Blood Moon Ch. 05

Derek and Rowan had practically fought the other to be first off the plane. If they had been on a longer flight, they might have thrown themselves on the ground and kiss the dirt. Luckily it wasn't that long. Even when they had gone from England to America, they opted to land in New York and drive to San Francisco. They even preferred to drive between their company headquarters in Washington and California. Flights were avoided unless absolutely necessary.

Derek was eyeing another private jet nearby as Rowan greedily gulped down the air beside him. Derek had made a few calls and learned that no flight booked under Lilith Angela or Casey Pukui had been made to Hawaii. He assumed that neither was so prepared as to have false IDs. Lilith perhaps, but not Casey. Before he hung up on his informant, he was told that a private jet in Seattle under a Miss Elizabeth Whiteley had set a course directly to Kauai. Derek wondered if Lilith either had some connections or Elizabeth Whiteley was another one of her aliases.

A black car came out to pick the both of them up. Derek and Rowan loaded into the car so they could be taken to Princeville in Hanalei. First he had to figure out if Lilith was on Kauai before he made his presence on the island known. He asked the driver about the private jet beside his.

"Well there were two women who got off the plane. Both very attractive. One looked like a local girl and the other looked like a foreigner. I couldn't really tell, I was far away." The driver answered.

"Thank you." Derek responded as he raised the separation glass between them.

Rowan was laying down on the chair across of Derek in the limo. Feeling his brother's eyes on him, Rowan turned his gaze to Derek and raised his eyebrows in question.

"Whit are ye staring at me for?"

"I recall you saying there was something you wanted to tell me. But we were too much in a rush to discuss it. What is it?" Derek was skimming through his phone for the number of his assistant partner to take care of the Seattle branch until his return.

"Do ye promise not tae kill me?"

Derek rolled his eyes at his brother's melodrama. He called his assistant partner and discussed his temporary take over of the Seattle branch. Derek had forgotten the early hour it was in San Francisco, but luckily for him, George was an early riser. They said their goodbyes as Derek turned his attention back to Rowan.

"I grant you immunity. What was it that you wanted to tell me? You forgot to lock the door and that's how Lilith escaped? Or you purposely left the door unlock so she could escape? What?"

Rowan gave a guilty look as he sat up. "In addition tae me talking tae Lilith when ye told me not tae and also forgetting tae lock the door, well I know why Lilith betrayed us."

Derek groaned. "I don't even want to hear the rest of what you have to say. Please, I'm sorry I asked. I'm tired. So I really can't bother myself by trying to wrap my head around anymore of her lies."

"But," Rowan tried to explain. "I would have done the same was I in her position."

"I ken." Derek sighed, surprising his brother. "Such deep and blind love. Willing to do anything for that person. Even ruin the lives of others. Sometimes I wonder if love is an evil thing."

"A parent's love for his child is not evil." Rowan shot back.

"What are you talking about? I'm talking about Lilith and William, or Daniel, whichever one it was she loved. And I'm sure you could relate since you loved Sara so whole-heartedly." Derek leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "Why the hell did you bring up children all of a sudden?"

Rowan watched as understanding dawned on Derek.

"Did Lilith have a child with Daniel?" Derek asked, unsure as to why he felt like he just swallowed acid.

"Are ye daft? Lilith did have a child, but the boy's da was not Daniel. It was ye." Rowan shouted.

Derek choked on air. The shocked look on his face would have been funny had it appeared under any other circumstance. He glowered at his brother for a sign of his announcement being a joke. But Rowan's face only reflected burning sincerity.

"What lies has she told you?" Derek demanded.

"She wasn't lying tae me. I judge a person within two minutes of meeting them and I'm always right. So when she told me she betrayed our clan tae keep her, yer son safe, I knew she wasn't lying. Daniel and William kidnapped her son and promised tae give him back safely had Lilith done as she was instructed." Rowan glanced at his brother's shocked expression.

Several minutes passed before Derek could say anything. Anger pulsed off of him in crushing waves, warning anyone with half a brain not to approach. With short breaths, Derek composed himself somewhat.

"Why?"

"Think about it, after ye claimed Lilith as your mate, there'd been no way she could have another's child. And she was a maiden when ye lain with her was she not?" Rowan was again surprised as a flush worked up his brother's face. "Och now, it's no time tae be embarrassed. That happened almost 600 years ago."

