The cafeteria was alive with the excited chatter of the students. I had no idea what they were talking so excitedly about which was unusual because I always knew everything that happened at this school. I knew every student too. It was very rare when I had to actually ask someone what was going on.

I turned to the girl sitting next to me. "What's going on?" I asked just before the answer walked right into the lunch room. "Never mind. Thanks," I said and turned away to focus on the girl who had just entered the room. She was a pretty girl. Fair skin, blue eyes, dark hair. She was skinny, obviously not an athlete. She wore loose blue jeans with a hole in one knee and a baggy t-shirt. Her dark hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail and she wore no make-up. I'd never seen her before and like I'd said, I knew everybody here at Pasadena High School.

I stood up and walked over to her just as she sat down with a group of freshman girls. They all gawked as soon as they saw me walking toward them. The probably weren't used to popular people coming up to them.

"Hi there," I said, talking to the new girl.

She looked up at me with that deer-in-the-headlights look. "H-Hi," she stammered.

"I'm Persephany Thorne," I said, extending my hand toward her.

She reluctantly shook it. The moment our skin touched a chill ran down my spine. "Jayde Marquez," she said, a slight smile forming on her lips.

I gave her a small smile until she turned to look at her newfound friends. That's when I saw it. Two small puncture wounds on neck, near her shoulder. It took all I had not to jerk my hand away and a lot of effort to keep my smile in place.

"Would you excuse me for a minute?" I asked and then walked away without waiting for her reply. I headed straight for the bathroom. "Out!" I ordered the two sophomore girls who were standing at the mirrors touching up their make-up. They took one look at me and rushed out.

Once alone, I took a deep breath and leaned over one of the sinks. I splashed water on my face and reluctantly looked in the mirror. My green eyes had slightly dark circles under them, barely noticeable from a distance. I ran my fingers through my dark chestnut hair and sighed. I pulled out my cell phone and was just about to dial my brother's number when the door opened nearly making me jump out of my skin.

It was Jayde.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you," she said walking toward me. I took a step back and she stopped. "What's wrong?"

I shook my head. "Nothing," I said. "I'm fine."

She took another reluctant step toward me and I took another step back which put me up against the far wall. "Are you sure?"

I nodded. Yeah, I'm sure."

She smiled. "Okay." She turned on her heels and left me alone.

When she was gone I dialed Kaige's number and waited impatiently for him to pick up. The phone rang five times before he answered.

"Yeah," he said by way of a greeting.

"We've got a problem," I said.

"I'm on my way." He hung up before I could say another word. Fifteen minutes later, I was called out of class to go to the office to go home. Kaige didn't say a word as we pulled out of the school parking lot.

"Where's Shayne?" I asked once on the road.

"At Aimee's," he said. Aimee was Shayne's new girlfriend of the week.

"How long do you think this one's going to last?"

"I gave him less than two weeks," he laughed.

"I give him less than that."

Kaige sobered up pretty quickly and I dropped the subject of my other brother's love life. "Are you sure it was a bite?"

I sighed, frustrated. "Yes. We've been hunting these things for how long now? I think I can tell the difference between a regular bug bite and this."

"Okay, okay. Chill, Seph. It was just a question. I mean, we haven't run in to any of them in what? Three months? And all of a sudden there's a new girl at your school with a bite on her neck. It doesn't make sense."

"Since when do vamps ever make sense?" I asked, crossing my arms and turning to stare out the window. "I bet you ten bucks she's someone's familiar," I said, glancing back at him.

He gave me a wry smile. "You're on."

"Hey Jayde, wait up!" I called after her in the hall the next morning before first period.

"Hi Persephany," she said, seeming genuinely happy to see me.

"Please, call me Seph."

"Okay. So what's up?"

"Um, I need to talk to you. Do you have a minute?"

"Not really. First period is about to start and if we don't get going, we're both going to be late."

I shrugged. "I'm always late. My teachers don't really care anymore."

She looked at me for a moment longer and then nodded. She followed me to the girls' bathroom. She went in before me so that I could block the door and her only exit. She didn't seem to notice what I was doing.

"What's this about?"

I sighed. There really was no easy way to do this, but it had to be done one way or another. "It's about what's on your neck." Yeah, Seph, that's the way. Freak the girl out, that'll make her spill the beans, I thought.

She lifted one eyebrow. "What?"

"I saw it yesterday. The bite," I said.

"It's a rattlesnake snake bite."

So that's what she was telling everyone because I know that I couldn't have been the only one who'd seen it. "You're lying to me, Jayde."

She shook her head. "No."

"Really. Where did you get that nasty looking bite then?"

"I was on vacation with my family. We were in Hawaii," she said.

"Why do you still insist on lying to me when I already know the truth? That, my dear, is not a rattlesnake bite. You know how I know? Because rattlesnakes are poisonous snakes and poisonous snakes do not live in Hawaii. So why don't you tell me the truth, huh?" I stood there waiting, with my arms crossed.

She sighed and I knew I had won. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me."

"It was a…um…it was a vampire," she whispered.

I didn't say anything. I just stood there quietly, waiting, hoping she would elaborate.

"You don't believe me do you?" she asked

"Yeah, I do. Now I want you to tell me who it was," I demanded.

She shook her head violently. "I-I can't."

"Tell me!"

"Raidyn. H-His name is R-Raidyn," she yelled.

I walked across the room and pushed her against the wall. "So help me God, if you are lying to me…" I didn't need to finish the threat. I could see in her pretty blue eyes that she was already terrified of me. I took a few steps back and took a deep breath. "Go to class and tell no one about this. This conversation never happened. You understand?"

She nodded rapidly. "Yeah." And then she took off out of there like a bat out of hell.

I was notorious for making—and following through with my threats. That's why nobody ever bothered to get on my bad side. And having two badass brothers ready to stand at your back and defend you and help you follow through with those threats wasn't too bad either. I hadn't meant to scare the poor girl but she'd given me the name of one of the most infamous vampires alive.

Raidyn would lead me—and my brothers—to the vamp we'd been hunting down since the day our parents died.

Raidyn would lead us to Blane.