"Do you love me, Lucian?"

There it was. What it all boiled down to was one simple question. A question whose answer could change everything. It was the question that he had been asking himself for weeks now. In the end, there was really only one answer.

He hung his head even as it rested upon her cheek. "What I said that day. It wasn’t a lie. I was and still am ‘in love’ with you," he told her in a dismal tone. Kat lifted up her head and gaped at him, baffled by what he had just admitted. Lucian pressed a hand to her cheek and went on. "But I don’t think that I truly ‘love’ you. At least, not in that way. Not the way you want to be loved. The way you deserve to be loved. I love you as I love Shira and Tye and...It’s not what I or even you thought it was. I’m sorry."

"Why?" whimpered Kat, blinking through the tears in her eyes.

"I have...a problem, Kathy. I’ve had it for a long long time. Sometimes my emotions confuse me. I don’t understand what I’m doing and I unintentionally hurt people this way. I don’t know how to differentiate between infatuation and love."

"Infatuation! That’s what this was?"

Not knowing whether he was angry with himself or Tavores or Kat or everything in general, Lucian slid his hand away from Kat and turned around. "I don’t know. There are things about me that I can’t explain. I told you this a long time ago. I told you not to get involved with me. It’s not worth it."

A pair of slender arms cautiously encircled his chest. He couldn’t help the memories that were stirred up by the action. Memories of another holding him this close and offering words of solace, making him want to melt into the unexpected embrace.

It was Kat’s consoling voice that brought him back from his daydream. "I don’t believe that. I was willing to put up with anything to be with you, Lucian. And it wasn’t just because you said you loved me, thought that was important. There were other things. I really like you, Lucian. I think you’re handsome and sweet and totally fun to be around. You’re such a cool guy. I wanted to get to know you better. You were so much better than my usual boyfriends. You weren’t just putting on some act, you were honest."

How little she knew. Honest? That was something he could never say about himself. Every moment of his life was a lie. He wasn’t even really there. He was just a reincarnation. All he was doing was living someone else’s life for them. Honest? No wonder him and Kat had so many problems. She just couldn’t see the truth.

‘You see only what you want to see.’

He wasn’t the only one.

"Things may not always be as they seem," Lucian warned the girl holding him.

"I didn’t mean honest as in always telling the truth. I meant that you were honest with your emotions. You never hid how you really felt. If you were scared, you showed it. You didn’t pretend to be tough just to impress me. I loved that about you," continued Kat.

Her words seemed to be hinting at something deeper behind the praise. Lucian shifted his eyes to her as the garnet shade faded to a mix of red and brown. "Do you love me, Kathy?"

Kat leaned against him and lifted one hand to wipe her eyes. "I’m not sure yet," she murmured in a distant voice. "I’ve never been in love. I don’t really know what it’s like."

The discolored eyes shimmered as Lucian laughed in his usual purr. "Neither have I."

"What do you think it’s like?" the girl questioned, releasing her companion and moving to his side.

Lucian bent his head back slightly and tried to smile. "I imagine that when you’re with a person that you honestly love, you feel invincible. Like you can do anything. Like you don’t even care what happens to you just as long as you can be with that person. Pain, misery, truth. It all fades and all that’s left is just the two of you. It must be the most perfect feeling that you could ever experience." The color in his eyes dulled so that the brown was the more dominant color and he added, "It makes life worth living no matter what you’re going through. Just one moment of that bliss can make you forget everything."

"I can’t wait to feel like that."

"Yeah."

There was some pressure on his hand and when Lucian looked down, Kat was holding his left hand and gazing at him with plaintive eyes. "I would love to feel like that with you, Lucian. I want to know that I love you. I do, but I also want you to treat me as an equal."

"What should we do?" sighed Lucian, recognizing that his voice was sounding way more mournful than it should have been.

"I think we should go our own separate ways for now," Kat responded, lifting Lucian’s arm around her shoulder.

"You want to break up?" exclaimed the boy.

"I don’t want to fall in love with someone who will never see me as anything more than just some girl. I want you to hold me in high esteem. I want you to treat me like you treat Tyrell. Like you treat Erik. Like you treat Dominic. Like one of the group."

"I don’t want you to fight."

She giggled lightly and threw her arms around his neck. "I have to. I have to prove to you and to myself that I am worthy. Only then can I start to understand what I feel. I want to earn your respect before I earn your love."

"Danae," Lucian murmured as he started to close his eyes and move his head forward. The action snapped something inside the boy and he jerked back with a start.

<Tavores! Stay out of this!> he snarled at his other self, trying to see if Kat had noticed any change. She hadn’t. His luck was holding up for now.

<She’s going to leave us!> wailed Tavores, horrified that he had been knocked out of control.

<It’s better for her. What could we give her? I don’t love her.>

<What the hell is wrong with you? She’s a goddess! You could be very happy with her,> the prince refuted desperately.

<I wouldn’t be happy and neither would she. You can’t force love, Taves. I don’t know why you love her so much, but you cannot make me feel the same way. I just don’t love Kathy,> stressed Lucian, knowing that Tavores would never be able to come to terms with his feelings. Tavores just didn’t care about what he thought.

<It doesn’t matter! I love her! I am the real one here! You’re just another version of me. You can’t just let my true love walk away because you’re confused.>

<I’m not confused. I know how I feel. She’s my friend. The only reason I ever saw her as more is because of you. You think that I would ever play the same game with her as I did with all the others? No, I respect Kathy too much for that. I won’t do that to her.>

<Then, tell her that you see her the same way you see that bastard Dominic. She’ll stay if you tell her.>

<But I don’t see her the same way. I never could. Nicky is...He’s none of your business!> Lucian hissed.

<He’s ruining everything! I hate him! It’s his fault that you are ignoring Kathy. Why? He doesn’t even know what you are!> charged Tavores, realizing that he was losing his fight. He probably just wanted to get his last word in so he had to make sure it was brutal.

It was. Lucian had to fight not to show his misery in front of Kat as he shook his head to brush off Tavores’ presence. <Don’t interfere again!> he spat; though the message had lost the rage of the other projections and only seemed bitter and determined to deny what the other had said.

"Kathy," the boy began again as Kat closed her eyes and sighed calmly.

"Please don’t argue with me, Lucian. This is what I must do. I want you to love me."

Lucian pushed back her braid and frowned. "I’m not worth all this. Everything is just...."

Kat drew closer to him, touching his nose with her own. "Ssh. This will probably be our last time together like this for a while. I want to enjoy it," she said lovingly as she kissed him.

This time, Lucian didn’t fight against the kiss. Tavores was no longer playing with his emotions. He could grant Kat one last kiss from her boyfriend. For once, he could even enjoy it as well instead of feeling the constant emptiness that struck him whenever he was trapped in any of their kisses. It didn’t make him feel like his most recent kiss had made him feel, but it was good to be able to feel nice around Kat again. He returned the kiss as he hugged the girl to him. The feel of dampness against his cheek alerted him to the single tear that Kat allowed herself to cry. He was so touched by her affection that he didn’t even notice someone approaching the entrance to the room.

