The blood collection was slowly coming to an end, yet it couldn't seem to come fast enough.

I never remembered the collection ever taking this long, then again I guess I've never had to stay the whole time.

I held my arms against my stomach as it grumbled in hunger.

Although Nico and Xander received a lunch, us pets weren't as lucky. The small portion Nico was able to give me wasn't nearly enough to tide me over.

And poor Doe hasn't had anything.

Hungry and tired, I leaned back against Nico's chest, noticing how his grip tightened on me for a moment as I did.

Waking up as early as I did this morning was never easy for me.

As for Nico and Xander, I could tell that they were bored out of their minds.

No one had dared try to defy against the rules since Xander took care of the man that did, and as a result, the brothers had nothing to do but watch and wait.

I sighed, debating if I should just shut my eyes for a moment and rest.

I really wanted to, but it probably wasn't the best Idea to be doing something like that at a time like this.

Not to mention that it wasn't a very pet like thing to do.

So I just kept my eyes open and towards the sky, not really caring that the fabric covering my nose and mouth slowly slipped off as I did.

I could just bare with that cold for a little bit.

"Ooh, Nico you're up," Xander said from beside us.

Both of us turned towards him.

"What?"

We followed his gesture as he pointed into the line.

There was a boy standing in the line, his eyes wide as he looked at us.

No, not us, He was looking at me.

My eyes widened as I realized this, now feeling a bit nervous.

"Nah, you can take him if you want," Nico said back to his brother.

I vaguely heard Xander quietly rejoice.

The boy was close enough that I could examine his features, and it took a moment before I realized that I vaguely remembered them.

My stomach turned once I fully realized who was looking at me.

I've gone through the whole day without someone I've recognized see me, but I guess my luck couldn't stay like that forever.

And of course, the one that did recognize me was Samuel, the boy who was my best friend before my family decided to leave the city.

I quickly moved the collar of my shirt to cover my face once more, turning my head to the side as my heart began racing.

Why did it have to be him? He probably thought I was dead. It was probably better that he thought I was dead instead of him knowing that I had become a pet!

What was he going to do with this information? Would he tell everyone? Maybe he didn't even fully realize that it was me.

Even though there was nothing I could do about it, I didn't really want people to know what happened to me or to my family.

My father wasn't the most liked man in the city and I didn't want his name to be completely tarnished by people figuring out what happened to us.

Nicos hold on me tightened softly once my breaths began to speed up.

"Are you ok?" He asked me quietly.

My eyes flickered from Nico to Samuel, then back to face how I was.

"I know him," I whispered quietly.

He kept his eyes on me for a second before slowly turning towards Samuel.

I could see Samuel turn away out of fear in my peripherals. Even so, I still noticed the short glances he would send me.

I hated it.

"Do you want to talk to him?" Nico asked.

My eyes widened.

That was the last thing that I expected him to say. Not to mention the fact that he would actually let me talk to him.

I turned my head towards Samuel a bit.

As much as I wanted to, I didn't want to at the same time.

I didn't want to draw that kind of attention to myself or seal away any doubt that he had if it was really me or not.

So, I slowly shook my head, feeling my shoulders lift.

Nico clicked his tongue behind me, "Alright," He said as he shifted beneath me," Stand up."

I hesitated for a moment before following his orders, a long list of possible outcomes flying through my head.

Was he going to make me talk to him or something?

Nico stood after I did, apparently startling Xander who was too focused on staring at Samuel to realize what was going on.

"Where the hell are you going?" He asked as Nico took my leash in his hands.

"I'm taking my break," he said as he began slowly walking away from the line.

I followed shortly behind him, not even daring to look back towards the line.

"Wait, we get breaks?!" Xander questioned, his eyes now rounded.

Nico stopped and turned his head towards his brother, "Yea, but not at the same time,"

We began walking once again.

"Try not to let the line catch on fire while I'm gone."

Xander just grunted a response.

I could feel myself steadily relax as we walked away from the collection.

Getting away from that interaction was exactly what I needed.

And luckily, a lot of people stayed home after the collection so the town wouldn't be as busy as usual.

We walked in silence through the thin blanket of snow that sat on the ground.

"Wheres the nearest food market that you like?" He asked randomly.

I looked up at him questioningly, my stomach growling at the question.

I actually had to think about it for a second, trying to recall.

"Uh, about a five minutes walk from here. Why?"

He placed his hands in his pockets, "Because you're hungry and I don't need a hungry pet."

My lips parted as he spoke, but the fact that he was getting me something to eat made me very happy.

In addition to the fact that he was using his only break to get it for me.

My eyes furrowed as a realization hit me.

Not once do I remember any of the vampires leaving their station during a blood collection.

"I didn't know that you guys got breaks," I spoke after a while

The edges on Nico's lips curled up into a smirk.

"We don't."