Preface
In all of my three hundred and eighty six years of my existence falling in love with a human ever cross my mind. Jake Colly was the one boy who changed my view on humans and opened my eyes to a new, humane way of living. It took my three hundred and sixty nine years to realize how cruel and heartless this world that we live in is. How oblivious the world is to its surroundings and if humans would open their eyes like Jake did for me people would see the truth and realize what love truly is.
Chapter One
"Molly, we can't go today it's rainy and people will make up some stupid lie about where we are." Elizabeth stood with her hands on her hips and a hard look on her face. Beside Elizabeth stood her mate William, who was eighteen as was she.
"No," I said firmly. "It's too dangerous. What would happen if someone started to bleed? Are we going to be able to control our selves?" Elizabeth rolled her eyes and walked over to my bay window biting her lip and sitting on my bench in front of it. The walls were painted light beige with candles lit to make the room feel relaxed. There was a single dark brown sofa and a dark brown lamp that sat in the far corner also lighting up the gloomy room.
Tristan walked into my room casually, his brown sweater making him almost invisible against my walls. He ran his fingers through his short brown hair and bit his lip. "Lissie," he started.
"Are you on her side too?" she screeched furiously. William wrapped Elizabeth in his arms and spoke gently in her ear calming Elizabeth.
"But Molly does have a point Liss, what if someone does start to bleed? Do you want us to get killed by the Isernias? I mean, I'm friends with Franco, but if we threaten to expose the vampire race then he'll do anything to torture and kill that vampire … trust me I've seen him do it and I never want to see it again." Tristan lay his hand on my sisters should rubbing it gently with his thumbs. "Liss, I'm just looking out for you, your sister, and your mate. There's nothing personal I just think that hunting earlier would be for the best."
Elizabeth sighed hard and ran her fingers through her long golden blonde hair thinking quietly aloud to herself. She looked up suddenly with a sudden rush of excitement in her bright blue eyes. "When do we leave?"
"I could call the airport right now. Though I'm not sure they'll be open at," I glanced sideways at a clock on my wall matching my color scheme. "Two in the morning."
"It's the airport you dork of course they're going to be open." Elizabeth stated matter-of-factly getting up to stand by her mate William.
"Just call them Molly and I'll get some clothes ready and leave your school a message saying that you'll be out." Tristan threw my cell phone from across the room and in one swift movement was out of the room and on the house phone before I could catch it.
I dialed the airports number with inhumane speed getting on the line with someone within a couple of minutes. "Hi, can I have three tickets to North Carolina?" I asked as soon as a woman came on the line.
"Sure just hold on a minute please." She replied before she put music on the line as I waited impatiently on the other. I felt the thick white carpet under my bare feet as I paced back and forth as I waited for the lady to come back on.
"Elizabeth!" I hissed from where I was then jumping up and down on my sofa.
"What are you doing?"
"Waiting for the lady to come back on." I replied as I jumped up and down.
She stuck her tongue out childishly and said, "Well, looks like you're having fun. Can I get back to packing my clothes now?" she threw her pale yet perfect thumb in the direction of her room and raised her eyebrows with a questioning look on her face.
"No." I said gliding down gracefully from my make-shift trampoline. "If I'm going to be on the line waiting for her," I gestured to the hot phone pressed against my cool face. "Then I need you to pack me clothes."
Elizabeth sighed hard and opened my closet parallel to me where I sat upside down on the soft brown sofa. "What do you want me to pack?" she asked turning around and sticking her tongue out again.
"Who cares?" I said as I felt my black blood rushing towards my head. Elizabeth scooped up an armful of clothes that were hanging up and stuffed them in my suit case.
"That good?" she asked annoyed
"Well doesn't someone have a short temper?" I snorted teasingly. A growl erupted from Elizabeth's chest as she lunged towards me bearing her teeth. I snapped the phone shut and dodged her attack just before her fingers could grasp me. I threw the phone against the wall making it shatter to pieces. Elizabeth hit the wall above my sofa hard and left a dent. As quick as it took her to get at me she was turned around and speeding towards me. We stalked each other in a circle formation with me guarding the door and she the window. I snarled at her letting my fangs slide into place and adrenaline pulse through my body. She snarled in return lunging at me fangs out. I felt her tackle me too the ground in a mess of tangled arms and legs. Everywhere snarls rose above the crashing of my lamp and pictures that hung on my walls.
