"But Zoey, we're bonded!" Stark yelled at me as he rose from the bed in a fit. "What kind of mind games are you playing here? First you're bonded to a human of all things, you cheat on Erik with Loren from what I heard, you created a bond with him, and then you created a bond with me because you caught him with Stevie Rae. What are you? A whore?"

The last bit really did sting. I couldn't help but to start to tear up, but I knew that this is what was expected. I was a whore. I was just as much a hag as Aphrodite was before she met Darius, now I envied her and the fact she could latch onto one guy. I had always thought that I was a hoe in my mind, but I had never been called it to my face. "I'm sorry" was all I could think to say.

"Is that all you have to say for yourself? I'm sorry? Come on Zoey. I thought we had a connection, are you not telling me something?" Stark searched for any last bit of resolve in my face.

"I don't know what to say. I do love you. I really do. I just think that I've always had feelings for Erik and we just didn't have time to resolve those feelings, so they are still there. Plus, I feel a connection to him that I don't feel with anyone else, not even you."

"Fine. Well, you can go run back to him. Don't expect me to like it or approve of it. I will fight for you because you're our High Priestess, but us, this you and me, is no more. I can't do this Zoey. You can't play with my emotions. You can't toy with people!" Stark yelled at me before he turned to walk out the door.

"Stark! No, wait!" I yelled after him. "Please don't go!"

"No, there is no more to say, you've said what you wanted and now I'm leaving." His eyes were cold as he slammed the door shut.

I have to admit it, I deserved his rash reaction. I couldn't help but to feel sad and upset by it though. I really did love Stark. There were lots to love about him. He was sweet, loving, and gentle. He was always there for me, he brought me food when he felt I wasn't feeding enough and he was always slow with me when we were intimate. Thinking about his kisses made me smile. However, I knew in my heart that no matter how close we were, no matter how much I really did feel that we might be soul mates, he wasn't the person I was chosen to be with and Nyx told me that. I was blind to her will and now she was pulling me back towards it.

"Knock, Knock!" Stevie Rae said as she poked her head into my room. "Everything ok?"

"I just broke it off with Stark" I said very glumly.

"Oh, my dear sweet lord. You alright?" she asked as she sat on the bed with me putting her arm around my shoulders to comfort me.

"I don't know. I thought it was the right thing to do. Now I just feel miserable and like a whore." I dropped my head as tears began to flow out.

"Oh Z, your not a whore. So you have a little bit of boy drama. Who cares? We all go through it. Sometimes, we need to make mistakes in order to see how to make it right." Stevie Rae smiled as she kissed my temple. "It will be ok. You've got all of us; you're the new High Priestess! Now, let's get you cleaned up and ready for dinner. You need to feed anyways."

I shrugged my shoulders and got off the bed to head into the bathroom in order to clean up. I looked at myself in the mirror and thought of what I had just done. Did I really make the right decision? I was able to tell Stark everything. Was it a mistake breaking things off with him? I felt my stomach gurgle, which I wasn't sure was the fact I was hungry or if it was Nyx telling me something. I looked at the marks on my face, which were framing from my brow down to the middle of my cheeks in lace patterns. The patterned repeated down my neck and through my back twisting around my arms and legs like vines on a tree. I was covered. There was no mistaking that I was chosen by Nyx for something great. Does a High Priestess make so many mistakes when it comes to her personal life? I just didn't know.

I huffed, splashed some cold water on my face and dried it off with a small hand towel before I met Stevie Rae back in the bedroom to head to the dining hall.

"Cheer up doll. Everything will be ok" Stevie Rae said as she linked her arm in mine and we walked out of the dorms only to meet with Stark as he seemed to be walking back towards them.

"Hey Stevie Rae" he said first then looking to me. "I'm sorry Z. I said some harsh words and I'm sorry."

I couldn't even bare to look at him. Not that I was angry with him, for he had every right to be mad at me, I was ashamed. "It's ok" I muttered shuffling my feet on the ground. "I understand why you're upset and you have every reason to be."

Stark stepped closer to me and I looked up into his puppy dog brown eyes as he held my face in his hands. "Zoey, I love you. I will always love you, even if that means taking a back seat to my brother." He softly kissed me on the lips and turned and walked away.

