Chapter One
At the end of the day, it was just me. I was use to this, but it never failed to hurt once it was all over.
Valerie's P.O.V
There was blood everywhere. On the floor, on the counters, on my hands. I could hear the familiar voice screaming at me. You did this! This is all your fault! Our family is broken because of you! There was a knife at my throat, threatening to cut into my skin. You shouldn't have survived! You deserve to die! I shake my head, the tip of the knife digging into my flesh. This was not my fault. I'm going to kill you. You will not live, I promise you that. A surge of strength went through me and I managed to throw him off of me. I was on my feet in a flash, running towards the front door with lightning speed. I had gotten it open before I was yanked back into the house, the knife plunging into my left shoulder.
"Valerie! Valerie!" Someone is shaking me.
Images of the man appear. "Get off! Please! Please, I won't tell. I won't tell!" I cry, trying to pry the hands off of me.
A hard slap to the face jolts me awake. "You're waking everyone up! Jesus, for once can we have one night of peaceful sleep?" Rebecca is staring down at me with her angry brown eyes. Her curly blonde hair is tickling my face as she looms over me.
"I-I'm sorry…" I say. She was right, everyone in our room was sitting up in their beds rubbing their tired eyes. "Just another nightmare…" I explain, as if that will make them feel better for being woken up at 3 in the morning on a school night.
Rebecca sighs before walking back to her own bed. Everyone takes her lead and lay back down.
I do my best to pretend to be asleep, but I know I'm not fooling anyone. The dark bags underneath my eyes every morning was enough evidence to tell I wasn't sleeping. It wasn't 'just another nightmare.' It was one of many. Nightmares that I had once lived and was now reliving in my sleep.
Nathan's P.O.V
Sinking my teeth into her delicate flesh, I catch a glimpse of her most deep and dark secrets. It was what I loved best when taking the life of my prey. Honestly, I was doing her faithful husband a favor by getting rid of his good for nothing wife. The pleading- hearing them beg for their lives- well, that was good too. "I'll do anything!" I hear her say as I tighten my grip on her. That line was so cliché. Every single person I have ever killed has said that. It makes me angry. They would be so willing to do just anything to continue to live. For what? What did this scandalous wife have left to live for? She wasn't happy, that was for sure. I release her when I hear it. The sound of a tiny, beating heart.
"You can't let her live, Nate." Jason's voice calls from the darkness between the buildings. "She's seen too much."
The woman is crawling away as fast as possible, which isn't much since I had drained her of most her blood. "No, I cannot kill her. She's carrying a child, Jason."
Jason finally makes his appearance. His 6'4 height intimidates me, even if I am only two inches shorter. He's also a lot stronger than I am. He smiles as he looks down at the pathetic human being. His green eyes stare at her with such…disgust. "If you will not do it, than I will. It is your choice, Nate." He runs a hand through his well-groomed black hair.
I stand in front of the woman, keeping her out of Jason's sight. "Did you not hear me? She has a child on the way! It…what if it is my future mate?" I challenge.
Now I have upset him. He glares at me, his canines extended in anger. "I will not jeopardize our secret being exposed because of something as idiotic as the child being your possible mate. One of us is going to take her life, or I will have yours." He threatens.
My blood boils. "Do not assume because you have lost your mate that I will stop searching for mine."
He laughs. "Why would you want one? I'm glad that Emily has passed, if I am being honest. To no longer be tied down to one person…to no longer have to feel like every waking moment is solely just for them, you do not understand how happy I am to no longer be bonded to anyone. You do not want to find your mate. Believe me when I say, it will be nothing but hell. You think being a monster is bad? Imagine being a monster who is mated to a human who doesn't understand your nature. It took years…years for Emily to accept me! But by then it was too late."
I can see the hurt behind his eyes. Losing your mate, I could not imagine what it must possibly feel like. Every vampire is made for one specific human, to be there for them. To lose them, how awful that would be. Perhaps Jason is right. He had fallen over the edge ever since Emily was killed on his watch. I didn't want to become the monster that he had now turned into. I look down at the woman who had given up trying to get away. She held a limp hand to her neck, trying desperately to stop any more blood from leaving her body.
"I'll make the pain go away." I whisper to her.
She whimpers, pleading one last time for me to let her live. "Shh…it will all be over soon." I cradle her face in my hands, wiping the tears away as I lean down to where I had bitten her earlier. With a few more sips, her body falls completely lifeless in my arms. I can no longer hear the other heartbeat.
