Pain… and hunger, such strong hunger… that's what I feel. But why? Deven woke up groggily. His body hurt all over and hunger gnawed at his insides and burned with an unholy ache. When he tried to turn his neck to look around, it sent jolts of pain through his body, and he could feel something wet covering his neck and chest. When he tried look for a hint of where he could be, he could not see a single thing. Why, why does it hurt so much? He lay shivering in a cold sweat, trying to sort out the jumble of thoughts and feelings that raced through his mind. What was the last thing he remembered?

Of course, Arielle. The Nightclub, the dancing. But what else? He groaned; it hurt to even think. Deven tried to move, digits first. He sent a message to his brain, move your fingers. They twitched, good. Then his toes, then his feet and hands. Eventually he found he could move everything, but the pain was almost unbearable. He also registered that he was lying on his back on some sort of cold, hard surface, with dirt scratching his cheek and something retraining his arms and legs. He tried to move again and heard the clink of chains.

Suddenly all rational thought came back to Deven's brain. He was chained up in some unnatural place with no memory of anything but a beautiful woman, his body aching and nothing but blackness around him. He started to perspire and he could feel his heart beat painfully and quickly in his chest.

"Arrgh!" He gasped, using whatever energy he had to try and wrench himself out, but the chains held fast and only weighed his limbs down further, tiring him out so much that he had to stop moving.

He lay, panting heavily, feeling his heart thundering under his ribs. It felt as if he could feel his blood running through his veins and everything burned.

"Help, help me!" He had no hope of anyone answering, but he had to try, "Help, help, please God help me!" He cried, tears springing to his eyes.

"Isn't it funny how most only look for God when they fear death?"

A voice echoed around him. He struggled to turn and search the darkness for the source.

"Who are you, where am I? What do you want with me?" His voice was hoarse from the strain.

"Once again, such typical questions, but now it's my turn."

"Arielle? What are you doing with me?"

"I said it's my turn!"

And suddenly Deven felt the cold steel of a blade at his throat. He could smell her scent, the same sweet smell that enthralled him earlier. Her presence surrounded him, but he could still not figure out where she was. The blade was removed.

"Now." Her voice was once again calm, "How do you feel?"

Deven almost felt like laughing at the absurdity of the question. Then he remembered how he actually felt. "It hurts everywhere. And I'm dieing from hunger."

Arielle laughed at this, "Dieing, hah, well that's not for some time yet." Coldness wrapped around his heart and Arielle knew it, "Oh don't worry, it's not as bad as it seems. It's almost erotic. You'll see; you'll love it. You'll love me." And suddenly the room was lit with candles and she was on top of him.

She was exactly as he remembered, only much scarier. At first her body had looked soft, round. Everything about her had been a blurred beauty, smudged at the edges. Now all her features were rough and sharp, almost as if Deven was looking at her in high resolution. Before her skin had seemed dewy and smooth, now it looked cold and hard. Her eyes were no longer seductive, they were filled with evil.

Arielle grabbed his wrists, and no matter how much he tried to squirm, he just couldn't move. She was a dead weight on top of him, her dark hair flowing around him. She kissed him hard on the mouth, shoving her tongue in ferociously although he protested. She bit his tongue and Deven let out a gurgled scream, tasting blood. She sucked and he felt a sharp pain as the blood was quickly drawn from his body. His eyes widened and toes curled as he twisted under her.

Arielle released him and sat back swiftly, resting on his belly. She laughed and licked her lips, wiping excess blood from her chin and licking it off her finger. "Have you figured it out yet darling? Have you figured out my plan?"

"All I've figured out is that you're completely sick." Deven growled at her. She laughed again.

"While that is true, I have something quite specific in mind for you. But I won't do it yet, I want to keep you alive for a little while. I like to play with my food."

Deven's scream froze in his mouth as Arielle wrenched his head to the side, exposed his neck, already covered in half dried blood, and thrust her fangs into his skin.

