Title:Dark Angel
Author:Tapestry
Email:Shaddow_Cat@hotmail.com
Rating:R
Standard Disclaimer Apply
* denotes mind speaking
19/10/02

AN: SailorMoon characters belong to Naoko Takeuchi.
The vampire's abilites are based on Christine Feehan's Dark Series.

"Woman was created from the ribs of man
Not from his head to top him
Nor from his feet to be walked upon
She was made from his side to be his equal
From beneath his arms to be protected
From very near his heart to be loved."
--Anonymous--

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He was of a dark and ancient race on the verge of extinction,
She was a mortal thriving on the light and beauty of the world,
They met on a night of unspeakable horror...
With her strange abilities, she ensnared him in a web of desire even as
their souls called out to each other,
Promising eternity and a passion more fulfilling than anything on earth.


  ~ Chapter 8: Mortal Dangers ~

  As the sun began its slow descent, a heart deep beneath the earth
stuttered and began to beat. Blood began to flow through the veins as the 
heart thudded a steady rhythm.

  A dark haired elegantly dressed man burst from the soil, imaculate and 
clean despite his recent time in the earth. He sent his senses to sweep 
the grounds. His unit reported themselves before taking their leave. He 
sensed his human servants moving about the house, heard the conversations. 
His mind then found the tiny figure huddled in a bed, sleeping.
  Hunger raged through him. But it was not a hunger for blood.

  Serena awoke to the erotic and sensual sensation of kisses and
caresses of gentle and tender hands. A moan escaped her mouth before it 
was muffled by a hungry mouth. She felt seeking hands on her flesh 
beneath her oversized cotton T-shirt.
  Her eyes met turbluent blue eyes dark with hunger. A purr left her 
throat as she stretched and flexed her body beneath the caressing hands. 
Watched as his eyes deepened, turning them almost black.

  "Darien..."

  Her hands brushed his face tenderly, losing themselves in his thick
black hair.
  "My love..." he grinned, brushing her lips with a butterfly kiss before 
claiming them. His large hand encircled her throat, stroking the 
fluttering pulse lovingly.

  The strength in his one hand could crush her throat and yet, were so
gentle. Loving and knowing. Heat gathered at the pit of her belly. His
hands stroking her body even as his mouth devoured hers, making her
restless and aching.
  "Darien....please,"

  "Easy, baby..." he smiled that devil smile of his. Watched as he lowered 
his head, kissing down her body. Watched the fascinating way his clothes 
disappeared from his body with a single thought.

  He returned to her, nipping her ear the lapping a soothing caress over 
her ear with his tongue. Heard his loving words is a strange language 
that he muttered hoarsely within her ear. But she understood the last 
three he uttered before she could no longer think....

  "I love you..." he whispered, panting. She was lost after that, 
keening a soulful cry as her lover claimed her...


  He took her twice more before letting the both of them out of bed. 
Once slow and tender, making her want to scream, and once fast and hard, 
making the both of them scream.
  She sat curled in a big old chair by the fireplace, enjoying the 
warmth of the fire and the pleasant ache of her body. Darien had left for 
the night to feed and scour the city for clues to his brother's whereabouts.

  It wasn't long before she fell into a light sleep.


  A cruel face swam before her mind. She sensed his hatred, his 
sadistic and perverted nature. He was a man who enjoyed the suffering 
of others and wanted absolute control over women.
  Serena tossed restlessly. Greedy grasping fingers reached for her...

  She awoke with a scream.


  Darien who was on the other side of the city felt the fear that slammed 
into him. Knew the origin of it. Immediately, he searched her mind for 
the source of the fear, calming himself when he realized she had merely 
awoken from a nightmare.
  Inhaling deeply, he reached for her through their mind bond. Matching 
his breathing and beating heart to hers and to slowly calm the rapidly
functioning organs to a slower pace.

  Across the city within the mansion, Serena felt her heart and breathing 
slow to a calm steady rhythm. Felt strong invisible arms envelope her as 
warmth and love flooded her being. A small tender smile touched her lips.
  If she ever lived to a hundred, she would never forget this. She would 
still always love him merely because of who he was and what he stood for.
  He was a dark angel in the night, bringing justice to those who 
threathened mortals and immortals alike. He was HER dark angel...

