"Hey, get off my tail." I scolded.

"Huh? Oh, sorry." Zorro said in a thick French-Canadian accent.

I yanked my black tail free and tried to navigate my way through the crowd of assorted characters. Most of them seemed to be some sort of slutty fairy tale character. I stood on my tippy toes like a meer cat as I tried to see over everyone and locate a roller derby girl.

I spotted a slutty Snow White, two playboy bunnies, Superman doing a keg stand, and a fat guy in a toga but no roller derby girl.

I sighed and pushed my way into the house. It was just like Miranda to abandon me. She's probably wasted and making out in some dark corner somewhere with a guy she had met like five minutes ago. She promised she wouldn't leave me. I'm not a party person and I hate Halloween. It's a completely pointless holiday that gives people an excuse to act like jackasses. I didn't want to go. I actually have class early tomorrow and I plan on attending it. She talked me into coming. She said I would have tons of fun. So far I've been hit on by a drunk Little Miss Hoe Peep and Indiana Jones spilled beer all over my favorite black tank. Yeah, this is tons of fun.

It wasn't as crowded inside the house. Most people were outside hanging around the bonfire and the beer pong table. The living room was a typical college male decorated living room. The couches looked like they were being held together completely with duck tape. The walls were covered with assorted posters of beer, cars and naked women. There were even a couple that contained all three. A cracked Coruna mirror was hanging at a slanted angle. I felt the urge to straighten it. There were orange and black streamers wrapped around the ceiling fan in an attempt to create a Halloween party vibe. In the very center of the room was a blue plastic kiddy pool filled with ice and cans of beer.

I didn't see Miranda anywhere. I sighed and fished a lite beer out of the pool. She better still be at this party. I'm going to be super pissed if she left me here.

I sat down on one of the beaten couches and watched a guitar hero tournament in progress. It really wasn't very exciting but they were acting like their lives depended on the outcome of the song. God, I'm bored.

A man sat down next to me a few minutes later. He had spiked brown hair and dark green eyes. He wasn't wearing a costume. He was just wearing ripped jeans and a black shirt that said 'Costume' on it. He looked somewhat familiar but I couldn't place where I had seen him before.

I almost didn't dress up but Miranda talked me into it. She said that the point of Halloween was to dress slutty but not be called a slut. So I dressed up as a black cat. I didn't put very much thought into my costume. I was wearing black leggings under a jean mini skirt and a black tank top. The boots I had borrowed from Miranda. They were sleek black leather knee highs with buckles running down the sides. The heels were deathly narrow and I was surprised I hadn't fallen and broken my ankle yet. I was also wearing a black cat collar with bells dangling from it. Then I added a tail and a headband with cat ears and called myself a cat.

"You don't look like you're having a very good time." Mr. Costume observed.

"I'm not. I think my friend left me here." I said.

"Doesn't sound like they're a very good friend." He said.

"She has her moments." I replied.

"I'm trying to find a friend of mine as well. I'm not sure if he's here yet, though. He's really tall with black hair and he has a scar on his bottom lip. Ring any bells?"

I shook my head. "Sorry. I haven't seen anyone like that unless they're in like costume or something."

"Oh, thanks anyway. My name is Liam by the way." He held out his hand.

I shook his hand. "I'm Lexy."

"We have a class together." He said.

I frowned. "We do?"

"Yeah, Intro Organic Chem, I'm usually asleep in the back corner and you're usually towards the center of the room looking bored as hell." Liam said.

I thought for a minute. Now that I was picturing the classroom I did remember him. If he even bothers to show up he's usually late and sleeps in the back corner. A couple of times he even started snoring.

"Oh, yeah! I remember you now, you almost burned the lab down when we had a lab session." I said.

"Uh, yeah, that was me." He said sheepishly. "Fire and me is a bad combination."

"What's your major?" I asked him.

"I'm not really sure. I'm taking a little of everything. You?"

"Biomechanical Physics." I answered.

"Wow, that's some heavy stuff." He said.

"Yeah." I agreed.

"You really don't sound very thrilled." Liam observed.

"I just… I'm not really sure if that's what I want to do." I confessed.

He nodded. " I understand. I'm having the same problem. I don't want to get stuck doing something I hate."

"Me too. I can't picture myself doing something for the rest of my life. I hate biology and physics with a passion but I'm really good at." I said.

"What subjects do you like?" He asked.

"I- I don't know." I hesitated.

"Yeah, you do." He pushed.

"I really like art but you can't do much with an art degree." I said. "I'm not good enough at drawing to be an artist."

"If it's what you really like you should go for it." He told me.

"Not according to my parents." I muttered.

"That's a drag." Liam sympathized.

I never noticed before but Liam is really hot. He's really cool too. I probably look like shit. I've been wandering around for an hour. My makeup is probably smeared and my hair is probably super frizzy.

I glanced at myself in the Coruna mirror on the wall. I looked okay. My eyeliner around my green eyes was purposely drawn-out so I looked cat-like. I smoothed out my reddish-brown hair without making it obvious I was preening myself.

"Are you going to class tomorrow?" I asked him.

Wait, I missed something important. Something was wrong in the mirror.

"Hell no, are you?' He asked.

I glanced back at the mirror. I was alone in the mirror. The couch was there but there was no one beside me. I glanced back at Liam then looked at the mirror. He still wasn't in the mirror. He had no reflection.

"Lexy, what's wrong?" I caught an edge in his voice.

"N-Noth-Nothing." I stammered.

Vampire. The word vampire popped into my head. I kept picturing the scene in a black and white vampire film I had watched as a child. There was a mirrored ballroom full of dancing vampires and the human girl they kidnapped was the only one that had a reflection. That was just a movie. This is real life. Vampires aren't real. He has no fucking reflection!

"Lex- " Liam's eyes narrowed as he caught sight of the mirror and his lack of reflection. "Shit."

He grabbed me above the elbow as I tried to stand up and yanked me back down. His green eyes bore into mine. They were intensely green and almost seemed to be glowing. My mind felt heavy and misty as his eyes swam into mine.

"Lexy, stay." He commanded.

I tried to sit up but found myself unable to move. I felt completely paralyzed.

"I've seen you during the day." I muttered. My voice sounded alien to me. I sounded extremely stoned.

"What? Oh." Liam stroked my hair. "Lexy, I'm not going to hurt you. I promise. I'm going to take you somewhere we can talk in private. Okay?"

"No. I'm going to scream." I informed him.

His eyes seemed to almost glow. "No, Lexy. You're not. You're going to stop talking and you're going to come with me."

I tried to open my mouth to scream but found I couldn't. The mist in my head felt thicker. I was having a hard time concentrating and it was hard to keep my eyes open. Liam took me by the hand as he pulled me up and off the couch. I wanted to struggle but couldn't. He squeezed my hand gently like he was trying to comfort me as he led me up the stairs.

In the upstairs hallway was a blonde girl and a high school age kid having a heated discussion. They stopped talking as Liam and I approached.

The blonde girl was dressed as a naughty nurse. Her top barely kept her obviously fake breasts contained. The button looked very strained. It wouldn't surprise me if it came flying off like a Champaign cork. She had a scar on her eyebrow like an eyebrow ring had been ripped off. Her eyes were dark blue and cold as artic waters. I felt myself shiver as she glared at me.

The kid barely looked sixteen. How he got into this party is beyond me. His hair was blonde and shaggy. His light blue eyes gazed over me with an amused expression. He was wearing a cowboy hat but that seemed to be all the effort he put in his costume.

"Hey, Liam. What are you doing with the girl?" The boy asked with amusement.

"We don't have time to have a snack." The blonde girl said icily.

"No, I'm not going to feed from her. She- uh, saw my lack of reflection so now we need to have a little chat." Liam sounded embarrassed.

"Jesus Christ!" The girl snapped. "We don't have time for this! Just knock her out or something. In the morning she'll think she was just really drunk and imagined the whole thing,"

"She's too smart for that. Besides it smells like she only drank half a beer. I'm going to try to explain this to her." Liam said.

"Whatever. We don't have the time for your drama. Nate isn't here. Spencer and I are going to move on. When you're done with your little pet we'll be scoping out the party on Maple street." Blondie sneered.

She gave me a dirty look as she made her way past me. Spencer nodded in greeting at Liam and gave me a reassuring smile. I frowned at him in return.

After they left Liam pulled me down the hallway and into a bedroom. The bedroom was pretty generic. There was a bed with a blue comforter and a dresser but no personal items that gave no hint to who lived in this room.

Liam pushed me at the bed.

"Sit." He commanded.

I found myself doing as I was told.

Liam sat beside me and gently stroked my neck. I looked closely at his mouth and saw that his eyeteeth were larger than average.

"Lexy, look I - Baby, I'm up here. Stop staring at my mouth. That's better. Look, I'm sorry I scared you but I am not going to hurt you. I want to take you out of my power so we can talk normally but I don't know how you're going to react. If I take my hold off you are you going to behave yourself?" He asked.

I frowned and considered what he was saying.

"Yes." I answered. My voice sounded distant, like I was trying to speak through a wall.

The mist faded in my mind. My thoughts became clear and I found I could move with my own feel will.

Liam caught my wrist as I tried to punch him the face.

"Bad move." He told me as he stroked my inner wrist.

I felt my fear fading in my mind. My emotions felt fuzzy like someone had thrown a blanket over them to cover them up.

"Stop it." I commanded.

"I'm just trying to calm you down. I know you're scared." Liam said in a soft voice like he was attempting to comfort a frightened dog.

"Then let me be scared. Stop fucking with my mind." I snarled.

Liam dropped my wrist. "Okay, if that's how you want it."

I brought my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them. I slightly rocked myself as I tried to absorb everything that had just happened. Liam patiently waited for me to speak.

"Are you a vampire?" I asked after a few minutes.

