Sorry it's been a few days since the last edit...I kinda got caught up in a bunch of other stuff and forgot that I'd already finished this chapter! But it's up now so read, review, and enjoy! It's been a long weekend and my writing muse went on vacation so if you want another chapter soon, review please!

Chapter Twenty-One

I scouted the city for others while Kael kept watch over them. That's when I saw him. He had messy brown hair, crystal blue eyes, and lean muscles. He was on the football team...as the water boy. According to the gossip, he was single, a straight A student, and didn't have many friends.

And I loved him.

After football practice he went to the locker room. Then he got into a blue pick-up with rusted fenders and a whine that probably should've been checked out. I followed him at a distance, running so fast that the humans walking by only saw a flash of movement quickly dismissed as "seeing things."

I followed him all the way to his home. It was a nice, white house but I knew no one was inside. The house was cold and empty. He pulled into the driveway, parked his truck, and went into the house. Judging by the scents and sounds I picked up, he went into the bathroom, into the kitchen, and up to his bedroom. I climbed into a nearby apple tree and watched him all night. My heart longed for him and I couldn't stop myself. He would be our fifth newborn.

I shouldn't be doing this. If I really love him, I should walk away right now. He'll never know how close he came to having his life ended by me.

We need a fifth newborn or we can't go back. Why not him?

Because it's wrong!

Is it better to steal the life of a newborn I love than just any other?

What if he doesn't love you back?

What if he does?

What if he hates you for changing him?

I had no answer for that, but despite my ongoing mental argument, I stayed in that apple tree. The sky gradually grew darker and I could see the kid sitting there in this room, doing his homework. His name was Adam. Adam Clark according to his notebook and books.

It was almost midnight by the time I left the tree. It was time.

I crept through the shadows to the door and picked the lock. The door swung soundlessly open and I closed it just a second later, confident that anyone not looking directly at the door wouldn't have noticed.

I heard the bed creak as Adam shifted in his room above. I picked the stairs out of the dark and started to walk up them. I took a deep breath as I stood outside Adam's bedroom door. Light slipped under the crack illuminated the empty hallway. A small bathroom sat to my left, smelling strongly of soap and cleaners. To my right was his parent's bedroom. I could smell the make-up his mother used and several other smells that I didn't recognize.

Should I do it or should I turn back and leave this house right now? I can choose from any of those drunk idiots that are wandering the streets right now. I reached for the doorknob and turned it. The door swung open.

I tingled with emotions as my eyes fell upon Adam. He was sitting on his bed with his book in his lap. His brown hair was hanging in his eyes and a hand rubbed his forehead. Turn back now! There's still time! He looked up and fear transformed his features. His eyes went round and his mouth opened as he prepared to scream for help.

"Who are you?!" he demanded, grabbing his book from the bed and raising it as if he planned to defend himself with it.

"I'm Bree." I didn't move.

"What-what are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry, Adam."

"How do you know--" his reply was cut off as I jumped to his throat. My teeth slipped easily through skin. I wanted more, but the curse would not allow it. I was disgusted by the whole thing. Stealing a simple boy's life away without asking just because I loved him. It was evil. But no matter how much I wanted to leave, I had to stay.

Adam writhed on the floor, his blue eyes shut tight while he squirmed and soft groans of pain echoed through the room. I gagged him, hating every minute of it, before gathering him into my arms. I forged a note to his parents telling them he had run away and left the house. With Adam in my arms, I returned to Kael.

"Who's this?" Kael demanded immediately as I stumbled into the woods where we were hiding. Already the three newborns were starting to stop tossing.

"This is Adam Clark." I set him down on the ground away from the others and sat down next to him. I smiled as I stroked his brown hair out of his eyes, aching with regret all the while.

"He's not what Leopold asked for! He asked for exceptional humans! Ones with strength, and speed, and abilities that are, you know, useful!"

"I'm sorry, but I had to do it."

"Why? Did he discover that you're a vampire?"

"No. It was just something I needed to do Kael." My voice was sad and my eyes pricked with tears that could never fall.

"Do you love him?"

I jumped at his unusual perception. "No!"

He grinned. "You do! You're in love!"

"Please don't tell Leopold!"

"I won't. But that man is amazing. He'll know, mark my words."

Fear struck my dead heart. That was exactly what I was afraid of.

***

The smallest of the four newborns, Paul, was the first to awake. His eyes opened long after he stopped fighting his bonds and we were able to remove them.

"What happened?" he demanded, jumping to his feet. "What happened to my skin?!"

I let Kael explain it to him, and Seth, Zach, and Michael. I spent all of the three days tending to and watching Adam. It was while I was watching him that his eyes opened.

"You!" he shouted when I removed his bonds. "What are you?! Where am I?!"

"I'm a vampire." I smiled though I wanted to cry. "And so are you. Now."