Being grounded sucked. After I get out of school, I go sit in my room all night and text. And the only people texting me back are Jackson and Taylor. Kayla and Lisa have been going out on dates a lot more frequently. They've gotten into internet dating and no matter how often I bring up the dangers of it, they insist that it's working. I guess I should just be happy that they take each other to the dates, but I'm not. I worried about them until they texted and said they were home again.

Jackson was still upset that I'd gotten grounded and felt like it was his fault. I explained to him that we both carried some responsibility for falling asleep and that we can't go back and change it. Rafe started getting impossible to deal with after only a day and a half, so Jackson had a habit of coming after school just to say hello and give me a hug and kiss. I couldn't stay with him, as much as I wanted to, because I only had twenty minutes to get home after the bell.

I had asked him why Rafe was freaking out and he'd explained to me that werewolves didn't like being away from their mates for very long, that it can actually hurt to be away from them for too long. He explained that due to some werewolf technicalities, which he still hasn't explained, he's not actually in pain from being away from me, but that he and Rafe get very anxious the longer we're apart and that Rafe is extra protective because of the run in with Bane and the fact that I'm human.

I asked him what the technicalities were, but he said we'd talk about it another time. I don't know about anyone else, but when two people refuse to explain them to me, I start to get a little worried. I wondered worriedly if it was somewhere along the lines of me having to be changed into a werewolf or something. Not that it wouldn't be cool to be a werewolf, but I'm not sure how I'd react to something like that.

I mean, I've seen Jackson go back and forth with Rafe and I'm not sure I'd enjoy having another consciousness in my body. Especially since Jackson said that if he and Rafe get angry enough, Rafe could take over and that can be dangerous. "Not for you, obviously," he'd added quickly. "No matter how angry Rafe was, his number one desire is to protect you."

Either way, I don't think I would like it.

"Ceci!" my mom's voice rang up the stairs as I was staring at my phone, waiting for the verdict on Kayla's date for the evening and for Jackson to get off patrol.

Groaning, I pulled myself out of bed and headed down to the kitchen where she was waiting for me. She smiled at me when I walked in and motioned for me to come over to the counter. When I did as I was told, she started to speak.

"Okay, I need you to go to the grocery store for me and get some biscuits. I've already got everything going and I can't leave it," she said to me, her eyes pleading. "The only catch is that you absolutely must be home before your father.

I laughed at her. She knew that my dad wouldn't let me run this errand for her. Glancing at the clock, I realized that I had an hour and a half before he would be home. It was Friday, and most people would be ungrounded today, but my dad had this thing about me being grounded for exactly a week. So, technically, I'm still grounded until tonight at one in the morning. My mom, however, was a little more sensible. And desperate. She took pride in her cooking and couldn't stand not having biscuits of some kind with a large meal like this.

She handed over a twenty dollar bill and her car keys, explaining that if I took her car and my dad came home early, my car wouldn't still be warm. She was paranoid, but I just laughed and accepted the money and keys. I highly doubted that my dad was going to check my car to see if it's been driven recently when he gets home, but I don't mind wasting my mom's gas instead of mine.

I happily texted Jackson about my brief outing as I climbed into the car, knowing he'd be back from patrol anytime. He didn't disappoint. He responded before I left the driveway with a congratulatory text and many happy emoticons. He never used them until I told them that I liked them and now he uses them almost every time that he sends me a text message.

The grocery store was only five minutes away, but I took my time, enjoying this first small bit of freedom. I parked in the lot across from the store and walked past the alley and across the road to find some biscuits.

I smiled and waved to some kids from school that worked inside as I walked by them, heading to the coolers where the canned biscuits were kept. Crescent rolls or biscuits? She hadn't specified which and since I didn't think she'd care either way, I picked my favorite: crescent rolls.

I strolled through the store, taking the long way to the register. The cashier, a young girl named Cassie, greeted me and I replied in kind. She's a year below me in school, making her a junior.

"How've you been, Ceci?" she asked me as she scanned the rolls.

I made a face. "Grounded. My mom sent me out for crescent rolls and it's the first time I've been out of the house since last Friday."

