Preface
His eyes, a light grey colour, were getting darker at the minute : and they were directed straight at me. I staired back, wondering what he wanted : I was just a normal girl. Except everyone I knew said I had a special charm : did this stranger know that? He came closer and closer : till he was hovering over me in the night. My breathing got louder and louder but he took no notice : his eyes were fixed on my neck. I could feel my heart pounding in my ears, the bells ringing for the New Years and the people, just feet away from the alley I was cornered in, were chanting the countdown, something I would be doing right now if I wasn`t gettin more juice. I looked into the dark, but bright, eyes of the man, and his face, inches away from mine, sprung up and he struck.

Chapter 1
It was 1:00 in the afternoon : the day was dragging on in the boring shop I worked in. Quick-Stop, was empty, due to the tragic event I hated more than ever : Christmas Eve. That was a lie : I hated Christmas day worse. After years of begging for at least one present, I decided to hate the holiday. A customer finally walked in after 4 hours of nothing, just sitting about. He was obviously getting his Christmas dinner for tomorrow, cause, he had two baskets filled with food and crackers. He approached the counter and sat his stuff down. "Is that all, sir?" I asked in my fake, enthusiastic voice. "Yeah, that`s me," he replied. He pulled out his wallet. I checked the price and said, "That`ll be $27:53." He nodded and asked, "Business is slow, I`m guessing?" He must have saw my expression when he walked in. I sighed. "Yeah, I just don`t understand why everyone makes a big deal out of it." I smiled and gave him back his change. He grinned back and walked out the shop. I was about to sit back down but my best friend, Emily, walked in. "About time!" I whispered to myself. I smiled and she suddenly said "Okay, you`re smiling weirdly and you`re talking to yourself, something`s, obviously, up." She reads me so well. "Well, I`m annoyed at this stupid holiday! Why won`t everyone stop talking about it? Ooh, I`m getting presents. Ooh, my family`s gonna be there!" I mimicked the children that came into the shop with their happy parents. My parents, divorced and not talking to each other, never got around for the holiday`s : I didn`t want them to, anyway. She laughed and I looked up, forgetting her presence in the room. "I know you hate the holiday`s but because your my friend, I got you something." She pulled a purple, velvet case out from her bag and held it out to me. I took it and nearly dropped it : it was quite heavy. I almost forgot that I had gotten her something too. I sat it down and smiled. "What...?" she asked. I shook my head and put up my finger. I reached down into the 4th shelf below me and retrieved a wooden, heart-shaped box. Her face suddenly turned to surprise. "What have you done with my friend?" she whispered. I grinned and said, "Do you want to open them at the same time?" "No, it`s too tense!" she replied. I nodded my head and answered, "You first." She shook her head and opened the wooden box. She gasped. She held up the necklace and it sparkled in the sunlight. The rainbow coloured star shone as the rainbow-effect hit off it. "It`s beautiful," she whispered. She looked up and said, "Thank you, so much. I can`t even explain how beautiful it is. Thank you." I smiled at her and took the heavy velvet case from the counter and opened it. In it, lay a beautiful ring, necklace and earrings set. The earrings, gold and sapphire studded diamonds, had a pink trim around the diamond. The necklace, a heart, in the colour of sapphire, my birthstone, was inside a locket that said 'Best Friends Are Always In Your Heart.' The ring, a gold circle and a star placed in the middle, was purple, my favourite colour. I looked up, shyly. sat it down and stepped put from the counter. I hugged her fiercely and she must have been confused because this wasn`t my normal behaviour. She hugged me back lightly. I pulled away and put the three pieces of jewellery on. The necklace sat there perfectly, like it was meant to be there, all along. Another customer walked in, ruining the moment. She had a bright red jumper on with green trees all around it, and welly-boots, cause of the snow. She picked up a magazine, a really popular one, in fact, and brung out the latest purse. I sighed, scanned her stuff and said, "That`ll be, $1:20, please." And I didn`t have to use my fake enthusiastic voice. I was already happy. "Thank you, please come again!" I shouted as she hurried out into the cold. Emily looked at me and looked a little creeped out but I didn`t care. I just grinned at her until she looked away. The shop got busier by the minute and Emily offered out to help. I needed an extra pair of hands anyway. After we closed the shop, I walked Emily home : her victorian house was a couple of blocks down the road from the shop, so I walked her. When I got in, hope filled me and before I went to bed, I whispered to myself, "Please be a normal Christmas" and I hoped until I fell asleep. When I woke up, everything had changed.