Suddenly I felt Elizabeth's weight getting pulled forcefully off of me. My fangs still out, I got up in a flash and was hissing violently.
"Enough!" Tristan's voice rang in my ears ceasing my hissing. He stood at the other end of my room panting holding back Elizabeth by her shoulders who was struggling to get free. Her teeth were bare and her eyes were still hot with anger, but she getting calmer by the second.
"Would someone like to tell me what is going on?" Tristan asked not loosing his grip on Elizabeth despite her words of complaint.
"I asked if she could pack clothes for me while I was still on the phone with the airport lady and I said something and she got all mad and decided to attack me and then you pulled her off me and here we are—" I was interrupted by Tristan.
"Yes, yes I'm very aware of the last part Molly but what did you say that made her attack you?"
"She said that I had a short temper!" Elizabeth barked through her teeth.
"Well, we can't argue with that." Tristan mumbled to himself. Elizabeth growled slightly. Tristan ignored it and went on "At any rate I can't baby sit you two anymore! You're both three hundred and eighty something I don't think I need to watch you like you are newborns. Now if you're going to act like three year olds then I will treat you like three year olds. Hug and make up so we can leave." He let go of Elizabeth gently and watched her cautiously. As her eyes softened, she sighed and put her arms behind her back holding her hands together behind her like a child.
We took a step towards each other and I held out my arms invitingly. She hugged me and I hugged her back murmuring "I'm sorry sweetie."
"That's quite alright. I guess I have a bit of a short temper." I stopped hugging her and put my hands on her shoulders raising my perfect left eye brow. "Ok!" she admitted. "I have a very short temper! Happy??" she wailed throwing her head back in defeat.
"Yes actually that completed my life." I drew an air circle between her head and mine and we giggled together.
"Now, was that so hard?" William asked his mate trying to suppress the grin that was about to break through and he wrapped his arms around Elizabeth and leaned down to kiss her neck. He smiled and his messy brown hair drooped in his eyes.
"Not with you around to protect me." Elizabeth said giggling as he tickled her with his perfect lips making a line of kisses on her neck.
I turned my head away and put my long blonde hair in a pony tail letting my short side bangs droop along side my face. Tristan pulled me over by my waist and sat me down on my couch. He brushed away my bangs and kissed my forehead.
"I remember when I first found you and your sister back in sixteen thirty eight all scared and in pain." He laughed at the memory.
"Yeah I guess I never really thanked you properly for rescuing us. If you didn't who knows who would be stopping our fights." I replied tucking my bangs behind my ears as best I could given that they were so short.
"I could only imagine Molly." Tristan replied with a perfect brilliant smile. His eyes green eyes were warm remembering the good memories that were stored in his brilliant mind. He sighed and stood up. His figure was perfect. Tristan's brown hair was brushed down just barely covering his ears and his cat like green eyes glowed with pride looking at his small yet perfect family that sat in my nice comfortable room. Tristan was an architect and he designed the Coliseum so long ago and he would always brag about it. He designed most of the new houses here in Ashland Oregon. It was the most perfect place that we could have lived since of course our skin and the sun don't really go together and since Ashland is one of the rainiest places in our country it was absolutely perfect. On the side he was a photographer and Lissie, Will, and I were his models that he would take pictures of. "Alright." Tristan clapped once and rubbed his hands together while and anxious smile spread across his face. "It's a good thing I called ahead of time to get tickets I knew you were going to screw it up so, I thought ahead and got tickets."
I bit back my laughter rubbing my index finger under my nose, however Elizabeth and William couldn't help themselves and they began to laugh. Elizabeth sat down on William's lap and wrapped her arms around his pale neck.
"That's Tristan for ya!" Elizabeth giggled and kissed the top of Will's head. "Alright let's go!" she jumped up dismissing the rest of us and walking gracefully to the door as if she were a synchronized swimmer in water performing the most meticulous and beautiful act.
I got up swift fully where I sat next to Tristan and walked my graceful walk/dance over to my bag of clothes. I zipped the small bag shut and slug it over my shoulders. I almost fell over with the weight of it. "Jeez Liss what did you put in her."
"Who cares?" she replied with laughter sparkling in her beautiful blue sapphire eyes. I rolled my moss green eyes and turned to my suit case taking out the random clothes that Lissie threw in. I replaced the dresses and some of the skirts with underwear, bras, and more jeans.
