Angry and scared, I hissed at the vampires before me and shot behind one of the water tanks.

What did mother mean when she said 'I do not blame you for what your family did' when she was addressing Zion and Chase? What did their family do?

The naive trust I once had in them disappeared in an instant, and I began to realise how stupid I was before.

I mean, two strangers walk into my life, and after they feed me, suddenly I put all my faith in them? Being deprived of another being's company for so long really did affect my rationality...

I don't even know anything about them! I know their names and their species, but I don't know know them. How could I have been so foolish? They even told me what they eventually desire, albeit Zion was more forward. Why does everybody just use me! I'm a person, not an object or a statistic in an experiment!

"Fabian? Please, why are you suddenly acting this way?" Chase's voice called out to me. A part of my desperately wanted to go over to him, and have him tell me everything would be okay. But I couldn't do it. I can't be fooled by his sweet talk again.

"Don't make me come over there and drag you out, little leopard, because I will. I'm not patient like Chase is, you're lucky I've held myself back this long." Zion's voice warned, his face coming into view. Showing your true colours again vampire, huh?

I hissed at him again, and he flashed his fangs at me in return.

"Don't try me, little one"

My hisses turned to chirps and I cowered away, frightened. I've never felt a vampire's bite, nor do I intent to. In that moment I felt conflicted. Fear tugged me further into the darkness, but it also pushed me towards the light, unsure of which outcome would result in the least pain.

I know they'd catch me eventually, of course I did. I couldn't climb the ladder back up to the ground floor as a leopard, and I'd be more vulnerable if I changed back. If I could change back at will, which I can't. Because I'm just another failed experiment.

I can't hide the fact that a large part of me just wants them to catch me quickly, so I can build up my trust in them from scratch again. But an even larger part scolds me for being so foolish.

"Zion. How many times do I need to tell you that threats don't build trust?" Chase scolded his brother quietly.

Ah, the master manipulater, who influences others with sweet talk, kind words and empty promises. He lulled me into a sense of security with his charms, charms that I won't fall for again.

"Please, Fabian. Trust me?" Chase's melodic voice soothed me, and I took a subconscious step forwards, but soon realised and scolded myself. So much for not falling for his charms again, Fabian!

"If you don't come here this instant, I will drag this tank out of the way and bend you over my lap once you turn back!" Zion seethed, pushing his brother out of the way and appearing before me once again.

Slowly, as promised when I didn't budge, the water tank began to slide away from the wall, and light shone down on me. I backed away further into the darkness, still chirping like a young leopard would for their mother. But mother isn't here to help me now.

"Are you going to be a good boy, or am I going to have to squeeze down there and get you?" Zion asked, not waiting long for an answer before he began to crawl towards me.

If I had been human and in a different situation, I'm pretty sure I would have laughed. The sight of Zion on all fours trying not to ruin the trousers of his suit was just too funny.

I hiccuped, surprising us both.

"Are you laughing at me, you damn fur-ball!" Zion fumed, making me shake and whimper again. The only thing that made me relax slightly was Chase's bellowing laughter. At least somebody found Zion's antics as funny as I did.

I unsheathed my claws and sliced through the air in warning, baring my own fangs at the vampire who was still crawling towards me. I know at some point I'll need them to get me upstairs, then afterwards I'm going to make a break for it. But I want Chase to carry me, not Zion.

My warnings didn't seem to faze Zion, his eyes just narrowed, as if to say that I better not try anything. Foolish vampire, never mess with an angry kitten.

I lashed out again, and this time, my claws connected with the solid mass that was Zion's face. He grunted and pulled back sharply, clutching his cheek. "Stupid boy! Now you're in for worse than a spanking!"

I took advantage of his distraction, scrambling onto a nearby box and then up onto the top of the water tank in an attempt to escape behind another. But I misjudged the situation, badly.

The lid of the tank wasn't closed like I thought - it was open. But the leap that was my forwards motion was too great to change direction, and I went headfirst into the icy water.

And I can't swim.