“This is a test,” he says calmly. His aura flickers, those tiny red specks still dancing in his golden light. “You’re human, and he can kill you. You can’t forget that.”

“But I’ll be reborn,” I say, trying to make light of the situation. I shouldn’t because there is a sickness growing in the pit of my stomach when I think about what I have to do—what I’m meant to do.

He doesn’t appreciate my humor. “You let him bite you, and you stake him. Don’t hesitate. You hesitate, and you die. You let him go, and you die. You—”

“I get it. I get it. I’m dead in a million ways. I’ll stake him, okay? Try to have a little faith.”

He seemed so confident earlier, and now he seems to doubt me. At first, I wonder if he’s rethought his position, but then I watch his aura and feel his emotions very clearly. Worry. For all his bad qualities, this one really endears him to me in a way that overshadows everything else.

“I’ll be fine. I promise.” I try to sound confident, though he likely sees right through me.

In order to make the vampire want me more, I put on a glittery tunic that’s form fitting and falls just below my butt. I wear my hair up. Sebastian says there is nothing more appetizing than a long, bare neck.

We drive an hour or so outside of the city while he grills me on the plan. Over and over again. “How many times do we have to go over this?” I say, with a sigh. “I go up to this door and knock and pretend to be all vulnerable and innocent and tell him my car broke down, and can I please use his phone, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I can do this. The last time a vampire bit me, she pretty much collapsed, and then your friend had to carry her away.”

“Yes. I remember.”

“Sorry.”

“This one is much younger than Cassandra. A good vampire to start with.”

He stares at me with his crimson eyes, but I feel the heat of his anger more from his aura than his eyes. I think I like him better when he’s being an ass. Careful, cautious Sebastian is intense, and he makes me more nervous than I need to be.

He pulls up in front of an old bungalow with white shutters. He turns off the car, and the lights slowly dim until we’re sitting in near darkness lit only by the lampposts.

“I’ll be across the road, watching. I’ll hear everything you say. If you need me, say my name, and I’ll be there.”

“If you can hear everything, can’t he hear us now?”

“No. He’s still young. And you learn to drown out voices after a while. Otherwise, you’d never have a moment’s peace. If he doesn’t have a reason to listen, he won’t.”

I put my hand on the door handle and hesitate. Biting my lip, I take one last look at the man who’s supposed to come to my rescue if this all goes down badly. I’m going against a vampire on purpose. I have to ask myself in this moment if I trust him, and I’m not surprised to find myself answering yes. Wholeheartedly. And it’s not because he hasn’t shut up about the plan. Why drive himself—and me—mad if he didn’t intend to back me up? I trust him because I feel his need to protect me. It touches me. No one has ever felt like that about me, except my sister. Since our parents died, we’ve had no one to look out for us. It feels nice. No. It feels more than nice. This cranky, sometimes charming, vampire makes me feel safe in a world where supernaturals are real and probably all want to kill me.

“I trust you.” I say this without any expectation of him doing or saying anything in return. Something inside of me feels as if he needs to hear it, and maybe it might help him trust me back. Something tells me he doesn’t trust a single person in this world. Not completely. I’ve had my own issues with trust, and I’m entrusting him with my life. There is nothing bigger than that I could give him, except the life of my sister.

I open the door and start to get out, but his hand on my forearm stops me. He grips me firmly. Then his hold softens as he slides his hand down my arm and across the back of my hand, giving me shivers—but not from his body temperature.

“Just call out my name. Once.”

I force a smile. “Wish me luck?”

“Luck has nothing to do with it.”

I roll my eyes. “Your pep talks are inspirational.” I get out and close the door, taking one last look at him before hiking up the street to the house next door. I approach the home carefully, taking in every last detail, noting the number of windows and possible escape routes should I have to exit through a window on the top floor of the two-story cedar home. The door is larger than normal and painted a deep shade of red, almost the color of blood. Coincidence? Probably not.

The lights inside glow softly through the closed curtains to the right. I reach up and grab the ram’s head knocker and rap on the door three times. The sound is weak, but it does the trick. I hear footsteps on the other side of the door. I glance at the car, and Sebastian is already gone. If he’s across the street, he’s well hidden. I don’t even see his glow.

The door swings open, and the man on the other side causes me to raise my eyebrows. He’s not what I expected. He’s an older man, in his seventies, at least. He brushes back his white hair and pastes a smile on his face before peeking out to look down either side of the street.

“Can I help you?” His murky gray aura falters, like a light flickering. Pockets of white light dot his glow, but there are some charcoal-colored spots too. He shines similar to Alexander, and since I already know he’s a douche, I expect this one is too.

“I’m so sorry. My car broke down.” I point to the black SUV for effect.

He massages the short hair on his chin.

“My phone died, and I’m not from around here.” I let go of laughter a touch too loud. I sound uneasy, and I try hard to correct myself before he gets suspicious. “I’m sorry. I don’t know you, and I don’t like to ask strangers for help, but is there any way I could use your phone?”