"Yes." He said matter-of-factly.

"B-but they aren't real." I was trying to reason more with myself then him.

"I'm real." He assured me.

"Let me see." I said.

"See what?" He asked.

"Your fangs. I want to see." I commanded.

"Alright. Brace yourself. It might scare you a little. Are you ready?" He asked. He sounded almost nervous.

I nodded. I was as ready as I would ever be.

Liam's green eyes slowly faded into a golden yellow. His pupils became narrow like a cat's eye. He opened his mouth and I saw his eyeteeth expand. They reminded me of snake teeth.

I didn't realize right away I had actually scooted closer to Liam and I was craning my neck to get a closer look at his teeth.

"Huh." I said. It was all I could think to say.

"I was kind of expecting you to either back away, scream, or faint. Instead you're peering into my mouth like you're my dentist. Girl, you've got balls." Liam laughed.

"Do you go to a normal dentist?" I asked.

He laughed again. "I don't need to see a dentist."

"You're in my class. It's during the day. I've seen you in daylight." I told him.

"Not all the stories are true. I'm a little sensitive to the light but it doesn't really hurt me." Liam explained.

"Why are telling me all this?" I asked Liam.

"I don't know, I guess I like you." He blushed.

"You're not going to bite me or anything are you?" I asked nervously.

"It is against our laws to bite without permission. Besides, I've already promised you that I'm not going to hurt you." Liam said.

"Are your friends vampires?" I asked.

"Are you talking about Cassandra and Spencer? Yeah. They're in the same clan as me." He saw my frown and explained. "A clan is like the family a vampire belongs to. Cassandra's my cousin and Spencer is her boyfriend. He's new to our clan."

"You guys are after something, right? This Nate guy. He was the guy you were describing to me earlier, isn't he?" I asked.

Liam frowned. "Yeah, we are."

I waited for a more detailed explanation.

The vampire sighed. "Vampires do drink blood. We usually feed from shadows, they're humans that willingly give us their blood out of family loyalty or because they want us to turn them. Back in the old days vampires fed from whoever they wanted and often fed to kill. After a while the humans got kind of pissed and hunted us to near extinction. So the vampires formed the Vampire Council to govern us and make laws. The number one law is to not to harm humans. There are a number of vampires that don't take the laws to heart."

"There are vampires running around killing people?! Wouldn't somebody like notice? Wouldn't this be in the papers?" I asked.

"It is." Liam said darkly.

"Oh my God!" I gasped. "The Eastwood Mangler?! Jesus fucking Christ! He's a vampire and you're looking for him here?!"

"You really shouldn't swear so much." Liam preached.

"I have a father. Thanks." I said dryly.

Lately the local news have been full of reports about a serial killer they named the Eastwood Mangler. He's tortured and killed four woman. The reporters haven't spared any of the grisly details it's almost as if they feeding off the chance to actually report about something other than the college football team and crop circles. The women were all young. One was in high school, two were in college, and the latest victim was unidentified. The thing they all had in common was their throats had been slashed.

"You have nothing to worry about. We're going to get him tonight." Liam assured me.

Liam sighed. "I should go. I have to catch up with Cassandra and Spencer. Um, do you want to maybe get a coffee or something tomorrow? We can talk more about this. I mean, if you want. If you don't want to that's totally cool."

"I'd love to." I grinned.

We exchanged phone numbers.

He stood up and gave me a puzzled look.

"What?" I asked.

"You really don't care that I'm a vampire, do you?" He asked.

I shrugged. "Well, at first I was like there is no freaking way, someone must have slipped something into my drink but I can't deny what you've shown me. I don't think I have any reason to be afraid of you, do I?"

"No, I would never hurt you but I know Nate is out there prowling tonight. I think you should find your friend and go home." Liam said.

I frowned and nodded. "Okay."

Liam fidgeted nervously like he wasn't sure what he should say next. He nodded at me. "I guess I'll see you in class tomorrow."

"I thought you weren't going to class tomorrow." I said.

"I changed my mind." He grinned and I caught a glimpse of his fangs. They seemed so obvious now that I was looking for his vampiric traits.

Liam got up to leave. The vampire looked at me one last time before he disappeared out into the hallway.

I laid back on the bed and closed my eyes. Holy shit. Like seriously, holy shit times ten.

My whole life I've been trained to think rationally. Until now it was common knowledge that vampires didn't exist. If I looked at this from a scientific point of view it would be irrational to deny that Liam was a vampire. All the facts say that he is. Unless this a very good prank. I highly doubt that. I don't see Aston Kutcher anywhere.

It is possible vampires exist, right? I heard some statistic somewhere that a new species of animal is found on a daily basis. Vampires look like us. If they really wanted to stay hidden, I suppose they could.

The legends have to come from somewhere, don't they? Stories of creatures that go bump in the night and drink the blood of the living have been told for hundreds of years. I wonder if vampires are the only thing that's real. What about werewolves, witches, or unicorns? I would have to ask Liam (I'm hoping unicorns are real). I had a whole list of questions I wanted to ask him.

I should be afraid. I really don't think Liam means me any harm though. Still, he's a vampire. I'm not exactly an expert on vampires but I know they're usually associated with evil. Liam didn't seem evil. Then again, I've been in a class with him for almost a whole semester and I didn't have a clue he's a vampire. It's not like I really know him.

What if he's just playing with me? What if he's trying to get me under his spell or whatever and then eat me? If he wanted to eat me he could have a few minutes ago. I was completely helpless. I didn't like that feeling.

What if-? Oh, Jesus Christ. I could sit here and play the 'what if' game all night long. All it will accomplish is freaking myself out. I should just find Miranda and get the hell out of here like Liam said I should.

Okay, there is a murderous vampire somewhere on the loose. Let's call it a night. I should be studying anyway. I finally found Miranda outside by the bonfire. She was obviously drunk and clinging on to a guy like he was the last life jacket on the Titanic. I'm going to strangle that bitch.

Miranda was dressed as a derby girl. She was wearing knee high rainbow socks with red roller skates. Her shorts were extremely short and were red with 'Hot Damn' printed on the butt. She was wearing a short red baby tee that showed off her black playboy bunny belly ring. Her long black hair was braided into pigtails. She wears this getup as a normal outfit, all she added was the skates.

I rolled my eyes as I heard her laugh extremely loud. She always has to be the center of attention.

"Hey, Miranda." I called to her as I approached.

"Lexy! There's my Fly-Girl!" She screamed at the top of her lungs.

I braced myself as she nearly tackled me with a bear hug.

"Oh, I want you to meet my new friend." Miranda pulled me back towards the man she had been rubbing up on.

"What?" I gasped.

I had overlooked him when I first saw him. I had just figured he was one of Miranda's loser boyfriends.

He was tall with spiked, black hair. There was a small white scar on his bottom lip. He was wearing dark jeans. Even though it is only about fifty degrees out he was shirtless. He had nice abs though. On his chest was a large tattoo of a Celtic cross. I didn't like the way he was looking at me. His eyes were piercing and black like a hawk. He met my eyes and I looked away.

"Lexy, Nate. Nate, Lexy." Miranda introduced.

"I needs another beer. Be right back." Miranda skated off towards the keg. I was surprised she could still skate. She was wobbling a little but her balance is usually the last to go. She does gymnastics so she has a better center of gravity then most people.

"Wait!" I called out but she had already gone.

"Lexy is it?" Nate asked. He made no attempt to hide he was undressing me with his eyes.

"Um, yeah, so what are you supposed to be?" I asked.

"I'm a rock star." He said.

"Awesome. I gotta go." I said.

The vampire grabbed me around the wrist. "So soon?"

I tried to pull away and he roughly pulled me closer to him.

"You smell like someone I know." His dark eyes bore into mine.

"You're weird. Let go of me." I demanded.

"Where's Liam?" He asked sharply.

I froze. "Um, I don't know. He was here earlier but he left. Look, I- I really have to go."

Nate brought his face close to mine and I could tell he was smelling me. I trembled with fear as he stroked my cheek. "What are you so afraid of?"

"Please, let me go." I said softly.

"You know, don't you?" Nate whispered in my ear.

I didn't answer.

He wolfishly grinned at me. "Let's go for a walk."

"What kind of girl do you think I am?" I demanded loud enough for people around us to hear as I tried to pull out of his grip.

"One that doesn't want anything to happen to your skater girl friend." He sneered.

I looked around for Miranda. She had gotten distracted on her way to the keg. She was sitting on the lap of Sweeny Todd over on the back porch of the house. I don't know what she was talking to him about but she was using a lot of hand gestures. God, she is such a whore.

"Come." Nate commanded.

He made eye contact with me and I groaned as I felt the fog fill my head. I am seriously going to end up with brain cancer or something.

I obediently followed him as he took me by the hand and led me into the woods. I wanted nothing more than to scream for help at the top of my lungs but my mouth refused to respond to my wishes.

We passed a couple that was dressed as a slutty cheerleader and a football player getting to second base in the bushes. Nate pulled me deeper into the woods where no one was and the large bonfire was no longer visible.

Nate roughly pushed me against a tree and removed his mental hold on me. He grabbed me around the throat and rested his other hand on my hip bone. I was wearing leggings but it was still too close and personal for my liking.

"I-I don't know anything. You should just let me go." I pleaded.

"Where is Liam?" He demanded again.

"I don't know! He left!" I answered.

"How long ago?"

"I don't know. Like twenty minutes." I estimated.

"So, how do you two know each other?" The vampire wanted to know.

"Um, we have a class together." I answered.

"Is it intro to organic chemistry?" He asked with a smirk.

"How did you know?" I asked.

"You're the girl he's had a crush for about a year but was too much of a chicken shit to ask out." Nate shook his head. "He is so weak, it's pathetic."

