Wow, sorry it's taken me so long to get this out. I know that it's been months. Literally months and months--perhaps half a year. I hope this chapter makes up for it being so long in coming. Thanks to incarnated-soul (it's been a while. How are you?), Terriah (thanks), Kalika Scott (It wasn't back then, but I know what you mean. That's what Thea was in the beginning, before she met Eric), Ande (heh...yeah, I've been terrible and haven't updated in forever. Don't know if you're still around but it's great when you are because you catch me on my grammar issues), and mwth06 (thanks)

Chapter 15

He was watching her. She could feel his eyes boring into her back like a pair of sizzling hot coals, etching his territorial mark into her. People said that Drew was the scary one, but they were wrong. She couldn't understand what made him want to hurt her—just to get back at his brother.

There must have been more animosity on Bracken's side than she had gleaned from Drew's mind.

Clara bunched up her shoulders, wrapping her arms tightly about her shoulders.

"Is everything all right, Clara?" A pointed voice broke through her layer of thoughts.

She nearly jumped. Instead, she smiled hesitantly at the teacher's expectant expression. "I'm fine—just cold."

The teacher nodded sympathetically. "The thermostat doesn't work properly. I don't want to touch it or I may make the situation worse."

Clara just nodded, wishing for the attention to drop away from her. Many curious faces had turned in her direction at the teacher's questioning. She ducked her head to view the etchings in her desk—Suzie loves Derek—to take her mind off the eyes positioned two desks behind her.

Don't think about him, she told herself. He won't hurt you as long as you stay away from Drew.

And she had been staying away from him. She'd been avoiding him at every turn. It was for his good and hers. She didn't understand much about the Night World, but she understood enough to know that she wasn't the only one in danger. Drew's life could be forfeit as well.

Clara didn't realize how anxious she would be to be out of this school for good—to graduate and move on. Then all the fear would go away…

Deep down she knew that wouldn't make everything better. Already a deep aching had begun in her—and ache that burrowed deep in her chest and spread through her nerves into her outer extremities and into her teeth. Sometimes she was filled with fine tremors as if she'd drunk a gallon of coffee.

But she knew what she was really feeling—withdrawal from him. She ached to be near Drew. She ached to hear his voice and to lean into him. She had never known that she could feel this much about one person, but her heart was near bursting from it. It was an agony that only seemed to increase with each moment she was away. It killed her to know that she might never be able to bask in his serenity, his strong and steadying arms.

It will pass, she told herself. Someday I will be able to feel normal again.

The bell jangled loudly.

Clara was up and out of her desk, clutching her books before the teacher had even dismissed the class. She moved as fast as she could into the hallway and away from the boring eyes.

She burst out into the sunny California afternoon and took a deep gratifying breath. This was one of the last times she would ever set foot on this campus. She had exams and then it was over.

Now that her heart was beating a little slower, she had the presence of mind to slip her books into her backpack. Red lines crossed both pale arms where the book had cut into her circulation because she'd clutched them so tightly.

She nudged the backpack over her shoulder and headed toward the racks of bikes. She deftly turned her combination and disengaged her pedals from an adjacent bike. The students hadn't even begun to pour out of the building. She'd be long gone before Drew was even released from class—she hoped.

She took a deep breath to calm her jittery nerves and aimed her bike across the school lawn toward the street. Her legs felt numb and unpracticed against the pedals and it took all her concentration to keep the bike moving in a straight line.

It was as if some bubble burst in her as soon as the front tires hit the street and her nerves began to relax. Her bike settled into a steady course and she turned down the long hill that would intersect with the road she needed, taking her out to the suburbs she called home. She didn't live too far out of town—just far enough to be able to see some empty space in between, dotted with small stands of trees and the occasional subdivision.

She'd been riding for about ten minutes when she heard the sound of a vehicle humming behind her. The vehicle grumbled to a stop.

"Clara will you get in the truck?" Drew's voice was soft but demanding. He wasn't really asking. It was an order.

