Jumping up, Quinn snatched his pants off the floor and pulled them on, not bothering with underwear or anything else. A split-second later he was out the door, knowing Rose wouldn’t be far behind him. He charged down the stairs and past the other guestrooms. Doors opened as he flew past them, voices chasing his rapid descent to the first floor.

The scent of human blood now reached his nostrils.

“Shit!”

Had Keegan managed to gain access to the house? It should be impossible: Wesley and Nina were supposed to be keeping watch during the day to alert them should anybody approach the house.

Panicked, Quinn almost collided with Wesley who came running from the living room.

“Is it Keegan?” Quinn asked without slowing down.

“Nobody got in,” Wesley claimed, following him.

Voices and footsteps from the other residents filled the previously quiet house.

Quinn kicked the kitchen door open and barreled in. He rocked to an abrupt halt when his eyes quickly assessed the situation.

“Oliver! Fuck!”

His prodigy had his fangs lodged deep in Blake’s neck as the latter struggled against the attack, his eyes open and drenched in fear and panic.

Quinn rushed to them and clamped his hands around Oliver’s arms, holding him immobile. He couldn’t simply pull him away from Blake or he would risk tearing his grandson’s neck open.

“Release him! Withdraw your fangs! Now! I command you as your sire!”

A low growl came from Oliver.

“Do it, son,” Quinn urged more quietly. “You don’t want to hurt him. I know you don’t.”

Slowly, Oliver’s shoulders relaxed, and Quinn felt him shift his head backwards, away from Blake’s neck. From the corner of his eye he saw that the kitchen was quickly getting crowded. The scream had woken everybody.

“Oh, God, no!” Rose screamed as she pushed past him and reached for Blake.

As Quinn pulled his prodigy away from his grandson, he looked at the damage he’d done. The incisions on Blake’s neck were deep and bleeding profusely. Blake instantly pressed his hand against it, but he was swaying.

Pushing Oliver behind him, Quinn barked out an order, “Cain, Amaury, take care of Oliver.”

Then he reached for Blake. Simultaneously, he and Rose caught him before he could fall. But Blake struggled even against them, fear and distrust coloring his eyes.

“Don’t touch me!” he yelled, trying to pull away from them.

“He’s bleeding so much!” Rose’s eyes brimmed with tears.

Quinn slid his hand over Blake’s, slowly prying it away from his neck. Rose was right; there was a lot of blood loss. It had to be stopped immediately.

“Don’t be afraid, Blake, I’m not going to hurt you. I’ll seal the wound.”

Blake wildly shook his head, trying to get away from him. “No! Oh, God, no! Shit!”

“Hold his head still, Rose.”

As Rose put her hands on Blake’s head, his eyes shot to her. “You too? You’re all like him aren’t you?” he cried out in desperation.

Not losing any time, Quinn lowered his mouth to Blake’s wound and let his tongue snake out. Quickly and efficiently he licked over the site. Twice, until he felt that the wound had closed due to the healing effects of his saliva. The bleeding stopped instantly.

Just as quickly, he pulled back from Blake, not wanting to cause him any more distress. He caught Rose’s pleading look when he straightened.

“Wipe his memory,” she urged.

A frightened widening of Blake’s eyes together with a shocked gasp, made Quinn contemplate her request for longer than he should. Then he slowly shook his head.

“I think he has a right to know.”

“No!” Rose’s protest was instantaneous.

Reaching for her, Quinn sent a silent plea to her. “It’s for his own safety. We can’t keep on wiping his memory whenever he sees something he shouldn’t. He needs to know what’s going on.”

When she squeezed his hand and gave a little nod, he knew she had finally seen reason.

“But I’ll be the one telling him.”

Then she turned to Blake again, whose entire face was a mask of worry and fear. As soon as she loosened her grip on him, he jerked back from her.

“Now, now, son,” Quinn tried to calm him, still holding onto his upper arms. “Just stay calm. Nobody wants to hurt you. We’re all here to protect you.”

Blake’s doubtful look darted past him. Quinn turned his head and saw that Cain and Amaury were talking soothingly to Oliver, who looked devastated. He caught Oliver’s look.