Hello Readers! Here comes chapter 1 of my story! I am going to give you guys a quick disclaimer on my updates. Since school sucks a fat one I won't be able to update very often but I will do my best. I am actually going to Mexico for a family trip next week (fucking sweet if you ask me!) and I am going to do my best at writing on the long ass plane ride. Also, those of you who read my intro in "No Angel" will notice that I changed some things in the story like Serena's age and minor stuff like that. Just giving you a heads up. Anyway, on with the story!

Disclaimer: Don't own yea yea yea….

Chapter 1:

Serena walked quickly behind the large woman in front of her. The woman was talking loudly on her cellular and seemed to be very upset. Serena eyed the woman from the back. She was wearing extremely tight fitting jeans, a too tight short sleeve shirt and was juggling about four parcels in her hands along with her purse that was slowly falling off her shoulder and her ear was pressed to her shoulder to hold up her phone. Her shoes had to be the best part-- bright red pumps which were holding on by a thread.

Serena was in desperate need of money, and she was used to picking pockets. She had been on her own since her parents death two years ago and never lived in any one place longer then a week. She had no job, no home, really nothing, but her knapsack. She stole when she could and worked odd jobs whenever she was in desperate need for cash. She shifted her pack higher up on her back and started to whistle as she followed the large woman.

"Damnit Jacob! I made that hair appointment two weeks ago! Who are you replacing me with? What! Ella Samuels! This is ridiculous. Hold on, let me check my calendar. I hope you are aware of the sacrifice I am making here! I could go to someone else!"

The woman sat on the nearest bench and placed her parcels on the ground in front of her. Still yelling into her phone she reached into her purse and pulled out her date book.

Serena had slowed her pace and waited to pounce. A smile crept across her face as the woman tossed her purse about a foot away from her on the bench in anger. Serena wasted no time. She looked around and briskly walked behind the bench, picked up the purse and crossed the street. Once there, she stuffed the purse in her backpack and started to quickly walk down the road. When she reached the end of the street she turned around to see the woman was still on the phone making some wild hand gestures and still yelling into her phone. A giggle escaped her as she quickly turned and ran down the street.

She reached the end of the street and ran into an empty alley. She looked around to make sure she was alone and sat down with her back against the wall. She opened up her backpack like a kid on Christmas and pulled out the purse. She opened it up and squealed with delight. The woman had carelessly thrown her money in her purse and Serena pulled it out to count. 'Score! $300!' She thought to herself. She opened up the wallet and found three credit cards and more cash. 'Goddamn this woman is loaded!' Serena threw the rest of the purse in the nearest bin and walked out of the alley.

She looked up at the sky and a frown found its way onto her face. The sun was starting to set. It would be another four hours before dark. She had to find a place before then. She wasn't in the mood for lichen killing tonight. She looked both ways and saw a faint sign for a hotel a block up. She walked quickly to it and got a room for herself. Once inside she flopped down on the bed and kicked off her shoes. She absently rubbed the bottom of her feet and gave a soft moan in pain. She had been walking for too long. She needed better shoes, too.

Serena flicked on the TV and reached over for the phone. She dug into her bag for a slip of paper and dialed the number.

"Hello?"

"Hey Lita. It's Serena."

"Hey Sere, where are you? Haven't heard from you in a while."

"You know me, always somewhere new. I'm actually in New York right now. Want to meet up for dinner?"

"Really! Great! Amy just got in and were both hungry. AMI! Serena is in New York!"

Another phone picked up and Amy's sweet voice came through the line. "Serena! Come over right now! Where are you?"

"I'm at a hotel right now. I was going to shower then come over."

"A hotel? What for? You know you can just stay here with us."

"I know, I just wasn't sure if you guys were even in town. I'm only going to be here for tonight, so tomorrow I can come by and mooch free food and shelter from you."

"Sounds like a plan to us." Ami and Lita reply in unison.

"All right then, I should be by there in about 30 minutes. See ya."

"Bye Serena."

Serena put the phone on the receiver and dug into her bag for some clean underwear and clothes. A foul stench wafted up to her nose and she pulled an offending pair of socks from the bottom of her bag. With a snort of disgust, she flung the socks far away from her. While she was here, she would definitely need to do her laundry. She found some clean clothes and sashayed into the bathroom. After a good scrub, she got out and pulled on a pair of black cotton, bikini style underwear with a matching black bra. She walked into the bedroom and grabbed her blue jeans and pulled on her black Zoo York tee shirt. She completed the ensemble with her black chucks and grabbed her wallet. She placed her knapsack under her pillow and locked the door and headed over to Amy's and Lita's.

