Cassie crossed her legs and folded her arms firmly over her chest as she leaned against the massive oak behind her. She kept all of her senses honed on the night around her, searching for something, anything, in the dark. Well, anything other than Devon, who she knew was lurking in the woods at the edge of the cemetery. She resented his presence, but there was nothing she could do to stop him from being there.

He wouldn't leave, and she was certain Julian and Isla wouldn't make an appearance with him there. She would just like all of this to be over, but she wasn't going to have the chance to start it. Not with Devon, Chris, Melissa, Luther, and Dani hovering around her like nervous mother hens.

With the way one of them was constantly with her, she wouldn't have an opportunity to escape any time soon. She itched to smash her fist into something, she settled for fisting her hands so that her fingernails dug into her palms. "How long do you plan to stay out here?" Chris asked.

Cassie fought to keep a rein on her temper. She didn't mean for them to see how irritated she was by their presence, and Devon's. They had to think she was ok with this; they had to believe they could start to leave her alone. If they didn't leave her alone, she was never going to get her chance to go after Isla and Julian.

"Not much longer," she answered absently.

Chris studied her before turning away. Cassie took note of the few creatures stirring within the shadowy depths of the forest. If the animals were about then Julian and Isla were not. Unclenching her hands, she stroked her fingers over the stake she had in the waistband of her jeans. It did little to reassure her as she knew she would not be using it tonight.

Dani shivered and huddled deeper into her thick winter coat as the wind howled over the open expanse of the cemetery. Cassie stepped away from the tree as pity finally sank in past the shell surrounding her. "Let's go," she mumbled.

Dani breathed a sigh of relief as she scurried to her feet. Chris and Melissa looked just as relieved as they hurried to join her. Cassie turned on her heel, not truly acknowledging their presence as she made her way over the snow covered landscape. The snow crunched beneath her boots, but it was firm enough now that she didn't sink into it.

She was aggravated and frustrated Julian and Isla hadn't made an appearance. She had to draw them out and get free of her friends and guard dog somehow. Cassie glanced at the woods. Though she couldn't see Devon, she knew he was out there.

She rigidly turned away from the woods, unwilling to acknowledge him in any way. She knew ignoring him wouldn't make him go away, but she didn't know what else to do. There was nothing more she could say, or do, to make him understand the best thing for both of them was to be apart.

The best thing for her was to get this over with so she could be free of the misery and rage consuming her.

"Cassie?" She felt wooden as she turned toward Chris. "Are you ok?"

She nodded as she realized she’d stopped walking. "Fine," she muttered.

Shoving her hands in her pockets, she hurried toward Chris's car. She climbed inside and her hand twitched back to the stake at her side. She watched unseeingly out the window as Chris made his way out of the cemetery, through the center of town, and finally to her house.

She stared at the darkened house, allowing herself a moment to grieve for the warmth and happiness that used to blanket this home. Now it was cold and lonely, and only served as a constant reminder of all of the mistakes she'd made. She had failed miserably in all she had set out to do, and her grandmother had been the one to pay for those mistakes.

Cassie shuddered as she slipped from the car. Flinging the door open, she barely felt the heat on her chilled skin as she switched on the lights. "How about some food?" Melissa inquired.

"Not hungry."

Cassie tossed her coat into the hall closet and kicked off her boots. She felt drained, exhausted, completely beat, but she knew the nightmares wouldn't let her get any sleep tonight. She walked into the living room and plopped onto the couch. She turned the TV on, but she didn't watch it as she stared at the flashing screen.

Chris sat beside her and folded his hands before him as he leaned his elbows on his knees. "Are you sure you wouldn't like some food?"

She nodded as she absently flipped through the channels. She wasn't looking for anything; she had nothing to look for anymore. She was nothing now.

Cassie curled her legs underneath her and rested her head on the throw pillow. She remained still, barely breathing as crashing waves of ire and absolute melancholy washed through her. She was a swinging pendulum of emotions and she hated it. She wanted off of the rollercoaster that was her life now.

She had to find Julian and Isla soon. She knew if she could just make them pay for what they had done to her grandmother everything would be better. Revenge had to make her feel better, mainly because she knew she wouldn't survive the battle, but it would be worth it just to make them pay.