Chapter 2 "Tanya Allishya Renaree! Get down here this instant!" my mother roared at me. I blinked, confused. What was happening? "Your siblings want to open their presents!" my father shouted up at me. What presents? I fumbled around my bedside table until I found my small, purple desk lamp. I blinked at the brightness of the lamp : was it ever that bright? "Coming!" I shouted, running down the white grand staircase. My mother and father together : in the same room? I went into my bathroom to get changed. I got out of my 'Bye bye going to bed!' jammies and put on jeans and a t-shirt. I brushed my teeth and brushed my tangled hair. "Rough night," I whispered to myself. "Tanya!" my sister, Melanie shouted. I`m seriosuly gonna kill her. "I`m just coming!" I screeched at her. I could hear her sigh : she was kinda out to get me. I ran down the other set of stairs to the living room where the big Christmas tree sat. I had decorated it nicely last night before going to bed. They were all staring at me : I looked at my clothes and there was nothing there. "What? Your kinda creeping me out," I said with a smile. They nodded to the tree and I looked down : sitting there, piled up, were presents. I went over to them hesitantly, looking for any sign of a joke. There seemed to be no joke so I picked one up. It felt heavy, I weighed it on my left hand. I opened it and my jaw dropped. There, in the box, was something I had wanted for months. I opened it, and there, sat in a glass case, was The Twilight saga books and DVD`s. I smiled, sat it down and hugged my parents. "Thank you," I whispered to them. They replied with an 'It`s allright' and I started opening the presents and got the things I had wanted for months. That night, I phoned Em`s and told her all about the presents and the movie we watched and how perfect it was. She listened and told me about her day and howshe had something to tell me. When she told me I froze, totally unaware of my surroundings. It was when I woke up, I realised I had fainted. And then I remembered what Em`s had told me.

Chapter 3
I woke up with people crowded round me and I found out where i was : in a hospital room. I don`t know why but the beeping noices from the machines made me feel nausuated. I reached for the bucket and everyone looked away. Everyone asked me if I was alright. After a while, I decided it was my turn to ask the questions. "Well? How is she?Has she recovered?" I asked slowly, needing more air than usual : all I knew was that I fainted, but they were obviously hiding something.... "Well, she`s not doing good, hun. When the guy broke in she put up a fight : and she broke her rib. He punched her in the ribcage. She`s in ICU, I`m so, so sorry hun. They think she`s going to make it, though." my mother told me in a soft whisper. "Can I see her?" I asked : there had to be something I could do. My mother shook her head, sadly. "She`s not really well enough for visitors : not even her parents are allowed in, " my father replied. I started to cry : if only she hadn`t left her purse at the shop on Christmas Eve......My breathing went mad and I was suddenly losing breath. A string of nurses came in and while all of them did different things to find out what was wrong, my mother stared at me with worry in her eyes. 'You don`t have to worry'I mouthed to her. 'Yes, yes I do.'
When the doctors went away, my brother Gary came in and asked me how I was and made sure everything was okay : he was the overly-helpful type of brother. "Seriously, I`m fine!" I whispered. He put on a weak smile, nodded his head and sat and talked to our mum about what was going to happen. They spoke quietly deliberately, so I wouldn`t hear what they were saying. Occasionally, they would look round to me but would quickly whip there head back round when they saw I was looking at them. It was going to be a long night. When they didn`t even make an attempt to tell me what was happening, I just lay my head on the pillow, and slept.

