Eva's POV

I woke up in an unfamiliar room. The room was large and there was hardly any furniture in it. It was completely different from my usual room. Suddenly, I remembered where I was. Raphael! I sat up and looked around. I immediately saw him slouched on a sofa, sleeping soundly. I watched him sleep, his chest didn't rise like mundanes and he didn't make any sounds as he slept.

"Stop staring at me," Raphael's voice startled me. I froze and hastily looked away.

"I wasn't," I said indignantly. He chuckled and got up. The next moment, he was standing behind me. I sucked my breath in sharply. "don't do that!" I snapped. He smiled and stepped away. I got out of the bed and stood up. Black spots blinded me for a few seconds. I blinked, dizzily. When the spots faded, I realized Raphael was watching me, amused. I glared at him and stalked off to the doorway.

"Where are you going?" Raphael sounded concerned now.

"To get breakfast," I replied.

"Do you want to drink some blood?" he asked. I shot him a dangerous look. Why did I tell him? "you can take some of mine. We can share." he appeared in front of the fridge and opened it. I walked over to him, curious. I saw that the fridge was filled with packets of blood. Raphael took two packets from the door and closed it. He grabbed two cups from a nearby cupboard and poured the blood into the cups. He handed one cup to me. I took it and sipped some of the blood. It was ok but it wasn't good. I quickly drank the contents and put the cup down on the counter trying to hide my displeasure. Raphael narrowed his eyes.

"What is wrong?" he asked. "you do not like it?" I bit my lip.

"No, it was good," I lied and turned away. I was still hungry.

"I do not believe you," Raphael drank the rest of the blood. "I will be busy for the day. Do you want to go anywhere?" he offered. I shook my head.

"I'll be fine here," I said.

"The others will not bother you," Raphael walked past me. "Lily likes you and she will protect you. So will Jasper." I nodded and watched him disappear down the stairways. I walked over to the bed and threw myself on it. I lay there on my back and stared at the ceiling. My stomach growled painfully. So hungry...I groaned. It was too much. I hadn't eaten anything for the last couple of days save the sandwich and the blood. I got up and hurried down the stairs. Raphael said that Lily and Jasper were going to protect me. I'll be fine. I told myself. I walked into the room and found the vampires laughing and talking loudly. Some were playing card games, some were just talking, some were reading, and some were feeding on humans. My stomach growled and I watched them feed on the humans, some blood dripped onto the floor and their clothes. As if they could sense my hunger, they turned around and saw me staring at them. One of them smiled.

"Hey girlie," he called. "come and drink some. I can share." one of his friends protested but he quickly silenced her with a look. My hunger overtook all reason and I hesitantly walked over to them. I could see the human he was feeding on. It was a blonde girl. I saw the puncture marks all over her arms and neck. "Here." the vampire bared her neck. Fresh blood was still oozing out of the holes. I bent over and pressed my mouth on top of a fresh puncture mark. I could taste the mundane's blood in my mouth. I smiled and sucked harder. Blood shot into my mouth. I kept on sucking and gulping the blood down. The warm liquid felt good, easily sliding down my throat. I loved it. I was faintly aware of the other vampires watching me in awe and shock. The vampire who called me over was talking excitedly.

"Well, look at that," he said almost proudly. "the girlie drinks blood like us."

"But she's a Shadowhunter." a woman spluttered.

"She's obviously enjoying it," another pointed out. I straightened up, wiping the blood from my mouth. I looked at them defiantly. They looked back at me in approval and shock.

"You always drink blood?" a woman asked coldly.

"I prefer mundane blood." I said lifting my chin, bracing myself for the insults and shouts. None came. Instead, most of them came and clapped me on the back grinning.

"Just like us," a teen boy said. "you're definitely not like the other Shadowhunters." I found myself in the middle of the group. Most of the vampires tried to ask about my blood preference and when I had started drinking blood. I just told them that I liked my mundane blood to be fresh.

"I know drinking mundane blood is bad," a teen girl was telling me. "but it's just too irresistible. I mean, we were born drinking it. We can't live without it." I nodded showing my understanding. She beamed and kept on talking about how she was Turned. Maybe vampires aren't that bad after all. I thought.

It was late at night and I was winning the poker game for the third time when Raphael came in. He didn't look surprised to see me hanging out with the vampires. I glanced at him and excused myself from the game. I caught up with him as he walked up the stairs.

"I heard you were feeding on Xavier's subjugate." Raphael's voice was cool. I felt a stab of embarrassment.

"I'm sorry-" I began.

"It is no problem." he smiled but it didn't reach his eyes. "I am glad the vampires like you." It was the first time he had called them vampires. I stared at him surprised. He kept on walking and disappeared into his bedroom, closing the door.