"He has a crush on me? That's so sweet. And he did ask me out. And I said 'yes'! So, HA! Jokes on you!" I said in Liam's defense.

"Did he now?" Nate asked darkly.

He brushed my hair behind my shoulder so my neck was bare. "I bet if I made you scream that would bring him running." He sneered.

"W-Why do you hate Liam so much?" I asked. I hoped if I kept him talking it would give me time. Time for what? I don't know.

"Why do I hate Liam?" Nate chuckled darkly. "He is a self-righteous prick and a sorry excuse for a vampire. He doesn't feed from humans at all. It's pathetic."

Nate traced the curves of my neck with his fingertips. "Do you want to know why I really hate him? He has been named next in line as the head of the clan. After everything I've done for our family he is named next in line. He's too afraid of losing control to feed from humans and yet he is made next in line. It'll be a cold day in hell when I let him become head of the family."

"Is that why you went rogue? Is that why you've been…killing?" I asked.

Nate laughed. "You're cute. No, I just enjoy that. Things are going to change around here."

"What do you mean?"

He grinned wickedly. "The old ways are dying. The laws about not harming humans and staying out of their affairs were created to save our race from the brink of extinction. Darling, we're far from extinction now."

The vampire moved closer to me. I yelped as his grip tightened on my throat.

"You stupid little humans. You think you're so secure and safe. You've forgotten about us. You've forgot what lurks in the shadows. You're all just lambs for the slaughter." He sneered.

I flinched as he kissed me on the cheek. "And lucky me, I've found a little lost lamb."

"I-I-You don't really want to this." I stammered.

Nate made a show of running his tongue over his fangs. "Actually I do."

I blinked back tears threatening to escape my eyes. My heart was hammering like a jackhammer in my chest. I've never been this afraid for my life.

Nate played with the bells around my neck. "Liam's a moron but he has good taste. I think I might keep you around as a pet."

"Or you could just let me go." I added hopefully.

"What would be the fun in that?" He smirked.

He unhooked the belled collar from around my neck and let it fall to the ground.

"Nate, I-" I began to plead.

"Lexy, shut up." Nate sneered. "What is Lexy short for, anyway?"

"A-Alexia."

"Alexia? That is a pretty name." He ran his fingers through my hair. His other hand slid down from my hip and went to my thigh. His hand began to head north towards my mini skirt. I slapped at his hand and he roughly grabbed my wrist. I felt myself go lightheaded as he rubbed my inner wrist.

I tried to pull away and he roughly grabbed me around the waist and pulled me close. My knees felt weak and I realized he was the only thing holding me up.

"What the hell is it with vampires and mind games? Can't get a girl on your own?" I moaned.

Nate brought my wrist to his lips and kissed it. "Stop talking." He demanded.

He leaned in and kissed me above the collar bone

"No!" I gasped as I felt fangs graze my neck.

I kicked him as hard as I could in the shin.

"Ow! Son of a bitch!" He yelped.

I nearly fell as he released me. I found my bearings and tried to run. I screamed as I felt a force from behind pull me back. My tail! Shit, he grabbed a hold of my tail! I should have been a rabbit.

"Here, kitty, kitty." He growled as he roughly pulled me back and grabbed a hold of my arms. My cat ears were knocked off as I struggled with him. He roughly pushed me back into the tree and pinned my arms above my head with one hand.

I trembled in fear as he stroked my neck.

"Bad Kitty." He scolded.

"N-Na-Nate, just think about this, okay?"

"I have and I bet you taste really good." He roughly grabbed me by the chin and forced his lips on mine.

Nate pulled away and kissed my neck.

I inhaled sharply as I felt a sharp pain in my neck. He bit me! My neck suddenly felt very hot like an IcyHot patch had been stuck on it. I screamed out in pain as the intensity of the burning sensation increased.

"Oh, God! That hurts! Please, Nate, stop!" I cried.

Nate was thrown back as a fist slammed into his head. Strong arms caught me before I hit the ground.

"Lexy!" I looked up to find Liam giving me a concerned look.

"He fucking bit me!" I gasped. I touched my neck to feel warm blood trickling down.

"Everything's going to be okay." Liam promised.

"You shouldn't make promises you can't keep." Nate sneered.
Nate's eyes were glowing dark yellow and his fangs were visible. A small stream of blood dripped down his chin from a cut in his lip. He casually licked it off.

"Liam, I'm surprised. That was a cheap shot. So very unlike you. It'll be the only one you get, little brother." Nate hissed.

"Brother? You're brothers?!" I exclaimed.

Liam set me down beside a tree. My head swam in between consciousness and unconsciousness as I wrapped my arms around the base of the tree.

"Stay here, Lexy. Everything is going to be alright." Liam reassured me.

Nate snorted. "Really? Are you going to try and fight me all by yourself, Liam? You know you can't win."

"Nate, you will pay for your crimes." Liam said darkly. His eyes began to glow bright yellow.

"I don't think so." Nate sneered. He simply stepped out of the way as Liam charged at him. Nate's moved with an unnatural gracefulness and slammed his palm against Liam's head sending him spinning into a tree.

Liam grit his teeth in pain and used the tree to launch himself at Nate, knocking him to the ground. I lost focus for a minute as the two brothers struggle with each other in a fury of animal-like hissing and punching. I realized I must have blacked out fro a minute because the next thing I knew. Nate had Liam by the throat slammed up against a tree.

"Liam!" I gasped.

"You are weak!" Nate snarled as he tightened his grip on Liam's throat. "You do not deserve to be the head of the family! Our world is changing, Liam. Soon we'll take our true place in this world once again."

"You're crazy." Liam hissed.

Liam hissed in pain as Nate slammed his head harder into the tree.

"Too bad you won't be around to see it. Don't worry I'll take care of your girlfriend for you." Nate smirked.

"You ass-" Liam's words were choked off as Nate tightened his hold.

He was going to kill him. I had to do something. I looked around for any type of weapon but I didn't see any. Do I have anything on me? My mini skirt doesn't have pockets so there's nothing there. My bra! In my bra I had put twenty bucks, my ID, and a pocket knife for safe keeping.

I dug out my pocket knife. It was baby pink and had 'Princess' encrusted in rhinestones on it. I had brought it because it had a nail file but it also contained a knife, a little corkscrew, and a little screwdriver. I flipped open the little knife. It wouldn't do much damage but I suppose it's better than nothing.

I blacked out for a second as I stood up. When I regained my vision the ground was kind of swaying but I didn't have the time to wait for it to stop moving. I crept up to the two vampires. Nate looked up at me as I approached. I slammed the knife as hard as I could into the fleshy area in between his jaw and neck.

Nate cried out in pain. He let go of Liam as he backed away and grabbed at the knife. I must have hit an artery because blood was squirting out like an over-squeezed juice box. There was a sickening squishing noise as he pulled the knife from his neck. He threw the knife to the ground. His eyes blazed red as he shot me a murderous glare.

Liam coughed and quickly recovered. He grabbed me around the waist and threw me over his shoulder.

"Ho-ld on." Liam choked as he tried to regain his breath.

"For wha- Ahhhhhhh!" I yelped as suddenly trees blurred past me at high speeds.

"HolyshitholyshitHOLYSHIT!" I said like a chant as the forest whizzed past me.

Suddenly it stopped and the world went back to it's normal speed. Liam set me down. He caught me by the arm as I nearly fell.

"OW!" I yelp as Liam forced a motorcycle helmet over my head. "Watch the earrings!"

"Sorry." Liam huffed. He sounded really out of breath.

As I glanced around I realized we were on the opposite side of the forest. We were at least two miles away from the subdivision the party had been in. I'm not entirely sure where we were. It was somewhere on the outskirts of town on an unpaved road.

Liam had gotten on a motorcycle, I assume it is his. It was parked by the side of the road. It was a really hot bike. It was a street racing bike that was painted black and red with a vampire bat on the side. Cute.

"Lexy, get on!" Liam demanded.

"I can't leave Miranda!" I protested.

I shivered as a strong breeze suddenly hit me. Nate appeared a few feet away looking absolutely pissed. His fists were tightly clenched and he was practically shaking with anger. His neck and shoulder were completely coated with blood.

"ALEXIA!" He roared.

"I'm sure she will be fine." I said as I quickly threw my leg over the motorcycle and tightly wrapped my arms around Liam's waist.

Liam revered the engine and the motorcycle quickly shot forward. I looked behind me as the bike blazed down the road. Nate hadn't moved. He was glaring after us with pure hatred.

Even through the visor of my helmet was tinted I felt Nate meet my eyes. He gave me a dark smirk. 'You're mine,' he mouthed at me. Then he was no longer there. He simply melted away into the shadows.

I tightly closed my eyes and leaned my head against Liam's back. I tried to cry quietly so he wouldn't hear but a whimper escaped my throat.

"Everything's going to be okay. I won't let him hurt you again." Liam called to me over the wind. I heard guilt and anger in his voice.

I had a feeling that this was just the beginning.

"Lexy? Wake up, baby." Liam said as he helped me take off the helmet.

"Hmm?" I asked tiredly. I must have fallen asleep. On the back of a motorcycle? That doesn't exactly sound safe.

Liam frowned as he looked at the inside of the helmet. I saw that the inner padding was soaked with blood.

"Whoa!" Liam said as he caught me as I nearly fell off the stationary motorcycle.

"I can pay for the helmet." I reassured him.

"I don't care about the helmet. Let me look at your neck." He pushed my hair to the side to get a closer look. He chewed on his lip and it appeared he was trying not to breathe. I think the smell of my blood bothered him. His eyes had become yellow.

"Is it bad?" I asked.

"I've seen worse." He said.

"That's not an answer."

He smiled thinly at me. "Let's get you inside."

"I'm so dizzy. Have I really lost that much blood?" I asked as I leaned against Liam for support.

