Less than forty-eight hours after my attack, I’m back on campus, working up the courage to walk into the genetics lab. I reach for the door handle for the third time, my hand shaking so badly, I can’t grip the lobby door with any amount of strength to open it. Come on, Sasha, you can do this. They cleared the campus. They’d let you know if someone was still out there to get you. Logically I know this. Illogically, there’s a vampire involved, a sick one. My belief that the police can catch this guy is somewhere between zilch and never gonna happen.

Someone bumps into my shoulder, jostling me out of my nightmarish thoughts, and looks back apologizing before he holds the door open for me. I don’t even look up at him, just mutter a thanks and step inside and to the right near the waiting area for the science building. I rock back on my heels, taking deep breaths to calm myself and not run out screaming. I won’t let the bastard win. I just won’t.

I look around the cavernous room. Everything is in its usual place. The chairs that were knocked over at the security desk are currently filled by two other guards. The yellow tape that had been decorating the desk is no longer there. Glass doesn’t litter the floor, and neither do puddles of blood and broken bodies. It’s so clean, I can see my reflection off the surface of the check-in desk. There’s no evidence that multiple people lost their lives two nights ago. No evidence of any attack. Of my attack.

Half of me is happy there’s no glaring reminder. I can’t get those images out of my mind, and a tangible reminder may only make what memories I have worse. The other half of me is enraged at the thought that something so tragic is erased easily. What about the other victims? There’s no memorial, no flowers or pictures anywhere. I’d expected more from my fellow students. But it’s as if their presence was nothing more than a blip on campus. It’s sad as hell.

Someone scuffs the heels of their shoes as they walk and I look over, irrationally irritated that they can’t pick up their feet and walk like a normal adult. Can’t they have a little respect for what happened here? Or maybe they don’t know. They’re so involved in their own lives and their social media they probably have been too busy partying to hear about what happened. I close my eyes and blow out a deep breath. Maybe this isn’t such a good idea to come back. Maybe I should have waited a few more days. Until I can figure out what exactly is happening to me.

But I can’t ignore the fact that I was bitten by a sick vampire and I’m going to turn into one. I need to see more proof . . . more than Arsen’s extended fangs and his neat little explanation of everything.

I need to run tests. On myself. On my blood. It would be easier if I had some samples to compare it to, but it’s not like I have a database of newly turned vampires to tap into.

“Hey, I know you just got bitten too. Can I snag a sample from you to run some tests?” Yeah, right. That’ll be the day.

I sip my tea and focus on calming myself. I’m here because I need to be doing something other than pace my apartment and guess at “what ifs”and “could have beens” or “what could be.” I’ve got to figure out how this change affects me. I need to study it. If I’m going to help them cure some virus, I’ll need to know every detail, including how a human changes into a vampire and how it changes the genetic makeup.

I grab my student ID out of my pocket and stride toward the lab area with purpose. I can do this. No matter what, I survived. And I’ll keep surviving. No matter what I may become.

* * *

A few hours later, and more vials of my blood than is probably safe to withdraw on an empty stomach, I’ve got every test I can think of running. Full blood count. An INR test to measure how long it takes my blood to clot so I can measure it against a more human sample. Folate and C-reactive protein tests to make sure my red blood cells behave somewhat normally and to ensure there are no infections currently in my body. The list goes on and on.

“What’re you working on, Sasha?” one of my classmates asks, grabbing a printout of a test result.

“Nothing. Go away,” I grumble, annoyed that he’s in my space and looking at tests that are a little personal. I refocus my gaze on the microscope in front of me, watching as my blood reacts to certain stimuli.

“This test result isn’t normal. Are you looking at someone who’s been given a vitamin cocktail? Or some new drug?” He pushes at my shoulder. “Let me take a look.”

I move back and hiss at him, pushing him away from me, fury pumping through my veins.

“Hey! What’s going on over here?” Jackson’s familiar voice brings me back to where I am . . . in the middle of the genetics lab on campus.