  *You make me a humble man, baby. I am no angel, but I am flattered you 
think so highly of me.*
  *And you think so low of yourself.*
  *I am none of the good things you think me, beloved. I have centuries
worth of blood on my hands.*
  *Only of those who are twisted, rotten and evil. Give yourself more
credit for who you are, Darien...*

  She felt his smile, felt fingers brush her chin lovingly.

  *If you desired it, baby...I would lay the world at your feet. I 
would be your dark angel.*

  Serena could only wonder how her little cup of happiness could contain 
all he gave her. *You already are, Darien. I love you...*

  Darien felt his heart turn over in response. It was times like these 
he could believe his soul wasn't dark and dangerous. Hungry for blood at 
all times.
  *You bring a light, brighter than the sun into my life...*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Darien was winging through the night when a surge of hatred hit him,
almost knocking him out of the sky in surprise. He frowned and concentrated.
  It was Dylan, but the hatred was not directed at him. It was directed at 
a young human couple.
  He sensed his brother's bitterness at young lovers and his unsatisfied 
hunger for death and blood. His brother was in a blood frenzy. Darien 
wondered, if Dylan had sensed his presence yet.

  He landed while Dylan was about to sink his fangs into the terrified
man's throat. The disturbance caused Dylan to lift his head and snarl in 
rage.

  "Hello, Darien." came the greeting in an almost sardonic manner
bordering on contempt.

  Darien did a quick scan on the girl, releasing his breath in relief when 
he realized the girl was merely unconscious from fright.
  "Dylan."

  The man in Dylan's clutches whimpered in fear. With a wave of Darien's 
hand, the man was silenced. The human's gaze glazed over, a peaceful look 
stealing over his face. Darien had put the man into a trance.

  Dylan snarled and shoved the man away angrily.

  "You are interupting my meal, brother."

  "It's over, Dylan. Justice has found you. Let me send you to rest. 
Bring peace to you." murmured Darien hypnotically. He used the purity 
of his voice to manipulate, embedding a good compulsion within the words.

  Dylan's eyes glazed slightly before they flamed a blood red. Shaking 
his head, Dylan hissed. "You underestimate me, Darien. I'm offended. 
I would have thought you'd try a different approach. I am no fledgling 
to fall for your tricks. You disappoint me."

  "It doesn't matter. You're no longer my brother. He is gone from this
earth. You are merely the monster within."

  "Oooh, have you been listening to your little human mate?" taunted Dylan, 
an evil grin lifting his lips.

  Darien frowned.
 
  Then, all hell broke loose.

 
  Dylan launched himself into the air straight towards Darien,
shape-shifting in mid air into a huge black wolf. Bones cracking and 
muscles contorting to accomodate the shape. A muzzle took shape, bursting 
with snapping teeth as the animal sprang at him, aiming for the belly.

  Darien barely managed to step back in time from the attack. It had been 
luck that had kept his brother from laying his belly wide open. Not to be 
outdone, Darien shape-shifted as well, his form that of an identical huge 
black wolf with blue eyes.

  He met the next attack, head on.

  The wolves snapped and snarled at each other. Each animal trying to
inflict more wounds on the other.
  Blood spurted from wounds as both fought viciously.

  Black clouds rolled overhead as the wind howled whipping thin branches 
and plants, sending leaves whirling and keeping any other human from the 
battle ground. The weather made sure any human about would scurry home to 
safety from the oncoming storm.
  Veins of lightning crackled above, jumping from cloud to cloud. Building 
in strength overhead.


  Serena heard the faint rumble of thunder and frowned, her eyes drawn
to the black weather outside the mansion. Watched as the wind picked up 
in intensity and strength.
  She worried for Darien, every instinct in her being screaming that he 
was in danger. Standing by the large picture window, she peered out into 
the night. Something was terribly wrong....the storm couldn't be occuring 
naturally.
  Rubbing her head, Serena could not dismiss her fears for Darien. He was 
in trouble. She tried to call to him, merge her mind with his to warn him. 
But he was blocking her atempts. Had cut himself off from her.

