-Etana's POV-

I woke up in a nightmare.

It was my twenty-first birthday. The clock had just passed over the twelfth-hour mark.

I was at home visiting my parents from college. Today we were supposed to go out to breakfast and hang out. Then later I would go out with my friends to a local bar.

But that all changed when I heard crashing noises coming from my parents' room.

I hurriedly got dressed and crept into the hallway. It was clear. I raced to the kitchen and grabbed a knife.

I quietly stalked to my parents' door. Holding the knife up, I opened the door and stepped into the room. I was not prepared for what I saw.

My dad lay on the floor, bloodied and torn to pieces. His killer was on top of my mom on the bed, his head buried into her neck. My stomach lurched at the sight.

Hearing my gasp, the killer turned to face me. His face was hidden by the shadows, but there was liquid dripping from his chin. I screamed as I realized that it was blood. His mouth and face were covered with it.

He snarled at me and pushed himself off the bed. He started towards me.

I'm not like those girls who freeze when they're in danger, and then flee. I fight back until my attacker is wounded enough to not follow me, and then I flee.

Unfortunately, he got to me quicker than I anticipated. All I saw was a blur, then my airway was cut off.

He had my neck in steel-like grip. I lashed out with the knife, catching the guy in the arm.

He hissed and let go of me. I lashed out again aiming for his neck. Lucky me, I got him in his artery.

I took the chance to run. I grabbed my purse and keys on the way out.

Outside it was dark. The moon shone in all her glory.

I fumbled through my purse, looking for my car keys. I couldn't find them through the jungle in my purse.

I heard footsteps and panicked. My purse fell to the floor as I grabbed my knife from the top of the car.

The car keys spilled out. I snatched them up and forced them into the lock. As I opened the door, I was slammed against the car.

"You're gonna pay for that bitch," my attacker threatened. His wounds had already halfway healed.

I kicked him in between the legs. He grunted and I tried to get into the car.

He grabbed my arm and bit down, forcing me to drop the knife. I screamed in pain. I felt an icy rush go up my arm. I hoped he wasn't infected with anything.

He pulled me out and pushed me against the car. His hands tore at my blouse as I tried to fend him off.

He grabbed my head and slammed it against the car. I saw stars and could feel something wet running down my head.

He grabbed my throat with that powerful grip of his, and wrenched it to the side. He buried his teeth in my neck.

The pain was so intense I was paralyzed. I could feel his lips sucking and licking my neck.

His touch felt disgusting. I felt like throwing up.

All of a sudden, a wave numbness came over me. I was thankful that I could no longer feel what he was doing to me.

My attacker was wrenched off me. Through my blurry vision, I could see someone in dark clothing fighting my attacker.

The guy in dark clothes pulled out a gun and fired. I screamed as I saw my attacker burst into flames then disintegrate into ash.

I slumped to the cold concrete of the driveway, in a daze.

My parents were dead, and I was dying.

The man in dark clothes turned to me. I shakily grabbed for my knife. This did not stop him from walking over to me.

He crouched down in front of me and felt my neck. His gloved hand came away sticky with blood. He felt my wrist, and I realized that he was checking for a pulse.

I could hear my own heart beat. It was fading slowly.

The man picked me up, and that is when I fought back. Or tried to.

I swung with the knife, but he caught my arm and squeezed until I dropped it. His hand once again found my neck and he squeezed a certain spot.

I felt drowsiness wash over me. I fell asleep against the chest of my savior.

-Blade's POV-

I carried the unconscious woman to my car. Vampires had gotten more careless in their hunting.

Sucks for them, but great for me. It makes it easier to locate them.

Since Marcus van Sciver released his weapon to the Purebloods of all the Houses, the vampire world has run amuck.

After he first released it to the Purebloods of the House of Chthon, he took Krista into hiding with him. Turns out, he figured out she worked for me.

Shen and I went out on a rescue mission to recover her. She knew a lot of valuable information concerning the vampire community.

Shen trained and taught her about the scientific and biological aspect of vampires. She learned quickly.

Right now, we're working to create a cure for vampirism. It had been lost years before. Shen and Krista were finally able to produce a workable strain.

Problem was that we needed a test subject, whom we could test multiple times. We tried it on other vampires, but we only succeeded in killing them.

Krista was able to figure out that we needed a freshly turned vampire. A vampire who hasn't succumbed to the full power of Thirst.

A vampire that's body was adjusting to accommodate the virus. This woman in my arms was a perfect candidate.

Since her family was dead, she had nowhere to go.

A perfect candidate indeed.