She shook her head violently and refused to look at him, afraid she would give in to his plea. She blinked rapidly and licked her lips, tasting the salt there. She hadn't realized that she was crying until just then.

Maybe she had just started to cry.

All she knew was that she needed some sort of emotional release from all she'd been through in the past couple of days. Her whole world had been turned upside-down and now Bracken wanted to kill her—would kill her if she didn't do what she was told to.

"Clara," there was something silky and dangerous about Drew's tone. "Do I have to come out there?"

She shook her head again, spraying tears. "No," her voice came out raw and cracked. "Just leave me alone. Please."

There was the sound of a door clicking shut and quick as lightening, Drew's face was hovering in her vision, angry and fierce, with his dark mop of curls disheveled and dark circles under his eyes. He looked physically pained.

He grasped the handlebars of the bike Clara was balancing, finger-to-finger contact. One foot was firmly planted on either side of her front tire. He leaned in closer, his eyes set on hers as a shiver started in her fingers and ran up her arms.

"We need to talk," his tone was resolute. "Why have you been avoiding me?"

Another pair of wheels hummed along the asphalt, squealing to a stop. "Clara?" a reddish head leaned forward to speak through the opened window. It was Jerry, one of Lacey's ex-boyfriends. "Are you alright? Is he bothering you?"

Drew visibly stiffened. He looked like he was ready to lose his cool.

Clara drew a wrist under her eyes, wiping her cheeks dry before she turned to look at Jerry with a grateful smile. "Thank you, but I'm fine."

"You don't look fine," Jerry observed.

Drew let out a heaving sigh and turned, stalking toward the vehicle. "Did you hear her, idiot? She's fine. Get out of here!"

A sharp breath was issued from the vehicle. Jerry moved the car into gear and sped away. No one, and Jerry wasn't near an exception, could stare Drew down in this mood.

"You could have been nicer to him," Clara intoned. "He was only trying to be helpful."

"I can't be nice! I don't want to be nice!" Drew pivoted toward her once more and quickly and deftly began to extricate her from the bike. As if he thought that she would ride away, right out of his grasp and disappear for good. Clara couldn't do that because she couldn't even seem to get in control of her trembling muscles.

Drew threw her bike into the truck bed where she didn't have easy access to it.

He leaned in close until their noses were almost touching. "I haven't slept in days because I don't know what the heck is going on with you! One day you're happy—we're happy—and then you're avoiding me. Do you know what that does to me?" His eyes were piercing—accusing. "I can't function! I end up railing on little guys like Jerry that can't hold their own."

"Drew, I cant—we can't…" She trailed off, not knowing how to continue.

"Look, Clara, if you wanted me to leave, I would. I would go away forever. Your word is law to me. But I have to know why. Why are you doing this to me? Don't you realize what we have? What we are?"

"I don't—" Her voice cracked. She was crying freely now, the salty droplets trailing down her cheeks. She ached with every nerve just to touch him, to fall into his arms and stay there forever. They were meant to be together. They belonged together. She could feel it.

"We're soulmates!" He finished.

Clara let out a gasping breath as the words reverberated through her. She had never heard a word so true—so right—to explain what was happening between them. She fell into his arms, nuzzling her face into his gray t-shirt and cried.

His arms moved to encircle her, holding her so gently. "I love you, Clara. I can't help it and I don't want to. We were meant to be like this. Let's not fight it, okay?"

"Drew," she whispered. "I know. I love you too. But I'm scared—for both of us."

He pushed her back then, to look at her. He regarded her with a searching expression. "Afraid of what?"

She glanced about at the empty road. It still didn't make her feel any better. One person from school had already driven passed this spot. There was no telling that Jerry wouldn't spread the news that he had seen them together. He didn't know how important it was that they keep this a secret.

"Let's get out of here," she said, shivering slightly. "And then we'll talk."

He nodded, understanding her immediately. He moved to open the door, guiding her into the passenger seat. He sealed her inside, running around the vehicle. He hopped into his seat, his breath calm and even.

