Fighting hard against his baser instincts, and the raging demon inside him, he eventually regained control and was simply able to enjoy her soothing presence once more.

He was beside her again the moment the bell rang. Her touch soothed him further, easing the aching tension and hunger coiled tightly within him. Her soft smile warmed him. “Would you like to show me all of the town hotspots tonight?” he asked, unable to stop himself from grinning at her like a fool as they made their way slowly outside.

Her laugh was enchanting. “Well you’ve already seen the number one spot, B’s and S’s.”

“Yes, and it was amazing.”

She laughed again, shaking back her golden hair. “Well, their shakes definitely are. But I’d be happy to show you around town if you want.”

“I do.”

Her long lashes lowered shyly over her eyes, a dull flush stained her cheeks. “Great, I’ll uh… oh crap.” The smile slid from her face, her light brown eyebrows drew tightly together. “I forgot, I can’t tonight, there’s something that I have to do.”

He tried to contain his disappointment as she stopped walking and turned to face him. Students milled easily past them, eager to get to their cars and escape the crowded parking lot. “Tomorrow night then?”

Her smile returned, but her eyes remained oddly troubled and distant. He could sense a fierce tension swirling through her, an odd sense of regret and loss seemed to fill her. “I would like that.”

Though she said yes, he sensed something behind the words, disappointment maybe? Anguish?

“Cassie come on, let’s go!”

She glanced over her shoulder to where Chris stood, leaning out of his car with his arm resting on the driver’s door. Melissa was by the passenger door, her dark eyes narrowed slightly as she studied them. “I have to go.”

Sadness still enveloped her as she met his gaze again. Her hand tightened around his before she released him, her eyes searching his face with an intensity that left him shaken. Loss seemed to envelope her as she took a small step back.

“I’ll see you tomorrow then,” he said softly, knowing he would see her before then.

He didn’t understand what was going on with her, but she seemed to be releasing him, for good. He had no intention of letting her go though. Not now, not after he had finally broken through some of her barriers. Especially not now that he knew the reality of her was far better than the dream version.

“Yes.”

She smiled wanly at him before turning and hurrying away. Glancing briefly back she hesitated for a moment, seemingly torn, before joining her friends and slipping into the beat up Mustang. Melissa and Chris watched him for a moment more, their eyes fiercely intense, piercing, and slightly unnerving. There was something strange about those two, something that he could not quite put his finger on. But strangely enough, their oddness was vaguely familiar to him.

He studied the car as they pulled out of the parking lot, wracking his brain for what it was about Chris and Melissa that plagued him. Deciding to put it aside for now, he headed to where he had parked his car. A group of students had gathered around it, most of them were female. He nodded and briefly returned their greetings, but barely paid them any attention as he hit the button on his remote. The car beeped in response and the locks popped open.

“Devon! Devon!”

He turned as Marcy hurried up to him, smiling brightly as she adjusted her books in her arms. “Marcy,” he greeted tonelessly.

She chose to ignore his lack of a warm greeting as she reached out to touch his arm lightly. He moved away from her grasp. “I was wondering if you would give me a ride home.”

He frowned at her, his eyes darting back toward the Mustang that was stuck in traffic at the entranceway of the school. He knew what Marcy was angling for, knew that she wanted to be seen pulling out of this parking lot with him. And though he was new to high school, he had quickly learned how fast gossip and rumors spread through the small social network. He didn’t want those rumors starting about him. Not now that he had finally reached Cassie, not now that she was finally talking to him, and acknowledging his existence.

“What’s the matter with your car?”

She frowned at him, her leaf colored eyes narrowing slightly. It was apparent she had not expected any kind of hesitance on his part. “Well I usually ride with Kara, but her car isn’t starting.”

Devon moved even further away from her, his hand rested lightly on his door handle. He didn’t want to leave the girl stranded, but he also didn’t want to let her in his car. He knew his affect on women, but there were some that were drawn to him even more than others. Marcy appeared to be one of those girls. It would not end well if he let her pursuit of him continue.

“I’m sorry Marcy, but there is something that I must do. I’m sure one of your other friends could give you a ride.” It was not a lie; he did need to find a place to stay. He was tired of hotel rooms and floating about. He hadn’t had any intention of remaining when he first arrived in this town, now he had no intention of leaving.

Marcy’s eyes narrowed slightly, anger sparked through them. She turned briefly, her gaze darting toward the Mustang that was now at the front of the line. “I saw you speaking with Cassie.”

Devon stiffened, his hand slid away from the door handle. Even if he had been human, he never could have missed the hostility in her tone, or her gaze. “Yes.”

She chose to ignore the warning in his tone as her gaze slid slowly back to him. “It would probably be best if you stayed away from her.”

“And why is that?” he grated through clenched teeth.

Marcy shrugged as she plastered a falsely sweet smile on her face. “You could do better.”

“Like you?”

She blinked in surprise, than her smile widened. “Well, you never know,” she responded, lowering her eyelashes flirtatiously. “If you play your cards right.”

Devon stepped closer to her, bending down to make sure that his words were not overheard by the group surrounding them. He knew he had to nip this in the bud now, but he did not wish to humiliate the girl. “That is never going to happen Marcy. I’m sorry, but I have no interest in you.”

She gazed up at him, her eyes wide with surprise before they narrowed furiously. He decided that was his cue to leave, before she lost her composure completely. Swinging his car door open, he slipped swiftly inside.