Tristan stood casually at the door with his arms crossed against his chest that was covered with a green sweater that matched his eyes watching me with a thoughtful expression on his beautifully carved face. "You look like you're in deep thought."
"Sorry." He said shaking his head as if to get rid of his thoughts. He smiled at me and I smiled back warmly.
"TRISTAN!!" Elizabeth's voice pierced the air between us and she let out a few small sobs as Tristan and I left my room with unimaginable speed. We were in her room on the other side of our huge house within a few heartbeats staring at her frightened expression as huge black tears rolled down her beautiful face. A violent sob ripped through her chest as her eyes looked down at her mate who was on the floor. William's eyes were turned up so only the white part was showing. His body shook through brief spasms and he murmured something under his breath.
Tristan bent down beside his son and lifted his head up and sniffed warily thinking of the worst. "What happened?" Tristan asked anxiously without taking his scared eyes off of his son.
"I-I don't know. We were talking about who would get to the car first and he said that he was getting a pain in his head and then he collapsed. W-w-what's going to happen to him?" more big black tears stained her pale face as she tried to push away the thought of loosing her mate. I stood frozen gazing down at me brother and wondering only the worst. My limbs went numb and I could feel myself beginning to loose control. I felt my own tears beginning to form and roll down my cheeks. My lips pulled back in the beginning of a snarl as more black tears flowed out of my moss green eyes. A violent sob ripped through my body as I felt my eyes clouding over and my body shaking. I rose up into the air by some unknown force as violent wind whipped around my body undoing my neat ponytail.
"Alex! No!" I heard Tristan scream from under me where he stared at me with big round disbelieving eyes. My head tilted back and I screamed sending a shudder through my sister's body. Then all was still as the unknown force began to gently place me back on the ground of Elizabeth's soft carpeted floor. As I lay down on Elizabeth's floor all was still.
"Why in God's name would you do that?" I heard Tristan yell as icy anger slowly dripped into his words. "I know you were trying to help but this isn't the time to stop time."
"And it's not like vampires stop too. You know it only affects humans." I could feel Elizabeth's scared and angry glare on my tear stained face through my closed eyes. I felt the cloudiness around my eyes fade and I opened them. I tried to sit up but my limbs wouldn't respond. I blinked a couple of times before remembering why I had stopped time. I remembered how scared I was when I saw my brother laying on the ground in a heap of twitching limbs.
I could feel Tristan and Elizabeth's gaze on me as I sat up weakly only to fall back down and hit my on the ground. I felt the wetness of my black blood ooze out of my head before I was conscious enough to smell it. Elizabeth was at my side in an instant. Smelling the reek of vampire blood was not something she likes to do let alone be anywhere near it. I felt her cool hands brush the spot where my head was throbbing violently. I closed my eyes feeling the pain disappear as she concentrated on my head wound. I felt my skin tightening and the throbbing stopping but there would always be a slight scar. Elizabeth's healing could never get rid of scars she could only heal the wounds. Elizabeth bent down and her lips brushed over the wound to end the healing processes.
When we were younger, back in the sixteen hundreds, I used to get hurt on purpose so she could practice healing people. When we were humans and young Elizabeth and I thought that she was going to be the wife of a doctor and help him out with his studies, but she never got married to doctor, or even got married on that note.
"What-what...are we going…to do with…William?" I asked as I let some of my weakness seep into my voice making it obvious to my coven mates that stopping time was hard to do. As I spoke William's eyes slowly began to roll back forward letting his gold eyes come back into visibility. Elizabeth let out a little shriek of terror beside and ran to his side lifting up his head with her own hands.
I sat up warily noticing that my shirt and jeans were torn and ripped in numerous places. "Are you hurt?" I heard Elizabeth's voice crack with sympathy and horror as she stared into the confused and relief filled eyes of her mate.
"I don't have a clue what just happened, but I did see us," William gestured to Tristan first than me, Elizabeth and finally himself with a weak swipe of his arm. "and we were at the airport. Molly was talking to a human boy and I think his name was …" William's voice trailed off as he narrowed his eyes and tried hard to remember the boy's name. "Oh. It was Jake Colly. You know, Sofia Anne the designer." We all nodded. I loved the clothes she made. All her sweaters were really soft and they covered most of my skin from the sun. "Well, her son was talking to Molly and he said that he just moved here and Molly offered to take him to give him a tour of the school when we get back." When William finished all eyes were on me. They stared blankly at me and slowly began to realize what happened to William and how he knew everything that he knew.
