Jade's POV
I stared at the burning fire before me as I sat on the soft tattered rug covering the wooden floor. I poked at the fire with a metal bar, watching as one of the crisping logs shifted and fell. The fire burned against my cheeks and I wondered if that was how it would feel to have Jacob touch me. I hugged my knees tighter to my chest and placed the metal bar back beside me.
Heat was a luxury now. But I no longer became cold. When I touched Zander it was like he was warm. Like touching another human back when I was a human. There was no difference. I didn't feel his cold skin when I touched him. There really wasn't much difference in being vampire than being human. Just the thirst that I had started to control.
Six months ago was the last time I laid eyes on Jacob. I constantly wondered if he thought of me as much as I thought about him. I doubted it. I broke his heart. I was sure he didn't want anything to do with me now. How could he? I was his enemy now. I totally regretted my decision to allow Zander to turn me. I should have fought. But in the end... I still would be in the same position I was in now.
Convincing Zander to "go vegan" as he called it was a struggle. But I refused to feed on humans. If The Cullens could survive on animals than I would too. I was not a killer. Okay, so I killed Nathanial but he deserved to die. I refused to be like him. I couldn't bring my mother back but I could avenge her. And I did.
Sometimes, I would wonder about my father too. What did Jacob tell him? The truth? I was sure Jacob just told him I was killed. I'd rather my father think that than the truth. I'd think about Jasper too and the other pack members. I even wondered about Demetri. But they were all part of my old life. My new life consisted of only one person.
"You know if you sit that close to the fire you're going to melt your face off." Zander got on his knees behind me and wrapped his arms around my neck, letting his head rest atop mine.
"I don't care..."
He sighed softly and reached in front of me, picking up a blood stained piece of broken glass. "Were you doing it again?"
I just shrugged, keeping my eyes on the fire. "So what if I was?"
Zander sat back and looked over the piece of sharp glass. "It won't work, Jade."
"I'm not expecting it too." I gripped the other piece of glass hidden in my fist. It cut into my skin, giving me a sharp but non satisfying pain.
"I wonder if you do it enough in the same place, it'll finally scar." Zander moved to sit beside me. I watched him from the corner of my eye as he pulled up the sleeve of his shirt. He placed the glass to his wrist and tried to cut into his flesh. It took more effort than it looked. It wasn't that easy to penetrate our skin. Zander didn't have the strength to do it. Aggravated, he threw the piece of glass to the other side of the room.
I couldn't help but smile softly. He noticed and returned my smile, his bright red eyes shining. "You're lucky. Newborns are so strong. It's not fair."
I unhooked my arms from around my knees and crossed my legs. I held out my arm and took the piece of glass from my fist and carefully cut into my flesh. It wasn't too deep but enough to cause it to bled a little bit. But soon enough the wound healed itself. I sighed and tossed the piece of glass away.
"Strange that cutting won't scar... But..." Zander carefully grabbed my right arm and pulled the sleeve of my hoodie up to reveal a deep and big crescent shaped scar that covered my entire forearm. "A bite from a wolf will."
I stared at the scar as Zander's pale fingers outlined it. If Jacob had wanted too he could have ripped my arm clear off. But he didn't. He stopped when he realized it was me. Atleast he didn't want to kill me. "Yea..."
"So," Zander raised my hand and gently kissed the back of it. "How long are we staying here?"
I raised my eyes to the ceiling of the old abandoned home. "Since when am I the leader?"
"Since you're the strongest."
"I like it here." I lowered my eyes to watch Zander play with my fingers.
Zander smiled at me. "Me too. It's quiet."
"Plus, there aren't humans for miles. The middle of the mountains is perfect for hunting. Great cover too."
Zander hummed in agreement. "Oh, and it's really far away from..." He trailed off. "Ah, well Virginia is near the east coast so it's far from anywhere I've ever been before."
"It's far away from Forks." I said what he wouldn't say.
"Right..." He bit his lower lip. "I didn't want to upset you."