Jason makes a noise of approval before disappearing into the night. I give the dead woman one last look, wondering if the child could have possibly been my mate. My own heart felt the same, there had been no sudden change. My mate was still somewhere out there, and a part of me-a big part of me-intended to find her.
Valerie's P.O.V
"So…you want to let me know what's going on with you, or am I going to need to talk to Frank?" Heather asked as I sat down on the chair opposite from her.
I shrug my shoulders and play with a loose thread on my shirt. "It was just a nightmare." I respond.
Heather looks tired. Her brown hair is usually up in a perfect bun and her chocolate brown eyes are always concealed behind thick glasses. Her already thin frame looks even smaller. "Please, Valerie if there is anything I can do to make things easier for you… I know it's been rough but things do-"
"If that sentence ends the way I believe it will, than please don't say it. You have no right. You don't even know half the shit I've been through." I reply through gritted teeth.
She raises her hands up in defense. "I know, I know. All of you girls here have already gone through things people your age shouldn't have to worry about. You have to understand, I need to think of everyone when it comes to their needs and wants, and having you wake everyone up every night just isn't fair to the other girls."
My stomach churns. "You…You're not considering sending me away…are you?" I hate the sound of my voice quivering. Showing my weakness to a person was not something I liked doing often. But the thought of being moved to another Home when I was already beginning to settle into this one made me feel sick.
Heather places a hand on mine and I instantly flinch away from the contact. She looks a little hurt but quickly assures me, "No! Of course not. I was just wondering if having your own room would make you feel more comfortable."
Having my own room was a terrible idea. Without Rebecca there to wake me up, my nightmare would continue. Heather was right though, it wasn't fair to the other girls. I nod my head, "Yeah that would be great. I'm going to be late for school, am I dismissed?"
If Heather heard the uncertainty in my voice, she didn't say anything. Instead, she nods, "Go on, and get out of here. Be home early so you can move your stuff to the room down the hall. I'll have clean sheets ready for you."
Going to a school where people knew you came from a Home was not fun. People would whisper behind your back. As usual, I kept to myself as I made my way down the busy hall way. A hard shove caused me to stumble back. I lift my head and look up someone I had never seen before. It was a big school, of course I hadn't remembered every single face that passed by me on a daily bases. Staring at the tall man though, I felt like he was someone who couldn't have been overlooked. He had to be at least six feet tall, and far too muscular to be someone my own age. His brown hair was messy and his blue eyes looked at me in a way I couldn't comprehend.
"You should watch where you're going." I finally say, turning the corner. My skin crawled at the sight of him. That couldn't have been a good sign. It was the same feeling I had right before my family had been killed.
Nathan's P.O.V
She was all I could see. Her long, black hair and scared chocolate brown eyes clouded my mind. I smile, really smile as my heart beat increases. It's her, my mate, my other half. It's her! I'm about to follow after her when I hear something in the distance. Jason.
I disappear from the hallway and am suddenly in front of an unfamiliar building. I could hear Jason in distress here, in this abandoned building on the discreet side of town. This set off my flight instincts. I could sense that there was more than one vampire in there. I was strong, but taking on more than three alone would be hard. I could not leave Jason here alone. I try to think of any possible threats, any enemies I could possibly have that would use Jason as bait to get me here. The list is endless.
I make my way into the building. My footsteps echo off the walls as I make my way up the stairs. Two vampires are behind me, but neither of them make a move to attack me. I choose to ignore them.
Once I reach the top, there is a single door at the end of the hall. I can hear Jason breathing heavily, in pain. I open the door and take in the sight of him strapped to a chair as blood drains from various wounds. His green eyes look at me with a frantic, terrified look. "You should not be here, Nate. Go home…please." He sounds defeated.
A man walks in from behind me. He is an inch shorter than me, less muscular as well. A quick sniff and I could tell he was definitely human. I could break this man's neck in the blink of an eye. "Let him go." I growl.
The man chuckles, sending shivers down my spine. "Nathaniel, so glad you could join us. Jason and I were having a little chat about Sarah's disappearance. Won't you sit?" His deep voice lowers to a threatening tone. One of the vampires that had been hidden in the shadows came forth with a chair. I took a seat beside Jason, ignoring his pleading look for me to leave.
"I don't believe we have met, who are you?" I ask.
