There's a heavy silence lingering in the air and our breaths seems to get thinner and thinner.

Alice's eyes are wide with fear and my announcement didn't exactly make things any better. Chase bends his head down to hers and whispers soothing words while squeezing her hand softly, and I look away, fearing of invading this intimate moment.

"Are you sure?" I turn around with eyes downcast and when I raise them I have to hold in the surprised scream. Drake is standing right in front of me, and his usual grey eyes are now burning red, filled with anger. I see his fists unclenching and clenching by his sides as he tries to control his outburst. A certain movement about his posture seems to have triggered something because Alice wiggles free from Chase's protective hold and steps in front of me, crossing her arms over her chest and staring up at Drake fiercely. The protective sister trigger has made her forget about any fears she had moments before and has given her the urge to protect me against whatever it is she thinks is danger.

"Watch your tone when you speak to my sister." She hisses, her voice coming out cold and deadly. I've never seen her this angry before. I thought that she would be scared of me, knowing that I just reached into her mind and looked without warning and with her and everyone here as a witness, but she seems to have forgotten about that altogether.

Drake snarls and bares his fangs, unable to control himself anymore. He lunges at Alice and she screams, but in a flash of movement he is tackled to the floor, throwing Chase off him again. Chase looks extremely pissed. They both stand upright and face each other off, hands balled at their sides and red eyes narrowed into slits.

"Keep away from her." Chase growls again, sending Drake flying across the room in a simple punch in the stomach. Drake is up instantly but his eyes are still completely crimson, and his muscles are tense all over. He looks terrifying, and is trembling with rage. I feel Alice tug at my sleeve. We barely make it to the door when three other vampires appear: Hunter looks extremely pissed, Jay looks interested with his head tilted to the side, but Caleb just looks amused, clapping his hands excitedly and jumping up and down like a little girl.

"Oh. My. God! I love man fights. It's so... sexy..." He lingers on the last word, his eyes following the two battling vampires. I restrain the urge to chuckle at Alice's baffled expression but this probably isn't the time. I have no idea how two vampires wanting to kill each other has him being completely calm, and even excited.

"Is he...?" Alice trails off and I nod my head, a small smile on my lips. She forms a long "oh" but Hunter's deep and commanding voice booms through the room and I swear that it trembles as I lean on Alice for support. I loose the smile immediately.

"What the hell are you two doing?" He growls, and everyone freezes as he takes another step into the quiet room. His eyes bore into the two who look utterly surprised as their eyes return to their normal colour. Drake looks around the room puzzled, as if he's got no idea what just happened. Chase shakes his head in confusion and groans as he drops to his knees. Alice runs over to him and cradles him in her arms, smoothing his hair down soothingly.

Without waisting a second Hunter is standing over by Drake, gripping his arm fiercely and talking to him animatedly, both with scary looks on their faces, leaving just Caleb, Jay and me.

Jay looks over at Alice and Chase with an expression that looks like... envy? Then, he turns his head and stares at me. I can feel his gaze on my face and I turn ten shades darker red, shifting uncomfortably on my feet. Caleb clears his throat, "So umm... I can sense a bit of a sexual tension so uhh... I'm just gonna leave you to do...that." He walks away awkwardly, throwing apologetical glances at me. At that moment, I seriously am thinking about killing him.

I snap my head back when I feel a soft touch feathering my cheek and is face to face with a toned muscled torso, wrapped in a loose tee-shirt. I bite my lip and crane my neck to look at him and he smiles slightly, watching my reaction. "Umm... I..." I mumble, taking a step back as Jay's eyes darken. I watch him with confusion.

"Why can't you just accept me?" He whispers, loud enough for only me to here amid the others still present in the room. I'm pretty sure that the boys could listen in if they wanted to, but, right now, they seem completely engulfed in their own little bubbles of discussions and fights.

"Because -" I hiss, lacking a bit of anger in my voice, "I'm not your possession. You can't just play around with me like some toy when you want to."

-I didn't mark you willingly that night." He says lowly, almost with regret. I shiver at the thought but he continues, his dark eyes turning into lighter shades by second. "It was an impulse, and I'm truly sorry that I couldn't stop it."

I don't say anything.

"Look at your sister." He continues, his eyes fleeting between my face and the couple. "She's with Chase: they're perfectly happy. He'd do anything for her and her for him."

My mind fills up with anger. "Don't you dare speak to me about my sister like you know her. Because you don't. You have no idea what's going on." I hiss, my hands shaking at my sides. He chuckles, which only makes matters worse. His laugh is annoyingly irresistible.

"I know more than you think." He replies, slightly mockingly. "I know that he's her beloved and that she's already marked, disguising it with the other bite from Eric." My eyebrows cross with confusion. What?

-Excuse me?" I ask, my voice going higher and beginning to tremble slightly.

-She. Is. Marked." He repeats, gazing over my features as if expecting an outburst from my part. I look hesitantly over at Alice whose gaze is still completely focused on a wavering Chase, gaining consciousness gradually.

