Three months doesn't sound as long as it felt. Three months since I'd been in that facility room, three months since I'd seen my old friends, three months since I'd gotten Victoria back. Each day dragging longer than the last.

  Once again confined to a small house, rarely ever allowed outside, with no one in my life but Victoria. We were held on a tight-ass leash. No social media, phones constantly monitored, no contact with the outside world. We weren't even allowed to go out to feed, instead waking up to a delivery at the door each Sunday of just enough blood to last the week. Like prescribed medications, really. They never mentioned where it came from, either, which I tried not to dwell on.

  Because this was okay. Right? Back where we started, but now Vic was herself.

  Sometimes entire days passed without a single word spoken, or glances exchanged. Some nights we'd stay up and laugh along to a movie, cuddled up on the couch. The only way to know how the current day was going to go was by judging the first thirty seconds after our alarms went off.

  This time Vicky smashed her alarm clock with a fist, sending plastic shards across the carpet.

  Okay. There's my cue. One of 'those' days.

  "Ugh." She sat up slowly, running a hand through still-blonde hair. She inhaled deeply and stared numbly at the door.

  "That's... one way to turn it off." I murmured cautiously, rolling over to face her and blinking off sleep.

  "Mm."

  Oh how I hated these types of mornings. I fully respected her need for space and quiet every now and then, we'd been through hell and the weekly therapy sessions we were forced to still take sometimes only further reminded us of what we'd began to block out, but still. We didn't always match up. And today, I really wanted someone to talk to. Just a conversation. Something normal and mundane. Maybe, god forbid, a hug for once.

  "You kept waking up again last night." She attempted chatter, tone dull. "Does Charlotte know your nightmares are back?"

  "No. Don't tell her, either." I sighed, pushing myself to sit up on the edge of the bed. "I don't need her on my ass even more."

  Vicky nodded and yawned. Her tongue ran across a fang, swiping off a thin sheet of venom that had piled up in her sleep from the ever present adrenaline. The sheets slid off of her legs as she walked around the bed. The room was dark, with thick curtains blocking all outside light. Fake candles illuminated the corners, but they weren't that necessary when the only people living there had night vision on auto. Regardless, it wasn't all that bright out there anyway, the thick trees taking up the majority of sunlight space.

  I realised I'd zoned out when I flinched at the kiss pressed against my temple. I snapped my head to my side where Vic stood, blinking at her. "Huh?"

  She arched a brow and chuckled a little, taking her phone from my bedside table before heading out of the room.

  I stared at her for another moment or two before registering it and scurrying out of bed.

  "Hey, hang on!"

  Victoria groaned and continued her path to the kitchen. I grabbed her wrist gently and pulled her closer.

  "What was that for?" I couldn't stop a smile. "You don't seem affectionate today."

  "Yeah, I'm not. I want breakfast." She deadpanned, tugging at my grip lazily. "Zach, c'mon–"

  "You're such a bad liar." I grinned, and kissed her softly.

  Her protests died immediately as she melted like butter in my hold, arms wrapping around my neck.

  "Not a lie." She grumbled an inch from my lips. "Just an exaggeration. I do want breakfast."

  I let her go so that I could wander to the front door. The fresh scent of oak and rain hit my senses as the heavy door opened. My nose scrunched slightly. I picked up the unlabelled white box on the mat and carried it back inside like I did every Sunday.

  "Hurry up!" Vic leaned against the dining table, humming under her breath and itching with anticipation. "...Please."

  "It's not all that exciting." A scoff escaped me.

  I sat the box down on the table and tore it open with a nail. As always, it consisted of a smaller cooler containing our weekly blood rations, a stack of miscellaneous DVD boxes for our entertainment, hygiene products, and the odd clothing particle.

  "See?" I sighed, passing her the black band tee that came with it this time, along with a jug of blood. "Nothing interesting."

  "So what's that?" She pointed to the card tucked in a corner.

  My eyes narrowed at it. I snatched it and walked off a few steps, just in case it wasn't something I'd want her reading. The deliveries sometimes came with a random extra thing, be it a board game or if we'd specifically asked for something. But never a handwritten note with our names on it.

  Dear Victoria and Zach,

  I hope you're doing well. I wanted to reach out and personally apologise for the actions of Alicia Harvey. I would apologise for the other guy, but I've never even met him, so uh yeah. I won't make a single excuse for her, there's nothing that can take away the harm she caused you both and others. But her own words don't mean a thing when her mind changes every ten seconds, so take my apology instead of hers. I'm probably the only person still alive to know the real her, the old her. She wasn't capable of any of this back then, I can tell you that.