The man leans against the wooden oak desk in front of us. "Adam Reed." He extends his hand for me to shake.
I turn to look at Jason. His wounds were deep, used with special weapons that were made to hurt our kind. "A hunter, I presume. Sarah…she must be the little human we met the other night, running away from her over controlling father. What does this have to do with Jason and me?"
I remember Sarah well. She was no older than fourteen, but very strong for her age. She had been sleeping on the bus when I saw her. Innocent people like her were not to be touched. I decided then and there to keep her out of harm's way. After speaking to her for a bit, her big hazel eyes regarded me with trust.
"Yes, well, as you know Sarah is my daughter. Her having last been seen with two vampires, well that just doesn't suit me well now does it? So of course I had to track you two down and figure out where she is…but he will not talk." His eyes land on Jason.
He had tortured him. Anger begins to stir within me. "She's dead. I killed her, nice and slow. Don't worry about the body, I already burned it." I reply with a slow grin, reviling my canines.
Adam's eyes glass over with rage. "Don't lie to me. I have over ten monsters on my side that could have you killed with the snap of my fingers. Now I know you have her hidden. Jason won't talk…perhaps you will?" he has a silver dagger in his hand.
"Let Jason go, we can discuss this on our own." I say, keeping the dagger in my sight. Jason must have undergone unbearable pain.
He laughs, his whole body shaking with amusement. In a flash, the dagger is buried deep in Jason's chest. He snarls in agony, trying to break free of the silver chains holding him to the chair.
I don't have time to react. Two vampires hold me down while another one wraps my whole body up in silver chains. My skin begins to burn with the contact of the silver. I struggle, but it only causes me more pain. "Stop! I'll tell you, let him go!" I shout.
Adam retrieves the blade and motions for one of the vampires to take off Jason's chains. They remove the chair, leaving him to fall to his knees. He pulls Jason forward by his hair, the tip of the blade at his throat. "I don't need the two of you to tell me where she is. I know I can find her, what with the many connections and all…" he lets the knife dig deeper, drawing blood.
Jason cries in pain. "Then why have us here! Why torture us if you don't need the information!" I yell at him, trying to get the chains off of me.
Adam comes to stand in front of me. He stabs the blade into my right arm. I growl at him, baring my fangs. "Why? To teach you vampires a lesson. Messing with a hunter…it will only result with your death."
I throw the chains off of me, paying no attention to the sizzling of my sensitive flesh. My hands are on Adam's throat. I was not fast enough to snap his neck like I had imagined. The other vampires were already pulling me away. I back hand one of them away and sink my teeth into the other one, tearing into his neck. I rip his head off and manage to dodge a fist that had been aimed in my direction. My hand goes through his chest and rips his heart out. The other vampires hesitate to attack, perhaps sensing that I truly would kill them all.
A strangled cry brings my attention back to Adam. The silver dagger is well in Jason's chest, no doubt having stabbed him in the heart. His body fell to the floor, his eyes lifeless.
I could no longer see things the way a human would. I saw red. The monster within me had awoken. Adam was now pinned against the wall, I was strangling him. "Do not assume for a second that I will let you die easily. You will die slowly, and painfully. I will turn you into what you fight so hard to get rid of." I say, preparing to turn him into a monster himself.
Before I can, Adam bites his tongue. Not just a small bite either. I sink my teeth into his neck and quickly bite into my wrist, attempting to turn him. I'm too late. Adam's eyes go blank, having drowned himself in his own blood. I hold onto his limp body. "No…no!" I scream. I pick up the dagger and repeatedly stab him over and over again.
I let his body fall to the ground and crawl over to Jason. The other vampires have already fled. I pick his head up gingerly, placing it onto my lap. I run my hand through his silky hair. "Jason…Jason please…open your eyes. I have-oh God- Jason please. I met her Jason! I met my mate! Please, open your eyes. You need to be there to tease me when I begin to fall to her every command. Jason, I can't do this without you."
He doesn't open his eyes. He doesn't reply. We had walked the earth together for over three centuries. He was a brother to me, the only person I truly let inside of my life. I had learned my lesson with the countless other people who constantly came into my life only to leave moments later. Jason was the only one who ever stuck around. At the end of the day, it was just me. I was use to this, but it never failed to hurt once it was all over.
Just want to say thank you to anyone who took the time to read this story. Comments are always appreciated. Let me know what you guys think of it so far?
