A/N: Claire chapter!

Ever was anxious to find Damen this morning because he had seemed especially depressed lately. Being the nice girlfriend she was, she had manifested a getaway to the Bahamas for them this upcoming spring break, and she couldn't wait to see his reaction when he saw the tickets. Also, she had started getting a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach and really needed to find him to confirm he was fine and nothing was wrong.

"Why so anxious?" Miles asked as Ever zoomed into the school parking lot, driving over to the spot next to Damen's shiny black Ferrari.

"Me, anxious? Why would you think I'm anxious?" Ever responded, trying her best not to jump out of the car and run with all the speed the Immortal juice gave her to wherever Damen was.

Where are you? Ever telepathically called out to Damen. No response.

"Uh, let's see. You're practically jumping up and down in your seat. Oh, and you have that look that you get when you're anxious. So I guess I have no good reason to think anything's wrong, huh?" Miles replied, smirking back at her, his pink painted nails perched on his crossed arms.

"Nope," she grinned back, hopping out of the car gracefully and nearly slamming the door. She began fast-walking towards the school entrance, leaving Miles jogging to catch up with her.

"Seriously, Ever. What's up with you?" he asked, grabbing her shoulder and spinning her around. His face was serious and full of worry.

"Miles. Nothing. Is. Wrong. Seriously. It's just Damen hasn't been answering his phone and I'm worried about him," Ever lied, biting her lip. She hated lying to Miles but how was she going to explain tickets to the Bahamas? And the bad feeling she was developing that had started last night and continued into the morning. And that he wasn't responding to her telepathic calls.

"Oh honey, I'm sure he's fine. Here, we can go find him together, okay?" Miles compromised, giving her a sympathetic smile. He was so nice. Ever hated lying to him but it was better then him knowing the truth, as it could put him into trouble with Roman. After all, Roman loved to use things against Ever to get what he wanted, and he would use Miles like a pawn in chess and not blink an eye.

"Okay," Ever nodded. The two made their way through the school. Ever concentrated on finding Damen,

Damen! She yelled.

Would you shut up? Damen screamed back, irritated and angry. He had never used that tone of voice, and Ever immediately knew something was terribly wrong. Ever couldn't help but cry out aloud.

"Ever are you okay?" Miles cried, turning to support her body weight as she almost fainted. She felt something very wrong pouring into her from Damen, something almost worse then the feeling she got when the curse she used on Roman backfired. It felt like venom seeping through her veins, and she cried out again.

"Everybody move!" Myles commanded as he dragged Ever towards the health office. "Just hang on Ever, okay?" she heard Miles ask, but his words were coming distant as she lost began to lose consciousness.

"No," Ever cried weakly and tried to push against him. "Damen…" she whispered weakly.

"We can find Damen later, first we've got to get you to the office," Miles soothed, still dragging her closer and closer to the office. Sabine would flip if she knew about this. How was Ever supposed to explain what was happening? Then she saw Roman walk by, smiling. It had to have been Roman who did this.

"Roman!" she roared quietly. Roman turned around and his expression changed from snide to concern as he jogged over to her.

"Ever…? What happened?" Roman asked, looking confused.

"Oh, like you don't know," Ever choked out.

"Mmm, that's where you're wrong, love. I like to bask in my work, and I'd admit it if it was true, as this is too good to miss." Roman grinned as Miles abruptly dropped Ever and the world stood still.

"Oof," She moaned as her body hit the cement.

"What happened to my little Ever this time, eh?" Roman asked, squatting down next to her limp form on the ground.

"I don't know... Damen… not his self… bad feelings," she whispered, taking gulping breaths. Her throat burned and her body tingled.

"Can I make a proposition?" Roman asked, sitting with his legs crossed across from her, as if the whole situation was normal.

Ever knew that Roman never played fair, but the pain was getting worse. She moaned in agony and barely nodded her head.

"Well, I can make the pain stop, that's easy, love. But you have to do something for me…" Roman trailed off, grinning.

"No," she moaned, "I changed my mind," she trailed off, screaming as the pain roared in her head.

"Is that so?" Roman tilted his head, barely hiding a smirk.

"…Okay… Tell me what you want," she cried, breaking off in a bloodcurdling scream. The pain was so intense, she started sobbing.

"Leave here," Roman's face blurred with someone else's, a beautiful young woman with brown hair that flowed past her shoulders. Then her veins popped out from under her deep brown eyes, fangs popped out from behind her lips, and she snarled at Ever. Like an animal.

"If you know what's best for you, you little Immortal, you'll stay as far away from Damen Auguste as you can," she threatened. Then she abruptly giggled.

"He is mine, after all." She laughed as if they had just shared a good joke.

"No," Ever cried, thrashing out as the creature blended between Roman and her.

"Ever? Are you okay? You're starting to freak me out now," Roman's face appeared again as Katherine broke through, her form shimmering.

"Oh yes," she purred, pinning Ever down with unbelievable strength. Ever cried out and was met with more pain. The fangs and veins suddenly disappeared.

"Do you recognize me, Ever?" she asked. A name popped up in Ever's head.

"Katherine," she growled. How did she know that? Ever didn't know anyone named Katherine, yet she knew beyond doubt this was Katherine, and she was to be feared.

"Ooh yes! This is going to be fun, but I'm afraid I must do a few little things before the game really begins," Katherine sounded enthusiastic.

"No!" Ever screamed, wriggling under her iron grasp.

"Mmm, I bet you're delicious." Katherine sighed with longing, lifting her head up in the air and sniffing, fangs and veins popping up again. "Just a little taste," she reasoned, bending down to Ever's neck. Then she bit her. The pain doubled and fire roared through her neck to other parts of her body. Ever felt anger burn hot into her soul from Katherine's mouth. Part of her gift allowed her to see into people, but most of the time she encountered Katherine she couldn't see anything but a blank wall when she tried to peer into the creature's mind. But as Katherine drained Ever, she was allowed a peek into her mind. What Ever saw changed everything. She knew what was going on now. Katherine was a real vampire. She wanted Damen to herself and he was completely under her control. Lastly, she wanted Ever dead. Those were the last thoughts Ever was able to put together before everything went black and Katherine wiped her memory.