"It's alright."
He smiled and raised my hand to his mouth. "I'm hungry." His tongue slipped out from between his lips and licked the tip of my middle finger.
"Then go hunt."
His smile turned into a smirk. "Why hunt when my meal is right in front of me?" He tugged on my hand and I allowed him to pull me into his lap. I shifted so I was straddling his legs and rested my hands on his shoulders.
"Well you could have just said that's what you meant."
"I was trying to be smooth." He pouted lightly, gripping my hips.
"You fail."
He growled softly. "I'll let you top this time." I searched his bright red eyes. It was a tempting offer.
My heart still belonged to Jacob but I had a duty to Zander. Sex was all he was asking of me and I couldn't find a reason to deny him. In a way, we saved each other. I saved him from Nathanial and he saved me from having to wonder alone as a vampire. We owed each other. Sex and companionship was what we wanted from one another. Sex only came into play when I was willing to give it to Zander. He'd back off when I wasn't in the mood. Tonight, I really saw no reason to say no. Especially if he was willing to let me top. It was an offer I just couldn't refuse.
"Just don't whine about being sore in the morning."
"I won't. I pro-" I cut him off by crashing my lips to his.
Comparisons are easily done once you've had a taste of perfection.
Like an apple hanging from a tree.
I picked the ripest one.
I still got the seed.
You said move on.
Where do I go?
I guess second best is all I will know.
Cause when I'm with him
I am thinking of you.
Thinking of you.
What you would do if you were the one who was spending the night.
Oh I wish that I was looking into your eyes.
You're like an Indian summer in the middle of winter.
Like a hard candy with a surprise center.
How do I get better once I've had the best?
You said there's tons of fish in the water.
So the waters I will test.
He kissed my lips,
I taste your mouth.
He pulled me in,
I was disgusted with myself.
Cause when I'm with him
I am thinking of you.
Thinking of you.
What you would do if you were the one who was spending the night.
Oh I wish that I was looking into...
You're the best
And yes I do regret
How I could let myself let you go.
Now the lesson's learned
I touched it. I was burned.
Oh I think you should know...
Cause when I'm with him
I am thinking of you.
Thinking of you.
What you would do if you were the one who was spending the night.
Oh I wish that I was looking into your eyes
Into your eyes
Into your eyes
Oh won't you walk through and bust in the door.
And take me away.
Oh no more mistakes.
Cause in your eyes I'd like to stay...
When you don't sleep, you find you have a lot more time on your hands than before. That was starting to become my problem. It was easy for Zander to preoccupy himself but it was more difficult for me. When I was human, I'd paint when I couldn't sleep. Well, now I couldn't even do that. I didn't have the tools to.
Zander bounced ahead of me, touching a tree branch every now and then as he passed them. I watched him carefully, the moonlight sparkling off his skin. I wondered if I looked that elegant. I had only seen myself once since I was turned and I really didn't like what I saw. It was the eyes I didn't like. But according to Zander, they were starting to dull. I was guessing it was the animal blood. Even his eyes were changing. When I first met him they were that burgundy color. Then they started to change to a much brighter red like mine were when I was turned. Now they were a duller red color.
Nine months since I last saw Jacob. I thought that the longer I stayed away from him, the easier it would be to get over him. Oh how dead wrong I was. I wondered if he still thought about me like I thought of him. Every waking moment. Which was a lot for me. My heart had turned into a dull aching pain that I had become accustomed to.
Zander suddenly stopped his small dance and ran back to me. "Do you sense that?" His voice was a hushed whisper.
I tilted my head at him for a moment. I sniffed the air and felt my surroundings but found nothing out of the ordinary. "No... What is it Zander?"
His eyes narrowed and searched the dark woods. "Wolves."
My body froze. I focused more on my surroundings and finally sensed it. Wolves. About five of them. Big wolves. Werewolves. I was so used to the wolf stench that I didn't even think. Zander and I had no chance against five wolves. They had already sensed us and were coming our way.