"You're going to fine." He reassured me.

"I don't like how you won't give me a direct answer." I complained.

I blacked out for a second and found myself in Liam's arms. I must have been out at least five to ten minutes. We were in an elevator. It was one of those fancy elevators with the glass backs. I could see Rose Lake out through the glass. Moonlight reflected across it's surface and lightning bugs danced through the air like fairies. I usually despised that lake but tonight it looked extremely beautiful, almost mystic.

"Are we at Rose View?" I asked.

Liam looked startled. "Lexy, welcome back. Yeah, I'm taking you to my apartment."

Apartment my ass. Rose View is located on the very edge of campus along the edge of the Black Forest animal sanctuary. Rose View doesn't contain apartments, it has penthouses. Liam must have quite a bit of money.

"Lex? Are you still with me?" Liam asked.

"I'm really tired."

"I know. Just try and stay awake." He told me.

With a ding the elevator arrived its destination and Liam carried me down the hall way to the very last door. He seemed to be having trouble balancing me in his arms and getting a key out of his pocket at the same time. Just before I was going to offer to try and stand up, Liam found his key and unlocked the door.

We stepped into a living room that was a hell of a lot bigger than mine and Miranda's apartment. There was a large black leather horseshoe shaped couch positioned behind a very large plasma TV that probably cost a lot more than my college tuition and the down payment on my car put together. Very large windows with a nice view of Rose Lake took up the whole back walls. To the right was a hallway probably leading to the bedrooms and to the left was a kitchen with dark wood cabinets. Spencer was sitting at the kitchen table eating a bowl of Lucky Charms while Cassandra sat beside him furiously flipping through a magazine.

"There you are! Where-?" Cassandra gasped as she caught sight of me. "What the hell did you do to her?!"

"Nothing! It was Nate!" Liam protested as he brought me to the couch and laid me down.

He knelt beside me. "Lexy, everything is going to be okay."

"You keep saying that." I muttered.

Cassandra roughly pushed Liam aside. "Let me look."

She frowned as she looked at my neck. "The bite is not very deep. The problem is it's ripped and it looks like it nicked an artery."

"That may have been my fault. I punched Nate while he was feeding from her." Liam confessed.

"Good going, dumbass." She hissed. "How did Nate get to her anyway?"

"I'm not sure. I forgot my jacket and on my way back I heard her screaming." Liam said.

"We're going to have a little chat later about involving humans in our affairs." Cassandra said sharply.

She turned back to me. "Lexy, right?"

"Yeah." I answered.

"Okay. My name is Cassandra. I'm a healer. I'm going to do what I can to help you. This might seem weird but my saliva has healing properties. So-"

"Ew." I interrupted.

"Oh, shut up." She hissed.

She spit into the palm of her hand and rubbed it into the wound in my neck. Almost immediately I began to feel a cool soothing sensation. My neck was tingling and it wasn't necessarily a bad feeling. It was weird but not unpleasant.

"Are you feeling any better?" Liam asked.

"I'm still kind of dizzy." I complained.

"I'm sure you're used to that feeling." Cassandra said.

"Andy, don't be mean." Liam scolded. "She's been through enough tonight."

"I want to go home." I told him.

"I don't know if it's a good idea to move you. The bleeding has stopped but you still suffered a great deal of blood loss. I think you better stay here tonight. I'll let you have my bed." Liam offered.

Spencer appeared with a bowl of water and a washcloth. He handed it to Liam.

"Here. You should try to clean up some of the blood." He said.

"Thanks." Liam said as he took the bowl and washcloth.

Liam gently rubbed the washcloth along my neck.

"Okay, what the hell happened?" Cassandra demanded of me.

"Leave her alone. She's tired." Liam scolded.

"Don't care. I want to know what happened." She hissed back.

"Nate, was looking for Liam and he said that he could smell him on me." I answered.

She shook her head. "Liam, you idiot. I knew this would happen."

Liam winced. "Oh, god. Lexy, I am so sorry."

"It's okay." I said tiredly.

"No, it's not. He could have killed you. I should never of came over and talked to you." Liam scolded himself.

"Miranda might be dead if you hadn't talked to me."

"Miranda? Your friend? What does she have to do with this?" Liam asked.

"What are we talking about?" It was getting hard to focus and everything looked surreal. I felt like I was underwater.

"I think I should get you to bed." Liam frowned.

"It's not my bedtime." I whimpered.

"Yeah, it's defiantly time to get you to bed." The vampire concluded.

"Nooooo." I protested as Liam picked me up.

"Come on, Lexy. It's alright." Liam said soothingly as he carried me down the hallway.

"It was nice meeting you, Lexy." Spencer called to me.

"Bye!" I called back.

Liam set me down on a large comfy black bed with a lot of pillows. Didn't he say this was his bed? I don't think I had even seen a guy's bed with this many pillows. Not that I've been in very many guy's bedrooms. How many pillows are there? One. Two. Four. Five. Si- wait, did I count five? I couldn't remember. Am I even counting the pillows or am I just counting? My brain felt so scrambled.

Liam pulled my wicked heeled boots off my feet and set them beside the bed. Oh god. I hope my feet don't smell.

"Um, I should probably help you get your tail off. I don't think you want to sleep with that on." Liam blushed.

"What tail?" I asked.

"Your cat tail." He answered as he helped me into a sitting position.

"What are you talking about?" I looked behind me to see Liam untie a black cat tail from the belt loop on the back of my skirt.

"You're a cat, remember? Oh, never mind." Liam shook his head.

"I would hate to see you drunk." He muttered under his breath.

He pulled back the comforter and blankets and helped me get under them.

"Why's it so foggy in here?" I asked.

"It's not foggy."

"Yeah, it is," I argued.

"Lexy, I assure you. There is no fog in this room." He frowned.

"Oh. Okay."

"I'll talk to you in the morning. Get some rest, okay?" Liam said as he began to walk away.

"No!" I gasped as I grabbed him by the arm. "Don't leave! Please don't leave me alone in the dark! What if he comes back?! Please just stay with me till I go to sleep."

"Okay." Liam said softly. His voice dripped with guilt.

He went around to the other side of the bed and lay down beside me on top of the covers. I reached out and took his hand. He gently squeezed it in return.

"I'm sorry I'm scared." I apologized.

"You have every right to be scared. I should never have gotten you involved. I should have known Nate would sniff you out. God, I was stupid and now you have to pay the price for my stupidity. I'm sorry. I will do everything in my power to keep you safe." He told me.

"He hates you." I muttered. My eyes felt so heavy. It was an effort to keep them open.

"I know. Go to sleep, Lexy."

"You're not the boss of me." I yawned. "Am I going to be a vampire now?"

"What?" Liam asked.

"He bit me."

"No, that's not how it works. You have to drink vampire blood and when you die you may become a vampire. It works on some people and some people it has no effect. You don't know till you die. He didn't make you drink his blood, did he?"

"No. That's icky." I closed my eyes. "Is that what you did?"

"No, I was born with vampire blood. My family is one of the last original vampire families." I heard a hint of pride in his statement.

"I'm descended from thieves and pirates."

Liam laughed. "You don't look like a pirate."

"That's what they want you to think."

"It's the cute ones, you got to look out for." He chuckled.

"Are you talking about me?" I asked.

"Who else would I be talking about?" He wanted to know.

"God, I'm really tired."

"Then go to sleep." He demanded.

"I can't"

"Yes, you can. Just think about a meadow full of sheep bouncing around and-"

"I hate sheep. They should all be shot, lit on fire, and then shot again." I interrupted.

"Okay…I'm not even going to ask. What about bunnies? A field full of bunnies and they -"

2: Chapter 2

"Liam? Liam?" I glanced around but the spot beside me was empty. "Liam?"

"I'm in the kitchen." I heard him call out.

When I first woke up it took me a second to realize where I was. I'm not used to waking up in strange places. Miranda on the other hand has a blog dedicated to all the strange places she has awakened.

I glanced around his room. He only had five pillows on his California king sized bed. I don't know why it looked like he had so much more last night.

Liam's room was quite large. Besides the bed there was also a large black antique looking wardrobe and a desk with a black laptop. Just like the living room the back wall were taken up by large windows but the blinds were drawn to keep the sunlight out.

The ground slanted like I was at sea as I attempt to get out of bed. I still felt very dizzy and light headed. I rested for a second before continuing on.

I found the bathroom right across the hall. Like the rest of the apartment there was a black and white theme in place. The bathroom was also quite large and included a black Jacuzzi and a stand up shower.

I frowned at myself as I glanced into the mirror. I was a complete train wreck. Mascara and eyeliner were streaked down my face. My hair was all over the place and caked in dried blood. The bite wounds were closed but it looked like I had a ginormous nasty-looking hickey on my neck. Liam had washed most of the blood off my neck but there was still quite a bit around my breasts where he had been too shy to go. My favorite black tank top was now completely ruined. There is no way I would ever be able to get all the blood off it.

I washed my face off and wiped off the dried blood from my chest. I tried to tame the snarls in my hair to the best of my ability just using my fingers. I still looked like a zombie. Lovely.

Liam was in the kitchen humming to Coldplay and making pancakes. He grinned at me. "Hey, Sunshine, do you like blueberry pancakes?"

Normally morning people (and people that listen to Coldplay) piss me off but I couldn't help but return his grin. "Actually, they may just be my favorite breakfast food of all time."

Liam laughed. "Me too. You can't go wrong with blueberry pancakes." He put a stack of pancakes in front of me. "Do you want some coffee?"

"I would love some coffee." I said as I bathed my pancakes in maple syrup.

"Cream or sugar?" He asked as he poured coffee into two white mugs.

"No, just black." I responded as I began to stuff my face.

"I thought vampires couldn't eat." I said as Liam sat beside me with his own stack of pancakes.