* * *

Devon watched from the shadows as Cassie slipped through the halls with her head down. She had taken to wearing black hoodies in an attempt to keep herself hidden from the world. Though she may not draw as much attention from her fellow classmates as she used to, he couldn't fail to notice her. No matter how much she tried to make herself invisible, he would always be able to see her.

Her golden hair spilled out from under the hood she had pulled over her head. The habitual dark glasses she now wore blocked out the startling beauty of her violet blue eyes. Beneath the dark hood her skin was pale; the normal rosiness of her cheeks was gone.

She had always been lean with an athletic grace, but her weight loss had made the muscles in her arms stand out more, and the bones in her hands were clearly visible as she clutched her books to her chest. She had always been beautiful, shockingly so, and she still was, but it was a more refined beauty. She appeared older, more mature, as the youthful chubbiness of her cheeks had faded away to reveal the elegant planes of her delicate features.

Moving like a wraith, she didn't look at anyone as she slid into the girl's locker room. "What's with the sunglasses?" Devon inquired as Chris appeared at his side.

"She says the light bothers her eyes now."

Devon glanced at the fluorescents. They were harsh against his eyes, but he'd had a lot of practice with adjusting his sensitive vision to them. "You don't believe her?"

Chris shifted his feet and leaned against the locker next to him. "I believe she believes it, but I think it's just another way for her to try and hide herself away."

Devon suspected that hiding herself was part of the reason, but he knew it wasn't all of it. "She's still not eating."

"No, not much anyway."

If he could just get through to her, if any of them could just get through to her. "There has to be something we can do," he whispered.

"Doing the best we can. Nothing helps. And with Luther leaving...." Chris's voice trailed off.

Devon feigned surprise as he turned toward him. He knew Luther had left, but Chris, Melissa, and Dani still didn't know he and Luther had been researching about Cassie, and coming up against a solid wall of nothing. There was nothing about any of the Hunters like Cassie in the multitude of books Luther possessed. It was the most frustrating, boring experience of Devon's extensive life. Luther was determined to find something about them, even if it meant leaving at a very bad time in order to do so.

"Luther left?" he inquired innocently.

"Yeah." Chris ran a hand through his already disheveled hair. "He got a lead on some Hunter in Texas or something. Said he had to go, but the timing is awful. Cassie needs all the help she can get right now."

Luther wasn't in Texas, but it was as good a cover story as any. Chris had no way of knowing Luther may come back with the only way to help Cassie. "That's too bad."

"What is this, a meeting of the minds?" They turned as Melissa strolled up to them.

"Yeah, you could say that," Chris replied.

She glanced at the gym doors. "You know if Cassie sees the two of you out here..."

"Three of us," Chris corrected. "And she's already in the locker room."

Melissa nodded as she shifted her backpack. "Good. I'm going to go in and make sure she's ok."

Devon grabbed hold of Melissa's arm, stopping her before she could disappear into the locker room. "How is she to live with?"

"She's just peachy," she mumbled, her gaze flitted to the doors as if afraid she would get caught doing something wrong. "She's the same there as she is here. Distant, unreadable, angry."

"Have you had any visions?"

Melissa's fine eyebrows furrowed as she shook her head. "No, not about anything important anyway but I'll let you know if I do."

Devon nodded as he released her arm. "Thank you."

With a low sigh she dropped her bag off her shoulder. "In all honesty I think she's nearing her breaking point."

"What do you mean?" he demanded. He glanced at Chris, who looked just as confused as Devon felt.

Melissa shrugged as she tossed her braid back. "I just don't think she can keep going like this for much longer. She's going to snap and either hunt down those two on her own and get herself killed, or she's going to have a breakdown. She can't keep shoving all of her sorrow aside; it's going to break free one way or another. We have to be prepared for that."

"What makes you think that?" Chris asked.

Melissa reclaimed her bag. "She's been living like this for the past two weeks. She can't keep going, one way or another everything eating at her is going to come out. I just hope she survives the aftermath, even if she doesn't plan to." She said the words in a flat monotone, but tears shimmered in her dark eyes.

