Blood Moon Ch. 07

They were probably Elizabeth's only fear. Them and the lycans who also considered their curse a blessing. If they caught wind of her theory about a child of both heritages, there was no doubt in her mind that they would be gunning for Lilith.

Suppressing a scream when something rubbed against her leg, Elizabeth glared down at Slim. "You're going to make my heart start beating again." She growled playfully. Slim meowed up at her and she picked him up. He was looking much healthier now. His coat was shiny and he put on some weight.

"Let's get you something to eat." Elizabeth murmured as Slim butted her chin and purred.

Rowan was back in San Francisco.

He didn't want to be on the same island as Casey. She probably didn't want him in the same plane of existence, much less the same island. The more he thought about what happened that night, the sulkier he got. Usually the jovial one that everyone liked, people found his smile contagious and would rather speak to him than his brother. So everyone knew something bothered Rowan when he first stalked into work several days ago. No one had even dared to ask how his trip to Seattle went.

He barked orders and snapped about being bothered. The executives pestered him about his brother's whereabouts. In the midst of a company take over and their boss nowhere in sight. Rowan had to bite his tongue during one meeting since he had been so very tempted to say he honestly didn't give a fuck.

Derek managed to call him about twice a day for updates. He only called when Lilith slept and stayed on the phone for a few minutes and then he hung up for some shut eye before the next bout of sex. Thankfully the mating period neared its end. Rowan felt kind of peeved listening to his brother sound so sated and exhausted.

After half an hour of unsuccessful code writing, Rowan figured he should take a break. He drummed his fingers on the desk and glanced at his phone. What would Casey say if he called her? Would she hang up on him? Rowan growled. Why was he even thinking about something so stupid? Frustrated yet again, Rowan pushed away from his desk and grabbed his gym gear. There was a gym in the building that the employees could use. He'd try to burn off some energy and hope that would put him in a better mood.

Princeville, Kauai

A week had passed before Lilith and Derek attempted to leave his suite. Now that she was out of heat, they decided to grab breakfast out. Each time they glanced at the other, a sappy smile would spread on both their faces. Lilith's smile would be accompanied with a blush and giggle while Derek tended to raise a brow as if reading her naughty thoughts. Onlookers would assume the two were on their honeymoon with the way they acted.

They had stopped at Eggburts in a town called Kapaa on their way to Koloa. There was a long line, but seats opened up when a large group left. Lilith and Derek were seated outside in the corner so they could enjoy the breezy weather. It was hard to believe that it had been storming for the past several days.

"What happened to Rowan?" Lilith asked after she thanked Derek for helping her into her chair.

Derek looked up from the menu he was skimming. He didn't say anything for a few moments until Lilith started blushing and told him to stop looking at her like that.

"Like what?" He grinned slowly, but decided not to tease her. "Rowan is back in San Francisco since the Seattle branch is running smoothly. We usually work out of San Francisco." A frown touched his mouth. "I'm not sure if Casey has told you, but things didn't work out. Well, I didn't find that out in so many words. Rowan just says he rather not talk about it."

"Casey didn't tell me anything. We just talked so she could make sure I was still alive and unharmed." Lilith said with a faint smile at Derek's snort. "I wonder what happened between those two." Her brows scrunched in thought.

After sipping at his coffee, Derek figured he may as well talk about his return to San Francisco. His brother wasn't in a good mood to begin with, but with the company take over looming as well, he'd say Rowan was pissed.

"I have to return to San Francisco." He started off and then paused to gage Lilith's expression. She didn't seem surprised by his words. "I'm not sure how this is supposed to work." He said honestly. "Do you want to stay here? I'd like it if you went with me to San Francisco. I'd feel better if you aren't an ocean away."

Lilith thought about her words carefully. It would probably be best to go with Roderick. Casey had been amazingly kind to her. Both Casey and her brother took her in and she was practically a stranger. Lilith wasn't even sure how much danger she brought to their doorstep. It would be best if she left as soon as possible. This was the best exit she could make.

