Disclaimer #1: I do not own Companions of the Night. As much as I'd like to, I don't.

Why no, I didn't forget about this story. Because I just sat my arse down and finished this one up. Be happy. Love me. Review.

Chapter 27: The System

As his words echoed quietly in her head, she saw that the guardian/vampire was in front of her window. "Get out of the car!" he demanded, which sounded a little distant since the door was closed at that moment.

"Do as he says. He won't touch you. Not yet…" Michel said to her reassuringly calm.

She unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the door slowly. He stepped away so he wouldn't be hit by the door. She stood up straight and looked at him, unsure. He slammed the car door, making Kerry jump to the side, letting out a small gasp. His eyes narrowed, like he was studying her. Without warning, he pushed her against the car, holding her steady. His face was dangerously closed to her neck. Her heart sputtered into a frenzy.

"Cool it, Kerry," Michel said a little forceful.

She took a deep breath in, and then exhaled very slowly.

He snarled and jerked away from her throat. "Tell me, if you can," he growled, "Who do I smell on you?"

She took a deep breath in again, closing her eyes, waiting for Michel to tell her what to do.

"Go ahead, Kerry. Tell them my name."

"Michel," she breathed out.

"Tell him where I'm at," he told her calmly.

"He's in the car behind mine, she breathed, vaguely pointing to his SUV.

He looked over towards the car and then back at her. "Are you his?" he asked sternly.

She looked at him blankly.

"Did he claim you as his own? Like his property?" he rephrased sternly.

She was about to protest that she was no one's property. She opened her mouth to speak, but Michel growled at her, "Don't you dare. Wrong person to say that to. You are mine. I have claimed you. You are my property."

"And after what you did, I don't think so!"

"Damn-it, Kerry! Just give him the answer. You know that you are mine! You know that I never purposely meant to hurt you!"

"Then say it to my face! Not through stupid thoughts!"

"Stop crying!" he hissed, "He's suspicious!"

"Let him be!"

"Kerry!" he yelled out in frustration.

"Answer me!" the man in front of her demanded, snapping Kerry from her inward conversation.

"She's mine!" Michel said with venom as he got out of the car, slamming his door behind him.

"Really? Why couldn't she just say so herself?" he was skeptical, now turning toward Michel.

"Kerry," Michel demanded and warned at the same time while looking at her.

"No! Not at the moment I'm not!" she yelled rebelliously.

"I already told you, Kerry, I didn't mean to!" he was frustrated now.

"I know you didn't mean to damn-it! But you left me in that house with…And then when I go to find you, you practically kill me on the spot!"

"FIRST of all Kerry, I left that house because I knew damn well you were upset. No one was going to touch you in there! I knew that for a fact! I made sure of it! And then, you came up behind me while I was feeding, Kerry! Feeding! You scared the hell out of me! I was in my true predatorily state! If you hadn't screamed out my name, I would have killed you!"

"How the hell should I have know that?!" she yelled.

"I thought you were at least smart enough not to be next to a vampire while feeding!" Michel shot back with venom.

"I didn't know!" she screamed as she threw her fists against his chest.

His eyes were piercing through her at that moment. Her hands began to move away from his chest, but he grabbed both of her wrists. "You were afraid of me!" he growled stepping a little towards her.

"I was not!" she denied, "I was annoyed with you! There's a very big difference."

"You were afraid!" he growled louder, he inched even closer.

"Within good reason!" she finally blurted out in spite of anger.

He hesitated, backing up a little, but then stepping forward again, "I told you to never be afraid of me!"

"Well, I've gotten two good solid reasons, all found out in not even 24 hours!" she shot at him.

"They don't count! You caught me when Iwas vulnerable to hurt you! You can't hold my nature against me!"

"Then maybe I'm not afraid of you; just your stupid vampire nature!"

He flinched, dropping her wrists and backing up. "If that's how you want to be, Kerry!"

Just say you're fucking sorry for once…she thought; it was only meant to keep to herself, but she couldn't help that.

"Is that what you want?" he growled moving towards her again, "To say sorry? As if that would fix everything?"

"I don't know!" she choked.

