The sun was as high as it was ever going to get when Priya made the turning onto the familiar road. The fat moon rivalled the sun in both size and colour at this time of year, but it kept its face hidden, at least for the moment. Likewise, the sun had kept itself hidden from most of the morning, trapped behind clouds and mist, only peeking out for the briefest of periods. But even when it showed itself, its warmth did little to rival the heat the coming moon flushed through her body.

Priya had been loath to leave the house at all, not that she would have admitted it to anyone else. Between the constant itches and full moon and the fighting at the farm, it would have been easier, and less hassle, to have stayed indoors and simply ridden out this moon's turn. But the constant rumours currently flying around the vampire home about Edeline's arrival, not to mention Carson's departure from the pack, had made staying inside impossible, at least for Priya's sanity.

There had been a practical reason for her trip into the city centre. Despite having taken three days off work three days every month for as long as she could remember, Priya's boss at the Fishbowl had suddenly decided that her absence warranted the need to collect her paycheck in person. The paycheck was usually delivered via bank transfer, allowing for her rent to be paid immediately. Not this month. And so, after an angry phone call from her landlord, Priya had been forced to make the trip down to the Fishbowl and then visit her landlord with assurances that this would not happen again. She hadn't expected it to take as long as it had, and yet here she was, having spent most of the morning out and about.

The house loomed at the end of the road, shattered and curtained just as ever. Despite the heat of the full moon, Priya still had to pull her coat tight around her body in an effort to keep warm. It was strange to think that this time last year she had been spending her days out searching through suitable Christmas present from Matthew and trying to think of a way to deliver it to him in secret. This year she had barely considered the holiday, let alone bought presents. She wanted to think that now Vince had returned Kaleb and Jemima would be thrilled to celebrate, but then, she had also thought that Vince's return would have settled the unease that had plagued the pack since his disappearance.

Matthew had not been at the apartment when she visited. Priya wasn't sure if she was surprised. After their fight he had made it perfectly clear that he had no intention of choosing her side over Vince, not that she'd ever really asked him to, and so his avoidance of her should have been expected. However, this would also be the first full moon Priya had ever known where the pack had not had someone in place to keep a watch over the vampires. She couldn't help but wonder if Kaleb expected the job to fall to her. She had left the farm after all. Perhaps it was why he had made no effort to come after her after she had left with Carson.

Priya dug her hands deeper into her pockets, clenching them into fists in a futile attempt to fight off the painful cold seeping into fingers. Out of the corner of her eye Priya spotted a car idling halfway down the street. She might not have thought anything of it, it was cold after all, and the people inside would have wanted to keep the heating on. But this car was one unlike any she has seen in the neighbourhood. Its sleek black exterior was adorned with gold runners and a fancy hood ornament. And despite this being a relatively nice neighbourhood, it was cleaner than any car she'd seen a long time, especially in the depths of winter where one could rarely drive half a mile without mud splatters spreading halfway up the car.

Priya lowered her head and quickened her steps, fixing her gaze straight ahead.

The car door opened. Priya watched in the corner of her vision as a lithe man in a clean, smart suit climbed from the driver's side door and closed it behind him with a snap. He walked around the back of the car and opened the passenger side back door. Priya had never been one for fashion, at least not men's fashion, but even from this distance she could tell that the man's suit was expensive as he manoeuvred himself out of the car and brushed down the front of his thighs. He rubbed his hands together and a faint smile came to his lips. His gaze never left Priya.

Her gaze darted to the door of the building and back to the man. She would have to go past them to reach the doorway, and from the grin the came to the man standing before her, he knew it too.

Still, Priya knew that she couldn't stop and stand in the street, and she doubted they would simply get back in their car and drive away, so she kept walking towards them, hands balled into tight fists in her pockets, and her jaw clenched.

She had never met the man before her, not face to face, but she had looked into his life. As it turned out, his daughter bore a striking resemblance to him. They had the same deep eyes, the same dark hair (though his now had been heavily sprinkled with grey,) and the same half-cocked smile, like something within their thoughts was amusing them. Even their stances were similar, though on Edeline it didn't feel so overbearing.

"Good afternoon, Miss Shah," Dacian Arnesen said.

He stepped out from behind his driver, clasping his hands in front of him as he looked her up and down.

Priya ground her teeth, her eyes narrowing as she wondered what exactly would happen if she simply kept walking. He wouldn't let her. Kaleb had told her what happened to Matthew in her apartment. The driver in the suit was probably the one who'd done it. Dacian Arnesen didn't get his hands dirty. Or he couldn't, Priya didn't remember.

Her gaze flickered to the door again.

"What do you want?"

"Well, I'd have thought that was quite obvious. You see, I gave Mr. Leary very clear instructions. I believe I was also very clear on what would happen should my demands not be met." Dacian cocked his head to the side as he regarded her. "Tell me, Priya, was I not clear? Or did your so-called brother simply decide to ignore my warnings?"

"I don't control Kaleb," Priya said, jaw clenching. "If you knew anything about what was going on, you would already know that."

The heat that infected Priya's body every full moon began to climb up her skin. Like insects, warmth began to scuttle her body towards her head where it settled and pulsed, throbbing like a particularly painful headache. Priya touched her temple, frowning. Dacian only smiled all the wider.