"I'm not embarrassed." Derek snapped. "I'm fucking pissed as 'ell right now. And whit the 'ell happened tae my son?"

Rowan swallowed. "He died when he was naught but a babe."

Growling low, Derek had to control himself from kicking down the car door and screaming his agony into the dark night.

"How?"

With a sigh, Rowan retold the story. When he was done, he held Derek's gaze. "Remember the lad who smelled of shifter blood that night?"

Derek looked up sharply as he began to understand what his brother was implying. "The one who was injured and drowning in his own blood?"

Rowan nodded. "That was Bran Roderick. Lilith arrived in the village when she saw the mercy kill. Except, she didn't know it was a mercy blow. Daniel got intae her head and made her believe that ye thought Bran Roderick was Daniel and Lilith's babe and that ye killed him out of revenge."

"Stop." Derek whispered. "Stop this fucking car! I want out of this car now!" He bellowed, banging against the glass divider so hard it shattered.

The car swerved to the right as the driver pulled on the side in a forceful stop. Derek nearly kicked the door open before the driver had a chance to get the door. The driver was used to demanding clients, but this was the first time he had to deal with such a temper.

The road was deserted at that time of night. Even though it was a main road, there wasn't much around. Just tall grass and the mountains surrounded them as Derek began to run away from the car. He ran away from civilization. Like a wild animal, he needed the comfort that only mother Earth could provide. His footsteps tore up the soft ground beneath him. Nature seemed to understand Derek's hurt as the wind picked up violently, throwing the long grass from the left to the right with vicious force.

Derek ran until he felt as though his lungs would burst. He ran until he stumbled and fell upon his knees. With a blurred view, Derek looked up at the full moon and cried out into the deafening silence of the night. He cursed Lilith and her naiveté. He cursed William and Daniel's immortal souls to roast in hell for all of eternity. He cursed the gods for robbing him of his son he would never know. And he cursed himself the most of all.

After a long while, Derek stood. He had cried tears he thought had long since dried up. Not bothering to fix his appearance, Derek began to walk back towards the car. Rowan was standing in the exact same spot, looking at Derek with a quiet understanding. In a way, Derek was grateful that his brother could sympathize with the feeling of losing a child. Rowan had lost both his children and his mate all at once. And Rowan had never spoken to Derek about it.

Both men got into the car without a word to the other. They didn't have to speak and were both grateful when the driver just continued to drive them to their hotel. The drive lasted an hour. A long and quiet hour. Luckily the driver took care of all the preparations and the only think Derek had to do was hand over his credit card and sign the charge slip. They went to their adjoining suites in silence and Rowan didn't utter a word as his brother locked himself in his room with all the alcohol he found at the mini-bar.

Lilith sat in the dark room and looked out the window. It was a guest room in Keo's house. Since it was late or rather early in the morning, Keo and Casey had left her to sleep. But the moment Lilith was left alone, she felt restless. There was the fact that she needed to feed soon, however that wasn't quite the feeling. Her heart was aching. It felt like someone had their hand around her heart and was squeezing. Lilith rubbed her hand over her chest as if to soothe the ache, but it didn't help.

The squeezing seemed to get tighter until Lilith gasped from the pain. She fell to the floor on her knees until she curled up in the fetal position. There was a knock on her door and she heard Casey on the other side asking if everything was alright. Slowly the door opened and Casey gasped as she saw Lilith on the floor. She switched on the lights and closed the door behind her quickly. Dropping to her knees beside Lilith, Casey reached for her.

"I was just on my way to bed and I heard something fall. What's wrong?" Casey asked worriedly.

"My heart." Lilith gasped out. "It hurts. It feels like it's being crushed."

"Vampires can't have heart attacks right? Bad blood maybe? Heart burn?" Casey didn't know what to do. She felt useless.

Lilith tried to smile. "No we don't have heart attacks or heart burn." Lilith bit down on a moan of pain. The pressure on her heart seemed to lighten, only to return a second later.

"When was the last time you ate?"

"At the club." Lilith ground out as the pain in her chest would lighten then return every other second.

"Here." Casey held out her wrist. "That was almost six days ago. Please drink from me for now. Maybe it's because you haven't eaten anything for so long."