"We can't live off of just blood. Our bodies need vitamins and nurturance, same as yours. We don't need to eat as much as humans though. How much we need to eat depends on how much blood we drink. The more blood we drink the less we need to eat. I don't drink very much blood at all so I eat on a daily basis." Liam explained.

"Nate mentioned that you don't feed off humans." I said.

Liam played with his pancakes. "I'm not comfortable with it." He confessed. "Many in my clan no longer feed from humans and the ones that do feed from shadows. Nate is the only one that gets thrills from killing humans."

"Freaking psychopath." I grumbled.

"How's your neck?" Liam asked me.

"It stings a little and I still feel sort of lightheaded." I confessed.

He nodded. "That's from the blood loss. You should probably take it easy today."

"What time is it?" I asked.

Liam pulled out a cell phone and glanced at it. "It's about quarter after eight."

"We have like an hour and a half till class." I informed him.

"What? You still want to go to class?" Liam shook his head in disbelief. "You should stay home and rest."

"Attendance is like thirty percent of our grade and plus we have a quiz today." I argued.

"Do you even have any absences? You can miss one quiz. The one with the lowest score gets wavered." Liam argued back.

I frowned. "I have never skipped a class."

"You're sick. It's not skipping."

"I'm not sick. I'm fine." I lied. Just the thought of skipping class filled me with more anxiety then the serial killing vampire on the loose. I have to be very sick to actually miss class. "After breakfast will you please take me home so I can take a shower and get fresh clothes?"

Liam sighed. "Fine, if that's what you want to do, I can't stop you. I still think you should rest."

"I will, after class." I promised.

"Are you always this stubborn?" He wanted to know.

"My grades are important to me." I answered. "I have a 4.0 and I am not about to let my future suffer because some handsy douche bag tried to tear my throat open."

"Okay." Liam could tell that I was serious. "I will take you to your apartment." He agreed.

A little while later Liam drove me to my apartment. He drove a sleek black Ferrari with red leather seats and interior. It looked super expensive. I was terrified I was going to scratch it by breathing on it wrong.

I was a little embarrassed to let him into my apartment. It was nice, by college student standards but was nowhere close to the way he lived. I led him through an alley way and up an iron staircase to the apartment I shared with Miranda. It was above an organic food store near campus. It opened up into the living room with a small kitchen to the right. The living room had a few pieces of random furniture we had acquired; a floral couch Miranda gotten from her grandmother, my teal egg shaped gaming chair and a large brown armchair we had gotten from a curb. In the center of the room was a tomato crate from the organic food store that we used as a coffee table. The plasma TV on the wall and my gaming system were probably the most expensive things in the room, possibly the whole apartment.

We had a dining table in the kitchen that we had gotten from a yard sale and was covered in graffiti and various signatures from friends. None of the chairs matched it. They all had come from different sets. One of them was actually a lawn chair. In the center of the table was a Jack Daniels bottle used as a vase for some fresh sunflowers.

Thank God, the kitchen was actually clean for once. Usually the sink is full of dishes and there are beer and vodka bottles everywhere. There were some of the fancier shaped and more expensive bottles on top of the kitchen cupboards. Miranda likes to keep them like trophies. The only things actually on the counters were my pink Hello Kitty microwave with a matching toaster and Miranda's espresso machine. I was beyond relieved that it was clean and Liam wouldn't think that I lived like a slob. Miranda must be upset about something. The only time she cleans is when she is mad.

Towards the back of the room was a hallway that lead to our two bedrooms and the connecting bathroom we shared. My room was to the left and I was glad that the door was shut. I knew for a fact that I had dirty clothes in the middle of my floor and blankets from my bed were a tangled mess. I also wasn't sure that I wanted Liam to see my stuffed Carebear collection just yet.

"Lexy, is that you?! You bitch! I can't believe that you left me-" Miranda came out of the bathroom fresh from the shower without a towel. She isn't exactly shy about her body. "Well, hello." She stopped when she seen Liam and didn't really hide the fact that she was looking him over.

I grit my teeth with annoyance. I was super annoyed that she would hit on the first guy I bring back to our apartment. The fact that she was completely nude didn't help things. "Miranda, could you please put on… is that a new tattoo?" I questioned.

"Yeah, I hooked up with a tattoo artist the other night and he gave me a discount on a tattoo." She turned sideways so I could get a better look at the heart shaped music note on her flank. "It's my cutie mark." To my blank expression she added. "It's the symbol of the talent that a My Little Pony has. My talent is music. I thought this would be cuter then just getting like a plain boring music note. They are so hipster." She wrinkled her nose with distaste.

"It is super cute." I agreed. She had a few tattoos throughout her body in places she could hide with clothing. I had always been too nervous to get a tattoo.

Liam loudly cleared his throat. Apparently vampires could blush. When I looked over his face was bright red.

"Miranda, can you put some clothes on?" I questioned. She just shrugged and went into her bedroom to hopefully get dressed.

"Um, sorry about that. She is very…confident." I told Liam.

"Yeah, I saw that…." He replied.

"I am going to shower. If you want to stick around, the TV remote is on the counter or you could play my Xbox or whatever." I shrugged.

I left Liam trying to find something on Netflix to watch and went into the bathroom to shower. I stripped down and got into the shower. I stood under the hot water for a while, letting it wash away of the dirt and blood that was still all over my body. It felt so much better to be clean.

After a while I finally emerged from the bathroom all clean and sparkly. Normally when I go to class after a long night I would be slumming it in yoga pants and a hoodie but I kind of wanted to impress Liam a little so I was wearing skinny jeans and a long red and black stripped off the shoulder sweater. I had also wrapped a black scarf around my neck to cover the vampire hickey. I was already running a little late so I didn't screw around with my hair very long. I just put it back in a French braid. I grabbed my beaten leopard print backpack I have had since high school and black flats from my bedroom before heading back out to the living room.

I grit my teeth as I heard Miranda's loud laugh. Of course, she would be entertaining Liam. She was sitting on the arm of the couch Liam was sitting on and from what I heard she was telling him the story of how we had become friends. "-so she walks over and slaps this kid in front of everyone and gives him a lecture about how he is an immature jerk. Well, it turns out that the guy she slapped was his twin." Miranda laughed.

"I said, 'I was sorry'." I grumbled as I walked into the room. Miranda and I had gone to the same school since like kindergarten but didn't really because friends till middle school. We were at a bonfire party and I had found her crying in the bathroom. She had told me that some guy had told her that she was ugly. She was gorgeous even then, which even if she was ugly, you don't tell someone that. So I went to chew him out and when he acted like he didn't even know what I was talking about I slapped him across the jaw. That was when his brother walked into the room and I realized that I had just slapped the wrong person. I kind of got the label 'Crazy Lexy' from all of the guys after that but Miranda and I had become close friends. No one had ever stood up for her like that before.

"We need to head to class now or we are going to be late." I told Miranda and Liam stood up to follow me out the door.

She shrugged. "I am skipping my physics but will probably go to Spanish. Are you working tonight?"

"Yeah." I nodded as I head out onto the stairs with Liam and started to shut the door behind us.

"Want to go to McClaire's when you get back?" She called out.

"Sure, sounds good. See you later." I responded.

"Bye!" She called out as I shut the door. McClaire's was a bar we often hung out at. They had pretty good food and sometimes had live music or events. It also helped that it was literally across the street so we didn't have to worry about finding a way home.

Class was pretty uneventful. I took notes and aced the pop quiz. Liam looked like he struggled with it but he said he probably passed. It was kind of nice to have someone to sit with. I didn't really have very many friends in my classes. I pretty much just came in and took notes and that was it. If I socialized at all, it was just to gossip about how insane the professor was or to discuss upcoming assignments. Most of my college friends were from study groups or had lived in the same dorm hall during my freshman year.

After class, Liam and I went our separate ways. I had another class and then had to work. He told me that he was going to go home and go back to bed. We texted each other a little bit throughout the day. I couldn't help but gush every time I got a text from him. Honestly, I had never really had a boyfriend. Getting the 'crazy' label had kind of killed my dating life in middle school and early high school. By the time I grew boobs and boys didn't really care that I was 'crazy' I cared more about school then them. I thought college might be better and that the boys might be more mature but… I think they might actually be worse. I have had dates. I am not a complete nun. I just have never had anything exclusive. Liam is one of the nicest and most genuine guys I have met. He could potentially be a boyfriend. The vampire thing might be an issue but we could deal with that later. He was going to join Miranda and me at McClaires and hopefully we could talk a little about things then.

"I would like a large coffee, black." I had been texting under the counter and hadn't seen the customer approach. I usually take my job at a coffee shop more seriously but I was texting with Miranda while she was in class about Liam and I told her that the guy she had left me with had tried to force himself on me and Liam had come to my rescue. That was all that she really needed to know. She didn't need to know the details that Nate was a serial killing vampire and that Liam was his brother.

"That will be a dollar-" I froze as I looked up into Nate's killer charcoal eyes.

"Am I interrupting something?" He sneered as he gaze went down to the bedazzled pink phone I was shoving into the pocket of my apron.

"Nope. A black coffee. That will be a dollar eighty." I said nervously as I glanced around the coffee shop. It was dusk and the coffee shop was about half full. There was a small study group occupying three tables going over their notes. A professor was over by the fireplace grading papers. There was also a guy in the corner with a laptop that kept looking around nervously. I am pretty sure he was looking at porn. Nathan wouldn't do anything to me in a semi-crowded coffee shop, would he?

He handed me a five dollar bill and when I went to grab it he roughly grabbed my wrist. I could tell by the way that he was rubbing my inner wrist with his thumb that he was feeling my pulse. "You reek of my brother." He informed me.