  You're young, you've only just begun to live. I don't want you spending the next hundred chapters of your lives shattered by the events of the first portion. Scars don't really fade, I understand that, but they aren't the end. I want you to know that not all of us are like the two examples you've come to know. There are people in our community who truly do care for you and your stories. Trust me, word gets around fast here. We may be small in number, but we're a tightly knit group.

  It sucks you got scooped up by the feds. They better be going easy on you. If you ever escape, Roland's Cave is always open to take you in. And to the said feds reading this, I am not legally responsible if your inmates act on my pretend suggestions. Please don't track me down again.

  To Victoria, Dean says work is boring without you there. Apparently the cafe's a bit awkward now that he's the only one who can make a good latte. And Zach, I'm sorry we only met once, and full disclosure I was drunk when we did. Hope you didn't notice haha. Did Dean mention he was there that night when you met him again at Autumn's work? If he didn't, my bad for spilling.

  Anyway I'm running out of paper space. Hope the feds don't just throw this out. Just know you'll always have a home out here in Melbourne when you're free again.

  Love,

  Maxine Byrne. And apparently also Julian and Dean.

  I stared at the paper for a while, mulling the words over in my mind again and again. Some of it... didn't quite match my memory.

  "Who's it from? Is it bad?" Vic murmured, pausing halfway through pouring herself a glass of blood. "Please don't tell me it's bad."

  "Do you remember Maxine?" I glanced at her, foot tapping subconsciously. "The woman I met at Roland's Cave who told me about Dahlia?"

  "Vaguely." Her brow furrowed. She sipped her drink, a bit of blood lingering on her upper lip as she did. "I know Apple mentioned her too. They have history, I think. Apple called her untrustworthy."

  "This is from her." I gestured to the card. "She wrote an apology on Alicia's behalf. Which I guess makes sense if they were friends for ages. But..."

  And the card was swiped from my hands the second I lost focus.

  "Hey–!"

  "Weird." Vic murmured as she read it over. Her lips parted a few times when she reached the same lines I'd gotten stuck on as well. "... She knows Dean?"

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  "The guy from your work who gave us his blood that one time, right? When you were Autumn." My arms crossed. "I knew he looked familiar. Now that I think about it, yeah, I think he was there that night at the bar, sitting next to her with another guy."

  "Hang on... Julian? That's Dean's boyfriend." Vic sat her glass down and held the note with both hands, starting to worry. "But then how does he know Maxine? W-Why did Dean never tell me he'd already met you?"

  "I knew it was weird that he just so happened to be in the business of donating blood to vampires." I scoffed, remembering my one-sided distaste towards the man. "He never said anything? Never mentioned Maxine or any other vampires?"

  "No!" She frowned, shaking her head. "He was pretty private about his other clients, but no, I had no idea he was connected to Max... who's connected to both Apple and Dahlia... I'm starting to wonder if everyone we know knows each other."

  "It's a tightly knit community, according to the note." I rolled my eyes and took the card back. "Maybe we should ask Charlotte if we could meet up with Maxine. Supervised, I'd assume. They let her send us this card, so maybe they don't have bad blood with her."

  "Why didn't Dean ever..."

  I looked over to her with a slight wince at the betrayal lingering in her trembling hands, the crack in her voice. Victoria sighed and sipped her glass again, trying to bite down the thoughts in her head.

  "Y'know what? As long as we don't have Dahlia show up at our door, I don't care anymore. I'm not even surprised at this point. I give up." She grumbled, collapsing on the couch face first into a pillow.

  I nodded and rubbed my eyes. We had all the time in the world to figure it out.

  My nose twitched, a faint but familiar chemical smell coming from the box. I leaned over it and moved aside the jugs of blood and DVDs. My eyes widened at the small containers hidden in the corner that I somehow hadn't noticed at first.

  I paused, unsure how Vic would react at the sight of them. I scooped one out and held it up.

  "Vicky."

  "Huh?"

  She lifted her head, and her eyes snapped wide at the sight.

  "... Is that–?"

  "There's several, actually. They were hiding here behind the blood." I said as I placed one container of coloured hair dye on the table at a time.

  Cyan. Dark blue. Purple. Pink. Red. Brown.

  I hesitated, taking a moment to survey her reaction. "... I guess they didn't know what one you'd want."

  "I didn't ask for hair dye." She walked over regardless, features softening. She picked one up and examined it. "This is my favourite brand. How did they know?"

