By: Leandra Drache

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PROLOGUE:

After living the past 6 years of his life this way, the routine was getting monotonous.

Dion Vitani silently chased his prey, following the shapeshifter like a shadow without any conscious thought. To him, this was just another night, another useless Night Worlder about to become his dinner. Little did he know that this was not any regular shifter, though he probably couldn’t have cared less anyway.

The cool March wind lightly mussed his dark chestnut hair while he soundlessly tore through the alleyways. The creature he was chasing had no idea who or what was behind him, only knew that he was the prey. Unfortunately for the shifter, he had a terrible sense of direction and leading himself into a dead end, the pursuit was over in a matter of seconds.

The slate gray eyes of the young vampire gleamed as he stepped into his victim’s sight for the first time. A flicker of recognition registered in the shifter’s eyes, though this was seemingly unnoticed by the hunter.

With a dark smile, Dion regarded his prey. "Pity," he said quietly, dangerously, "I was hoping we could play a bit longer." Then, without a moment’s hesitation, he sprang towards the shifter, catching his shoulders even before he had a chance to cry out.

As he bit into the neck of his victim, Dion slightly scrunched up his nose in distaste. Raccoon. Ick. From his actions, the vampire had been able to judge that his prey was a furry woodland creature of the rodent sort. But getting a raccoon was just pure bad luck. Oh well, at least it hadn’t been skunk. Last time THAT happened, he hadn’t been able to get the taste out of his mouth for days.

A few minutes later, the shapeshifter was falling into a coma and finally, his body lost the sound of breath altogether.

Carelessly, Dion let the body drop. It was of no use to him anymore. Not a drop of blood remained, the shifter was completely drained. However, as he fell, a plastic clatter sounded as something slipped out of the shifter’s hand.

The vampire hadn’t noticed anything in the shifter’s hands until now. He had been too busy assessing the taste of his meal; which hadn’t exactly been gourmet.

"Oh, shit," Dion muttered as he realized what the device he’d just picked up was.

*Hunter Redfern - 853-4204* read the screen on the miniature cell phone.

Quickly, the dark haired boy pushed the ‘End Call’ button even though the message was probably already sent.

In one swift motion, he was kneeling by the body, trying to find any indication of who this dead shifter might be and how he could have gotten hold of Hunter Redfern’s phone number. Dion knew he should be running away from the scene at the moment or destroying the cell phone or whatever, as long as he didn’t hang around the body, but his curiosity won out. Besides, he’d never been caught before, even in the stickiest situation, and his ego was pretty inflated.

*Good ol’ Hunter won’t be around for another few minutes,* he reasoned. *That is, if he even comes at all.* At that moment, Dion finally found what he’d been looking for. However, a glance at the small business card in his tanned hand proved not to be the least bit enlightening.

"Harlan Raton: Night World -- Dark Angel Search," he read aloud as his gray eyes scanned the card. The only thing Dion could make sense of was the last name. "Goddess, why would anyone want to name their clan, ‘Little Rat’ in French?" Just showed how strange shape-shifters were.

Whoever this guy was, judging by the fancy design of the business card, he was important.

With his heightened sense of hearing, Dion suddenly picked up the sound of a group of people running his way. Probably Hunter’s men, come to check up on Harlan ‘Little Rat’ Raton.

Immediately, Dion sprang into action. Glancing one last time at Hunter Redfern’s number, he committed it to memory. Who knew when it’d come in handy? Then, the vampire swiftly breached the chain-link fence at the back of the alleyway, easily vaulted himself over the barbed wire on top and landed surely on his two feet. Without stopping for breath, he darted down the alley, changing into his wolf shape on the way.

By the time the he had reached the other end of the alley and emerged onto the secluded street beyond, he no longer looked like a humanoid, but a large and majestic black wolf.

* * * * *
PART 1:

Nicholas Corona was dying.

Well, okay, maybe not literally, but he was sure that would soon be the case if this night didn’t pick up before long, even just a little. His victory over Thierry hardly seemed so great now that his wish had at last been granted.

It had taken Nick a week to finally convince Thierry Descoudres, Lord of Circle Daybreak, that he was NOTan incompetent child. Okay, so Thierry had worded it, ‘too important to put in danger,’ but in the macaw shifter’s mind, that meant incompetent child.

"Just because YOU have the soul of an old geaser doesn’t mean all the rest of us are babies!" Nick had felt like screaming at Thierry, but that would have only backed up his ‘incompetent child’ remark.

So, as patiently as he could, the blond shapeshifter had slowly but surely convinced Lord Thierry that he could not only go on the next mission, but also DO something to help.

And now that his wish was reality, Nick was beginning to regret it. He was sure Destiny, Delano and Leandra were all scouting exciting and eventful neighbourhoods while he got stuck with the safest area in the whole city.