"This can't go on anymore," he said firmly, though there was a tremor inside him. "I don't care if I have to lock her away somewhere, but this can't go on anymore."

"You can't do that!" Melissa cried. "She'd hate you forever!"

Devon's hands fisted at his sides. "She already hates me," he growled. "But I will make sure she lives, I will make sure she doesn't do anything to get herself killed! I will not allow her continue to waste away. She can hate me for the rest of her life, but at least she'll have one."

Chris and Melissa exchanged troubled glances. "Devon..."

"No," he briskly interrupted Chris. "If something doesn't change soon, or if she tries to go after them, I will take her from here and there is nothing either of you can do to stop me."

Their eyes were turbulent, but they didn't argue with him; he wouldn't change his mind. She had to survive. He couldn't live through the loss of her life; he couldn't keep his sanity if such a thing happened.

"I think you're right," Chris muttered as he folded his large arms over his chest.

"Chris!" Melissa hissed.

He shook his head briskly. "No, he's right. She's on a downward spiral that will only end with death. We can't let that happen to her. She has to deal with her emotions and come to terms with all of this, and until she does, then we have to be the ones to keep her safe. Even if it means doing something she'll despise us for."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," Devon said.

"I don't think it will," Melissa said. "I don't think she's going to make it to that point. She can't keep going like this; it's only a matter of time..."

Melissa's voice trailed off as her eyes darted back toward the gym doors. "I suppose we should get our PE on. I'll see you in a little bit."

She hurried across the hall and disappeared inside the door of the girl's locker room. "Do you think Melissa's right?" Devon inquired.

Chris shrugged as he stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "I think she may be. Cassie is so incensed it's the only emotion I pick up from her. Come on, we had better get going."

Devon stifled a groan at the thought of having to go. He followed Chris into the boy’s locker room though, and wrinkled his nose at the heavy scent of sweat and body odor filling the large, blue tiled room. He paid little attention to anyone else in the room as he changed quickly.

Following behind Chris, he made his way into the large gymnasium. His gaze instantly found Cassie leaning against the far wall. Her hair had been pulled into a loose ponytail that enhanced the angles of her thinner face. She’d changed into a pair of shorts and her loose fitting black tee hung limply on her slender frame. The sunglasses were still in place.

She looked like a lost child, out of place amongst the laughing, giggling girls gathered in a large group twenty feet away from her. His fingers itched to touch her, to comfort her. Melissa said something that caught her attention. Cassie looked up and nodded once before ducking her head again. A shrill whistle pierced the air. Devon turned as the two PE teachers entered the gym carrying bags laden with softball bats and balls.

His forehead furrowed as he stared at those bags. He hated being stuck in this school, hated being around these people. He was almost eight hundred years old and he was standing in a gym with a bunch of hormonal teenagers. His gaze shot back to Cassie and some of the annoyance melted away. For her, he could do anything.

They were shuffled around as they were divided into teams. Somehow he ended up on the same side as Marcy and Chris, while Cassie was relegated to the other side with Melissa and Mark Young. Mark had wisely stayed away from Cassie since their last encounter in the cafeteria, but Devon didn't trust him. Cassie didn't want his help, but Devon would take any excuse to beat Mark into a bloody pulp. He had been itching to do it ever since he'd first met the bastard.

"Cassandra Fairmont!" everyone turned as the girl's gym teacher barked Cassie's name. Cassie lifted her head, her forehead furrowed as she looked around. "You know the rules, no jewelry, no loose articles, take off those sunglasses."

He could feel her gaze zipping around the gym in a fleeting moment of panic. Then, she pulled the large glasses from her face. Cassie blinked rapidly before closing her eyes against the radiance blazing down on her. Devon took a step forward, he knew how painful such exposure could be and he wished to protect her from it.

Chris grabbed hold of his arm and shook his head as he held Devon back. "She'll be fine," he murmured. "She has to face the world sometime."

Devon tried to remind himself Chris didn't know, that he didn't understand and couldn't know the sting the lights could cause. Cassie's eyes were barely open to the harsh glare pounding off of the gym floor.

"Damn it!" he snarled as futility tore through him. "Damn it!"

