Author's Note: Well everyone, this is my second fic ever, and I want to know what everyone thinks. Please review, flames are accepted.

Ashleigh

This fic is dedicated to a friend of mine; a friend who compared me to a gum disease, who called me countless names, and who's butt I kicked at two-on-two; a friend who will no doubt never read this fic.

Chapter One

It was a few minutes past midnight, and New York City's elite had taken over; glamorous teens of all kinds had swarmed the city's many popular nightclubs, casting responsibility aside to dance on tables, shell out ridiculous amounts of money for foreign drinks, and enjoy the night. Among the drunken boys and teasing girls, however, was something no one would ever suspect:

Vampires.

The Blue Blood teens of Manhattan enjoyed the night even more than their human counterparts, finding new familiars or feasting from the ones they already possessed. There was an electricity in the air that was impossible to resist. Every Blue Blood in their Sunset Years was out tonight - all but two.

Schuyler Van Alen stared out the tinted windows of her family's ancient limousine as Julius drove her and her grandfather through the claustrophobic traffic of the Big Apple, her captivating blue eyes unseeing. Lawrence Van Alen, the only true family Schuyler had left, was sitting beside her in the cool confides of the limo.

He knew it was wrong to have to do this, that he shouldn't have to turn his granddaughter over to live with her uncle. But he had lost the wretched battle for custody of Schuyler to Michael, Pure of Heart, the man known these days as Charles Force, the steely-haired magnate that could bend the city to his will - Schuyler's uncle, and father of Benjamin "Jack" and Madeline "Mimi" Force, also known as Abbadon and Azrael, twin angels of the apocalypse.

Poor Schuyler would have to go through hell living there, with Jack so obviously infatuated with her, and Mimi having so recently tried to set loose a dark creature to kill her.

Allegra, Schuyler's mother, trapped in a coma for years, would never have wanted this for her daughter - she would have kept her child away from Charles Force at all costs. But her wishes were ignored when she was hidden away in her hospital room, dead to the world.

The car drew to a stop before the luxurious townhouse the Force family called home. Julius got out from his place behind the wheel to retrieve Schuyler's bags from the trunk. Schuyler turned to her grandfather, her pale, beautiful face expressionless, only her honest, luminescent blue eyes showing her pain. Always so brave, so together, Lawrence mused. Just like her mother.

Schuyler said nothing, briefly hugging her grandfather before stepping out of the car. Lawrence leaned across the seat to speak before she could close the door.

"Do not worry, granddaughter. You will be back home soon."

Schuyler nodded, not trusting her voice to hold steady. Slowly, the limousine pulled away, and was swallowed in the sea of taxicabs and tour-buses. After staring after it for a moment, fighting down tears, Schuyler turned to get her bags from where Julius had left them on the curb, but they were gone.

"Ahem."

Looking up, Schuyler found herself face to face with an extremely handsome young man, his golden hair shining under the glow of the city lights, his full, perfect lips parted slightly as his emerald eyes bored intensely into hers.

Jack Force stood, staring at her, standing less than a foot away, knowing not to get closer but reluctant to step back.

"I thought you could use a hand." he said slowly, lost in Schuyler's eyes. He held her bags in his hands, his vampire strength holding the weight with ease.

"Uh, thanks." Schuyler answered shyly; why was he staring at her like that? Like he was drinking her in. When he looked at her this way, Schuyler could almost believe he was the one who had kissed her at the masquerade after party.

Schuyler pushed these thoughts away - Jack wasn't interested in her, of course not. He was Mimi's vampire twin, tied to her for eternity in an immortal bond - he would never stray from that path. Would he?

Her reverie was disrupted; Jack's face suddenly snapped into a friendly smile, his eyes cold and distant. "Well, let's get you settled in." he said formally.

Schuyler nodded, and allowed herself to be led into the Force's breathtaking home.