He drew himself towards her so he was extremely close, "To say that I'm fucking sorry? If I do, I don't believe it will be a first, Kerry," he said to her sternly. He had wrapped his arms tightly around her. "Huh? Is that all you want from me at the moment?" he asked harshly.

She realized she had a few tears coming down her cheeks. She turned away from him, unsure. He clasped his hand tightly on her jaw and jerked her head towards him, so they were face to face, only inches apart. The tears fell. She saw anger in his eyes. She looked into his cold blue eyes that showed no warmth at the moment. His hand tightened around her jaw. More tears came. "Stop, Michel…" she whispered pleadingly.

He didn't move. He just looked at her. Without warning, he leaned forward, loosening his grip on her jaw and sliding it onto her cheek that moped some of the tears into another direction. He pressed his cold lips against hers hard. She gasped in his mouth and his tongue went into her mouth, exploring. She did the same. He pulled her closer. She embraced him back, pulling him towards her even more. "Say it, Ker," he whispered as he slightly moved up for air and then kissed her cheek, all the way to her throat.

"I'm yours," she said softly, gasping for air.

He kissed her hard on the lips again. "You're mine," he said as a statement when he pulled back slightly.

"No one else can touch me but you," she said after moment, catching her breath.

After a few minutes, they pulled away. Her head fell on his shoulder as she gasped for air, like a fish out of water. His arms were securely around her. Her hands grasped his shirt tightly. "I'm sorry, Kerry. I never meant to hurt you. I never knew that what I did could happen. Taking your blood painfully, and not even knowing it…I'm so sorry."

He began to rock her back and forth. "I see," the man began, "You have issues that have been worked out. But, I need answers."

"She's not a vampire hunter," Michel said softy, "She's my property. You can't touch her."

She could feel that he was staring at them, "Michel," he warned, "You need to think this through. She is a hunter! No doubt, she's planning your demise, how she will kill you…"

"I can hear her thoughts. I've taken her blood several times. I trust her." Michel said sternly, breaking away from her to make piercing eye contact, but keeping a tight grip around her waist.

"Then why go down this road? Where are you heading?"

Kerry sighed, "I really don't know where I was going."

"Was I asking you?" the vampire yelled, stepping towards her.

Michel hissed, literally. He retreated back to his original standing point.

"Where were you going anyways?" Michel asked her.

"I was heading out of Maine…"

"Why?" he was startled.

"I don't know…" she whispered out loud.

The other vampire looked up, unaware of her and Michel's inner thought conversation. "I don't know why I wanted to leave Maine. That's what I was doing. But, Michel followed me. I tried to lose him by swerving onto this dirt road. He still followed with great ease…"

"As if trying to escape from him?" he questioned sternly.

"I don't know!" she whined.

He narrowed his eyes at her. Michel's grasp around her waist clung tighter. The vampire hesitated. "Do you want me to take her out of the system?"

"She has to stay in the system. Once you're in the system, you're in for good," Michel replied harshly, "You should know that."

"I do," the vampire replied hesitantly, "But I trust you that she won't stay under the heading of 'vampire hunter' if you have claimed her for your own."

"I'll put her under as a different heading. I'll ask her question's later to fill it all out and send it all to you."

"Good," he said. "I'll be expecting that forum then."

Michel just stared at him and then said, "You'll have it soon enough."

"Do you need the flash drive?"

"Yes, I do." Michel replied back smoothly.

He turned away to get the flash drive. After a moment, Michel frowned. "What's wrong?" she asked, looking up at him.

"It wore off." He replied not looking at her and just frowning.

She knew exactly what he meant. It had after all been almost 10 hours. "I'm going to miss your thoughts. I liked to listen to them. They're very…amusing"

She smiled slightly. He too smiled slightly at that last sentence. But it washed away quickly and he got serious as the guy walked back out. He handed Michel the flash drive.

"Take her car back to the house." Michel told him, putting the drive in his pocket.

"Which house?" the vampire asked, not so much as caring. It sounded more as if he were taking orders from Michel.

"Noah and Ash's house," Michel said as he pulled Kerry towards his car. "I'll be at my house. Apparently," Michel said, looking at her, slightly smiling, "Keira needs her car back by 2, 2:30am. I have a feeling it will be a little late."