Chapter 4
I woke-up and looked around. There was a nurse there and she was probably waiting for me to get up. I blinked and then I sat up, looking for my parents : there they were, asleep on the bench beside me. I blinked again before saying, "What`s wrong?" The nurse looked behind her at my parents and she looked back to me and she whispered, "I want to speak with you about why you fainted : your parents said this month you have fainted more than one, yes?" I nodded : what did that have to do with anything? "Oh, dear," the nurse whispered as she walked away : was anyone going to tell me what was going on? When my parents got up, they walked over to me with a smile on their faces. "What?" I asked. They looked around and said, "The nurses said you might be able to come home today!" "What? The nurse said...was that an act?" I whispered. My parents nodded and I stared at them, shocked. "What, is the whole thing with Ems some trick? Where you just doing that to freak me out. Because it worked!" I shouted. "No, that wasn`t an act. The nurse thing when she was saying you had fainted more than once and all that was an act. The fainting thing isn`t why your in here..." my father drifted off. I felt dizzy. i put my fingers to my forehead. Everything was shaking, and I was losing my grip on the arm rests of the bed. All I could hear was, 'Tanya? Tanya?' but i couldn`t listen any longer. I drifted in and out of sleep as the doctors and nurses worked around me. I suddenly couldn`t feel, couldn`t hear, couldn`t see. My vision was blurred by something covering my eyes : a blindfold? My eyes flew open and I nearly jumped of the bed but there was people around me. I could hear my mum sobbing and saying, "My baby, my baby," but my hearing was starting to go. Was that what my mum was going to tell me? That I was seriously ill? Or that something could happen so fast that I wouldn`t be able to see, or hear, or feel. I could feel the world drifting, as if the earth was pulling me out of it. I just drifted, and fell asleep. It was a month later : I woke up.

Chapter 5
New Years Eve, 31st December, 2008.
Dear diary, its Tanya, well, who else would it be right? Its New Years Eve, and it`s 7:41 and I`m so bored. When the whole month passed while I was "asleep," I didn`t know anything about what happened. They won`t tell me. I ran down the flight of stairs and said to them, "What happened?" i wish : as if I could actually do that. I scoffed to myself. Foolish as I was, I was always kind to them and everything. I smiled, took a breath, stood up and looked in the mirror. My normally pink face was unusually white, but I didn`t bother on it too much. It was when I was lifting my arm up to put my tangled hair in a bobble, I stopped. Under the elbow was pale white but there was something unusual : 4 tiny marks. I put on my red and white cardigan to hide it. I ran down the stairs and told my mum that I was going to visit Em`s. She nodded and quickly asked, "Can you get us some juice from the shop? We`re all out. There`s money on the counter." I nodded and walked to the kitchen. I picked up the money and walked out into the cold. It was nippy but I took no notice : I was going to see my best friend, ill or not, Em`s. I walked to the hospital she was in. The walk was an hour away from my house, but none of that mattered. When I walked in, I looked for the reception area. I bolted towards it and accidentally gave the receptionist lady a fright. "Em`s...Emily Werkam." I asked, panting. She pounted to a door down the hall and said, "Room 254" I nodded and ran for it. A nurse came out and I stopped incase I bumped into her. My cardigan hit her on the arm so I quickly said, "Sorry," and then I checked to see if there was another nurse or doctor coming out but there was none, so I just straightened up and walked in quietly. I nearly fell to my knees when i saw her. Emily, normally a cheery, loud, happy, person, was a dull, quiet, sad person. I burst into tears. She tried to get up but i stopped her. "No, don`t get up." I gently pushed her shoulder and she gave up trying. I sniffed and I could feel my lip trembling. I clenched my fists and wiped away my tears but they kept on coming. I gave her a gentle hug and she squeezed me weakly back. I smiled a weak smile : so did she. I sat with her until half 11, when she finally fell asleep. "Thats my girl," I said as I smiled at her just sleeping with no pain : or it looked that way. I tiptoed outside and gasped when I saw a cute doctor in front of me. "She`s asleep," I whispered to him. He nodded and said, "She`s been asking for you." I raised my eyebrows and grinned. "Can you tell her I`ll be here tomorrow?" I asked him, gazing into his eyes : that was the way my special charm worked. he nodded, dazed. I walked away and I knew he was staring out after me. i shook my head. You know what they say : works like a charm.
