Sanctuary . Amy Blankenship

to her chest, she wrapped the other cover around her and laid down thinking about the couple that had found her. They both had amethyst eyes.

      She hugged the pillow tighter to her chest as she remembered another with such eyes and wondered if they were the same breed as the man she’d made love to. She’d accused the blond man of being a vampire even though she knew he wasn’t… but what else did she have to compare him to. She wasn’t really afraid of vampires, there had been several in the demon realm.

      One of the many times she’d escaped from Samuel, it had been directly into a nest of soulless vampires and they’d descended on her like a swarm of angry bees. She’d managed to kill a good number of them with her bare hands before being overrun.

      Aurora could still remember the feeling of their claws ripping at her clothing and fangs sinking into her flesh. She didn’t know who was more surprised… her or the vampires when the ones that did bite her started burning away from the inside out.

      The vampires that were left finally fell back once they realized they couldn’t drink her. When she’d raised her eyes, she saw Samuel smirking at her from the edge of the mob. What she had left of the little bit of clothing he’d allowed her was ripped away and she was forced to remain like that for a very long time… never leaving Samuel’s sight.

      She could have regained her clothing sooner but Samuel had insisted she make love to him without a fight if she wanted her modesty back. She’d decided right then that modesty was highly overrated.

      The man in the subway had bit her, but it hadn't felt like the merciless tearing of flesh she’d endured and he survived the sip of blood he’d stolen from her. She rolled her neck to the side remembering the sensation then clenched her legs together when she felt a phantom pulse between her thighs.

      Aurora bit her bottom lip. Her chest had felt like something heavy was sitting on it when Samuel had told her he’d killed the vampire. Her relief when she realized he was lying had lifted that weight. She suddenly frowned wondering if that meant the vampire had beaten Samuel in a fight. She sighed knowing that was just wishful thinking.

      *****

      Across town, Michael leaned against the frame of his bedroom doorway surveying the progress he’d made in righting the room. Everything was back in its place except the bed… his mattress was now missing the antique frame that had once supported it.

      He already missed it but shrugged deciding it was better to leave it that way until he had these power surges under control. He hadn’t had the heart to throw the frame away though… it was now stored in the attic. If luck was with him, he would be able to restore it later.

      He couldn’t help but push his melancholy away and laugh when Scrappy jumped up on the mattress. The little dog looked at him strangely for a moment before he decided to run around in circles so fast he made himself dizzy to the point that he couldn’t stay on his feet.

      “You’re not right… you know that,” Michael exclaimed shaking his head.

      Scrappy merely whined and finally succeeded in righting himself, still lying down but Michael laughed harder when Scrappy’s head kept moving in tiny circles. Finally he took pity on the little dog and picked him up in his arms.

      “Well that’s one way to get drunk, but I know another way that might be just what I need tonight,” he rubbed Scrappy’s ears “hopefully my drinking buddy is still free.” He sat Scrappy down and patted his pocket for his cell phone then sighed in annoyance remembering he’d crushed it in the subway.

      The house phone chose that moment to ring sending Michael tracing down the stairs to the living room.

      “Tell Kat you need a fresh bottle of Heat… make that two,” Michael started off the conversation by getting straight to the point.

      “Having a bad day are we?” Warren asked then glanced over at Devon whom he’d locked in the dance cage. “I’ve definitely got something to take your mind off your own troubles. You can have as much Heat as you want if you’ll just come help me get a handle on Devon.”

      “It’s a deal.” Michael hung up feeling a sudden adrenaline rush.

      Deciding to put it to good use, he was standing on the sidewalk in front of the house before the living room clock had time to make it to the next second. Stopping dead, he turned back toward the house hearing Scrappy scratching on the door.

      Opening the door back up, he could have sworn the puppy sent him a glare before slowly walking out. “Guess a doggie door might be a good investment,” Michael cocked an eyebrow. “And don’t you go telling your daddy on me.”

      Scrappy barked up at Michael before taking off around the back of the house.

      “Traitor,” Michael yelled.

      Listening to the roaring silence coming from the empty house, Michael closed the door. He missed having Kane, Damon and Alicia living here with him. He’d lived alone for so long before that… he hadn't realized just how lonely he truly was.

      With a heavy sigh, Michael walked away from the house and decided he needed to get to Moon Dance as quickly as he could. For some reason, he just didn’t want to be alone tonight.

      The first thing he saw when he entered the club was Kat and Quinn standing against the railing looking down onto the dance floor. He tilted his head to the side, the edges of a smile pulling at his lips.

      “What’s going on?” Michael asked when he saw what Kat and Quinn were looking at.

      “Devon’s practicing a new cage dance,” Quinn smirked at him and then grabbed the top of his head when Kat smacked him. “What?” he inquired looking innocently at Kat.

      Kat crossed her arms over her chest and looked at him as if he were stupid, “You’re joking… right?”

      Michael frowned at the weirdness of the newly mated couple and cocked an eyebrow at what he was seeing. Warren was sitting in a chair with his feet propped up on a five gallon paint bucket and he was staring at the cage with a dejected looking Devon inside. Michael cocked an eyebrow when he noticed that the door to the dance cage had a heavy chain locking it.

      “Will you please talk some sense into Warren?” Kat pleaded.

      “Don’t you mean talk some sense into Devon?” Quinn corrected then took a quick step back when Kat snapped a glare in his direction.

      “Do you really want to fight?” Kat asked then took her own step back when Quinn started toward her.

      “Yes,” Quinn’s voice came out in a dark seductive purr.

      Michael shook his head when Kat took off up the stairs with Quinn right on her heels. He had to admit Kat was often smarter than her brothers and glanced back down into the pit seeing an almost devious smile on Warren’s face.

      Yep, whatever reason Warren had taken Devon prisoner… he was enjoying playing the part of jailer.

      Feeling eyes on him, Warren lifted his head and waved at Michael. He reached for the bottle of Heat on the floor beside him and held it up so Michael could see it. “Wanna join me?”

      Devon sighed now sitting on the cage floor with his back against the bars. Seeing Michael coming down the steps was all he needed. He thumped his head backwards against the steel making the bars rattle. Between Michael and Warren… he would never hear the end of this.

      “Sorry to disappoint you Michael but the show is over,” he hissed.

      “What did I miss?” Michael asked rubbing his chin as he stopped beside Warren’s chair.

      Warren finally pulled his gaze away from his brooding brother and glanced at Michael who was busy sliding the five gallon bucket across the floor with his foot, “You mean you really don’t know?”

      “Know what?” Michael asked only for Warren to laugh and hand him the bottle.

      “Hey Devon, why don’t you tell him,” Warren