She made a sympathetic face as she bagged my meager groceries and I handed over the twenty, not needing her to tell me the total. "That really sucks. At least your mom let you out for this."

I nodded in agreement and said goodbye. I grabbed my bag and started making my way back to the car. As I walked past the service alley again, a strong hand wrapped around my elbow and my shoulder was wrenched as I was thrown into the darkness of the alley.

Gasping in shock, I let go of the back of groceries and tried to catch myself on the dirty cement. It scraped skin off my hands and knees, but I ignored it as I stood and turned to face my attacker. I was surprised to see that Bane had decided to pay me another visit. In an alley. Alone.

I guess we were wrong about him backing off after the last time that Jackson kicked his ass. My only hope was that I could fight my way out of this alone and let Jackson know about it. Reaching into my back pocket, I hit speed dial 2, calling Jackson. I left it there so that I didn't draw attention to it.

"Hello, kitten," Bane purred, his voice sending shivers down my spine. And not the good ones that Jackson's voice always seemed to cause.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Bane Drabek," I stated confidently. I'd been taught that if you acted confident it could throw off your attacker and make him second guess himself. I could only hope that it would work. Yeah...Right.

Bane chuckled. "Someone's awfully confident today," he sneered.

I shrugged, continuing the façade even though it didn't seem to be working on him. "Last time I saw you, my boyfriend kicked your ass."

Bane glared at me. It seemed I'd dried up his amusement with one short statement. "I don't see your boyfriend anywhere around, kitten. Who's going to save you this time?" He advance quickly, shoving me up against the wall.

I brought my knee up, aiming for his gonads, but he'd learned from the last time I'd done that and blocked me with a knee. Changing tactics, I reared back and head-butted him in the nose. It was the truth that no one wins with a head-butt, I thought as Bane growled in pain, stumbling away from me as I held a hand to my throbbing forehead. When he pulled his hand away, his nose was bloody but I don't think I'd managed to break it. Werewolves are just too hard-headed. My aching head could confirm that.

He snarled as he came at me again. I managed to dodge to the side and land a solid punch to his side, but I felt like a gnat. My punches didn't seem to hurt him, only annoy him further. I kept trying anyway, hoping that Jackson was on his way.

I did a good job dodging his hits for a while, but eventually, he came at me low. I lashed out with my foot, and he smirked evilly as he caught it and twisted, sending me crashing to the cement with a pain grunt, skin scraping away from my cheek.

He didn't waste any time and was on me in a second. He flipped me over and pinned my arms to my sides with his knees, sitting on my thighs. Knowing I was pinned, he looked around in an exaggerated motion, obviously amused. "Hmm, I don't see your boyfriend coming to your rescue this time, kitten. I think you're coming home with me."

I heard a snarl from my left, but it wasn't a werewolf snarl. It was more cat-like. It was one of the strangest sounds I'd ever heard and hard to describe. Before I could even glance in the direction of the noise, a tall, lean body knocked Bane off me and they went rolling across the alley, trading punches and kicks as they went.

There was only one though revolving in my mind as I watched them in shock. Who and what was my savior?

I skittered back against a wall of the alley to get out of the way of the fight and pulled my knees up to be chest. I watched the fight worriedly, silently rooting for the tall and lanky stranger. Then I remembered my phone. I scrambled around on my hands and knees until I found it laying farther down the alley.

Picking it up, I noticed that Jackson was still on the line. I held it to my ear. "Jackson?" I asked, wondering if he was actually there or if he'd dropped his phone in his rush to come to me.

"Cecilia! Thank you, God! Are you okay? What happened? Where's Bane?" he asked all in one breath.

If this situation weren't so serious I might have laughed at that. Instead, I answered his questions. "I'm a little scraped up, but otherwise I'm fine. Bane is currently occupied with a lanky stranger that decided to save me."

"Lanky stranger?" Jackson asked, not sounding any calmer, even after I told him that I'd been rescued. Apparently, he didn't want anyone near me right now.

"Yeah," I replied. "I have no idea who or what he is, but," I checked on him, "he's kicking Bane's ass."