I was half way home when I knew someone was following me. I turned the corner and walked down the road but I realised I wasn`t at the road : I was in an alley. And that was when I saw him. It was a stranger, obviously, but, I was cornered in the alley. I could hear the countdown going down from 100, just metres away from where I was standing. I had the juice in my hand : Ems` favourite. I held my breath but he just stood where he was without breathing. He put his head up......and that was the last thing I remembered.

Chapter 6
I woke up to the sound of feet shuffling across the floor, impatiently. I groaned and rolled around to my back. "Aah!" I cried when I felt the pain searing across my hand. I looked up and saw the stranger that I remembered from that night. I looked at my hand and I suddenly remembered the 2 little marks that were there underneath my elbow. There, on my wrist, were the same 2 marks, except bigger and redder. They were scars, no little than over a day old though. I puzzled over it until I heard footsteps coming towards me. I looked up in fright, but the strangers eyes were friendly : like he wasn`t going to hurt me, more than he already had. I just stared, breathing through my nose when I smelled something delicious. I got up faster than I ever had before. I gasped when I saw what I was looking at. There was a human lying on the floor behind the stranger, lifeless, and on the tray was 3 bags : of human blood. I sniffed again : the smell was delicious smell was definetely coming from the tray. I picked up one f the bags of blood and took a sip. It tasted as delicious as it smelled ; even better. Once I had gulped i reached for the second bag but the stranger put his hand up. I snarled at him : his hand was inches away from my mouth, close enough to bite. He jumped back, over the human, and I sniffed again ; the human still had blood left in him. I`ll take care of that I thought to myself as I leaned into a crouch. "STOP!" the stranger roared at me. I leaped up and landed on my feet. I could feel the fire burning underneath my skin, the burning in my veins. I`d do anything to put it out. I bit my gum. I stared at him and he said, "Your new, you don`t know better! Wait, before you drink more, you need to listen to me. you can get this," he held the bag up at me, "when you learn!" I wished he would stop talking about learning and talking about it, without giving me it. I growled, smiled and said, "Whats to learn?" He shook his head. "Lots, my friend. Lots." He said while staring me in the eye, mocking me probably. I clenched my fists and demanded, "Take me home now!" He shook his head. I wanted to bite that smug smile off of his face. "No can do, my friend," he whispered. "Why?" I pressed. "Because! I said so!" I stared at him and gave up : I wasn`t gonna win. "Fine!" I growled. "What do I need to learn?" I asked politely. "Hmm, eager to learn...terrified to lose." He said as he stroked my cheek. I pulled back and said, "To lose to what?" "Ah, now is not the time for questions...now is the time for answers." This guy has got to be freaking kidding me! "Uh huh, " I replied with an angry smile. After hours of learning, I finally got the blood I had worked for. "Now can I go?" I asked, as politely as I could manage : not much, though, considering the situation I was in. "No, no, my friend," he whispered, as he circled me. I wanted to scream, but it got stuck in my throat. "You can`t go like this : you are not even near your house!" he shouted. "Where am I then?" I asked, getting tired of this guy. "Oh, I can`t tell you that!" he screeched : a reason, none, what-so-ever. I lifted my hands up as if I had given up but in a flash I ripped his head off. I fell to the floor after i had realised what I had done : what I had become. I reached for my diary and re-read what I had written on New Years Eve.
Who knew it would be the last night of my life?

Chapter 7
I could feel my lip trembling, my eyes widening when I looked at him. I ran out of the building after checking my hands and everything. I opened the door and thats when the sun hit me. I stood there for a minute, thinking : wasn`t it supposed to hurt me. I looked for something, and I noticed the bracelet I never had before. I studied it for a minute, and then I ran out. There was no cars but I had realised I had just sped out of the house. I looked back and the house was about 20 feet away from me. Thats what he was talking about! Speed! I ran until I found the hospital that Em`s was in. I ran in, looking like something from a horror movie : well, to be honest, I was. "Emily Werkam?" I asked so fast I surprised myself. The nurse looked at me and said, "She was let out, silly." What? How could that be? "Whats, eh, todays, date?" I asked, slower this time. She shook her head with a smile. "It`s the 24th of February, 2010, silly," she replied. "No calendar?" I stood there, staring into space before answering, "No, sorry." She looked at me before saying, "Your parents have been looking for you, they have some bad news." I stared at her. "What?" And then I suddenly knew what it was. "I need to go," I shouted. I bolted out of the hospital and ran to my home. How did I know what was going to happen? An image, well, a video kind of thing played in my head. It was my parents, and me, sitting around the big antique coffee table and my parents were crying but I wasn`t. I was sitting there, obviously trying to cry. I knew what the news was, but I just couldn`t cry. I just, couldn`t.