Pulling away from Kat, he did catch what appeared to be a speck of dark violet just to the side of the wall. But since his eyes were half-lidded at the time, he passed the image off as his mind playing tricks on him. When he opened his eyes all the way, the flash of purple was gone and Kat was smoothing his hair and beaming at him with teary eyes.

"I will prove my worth, Lucian. I will become a valuable member of the team. I will make you proud of me, I swear it," Kat promised huskily as she swept herself from him and headed for the other side of the room, dragging her hands over her face.

"Are you leaving?" asked the boy; somewhat shocked that Kat would just give up that fast.

"I have to. I got to get started on plans for this Key business. I’m going to like working with the gang again. Wish me luck."

"Kathy wait!" Lucian called out to her as the younger youth rushed off. He hung his head and winced as he lamented quietly, "You can’t love me. Not anymore."

"Goodbye Kathryn," grumbled a distinct male voice, muffled by the distance from which the speaker was standing. Lucian shot up his head just as he heard the unfazed refrain followed by a door slamming shut.

"Oh, I didn’t know you were in. I guess Lucian can tell you later about the news."

"Yes, I guess he can."

"Until later, Dominic."

The redhead sprang from the computer room and raced to the kitchen. "Nicky, how come you didn’t tell me you were done studying?" he panted upon reaching the room.

Dominic took his time in turning his head to him. "I figured you were busy." His tone was terse and not very far from being a snarl as Dominic jerked back around to the door. He grabbed the handle and walked out while starting to close the door behind him. "I’m going to walk to the library. I need to borrow a book to finish my make-up work and Tashira is still fooling around with the car."

"What some company?" offered the younger boy, strolling over to the door and holding its edge. "I just need to get my coat."

"No. I can handle it myself. Leave me alone!" Dominic snapped, causing Lucian to recoil in surprise. Dominic sounded extremely angry. What could be his problem now? It had seemed like they had overcome their obstacles last night.

Yet, the youth that stood behind the door, glaring at him in unquestionable rage couldn’t be the same one who had held him after the mirror incident. It couldn’t be the same one who had reassured him and wrapped his wounds. And it definitely couldn’t be the same Dominic who had lain beside him throughout the night. What had happened?

"Nicky?" pleaded Lucian, begging for a reason for the sudden enmity. Without speaking, Dominic ripped the handle away from the other as he slammed the door in his face.

Dominic looked down at watch, taking note of the way the big hand pointed to the five and the little hand was nearing the quarter mark. He knew he was wasting time, lying there on the bed, but he didn’t feel like doing anything else at the moment. His books had all been kicked onto the floor and he lay on his back, his hand squeezing the sun amulet on his throat. He really wanted his notebook. But the only way that he was going to locate that item was to speak with Lucian, something that he had been working very hard to avoid doing for the past two hours.

As usual, he had tried to return to his work after he returned from the library, but he just couldn’t concentrate on a single sentence of his texts. All that kept flashing before him was the image of Lucian with his arms around Kat as they shared a passionate kiss. Lucian had looked so relaxed during the kiss, eyes shut and leaning in closer to his companion. Their kiss had appeared so loving and tender, nothing like the animalistic hunger that had accompanied his and Lucian’s kisses. Lucian must have really loved Kat.

Why wouldn’t he? She was his girlfriend. He had been dating her since Dominic had met him. He had even told her that he loved her before. Dominic knew all that. It was just that over time, he had let himself forget that tiny fact. Lucian was with Kat.

It wasn’t like he should care. He had never shown a romantic interest toward his partner. Lucian was his friend. Nothing more. That’s what he kept telling him every time Lucian tried to pretend otherwise. He just wanted to be friends. That was the best thing for the both of them. Lucian wouldn’t get hurt and he could finally stop being lonely. He could have someone to believe in again. It could be like it had been back with Aiden. That was really all he needed. A simple friendship.

Then, why did it seem like a razor was ripping through his chest when he had seen Lucian with Kat? Why did it hurt him so much to see them together? He had almost lost the ability to stand when he had walked by the room. The way Lucian continued to act so carefree around him following the event had only fueled his anger.

Jealousy? It couldn’t be, but that was the only logical explanation for his present state of mind. He was jealous. Jealous of something that he didn’t even want to have. Jealous because he knew he could never have that ‘something’ even if he did desire it. Jealous because fate had allowed everyone else but him to have it. So what if he was jealous? What could he possibly do about it? Everything was out of his hands in this matter. He would just have to accept the way things were and go on as usual. It wasn’t like him to spend so much time contemplating his inner feelings.

There was a knock on his door. Dominic turned toward the wall and tried to block the sound from his ears. This was the third time that Lucian had tried to communicate with him since he had gotten back. He was determined to make sure that the attempt yielded the same result as the other two times.

"I just want to talk, Nicky. I need to know what I did. How do expect me to correct it if you won’t even tell me what I did wrong? I haven’t even spoken to you since school. I don’t understand how I could have wronged you. And don’t tell me you’re not angry with me. I’m not stupid. I know the only reason you’re holed up in there is because you’re trying to avoid me. Now if you want me to repent for something just tell me what it was."

The boy on the bed shut his eyes tightly and covered his head with the pillow. He didn’t want to listen to Lucian’s meaningless pleas and he couldn’t possibly tell him what he was angry about this time. There was no way his pride would let him, not after Lucian had teased him about being jealous of Kat not too long ago. Letting Lucian know he was right was not an option.

"Will you quit being such an ass? Just tell me what your problem is. I’ll probably just give you your way as usual if you do. You know I’m your loyal lapdog," Lucian growled behind his door, putting a bit of extra bite into his last sentence.

"You’re not even mine!" snapped Dominic, instantly realizing the stupidity of what he had just said. He might as well have just told Lucian that he was jealous.

"At least open the door if you’re going to yell at me. I can’t hear anything from out here. Mind repeating that?"

Was he serious? Had Lucian really not heard him? It was certainly the first time that luck hadn’t decided to show itself around him. He had better make the most of this situation before luck decided to turn against him again. Much to his regret, that meant that he had to actually talk to Lucian in order to get him to forget what he had just shouted. Distracting Lucian was easy enough but it did involve conversation and eye contact. Oh well, he would just have to make sure that his speech was short and vicious enough to drive the other boy away before he could search for more answers.

He got up and begrudgingly stepped to the door. Reminding himself of his goal, he pulled it open and graced the redhead with a cool visage. "Why can’t you let me work?" he charged wearily.

"Because you’re not working. You’re just hiding. I’m wise to your tricks, Nicky," replied Lucian, crossing his arms and setting his eyes on his friend.

"I want to study. Stop making noise and go play on your computer. Why don’t you try to learn something about this Vincient? You know, try some actual Guardian work for once," Dominic taunted, relying on his attitude to dissuade Lucian.

