Prologue:

Eight years prior

Cassie -

I can still smell the smoke despite the clear air around me now. I try to push away the smell as I feel my throat close up. But I can't prevent the horrible memory from replaying.

“God, Can you be anymore spoilt!” I hear my older brother yell as he slams my own bedroom door in my face. I feel like a ghost, watching the events transpire. My own pleas to myself to go after him falling on deaf ears. This is a memory, something I can never change. All young fourteen year old me does is touch the wood slightly before collapsing on her bed, wrapping the covers round herself tight. Even now I can't recall what the argument was over. Just like I can't recall my brothers face, just his back walking away and his voice shouting at me. My petty anger faded as sleep took me. I'd planned to wake up the next day and possibly apologise. That never happened.

My body convulsed violently, waking me up, the air around me felt searing and my lungs burned with every breath. I could barely see my own hands in the all encompassing smoke. I remembered what I'd been told and crouched down onto the floor, crawling to my door. For a second I panicked, no clue where it was. Then my fingers found the familiar wood, I pushed but it wouldn't open. I'd have to stand up and open it that way. I took a deep breath of cleanish air and stood up quickly, ignoring the stab of acidic pain the smoke caused my eyes. It didn't matter that they were growing blurry, I hadn't a hope to see anyway. I grabbed the knob and shoved with all my power. Forgetting that this was a fire. The knob burned my hand and caused me to yell out in pain and fall backwards. My lungs screamed at me, hurting from the gulp of smoke the scream caused me to take. For a second I lost hope. Then I shook my own head, demanding common sense return. I knew it would properly hurt but I did it anyway. I threw my whole body against the sturdy door and was surprised when it gave in. I coughed on the smoke, I could see a little better in the hallway. I glanced over the corridor and saw that the source of the fire came from the open kitchen doorway.

It never occurred to me to crawl further up the hallway and wake up my family. All I thought about was my own self-preservation. Guess I really was spoilt. I ran down the stairs at full pelt, the sound of the wood groaning reaching my ears but not clicking in my mind. Not until it was too late and a step near the bottom caved in under my weight. A moan left my lips which I was certain were bleeding. I tried to stand and winced at the sharp pain that raced from the caught ankle. I had no choice but to go back to crawling. I ignored the various stabs of pain that happened when my hands found splinters. I just thought about the front door, it wasn't far now. I half stood, half crouched by it and turned the knob, this time checking to see if it was hot. But it wouldn't budge. Of course, it was locked, like it was every night.

I gritted my teeth, trying not to let a shriek of frustration escape and waste more energy I needed. I looked to the side of the front door and saw the door size windows. I had no clue how strong they were, but I didn't care. I punched my unburned hand through, feeling the razor sharp glass cut my wrist as I did. I used my elbow to break off the worst of it and made a hole big enough for me to crawl through. I could almost taste untainted air now. I crawled through the window and using just my hands I crawled across the garden, feeling the fire that was my skin cool from the dew-covered grass beneath me. I'd never been so grateful to breath a lungful of fresh, night air. All I could concentrate on was that. My body was too weak and hurt to move. My wrist bleeding too much.

I didn't even hear them coming. What I did hear though, was a cold, dark laugh.

I shivered as the memory faded, I wrapped my hand round the one that had been burned. But no matter how hard I looked, there would be no scars. That terror-filled night is all I can remember of my human life. I'm sure he is more than able to return my other memories, but he refuses too. Telling me I'll stay sane longer without that knowledge. I felt my lips quirk. Funny for one such as he, to talk of sanity.

***

Chapter One:

Present Day

Caitlyn -

The streetlight went dim, a putrid smell coursed through the air as dark intent filled my senses. I turned around in time to block the attack of menacing claws from above. The demon was newly risen, unskilled, but still very powerful and dangerous. It's body was just beginning to take form, a vaguely humanoid being with sticky black tredils dripping onto the floor and evaporating into the foggy night air. I managed to dodge its next blow by crouching to the left and ran towards a back alley, Away from any humans. I came to a chained fence and cursed. Claws ripped into my shoulder and tore at the muscle tissue inside. I suppressed the urge to yell out, it would only gode the demon on. I quickly twisted around to face the demon, dislodging the claws and resulting in a sickening crunch from my shoulder and upper arm. Kyri would yell at me about that later I thought as I reached under my belt were a silver knife sat. I was careful not to touch the silver and just the steel handle. I ducked another clumsy attack and swiped the knife across the demons stomach. It shrieked in response as small violet flames licked at the flesh around the wound. I escaped over the fence. And almost ended up falling three story’s, admittedly I would properly survive, but it would prove unpleasant. I heard a hiss from behind me and turned in time to duck two pairs of it's claws swiping where my head had just been. The demons body was gaining more form now. A female shape with red eyes, a wraith demon. I brandished the silver knife, causing her to back up.

