"Turning them into vampires isn't really a solution. Do you think they would be happy if they found out that you bit them just so that they could come on board with being okay with vampires?" asked Melanie.

  Simon nodded, "I guess. It isn't as bad as what you humans make out to be. Rather it is quite fun. You get to eavesdrop on other people's conversation. You stay young, and you and your rate of death isn't that high unless you don't get blood to feed on."

  "What about depending on blood?" asked Melanie, and Simon leaned towards her, his face came close to her face.

  "We all need food, darling. Else we would starve die," stated Simon, and he sighed at the mention of the food. "You might not have a blood bag in the house, would you?" he asked her.

  Melanie shook her head at his question, "Unfortunately, you are our first vampire guest. I will be sure to request my parents to store some the next time you come visit us."

  "I knew you were going to take good care of me," Simon replied with a grin.

  "You can drink from me," offered Melanie, and Simon gave her a nod before he shook his head.

  "I think I will pass on that idea. The probability of your parents feeding you with something stronger than the silverwater is higher than the sun showing up at this hour," stated Simon, and Melanie sighed. "It is fine. I will drink something on my way back to Veteris. I am sure there will be some pretty neat meals."

  Melanie gave him a look, her eyes narrowing.

  "When I say pretty neat, I mean the quality of blood, which I will be borrowing from a male," came the solemn words from Simon, "Who would have thought that you were the jealous type. I absolutely love it."

  "Are you really sure you will be okay?" asked Melanie, showing concern to Simon, and the red-headed vampire was touched by her words.

  "If I said I wouldn't be alright, would you let me sleep in your room? I am a good cuddler," said Simon, the smile on his face brightening.

  "If you are willing to risk your life, then there shouldn't be a problem. My mother has been acting suspicious, and I am not overthinking about this. It's like I am being closely watched," Melanie wished her parents would understand her point of view, but it was complicated with the way the rogue vampires were trying to kill the humans without a single shred of mercy.

  "Of course, anyone would be. You go and dive in directly in support of the enemy, they are going to believe you are either compelled or you have been brainwashed," pointed Simon. "If my family hadn't been killed, I would probably be like them too. Part of the hunter's association, stake and burn the vampires."

  At the mention of his family, Melanie stared into his bright green eyes and asked him, "Did you ever have a favorite in the family?"

  "Nah," replied Simon, shaking his head instantly. "Well, if you count the butler as a family. Then maybe just him. He was the only one who tried to help and understand me. Somewhere we built a relationship with me being beaten up by my father, and the butler bandaging my wounds," he chuckled at it.

  "He must have been nice then," murmured Melanie, and Simon's hand reached out to hold hers.

  "Augustine was a good man. Which is why he's the only one who receives good flowers from me," pointed Simon, and this had Melanie's eyebrows raised.

  "Your family doesn't?"

  "Nope. I didn't think they deserved one, and the last thing you need is to be reminded that you were the one who killed your family members," on Simon's words, Melanie's heart ached.

  She wondered how much pain he had been holding since he was a young boy to build such an amount of hate towards his family. By looks, Simon came from a wealthy family, but with the way, he behaved, it was hard to say that he was lonely deep down in his heart.

  Unable to hold back, she let go of his hands and instead moved closer to wrap her hands around him. She hugged him closely, and Simon didn't question or remark about her action. Instead, he hugged her back, placing his chin on her shoulder, he said,

  "I don't want to go back to Veteris yet. You don't mind me staying here for sometime, do you?"

  "No. You are welcome to stay," replied Melanie, and Simon pulled her closer before sniffing her neck.

  "I don't know if it is because I am hungry, but you smell amazing right now. It's making my mouth water," said Simon, and Melanie rolled her eyes. If she knew, she would have kept some blood, but the question was, what if her parents found out about it. Was she supposed to tell it was part of her work? Or perhaps she was a weird girl who collected blood?

  Somewhere between being hugged and being lost in her thoughts in Simon's arms, her face flushed at the thought that she was with him right now. She felt his arms tighten around her.

  When Simon pulled away from her, Melanie noticed that his eyes were no more green and they had turned red. She pursed her lips before saying,

  "Your eyes have turned red, Simon."

  When Simon parted his lips to speak, she noticed the fangs. He said, "My hunger is rising, I was sure I drank enough blood before coming here, yet I am not sure why I feel hungry right now."

  Retrieving his hands back to his side, he sneaked in a quick kiss from her lips and got down from the bed. He said, "I will see you later. Let me know how it goes with Conner tomorrow."

  Melanie got down from the bed, too, walking to the window and seeing him jump outside. He gave her a smile before disappearing into the shadows.

