A Stranger in the Night

She stood there in front of me. The most beautiful and amazing thing I had ever laid my eyes on. Her beautiful blonde hair, falling effortlessly over her neck and shoulders. Her sparkling blue eyes staring at me, as if they were looking straight into my soul. Her figure, flawless and breath taking. Her curves were in all the right places. I breathed in her delicious scent as my body grew weak with desire. I needed her...my body yearned for her and my soul cried out for her. I looked deep into her eyes, getting lost in the pools of sapphires sparkling within them, before I noticed a tear slowly creeping down her face. I moved to wipe it away as another fell....then another....then another....I tried to wipe them away but it was no use, they continued to fall. The look on her face was heart breaking and I wanted it to stop. I tried to wrap my arms around her, to hold her close and tell her it's alright, but every time I did, my arms just fell through her as if she wasn't even there. I tried again and again, but the same thing happened. Suddenly she began to disappear backwards into the darkness that surrounded us. I ran after her, trying to grab her to pull her back to me, her hand reaching out for me too, but just out of touch. No! I wouldn't let her go! LUNA!

The pain in my head was excruciating. It felt like a lightning bolt was bouncing around from side to side. I tried to open my eyes and the pain was worse. I held onto my head, feeling like it was going to split in half. What the hell happened. My room seemed eerily silent and felt different, but I couldn't put my finger on why. I slid to the edge of the bed and slowly moved to stand up. I felt a bit off on my feet but still managed to make it to my bathroom. I moved to the marble basin and flicked on the taps, using the cool water to splash my face. Whilst using the soft towel to dry my face, I gazed up into the mirror and noticed the two scorch marks on the sides of my head. I gently touched one with my finger tip, before the memories of that night came flooding back to me. LUNA! WHERE IS SHE!

I needed to find someone to tell me where she was. I raced out of the bathroom, pushing past the pain in my head. Finding Luna was all that mattered. I ran through my room and out my door into the hallway, before I almost crashed into Nerine. She was carrying a breakfast tray and almost threw it in the air as I hastily came to a stop, a mere few inches in front of her. "Master Alex! It's good to see you up and about!", her face beaming with a smile. "Where is Luna! What happened to her! Please tell me she's ok!". My heart was breaking and Nerine's bubbly mood was not helping me. I wanted to wipe the foolish smile off her face, but couldn't bring myself to do it to her. "Oh Master....I can tell you are still not 100% then...". She began to walk away from me and into my room. What the hell was she doing. I followed her in and shut the door behind me. The glare she gave me as she spun around could have thrown daggers, it was that pointed. She continued to move through the room, placing the tray down on the table by the lounge before moving towards the heavy velvet curtains and slowing drawing them partly open. "You silly woman! What the hell are you doing! Tell me where Luna is!". The scowl on her face told me she was going to give me a lashing or two but I didn't care. I just needed to know where Luna was. She looked straight past me and over to the lounge chair and table, where she placed the tray. I followed her line of sight to the tray. "Ahhh Nerine! I don't want any food. I need to find Luna!". She huffed towards me, grabbing my face in her hand and squeezing it. "You idiot! It's not for you!". She turned my head to view the lounge chair again....as my eyes adjusted, I could make out the figure of someone laying on the couch....Luna! "Yes Master! Now keep it down! She's hardly slept in the last week, always trying to keep awake, to watch over you. So be quiet!".

I couldn't believe my eyes. There she was. It seemed like an eternity had past, even though it had been a matter of weeks since I had seen her. She seemed so peaceful, whilst laying there. I moved to her and brushed away the hair that had fallen over her face. The small bit of light that was let in by the curtains, glistened on her face. My panic began to subside. The pain in my head still there but I didn't care. She was here. I sat down on the lounge beside her. I still couldn't believe she was here. She was okay and safe, but for how long. I didn't know what happened after I blacked out. "I must see my brothers.....". Claude arrived shortly afterwards and I greeted him with a hug. "Master, I am glad you are ok.". He bowed afterwards, not able to wipe the smile off his face. "Thank you Claude. I appreciate the pleasantries but I must speak with my brothers. Can you please call them all here, immediately.". Claude nodded before bowing again and leaving the room. I needed to discuss with them what I knew. I needed them to know and be ready when we go to talk to Mother and Father.

It wasn't long after Claude left that I found myself growing weary. I sat back on my bed, propped up against the head board and laid there for a few moments, watching Luna as she slept. Just having her near made me feel better and it seemed as if my pain was fading. I noticed her starting to stir and tried to keep as still as I could, not wanting to disturb her. She began to sit up, yawning and rubbing her eyes as she did. She then noticed the breakfast tray on the table in front of her, and reached out for the glass of juice, taking a long sip before returning it to the tray, almost dropping it as she did. I tried to hold in a soft chuckle as she stood and began making her way to the bathroom. She turned immediately to face me, gazing at me and rubbing her eyes again. "Alex?". It was almost as if she didn't believe it was me. "Who else were you expecting?".

