by Jinni James
We drive to Andrew's house in Colorado Springs. I can see my wolves running along with the car back behind the safety of the trees. Iris comes running just as soon as she sees all of us. She throws her arms around Daniel as if her life depends on it. She looks a tad shocked to see the wolves come running up toward the house. Thankfully Daniel explained the shifters to her but I’m sure it is still a shock to see them in person.
John, Lena, and Andrew shift into human form again as I pick up Avalon and carry her into the house then lay her on the quickest bed I can find. I look over at John who stands before me completely nude but not wanting to leave Avalon’s side.
"I'm going to have to reset this leg John. You are not going to want to be in here for this. Why don’t you go with Andrew and borrow some of his clothes while I do this. Do me a favor and check on Michael. By the time you get back everything should be fine."
I look over at Andrew who is also nude but modesty is the last thing anyone is worried about right now.
"You wouldn't happen to have any pain killers would you?"
Andrew smiles. "How do you think I got to all of you so fast with drugs? I keep a fully stocked medicine cabinet."
Andrew leaves the room to get John as well as Lena and himself some clothes as well as everything I will need. Lena comes walking back in with Andrew as I prepare to set Avalon's leg.
"Lena, you hold one arm while Andrew holds the other."
They both do as I ask then with one swift movement, I slam Avalon's knee cap down and back into place. She screams so loud I am sure the entire house hears her. We set her up with an IV with fluids and plenty of medicine. John is running back into the room, his eyes wide like he expects the worse. As soon as John sees her lying in bed asleep and is sure she is okay, he lays his head next to hers and they both fall asleep.
I walk back into the living room to find Michael, Lena, and Andrew all sitting quietly. I quickly look Michael over to find that he seems just fine, other than being weak. Soon after I walk in I see Daniel and Iris come in as well. Daniel, Michael, and I are all barely able to walk. Between the fighting and the sun our energy is about gone. Andrew looks at the three of us with concern.
"I have blood stored here as well, you guys. I know it's not the same as human blood but it is fresh and in the cooler downstairs. There is plenty if you guys need it."
All three of us look to each other then try to stand.
"No. You guys sit there. I will go get it. Lena will help me. Don't move."
Within minutes Lena and Andrew are back with blood bags filling their arms. They snip the corners off of the bags then hand them to us. We tip them up and let the cool liquid run down our throats. No, it is not the same as human blood but it is blood just the same. Whether warm or cold it does the job. I can already feel myself getting stronger. From the looks of it, Michael and Daniel feel the same. Andrew and Lena hand each of us another bag.
"You know you guys; this would be a nice solution to the problem of having to hunt humans to feed. If there was a way to get donated blood you could do that instead."
I finish off my bags then throw them away.
"You're right Andrew. It's not the same but it would eliminate the problem of hunting humans. I always hate that anyway."
Iris lights up at this news.
"Is that possible? I would much rather does this than hunt humans. I just don't know if I can do it."
Daniel puts his arm around Iris.
"Sweetheart, you could do it if you had to but yes this would be a nice solution. What do you think Andrew?"
Andrew sits there contemplating something; I'm not sure what though until I see his face light up.
"We all have the resources guys. If we can find a way to get donors we could do this. We could start our own kind of blood bank especially for vampires like you guys. It would be completely on the down low, we would have to have a good explanation for it but I think we could pull it off."
I stand up and look at Michael.
"I'm in if you are."
Michael looks at Daniel.
"I'm in if you think we can do this. Andrew is right, we do have the resources."
Daniel looks at Iris.
"We are in as well."
Andrew claps his hands together.
"Fantastic! We will wait for John to wake up and see what he says and start figuring out the details."
The thought of never having to worry about blood again, of never having to hunt down humans, gives me more hope than I've had since my turn. I look at Michael and see the same gleam of hope in his eyes as well. This may be a new beginning for us all.
*****
Chapter Twenty
It has been months since everything went down with JR. Avalon recovered nicely, John sent the townhouse manager money to cover all of the costs of fixing the townhouse since it was our fault it got burned to the ground, and we have come up with a new plan of receiving blood.
We’ve still had to hunt humans for the past few months but those times are soon coming to an end. Iris decided to wait until it is all set up before she turns. She would rather wait until she can drink bagged blood instead of hunting humans and drinking from them. I don't really blame her on that one. If I didn't have to I wouldn't want to either. Daniel, of course, supports whatever she wants to do.
Lena and Andrew have welcomed us all into their house in Colorado Springs. It is beautiful here. Just as beautiful as Aspen but then again, it should be, given how it's only forty miles away. I am happy though we have decided to move our endeavor to another location, somewhere up North maybe. I hated to admit it but I loved the sound of that. Maybe somewhere the sun isn't quite so bright and out all of the time. Luckily everyone seems to like that idea.
Michael and I are happy and driving everyone crazy. He can now shift back and forth as he pleases. It makes me happy to see him as himself again, happy, healthy, and full of love. I cannot get enough of this man that is for sure.
The days of worrying about JR are behind us. I hope. Everyone assures me that there is no way JR could have survived that fall into the fire but something keeps eating away at me. I keep having a feeling that he isn't far away, but that is impossible. No one, not even a crazy vampire can survive being burned to death. I try to brush the feeling off as anxiety; I just pray they are all right.
We are trying to learn how JR could do everything he did. How he vanished into thin air, how he could turn his head all the way around, how he was so fast. We are also learning why Michael could control him when nobody else could. That is how we defeated JR in the first place. Michael took control over his mind which allowed me to get to him. We don't know if it is because JR turned Michael so that allowed him could control JR or if Michael is just special but either way it was amazing. We are in search of more vampires like us that can maybe give us some answers.
Right now we are all enjoying each other's company. It is nice to see my two best friends with the loves of their lives and a new friend to add to our group who is head over heels for Daniel. I am happy to see him so happy as well. I am surrounded by so many people that I love. I now feel as though my life is complete. I have everything I have ever wanted or needed, my Michael, my friends, my family. Where life takes us from here, I can't wait to find out.
The End.
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Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Cha
pter Nineteen