Leandra. Nick wondered what she was doing right now. Probably stalking the streets for any sign of Night Worlders or the Dark Angel, like he, but at least she had a hope of finding what she was seeking.

If Nick only knew he was much closer at the moment to the Dark Angel than his girlfriend.

Nick and Leandra had been a couple now for over two years. And he had to admit, this was the longest he had ever dated anyone. Every other girl who had lived at Black Dawn Castle hadn’t wanted to bother with a huge squawking blue bird.

Suddenly, something large and furry, not to mention stinky, came hurtling through the air towards him. Too late, Nick realized what was going on. This was a Night World ambush! Left, right, behind and in front of him, vampires and shapeshifters leaped from the shadows. There must have been at least three directly on top of him clawing at his shirt and trying to bite his neck while three more stood around, ready to attack.

Just when Nick was sure he would be torn into shreds, the blond boy heard a cool, authoritative voice through the din. "Everyone, get away from him. Remember, Hunter wants him alive. Alex, Diego, hold him down." Not that the last command was of any use. Nick couldn’t have moved even if he wasn’t scared stiff. That ambush had definitely done some damage.

As soon as the Night People got off of him, the shape-shifter darted a glance at the owner of the voice. Before him stood a tall teenage girl (or at least she seemed tall to Nick who was lying on the ground), with fiery hair and cold, measuring purplish-blue eyes. She looked vaguely familiar to the blond boy, her face was probably one that Delano had shown Nick a picture of when explaining who had been at the Bloodfeast Hunter Redfern had tried to organize.

*Looks like that crazy vampire hunter, Nyala, didn’t do a very good job of burning the vampires to ashes,* Nick speculated. First, Hunter had popped up again, then Braeden Soterios and now this girl, who Nick remembered as Keiara something or other was also making her presence known. Who was next?

All of the shapeshifter’s questions disappeared as the vampire before him spoke, "Well, you must be Nicholas Corona, the Dark Angel. I’m Keiara D’Alimonte. My brother is Hunter’s new heir."

So, Hunter had found himself yet another heir, huh? How long would this one last? Probably not too long, considering what had happened to the previous three. It was practically legendary now, how Hunter never seemed to be able to hold onto an heir. It had to be fate.

"Oh, yes, pleased to meet you, your leech-ness," Nick muttered sarcastically under his breath, but Keiara heard.

A dark smile played on the vampire’s lips as the street lights turned her blazing hair into the dark halo of a fallen angel. "Oh, the pleasure’s all mine, I’m sure. Don’t you agree that this was so ironic? We come here to check out the murder of one of our agents investigating the Dark Angels, and guess what? We find one!" she said, falsely amiable.

When Nick stayed silent, Keiara’s violet-blue eyes flashed in annoyance, but quite indifferently, she answered, "Fine have it your way. We have to go a long way anyway. I think it would be good for you to relax a little. Sleep tight." With a flick of her hand, a dark energy leaped out towards Nick.

Nick braced himself for the blow, but nothing could have prepared him for it. For a few agonizing seconds, all he knew was blinding pain, but soon, thankfully all he knew was darkness.

* * * * *
PART 2:

3:17 AM

"Did you find him?" Leandra Leon asked, her forest green eyes shining with worry. Glancing hopefully behind her every few seconds, she made her way slowly towards the door of the Daybreak safe house.

With a defeated sigh, her friend and fellow Daybreaker, Destiny McNite, answered, "Not a trace. I haven’t a clue what could have happened to him." She too, was just approaching the house after searching the streets for over two hours.

The golden haired shapeshifter tried to hide her disappointment, but it was an impossibility. Finally, trying to sound hopeful, but failing horribly because her voice cracked half-way, Leandra managed to choke out, "You think Delano found anything?"

Before Destiny had a chance to answer, a deeper voice replied to the question. "Sorry, Leandra. I didn’t find a thing." Delano Saldivar emerged from the trees behind the house, gracefully dodging the clawing branches. He pushed away the black locks that had fallen into his dark eyes and added without much conviction, "But Nick’s a smart boy. If something bad happened to him, you know he’d get out of it. Just watch, tomorrow you’ll wake up and find him sleeping beside you, like always."

Standing behind Leandra who was slightly shorter than she, Destiny gave Delano a look that said, ‘Just shut up, all right, idiot? You’re not helping.’ To the lioness shifter in front of her, Destiny said, "Look, Leandra, let’s go inside. If we don’t hear anything from or about Nick tomorrow morning, we’ll go search again. Right now, we need to get some rest. Come on." With an arm around her friend’s shoulder, the dark haired witch led Leandra inside.

Tarrying outside a while longer, Delano scanned the back yard one last time, then let out a heavy sigh. What the hell could have happened to Nick? Well, he couldn’t dwell on it any longer tonight. If the Lamia didn’t get some sleep soon, he’d drop where he was standing. This had been a long night.

