Chapter 1

Callie was nervous, she could feel her heart beating in her chest. The air in the diner was thick with smoke from the kitchen mixed with some coming through the open windows from the outside grills and smokers. She was sitting at a table, waiting on her bacon cheeseburger and fries. It seemed she had been stood up by her friend Alice. She still felt her heart pounding, she turned around to gaze through the window behind her. She felt like she was being watched, yet she saw nothing but empty cars in the parking lot and a stray cat walking by.

Brandon was perched in a tree in the back of the parking, he was in the shape of a owl and finding it hard to maintain his shift. His eyes were fixed with perfect vision on a woman seated inside the diner. She kept turning around to gaze out the window as if she could feel his gaze. From the second he had saw her as he had been perched waiting for someone he thought safe to feed from, he had felt a painful explosion of emotions that he had not felt in over one thousand years. Along with a wave of colors, that seemed so bright they might blind him.

She was served food, some American favorite that all of his human friends seemed to enjoy and a milkshake. He gathered himself, and flew off into the shadows of the forrest to change back into his human form.

Callie paid for her meal, she threw five bucks on the table for a tip and headed to her car. The air outside was thick, it smelled of honey suckle and the promise of rain. There was a man leaning against a year a foot or two away from her car. He had dark brown eyes, nice tan skin and dark reddish brown hair. Broad shoulders, that didn't move as if he didn't need to breath. She smiled at him and he gave her a blank stare in return. His eyes were staring into hers. Her mind started to feel kind of fuzzy, like she was getting a bad reception.

~Come to me.~ The words were in her mind, but they were not hers. He knew that she was a telepath then.

She tried to fight it, but she felt herself mindlessy turning towards him.

~Leave me alone!~ She screamed at him in reply.

His eyebrows jumped up and she felt him invade her mind.

Brandon couldn't help himself from taking control of her mind, his eyes were locked on hers and it was easy. She had a gift, just a slight little flicker of something extra. He overpowered her in seconds, he could see the anger and fear in her eyes.

~Calm down, little one. I mean you no harm, let us go somewhere and rest ~

He whispered into her mind, as he did so he reached out and gently took her purse from her hands. He fumbled around until he found her keys, the car beeped as it unlocked.

He took her hand, ingoring the electricity in the air around them he led her to the passsenger side of the car.

~Get in.~

Callie couldn't fight the need to obey the man's mental commands, her body wasn't listening to her. It did whatever he wanted, after she had got in the car he shut the door behind her. As he walked around the car, she examined how instead of moving he seemed to glide. Almost like he wasn't even touching the ground. He looked worn and tired, like he had lived over a hundred lifetimes.

The door opened then closed, he was staring at her from the drivers seat.

"Where are you going to take me? My dorm has a 12am curfew because of the disadisapperances." Finally her voice worked, it was shaky and timid.

For a couple minutes he sat in silence staring at her, and it made the hair on the back of her neck stand up.

"My vacation home, Do not worry. No harm will come to you." His voice was dark and sweet, it slide along her skin like sweet summer rain.

All she was doing was worrying, obviously there was no foghting this man. He could make her do whatever he wanted without even having to touch her.

"Hard not to worry, when a man you don't even know mentally commands you come with him."