  Her fear escalated.

  *Darien....where are you?? Are you safe? God, please let this be my
imagination.*


  He heard her mind cry. Her being crying out for his touch, for reassurance 
that he was safe. Shutting out his thoughts, he did the hardest thing he 
had ever done in his life. He cut himself off from Serena. He would not 
expose her to the horror and danger of battling the undead.
  Did not want her to see the brutality of his life, nor the horrors that he 
had to face, within as well as without.

  *Serena...*


  Dylan snarled in fury as his claw-like hand went into a wide arc, barely 
missing Darien.
  The battle raged furiously. The weather matching the brutal display of 
the 'vampires'. Lightning slammed into the earth, blackenning the earth. 
The ground rolled beneath their feet at the anger and hatred of the men. 
Rain pelted the earth, pouring from the heavens, making the weather treacherous 
to any who dared venture out into the roiling black storm.

  It was then when Darien suddenly felt the first faint traces of
uneasiness seeping into his mind from his link to Serena. Fear slammed into 
him, enabling Dylan to score a hit against him.

  "You were off-guard, Darien." murmured his twin. "What's wrong?" he 
hissed tauntingly.

  Darien crouched in a defensive position, his body aching. He felt weak, 
his lifeblood seeping from his body. But he had to get back to Serena...and 
at the same time, he couldn't leave Dylan to terrorize the populace. He felt 
as if he was being torn into two. Something was threathening Serena.

  The mind merge was so swift, so sudden, Darien had no time to block his 
twin's entry into his mind. Knew his undead brother would know all he was 
thinking and feeling.

  *What a predicament you are in, brother. Which shall you choose?? Battle 
and attempt to destroy me? Or do you return to your lifemate to protect her 
from whatever threat she is facing?*

  Darien snarled in warning, red flames rising within his blue eyes. The 
predator in him was growling, his every instinct to rush back to Serena's 
side. Nothing must harm her lest humanity paid the price.

  "You know which you will choose, Darien. Your first duty and obligation 
is to your lifemate. You know that....why care for any of these humans? 
They are expendable..." grinned Dylan slowly.

  *We come, Darien...return to Serena. We shall deal with this unclean one.* 
came Malcolm's voice.

  *I thank you, brother.*

  Darien moved with preternatural speed, blurring, looking as if he headed 
to attack Dylan.
  The real assault came from above, slamming Dylan to the earth while
Darien leaped into the pouring sky, shape-shifting in mid-air. It was a
skill not easily mastered by many, but he executed it flawlessly. He quickly 
became one with the mist overhead, streaming as quickly as possible back to 
the mansion. His senses flared out, trying to detect the danger, the source 
of Serena's uneasiness.

  Merging his mind with hers, he was determined to protect her. He saw
through her eyes. The pouring rain...the cloudy night. Nothing hindered 
his sight or senses. He saw no one, but he sensed humans prowling outside 
the compound of his mansion.
  No one would threathen her...and live.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Serena paced the gleaming tiled floor restlessly. She felt uneasy. As 
if something was stalking her. She had not had this feeling since Claire's 
attack. Was another vampire stalking her?

  *Darien!*

  She ran a trembling hand through her blonde hair, needing to feel Darien, 
to know he was safe and that he would never leave her.
Lightning struck overhead even as thunder rumbled above the house. Leaves 
and twigs struck the house, torn from the branches of trees by the vicious 
storm.

  Surely no one would venture out into this weather?

  The ringing sound of the doorbell startled her, drawing her attention 
to the massive oak doors.

  Apparently not.

  The doorbell sounded once more. Her heart pounded while everything 
within her being screamed for her to run. Run far away from the door. 
But surely she couldn't let anybody visiting to stand outside in the 
storm, right?

  Slowly, she opened the door a crack.

  Outside, she saw three wet men. They were soaked from head to toe.

  "Hello? Can you let us in?? Our car broke down. Do you think we could
use the phone?" asked a man.