Chapter 8
I saw someone running up to me. It was Em`s, and she was running with someone else. "Tanya! Where have you been? I`ve been waiting for like a year and a half! Oh, this is Matt, he`s new to our school, so I said I`d show him around. This is Tanya, Matt." Wow, was he gorgeous! "Hey, Matt, I see you`ve met, Em`s?" He nodded and replied, "She`s very, showing me around." As we shook hands, I felt something that made me sit down. "Matt? Can I talk to you for a minute?" I said, shocked at what just happened. "Yeah, that, might...be a, good, idea!" he said. We walked away from Em`s, and she was hurt and I just put my finger up and mouthed 'please?' over to her and she nodded. "Are you a-" "Vampire?" he finished off for me. "Oh my god! That`s a little weird. How long?" I asked him. "Not too long, over a year or so," he answered with a grin. I laughed. "Same!" We looked over to Em`s. "Does she know?" I whispered. He shook his head. "You?" I shook my head. "Let`s just keek this a secret, yeah?" he asked. I nodded. "That would be best, " I whispered. We nodded and walked to Em`s and then we did, the hard thing : dealing with my parents.

Chapter 9
We walked slowly, taking our time, deliberatly. No one wanted to know what was going to happen : except I already did. "Did you hear about that new family coming to our school? They`re supposed to be really weird, and...gothic, and stuff like that," Em`s told us. We nodded and I said, "Wow, like Veronica? She`s supposed to be really gothic, but I`ve never really talked to her. She doesn`t seem like a goth, though." Matt nodded in agreement. Em`s just shook her head. When we reached the house, I looked at them. "You`s coming in?" I asked politely. Matt looked at Em`s and they both walked forwards. "Yeah, course. Obviously," Em`s said as she stepped in the door. "Anybody home?" I shouted. "We`re in here," my mother shouted. I had longed for my family for a year and a half and I was finally home again. I got that feeling again and I stopped in my tracks. My stomach curled and I wanted to throw up but I stopped myself. I walked through the door and I knew Matt and Em`s were stairing at my back, wondering what was happening. I walked through the dining room and I knew the feeling I got was right. My mother and my brother looked up at us, and they had obviously been crying. I burst into tears. It felt good to cry, after a year and something. I remembered that I was right. It was true : the stranger, who I had killed, had killed people very close to me, people who I didn`t even get to say goodbye to. My sister and my father.