I felt so stupid. There was an Indian tribe near here. I didn't think that they would have wolves too. The Cherokee. I went to a museum of them once when I was little and we lived in Nashville. We'd been in Virginia for three months and had yet to have a run in with them. I guessed we strayed too far from home.
I thought quickly and found only one option. Run. I grabbed Zander's hand and took off with him beside me. We ran opposite of the wolves, determined to get back home. Or atleast close to it. I couldn't just lead them right to where we were staying. The wolves picked up their pace and for once I knew what fear felt like as a vampire. The same as it did when I was human.
I was too focused on the wolves behind us to realize that there were more in front of us. We skidded to a halt when three more wolves appeared in front of us. We were surrounded with no where else to go. I cursed under my breath and Zander pressed his back into mine, our hands still clasped together.
"Shit... What do we do?" Zander asked me.
"What can we do?" I watched one of the bigger three wolves step toward us, breaking the line. He was bigger than I remembered Jacob to be. Perhaps he was the alpha. His shiny silver coat glowed in the moonlight. "We're screwed..."
"We didn't do anything!" Zander's voice was as anxious as I felt.
I watched the alpha carefully as he stopped a few feet away. If they intended to kill us wouldn't they have done so already? Why was he hesitating? He was close enough that I could see his deep blue eyes. His eyes were searching mine as mine were searching his. Maybe I could reason with him. It was worth a shot.
"Whatever you think we did... We don't feed on humans." I told him, remembering why Jacob's tribe didn't allow vampires on their land. "We feed on animals. We don't want trouble. So if we are on your land, we'll leave and never come back. I know you don't trust me... but my word is all I have."
"Jade, what are you doing?" Zander whispered to me.
"Trying to reason with him. I used to deal with wolves everyday, remember?"
The alpha suddenly went blurry and I was face to face with a human. Kind of... He was tall, like Jacob had been. He had shaggy dark hair and looked to be in his late 20's. His eyes were such a deep blue that I was surprised he was even Indian. This was good sign though. He was willing to talk to me.
"What are you doing on our land?" His voice was deep and firm.
"Um, well... honestly. We were just walking." I tried to stay as calm as possible and keep to the truth.
"Why?" His eyes narrowed at me.
"We were bored... Happens a lot when you can't sleep." My body was just itching to take him down. But I fought against my natural vampiric urges and won.
"You've dealt with wolves before." It was a statement not a question.
"Yes. When I was human. It's kinda a long story... but um, my lover was wolf who imprinted on me. We got caught up with some bad vampires and I ended up like this."
"And where is your 'lover'?"
"Home I hope... I haven't seen him since the day I became this." I motioned to myself.
"You know a lot about wolves for a vampire."
"I'm telling you the truth. Jacob told me a lot about your kind. See, his tribe doesn't allow vampires on their land either. So, I figured that's why you were after us."
"You're just passing through?"
"Well we planned on walking till we became bored or hungry. Then we'd just turn around and go back home."
"You're stationed?"
"Sort of. It's in the middle of nowhere, far away from humans. We don't do humans. I refused to eat that way."
"Stay where you are." The alpha said as he started to walk toward me. I stood as still as a statue. I felt Zander tense behind me so I squeezed his hand in reassurance. The alpha approached me slowly, carefully watching my movements. I didn't move. I could hear the other members of the pack growling and whining in discontent. The alpha ignored them and stopped only a foot away from me.
His deep blue eyes searched mine before he slowly leaned forward. I closed my eyes and held my breath. I was sure he wouldn't hurt me but I was prepared if he tried to. I heard him take a deep sniff before he took a step backwards, his feet crunching under the woodland floor. I opened my eyes and allowed myself to breath. Of course, I didn't need to breathe but it was just a habit. The wolf scent filled my nostrils and I had to grip Zander's hand tightly to control myself. I heard him whimper in pain.
