Love Bites *Sequel to Insanity Bites*

Chapter 4: The Council

"I think it's time you told us exactly what's going on," Harry demanded while I rummaged through the kitchen cabinets for anything remotely edible.

Yes, the truth was important but that didn't stop the hunger pangs that gnawed my insides. I remembered having dinner at the asylum but after throwing up until my stomach ached, I needed to eat something badly.

I found a tin of canned beans covered in cobwebs and turned it around to check the expiry date. Once I did, I peeled open the cover and dug in with a spoon I found in one of the drawers.

I then turned to see Zayn running his hands through his hair, looking at us in apprehension.

"Okay, fine but I will need to start from the beginning so this is going to take a while," He said as he took a seat across from me at dusty kitchen island.

Harry took a seat beside me and the two of us remained silent waiting for Zayn to explain.

"The truth is vampires have been around for centuries only nobody knows about us because we have made it a point to keep our existence a secret. When I first became a vampire, our feeding habits were a bit disorganized. We were allowed to feed only on the sick and the dying to prevent humans from growing suspicious," Zayn said as he dragged his finger across the dust on the table, creating a straight line.

"What do you mean by allowed? Do you have a king or something? Or a government like us?" Harry asked.

"Yes, we have our version of a government. We call them the council. They've were established before I was turned and have been around ever since. Their job is to keep us from being exposed no matter what the cost," Zayn's eyes were on me now, making me swallow hard.

Now it made sense who was after us and why.

"So Dr. Logan and those people in the jeep, were they the council?" I affirmed.

"No, the council never get their hands dirty. They give orders and there are those assigned to carry them out. It's the same as humans," Zayn replied. "The guy I fought before we left was Charlie. He's been trying to join the council for a century and he's been doing their dirty work for that long. Too bad he'll never get the chance."

Zayn's words contradicted his expression completely. In fact there was a slight smile on his face at the mention of Charlie's death.

"Are you part of the council?" Harry asked as he frowned at Zayn suspiciously, making him laugh in response.

"Definitely, not. They are a bunch of screwed up vampires who use you when they need you and then get rid of you when they don't. Pretty much like your governments," Zayn said. "They asked me to join them five years ago and I told them I would give them an answer after a decade. You see they don't usually take "no" for an answer and I was buying myself time to weasel my way out of it. Once you join them, it is near impossible to leave."

"Why didn't you want to join them?" I asked. I had finished the can of beans and now I leaned in and rested my head in my hands, devouring Zayn's absurd explanation about how vampires existed and how they kept themselves secret with the help of this council.

But what did this have to do with me? I wasn't sickly or dying.

"I've just never seen the benefit in joining such a toxic group of individuals," He answered.

"Okay, you've explained who's after us, but why are they after us? Why did you harass me for the past few months? Was I just a random choice like you said the night you wanted me to supposedly kill you?" I couldn't help the anger that had seeped into my tone. My blood boiled thinking I had been fooled into believing I was crazy. "Did this council instruct you to do it?"