1 Chapter One

I wandered around the woods, searching for food—my thirst overtaking any thought that seemed rational. Visions of sweet-tasting human blood filled my mind, and my mouth watered with need, even as I tried so hard to ignore the burning feeling that was gradually building in my throat.

I had been travelling for days without anything to sustain my thirst. The thirst was interrupting my vision, my thoughts, and my direction. I realised that I was now in a place that was unknown to me.

All of this because I was trying in vain to flee the coven where I had been born—my maker, who was hot on my tracks trying to find me to take me home.

There was no way I would be going home, not now and not ever. My maker, a pure master of evil, destroyed anything human or anything that had a pulse that crossed his path. Each time he had boasted of his accomplishments, I had cringed, bile building in my throat from the absolute disgust and horror. The weak, innocent humans deserved to know the ultimate danger their lives were in.

I had fled because I didn't belong with them. I belonged to no one. Being on my own was the better way. Everything I taught to others of my coven about the value of the human race had only gotten me laughed at and ridiculed. I couldn't understand at the time why they were so evil and intent on killing, but I guess now it was time for me to learn the way of the world for what it was and what it had become.

My mind was still focused on finding that one thing my body craved. I needed something to satisfy my thirst for a while until I found the place I was looking for. It was the place where they had everything that I needed to stop this thirst from raging through my body and making me want to kill a human, feed off their blood, and end their life. I had only partially heard from the others in my coven about this place. It had sounded magical at the time, but now that I was searching for it and had gotten myself lost, I felt more than a little naïve listening to gossip without checking out any facts.

Suddenly, in the distance, I heard branches cracking and feet shuffling against the forest floor, crunching leaves as they attempted to move silently and swiftly. My head snapped up, and my senses went on high alert because of my lack of food, as the last time I had fed was days ago. I felt afraid for the safety of whoever was creeping through the woods.

I hid for my own safety and theirs; my enemy seemed to move with a swiftness that only my kind could move with, coming toward me faster than I had anticipated.

I hid behind the nearest prickle brush, not caring that it caught my skin, and ignored the red blood that appeared as I kept my eyes fixed on the movement coming from ahead and waited for whoever it was to occur. Their smell left a stench in the air that was unknown to me; their voices sounded soft and dim as they picked up their pace.

I had known from the start that this was an unsafe land; the Gulons made their rounds trying to guard their own prehistoric duties by saving the lives of innocent humans. They would be able to smell us all in the air before long and would then come to hunt us down to destroy us and put us out of our misery—or rather just me! The smell of the unknown group came closer, their rancid smell making me crouch down lower, ready to pounce, ready to fight. With my kind, any other coven's smell was nothing more than a foul odour up until you officially joined their coven, becoming part of them, and making the bad smell vanish.

"I don't see her. Are you sure you saw something?" I heard the female ask. She stood five feet away from my hidden location, her long curls gently swaying against her back as she looked around, trying to find me.

"I did see her! She was there, right in front of me. She was dazzling," a male voice responded.

My smell is older than theirs, and I had learned to control it so that I could protect myself when I needed to. The younger ones, primarily, were not taught the dark arts as I was and couldn't detect it. My teacher was bright—no, more than that, he was an evil genius.

Three more people joined them, and soon all five of them were using their senses to find where I had hidden. But I stayed where I was until I thought their backs were turned, before moving, but only slightly—it was enough to raise their awareness by which I was somewhere close.

"We know you're here," one of them called out. "The Gulons are close by. It won't be long until they find you, and no one can help you once they do. Come with us now, and let us protect you."

Suddenly, another coven member appeared, his body gracefully touching the ground. He was the leader of the group. I could tell his mind was on high alert. He seemed overly cautious as he looked in my direction, where I was crouched down, undetected by his coven.

"Come out now; this isn't a childish game of hide-and-seek. We won't harm you. We are also vampires," he said. He stood with his feet apart, which is a typical fighting stance—a tactic I had learnt centuries ago when I had first been turned.

I sighed inwardly; they had found me. I then realised that a few of them were likely to be from my own era and were adept at tracking as I was.