"You don't smell of human blood." The alpha's eyes shifted to Zander, behind me. "He, however, has a faint scent."
"Because he used to feed off humans. I'm teaching him not to. He's doing very well at it."
The alpha's eyes locked with mine once again. "I'll let you go, harm free. But if you wonder into our land again we won't hesitate to attack."
"Understood. You'll never see us again." I smiled softly at him. "Thank you."
"Go before I change my mind." He growled.
"Right." I tugged on Zander's hand causing him to stumbled into me. He hissed in pain when our bodies collided. The hiss was not something the wolves neither needed nor wanted to hear. The alpha jumped backwards when a big black mass suddenly tackled me.
My back crashed into the leaf covered ground, a rock digging into my back. The big brown wolf on top of me growled deeply, his paws holding my arms down. But my strength was no match for his. I kicked the wolf off me causing it to squeak in pain as it was thrown back into a tree and snapping it in half.
I growled and searched for Zander. He was perfectly fine, standing where he was before. All the other wolves were on their knees while the alpha was growling. He hadn't phased back or anything. I remembered Jacob telling me that the alpha had total control over his pack. Kinda like Avery's power.
"Damnit." I hissed and rubbed my back. "That hurt!" The wolf that attacked me got back up onto its feet and bared its teeth at me. I glared at it, crouching down a bit. "Oh trust me buddy. You don't wanna fuck with me. You'll lose. Big time. Newborns have ten times the strength of normal vampires which means I can crush you without a second thought. And trust me; I don't want to do that."
The wolf just growled at me. "Jade! You're bleeding!" Zander called to me.
I blinked and looked down at myself. My left arm had three long cuts in it from the wolf's claws. "Son of a bitch." I shook my arm and the blood clotted. I flexed my bicep and the wound quickly healed, leaving three long pale scars from my shoulder to my wrist. My shirt was ripped and stained with blood. "Now I have two scars from two different wolves. I swear, this fucking sucks!" The wolf bent down like it was ready to attack again. "Fuck you!" I pointed at the wolf. "I warned you and you're ignoring it! That's not a wise decision."
"Shane!" The alpha yelled. The wolf suddenly stopped moving and fell to its knees. "Insolent wolf." He hissed. I blinked and turned to him. "Go. I can't control them all at once for too long."
"Uh... Thanks?"
"Jade! Let's go!" Zander was by my side and he grabbed my hand.
"Ah, right." I snapped out of my slight daze and took off running with Zander.
"How the hell did you not rip his head off?!" Zander asked, throwing his hands in the air as he paced in a circle around me. I sat on the floor, topless, and running my fingers over my new scar.
"I have no idea..." I bit my bottom lip and dug my nails into the scar. It was only a sharp pain that quickly went away. "You think I should have?"
"Duh!" Zander plopped down on the floor in front of me. "Then again, that probably would have caused all the other wolves to jump us and that would be bad..."
"Exactly..."
"But..." Zander shook his head. "You have amazing self control for a newborn."
I hummed. "I can't hurt a wolf. It's written into my brain."
"You looked more than ready to crush him."
"I was... Bastard..." I lifted my arm to get a better look at the scar that was warmer than the rest of my body. Just like the scar Jacob gave me. "I was okay with a scar from Jacob but not a wolf I don't know."
"Well, I'm sure we'll never see him again anyway."
"Yea." I titled my head at the scar. "When did he even have time to do this?"
"I don't know... It happened so fast. Even for me."
"I've never seen a wolf in action like that before. Unless you count the time Jacob attacked me... but he stopped... so that doesn't really count."
"They are good adversaries."
I nodded in agreement. "Now both arms are scared..." I pouted lightly, holding my arms out in front of me to look at them.
"Both sides of your neck too." Zander leaned forward and brushed his fingers over the scar he gave me.
"I'm a scarred mess."
"You're still sexy." Zander grabbed my arms and pulled me to him. I fell forward into him willingly. He wrapped his arms around my waist and lifted me up into his lap. I sat in his lap with my legs bent behind him and my arms resting on his shoulders.
