Evelyn Carter was sixteen years old. Evelyn Carter was the daughter of Elizabeth Rogue and Joshua Carter. Evelyn Carter had a brother named Nick and a chocolate lab named Tucker.
Evelyn Carter died on Halloween.
It was not her intention to die. But then, nobody really intends to die – unless, of course, they are suicidal. Which Evelyn Marie Carter most certainly wasn't. She had everything to live for: a loving family, a large group of friends, fame and fortune. And she was beautiful.
She was tall, with long, graceful legs. She had a fair complexion and flawless skin, with a smattering of freckles across her perfectly arced ski-slope nose. Her eyes were the color of jade green leaves on a bright spring morning. Her red hair was like fire, tumbling across her shoulders and down her back in flowing, gorgeous waves. She had a figure that could stop traffic – long legs, curves in all the right places, and a wardrobe filled with clothes that accentuated those curves perfectly.
Evelyn Carter had been invited to Jason Charing's annual Halloween party. She was invited every year, but this year was special. This year, her costume was better than it had ever been before. Her costume would outshine all the rest. This she knew for a fact, because she had designed it herself.
She was going as a goddess.
Not just any goddess. She was dressed as Brigid, the Celtic goddess of fire. She wore a short one-shoulder dress made of red chiffon. A belt of golden rope wound around her waist three times. The fabric of the dress cinched up where the belt was tied, fanning out again until it reached her knees. She wore a golden circlet atop her fiery head with a beautiful red ruby in the center, and a pair of golden drop earrings embellished with more rubies hung from her ears. On her feet, she wore gold sandals. Her toenails and fingernails were painted in a pattern of flames.
She looked breathtaking.
When she walked through the door on Halloween night, the entire atmosphere changed. Everybody stopped and stared, gaping at her.
A satisfied smile crept across her face.
"Hi," she said. Her voice was like wind chimes. Jason Charing, the host, approached her with a sheepish grin on his face.
"Hey, Ev," he said. "I'm glad you're here. Now the party can really start."
"Glad I could be of assistance," Evelyn said. She began heading towards the kitchen, her friends loyally following behind her.
"I have some people I want to introduce you to," Jason said, slinking an arm around Evelyn's waist. "I told them about you and they want to meet you. They're new to town. Friends of mine."
"Hm," Evelyn said, without really paying attention. She was searching for her boyfriend, Peter Carp. They had been dating for a few months now, and things were better than Evelyn would have ever thought possible.
But Peter was nowhere to be found.
"Have you seen Peter?" she asked Jason, finally paying attention to him. He shrugged.
"Haven't seen him around," he replied. "Come on, Ev, my friends are waiting."
She sighed and allowed herself to be towed through the house until they reached the living room.
What she saw there made her forget about Peter entirely.
Standing in the center of the room was a group of the six most gorgeous guys on the entire planet. They all wore leather jackets and sunglasses, black jeans and t-shirts, and black boots. They all had their hands in their pockets and were staring off in different directions, looking incredibly bored and as if they wished they were anywhere but here. Evelyn could tell automatically that they were some type of gang. They meant trouble.
But God, they were gorgeous.
One of them, the only one with his sunglasses off, was staring straight at her. He had pale skin as white as a sheet, dark black hair that swept across his forehead, and absolutely beautiful eyes. They were a silvery-gray, with small hints of blue in them.
As soon as she saw him, something passed between them.
A connection. An electric current ran through Evelyn, causing her eyes to widen and the hair on her arms to rise. His expression mirrored hers. Shock.
"Hi," she choked out, barely able to speak. It was at this point that every one of the boys turned their heads to stare at her. She was not paying attention to them. They were not even there. It was just Evelyn and the boy with the silvery-gray eyes. They were the only two people in the world.
"Hello, there," the boy said. "I'm Kieran."
"Guys, this is Evelyn Carter. Remember I told you about her?" Jason said, giving Evelyn a little push forward. She did not tear her gaze away from Kieran.
"Nice to meet you," Kieran nodded in her direction.