  Every fiber of her being told her to call out to Darien. These men were 
not who they seemed. Warmth and strength flooded her. She felt strong 
arms steal about her to wrap around her body.

  *Do not be afraid baby. What you see, so will I.*
  *These men make me feel uneasy, Darien.*
  *I am returning. Do not open the door to them!* snarled his voice within 
her mind. She sensed though he was worried about her, a good portion of 
his anger was attributed to jealousy. The males of his species probably 
were still half cavemen.

  She knew he was still blocking her attempts to fully merge with him. He 
was injured. And he was hiding the true extent of his wounds.

  *I feel your hunger and weariness, Darien.*
  *It is nothing.Do not admit them in!*
  *It's pouring Darien. They could get pneumonia.* argued Serena stubbornly.

  Her heart lurched when she felt Darien falter slightly in flight. He was 
weakening.
  *Oh Darien...please please, don't worry about me. Attend to your injuries 
first.* she pleaded.
  *I'm sorry baby, I can't. You are my main concern.* he whispered within 
her mind.

  Rebelliously, Serena flung open the large doors admitting the men within 
the dry warm interior of the mansion. They were sopping wet and dripping 
water all over the expensive oriental carpet. But that wasn't what was 
holding her attention.
  The men held revolvers in their hands and one was quickly stepping behind 
her to pull a blindfold over her eyes.
  Another man yanked both her arms painfully behind her back and cruelly tying 
a piece of cord tight about her wrists. She gasped back a small cry of pain. 
A surge of red hot fury hit her at the sign of her distress.

  "Devilspawn, we're going to prove you and your companions are vampires. Evil 
undead creatures who have no right to be in this world." hissed a man close 
to her ear. She felt his warm breath on her neck and cringed. Before she 
could protest, a gag was tied over her mouth and the next thing she knew was 
a world of darkness as she slipped into unconsciousness.


  Darien felt her slide into unconciousness and his anger grew. Those
bastards had conked her over the head. Fangs exploded into his mouth as
red flames danced within his eyes.
  Humans...

  The idiotic society of human vampire hunters that had been judged as
nonsensical by his race. A snarl left him as he faltered once again. Blood was 
still dripping from his wounds and the poison left by his brother stung like 
the fires of hell. Of all the times for those humans to strike. It had to be 
now...

  Some people just had the worst timing.


  Darien made it to the mansion, stumbling onto the gravel as he regained his 
humanlike form. Rain still poured heavily from the skys, drenching him. The 
humans were gone. His open front door was testimony to that fact. And Serena 
with them.

  Lightning struck a tree, splitting the thick wood in half as flames leaped 
burning the wood. Thunder boomed and vibrated through the air accompanied by 
the angry scream of one man.
  The beautifully paved gravel path cracked and split as the earth rolled 
beneath his feet.

  *Darien...*

  He launched himself into the air, unheeding of his wounds and his
weakness or the calls of his family.

  *Darien! You are wounded. And....we have lost Dylan.*
  *Darien please!*

  *Serena is gone.* were his only words.

  Silence came through the family link. Of shock and anger.

  *Those human bastards took her.* snarled Darien.

  *Darien, you must wait for us. You are injured and weak. Allow us to aid 
you. You need blood.* pleaded Raye.
  *You should return to the mansion, sister. Do not meddle in what is not 
your concern. Serena is MY mate. I cannot survive without her.* snapped 
Darien, his anger causing him to lash out at his sister. *I can care for 
my wounds.*

  His mind worked easily on different levels, assessing the damage done 
to his body as he flew through the air, tracking the men who had taken 
Serena. He quickly sent himself seeking within his body, sealing off wounds 
to prevent further blood loss. Examining the undead's poison and quickly 
destroying it to stop any further damage it would cause.

  Hunger gnawed at his gut, but he pushed it aside for the time being. 
His mind striving constantly to Serena. He would kill all that he found 
related to the kidnap of his mate. The demon within snarled with pleasure 
at the thought. He was caught up in the haze of blood lust.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Serena felt a pounding in her head as a hissing compulsion forced her
awake. The room she occupied was empty. Sensed she was in a cottage near 
the outskirts of town. Probably directly after the woods next to the 
mansion. She felt Darien's rage directed at her captors.