The vampire nodded as he walked into the tiny hut that was on the side of the road. Michel released her waist. "Get in," Michel said as he got in the driver seat of his black SUV.

She got in at the passenger side and barely had time to buckle her seatbelt as Michel swung the car around. "Sorry," he muttered as the speed-o-meter started to it 100mph.

"You can flip this car easily going this fast." she said alarmed.

"Look who's talking," he practically snorted.

"I was in a small car. Big cars are easier to flip." she informed.

"I bet I'm a hell of a lot better driver than you are, Kerry," he flashed a grin at her.

It became silent for about 20 minutes. Michel was going between 100mph to 120mph, running red lights whenever they stumbled on them. There was no traffic for the point of them being red.

"So your house, huh?" she looked over at him. He kept his eyes on the road, "I'm guessing not the house that was Ethan Byrne's."

"Nope," he replied impulsively, "Got a new one here in Maine."

"You didn't get to far from New York…" she trailed off.

"I would have if it weren't for this stupid war," he stated with some disgust.

"Would you be in Japan right now?" she asked curiously.

He looked over at her, his blue eyes slightly startled.

"Well, last time, you were teaching yourself Japanese," she said, remembering when he was teaching himself that one night, right before she became a murderer.

His eyes melted back to being soft, "That's right, I was supposed to go to Japan. But the war stopped everything."

"Oh," she replied softly.

It became silent again. She just stared out the window and watched things pass in a blur since he was going so fast.

Soon, he took a sharp turn into a neighborhood, circling the whole neighborhood. When the houses got familiar again, he took a sharp turn followed by another sharp turn into a driveway. He turned the engine off. She began to unbuckle her seatbelt. He held his arm out, telling her to stop. She did. She looked over and saw his eyes closed. She realized then he was probably checking for heartbeats. His hand dropped after a moment and began to get out of the car. She followed. She got out and followed him. He wrapped his arm around her waist as he messed with his keys to get the key to the house. They walked in side by side in a dark house. He flipped the light on for her. It was a nice house. She noticed how he had a piano here too. "Do you always have a piano wherever you move?" she asked, staring at the piano.

"I try my best to always have one." He replied as he dropped his keys on the table, releasing her.

He walked out of the room, leaving her to stand there. She walked over to the piano and sat on the bench. She put her hands on the keys, not making sound out of them yet. "What are you doing?' Michel asked amused.

She turned to look at him. He was leaning against the doorframe. He pushed himself off of it and walked over to her. She scooted and he sat next to her. She took her hands off the keys and turned to him. He was looking back at her with an amused grin. His blue eyes sparkled with amusement and wonderment and something else…

"Since when could you play? The last time, from which I could recall, you could only play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star."

She laughed, "I know…But I decided to learn."

She went to put her hands on the keys again.

"What's your favorite piece to play?" he whispered gently in her ear.

She shivered a little and smiled at the same time. She put her hands in position and began to play Listen to your Heart. He laughed a small laugh and she stopped playing. "Don't laugh at me," she said shyly as she bent her head down, blushing.

He laughed again, "I'm not laughing at you, Kerry." His voice was gentle and sweet, and sincere, "Go ahead; keep on playing." He urged her as he put his arm around her lower back.

Instead of going back to playing Listen to your Heart, she began to play Ragtime. She could see him smile from the corner of her eye. She stopped after a couple of minutes. "I learned that piece because of you."

She kept her head down so he couldn't see her blush.

He leaned forward to look at her, smiling. "Don't tell me you learned to play the piano because of me?" his voice sounded very much amused.

She laughed at herself a little, shaking her head, but then switched to nodding, "Yes," she whispered, still with her head down. She heard him laugh, "Don't laugh at me!" she demanded as she lifted her head up to look at him, well aware that there just may still be color in her cheeks.

He was smiling, just smiling at her. She didn't see a trace of amusement in his eyes. His eyes were soft and gentle…almost loving. It frightened her a little. "Michel…" she whispered.

He leaned into her, wrapping his arms around her. She wrapped her arms around him, inviting him closer. He pulled his face towards hers so that their noses touched ever so slightly. He cocked his head and moved forward, kissing her gently on the lips.

