hayley

Hayley van Allen pushed her hair out of her eyes impatiently. Where was Cale? She checked the time on her iPod again, but it hadn't really changed much. She just couldn't believe he was flaking out on her again. She stuffed her iPod back into her red bag and sank onto a nearby bus bench. People rushed by around her, not taking notice of a petite blonde girl sitting on a bench. He could at least have had the good sense to text, so Hayley wouldn't freak out. The sun was down, and Hayley could only see through the harsh light of the street lamps, boring down at her.

Was there any sense in just sitting and waiting for Cale? She stood up, brushing dirt off her butt, and pulled the hem of her white t-shirt down. Hayley set off to her friendly neighborhood Starbucks, fishing around in her bag and pulling out a rumpled five as she walked. It was cool, unseasonably so for April, and Hayley was craving chocolate. When she arrived, she ordered a grandé hot chocolate with extra whipped cream and fudge sauce, then pulled out her phone and texted Cale. at starbucks, she wrote. where the heck r u? txt me plz.

"Excuse me," said a voice behind Hayley. She jumped. The voice was male, smooth like honey, with a slight British accent. Hayley involuntarily melted inside. She always went for boys with accents. She turned around, and saw the voice belonged to a teenage boy, about her age, with light ivory skin, rumpled chocolate curls, and smiling caramel eyes. "I'm so sorry to bother you. I just wanted to say that whoever you're waiting for is an asshole for being late." The curse word sounded strange on his lips. "If I were that person, I would have arrived early." He smiled suggestively.

"H-how did you know I was waiting for someone?" Hayley stammered brilliantly.

"Easy," the boy responded. "The angry way you sent that text message, the look on your face." He shrugged. "Oh, forgive me. My name is Nate Robertson."

"Hayley," she introduced, "Hayley van Allen."

"Well, Hayley, I would be much obliged if there could perhaps be a way for me to walk you somewhere. If I could be your escort to find your late friend." Nate grinned again. Was Hayley imagining things, or did his teeth look pointed, sharp? She blinked once.

"Um, okay then." What else was she supposed to say to that? "Yeah, let me finish my drink, though."

"Certainly," Nate said. Hayley collected her hot chocolate and plopped down onto her favorite plush couch, picking up her bag to find her phone. Cale had texted her back. His message read: hayles, stay put, k? i'm coming. Hayley rolled her eyes and responded to Cale. paranoid much? u sound like u think someones gonna rape me or smthn. relax. i'll b fine. i'm in *starbucks* not a frickin dark alley. its not like anyone can try anything on me in a public place. Then she threw her phone into her bag, along with any thoughts she had lingering of Cale.

cale

Cale Clifton hated lying to his best friend. But lycanthropy was easy to conceal with a few simple lies. It wasn't like Hayley would believe him if he said he was a werewolf, anyway. He was supposed to meet Hayley for a late movie, but some pressing matters had arisen. The Night Children had taken a mundane off the street and made him one of them. That was a violation of the Accords—the Night Children were only allowed to take a mundane if they voluntarily came to their dwelling place. The pack leader, Maia, had to put the other lycanthropes in order before Cale would be allowed to go.

Then, Cale had gotten Hayley's text. at starbucks. where the heck r u? txt me plz. Cale groaned internally, then typed out a quick message back to her. hayles, stay put, k? i'm coming. He didn't know exactly when he'd be there. But he didn't want her at Starbucks alone when the Night Children were running around, mindlessly changing mundanes.

Then Cale took off running. He didn't know how long it would take him, but he had to get to Hayley before some damn vampire did. So he kept running and running. Finally he got to the damn coffee place. He burst through the doors, attracting the attention of innocent bystanders with his exaggerated panting, and looked for the white-blonde, almost silver glint of Hayley's hair. Then he saw her—following an abnormally pale-skinned man with too-white, too-sharp teeth out a nearly concealed back door, leading, Cale knew, to a deserted delivery alley. "Ah, hell!" Cale muttered to himself under his breath. Vampire.

"Hayles!" he yelled out. Every head in Starbucks swiveled to stare at Cale, including Hayley's.