"Yeah, it's a new perfume I am trying. You want a coffee or not?" I demanded as I roughly tried to tug my arm from his grip. Surprisingly, he actually released me and I stumbled back a little. I put the money in the register and tossed his change onto the counter in front of him.

He watched me with his predatory gaze as I filled up a cup of coffee for him. I was very tempted to spit in it but I am a professional so I didn't. I did write 'Douche' on the side of the cup though. I can always get another job.

"So are you dating my brother now?" He wanted to know when I handed him the coffee. He examined what I had written on the side of the cup and just rolled his eyes.

"I am not sure how that is any of your damn business." I responded.

"It won't work out." He informed me. "He is immortal. You are not. He is a predator. You are a happy meal."

"He's not like you." I responded coolly.

"You don't know that." He responded. "You have no idea what you are playing with, Little Girl. I have a lot of experience with human blood. He doesn't. As soon as he gets a taste of your sweet blood, he is going tear out your pretty throat." He shrugged. "We are monsters. I just don't deny my true nature. I embrace the hunger." He smirked at me, letting me see his fangs.

"I am not afraid of Liam." I answered. I was actually a little afraid now but I wasn't going to let him know that and give him the satisfaction that he was putting doubts in my head.

"That's exactly what Cassandra said right before he ripped out her throat." He responded.

My blood ran cold. "His cousin? She's…"

"A vampire?" Nate finished with a cool smirk. "You only become a vampire when you die. If Cassandra didn't have the vampire blood from our family line running through her veins, she would be dead. Liam doesn't have a good record around humans. That's why he doesn't feed from humans. Not because he is a humanitarian. It's because he is too weak to handle it." He said as he took a sip from his coffee.

I bit my lip as I tried to process what he had just told me. Cassandra had to be an accident. They had seemed pretty chummy last night. I don't think he would have purposely hurt her. I needed to get the full story from him. Nate was warping it to make Liam look like a bad guy. Nate was a serial killer so I probably should not trust a single word coming from his mouth.

"Thanks for the heads up." I said dryly. "How's your coffee? Is there anything else I can get for you?" I said in an overly sweet version of my customer service voice. "I could stab you in the neck again if you like."

Nate raised his eyebrow with amusement. "Butchering random girls has been fun but I think hunting you will be even more fun."

"Um….what?" I said dumbly. It wasn't really my best lines but it was all I could think to say to that. I was surprised by the bluntness of his statement.

He leaned in over the counter. "You are stronger than I thought you would be. I am going to enjoy tearing your entire world apart." I was frozen in place as he reached in and stroked my cheek. "I am going to rip apart your mind and then your body. Having Liam protecting you just makes this more exciting. I think maybe I will turn you when I am finished. You would be fun as a vampire." His fingers lingered down to the bite on my throat. It felt like I was shocked with electricity as he touched it. I let out a sharp yelp and took several steps back away from the counter. He looked surprised for a minute but the surprise quickly turned into a dark smirk. "Well, that is interesting…."

"What in the holy fu-"

"Is this guy bothering you?!" My coworker had finally returned from his smoke break. I had never been happier to see him in my entire life. He gave Nate a sharp glare.

"I was just leaving." Nate informed him. "I will see you later, Alexia." He promised me with a wink as he left the coffee shop.

I then took a break of my own and spent about ten minutes crying in the storage room. Nate was insane. He was threatening me and stalking me for fun? How did he even know where I worked? Does he know where I live? That terrified me. If he knew where I lived, I wasn't the only one in danger. He might hurt Miranda to hurt me. I would have to warn her somehow. She knew he had attacked me so maybe I could get away with just telling her he was like a crazy stalker now. I could always tell her the truth. I just wasn't sure if she would really believe it. I wanted to talk to Liam first. Maybe he would agree to tell her with me. I didn't really want to give away his secret without permission. I was also hoping that he could protect me. I knew that he would try. I didn't know if the rest of his clan would support it. I wasn't really sure how that worked. Cassandra had seemed pretty pissed last night that he had gotten me involved in their business. I needed to learn more about vampires and what they were capable of. I needed to learn how to protect myself from Nate.

I was beyond terrified. I should have just stayed home last night and studied. If I had down that, I would never have spoken to Nate. I really did like him and as scary as vampires were, I was kind of glad I knew about them. I had been ignorant to the dangers around me but that didn't necessarily mean that I would have been safer not knowing about them. Miranda might have been Nate's latest victim if I hadn't been there last night. Eventually I pulled myself back together, fixed my makeup and returned to work. I had a feeling I was about to have another busy night.

3: Chapter 3

Miranda was just where I left her. She had skipped class and had spent the day watching Boy Meets World. She skips class all the time and still has pretty decent grades. If I skipped once I would probably fail everything.

Usually I don't dress up when I go to the bar. I am usually just there to hang out with friends and not looking to pick anybody up or anything. I was still kind of trying to impress Liam. So I put on some skinny jeans with some black ankle boots that I had bought on an impulse buy and had never worn before. The heels were a little higher then I remember but as long as I didn't have to run for my life I should be fine. I borrowed a sparkly low cut purple tank top from Miranda's closet. I left my hair in a French braid to highlight some silver hoop earrings I also borrowed from Miranda. My neck was still an attractive shade of black and blue so I put on a black choker with a Victorian style cameo.

I painted my nails a dark violet while I waited for Miranda to get ready. I seriously have no idea why it takes her so long to get ready. I am always waiting around for her. Eventually she emerged from her room wearing a short black dress with black lace tights and red ankle boots. She had pulled her hair back into a Mohawk-like series of ponytails. Her guitar case was at her side. It was covered in stickers of radio stations and bands. She often played at open mic night. She usually played Taylor Swift or Carrie Underwood or something girlie like that. She had a good voice and had a few pretty popular youtube videos of herself singing.

McClaires was one of the nicer bars that we frequent. It was a restaurant during the day and was known for its pizza and buffalo wings. It wasn't necessarily a college bar and had a loyal following of townies that would take over the pool tables. I preferred it to the bars closer to campus. The college bars could be kind of sleazy and they were always really loud. I preferred not to have to yell at the person next to me to have a conversation.

Liam had beaten us inside and was sitting at a booth talking with a waitress. She was wearing really short athletic shorts and a very low cut tank top. Her waist apron was the biggest article of clothing she was wearing. I felt an animal-like jealousy flare up within me. It quickly passed when he caught sight of me and flashed me a grin. I felt myself grin back as I made my way over to the table. The waitress disappeared as I neared. He scooted over and I sat down beside him in the booth. I kind of wanted to hug him but that felt awkward. I wasn't sure we were quite at that point yet. I have never been a touchy feely huggy person. I wasn't sure what was appropriate in our current situation. I am probably over analyzing it like I always do.

He brushed his hand gently against my arm. I felt a tingling sensation run down my spine as his cold fingertips ran across my flesh, leaving goosebumps in their wake. "Are you alight?" He asked me.

"No." I admitted. I looked over my shoulder to make sure Miranda wasn't in listening range. She was over at the small stage on the other side of the bar flirting with the DJ and signing up for a set for the open mic event. "It's Nate." I told him quietly.

He gently gripped my arm. "Did something happen?"
I bit my lip and nodded. I was quiet for a minute. I was afraid if I opened my mouth I would start crying again. I didn't want Liam to think I couldn't hold it together.

"Lexy, tell me what happened." He prodded gently. "I am going to rip out his goddamn lungs if he touched you." He said with a low growl.

"He came to my work today. I think it was mostly an intimidation thing and… he mentioned something about targeting me." I told him.

"I am going to keep you safe. He isn't going to hurt you." Liam's emerald eyes were intense as he looked into mine. He hand slipped down into mine and he squeezed my palm gently. "My family is having a meeting with several other clans tonight on what to do about Nate. I want you to come with me. I am sure the rest of my family will give you their protection as well."

"Um…." I frowned a little. "I am not sure I am ready to meet your family. The ones I have met…scare me." I admitted to him.

"You have nothing to worry about." He assured me. "The rest of my family isn't like Nate and I know Cassandra can be a little rough around the edges but she is loyal to our family. She will keep you safe as well."

Our conversation ceased as the waitress returned to our table with an order of breadsticks and a pitcher of beer that Liam had ordered before I had arrived. Miranda must have gotten a whiff of the food because she slid into the booth across from us and poured herself a glass of beer and began to tear into the breadsticks.

"How's it going?" Miranda greeted with a mouth full of bread.

"It's good to see you again, fully clothed." Liam told her.

Miranda shrugged. "Yeah, the owners are kind of strict. Apparently you have to wear a top here."

"Bummer." I rolled my eyes.

"I know, right?" Miranda teased as she poured herself a pint of beer from the pitcher.

"I need to talk to you about something." I told her. "That guy that attacked me is kind of like stalking me now. If you see him, stay the hell away."

Miranda's eyes darkened as she looked up at me. "If I see him, I am going to neuter him with a fork."

"Miranda, he's dangerous." I couldn't really emphasize just how dangerous. I could only pray that she wouldn't do anything stupid if she came across him.

"I am dangerous." She informed me. "I don't like people that hurt my friends." She gave Liam a pointed look that was her nonverbal warning to him not to hurt me or she would neuter him with a fork as well.

"The worse thing anyone could do to me would be to hurt you. I need you to be careful." I told Miranda.

Miranda let out a tired sigh but nodded. "I will be careful. You called the cops, right?"

"Of course." I lied. "There just isn't a whole lot they can do about it, you know?"

Miranda growled with annoyance and muttered something about living in an arrogant patriarchic society full of assholes. I wanted to tell her the truth but wasn't sure how she would take it. She probably wouldn't believe me and by some miracle she did, I kind of had the feeling that she wouldn't be okay with Liam being a vampire as well.

After drinking a majority of our pitcher of beer she went onstage with her guitar. Liam slipped his arm around me as she played a song I recognized from the radio. I smiled softly as I looked up at him.