But as fast as it happened, he was back to sitting up straight, with a slight grin on his face. She looked at him blankly. It felt like all of the sudden, being with him had just hit her. It felt like she was 16 again, waiting for his instruction to go and find Marsala.

"What?" he asked slightly confused.

She snapped out of it, "Oh nothing."

He then gave her a stern, judging looking, "I'm a walking lie detector."

As if that were to mean something to her, which it did; she said with as much posture and dignity as possible, "I don't know what you are talking about."

He snorted, "Just tell me, Kerry."

"Well…You aren't allowed to laugh. Got it?"

"Well, what if it is amusing? You can be amusing a lot with what you say and do. Why do you think I let you go?"

That last question startled her. He could tell. He just grinned at her…amused at her. "Well," she spoke softly, trying to look away from him, but he wouldn't allow it. "I…it just felt like it was all just now hitting me…being here, with you…feeling like it was back when I was 16 again…that one night together. Our last night." she was blushing. She could tell. Her cheeks burned, but he put his hand on her cheek, cooling her cheek off completely.

He smiled at her; he didn't do his grin, he was smiling. That was a big difference for him to just smile instead of grin. He slipped his hand away, turning away from her. "You know," he began in an amused tone now, placing his hands on the keys and began to play something softly, "I followed you for a while. Did you ever get the feeling that someone was there…watching you?" he asked, looking at her again.

He picked his hands from the keys to look at her expression. She gawked at him, "There was no way that was you," she whispered. She made contact with his eyes, "It was you," she said with certainty.

He lifted his hands up in the air, while grinning, "That was me."

She looked at him shocked. He stopped grinning and continued, "I actually was going to wait till you graduated. I was still debating beforehand if I should come and see you to ask if you had changed your mind."

She felt her mouth hanging open. She found her voice that turned out to only be a squeak, "How come you never came?"

"Well, think about it: I watched you for the rest of your sophomore year and then your junior year and then some of your senior year. I was meaning to stick around till you graduated, but then this stupid war started in close to the middle of your senior year." He watched her carefully and curiously as he spoke. He then raised his hands in front of him, shrugging, "Then I had to leave." His hands dropped, "But I didn't have to go far."

"So, you were there all along?" she whispered in disbelief.

He nodded.

"Wait…if I knew what you were…wouldn't that mean I'd be in your…system?" she asked unsure, not even sure if she knew what she was talking about.

He stared at her for a moment with his piercing blue eyes. "No." he stated simply and sternly. "I never told anyone about you. And I certainly wasn't about to put you in the system. You put yourself in the system, if you ever wonder why every vampire or guardian you run into calls you a 'vampire hunter'."

She looked down, away from him, understanding certain things for the first time. She looked back at him again, "What is the system?" she asked curiously.

He laughed a little out of her curiosity, but he fell silent. "The system is almost like the police system. It's generated and sorted out by a computer. It gives a heading, sorted into categories."

"Like…" she pushed.

"Like the heading 'Vampire Hunter,' 'Former Hunter,' 'Blood Whore,' and even our own kind."

She shuttered and then asked, "How can someone be a former hunter? How does it work…also…what's a blood whore?" she squeaked out at the last question.

He sighed, thinking, "Sometimes, some hunters get the feeling…or…they want to stop what they are doing. They know that they will be hunted down. So, they find a vampire or even a guardian, depending on their knowledge, to tell them this. Whoever they tell will look them up in the system to see what they have done, how many vampires he or she has killed alone or in a group, because we always know what group or hunter it was based on their scent. Whoever the hunter consulted with, talks to an even stronger, one with more authority, vampire or guardian. Usually it's a guardian. They decide. In either case, they take the hunters blood and keep tabs on the hunter for a certain amount of time, making them former vampire hunters."

"Do I have to go through all that," she panicked, her eyes widening.

"Well, technically, you have, with me. You've already claimed that really weren't even a hunter and I took your blood. I've kept tabs on you…"

She began to calm down.

"In the system, you will be in two different categories. You will be a Former Hunter and an Untouchable."