  Her blood chilled sending a cold shiver down her spine. She could sense 
the insidious whispers of the men within the building. Their fanaticism.
  The dark ugly thoughts as well as the lust and hate driven by the 
sadistic thought of causing pain to others.

  Her head throbbed from the whack as well as the filthy thoughts invading 
her sensitive psyche.

  *I am coming, my love...*

  Before she could reply, the door to the room was thrown open. A few men 
stepped in. Three were the men who had kidnapped her while the two were 
unknown to her.

  "Well, you think she's a vampire?"
  "She's been marked."
  "Pity. She's a pretty bitch. A demon's whore, but still pretty."

  She cringed, huddling herself in the corner of the bed, trying to make 
herself as small as possible.

  "You people are mad." she choked.

  "We know you and you bastard men are vampires. Nobody has ever seen them 
about in the day."

  "And that constitutes that they're vampires? You're insane!"

  Her cheek stung as she felt the man's hand connect with her face. She
tasted blood and her head was pounding even harder than before.

  "We're trying to protect humanity from those foul dirty monsters. We 
know what they're like. Our group encountered some of them in Europe 
twenty years ago." he snarled, planting a fist cruelly in her hair, 
yanking the long strands brutally.
  "You? You're selling the human race out to those devils."

  Serena gasped painfully. "You're the monsters. I can see it in your 
eyes! The flecks of blood on these walls! You kill without thought. 
You're perverse and fanatics! You're the demons!" screamed Serena.

  "You dumb bitch, what would you know? Your demon has abandoned you and 
we're going to take pleasure in you before we kill you." snarled one of 
the men.

  Serena felt sick.

  The atmosphere of the room suddenly turned ominous. An unmistakable 
threat with the promise of death weaved through the air.

  *Darien...*

  *I'm here. These men will not touch you any longer.* he growled.

  Thunder boomed overhead, causing one of the younger man to jump, 
pointing his gun fearfully at the dark shadows dancing in the room as 
if possessed with a life of its own with each jagged bolt of lightning.

  "It's watching us!" shrieked the man frightened.
  "Stay calm, Donald! We don't need you blasting that gun off at every
shadow that suddenly moves." snarled one of the men.

  She felt the cold steel barrel against her head. Heard the click of the 
hammer.

  "'Sides, we've got this woman. Let any 'o those demons try anything and 
it'll be her brains on the floor." sneered another.

  Lightning crashed and the soil beneath rumbled.

  "He's in the ground!" shrieked the man called Donald. The young man let 
his bullets fly, shooting hysterically at the ground.

  An older man caught his arm, wrenching it. "You idiot!!"
  "Watch the woman!"

  Suddenly, Serena heard whispers. The sound sent cold fear down her 
spine. Insidious whispers echoed in her ears, the purity of the voice 
drawing her attention even as it scared her.
  The voice whispered of violence. Of slow painful deaths. It took her a 
moment to realize it was not meant for her, but to her horror, the men.

  A scream caught her attention. She watched in mute fascination as the
man who had been holding the gun on her, suddenly turned it upon himself.
  Darien was in her mind, seeing through her eyes. She felt the monster
within, sensed the red flamed licking his blue eyes, turning them the 
colour of blood.

  She watched as the man tried to release his hold on the gun. He tried in 
vain. Saw the men watch their comrade in horror as his finger squeezed 
the trigger. The sound echoed like an explosion in her ears, shocking her.
  She did not register as the man fell lifeless to the floor. Blood pooling 
around his head, his unseeing eyes wide with fear.

  Did not pay any heed to the other men as they stared at her, bringing
their guns up shakily to shoot her. She was far away from the blood and
gore. Far from the incidents happening about her.


  The door burst open, shattering the wooden door. The humans turned to
face the demon standing in the doorway.
  The man standing there would have been constituted as handsome if his
appearence did not also feature blood red eyes and snarling fangs. His hair 
was wet and slicked to his face. His white shirt ripped and bloody. His 
features portrayed the face of a fallen angel.

