2

Ana awoke the next morning with sore feet, cursing herself for letting Audrey talk her into wearing such ridiculously tall heels. Ana couldn't walk in shoes with the slightest heel, let alone four-inch ones. What had possessed her friend into making her wear them- and Ana for agreeing- was beyond her. Audrey must really have wanted her to break an ankle.

Sighing, Ana climbed out of bed. After changing into leggings and an oversized t-shirt she threw her hair into a messy bun and made herself a cup of steaming hot peppermint tea, plopping down onto the couch when it was finished. There didn't seem to be anything good on TV, so Ana simply turned on the news while she sipped her beverage. After about twenty minutes however, Ana's cell phone started going off. Her caller ID declared it was Audrey.

"Hey girl" Ana greeted when she answered.

"Ana, can you come over? I really need someone to talk to." Audrey sounded like she had been crying.

"Yeah I'll be right there. Where are you?"

"My apartment."

"Alright, be there shortly" Ana said, then hung up and slid on some flip-flops as she left her apartment. When she got to the elevator however, a sign proclaimed it to be out of order.

Ana cursed, now she would have to take the stairs. She hated taking the stairs, they took twice as long, and she couldn't help but feel like she was in a horror film about to meet her demise every time she was forced to use them. They were concrete, with a rickety metal railing that overlooked a plummeting drop to the concrete floor at the bottom. As much as she dreaded them though, Audrey needed her, so Ana took a deep breath and started descending the steps.

The further down she went, the more uneasy Ana felt. She tried to hurry down the steps faster, but being her graceful self, missed a step and fell. Ana shrieked and grasped the railing, but not before her foot came down wrong and sent a bolt of pain from her ankle to her knee.

"Easy" she told herself, getting back into a standing position and testing out her foot, wincing when the slightest pressure sent another bold of pain through her leg. "Great, just my luck."

"You don't know how unlucky you are little girl." Ana froze at the sound of a voice mere inches behind her. She spun around to see who was there- a move she knew was stupid before she did it- only to find a tall figure in a black cloak with the hood up, hiding its face. Ana figured it was a male by the voice and body shape, but she didn't get much time to think about it because the man reached for her. Instinctively, Ana backed up, only to fall again. She let out yet another shriek, but she didn't meet the ground. The man had reached out and caught her to him, gripping her hair and tilting her head back.

"What are you-?" Ana began to ask before she felt a sharp pain in her neck. A vampire Ana thought. She tried to struggle, but the man was at least twice her size, and with his vampire strength, Ana had no hope. She tried to scream but it caught in her throat. Oh please, somebody help me she pleaded inside her head. Ana began to feel dizzy and her vision started to fill with black spots. She tried to blink them away, but her eyelids started getting heavy. Just when she thought the vampire would suck her dry, he licked her neck and pulled back.

"Good girl" the voice said, though Ana's foggy mind could barely make out the words. She watched through a haze as the vampire bit himself on the heel of his hand, and then pressed it to Ana's mouth. She squirmed and tried to pull away, but he was too strong, and she was far too weak from blood loss. He forced the blood into her mouth and tilted her head. "I'll be back for you shortly. Or else you'll come find me" he said, before letting Ana go and disappearing down the steps.

Ana swayed and gripped the railing, leaning on it heavily. She looked around for her phone to call Audrey, quickly realizing that she had left it in her apartment. Her vision got darker and the dizziness took over, making Ana fall to the steps. She gulped in air and fought to stay conscious, but she lost the fight and slipped into darkness.

When Ana finally awoke, she realized two things; first off, she was no longer on the steps, but on a plush, comfortable bed. Second was how much pain she was in. Her ankle was hurt but it wasn't too bad so she didn't think it was sprained, but her neck burned where she had been bitten, sending hot waves of pain through her body. She groaned and tried to open her eyes, which felt glued shut.

"Easy" came a familiar voice. Ana forced her eyes open to find a worried looking Demetri standing over her. He smiled a bit. "How you feeling?"

"Like I got attacked by a vampire" she replied, her voice hoarse and barely recognizable.

"I noticed. Did you see who it was?" Ana shook her head and then groaned when the gesture sent an intense wave of pain through her skull. "Easy, don't move around too much. I'm assuming it was a rogue, because my coven knows better than to go around attacking humans, especially my friends. I wonder why they let you live though."

"Gee thanks."

"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that" Demetri said apologetically.

"I know" Ana reassured him. "It was a guy. He was wearing a cloak and hood so I couldn't see his face. I don't think he was trying to kill me though."

