Better or worse?

Max could not keep his hands off Kiara's body, in all this time that they had been together he had been fighting to keep himself in check, but as of right now he did not care about anything other than her.

He pulled back to gaze at her exposed chest not really knowing what to say, attacking her lips again his hand hungrily seeking to close any and all gaps between them. His hand stroking the flesh of her back, the bulge in his trousers aching against the material, begging to be free.

Kiara groaned. The room was pitch black but she could see perfectly in the dark. She trailed her hands down his chest, tugging on his shirt, she managed to un-tuck it from his trousers, needing it off but at the same time not wanting to leave too much evidence in the room of Max's presence. She still wanted to spare him punishment. It wasn't his fault William had turned her, it wasn't his fault William had turned into such a monster.

She groaned and pulled her lips away from his just to encourage his arms up so she could remove his shirt. Once his upper body was bare she leaned close and kissed the top of his forehead.

"I'm sorry...for all the pain William has given you"

Max could feel his shirt being tugged over his head and land on the floor next to her shirt but was surprised when she stopped and heard her words.

"......It was a long time ago....I have waited so many years for someone to come along and here you are....in my arms" he whispered sweetly.

She smiled, bringing his head close to her chest. "Time...doesn't always heal all wounds... I know this for a fact" she said softly as she ran her fingers through his hair.

"sometimes... what we need is someone to let us know its ok to show the pain"

She held him close, feeling like she'd known Max for ages. She wasn't sure if what they had was love, she didn't think vampires could love, but they were kindred spirits. They were both lonely and hurt and could find refuge in each other.

Max knew that he had to be honest with Kiara, he could not lie to her.

"There is something that you need to know....Your vampire is still alive, my brother was lying about his death" he told her honestly.

Even for vampires love that existed before death intensified as a vampire.

She smirked. "I already deduced that Max....as dumb as Bill can be... William wouldn't find him worthy of his time" she said as she kissed him again. Without the need to breathe the kiss turned long and drawn out until she spoke again.

"but he is in my past... you are in my now"

Max knew that not to be true, nothing ever remained in the past.

"If you said it with a bit more belief then I would believe you Kiara, but you and I both know that he will never be in your past" he assured her.

She nodded. "I will never forget him...you are right. He taught me so much about myself, but I also cannot dwell in the past. I cannot change it, all I can do is forge my future"

She touched his cheek, peering into his eyes. "So tell me... will you allow my future to be clouded by your brother's cruel hand? or will you show me that vampires are capable of a kind touch?"

Max knew it was a risk, but it was a risk he was willing to take for Kiara. Grabbing hold of both hands in his own he gazed into her eyes.

"Leave with me. Tonight" he asked.

She blinked. Sure they had tossed the idea of leaving but Max had said he would kill William first, then leave, otherwise William would always chase them.

"Max....I thought you wanted to end William, otherwise us running would never give us peace" she said softly, sounding a bit worried.

"And we will. We will kill him together and then we can leave. No one will ever find us, we can go wherever you want to go. Do anything that you want to do" he pleaded with her.

If they could end William, his brother tonight they could both leave. Leave the UK behind.

She thought about it. Could they really kill William? She had done her best over the past weeks to show William she was meek and submissive to him. Would be think his own brother was going to betray him.

"Max...if we're going to do this...then we both need to feed. We need to be at full strength"

William stood at the door to his dungeon listening to his brother's words and the words of his little wolf. Anger surging though him, speeding down the stairs he stood watching his brother becoming intimate with his girl.

"Well, well....Hello brother" he hissed.

Kiara turned her head and growled. Gods if she could hate William even more then she was hating him more right at this moment. However she wasn't going to let Max take the blame for this. Out of William's line of sight she took Max's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Please... it was easier to seduce your brother than I thought William. You vampires are quite gullible" she spat out, not needing to look around the room. She knew where several silver weapons lay that she could use against William. She may not be able to kill him but she could harm him enough to let Max finish the job or at least for Max to escape.

"Please... it was easier to seduce your brother than I thought William. You vampires are quite gullible"

Max turned his head to see that his brother was now standing in the dungeon back from his escapade. Max stood up straightening himself, no this was his fight.

"It was all me brother, it was all my fault. She had nothing to do with it. It was my plan, not hers" he explained to his brother.

William could not believe what he was hearing, his own brother was conspiring against him. Folding his arms around his back he remained on the spot.

"I thought I was hearing things Max, my own brother plotting my own death with my whore!" he bellowed out.

She got up. Currently she was stronger. She had fed and she had a chance to fight back. With her honed speed she sought out several broken silver knives and flung them with deadly aim at William. She wasn't going to sit there and let the boys monologue like cheesy evil villains.

Several of the knives found home in William's arms and stomach. Despite her hands burning from touching the silver it had to hurt much more for him.

Stumbling on his feet with the silver blades impaled in him he fell to the ground cursing in pain. He reached for the splints of silver and pulled them out of his body dropping them on the floor. Stumbling to his feet he could not help but smirk.

".....Now there is my girl" he grinned.

Max raised his head with a broad smirk plastered on his face as he sped over to Kiara grabbing hold of her neck wrapping his arm around her. With his free arm he cuffed her right wrist with a silver cuff repeating it with the other. Watching as she dropped to the floor screaming in pain as he could smell her burning flesh.

".....Quite the screamer aren't we?" he mocked her.

She hissed and fell to her knees. What was going on? Had she fallen for another trap?

She looked up at Max, a look of sheer betrayal in her eyes as the silver burned her and sapped her of strength. She tried to break free but the more she fought the silver the more it burned.

"f-figures... you'd...betray me" she muttered.

Towering above her he cast a quick glance to his brother who was now standing beside him.

"Oh come on Kiara, surely you must have seen this coming. Why would I betray my own brother for you? A fuck toy and nothing more" he grinned chuckling to himself.

Patting his brother on the back he gave a quick kick to his whore's ribs hearing them crack which sounded like music to his ears.

"My brother told me everything love, he is quite the loyal subject when he wants to be, unlike our Maker of course" he ended with another blow to her broken ribs.

She cried out, blood coming out of her mouth. So much for the strength she'd gained not too long ago. Part of her felt hurt that Max had used her, like every other man she dared to give an inch of trust, another part of her expected nothing less. They were men, they were vampires and they couldn't be trusted at all.

She closed her eyes, reverting back to techniques she'd honed while William had tortured her. She disassociated herself from the situation, willing her consciousness to float away from the pain.

William repeated the kicks to her ribs hearing them shatter underneath his violence, she needed to know her place in his world and this was it. On the floor begging for her life, just how he wanted it.

"Scream for me love...I want to hear you scream!" he ordered.

Max stood next to his brother watching him beat the crap out of Kiara whilst he watched with amusement. But something peaked his interest when William mentioned their Maker.

"You were there with him weren't you" he remarked.