The stranger had Bane pinned to the pavement in much the same way that he'd done to me and was repeatedly punching him in the face. I was a little worried that he might kill him, but after a couple more punches, Bane stopped moving, out cold, and the stranger wiped his hands on his jeans before turning to face me.

I gasped in shock as I got a good look at his face. "X-Xavier?" I stuttered in surprise, unable to believe my eyes. I hadn't seen my cousin in ages, and he comes back and beats the living daylights out of an alpha werewolf?

He smiled gently. "Hey, Ceci," he greeted me. "It's been a while. Are you okay?"

I nodded in response, my face still locked in shock. My cousin had just taken down an alpha werewolf, and had a pretty easy time of it, too. "How did you do that?" I asked of him.

A voice in my ear reminded me that I was still on the phone. "Celia? Who's Xavier?"

"Um, he's my cousin," I answered him distractedly. "And the stranger I told you about. I get ungrounded tonight. Come pick me up in the morning?"

He growled. "I'm almost there!"

I smiled a little but said, "I don't want to get in any more trouble. I promise you that I'm fine. I'll see you in the morning, okay?"

He sighed and grumbled a little bit before saying, "Fine, but your little ass better be up and ready to go at six."

I glared at nothing. "Eight," I declared.

"Six."

"Seven?" I tried in my most pleading voice. I hated waking up early.

He sighed. "Fine, seven. But don't blame me if I show up early."

I laughed a little bit. "I'll see you in the morning, Jackson."

His voice noticeably softened and he replied, "I'll see you in the morning, Cecilia. Stay safe for me."

I put my phone in my pocket and looked back up at Xavier. "Boyfriend?" he asked.

I nodded. "How did you take down Bane?" I asked.

"You know him?" Xavier asked with a grimace. I nodded. "You know...what he is?" he asked cautiously.

My jaw dropped. "Do you know what he is?" I asked him.

Xavier raised an eyebrow. "I'm going to assume that we both know exactly what that asshole is. My question, however, is how do you know what he is?"

I glared at him. "You first."

Xavier sighed and rolled his eyes. "You're just as stubborn as I remember."

I laughed at that, unable to help it. Reaching forward, I pulled him into a tight hug. He'd been my best friend when we were little and I had hated it when he had moved away. "I've missed you," I told him as I released him from the bear hug we'd both been equal participants in.

"I've missed you too, Ceci," he replied.

I smiled and stared at him in expectation.

Sighing, he gave in. Running a hand through his hair, he said quickly, "I'm a vampire."

I raised my eyebrows. Was that even possible? I mean, we are related and I'm not a vampire. "Were you adopted?" I asked.

He laughed, his head thrown back, and a tear escaping his eye. When he calmed down, he shook his head. "No, I'm not adopted, Ceci."

I furrowed my eyebrows as I tried to think of another explanation. I hadn't talked with Jackson about other supernatural creatures, yet, so I didn't have anything other than superstition to go on. "Were you, like, turned or something?" I asked.

He shook his head again. "No. I was born a vampire. Your parents don't realize it, but they, and you for that matter, have dormant vampire genes."

I stared at him, uncomprehendingly. I had no idea what the hell he was saying. "What does that even mean?" I asked him.

He smiled. "It means that you have the genes to become a vampire, but you're not a vampire. You're completely human at the moment. You could easily be turned, but dying would also trigger the change."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "So, like, if I die of old age, I'll come back to life as a vampire?" I just needed a little clarification on this topic.

Xavier shook his head. "If you died of old age, you would stay dead. There would be nothing there to trigger the genes. You would have to die of unnatural causes to trigger your vampire genes. Vast amounts of fear or pain before death will trigger them."

Well, this was certainly new. I wasn't sure I could wrap my mind around it at the moment. Remember how I said that I wasn't sure if I would want to become a werewolf because I would have another consciousness in my head? Well, I'm not sure I want to be a vampire either. I don't want to crave blood. "I think I'm going to do my best to die of old age," I decided.

My statement made Xavier laugh again. "Being a vampire isn't all bad," he told me. "I like it. Now, can I get another hug?"

