Guardian (Rais POV)

His cell phone rang. Gracefully pulling it out of his pocket, he answered, "Acacia, did you find Makani?"

"I need you to come get us." Acacia's voice shook, "There's been a major complication."

"What do you mean? What the hell happened?" He barked into the phone.

"You'll see when you get here. Just hurry. I don't know how long the kid will last."

"He's hurt? Acacia, what happened?" The young man grabbed his car keys off the counter.

"They got him. We don't have much time, Rais."

Climbing into his car, Rais stated, "I'm on my way." He turned on the car and threw it in drive. "Who got him?"

"Who do you think?"

"The Agency?" Rais went silent for a few minutes hoping that Acacia would tell him otherwise. "Oh, no, how could they've known?"

"I don't know." Acacia paused. "How far away are you?"

"Less than two blocks."

"Make sure no one sees you. They're probably combing the city by now."

"They are. I've passed at least three of them so far." Rais gazed calmly ahead as an unmarked, black vehicle pulled out behind him. Would the hunter follow? Did he know Rais was the one they were looking for? The car turned. Rais hung up the phone.

Pulling into a dark alley, he turned off the car. He barely had enough room to squeeze his thin frame between the door and the brick building. As he approached the two on the ground, he seemed to blend in with the darkness. He realized how hurt Makani actually was. How could this have happened? He was Makani's guardian. The was not supposed to happen. "You didn't tell me they shot him." Rais' voice ripped through the darkness making Acacia jump.

"You didn't ask."

Rais glared at Acacia's beautiful features. He knew what kind of venom they hid. Pushing Acacia out of the way, Rais knelt beside Makani and pulled the semi-conscious young man into his arms. He pushed a long, stray hair out of Makani's face as he asked, "Can you hear me, Love?"

Makani was obviously having a hard time staying awake. He shifted his blue eyes from the night sky to Rais. His eyes sparkled with tears as a few drops rolled down his angelic visage. He mumbled something that was inaudible even for Rais. His body went limp.

"We need to get him to Faunus. He's probably the only one on our side who can help him." Rais quickly stood up and carried Makani to the car. As he climbed into the back seat with Makani still in his arms, he caught Acacia's dark gaze in the rear view mirror. Closing the door, he softly asked, "How could you let this happen?"

"What do you mean?" Acacia started the car.

As she backed out of the alley, Rais rolled his eyes and answered her question, "You were supposed to make sure nothing happened to him. You were supposed to bring him to me unharmed. Your little mishap screwed everything up." Looking down at Makani, he sighed heavily.

"My little mishap? Maybe you shouldn't have fallen in love with a human. Ever think of that? You've put all of your kind in danger because you're in love. Love is for fools."

A chilling aura radiated from Rais and filled the car. He glared at Acacia through the mirror. "Jealousy can lead to madness, Acacia. You of all vampires should know that." His cold words rolled off his tongue with ease, "You were with him the entire time. Why didn't they kill you? You gave them hints. You told them our plans. You risked everything because you're jealous. You know they'll kill you once they've rung you dry of information."

"You think I did this? Rais, you're letting those damned human emotions control you." Acacia stayed focused on the road. "It's a wonder the Agency hasn't killed you yet anyway. You walk mindlessly, blinded by love, down these streets hand in hand with a human. You're lucky; they probably don't even know you're the one he was waiting for."

"And how would you know that?" Rais asked as he checked Makani's pulse.

"You can walk in daylight. They probably don't know that you're a half breed."

"Pull over." Rais demanded. Something told him to get out of the car. This wasn't the way to Faunus'

"What? Why?

"Just pull the hell over." As Acacia did as she was told, Rais climbed out of the car still holding Makani tightly in his arms. He began walking in the opposite direction they had come from.

Rais kept his eyes focused on his surroundings making sure no one was following them. He paused for a moment when he heard Acacia curse, "Just like him, you'll be dead by dawn!" Rais continued forward.