  She couldn't help but hide the smile that came upon her face, but as soon as the smile reached her lips, it also fell from her face. Having Simon as a boyfriend meant that they wouldn't be able to tell her parents that he was a vampire, and she would have to hide it from them for the rest of their lives. It's alright, one step at a time, there was no need to think about everything now, Melanie thought to herself.

  When morning arrived, before she could even have her breakfast, she had gone to meet Conner. Right now, they sat in the backyard of Conner's house, and Conner held a serious and thoughtful expression on his face after hearing what Melanie had to say.

  "I am sorry, Conner," Melanie apologized, and Conner smiled.

  "You shouldn't apologize to me. It should be I, who should be apologizing to you instead, for not noticing your feelings sooner," Conner, knew this would be the outcome, it wasn't that he hadn't expected it to happen. But he wanted to try one last time, which would also let Melanie know that this was exactly what she wanted. "But I should have known that you and Simon would end up together from the beginning."

  Melanie asked him, "Why do you say that?"

  "Simon is often a very polite person, to me too. And girls, he has always been kind," explained Conner, looking at one of the bushes in his backyard, "It was a little strange that you were the only one he liked to annoy, or more like you were the only one who was annoyed by him. Maybe this is what they say, there's a thin line between love and hate," he turned to look at Melanie and smiled.

  Melanie was glad that Conner wasn't hurt by her words. Though she didn't love Conner anymore, he was still her best friend, someone who had a big mouth and needed to be told when to not speak about certain things. They had grown up with each other, and she would have been sad if things had turned awkward between them.

  Conner suddenly ruffled the top of her head, and she swatted his hand, "What was that for?!" she asked him.

  "You had this big frown on your face. Don't worry, Mel. I am fine," he assured her. "We are still best friends, aren't we?"

  "Always," replied Melanie, and she received a wider smile from him while she tried to fix her hair. "Did you hear anything about vampires from your parents?" she asked.

  Conner nodded, "I did get some similar information from my father, which was similar to what your parents said. But there was a little twisted information."

  "What was it about?" she asked curiously.

  "My father told me that when your mother gave the vial solutions to hunt the vampires, she kept a few pieces with her," explained Conner, and he said, "I will be going out to attending the hunters meet."

  "There's a hunter's meeting?" asked Melanie because she hadn't heard anything about it from her own parents. "I guess they really are suspicious of me."

  "Don't worry, I will fill you in on what's happening," Conner promised her and then said, "This might be the right window for you to go and get the solutions."

  Melanie couldn't agree less. Her mother had outright denied that there was nothing left in the house, and all the weapons intended for the vampires were gone. She doubted Conner or her asking about it again would help.

  "What time is the meeting?" inquired Melanie.

  "It starts around six, and is in the next town. Also don't tell you know about it. Enough time for you to take a look at the basement. Do you need me to slip out or will you be able to manage it?" asked Conner, slightly worried with the operation they were going to proceed with.

  "I will manage it. And we need eyes and ears on what the hunters are deciding. This way, you will also know my parents are still there, and I have enough time to get out of the basement," replied Melanie.

  "Sounds good. All the best on it, Mel and don't get caught," he wished her luck.

  "You too, Conner," and taking a deep breath, she stood up, and he did the same. "Keep texting me if something comes up."

  Melanie returned to her house, and she decided to wait for her parents to leave the house.

  When it was time, Melanie's eyes were on the key in the drawer, she saw her mother pull the drawer and put the key in the purse. It was the key to the basement. She cursed herself and smiled when her mother looked at her.

  "Be sure to not open the doors to strangers, Mel. We'll be back soon. This time the hunter's meeting is only for the old folks," said her mother, and she kissed Melanie's cheek.

  "That's fine. I will probably just rest and watch a movie," replied Melanie, and she saw her parents at the door.

  "Have fun, Mel. And if we get late, there's food in the fridge," said her mother, and Melanie felt her heartbeat increasing with every passing second.

  She saw them get into the car, waving at her before they drove away from the front of the house. Melanie stood there for a few seconds, noticing Conner and his family get into the car, and drive away.

  Melanie stood there for two minutes, just in case her parents forgot something, and when she was sure they wouldn't be returning soon, she locked the door and headed down the stairs that led to the dungeon. Turning the light, she tried to open the door, but it was locked.

  "How am I going to get this thing open now?" she muttered.

  Melanie went to the kitchen and brought a knife along, trying to open the lock. But after several attempts where time was running, she finally called a number, and when the person picked up, she said,

  "I need your help."