She bolted towards me and threw her arms around my neck. I could hear her sobbing as she buried her head into my chest. "Thank God! I've been so worried about you. I'm glad you're ok.". I wrapped my arms around her. Returning the embrace. "I am, now that you are here.". I pulled her up off the side of the bed so she was now sitting on my lap, her arms still around my neck and cuddling into me. "I'm sorry...". She turned to look me in the eyes. Tears rolling down her cheeks. "Why are you apologising?". She put her head down and began to speak. "For all of this. I shouldn't have been ignoring you and been so stubborn. It's my fault you got hurt and that we may have lost you. Although I was hurt by what happened, I should have known better. It broke my heart to find out that you were still looking out for me, even though I was trying my hardest to push you away.". I could feel her pain and heart ache. "Please don't cry. I never wanted to hurt you...ever. I had to stay away, to protect you from Meredith, which sadly I failed at. She still got to you and almost killed you. I will always do whatever it takes to keep you safe.". She nodded, a few tears still rolling down her face. I wiped them away before kissing her cheek gently, bringing a slight smile to her face. "I promise you, I will never try to hide things from you again. No more secrets. I will always be here to protect you, keep you safe, and love you.".

I felt her heart skip a beat as the words came out my mouth. I think mine did too. I knew I cared about her deeply and wanted her to be with me for eternity, was that love? I have never felt the same about any vampire or anybody else for that matter, the same way I do for her. Her cheeks began to blush slightly. "I love you Luna. I do. I want to spend the rest of forever with you and if it takes the rest of my existence to prove it then so be it.". She smiled softly at me before we were rudely interrupted as my brothers flew through the door. Luna slid off my lap and stood beside me at the bed. "Alex! Good your up!" Draven's eyes moved from me to Luna. "Hey Luna. You're looking a little chirpier than before. Lucas is waiting for you in the library if you wanna go see him.". She looked back at me, seeking approval. I could tell by the look on her face that she was torn between going to see him and staying with me. I nodded to her that it was ok, I had to speak with my brothers anyway. She smiled and touched my hand gently, giving it a slight squeeze before smiling and leaving the room, saying goodbye to my brothers as she left. They all stopped to greet her before moving towards me.

"Well, your looking much better than the last time we checked in on you. There's even some colour in your cheeks now.". Silvano stated as he looked me over. "Yeah I bet it wasn't just the blood or your healing that put the colour in his cheeks.". Draven teased. Eligio nudged him hard in the ribs, "Ouch! That still bloody hurts! Cut it out!". Draven screech, silencing himself as Silvano glared at him. I looked around to notice only 3 of my brothers were here... Marco was missing. Silvano noticing my wandering eyes, began to speak, "He is in the dungeon. He volunteered to supervise Meredith. He still can't believe what happened.". I needed Marco here. He needed to hear what I was about to say. "Send Claude to fetch him and replace him with one of the enforcers.". Silvano nodded and walked to the door, I'm guessing Claude was waiting outside as he returned quickly. Silvano returned to my bed, "So we need to know...what did you find out from the informant? And how did you end up at the club?". I paused for a moment. Not sure I wanted to relive all of that. A loud bang echoed through the room as Marco burst through my door. "I still cannot believe that she is responsible for this! You are wrong! They are wrong!". I could see the pain and hurt in his eyes. "I am not wrong brother. When I met with the informant, they brought another witness with them. Both of them were able to give me in-depth details about how King Xavier has used Meredith to plot against our clan. Their plan was to unite the clans under the guise of Meredith and my partnership but then over throw and kill our parents, then us. Leaving Meredith, Head of the Ventrue Clan. However, Luna got in the way. They have had Halflings and Vampires alike, spying on us for months. And when they found out about Luna, they needed her out of the picture for Meredith to be able to get to me. When the bouncers of the club called me to tell me that she was there, I realised that she was in danger and raced back. I am glad I did, otherwise who knows what might have happened. Actually, now that I know Luna is ok, can someone please enlighten me with what happened with Meredith? Is Jess and Bronson ok?".

I spent the next two hours discussing what happened with Meredith and the other information I had found out. I was astonished to find out that Luna had actually saved me and was the reason we were able to catch Meredith. I wanted to find out more about Luna and her gifts but for now, I needed to focus on sorting this. We continued to discuss what we knew and deciding how to approach it with Father and Mother. We needed to give him solid proof that this had happened, and as unfortunate is it was, I would need to introduce Luna to them. They would need to know everything. "We will speak with them tonight at dinner. Surely Mother will be a voice of reason?". I enquired from my brothers. "Well I don't know about you lot, but I know Silvano is Dad's favourite, maybe he should be the one to tell him...". Draven did have a point. Father always favoured Silvano over any of us. Perhaps he could talk some sense into him. The look on Silvano's face said he knew it was the truth as well. "So it is decided. Tonight at dinner...Silvano will address the matter with Father and Mother.", my brothers all nodded in agreement, only Marco looking a little unsure. I wasn't going to let it bother me. Right now, I wanted to find Luna.