ONE MONTH LATER

I grab my bag and head for the exit. I've just finished a yoga class. I never thought it would really help me calm down but it has.

My cell goes.

"Leah."

"It's Joel."

"Well? How did you do?" Joel's gone for a job at a local restaurant.

"Crap." Oh. Poor Joe.

"It can't have been that bad."

"No, it really was."

"Look, I'm just coming out of yoga. I'm going to buy some comfort food and some beer and we are going to take over the sitting room and talk about it ok?"

Living with Joel, Sharon and Lizzie is great. I'm totally free for the first time. I don't even bother to phase anymore. I'm taking classes in yoga and art. I've got a job as a receptionist in an elementary school, which is, admittedly, boring, but it means I've got money and can pay Sharon for my keep. I even have awesome friends for the first time-Grace, Olly, Becca and Connie. And Joel, of course.

I buy food and alcohol and take it back. Joel looks very depressed. He hates his job at McDonald's with a passion. He goes into detail about the terrible interview and I try and be supportive. I usually find it hard-I am quite a selfish person normally, but this is my best friend and I want to help him-and Joel drinks more and more. Eventually he falls asleep on my shoulder, and I gently put him to bed.

I go to my room and look out at the street. It's a nice night. I suddenly get a bizarre urge to phase.

What's that smell?

Shit.

Bloodsuckers.

I clamber out of my window, vibrating madly. I'm barely into the woods when I explode into a wolf.

Leah?

I ignore Seth's voice. I need to concentrate. The parasite was in the woods but..oh god. It's headed into town.

I charge through the trees and burst into a clearing. The leech has been here...

I pick up speed and follow the trail into town. No, no, no, no, no...

I can smell the leech..it's close, very close indeed.

I skid around a corner and into an alley. A girl is lying on the floor, an extraordinarily beautiful woman hunched over her.

I snarl and the bloodsucking bitch turns and grins like a maniac. I growl and she stands up. I skitter back a couple of steps. I need to kill her, but if she attacks me first I'm in trouble.

Leah...

Piss off! I need to concentrate!

Leah I'm in the woods! I've been following her! I'm here!

Seth is in the woods? I'm distracted and the leech takes her chance and jumps for me. I manage to leap out of the way and rip her am off before I run for it. I can hear her behind me, chasing me. I'm fast, but so is she...

BAM.

There's a sound like two lorries colliding and I put the brakes on and skid round 180 degrees. Seth is on the vampire's chest, snickering. He's so cheerful it's inappropriate. I drop her arm.

I jump and rip her other arm off and toss it in another direction. Seth's merrily shredding her legs, but lets me get the head. I carry on busily ripping the leech into small pieces while seth phases and starts a fire. I ver, veru deliberately don't look anywhere near him. Seeing Seth naked would scar me for life. It would be a hundred, million, trillion, gazillion times worse than seeing the other guys naked, which is bad enough. Seth phases back quickly and we burn the bloodsucker as fast as we can.

Cool thinks Seth happily.

Er, Seth...have you got any clothes that I can borrow? I totally wrecked mine.

Only sweats. You can use them, I've got a ton back home, but you'll, er..need a top. He cringes.

I'll find something. Thanks.

No problem. I'll see you next week.

Bye.

He lopes off and I wander back to my shredded clothes. I phase, pull on the sweats and sift my way through the material. I manage to piece together enough bits of material to cover me and run home as quickly as I can. I climb up to my room, holding the makeshift top in my mouth and praying that no one looks out of their window and sees me.

I yank on fresh clothes and jump out of the window. I need to find that girl.

I follow the trail to the alley. I don't recognise the girl. She looks about nineteen, and very pale.

She unconscious but I tell her I'm going to help her anyway. I dial 911 and yell down the phone. She's dying. The leech hasn't bitten her, as far as I can see, but she's gone broken bones, bruises and cuts.

I wait with her until the ambulance arrives. She's loaded into the back and I'm left behind with the police. They want to know everything. Of course I can't tell them that I'm a freak who morphs into a huge dog and that me and my kid brother, who can also turn into a wolf, killed a vampire, who had attacked this girl, so I lie. I tell them that I'd gone for a walk and I heard this snarling. I saw a big-ass dog run and this woman chase it. I hid from them, and was about to leave when I heard this groan and went to investigate, where I found her.

They don't seem convinced by what I've said, but I give them my number and address and they escort me home. Luckily Sharon is dozing in front of the TV because I left my key behind. She lets me in and I go straight up for a shower.

It's only once I'm in bed that it really sinks in. A vampire was about to kill a girl. Here. I ran to leave all of this behind too, not just Sam.

Will I ever escape it?