I feel a pair of strong arms wrap around my waist and I lean on them for support, little splotches of black appearing and disappearing in my vision. Alice knew about Chase and what he was days before the attack at our house. She - she let him mark her. She probably also knew about him coming to me at the party.

"What's happening to her?" Hunter's voice echoes in my mind and I feel Jay's chest vibrate as he snarls, still holding me protectively in his arms. I feel at home. But totally out of place. I'm too tired to move, to think... I just want to leave reality and forget about everything that's going wrong in my confusing and shocking little world.

"I think she's taken too much in and is shocked. What did you tell her?" I can hear Alice's voice and instantly relax. "Here, let me hold her." Jay snarls again and I barely hear them exchanging furious words before I'm slowly being passed over to a pair of more fragile arms. My sister's hand trails over my face and she brushes it across my closed eyes like she used to when I was younger, calming my body. Slowly but certainly, a sense of lightness mixed with a dark feeling surges through me and I drift into a black hole of sleep.

...°...

My eyes flutter and the darkness fades away, opening up my vision. At first, I stare right into a mountain of silky drapes but when I battle against the weight and press the duvet down with my hands, I see the dark furniture and the deep red drapes, falling around the four-bed posters. I'm back in the bedroom.

"You're awake?" His voice rolls over me and I'm almost scared to admit that it's comforting. It sounds more like a statement than a question. I shift around so that my back is pressed against the head-board and my head snaps back, starring into a pair of golden brown eyes.

-Have I told you how beautiful you look when you wake up?" Jay whispers, sending chills through my body. They're not uncomfortable chills, even though I wish they were...

"Yeah right." I huff, "If greasy bed hair and stinky sweat is your definition of beautiful, then I'm glad to take your compliment." I declare sarcastically, but a smile still tugs at the corners of my lips. I try to force it down and Jay grins, leaning in closer so that his minty breath is fanning my neck. He traces a pattern up my neck and brushes his lips over mine, sending surges of electrifying delight up my spine.

Even though the idea of being destined for someone and not being able to do anything about it annoys me, I can't deny the reaction that my body gets to his presence close to me. I reach for his face to pull him closer but he pulls back teasingly, smirking. "Told you that you wouldn't be able to resist me." He teases in a light voice.

Realising my mistake that was purely an instinct, I blush a thousands shades of pink and turn my face away from him. I hear him laugh and in a second he's out of the room, leaving me buried in silky sheets, shame, and pure lust. I shake my head to clear my thoughts and take a deep breath, balling the sheets into my fists tightly. I need to get a shower, and then figure out what the hell is going on with all of this vampire hunter business. If something is threatening Alice and I, then I need to figure out what it is. At the back of my mind, there's a little sound that I try to suppress, whispering to me that whether I admit it or not I would also be sad if something happened to one of the guys.

Refusing to dwell on it any longer, I slide out of the comfortable bed almost reluctantly, and make my way to the en-suite bathroom. I open up the door to the luxurious room and quickly strip out of my sweaty night gown, clinging uncomfortably to my skin. I swear that I've been wearing that thing for two days in a row or something. It feels absolutely disgusting. I wonder why any of the guys haven't sprayed me with disinfectant by now.

I let my eyes wander over the beautiful room with wide eyes, taking in the marble floor and stone walls, white granite His and Hers counters with sinks, the double shower and the jacuzzi-styled bathtub in the corner. But what is even more impressive are the bouquets of blooming flowers of all sorts of vibrant colours, positioned on ever available counter space in the bathroom. Roses, lilies, daisies, jasmine and scented lavender brings a sweet aroma to my senses and it seems to fill the dull and imposing house with life.

I reach for the shower tap and turn on the hot water, watching the vapour filling the air with humidity. I climb into the glass cabinet and let my head fall back, welcoming the amazing warm sensation, washing all of my fears and worries away. I take a strawberry-scented body scrub and rub it all around my body, feeling it soften my skin immediately. Wait - Do they really use fruit-scented lotions? I laugh to myself and massage a new layer of shampoo into my scalp, revelling in the feeling of finally being clean again. My muscles that were aching relax, and my skin seems to be singing in wonderful softness.

"What's so funny?" I suddenly stiffen, feeling fear cover my body in trembles. The voice that spoke is unknown to me and a shaking sensation takes a toll on me. The dark grey curtain is still pulled across, but I can see a dark shadow behind it. I turn off the water and wrap a fluffy white towel around me, that was - conveniently - hung on the inside of the shower wall, reaching for the curtain. Before I can reach it, it's pulled away and I look straight into the face that I've been replaying over and over in my head.

He reaches for me and I scream at the top of my lungs.

...°...

A/N: oops, a cliff hanger *hehe*, but it had to be done and I just love making you angry for more :)

Nah just kidding! This update is longer than usual (not much though) but I want to repay you back from the short chapter and the missing updates this week.

Can you guess who this strange man is? And come on... A bit pervy to sneak up on a girl taking a shower right?

Anyways.... hope you enjoyed :-)

-Sophia xoxo