Without warning, I stood up, taking them all by surprise, except for their leader, who merely smiled at me; his face seemed less imposing. I stood in front of him and his coven with weary eyes and began to stare at them. They returned my stare as if I was a danger to them.

I smelt that the Gulons were getting closer as I thought about their leader, Heracio, Hera, for short. I had met Hera before, and we had become acquainted. His body was lean as any man, but when transformed into a Gulon, a ferocious animal, harmful and deadly to my kind, he was a more significant and lethal adversary than the coven that stood before me.

"I'm Charles Eaves, and who might you be?" the leader asked. He continued observing me as if he were assessing me and whether I posed a danger.

"Marinette," I answered. I was not willing to give any more information. The first rule that I had learnt of fellow vampires, whether they belonged to the same coven as you or not, was to not trust any of them.

My hunger suddenly shot into overdrive, rudely reminding me that I hadn't fed for days. The journey so far had been intense, and I had travelled further than I had initially anticipated, escaping the life that my maker forced me to endure. He had made me feel like I was a prisoner and his personal slave for centuries.

"Well, Marinette," he snapped. "The Gulons are after you. You know they have been out on the hunt for you for days, right?"

Slowly, I shook my head in answer. My mouth started to burn along with my throat, a powerful reminder that I needed food and fast.

"Come," he ordered. "You're in danger here and putting everyone else in danger by standing there."

I looked at him, wondering how he could seem so demanding to someone he had just met. He reached out with his hand towards me, and I slowly took it, thinking I would rather die a death from a vampire than death by a Gulon.

I stopped when I realised that my need to feed made me want to go with them. Being a hungry vampire can cause you to do crazy things.

"You know what, I don't think I will. But thanks all the same," I managed to respond while pulling my hand free.

Did he honestly think I would happily walk hand in hand with him to some unknown place? I wasn't a newborn, and I wasn't naive; luckily, my common sense came back to me before I made a catastrophic mistake that could have cost me my life.

I lived in silence for centuries, afraid to speak because of my coven and maker. I was different from all of them, and for that, I was persecuted.

"Hi, I'm Melody," the blond-haired person at Charles's side said. "Charles can be a little demanding. Don't worry about him," she grinned. "We won't harm you if that's what you're worried about. Come with us, if only to feed."

Demanding wasn't the word that I would use. Bossy was more like it. Charles's leadership skills needed to be sharpened, a little into something akin to politeness. He certainly reminded me of Hervidor, the coven's leader I had fled from and my maker. Hervidor began a never-ending sequence that required us all to perform heinous acts of killing humans so that he could maintain his superiority over the rest of the covens. He wants to create a super army of vampires that would grant him success as the most potent coven leader.

"What if I do come with you? Would you expect me to stay?" I asked suddenly as I watched them warily.

There wasn't anything even remotely amusing about this situation. They all laughed at my question. Why would they laugh at me?

"No, of course, we won't expect you to stay," Charles said. "You can leave freely any time you want to. No one here will stand in your way, but we don't have a lot of time for you to decide; the Gulons are getting closer." He looked away and inhaled deeply, no doubt smelling the Gulons' scent to decipher how far away they were.

Gulons were the biggest threat to vampires. As large as any bear, their cat-like features and bodies could rip a vampire apart in seconds. They had their own history and ancestry that stemmed back even before my human days. Their primary existence was to protect humans from anything paranormal, such as vampires. It wasn't all-out hate towards creatures from the Gulons, just those that fed on humans and jeopardised the human race.

"It's too late, the Gulons are here . . ." Charles said, turning around in the direction of the incoming Gulons.

I watched from behind this new and strange coven as the Gulons appeared one by one; their tales were swinging back and forth with their speed. I knew this was my fault entirely; I just hoped that Hera recognised me.

"Ah, Charles, we meet again. And who is this?" the leader and the largest of the Gulons asked as he transformed himself into a human form.

It was truly a magical sight to see a Gulon transform even though they were naked once they transformed back to human. The Gulon leader untied the shorts wrapped around his ankle and put them on while I started to blush profusely.