"Yes, I'll follow you to San Francisco." She agreed softly. Casey was not going to like this, but Lilith had already been enough of a burden on Casey and Keo.

Derek smiled. "I was expecting more of a fight."

"I think you worked hard enough for a break." Lilith smiled as well.

The waitress was back at their table to take their order and they both laughingly apologized that they hadn't even scanned the menu. After asking for five more minutes, Derek and Lilith looked through the breakfast selection and were ready to order when the waitress came back in five minutes. Although they kept up a conversation throughout breakfast, Lilith's mind was on how she'd explain things to Casey.

Undisclosed location, Canada

When the silent alarms triggered, the scientist hurriedly went to destroying all the information. An updated copy was stored in another safe house that no one from this laboratory knew the location of. This time, the alert was not a test. The image of the bloodied and mangled bodies of the security guards made that a fact. After entering the password into the computer, the virus immediately went to work at corrupting all the files.

With a squeak, the pretty researcher turned suddenly when the large metal door blew off the hinges. Her golden eyes grew wide as she recognized the intruder. Before she could demand for answers, she was bathed in intense UV lights. She squeezed her eyes shut and turned away with a hiss. For a split second, her skin felt as though it was tightening to an unbearable itch before she burst into flames.

Lighting a cigarette, the man in charge of the attack took a drag before a long exhale. He ignored Tara's screams as the fire consumed her until she was nothing but a pile of ash and bones. The bones told him that she was a young vampire. Her bones hadn't turned to dust.

"Don't bother." He growled when one of his men tried to search the computers. "Check out the papers that weren't completely destroyed. These abominations were working on something big."

Koloa, Kauai

Casey's cell was ringing and she frowned at the unidentified number. Picking it up, she answered politely. "Hello, Casey Pukui speaking."

"Where is Lilith?" Came an almost urgent reply.

Casey frowned. "Elizabeth? She's still with Derek. She said she's coming back today. I think her cell died. She's been calling me from the hotel. Did you try Derek's cell? What's wrong?"

"Obviously I tried Derek. You were a last resort. I'm heading over right now."

With that, Elizabeth ended their call. Staring down at her cell, Casey started to feel a bit sick. What was going on?

The moment Lilith stepped out of Derek's car, Elizabeth was by her side. The vampire's grip nearly snapped her arm as she tugged Lilith towards her car. Casey was running towards them as Derek growled for Elizabeth to release Lilith.

"Stop." Elizabeth said, making both Derek and Casey freeze in place. "We do not have time to discuss this. I need to get Lilith to safety first."

"Elizabeth, what is going on?" Lilith demanded as she tried to tug her arm out of the iron hold.

"No time, get in the car and I will explain. Go willingly, or I can force you." She looked over at Derek and felt his mind clashing with hers as she forced him to sleep. He needed to go with her as well.

The shape-shifter dropped to the ground in an unconscious heap. Lilith gasped and was demanding for answers again. Elizabeth wanted to snarl. Why couldn't the stupid girl just cooperate for once? Her head snapped to the side as a car pulled into the garage.

Keo turned off the engine and stepped out of his car. He grinned at the scene. It looked so dramatic. "Did I miss something?" He laughed then spotted Derek on the ground. "Holy shit, is he okay?"

"Don't move." Elizabeth pinned a look on him.

The man stopped moving, his smile slipping off his face. He frowned at her and raised his hands in mock surrender. "Did Derek faint?" He teased.

"What? No. Stay there." She repeated, utterly confused why he was moving his arms around.

Keo shifted on his feet and looked down at the green grass. He lifted one foot, then the other. What was the deal? Were they playing a game?

"What is wrong with you?" Elizabeth hissed.

Keo caught Lilith's struggling and he wondered just how strong Elizabeth was. She didn't even seem to budge as Lilith nearly yanked her arm out of the socket. He frowned once more as he thought about Elizabeth's words. His curiosity increased ten-folds.

