Chapter One

This was it, I thought to myself, savouring the sight of my hunting ground, the chance to get promoted.

There was no way I was going on like this for the rest of my life. Of course, young girls were always used as Baits; it was part of the Cult's effective method of luring them in. And by God, some of the teenagers I had to work with loved it. Like they got a kind of sadomasochistic kick from attracting our prey, then watching them die. I must admit, it was a nice feeling to watch a hunter find itself the hunted. But alas, I'd much rather get my hands dirty. I'd trained for years in my spare time, learning how to use weapons beyond the basic training that all of us received, and how to fight with my bare hands. In alchemy, I'd managed to combine my interest in weapons with my skill in magic, to create my own dagger – Iris – and I thought then that that would be enough to attract the attention of the Elders, but they'd gone on ignoring me as usual. Well, I'd get their attention alright. Either that, or I'd go solo. After all, the lure of the open road was becoming greater and greater nowadays.

I tipped my hat back, scratching the skin of my forehead, before pulling it back above my eyebrows. I was stood on a small hill, a perfect vantage point to look for them. I was excited about this one. The story of the Yellow-eyes was almost legendary in my Cult. If I could take them down, there'd be no way the Elders could ignore me any more. My phone vibrated, breaking my concentration, and grumbling to myself, I slid it out from the belt on my hip.

"Hello,"

"Hey, Morgana."

"What is it Nicholas?" I asked gruffly,

Nicholas was one of the younger Hunters, and as incompetent as he could ever be. I had no idea how he got to where he was, but it angered me that I was so much better than him, yet he was the Hunter, and not me.

"You aren't really going after them are you?"

I picked at my nails absentmindedly, "No."

"Really?"

"No."

"Wow, that's hilarious."

"Listen, Nick, if you're just going to moan at me about this again then I'm hanging up."

"But, Morgana I just think you shou-,"

"Oh my God! What is that?" I shouted, cutting him off.

"What!" He cried, panicking,

"The Hang-up-now-or-I'll-slit-your-throat button."

He sighed, "Rest in Peace,"

"I will once I'm a Hunter,"

He hung up. Thank God for that. I stuffed the phone in my pocket, and started down the slope. The Highschool car park was all but deserted, bare a few cars and kids smoking. I quietly congratulated myself for finding such a good place to start. From my research into this coven, I knew that this was where I could find the younger vampires – or at least, the vampires that had been turned when they were young humans. Apparently, a few of them had enhanced abilities too. That I'd have to watch out for. If there was some kind of mind reader or vampire-lie-detector, I'd have to be careful about what I said, or thought. Once I'd crossed the car park, I went to sign in at the reception. I decided on an English accent for this one, apparently the head honcho of the Yellow-Eyes was English. Might play on some kind of fetish.

"Thank you Accents 101," I muttered, after grabbing my paperwork and heading towards the class I was scheduled to be in. I'd had to look for every class I could with a Cullen or a Hale in it. So first came History with Jasper Hale. It amazed me that these Yellow-Eyes walked amongst humans like this, at such a close proximity. No wonder the Elders so desperately wanted them dead. When I saw the classroom door ahead, I stuffed the papers into my bag, and readied myself. A calm and clear mind was vital, and I couldn't think about Hunting until I was alone. It was of the upmost importance, and was the first rule in the Cult Handbook. I couldn't risk detection. I took a deep breath, and opened a fresh batch of butterflies into my stomach, and knocked on the door.

"Come in," A lazy voice came from the other side of the door. Stuffing my Indiana Jones hat/brown trilby into my bag, I swung open the door, a flustered, embarrassed expression painted onto my face.

"Hi, I'm Morgana Lovecraft. I'm new," I smiled awkwardly, and the old, male teacher smiled back, his crooked, brown teeth breaking from the pale white bounds of his lips.

"Good morning, Morgana. What a lovely name. Similar to the Arthurian legend if I'm not wrong, and you're English too. We could have an immortal in our midst," He joked, as teachers do, with knowledge usually beyond the pupils. However, I was sure only two of use noted the irony in his words. He chuckled, before continuing, "You're a little late, but not to worry. Please, take a seat."