  "Were you planning on colouring your hair again?" I asked gently, twirling a blonde strand and tucking it behind her ear. "You haven't had your natural colour for this long since you were a kid."

  "I forgot about it." She murmured, looking at the different options. "I don't care much for my appearance when you're the only person who really sees me these days anyway."

  "What about in the mirror?"

  "I hate looking at my reflection."

  "This could help." I passed her the cyan. "If it's hard to recognise yourself, maybe... Maybe it's because you're lacking your most prominent feature?"

  She stared at it in silence.

  Then back to the other colours.

  Her natural hair, Victoria. The little girl who was raised in a shitty home.

  The cyan, Tori. The girl with a toxic relationship she romanticised and died from.

  The brown, Autumn. The woman who gave up her life trying to save Tori's.

  "I-I..." She teared up. "Which one do I pick?"

  I quietly dragged the cyan and brown that she kept staring at away from the fresh colours she'd never had before, taking the hint.

  "Well, maybe something new?" I offered. "You've never been who you are now before."

  "Right..."

  Her hand hovered over the remaining four.

  She grabbed all of them and marched off to the bathroom in silence.

  I took a deep breath and nodded.

  "Whatever you choose isn't forever, if that helps at all. We can always change it later."

  "Mm."

  I flinched as the door shut.

  As the day went on, and my messages back and forth with Charlotte went from politely asking to begging and bribery, my patience drained. After, oh I don't know, SIX HOURS, she finally gave the all clear. With rules, as always.

  I'd take what I could get at this point. Anything to get out of this shitty cabin.

  "Have you seen my shoes?" I called out as I ran past the still-locked bathroom with one sock on. "Any of them?"

  "Nope." Victoria called back. "When was the last time you wore any?"

  "God, at least a month ago. When Charlotte took me hunting in the woods."

  "Ohh, yeah, I put them in the wash when you came home. They were stained with blood."

  "Ugh. Thanks." I span on my heel and raced down the other end of the house. "Are you getting ready in there at all?"

  "I'll just wear my boots by the door. I can't be assed getting all fancy. It's not that formal of a place anyway."

  "Alright." I sighed and stopped beside the bathroom, tying my laces up. "Well, we're leaving in five minutes, so–"

  All words left me as the door opened, and I looked up to find Victoria staring back at me timidly.

  Soft makeup on her eyes, glitter on the inner corners, nails painted black, dressed up for the first time in at least a year...

  ... And hair a dark midnight blue, slightly curled at the ends.

  "Oh." I blurted dumbly.

  "You hate it." She curled up.

  "No! No no no. Victoria, it's..." I stood and held her arms gently, taking the sight in again. "... It suits you."

  "It'll probably turn a weird green after a while. Blonde hair does that to blue dye." She smiled sheepishly, looking away with flushing cheeks.

  "I really like it. I've just never seen you with dark hair before." I spoke softly, a hand on her cheek. "It makes your eyes stand out."

  She gave another shy smile and bit her lip.

  "Let's go, yeah?" Vic walked by me to head for the door. "When does the place open?"

  "Uh, they're 24-hours. But I think any time after midnight would be when their client-base changes, y'know." I followed behind her, still gawking at the colour like a moron. "She might not be there every night."

  "Then we can still get Roland to make us some of those blood-mixed cocktails he makes and we can taste something for once!" Vicky beamed, practically tugging me outside. She glanced up at the setting sun, the colours painted across the sky. "How long does it take to get there from here?"

  "Around an hour I think."

  My expression dropped to slight irritation as Charlotte waved from the car. I sighed loudly.

  "You said a driver would pick us up." I grumbled to her as I guided Vic into her seat. "Not yourself."

  "Aw, I'm not that bad of company, am I?" Charlotte grinned innocently. She waved to Victoria. "I see you got the shipment. I like the colour."

  "Thanks..." Vic nodded, running a hand through her hair out of habit. "I'm not set on it yet."

  "You two look ready to head to a rock concert." Charlotte laughed lightheartedly. "Though I'd never let you. You'd feed on people the second you'd be unsupervised."

  "Zach always looks emo, I just have coloured hair." Victoria huffed.

  "Uh, hello? We wear the same clothes! Those are my jeans you're wearing!" I scoffed.

  "Oh, these? Your ripped black jeans? Not emo at all."

  "You say wearing black nail polish, a Pierce the Veil t-shirt, eyeliner, studded black boots, and a side part?"