  A demonic fallen angel from hell.

  Darien felt the madness within himself. The demon overjoyed, urging him to 
kill all who had tried to seize his mate. He didn't hesitate.

  His body shifted to that of the wolf, his muzzle snarling as he thrust 
his jaws towards one of the men, ripping through bone and organs. The man 
howled in pain before dropping to the ground to die painfully bathed in his 
own blood.

  Darien felt two bullets rip through his body. He paid no heed to the pain 
and the blood despite his weakened state. Turning on the rest of the men, 
he watched in satisfaction as two of them died of heart failure, their 
hearts simply stopping, ceasing to beat. The rest died as the first man had. 
Of their own hand.

  He felt pain and terrible hunger. A red smear appeared on his forehead 
as he reached Serena. Pain burned through him. The smell of blood about 
him did not help, adding to his biting hunger. His gaze was drawn to her 
face, a bruise marring the milky whiteness of her skin.

  Serena had buried herself deeply within her mind, fearful of the deaths 
around her.

  *Serena....Serena, come back to me. I need to hear your voice, baby.* he 
whispered weakly.
  His legs gave out, his head resting on her lap as he called to her.
Blackness swirled before his vision. He was so tired. So damn tired and
hungry. Some of his internal organs had been damaged earlier by Dylan's
poison and right now, his wounds felt like hell. He had not the strength 
left to move nor speak. He slowed his heart, too weak to seal his wounds.

  Rest. That was what he needed. Serena was safe now. He just needed to
rest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Serena heard a voice calling to her, getting weaker until there was
silence. She recognized that voice. Darien...

  Fear ripped through her at the implication of what the could silence 
mean. Was he dead? Had he left her alone? Fear and love was what brought 
her back.

  The first thing she saw were her captors, lying dead on the ground, blood 
pooled on the floor like a small pond. Her first instinct was to vomit. 
To run screaming far from this place of death and madness.

  But it was the slight weight on her lap that caught her attention. Had 
her eyes looking down. Wet midnight hair met her gaze. Darien. Her fear 
subsided but rose again at his condition.

  His face was grey and his clothes bloody. His breathing and pulse were 
there, barely. Her fear escalated as she touched his face. It was cold 
and clammy. Devoid of its usual warmth.

  "Oh God! Darien," choked Serena as she slid to the ground beside him. 
He did not respond to her vocal or mental calls. Felt his presence when 
he tried to answer, but he was just too drained.

  "Darien! Dear God...." *Please, what do I do?*

  A chuckle ran through her mind and with it, a fearful chill shot through 
her soul. It was Darien's twin. His undead killer twin. Dylan.

  *My, my, is Darien dying? Pity. I expected more from the heir to the
throne.* came the sing song voice much like Darien's.

  Serena wished Malcolm and the others would hurry, as she cradled 
Darien's head.

  *Tut tut. Darien's unit won't get there in time, sadly. I was so looking 
forward to our little game too.*

  *If you're going to mock us, why don't you come here and kill us now!?* 
she spat bitterly.

  There was a disgusted snort. *I would if I could. Unfortunately, I like 
Darien, did not escape unscathed from our little battle. 'Course, Darien's 
in a much more worse shape than I am right now. Anyway, it's a pity, but I 
wish you a good life.* laughed the voice before it faded to nothing.

  She shivered.

  Darien could not die...she wouldn't allow it. No matter the cost, he had 
to survive.

  Her eyes roamed the room, landing on a knife by the table in the corner. 
With growing determination, she rose and made her way to the table, 
grasping the blade. She moved back quickly towards Darien.

  She knelt by him, stroking his hair. His breathing was laboured now.
She watched as more blood slowly seeped from his body. His face grey and 
sunken over his cheeks. No matter the cost.

  He would live.

  Without hesitation, she slashed her wrist, biting back a cry of pain as 
her blood began to flow. She pressed her wrist to his mouth, willing him 
to drink. Her other hand stroked his throat. Watched as a hand instinctively 
came up to clamp her wrist to his mouth. Watched as he drank.

  A slight wave of dizziness hit her.

