Blood Relations

"I would offer you something to drink," Serena said. "But all I have is tap water."

"I'm fine thanks," Adam said. "Wait...do you have any food or anything?"

Serena shook her head no.

"Hopefully tomorrow I can venture out and find some," Serena said. "I saw a small market on the strip, but can't figure out what time its open. I don't have a car."

She watched Adam's brow furrow, but then he relaxed.

"Be careful about who you invite back up here," Adam said.

"I think I'm an okay judge of character," Serena said.

"And I think you're a little girl who is trying to act older than she is," Adam said.

Serena blinked away the anger. How dare he make any assumptions about her, what she had been through, or what she was capable of. It was one thing to insult her size on the street, but to insult her personality inside her apartment was too much.

"Apparently I'm not as strong a judge as I thought since I let you up here," Serena said.

"Burn," Adam said.

He broke out into a smile, but Serena had enough for tonight.

"Thanks for walking me home," Serena said. "But will you please leave."

Adam lifted his hands in the air and started to back out of the apartment.

"I meant no harm," Adam said. "I was just trying to say..."

"I was trying to say I need some sleep," Serena said.

She walked over to the door and held it open, using her hand to signal to Adam it was time to leave. He didn't say another word before stepping into the hallway. His mouth was about to open when Serena slammed the door shut, hoping she could go the rest of the summer without running into him again.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Adam knew he screwed up. His sister and Thomas were heavy on his mind and he momentarily forgot he needed to stay on Serena's good side if he wanted to mess with Malcolm. That seemed to take a backseat. Mates. Mates! He wanted to scream, but a bigger part of him wanted to go to the apartment and beat the shit out of that Thomas character. Adam didn't know anything about him. What was his rank? What pack was he from? Was he a rouge?

Adam took a breath. His last thought was ridiculous. Rouges didn't come to Juliet. He walked back towards the club, not surprised to see Lance standing outside.

"Didn't make a night of it with the baby doll?" Lance asked.

"I have too much on my mind," Adam said.

"Where are you heading?" Lance asked.

"My apartment," Adam said through gritted teeth.

Adam felt an arm drape over his shoulder.

"You know what they're doing there," Lance said. "Do you really want to walk in on that? Your little sister's naked body grinding against that tall blond man, moaning and screaming his name?"

Adam pushed Lance away and gave him a grossed out face.

"Shit man," Adam said. "I don't want to hear that."

"Then I suggest you avoid your apartment," Lance said. "Come on. Let's go to Hazards. I'll buy you a drink."

Adam didn't want to go to the bar, but after Lance's advice he really didn't want to go home. So he walked down the strip to the sports bar where pretty much only the locals hung out.

~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~

"Why are you so against mating again?" Lance asked as he threw his dart.

"It's bullshit," Adam said. "Some cosmic force you're predestined to be with? Look how it worked out for my mom."

"Maybe your dad wasn't your mom's mate?" Lance asked.

"Don't talk about my mother," Adam said.

"Well I knew her when she was your age," Lance said. "And I will probably know your children when they are your age. And their children after that, and so on."

"Why do you stay here?" Adam asked. "I mean, I would understand coming for the tourist season, but why year round?"

"I like it here," Lance said. "I suppose I prefer the company of Weres to other Vamps?"

"Well I would rather be a vampire. You don't have to deal with the consequences of not having a pack, or buy in to this mate bullshit," Adam said.

"Those are some perks," Lance said. "But sometimes Vampires have mates, I mean not in the same sense as you do, but we're capable of love."

"Love so consuming it supposedly hurts to be apart?" Adam said. "So strong it alters your DNA?"

"I'm only a few hundred years old," Lance said. "So I can't comment, but I've had some great loves."

"Any you have turned?" Adam asked.

He watched as his friend's face dropped. The redhead turned towards Adam and shook his head. Adam didn't think he was saying no so much as saying he didn't want to talk about it.

"Why was Piper entertaining a human?" Lance asked.

Adam went to throw his darts.

"They work together."

"And what's your interest in her?" Lance asked.

"Malcolm is interested in her," Adam responded. "And I am interested in annoying Malcolm. I got so heated over Piper tonight though I might have screwed my chances."