The pain was becoming tolerable. Lilith realized that now her stomach was cramping. Maybe she really was starving. She reached for Casey's wrist and opened her mouth, but something felt wrong. Concentrating, Lilith sat there with Casey's wrist in her grasp.

"Is something the matter?" Casey asked.

With her heart beating in her ears and sweat dampening her forehead, Lilith answered. "I don't have my fangs anymore."

Derek unlocked the door to his room and stepped into the living room of the suite. Rowan was sitting on the couch in front of the television, eating room service food and watching the news. It had been a few days since they'd seen each other. Derek had gotten hammered and spent the better part of the second day with a mean hangover. By the third day he had gotten himself presentable with just a touch of a headache left.

They looked at each other and Rowan held up his plate of steak and offered it to his brother. Derek hesitantly took the plate and sat down beside his brother. His stomach growled and the both of them laughed. It had been a few days since Derek had eaten.

"How are ye feeling?" Rowan asked.

Derek swallowed the big chunk of steak he was chewing on. "Like shit. But what else is new. Say...have you found out about Lilith's whereabouts yet?"

"I have." Rowan answered slowly. "Are we going tae visit her today? Because I'd suggest we go maybe tomorrow when you're looking and feeling better."

"I wasn't planning on seeing her today. After much drunken reflection...I don't know what I'd say to her. I didn't exactly leave a good impression last time I saw her." Derek ate another bite.

"That's true. Well in case you're wondering. She's staying in Koloa with Casey and Casey's older brother, Keola. They live about an hour and a half drive from this place...maybe longer depending on the traffic and the weather."

Derek nodded as he finished eating and put the plate down. "I suppose tomorrow is a good time as any. Well, I have to call George. He called me a dozen times."

Rowan watched as Derek stood and went to grab his cell. He returned with his phone and laptop. Lowering the volume on the television, Rowan decided to take a nap while Derek caught up on his work.

Lilith was terrified. She stared down at the band-aid on her finger and blinked blankly a couple more times. What was happening to her? A couple nights ago, Casey had offered to feed her, but Lilith couldn't get her canines to elongate. Then she had begun to sweat...something that she surely had never done after she was turned. To make matters even scarier, her heart had started beating. Her heart beat was irregular for the first two days, sometimes beating too fast and other times impossibly slow. But after a couple days, it started to have a steady beat. One that Casey had put her ear to and listened. Color began to return to Lilith's pale skin, something that Keo had commented on and Lilith had told him it must be the sun.

Casey had tucked Lilith into bed that early morning after the failed feeding and slept beside her on the bed. When Lilith woke up to the smell of coffee, her stomach was cramping painfully. They had gone downstairs to see that Keo had cooked breakfast. Seeing the bacon, Portuguese sausages, scrambled eggs, toast, hash-browns, and rice Lilith's stomach grumbled. She had wondered if it meant she could eat. So she took a small bite of the bacon and her stomach begged for more food.

Before she knew it, she was shoveling down the food. Of course she had gotten sick, but her body hadn't rejected the food. She just lay in bed for the rest of the day with a stomach ache. So Lilith had worriedly called Elizabeth that night only to be sharply told that she was quite bothersome.

It had been three days since Lilith's heart had begun beating again. Since she now ate solids, it also meant she would be using the toilet for more than peeing. All of the changes that practically made her human were fascinating. Her senses were still honed.

When Lilith volunteered to help with dinner being made for Keo and Casey's parents, she accidentally cut herself. She didn't think anything of it and waved Keo off, telling him she was fine. But when the bleeding hadn't stopped, she realized just how human she really had become. So there she sat, looking down at the band-aid on her finger, wondering what it all meant.

Casey watched Lilith sitting out on the porch for a moment. Then she saw a car pull up into the driveway and a big smile spread across her face.

"Lilith! It's my parents. They're here! Quick, help me set the table for dinner." Casey rushed up to Lilith and they went back into the house to get the table set.

Keo brought out the food and placed it on the table. Lilith hadn't met Casey and Keo's parents since she was sick in bed when they first visited. Casey and Keo's parents were two very friendly people. They both had infectious laughs and were the sort of people to give hugs to strangers.