“I’m so sorry.” I press a hand over my mouth, wide eyes meeting Jackson’s narrowed ones, scared at my own reaction to my classmate’s curiosity.

“It’s okay, Sasha.” Jackson wraps his arm around my shoulder and addresses the kid who’s name I can’t even remember. “She was just attacked the other night. Leave her alone.”

His cheeks turn pink. “Sorry, I forgot.” He scurries away and I watch him, afraid that if I remove my hand from my mouth, I’ll suddenly have fangs poking out for everyone to see.

“You okay?” Jackson asks.

I nod and poke at my teeth with my tongue. Nothing sharp pokes at them. I slowly drop my hand. “I think so. I just didn’t like that he was in my space, then he tried to push me out of the way.”

“That normally doesn’t bother you, though.” Jackson leans back against the lab table, crossing his thick arms over his chest.

“I know it doesn’t.” I shrug. “I guess I’m just a little on edge after what happened.”

“How are you really feeling? I wasn’t sure you’d be back so soon after you disappeared from the hospital the other day.” His disapproving tone reminds me he deserves an explanation. But what can I tell him? Guess what? I was attacked by vampires. Hope you don’t mind your old buddy getting all fangy.

“I’m okay, I guess. And you said I wasn’t under arrest, you have my statement. And a . . . um . . . friend came to pick me up.” I wouldn’t exactly classify Arsen as a friend, but I doubt the fine print really matters here.

“A friend? Who?” He leans back against my work desk. “Why didn’t you check out and wait for me to get back? I could have taken you home and stayed with you. That’s what a protective detail is for, Sasha.”

I make a face at him. “You were there when he was. You went to go check on your partner, and when we wanted to leave, all the nurses were gone, probably fixing and checking stuff after the power outage. I tried to find you but couldn’t. I assumed you got called away on police business, so we just left.”

Jackson narrows his eyes at me. “I didn’t meet your friend.”

“Yes, you did. Arsen? Arsen Eskandar? He was right there, you shook his hand and everything.” I poke at his arm. “Are you sure I’m the one with the memory loss?”

Jackson stands up, his body tensing. “You’re friends with Arsen Eskandar?”

“Uh, kinda?” It comes out as more of a question than a statement but I’m not quite sure what to classify Arsen as. Other than sexy vampire.

“Have you been with him this whole time?”

“No. He brought me straight home and left me with his card.”

“And how do you know him again?” Jackson asks.

“It’s a bit of a long story . . .” I trail off, not sure why Jackson has such hate for Arsen. Maybe they know each other. “How do you know him?” I ask.

Jackson raises a brow. “It’s a bit of a long story.”

“Ha. Okay, smart-ass. Fine. Be that way.” I pull some papers with my test results together and put them in a plain manila folder. “What are you doing here anyway? It’s midday. Shouldn’t you be out arresting some wrongdoer?”

“I’m off today. I wanted to get some lab time in and study for midterms.”

Jackson rests his hand over mine on the folder and I meet his warm, brown gaze. “If you ever need help with anything, Sasha. I can help you.”

“Help me? With what? Labs?” I chuckle. I’m head of the class, I would be the one to help someone else.

“No, not labs. I mean like if anything is wrong. I can help you. I know people.”

Well that’s not vague as hell. “Nothing’s wrong, Jackson. I’m fine. I know you’re a cop. Kinda hard to miss.” I swipe the slide from the microscope and clean it off. “I appreciate the offer, though.”

Jackson opens his mouth like he wants to say something else but glances away. “Maybe you should take some time off from school.”

“You know I can’t do that. I’ve got scholarships to maintain.” I wipe down my microscope, glancing over at him. “I know you’re all protective right now, but I can’t just stop living my life because of what happened.”

“I’m just trying to look out for you. People like Arsen don’t know you. Not like I do.”

