Sage lay on his back, his hands holding his shirt to his wound while he fished his phone out of his pocket.

He looked at the screen and sighed in helplessness as he had no signal.

'I shouldn't have tried to be cheap and bought the least expensive plan.' He rolled over, and grabbed the metal ball and nearly dropped it when the outer layer slid off.

He frowned as more and more layers fell off, similar to an onion being peeled. Soon what was left in his hand wasn't a metal ball, but a dark red crystal.

His hands moved before he could stop himself and the dark red crystal slid down his throat. Only after it reached his stomach was he jolted out of his trance.

'What the hell did I just do? Why did I eat it? I couldn't even stop myself.' His stomach which had been settled churned as if he had abstained going to the bathroom for days!

Hearing his stomach gurgling, as if it wanted to talk to him, he felt a strange itchiness water the gunshots impacted.

Placing his hand on his chest, he felt the small holes slowly closing. It wasn't fast, however he knew it was nigh impossible for him to have just acquired such fast healing, as compared to the average human.

'Was that crystal some advanced technology or something? I can't even try to puke it up because if I do, I feel that I might shit myself.'

His stomach growled as if he had skipped several meals, and his wound from the gun finally closed.

He got up and brushed the leaves from his back and jogged over to the bodies and searched them quickly.

Aside from a few hundred dollars, he found identification papers as well as a government badge which said Hunter Division, same as the paper had said.

'So they were trying to look for me because of the red crystal?' It was only after he flipped through a small notebook did he see a picture of the metal ball.

He slipped through the crowded trees and rushed towards the town. After an hour, he felt as if he would expose should he relax his muscles in the slightest.

After making it to the motel with a ragged expression, he unlocked his door and made a beeline for the bathroom after he closed the door and locked it behind him.

After he sat on the toilet, he swore that he had never taken a larger dump since he had been born!

After thirty minutes, the feeling of wanting to crap out his organs faded. He slowly got up and flushed the toilet after wiping himself clean.

After he looked in the mirror, he saw a layer of scum all over his body, as if someone had covered him in sticky muck.

He showered and washed the muck off and when he got out, aside from two scars where the bullets pierced his body, he was fine.

He dressed quickly and looked at the time. 11:30.

He threw his bloody clothes in the garbage and thanked whoever that there was no one outside when he came rushing in all bloody and dirty.

...

He dragged his dufflebag out of the room  and handed in the keys to the receptionist and headed to the bus stop.

When he arrived, he saw three familiar figures, and couldn't help but smile in exasperation.

'If I knew that Jasmine would tell everyone, I'd have just left and called her later.' He couldn't avoid them as Rana had already seen him coming.

"Sage! Kim said she's going to mis-mmph!" Kim covered Rana's mouth with her hand and gave Sage a deathly glare.

"She's lying. Who would miss someone like you? You're just a hooligan!" Hearing Kim, Sage rolled his eyes and grabbed her and hugged her.

Sage couldn't see it, but while she 'struggled' to get out of his grasp, Kim's entire beautiful face flushed red.

"Let me go you perverted lecher." Hearing Kim, Sage was at loss as to whether to laugh or to cry.

He released her and opened his arms as a Tiana shaped missile collided with him. Tiana looked up at him with teary eyes.

"Big Brother, will you come back to see us?" Hearing Tiana, Rana looked over as well while Kim who looked as if she weren't paying attention also listened in.

"Yea, how could I leave my three beautiful sisters without coming back to see you?" Sage asked as he rubbed Tiana's head softly.

"Fine, but big brother should bring us back lots of gifts from the city!" Hearing Tiana, both Rana and Kim nodded in agreement.

He didn't even realize that thirty minutes passed until he heard a bus stop behind him. Just as he was about it board the bus, Jasmine walked over, her every step graceful and light like a fairy.

Her hair was thrown over her shoulder, and he goddess like features were as shockingly beautiful as ever.

Her hazel eyes looked watery as if she had just cried. Seeing her red eyes, Sage ran over and embraced her.

"Jasmine, I'll definitely come back to visit. When I settle down over there, I'll make sure to send you guys some gifts."

Jasmine gently nodded and Sage released her, albeit unwillingly as she was as soft and slender as he imagined.

"Don't do anything bad, I'll make sure to wait for your calls." Jasmine said gently and then stepped back.

Resisting the urge to plant his lips on her soft pink lips, he smiled wryly and gave her another hug before turning to leave.

Kim looked at Sage's back as he boarded the bus and looked as if she had something stolen away from her.

"Kim, it's okay. Sage will come back." Rana said gently, and Kim subconsciously nodded mechanically like a puppet.

...

Sage took out his phone and caught up on some webnovels as he waited for the bus to arrive at the terminal.

He had been to cities on missions, so he wasn't a country bumpkin as he knew how things worked.

'I should find out what the hell that red crystal was! And why some shadowy organization sent men to track me down.'

He knew that the badges the three people carried was real, so he knew he had to lay low for a while.

He looked up information on the Hunter Division and found no information related or pertaining to it existed on the web.

He decided to use his laptop and search on a different platform. He closed his eyes and listened carefully to everything around him.

Elijah had taught him to remain calm in nearly any situation. He opened his eyes and stare out at the passing scenery.

