“Come on, bitch! Let’s get wasted! We’re celebrating, damn it!” exclaimed Jocelyn Greer, Ava’s closest friend and confidante.

It was Friday night and Jocelyn had finally finished her very first week of work at the Mountain Crest Journal. Her first story assignment had been based on the new factory that had just opened up downtown and had provided hundreds of jobs for the city’s residents. She was slightly disappointed that she hadn’t been assigned to report the murder—especially since she just happened to be the daughter of the police chief. But—life goes on, right?

Ava and Jocelyn were at the Beering Hole, a local Bar and Grill in downtown Mountain Crest. They were celebrating Ava’s first week of work at the local newspaper. Ava knew that her friend never really needed a valid reason to get drunk, but she went along with it anyway.

They ordered a couple of shots of vodka from the bar and downed them quickly. Ava had just set her empty shot glass down on the bar when she stopped dead in her tracks.

There he was, Chase from Lexus. He had just walked into the bar and his eyes were locked directly on Ava. Caught in his captivating gaze, she quickly nudged Jocelyn and nodded towards where Chase was currently standing.

“Oh my God, Jocelyn, there he is!” she exclaimed. “The guy I told you about from that neighborhood up in Lexus!”

Jocelyn turned around and saw the tall, pale, mysteriously handsome character who was staring her best friend down as he made his way toward the bar, accompanied by a slightly shorter, stocky blonde-haired guy with eyes that were almost as blue as his. Both young men were approaching the area of the bar she and Ava were currently sitting at.

**

“There she is,” Chase stated as he nodded over toward the area of the bar where Ava and her friend were sitting.

Chase’s best friend, Nicholai shook his head in disapproval.

“Are you crazy, man? She’s a fucking human! That shit goes against everything we’ve been taught!” he exclaimed contemptuously.  “Besides, aren’t you supposed to be mated to Azalea in less than three months?”

Chase shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, paying no attention to his friend’s curtly spoken words. He was completely mesmerized by the beautiful, enthralling redhead, though he couldn’t quite explain exactly why.

A few days ago she had walked into his house behind her father and he’d felt an instant attraction to her that he didn’t really understand; but, it had been the strongest, most intense feeling he had ever felt in his ninety-nine years on this earth. He’d known Azalea for nearly an entire century and had never felt anything even remotely close to what he’d felt the moment he’d laid eyes on the stunning Ava.

He went over to where she was sitting and approached the bar, stepping between her and her blonde-haired friend.

“Ava, right?’ he asked, staring intently into her entrancing green eyes. Ava found herself almost at a loss for words as her body temperature began to rise.

What the fuck is wrong with me? She wondered silently.

“Uh…yeah,” she replied, trying hard not to stutter. Her heart rate sped up. “Chase, right?”

He nodded and raised his hand to signal the bartender.

“What are you drinking?” he asked in a sensual tone of voice. The tone sent chills up Ava’s spine.

“Umm…Absolut and cranberry,” she said, trying hard to keep her voice steady. What was it about this mystery man that made her feel like a gushing schoolgirl every time he was around?

He ordered her another drink and a martini for himself. Ava watched his every move with growing fascination. He looked to be in his mid- to late twenties, but his demeanor suggested a confidence and wisdom far beyond that age.

Jocelyn noticed her friend’s obvious infatuation with the handsome young man and made her way over to another part of the bar to observe them from afar. She’d noticed the blonde-haired companion who had entered the bar with Chase, but he seemed completely uninterested in mingling with any of the other patrons.

The bartender brought the drinks back over to Chase and set them down in front of him. After paying, Chase turned his attention back to Ava, who thanked him with a bright, inviting smile.

“Have you lived out in Lexus your whole life?” she asked him, before taking a sip of her drink.

Chase nodded slowly, while keeping his eyes locked on Ava’s. A part of her wanted to look away, but she couldn’t bring herself to do so.

“Before I went away to college, I lived in Mountain Crest my whole life, but I’ve never seen you before,” she noted.

“Yeah…we uh, tend to get home schooled,” he replied solemnly.

Across the bar, Jocelyn eyed the couple and she could tell that her bestie was indeed feeling a deep connection to the mysterious, good-looking stranger. She made a point to stay in the background and allow them the opportunity to converse with one another for the remainder of the night. She also noticed that the pale-skinned, blonde-haired guy who had accompanied Chase had all but disappeared over into a dark, quiet corner, avoiding everyone in the bar.

“You know, my dad told me to stay away from you. He told me that you were bad news. But there’s just something about you…I don’t know, just something so different from other guys I’ve met,” Ava said slowly.

If only she knew, Chase thought to himself as he downed the last of his drink. He raised his hand to signal the bartender again.

“Did he tell you why you should stay away from me?” he inquired, cocking his head slightly to the side whilst continuing to hold her gaze.

“No, actually. He just seemed really adamant about it,” Ava confessed. “But I’m a grown woman, so I get to decide.” She raised her left eyebrow and flashed him a grin.

“I don’t usually do this, you know. Approach women out in public like this,” Chase said to her. “I usually don’t even leave Lexus except to go away on visits to members of my…family in other areas of the country.”

He realized that he had almost uttered “species.” It was obvious to him that Ava didn’t know he wasn’t human—that he was actually an immortal creature; and he wasn’t quite ready to reveal his true identity to her just yet.

“You sound like a shut-in,” Ava replied. “So what made you come out here tonight, then?” She slid in just a bit closer to him as she spoke.

“You promise you won’t turn around and run away if I tell you?” he inquired, raising his dark, sexy eyebrows at her, and leaning in close to her ear.

Ava leaned forward and smiled flirtatiously.

“I kind of…followed you here because I really wanted to see you again,” he confessed. His deep blue eyes glistened in the dim light of the bar and Ava became completely lost in them.

Her heart leapt inside of her chest. She silently wondered what it was about this mysteriously attractive man that made her body react to him this way. Just being in his presence and looking into his eyes caused her to feel emotions that she had no control over whatsoever.

Is this what they mean by love at first sight? she pondered.

The bartender brought over another round of drinks and Chase handed Ava her glass. Their fingertips touched in the process, and just from the brief skin-to-skin contact, Ava inhaled sharply at the jolt of electricity that shot up her arm.

Apparently, Chase felt it, too. He paused for a moment, and then quickly downed his drink. Ava felt herself shudder slightly when his pink tongue emerged from his mouth and licked away the residual liquid from his lips. She felt an overwhelming urge to kiss him, but held herself back. What was wrong with her? She never acted this forward with strange guys.

Perhaps it was the liquor doing a number on her, or maybe it was her growing attraction to him. Most likely, it was a combination of the two. But, whatever it was, she honestly didn’t care at that moment. The only thing she wanted to do was feel his sexy, soft-looking lips against hers.

Ava rose to her feet and closed the short distance between the two of them, pressing her body closer to his. As if mesmerized, she stood up on her tiptoes and raised her face up to meet his. She closed her eyes as her lips met his and her entire body reacted to the kiss.

Chase felt an electric jolt go through his body. The chemistry between them was like nothing he had ever experienced before. Almost immediately, he felt his fangs punch out of his gums, and his eyes turn red. For the first time in his life, he couldn’t control the reaction. He quickly backed away from her, keeping his head lowered. He mumbled an excuse about how he never should have come and then he turned and left.

“Chase, wait! What’s wrong?” she called out after him as she attempted to follow him out of the bar.

She threw open the door and stepped outside. Astonishingly, Chase was nowhere to be found. She looked to the left and to the right and there was no sign of him anywhere - just the dark, empty street with a light mist coming down.