"Good," Lance said. "I would stay away from that one."

"Why?" Adam asked. "She's just a human."

Lance scratched the back of his head.

"I can't put my finger on it," Lance said. "But she gave me a feeling. She heard me mention feeders and then asked about them nonchalantly. I thought maybe she was some sort of supernatural, down the family line maybe a fairy or an elf? But I hypnotized her just fine, so she's a plain old human."

"I was expecting another speech about avoiding Malcolm," Adam said.

"This is more about her. There is a lot of pain there. I can't tell if it's in her past or her future," Lance said. "Either way I tend to avoid pain. You should too."

"Earlier today Piper was talking about bad auras, now you too," Adam said. "Neither of you have that sort of power. She's just a human. Tonight was a setback. By the end of the week she will be in my bed, in two weeks Malcolm will find out about it, and I will take an insane amount of joy in pissing that man off."

Adam threw his last dart and landed exactly in the center of the bullseye. He turned to look at Lance with a huge grin, but the vampire just shook his head.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The crack of the belt was deafening. Serena wanted to cover her ears, but it was like she was watching a movie and her arms were stuck to the chair.

"You deserve this," a man's voice said from another room.

Serena saw his arm rise in the doorway, belt in hand. It came crashing down again. This time she heard the woman scream. The man picked up the pace of his beating. Serena turned her head and saw two little kids in the corner. She didn't think they could have been older than ten. The little boy was holding his hands over the little girl's ears. The woman's screams started turning to whimpers.

The little boy gave the girl a kiss on the top of her forehead before running towards the doorframe. He bent down and ran as full strength into the man's legs, ramming his head into the man's knees and knocking him to the ground. Instead of running away the little boy tried to comfort the woman on the floor. Serena wanted to tell him to run.

She watched as the man stood back up. It didn't take long for him to grab onto the little boy. She watched him raise his fist, about to attack the child. Serena let out a scream and flung upright in her bed.

It was just a dream. Her breathing was deep and sweat covered her body. The morning sun was shining through the open doors and Serena understood what Malcolm meant when he talked about Midwest heat and humidity. She glanced at her phone, which was pretty much only good as a clock and mp3 playing at the moment. It was almost noon. She hated sleeping in this late, but before getting too down on herself she tried to remember the last time she had slept for any longer than four hour intervals and realized she couldn't.

As she walked to the bathroom Serena peeled off the sweat soaked nightgown. She started the shower and jumped right in, enjoying the way the cool water rolled off her skin, taking the remnants of the nightmare with it.

After the shower Serena didn't bother drying her hair. Instead she layered the long hair on top of her head and secured it with a band, making a huge messy bun. She pulled on athletic shorts and a tank top before slipping into her sneakers and grabbing her purse, determined to find some food today.

When she arrived at the main drag she was shocked everything was empty yet again. It was a Saturday afternoon in a tourist town. The streets should be packed. The little market she spotted yesterday was still closed. She wondered where Piper got the donuts, that place should at least be open, but then she remembered she had no idea where Piper even lived, it could be across town and way far out of walking range. Thinking of the donuts reminded Serena she still had some leftover and decided to head back to eat those for lunch.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Adam woke with stiff muscles. He was on Lance's couch instead on in his own comfy bed. He glanced at the clock on the wall. It was almost three. There was no desire in him to go home, but he needed to shower and change, as well as eat something. He walked outside Lance's house, using his spare key to deadbolt the door behind him. The two miles to his apartment would go faster is he shifted, but Adam didn't feel like wasting his clothes or walking naked into his apartment.

He made it to his place and unlocked the door, feeling relief when the apartment was quiet and Piper's door was closed. He slid into his bedroom, knowing if she woke up it would only lead to a fight. He showered fast and changed into a pair of black shorts and fitted green v-neck. He slid his feet into sandals and was about to leave the apartment when there was a knock on his bedroom door.

"What?" Adam yelled.

"Can I come in?" Piper said back.

"Whatever," Adam said.

Piper pushed open the door and sat down on Adam's bed.

"Please don't be mad at me," Piper said.

"Admit this guy isn't your mate," Adam said.