His nostrils flare, and his smile builds. “Of course, dear. What kind of a man would I be to turn away a stranded lady?”

“Gosh, that’s so nice of you.”

He steps to the side and waves me inside. His blue eyes dull. I’m sure it’s taking all the strength he has not to let his crimson eyes show. I shuffle inside and wait on the doormat while he shuts the door.

“Follow me. You can use the one in the kitchen.”

My purse falls from my shoulder, and I pull it back up. The stake inside of it weighs it down, and I hope he doesn’t notice the slight bulge on the corner. The purse was only just large enough for the shaped wood.

His kitchen is nothing special—stainless steel appliances with tile counters and white cupboards. He walks to a console by the microwave and removes the cordless phone. He holds it against his chest a moment and I see the wheels spinning in his head. Is he considering not biting me? Or the other way around?

“This is a beautiful home you have here.” Damn, if he were handsome, I could flirt up a storm and practically beg for it. It’s not my style, but I’ve watched enough movies that I could have come up with something convincing. Maybe.

“Thank you. I can’t say I’ve done much to it. It looks the same as it did when I moved in two years ago.”

“Well, I love it. Do you live alone?”

He taps a finger on the top of the phone. He still hasn’t held it out for me, so he’s definitely considering me. I have to up the ante, just a little.

“Yes. My wife passed some time ago.”

By some time, does he mean fifty years ago? But I use this as an excuse to reach out and touch his shoulder. “I’m so sorry. I couldn’t imagine. You must miss her very much.”

There. Crimson sparks in his eyes, and his lips pucker as his fangs begin to grow. He doesn’t even try to hide it.

“I wasn’t going to hurt you,” he confesses as his fangs extend. “But you smell divine.” He closes his eyes as he exaggeratedly sniffs the air. When they open, I stumble back a step. My palms are sweating, and my heart races. The vein in my neck pumps so hard I can feel the movement of my blood as easily as he can probably hear it.

He darts forward, his arms on my shoulders as he forces me against the plaid wallpaper. I freeze, caught between the urge to run away and the urge to tilt my head to the side to allow him access. I know what I need to do, but all my instincts scream, predator, run away!

“Mouthwatering. Don’t worry. I’ll let you live. You won’t remember a thing.”

My eyes open wide as the veins around his eyes rise to the surface, and his soft, aged face becomes monstrous. A normal girl would scream, but I close my eyes and brace for the sting. “Please,” I add for effect. “Please don’t hurt me.”

His erection pushes against me, making me gasp. This guy will never have to worry about erectile dysfunction. His mouth opens unnaturally wide, like the hinge of his jaw opens an extra forty-five degrees. Now I stifle a scream. The other vampire bit me so quickly. This one is taking his sweet time, savoring the moment like he’ll savor me.

He clamps down on my neck, his sharp fangs stabbing my flesh like two ice picks. I whimper then bite my lip, waiting for him to shrink away in pain. He takes a long pull of my blood, enough to make me dizzy, and then he squeals as he jolts back and away from me. He flings himself to the opposite side of the room, staggers back against the counter top, and falls to his knees.

“Your blood! What is wrong with your blood?” He coughs, spits up blood, and then sticks his finger down his throat, trying to make himself expel every last drop of it.

“I’m sorry. I don’t think you’re one of the bad ones. You intended to let me live, but I can’t do the same. I’m so, so sorry.”

I take two steps forward, expecting him to remain where he is, but this nimble little sucker has more fight left in him. He springs from the tile flooring to Superman me. We fly backward. He lands on top of me. I struggle to fight him. He snaps his mouth, trying to bite me. I haul off and punch him in the nose, but it doesn’t stop him, and my hand throbs in pain. I bring my knee up and connect with his balls. It’s enough to make him lose his breath. He rolls off me and blood streams from his nose and trails down the corners of his mouth. I scramble along the floor to snatch my purse with the stake inside. I’m yanked back by my hair. I scream as he tosses me backward. I fly through the air to slam into the wall with so much force that I go straight through it and land in the living room, next to a recliner. Everything hurts. Cuts and drips of blood cover my arms. I try to move to my feet, but I don’t have the strength.

Fight, I tell myself. You can do this. I need to do this to get my life back. Where the hell is my magic? I try to focus, try to push him off of me. But nothing happens.

He straddles my waist, his balls out of reach for my knees. He holds my hands down and frowns at the sight of the stake in my left hand. My clutch is so resolute. He couldn’t pry it from me without breaking my fingers.

“A stake? Who the fuck are you?” he asks, his voice raspy. “Hmm? Lie to me, and I snap your neck like a twig.”

“Go on then,” I dare him. “You won’t get anything from me.”

He bends down and slams his wrinkled forehead into mine. The world starts to spin, and he snatches the stake from my hand while I fight confusion and a quickly materializing headache.