Chris stared at him questioningly as Devon turned away. He grabbed one of the gloves from the bench and stormed into the outfield to take his position in left field. Marcy moved into center, Chris beside her, and Kara on the other side of him. Folding his arms over his chest, Devon waited impatiently for the game to commence.

They moved quickly through the first inning, and then the second. Devon thought his team was winning, but he couldn't be sure. The only sport he'd ever really been interested in was hunting, which he'd excelled at it.

Switching again, Devon was in the outfield once more as Melissa came up to the plate. The ball cracked off the bat with a resounding thud that echoed throughout. Devon ran for it but pulled up short as Marcy collided with him. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she laughed loudly as she hugged him. Chris retrieved the ball and threw it in time to stop Melissa at second.

Devon tried to extricate himself from Marcy's arms, but she was like a tick. Her leaf green eyes twinkled merrily as she grabbed his ass. Devon scowled at Marcy and grabbed hold of her petite shoulders as he forcefully pulled her away from him. She continued to grin up at him before turning on her heel and sashaying away. Chris's face turned ashen as he turned toward Cassie. She stood at the plate with the bat resting loosely on her shoulders as she focused on Devon.

There was a shaking inside of her, a whirl of confusion shivering through the bond that would always connect them. A shattering of spirit radiated from her. A shiver of foreboding crept through Devon; judging by Chris's reaction to her this was not going to be good. Devon wanted to go to her, to hold her, to get her out of there before she exploded.

She blinked, her attention once more returned to the game. She connected with the ball, a crushing blow that sent it soaring over their heads, before it crashed against the back wall with a resounding thud. It was a blow no normal human could have delivered to the ball, let alone a girl. No one moved to retrieve the ball as it bounced over the floor before rolling under the bleachers with a muted clinking that was exceptionally piercing in the still room.

The clatter of the bat hitting the ground drew everyone's attention back to her. She didn't run the bases, she didn't move. She simply stood there looking lost and heartbroken. "Freak!" Mark's word was low, but Devon heard it.

Cassie's shoulders were thrust back as she turned toward him. "Yes, yes I am," she agreed.

Walking away from the plate, she grabbed her sunglasses before striding out of the gym. The teacher didn't bother to stop her as she stood in stunned silence. Melissa turned toward them, her eyes wide and her mouth open. Then, she turned and fled the gym after Cassie. Devon had had enough of pretending to be a high school student, of pretending to be human.

He'd had enough of being alienated from the only person he'd ever truly cared about.

Marcy snorted and rolled her eyes. "What a drama queen."

"Shut up Marcy!" Chris retorted.

The boy's gym teacher opened his mouth to protest Devon's departure, but one sternly look from Devon caused him to snap it shut. He hurried into the locker room, not bothering to grab his clothes as he broke into a trot past the lockers. He blurred with speed as a sense of urgency drove him faster. He couldn't shake the tumultuous emotions radiating from Cassie, emotions he had never felt from anyone before.

Bursting free of the boys locker room, he quickly searched the abandoned hallway before turning and dashing into the girls locker room. He had a feeling he was already too late. He skidded around a corner, halting as he came across Melissa. Her dark head was bowed; she was holding Cassie's shirt.

She shook back her hair and lifted her eyes to his. "She's gone."

"Where?" he demanded. "Where?"

Melissa shook her head, hopelessness radiated from her as she held the shirt out. "I don't know I can't see it. I can't see it! What good are premonitions if they do nothing for me when I need them?"

"I'll find her." He ignored the scandalized looks of the girls filtering into the room as he bolted past them and slammed out the back door. An alarm rang loudly, but he didn't pay it any attention as he scanned the snow covered fields.

"Not here, she's not here anymore." Chris's breath hung heavily in the crisp air as he pulled up beside him.

"I know," Devon retorted. "I'll find her."

Devon didn't feel the cold against his skin as he took off across the field. There was only one thing he cared about right now, only one thing he could feel, and that was Cassie. Tuning out the rest of the world, he focused his attention on her. Scanning through all of the minds around him, he searched rapidly for the only one who mattered to him. The few drops of blood he’d savored from her when he’d closed the life threatening gashes in her neck, and the realization she wasn't far from him, allowed him to latch onto her mind quickly. He could feel her out there, running, fleeing, trying to escape. Trying to do the impossible and outrun herself.

