Once I'd backed up into the hallway, I turned and ran for the stairs. Without a backward glance, my weapon still in my hand, I rushed down the stairs. It was only when I got to the landing that I saw Tyler enter the hallway from the kitchen and he was surprised to see me. I held the glass tighter in my hand as I put the edge against the shallow cut on my neck, which was dripping blood.

Tyler's features turned from surprised horror to realization and he glanced behind me. I turned quickly to see that Jared was behind me. He hadn't made a move to try and disarm me. He kept his hands up. I turned back to Tyler and he held up his hands as well.

He stood between the front door and me. The need for Mason had become a pulsing pain that was pushing me to find him. The small cuts from smashing the photo frame in my one hand and the surface wound on my other wrist felt like nothing compared to the pain that was growing within me. I needed Mason.

Tyler didn't move away from the door. He knew if I made it out of the door and got away that they wouldn't be able to find me again, and then I would be gone forever.

"Move, Tyler, or I will kill myself," I threatened him. He knew I wasn't messing around. I pushed the glass into my skin again to get my point across. This time it was deeper and I felt the warmth of my blood. My dark red blood flowed freely.

Tyler looked horrified.

"Let her go, Tyler," Jared instructed, panic seeping into his voice. I confirmed that they wouldn't be able to heal me if I did enough damage.

Slowly Tyler shifted out of my way as I etched around him. Blood dripped from my cuts onto the carpet. When I got to the front door, I turned my back to it so I could keep an eye on Tyler and Jared. I held the jagged piece of glass out in front of me as I used my other hand to open the door.

Mason. He was all I could think about.

Once the door was open, I was out the house. I kept my eyes firmly fixed on the two guys in front of me as I backed and onto the front porch. I turned to the side so that I could still watch them as I navigated my way down the few steps down the front of the porch to the short pathway that led to the pavement.

I was so close.

I looked back to Jared and Tyler. They both still had their hands up and they both stood side-by-side on the front porch just in front of the doorway. Still facing sideways, I shuffled farther down the pathway.

Where is Mason? I thought to myself as I glanced back to the house. Tyler and Jared were now halfway down the stairs. They'd dropped their hands to their sides and I noticed they weren't watching me anymore. As they both looked past me, I could see the anger on their faces.

I glanced to the opposite direction. Mason and Caleb were waiting for me across the street.

He'd come for me. I was comforted by the thought that I was nearly with him.

The sight of him gave me the determination to move faster.

Glancing between the two groups facing off between each other I could feel the tension starting to build. I looked back to Jared to see the struggle inside of him. His eyes held mine for a few seconds before he glanced to his brother. It was torture for him to watch me walk toward Mason, and there was nothing he could do.

I took another step toward Mason.

"Ava, behind you!" Mason shouted at me. I was about to step onto the sidewalk when I felt hands reach for me from behind.

No!

I tried to cut my throat, but the person who grabbed me from behind was too strong. They pulled my arms back and held them behind my back. I began to feel weak. My energy was being drained from me, flowing from the connection where the hands held my arms.

A flash of white energy shot past me and I heard a commotion. My knees buckled and the person who had restrained me laid me down gently on the ground as they continued to drain my energy, enough for me to be too weak to fight. I looked up to see Danny. His eyes were glazed over with silver. I could do nothing to stop him while he slowly drained my energy.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw flashes of white energy back and forth.

Then it went quiet. I heard footsteps as I felt my eyelids close, and I lost consciousness.

*********

I felt so ill I wanted to throw up. I was unable to move. The muscles in my body ached. It felt like someone had driven over me with a truck and then backed up over me as well. All I could do was moan. My mouth was dry and my throat hurt. The softness beneath me was a bed. I tried to open my eyes, but I couldn't, my eyelids were still too heavy to lift.

"Ava," I heard Jared whisper beside me.

"I..." I tried to talk, but I was struggling to form the words I wanted to say. I felt so weak.

"Don't try to talk," he soothed. The soft touch of his fingers brushed my cheek.

I tried to remember what had happened. I remembered trying to hurt myself so that Jared would let me go to Mason. I remembered Danny grabbing me from behind and draining my power. It was probably why I was feeling so bad. The last time Jared had drained my power, he'd healed me.

Why hadn't Jared healed me? I moaned again as another wave of pain and nausea hit me.

"I'm sorry, I can't heal you. We need to keep you weak so that you can't try and hurt yourself again to try and get away," he explained. I felt his lips press a small kiss to my forehead.

"I also can't take the chance that there will be another fight in the open. We were lucky—we don't believe that anyone saw anything," he said.

That hadn't even crossed my mind. I remembered the white flashes of energy. That had been outside in broad daylight, out in the street. He was right—we were lucky nobody had seen anything.

"We are making preparations today to do the altering," he told me as I felt his hand hold mine.

Today? What day was today? I wanted to ask the question, but I couldn't form the words.

"Nathaniel is convinced that we need to perform the altering when you're in an emotionless state because your Hue energy is more intense. It's still going to be dangerous. I know you're scared, but everything will be okay," he assured me before he pressed another kiss to my forehead. "I won't let anything happen to you."

I knew how much he cared for me, but there were some things that just weren't in his control. He was trying to ease my worrying, but his attempts didn't help. I was scared that I wouldn't survive, and I didn't know if I would be able to cope with the pain. I moaned. I didn't want to think about what was going to happen, but I couldn't help myself.

"You can do it. You're strong enough," he whispered to me.