"Will honey, I think you had a vision. You know? I think you can see the future." Elizabeth's curious voice broke the silence as she ripped her sapphire gaze from me to her mat gently brushing away his brown hair that was in his face.
"I think so too. Franco told me that Alessandro, the one who can sense things that are coming, yeah, he said that there was going to be a vampire who could see the future and I think you're that vampire." Tristan picked up William even though he was over one hundred and fifteen pounds and swung him over to Elizabeth's blue couch. William nodded a thanks and turned to his mate affectionately hitting his head lightly against her hip as she stood next to him.
"Are you hurt?" Elizabeth asked as a tint of worry dripped into her usual calm voice.
"No, surprisingly it didn't hurt, but judging by all of your expressions I think it looked pretty painful." He smiled and laughed a weak laugh, though he was healing by the devastating new news that he was trying to unwrap in his mind.
"Yeah you looked like this." I lay on the ground twitching and flopping around as if I were a fish out of water. I got and giggled walking over to Tristan where we pounded our fists together
"If I new better I would think that you were having the vision. Sometimes I swear you look at things too closely for your good." Tristan laughed then his eyes became serious again. "Molly you have to unstop time."
William was bewildered as he tried to comprehend yet another confusing mystery of the numerous things that happened while he was having a vision. "Oh. Heh. Yyyeeeaaeahhh." I bit my finger to hide my embarrassment. I closed my eyes and again I rose up into the air as the unknown force blew wind at me tearing more of my tattered clothes. I heard the birds chirp again outside as I was slowly lowered to ground and gently lay me on the warm soft blue carpet of my sister's floor. Beginning time is always easier than stopping it and it had always confused Tristan ever since I got my power sixty years ago. In those sixty years Tristan and I have learned how to control the random time stoppage that always thrusted the world to a pause.
"Well, do we still have enough time to get to the airport?" I asked teasingly knowing the answer even if I didn't have visions. Tristan rolled his eyes and gestured for us to grab our bags and get to his car.
I strolled out of our big house and got into the front of Tristan's Infiniti SUV and hopped inside throwing by bags in the back and placing my sunglasses carefully on my face.
Tristan got in next to me with his sunglasses on and smiled a heart melting smile making me loose track of my thoughts. Now wonder why I imprinted on him. I sighed and buckled my seat belt bracing my self for Tristan's wild driving.
I could feel Tristan's gaze seeping into the side of my face as I looked blankly out the window. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat wanting Elizabeth to come in the car desperately.
Being alone with Tristan made me feel very awkward ever since he found out that I had imprinted on him many, many years ago. I remember it very clearly and I think even if vampires didn't have a photographic memory I would have remembered the night that I realized I imprinted on him.
it was my seventy fifth birth day since id been changed and Elizabeth wanted it to be special, so we went to a tavern in France. It was a cool April night, but the cold didn't bother me even though I had my new spring dress.
We were all sitting inside and I remember Tristan ordered us all a glass of fancy wine, and despite the bar tender's harsh look at me and Elizabeth he gave them to us.
"A toast! To you my dear." Tristan announced raising his mug into the air and smiling making my stomach clench and unclench. I looked into his beautiful eyes and I thought I saw a spark of want in them. I bit my lip and a small smile spread across my face.
Everyone drank and was merry that night. A vampire doesn't get drunk easily, but I couldn't stop, it was so easy to get lost in the delicate taste of the wine urged more into my cup.
"Tristan, love, let me let you in on a little secret…" I swayed toward him a little and my voice words were slurred.
He raised his eye brows at me and took another sip. "Go on then."
I leaned in and whispered in his ear. "I imprinted on you." It was followed by a hiccup-giggle.
I felt the in take of air behind me from Elizabeth as I spun around to see her. "Molly?" she looked at me confused and her eyes flickered from me to Tristan.
He ran his fingers through his hair and stood up putting money on the bar walking away in one swift movement he was out of the bar.
"Oh Molly," Elizabeth cooed taking me in her arms. I wept a lot that evening as she helped me get home. My make up was running and my hair was a mess, as we made our way through London's dark allies.
Elizabeth strolled out with her bags in her arms and big designer sunglasses on her beautiful face. She was followed by William, who took one look at the sun peeking out behind the ominous clouds and swooped up my sister running easily to the car within a few seconds.