Suddenly, she came to attention. She gathered her bearings and gave her best seductive smile, and he smiled right back at her.
"Ev, this is Kieran Vale and his friends. James, Xavier, Marcus, Damon, and Oliver."
"Hi," Evelyn said. "I'm Evelyn."
They were all staring at her hungrily.
"Why don't you guys get to know each other? I'm gonna go get some drinks," Jason said and disappeared from the room. Evelyn smiled at Kieran and gestured for him to sit down on the couch with her. He did. She crossed her legs languidly when she sat, admiring the hungry glance Kieran gave them.
"So I hear you're new to town," she said.
"We came from Montville," Kieran said with a nod. Evelyn smiled. She'd heard about Montville – it was where all the bad people lived. Where the local newspaper had just reported that a psycho killer was on the loose there. His name was unknown, but he killed people by tearing out their throats. There had been more than ten murders in the last week alone.
"How long have you known Jason?" she asked. Kieran shrugged. His friends began to disperse, spreading throughout the house. Each one of them found a girl to talk to, and less than five minutes later Evelyn saw one of them kissing Jamie Schneider.
"About a year or two," Kieran said. He did not elaborate on the subject, so Evelyn dismissed it quickly.
She scooted closer to him on the couch, stretching out in ways that suggested seduction. He smiled at her, and she flashed her teeth in response.
"So," she said. "What brought you to Lansdale?"
Kieran shrugged.
"Montville got boring. It was no fun. . .and there were no girls."
"Oh, really? Well, there are plenty of girls here. About half of them are in this room right now, and I'm sure any one of them would be interested in you."
"Are you?" he asked.
"Maybe," Evelyn replied.
"What would I have to do to make you interested?" Kieran asked. His voice was dangerous and seductive, and it was slowly drawing Evelyn in with each word.
"Convince me that you are interested in me," she said.
Slowly, Kieran reached out and caught a lock of fiery red hair between his fingers. As soon as he touched her, the electric current passed through her again. He must have felt it too, because he paused in shock. But a moment later he began twirling the hair around and around, smiling all the while.
"You're Brigid," he said. "Celtic goddess of fire."
Evelyn raised her eyebrows, trying to shake off the strange feeling this boy gave her.
"Impressive. How did you know?"
He shrugged. "I have a knack for guessing."
Evelyn tapped her chin thoughtfully. She leaned forward so that her lips were against his ear. More electricity passed. She ignored it.
"Well then, try and guess what I'm thinking right now."
Kieran traced a finger up one of her bare legs, raising goose bumps on her flawless skin and sending shivers down her spine.
Yes, there was definitely something there. Definitely a connection.
"You want to go somewhere more private," he whispered, lightly kissing her neck. The electricity bumped up to high voltage.
"Hmm, you do have a knack for guessing."
Evelyn stood up and reached out a hand. Kieran took it, and she pulled him towards the staircase. Slowly, knowing that his eyes were on her back, she led him upstairs and into an empty bedroom. She leaned against the wall and watched as Kieran closed and locked the door behind them. He dimmed the lights and wrapped his arms around her waist. She locked her own around his neck and folded her legs around his waist. He carried her to the bed, where they laid down on top of each other. The next thing Evelyn knew, they were kissing.
And God, was it amazing.
The feeling of his soft lips against her skin was so inviting. Exhilarating, exciting, heart-stopping. She gasped as he began kissing her neck.
"I think I might love you," Kieran murmured suddenly. Evelyn smiled. Surprisingly enough, she felt the same way. She didn't care that she had not known this boy for more than five minutes. That electric connection between them meant something – something big.
"I think I might love you, too," she responded breathlessly.
"If I tell you a secret, do you promise to keep it?" Kieran asked.
"Anything," she said. "I promise."
He pulled away from her and took a deep breath, staring straight into her eyes.
"I'm a vampire."
And then the world turned upside down.
For a moment, she was about to laugh. She was about to laugh out loud and tell him he was crazy and to get out and never talk to her again.
But when she saw his expression, she thought better of it.