Lucian uncrossed his arms and held his right hand in front of his face. "I don’t know for sure, but somehow I think it might be tough to type on a keyboard today." His companion cursed at himself for being stupid enough to forget about Lucian’s damaged knuckles. A satisfied grin moved over Lucian’s mouth. "Glad, you see it my way. Now, tell me what’s up with you."

"Nothing. I’m just tired of you constantly hovering around me. I need my space."

"That’s what this is about. You just want me to back off a bit?"

"Yeah."

"Why didn’t you just tell me then? I knew I was asking a lot of you, but I thought it was okay since you haven’t been complaining lately. If you don’t want to give me so much of your time, all you have to do is say so," Lucian said in a slightly disheartened tone. "I don’t want to be forcing you to do anything."

Something in Lucian’s voice made Dominic want to take back what he had said. He hadn’t meant for Lucian to think that he didn’t want to help him. The ‘space’ excuse was the only thing he had been able to come up with in a short amount of time. It wasn’t supposed to be a bitter denouncement of Lucian’s need to be around him, it was just supposed to be a request for Lucian to leave him alone once in a while. Unsure of what to say to remedy his words, Dominic chose to remain silent.

His partner looked hurt by his silence. He turned away and dropped his hand to his pants. Suddenly, he lifted his head and gave Dominic a tentative glance. "What about studying? I have a big test coming up in two days. You wouldn’t have a huge problem with studying with me, would you? I wouldn’t bother you. It’s just that I’m kind of lazy when it comes to studying and it serves as a sort of motivation if I’m around others who are studying. I don’t mind studying if I don’t have to do it by myself."

"This is why you keep nagging me? You want a study partner?" asked Dominic, making it evident that he wasn’t taking Lucian seriously just yet. Lucian was deviously clever at this sort of stuff. He knew how to manipulate things so that he got his way. How did he know that Lucian wasn’t just trying to use this ‘studying’ as an excuse to further interrogate him on his behavior?

"Yeah! I was going to ask you after I finished with the car, but I got distracted."

"I noticed," the older boy griped under his breath.

"I’ll make a deal with you. You come with me to the park and study for an hour or so and the rest of the night is yours. I’ll talk Shira into typing for me and work on the Vincient/Evangel thing like you suggested. That way you can do whatever you want when we get back and I’ll be too busy to bug you," offered Lucian, perking up at his plan.

"You’re really going to study?"

"You bet."

"And you won’t pester me while we’re there?" Dominic persisted, wary about this whole idea.

"I just want to have someone to study with. I’ll be so quiet you won’t even remember I’m there, as if you ever do in the first place," chuckled Lucian, sounding a little melancholy about the last part.

Dominic didn’t like this. It sounded like another one of Lucian’s sly schemes and he really didn’t want to mess with those when he was feeling so awkward around the boy right now. Despite that, he knew he couldn’t say no this time, not after upsetting Lucian like he had just done by telling him that he felt forced into helping him. It had created a desire for penance in him. He had to do something to show Lucian that he had misunderstood his statement. Then, he wouldn’t feel so guilty about returning to his room once more. He could ignore Lucian with a clear conscience, albeit one clouded with jealousy and confusion.

So he would give Lucian his precious hour. Lucian had said that they didn’t have to talk so it couldn’t be too bad. He could just stare at his books, internalize his misery, and think of a way to hide those unwanted feelings so he could still function as a Guardian. All in all, it would give him some time to reflect and he could use that at the moment.

"I guess this means I have to drive," he stated, watching Lucian’s face light up. "I’ll get some books. Meet me downstairs in five minutes."

He couldn’t believe he was actually watching this, but he found that he just couldn’t take his eyes off the couple as they feuded by the fountain yards away from where him and Dominic sat. Dominic couldn’t complain about him not doing work since the other boy was far too engrossed in his reading to even notice that he was no longer turning pages. Lucian had quit studying right about when the couple had strolled by.

They weren’t all that interesting to look at. The girl had the usual bleach-blonde hair flowing across her shoulders in the teen idol fashion and the boy had one of those hideous crew cuts that made him want to laugh out loud. But it wasn’t their appearance that was attracting his attention but their conversation. It was so superficial and cheesy. Yet, their banter still kept making him remember what he had just lost today. Kat had left him and he was single again.

As expected, their gushing was followed by a gratuitous kiss that made Lucian roll his eyes. What a couple of exhibitionists? He had never made such a scene with any of his dates. It had always been his preference to have something that could be remotely recognized as class. Mushy love scenes just weren’t his cup of tea. Not that he’d be seeing any love scenes any time soon. But he had placed himself in this situation on purpose, hadn’t he? He wanted to spend more time around his partner. Well, he had gotten his wish. It didn’t really bother him that much, did it?

Turning from the busy couple who were taking their time in leaving, he focused back on Dominic who had switched to a different textbook. He still hadn’t noticed that he wasn’t studying. As he figured, Dominic didn’t even care that he was around. He might as well have brought a dog to study with. Why had he even brought Dominic here? He knew it had something to do with Dominic saying that he was sick of spending so much time with him. That had made him want to see if Dominic’s words were genuine. Obviously they weren’t since he was there with him. Dominic must have had some other reason for lying to him about that.

Lucian thought about picking up his book again when the final meaning of his situation re-entered his mind. He was single again. That meant that he could do whatever he wanted and no longer have to worry about hurting Kat, though it seemed that he had conveniently forgot about that several times already. The boy tried to shake off the thought as a result of watching the ostentatious couple too long, but it wouldn’t go away. Besides, he had received a positive answer to his question last night and he had been toying with the idea for some time, not to mention that he had definitely given the notion more thought than any of his other relationships thus far. Maybe it was the real thing this time. More importantly, he had devised from the other’s actions that the idea must have crossed his mind at least once or twice. What harm would it cause to test it out?

Steeling himself, he leaned over Dominic’s book and set a hand in the center of the page. Dominic’s eyes rose from the text to his face in a drawn out slowness. The slant of his brows and the expression on his face told Lucian that he was quite perturbed by his action. He made an attempt to brush Lucian’s hand off his book as he growled in his throat.

"You said you wouldn’t bother me."

"I was just thinking," Lucian baited, dancing his fingers across the page.

Dominic whipped the book out from his hand and pressed it into his lap. "Could have fooled me. I figured that you were too busy being a voyeur to have any time for intelligent thoughts," jeered the boy as Lucian immediately blushed.

So Dominic had been watching him after all. He must have just gone back to the guise of reading whenever he turned around. Dominic was just too sly for his own good. He was stealing too many of his traits lately. Well, people always said that imitation was the highest form of flattery so maybe it wasn’t something to berate the older youth for.

Ignoring the snide remark, Lucian leaned onto his hands and continued. "Do you remember what I asked you the other day?"

"About what?" questioned the other, placing his hand behind him as if he were about to get up.

"About me being Aiden. Last night, you said that was okay."