Once Arielle had taken her fill she sighed and arranged herself to languidly lie on Deven's body. She traced a finger over his feverish, bloody skin, cooling it with her ice cold touch. Deven could do nothing but lay there. Even more energy had been taken from his body and just breathing hurt him. Arielle know this, she took his chin in her hands and turned his head so they could see eye to eye.

"Dearest darling Deven. I know how you must be feeling. Your body burns so much it's hard to even want to keep yourself alive, but I can make it better. I have a cure. Now I'll only give it to you if you want it and it'll take a while and possibly hurt more then this, but you will be better, and you will be stronger then you've ever been."

Deven struggled with what she said. He knew everything hurt now, could it get worse? He just wanted it to be over, he wanted to feel good again, but can I trust her? He stared at her, his eyes half lidded, breath coming out in slow, laboured gasps. His head was swimming and nothing was in focus. He nodded, "Yes."

He heard the dagger clink against stone, and Arielle gasp. He heard her clothes shuffle and body weight shift so that she was on top of his again. Everything was blurring, nothing made sense. The world was just echoes until…

Something pressed against Deven's mouth; he felt warm liquid spread across his skin. He opened his mouth weakly and let whatever it was drip into his dry mouth. He couldn't taste, but it felt good dripping down his throat, so he took it more enthusiastically, licking the source.

"Suck, Deven, it's quicker." Her voice seemed clearer, he felt better, and maybe she was telling the truth after all. He clamped his mouth around the source of the miracle liquid and sucked slowly and deeply. His started to body hum with new energy. He could feel the pain receding from his body, the hunger in his stomach lessened. He clutched the arm that was in front of him and sucked with vigour… and then suddenly it was taken away.

"No!" He yelled, clawing at the air, "I need more!" But Arielle was already receding from his view.

"Later darling, later you will have more. But now you must sleep." And the room was once again dark and by some power unknown to Deven he was unconscious once more.

When Deven woke again he felt refreshed, as if he had been sleeping for days straight. He was so comfortable he almost forgot what had happened to him earlier, but as he sat up and saw his blood stained clothes, felt a heavy chain around his ankle, and saw that he was in a small bedroom that was not his own, the blurred memories came rushing back to him.

Sudden fear was quickly replaced by anger. What did this woman want with him? Why hadn't she just killed him, isn't that what she intended? The anger surged through his body and concentrated into his fist, which he put through one of the logs that made up the wall. He blinked his eyes in surprise, he was sure those logs would be solid oak or maple, something sturdy, yet his fist had left a small, gaping hole. He flexed his hand experimentally and found that there was no pain, and hardly even a scratch or bruise. His feelings of surprise and confusion were replaced by the churning feeling in his stomach. He was hungry again.

Deven looked around the room and was pleased to see that there was a tray of food on a small wooden table. There was a plate of two eggs, two sausages, a loaf of still steaming bread and a glass of orange juice, freshly squeezed. He flung away the rough white sheet that had been covering him and practically leaped toward the table. He attacked the food hungrily. Everything was delicious, and he liked the barely cooked sausages the most. He swore that blood still dripped from it, but dismissed it as sauce, shoving them into his mouth.

Once Deven was finished eating he spun around and surveyed the room once more, spotting a fresh set of clothes that had been placed at the foot of his bed. After finding a full, small wash basin on the other side of his bed, along with soap and a sponge. Rubbing off as much grime as he could, he gratefully pulled on the clean clothes. It was only after, when the basins water had turned a dark red-brown colour, and he gazed at the pile of bloodstained clothes, that he fully realized what had happened to him.

The last time he had been conscious Arielle had drained his body of blood, and then made him drink something to keep him alive; something he now realized had been blood. Arielle's blood. The food in his stomach turned and threatened to escape. Deven clutched his stomach and clenched his teeth, forcing himself to keep the bile that threatened to escape, down.

The only reason he was now alive was because he had drank the blood of another human being. 'No, not human.' Deven thought suddenly, 'That is not what she is, it can't be. No human could ever do something like this.' He slumped forward on the bed, cradling his head in his hands. 'Then what could?' The answer was simple, but even thinking it almost made him hysterical. He only knew of one inhuman creature that drank the blood of their victims, and used their own to strengthen others.

Vampires.

