Chapter Nine

I reached the door leading out back to the woods, taking one last glance at Celestial over my shoulder. *Why won't they tell me what's going on?* I shook my head.

"I may not be back by dinner time." I mumbled, holding the knob tightly.

"Okay sweetie. Just no more B&E's okay?" My jaw dropped.

"W-w-w-what do you mean by that?" I feigned innoncence.

Celestial tapped her ears, winking at me as she did so. "I can hear a great deal, and I know how you think." She stood up from her chair, flaunting ever so gracefully to where I stood. She put her hands on my shoulders, looking deep into my eyes. "This is something your father and I have to take care of ourselves. We're not getting you involved." She shook her head. Her love for me ever so evident in her eyes. My stomach twisted into a knot, a lump forming in my throat.

"I wish you guys would just trust me." I looked down at my feet. "I am 17 now. I can handle a lot."

"Oh sweetie." Celestial pulled me into a hug, tears running down her face once again. "We do trust you. We trust you very much, but this is something that I don't think you can help with. It's a consequence your father and I already knew about before we started dating. This is on us." She pulled herself away from me, still keeping her hands on my shoulders. Her voice cracking with each word she spoke. I looked up at her.

"Okay. I just want to help. I hate seeing you like this." I whispered.

She moved a strand of hair behind my ear. "I know Morgan, I know. I appreciate it and I love you so much." She hugged me again. "Now," she stated, wiping her eyes and releasing me from the hug, "go see your friends. I won't keep you." She smiled brightly at me and winked. I rolled my eyes and laughed. I turned the knob and walked out the door towards the woods.

I made my way through the woods to a building that Celestial showed me when we first moved in. I instantly claimed it as a hangout spot for Sabrina and I. Mark tagged along every now and then when he could.

*Mark*

There was just something about him. Every time he touched me, or looked into my eyes, my whole body reacted in a way that suprised me, every time. I brought it up to Celestial, and she just smiled but wouldn't tell me anything about what it possibly could be. I shake my head. It's probably all in my mind. But there was something different about him.

I walked further down the path, my mind still going a millions miles a minute. I didn't even see Mark standing there, staring at me. I felt an uneasiness, so I looked up, not realizing the very large tree root sticking out of the ground. My foot snagged on it, causing me to trip forward. Mark, who was an easy 5 feet away from me, was catching my shoulder's and swiftly adjusted me, cradling me against his chest. My heart skipped, not one, not two, but three beats as my eyes met his. God, he was gorgeous! His hair tossled in front of his eyes, giving me a bright smile. My breath hitched in my throat.

"U-u-uhm, thanks." I stuttered, slightly pushing against him to get down. The hand holding me under my knees released it's hold as my legs dropped to the ground. He kept a hold on my back. I looked down at the now very interesting ground, my heart pounding in my ears like bass drums. I felt his finger under my chin, lifting my face to his, our eyes meeting again. My breathing was quick and fast. My face was flushing and very hot. His beautiful eyes. It wasn't long before I noticed that our faces were nearly touching, his lips just inches away from mine.

"Ahem." The voice of my best friend broke through the silence and tension between Mark and I. I didn't realize how quiet it actually was, my heart was pounding so hard in my ears. "Will you guys just kiss and get it over with already?" I could hear the smirk forming on her lips. Mark's nose brushed against mine, moving his face away. A slight pout formed on my lips. I shook my head and smacked my face. Both Mark and Sabrina chuckled at me.

"It's not funny." I mumbled, turning to head towards the door of the abandoned building. It was a small cottage, but the inside was enormous. Celestial had shown me all of the secret hiding places that were installed to protect the Vampire's who had hid from the Humans who were trying to destroy them. Although, I couldn't really understand how a Human could kill a Vampire, but I guess there were ways of doing so.

"Seriously Morgan. Just kiss the damn man." Sabrina whispered in my ear sending shivers down my spine. "You guys have been playing cat and mouse for AGES now." She emphasized to me. "He's hot. Who cares what anyone else thinks."

"It's not that simple." I looked at her. A frown covered both our faces. "But we'll talk about that later." I motioned my head back at Mark, who was leaning against a tree a few feet away. He had a huge smile on his face, like he knew a secret but wasn't willing to share. "I have something more urgent that we need to address." I stated loudly enough for Mark to hear. Sabrina rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, what was that SOS about? You're not thinking of doing something reckless again, are you?" She raised her eyebrow at me. I opened the lock and swung the door open. Shock adamantly showing across my face.

"What makes you say that?!"

"You're talking about B&E again Morgan." Mark chimed in, his voice deep and silky. His voice sent wonderful chills through my body.

"Well, yeah, till Celest got ahold of me. But seriously guys. There's something going on. They won't tell me anything. Dad got this letter in the mail and I know I saw the Council's ensignia on it. Him and Celest seem to be at odds. They're barely speaking to me and are keeping secrets. Dad never does that." I was speaking fast. I paused to catch my breath as my two best friends sat on of one the couches we had set up in this living space. Once the place got a little TLC, it was emaculate.

"Wait, you said you're dad got a letter from the Council?" Marks voice was low, dangerously low. I nodded.

"That's what it looked like," I shrugged. "Why? What does it mean to get a letter from the Council?"

"Morgan, you know the rules, don't you?" Sabrina's voice was quiet. *The Rules!* I slumped down on the couch opposite of my friends. I forgot all about their damn rules! Now it was all starting to make sense. "Celest is a Vampire, after all. It was only a matter of time..." Sabrina's voice trailed off, looking up at me from her hands. Her eyes went wide, seeing the anger form on my face.

"Morgan," Mark's voice was soft. "Morgan, don't you dare-" Before he could finish, I had jumped up from the couch and bolted towards the door. I was furious. I felt betrayed, angered, frustrated, hateful.

*"That damn Council. That damn, fucking Council thinks they can get away with taking my family away from me?!"* I yelled in my head. I was fuming. If this were a cartoon, steam would be rolling from my ears.

"Morgan! Morgan, Wait!" I heard Mark and Sabrina cry out after me. I could hear them running through the woods to get to me. I was nearing my house before I felt an arm around my waist. Marks scent filled my nose as he curled me around into his body. *"Was he hugging me?!"*

"Whoa, how the hell did you do that?" Sabrina, wide-eyed, questioned Mark, trying to catch her breath. His breathing was slow and steady, as if he hadn't ran after me.

"Morgan," ignoring Sabrina's remark on his speed, he pulled me out from the hug, placing both hands on my shoulders, looking deeply into my eyes. "Morgan, calm down. We will think of something. Okay? But you have to control your temper. Just breathe. We all knew it was going to happen, but now we'll work together to figure out how to save your dad and Celest." I felt a warm stinging run down my face. Mark lifted one of his hands and brushed the tears falling from my eyes away. "I promise," he pulled me back into his embrace, "we will save them."