"This is Marinette, our cousin. She's visiting, and we are just about to head home," Charles lied as the leader edged closer.

"Hmmm . . . So, what gives me the impression something isn't right here?"

"Heracio, I don't know. There isn't anything to worry about; you've all had a waste of a journey. We merely came to meet our cousin to guide her to our home," he said, "as I'm sure you can see, she is incredibly hungry and in need of food. Her thirst won't hold out for much longer," Charles answered as he gestured toward me.

"Oh, I see. Well, forgive me for intruding if your cousin is hungry," Hera replied sarcastically. "I bet she would love to eat some of the humans we have in the village."

The gang of Gulons continued watching me closely, any sudden movement, and I was pretty sure I would be losing a few limbs.

"It's not like that," Charles snapped. "She is just weak after a long journey, that's all. You know when she's with us, no harm comes to humans."

"Let me see her," Heracio demanded as the other Gulons flanked each side of him.

I stepped forward; a feeling of dread began in the pit of my stomach, knowing that he would surely realise who I was.

"Nessy," he said and gaped at me. "What are you doing here?" his entire posture changed from being ready to fight to one of pure shock.

Heracio recognised me immediately like I knew he would. He always preferred to call me Nessy rather than Marinette.

"Hera, nice to see you," I said. "I've left my coven, and these people sensed I was here and came to investigate. Charles is correct; I haven't fed for a few days, Hera, so please don't come any closer," I answered, watching Charles cringe when he noted that he had been caught lying.

"You know these Gulons, Nessy?" Charles asked as he stood next to me. His body radiates power and overshadows my own small frame. I began to play with the ends of my hair that had grown with excessive speed and now reached lower than my backside.

I looked up to Charles and wondered if I should just lie to him or explain what was happening and that I was running away from a very evil vampire, but I knew it would ruin his peaceful existence. It was far better for everyone to forget they had met me and to keep moving, putting as much distance as I could between Hervidor and me.

"I do," I said. "This is my friend, Heracio, the leader of the Gulons, but I guess you know that part," I smiled slightly. "You can all go, now that you know who I am."

I tried to fathom why Charles had moved closer to my side and why his eyes remained firmly fixed upon my face. I felt my face start to burn with embarrassment. He kept on staring at me as if he hadn't heard anything I had just said. I couldn't help but stare back and feel a magnetic pull towards him. I've never felt anything like this before.

"Not without you," he replied firmly. "We will leave when you decide to come with us. It's not safe for you when your thirst is so out of control. You do know that others can sense your thirst; it's a beacon radiating light calling vamps everywhere to hunt!"

Suddenly, Heracio burst out laughing once Charles finished speaking. He was soon joined by his Gulon followers as they, too, understood the impossibility of me feeding off anything human or not already dead. I wasn't like a typical vampire; I refused to kill anyone human, I missed my human life, I had wanted to die of old age, but instead, Hervidor had turned me and destroyed me by doing so. To me, humans were sacred; their lives meant more than my now undead one.

"What? Nessy, feed? You obviously don't know her," Heracio said, trying not to laugh again, as the snickering behind him continued, and the Gulons eyed the other vampires.

Here we were standing in front of them, seven vampires, including me.

"Obviously not!" Charles retorted angrily. "So, Nessy, do you want to come with us?" Charles asked as he pointedly looked away from Heracio in disgust.

"I suppose I don't have any choice unless I want you all testosterone-fuelled men to start fighting among yourselves, do I?" I answered.

Charles smiled as he realised I had followed his command, and I had no other option at this moment. To say I was shocked and more than a little angry. Once again, I had fallen into the hands of yet another control freak, the one who thought he could lead a coven, but at what price did Charles lead his coven?

I lifted into the air simultaneously as Charles did, making him reel in shock. The others of his clan could only follow below us on foot. Only a few selected vampires left that could fly, and even then, it had to be passed onto you by your maker. Hervidor had unknowingly passed this trait onto me. Sometimes it was useful, but I preferred to walk or run; I still wanted to retain a sliver of my humanity.