"Well thank you."
"I don't think I've ever seen you so pissed off actually." He laughed softly. "It was kinda hot."
I stuck my tongue out at him. "I was attacked by a wolf. You ain't getting any no matter how smooth you try to be."
"Aw..." He pouted, cutely. "Even if I let you top?"
"Even if you let me top." I nodded.
"Aww..." He leaned forward and nuzzled his nose against my throat. "But I'm hungry."
"Well, you'll have to find someone else to satisfy that hunger." I pressed my palms against his shoulders, not really trying to get him off me. I was comfortable in his lap.
"But only you can." He nipped at my neck.
"Hm... Maybe after some food... I'm really hungry..."
He lifted his head and searched my eyes. "Yea?"
"I said maybe."
A grin split across his face. "A maybe is better than a no."
I rolled my eyes and gently kissed him. "Let's go hunt before I eat you instead." I crawled out of his lap.
"But I want you to eat me!" He got to his feet along with me.
I smirked at him. "Of course you do. I feel like a bear. How about you?" I asked while walking out of the dark room.
"Ah! Jade! Wait!" Zander ran after me.
Wish I could hold you up in my arms.
Keep you safe and sound from any harm.
I can't seem to function from this far away.
Every little moment looks so dull without your color in my day.
Oh it feels so good to hear you speak.
This is where I start to miss you more than I can bare.
I hate this distance between us.
I don't think it's fair.
All my time spent wondering how to stay true to you.
But you're not here and now I fear I'll never get back to you.
Would have carried you to anywhere you please.
Even if my limbs were broken and my body was diseased.
I can't seem to operate from this far away.
There's a million little voices telling me I should have stayed.
Oh it feels so good to hear you speak.
This is where I start to miss you more than I can bare.
I hate this distance between us.
I don't think it's fair.
All my time spent wondering how I stayed true to you.
But you're not here and now I fear I'll never get back to you.
My blood aches from trying to make you appear.
Oh it's just an awful sight to just see me in the mirror.
This is where I start to miss you more than I can bare.
I hate this distance between us.
I don't think it's fair.
All my time spent wondering why I stayed true to you.
Cause you're not here and now it's clear I'm never going back to you.
No, I'm never going back to you...
"Jade?! Where'd you disappear off to?"
I turned my head to the door when I heard Zander calling me. "Come find me."
I heard his footsteps on the stairs and soon he appeared at the door. "Ah. What are you doing up here?"
"Did you know there was stuff up here?" I asked him, turning back to the wooden chest in front of me.
"No..." He walked over to me and got on his knees beside me.
"Did you ever wonder what happened to the people that lived here?" I poked at the lock on the chest.
"Not really... I did find it odd though that this house was just sitting here in the middle of nowhere with no one living in it. It obviously hasn't been lived in for a while. But the furniture and everything was left. Like they just disappeared."
"That's what I was thinking. Weird, huh?"
"Yup."
"You think... they wouldn't mind if we went through their stuff?"
Zander chuckled lightly. "They left it so obviously they didn't want it."
"Right." I smiled and easily snapped open the lock. "People always put old stuff and memories in the attic." I removed the lock and opened the chest. It was about the size of a clothes basket. The lid creaked as I opened it. "Clothes..." I moved to sit on my knees and pulled out the white laced piece of clothing.
I had to stand because it was so long. "A wedding dress." Zander said, looking at it from his place on the floor.
"Yea..." I looked it over. It was pretty. A little tinted yellow because of the way it was stored but it was still pretty. It was long sleeved with tiny little beading around the breast area. "It looks old... Really old..."
"Yea. The style is old."
I folded the dress back up and dusted off the floor before placing it beside me. I got back on my knees and dug through the chest. "It's like... their wedding chest..." I pulled out a few wedding pictures. They were old and in black and white.
"Oh wow." Zander plucked one from my hand to get a better look.
