In an instant the kitchen is buzzing with movement as Jay gets into motion and the other vampires do the same, leaving only Alice and I facing each other silently in the midst of the chaos. Every sliver of the moment Jay and I shared seems to have evaporated from his mind as he speaks urgently with Hunter. Both sets of eyes are glowing red. When I look to Caleb I'm shocked to see that his baby blue eyes have turned into a crimson colour as well, giving him a deadly look. It's disconcerting, seeing a guy who's usually so happy and bubbly getting ready to possibly kill.

"Let's go." Hunter then says, cutting through the chaos of noise as the vampires lock up the house from the inside. They don't want to come back to a house crawling with vampire hunters. We set off, and I stay close to Jay's form who's walking right alongside Hunter's imposing one. Soon, we reach the end of the corridor that I had deemed to be a dead-end yesterday. That day seems miles away now.

In one expert move Hunter places one hand on the wall and presses in. The square around his hand dents into the wall like a button having been pressed, and soon the wall slides open to reveal a spiralling staircase going downwards into the darkness. Alice and I look at each other with worry and when I turn back again to face the staircase I gulp. The walls are made of pure stone, and it looks like it's been pulled straight out of the Middle Ages. Then again, that's exactly the time period that I know Hunter's from. Silently we all curve down the stairs until we reach the bottom. Then we follow another stone-walled corridors, torching lighting up the sides as we go. After what feels like eternity but is actually one a couple of minutes in this narrow and low-ceiling space where we're all packed tightly together, we finally reach a metal-bolted wooden door. It looks immensely heavy, but Hunter lifts the metal barrier up that's securing it in place, before pushing the door open effortlessly. The corridor is flooded with light as we step out from the side of the hill under which the corridor is located. I turn around and look up, momentarily blinded from the sharp light of the morning sky, before noticing the huge mansion on the top of the hill, looking over the dark forest regally. That's where we're staying. I never knew it was so big.

The grey sky above us is decorated with heavy clouds, and I feel the first spit of rain on my bare arms, a shiver passing through me. Of course I forgot a jumper. Jay must notice, because he slides off his signature leather jacket that he'd grabbed before heading out, and hands it to me without a word. His dark eyes speak louder though. I smile softly at him with gratitude and slide my arms into the jacket, revelling in the warmth it gives me against the cold chill of outside winter air. I can't help but notice the delicious smell coming from the leather, and immediately associate it to Jay. When I look up again I see Hunter watching us closely with glowing red eyes, before ripping his gaze away from us without a word.

I frown in confusion. I don't have time to dwell on it much though, because suddenly Jay has lifted me up and placed me on his back, and I instinctively wrap my arms and legs around him to secure myself without thinking much about it, noticing how Alice has done the same with Chase. Drake, Caleb and Hunter briefly exchange a few words, and then we're off in an inhuman speed, soaring through the overlapping trees.

...°...

I get why they call it the Dark Lane. As we walk up another hill, the first trees come into sight. Dark clouds linger in the cold sky above and a frozen wind blows across the swaying dead grass, sending painful whistles in my ears. I can see Alice's discomfort as well as she clings to Chase's side, but the vampires seem otherwise unaffected. The ground stretches out miles into flat emptiness and rows of trees incircle it far away. But what only ads to the gloom of this place is the bunch of dark-clothed people, standing tense a few feet away. There must be at least thirty of them, young men and women, each one carrying the same long stake with the unrecognisable pattern twirling around it.

Jay growls besides me and without warning, slides his cold hand unconsciously in mine. I bite my lip and smile slightly, remembering our "nearly-kiss" before the interruption. Jay had been pissed after that. Still is apparently. But there's more to this piercing look. I squint my eyes in attempt to follow his gaze and gasp when I see the same dirty-blond tuff of hair, easily distinguishable from the rest of the group. Jay instantly pulls me into his side, glaring at the hunter that had attacked me this morning in the bathroom.

"What a surprise!" An unfamiliar voice booms. I see Hunter step forward tensely, at the same time as a middle-aged looking man with grey streaks in his light hair. I recognise him instantly. Step forward and fight like a...well...vampire.

Jay notices my discomfort and looks down at me with a soft expression, evaporating his dark look that he was wearing moments before.

"What the hell do you want?" Hunter growls suddenly, brushing away his attempts of being civilised. This matter obviously disturbs him a lot. This man gave Hunter that haunting scar on his face, and that gives him every reason to not exactly be pleasant. The man chuckles, and I can suddenly see the resemblance to my attacker. His dad?

"Now, now... let's not get snappy." The old man declares with amusement. His son laughs along with him, as well as a few other hunters, making everyone on our side tense up. 'If it's going to get dirty, it may even be a hard fight,' I think, glancing back at the sharpness of the weapons. They look completely and utterly deadly.