"Why do you think that?"

"Well, he stopped drinking my blood and forced me to drink some of his."

"What?" Demetri's voice rose and panic filled his eyes.

"Yeah, and before he left, he said he would come back for me. Maybe to finish the job?" Demetri shook his head.

"No, if he wanted to kill you, he would have sucked you dry and left. And he definitely wouldn't have made you drink his blood. I think he was trying to turn you, but why? And more importantly, why didn't you turn?"

"What do you mean?"

"If he made you drink his blood, then you should be a vampire right now, but you aren't. You aren't even showing any signs of the Change."

"I didn't drink a lot of his blood."

"That doesn't matter. With the amount he took from you it would have only taken a small bit to bring about the Change." Demetri began to pace, a habit he always did when he was worried or puzzled. Ana wasn't sure what it meant, but she figured it must be bad in order for Demetri to be so worked up. Ana tried to sit up, but her head swam, and her vision went dark, so she lay back down with a groan. "Take it easy, you lost a lot of blood." Demetri said. Ana was going to make a witty remark, but a deep voice came from somewhere in the house. "I have to go get that, you stay here."

"Like I could leave" Ana said. Demetri gave her a sympathetic look before exiting the room. Ana closed her eyes against the drumming that had started in her head and decided to take a small cat nap while she waited for Demetri to return.

Jack had just gotten out of the shower when he received an urgent text from Demetri. He didn't say exactly what had happened, but Jack assumed it was important, so he quickly got dressed and drove over. The house was silent when he walked in, but he could smell the metallic scent of blood mingled with caramel and vanilla.

"Demetri?" Jack called and the vampire emerged a few moments later.

"Jack, thanks for coming" Demetri said, sounding relieved, but Jack could smell the bitter scent of anxiety coming off him in waves.

"Of course, what seems to be the problem?"

"It's Ana, you remember her?" Jack's gut knotted at the name and the fact something might have happened to her. He didn't trust his voice, so he simply nodded. "Well, she was attacked by a vampire, a rogue I'm assuming, in the stairwell of her apartment building. She was on her way to go see Audrey but never showed so Audrey went to look for her. She found Ana unconscious with two puncture wounds in her neck on the stairs. She called me in hysterics, and I went and got them both." Jack's heart twisted and he suppressed the urge to growl.

"Is she alright?" He said as calmly as he could.

"She's fine, and that's the problem." Jack was confused.

"How is that a problem?"

"He tried to turn her, but Ana hasn't turned and shows no signs of the Change." Jack's blood turned to ice in his veins.

"You don't think she's Immune, do you?"

"I don't know, I was going to go talk to some of the elder vampires and see what they think, but I don't want her to be here alone. Audrey passed out so I put her to bed and don't want to wake her quite yet, plus if there are vampires after Ana, I don't want them here unprotected. Would you mind keeping an eye on things until I got back?"

"Sure, no problem."

"Thanks Jack, I owe you one" Demetri said as he pulled on his shoes and jacket.

"You owe me about five thousand by now, but who's counting?" Demetri gave a tired looking smile in reply.

"Bye Jack" he said before leaving. Jack walked to the guest room and took a deep breath, which he regretted immediately; Ana's scent filled his nostrils. "You need to get your shit together" he scolded himself before opening the door and entering the room. The first thing he saw was Ana's small frame under a heap of blankets, her brown waves spilling over the pillows and her usually milky complexion ghostly pale. He sighed in relief when he saw her eyes were closed, but it was brief.

"Who was it, Demetri?" She asked without opening her eyes. Jack froze and looked at her.

"Uh, it's not Demetri." Her green eyes quickly opened and fixed on Jack's face, followed by a light blush. "Oh, Jackson, right? Where did Demetri go?"

"Call me Jack. Demetri had to go on a quick little errand. He said he'd be back soon and didn't want you and blondie here alone."

"Audrey! Is she here? Is she okay?" Ana tried to sit up, but a pained look crossed her face and she laid back down. "And don't call her blondie" Ana mumbled angrily, shooting a glare at Jack, who simply found the sudden feistiness in the small girl amusing. Loyalty and protectiveness were two qualities werewolves valued, especially in an alpha.

"Demetri said she was sleeping. Apparently, she was worried when you were a no-show and went looking for you, only to find you unconscious with a nasty vampire bite. She called Demetri who went and got you both."

"I hope I didn't worry her too badly" Ana said, her face crestfallen. Jack wanted to lean down and kiss the frown right off her lips. Instead, he sat in a chair as far from the bed as he could get. Her scent was already overpowering, but it mixed with the scent of blood made his blood boil. The effect this tiny human had on him was unsettling.

