Chapter One
DAWN. It was the only time she would be able to escape.
Veronica Cayley Bellamy didn't have a backpack full of clothes, or a thick wad of cash in her pocket. She didn't have a friend waiting down the road in a getaway car. Basically, she didn't have what most sane people would call a "plan".
But it didn't matter, there was no way she was going to remain at Bellamy Manor.
The muted morning light was still in the sky as she slipped into my tight skinny jeans and grabbed a warm sweater –this early morning light, and this high in the hills, even September felt cold. She tied her long black hair into a high ponytail and stepped into her dark red Converse. It was very important to be quiet; Veronica had to be careful to make sure her parents don't wake up. Even the smallest crack, crunch or stomp would wake them up.
She carefully opened her bedroom window, grabbed a denim jacket and looked down "That's a long drop…" she whispered. She shrugged and hopped out. Surprisingly, she landed right on her feet. Well, not surprising actually being a "Vampire" it came natural. She looked back up it her window and saw her perfectly made bed.
Before Veronica left, she made my bed. Usually, someone else would do it for her, but she wanted to do it. Veronica knew she was going to freak her parents out badly enough today, so straitening the covers felt like she was making it up to them. Even though they wouldn't see it that way, but she went ahead. With the one step, she had a sudden strange flash of something she'd dreamed of the night before, as vivid and immediate as though as if she was still dreaming:
A flower the color of blood.
Rain poured and wind howled. The sky overhead churned, thick with rolling clouds. Veronica brushed a piece of wet windswept hair from her face.
She only wanted to look at the flower.
Each rain-beaded petal was vividly red, slender, blade like. It was unlike any other flower she had ever seen. It was exotic mesmerizing and she HAD to have it.
'Why was that memory make me shiver? It was only a dream… 'She thought. Taking a deep breath she walked father into the fog.
Early morning fog covered the world in a bluish gray as Veronica walked across the grounds. When they built this mansion in the 1700s, this French countryside had been nothing but wilderness. Even though many houses were dotted way in the distance; no one even bothered to build any houses nearby. Veronica would never know the reason why either, because her parents never told her anything.
Her parents were pureblood lamia, and unlike other lamia families, her family was very strict about their bloodline; so strict that they had to marry their siblings. Disgusting right? That's what Veronica thought when she overheard her parents talking about it yesterday; that was the reason for running away. She didn't want to marry her brother, much less have kids. It made her gag just thinking about it. 'Wait…' She came to a halt. "Lucas!" she whispered aloud. 'He doesn't know! What it they make him marry our cousin or something!' Veronica pretended to vomit 'He wouldn't want that! I have to go back!' She started to jog back. 'Maybe I could convince them do something else. Maybe…'
"Whoa!" Veronica exclaimed, still lost in her thoughts, had tripped. She made a loud thump along with leaves and twigs crunching beneath her. She looked up and a light had turned on. "No!" She whispered, pounding a fist on the ground. She had to get out of here and fast. She got up quickly and tiptoed away from the house. Suddenly, a hand caught her shoulder. Veronica jumped out of fear, but the person grabbed her waist. She started screaming for help, but the hand covered her mouth; muffling her cries for help…