Epilogue-

As soon as Zara Lockwood closed her eyes, she knew she was going to have that same nightmare she'd been having for a few weeks now.

She was at her best friend, Savannah's, 21st birthday party. Zara and Savannah had been planning this day for weeks, making sure that Savannah's parents were away whilst the party went ahead (they were staying in their holiday home in Hawaii), they made sure everyone cool enough in the small town they lived in, just outside of Arizona, were attending, they made sure they had gorgeous dresses to wear, the perfect hair, make-up and nails; made sure the alcohol was there.

But what they didn't count on was that Zara would kill someone.

Who would expect something so drastic, so horrifying, could happen at this party?

No one could. And that's why Zara couldn't be saved.

It was 11pm. Everyone was already here, music was blaring out so loud, she was surprised that the neighbours hadn't called the cops on them yet. Zara was in the kitchen, talking to Savannah, when two slim, strong arms wrapped themselves round Savannah's waist. Zara looked up into the face of the owner of the arms and frowned. It was Savannah's ex-boyfriend, Jake.

Zara jerked in her sleep. She had never been one to like Jake, and ever since she'd met him, she'd felt bad vibes coming from him, something that Savannah clearly hadn't seen at the beginning of their relationship, as she'd stayed with that bastard for almost a year before she decided enough was enough and broke it off with him, but Jake was persistent, and hadn't left Savannah or her phone line alone for longer than a day.

Savannah elbowed him in the ribs, quite hard for her petite 5'4" frame, but the slow did nothing for Jake's hard, strong abs, that even Zara had to admit were sexy as hell.

All Jake did was chuckle to himself and run a finger down Savannah's arm.

Zara just stood there and watched, her green eyes narrowing and her palm becoming increasingly tighter around the glass she was holding. She knew she was no match for a guy like him; a 6'2", ex-high school football player and went to the gym more than five times a week. So she stood there, helpless, watching her best friend get harassed by Jake.

"What the hell do you want, Jake?" she demanded, not bothering to turn around and look at him. Savannah may be small in size, but she was adamant she could take down anyone, and never backed down from a fight if she ever got into one. And Savannah always got the last word.

"I want you, babe." he replied, pushing her long, blonde hair to one side to kiss her neck. Zara knew what he wanted to do. He wanted to suck on her neck, leaving a very visible hickey on Savannah's pale skin. Jake and his friends had this thing where they left a hickey a girls neck to claim her as his, and no one else could touch her.

Sort of like a werewolf from one of those romance stories. They left a mark on a girl's neck to make sure any male that came within metres of her would know she was taken. Kind of sadistic, Zara thought.

"Go to hell, you ass. I don't want you. I didn't even invite you, so just get out of here before I call the cops." Savannah told him, trying to wriggle away from his hold. "Mollie and Sarah are clearly not good enough doormen for me," she grumbled.

He laughed. "Come on, Savvy." Jake turned her around so he could look at her face. "Just one look from me made your little guards weak at the knees. No one can resist me," he said, sounding very possessive. "God, you're beautiful." he grinned, before leaning in to kiss her.

"Get lost, Jake!" she raised a hand and slapped his cheek hard as she began to struggle more, but his hold just became stronger.

"Jake! You're hurting me!" she complained, and now Zara had realised that it had gone too far now.

By now, party people began to gather around them. They were all whispering to each other, wondering what was going on but no one voiced it out loud to get an answer.

But no one tried to stop Jake. Except Zara. She had to step in as Savannah's best friend and stop this freak of a guy get his way with her.

"Jake, let go of her." Zara tried to pull Savannah away. Jake just laughed at her. She moved closer to them, and she could smell the alcohol on his breath as he spoke.

"Fuck off, Zara, you freak." he let go of Savannah's arms, but grabbed her hand instead. "I can have Savvy if I want."

Zara clenched her fists. She hated the way people laughed at her and called her a freak, just because she had dyed her hair bright blue and had previously self-harmed, after running away from home in Mystic Falls, a small town in Virginia. She'd always had a short temper, and she could never control it when she got angry.

"Shut up, Jake." she fumed, grabbing the wrist of the hand that held Savannah's and dug her nails into his skin. "If anyone's the freak, it's you." Zara knew this wasn't a good comeback, but she was so angry, her mind couldn't work as it normally would.

"Oh, really, little miss blue hair, self-harming emo." he spat. "Come on, Savvy. I didn't realise you'd invited the freak show."

Jake turned away and took Savannah with him. But before he could get very far, Zara pulled Savannah away from him, and pushed him as hard as she could. He stumbled backwards and fell to the ground, his head making a sickening thud as it connected with the tiles on the kitchen floor. He didn't move; his emerald green eyes unblinking, his chest not moving.

"Crap, is he dead?" someone whispered.

"I don't know." someone else replied. "Call 911!"

Savannah and Zara both fell to their knees beside Jake. As much as Zara hated him, she hadn't meant to kill him. She began to prod his side.

"Come on, Jake, you ass." She muttered, her eyes filling with tears. "Wake up. Get up,"

But Jake still didn't move.

Her arm shaking, Savannah pressed two fingers to his neck, checking for a pulse. She shook her head at Zara and started to cry.

"Call 911!" Kayla, another of Zara's best friends, shouted.

Zara moved to comfort her best friend, to say sorry and that it was sort of self-defence, and she'd done it to protect her best friend, but a weird sensation thundered in her head. She pressed her hands to her temples and moaned.

"What the hell?" she mumbled.

"Zara, are you okay?" Savannah asked, voice shaky.

"Yeah, I think-"

Zara looked at Savannah and she gasped. "Zara, your eyes."

"What? What about my eyes?" she asked, confused.

"They're amber."

Zara screamed, shooting up in her bed. That was the part that haunted her the most. Amber eyes, so different from her soft, chocolate ones. At first, Zara hadn't believed her. Why were her eyes amber? But she held up a mirror to her and she saw it was true. They were amber.

"Zara! Zara, it's okay. It was just a dream." Arms wrapped around her softly, pulling her towards him.

"But my eyes, James, they were amber," she whispered. "Why? Why amber?"

"Shhh," he soothed. "I don't know, Zara. I wish I could tell you..."

"I'm going home." she announced suddenly.

"Wait, what?" James moved so he could look into her eyes. "Are you sure, babe?"

She paused for a moment and nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure."

"But why?"

She shrugged. "Maybe they have the answers. My family. Maybe the amber eyes thing is genetic or something."

"But, Zara-"

"I'm doing it, okay!" she snapped, pulling out of his grip and turning away. "I'm going home."