The older boy began to look nervous and flustered as he leaned back on his propped arm and curled his fingers in the grass. "Are we going somewhere with this?"

Stung by Dominic’s unfavorable reaction to his subject, Lucian inched forward, pulling his knees forward to meet the heels of his palms. Dominic was not going to make this easy if he kept acting so skittish. Perhaps, his friend knew what he was alluding to by bringing up the topic. Dominic had warned him last night to stop with the games. But this wasn’t a game now.

His partner just didn’t know who he was dealing with. Lucian was trained well in these arts. He had almost five years of experience to work with. By now, the aspect of having to give chase wasn’t discouraging; it just strengthened his resolve. He still just saw it as another challenge, another promise for some fun. The more impossible the challenge, the more rewarding a victory would be.

Yet, those reassuring thoughts still couldn’t completely chase away the doubts in his mind. He was dealing with a seriously disturbed youth here, one who could possibly rival him for having the most fragile hold on sanity. It almost made him want to back away right then, but Dominic’s next words fortified his hope.

"Hurry up and get to the point! You shouldn’t be putting so much weight on that hand anyway."

It wasn’t just his wishful thinking. Dominic did care about him. Whatever reason he was angry with him for today had to be trivial and easy enough to repair. His idea did have a fair chance of being accepted by the other boy.

"I know I’m never careful," he laughed, rising back to his knees. "But one can’t be careful during moments like these. You just have to risk it all."

"Stop speaking so metaphorically and tell me what you want already! I need to study and you promised that you would be quiet if I came here with you. I should have known better than to buy such a sloppy excuse," ranted Dominic, exchanging his anxious posture to one that was more stiff and threatening.

"I know I said I wouldn’t talk, but there is something that I’ve been thinking about...a lot lately. When I asked you about Aiden, what I wanted to know was...um..."

"What!" the other roared, jerking forward.

Lucian seized the opportunity and planted a kiss on Dominic’s lips. As soon as he did, he sensed something odd. Dominic was shaking terribly and his violet eyes were darkening rapidly as a fiery blush rolled across him. It wasn’t like the hesitancy that Dominic had shown the other time. This was outright aversion.

He forced Lucian onto his back with a powerful shove. Lucian winced at the tiny stab of pain as his injuries brushed against the ground. He gaped up at the other while checking his back with his fingers to see if it was bleeding again. Dominic touched his lips and breathed awkwardly. He gawked at the younger boy and raged, "Wha...Why did you do that?"

This proved to be too much for Lucian to handle. Of all the nerve! Dominic had taken him by surprise with a kiss not too long ago and he had certainly kept his cool. Where did Dominic get off freaking out on him just because he returned the favor? He yanked his hand away from his back, rolled back to his knees, and glared at his companion.

"Hey, if you can kiss me without my permission, then why can’t I have the same liberty? Are we playing double standards, Nicky?"

"But that...It was just a joke. A...joke!" stammered Dominic, lowering his fingers from his mouth.

"Was it really?" Lucian challenged in a deathly serious manner.

Dominic shook his head harshly and retreated backward. "I-I...Damn it! I don’t know!" He scrambled to pick up his schoolbook. "Can we not talk about this right now? I have a lot of work to make up and you have an exam to study for."

"Come on, you’re not going to tell me that studying is more fun than this," giggled the redhead, snagging Dominic’s wrist and pulling him closer to his face.

"I should have known that this was one of your damned tricks. You didn’t really want to study. You just wanted to play as usual," his friend snarled, turning his shoulder to Lucian. He knew better than to pull back and throw Lucian against him.

"Oh, I’m not playing this time," Lucian spoke as he gently brought Dominic’s face toward him and tried again to kiss him. Dominic bit his lip and used his weight to push Lucian against his back even harder than before. This time Lucian hissed through his teeth at the impact and tried to lie perfectly still so as to lessen the pain. He turned his head against the dirt as he tried to catch his breath. A cough escaped from his throat but Dominic ignored it as he screamed at him.

"Stop, Lucian! You’re with Kathryn!"

"Not anymore," responded Lucian without even thinking.

"What do you mean? I saw you kiss her back at the house!" Dominic spat, working his wrist from Lucian’s fingers.

Bewilderment fell over Lucian’s features. Dominic had seen him? He hadn’t even known that Dominic was downstairs at the time. What irony that Dominic would happen to pass by right after Kat had requested that they sever their relationship. Had he completely missed the rest of the conversation and only caught the last two minutes? The reason for his brutish attitude all day was becoming clearer in his mind.

Releasing his partner’s wrist, he gave him a knowing look and grinned. "Ah, so that’s why you were in such a huff all afternoon."

"I wasn’t in a huff. I don’t care who you kiss."

"Not as convincing as you used to be, Nicky," the younger youth teased as he messed with Dominic’s hair.

"Cut it out, Lucian!" warned Dominic, tearing Lucian’s hand from his forehead and slamming it down by the other’s head.

The chastened youth winced. Perhaps, it was time to switch tactics. Dominic didn’t like being forced into things. He should have remembered that. Maybe, if he slowed things down a bit, Dominic would be more receptive. At first, he had thought that the aggressive approach matched Dominic’s taste, but now he could see that the older boy was truly paranoid. Dominic really did fear affection. For all his strength and savage outbursts, he just couldn’t cover up that flaw. He was terrified at the idea of caring about someone too much. Dominic would have to be carefully coaxed.

"That was a goodbye kiss, Nicky. Kathy dumped me. I guess that was her way of letting me down easy. She can be considerate once in a while," he explained, easing into his insouciant manner.

"Kathryn dumped you?" repeated the older boy as if in a trance.

"Yeah. I’ve never been dumped before. It’s always me who calls it quits. Well, this must be where that ‘there’s a first time for everything’ saying comes into play."

His partner appeared stunned as he lifted himself from the other. "I thought...."

"Don’t fuss so much. She and I are no longer together," Lucian said in a soothing voice, raising himself on one hand and touching Dominic’s cheek with a single finger.

Dominic didn’t reject him this time and regarded him with incredulity, eyes tracing the other’s face warily as the amethyst inside the orbs seemed to lighten a shade, revealing a more luminous color instead of its familiar faded hue. Spurred on by Dominic’s much calmer reaction, Lucian slipped the hand behind his companion’s neck and slowly brought the rest of his arm around Dominic’s shoulder. He used the meager hold to help himself lean against the other.

Quickly throwing his other arm over Dominic, he rested his chin on his chest and told him in a blithe voice, "You can relax."

Figuring that Dominic was dropping his guard, he turned up his face and moved in once more. He felt the tension in his partner snap as a sally of panicky words assaulted his ears, crushing his hopes instantly.

"I said no!"

A hand found his throat and jerked him backward like an overgrown puppy. The next second had him sprawled face-first upon the ground yet again, nursing a tender bruise on his lower jaw and staring up at the older boy who was snatching every one of his materials that he could find. Lucian knew what that meant. Dominic planned on running away from the situation.