The rest of his coven were clearly still immature, and their inability to fly was probably only one skill among many that they lacked. I sensed that Charles, however, was different; he seemed to have a powerful aura around him that was intriguing

Charles led the way through the air. Although it was winter and the frost lay heavily on the ground beneath us, and our bodies were technically dead, neither of us felt the cold nor the biting wind as it whirled its way around us. I looked down, and the area underneath looked mystical, glittering where the frost lay on the surfaces below.

I watched the ground below us, my eyes focused sharply on the coven as they ran through the fields and slowed to a human-like pace the closer they got to the village. Charles suddenly pulled my hand in the direction of the treetops for better coverage.

Humans were still oblivious that vampires walked among them, and I was sure they would certainly begin to freak out if they saw people flying. I pulled my hand from Charles's grasp, and an instant feeling of loss overcame me, a feeling that I hadn't felt before and didn't understand.

Charles looked at me and then settled close to my side as he guided me along the path he had chosen. I knew that soon, Charles would want answers as to how I knew Hera and how he knew me. Nevertheless, they were answers that I couldn't give without revealing my true identity, and if I did that, it could get his entire coven killed.

"How much further?" I asked, sensing my barrier against preserving human life start to give way as the smell of fresh blood floated in the air. I held my breath, so the scent couldn't penetrate my mind and make me lose the will to never feed off a human.

"Not much further. Hold on in there. You're doing well."

"Hah, so much, you know. I've gone a lot longer than this without food before, but the smell is so tantalising."

"Really?" he questioned. "Be prepared to answer questions just as soon as we get to our place," Charles said as we flew across the skies, ducking under the coverage of the trees. Charles started to hold me close to his side; I guess he saw the change in my eyes when I smelt the blood.

I tried my hardest to hold my breath from the smell of human blood, but there was nothing that could block the sounds of their heartbeat.

The beating of their hearts filled me, and my strength started to weaken. I suddenly felt the urge to fly down take what I needed to survive.

"No! Stay with me. We're nearly there," Charles ordered, his strong arms holding me even tighter, and right then, I didn't mind. I would rather he held me back than feed and feel the remorse of stealing someone's life afterwards.

"I can't do this. The smell. The noise," I groaned as I struggled against the thought of the humans below and their warm, sweet-tasting blood.

"Try. Don't give in now!" he shouted back.

We raced across the sky, with me cradled firmly at his side. The town started to vanish from beneath us, and the ground cleared to show fields and the mountains up ahead of us. The smell dimmed from my senses, and the noise of the heartbeats seemed so far away, making me feel a little more at ease with Charles as he held me tightly.

When a house appeared, I breathed a sigh of relief. I knew my journey from hunger was nearly over, so long as they had a meal that I preferred, and I wasn't entering a coven that had no morals like my last one. I had already fled one of those, and the last thing I needed was another person to control me and to try to get me to take a human's life when they weren't ready to depart the world into which they had been born.

Just like me, when I wasn't born a vampire, and I hadn't been ready to leave the life I had led three hundred years ago. My life then was nothing but perfect; the times were tough but no more onerous than now. My parents were happy and in love, and since I had become a vampire on that fateful night, I had not bitten anyone. No human blood had passed my lips; instead, I existed on the blood of rats and scoured the dirty streets and back alleys for anyone dead. It certainly wasn't anything to be proud of, and every vampire I met over the years laughed at me and thought I was insane, feeding off of individuals that had already died. But I never killed anyone, which is one fact that I feel proud of.

"Are you all right?" Charles asked as we descended to the ground gracefully.

"I'm fine. What food do you have?" I asked as I stumbled forward slightly, my body starting to react to the lack of nourishment.

"Human blood, but it's the blood that humans can't use because it's infected. Perfect for us, though." He answered. "Why? Is there a problem?" He asked as he reached out to steady me.

I managed to shrug off Charles's grip on my arms and regained my balance. I looked around, and I immediately observed my surroundings. Mountains and greenery surrounded us while the magnificent white house stood serenely on the side of the hill.

"I only drink rats' blood or from a corpse," I answered as I gawked at my surroundings.

