A repeat for those who didn't see this in the last chapter: Sorry everyone! I removed chapters six and seven because were going someplace I didn't want them to go, and needed to fix them before anyone else read them. Now, on to our regularly scheduled program . . .



Oh, and thanks to Emmanuel. Keep reading, I really hope you enjoy the rest!



Chapter 7



She tried to close the door but wasn't quick enough. Aden pushed his way in, causing her to back into a bookcase. ~Stupid wood~.

He looked around and laughed. "I imagine your foster mother would have a problem with late visitors in such a small place." He turned to look at her, his voice thick, full of resentment. "That is, if she even existed." Shaking his head, he turned to sit in her desk chair.

Looking into his eyes, she couldn't predict what he was going to do. She just had a feeling she didn't want to be there. Regaining her composure, she straightened her dully aching back and held her chin high. She gave him a long, sorrowful look, then turned toward the door.

"I don't think so."

His voice stopped her dead in her tracks. She whirled around and glared at him. She couldn't seem to get a full breath. "What the Hell do you want?"

He laughed again. "Made a call to Vegas this morning."

Her glare turned to a look of helplessness. She swallowed, hard. Trying to keep her voice fierce, and only failing, she asked, "So?"

"I got some interesting information from them. Seems there never was a Pennsylvania Circle attacked. Nor is there a member of Daybreak named 'Lilac Rose.' It did seem odd to me that a made vampire would have the last name 'Rose.' But, it turns out that there was once a member by the name of 'Aurora Ream.' A pretty made vampire with light brown hair and striking lavender eyes. Her boyfriend was killed and she freaked out, running away to work for the Night World Council. How odd that somehow, in some twisted place among the stars, I was destined to be her soulmate." He spit the word out, as if it caused a bad taste in his mouth.

Her breath was coming quicker, leaving in short spurts. She felt tears trying to force their way from her eyes, but she held them back. "Fine. You know that almost everything I've told you has been a lie. My name isn't Lilac Rose, I'm not a member of Circle Daybreak anymore, I'm obviously an agent for the Night World Council, and I never had a soulmate until this morning. Happy? Are you a better person now that you can prove that I'm horrible? So, once again, I'm going to ask, what the Hell do you want?"

"The truth."

She shook her head. "What is that going to do? It doesn't matter. All that matters is that if we sit here any longer, we're both going to die. Either I'm going to kill you from the bloodlust, or the Council will take care of the job when they come to take care of me."

"Why are they going to kill you?" He stood, looking around for signs of danger.

Irritation starting to set in, she let out an annoyed sigh. "Because I failed my mission. The Council is a little more harsh about those things than Daybreak is. If you can't complete a mission, they torture you until you die. Unlike you, I no longer have the extravagance of coming back again. Now, if you don't mind." She turned on her heal and reached for the doorknob.

"Aurora," his voice came, quietly. "Wait, please."

She looked at him from over her shoulder. "What now?"

He was standing now, hands in his pockets, shoulders slumped forward. "Where are you going to go."

She shifted her body in his direction, putting her free hand on her waist. "Even if I did know, it would be better if you didn't. You'd be safer that way." A vengeful side began to creep into her mind. "What does it matter to you, anyway?"

He looked up, eyes full of pain. "You're my soulmate."

"Really? A few minutes ago you acted as if fate had dealt you a horrible hand of cards. Now, you're worried about my well-being?" She let her head sag, relieving some of the tightness in her throat. "Aden, you don't want me as a soulmate, you've already given that away. Not to mention that I'm a horrible person. You have no clue who I am."

He came close to her, putting a gentle hand under her chin. "I know who you are. You're Sahar, the dark haired princess with eyes the color of the light of the morning sun. You're Dawn, the southern belle that hated giving orders. You're Iola, the olive skinned peasant who admired the unknown Gods of Mount Olympus. You're Aurora, the girl who's confused about where her life is going to go from here. Most of all, you're my soulmate. The girl that I love. That I've always loved, for millennia."

Between the growing bloodlust and the soulmate connection, she couldn't handle it anymore. She let one tear slip, allowing all of the others to follow. Before she knew it, she was in his arms, surrounded by the pink haze.

"I can't let them hurt you," she sobbed.

He looked down into her eyes. "I won't let them hurt you, Aurora." And with that, he kissed her.