I cross my arms over my chest, defensive over his comment about Arsen for no good reason other than his tone sounds condescending. “Listen, I’m going to go. I’m fine, though, I promise. We’ll hang out soon, watch some bad movies, and eat way too much junk food.”

Jackson huffs. “Fine, but I’m not letting this go.”

I slap the flat surface of the lab table, the sound loud in the sterile room. “Jackson! Leave it be. I’m a grown woman. I can make my own decisions.”

“Whatever. I’ve got to go. I’m going to be late to class.” He storms off, muttering to himself.

What the hell has gotten into him? I know it was a scare for all of us, and I’d probably be just as protective of him as he is of me, but I’m not so defenseless that I need a man to swoop in and carry all my books for me. I clean up my lab station and pack my stuff as quickly as possible, wanting to get home and look over all the results in private.

As I leave the building, the fading sun barely keeps the chill of the fall weather in Portland at bay, but the sky is beautiful.

I reach for my phone to check the time and remember it had been wrecked in the attack. Shit. I’ve got to get a new one of those.

“Hey, Sasha.”

I jump at the greeting and whip around to face Arsen. Speak of the devil and he shall appear.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, pressing a hand to my chest, the accelerated beat of my heart tapping against my palm.

“I came to check on you.” He smiles wide. “You didn’t answer the door at your apartment, so I assumed you’d be here.”

I frown. How is it that he knows so much about my habits, but I barely know anything about him? Other than he rules a coven of vampires and wants me to find a cure for some vampire virus. “Well, you found me.” I walk toward my apartment, my stride quick.

It does nothing to deter him.

“Indeed I did. How are you feeling?”

“Why does everyone keep asking me that?”

“Well, you were just attacked. And I happen to know that you’re changing into something . . . else.” He lowers his voice at the last sentence and I check to make sure no one is paying attention to us.

“I’m fine, I guess. I’m not noticing anything different, yet.” Other than my strange blood tests I haven’t had a chance to go over.

“You will. It either happens very quickly for people or a little slower over a few days.”

I nod. “Good to know.”

“Have you given any more thought to my offer?” Arsen rubs his hands together in front of him, stepping a few steps ahead of me and walking backward, facing me as we walk.

I stop. “No. I’m sorry, I’ve been a little busy recovering from a vampire attack. And figuring out what the hell that means for me and my future.”

Call me selfish but I’m not even a full-fledged vampire yet. It’s not like I owe these creatures any loyalty. After all, it hadn’t been my choice to become a card-carrying member of the fang club.

“Apologies. Clearly my approach wasn’t very tactful. I know you’re going through some things right now.”

Things. Yeah, let’s call life-altering changes “things.”

“I’d like to sweeten the pot as it were. We’ll pay for the rest of your schooling, pay off any current debts, and set you up with your own state-of-the-art lab for research.”

I bite my lip. It’s tempting. No more school debt. No more worrying about maintaining my scholarship. I could actually take a day off to rest up. “It’s a great offer, but I really can’t decide right now. I’m sorry.”

“What else would you like?” Arsen asks, his tone calm.

“I’m not really interested in things, Arsen. And your belief that you can buy me is not only rude, it’s offensive.” We arrive at my apartment and I walk up the stairs to the first door, unlocking it and stepping inside. “You told me you’d let me process and I could contact you. You’re trying to force my hand here.”

Arsen follows me, persistent as ever. “That was not my intention. Plea—”

“Listen, this has been fun, but I’ve got work to do and decisions to make, so if you don’t mind . . .” I pop open the door of my apartment, stepping behind it, hoping he’ll get the hint.

He doesn’t.

“Arsen, I need time. Alone. To figure this all out. Please respect that.” I shove the door closed, but his foot stops me from closing it completely. I sigh, exasperated. If he’s not going to take no for an answer, then I’ve got no choice but to make him.

“Please, just let me explain, Sasha.”

I kick his foot, knocking it out of the way and slam the door in his face before he can keep talking.