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Darien smoothed back his hair and stretched his arms above his head. He was tired; he had been working on a new case involving one of his most important clients. 'Why is he always fucking his damn secretaries!' He thought to himself, as he looked down at the papers in front of him again and tried to start again. Glenn DelBosco was being sued for the third time for sexual harassment and Darien was not amused in the least. He pushed the papers away from him and looked at the clock. It was ten minutes until 5. He turned to his phone and pressed the button for Zachary Mansfield, one of his partners and close friends.

"Zachary! I need to see you now."

"Give me two minutes."

"You have one, now hurry up!"

Darien got up and walked over to the bar in his office. He pulled out a bottle of 40 year old gin a poured himself a drink. Liquor was the only human indulgence he enjoyed. He looked at his watch as the seconds ticked away. Exactly one minute later, there was a knock on the door and Zachary walked in.

"Right on time."

"Well you didn't give me much of a choice. What can I do for you?"

"I'm sick of dealing with DelBosco; have someone else do it. It's beneath me."

"Right….who do you want me to give that shit to? He only trusts you."

"I don't care, give it to Penner. he doesn't even do anything here anymore. Why the hell is he a partner?"

"How the hell should I know, Darien! You're the one who decided on bringing him in and may I remind you it was only because he had the money to back us up."

"Well, he is completely useless. Give him the DelBosco case and tell him to handle it."

"Fine. Are you going to go to Jeremiah's party tonight?"

"Hadn't planned on it, why?"

"Wondering is all….."

"Oh spit it out Zach. Shit…"

"Well, I was just told to ask you if you were going……and if you were if you were bringing Raye?"

"Interested in my sister, Zach?"

"Not particularly. I'm asking for Jeremiah if you must know."

"Christ almighty, fine, I'll go and I'll try to bring Raye with me. I'm getting out of here."

Darien walked to his desk and grabbed his coat. After picking up his briefcase he turned back to Zach who was still standing in his office.

"Here is the DelBosco case, give it to Penner before you leave. When is this party tonight?"

"Penner already left for the day and the party starts at 8."

"He fucking left already!" Darien shut his eyes and took a deep breath. A handsome smile broke across his face and he flashed his teeth at Zach. "Remind me to speak to Penner on Monday, would you Zachary?"

"Sure Darien. See you later." With a smile, Zach walked up to Darien's desk and picked up the file and walked back to his office.

Darien walked out to his car and headed home.

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Raye was brushing out her hair when she heard her brother enter their mansion. She dropped her brush and stepped out of her bedroom and looked down the hallway to the stairs. Darien was pulling off his tie when he reached the second landing and turned to Raye with a smile on his face.

"Just the woman I wanted to see. How are you sister dear?"

"Fine. What's the matter with you?"

"Can't a loving brother ask how his beautiful sister is doing?" Darien walked up to Raye and gave her a soft peck on the check. She eyed him warily and crossed her arms across her chest.

"You're hardly a "loving brother." What do you want?"

"I just wanted to ask if I could have the pleasure of your wonderful company this evening for a party."

"Party?" Raye's interest was peaked but her eyes said otherwise. She kept the same cold expression her brother usually had with clients. 'Don't let them see your emotions; they're only a weakness' he always said.

"Yes, love, a party. Interested?"

"Whose party is it, where is it going to be, whose going to be there and what is the theme?"

"Jeremiah, his home, only A-list people from the city, and I think it is a masquerade theme, so bring a mask."

Raye tossed the pros and cons in her head after hearing this. The fact that Jeremiah was the host and it was going to be at his home was definitely a con in her mind. Yes, he was the most gorgeous man she knew and he seemed to have a crush on her, but she didn't just want to give in to him.

"Yes or no, Raye; I'm losing patience."

Raye looked into the dark eyes of her brother and frowned. He could be colder then anyone she knew; he was even worse then their father.

"Fine, I'll go on one condition: at no point in the evening will you leave with some tramp and leave me with no ride home. Understand?"

"Fully understand. I didn't plan on going this evening and I'm sure I won't find anyone who strikes my fancy. Be ready by 7:30." Darien headed to his room and walked in without a backward glance at his sister.

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Serena clutched her purse to her side and dashed into the apartment complex of her two friends. She got into the elevator and headed up to Amy and Lita's floor. She walked up to their door and knocked.