I pursed my lips and gave him a speculative glance. "I don't know. Are you going to eat me?"

He gave me an exasperated look. "Really?"

I smiled a little. It was a stupid question, but one I couldn't resist asking him to see his reaction. I hadn't seen him since I was twelve and there was no way that I'd say no to another hug. Besides, if he hadn't eaten me when we were children, I doubt he would now. So, I threw myself in his arms one more time.

He laughed at my exuberance and spun me around like a little kid. With one last tight squeeze, he put me back on my feet and gave me his trademark grin.

"Do you wanna come home with me? We can tell my mom you saved me from a mugger."

He nodded. "Sure, that would be great. I was going to stop by later anyway." He bent over to grab my scattered groceries and threw an arm around my shoulders. "Lead the way."

He'd been walking when he came by the alley, so he climbed into the car with me to go back to my house. On the way, I peppered him with questions. "How have you been aging? Aren't vampires immortal and un-aging?"

"We age until we're about twenty and then we stop."

"How often do you have to drink blood?"

"A small amount every day is perfect, but we can function normally with twice a week."

"Where do you get it? Do you, like, attack people or go to blood banks?"

This question made him laugh. "A little of both actually."

I gave him a suspicious look. "You don't kill them, do you?"

I could tell that he was enjoying my questioning. He shook his head to answer my question, chuckling slightly.

"Do I smell like dinner?" I asked curiously.

Shaking his head, he tried to calm his laughter before answering. "You smell delicious-like strawberries-but I can also smell your dormant vampire genes and they're quite the turn-off."

I was strangely glad that I smelled good, but I was also thankful that my dormant genes protected me from any hungry vampires. The last thing I needed was to become dinner.

"So what about werewolves?" I asked. "Do you hate each other?"

He smiled. "Pretty much."

That worried me. I didn't want Jackson to be upset with me or decide he didn't want me because I had dormant vampire genes. Maybe I just wouldn't tell him. I wasn't ever planning to activate them, so did he really need to know? He would probably just assume that Xavier was turned, not born.

"I sure enjoyed beating the shit out of that alpha back there." Xavier's voice pulled me out of my thoughts as he continued.

I grinned, remembering the beat down. "Should've punched him a few more times," I said. "He's a real douche bag."

Xavier gave me a surprised glance. "You know him that well?'

I shrugged. "Kind of. My boyfriend, Jackson, is the beta of the pack here. He's rivals with Bane and Bane has taken an unhealthy interest in me."

"Okay, let's back up," Xavier said. "You're mated to a werewolf?"

I cringed at the tone of his voice. I should've know that he probably wouldn't like that considering he'd just told me that vampires and werewolves hated each other. I nodded.

His nose scrunched up in disgust, but he didn't pursue the topic. He was probably saving it for later, or, if I was lucky, deciding to let it go. "And this Bane guy has taken an 'unhealthy interest' in you?" he asked. "What, exactly, do you mean by that?"

"Well, it's kind of a long story if you want to fully understand everything that's happened lately," I hedged, not sure how he would react to the happenings of the past month.

Xavier raised an eyebrow and looked out the window. We were about two minutes from my house. "Shorten it. You can give me a detailed explanation tonight, but I want to know what happened in that alley."

I decided to just tell him about Bane and save the Jackson stuff for later. "The first time that I met him was in the pavilion at the beach when I went to the bathroom. He came on to me and when I didn't reciprocate, he got a little hands on, if you know what I mean."

Judging by the harsh and angry expression on Xavier's face, he knew exactly what I meant. His face was hard as stone and he was glaring out the windshield. "What happened?" his tone was clipped, angry, just like every other part of him at the moment.

"I yelled and Jackson came in and beat the living daylights out of him," I told him. "We both thought that he would leave me alone after that, but he didn't, apparently."

As we pulled into the driveway, Xavier said, "You shouldn't go anywhere by yourself until we get this sorted out. Make sure that your boyfriend or I am with you."

I snorted at his overprotective behavior. "I am well trained in fighting and self-defense, you know," I retorted as I pulled the keys out of the ignition.