Dr Redi slung me over one shoulder, and my mother over the other. She was still sobbing uncontrollably through the gag, mumbling something to herself over and over again.

I let my tense body slump over in defeat as we were carried away, no doubt back to the research facility. And I'll never see Chase and Zion again...

Wait. My bracelet!

I've always worn a bracelet made of green stones, as my mother had given it to me when the leap took me in. It was held together with an elastic material, so when I shift it doesn't break. I could use it to let Chase and Zion know where I am!

I brought my wrist the my mouth, chewing though the elastic. I gave my mother and apologetic look, before dropping two of the stones, along with the elastic, in the hope that the twins would recognise it as mine. It pained me to do so, but if it led them to me and mother, it'll have been worth it

I then began to suck on the stones to make my scent stronger before I dropped one every so often, leaving a trail for them to follow. Every time I dropped one, I prayed silently that Dr Redi wouldn't hear the clatter on the woodland floor.

I also prayed that they would be visible to Chase and Zion, either that or my scent was strong enough to lead them to me.

All too soon, we arrived at a small cabin, hidden between the trees. Once we were inside, Dr Redi threw my mother and I on the floor, and somebody else shut and locked the door behind us.

The doctor turned to the man who had locked the door. "Go ahead, introduce yourself to subject 17" he said, giving me a sly grin at his term for me. Asshole.

"Hello, Fabian" the man said, crouching down before me. I couldn't help the small smile that formed on my face at hearing him call me by my actual name. He looked not much older than me, his warm brown eyes seemingly analysing my dull green ones. "My name is Lukah, and I'm just like you"

I recoiled when he told he his name, memories of what I had heard of Lukah coming flooding back to me.

He broke Zion's heart, as well as my mother's when he left the leap. But the man before me didn't seem like he had it in him to hurt a fly...

"We could be friends, you and me. I just need a small favour from you, okay Fabian?" He smiled, and I found myself nodding, willing to agree to whatever he wanted.

"I think you should stop playing with him, Lukah. Tell him what you did to his second hand family"

The innocent smile disappeared from Lukah's face, replaced my a twisted grin I couldn't even have imagined on his kind face previously. It chilled me, knowing this man could put on a kind facade so effectively.

"Oh yeah, that. Well, I may have been responsible for the vampires invading your leap's home. See, when I heard you'd gone walkies from the lab, I guessed instantly that the leap I was once with were sheltering you. So I told a clan of vampires in the slave trade your location, and off they went, but I made it clear that the oldest female belonged to Doctor Redi, and that they should capture her but give her back to us as payment for revealing your location. Pretty smart, huh? Except we never found you"

"You're sick! How could you do that to so many innocents!" I yelled back, rising to my feet. "You let them get sold into the vampire slave trade, even the children?!"

Lukah shrugged. "Most of them. We kept some of the children, as well as your precious second mother, for our analysis. We kept them to see what triggers the change, so we don't have anymore failures like you"

My blood began to boil at his comment. "How can you live with that?! Knowing you split a whole family and experimented on their children! It's not right!" I sobbed, stomping my feet like a child having a tantrum.

"Oh Fabian, didn't I tell you we could be friends? I meant what I said, you know. And we can fix your faulty genes if you'll allow us. All I ask is that you do what Doctor Redi and the others tell you to, and you'll even get your own private room! Is it really so bad, being able to shift into a leopard the way you can? Is it really so wrong to give others the same ability? Maybe you're just selfish, wanting to be the only one who has been given what you have? Huh?" Lukah said, looking at me like I was dog shit on his shoe.

I ignored him, turning to Dr Redi. "Why would a vampire like you want any part in this? Why would you care if their are more shifters? Aren't you worried that we'd become a threat to vampires? Or is it the money you care about?" I asked curiously, my fear and anger momentarily forgotten in my curiosity.

Dr Redi smirked, turning to look at me directly.

"My dear boy, don't you understand? Money is a material possession that I have too much of, and unlike your foolish maker father, I do not care for it all that much, though it is nice to have. What I want is a wider slave market for vampires since it is difficult to tame wild shifters like those at your leap. But at the HTL, we can train youngsters from birth to be the perfect slaves, and the older ones will be a refreshing source of blood. Leopard blood is the best kind, you should know that. That's probably why the Dragomir's keep you around, after all"

"Oh, you don't need to explain anything to him. He wouldn't possibly understand" Lukah interrupted, his tone mocking.

Dr Redi shot him a glare. "I shall tell him what I wish Lucas, it's not like he's ever going to leave the HTL once he's back inside it's walls. I'll make damn sure of it"

Lukah's eyes narrowed. "Don't call my by that name. That's the name my mother gave me, and I do not wish to be connected to such a pitiful being"

Dr Redi blanked him, obviously used to his tantrums, turning his attention to me. "It's time to take your medicine" he grinned, and before I could blink, a needle was injected into my arm, making my world turn black.