See ch.1

The next few weeks were an on again-off again blur. Sometimes Mare seemed very near her original self, and other times, it was as if she had never been Ash's at all.

He knew that it would take time, but he didn't know how much time he had left. He knew that Malfoy would've figured out that she was gone by now, and he knew he would come back. And he would have some big magical guard with him. It was only a matter of time. He had to work quickly.

First, she spent a few days at her own house being reacquainted with her family members. It was scary how much the withdrawl had changed her. When asked about people she knew, she only named sordid members of the Malfoy family and their friends. She didn't know Mark, or Claudine, or anyone.

Ash called his parents, and they came quickly. Despite their brief introduction to her, they had become very fond of the sweet, smart, tough cookie who was set to be married to him. Both of them were as distressed as his sisters. Jade was hit particularly hard, and Kestrel remarked that no possible amount of anything that she had ever said to Mare could fix it immediately.

It was decided that it might be best for her to go back to Dewitt High to do some of her senior year. She could get to know some of her old friends again, and get back to the life of the girl he knew. They also decided that it wasn't safe for her to be alone. Kestrel or Jade would be with her at all times to prevent any possible issues that could occur. With that settled, they all went to bed, content with their plans for tomorrow.

When Mare woke up, Kestrel was standing in her bedroom. The girls had decided to meet and help Mare pick out proper human school attire. After she was dressed and ready for the day, Jade and Kestrel hustled her out to their car, a used silver Lexus convertible. Kestrel had recently gotten her license, and everyone was much relieved now that someone else besides Mare could drive.

At school, Mare stared with wide eyes at things she was convinced she'd never seen before, and both her guards had a great time explaining it all. In Shakespeare, Mare had to do a duet scene from Much Ado About Nothing with the very handsome captain of the school football team. Much to the girls' surprise and relief, Mare did it only grudgingly, remarking that the young man had only read the lines and not felt them, and that there was another person that she knew who could do it so much better. It was a major breakthrough, and one they would gladly report to everyone stationed back at home.

That was the only really good part of the day, though. When it was time for Astronomy, her favorite class, Mare went slow, saying she had bad feelings about it. The girls grudgingly put one hand each on her back and pushed.

When they arrived at the classroom and looked into it, they noticed something very odd. There were no other girls in the class, only subtly good-looking boys. When Mare entered the room, they all trained their eyes on her. Each one was wearing a hungry, triumphant expression. The two vampire girls didn't believe that their charge was in any real danger, and that the boys were simply admiring the only female in their midst. But there was more to it then that, and the girls didn't have a clue.

Draco Malfoy was furious. Marie was gone, had been for about two weeks, and he had no idea where she was. But he should. He should have known better then to hire from the werewolf mob he had connections with. Why did he always have to be stuck with extremely stupid help? Why couldn't he have intelligent people on his side for once?

Suddenly, an owl flew down on the desk beside him clutching a letter. He breathed deeply, cursing. About time, he thought. He pulled the letter from the owl's leg, unwrapped it, and read it, frowning deeper with each line.

Boss,

We found the girl, and have infiltrated her school, aware of her every move. However, yesterday, the leader of our little group saw her, and no longer believes that this is a job worth doing. he wants the girl, and says that if you do anything to stop him, he will kill you.

Draco crumpled up the paper in his fist, and threw it into the fire. He had never been so angry in his life. He'd have to go and get her himself. That was all there was to it.

Ash was near the end of his sanity. It had been almost a month, and they had only seen little changes. He wanted big ones, and he wanted them now. He had to help her along. He invited her to come for a drive with him, and then they would do some stargazing. Thankfully, that was the one part of herself that she seemed to have recovered. She consented and they drove away into the night.

He knew exactly where he wanted to go, although she hadn't when she'd driven him here six months ago. It was a sort of comfort to him to be driving into the woods where the two of them had shared their first kiss. He stopped at the familiar spot, and opened her door. She stepped out, and looked up at the sky. He put his arms around her and led her to their kissing tree. When he joined his lips with hers, he felt the most reassuring thing in the world: rememberance, joy, love. When he released her, she grinned and hugged him tighter.

"Ash, my god. I'm so sorry about all of this. Maybe if we'd gotten married at the drive-through chapel then none of this would have happened."

He could only look at her through a veil of happy tears. "That's all right sweetheart. The important thing is that you're all right now."

Just then, they heard a noise in the bushes. Ash quickly pushed Mare away so she could help him fight off any danger. Before either of them could even breathe, a dark shape dropped from one of the nearby trees. It was a werewolf, Mare could see his ring.

My god, why does it always have to happen here? she thought to herself. She looked over at Ash, and was reassured to see that this time, she wouldn't have to fight alone.

She looked up, and saw a graceful figure stepping out of the shadows. Draco was here to claim what was his.

"Ash!" she screamed, "take care of Draco!"

She turned her attention to the werewolf pack, which seemed to have multiplied. She was dismayed to hear Ash's response.

"Mare, I can't just beat the crap out of him, I need a motive. This is really your fault, you know."

Mare delivered a skillful punch to one of the pack's faces to give herself time to think. Then the idea came to her: "pretend I'm pregnant."

That set Ash off real quick. He grabbed Draco by the collar and proceeded to deliver painful blows to his face and midsection. But Mare didn't have the time to watch. There were too many wolves for just simple beating. She needed a silver weapon. Thankfully, she had another fruit knife in the trunk of her car. She managed to get to the wreckage of her vehicle and get it, then she went back.

She continued punching and kicking until one of the wolves scratched her arms deeply. Then, she grabbed that one by the scruff of its neck and was about to end its life when she heard a voice. Although it spoke in a sad, mournful tone, her heart froze, and she stopped the knife right where it was.

"I knew it Mary-Lynnette. I told you he was evil, but you didn't listen to me. Now you're killing people. How could you?"

Sarah Kristopher 4eva- Thank you, and thanks for the review!

Sunshine Aradia- Thanks for the review! Hope you like this.

Mental Twitch- Thanks! You will see vamp changes in Hermione all in due time.

Dogs die in hot cars- Me too! Hope you like the update!

sexyirishBeep- I try. Hope you like this too. Thanks for the review!

Piscean Wisdom- Still thinking about T/H S.W. Glad I could reassure you, and thanks a lot!

Angel- Thanks! What do you think of this chapter?