Deven let out a gurgling laugh. The mere thought almost made him explode in a fit of insanity. Fear, hate, anger, confusion, frustration and disbelief all rolled under the surface of his mind, threatening to set themselves free and drive him mad. But he knew he couldn't let that happen. He needed to stay sane in order to escape.

Because that's what he had already decided to do. He looked around, surveying the room with vigour. First he needed to see if he could figure out where he was, so he walked over to the heavily curtained windows. He lifted the thick black cloth and was almost blinded by the intense light of the sun, and a burning sensation in his skin made him cry out and drop the curtain.

What had she done to him? Was he now a vampire as well? Deven almost lost control again. 'No, I can't be, because I still feel human. I know I still have a soul.' This knowledge rationalized him, and he reached for the curtain once more, bracing himself and squinting his eyes, keeping as much of his body out of the harsh rays as he could. It was a relief when a large cloud moved over the sun, dimming its light.

Deven studied what he could see from his window. A large lake glittered to his left, no less than twenty feet away, and all he could see directly in front of him were trees turning in the early autumn weather. 'So I'm in a cottage then. That means I'm at least two hours away from home.'

Deven's mind stopped short. Home, he hadn't even thought about that until then. How long had he been gone, was it long enough for people to worry? Was Alisha worried about him, what was she thinking, had she called the police, or his parents? Had Alexandra and Trent noticed him leave the club with Arielle? Had they thought anything was suspicious?

Deven grunted and shook his head, clearing his mind. He had no time to think about them right now, he had to think about himself. He hadn't seen any cottages across the lake or near theirs through the trees, but there had to be some. If only he could get the damn chain off his ankle.

Deven sat down on the stool beside the table and crossed his leg over his knee so he could get access to the chain. It was old, a little rusty, and left red marks on his skin. He tugged the chain and upon investigation, found that it was attached to a cement block underneath his bed with an iron ring. No matter about his increased strength, he could not pull it free. Even if he could unlock the door, and even if it was already open, he knew the chain would keep him exactly where he was. He swore and thrust the empty plate off the table, the remnants of the meal falling to the ground. He crossed his arms in irritation, brooding over his situation.

It took a few tosses of the rooms contents for Deven to tire himself out and fall back onto his bed. There was nothing more for him to do. Escape seemed impossible, and from what Deven had known of vampires, Arielle would not be seeing him until the sun had set, which would not be for hours yet. He curled himself into the foetal position and pulled the blanket around himself, allowing the waves of sleep to envelop him and blissfully empty his mind.

He smelled her before he saw her, the scent of honeysuckle and warm, fresh blood. Deven sniffed the air and opened his eyes, immediately looking for her. Arielle was sitting on the stool beside the window, gazing dreamily at the moon. She spoke softly.

"Do you feel it Deven? Can you feel the power of the moon?" She turned her head to him, eyes glowing with blue fire. Her light brown hair flowed around her face and shoulders in loose curls. She was wearing a white lace dress. It was as if she was shimmering.

Now that Deven was fully awake he noticed the glow of the moon that surrounded his body, and how it made his skin tingle right to the bone. "Yes, I do feel…something."

Arielle grinned, canines protruding, "The light of the moon gives us an extra surge of power, much like how the sun takes our power away. When there's a full moon, we can do almost anything." She stood up slowly, placing a hand on the window and staring at him, "Do you know when the next full moon is?" Deven looked out the window at the moon, which was about three quarters full. He shrugged bitterly,

"Sometime soon I suppose."

"Four days Deven. We have four days to play before you're mine forever."

A shiver ran down Deven's spine as Arielle gazed intently at him, her smile curving evilly. He shrank back in the bed, eyes wide.

"W-what do you mean?"

Arielle giggles and lunged forward, trapping Deven underneath her like the night before, holding his wrists above his head, "Well I'm not changing you until the full moon, silly. If we wait until then, you will be more powerful once you've changed. The strongest vampires in all of history were changed on the full moon. I was myself. And until then… well you'll see what I have in mind for you." Her eyes glittered maliciously and she licked her lips, "Its playtime."