With one last backwards glance, Delano retreated into the house, a million unanswered questions circling in his mind. Tired as he was, the vampire knew he would get no sleep tonight.

* * * * *
PART 3:

Leandra silently lay in bed and stared unseeingly at the white ceiling above. Why did this always have to happen to her? Get close to a guy and they either dump you like a hot potato or they *POOF!*, disappear! It had been that way in the Dark Kingdom -- no one wanted to bother with a big cat that was just barely above the rank of humans -- except the former had always been the case. This was the first time anyone she cared about had just vanished on her, and she supposed that was better than rejection, but it certainly didn’t feel that way.

With a heavy sigh, the lioness shapeshifter turned to look out the window of her first floor bedroom. She didn’t actually expect to see Nick happily strolling home, but she knew she’d be staring out that piece of glass all night -- or morning, however you looked at it -- nonetheless.

Slowly, Leandra let her thoughts drift off a bit towards the past. Back to when her parents had died and even further, to when she’d first laid eyes on Nick.

She hadn’t always liked him, in fact, for most of her life, Leandra had thought Prince Delo’s little playmate/servant to be a pest. Nick had teased her relentlessly whenever he saw her, for all of her childhood. Even though he was only a year older, up until they were 11 or 12, he’d been at least a head taller and even though he was a bird and she a lioness, he’d also been stronger.

Of course, after his 12th birthday, he’d disappeared into Black Dawn Castle, hardly seen by anyone anymore. Leandra never understood why, and her parents never thought to explain. Even if her parents had wanted to, they never had the chance, Prince Delos had used them as target practice on his 14th birthday, when Leandra had just turned 12 herself. That was the only time she had seen Nick, now only the prince’s servant, in public since he’d turned 12. She wouldn’t see him again until he was almost 17, when Hunter Redfern came to Black Dawn.

Even though Leandra realized now that neither Nick or even Delos really had anything to do with her parents getting blasted into dust, at age 12, she had blamed them.

That hate had burned dully inside of her for 4 years until she once again laid eyes on Nicholas Corona. She had always remembered him as the scrawny blond bird with an annoying mouth, but that description could no longer be validated. Nick had grown up, almost into a man, but not quite yet. He still had that mischievous glint in his eyes and that know-it-all grin; however, his lips had become fuller and his voice had deepened.

Now, Leandra’s anger was not just a glowing ember, it was raging like the sea in a storm. It wasn’t fair that he could look so happy and so damn gorgeous when all she was now, was the Head Maid. She didn’t actually do any WORK, but it was considered a very degrading title.

Even after the fall of Black Dawn, when Delos roasted most of the nobles and the surviving Night People formed into a sort-of gang, even when Nick became their leader after defeating the vampire Marco, Leandra had despised him. However, she had started dating him, in hopes of finding a weak spot, something she could exploit, hurting him as much as he had hurt her.

Unfortunately, things hadn’t gone as planned. Instead of finding a weak spot in Nick, Leandra found what she hadn’t had for years. No matter how much she had tried to deny it, she loved Nicholas Corona. She always had, and that was the problem, that was why she blamed him for her parents’ death. She had thought he was better than all the other Night People, not as evil. But he had just stood there that day, knowing full well that the 2 shapeshifters before Delos were Leandra’s parents, and he just watched, eyes cold and emotionless, while the couple crumbled before him. He had just stood there and watched! Like a statue of stone!

But it hadn’t really been his fault, Leandra always knew that deep inside. What could he have done? Stand forth and be killed along with her parents? What would that have proved? Only that he was a total fool. Besides, it wasn’t like Nick had had any attachment to her at that time. Maybe he had started to care about her when they started going out, but at 13, Nick hadn’t exactly been fond of Leandra.

It had taken Leandra 4 years and seeing Nick about to be murdered before her, to realize what had happened to her parents had NOTHING to do with him. All that mattered was that she loved him and she couldn’t let him die.

Well, she had saved him last time, but what about this time? This time, she didn’t even know WHERE he WAS, let alone what had happened or if he was still alive. As much as she loved Nick, Leandra wasn’t his soulmate. They didn’t have any special silver link between them. If he was dead, she wouldn’t know until everyone else.

Suddenly, Leandra was stirred out of her revelations by a figure outside. Whoever it was, was didn’t make a sound and blended very well into the shadows, but the lioness was too good an agent not to notice it.

For a split second, Leandra’s heart was filled with hope. Was it Nick? But to her dismay, when the figure stepped slightly out of the shadows, the moonlight didn’t glow on pale, golden hair.

So, who was this man? Leandra wondered. He could be any other person going for a stroll down the street, except that it was -- Leandra checked her bedside clock -- 4 am. Besides, the boy seemed to hide himself in the shadows without even realizing and his steps were much too quiet to be human. No, definitely not human. Vampire, most likely.