She screeched at me in frustration, pale flesh was becoming visible, as she lost the final marks of her underworld origin. Her wicked claws became sharp blood-red nails. Her wound had healed, I muttered how unfair it was that demon healed from silver faster than vampire or werewolves. I took the risk and dived off the building, aiming for a tree to help break my fall. Branches snapped as I fell through them and onto the pavement. The demon followed me, but she landed on the concrete without a care in the world. That immunity wouldn't last long I told myself quelling my panic.

“Get down!” a voice shouted from behind me, I didn't hesitate. A gun fired behind me and a silver bullet arched straight into the demon heart. She let out more high pitched screams before falling into a black, bubbling puddle.

“Why am I not surprised that I had to save your ass again?” Jason said, offering me a hand. I shoved it away and stood up on my own. Jason shrugged, moving his brown, shoulder length hair at the same time.

“I had it under control idiot, your the one with the hero complex” I stormed down the street he came from. Back to the civilisation of Cambridge city. I was near King's college, meaning I had a while to walk before I got home. And as if things weren’t bad enough, it started to rain.

“Need a lift?” Jason asked as he walked towards his landrover, a car he loved more than any man should. But it was practical and warm. So I silently opened the passenger side and sat down. It was a silent ride, but then me and Jason didn't really talk a lot. I was a bad-vamp-turned-good by Kyri, he was one of the Hunters recently sent down from London's infamous “Hunter's guild” - well, it was infamous whilst I was growing up – to investigate our crime rate. Which properly had a lot to do with Supernaturals. A general term humans used when talking about us. Vampires, werewolf’s, demons, and other things that went bump in the night.

The world changed a lot when ten years ago a pharmaceutical company had been found for malpractice. In the sense that they'd been caught hiding supernatural beings and experimenting on them without anyone knowing. Sectors of the government had known of our existence, and the secret society known as the Hunters Guild had been after us since medieval times. But the company had been caught by an everyday journalist, even the government couldn't shut her up and the public learned about us. The same journalist is in hiding, for good reason I'd imagine. Only a small number of Supernaturals were happy about becoming known. For a long time the government had no idea what to do, lending control to the Hunter's guild. Luckily a new prime minster changed things. Now we just have to wear a necklace, branding us forever since they're enchanted to never be taken off. In my case it was a circle with a capital V in the centre, Vampire.

“Are you going straight home, or am I dropping you off somewhere?” Jason asked, breaking the silence. I glanced at my shoulder, it had mostly healed up so no need to panic and go to the emergency room.

“I wish I could say home, but I need to go to Neg O and see what info I can get” I sighed loudly whilst looking out the window, the rain wasn't slowing down anytime soon. Neg O was a local club, and well-known Supernatural hang-out. I also happened to be friends with the owner and bartender. Useful when you need all the inside info a bartender surely gets in a days work.

Jason dropped me off nearby and drove off. I stood still for a few second trying to calm my nerves. Neg O wasn't a very legitimate club, it had hidden back places where they had bite addicts and an underground tunnel into the sewers. From the sewers supernaturals got everywhere. But only supernatural belonging to the Underground used these tunnels. The Underground is where you find all the really nasty supernaturals, mostly demons and vampires who hate the system and think they should rule over humans. Or those who just wanted to drink their fill. The alternatives were bite addicts or synthetic blood. Syth isn't exactly nice, but it does the job. There was talk about compulsory donations so that vampires could get by that way. But the truth is humans would rather act like we don't exist. So we get pushed to the fringes of society and are left there. Were's usually live in family gathering in trailer sites in the wooded area outside of Cambridge. Most other Supernaturals living in the city lived lived in downtrodden areas.

As I walked from the entrance of neg O to the bar a few people glanced my way. I guess it was one thing to come clean, it was another to defend humans. Especially if you were someone in the Supernatural world before hand.

