of surprises aren't I ?"

"That you are."

"Don't worry. They'll help you."

"I hope so. I feel we need all the help we can get."

"How are you feeling ?"

"Tired. You were right I should have been more careful."

"Of course I was. I'm always right. You don't know that by now ?"

"Right." He laughs and his face breaks into a huge smile, his dimples prominent lightened by the full moon.

The full moon ?

Crap !

I didn't see her rise up in the dark sky. No wonder the trees are so bright. I hurry deeper in the shades of the forest. Nate follows me intrigued and for once I wish he didn't.

"What's the matter ?" He inquires.

"I saw a mouse."

"Are you kidding me ?" He bursts out laughing. "You're afraid of mice ?"

"I don't see your point. Elephants are afraid of mice." I grumble.

'Stop embarrassing me in front of people.' My wolf whines.

"Isn't a wolf supposed to eat them ?"

"I happen to have taste." I answer stubbornly.

"So, How many are they ?" He finally decides to drop the conversation.

"Who ?"

"Robert's family."

"Oh. There's the chief Nolan, Rob's father, his wife Crystal died a long time ago. Rob is the oldest, then there's Vincent, the twins Sam and TJ and finally Ben."

"That's a lot."

"I guess." I shrug.

"How old are they ?"

"The boys aren't more than three hundred years old. Nolan is" I think for a moment. "I'd say around two thousand but you'd have to ask him."

"Two thousand ?" He chokes in surprise.

'Oh boy, don't ever tell him your age or he might have a heart attack.'

"That's the problem." I sigh. "Especially with the Council. They think that because they are so old they are wiser and know better when really they are stubborn old wrinkled rocks stuck in the Fifth century."

"You don't like them.' He states.

"We have our differences."

We fall into a comfortable silence for a few minutes enjoying the calm around, both sitting against a large tree trunk.

"I was really scared earlier." He whispers under his breath. "There were so many wounded, so much blood. I didn't know what to do or if I could be of help. But really what our blood can do for them is spectacular. I wish it'd work for wolves."

"After life was created and as time passed men started cherishing and praying to the Moon and to reward them she created warriors. She gave them powers, to become stronger they transformed into wolves. So the men prayed even more.

"On the other side of the world were the scholars. They lived for knowledge, searching the wonders of the earth. To give them more time she granted them a drop of her blood. So that they wouldn't age, so that they would become wiser. So the men prayed even more." I quote the old legends.

'If you ask me that's a sect right there.'

"We usually don' need blood, we are harder to kill."I conclude.

"Fair enough." He nods. "I didn't know that part of the story."

"People tend to tell the story of their kind, the rest fading in the background."

"So I guess we are all children of the Moon." He comes to his own conclusion.

"You could say that." I agree. "And then wonder why you fight if you're all on the same side."

"Because we don't learn from our experience." He offers referring to our previous talk.

"That's probably it." I say getting up and Nate does the same. "I think we should go back to camp and sleep, we won't have a lot of time tomorrow before we leave."

We walk back to the village and all the while I can hear the song of the Moon in the air, so beautiful and powerful tonight. So deadly to me. Not that I would die, only cry for days from the pain. As we reach the border of the trees the light of the small fire becomes more distinct. I pull on my sleeves to cover my arms as much as I can and thank the Sun I put on pants this morning and not shorts. I lift my collar up and let my raven hair fall down over my face before pushing my hands deeps in my pockets. It won't get any better than this.

Let's do this quick. Straight to the tent.

I take my first step out of the shadows and I hear her murmur in the wind.

'Let me see your pretty face. Let me lighten you like a flame.'

Dream on crazy.

'Right ?! And you still wonder why we don't like the fool.'

Oh don't worry, I know exactly why we hate her.

"Wait." Nate exclaims behind me and grabs my forearm taking my hand out of its pocket and lifting the material in the process.

I hiss and clench my teeth as I feel the rays licking my skin and burning it instantly. I jerk my hand off from his grasp and push it back in my pocket.

Damn, this hurts like hell.

I keep on walking and don't stop when Leila greets us back. I make a beeline to the tent I share with her cursing under my breath. Oh.. so many lovely words are coming to my mind right now, colorful words about the goddess in the sky. The Sun would be proud.

How come no one gets burnt during the day ? Why am I the only one being punished ?

"What happened ?" I hear Leila inquire outside.

"I don't know. One second she was fine and the next..."

"Did you say something to her ?"

"No I didn't."

Definitely rolling his eyes right now.

"Don't be smart with me. She wouldn't be like that if you didn't do anything."

"This is ridiculous. I didn't have time to say anything, she just ran away as soon as we saw the camp."

"I'll see what happened. You should go to sleep." Leila decides sounding like a mother scolding a five years old and I can't help smirking, only she could handle a prideful alpha that way.

She enters the tent and zips the door behind her.

"So ?" She asks with a raised brow.

I simply show her my burning red arm.

"How did you"

"Ma's bright tonight." I say in a deep voice.