"See, I told you all would be alright." Stevie Rae nudged me.

"Yeah, but it doesn't make me any less a whore that these guys want to be with me and I can't decide who. I guess when I think about it, I'm more like my mom than I really anticipated."

"How so?" Stevie Rae asked as we continued through the courtyard.

"I wouldn't say that my mom necessarily loved my step-loser when she married him. She liked the comfort in knowing someone would take care of her, be good to her, regardless how he treated her children. When my Dad left, my mom went from boyfriend to boyfriend to boyfriend. She's never been alone in her life. I guess I can say the same about myself. I've always been with someone, never just on my own."

"Well, maybe that's not such a bad thing. You may not know what you want, but Nyx does." Stevie Rae smiled at me. Her flower patterned markings framed her face and made her smile that much brighter.

When we got to the dining hall we went right over to sit with the rest of the group who was unusually quiet. "What's up? Why all the glum faces?" I looked around to see everyone but Jack. "Where's Jack at? I wanted to talk to him about the induction tomorrow."

Damien burst out into tears and put his head on his arms which were crossed over on the table. I went immediately over to him, "Damien, what's wrong? Did something happen to Jack?"

Damien just sobbed after sob. Shaunee and Erin spoke up in very low voices, "He's afraid that Jack's rejecting the change. Jack fell ill a little bit ago. Neferet is tending to him, but she said it doesn't look good."

"Oh no! No, not Jack!" I said. "Wait, have you seen Erik? He might be able to help."

"I don't see how other than ruining other plans or people's lives" Shaunee countered.

"If you remember correctly, Nyx gave him a gift of healing. He might be able to help Jack." I snapped back at her.

I got up and looked around the dining hall to see Erik talking with Dragon just outside of the Professor's Lounge. I ran to him yelling his name, not caring that I was alerting just about the entire school.

"Erik! Come quickly!" I said hastily.

"Z, what's the matter?" Erik asked me worriedly. "Did something happen?"

"It's Jack."

"Where is he?"

"With Neferet. Probably in the infirmary. You have to help him. They are afraid he is rejecting the change."

"Ok, take me to him and I'll see what I can do" Erik grabbed my hand and lead me out of the doors of the dining hall. Damien managed to get up off his arms and followed us out in hopes that we might be able to save the boy that he loved.

We ran as fast as we could to the infirmary, which we were pretty sure is where Neferet had taken Jack. This wasn't the first time that Jack was in danger, for her started to reject the change in the tunnels just a few months ago. My heart ached for Damien and I silently sent Spirit to him. When we reached the door to the infirmary Damien stopped dead in his tracks and just stared at the door.

"I don't know if I can go in there Z."

"Sure you can Damien, Jack needs you" I said trying to comfort him.

"I don't know if I can watch him die" Damien started to cry again.

"If I can do anything about that, you won't have to." Remarked Erik who was opening the door and ushering us through.

Inside was Neferet hovering over Jack who looked to be fast asleep. "Is he ok?" I asked.

"Zoey! No, I'm afraid he is not. He is rejecting the change. I don't know if I can do much else for him other than to make him comfortable." Neferet replied.

I felt Damien's hand clenching to my arm. "Can I stay with him?" he asked.

"Normally I wouldn't, but I'll make the exception this once." Neferet told him. "Here, keep this warm compress on his forehead, it seems to be easing the pain little by little for him.

Damien did as instructed and took a very deep breath as he approached Jack. He stroked his cheek with the back of his fingers and brushed the hair from his face then slowly bent down to give him one last kiss on his lips as he whispered into his ear. Damien held the compress to Jack's head and held Jack's hand at the same time. I felt so bad for Damien as he was so close to Jack. I hated that this was happening just as we were all about to be inducted to the High Council.

Neferet walked up to Erik and smiled then looked down to meet and took my hand, "Let's talk"

"Neferet?" Erik interrupted. "I might be able to help him, while you are away with Zoey, if you do not mind, I would like to try."

"You may, but I'm not sure how much good it will do. He has lost much blood after I brought him here and he is almost gone." Neferet said turning towards Erik but keeping a low voice to keep from disturbing Damien. "If it does not work, please be mindful of a hurting lover by his side."