The one I was holding was of the bride and groom. They were both young and the bride was wearing the dress beside me. She was really pretty and oddly reminded me of my mother.
"Look." Zander showed me the back of the photograph. "It's dated August 5th, 1938."
I blinked and turned around the picture in my hand. It had the same date written on the back in the same handwriting. "Wow..." I placed the picture down and started to dig more into the box. There were newspaper clippings from around the same time and even the little bride and groom from their cake. "Why would they leave something like this behind?"
"Maybe... their kids had this house and didn't know it was up here?" Zander wondered.
I looked around the attic that was full of old boxes and some old furniture. "You think these boxes are all full of stuff like this?"
"Let's find out." Zander hopped up to his feet and strolled over to a cardboard box. He slipped his finger nail under the tape and cut it open. He flipped open the box and dug into it. "Ah, look at this." He pulled out an old framed photograph. He came back over to me and squatted beside me.
I leaned over his shoulder to get a good look. It was of the same man and woman from the wedding picture only a little older. It looked like a family portrait also in black and white. There were two children. A boy and a girl. Both about the age of eight.
"That box is full of them." Zander stood back up. "It's like they packed everything up before they left."
I nodded and got to my feet as well. Zander went back over to the box he found and went through it. I watched him a moment before going over to another chest that caught my attention. It was newer looking than the rest of the boxes. I titled my head at it before leaning down and pulling it out from under a vanity.
"Look, here's a picture of them outside this house." Zander said, holding up the picture. I looked at him but his eyes were on the small chest in my hands. "What's that?"
"I don't know." I brought it back over to where I was sitting before and placed it on the ground. It was dark brown with red handles and a red lock. It was only a little smaller than the wedding chest. It wasn't worn looking like the other either.
"Well, open it then." Zander got on his knees beside me.
I nodded at him and snapped the lock. It clicked and fell off the chest. I carefully opened the lid and let it fall backwards. It had suspension that kept it from falling all the way back. It was defiantly a newer chest than the wedding one.
It was full of a bunch of different things. Newspaper clippings, pictures, a photo album and a few other things. Zander grabbed the photo album while I reached for the brown teddy bear. It was soft against my fingertips and was a little worn. It wasn't that big, only about a foot tall. It had brown plastic eyes and a little red bow tie around its neck. It was so cute.
"Hey, look at this." Zander nudged my arm. I hugged the bear to my chest and leaned over to look at the album in Zander's lap. "It's like a baby book only not." He flipped through a few pages. "All color." He flipped back to the front. "Ah." Written in permanent marker on the back of the cover was a name and date. "Matthew Alexander Reynolds. April 10th 1989."
I blinked. "He's my age."
Zander glanced at me before flipping to a page of the book. "It goes from him being a baby till he's about sixteen." He flipped to the last page with pictures. The boy in the picture was smiling at the camera, his dark auburn hair reflecting off the flash and his green eyes shining. He had a small dog in his arms and this house was in the background. "He lived here..."
"Why does he have a box dedicated to him?" I wondered aloud before returning to the box. I held the bear in one hand while digging through the box. Zander was content looking through the pictures. I picked up a stray picture of the boy when he was about ten. I guessed that the two people standing with him were his parents. I placed the picture beside me before reaching back into the chest.
I pulled out a newspaper clipping and the headline caught my attention. "'Boy missing in the mountains of Virginia'." I read aloud. Zander scooted closer to me and read over my shoulder as I read it. "'On August 17th of this year, a young boy vanished while visiting his grandparents in the mountains near Grundy, Virginia.'" I skimmed the rest of the article. "It's dated 2005."
"He went missing?"
"This was his grandparents house..."
I put the paper down and pulled out another one. "'Reynolds boy still nowhere to be found.'" I read another headline. I pulled out another article. There were atleast ten of them all about the missing boy from the pictures. The last article was dated January 23rd 2006. "'After months of searching, Matthew Reynolds is still no where to be found. The police have officially called off the search, while claiming that if the boy had gotten lost it was too late for him to be alive. The family is still atleast searching for his body but so far they have found nothing.'"
