Savannah couldn't shake the odd feeling she had as she walked home. There was something that drew her to the new teacher, something inexplicable. Sure, she was pretty and seemed nice enough, but that was nothing to make her stand out from other women she had met in her life. And she had moved so quickly in the classroom, faster than any human should be able to. She made a mental note to mention it to her parents when she got home.

Her thoughts abruptly stopped when she noticed moving men bustling around the Clancy estate, carrying various pieces of furniture inside. She stopped, narrowing her eyes and watching for bit until she noticed some of her friends gathered in a group on the sidewalk in front of the old house. Curious, and thinking they may know what was going on, she stepped up beside Melody.

"Hey, do you know who's moving in?" she asked.

"No, but whoever it is has to be crazy. This place has been empty for years!" the girl responded, never taking her eyes away from the house.

Savannah gave a hard look to the possessions the men were carrying inside, but couldn't determine anything about who could be moving in. Shrugging, and deciding it wasn't really that important in the long run, she bid her friend goodbye before resuming her walk home, completely missing the redhead that plagued her thoughts walking down the street behind her.

"Hey Mom, Dad, guess what;" Savannah said that night at dinner, anxious to tell her parents about the woman she had met that morning.

"What sweetheart?" her father asked.

"We got a new teacher at school. Her name's Mrs. Jeepers and she's really pretty." she said innocently, oblivious to the look her parents shared above her head.

"Really? What grade does she teach?" her mother asked, now curious.

Savannah had never described another woman as really pretty before. Nice, yes, but never had she said anything about appearance.

"Third, but she's not my teacher," Savannah replied, a note of disappointment in her voice.

"If she's not your teacher how did you meet her?" her father asked.

"I accidentally ran into her this morning and we fell down."

"Well I hope you apologized," he said.

"Duh, of course I did, Daddy," the girl said, rolling her eyes. "Guess what else. She's not from America, and she has this weird accent, kind of like Dracula only more normal and pretty."

Ethan's grip on his fork tightened, though Savannah didn't notice, too busy rambling on about the new teacher. Marissa noticed and reached under the table and squeezed his knee, signalling him to relax, all the while continuing to pay attention to their daughter.

"...and she moved super fast," Savannah finished up, drawing her father's attention once again.

"She what?" he whispered, his tone frightening her.

"She...she moved r-really fast," she whimpered, drawing away from her father as his eyes clouded over in anger.

"Savannah, I don't want you speaking to this woman again," Ethan said, glowering.

"But why, Daddy? She seemed really nice."

"Because I said so, that's why."

"But Daddy-"

"No buts! Now go to your room and do your homework or read a book or something."

Tears glittering in her eyes, the little girl ran to her room, not understanding what she had done to make her father so angry. Ethan watched his daughter go, feeling a little guilty for being so rough, but feeling that his anger was warranted. He startled as he felt his wife smack the back of his head. He turned to her and was met with a glare.

"Really Ethan? You had to scare her?" Marissa sighed, taking one of his hands in her own. "I know where you're coming from, I do. But you have to remember that she doesn't know anything about this, if 'this' is even a correct assumption."

He sighed, knowing that his wife was right, and that he had jumped to conclusions. But in his defense, the description of the woman had sounded suspiciously like a Vampire, from her beauty to her voice to her unnatural speed.

"I know honey, but you have to admit, it did sound like…" he trailed off, giving her a look.

"I know, but we can't jump to conclusions. Even if this woman is a Vampire, she doesn't seem interested in hurting Savannah or any of the other children, so I think we should just leave it alone."

"You're right," he reluctantly agreed.

Marissa sensed the path his thoughts were turning toward, and squeezed his hand, forcing his attention to return to her. He looked at her, seeing the wolf flash briefly in her eyes.

"Ethan, promise me you won't bother her. Promise me," she growled, accessing what little of her wolf form she could.

"I promise," he said sincerely.

"Good. We both know what would happen if your assumptions were correct and you were to take her on alone."

Both shuddered. When it came to strength, a Vampire and a Shifter were pretty evenly matched, and usually one or both would be severely wounded, and unfortunately Shifters couldn't heal as quickly as Vampires, meaning they usually died from the injuries they sustained if they walked away from the fight. Their eyes met, understanding flowing between them. Their safety depended on them staying hidden, and that meant they couldn't go after the woman.

"Just because I agreed doesn't mean I like her," Ethan said, standing and beginning to clear the table.

"Can't you forget about the stupid war for our daughter's sake?" Marissa snapped, frustrated that her husband couldn't let go of anger that was centuries old.

"Marissa, you know how I feel about them," he growled, his own wolf flashing in his eyes.

"I know, but we weren't even born then. Even the Elders have all but pushed the matter to the side," she hissed, lowering her voice to a whisper so their daughter wouldn't overhear.

Ethan knew that was true, the Elders had all but forgotten the millennia-old feud between the species, but he was one of the few remaining Shifters that held on to the old hatred for the Vampires. If he had his way they would all be wiped out permanently, no leniency as had been shown the first time.

"No, but those worthless blood suckers shouldn't have been allowed to live, not after what they did," he growled, beginning to have to fight to control his inner wolf.

"Ethan, let it go! It was centuries ago, and they're mostly harmless now!" Marissa screamed.

"Mostly harmless? They kill people to survive, Marissa!" he screamed back.

In her room, Savannah, whimpered, burying her head under her pillow. Her parents seldom fought, but when they did it was scary. And her father already seemed angry at her, so she knew their argument could very well last for a while. She didn't understand what had made her father so upset. She had only told him about Mrs. Jeepers because she thought her parents would like her. Apparently that wasn't the case.

And now they were screaming about death and war, things she knew were bad. Hot tears began to slip down her cheeks as their anger reverberated in her soul, amplifying the emptiness she felt daily.

"One day," she whispered, "I'm going to find something to fill that space. Or maybe someone. One day…"

She fell asleep to her parents' voices, thoughts of a life where she was complete filling her mind, intermingled with flashes of a beautiful redhead with green eyes.