Erik nodded and went to stand next to Damien by Jack's side. Neferet ushered me out of the infirmary and shut the door behind us. "Zoey, I know this must be very difficult for you as I know you and your friends were very close to Jack. He was a smart, joyful young lad who always managed to brighten all our spirits."

"I just don't understand Neferet, he was fine when I saw him just an hour or so before. I didn't see any distress. I didn't feel anything"

"Sometimes the rejection is so sudden that there are no symptoms or signs that can be seen until it is too late. He was brought to me early enough that I hoped I could help, but once we reached the infirmary, he was spewing blood everywhere. Once he stopped I placed him in a deep slumber so that he could rest and find peace with Nyx. I don't believe there is anything else we can do for him. I'm sorry" Neferet pulled me into her arms and held me in a tight embrace as I shed a small tear for Jack. "Terrible things happen to sometimes the best people Zoey. As High Priestess you will have to see and attend to those things."

I nodded acknowledging what she was telling me. It was true, sometimes the best people often died with little to no warning. Sister Mary from the Abby has befallen by the Raven Mockers when she tried to get Grandma out of the Hospital. Bless her heart she was a good woman, but she had achieved her calling. Life isn't fair, and especially not any different being a Vampire opposed to a Human. That is what I knew now.

I turned to go back inside to find Damien huddled in the corner crying as Erik was pulling the sheet over Jack's lifeless body. "My you find greener fields and happiness with Nyx brother." Erik said the sheet fell over Jack's once animated and joyful face. I couldn't help but to feel so overwhelmingly sad. I rushed to Damien and wrapped my arms around him and asked Spirit for a little extra comfort.

"Why! Why Jack? Why does the Goddess punish me!" Damien cried.

"Oh Damien, Nyx isn't punishing you. She is showing you strength." I hugged him tighter and remembered the words that Neferet had told me, "Sometimes, good people are taken away from us with little or no warning. Bad things happen to good people all the time, and we can't hold ourselves any higher than that just because we are Vampires."

Damien cried and cried on me until there was no more blood left to shed. His body became weak and limp from his loss of blood to the point Erik had to help me stand him up. I went to fridge and got out a pouch of blood and punctured it with a straw for Damien to drink. She smacked my hand away, "Leave me" he said.

"You need your strength Damien" I told him urging him to take the pouch.

"I am no longer thirsty." His eyes averted from both Erik and I. I looked up at Erik who shrugged his shoulders and turned to walk out of the infirmary. I wasn't going to leave Damien so soon.

I crouched down on my knees and held Damien's face up so he would look at me. "You listen to me, as not only your High Priestess, but your friend Damien Maslin. I'm sorry for what happened to Jack. I really am. I wouldn't have wished it on anyone, especially not him. But you know good and well those things like this happen. Sometimes its unexpected and other times, it's not. We just can't know for sure if someone will accept the change or not."

"Can your Dad bring him back like he brought me back?" Damien's eyes looked hopeful.

I hated to bring him down. My Dad had left for Europe for a conference with the Vampire Coven in Italy. He wouldn't be back for months. "I'm sorry, he's gone. He won't be back for months from now and that's just too long to wait."

I held Damien tight in my arms until he was finished crying. As students in the House of Night, we are taught that death is a very normal occurrence. We are, by nature death. To grieve for those who were lost, should be minimal. I find that hard to do when you lose someone as close as Damien was to Jack. I remember how hard I took it when I thought I lost Stevie Rae. I could sympathize with him.

"Can I have a minute alone with him?" Damien asked.

"Sure, you want me to wait outside?"

"No, go ahead and go, I'll meet you guys at the dorms later" Damien stood and looked over towards Jack's body.

"Damien" I said as he turned his head towards me, "I'm really sorry. If you need anything, just come get me. I'm always here for you"

"Thanks Zoey"

I slowly walked out of the infirmary leaving Damien with his lifeless love only to meet up with Erik who was waiting for me outside. He smiled and took my hand and we walked together back to the dorms. Where this was going, I haven't a clue, but this time, I'm going to let Nyx decide what path I should be on.