“I was wondering when I'd get to see a pretty girl in this place again” Kris said when he saw me approaching. I just raised one eyebrow and ignored the comment. Kris didn't date, which was a shame since he was extremely good looking. He was well-built with short, styled brown hair and night blue eyes. Of course a relationship with him would be weird seeing as he was basically a big brother. Kris was a turned vampire, he'd been brought back by that women after one of her many disappearances when I was growing up.

“What’s been going on down below since I last checked?” I asked, sitting on a bar stool and leaning over the counter. So as to avoid unwanted ears eavesdropping.

“Not a lot, Callum is still ranting and raving over your decision to leave”

”Callum doesn't make my choices, he needs to get over it already, and stay out of my way otherwise I may hurt him”

“Wow, whatever he did, he really pissed you off” Kris stated rather than asked, drying glass after glass.

“That's not important, anything else going on?” I side-stepped the subject. Kris looked pointedly at me but didn't push.

“Anya's gone into hiding, no one knows what she’s thinking or doing”

“Anya? What reason does she have to hide?” Anya was an ancient, no one with a brain cell messed with one of those.

“Well, there have been rumours going around that another Ancient came to the city, but so far I haven't seen any actual evidence” He said, putting his cloth on the bar, having finished drying the glasses.

“I thought ancients decided to avoid each other millennia ago” my phone beeped in my pocket.

“You planning on answering that?” Kris asked

“It'll be Kyri, planning on giving me hell as always” i grumbled, pulling the phone out. Only to see it was a text from Jason.

“Eh? Who's this Jason, moving on so fast?” I grimaced at the thought, ”“or not” Kris laughed.

“Two hunters came to the city, Kyri managed to track them down. She convinced them teaming up would make more sense than working separately”

“No way, if hunters were in town I would've got word by now” Kris insisted.

“They got the big H round their necks Kris. We got hunters. Jason's a Blake, And David's a Young. Though I swear David's only here to flirt with anything female” I scoffed.

“Damn, How long have they been here?”

“Only two weeks, David's better at working with Supernaturals than Jason, Who definitely hates me and all vampires” I looked at the text message and groaned.

“I have to go Kris, but thanks for the info” I said standing up.

“What's up?” Kris asked, sounding concerned.

“Nothing serious” I said, waving before going out onto the pouring street, somehow I managed to catch the next bus to where Jason was.

RATE THIS CHAPTER!

Author guidance for This story

Any critique or editorial suggestions ar emore than welcome. And if you rate badly please do tell me why. This story is important to me so i want to get it right :)

Re-did the prologue, much better than the previous version if i do say so myself ^.^

This is also the only story in which I don't restrain myself (I may be making it sound worse than it actually is xD) - Violence, sexual scenes (straight and gay), drugs, gore, rape all appear here - so only read if you can handle that stuff.

This story has always had the potential for a few prequels, but so far i'm only working on two :p

http://www.protagonize.com/story/tainted-ties--chapter-one

http://www.protagonize.com/story/diary-of-an-ancient

Blurb (Still working on it)

There were cities throughout the world, but none held as many Supernatural's as Cambridge city, the city humans nicknamed Blood City.
The natural order of things for Caitlyn was simple. Kill the bad guys and resist blood. But everything gets turned upside down when an old frienemy decides to target her and those she cares about. As if that wasn't enough for her to deal with, the Ancients are stirring. And there all heading towards Cambridge. The possibility of a true blood city is fast-approaching.

And Caitlyn deepest secret is at risk, a secret that could tear apart the whole supernatural world alongside an already unstable union with the hunter, Jason. But Jason has his own agenda to worry about. The vengeful sort, and he won't let anything prevent him from reaching the one who ruined his life eight years ago.

Characters -

Caitlyn Reynolds
Age: 25
Species: Vampire; born
Appearance: Long, wavy, dark brown hair and pale blue eyes. 5'7 Soft facial features and a nice figure
Personality: her sharp tongue contradicts her appearance greatly. Caitlyn is suspicious of everyone except her younger brother and best friend.
Song: Criminal - Alexz Johnson

Jason Blake
Age: 26
Species: Human; hunter
Appearance: shoulder length brown hair - usually tied up- and grey eyes. Round 6 foot and usually an unshaven face
Personality: Jason is very committed to his duty, driven by his search for whoever was responsible for a fire eight years that killed his mother and little sister. Though he has his faults he will do whatever is necessary to protect someone important to him.
Song: Hero - Chad Kroeger/Josey Scott