Not this time.

Lurching up from where he laid, Lucian hopped to his feet as he spotted one of the items that Dominic had neglected to retrieve. Dominic’s eyes rolled across it just seconds after his and both scurried toward it. Lucian got there first and stomped his foot down on the item, the third of Dominic’s books. He drew it back with his foot and looked into the older youth’s eyes.

"Why?" he demanded, almost sure that Dominic would know what he was talking about.

His assumption proved correct as Dominic took his eyes from the book and centered them on Lucian. "You don’t know what you’re doing," stated Dominic in an anguished whimper.

"Nicky, I’ve been dating for years. I think I have an idea."

"No. You don’t. If you did, you wouldn’t be doing this," the other protested, his voice raw and scared. "Why can’t you just be like all the others? They forgot about me."

"I’m not afraid of your so-called curse, Nicky."

"Why? Why aren’t you afraid? You should be."

Each of Dominic’s doubts was like a barb in his chest. He needed something to help Dominic understand what he was trying to say. Lucian forced out the most confident smile possible and tried to shrug.

"I like you, Nicky."

The other youth didn’t know how what to do. Of all the things he could possibly expect from Lucian, this was not one of them. All he could manage was a dazed; "Huh?" as he took a step back, blinking his eyes, rendered senseless at the confession.

"What? Don’t tell me you’re surprised! I thought you were the smart one, Nick. Didn’t you even have a clue?" Lucian gibed, appearing to find it utterly ridiculous that Dominic could be this oblivious.

Balling his fists against his legs, Dominic snorted and turned away. "I had my suspicions. I just thought that you’d know better than to actually try anything."

"I’ve kissed you before," pointed out the redhead.

"You were drunk."

"I wasn’t that out of it. I knew I was kissing you. I wanted to kiss you."

"What’s wrong with you?"

Lucian moved his foot off the text and kicked it toward Dominic, stubbing his toe from the force of his kick. "Bastard! Quit acting like this is a one-man show! You kissed me too! Back at Lorelei’s. And you most certainly were not intoxicated," he hissed.

"Enough! If you’re not going to be serious and study. I’m going to go somewhere else. I need to get this work done before tomorrow," rebuked Dominic as he bent down to take the book from the ground. He couldn’t discuss this with Lucian. It was too much for him.

"Wait! I’m not joking. I am being serious," insisted Lucian, closing the distance between them before Dominic could get away.

Snarling like a cornered beast, Dominic sprang back from the younger boy and swung at him with the book. "Leave me alone!"

His blow would have nailed Lucian had he not sharpened the angle just as the object neared Lucian’s skull. It swept by him harmlessly as the redhead stood his ground, assured that Dominic wouldn’t actually let the book make contact. The wind swished by his face, upsetting his dangling bangs and causing him to shut his eyes on impulse. Before he could open them again, Dominic had taken up a brisk pace.

He tried to catch him but Dominic was too fast, jerking his hand from his reach. Accepting his defeat, Lucian drooped his head and held up his hands in the customary sign of surrender. "Okay! Okay, you win. We’ll drop it." He watched with relief as Dominic stopped moving and waited in silence. Lucian kept his hands up and cocked his head to the side with an inquisitive air. "Can I just ask you one thing before you storm off as usual?"

"If you promise not to be a smart-ass."

"No problem."

"Just get it over with," replied the other boy, adjusting his books as though they were more interesting than the conversation ensuing.

"So, how about you, Nicky? Do you like me too?" Lucian chirped with a suggestive grin.

"Prick. You’re cheating."

"And you’re dodging the question."

Growing even more defensive, Dominic threw his books to the grass and pressed his palms against his temples, tossing his head as it was wracked with severe pain. "I told you I just...I don’t know. This whole thing confuses me. I have no idea what’s wrong with me anymore. I don’t know what to think," he moaned, staggering backwards as he lost his balance. The boy landed hard on his arm and cringed from the dull pain.

"So don’t," advised the younger youth, moving over to help him.

Dominic froze and fell into his half-crouched wolf stance, caught between his fight or flight instincts. Then, he suddenly remembered whom he was with. As much as Lucian was putting him on edge, he was no danger. He loosened his posture, dropping his shoulders and falling onto the back of his legs. His eyes were still unsettled but his expression was more sedate.

"Don’t what?" the boy asked docilely, perplexed by the way Lucian was switching moods by the minute.

"Don’t think," encouraged Lucian, lifting Dominic’s arm and rubbing at the spreading bruise.

The older youth felt himself beginning to relax as the pain ebbed under Lucian’s touch. His anxiety tamed for the moment, he allowed Lucian to come closer. Why was he freaking out anyway? Lucian had kissed him before. But then, he had never thought that it was supposed to represent any sincere feelings. It was just a side affect of his inebriation. What bothered him about this time was that Lucian’s actions seemed to be carrying actual substance. Why couldn’t he just be content with what they had?

All of his thoughts were stopped short as Lucian dipped his head and whispered on his lips, "Don’t think. Just feel and act."

As Lucian’s lips grazed his, Dominic felt his old worries renew their assault on his nerves. Did he want to risk another innocent? Did he want to ruin another’s life just because of his own needs? Was he still that selfish after eighteen years? Had he learned nothing from losing Aiden? From nearly losing his partner?

"This is wrong! We-we shouldn’t be doing this! It’s not safe," he choked as he forced Lucian away with a half-hearted push.

"I don’t care about being safe!" yelled his friend, softening his collapse with his hands. He groped for Dominic’s arm and clutched it from the ground. "When have I ever cared about being safe? Never! Tell me what good is security if you have to sacrifice the thrill of living in order to achieve it!"

"Don’t touch me, Lucian!" Dominic threatened, digging his fingers into the back of Lucian’s hand and ripping it away. The tiny welts that he produced on the other boy’s skin made him queasy and he grasped at the folds in his jeans. Moving his eyes to the side, he added, "I can’t risk your life like this."

Lucian remained quiet for a long time, gazing down at the incriminating marks on his hand. He had made the mistake of using his right hand and now the span of it matched the condition of his knuckles. It wasn’t bleeding but still took like it hurt badly. Lucian wrapped the fingers of his other hand around it, tightening them steadily while keeping his gaze to the ground. He squeezed the hand hard and brought it to his eyes, shutting them as tight as he could. The boy breathed roughly through his nose, seeming to be fighting back his emotions.

Just then, his heavy breathing stilled and his eyes popped open, wide with alarm. He took his hand away from his face and looked at his companion as though he was running through a new scheme in his mind. Determination surged back into his garnet eyes and he whet his lips in preparation for his speech. Seizing one book from the ground, he ruffled the pages as he began to talk, setting his entire vision on the actions of his fingers.

"Nicky, if it didn’t mean anything, it would be okay then, right? I mean, if it was just a temporary thing, you wouldn’t have any problems. If it was just a game...."

"A game?"

