Chapter 1: Thy Heart is Stronger

Carmen pov.

"What is up with you," May said, annoyed that I was zoning out for like, the millionth time this week.

"Oh sorry, my mind's just not here right now," I said. I was sorry. For everything.

"Okay, once again, thy heart is stronger than thy head," She recited. She was in this play where she is this beautiful woman, Felicity, in the renaissance times that falls in love with a blacksmith named John. Anyway, May was practicing her lines every single chance she got, even lunch.

May deserves a better friend than me. She was beautiful and talented, and I was, well, crap this week, to put it lightly. I was completely zoning out, thinking about him instead of focusing on things that matter, like May's play. F*** Seth.

On Monday, I came back to school, to get a week's load of homework. I'm not so pleased; I still have to do half of it! Argh!

Oh, and Seth was there. How wonderful and jolly. IN MY CLASS. He looked as cute as ever and I was excited to see him again. Like he said, we were soul mates. I couldn't help but feel a small zing of electricity when his eyes met mine. Then I realized that he was still a b****. Because he left me. He left me. He left me. He left me. He just disappeared, and I never saw him again this week.

I'm so pathetic, thinking about him this entire week. I will love him forever, but I have to forget about all of this. I'm scarred for life.

I sighed and came out of introspective, looking for May, but she was gone, to the popular table, who welcomed her warmly. Of course they loved her. Everyone does. Even I felt a pang of jealously, not because of her popularity, but because her life was normal, other than her being a vamp. I have to be the one with all the powers, believe me, I'm not thankful. I didn't even tell May about the whole Queen of Darkness thing, something was telling me to not trust anyone.

I walked out of the cafeteria and headed for my locker. My locker is pitiful, completely messy. 5-25-11, I put in my combo. I really could have just kicked it open, with all my vamp abilities, but that would be stupid of me, with all the humans around. It's so weird calling my people humans, but it came naturally now that I was different. Ugh, humans are just so not accepting…

My eye caught on a Harley zooming past the school. The driver had broad shoulders, a helmet in which I could see his eyes, and swift movements. No, I'm not falling in love with this guy, I already have.

My freakin' instincts told me to stay here, look away, and forget this ever happened, but when have I listened to my instincts? I ran out the door and to my car.

"Thy heart is stronger than thy head"

Seth pov.

The wind lashed my face as I exited the school grounds, trying to not get noticed by any one. Hard to do when you're on a freakin' motorcycle, but I put on a helmet that covered everything but my eyes.

Even if she saw me, she probably wouldn't know who I was; she probably didn't ever care to look at my eyes before, so she shouldn't recognize me now. Stop it, there's no use blaming her for your wrong-doings.

What kind of a soul mate and consort was I? I hurt her feelings, caused her physical pain, and couldn't even protect her from Maddie. I'm an a***.

Despite all that I've done wrong to her, I still loved her. Which is why I would watch her, without her knowing. Some might say that is invading privacy, but I knew some stuff to counteract that statement.

One, I was protecting her from Maddie. Maddie never gives up, so I am positive she will come back for revenge. I went to Carmen's town, Lahill, after "escaping" from the hospital. (How about you try to explain why I healed so fast?)

Two, I had to make sure she was okay after the fight. The fight that I caused.

And three, it was a consort's job to stay with his lady and protect her. Hard to think of myself as a gentleman looking after his lady. After all I've done.

I was sure that Maddie's next move would be to go straight to the council and state that she saw the hybrid all the way in America, and innocently ask "Wasn't she to have an appointment with you?" That would surely cause the council to get Carmen back there, whether she wanted to go or not. Oh, what do you know, she has strange markings! That would be the next thing that Maddie would innocently notice.

That is all bad and all, but as a son of a Dauntia, a council member, I had other things to worry about, unfortunately. I would have to research trackers. Because there would be a war between vamps and trackers.

See how Carmen fits into the equation?