  She paused, unable to find a comeback.

  "Okay, well this is your eyeliner–"

  I shoved her lightly. She laughed.

  The drive into the city was relatively quiet. Vic spent most of it chatting to Charlotte, while I stared out the window and did what I always did. Think.

  Alicia had called Maxine untrustworthy, and a bitch. Vague, I thought. Their history together seemed like that of two best friends who broke apart over something small but meaningful. But was that it? Just normal friends in the vampire community? Maxine's card had made out that they'd known each other before Alicia went off the rails, which if I remembered correctly was a little bit before she turned me five years ago. Both in their mid-twenties, so high school friends maybe?

  "You're monologuing under your breath." Charlotte cleared her throat.

  "Sorry!" I flinched. "Sorry. Didn't realise."

  "Maxine Byrne, I'm guessing you're talking about? The one who wrote that card?" She tapped the steering wheel. "Yeah. She and Alicia go back a bit. Not school, but right after. Around your age when they met."

  "Right, you were in charge of Apple weren't you? Until five years ago when Diego took her in?" Victoria's head tilted.

  "Eh, the timeline's a little murky in my brain. I deal with a lot of clients." Charlotte shrugged. "I took Alicia in for addiction recovery when she was nineteen, and had only been a vampire for a few months, but Vance was already involved back then. He was in our police sector. Originally he'd been working at that station as a normal detective, but ten years went by and he hardly aged so of course we planned on dealing with him, until he proved he could use his enhanced senses to strengthen his ability to work as a detective for us. And goddamn was he good at his job, with his curse's primary effect being a type of truth-serum aura against others."

  "Knew it." I muttered to myself.

  "We got a call one day that a vampire had turned herself in, threw Diego onto the case to test if he could teach another vampire how to be as disciplined as he was, and he blew it up in our faces. For a few months we had Alicia in a solitary cell, and unfortunately had to force her on certain custom-made medications and suppressant formulas to minimise the craving part of her brain in hopes of settling the withdrawals of her eight individual addictions, but it caused some retaliation. Diego convinced us to let him take the reins over her case instead, and we stupidly agreed. Fast forward a little while, and they're both completely erased from our systems and untraceable. Even took out the trackers in their arms." Charlotte muttered bitterly. "I don't know exactly when Maxine was and wasn't in the picture, I only met her a handful of times. I can assume she parted ways when Alicia turned you at the absolute latest. Maybe they weren't friends for all that long, but I know they were annoyingly close."

  "How so?" I asked.

  "I did catch them busy in a storage room one time." Charlotte smirked. "If you know what I mean."

  "OH."

  Vic and I exchanged a glance.

  That explained... a lot.

  "But you're okay with us meeting up with her tonight?" Victoria asked hesitantly.

  "Maxine's not that bad. When she was younger she fed pretty excessively, dare I say whenever she got bored, but she rarely ever took a life. It was her brother Julian that we had to keep an eye on, but I'm sure I can tell you all about him some other time. He's... oh boy, he's a lot."

  "Julian's her brother?!" Victoria gasped. "So... So Maxine's brother is Julian, who's partner is Dean, which is why Dean was with them that night and–"

  "Baby, we're here." I nudged her a little with a sorry smile. "Let's just ask her directly."

  "Oh." Vic's shoulders slumped as the car parked outside the old secretive bar. She hopped out and adjusted her shirt. "Thanks for the drive, Charlotte!"

  "I'll stay nearby. Message me the second you leave the building." Charlotte nodded with an innocent smile. "And if you run off, please kindly remember the tracking chips in your arms."

  "Yeah, yeah." I huffed, shutting the door behind me.

  I took a deep breath and gripped the door handle.

  "Ready?"

  "Mmhm." Vicky crossed her arms, eye twitching in a tic that gave her away. "Perfectly fine."

  I chuckled and guided her inside.

  Sitting at a booth in the corner, sipping from a glass of liquid that was most likely not real wine, was a woman with jet black hair and a cigarette between two fingers, tattoos on her neck and any areas of exposed skin, and a newspaper on her table she was only half invested in.

  I gripped Victoria's hand as I walked over and cleared my throat.

  "Uh, Maxine?" I smiled awkwardly.

  The woman looked up at us, eyes softening. Not quite a smile, but warmth nonetheless.

  "Zach. Victoria." She nodded, gesturing for us to sit.

  Vic held my hand tighter as we did as instructed.

  This was going to be a long conversation.

  END OF BOOK ONE

  Thank you <3