Elizabeth ignored him then and dragged Lilith over to the waiting car. She practically shoved Lilith inside and shut the door. She barked an order to her driver who got out and went to dragging Derek's body. Keo made his way to her now, asking what was going on.

"How is it you can still be moving?" She pondered aloud, but she had no time for this.

Casey watched intently from her rooted position. Keo had never seen his sister so still or quiet. Something was definitely wrong. Lilith pounded on the car window and Keo had a sinking feeling this wasn't a game. Elizabeth had muttered 'sleep' and the noise suddenly stopped.

"What the hell is going on?" He demanded to know and went over to his sister who didn't even move when he place his hand on her shoulder and shook. "Shit, Casey?" He started to grow worried.

He turned to look at Elizabeth, but with Derek already loaded in, the driver got back into the car. They pealed out of the driveway and Keo caught his sister as her knees buckled and she fell forward.

"We have to follow them." Casey said frantically, trying to get her thoughts straight. She felt so light headed. "I don't know!" She shouted when her brother helped her to the car, asking what the fuck just happened. They got into the car and Keo made her buckle up as he started up his car and tore off after them.

"Airport?" He asked his sister as they tried to figure out where Elizabeth was going.

The airport made the most sense. If Elizabeth was trying to hide somewhere, she wouldn't be doing it on a tiny island. Rushing to the airport was easier said than done. There was only a two-lane main road going into town and it was rush hour. Keo took the twisting back roads that came out in the housing projects across of the golf course in Lihue. They passed the cemetery and the old courthouse as they took the road behind the shutdown sugar mill. When they reached the airport, they screeched to a halt in the employee parking lot.

"Hey, Chaddy boy, watch my car will you?" Keo laughed, a bit out of breath. He tossed the keys to his cousin who worked as a parking security guard while he and Casey made a mad dash towards the private hangers. Having a big family came in handy.

Casey and Keo ran passed security, waving at their cousin and family friends who worked in the box. Usually Keo and Casey had bets going on so their behavior wasn't too out of the normal for them. They could hear their guys shouting in the distance about who they put their money on.

"You go left, I go right." Keo said and he ran off to the right.

He passed his second cousin's husband who drove some baggage around. Putting his arms up, Keo flagged the guy down as he tried to catch his breath. The guy laughed and asking if it was another one of those infamous bets he had going with his sister.

"Hey," Keo sucked in a breath trying to get enough air in his lungs to ask his question, "any private jets," deep inhale, "about to take off?" His sides burned.

"Yeah, over there. Who's bookie? I wanna put in my bet for you." He laughed as Keo took off again in the direction Nick pointed.

Keo found one jet out and ready to be boarded. No security on guard duty. He sprinted up the stairs and burst into the private cabin. No one was there. His lungs burning, he went to check the back rooms. As he flew one door open, there was a commotion coming from the cabin. He tried to remain quiet, but he was breathing too harshly. In less than five minutes, he heard the door shut and the jet started to move. Oh fuck.

Casey stopped running as she heard an engine start up. In the distance, she spotted the car Elizabeth had been in and a plane began to pull out and start to roll. Promising that she'd get her butt into shape after this fiasco, Casey started running in that direction. She breathed heavily as if her lungs caught fire. Even though she knew she couldn't catch up, she kept running. The plane gained speed and by the time she reached the black car, the plane reached halfway down the runway.

Ripping out her cell phone, Casey tried to catch her breath as she frantically speed dial 2 her brother. She watched as the plane got to the end of the runway and lifted up, the wheels pulling in. The phone rang, but her hopes sank when it went to voicemail. The way it cut off mid-ring, she knew he had ignored her call.

"Damnit, Keo..." She exhaled harshly and sucked in another breath. "Please be safe." She whispered raggedly before she made a call to the only one she knew who could help her.