It had been a month now since I had seen Carter. One whole month since we had kissed for the first time and one long month of crying myself to sleep with worry about him in the vampire world. As part of Carter's terms for leaving, I was living at his house with Jake, who apparently had volunteered to stay, and the armed vampires who patrolled the house twenty-four-seven. The council had agreed to keep me safe on the condition Carter returned to their world, and they had so far kept their word. Callan and Vinnie had been ordered to return with him, and no one knew when or if they would ever return.

Jake had been my only source of friendship and entertainment, as I was forbidden to leave while Leon was still out there. We spent most of our time playing video games and watching movies. We built a pillow fort once, and it was so big, it almost made it right through the house, we also tried our hand sports, but neither of us was naturally gifted in that department.

My whole life had changed now. I slept during the day and hung out with Jake at night. I kept the business going by responding to emails and making up excuses for Carter's absence, but keeping up the appearance of a man who now lived in a different world was becoming challenging.

"What do you want to do tonight?" Jake said as he slumped on the sofa next to me.

"When are they going to catch him? I said, folding the laptop down and sighing.

"I don't want to sound like an asshole here, Eb, but I don't think they will ever catch Leon. Our only hope was Carter, and he could just never kill his little brother. No matter how hard he tried, he could never take the life of his only brother. It was his weakness and Leon's strength; now he has gone. I don't know what is going to happen." He slumped in the chair next to me.

"Then why did they take him?"

"The council has always hated Carter because although he is a vampire and wolf, he tends to lead with his human side. He is a very powerful man, and the council fears him. He has never had anything they could threaten him with, nothing that he cared about, and then he told them about you. That was their only chance to control him, and they knew it. Carter is probably the only thing the council fears as he is probably the strongest vampire ever to walk our world, but he is weak because of his human side, and now the vampire council has complete control over him and his wolf. I don't know what will happen, and I wish I did." He shrugged.

"I just don't understand why they have forbidden him to return here. He did nothing wrong."

"That's the thing Eb, he did. I don't believe, for a second, that he intended for Genevieve to get hurt, but you have to understand that she was released from our world to come here on the condition that Carter protected her. He was responsible for her safety as he is for Callan's and even mine, and even though he told her to return to our world after their split, he still felt responsible for her because he was the reason she was here. Every vampire family has an alpha who keeps them safe, bar nothing, and Carter is our alpha. He must now pay the price for one of his own being killed."

"Are they going to hurt him?"

"I hope not because our family is doomed without him, and I will have to return to that horrible world."

"Were you born a vampire?" I pulled my knees up to my chest.

He shook his head. "No, I was human." He smiled slyly.

"You were human?"

"I was, and I had a wife and two children, Beth and James, and they were my whole world. It was over a hundred years ago now, and I was a carpenter. I didn't make much money, but we didn't care. I had my wife, and that's all I cared about. Her name was Audrey, and she was beautiful." he went quiet momentarily as he stared at the wall, lost in his thoughts. "She became quite ill, as did our children; before I knew it, they had all passed on. I was left alone in this world, weak and heartbroken. No matter what I did or how much time passed, I couldn't heal my heart. I was about to end it all by slitting my throat when Carter found me crying on the street with a knife to my neck. He promised me he would make the pain stop and make me stronger than I could ever imagine, and so I made the second greatest decision of my human life and let him turn me into the strapping vampire you see before you."

"Carter turned you into a vampire?"

"He did, and I have been at his side ever since. He saved me from a life of heartache and regrets, and that's why I'm sitting here with you today." he looked over at me. "I know what he is feeling right now, and I owe him the peace of mind that you are safe. He's a good guy, Ebony. He has the misfortune of fighting many demons inside him."

"You stayed because you care about him," I reached out and rubbed his back. "That's very sweet."

"Yeah, if something happened to you, I might be slightly upset about it for a minute."

"Aw, are we best friends now?" I fell onto his side and hugged him.

"No!" he shouted, but I hugged him tighter. "Ok, a little, maybe, but if you tell anyone, I'll deny it and talk about moist things."

"Oh god, I hate that word,"

"Then we have a deal."

"Deal, bestie." Suddenly, a loud knock at the door made us both jump.

"What the hell?" Jake said, standing up and moving in front of me. We heard voices at the door as the guards spoke to our guest, and we waited nervously.

"Excuse me; there is a David Grand here to see you. He is Mr Morgan's attorney, and he wishes to speak to you about his last will." the guard said, approaching us.

"His will?" I said, stepping out from behind Jake. "He's not dead."

"He is not, but he has forced these changes to his estate. Hello, my name is David, and you must be Ebony Summers," he held out his hand, and I shook it. It was cold as ice, just a vampire. He was a short, portly man with greying hair. His glasses were round and way too big for his small head, but he smiled charmingly and smelt like my grandfather.

"Hello," I said nervously.

"You must be Jacob," he reached his hand towards a perplexed-looking Jake. "Well, we have much to discuss."

Jake shook his hand and said nothing.

"Have you seen Carter? Is he ok?" I said, trying not to cry.

"I have. He is alive and apprehensive about you. He has asked me to invoke his last will as he fears he may not return to this world soon."

"What? He's not coming back?" 

"Unfortunately, his return to the human world is not looking good at this stage. I'm sorry."

It felt like my heart was being ripped out of my chest, and I felt like I couldn't breathe.

"Can we do this another time?" Jake said, sitting me on the sofa and holding my hand.

"Mr Morgan has insisted that this be done straight away. He has left everything in his estate from this world to you, Miss Summers." David said, adjusting his glasses.

"What?" I yelled at him. "No, he's coming back, and everything will be fine. No, you need to tell him this is ridiculous."

"He was very persistent about this, Miss Summers. You are now the sole owner and CEO of Midnight Industries and all of Mr Morgan's property and accounts. Congratulations, you are now one of the richest women on the planet."

"Holy shit, you're now my boss?" Jake said with wide eyes.

"Can I talk to him? This must be a mistake." 

"Well, then we have a problem," David said. "If you refuse to control his company, it falls to his bloodline. Callan is no longer allowed in the human world, so that means everything would go to his brother, Leon."

"You're not seriously saying that if Ebony refuses to take over, Leon will get control of the company?" Jake yelled, standing up.

"As stated in Vampire law, unless otherwise stated, the estate falls to the family. I'm sorry, I don't like this situation any more than you do, but that is the law." David said, shaking his head.

"Ebony, you can't let this happen. Leon cannot gain control of this company, and people will get hurt," Jake said as he sat next to me again.

"I can't. I don't want his company, Jake. I just want him back." 

"I know, but it looks like this is the only way," He shrugged. "You are going to be the new CEO of Midnight Industries."

I shook my head, but no sound came out.

"I'm sorry, but I need an answer, Miss Summers. I need to get back to Mr Morgan and settle this. If you refuse to take control of his estate, the power will automatically go to his brother Leon Morgan. What is your answer, Miss Summers?"

My throat became dry, and I started to panic.

"Miss Summers?"

I looked at Jake, who just nodded his head calmly. "You got this, Eb." He said gently.

"Miss Summers, I need to have an answer, please," David said quite abruptly.

I turned to look at David nervously. "I..I..."