The night was spent telling funny stories about Casey and Keo growing up. Lilith learned that Casey's first name was Makalani, but since many people in Seattle couldn't remember that name, she had everyone call her by her middle name, Casey. By the time Mr. and Mrs. Pukui left, it was almost midnight. As Casey and Lilith washed dishes, they laughed about Keo having a crush and making a proposal to his teacher in second grade.

The phone rang. Interrupting their laughter, Keo answered and said it was for Lilith. Nervously, Lilith wiped her hands dry and accepted the phone.

"Hello?"

"For goodness sake, don't sound as though I'm the grim-reaper." Came a clipped British voice.

"Elizabeth." Lilith sighed in relief. "What is it?"

"Oh don't 'what is it' me. I've finished up my business here in California. I'll be there in a couple days. I thought I aught to warn you."

Before Lilith could answer, Elizabeth had hung up. Casey touched Lilith's arm, causing Lilith to jump.

"I'm sorry. I was just wondering if everything is alright." Casey whispered low.

Her brother was grumbling in the background since Casey had forced him into washing the rest of the dishes. Lilith gave Keo an apologetic smile, knowing Casey had put Keo on dishes duty so Casey could talk to her.

"Well Elizabeth will be coming here in a couple days." Lilith swallowed.

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Casey asked quietly.

Lilith looked Casey straight in the eyes. "I honestly don't know."

Back in California, a beautiful, willowy blonde stood at the bottom steps of a huge mansion. She looked over her shoulder once more at the large estate that had been her home for sixty years, although she alternated between her loft in San Francisco and her mansion in a more rural part north of the City. With a delicate flick of her wrist, her bags were loaded into the car that would bring her to the airport. She had waited twenty-eight hundred years for this moment. For so long she had spent time and money on finding a cure. The closest her research had gotten her was a deadly mutation that killed nearly a fourth of her kind. But now she would get the cure. Lilith was the answer.

The blonde got into the car. The door shut and the driver began to pull away from the curb. Lilith had called, sounding frightened with a new discovery. It was exactly a year since Lilith was injected with the anti-virus. Her body had been undergoing changes within the past year. Subtle changes that Lilith wouldn't know about until exactly a year later when the anti-virus was matured. Lilith was so far the only survivor.

The blonde looked at her PDA for her flight information and snorted in disgust. Of all things, she was riding in a commercial airplane. Forget the fact that she was riding in first class, it still didn't negate that she would have to be sharing a plane. She tossed her PDA next to her fake ID in her $4000 Gucci bag and crossed her long legs.

Staring out the window, she thought of her foolish uncle and father. It had been a curse that ruined them. But with science, she would find a way to be normal again. She had already found a way to walk into the sunlight with science. It was just a temporary fix since her skin had to constantly be replaced. The procedure cost her hundreds of thousands of dollars per surgery, but she couldn't quite complain since it meant she could be a day dweller. Drumming her perfectly manicured nails against the leather armrest, she addressed the driver.

"No one is to know that I'll be in Hawaii, understood?"

The driver nodded. "Yes, Ms. Elizabeth."

Keo left early in the morning to go surfing. Seeing as he lived a ten minute drive from the beach, he decided to ride his bike down, holding his surfboard under one arm as he went. Lilith had been curious at what he was doing so early in the morning. Her sensitive hearing had woken her up when she heard rustling below her window. She watched from her window as Keo balanced himself on his bike, picked up his surfboard and peddled off.

Lilith had gone back to bed for a couple more hours. She didn't wake up until Casey knocked on her door and asked if she wanted pancakes for breakfast. They were preparing breakfast, waiting for the last pancake to cook, when the doorbell rang.

Casey knew her brother's surfing schedule and it was too early for him to be back. If she recalled correctly, he would still be out for at least another three hours. She wiped her hand on the dish clothe as she told Lilith she'd get the door. Shooting Casey a pleading look, Lilith glanced back at the pancakes on the stove.

"Noooo." Lilith half-laughed. "The food is going to burn if you leave it with me. Come on, I haven't cooked in like a century. I'll go get the door." But Casey was already gone.

The pancake was a nice golden color when Lilith flipped it, so she assumed it could be taken off the pan. Lilith carefully transferred the pancake to a plate and turned off the stove. She stood there admiring the fact that the pancake wasn't burnt when she heard the door open and Casey screamed.