  Leaning into him, she closed her eyes with a sigh, her wrist still
gushing blood, feeding Darien's starving body. Happy memories flitted
through her mind. Though their time had been short, she knew she loved 
him and had no regrets doing this.
  She cared not she would die from this act. At least her beloved Darien 
would be alive..... That was all that mattered to her.

  *I love you, Darien. Forever....*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Something had jolted him awake. Some part of him screaming to return to 
consciousness, telling him it would be too late if he did not awaken now.

  A slender wrist fell from his hand and his eyes snapped open. Fear 
pounded through him as he saw the still bleeding wrist.
Quickly, he lapped his tongue over the angry gash, sealing it. His mind
cried out even as his heart stopped.

  Serena.

  "Serena! God, baby...what have you done?"

  Her face was ashen, her heart and lungs struggling to work. She was
dying. His distress caused blood to pour from his wounds. He bit his wrist, 
forcing it over her mouth. His blood would keep her alive until he was 
able to provide for her.

  He then turned his attention to his wounds. Serena's gift would be in
vain if he allowed the blood to pump out of his body onto the floor.
Assessing the damage, he quickly repaired the damage minimally and stood up.
  The repairs to his body would be enough to last him until he saved Serena.
He needed to feed. Fast.

  Before he could leave, his unit materialized before him.

  "Darien."

  They had felt his fear, his distress. His lonely cry echoing in their
minds. They spared a short glance to the pale woman lying on the bed 
before taking in their leader's bedraggled appearence.

  "I offer, Darien, so you and your mate can heal and survive." said 
Malcolm softly, extending his wrist to Darien.

  Stormy blue eyes met ice coloured ones.

  Darien needed no further invitations as he took hold of the proffered
wrist and sank his fangs deep, drinking the liquid he so needed to heal 
and save his mate.

  Blood flowed through his veins, swelling shrunken and starving cells.
Malcolm made no move to stop his ravenous feeding. No sign that the 
loss of blood affected him. He merely stood calmly. Accepting of his 
bestial state. Darien quickly swept his tongue over the pinpicks, closing 
the wound.
  Immediately turning towards Serena, his attention solely on her, 
anchoring her to him. Not giving her a chance to slip away from him.

  He cradled the small blonde closely to him, slashing a line over his
chest, forcing her head to the wound.

  *Drink, love. Please...For me. For our lives.* he whispered, embedding 
compulsion within his words. He knew not what would happen to her with 
this exchange of blood. But he knew if he did not do this, life would 
cease.
  For her, for him. For the both of them.

  And what Serena had done this night, would be for naught.

  *I love you, baby. Wherever we go, we go together. We will always be
together. You'll never be alone, never again. We live or we die together.*

  He stopped her feeding when he assured himself she had enough to survive.
  Lifting her into his arms, he surveyed the cottage. This place held 
the screams of death and pain. Madness was embedded into the walls.
Dispassionately, he glanced down at the bodies and looked up, meeting 
the eyes of his unit. This place would be destroyed.

  No trace of the men or what had happened here would remain.

  "We will take care of this, Darien. You should return with Jayden to 
the mansion. You need to feed and then go to ground." advised Zach.

  Darien met the green eyes of his friend cooly.

  "I cannot. Serena has yet to go through the conversion. She will need me."

 Zach nodded. "Return then. We will follow shortly."

  Darien nodded, needing no further urgings. He launched himself into 
the sky, taking with him, his precious burden. His mind flew back to the 
night he had carried her in his arms just like this. But in vastly 
different circumstances.

  The memory disappeared with the wind as he focused his attention on
getting home. Nothing mattered now except Serena. She had to survive.

  Because if she didn't....

  Neither would he.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
To be continued...

*Blink* *Blink*. I actually finished this chapter? Really?? Amazing!! Okay, 
it's shorter than my last chapter but I didn't think I'd actually get it 
done with my exams and all. This chapter will be my last. Until December 
that is. Final exams are here and this will determine if I can make it. :p
Wish me luck people!! I really do want to get good grades! Thanks for all 
your patience and support in this story.

8/11/02
Edited: 9/11/02