I glanced around the classroom, taking the opportunity to spot the immortal amongst the mortals, as well as find a decent seat. Well, the term 'Hitting two birds with one stone' never seemed quite so appropriate. The only seat stood besidea boy, Jasper I presumed, who was sitting towards the back of the class. He had honey-blonde curls that brushed the collar of his blue shirt, the tell-tale pale white skin, and sharp features. To my surprise, his eyes were more of a golden colour than yellow. No matter though, he was still a vampire, as proven by his reaction to me. His golden eyes fixed themselves on me, and he sat up a little straighter. So, my devices still worked on Yellow-Eyes. Essentially, the girls used as Baits would be beautiful – and usually short-lived. I was one oldest at fifty, having done this for just over thirty years. Most girls only survived to see through one - but then decorated to look more appealing to the vampire species. So, splashes of blood red in my outfit and make-up (I was wearing lipstick and nail varnish the exact same shade as freshly spilt blood), and a relatively old-fashioned hairstyle and outfit. My long, thick black hair – a dark, inky black colour that would be unnatural on any human – was styled into soft ripples down to my waist. I'd decided on minimal 'innocent' make-up, and only shaded my violet eyes lightly with black. My skin, like living porcelain – and a whole lot tougher – was clear, with only a touch of pink blusher. Finally, I'd used a little perfume, crafted by the gallon by the Cult, as it was as appealing to a vampire as the vampire's scent was to a human. I was a walking bloodbag, only so much better, and that was my job as a Bait. A job I wanted to quit A.S.A.P.

I walked over to Jasper's desk, and slid in beside him, my head filled with trivial things that would bore any vampire mind-reader to tears...if they could cry. I pulled my notebook out of my bag, and a pen, pretending that I was too shy to look at the undoubtedly handsome man beside me. Really, his looks didn't bother me. There was no doubting his attractiveness, but I knew that it was the same with all vampires, and many Baits fell victim to vampires they got too attracted to. I began to jot down some notes as the teacher lectured, not wholly interested in the lesson. More interested than Jasper though, who hadn't even opened his book. I figured that he'd probably done this lesson countless times before...and probably lived through most of what we were being taught. I was about to start up a conversation with him, when a paper ball hit me on the shoulder. Annoyed that I'd been interrupted, I unscrewed the paper and read the note:

Hey x

I blinked, and pulled a face. "Oh wow, one kiss. I'm flattered," I said out loud.

Jasper turned to look at me, before letting out a quiet chuckle. I knocked the note onto the floor, and carried on scribbling in my notebook, whilst pondering Jasper's reaction. I don't think I'd ever met a vampire who's chuckled before. Before I continued my pondering, another screwed up note hit my shoulder. I gritted my teeth. Whoever the kid was, he was persistent and definitely did not take a hint; two characteristics that right now were going to land him in trouble. Grabbing the paper note, I read it quickly, before screwing it back up again.

You're really hot xxx

Write back :)

That smiley face nearly pushed me over the edge, before I could turn around to confront him; there was a light touch on my forearm.

"Do you want him to leave you alone, darlin'?" Jasper asked, surprising me with both his Texan accent, and his genuine at least, I would have mistaken it for genuine if I hadn't already known better.

My mouth opened, but no sound came out. That's one Hell of an act the guy's putting on, I'll give him that.

"I'm alright, thank you."

No matter how tempting, setting a vampire on my lover wasn't exactly in the Rules of Conduct I was supposed to follow.

"The name's Jasper." He said, with a flicker of a smile.

"Morgana," I whispered back, holding up my hand. He shook it with a smile, but the cold, hard feel of his skin was less than friendly.

"Cold today, huh?" I said,

"You'll get used to it," He said, his eyes twinkling.

The bell sounded, and I straightened my books, before sliding them into my bag. I pulled my hat out, and put it on, before casting Jasper a look. He smiled at me, "What lesson do you have next?"

I pulled my timetable out, "Biology,"

He looked over my shoulder at the sheet, and I had to struggle not to move or betray my discomfort as I felt his cold breath on my neck.

"Ah, you have it with my brother, Edward. Would you like me to escort you there?"

"Oh no, that's okay," I assured him, taking the moment to step away from him,

He merely smiled, and I couldn't help but smile back. Ah well, the disguise was obviously working. I turned my back on him – a move that still made my skin crawl - and followed the crowd out of the classroom.

...

First chapter WHAM DONE!

Please tell me what you think or I can't continue D:

I hope you liked it!

P.S. Plenty more Jasper scenes to come, BUT MUCH BETTER. But I'm not telling unless you review ;)

Thank you :)