He holds the stake over his head, and my eyes go wide. He moves quickly, the tip of the stake penetrating my clothes and the outer layer of my skin. Like I’ve been hit by lightning, electricity hits me so hard I vibrate, and my hands burn brightly with light. I look back and forth between them before imagining the light shooting at his head. The light flickers and then like a lightning bolt, streams from my hands to the vampire’s head. He’s paralyzed. He doesn’t even blink. His aura deepens to a midnight blue. I push on his arms to force the stake away from me. Then I push him over. He tumbles to the side, his arms and legs in the same bent position they were in when he straddled me moments ago.

I reach out my hand, meaning to take the stake, but it shoots from his hand and into mine. I stare at my hand holding the stake. I meant to take it the old-fashioned way, but that’ll do. If only I could do it again...

I get up on my knees and lean over his body. He makes a strangled noise, and his eyes dance in their sockets. Panic overcomes him as he realizes this is the end. “I really am sorry.” I raise the stake up high and slam it into his chest, right over his heart.

The crimson lights hiding in his eyes shine brightly, and he starts to rapidly age. His wrinkles double in size and deepen until his skin grays. I expect him to crumble to ash like in the movies, but that’s not what happens. His body thins to emaciation. His cheekbones protrude, and his face looks gaunt. Then he explodes into skin, blood and guts—all over the kitchen and all over me.

I fall back to sit back on my knees and cough as I wipe his remains from my face and lips. It drips from my hands, thick like a blood-red smoothie. That was unexpected. And messy. When I look over my shoulder, there is a shadow of my body against the clean wall, and all around it is sticky, gray blood. Similar pieces of him stain my clothes. I pluck a piece from my hair.

“Sebastian,” I say calmly.

The back-door swings open and slams into the wall behind it, leaving a knob-sized hole in the plaster. He stands tall, his legs spread and his arms out to the side. His fangs are drawn, and veins stick out around his red eyes.

“Well, I did it.” I try to be positive.

He takes a breath and relaxes a hair. “You okay?”

I nod and poke my finger through the hole the stake made in my shirt over my heart. It barely broke the skin. A trickle of blood dots the tunic. “I think so.”

He glances around the room and lets out a low whistle. “This is one hell of a crime scene. It’ll take the cops weeks to clear it.”

The gravity of what I’ve done hits me a little harder. To the world, this guy is human and a citizen. They’ll treat his death like any other death, which makes me a murderer to them and not a hunter. And if I’m being honest I have to admit I’m both. It’s a hard thought to wrestle with.

“Do all vampires die this way?” I glance around the room at the large splatters of blood on the wallpaper.

Frowning, he lifts his leg to wipe some bloody flesh from his shoe on one of the chairs. “Nope. Just the vamps who feed on you.”

“Did...Cassandra die like this?”

“She did. Cost Alexander a very expensive Persian rug, by the way. Maybe that’s why he doesn’t like you.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s not why.”

He grins. “Maybe not. But he loves his rugs.”

That’s just weird.

Although he heard everything that went down, he didn’t have a front row seat, so I fill him on the magical parts. He almost looks angry when he discovers I didn’t use my magic on purpose. It came on its own, and I’m no closer to controlling it or calling on it than I was before.

“Well that’s not helpful. The purpose of this was for you to learn. If you don’t know how you did it, what good is that?” He tosses up a hand in frustration.

If he’s frustrated, can he not imagine for a second how I feel? I’m the one whose life has been turned upside down in a matter of days. “I don’t know what you want from me. I’m trying. I didn’t even know I was a witch until a few days ago. I’m doing pretty fucking fabulous if you ask me.”

He growls. “Well, I didn’t ask you.”

---

I roll my eyes and glance out the passenger window as we pass a solid mile of nothing but trees with yellow, red, and brown leaves. There’s no hot or cold with this guy. When I think I’m softening to him, he quickly reminds me who he is and why I can’t allow myself to feel anything for him. He’s a vampire, after all. He wouldn’t pick me up when I need him the most. He wouldn’t even know how. Like right now, I need encouragement and support, and all he’s doing is making me feel more defeated than I already do. “I’m sure you’ll be as excited to get rid of me as I will to be rid of you. Just take me to that vampire already. Let whatever happens, happen.” He can’t teach me, and I can’t teach myself. If only I had parents who could have taught me. It would make this so much easier.

“Starting tomorrow, we fight— you and me. And we don’t stop until you’re in control. Understand?”

He wants to fight me? I can’t hide the dread from my face. That old man was a new vampire, and I barely got out alive. Sebastian is hundreds of years old, and then there’s his brother. He’s the last vampire I want to tangle with. He’ll likely fight to kill.

“I’m not fighting you.”

“It’s either me or Alexander. If I were you, I know who I’d pick.”

He doesn’t know me as well as he thinks he does. The last thing I want is to fight him, and I don’t think he’ll let me fight his brother, so I hedge my bets and tell him, “I choose your brother.”

I assume he’ll scoff at me and tell me to forget it. He doesn’t do that. He does something completely unexpected. His lips curl into a smile. “I knew you’d make the right choice.”

I snap my head in his direction, my mouth agape. “Wait. What?”

“You won’t hold back, and I think that’s exactly what we need right now.”