A New Meaning to the Night

Chapter Eleven: Harsh Reality

Damien's voice came back about half an hour after William dragged him out of Sam's house, but he didn't see how talking was going to fix anything now. There had been no mistaking the betrayal and anger in her eyes. Added to that, he now knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Sam was precisely the kind of person to go after something if she felt it threatened someone important to her. If she found out who had done this to Cori, he had no doubt in his mind that she would hunt them down.

"She needs to be protected."

William paced back and forth looking agitated, but cast Damien a brief look of acknowledgement at the words. "Cori will protect her now, but we must help her through this transition. She's not only a liability, she's a threat for as long as she's unable to find a steady flow of blood."

Damien's expression contorted violently at William's reply. "She can't stay there with her, William. She has no established control, she could kill Sam. We need to get her out of there."  

"And you think Samantha would let us anywhere near Cori if she thought we were taking her away?"

"So we won't give her a choice. It's for her safety."

William stopped his pacing to stare at Damien with a dangerous glint in his eyes. "I will take care of Cori. You will stay away. This is not the way we wanted it to go, but we must respect Samantha's wish for you to stay away. We still need her to trust us."

"She can't trust us if Cori─" Damien started to snap, but William had him pinned against the wall by his neck in the blink of an eye.

William's fangs glinted dangerously, and he looked murderous. "You'd do well to bite your tongue. Cori has done nothing to warrant your distrust and accusations. If you show her even a hint of a threat, I will take you out myself. Do you understand?"

"If something happens to Sam, I'll be the one to take you out."

William let go and took a step back, straightening his shirt. "Samantha is, of course, still our top priority. We will do everything we can to ensure her safety. Tomorrow night I will return to them with all the sustenance Cori will require when she wakes from the change. Samantha will have nothing to worry about."

***

True to his word, William knocked on the door the following evening and was greeted by complete silence. Well aware that Sam would never leave Cori's side while she was going through such a painful transition, he didn't hesitate to enter in order to ensure their safety. With his inhuman hearing, he could make out the now softer moans of pain, but they weren't Cori's.

He was in the basement in moments, and it didn't take him long to realize what Sam had done. He felt equal parts relief and exasperation. Setting four blood bags down on the nightstand beside Cori's bed, he picked Sam up and carried her up the stairs to her room. She was never supposed to go through this transition before she changed herself, and now she'd be forced to go through it twice.

There had never been any stories indicating that a witch could take on the pain of the transition; they were very rarely inclined to help out one of his kind. Sam's entire body shook, and her face was contorted in pain, yet even in her unconscious state, she seemed to be making every effort to suppress any sort of admittance of pain.

"You will never be able to protect everyone from pain, Samantha," he told her unconscious body softly.

Leaving her there, he went back down to check on Cori. She'd be waking up in another twenty-four hours or so, and she'd be starving. Contrary to popular belief, the urge was something that could be controlled if a person was so inclined. There would always be hunger, but it was not so soul-consuming that a person would be a slave to their desire.