"Cale! Thank God!" Hayley didn't seem perturbed that he was yelling in the middle of a crowded coffee shop, just kind of relieved that he was there. But then the vampire hissed something at Hayley, and she shoved forward. "Cale, I'll talk to you later, okay?" Then the fucking bloodsucker ushered his best friend out into the twilight.

Cale ran toward them. "Hayley, what the hell are you doing?" Cale demanded when he caught up to them. He wanted so badly to pounce at the vampire, to kill it, but he couldn't. Not with a bunch of mundanes watching. His fists tensed at his sides. "Who is this?"

"Oh, um, Cale, this is Nate. Nate, this is my friend Cale. He's who I was waiting for." Hayley grinned at him nervously. Cale's heart was beating out a steady shit, shit, shit and he wanted to pounce more than ever but knew he couldn't.

"Hayley," Cale muttered under his breath. "Run. Now." He glared at Hayley, his eyes like splintering black glass. His voice was a blistering snarl. Everything about him was tense and infuriated. But Hayley didn't listen to him. She stayed put, and it really pissed Cale off. "Hayley! Can't you see who the hell this bastard is? He'll fucking kill you! Run, Hayley!" But then it was too late.

"Stupid wolf," the vampire said to Cale. Cale snarled.

"Freaking leech," Cale shot back.

"Cale? Nate?" Hayley sounded apprehensive. "What the hell is going on?"

"Hayley! Get out of here now!" Cale roared. With a choked cry, Hayley turned and ran. Cale was pissed at her for not going sooner, but pissed at himself for making her cry.

"Aww," taunted the vampire. "You made that poor little girl cry."

"If you knew what was good for you, bloodsucker, you'd get the hell out of here before I kill you now," Cale growled. His ears were already elongating, flattening, his fingers bending to razor-sharp claws.

The leech laughed. "Good luck with that, mongrel," he chuckled. And then Cale pounced.

hayley

Hayley ran, but she didn't go too far. She hiccuped and wiped at her eyes, black eyeliner smudging the backs of her hands. She took three deep breaths and tried to comprehend the situation. Nate had called Cale a wolf, and then Cale called Nate a leech. What was that supposed to mean, anyway? Was it some sort of gang code name? It both confused Hayley and pissed her off. There was obviously some secret, something Cale wasn't telling her. And Cale knew Nate from somewhere, but where?

Irrationally, Hayley stood up and made her way back to the scene, shoving her way through the people that all seemed to be headed in the opposite direction from her. She found, not Cale and Nate, but a huge, jet-black wolf, almost invisible in the rapidly fading twilight, and Nate, still looking vaguely recognizable, but more sinister somehow. The two grappled on the concrete ground, rolling, with the wolf snarling menacingly. The sight chilled Hayley.

And then it fell into place. Nate calling Cale a wolf. Her best friend was a werewolf. But that wasn't possible, the logical part of Hayley argued. Werewolves didn't exist. And even if they did, how could he hide something that was such a big part of his life from her? Hayley didn't know.

She watched Cale fight Nate on the ground, apprehensive and scared. It was so wrong. What had Nate done? Then she remembered Cale's bitter, spat words: "Freaking leech." Was it possible that Nate was a vampire? It wasn't rational. But if Cale was a werewolf, Hayley supposed rationality had gone away.

Suddenly, Nate looked up, a bloody grin on his face. His teeth were long, fanged, and Hayley drew back in horror. "Hi, Hayley," he said, the sexy British accent gone, his voice gritty and absolutely frightening. His tone made Hayley shudder.

The wolf growled out words. "Leave her alone, bastard!" it snarled, lunging for Nate's neck. Hayley knew she should avert her eyes, but something about the scene between Nate and the wolf—Cale, she forced herself to admit—kept her eyes there. But when Nate's fangs sunk into Cale's flank, making him yowl in pain and fury, Hayley squeezed her eyes shut. Please let me be dreaming, she prayed fervently. She didn't open her eyes.

And then there was a cold weight on her. She opened her eyes, and Nate was above her, on top of her, his fangs dripping blood. "Got you," he murmured, and then he went for Hayley's neck. She didn't have time to scream as he sunk his teeth into Hayley's neck. She went appropriately limp on the ground, blood forming a pool under her neck.

Cale went back to his man form, running to Hayley's side, but it was too late. A choking sound came out of the back of Cale's throat, and all he could do was hold her in his arms as she died.