In her mind, it sort of made sense. Evelyn had always loved reading, and her favorite topic to read about had always been vampires. Kieran fit the description perfectly. Pale white skin, dark, dangerous vibe, seductive velvety voice. Strange silvery eyes. Although they weren't red. But Evelyn had heard of vampires that did not have red eyes.
And, when she saw the fangs peeking out from above his lower lip, she had no choice but to believe him.
"Wow," she whispered. "I mean. . .wow. A real life vampire."
"Are you scared?" Kieran whispered back.
"No," she answered. And she realized that it was true. She was not scared at all. Shocked, maybe, but not scared.
"Good," he replied. He smiled and bent down to kiss her again. "Because we're both going to be in serious trouble now."
"Why?" she asked.
"Because I told you. And because now you know that vampires exist."
"Am I going to die?"
"You might."
Evelyn thought about this for a second. She definitely did not want to die. Her family and friends would miss her, and she would miss them terribly. It would suck to be dead.
Then she realized whom she was kissing.
"You can save me," she whispered. "You can turn me."
"I wouldn't do that to you," he snapped.
"Would you rather I die instead?"
For this, he had no answer. Evelyn continued, deadly persistent now. "Look, Kieran. I know I barely know you, and I know we just met, but there's something between us. And don't try to deny it, because I know you feel it too. You said so yourself that you love me."
"Yes, but I could never wish this on anyone," he whispered. "You don't know what you're asking for, Evelyn."
"Please, Kieran. If you change me, I wouldn't die. Well, maybe I would, but I would be a lot harder to kill. And. . .we could be together. Forever."
Kieran's facial expression was pained. Evelyn reached out and touched his cheek, tracing her thumb across the shape of his lips. He reached up to hold her hand there, as if he could keep it there forever. For a moment, they simply stared into each other's eyes. His silvery ones were pained.
"I know this is weird, but I love you," Evelyn whispered.
"I love you, too. And it's not weird. This happens all the time in my world," Kieran explained. "Vampires and werewolves and witches and shapeshifters – when we meet our other half, we know it's them immediately. The moment we see each other for the first time, we know. It's automatic, and we can't help it."
"Is there a word for it?"
"It's called the soulmate principle."
She nodded, immediately understanding. He was her soulmate, and she was his. It would always be like that now.
"All of us – all of the supernatural beings – we're part of a thing called the Night World. Humans aren't allowed to know about us. And if they do find out. . .the punishment is death. For both the human and whoever told them." He paused and took both of her hands. "If I changed you, it would be illegal."
"I don't care," Evelyn whispered. "Do it. There has to be somewhere where we can go where no one will suspect us."
Kieran stopped, and Evelyn could tell that he was thinking.
"What?" she asked.
"There might be one place. It's called Circle Daybreak. But I'm not positive the rumors are true. . . ."
"What's Circle Daybreak?"
"The witches started it. In the beginning, before the wars between our kind, there were three witch circles. Daybreak, Twilight, and Midnight. Daybreak was eliminated after the wars. But there's been talk recently. . .talk about how some of the witches are trying to reform Circle Daybreak. They want to forget about the Night Wars and make peace with everyone, including the humans. They accept renegades and their soulmates, is what I heard."
"Let's go, then!" Evelyn nearly shouted. "That's perfect! We have to find them!"
"But I'm not even sure if the rumors are true. . ."
"Kieran, it's the only way we can be together."
"You understand that you'll have to leave everything behind, don't you? Your family, your friends, your entire life?"
Evelyn closed her eyes and nodded. She imagined life without those things – life as a vampire.
At first, she didn't want to do it. But seeing Kieran by her side made it all worth it. They were soulmates: there was no way they could be apart.
"I know," she said.
"Do you. . .do you want to do it now, then?" he asked. She could tell it pained him to say it. He was worried about her. She smiled at him and kissed his soft lips.
"I'm ready," she whispered. "I love you, Kieran. I'll be fine. I promise."
Kieran took a deep breath, steeling himself for this moment. And then he leaned down to bite her neck.