"That's so sad..." Zander said.
I nodded in agreement with him. "I wonder what really happened to him... It just says he vanished... Not that he wondered into the woods and never came back. You think he was kidnapped?" I asked Zander while putting the newspaper clippings into a pile.
"Who would be way out here and stupid enough to kidnap a sixteen year old?"
"Good point..." I put the newspaper clippings back into the chest. "I feel bad for his family... That's probably why they abandoned this house. I guess these are things that they don't want to remember."
Zander nodded and placed the photo album back into the chest. "Let's go through this stuff later. It's making me depressed." I nodded and closed the chest. "Ah, the bear."
I clutched the bear to my chest. "I'm keeping it."
Zander smiled softly at me. "Alright." He swiftly got to his feet and held out his hand to me. I slipped my free hand into his and he lifted me to my feet effortlessly. "Let's go cuddle on the couch and watch the fire." He tugged on my hand and led me back downstairs.
I stared at the small brown bear that was sitting on my chest. Its eyes were reflecting mine from the small amount of moonlight coming in the window. I shifted on the couch, holding the bear in a sitting position with one hand while the other rested behind my head as a pillow. I could see my own pink-ish eyes reflected in the bear's brown ones. I'd grown attached to the bear I found in that chest in the attic.
That was a few months ago and neither Zander nor I had gone back up there since. I tugged gently at the bear's red tie. A year. It had been about a year since I last saw Jacob. The dull ache in my heart had yet to disappear. It was always there. The bear reminded me of Jacob. That's why I kept it. That's why I was attached to it. I wasn't sure how much longer I could go without him.
"Jade, you're not going to fucking believe this!" Zander's voice echoed down the hallway as his footsteps drew near. I noticed that there were two sets of footsteps and I sensed another vampire. I blinked and sat up, the bear tumbling into my lap. I turned to face the door, curious as to who was with Zander.
Zander entered the room first followed by a slightly taller boy. Zander grinned at me and grabbed the boy's hand, pulling him over to me. "Looky who I found wondering the woods to shy to come say hi to us."
The boy averted his eyes to the ground and if he could have blushed I was sure he would have. I blinked at him in surprise. He looked just like his picture. "Oh my gosh." I got to my feet and approached the auburn haired boy. I carefully grabbed his chin and made his eyes meet mine. His golden eyes searched mine and I could see the slight fear in them.
"I about freaked out when I found him." Zander grinned, letting go of the boy's hand.
I released the boy's chin and smiled at him. "Well I'll be damned..."
"You are!" Zander jumped on me, wrapping his arms around my neck.
I laughed at him. "Well aren't you hyper."
"We have a new friend!" Zander hopped off of me and bounced on his heels. Sometimes, I never really understood his mood swings. He was like a five year old one minute and his normal self the next.
I rolled my eyes at Zander and grabbed the boy's hand. "Come on." He allowed me to pull him to the couch and make him sit down. I picked up the bear that fell onto the floor and sat back down beside the boy, holding the bear in my hands. He glanced at the bear and I could tell he recognized it.
I smiled at him and held it out to him. He cautiously reached out for it before taking it from me. "Don't worry. We won't hurt you or anything. You're one of us."
"Right!" Zander sat down behind me on the couch and rested his chin on my shoulder to watch the boy.
I was turned, my leg bent up on the couch, facing the boy fully. The boy turned the bear over in his hands, nodding a bit. "I'm Jade." He raised his golden eyes to meet mine. "And he's Zander in case he didn't already introduce himself."
"I did." Zander nuzzled my cheek.
"You're... Matthew, right?"
The boy nodded slowly. "Matt."
"Alright Matt. What brings you back here?" He titled his head at me slightly. "We found a chest in the attic that had all these pictures of you and newspaper clippings about your disappearance."