"Yeah! That’s it! A game. You said I could play Aiden. So we could just pretend. You know, we could pretend to be...lovers," Lucian explained, shrugging his shoulders and trying to project a totally blasé manner to the subject. Not once did his eyes leave the crinkling pages as he sifted through them over and over again.

"I don’t know. It sounds shady," the older boy said, knowing all too well the extent of Lucian’s trickery. This display of apathy was most likely just a front so he could con him into going along with his latest game. Lucian thought if he could make him think that it was just a joke that he would agree to it. Well, Lucian was wrong.

"Oh, it would just be a day-by-day experiment. One of those ‘give it a go and see what happens’ sort of things. We’re not taking a life-long psychological commitment here. It would just be for fun. Just an act."

Still no eye contact.

"You want me to pretend to be your boyfriend?" Dominic scoffed with dark sarcasm.

"Sort of," answered the other, catching one of the pages and holding it in place.

He allowed his eyes to shift so that he could peer at Dominic out of their corners. His expression betrayed nothing as he turned around and set down the book. Dominic was amazed at how well Lucian was copying his normal mannerisms. It seemed that they had both taken a newfound interest in each other’s traits.

"Why?" questioned the dark-haired youth.

Without another word, Lucian leapt at him and held him down by his shoulders. He smirked mischievously and snickered, "Because it will be fun and it will give us something to do when we’re not doing the Guardian thing. We always spend our time bitching at one another. This way, we could split our time up. We could curse part of the time and we could cuddle part of the time. You have to admit that we could use some fun in our warped lives." Following his answer, Lucian freed his companion and sat down, entwining his fingers and dropping his chin onto the junction. "Whatcha think?"

"Just a game, right?"

"Uh huh."

For a few minutes, Dominic let the idea settle inside his head, seeing if he could get used to the whole thing. On one hand, Lucian did have a good point. They did spend an awful lot of their time tearing each other up; it would be nicer to just get along. Plus, companionship might be a good change to the loneliness that had surrounded him for years and Lucian was the only person that he was really close to now. It might be nice to pretend. After all, he could never have anything like this in reality. This was probably the closest he was ever going to actually get to any sort of relationship for as long as he lived. Why not humor Lucian?

On the other hand, he did have his doubts. Something in the way Lucian had acted a couple minutes ago made him wonder if Lucian was truly playing anymore. What if Lucian was taking this seriously now? It would place him under direct influence of his personal curse. Anyone who cared about him suffered. That was that. There was no other way to look at it. He had seen enough in his time to believe what Loren had so often taunted him with. Could he really take the chance?

Amongst these two conflicting thoughts, another one arose. He owed Lucian. He had unconsciously hurt him by leaving. His departure had almost managed to deliver Lucian into the arms of death. Lucian had easily forgiven him, but he had long found it hard to forgive himself. Part of him still felt that atonement was due. He had been a fool and because of it, his one friend had come very close to joining the others who had dared to care about him. Dominic owed Lucian big.

Well, what better way to redress his wrongdoings than to give Lucian the one thing he passionately desired? Yes, he would cater to Lucian’s whims for now. He would play his game until it was shown to be genuinely dangerous to the other’s well being. Lucian deserved this much for his pain.

There was no need to view this situation in any other way. He was doing nothing more than repaying a debt. That couldn’t be wrong. If he happened to get something for himself in the process, well that was just a side perk.

"I guess I could play for a little while," Dominic agreed, getting back on all fours to reassemble his school supplies.

"All right!" responded the redhead with a happy smile. "Now let’s try that kiss thing again. I know from experience that it works better if we’re both prepared for it, instead of us always surprising each other."

Returning to Dominic, he nudged him back into a kneeling position and cupped the side of his face as he leaned into him. Dominic’s eyes wavered briefly and a steady flush fell over him once more. "Like I said, we probably shouldn’t do this."

"Probably not. But when has that ever stopped us before? You and me, Nicky, we’re bad boys," Lucian laughed thickly.

"We are, are we?"

"Shall I show you?"

"And however do you plan on doing that?"

The amused chuckle left Dominic and Lucian quickly captured the sound with his mouth. He locked his arms around Dominic’s throat and pulled him closer as he tried to manipulate his tongue into coaxing the other boy to part his lips more. His exuberance nearly threw Dominic backward and he pushed against the youth violently, frantically attempting to sample as much of him as possible. The other boy’s eyes were large and still and looked trapped in a state of shock, as he reached up and touched Lucian’s right arm tentatively, deciding what his next move should be. Lucian half-expected Dominic to become frightened and resist his actions, but instead Dominic seemed to be running his curled fingers along the other’s arm in an unsure way. Perhaps, he was contemplating yanking him to the side.

After a minute, Dominic shut his eyes with a flinch and attempted to swallow in his throat. Then, to Lucian’s delight, he yielded more of his mouth and allowed Lucian to kiss him deeply. Surprised by the action, Lucian was slow in noticing how the feather-light touches on his skin were starting to become fiercer. But the second Dominic granted him final unrestricted access, the soothing touch turned into piercing pain. The smooth flesh of his arm burned as Dominic’s blunt nails tore it without restraint, producing a set of long thick welts that beaded blood. Stunned by the flash of pain, Lucian started to separate himself from his friend.

Before he could, the dark-haired youth sank his hands into his rich red mane and clutched at the silken locks as if they were his only lifeline in the midst of a fearsome dark sea. The painful hold forced Lucian to remain in place as Dominic chose this moment to respond to his previous encouragement and kiss him back. Lucian was immediately trapped in the swell of Dominic’s feral savagery and emotional starvation. It was just like the only other time that the older boy had dared to kiss him. Only this was much more brutal. All of the carnal hunger, aching despair, and irrevocable longing compressed into one fierce action. One raw moment of tortuous rapture.

Yet, try as he might, Lucian couldn’t convince himself to break free. He kind of liked this new kind of affection. Passion was always known to come in two flavors. Love and anger. It was kind of an exhilarating experience to drown in both simultaneously. For once, it seemed that both his lust for danger and his aching need for companionship were being satisfied at the same time. He couldn’t ruin the moment by reacting to the minor flares of pain that swirled through his skin or the shrieking protest of his neck as it was jerked backward from the power of his companion’s desire.

He felt Dominic’s tongue dancing along his bottom lip as he moaned deep in his throat and snarled a mound of the other’s shirt in his trembling fingers. Upon clawing at the cloth, Lucian felt something sharp cut into the inner edge of his upper lip and realized that it had to be Dominic’s teeth. Lucian gave a muffled whine as blood sprang up from the tiny wound and coated the inside of his mouth. A series of drips soon scaled the curve of his lips and stained his chin. He could feel the acrid elixir trickling into Dominic’s open mouth, allowing the vicious Dominic to partake of its life-giving nectar. The way in which Dominic disregarded the pain he was causing made Lucian felt a bit edgy and he considered breaking contact.