Kyri Rivieri
Age: 24
Species: Were; wolf
Appearance: Short spiky dirty blond hair and yellow eyes, 5'5 slightly rounded figure
Personality: Kyri is very kind and open-hearted, she trusts anyone until they give her a reason not to. This is both a fault and virtue. Like most of her kind, she dislikes Were-cats.
Song: Here I Am - Renee Sandstrom

David Young
Age: 26
Species: Human; hunter
Appearance: Jet black, short, styled hair and luminous green eyes, round 5'8
Personality: David cares for two things: Women and Alcohol, his mother died shortly after he was born and his father was never around. David is surprisingly kind to Super Naturals for a hunter.
Song: Moves Like Jagger - Maroon 5 feat. Christina Aguilera

Anya
Age: ???
Species: Vampire; ancient
Appearance: long wavy blond hair and pale blue eyes, 5'7 rounded lips and an hourglass figure
Personality: Anya doesn't take many things seriously and this can prove frustrating for others. But Anya is protective of her own and will make that a known fact, giving a person a chance to back down.
Song: Edge Of Glory - Lady Gaga


Taurus
Age: ???
Species: Vampire; ancient
Appearance: 6'3 with messy bronze hair and brown eyes, extremely muscular body
Personality: Taurus is made of two people, one side of him is very gentle and caring of others, but the other side of him which tends to have more control is twisted and cruel.
Song: Animal I Have Become - Three Days Grace

Richard Blake
Age: 51
Species: Human; hunter
Appearance: dark brown/grey hair, grey eyes, small beard and various scars litter his face and hands. 6'2
Personality: Blunt and brutal, he only says what needs to be said. He isn't one for idle chat. The only person who can get under his skin it seems is Anya.
Song: Dangerous Game - 3 Doors Down

Callum
Age: 26
Species: Vampire;born
Appearance: Thin, wispy blond hair and near black eyes, well-built, 5'9
Personality: Callum despises humans and the hold they have on the world, he despises hunters even more. What irritates him most is that the ancients refuse to try and overthrow the humans. So the moment Anya goes into hiding. He and his group of haters come out of the dark.
Song: Riot - Three Days Grace

Luke Reynolds
Age: 16
Species: Vampire:born
Appearance: Luke has short, brown hair and grey eyes, 5'9 - Still stuck at the too tall for the rest of his body stage of puberty.
Personality: Luke spends most of his time either being bullied, getting A's or on the computer. Luke is very withdrawn person and avoids serious conversation.
Song: Away From The Sun - 3 Doors Down


Emily Carouse
Age: 16
Species: Human
Appearance: 5'4, curly brown hair and hazel eyes, small figure
personality: Emily is loud and cheerful, and always making jokes. She doesn't take much seriously in life. (at the start of the story)
Song: Anything But Ordinary - Avril Lavigne

Ryan Alistair
Age: 16
Species: Human
Appearance: 5'7, short pale hair and dark blue eyes, extremely skinny
Personality: Ryan is a very sarcastic person with a bleak outlook on life, he gets bullied. His uncle doesn't accept him so he had to move to Cambridge and stay with a cousin (Ryan is an only child and his parents both died when he was eight)
Song: Save Me - Poets Of The Fall

Kris
Age: 29
Species: Vampire;turned
Appearance: styled brown hair and blue eyes, well-built figure, 6'1
Personality: Kris doesn't talk about himself much, but he is generally a pleasant person and a good laugh. He also makes a point of looking out for people.
Song: Sing For The Deaf - Missing Andy

Daniel Smith
Age: 16
Species: Human
Appearance: Messy black hair and brown eyes, 5'8
Personality: Daniel is a very spiteful person and has an unexplainable dislike towards vampire (which includes Luke)
Song: Just Like You - Three Days Grace

Francis
Age: Looks mid-twenties
Species: Demon;lust
Appearance: Lanky black hair, dark blue eyes that all lust demons have and an ever present sneer on his face. 5'8
Personality: Francis is vile to the core and enjoys to aggravate situations and make things worse for people. He has no qualms with hurting someone. Before death he was a cruel baron.
Song: Monster - Lady Gaga

Jasmin
Age: 17
Species: Human
Appearance: Messy and dirty brown hair and dark brown eyes, 5'6
Personality: Stubborn and distrusting like most street kids. She's also a lot smarter and witty than people think she is.
Song: Broken Hearts, Torn Up Letters And The Story Of A Lonely Girl - Lostprophets

(Yes, I have a song for each, whenever i hear them I think of these characters lol)

updated Feb 19 by Cat_Monty