Well, what was he doing here? The safe house was located in a pretty peaceful neighbourhood, there was pretty much no activity after 9 p.m. He couldn’t be looking for prey.

What was stranger, was that he was loitering around the safe house and the homes around it, as if trying to determine which house was the one he was looking for.

In a second, Leandra knew. And a moment later, when a white piece of paper showed in the vampire’s hand, her theory was confirmed all the more.

Slowly, Leandra rolled across the queen sized bed, for once glad that Nick wasn’t there beside her and she didn't have to roll over HIM to get to the door. *Of course,* she reminded herself, *if Nick were here, there wouldn’t BE a vampire outside in the first place and you wouldn’t be trying to get to Destiny and Delano without him noticing you through the curtain-less window.*

With a muffled thud, the shapeshifter landed on the thick carpet. Then, on her hands and knees, she crawled to the door and slowly opened it. Sudden movements would catch the vampire’s attention for sure and Leandra needed to meet him unawares.

As soon as she was out f sight of her bedroom window, she sprinted up the stairs, taking 2 at a time. Without warning, she burst into Destiny’s room.

"AHHHHH!" The dark haired witch screamed as she sleepily opened her eyes and saw a dark shape filling the doorway. She was all the more startled by this figure because just seconds before, she had been dreaming about her children, twins Gabriel and Selena, who were currently in the care of Lord Theirry.

"Shhh!" Leandra scolded. "You’ll wake up the neighbours, not to mention startle the vampire outside."

"What? Is Delano hunting at this hour?" Destiny asked bewilderedly, still slightly confused by the sudden wake up call.

"No, I’m here," Delano answered, half grim and half amused, as he quietly showed up behind Leandra. "I think she means the vampire outside my bedroom window, looking up as if he were Romeo and I’m Juliet."

Destiny smiled as she pictured Delano dressed in a large, puffy pink gown while a dark and burly vampire looked up at him admiringly, reciting poetry. Oh, he’d look so CUTE in pink! However, the image was soon erased as the importance of this situation finally sank in. This could just be the lead they needed to find Nick. Why else would an anonymous vampire be staring up at Delano’s window?

The three Daybreakers didn’t waste any time getting down the stairs. Who cared if they were all in their pajamas? No one would be awake to see them, except each other and the vampire. IF he was still outside.

Without stopping to contemplate what they were really doing, the three agents burst from the front door. The vampire was still there, but when he saw them, darted down the street. It still amazed Leandra how fast a vampire’s reflexes could be, not that hers were that far behind.

In a second, all four had formed a kind of line. The vampire was in front, running like his life depended on getting away, which it probably did. Right behind was Delano, dark hair getting tousled in the wind. Leandra was right behind HIM, just having shifted into her golden lioness form, sleek body quickly closing the gap between her and the vampire. Destiny was last, but not by far. Her lips moved almost imperceiveably as orange witch fire glowed in her palms.

Right in front of Leandra, Delano all of a sudden tripped and fell.

*What?!* the lioness wondered as she sped past the Lamia, who was just picking himself up. Then, she saw his shoelaces were undone! What an idiot!! Ugh, men. Oh well, that just meant that she and Destiny had better try harder to catch the vampire in front of them.

Without warning, a tree branch right above the vampire’s head burst into glowing fire. Thankfully though, the flame was quenched in a second. The only damage it had done at all was drop a fiery branch onto the vampire’s shoulder, which he was frantically trying to discard.

Leandra was almost upon the vampire when he saw his chance to lose his pursuers. The lioness’ jaw thunked hollowly as she just missed the vampire’s leg.

Bewildered, Leandra glanced up and saw that her prey was on the roof of a two-story house, looking down with victory and contempt in his eyes. Again and again, the lioness leaped upward, but there was no way she could reach him.

However, the look of confidence in the vampire’s dark blue eyes quickly turned to alarm when, with only a moments notice, an orange fireball came hurtling towards him like a meteor. The fireball caught him squarely in the chest and he staggered backwards, loosing his balance and tumbled down the side of the house.

Destiny and Leandra were on him in a second. Right behind them was Delano, shoelaces tied with a sheepish expression on his face.

"Well, don’t just stand there!" Destiny cried at Delano. "We need to tie him up, so hurry up and unstring those laces! Might as well use them for something other than tripping over," she added.

Quickly, the dark haired Lamia obeyed. That tone of voice was not to be defied. But all the while, he muttered iscontentedly about just having tied his laces and having to undo them again.

At last, Delano handed over the long laces to Destiny and together, the three Daybreakers managed to bind the vampire and get him back to the safe house.

On the way back,the Lamia set free a giant Whoop into the otherwise silent night air. Finally, they had a lead on Nick’s disappearance and they could get some sleep.

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