But as Dominic sucked lightly on the small wound, easing some of the nagging pain that had permeated the tender flesh, he started to lose his trepidation. He couldn’t screw this up. It was his one big chance to prove to the other that he wasn’t afraid of him. If he forced Dominic away now, he would never agree to this ever again. Besides, it wasn’t that bad. To tell the truth, it actually felt good. Somehow he knew that that fact should have alarmed him. Yet, it didn’t. He still wanted to play the game. One didn’t pull out just because the rules were altered; one just adapted his technique to adjust to the new style.

As the sensation of pain rose and fell amongst Lucian’s senses, he could sense Dominic moving his mouth from his oozing lip to claim the rest of his mouth. Lucian eagerly reciprocated the action. The bitter pungency of his own blood merged with the striking taste of his companion. It didn’t take long before he found himself lost within the thrall of unknown flavor. He suddenly found it surprisingly easy to forget the pain in his arm and lip, as he drank in the rare delicacy of his partner.

Caught between the pulsing pain and the feral pleasure, Lucian dug his fingers into the white cloth around Dominic’s shoulder blade as he tried to return the force of the other’s actions. Dominic accepted the request and lessened his smothering kiss as Lucian drew his head back up, lips still locked with his partner’s. He allowed Lucian another ravenous kiss before finally pulling away with an awkward jerk, a chaotic expression flying through his wide violet eyes.

Licking his torn lip slowly, Lucian smiled at his friend and rested his forehead against Dominic’s, breathing steadily as his eyes twinkled in contentment. Dominic blinked and gaped at the blood running down Lucian’s chin and the bright pink abrasions along his right arm, speckled with pearly drops of red. Lucian understood that the dark-haired youth was probably shaken by his previous actions. That must have been the first time Dominic had ever let himself be completely ruled by his feelings. He was hesitant to make any other moves now. It was best to tread carefully for the moment.

The younger boy lifted a hand to toy with the older one’s black strands, giving a small laugh so as not to irritate his lip. Its surging flow of blood was starting to form a thin clot, meaning that it would be mostly inconspicuous for as long as it remained. If he wanted to, he could always get Tashira to mend it for him. Making up a convincing lie about how he had hurt it wouldn’t be too hard. He could just say he had bitten it by accident. This sort of thing happened all the time to people. Besides, he had other things to attend to right now such as the perturbed look on his friend’s face.

"What?" demanded Dominic, no doubt referring to his reason for laughing at him.

"I just remembered something that I wanted to tell you the other day," Lucian answered, slanting his eyes seductively as he had done with so many others that he had pursued.

It had never failed to win him his chosen prey. Right now, he really wanted to win Dominic completely. He could feel that he was very close already. Just a few more steps....

"And what was that?" drawled the other youth, avoiding Lucian’s eyes. Apparently, he was keen on derailing Lucian’s scheme.

Opting for a new tactic, Lucian nuzzled his throat and purred, "For someone who’s never kissed before, you’re pretty good."
"Uh...thanks, I think."

"Just one question."

"Huh?" Dominic whispered absently as Lucian nipped at the hollow of his neck, making sure not to hurt the other boy in his play.

Unlike Dominic, he was not always turned on by blood. He found just as much satisfaction from gentle affection. It was more of a necessity than a preference. Many of his old lovers had been quite averse to violent passion. They wanted to be wooed and coddled, rather than entrapped and ravished. Such relationships had their advantages. Actions in those cases had to be focused more on feelings as opposed to basic lust. Be that as it may, Dominic appeared to select the latter choices as his criteria for a relationship.

"Did you have to bite?" he joked in a whining tone, pulling back and smacking Dominic on his chest. "It hurt!"

Dominic looked disconcerted as he rubbed a thumb across Lucian’s cheek. "I hurt you?"

It seemed that Dominic had been more than a little immersed in his earlier activities. He had been thoroughly unconscious of what he had done during his brief foray into the realm of lust. Perhaps, Wolf’s influence on the boy was more than Dominic had suspected. Or perhaps, Dominic must have slipped out of control for those few moments, forgetting that he wasn’t supposed to tamper with such things as desire and affection. That would provide an explanation for his shocked reaction to their kissing. He was in dire need of reassurance.

"A little," Lucian conceded.

"I’m sorry. I’m not good at this sort of thing. I’ve never played this game before. I guess I don’t understand the rules just yet," the dark-haired boy sighed, nudging Lucian away and returning to his books. "Maybe you should find someone else to play with."

The younger teenager tossed his head at the other and covered his face with his hand, grumbling to himself. Why had he said that? He was forgetting one major aspect about his partner. Dominic was used to violence. That was the only true expression that he knew of. He couldn’t help it if he transferred that method to other things than just conversation or fighting.

"Aw Nick, don’t chicken out on me now. It didn’t really hurt. Not much anyway. It just, you know, surprised me. I mean, first you scratch the hell out of my arm and then you bite me! Not exactly what I’m used to."

"I’m not used to this. It makes me feel...nervous. So I must have subconsciously desired something that would make me feel more comfortable," explained Dominic, hiding his face with a schoolbook. It sounded as if his explanation was embarrassing him.

"Let me guess. You went for the violent approach since that is what you understand the most."

"If that’s how you want to look at it."

"Guess I shouldn’t be complaining. After all, it did work for you. I really think you enjoyed that!" Lucian gushed, taking his friend’s lead and dragging his own book over to his side. "And don’t let it heckle your conscience too long. I’ve had my sampling of less than tender lovers. It’s nothing I can’t handle. At least now, I know what to expect from you so I won’t be surprised next time."

"Next time?" repeated the older youth, lowering his book just so Lucian could view the uncertainty surrounding his eyes. "What do you mean by next time? You mean you want to try this...again?"

"Of course. This isn’t a one-time showing. From now on, you and I can play out the role of a couple. Until one of us gets bored anyway. You’re cool with that, right? You said you didn’t mind playing if it was just for fun. As long as it didn’t mean anything. Well, I promise you that we can have loads of fun and it will be absolutely harmless."

"Harmless, huh?"

"Well, maybe not on your part," Lucian jested as he tried to locate a writing utensil. "What I meant was that it won’t change anything. That’s what you want, right?"

"So you’re really going to pretend that you’re my boyfriend and I’m supposed to do the same? Like an elaborate act?"

"Technically. But nobody has to know just yet. It can be our little secret. Personally, I think it’s more fun that way. Gives the relationship a feeling of excitement and...."

"Danger," Dominic stated bluntly, once again lowering his eyes to study the passages in his text. "Of course."

"Well, danger does make everything better," replied Lucian, bouncing a marker off Dominic’s arm. "’Sides, I think I’m going to enjoy getting my fill of danger more than ever now. What else should I expect from a ravenous wolf?"

His friend picked up the writing tool and threw it back at Lucian, hitting it against his half-opened schoolbook. He snorted coldly and resumed reading, acting as though nothing that had just happened had any significance. It was just like Dominic to try and downplay big things such as this. That was his way of avoiding getting too worked up over things. He would just pretend that they were spontaneous moments, brought on by some powerful catalyst, experienced, and then forgotten seconds later. Well, as long as he continued to allow himself to indulge in his unexpected practices, Lucian had no problem with Dominic shying away from the topic once it was finished.