"She's pretty good." He commented.

"She is." I agreed. "She can only sing covers though."

"Why is that?" He questioned.

"Well, she could probably sing something else if someone else wrote it. She just isn't a songwriter." I explained. I have tried helping with it but I am not exactly a poet. I am majoring in hard science. My English works is about as creative as white bread. Miranda's problem is the opposite. She completely lacks structure. She cannot focus attention onto one subject and doesn't fully understand what a metaphor is. The instrumental compositions she writes are amazing though. Music notes make more sense to her then words.

I never really understood how we get along so well. We are complete opposites. She is creative and outgoing. I am organized and withdrawn. The most creative thing I do is my painting and even then everything has to be perfectly organized. I like straight lines and symmetrical things. Mostly I do cityscapes and mandalas. Sometimes I wished I could be a little more impulsive like Miranda but just the thought of jumping into something without mentally going over the pros and cons stresses me out.

Miranda played a few more songs and was replaced by a guy with a ukulele. I was kind of impressed by his acoustic version of the Thong Song. Liam nudged me, telling me that it was time to go to his family's emergency greeting. I stifled back a groan as I stood up and grabbed my purse from the table. I went over to the bar where Miranda was flirting with the bartender. I am pretty sure he was gay but that didn't stop Miranda from batting her eyelashes and attempting to get free shots.

"Hey, Liam and I are heading out. Can you get back home alright?" I asked her.

She rolled her eyes at me. "I think I can manage to cross the street without holding your hand."

"Make good choices." I called out as I went back over to Liam's side.

"Use a condom." She called back. I felt a blush creep across my face. Liam pretended to inspect a Budweiser poster on the wall. Miranda is so obnoxious but her comment did leave me thinking about some questions regarding the sexuality of vampires. For scientific reasons, of course.

Liam was completely sober so I was alright with getting in his car with him. I had a few drinks but I was fine. On a scale of one to ten, I was an eight. Anything before five is when I am trashed. As we drove towards the downtown area of Lakecrest I began to wish I had drunk more. My nerves were being to flip flopping my stomach into origami swans. What if Liam's family didn't like me? What if they tried to eat me?

The vampire must have sensed my unease because he reached over and took my hand in his. "It's going to be alright." He assured me. "They will love you and they will resolve our Nate problem."

He pulled up to a large fancy hotel, The Lakecrest Suites. Liam got out and opened my door for me. He tossed the car keys to a valet as he helped me out of the car. I had been in the hotel once before. My senior prom date had bought us a room for the night. After I had figured out what his intentions were, we had gotten in a fight and I had spent the rest of the night crying in the lobby while waiting for my parents to come get me. So it wasn't exactly a place of fond memories. I just hope no one recognizes me. That was so embarrassing.

The lady at the front desk stood up straighter when Liam and I walked in. "Good evening, Mr. Lakecrest. Everyone is gathered in the Pink Rose conference room."

He nodded in greeting. He then led me past a large lobby with a large white marble fountain in the middle of it. It was filled with plush velvet couches and in the corner there was a large white grand piano with a bored looking man playing it.

"You are a Lakecrest?" I questioned Liam. I kind of felt like that was something he should have told me. The Lakecrests founded the city and own a large portion of the businesses.

"That's not important." He told me.

"You have a city named after you." I responded.

He just shrugged like it was a normal thing. I frowned and didn't say anything. I wasn't going to make a deal out it. I just didn't know why he had been keeping it a secret. He was upfront about being a vampire but he was shy about being wealthy? I had kind of figured out that he would never have to work a minimum wage job from just stepping into his apartment.

We took the elevator up a couple of stories and Liam led me down a maze of hallways till we came to large wooden doors that were engraved with pink roses. Liam took a card from his wallet and slid it through the card reader beside the door. There was a click as the doors unlocked and Liam opened the doors to reveal a scene of chaos.

Apparently the doors were sound proof because a battery of insults and profanity surged through the air. Liam pulled me out of the way as a chair flew through the air where my head had been just seconds before. There were about four groups of people facing off. I recognized Cassandra as she was attempting to rip out a brunette woman's hair as they wrestled on the floor. Spencer stayed out of the fray but seemed to be taking pictures with his Iphone. Other vampires were duking it out as well. I wasn't really sure who I should be routing for. There was a girl with pink hair that was taking on three large male vampires at once. It really wasn't a fair fight. She was severely kicking their asses. I winced as she broke a man's collarbone with a loud snapping noise that made me sick to my stomach.

"Um…I will wait in the car…" I told Liam.

"What in the holy hell is going on in here?!" A woman demanded with a loud snarl. She looked to be in her early twenties but she had the stance of someone much older. She had an aura of authority on her as she put her hands on her slim hips and glared at everyone around the room. The vampires separated from each other and with an expression of scolded puppies they were separated into four groups that I am assuming were their clans.

The woman turned her attention to me as she looked me over with her dark green eyes. I couldn't help but notice how perfect she was. She didn't have a single hair out of place. Her long dark brown hair was pulled back into a high bun and was incredibly shiny. If I wasn't so afraid of her I would have asked what shampoo she used. Her eyes were shaded with black and violet eye shadow and she wore a dark burgundy lipstick that I could never ever pull off. She was wearing a high waisted grey pencil skirt and a dark purple blouse. She also wore pantyhose with grey expensive looking heels. Why did Liam want a human like me when there were vampires that looked like her?

"Is this the girl?" The woman demanded.

Liam nodded. "Yes, grandmother. This is Alexia."

My jaw hit the ground. Grandmother?! She looks like she is my age! Which made me wonder for the first time, exactly how old is Liam? He was in college and he looked like he was my age so I had just kind of assumed that he was.

Liam put his arm around me, probably sensing that I was starting to get overwhelmed. "Lexy, this is my grandmother, Rosemary. She is the head of our clan." He introduced.

"Hi, nice-" I start to greet her.

"Enough small talk." She huffed as she brushed past us. "Now what the hell is going on?" She addressed the vampires. No one was saying anything and she turned to Cassandra who was sucking the blood off from wounds on her knuckles. "Well?" She hissed.

"Things got a bit carried away…" Cassandra admitted.

The pink haired vampire let out a snort. She was sitting on top of the conference table in the center of the room. Most of the vampires in her clan seemed to be teenage girls. There was one girl with her that seemed to be about twelve years old. She was wearing a One Direction shirt and had a machete holstered at her waist.

"You have something to say, Victoria?" Rosemary sneered.

"My name is V." The girl hissed back. "I am not sure why this situation is our problem. What do I care about a few humans? Get your goddamn family under control, Rosemary."

Rosemary's eyes darkened and a hush fell over the room. "You have best watch your tongue, Victoria or I will have it cut from your head. The only reason I put up with you and your clan of miscreants is because of your father. I told him I would watch over you and your clan while he takes care things in Europe but if you disrespect me again, I will send you back to him in pieces. Do you understand me?"

The girl's eyes blazed with a supernatural glow as she grit her teeth with anger.

"Do you understand me, Victoria?!" Rosemary snarled out again.

"I understand." V answered quietly.

"Good." Rosemary replied. "Now as for why Nathaniel is everyone's problem, he is a danger to everyone and the way we live. We have lived peacefully, for the most part, for over a hundred years in this city. I am not about to lose control of it just because my grandson has acted on his psychotic impulses. The Vampire Council has already heard about our situation and has sent a hunter." She said with a hint of disgust. Several of the other vampires let out a fearful gasp.

I frowned a little at Liam. I didn't really understand what that meant. "They sent an assassin. They are brutal killing machines and will do whatever they can to take out their target." He whispered to me. "It's not a good thing. They may take out half my clan to get to him."

"Tell the council we have it under control." A large muscled man spoke with a Russian accent. Unlike V, most of his clan seemed to be men. There were a couple of women but the majority was men. A couple of them were still nursing their wounds from their encounter with V.

Rosemary let out a snort. "I did, Gaston. They won't listen. They said that I am too close to the situation. The last thing I want is a blood bath in my streets. If it was just Nate then things might be easier."

"What do you mean, if it was just Nate?" A woman from the remaining clan spoke up. Her clan had pretty much stayed out of the fight. She had long blonde hair and a slim figure. Her voice was soft and I had to listen carefully to hear what she had said. She didn't seem like a fearsome vampire.

"He has aligned himself with undesirables, vampires that we have kicked out of our clans for behavior issues and it seems he is creating more and training them to be savage. He is creating his own clan. There is a murder from last night that the police have still managed to keep out of the press. This woman's entire body was completely torn apart from several different bites. He is training fledglings, new vampires, to kill." Rosemary explained.

Liam winced at that. "It's hard to go back from killing a human. Once that bloodlust is out of control, it's near impossible to gain back control, especially for new vampires. They don't stand a chance. They become nothing more than animals." He explained softly to me.

"Nate and his followers need to be destroyed." The blonde woman declared. Several other vampires let out sounds of agreement.

Rosemary nodded. "I agree, Rene but the council has made their decision. We need to let them do their job and stay out of their hunter's way."

"So we should do nothing?" Gaston grumbled.

Rosemary sighed. "For now, the best thing we can do is keep our clans safe. I think the only reason Nate is creating his own clan is for control. It is only a matter of time before he comes after us. Make sure your clan sticks together. No one should go anywhere by themselves after dark." She told them. There was some grumbling but the leaders of all the clans agreed that it was probably a good idea to use the buddy system.

"So who is the sheep?" V wanted to know. It took me a minute to realize that she was talking about me.

"She is not a sheep." Liam growled at her.

"Nate is currently hunting her." Rosemary replied.

"Oh, congratulations." V sneered at me.

"Liam thought it would benefit her to be here tonight." Rosemary continued. "My clan will keep an eye on her and hopefully that will help use pinpoint Nate's location."