Leila can't help but smile at my failed attempt to copy the centaurs of the Harry Potter's books.

She had to show me five different versions of the book to convince me that they talked about Mars and not saying Ma's when all along I thought they referred to the Moon as a mother of some kind. I mean it would be more logical, wouldn't it ? Making a divination based on the Moon. Since then we decided to use it has a code name for dear old white bulb in the sky.

She studies my arm knowingly turning it right and left, examining how much I was burnt.

"I'd say four days." She concludes and starts rummaging in her bags before getting a cream from it and handing it over to me. "Here, use this, it won't do much but still."

"Thanks."

"At least it wasn't the face this time." She smirks and I shudder.

That was scary even for me. A decade ago I fell asleep outside, completely forgetting about everything and woke up feeling my face on fire. It felt as if I was melting like the witch in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The third degree burn on my face lasted me for two month and it wasn't pretty. Not pretty at all.

Leila puts a gauze on it before getting ready for bed herself. I'd like to talk to her but the thin walls of the tent -if you can even call it walls- won't block out wandering wolfish ears. So I keep quiet and lay down too. And sure enough this is torture. Two hours later I still can't fall asleep. This might be due to the fact that my own ears have sneakily wandered to an other tent, carefully listening on the steady breaths and strong heartbeat of a certain alpha. Although I listen I can't find out if he's asleep or not and this is driving me crazy. I keep on stopping myself from getting up and going outside to check it out. I'm not suicidal, at least not right this moment so I refrain myself. So I impatiently wait for him to sneeze or move but he doesn't and my suspicions grow even more. I'm tempted to call his name too but I'm not thirteen and there are too many witnesses around.

'I think we should still try it.'

The day you stop asking me to wear this horrifying green jacket with blue polka dots I may start listening to your advice.

'You don't have any fashion sense, that's all.'

Sure. At least I know you don't mix purple and yellow.

'And yet you were the one that refused to wear anything other than those hideous crocodile boots for two decades.'

I killed it myself of course I had to wear the boots. And the jacket. And the bag. And the glasses. A-ny-way, this little banter isn't helping me on the problem at hand. I still don't know if he's awake.

I turn on my side, facing the wall, wishing I had x-ray vision and could see through objects. Out of ideas I glower at the fabric with red shining eyes. Sadly I don't see any different except for the small tinges of red hovering over everything. I start to sigh heavily when I notice a faded yellow light on the other side of the tent. My heart makes a sprint to the door, flies off the window and jumps off the cliff all at once and I close my eyes with a loud "Crap" leaving my lips. I hear covers shuffle around and the other tent opening. I know it's him from his scent since I know it like the back of my hand but also because of his erratic heart, I could recognize it in the middle of hundreds.

'Let's not forget that you can feel it when he is close because of the bond.' My wolf rolls its eyes.

That too.

He is standing right on the other side of the tent and waiting silently. I don't dare to move a muscle. I can feel his impatience growing as he sighs loudly.

"Get out." He orders so low I don't think the others hear him.

Great. Just great.

I'm glued to my bed, gripping at the covers. Why did I have to be my usual stupid self and start new games of let's-see-if-my-red-eyes-work-through-metal.

"I'm sleeping." I pretend to mumble tiredly.

"Get out now." He hisses and I want to obey just for the hell of it.

"I'm tired. We'll talk tomorrow."

"I said now." He orders in his commanding voice, his words washing smoothly over my skin.

"Is it sunny outside ?" I question innocently.

"Hope." He warns.

"Then I'm not going anywhere." I state.

Even if I wanted to -which I don't because it's comfortable in here- I can't, the Moon is still singing in my ears.

Actually this is all her fault. I couldn't fall asleep because of her voice in my head and that's why I started to listen in on him. That's how we came to this. All. Her. Fault.

"I'm not joking around." Nate growls.

"Do you want me to leave you two alone." Leila asks annoyed beside me.

She hates being woken up for no reason just as much as I do. We make a really great cranky duo.

"This is not over." We hear Nate sigh as he goes back to his tent.

I mouth a silent 'thank you' and Leila turns back to sleep after making it obvious she finds this whole situation ridiculous by rolling her eyes my way.

I manage to sleep for a few hours but feel exhausted when I wake up. It takes me more than an hour to stir out of the fog clouding my head and even then I'm not completely awake. My arm is killing me which isn't making me happy either. Leila stays out of my way as soon as she sees my face and Nate outright ignores me while Xavier nods my way but keeps talking with a few vampires that have gathered around. I only start to smile when I finally see Nolan emerge from his house.

"Hello there." He greets us warmly. "I can't thank you enough for all your help."

"How are you feeling ?" Leila inquires immediately and a smile spreads on his face.

"Leila dear, you have to stop worrying so much. Nothing some blood can't heal." He continues when he sees her warning stare stating that she will take off his cloths to check out herself if he doesn't answer.

"Good." She nods.

"My son told me you want us to join your side." He says turning to the two boys.