“Get away from her, Paul!” Salem said fiercely. I could feel something wet and cold beneath me as I suddenly regained a bit of consciousness and realized I was still lying in the snow. My eyes were open, but I could hardly focus. My father knelt beside me, his eyes frantically staring from my face to the wound in my side.

“I'm not leaving her, you monster!” Paul replied through gritted teeth. “If I wasn't so worried about her safety, I would kill you right now!”

“Do you not realize that I saved her life?!" Salem shouted, incredulous.

“That doesn't make you any better than the rest of them.”

I could hear my own shallow breathing and the faint sound of painful moans. “Salem...” I coughed.

“She wants me, Paul,” he said in anguish. “I can help her, please.”

Through the haze, I could see my father stand and back away. Salem was at my side now; his cold hand gently brushed against the side of my face. “Alexis? Can you hear me?”

I nodded my head weakly and shivered. “Salem...is she...”

“She's dead,” he assured me. “Try not to move.”

I wasn't sure at first why he wanted me to remain still until I felt his hand at the base of the arrow. “No!” I cried out in pain.

“It has to come out,” he said calmly.

My body shook with unbearable pain as he tore the arrow from my skin in one swift motion. The screams I heard didn't sound like my own—they sounded horrific and terrifying. I curled up in the snow, holding my arms tightly against myself trying to stop the shaking. Salem gathered me into his arms and held me.

“It's okay, Alex,” he whispered soothingly. “The pain will fade soon; I promise. You are lucky it didn’t hit any organs, just tissue.”

“What happened...to the little girl?” I gasped as I remembered the vampire's poor victim. From the look on Salem's face, I knew I didn't want the answer.

Paul stared at us angrily. “How did you know she would be here?!" he demanded, ignoring my question entirely.

“That's really not important right now, Paul,” Salem seethed.

“Don't forget I could kill you where you stand, monster.”

“P-please, stop fighting,” I pleaded, shivering against his cold body.

“Let me take her somewhere warm,” Salem said, lifting me up as he stood.

“No. I can take her to a hospital,” Paul objected.

“It burns!” I screamed. “Salem...it burns!” I squirmed violently in his arms.

He stared at me with confusion, and then turned his frightened gaze toward my father. “Please tell me those were just normal arrows.”

Paul frowned and shook his head.

“What is on them?!” Salem demanded, cradling me in his arms, his eyes wide and fearful.

“They're tipped with venom,” he said in shame. “It helps weaken your kind for when we miss our mark.”

“Is it fatal, Paul?” Salem's voice was pleading now.

Paul didn't answer.

“Is it?!" Salem shouted.

“I honestly don't know,” he muttered. “I've never shot a human before.”

“You better pray it isn't,” Salem growled and began running at speeds faster than I had ever imagined possible.

I could vaguely feel the smooth silk beneath me, and see a figure pacing back and forth at the front of the room. Everything looked like it was shrouded in a mist of fog, and my head ached as if I had been bludgeoned with a bat. I groaned and pulled my hands to my face.

“Alex?” Salem's sweet voice reached my ears. Where was he?

“S-Salem...” I whispered between a sudden shiver.

“Are you cold?” He sounded absolutely devastated.

“N-no. I’m okay. Where are you?” I felt around the bed for him, and then the realization washed over me; he was the figure pacing at the end of the bed. I felt his weight hit the mattress as he lay beside me. His cold hand met my clammy forehead.

“You're running a fever,” he said sadly. “Do you remember anything from last night?”

I wracked my brain in an attempt to recall the previous night. Images flashed through my mind of myself floating over a blurred figure, Salem pouncing through the darkness, and Paul was there, too. I shook my head; this didn't make sense. They wouldn't have been together; Dad would have killed Salem.

“Why were you and Paul together last night?” I asked groggily.

He relayed the memory, and it all came to me in sudden images. “No...” I groaned. “Paul saw you!”

“That's not important right now, Alex,” he said quietly, pulling me against him. “How do you feel?”

“Confused.” I laughed bitterly. “A little sore, too...and everything is blurry.”

“It will fade,” he whispered comfortingly into my ear, his embrace tightening. “Are you hungry?”

“No,” I said and laid my head against his chest. “What do we do now?”

“Nothing has changed, Alex.”

“Paul knows.”

“He doesn't necessarily know anything. For all he knows, I am stalking your every move.”

I laughed. “Did that noise bother you?” I mumbled, somewhat embarrassed. Why should I be?

“A little.” He grimaced. “I wasn't aware a raven could be so powerful. Like I said, I have only heard stories.”

I sighed contentedly as I relaxed against him. “How did I hurt her so badly? That's what I really don’t understand. It was just a peck, really.”

“I think it's similar to the arrows,” he spoke quietly, hesitantly–not wanting to upset me, I suspected. “Perhaps Waldron ravens are capable of producing venom that is harmful to my kind.”

I shook my head. “None of this makes any sense Salem. Ravens are just birds. Birds don’t have poison.”

“Listen to what you are saying, Alex,” he sad and chuckled. “You are lying against a vampire, and you spontaneously turn into a bird! How is the idea of being capable of such damage outside of reason, knowing this?”

“Because...we're just birds!” I shouted. I wasn’t sure why I was acting like this, maybe it was just the confusion still swirling around in my head from the night before.

“You aren't a mere bird! You are far more than that. It is scarcely different from me being able to do this.” His eyes flickered purple and a bowl of chicken noodle soup appeared on my nightstand. “I've been through this with you before; the world isn't at all how you may have once believed. Waldron's have always been strong and dangerous to my kind, and clearly, they have developed a form of poison that weakens us,” he explained with slight distaste. “Now, get some food in you. It will make you feel better.”

I wanted to reject the soup, but I knew he was right. I began feeling better after I consumed just half the bowl, and I could feel my fever starting to pass. Salem said the fluids probably helped dilute the poison in my system. He disposed of my half-devoured meal and returned immediately.

“How do you feel now?” he inquired, brushing a strand of hair from my face. “You're no longer clammy; that's a good sign.” He smiled pleasantly.

I shuddered as he flashed his teeth at me. An image of him with deadly fangs entered my mind, and I wondered unwillingly how exactly he had killed the female vampire. “I'm okay...” I answered, lost in thought.

“You seem frightened.” He frowned and sat beside me again.

“I just...have a lot on my mind, about last night. I saw you attack her.”

He glanced away temporarily. “I'm sorry you had to see that.”

“Don't apologize. It was just sort of unexpected, and scary,” I said honestly. “I never thought you could be like that.”

He laughed quietly. “I can do plenty of frightening things, Alexis. The important thing is that I don't, unless necessary...such as last night.”

I nodded mutely as I considered this. “I don't think I want to practice hunting anymore.”

“If that's how you feel, I won't pressure you to continue, but I think it might be wise of you to reconsider.”

“Why?! For what purpose! I nearly got myself killed last night!”

He cringed at my words. “That was of no fault of your own. Paul is more to blame for that than anyone else. You did exceptionally well.”

I shook my head and sighed. “I just don't know if I can handle it.”

“Don't change your mind just yet, Alex.” He pulled me close again. “What you are doing is a good thing, and I will always make sure you are safe.”

“I guess.” I sighed in defeat.

He smiled and kissed me lightly on the forehead. “You'll have plenty of time to think once you have rested.”