CHAPTER 10

Cassie moved slowly beside Chris, her feet dragged along the sidewalk. It used to be after a night of training that she would feel invigorated and pumped. Tonight, she felt bone weary and beaten. Though the night off had been needed, she was still unable to concentrate on any moves, could not throw a stake, or even defend the blows that Chris and Melissa had thrown at her. She had been the best of the three of them in training and fighting, but now she looked like a floundering newbie. She was just grateful it had not been a real fight, or she would be dead right now.

Luther was still frustrated with her lack of concentration, and ability, but his irritation was nothing compared to hers. Her entire body ached, but not from the beaten she had taken tonight. She ached for him. She ached to see him, and to touch him again. It was a physical itch that had gone deeper than her skin; it had imbedded itself into the marrow of her bones and taken hold of her soul.

She would never be free of him again.

Confusion, fear, and distress tore through her at the thought, and the certainty that accompanied it. For the past four years she had tried to keep things as simple as possible, but they were not simple anymore. She had spent the past years concentrating on four things, and four things only. And those things had been family, school, training, and hunting. Those four things were all that had gotten her through the years. Her focus upon them had not allowed her time to think about anything else, they had especially kept her from thinking about the future she could never have. She had no dreams of college, did not even plan to attend, and she had stopped daydreaming long ago of marriage, a family, and children.

Now though, she could not stop thinking about the future she couldn’t have, the future that had been stolen from her four years ago. She could not stop thinking of Devon, and could not stop her mind from wandering and dreaming. She did not think of marriage and children, she would never allow herself to dream that far. But today her mind had wandered to dates, and dances, and even tomorrow. She was actually looking forward to tomorrow, simply because she was looking forward to seeing him again.

Before Devon, she had never thought of tomorrow. She had simply lived day to day, moment to moment, for she never knew when that moment could be her last. But he had made her forget all of that, and it had shaken her entire world. To hope could be dangerous; she had learned that long ago. Hope only led to disappointment and hurt. She was tired of being hurt; it was much easier to stay safely walled away from the world, safely protected from emotional pain.

But somehow he had managed to tear that wall away. She didn’t understand how it had happened, but she knew that she could not keep him out. That he had officially wedged himself into her existence.

For now anyway.

She could not allow herself to hope to far into the future, not past tomorrow at least, for that was already a huge leap. It would be too painful when she lost it all. And she would lose him, just as she had lost so many things that mattered to her.

There were already plans for the three of them, and Luther, to leave after graduation. Though Cape Cod received its fair share of vampires, thanks to tourist season, there were many other places that had a much higher concentration. Areas where they were needed more. On average they only killed ten vampires a year, most in the summer. Though last year it had been fifteen, and this year they were on track to beat that record.

Luther believed that after graduation they would be trained well enough to go where they were needed more, to offer their help and protection somewhere else. Cassie didn’t think much about it, she wanted to make it to graduation, she would like to graduate, but she did not plan for it. Neither did she panic at the thought of leaving the only town, and the only life she had ever known; for she didn’t know if she would ever live to see it happen. She would worry about it if the day came, not a minute sooner.

But today, for one brief moment, she had found herself hoping, and dreaming, and planning for tomorrow. Then, she had gone to training tonight and was forced to remember why she had kept herself so shut off in the first place. She was still completely distracted and uncoordinated. If she had been in the field, she would have been killed. And she would have put Chris and Melissa in danger also.

Devon was a distraction that was risky to her, and her friends. Yet she knew she was not going to let him go. Devon was the only selfish thing she had done since Luther had disrupted her ordinary childhood, and she could not bring herself to give him up. Not yet anyway. If she couldn’t find a way to balance her life with him in it, then she would let him go. She would have to.

But she was determined not to let that happen.

She needed the little bit of happiness, and the little bit of hope, that he brought into her life. She had known all along that she was unhappy and lost, but she had not realized just how much until he had arrived. She didn’t know if she could stand to retreat behind her wall again. She was greatly afraid that it might destroy her, maybe not physically, but spiritually.

Shuddering deeper into her windbreaker, she wrapped her arms tightly around herself. Though it was not a cold night, there was a chill deep in her bones. The clicking of the tree branches, and the soft rustle of the leaves, did not help the melancholy that enshrouded her. It felt eerie out tonight, somehow wrong, or maybe that was just her.

“Are you ok?” Chris asked softly.

Cassie glanced up at him, noting the worry in his blue eyes. “I’m fine, why?”

He shook his sandy hair back. “You’ve been out of it for awhile Cass, slow, ungraceful, ill coordinated…”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” she muttered.

“I’m just saying.” He shrugged his massive shoulders and shoved his hands into his pockets. “You’ve been off, which is very unusual.”

“I’ve got a lot on my mind.”

“Hmm.” They crossed the street, stepping briefly into the spill of streetlights as they reached the sidewalk. The soft rustle of a coyote in the woods caught Cassie’s attention. It moved slowly through the shadows, staying low to the ground as it hunted a small rabbit. Cassie shuddered, an ominous feeling descended upon her. “Is this because of him?”

Cassie jerked as she tore her gaze away from the cruel reality of life. She knew how the rabbit felt because she also felt trapped, desperate, hopeless, with no way out. And there was no way out; no way to escape her heritage.

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