"Come in!" Serena turned the handle and walked into the warm apartment. She could hear the voices of her friends in the back hallway and walked towards their rooms.

"Hey you two, it's me. You know you shouldn't leave your door unlocked like that, anyone could come in and att……" Serena stopped in the door of Lita's room and looked at her two friends. Lita had her brown hair piled up on the top of her head with a hunter green, antique clip in her hair and she was wearing a long, form fitting green gown that hugged her curves just right. It was a beautiful off the shoulder gown that accented her creamy skin. She was putting on a green pendent that Serena knew her mother had given her.

Ami was wearing a lighter blue gown with the thinnest straps on her shoulders. It was open in the back and fell to her feet. She was putting on blue tear drop earrings. She turned when she saw Serena and smiled.

"Sere! So good to see you, come in and make yourself comfortable."

Serena slowly walked into the room and sat on Lita's bed. "What's going on you guys? I thought we were having dinner."

Amy and Lita looked at one another and smiled. Lita turned to Serena and kneeled down in front of her.

"Okay, so we are having dinner but it's not exactly at a restaurant or anything. Ami got invited to this party by the head heart surgeon at work and we really want you to come with us. It's a masquerade theme! It's going to be kickass!"

"Yea Serena, you have to come. It's going to be great and Keith says everyone in New York is going to be there!" Ami turned her big blue eyes on her friend and smiled.

"Okay, okay, one thing, stop looking at me like that Amy-- it never works. Second, I'm not going to some big shot party, and third, you guys know you shouldn't be out at night; do you have a death wish? It's dangerous out there!"

"Don't worry Serena, Keith is sending a car for me and Lita. You have to come!" Ami got down on her knees next to Lita.

"I don't even have a dress to wear, and you guys look great. Why would you want some ugly toad like me there?"

"Serena, shut up! You're the farthest thing from ugly and Ami has a dress that I am sure will fit you perfectly."

"I will only go if the dress is in black and that I have a black mask." With a smirk Serena crossed her arms across her chest and turned away from her friends.

Ami got up and ran to her room. Serena popped one eye open and caught sight the black dress that Amy walked in with. It was beautiful! It was a halter gown that had black rose embroidery on the bodice. Serena gingerly reached out for it and only felt the soft silk of the gown before it was snatched away from her.

Amy held the dress protectively to herself and turned away from Serena. Lita stood up and placed her hands on her hips.

"You going or not?"

"Fine, what kind of car is this Keith sending?"

Amy turned around excitedly and tossed the dress at Serena. "Keith is sending a limo for us-- isn't that wild!"

"Yea, the best, Amy. Who's going to do my hair?"

Lita and Amy set to work on Serena's hair while she put the dress on. Serena wasn't allowed to see the finished product until they put her make up on. She waited patiently until they were done and sighed in contentment. She hadn't been pampered in ages and she had it admit that it felt good.

"Okay done. Serena, you look fantastic! Very sexy."

Serena looked in the mirror and smiled. She did look great. The dress fit like a dream and her hair and make up looked great. There was a knock at the door and the girls giggled in delight. Lita opened the door to the driver and the girls all grabbed their coats and headed out.

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Darien got out of the limo and fixed the mask on his face. He walked to the other side of the car and took hold of Raye's hand. They walked into the party together.

Raye scanned the party and nodded at some familiar faces. Darien was walking her over to Jeremiah and Nathaniel and she quickly pushed back her hair and put on a dazzling smile. She knew she looked good; there was no two ways about it. Her blood red gown was to die for and it accented all her best areas. She could see Jeremiah's eyes widen as she came close. He looked fantastic too. He was wearing a dark grey suit with a dark green tie and green mask. His blond hair was pushed back with a few stray hairs falling over his forehead. Ray had to look away when she felt heat start to build in her stomach.

"Jeremiah. Nathaniel. How are you both?"

"Good Darien. Glad you could make it." Jeremiah shook his hand and turned to Raye.

Raye extended her hand to Jeremiah expecting a shake but got a warm kiss on her knuckles. She could feel a blush on her cheeks, but regained herself. "Nice to see you again Jeremiah." She purposely pulled her hand back and turned to Nathaniel. "How are you Nathaniel? How is the art world doing?"

"Charmed, Raye. It's doing fine. The gallery is on the up and up."

"Fantastic. Well would one of you be so kind as to get a lady a drink?"

"I'll get it for you Raye." Jeremiah briskly walked over to a waiter and grabbed a drink from his tray and quickly walked back to the group. A frown came onto his handsome face when he noticed that Raye was gone already. "Where's Raye?"