"Hey, Eva," Rachel called. "are you coming back?" I watched the door still bewildered. What am I doing? It's not like Raphael's going to come out and talk to me. I reluctantly turned away from his bedroom and hurried back to the game. "so what happened with you and Raphael?" the blue haired vampire asked as I sat down. I played my turn and slumped down on my chair.

"I don't know," I said and avoided looking in her eyes.

"You can stay in my room." she said and placed a card down. I looked back at my cards still surprised at how cold Raphael was. What did I say? Is he hurt that I didn't tell him I liked mundane blood? I should apologize to him...

"Thanks," I looked at her briefly and turned back to my cards. Looks like I'm going to win this round again. I put down all my cards. The others groaned and shouted in annoyance.

"Again?" Rachel growled.

"Seriously, Eva?" Xavier was half scowling and half laughing. I shrugged and got up.

"I'm going to bed." I announced.

"What?" Jasper sounded disappointed. "Play some more! I need to beat you at least once." I sighed.

"You already beat me in the second round," I reminded him.

"Oh yeah," He settled back into his chair, smiling proudly to himself.

"But I haven't," Rachel said. Xavier nodded in agreement. I sighed again and sat back down on my cushy red chair.

"Fine," I waited for the cards to be dealt again then looked at them. Aces, queen, king, one... this might work. We betted our money and started picking up the cards.

After the thirtieth round I finally stood up and sleepily told everyone I was going to bed. I asked Rachel where her bedroom was. She pointed to the door farthest from the table.

"Night, Eva," the still wide-awake vampires chorused.

"G'night," I mumbled and stumbled towards Rachel's room. I opened the door and felt my way to her bed. It was a double bed and there weren't any blankets or pillows. I stretched out on the bed and lay there, my sore muscles relaxing slightly. I listened to the quietness; some faint laughter and shouting in the background. I heard a slight rustle from the curtained window. I froze and tried to listen for anymore noises. I sat up and looked around, alert. My eyes were still getting used to the dark but there was some dim light coming out from between the window's curtains. I watched the curtains move slightly in the wind. Must have been the curtains. I thought and lay back down on the bed, tense. Suddenly I saw a figure standing beside the bed. I gasped and sat up quickly.

"Who are you?" I tried to move away but the person quickly took hold of my arm and pulled me closer as the person sat down. "What do you want?" my voice was slightly shaky. I could see that it was a boy judging from the short hair and the flat chest. He smiled, at least I knew he smiled because I could see his sharp teeth glowing slightly in the dark.

"Eva, it's just me," his voice was smooth and silky. Raphael. I sighed in relief and relaxed slightly.

"What are you doing here?" I demanded. He chuckled and let go of my arm.

"Aw, Eva, always acting like an old cranky hag," his words were slurring slightly and I realized he was drunk. I could smell the faint tang of the alcohol on his breath.

"A hag?" I repeated faintly amused and scared. Will Raphael lose his control? I wondered. "Do I look like one?" There was a pause then he spoke, his voice quieter.

"You're the most perfect person I have ever seen in my whole lifetime," I sucked my breath.

"Are you drunk?" my voice was harsh. He laughed, a soft one.

"No," I raised my eyebrows. He leaned down, closer to me until I could feel his breath on my ear. "It is true." he said, smiling. I turned my head to look at him. His dark eyes were studying my face so intently I could feel the heat rushing to my face.

"You're drunk, come on, I'll get you back to your room-" I started to get up but he pulled me down on my back, and put his arm over my waist, nuzzling his face between my neck and my shoulder. "Raphael!" I gasped and struggled to get up. "Stop-"

"Please," he begged, his brown eyes were wide and pleading. "just stay with me for one night. You don't know how much that'll mean to me. Every night always alone..." his voice trailed off. I turned to face him.

"I think I do." I said and gently pulled his arm off me. "Fine, you can stay but we have to sleep properly. My feet don't feel comfortable being off the bed right now." I moved around so my whole body was on the bed. I felt Raphael lay down next to me, one arm bent under his head. I suddenly wished I had a pillow to levitate my head up since it felt so uncomfortable. Suddenly, Raphael gently pulled me towards him. I felt his cold body next to my back and legs. I moved closer towards him, my head was tucked just under his chin, my back fitting the shape of his body perfectly, and our legs were tangled together. Even though he didn't give any body heat I felt nice and warm. I felt at peace and my body was slowly relaxing as much as it could. I held my breath and tried to feel any movements from Raphael but there was none.

"You've stopped breathing, Eva," Raphael sounded concerned. "Are you alright?" I nodded and let out my breath. I felt his body relax. I snuggled closer to him and closed my eyes. It didn't take long for darkness to overtake me. And for the first time, I didn't dream of any nightmares. It was a peaceful darkness with Raphael next to me.