"Hey man, where you headed to?" A man next to him that smelled like booze asked Sage.

"Mist City." Sage didn't feel like conversing much, however the man kept asking him questions.

In the end, not to be rude, he pretended to fall asleep. His initial pretense soon became real as he drifted off, despite his efforts to stay awake.

...

When Sage opened his eyes, he saw people getting off the bus. He grabbed his dufflebag and disembarked.

Walking amidst the crowd, he soon left the crowd and headed to the poorer end of the city.

After a few minutes, he found that his dufflebag was getting heavier. Knowing he only had clothes and his pistol within, he just ignored the sensation.

When he reached a rather rundown building with three floors, he walked in and wiped the perspiration from his brows.

"Welcome to the Moon Apartment Complex. Would you like to rent a room?" A man with rather handsome features smiled politely and asked.

"I already paid for a room, 218." The man nodded and searched on his computer before asking.

"Are you Sage Reze?" The man looked up and took Sage's ID and then verified. Handing the ID back, the man pointed at the elevator.

"You can take the elevator to the second floor. Have a good day." The man smiled as Sage left, and when the elevator closed, he took out his phone and made a call.

"Yea. I just got a new resident. You can come by and try to turn him. Yes, second floor, 218. He doesn't have a big background, you can make him disppear easily. Yes, I'll monitor him until you reach."

He hung up, however the man's originally green eyes glowed with a yellowish color.

...

Sage looked around the apartment and sighed. It was truly small. He dropped his duffle bag and walked into the bedroom and looked around.

The shower and sink were clean, and the floor was recently mopped and smelled like lemon.

Sage took his pistol out of his duffle bag and place it on the bed, and then took his clothes from the bag and placed it on the nicely made bed.

The room was well lit as the curtains weren't drawn, and the clean smell made Sage relax. He didn't even realize that he fell asleep until he heard a knock on the door.

He got up and grabbed his pistol and walked over to the door and opened it slightly, the pistol hidden behind the door.

Outside was a well built man with a scar on his cheek, probably from an animal based on the uneven scar.

"Hi, I'm the owner of the Moon Apartment Complex, and I came to welcome you. The name's Alex." Sage relaxed a bit hearing the man.

"Oh, well I'm sure you know, my name is Sage Reze." Alex nodded and stepped back, while Sage opened the door once he realized he wasn't in danger.

"Well, I'm sorry I came so late, I might have disrupted your sleep." Sage frowned and turned to look outside and was dumbfounded.

It was already night time! He started to think of the red crystal and wondered if it had anything to do with the increased amount of sleep he required.

Alex chuckled slightly as he saw Sage turn around. In a smooth and practiced manner, he grabbed Sage's arm and lifted it to his mouth.

Sage felt the man grab his arm and aimed his pistol at the man, however as if the man were a ghost, he smacked the pistol away.

"Sage right? Don't struggle. You'll just have to join the pack if you live through the first shapeshift."

Hearing Alex, Sage sent a kick at Alex's thigh, however his foot felt as if he had kicked solid steel.

Alex waved his hand and Sage flew back and crashed into the wall, leaving several cracks in the plaster.

"You cannot beat me, even if you were special forces. I'll give you a gift others can only dream about." Sage looked up in time to see Alex's eyes turn yellowish gold.

"What are you? I vaguely remember talks of nonhuman beings, however I dismissed it as nonsense, however it's true isn't it?"

Alex nodded and grabbed Sage's wrist and raised it to his face. His mouth neared Sage's hand and was about to bite down when Alex was sent flying into the wall opposite.

Behind Alex stood a woman with a sword on her back, wearing a dark hood that the her face.

"Where are the rest of you filthy dogs hiding? If you tell me, I cam grant you a swift death."

The woman's voice was cold, however it was also beautiful and melodious to the ears, as info were music.

"You damn leech! How dare you enter pack territory? Are you not afraid of death?!" The man got up and charged at the woman, who unsheathed her blade and swung it at Alex.

With a sizzling sound, Sage saw Alex withdraw, his hands, which had turned into claws steamed as they had met acid.

"You damn bitch! I won't forget this. I'll remember your scent!" Before Sage could process, Alex rushed in his direction, and slashed his claws across Sage's chest, drawing blood.

The wound burned as if someone had slid a burning hot knife across his skin. He staggered back, as the claw twisted and pierced into the arteries beneath the heart.

Blood spewed out as Sage groaned and fell to the side, a sudden bout of dizziness hitting him.

Alex leapt through the glass window and landed on the ground two meters below and ran off quickly.

The woman sheathed her blade and walked over and crouched near Sage's body, as blood poured from the wounds.

"Do you want to live human?" Hearing her asl that, and then recallimg how Alex called her a leech, he realized something.

"You should be a vampire right?" Hearing his fading voice, the woman nodded and Sage smiled with a bit of unwillingness.

"I do want to live. Even if I have to harm others to keep living." Hearing his firm words, a hint of a smile graced the lady's face, however heher features were hidden in the hood.

She raised his wrist to her mouth, and Sage watched in amazement as her canines extended and sank into his wrist.

Aside from the initial pain, a warm fuzzy feeling spread from his wrist to the rest of his body.