"What's an Untouchable?"

"An Untouchable is another vampire or even guardian's property. No vampire or guardian should take your blood without my consent first. Which, I might add, they will never get from me. I am the only one who can take your blood."

Her heart beat picked up when he finished, and she was unsure what to say to that.

"You okay?" he asked sincerely, putting his hand against her cheek.

"Yeah. I'm fine," she said, trying to get her heart to calm down. Then she asked with a little bit of uncertainty, "What's a…What's a Blood Whore?"

"A Blood Whore, in the name of it, pretty much speaks for itself. They'll stay human, but let any vampire or guardian willingly feed from them. It could even, and most likely include sex. Sort of like fuck an suck."

"Oh," her voice quivered.

It was silent for a moment. Michel soon got up and disappeared. A moment later, he came back holding a laptop. He sat down on the couch. He soon waved her over and she sat down next to him. She looked at his screen. "This is the system," he said.

Kerry scanned the screen. It was a website. It was most likely a high secure website. Michel went and killed a heading which immediately asked for a password. Kerry looked away slightly as he typed it in. She looked back to see words appearing on the screen. He clicked the search box and typed in her full name. It came up as 'VAMPIRE HUNTER.' Kerry shuttered at the title. Under the heading was information on her and also her recent locations she had been to. "It's like you all are spying on me." Kerry said in disbelief.

"We like to be very thorough. But you shouldn't worry," Michel said lightly, "We're about to make you a Former Hunter and an Untouchable."

She exhaled, realizing she was holding her breath.

"Have you ever killed a vampire or guardian, Kerry?" he made the question as if he were asking her favorite color.

She gasped, unexpected. He didn't comment; only waited for a response. "No! of course not!" she stuttered.

"Good," Michel said as he typed something.

Without warning, Michel turned and leaned towards her neck. She stiffened. "Relax, Ker. I honestly need to. You won't die. Promise."

She took in a deep breath and tried to relax. He put his lips on her throat, while his hand supported her neck. She jerked back though instinctively.

"Sorry," she muttered, but then made her voice clear, "I can't let you do it. Not like that…"

He studied her with his blue eyes and then sighed, in defeat. He set the laptop down on the coffee table and turned his body towards her. He stroked her cheek, studying her with his blue eyes. She tried to relax.

I've done this before, so why panic?

He soon leaned towards her neck again, putting his hand on her neck for support. She tried to jerk back again, but he wouldn't let her. She panicked as her heart raced. She felt tears coming. "Michel," she half sobbed.

He jerked back immediately when she said his name the way she did, as if…afraid. His blue eyes were concerned, startled, and confused. He moved his hand from her neck to her cheek, wiping away some of the tears. He studied her hard. "Kerry…" he said softly.

"I'm sorry," she said as she calmed herself, "I was afraid…"

"Of…" Michel pushed, worried.

She sighed, "That it would hurt."

He then sighed too. "I get it," he told her softly.

"I'm sorry…" she said again.

Michel had pulled back and left a space in between. But, she didn't like that space between them. She leaned towards him, resting her head on his chest and hugged him. He hesitantly hugged her back, resting his chin on the top of her head, almost rocking her back and forth.

"I have to sooner or later," he informed her gently after a few minutes of silence.

"I know," she said simply.

She got a feeling that he slightly grinned as he began to rub her back. He kissed the side of her head, pausing for a moment and then released her, pulling away from her. "Ah, he's awake," Michel mumbled as he locked his laptop, closing it. "Looks like the system is going to have to wait," Michel said, as he stood up from the couch without effort.

She stood up as well. He was looking towards the stairs, so she looked too.

A man walked down the stairs, his blonde hair messy. He glanced at her, "Who's with you?"

"Her name is Kerry." Michel said. "I was wondering when you were going to wake up."

"Well, I gotta sleep sometime." He replied back. He walked in front of her, "Pleased to meet you, Kerry."

Kerry was about to respond, but Michel jumped in first. "Save the act, Reid." Michel said lightly. "As if a guardian would be pleased," Michel strained that word, "to meet a supposed hunter."

She didn't look at Michel now, but at the guardian.