Still not looking up from his reading, Dominic added in a low snarl, "Right now, this wolf is more irritated than ravenous."

Lucian chuckled lightly and leaned toward him so that he loomed over the other’s textbook. "What? Does this mean no more biting fun?"

"Do your work, Lucian. I don’t wish to have a boyfriend with a failing average," the dark-haired boy mumbled, turning his back on Lucian as a tiny smirk played upon his lips.

"Wow, Nicky, you almost make that sound convincing! Like you really mean it," praised Lucian, smiling broadly.

Licking his thumb to turn a page, Dominic shrugged. "I guess I’m going to be a good actor."

Thorne tugged at the thin leash that his owner grasped in his hand, yapping and wrenching himself forward in attempts to reach a squirrel that was taunting him from its tree. Tyrell easily pulled the puppy back to him, chuckling at the hyperactive look in the animal’s eyes. He looked past the communication between his pet and the wild creature, seeking out any sign of either of his Guardians. On the phone, Tashira had said that they had come here to study a few hours ago. It was almost dusk now and neither boy had returned.

Tyrell rolled up more of the leash in his fist and pulled Thorne behind him, scanning the open area of the park. Most of its daily visitors had gone home by now and it possessed an almost eerie quiet. It probably would have made him nervous if he weren't confident that his Guardians were nearby. Besides, Thorne did need a walk. He had figured that he would be killing two birds with one stone if he took the puppy with him when he went to locate Dominic.

Yes, for once, he was seeking out the more bitter of the Guardian boys. It was Dominic that he wished to talk to. They needed to discuss Angelique and Dominic’s plan for learning her secret with Vincient. He had been all ready to let Dominic track down his cousin yesterday. Dominic had promised him that he would help her and he had agreed to the plan without much thought of Dominic’s safety.

At the time, all he had been able to think about was Angelique and how she continued to place herself in jeopardy. She wanted to risk this. It was as if she didn’t care how anyone else felt, she just wanted something for herself for once. As long as he had known her, Angelique had always seemed to worry about him more than anything. She had never seemed to pay any attention to many of her own needs. Helping him had made her happy. Things had changed now. Angelique was looking out for "number one" this time.

Her spiteful verbal assault on his trust of her had really gotten to him. He just wanted to find out what was doing this to her, changing her from the girl that he had once loved more than anything else. If it was the truth about her past that was bringing about that change, he wanted to prevent her from discovering anything else about it. He wanted to put a stop to all these visits with Vincient. Angelique didn’t need her past; she had the present and the future to worry about. She had him and Kat and in time, he was sure that he could even get the Guardians to accept her. Most of them were generally nice. They would befriend his cousin to make him happy. Once they no longer saw her as a threat to him and his sister, they shouldn’t have any problem with her.

Nonetheless, Angelique’s quest for answers wasn’t important now. If it meant giving up the person most special for him, he would rather Angelique know nothing. He was willing to do anything bring the old Angelique back, even if it meant relying solely on the most dangerous of his Guardians.

At least, he had been before Lucian had spoken with him. Lucian’s frantic pleas had reminded him just how clueless Dominic was as to most of this. It would be wrong to hurl his eldest Guardian to the figurative wolves when Dominic was unaware of the true extent of his opponent’s strength. Dominic was a bit haughty in that aspect. He thought too highly of his own power and intelligence and would look upon challenging Vincient as challenging a Chimera. The two were radically different. It was only fair that he should be informed of that before leaping into the fray. Since Dominic would never consent to backing down without proper evidence, that meant that they would have to devise another plan. The only evidence that he knew of lay in the words of Tavores, a creature that Dominic could not be allowed to meet. Lucian had clearly emphasized that.

The leash in his hand became taut as Thorne shifted into a stiffened stance and twitched his ears. He let out a jubilant bark and Tyrell turned to see what had gotten him so excited. Squinting his eyes, he could make out a smattering of red set against a white background. Perhaps, it was Lucian. He allowed Thorne to drag him closer as the dog jumped against the leash and kicked up his back legs. As the pair neared the vision, Tyrell jerked back the leash and scooped his pet into his arms.

"Be quiet, Thorne," he whispered, tapping the animal’s quivering nose with two fingers.

His pet whined but obediently stilled in his hold as Tyrell examined the scene before him. He had found his Guardians all right. Dominic was on his back, one hand holding a book over his chest while Lucian had his head half on the boy’s upper side, his own book by his knee. Both youths were apparently dozing after what appeared to be a legitimate study session due to the fact that to the left of Dominic were disarranged piles of schoolbooks and a few pencils and pens.

Well, as it odd as the scene appeared, Tyrell decided it was more mature not to jump to any conclusions. This just meant that he would either have to wake his friends up or stealthily take his leave. A subdued growl sounded from Thorne and Tyrell knew that he would have to go with the second option. Thorne could probably sense Wolf and as with any other dog, he was defensive. If he didn’t take Thorne away now, the puppy would get even more agitated. He would have more time to ponder the implications of these circumstances later.

"You don’t have to worry about him, Thorne. Dominic’s a nice wolfie. He just looks scary and mean," Tyrell told the puppy.

There was a jarring caw above them and Thorne lifted up his head, sniffing at the air. An ugly black crow was flapping overhead, cutting a path straight into the setting sun. The clouds had shifted from a dark orange to a faint pink and were now changing into a dark purple before they returned to their unassuming gray. Beyond the swirl of colors, the horizon lines seemed to go on forever, their own hues spread across the bottom sky like a flattened palette. Their layers started with blue, proceeded to yellow, sank into tangerine, merged into a burnt orange, and finally faded with a light red. It was a beautiful sight. He yearned to draw it and regretted not having his sketchbook with him.

The only thing that seemed out of place in the darkening spectrum was that jet-black bird, dropping ragged black feathers with every beat of its wings. Each feather drifted through the skyline in its staggered pace, seeming to sink into the reddest portions of the sunset. They almost looked like they were being lowered into a stream of blood. As magnificent as the image was, it brought with a feeling of something very disturbing.

Those feathers. That waterfall of blood. It was all so familiar. Tyrell had dreamed of it so many times now. Yet, he still didn’t know what any of it meant. Even learning of the Cruce and encountering the Guardians had failed to provide him with any clues. It was something beyond the scope of their knowledge. Maybe, this was a mystery that he had to solve on his own.

Before leaving, he bent down and gathered one of the feathers into his palm. Thorne whined as he held it in front of his face. Turning it the side, he noticed that the shade seemed to switch from black to violet. A violet darker than any he had ever seen. Not even Dominic’s awing eyes matched the ominous hue. He dropped the feather into the pocket of his jacket and moved on.

Behind him, the strange rain of black down continued to drown in the crimson surf.

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