Chapter 1

Godric

Even though I could no longer be affected by temperature, aside from burning of course, the humidity of the nights in Texas always had its way of making me uncomfortable. Texas, big, hot and brimming with rednecks; it wasn't exactly a haven for vampires like myself.

Not that I was complaining. Luxury had never been a priority of mine, unlike the other vampires who shared my nest. The only thing that kept them there was their pride. Texas was one of the most notorious regions for vampire resistance in the world as well as being the 2nd largest state in the Newfoundland or whatever they were calling it these days. Those who were called the "best" and most powerful vampires were chosen to rule over Texas.

I felt no superiority with my occupation as sheriff. Sure it made me powerful, but the idea of power had never truly compelled me. That was why Nan Flanagan hired me of course, to keep the others in check, but tonight I was off duty.

The streets were empty as I strolled along the closed storefronts, albeit a random human probably up to no good and a stray homeless man sleeping in a makeshift bed. It was a good night to go out, a Wednesday. I pulled out my pocket watch and read the time. 2am; Most humans were at home with their families, allowing some free time for monsters like myself who were confined indoors during the daytime. It was nice to not have to deal with the stares, the grimaces, the general looks of disgust received on nights during the weekends and holidays.

Not that I blamed them, for the past 300 hundred years I've felt the same way. The only reason I had left the nest to begin with was to escape the sight my fellow monsters who were feeding on some desperate woman.

I suppose one would say I should be used to it; I had done the same countless times myself, yet lately, even before the invention of synthetic blood, this act had lost its appeal to me, and even more recently, had begun to disgust me.

It was one of those nights that I had become fed up with watching, so I left to go and wander the streets, like some cliché human cinema. The evil vampire hunting the streets; that was me, aside from the hunting part.

A flashing neon sign caught my attention. "WE SERVE TRUE-BLOOD". The establishment was seedy and basked in shadow, a bar I had heard humans refer to as "a hole in the wall", which was not an inaccurate description. It was exactly what I was looking for.

Isabel worries about about me, why do I choose such places where I know people won't welcome me; was I trying to get myself killed? Well, not one that she knew of. I was a coward for trying to invoke a human to end my life for me, even more of a coward for failing so miserably at it. It wasn't difficult to anger southern humans enough to get staked, but I somehow worked my way out of the situation every time I got close.

I just couldn't bring myself to meet the True-Death that way, but would eventually. It had to happen, one way or another. Was tonight the night? I swiftly swung open the doors, setting off the bells that were hung at the top. To my dismay, not a single head even twitched my way. No, tonight was, most likely, not the night.

Forrest

SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT! Internal curses flowed endlessly under my panicked thoughts as I raced through the dim lit streets. Ok, so maybe going to a werewolf bar wasn't one of my best ideas. I mean, who knew they would have such bad tempers? Ok, I knew but really, this was ridiculous. I looked back and saw that the two figures were still in my pursuit and nowhere near out of breath. Maybe I also shouldn't have gone with my red-haired-twenty- three –year- old- with- big- boobs-shift (or Rebecca as my fake ID said), but was how the hell was I supposed to know that Lu Pine's was the equivalent of a rowdy biker bar?

So I stood out like a sore thumb, and I guess it also didn't help that I was asking questions about vampires, but this is insane. The werewolves wouldn't be easy to kill; they had at least 150-200 pounds on me each and all that leather probably wouldn't burn easy, and it had taken a good amount of energy for me to completely shift so frying these chumps was probably not a smart option.

Coming up on my right was some shit-hole bar with a flashing sign on the front. I ran to the door and swung it open, causing some bells to clang at the top of the door. What I needed was place to sit and blend in.

Godric

True-blood, the irony in the name never failed to make me chuckle. What kind of sick being would label this vulgar substance as True? My attention snapped abruptly to the door, my super sensitive ears detecting the bells almost before they rang. A girl stood at the door frantically searching the room. Realizing all the seats were full her eyes met mine, the only eyes that had taken the effort to turn to the entrance when she came in.

She walked swiftly to my table which was almost hidden in the depth of the room. She sat without permission and smiled. "So, how are you doing?" Bright red hair, dark green eyes, a curvy body, she was what some men would consider sexy, but as people say these days, she was not my type. Not that I really even have a type I suppose, it had been centuries since I had taken an interest in, well, anybody.

There was something particularly…disconcerting about her. Her eyes kept twitching, like she wanted to turn around and look at the door. "Who are you hiding from?" I said finally. Her smile faltered for a fraction of a second and without my heightened senses I probably would have missed it, nonetheless it was rapidly plastered back on. "Well that aint no way to greet a girl!" Her tone was sweet, country, and playful all at once. She grinned at me like a perfectly brainless girl should…and yet…it didn't seem right.

With 2000 years of distinguishing lies from truths and maybe just a little natural talent, I sensed something was off. But it wasn't just something, it was everything. My silence must have finally drawn her attention enough away from whatever it was that was distracting her that she finally looked down to see the True-Blood that I had been drinking. She frowned.

"What's wrong, are you afraid of vampires." I said sarcastically, not something I usually did but it had slipped out. For the first time she gave me a real look.

"Hun, I've got worse things than lonely vampires sitting by themselves in a crappy bar to be afraid of." Before I could react the door burst open finally rewarding a few annoyed glances. The girl stiffened and her hands began to shake but she didn't turn around. "So…uh, what's your name vampire boy?" Her voice was completely devoid of any accent that she had once had. My eyebrows furrowed.

The two men that had come in had not sat down but had instead begun to walk around as if they were looking for someone. The girl's heart beat severely elevated, making me feel anxious even though I knew I was in no danger.

The bar didn't exactly smell pleasant, so for the first time since I had entered I inhaled through my nose and immediately recognized the two leather clad men as werewolves. She was hiding from werewolves? Who was this human girl? Lost in thought I was caught off guard when suddenly a fist came down on her head. The werewolf with dark hair down to his shoulders violently dug his stubby fingers into her scalp. And then… was I somehow hallucinating…did her eyes indeed change color?

"Sorry sir, but this bitch here is ours," Growled the werewolf who was lifting up the squirming girl by her hair. Her eyes were now an incredible ice blue that was rimmed with dark blue, like the eyes of a Siberian husky. It had been centuries since I had been shocked; I barely knew how to react. Maybe the question wasn't who was she, but what was she? I stood up to object but they were already out the door.