***
The sun was beginning to set when we broached the outskirts of the town. It was a lot larger than where I’d grown up, but I was still fairly familiar with the area. Every Christmas, we came to the mall located in this town to do our shopping and had lunch at a local diner that served the best chili ever. Mason wasn't a fan of the shopping, but he always came along just for the chili. A pang of sadness came over me as I realized that he would never eat any of his favorite foods again. He would never walk in the sun again, but he would still be walking and not turning to dust in the ground.
I made the right decision, I reassured myself then sat Mason down by the side of a deep ditch next to the road leading into town.
"How do we do this?" I asked Demetri. I needed him now more than I had ever needed anyone in my life. Without his help, I didn’t know what I'd do, or how I would care for Mason.
No sooner had I asked the question than Mason began to stir and an odd growling sound emitted from his lips. He sounded nothing like the old Mase. We all three stood, staring at each other.
Demetri sighed, "I can attract someone." He began tearing his shirt then bit his wrist, smearing blood all over his ruined shirt. "Wait here and stay out of sight."
When he crept up to the hill and laid himself out on the side of the road, Axel and I went back down to where we'd left Mason. Being that the sun had almost set, we were well hidden from sight at this distance.
Shocking me, several cars flew right on past Demetri without even a glance at him until, finally, a car stopped and a young woman got out with her cell phone to check on Demetri.
Faster than you can blink, Demetri was up and had her face in his hands. I knew he was using glamour to convince her everything was fine. Glamour was a hypnotic technique that vampires used to calm and convince humans and lesser supes to feed on them. Once we had her wrapped in the glamour, he sent her down to where we were and got into her car, carefully pulling it off the road, turning on the hazard lights before he went to lift the hood. Whoa, this kid is good.
The moment she got a few feet from him, Mason launched to his feet. His eyes were bright red, his fangs out and he looked scarier than anything I'd ever seen in my life. I sucked in a breath.
"Restrain him!" Demetri shouted, running down the hill, but Axel was already on the task before he'd been instructed to. He'd gotten behind Mason, pinning his arms behind his back. Mason was fighting with all his might, snapping his jaws, although, thankfully, he couldn't turn around far enough to reach Axel.
Demetri stopped the girl’s advance and glared at me. "He's still your brother, Kylie. He just hasn't adjusted to his new life yet. Talk to him."
Shaking myself out of the shock at seeing my brother behaving like a rabid animal, I slowly approached him. "Mase. Hey, it’s me." He lunged for me, but couldn't get out of Axel’s hold. I swallowed hard. "We're not far from the Crawdad Diner where they have that great chili you love so much. It won't be long before the mall will be decorated for the holidays." I laughed softly. "Remember the Santa Claus they had last Christmas? He was so drunk he fell asleep with that little kid on his lap. Dad had a fit, calling security and making a scene." Mason's eyes began to clear of the red and he settled down, focusing on my voice, so I kept talking. "That was the year you got your first shotgun. Remember how excited you were? Dad took you hunting with it during duck season and—"
"Kylie," he cut me off.
"Yes, Mase, it’s me." I ran and hugged him, tears flowing down my face, however Axel still didn't release him. "I'm so glad you're okay. I was so worried."
"Kylie, am I dead?"
I stepped back, wiping my face. "No, Mase, you're not dead. You're just fine. Everything is going to be all right now." I smiled confidently at him.
Mason began to panic, looking around and down at his chest that was currently bare, but healed from the wound. "You didn't." Mason glared at me.
"I had to; you were dying. I couldn't lose you, too," I pleaded with him to forgive me.
Demetri stepped up next, holding the girl by the arm. "You have to feed now, Mason. You can be angry all you want, but if you don't learn to feed, you'll end up killing people when your hunger gets out of control."
"Feed! I don't want to drink blood! That's sick! How could you do this to me, Kylie? I wanted to be human, to die with Mom and Dad." With those words, I turned away. I didn't know how to respond.
As a growl left his lips, I knew Demetri must have approached him with the girl. "We aren't going to hurt her. You're going to take a few pulls from her vein and then release it, got it?" Demetri sounded years older and extremely firm.
"No, you don't get off that easily, Kylie. You watch what you've turned me into." I turned to see my brother staring at me, eyes filled with vehemence.
When Demetri bit the girl's wrist, she never even winced. He then placed it to my brother’s lips.
"I hate you," he growled at me. Then he bit.