"Wait…." I frowned. "Are you using me for bait?"

"I don't think anyone asked you to speak, Sheep." V snickered.

"I don't like the term, 'bait'. You are a convenient strategic asset." Rosemary told me sweetly.

"Grandmother…" Liam frowned. He didn't look happy about using me to bring his homicidal brother out of the darkness.

"We will keep an eye on her. She will be fine." Rosemary rolled her eyes. "I will pay for her therapy after this."

"That's considerate of you…" I replied.

"Just keep her away from the hunter. If they can't find Nate right away, they may resort to more extreme measures. I would hate for you to lose her. It's about time you take on a shadow." Rosemary told Liam.

Liam glared at her. "She isn't my shadow. She's my girlfriend." He informed her coolly.

"What is it with you Lakecrest boys and human females?" V wanted to know.

"She can't be your shadow anyway. Nate marked her." Rene spoke up softly.

"Excuse me? He did no such thing." I replied briskly. I wasn't sure exactly what that meant but it sounded like something I didn't want.

Rene gave me a soft smile and shook her head. "I have mild psychic abilities and I can sense your connection to him. Usually only older vampires can bind a specific human to them as a blood servant but Nate must be starting to develop that skill. He bound you to him. He probably didn't even know that at the time and may still not know about it."

"He knows." I interrupted quietly. Liam gave me a surprised glance. I bit my lip a little with my embarrassment as I looked up at him. "Earlier, when he went to taunt me at work he touched my neck. It was such a weird feeling and he looked surprised but then…. He looked pleased with himself which I knew probably wasn't a good thing…" I stopped talking as the words started to choke up in my throat. I wasn't about to let myself cry in front of the group of vampires.

Liam tightly wrapped his arms around me and held me against his chest. "He can't have you." He said softly to me and gently brushed his lips against my forehead. I tried to be brave and gave him a soft smile. He returned the smile before he looked back up at Rene with a dark predatory expression in his eyes. "How can we break the bond?"

Rene just shook her head. "Time. If he doesn't feed from her for a while the bound will slowly go away. It could be months or years. The bond isn't that strong so I would just give it a couple of weeks. It would also end in the event of his death."

"Okay, so don't let Nate bite for a couple of weeks? My goal is to not let him lay his mouth on me ever again so that shouldn't be a problem." I grumbled.

"You might not have a choice." Rosemary shook her head with a sigh. She apparently wasn't happy about the bond either. "That is kind of the point of binding a human to you. Nate isn't exactly a master vampire so he can't completely dominate your mind but that won't stop him from trying. The more he feeds from you and the more he touches the bites, the more control he will have over you. He will make you obey him and he will make you crave his bites. He will make you his slave."

I felt like I was going to be sick. I bit my tongue roughly as I could feel a panic attack welling up inside me. It wouldn't take very much longer for me to start dry heaving. I felt like I was drowning.

Liam started to rock me a little. "It's okay." He whispered as he gently stroked my back.

"Why can't Liam bite her and bind her to him?" V spoke up. I don't know if she actually cared about my wellbeing or was just curious.

"It doesn't work like that." Rene sadly shook her head. "Humans can't be bound to more than one vampire. Nate isn't strong enough to have more than one human in his control yet. If he was hunting her before, he really is going to be now. He is not about to let a show of power escape from his hands."

Rosemary seemed to be considering this as she looked over the pathetic display of me trying to hold in a panic attack and Liam attempting to comfort me. "Alright. I will send you both to Europe." She decided.

"I wouldn't recommend that." Gaston spoke up. "He will just follow her there. I can sense my human servants wherever they go. April is currently in France, sleeping. Marcus is dancing with his girlfriend in a downtown club in New York and Lance is right here." He nodded at the man with a broken shoulder bone. "Nate may not be able to sense her exact location like I can but he will know when she leaves the country, at the very least."

I closed my eyes at the realization that I didn't have any privacy from Nate. He would have a guesstimate of my location and possibly even be able to know what I was doing.

"You're bleeding." Liam said with concern as I began to hyperventilate. I didn't know what he meant till I tasted the blood in my mouth. I had bitten into my tongue. I roughly pulled away from Liam as I took off into the hallway and into the bathroom across the hall. I briefly noticed that I had gone into the mens' but at that point I didn't care. A few short muffled screams escaped my throat as I dropped to my knees in front of a porcelain toilet bowl. I dry heaved violently over it even though I knew I wouldn't actually throw up. I just really felt like I was going to. It felt like it went on forever but I knew it had only lasted a few minutes. I don't have panic attacks that often, at least none this bad. The last one had been last semester when my computer had crashed during finals week.

"Are you okay?" Liam sat beside me on the bathroom floor and wrapped his arms around me. I wondered how long he had been there and decided I didn't want to know. I let out a soft whimper as I laid my head against his chest. He gently stroked my hair and wiped the tears off my cheeks. "Come on. I will take you home." He told me softly as he helped me to my feet.

Rosemary was waiting outside of the bathroom. "Alexia, I would like a word with you."

"Grand-" Liam started to protest and she gestured for him to go away. He sighed and slunk over to where Cassandra and Spencer were waiting.

Rosemary took me by the elbow and led me a little bit down the hall away from them. At the end of the hallway was a large window overlooking the city. "I am sorry about Nate." She sighed as she gazed out the window. I could only see my own reflection looking back. I was looking like a hot mess. My eyes were still red from crying and I eyeliner smeared on my cheeks. "He was always a bit tenacious and has always had a problem with authority but we never expected this to happen. Liam has had a hard time dealing with Nate's betrayal. I am glad he has found you. I haven't seen him this happy in a while. If you hurt him, Nate will be the least of your worries." She threatened me.

"I have no intention of hurting him." I said softly. I might have been offended if I wasn't so tired. I was emotionally and physically exhausted from my panic attack. I just wanted to go home and go to bed.

"Whether you like it or not, you are now tangled into my clan's affairs. We will be keeping an eye on you." She informed me and led me back down the hall where Liam was waiting for me. He took me by the hand and led me back out of the hotel. The valet already had the car waiting for us. Liam helped me into the car before sliding into the passenger seat and driving me home.

I let him walk me into my apartment. Miranda was asleep on the couch in the living room. I picked up the remote and turned off Boy Meets World and tossed my Hello Kitty blanket over her. I picked her guitar off the floor so she wouldn't trip over it when she got up to stumble to the bathroom later on. I set it on the coffee table and then led Liam into my bedroom. I had taken the time to clean it earlier. My room had a hot pink, orange and bright yellow theme in place. My floral comforter on my queen bed was a great representation of this. I had a pink ottoman near the foot of my bed that was covered in magazines. Under the window I had a small desk with a yellow rolling chair. A pink butterfly chair in the corner that was covered by stuffed Carebears was the only other piece of furniture in the room. My dresser was inside my walk-in closet. I had the door shut because I actually didn't clean my room. I had just shoved everything into the closet. I had a couple of movie posters and cutouts from fashion magazines up on the walls.

"Will you stay with me?" I asked Liam softly. "I don't mean like…I just want to sleep and I would feel a lot safer if you slept with me but in a nonsexual nature…" I blushed as I rambled.

My heart fluttered as he leaned in and kissed me. "Sure." He gave me a soft smile.

"Okay…I am going to get my pajamas on." I informed him as I turned on the light in my closet and stepped inside to get dressed. I dug through my dresser drawers as I tried to find pajamas that weren't too skimpy or too frumpy. If my life ever goes back to normal I need to go pajama shopping. I decided on some black athletic shorts and a pink tank top. When I came back Liam had already stripped down to his boxers and was inspecting my Carebears.

"Is this okay?" He gestured towards himself.

"Yeah." I blushed. It was more than okay. He was very toned and had a six pack. I wanted to run my hands along his abs. We were just going to sleep though. That was what we had agreed.

I took off the stuffed animals and some of the pillows that were on my bed. I pulled back the blankets and crawled under the blankets. Liam turned off the lights before coming over to join me. I could slightly see his eyes glow as he walked over and got under the blankets with me. I curled up against him and he wrapped his arm around me. He gently stroked my hair back and inspected my neck.

"It looks a lot better than it did yesterday." He informed me as he gently ran his fingers over the bruise.

"Liam, I am scared." I admitted to him. "I have never been in a situation like this before. I have never had any enemies. I did everything I was supposed to do. I got good grades. I got into a good college. I am on the dean's list." I heard my voice go shrill with my panic. "Why me?"

Liam pulled me closer and kissed me softly. "It's nothing you have done. You have done nothing wrong. Sometimes bad things happen to people that don't deserve it." He stroked my hair.

I felt safe lying in Liam's arms. I laid there for a while just staring at the wall. I was having a hard time falling asleep. Liam fell asleep before I did and pulled me closer to his chest. I laid my head on his chest and snuggled closer. His lack of breathing and heartbeat was a little weird but at the same time I could feel his strength rippling through his body. I found it very comforting. My eyes flickered shut as I fell asleep.

A good night's sleep was apparently too much to ask for. My dreams were filled with violence and gore. Blood coated everything. It dripped from the walls and coated my hands. A woman sobbed before me. She had been severely beaten and most of her clothing had been ripped off. She was pleading and begging for her life as I roughly shoved her down onto the ground. She screamed as I roughly dug my claws into her chest. I cracked open her rib cage and ripped out her organs. I held her still beating heart in my hand and examined it before taking a bite out of it, feeling the blood run down my chin. Liam held me and soothed me as I woke up in tears.

I knew it had to be something to do with Nate. He was showing me how he had killed a woman. I knew without a doubt that he had just shown that to me on purpose. He wanted me to see it. I had to find a way to break our bond. There was no way in hell I was going to be anyone's blood slave, especially his. If it came down to it, I would kill myself first.