"Oh..." He stared at the bear in his hands. "I haven't been here in years..." His voice was soft and fluid. Not too deep and not to high. I liked it. He was quite handsome too. Still young looking, since he was probably sixteen when he was turned but still attractive.
"What happened?"
"I was... in the woods, playing with my dog when this man came out of no where. I don't really remember much... Just a lot of pain and then I was this." He shrugged. "It took me a while to figure out where I was and what I was. I couldn't come back here... until I knew I could control myself..."
"I know that feeling." I patted his leg.
"Where... are they?" He met my eyes. "My family?"
I glanced at Zander who shrugged. "We... don't know. This house was empty when we found it."
"Oh..." He lowered his eyes to the floor.
"But um, you're more than welcome to stay with us. You're feeding habits are like ours."
Matt raised his eyes and glanced between me and Zander. "But... your eyes..."
"Yea. I know. They're not golden yet. But they will be. I was only turned a year ago and Zander was a human feeder before I came along. So it'll take some time for him."
"Oh... Okay."
"So, do you know much about vampires?"
"Not really... I've avoided other vampires... That's why I didn't approach you guys. I wasn't sure what you'd do."
"Well, then I'm glad Zander got to you first." I smiled at him. "You can stay with us. It's good to have company. Zander can be annoying sometimes but you get used to it."
"Hey!" Zander bopped the top of my head. "That's not funny."
"Ah, but it's true."
Zander pouted cutely at me. "Jade..."
I rolled my eyes. "Ah fine." I kissed him gently. "You're not annoying."
"Yay!" He pounced on me, wrapping his arms around my neck from behind.
Matt blinked at us, his eyes a little wide. "I... didn't realize you two were..."
I blinked back at him. "What?" I glanced at Zander who just grinned at me. "Oh! You mean... We're not. Together I mean. If that's what you were wondering."
"You're so mean, Jade." Zander nuzzled his cheek against the top of my head.
"Well we're not." Matt just smiled softly at us. "Oh, and fair warning, Zander's a sex obsessed machine. So if he hits on you just hit him."
"Hey!" Zander bopped my head again.
"What? You are."
"What if he wants it?"
"Then so be it."
"You won't get jealous?"
"Why the hell would I get jealous?"
"Aw! Jade! You're so mean!"
Matt suddenly started laughing which caused us to stop fighting. Zander and I blinked at each other before looking at Matt. "You two are so funny." He said with a smile on his face.
Zander and I grinned at each other. "Good. So you'll stay?"
"Yea. I'll stay."
"Yay!" Zander hopped off the couch. "Now we've started our own Covent. And Jade is the leader."
"What? Why me?"
"As I said before, because you are the strongest." Zander poked my nose.
I blinked and crinkled my nose. "I am so not leader material."
"You've kept us safe thus far." Zander grinned at me. "You saved us from those wolves, remember?"
"Wolves?" Matt spoke up.
"Yea. He was awesome too."
"It's not like I fought them. I did the mature thing and talked to them." I crossed my arms over my chest.
"Wow. You've survived wolves?" Matt asked, slightly in awe.
"Um... well..."
"He sure has! And he has the scars to prove it. Of course, he hates to show them but still!"
"Could I... see?" Matt asked. "Please?"
I sighed softly and pulled up the sleeve of my shirt to show him the scar left by that stupid wolf a few months ago. "It goes all the way to my shoulder."
"Wow..." He reached out and carefully touched the scar that was a little darker than my normal skin. "It's warm..."
"Weird, huh?"
Matt nodded and trailed his fingers down my arm. I shivered at the feeling causing him to stop. Zander hummed and placed his hand on top of Matt's head. "He does that when I touch them too."
"It just feels different." I told them.
"Right. Well," Zander removed his hand from Matt's head. "I was hunting when I found this cute little thing, so I'm going back to that. I'm hungry."
"Mm. I'll join you." I got to my feet. "You wanna come, Matt?"
"Sure."