The misty morning rain gently rinsed the previous day's filth from the busy Manhattan streets, the scent of the coming storm hanging heavy in the air. The grey morning fit the sour mood of the droves of people passing by the alley that the Everett brothers were waiting in. They had been here for hours, since early the night before, looking for the perfect one to walk past.
    "I don't know, what about that one?" Ethan asked his brother, finally speaking after nearly an hour of silence. He pushed his rain soaked raven hair away from his eyes with impatience as he gestured across the street. A thin blonde girl with large blue eyes played with her phone as she stopped in front of one of the many fashionable clothing shops in the area. She put her phone away, staring hungrily at a shimmery green micro dress that was beautifully draped across a sleek chrome mannequin. She obviously wanted it, but it was also apparent that she couldn't even begin to afford something so fine!
    Sean barely even glanced at her before shaking his head in rejection. She wasn't the one and he knew it! From the desperation and want, to the contradictory lack of ambition that oozed from every pore of her. He knew the type as soon he felt her aura! She would do anything to get everything, as long as there wasn't too much resistance. In nearl three hundred years, he'd had his fill of females of this caliber! He wanted to keep searching, so he gave the simplest excuse that came to mind.
    "Too thin."
    "Alright. Well then, how about that brunette over there?" Ethan asked with mounting irritation evident in his tone. He pointed toward a taller, larger woman clumsily fumbling with her umbrella in the early morning shower. She had a sweet but slightly vicious personality from what he gleaned off of her energy. She wouldn't have been his personal choice, but if that's what Sean was into, then...
    "No. Too big."
    "Alright Goldilocks. Then what about this one?"
    Ethan had finally lost his patience and just grabbed the next random female that walked by, his hand clamped tightly over her mouth. She had long, scarlet colored hair and wickedly bright green eyes, and she fought! She fought with everything she had, biting, kicking, and scratching at both brothers with wild abandon.
    Both brothers could feel the strength of the life force in this one! She was full of fire, passion, glory, and at the moment, venom. The rage and fear radiated from her, the girl's pheromones making the air surrounding the three just a bit sweeter. Sean languorously savored her scent for a long moment before taking her in with his eyes. He psychically reached out, touching her mind to take a cursory glance through its contents. He liked everything thus far!
    And besides, he reassured himself, he didn't have to like her any more than physically. Sean couldn't help but laugh a bit at her futile struggle against his younger brother's iron grip. He watched her another long moment before nodding his head in acceptance.
    "She'll do," he said. His eyes fell from the swell of her breasts to the curve of her hips. Sean smiled appreciatively, adding, "She'll do perfectly fine!"
    "Thank God! I thought you'd never pick," Ethan sighed heavily in relief, dragging the girl further down the alley, away from prying eyes. He applied a bit more pressure than necessary when she bit him, drawing a thin circle of blood to his wrist. He threw her into the back of the rental van, cursing lightly under his breath.
    By the time the brothers were sitting in the front cab, she was screaming and banging around in the cargo space, cursing for everything she was worth! They smiled at her effort but inside of a completely soundproofed van with no windows in the back, it was a pointless endeavor.
    Within moments the grey van with Illinois plates was gone and forgotten. Of the few hundred that were milling about on the busy New York street, no one seemed to notice anything. One of their own was gone forever, and no one cared to even take note that there was one less New Yorker walking about.
    The Everett brothers laughed a bit as they crossed the state line with her still screaming in the back. They weren't laughing after they crossed the fifth state line! But eventually she screamed herself hoarse and went blissfully silent. Both sighed in relief when their ears finally quit ringing. Sean had finally chosen his first breeder, and they both knew he had a fight on his hands with this one!

    "She's screaming again."
    Sean rolled his eyes at his brother's deadpan observation. Ethan had already stated this fact seventeen times in the past two days, and it was beginning to grate his older brother's nerves! He could hear her just as clearly as his brother, and he didn't feel the need to be informed of it on a constant basis.
    "You would make a wonderful alarm clock, if only you had a reset button," Sean said sarcastically. 
    "You wound me, dear brother!" Ethan exclaimed. He spoke with grand theatrical flourish, gesturing at an imaginary knife through his heart. Sean thought his brother looked like a complete jack ass, but he couldn't suppress the chuckle that erupted from his lips. He was always able to rely on Ethan to lighten any mood, no matter how dark the situation.
    In the girl's desperation, her screams became just a bit louder. The brothers sighed in exasperation. And the house had been so peaceful for the past three hours as she slept! Sean shrugged to himself, at least it was a sign that she was smart enough to be afraid.