Reaching the woods, Devon allowed his power and abilities to swell forth. With blurring speed, he tracked her through the forest. Though there were still a few hours of daylight left, he had to find her soon. It would get dark early, and with the cloud cover there was a chance Isla and Julian would wander out if they sensed her alone. She couldn't be by herself right now, not in her state of mind. He didn't know what she would do, and it scared him.

Bursting free of the woods, he barely took in the cemetery as he dodged easily through the headstones. He could sense her amongst the cold stones, and he knew exactly where she was. Veering sharply to the left, he bounded across the snow, not feeling any exertion from his run.

Coming over top of a hill, he spotted her amongst the rows of granite. She was kneeling before the grave, oblivious to the snow coated ground against her bare skin. A small moan of despair escaped him as her anguish encompassed him. He slowed, unwilling to rush up on her. Soundlessly walking up behind her, he hung back as he waited for her to need him or to tell him to go. He wasn't going to leave her out here in the cold, and he didn't think he could handle being pushed away again.

One of her hands was on her thigh, the other rested against the name on the grave as she leaned toward it. Her sunglasses rested beside the grave. A subtle stiffening of her shoulders told him she was aware of his presence, but she didn't tell him to leave. He glanced briefly at the stone as she lovingly rubbed her grandmother's name, Lillian Rose Callahan.

"Someone left flowers." Her voice broke on the word flowers.

He glanced at the roses and lily's resting against the stone. Some of them were browning and wilting, but most were fresh and colorful. He had left a bouquet just yesterday. "Yes," he murmured.

A shudder racked her slender frame. Though she had to be freezing, he knew her shiver had nothing to do with the cold. Her hand slid away from the stone and fell limply to her thigh. "I haven't been here."

He didn't know what to say, so he remained silent, frightened she would turn him away again if he did speak. Her violet blue eyes shimmered with unshed tears as she turned toward him. Her full lower lip began to tremble, making her appear far younger and achingly vulnerable. His hands twitched to hold her, to comfort her. It had been so long and he needed her so badly, but she had to come to him. She had to desire him again.

"It's my fault," she whispered. "It's my fault she's dead."

A shattering radiated from her. Her suffering was heart wrenching and overwhelming in its force. It staggered him. She bent her head, and for the first time since her grandmother had been killed, she began to cry. Her arms crossed over her chest, she rocked back and forth as she sought to comfort herself in some way. Devon thought he should stay away and give her the time she required to grieve. However, he couldn't stand to see her in so much distress and not do anything about it.

In two lengthy strides, he was at her side and kneeling in the snow beside her. He was nervous she would turn him away again when he wrapped his arms around her. She came to him, sobbing loudly, barely able to breathe as her small hands curled into his shirt. Rocking her, he held her as she cried, and kissed her head soothingly as he buried his nose in the enticing scent of her hair. Holding her again, he felt the bones of her spine beneath his hand.

Pulling her into his lap, he bent over her, trying to give her comfort and warmth as she trembled and shook against him. Her tears seeped into his shirt and soaked the front of it. Despite his pleasure at holding her again concern for her safety, and health, began to fill him.

"Shh love," he whispered as he cradled her against him. "It's not your fault. You couldn't have stopped this. It is not your fault."

He smoothed her hair back, kissing her tenderly as he held her head to his chest. He rubbed her arms and legs as he tried to get some heat back into her frozen flesh. Her sobs abated but tears still rolled down her face. He had to get her out of here and find someplace warm.

Lifting her smoothly, he groaned at the feel of her wispy weight in his arms. Even if she didn't accept him back into her life, he was going to make sure she started to eat more. She curled closer against his chest as her hand curled into his shirt. The shivers wracking her grew stronger, the skeletal branches of the trees clicked louder as the wind howled through them.

He moved swiftly through the snow and broke over the top of the hill as Chris and Melissa rolled to a stop in Chris's car. Melissa jumped from the passenger side, grabbed a blanket from the backseat and hurried toward them. Devon took the blanket from Melissa and covered Cassie with it.

He followed Melissa back to the car and eased Cassie into the backseat. Sliding in beside her, he gathered her back into his arms.