"Oh, she saw a friend to chat with. I'll take that drink from you." Darien smiled at Jeremiah and grabbed the drink from his hand.

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Serena, Amy and Lita walked up the steps of the mansion and walked into the mansion. They dropped off their coats at the check in and entered the ball room. There were people everywhere and drinks aplenty. Of course Serena didn't recognize anyone, but she expected that. Amy and Lita however seemed to know plenty of people and quickly left her to go mingle. 'Great! What did I say in the car? Don't ditch me!' Serena grabbed the nearest drink and walked to the side of the party. She surveyed the people for a bit but lost interest quickly and slipped out a side door to a balcony.

She took a deep breath in and stepped up to the rail. She looked up at the moon and sighed. She rarely got to see the moon from outdoors unless she was out hunting for lichens. It was so beautiful, a warm tear started to fall from her eye. She wiped it away and took a deep swig of her drink. She placed her drink on the railing and absently twirled a piece of her long blond hair in her fingers.

"You have beautiful hair."

Serena started and turned quickly reaching for her purse. 'Fuck, I didn't bring it!'

All she could see was the dark outline of a man holding a wine glass. Serena squinted her eyes and tried to get a better look. The man stepped forward and downed the dark red liquid in his glass. He was wearing a black suit with a dark red tie. He had on a black mask as well. Serena's breath caught in her throat at the sheer darkness of the man.

"I'm sorry if I frightened you. I didn't think anyone else would come out here."

"No, it's okay. I was just going back in."

"Not on my account, I hope."

"Of course not. My friends are probably looking for me."

"Won't you stay and chat for a second?"

Darien couldn't let this girl get away. She was too breathtaking. The lightness of her blond hair deeply contrasted with her black dress and mask. She looked like a pearl set in velvet. He extended his hand to her. "I'm Darien Shields."

"Serena Casteel."

Darien lightly kissed her hand and quickly covered it with his other. He didn't want to let go of her warmth that just seemed to exude from her in waves.

Serena was captivated by the man in front of her. His smile was heart stopping and his voice was drawing her to him. She couldn't leave if she wanted to; there seemed to be a force that kept her with him. Fear started to edge its way in her mind and she lightly pulled her hand back and looked down. "What do you do, Mr. Shields?"

Darien walked closer to her and tipped her chin up. "It's Darien."

Serena looked into the black abyss of his eyes and sighed. She could get lost in his eyes. She brought her hands up and placed them on the softness of his suit and brought them up to his chest.

Darien placed his hands on her neck and made slow lazy circles with his thumbs on her pulse. It was skyrocketing. With a slowness that seemed to take years their lips met. It was light at first but quickly became demanding. He felt like he was drowning in the sweetness that was the angel in front of him.

A slight moan escaped Serena's lips and she slowly pulled back from the heated kiss. She brought her arms up and around Darien's neck to hold on as if she was drowning. She didn't think she could walk away from him.

Darien looked down at the creamy skin of Serena's neck. He could see the pulse of her neck and a slowly brought his lips down to it. She sighed against his neck and he gave a slow growl as the hunger that had started once he saw her grow to painful proportions. He had to have her. His tongue lightly licked her skin and it seemed that she turned her head to give him better access. He couldn't take the temptation anymore. He slowly brought his mouth down on her neck and sunk his teeth in. He was bombarded with the sweetest blood he had tasted in years.

Serena felt a slight pain but it quickly vanished and was replaced by intense feeling of pleasure. Her breath quickened and she grabbed tighter onto Darien. Waves and waves on pleasure shot threw her body and warmed her to her core. "Darien…"

Darien's eyes snapped open and he pulled back. He licked the small droplets of blood that dripped from her neck and placed a small kiss at her puncture wounds.

Serena's eyes snapped open and she backed away. She placed her hands on her neck and froze. What had just happened to her? She had just been bitten by a vampire and she didn't even realize it was happening. She tried to run to the door but was stopped. "Get away from me!"

Darien stared at her in shock and released her hand. Serena slowly backed away still holding her neck and ran into the mansion. With a smile Darien walked back to the balcony rail and slid his tongue over his teeth. 'She won't get far. I'm not done with her yet.'

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Yea! Done chapter. I hope you guys appreciate that I am staying overtime at work right now to get this out to you so it isn't edited. I have to get home and pack for my trip. I'm kidding though; I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and please review if you get a chance! Adios!