    It had been two days since her abduction, and in that time, they had brought her all the way across the country! As soon as they had arrived at the rental cabin centered in the redwoods of northern California, Sean had shackled her left ankle to a steel pipe that conveniently ran across the bottom of the basement wall.
    She insisted on screaming for help that she knew wasn't going to come. A small part of him felt horrid for doing this to such a beautiful specimen, but he shook off any trace of guilt. Breaking a breeder was almost exactly like breaking an animal. If he didn't begin this way with her, then how was she going to appreciate the many kind gestures that he had planned for her?
    It was much kinder than his father had been when his mother was chosen. His father had beaten and raped the poor woman for months on end. Ethan's mother had nearly been killed during his conception! Or so he had heard. Both Everett brothers only half remembered their father, and had never truly known their mothers!
    "She's still screaming," Ethan said again. His voice drifted lazily from the couch once again, and Sean had half a mind to throw his younger brother out if he continued to annoy him! He needed concentration and focus right now. This was a crucial time in Sean Everett's life, and right now he did not appreciate his brother's humor!
    "She's still scre-"
    "I know, damn it! I have ears, too! And they happen to work just fine!" Sean yelled, his irritable mood reaching its peak.
    "Then go shut her up, because she's hurting mine," Ethan said. He glanced away from the television, purposefully ignoring the black look of contempt on Sean's face. He could only smile as his gaze shifted back to the television screen. Finally realizing what was playing, he wondered how long he'd been staring at the home shopping network.
~~~~
    She stopped screaming long enough to take a breath, then let out another long, keening wail. She stood up, projecting her voice as much as she possibly could. The heavy chain that she struggled against was cutting into her ankle, so she sank back to the floor in defeat, her body going limp from the exhaustion. Her stomach ached horribly from hunger pangs, her lips cracked and dry from thirst. And yet still, she continued to scream, refusing to completely give up.
    Sarah knew that she was never going to see the light of day again. She knew that she would never run her fingers through her boyfriend's hair, never again feel her cat padding gently on her chest to wake her up. She would never laugh with her friends at work again, because she knew she was going to die in this room. And no one was going to miss her. Sadly, the only one she would miss would be her cat, with his fluffy orange fur and tiny pink nose.
    So in light of the futility of her situation, she didn't see the harm in annoying her captors until they finally worked up the balls to come down here and finish the deed! She was honestly tired of waiting for it and just wanted at least one of them to hurry up and get it over with. A weak orange light suddenly appeared as the door at the top of the basement stairs opened.
    "If you don't stop screaming, I'm not going to feed you."
    A strange, silken voice drifted down from the top of the stairwell to her right, making her look upwards until her green eyed gaze fell on the outline of a large man standing in the doorway. She was so surprised by his words that she couldn't help but openly scoff, despite her fear of what was coming. He came down a step, the board creaking under his weight. She watched him descend the stairs slowly, her fear mounting higher with every step of his boots.
    "Do you not believe me?" Sean asked. His tone sounded as though he was being challenged, and Sarah began to instantly regret her big mouth! She swallowed the last bit of moisture in her mouth as she watched his eyes flashed brightly, dangerously even! His eyes almost looked like those of a wild animal, and Sarah felt her breath freeze in her lungs! She closed her eyes tightly and took a deep, steadying breath before daring to speak.
    "Of course not. You kidnapped me, and at some point you're probably going to kill me! So why would I be stupid enough to think that you would bother to feed me in the meantime?" Sarah asked, her strained voice only wavering for a moment. She felt her heartbeat accelerate to the point of being painful as he closed the distance between them. He moved with a slow, almost feline grace as he answered her question with one of his own.
    "What is it that makes you so certain I'm going to kill you?"
    She opened her mouth, then paused, having to think of what reasons he had to not kill her. Of the many ideas that suddenly flashed through her mind, none of them seemed to end too well for her! He stood just out of her reach, waiting for her to draw her own conclusions.
    "Well, you... I guess... Well, I guess it's what you're supposed to do when you kidnap someone! I don't have any money or family, so ransom is out of the question..." Sarah's words trailed off as she realized that he was giggling hysterically at her. She couldn't keep herself from asking, "What?"
    "I have no need of anyone's money. And if I were going to kill you, then why would I have gone through the trouble of bringing you all this way? If I had wanted you dead, you'd be a corpse in the alley you were taken into! So, why would I want you alive? Take your time. I'll wait," he said. Sean's eyebrow arched as he entertained himself at her expense.
    Alive? She hadn't considered the possibility of not dying, but now Sarah thought on it for a long moment. She finally thought of rape, this unsavory act being the only logical answer she could think of that didn't have to end in her death. As soon as the word brushed through her mind, he spoke.