"Rat blood? Corpse?" he questioned.

"Yes. I refuse to drink human blood. Ever since I was turned, I have never had anything other than blood from a recently passed corpse or rat blood if I can't find anyone dead. Do you have rat blood or not?" I demanded as I turned around to meet his confused gaze.

"Funny enough, no, we don't. However, feel free to climb down into the cellar to get some of your own. Can I ask why you prefer rat or corpse blood?" Charles asked, raising a brow. "It's not like we kill humans; the blood is given freely and tested, which is deemed unfit for humans."

"Because I don't plan on drinking any human blood that hasn't come from a dead person; this way, I'm not a full vampire. You're only a complete vampire if you drink blood that has originated from a live human. And once my maker is dead, I can resume my life," I answered.

"Your maker is who?" Charles asked as he leaned against the nearest tree and took a long hard look at me.

"My maker's identity doesn't really matter, does it? Where's the cellar?" I asked. "Because it looks like I have to catch my own dinner, after all." I move away from him and wait for an answer.

"Don't be absurd. Having human blood that is given freely but is useless to humans is perfectly acceptable; whoever told you that entire pack of lies is laughable. You should try it?" Charles offered.

"If you don't mind, I'll take a rain check this time. But I wouldn't mind rats if that's all the same to you," I said as we crossed the lawn separating us from the house.

My smile remained sweetly etched upon my face; the last thing I needed right now was another enemy trying to track me down, another one to fight for my own freedom.

"You really are a mystery," he said quietly. "You know drinking the blood I offer won't change the fact that you haven't killed a human or the fact that if your maker gets killed, you will become human once again.' Charles muttered calmly as he took my arm and guided me toward the entrance to the great house that his coven lived in.

"Won't it?" I asked.

I moved slowly forward, following Charles, when I really should have just shrugged him off right at the start. His touch was unnerving, as was his voice, and it stirred something inside me, making me want to stop and touch him more. But no, he was just another coven leader that I needed to run away from. Romance at this stage of my survival was a definite no! I would not allow it to interfere in my plans to live my own life, the existence that I wanted, and not something that was thrust upon me from someone in the upper echelon of the vampire world.

"No. Trust me, I won't let anything hurt you or cause you heartache or knowingly let you sacrifice your beliefs and way of surviving so long as you never harm a human while you remain here with us."

"My heart? I don't have one of those, it was stolen from me a long time ago, and I became a monster," I replied as I turned to face Charles.

"I know your pain; I understand, just trust in me. I won't let anything stand in your way. I have everything in this house that you need to survive. Come with me," he said as he held out his hand.

I stood there before Charles, unsure of whether I should trust him. In the past, members of my own coven had tried to trick me with their evil ways, but I remained steadfast about not eating humans for my own survival. Neither of us asked for the lives we led, and I wasn't going to appease myself by taking theirs to survive. As I reached out to take his hand, a car horn beeped from behind us. The sound of a human heart beating, a perfect, steady rhythm reached my ears, the sound of blood rushing through their veins, and the sound of breathing accelerated my senses.

My mind suddenly began filling with visions of fresh human blood, and suddenly, I feared losing control of my own principles. I started running forward with Charles in hot pursuit, his footsteps trying to keep up as we pounded the earth, both of us trying to reach the human. Still, for different reasons, my own was to quench the thirst that I needed to fill my veins—Charles's, to save the human that was unaware of his terrible fate.

"Nessy, wait! Don't! He's a friend," Charles shouted as I sped toward my intended victim.

And as I tracked the sound of the heartbeat and the scent of the blood that filled my nostrils and my very being, Charles was still in pursuit while shouting orders to the coven.

When we reached the gravel driveway, the human stood flanked by all the members of the coven, each one prepared to take me down if I tried to fight my way through. Slowly, I realised my greatest fear had come true; I hungered for fresh human blood!

"Stop! Nessy! You don't need to do this. We can't let you. He's a friend making his delivery of supplies to us," Charles growled as he grabbed me around the waist and pulled me against him, holding me captive until I could think straight.