Her mouth was dry, stuffed with cotton wool. Her tongue felt like rough sandpaper. And all the while, her temple throbbed.

"Now, now, let us not talk of things we don't understand." He considered her for a moment. "After all, what do you know about protecting family? You were much too young to understand the lengths people will go to in order to protect what is theirs."

Priya wanted to shout and call him a monster. She wanted to prove exactly what she would do to protect her family. But all she could think about was the headache driving nails into her skull, deeper and sharper than any werewolf claws.

Priya grabbed her head, pressing the heels of her hands hard into her temples. It offered little relief, only driving the sharp pain further in. Behind Dacian, the man in the clean suit glared at her with narrowed eyes and a clenched jaw.

"Do you know what that pain is, Miss Shah?" Dacian asked politely. "Like a particularly bad hangover. Of course, it's been a while since I drink to that amount, but I remember the feeling. Pounding head, churning stomach, slight fever."

"What's your point?" Priya demanded.

Her head felt like it was about to split open. Priya had had enough hangovers in her life to know that this was not one of them, no matter the fact that she had not been drinking last night, nor would it have taken until this late in the day to set in. She had no doubt that Dacian's man was the one doing this to her especially after his attack on Matthew and his threats against Kaleb, but to what end?

"Did you know that dehydration causes a lot of your hangover? The pain you feel is your body screaming out for more water."

Priya narrowed her now watering eyes, glaring murderously at him.

"I don't need a biology lesson."

"Quite the contrary, Miss Shah" he said. "A lesson is precisely what you and your pack need. You see, it may not be water, but your body is certainly gaining a thirst for something."

Priya stared at him, her mouth opening in horror.

"You wouldn't," she gasped.

"Oh, I assure you I would." He looked at her as one might look at the runt of the litter, a mixture of pity and disappointment. "Did you think that boy was the limit to my threat? My dear, he was nothing more than a warning shot across the bow."

He let out a cold and merciless laugh.

"But you must have known that. Why would you have been hiding with the vampires if you didn't know about the risk?" When Priya didn't answer him, he tutted at her and waggled a perfectly manicured finger. "I could get the information I wanted very easily if I chose, Miss Shah."

Gulping at his words and the rising nausea, Priya glanced desperately at the house. Would getting inside now make any difference? She could already feel her hunger growing with a need she had never felt before. How long would it be before she would do just about anything to satiate that hunger?

As a young girl, Priya had repeatedly asked Kaleb to tell her what had happened to her family. He had always remained cagey, telling her that it wasn't her fault, that their affliction could have taken any of them. For years he had painted the deaths as mercy, though now Priya had to wonder whether it had been the truth, or Kaleb's desperate attempt to keep some semblance of peace.

"Did you do this to my parents?" she asked, her voice cracking as a particularly painful stab shot down her spine.

The man, despite his previous concentration, scoffed.

"We didn't need to. They were vicious monsters long before we reached them. We ended their suffering."

"But, this time we will leave it to your pack to end yours," Dacian said. He turned to his companion. "Ensure she is too far gone."

Priya stumbled backwards as the man stepped forwards, reaching for her. She wanted to rip his throat out, following it with Dacian Arnesen's, just for the satisfaction of it. They were beneath her, all these mortals were. They may have gifts, but it was nothing compared to her.

Steadying herself, Priya pushed off from her back foot, lurching at the man. He twisted out of her path, grabbing her neck with one hand, the top of her scalp with the other. Pain was all she could think about. Pain and the desperate urge to make it stop. To feast and drink until the pain finally went away.

Somewhere, as if off in a distant world that didn't matter, a click was followed by the squeal of hinges. A blur shot down the steps from the house, wheat golden skin reddening as he darted down the steps and out into the street.

In a howling rage, William grabbed Dacian by the arm and whirled him around, flinging him a dozen feet out into the road where he landed with a crash. Blistering skin was spreading beneath William's eyes and around his mouth, his hands were raw with flaking skin as he grabbed the man by the shoulders, wrenching him away from Priya.

Priya screeched as the scent of blood drenched the air. William's fangs buried deep into the man's neck, pulling the flesh away indiscriminately. He tossed him aside like week old garbage. Blood dripped down his chin over raw flesh. Another, sourer taste hung around her as she leapt for the body bleeding out on the pavement. It was William. Blisters bubbled and popped down his arms. He grabbed Priya around the middle, even as she scrabbled desperately for her freedom and her feed, and carried her back to the house at a sprint.

He dropped her unceremoniously in the hallway, slamming the door closed behind him.

Breathing hard, Priya got up onto her hands and knees. Her breath came in heavy, growling pants as William wavered in front of the door, staggered a step to the side, and collapsed in a bloody, blistered heap on the floor.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: 

I'm back! And I'm dictating! So, please accept my apologies for any really random mistakes. I think I got them all, but you never know.

On the other hand, be amused by the fact that I am now writing while I play Assassin's Creed. So, I'm assassinating Templars while talking to myself about blood and arguments. It's fun stuff!

I'm also back on the weekly schedule now. There are 14 scenes left to go. I'm not sure how that'll work into chapters yet, but we are definitely on the home stretch. 

Until next week! Remember to vote and comment!

Chele