    "Not exactly, but close. I promise you'll like it more than what you're imagining. Here," Sean held out a plate of food that he'd been holding the entire time. As soon as he brought it near her, Sarah's mouth watered. She thought it smelled like heaven and tasted even better! He watched her devour the lamb chops and potatoes before asking, "What is your name?"
    "Well, you're the psychic rapist, so why don't you tell me," Sarah replied coolly. Her eyes showed far more confidence than she actually felt, but she was good at bluffing! He laughed softly, his voice smooth and rich, sending a thrilling shiver up her spine. His next words shocked and terrified her!
    "Because, Sarah Beth Flannigan, I wanted you to open up to me on your own! Without me having to, 'psychically rape' you, as you say," Sean huffed, a bit disappointed in her attitude. He could fix that! He latched onto her stream of thought, answering everything that flashed through her mind as she thought of it.
    "No I didn't read your identification card or anything else in your purse. I didn't go through the bag, so no, I didn't see the tampons, condoms, or birth control pills you keep in it! Yes, I am reading your mind right now! And while your puppy named Roscoe that was hit by that truck on New Year's Eve when you were twelve is a terribly sad memory, I think your brain should be on the matter at hand instead of trying to throw me off. It's not going to work!"
    Sarah's jaw dropped open in mortification! Her wild imagination suddenly kicked into high gear. What was he? What exactly was he planning? Was he going to kill her? He laughed again, this time louder. He shook his head and said, "I'm a Vankyran. You'll find out soon enough. No, I'm not going to kill you. And trust me, dear, I can keep this up all night!"
    "Stop that! Wait, what the hell is a Van-key-rin?" Sarah asked. It was a word she had never heard in her life, and she was a professional translator! Her fear was still present, but her curiosity overrode that voice of rationality. He smiled softly at her before he turned and began walking back up the steps. When he reached the top, he turned back to her, his sharp blue eyes unsettling her even in nearly complete darkness.
    "A Vankyran is, well, me."
~~~~
    "She ready to come out and play yet?" Ethan asked. A growl rumbled through Sean's wide chest at his brother's playful, tactless question. Ethan stopped laughing immediately, a growl of his own cutting through the air. He'd only been trying to lighten his older brother's tension, and as usual, Sean didn't seem to understand his humor. With nearly a decade between them, he was constantly reminded that he was the immature one. He didn't really care if his joke got his older brother's panties in a twist!
    "I'm going out! I have to feed before we get on the plane," Sean said. There was a harsh edge to his voice that Ethan understood all too well! He was more than happy not to be trapped on a plane with Sean when he was hungry. They both knew feeding now was the only way Sean wouldn't eat the girl if she woke up screaming again!
    As soon as he heard the door close, he got up and went straight to the basement door. Without even touching the doorknob, Ethan felt for Sarah's mind. He nodded approvingly when he saw flashes of her dreams flutter through him, satisfied that she was finally asleep. Now that the drugs had begun to course through her system, he didn't have to worry about her pushing him or his brother into killing her!
    Sean had one year to produce proof of an impending heir. And if he should fail, their king would turn to Ethan to spawn the first of the next generation of the Everett bloodline. He visibly shuddered at the thought! Sean had better not fail, he thought to himself as he went to go pack their things.
~~~~
    Sean walked just under a half mile away from the small cabin, leery about straying too far away. He spent nearly an hour standing by the dark stretch of desolate road, waiting for a car to pass. He didn't want to sit through a thirteen hour plane ride being hungry! And he knew the smell of Sarah's sweet blood in such close quarters would be too tempting to resist! Just as he began to wonder if he might have to make this trip on an empty stomach, he heard the heavy rumble of a motorcycle approaching in the distance.
    After a few moments of listening to the motorcycle's engine, he took a deep breath, inhaling the sweet human scent. It was getting stronger as the rider got closer, and his mouth watered in anticipation! He reached out and touched the rider's mind, taking complete control.
    A bulky man of nearly forty pulled over to the side of the road, stopping his bike and turning it off. He walked forward, his expression vacant like dazed cattle. His leather jacket groaned a bit, his girth stretching the material tightly as he walked forward. He cocked his head to the side as he stepped into a lethal embrace. He didn't fight against the burning sensation tearing through his neck, nor the few drops of crimson blood that ran down to his collar bone.
    Sean had the rider completely under his control, and he drank greedily! He drank until he felt the final beat of the biker's heart. Once he stopped, he took a deep breath, feeling the hard edge of hunger ease up a bit. He flexed and threw the dead biker's body as far into the woods as his strength would allow. He knew the body would eventually be found well over three miles from this spot, if it were ever discovered at all! He did the same with the bike, tossing it in the opposite direction. It was time for Sean Everett to go home with his breeder.