"He is though," Piper said. "I can't describe how good it feels to be near him."

"You haven't even known him for twenty four hours," Adam said.

"That doesn't matter," Piper said. "I love him and he loves me."

"What's his last name? Where is he from? What pack does he belong to? What's his standing? Are you going to move away with him?"

Adam watched as his sister's face turned into a frown.

"You don't understand," Piper said. "I don't care about any of that stuff. We will figure it out together."

"That is exactly the stuff that you should care about," Adam yelled. "What are you going to do when you move across the country for him? And then he turns on you? What if you already have children? Will they have to protect you?"

"Thomas isn't capable of hurting me," Piper said. "I can't explain it."

"That's because you're a fool," Adam said.

Piper's face went blank. She stood up from the bed and approached her brother.

"Someday you will find your mate and you will regret treating me this way," Piper said. "Until then if you can't be happy for me at least fake it, or else you will end up all alone. I won't be there for you the next time you screw up."

Adam felt his senses flare. Rather than take Piper's bait he stuffed his wallet in his pants pocket and grabbed his phone.

"Funny because without me you would probably be dead," Adam said. "Then there is no way you would have ever discovered your precious mate. Remember that the next time you feel like threatening me."

Adam narrowed his eyes at Piper and she knew exactly what he meant. He watched the guilt sink in her face and smirked at her.

"I'll stay at Lance's until you two are more settled," Adam said. "I would hate to interrupt anything."

He walked around his sister and into the hall. He left the apartment slamming the door behind him. He didn't move away from the door and heard her let out a sob. Adam was about to go back inside and apologize, but then he heard feet run across the hall and her supposed mate comforting her.

Adam needed a distraction from this mess and he couldn't think of a better one than the little miss a few miles away.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*

With little other entertainment options Serena sat at her desk converting accounts. She was finishing up her third business, this one a hotel. Apparently it was in town, owned by the Hawkins Corporation as well. Serena couldn't believe how much the rooms per night cost. The cheap ones were over a grand. She hoped to get a tour of this place before she went back to New Mexico.

The sun was starting to disappear. Serena checked the time and saw it was almost six pm. Maybe now one of the restaurants would be open and she could grab some real food. Before she turned off her computer she decided to be brave and check her e-mail.

Saturdays meant less junk mail, so instead she saw the normal subject lines, all from spammed e-mail accounts so Serena couldn't even defend herself. Against her better judgment she opened the first one, subject line: Dirty Whore.

Slutty Serena,

If you come back in the fall without admitting what you are, this little video will be on the universities homepage.

There was a video embedded in the e-mail. It was of a woman taking it up the ass, but instead of her face a picture of Serena was superimposed, bouncing back and forth as she was rammed into. Serena exited out of the e-mail, shaking. Nobody would ever believe it was actually her in the video, but Serena didn't think her cyber attacker was filled with empty threats.

~*~*~ One Month Ago ~*~*~

The campus police officer went through the stack of e-mails Serena had printed out.

"While these are very disturbing, there isn't a lot we can do," the officer said.

"Please," Serena said. "I know it's him. He's ruining my life."

"He says it wasn't and there is no proof," the officer replied. "My hands are tied."

"I've already had to delete my twitter account," Serena said. "I'm scared to check my e-mail."

"Unless one is sent to your university address we can't trace the sender," the officer said. "Besides, Jacob seems like a good kid. He was genuinely concerned about you when we talked to him. This sort of harassing behavior is more common in girls. As far as what I can tell the e-mails aren't requesting anything."

"He's too clever for that," Serena said.

She knew exactly what the e-mails meant. It was obvious campus police wouldn't be able to help her.

"You've had a really tough year," the officer said. "I can't think of a person who deserves this sort of treatment less. What are your plans for the summer?"

"I was going to go home," Serena said.

She dropped her head. School ended in less than a month and she had no plan.

"Well just try and ignore this," the officer said. "Focus on your summer. I'm sure by the time the fall rolls around this girl will have moved on to a new target."

Serena grabbed her bag and stood up to leave. She left the police station and started walking towards her next class.

"Serena wait up!"