"I wouldn't worry about it" Jack said. Ana nodded and slowly sat up. She placed one of her small hands on her head and closed her eyes, seeming to fight off a wave of nausea. "Anything I can get you? I was given strict instructions to take care of you." That wasn't a total lie, but mostly he wanted to get away from her before her sent either drove him mad or made him do something stupid. Unfortunately for him, she declined.

"No, I'm alright. Demetri said I lost a lot of blood, so I'm a bit dizzy is all." Ana dropped her hand and opened her eyes, looking at Jack. "He went to find out what's wrong with me, didn't he?"

"What do you mean?"

"I got bit by a vampire and drank his blood. Demetri said I should have turned, but I didn't. That's not normal." Jack had to hand it to Ana, she was a smart girl.

"No, it's not, it's actually very rare. However, it's not necessarily a bad thing."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if Demetri and I are correct, you're what's called an Immune."

"An Immune? What does that mean?" Ana asked, looking quite confused.

"An Immune is a human who is just that, immune, to the supernatural realm."

"Meaning what exactly? I can't turn into a vampire?" Jack nodded.

"Not only that, you can't turn into anything. Nor can you be possessed. Your mind cannot be read, and you cannot be controlled. It's rare, but it's a very valuable thing."

"Why's that?" Jack wasn't sure if she would be happy about what he was going to tell her next, but lucky for him, he didn't have to worry about it. Demetri walked in with another vampire. He was a man of roughly six feet, lean, pale, with white hair and blood red eyes. Jack assumed it was one of the elders.

"Oh good, you're awake. How are you feeling?" Demetri asked.

"I've been better, but overall okay" Ana replied, eyeing the other vampire with a mix of fear and inquiry.

"Glad to hear it. This is Valentine, he is one of the vampire elders. This is Analise and Jackson." Jack nodded his head in greeting. "We believe we know what you are Ana."

"An Immune, I know. Jack told me." All eyes turned to the werewolf.

"I said what we thought and began telling her what it meant."

"And how far did you get with that, Jackson?" Valentine asked. Jack cringed at his name on the vampire's tongue. He didn't like the elder already; Valentine exuded a stench of arrogant assuredness- as well as the slight scent of decay that clung to all vampires- so potent Jack could almost taste it. Jack stood and moved besides Ana in hopes her scent would overpower the vampire's.

"Just how she is immune to a vampire's bite and things like that" Jack said.

"So, not much I see." Valentine's superior tone was beginning to tick Jack off.

"No" Jack said through his teeth.

"Wait, there's more?" Ana looked around the room at the three men, confusion in her big green eyes. Jack felt a pang of sympathy for the girl; she was new to the whole supernatural thing and had no idea what was going on or if she could trust them, besides possibly Demetri.

"Much more. For example, Jackson failed to tell you how rare this is, and how you are in danger." Jack suppressed the urge to growl or punch the vampire in the face.

"Yes, well I was getting to that before you two came."

"That's alright Jack, we'll just help explain it now" Demetri said, trying to ease the growing tension in the room.

"Wait, I'm in danger? Why? Because I can't be controlled or turned? That doesn't make any sense." Ana tried to stay calm, but her voice rose as she spoke, showing how nervous she really was.

"That's not why you'd be in danger, though it definitely would anger any Supernatural trying to use you. No, I was talking about mating." Valentine spoke matter-of-factly.

"Mating?" Ana asked, sounding horrified, which caused Jack's chest to tighten, though he tried to ignore it and what it could mean.

"Yes, because you are immune, you could breed with any Supernatural without the consequences of usual human-Supernatural mating." Demetri looked like he wanted to add something, but he kept his mouth shut, and so did Jack.

"Consequences? What consequences?" Ana asked.

"Well for instance, vampires cannot usually have children. A female vampires' body cannot change in order to accommodate a child, and a male impregnating a human almost always results in the woman dying, unless she is an Immune. The immunity cancels out the vampire effect, and the resulting offspring is a human child, though the child would be strong and a good candidate for the Change later on."

"It's relatively the same for other Supernaturals. Demon women often times cannot reproduce or chose not to. Plus, there aren't many of them, so the males have a hard time finding a mate and continuing their blood line. If they mate with a human, both the mother and child usually end up dying. An Immune, however, can carry a demon child because their bodies cancel out the traits that usually kill the mother, and the child is either born human, demon, or a half breed, depending on the mother's blood line." Demetri added.