~~~~
    "Has Terrance called yet?" Sean asked. He'd only been gone a few hours, but he knew that their servant should have been ready by now! He closed the front door behind him, shrugging off his jacket and throwing over the back of the nearest chair.
    "Just over ten minutes ago. The girl's been asleep for over thirty," Ethan replied. His eyes stayed on the television as he spoke, but his boredom was palpable! Sean rolled his eyes a bit, not understanding his brother's obsession with reality TV. He noticed that Ethan had packed their bags already, and he mentally thanked his brother for taking care of the small details that he'd overlooked.
    "You're welcome. Now let's get going," Ethan replied aloud, rattling the keys in his hand. He knew the sooner they got home, the more likely Sarah would survive long enough to carry a child for his sibling! He wondered to himself why his brother had waited until the last possible moment to find his breeder, when he'd had over two centuries to look for one.
    "Well little brother, I don't exactly see you rushing into fatherhood," Sean answered the unasked question with a scoff, walking toward the basement stairwell. In truth, he wasn't that crazy about the whole situation in the first place! For a while, he had actually hoped that the rules of his people would be declared archaic and rewritten before he was required to fulfill his obligation!
    "Yeah right! Rules don't change after three million years, and certainly not for one person, Sean," Ethan sneered, knowing full well that he'd hoped for the same thing. Now he could only hope that his brother had the conviction to get the job done!
    "Of course I can do the damn job! It isn't exactly rocket science," Sean said.
    "Alright, brother! I meant no offense, I just hope she'll do. I mean, what if she can't carry?" Ethan asked. Sean sent his brother a withering look, causing Ethan to raise his hands in surrender. Sean looked down at the girl in the basement, knowing just as well as his brother that she was fully capable of bearing his son. He also knew that it was his ability being questioned, not hers!
    "Now, I didn't mean it like that, Sean. I know you can do this! I'm just wondering if you will," Ethan explained. He was nervous at the thought of Sean backing out at the last moment.
    "I've come this far, haven't I? I'll spare you from having to be a father too early for your tastes," Sean said softly, his voice full of cold responsibility. He didn't want to go through with this, but he refused to be the reason Ethan got shackled by responsibilities that were intended for himself!
    "Well, thank you for that," Ethan said, opening the car door for his brother. He looked upon Sarah's sleeping face with worry. She was the future mother of what would one day soon be his nephew, and he hoped that she wouldn't suffer the same horrific fate his own mother had endured! No woman ever deserved that!
    "I'm not a bastard like our father! I intend to do better. For her, and my son," Sean said quickly. He looked into the backseat once more before they sped off to the private air strip, where their plane was waiting patiently to take them home. This girl held his entire future in the palm of her hand, and he was panicked by the idea of not being in control.
    Sarah bolted awake three hours into the flight, her heart and mind racing faster than ever before in her life! The vain hope that she'd just been having a very long and lucid nightmare was dashed to nothingness when a pair of electric blue eyes met hers. She wanted to panic, but instead, she groaned at the horrible pounding in her head. She had to grit her teeth against the endless waves of nausea that rolled against her stomach. She had never felt so terrible in her entire life! It was worse than any hangover she had ever endured, and it only seemed to be getting worse by the second!
    "It will pass soon. I promise."
    The velvety smooth voice almost calmed her reeling mind, soothing her nerves for a moment. Then Sarah recalled who that voice belonged to, and a tidal wave of fear climbed its way up her sore throat in the form of a piercing scream! Her lungs found the air that she needed to sustain it, without her putting in any effort. She jerked away reflexively, panic causing her to lose what little bit of rationality she still possessed!
    "Oh please, just drug her again and be done with it!"
    "Shut up, Ethan!"
    "I'm not the one screaming!"
    "Well, you're not helping to calm her down, either!"
    Sarah watched this exchange, noticing that neither of her captors seemed to hear that she had finally gone silent. If it had been under different circumstances, she would have actually found them to be rather funny! She wondered if they would ever bother to explain what was really going on here.
    "Well now that you've stopped screaming, I'd be more than happy to explain," Sean said. She had been so absorbed in their argument that his sudden focus on her caused Sarah to jump!
    "Where am I?" Sarah asked. Her fear was finally beginning to fade a bit! Her curiosity was finally winning out against her terror and anxiety. Now she just needed to know what they were planning to do to her!
    "A plane," Ethan replied, his tone falling flat. His good humor was being pushed to its very limits! He just wanted to get home and lock himself in a quiet room for a few weeks. He would need it if he had to hear this girl's voice again!