"This is one of my roommates, Kerry. His name is Reid." He then grinned, looking at her, "He protects me and Ted during the day as if we can't take care of ourselves."

"I wouldn't blame him," she spoke up with more dignity than she thought she had. "I would die if anything happened to you."

He laughed at her and grinned, "As if I wouldn't want you to die, Kerry." He said to her slyly.

"Apparently you don't. I've already asked. You told me to wait." she muttered back.

He just grinned at her. He then turned back to Reid who was confused, "We were just now working on changing her status in the system."

"To what? A Former?" he questioned.

"Well that and," Michel hesitated on telling him, but said it anyways, "…an Untouchable."

"Why?" he asked shocked.

"She's mine," Michel said sternly. "She's been mine for a while."

"How long is a while?" Reid asked seriously, crossing his arms over his chest.

Michel had a debate on telling Reid for a while since Kerry had come back, and so now he was letting it slip from his mouth, "For three years she's been mine, whether she was in the system or not."

Reid looked at Michel sternly, "And, what's that supposed to mean?"

Michel growled, "I didn't put her in the system at first. She put herself in the system with an idiotic act to find me."

Reid relaxed for a moment and grinned at her amusingly, "Don't tell me you joined just to find a vampire, and I don't mean in ways to kill that vampire."

She just nodded, "I was looking for Michel."

"And she even knows your real name!" Reid exclaimed sarcastically, letting his arms wave freely, "Are you trying to kill us or expose us?"

"No," Michel said sternly, "She's been through a lot in the past, what, five nights?" he looked at her, as if asking her.

She thought for a moment, "Yeah, I've wasted 4 daylights with you and 4 ½ nights with you. Tonight is the 5th."

Michel nodded in agreement, "The group along with several of your guardians already know of her and know not to touch her."

Reid finally nodded in defeat.

"Now," Michel began cheerfully, "if you don't mind, I have to go and change Kerry's status and fill out information." Michel said. He then turned towards her, "Kerry? You ready to do what I need to do?"

She caught on immediately to what he meant. He held his hand out and she took it. He pulled her forward, away from Reid and out of the room and into a hall. She leaned against a wall as Michel stroked her cheek. Her heart was slightly pounding, but she was definitely more relaxed this time. "I promise you that it won't hurt. I won't hurt you."

She just nodded.

"I'm sorry that I have to do this now when you obviously would rather me back off."

"No," she whispered looking at him, "It's alright. You've done it before."

He nodded and leaned towards her, only it was towards her face rather than her neck. He began to kiss her and she kissed him back. His hand lay on her throat motionless as he kissed her all over. It was like a simple reminder of why he was doing this. She forced the thought out of her mind though. He was doing this because she was worried and afraid of how last time went. He was trying to distract her, and it was working. She let herself get lost in his sweet kisses.

A few minutes later, he moved towards her neck and kissed it. Without hesitation, knowing on his part that would make him expected to do so then, he pierced into her. She gasped and grabbed his arm. The slight pain though went away. He moved his hand so he was stroking her side and then up her arm.

Michel then pulled back, not doing it nearly as long as usual. He then kissed her on the side of her cheek. Her heart was racing. Michel embraced her, waiting patiently for when she wanted to move.

"Whenever you're ready…" Michel said in her mind patiently.

"In a…In a minute," even in her own thoughts she was breathless.

"Mmm…" he said lowly as he pulled her closer, "You smell nice. I could get high off your scent."

She felt like she was blushing now. She knew she was.

"How do I respond to that? Is it good or is it bad? Most likely good. Flattering, but scary. The way he was looking at me earlier, the one look I have never seen in his eyes…What was it?" She wasn't asking him directly. In fact, these were her personal thoughts she didn't want him hearing.

"It was love, Kerry" Michel whispered in her ear, his cool breath made her tingle. "I love you."

Can Michel love Kerry?

Is he capable of love?

Aren't you so damn happy I finally updated?

Review and love me :-)

OH! Before I forget. I have a oneshot called Midnight's Walk that I'll be putting on here. It goes along with this basically. What would have happened if Kerry's family was okay and if the war never happened. So look for that as well. K?

© Copyright Nicole Pierce