I opened the drapes. The sun was just starting to rise of the horizon. Of course, we'd be in the middle of nowhere. The house was surrounded by trees, trees, and more trees. The house was huge too. I was on the third floor as far as I could tell. The window's had steel bars on them, probably enchanted so my magic wouldn't work on them. Actually, I knew they were enchanted because I'd tried to use my powers and it backfired sending me flying halfway across the room. Vamps really don't mess around.

Once the sun was high enough in the sky and I was sure that all vamps were tucked in safe in their coffins, I sent a little jolt through the lock on the door. To my surprise, it unlocked. I opened the door and poked my head out in the hall. Empty. I was just about to step out of the room when I thought: Wait, this is too easy. The vampires wouldn't have left me unguarded.

I took a chance. I opened the door wider and took a small step into the hall. Nothing happened. I took another step and another. Still nothing. As I moved slowly and cautiously down the corridor, I kept my eyes open for anyone waiting to ambush me. The vampires would be "asleep" at this time so I was positive that there would be humans standing guard around the mansion. There had to be. But as I came to the end of the first corridor, there was nobody.

I took the stairs two, sometimes three at a time. I knew something wasn't right but that didn't stop me. I jumped the last few stairs when I got to the first floor and came to an abrupt halt. Standing just a few feet in front of me was Jayde with a huge grin on her flawless face, and her blonde hair hanging in loose waves around her shoulders. She wore a strapless, yellow sundress.

"Hello, Persephany," she said sweetly.

"Jayde," I said.

"Where do you think you're going?" she asked.

"Away," I replied. "And if you think you can stop me, think again," I said.

"We'll see," she said. She walked up to me, invading my personal space and grabbed my wrists.

An electric current was suddenly racing throughout my body. I couldn't move, couldn't push her away. It felt like hours had passed when I knew it was really only seconds. And then I was on the ground, gasping for breath.

"You underestimated me," she said, glaring down at me with those endless, blue eyes. "That was your first mistake. Your second mistake was thinking you could defeat me. Just because I am a vampire's familiar doesn't make me harmless."

My entire body was numb. I couldn't move and flip her off like I wanted too. I couldn't even speak and tell her to go fuck off. I could only lay there as she motioned to someone across the room. The floor disappeared from beneath me and my vision went a little hazy. I blacked out.

When I opened my eyes, I was, once again, in the same room, I'd woken up in before my attempted escape plan. But unlike last time, Raidyn was sitting in a dark corner, his grayish sliver eyes staring back at me. His skin almost glowed in the gently candlelight.

"There is a glass of water on the bedside table," he said. I slowly pushed myself up on the soft bed. I grabbed the glass of water and gulped it down.

He stood and walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. "She wasn't supposed to be there," he said quietly. I didn't have to ask who she was.

Jayde.

"You were supposed to escape with no problem."

I had no idea what he was talking about. "I…I don't…understand."

"I did not forget to bind your magic. I did not forget to enchant the lock on the door."

"What are you talking about?"

He sighed in frustration. "Are you that dense? I was letting you go."

Whoa. I was not expecting that. I mean I kind of guessed that that was what he was getting at but I didn't think he would actually ever admit it to me. "Why?"

He shook his head. "All I know is that I…I feel a connection between us. I have since you kissed me that first time at that party in that abandoned house. There shouldn't be a connection. I should just want to kill you and move on. But I can't."

I felt the connection too. And he was right. There shouldn't be one between us. I was a vampire hunter and he was a vampire. There shouldn't be anything between us. But it was there.

"But that doesn't explain why you were letting me escape," I said.

"You just don't get it, do you? It's not that I wouldn't kill you; it's that I can't kill you. I…I care…about…you."

"You've got to be shitting me," I blurted out before I could stop myself. I then started to shake my head violently. "No, you can't possibly care for me."

He held his hand out to me. "Come with me," he said.

What the hell? What did I have to lose?

I threw the silk covers aside and took his hand. I felt weird after being electrocuted. "Remind me to kick Jayde's ass the next time I see her," I said.

He chuckled softly. It was like music to my ears. I decided I liked that sound. He held my hand and led me out of the room and down the three flights of stairs until we came to a sliding glass door. He opened the door and led me out into the forest. The moon was full and shown down upon us. Crickets were filling the night air with their songs and the flutter of an owl's wings could be heard somewhere in the distance.

"Where are you taking me?" I couldn't help but asked just as he pulled me into a small clearing. The mansion was no longer in view. "What are you doing?"

He didn't answer. Instead he turned and kissed me fiercely. His arms encircled my waist pulling me against his body. I moaned softly against his mouth and felt whatever connection was between us growing stronger.

I pushed him away suddenly. This wasn't right.

"There's something that I want to tell you," he said. "Persephany, I love you. I've loved you for a long time."

I shook my head. "No. I was raised to hate your kind. And then you killed my parents…This—us—can't happen."

"Why? Just because we're different doesn't mean anything. I'm tired of living the way everyone else wants me to live. I want to live how I want, feel what I want. You make me feel, Persephany. I haven't felt any sort of emotion in over fifty years since I was reborn. Just feel what you want to feel."

I sighed. "I can't." I turned away from him and started to walk into the forest, away from the mansion. I hoped he wouldn't try to stop me, though a part of me wanted him to so very badly.

But in the end, he didn't have to. I stopped myself. I couldn't deny it. We had a connection, a strong one. And whatever that connection was, was strong enough to get me to turn back and run into his arms. The truth was I loved him too. I'd been denying how I felt, refusing to even acknowledge it. But I couldn't any longer. I would always love James—he was my first love—but the love I had for Raidyn was even stronger. But it was wrong. I'd been trained to fight and kill his kind and yet I couldn't bring myself to kill him like I should have. Something in me said that if I killed him, I would be killing a part of myself, too.

I saw the look on his face when I came running back. He was elated that I was choosing him, choosing to stay. That's when I realized he'd been thinking about the connection between us just as I had been.

"What is it?" I asked.

He blinked. "I just realized what the connection between us is. It's something that happens very rarely."

"I don't understand."

"Persephany—now this is probably going to sound really lame, but it's the best way that I can explain it, but we're soul mates. You're my other half."

Oh, you have got to be kidding me.