She turned around to see Jacob running towards her. Serena's heart jumped in her throat. She looked at the ground and kept walking.

"The police told me what is happening to you," Jacob said. "So so sad. They also mentioned it was impossible to find the person, they are doing such a good job covering their tracks."

"I know it is you," Serena said. "Just leave me alone."

"Now why would I do something like that?" Jacob asked. "Sure, you ripped out my heart, teased me, led me on, made me think I mattered to you. I mean, I figured out you are just a huge slut, but all I need now is for you to admit it."

"We kissed one night," Serena said. "I was drunk and you are crazy."

Jacob stopped right in front of Serena. She tried to walk around him, but he continued to block her.

"Admit what you are, and come to me," Jacob said. "Then I can help you stop this person from bothering you."

Serena sprinted around him and ran into her class, her hands shaking, unsure of what to do. Maybe the cop was right. She should try to get some distance this summer. After class she would talk to the professor about some internships.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Serena decided to stop up at the loft first, there was a little chill to the air and she thought it would be wise to grab a sweatshirt. She ran up the stairs, but slowed when she noticed the door was slightly cracked. She could hear someone walking around and almost ran away, but decided if someone was robbing her they wouldn't have much to steal. She pushed open the door and was surprised to see Adam standing over her stove. Her nose was hit with the most delicious scent.

"Welcome home little miss," Adam said. "I came with a peace offering. Apologizes for my mood last night. I hope you eat beef."

"What are you doing in here?" Serena asked.

"I knocked on the door," Adam said. "It was unlocked. I would have left, but I needed to get these in the fridge."

He walked over and opened the door to the fridge and freezer. They were both stuffed with food.

"Then I didn't think it was right to leave your apartment unlocked and unmanned," Adam said.

"I swear locked the door before I left," Serena said.

Adam shrugged and went back to the stove. There were two plates set out on the small kitchen table, an open bottle of red wine and one glass. Serena reached forward and poured herself some.

"You didn't need to do that," Serena said.

"I know you are more than capable of buying your own food," Adam said. "But I was such a jerk, I didn't think flowers would cut it."

"Why do you care if I think you're a jerk?" Serena asked.

Adam turned away from the stove, carrying the pan with him he dumped half the stir fry on each plate. He returned the pan to the stove and brought over his glass of wine.

"Isn't it obvious?" Adam asked. "I like you."

Serena rolled her eyes.

"You don't even know me," she said.

"Well how about I think you're pretty and I would like to get to know you?" Adam asked. "Is that an acceptable answer?"

Serena wasn't used to guys being so direct. She felt her lips hang open, trying to think of a response.

"Why don't you put some food in there instead of gawking," Adam said. "Then tell me what you think."

The food was good. In fact it was amazing. The last time Serena had anything homemade was Christmas, but the last six months had felt like six years.

"You don't like it?" Adam asked.

"Oh no," Serena said. "It's amazing. I just got lost in my thoughts."

"I have a penny if you feel like sharing," Adam said.

"I don't," Serena said.

She felt bad for snapping. He was being so nice.

"Tell me about yourself," Serena said.

"Not much to tell," Adam said. "I'm from Juliet. I've lived here most of my life. I work at the club."

"Where did you go when you didn't live here?" Serena asked.

"Montana," Adam said. "Only for a few months."

"Didn't like it?" Serena asked.

"You could say that," Adam said.

"Is it your life goal to be a bartender?" Serena asked.

She realized that came out snobby, but Adam didn't seem to take offense.

"I used to be the manager/part owner," Adam said. "But things have changed and while I'm still a part owner I lost some of my standing. Over the last year I've worked my way up from bouncer again. I think it's better this way too. I will appreciate everything my staff does."

"You're interesting," Serena said.

"Thank you," Adam said.

"I don't know if I meant it as a compliment," Serena said.

"Well how did you mean it?"

"You give just enough answer to come off like you're being honest, but you don't really answer the questions," Serena said.

Adam's grin fell, but then he pressed his lips together and started to smile again.

"Something tells me if I ask you about yourself you will have similar responses," Adam said.

"It is an art," Serena said. "Keeping private things private that is. You will have to teach me how to do it while remaining charming."