The truck purred to a start and moved along the road at a steady pace until an old and overgrown dirt road cut into a pasture. Drew guided the vehicle off the road and through the grass, moving the truck into the stand of trees behind. The leafy vegetation hid them from the outside world.

Clara told him everything, and Drew became angrier and angrier at each word she spoke. At one point he even slammed his fist against the steering wheel. It probably would have disturbed any other girl, but Clara knew that he would never hit her—never hurt her. She was safe with him.

"He can't keep us apart!" Drew burst out finally. "No one can! I could kill him for what he did to you!"

"But he can," Clara returned, trying to get him to see sense. "Don't you see? If he knew we were in love, he could expose us to the whole Night World."

Drew visibly shuddered at this. "I hate him."

Clara nearly agreed, but stopped at the last moment. "But he's your brother. He must have a reason for all this."

"What reason?" Drew turned to look at her, his tone filled with loathing and distaste. "He's always hated me. Why do you think he's tried so hard to outdo me? I don't know why he even cares—it's not like I've tried to compete with him."

Clara reached over and gripped his hand, feeling a fresh wave of tingling. "Forget about it," she told him. "Bracken isn't what matters right now. What matters is that you and I can never be seen together again. And it hurts. I want to cherish every last moment that I have."

Without another word, Drew turned and pulled her toward him, mussing her hair with his fingers. She tipped up her chin to look him right in the eye as he gazed down at her, their breaths mingling.

He leaned forward, kissing her softly. Her lips moved to kiss him back. She reveled in the all-encompassing sense of Drew. His presence was everywhere around her—and then he was enfolding her mind once more.

She reached out with tendrils of thought to brush him tenderly.

You know, Drew's thought was contemplative. I've talked to my dad and he's agreed to let me go away to university for a couple of years. He thinks it might help me get my focus. I—we—can get away from all this. Bracken doesn't need to know that we'll be together. He'll never know.

Clara felt a small ripple of excitement—of hope—rise up in her.

But what if you don't get into the same university? She asked, the hope dropping again. It's a little late for admissions.

It doesn't matter, he returned decisively. I can fake an acceptance letter for my dad. I can work for a year. Then I can catch up with you the next year.

A giddy euphoria rose in her and she laughed—laughed with her mind and began to rush around, breathing life into his memories and entwining tendrils of thought with tendrils of thought. She didn't know when she had felt so happy in her life.

I love you, she announced. She wished she could announce it to the world. Drew was the most amazing, wonderful person she had ever met and she just wished everyone could know him like that.

He seemed a little calmer than her, more bemused, she decided. And a little confused with all the connections between them fuzzing his brain up with sensation. He rose to the challenge, And I love you. You know I do.

And then she was content to revel in a sense of him. At that moment, she became as aware of their bodies as she was aware of their minds. They were still kissing. Violently. Passionately. They were getting closer and closer physically, as if their bodies needed to be one like their minds.

She felt a burst of panic. Drew, I don't think we should…

I know, and he drew back mentally. Suddenly the physical world began to feel more real to her, her back wedged up against the door handle. He extricated himself from her and moved back to allow space to pass between them.

He seemed to be gripping the steering wheel for something to do and staring out at the foliage surrounding them. She readjusted herself so that her back wasn't wedged into the door handle.

Then he glanced back at her with a half smile. "I know how traditional you are," he said and the underlying words were, I know everything about you.

They were connected in a way still, even though they weren't diving in each other's minds. She could still feel him, know everything she ever wanted to know about him and still be yearning to know more.

"And I want you to know that there'll never be anyone else but you. Never," he intoned. "I love you and that's not going to change. I'd walk down the isle with you right now just so that we could be together forever."

Clara smiled. He respected her. He would wait for her. And that meant the world to her.

"Thank you," she spoke softly, touched.

He nodded. "I'll drive you home," he told her. "And then I'll see about wiping Jerry's mind."