"What about other species? Just demons and vampires want to mate with Immunes?" Ana asked.

"No, any Supernatural really, because Immunes- especially ones with strong blood lines- tend to birth children with strong supernatural traits. Lupines, for example, could breed with an Immune and the offspring would either be a half breed or, if the Immune came from a powerful bloodline, a full Lupine.

"Lupines, those are Werewolves, right?" Ana's eyes flicked to Jack's face when she asked the question, then quickly went back to the vampires.

"Correct. And from what I know, your blood line is very strong, with a long history of Immunes, so you will be sought out by Supernaturals."

"So, I'm going to have to fight off Supernaturals?"

"Or accept one as a mate. Yes."

"A mate?" Ana's eyes widened. "Why would I have to have one as a mate?"

"Humans cannot protect you against Supernaturals, so if you wish to be protected, I would choose a Supernatural for a mate. Or at least stay with one for protection. If you have any more questions, I am sure Demetri can help answer them. I must get back to the Council however, so I bid you all good day."

"I will escort you to the door" Demetri said, leading the elder vampire out of the room. Jack let out a breath of relief.

"Oh dear" Ana said, falling back into the bed.

"Sounds like you're in for some fun times" Jack said.

"Oh yeah, real fun times" Ana said sarcastically. Jack was impressed by how biting her tone was. Underneath her shy exterior was a fierceness that burned in her eyes and raced through her small body, and it made Jack want to find out just how fierce she could really be.

"Don't worry too much, there aren't many Supernaturals around here, they tend to stay hidden. And most prefer the dark."

"Real encouraging" Ana rubbed her temples and closed her eyes. Jack was going to say something to try to ease her nerves, but Demetri walked back into the room.

"He's gone."

"Finally, that dude smelled" Jack said, scrunching his nose in disgust.

"He did?" Ana asked.

"I have wolf senses, which means they are all heightened. I could smell him from across the room, and he smelled wretched." Jack explained.

"Oh" Ana said. She looked like she wanted to ask a question, but Demetri spoke up first.

"Sorry about bringing Valentine here, but he wanted to see you for himself, and he agrees you are most likely an Immune. That was a lot to take in at once though, so if you have any questions feel free to ask and I'll answer to the best of my ability. There isn't a whole lot we know about Immunes yet since they are so rare though, so I'm about as clueless as you in some respects."

"Great" Ana mumbled.

"I think you should stay here. I can watch out for you and Audrey wouldn't worry as much. We'll explain everything to her once she wakes up."

"No, I can't stay here. You are Audrey are getting married soon, and I don't want to impose." Ana's eyes narrowed knowingly. "Or see you two constantly at each other, and I don't just mean fighting." Jack suppressed a laugh and he was sure Demetri would have been blushing if physically capable.

"Well I can't just let you go back to your apartment. You were attacked once already, and when word gets out that you're an Immune, there will be many more coming for you."

"Then where can I stay?"

"You can stay with me." Both Demetri and Ana looked at Jack in surprise. Jack didn't blame them, he was surprised himself. He had no idea why he offered, they barely knew each other, but he couldn't take it back now.

"That's kind of you Jack, but you don't need to do that, I'd be happy to have you stay here Ana, and I'm sure Audrey would agree" Demetri said.

"No Demetri, I'm not staying here. You and Audrey are engaged and deserve to have some quality time together" Ana replied stubbornly. "Besides, I don't want to be anyone's burden."

"I don't mind. I have plenty of room at my house, and if she is in my protection the rest of the pack will help keep her safe." Jack was trying to act like it didn't matter to him one way or another whether she stayed with him or not, but he couldn't deny that he hoped she agreed. For reasons beyond him, Jack wanted to keep the girl safe. He tried to convince himself that it was because she looked so frail and vulnerable, but he knew that was a lie. He also knew this was a terrible idea, but he couldn't help wanting to keep her close.

"Jack she barely knows you, I'm sure she wouldn't want to stay with a man she just met."

"I'll stay with him" Ana replied.

"Are you sure Ana? It's really no problem if you stay here, Audrey and I would love to have you."

"Demetri if I have to stay with someone I'll stay with Jack. End of discussion." Ana fixed her stubborn gaze on the vampire, and Jack found he rather liked how authoritative she was being. He decided he was very much looking forward to her staying with him, because the more he learned about her, the more he liked what he saw.

Demetri sighed. "Sometimes I forget how alike you and Audrey are. Once your mind is made up there is no changing it. Alright, but if you do change your mind or need anything, we're always here."

"I know, thank you Demetri."