    Sean sent his brother a dark glare before he turned to his captive and said, "Sarah, I need your assistance in a rather important matter of a very sensitive nature."
    "I'm not helping you do anything, you fucking psycho! You kidnap me, drug me, you're taking me to God knows where, and now you say you want my assistance? Are you fucking crazy?" Sarah screamed. She had been curious, but just now her anger was suddenly dominating her curiosity!
    "Just hear me-"
    "No! Take me back home or kill me now, because I would never help you," Sarah demanded. She really didn't care what happened anymore. Her life was being ripped away from her, and now the man doing it to her had the nerve to ask her for help? She had more than a few choice words for him!
    "Just shut up and listen!" Ethan yelled, nearly erupting. His patience had been wearing thin, but this girl was finally working on his last nerve! Sarah quickly fell silent, fully realizing just how precarious her situation was! She looked to the one that had asked for her help, deciding it may be a smart choice to follow the other one's advice.
    "I do apologize for the abduction, but I have a proposition that should make everything worth your while," Sean paused, waiting for her to interrupt. When she didn't, he nodded and continued, "I'm offering you a sum of twenty million dollars for two years of your time, during which time I will provide you with everything you need, including room and board."
    Sarah was completely dumbfounded. Twenty million? Now she knew that she had to be dealing with a complete lunatic!
    "I assure you, Sarah, my sanity is quite intact."
    "Why would you pay me that kind of money? This doesn't make any sense," Sarah questioned softly, speaking more to herself than him. She wasn't expecting the answer that Sean gave her.
    "I thought ten million per year would be adequate payment for an heir. And if you produce results quickly enough, you'll be free to leave early, with the full sum deposited into the account of your choice."
    Sarah was about to speak when the word finally sank in. Heir. This psycho wanted a child? The plane shifted suddenly, making her roll back, her body falling into the prone position she'd woken up in. Sean reached for Sarah, helping her back up when she fell. He wanted to untie her, but he couldn't trust her not to try lashing out at him!
    "Wait, you're saying you want a kid? From me?" Sarah asked, incredulous. A thousand questions burned in her mind, but her tongue couldn't seem to form the words. The questions went unasked, her curiosity unsated.
    "Exactly, so do we have an agreement?" Sean asked, excitement showing in his vividly blue eyes.
    "What? No! Just wait a minute, I have alot of questions that I need answered before I agree to anything," Sarah argued vehemently. She wasn't ready for her fate to be decided so quickly!
    "Then ask," Sean replied with a dismissive wave of his hand.
    "Why me? I mean, you're actually pretty gorgeous, so I know there couldn't be a shortage of women for you to choose from. Why kidnap me when you could have thousands of women begging to have your baby?"
    "Because he's a creep," Ethan joked, earning himself another baleful look from his brother.
    "Because the women that I normally associate with are, let's just say, unable to fulfill my needs. I don't frequent human women, so I decided to take one. You're fertile, of breeding age, and you have very few people that would notice your absence. Hence, you were a perfect choice for me."
    "Oh. Well, why not just date a girl and do this the normal way?" Sarah countered. She thought over his words again, adding, "And what the hell do you mean by 'human'?"
    Ethan laughed with a snort. Sean glared at him as he opened his mouth to explain. After a moment, Ethan interrupted his brother, pleading, "May I?"
    Sean waved his hands in defeat as he kept his eyes locked on hers. Ethan wasted no time answering Sarah's onslaught of questions.
    "First off, he's anything but normal, sweetheart. Second, vampires can't have children."
    "Wait, vampires? So now you're vampires?" Sarah laughed, disbelief evident on her face.
    "No, of course not! We're vankyran, not vampires. There is a difference!" Ethan said, clutching his ribs with laughter.
    "What the hell is that?" Sarah asked, her patience wearing thinner than ever. Her only comfort was knowing that they wouldn't kill her as long as she kept them talking. And that comfort wasn't much help in a situation like this!
    "How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not going to kill you? You're worth nothing to me dead," Sean said, exasperation creeping into his tone. He could already tell that this girl was going to try his patience at every possible turn.
    "Alright," Sarah began, deciding to humor them. She thought that as long as she played along, they'd at least try to be hospitable to her. After a deep breath she asked, "So other than the baby and the vampire business, what's the catch?"
    "Simply have the child, stay for the first few weeks to care for him, then go home and enjoy your fortune!" Sean exclaimed, happy to see how quickly she was coming around. He smiled, knowing her answer.
    "Alright then, I guess. Let's have a baby. Even though I don't even know your-"
    "My name is Sean. Sean Everett. It will be a pleasure doing business with you."