Chapter 10
I stopped crying and thought back to the old days : before vampires, Matt and everything. We were gathered around the coffee table, smiling at each other,eating. I shook my head and said, "I need to go up to my room." Em`s looked at me and whispered, " I need to go but I`ll phone my mum and tell her I`ll stay here." I nodded and I could hear her whispering to her mum. She was pleading but apparantly something was on. "I`m not allowed," Em`s moaned. "That`s fine," I replied. Matt looked up and told me he would stay with me. "Thanks," I whispered as Emily glared at me and Matt. She knew we were hiding something but we couldn`t tell her. It was too...risky. Em`s stormed out and me and Matt ran up to my room, leaving my upset half a family downstairs. We sat on my bed, just sitting there, soaking up the silence. When he had to leave, he went to hug me but I turned round to ask him a question and I hugged him in the bear-hug/boyfriend-girlfriend hugs. He gasped and said, "Sorry! I didn`t mean that, I went to hug you and you turned around..." he trailed off as I put my arms around his neck and hugged him. I hugged him and that shock thing happened again but I couldn`t help but keep hugging him. "So sorry, but I left my cardi..Oh my God!" she whispered. Em`s stood there and looked at us. We were standing in the middle of my room, hugging so I know what it might have looked like to her. She shook her head saying, "This can`t be happening," over and over again. "You don`t get it," I shouted. She glared at me. "I don`t get it? I don`t get it?" she shouted in my face. I don`t know what came over me but I wanted to bite her, not for the feeding, but for the joy of it. I snapped out of my killer ways and whispered, "You don`t understand." She looked at Matt, and he nodded. "Fine!" she shouted, spitting with fury. "Do tell." I looked at Matt and he shook his head. "Okay, this is how it happened : me and Matt like each other. That`s just the way it is. Do you remember in 5th grade, you went out with Billy even though we both liked him? Do you remember that? Well, this is like this : in a way," I snarled the truth at her, making her step back. She nodded, turned to walk away but added over her shoulder, "I`ll see you in school : tomorrow, 8:00, at the bus stop."She ran down the stairs and burst out crying. "Hey wait!" I shouted, picking up her cardigan which she had probally dropped in shock : but it was too late. I would have to wait for tomorrow, when she had calmed down. I kissed him and he said,"Meet me out here at 2:30 : I`ll be waiting.We...both need to go hunting." He grunted as he whacked the ground with a thud. I watched him run and I lay down on my bed : what had I done to poor Em`s?
Chapter 11
I creeped out my window when they were finally asleep. Matt was waiting there, sitting on a branch, looking like a guy from a movie, catching the girl as she jumps down. I landed on my knees, crouching. I got up, straightened my dress and caught his hand. We hunted all sorts of animals : making sure we didn`t kill them. When we reached my house, I hugged him and then went to jump on my window but Matt grabbed my arm and pulled me over to him. I twirled into his arms and he hugged me again and whispered, "I want to take you to meet my parents." I froze : yes, I had boyfriends before but I had never met their parents. I nodded. "Okay," I whispered in a shaky voice. "It`ll be fine," he replied, sensing my fear. I nodded and hugged him as I got in his car. He drove at a 100 miles : the police wouldn`t notice us as we drove past. I chuckled and Matt just looked at me. I shook my head and he focused on the road. "We`re nearly here!" he shouted. I looked at him, puzzled. "Why are you shouting : I`m right here." he grinned and replied, "I`m letting my parents know that we are coming." I nodded along with the faint thump of the bass from the song on the radio. "Oh right," I replied with a nod of the head. He chuckled and drove slower, turning. "We`re here," he said. I played with my fingers anxiously : knowing this he took one of them and held it, the other, pinned it to my side. I laughed and sighed. I looked forward and saw 3 heads at the door. It opened and out stood the 3 most beautiful people I had ever seen. His dad, browny hair just like Matt`s was spiked up, and his blue eyes were wide. His mother, a blond with brown eyes, looked at me with a smile. And his brother, was cute, like Matt, but I liked Matt better. The brothers blond hair was down at the front and gelled up at the back. He smiled at me in the kinda way...Matt smiled at me. "Everybody, this is Tanya Allishya Renaree," Matt said to his stunning family. I smiled and said, "Hey." His family walked over and told us to come in. After a cup of blood, I knew there names and I wouldn`t get mixed up. His mothers name was Helan, his fathers name was Micky,and his brothers name was, "Ryan," Matt said as he playfully punched his brother on the shoulder. He smiled at me and looked at Matt. Matt whacked his head and he groaned. "Leave her alone," Matt warned. I looked down and turned away. It couldn`t be both of them that liked me...or could it?
Chapter 12
Ryan came in at 3:00 in the morning. I was sitting up with Matt and Ryan had another girl in with him. I had to say, I was a little dissapointed that he had gotten over me that fast. But had he? Matt was asleep so I uncurled from him and sat him nicely. I pretended I was going to the bathroom and peeked in his room, but he wasn`t there. I felt someone breathing on my neck and I felt something sharp at it. I looked around and there he was, Ryan, luring me into his trap. I can`t believe it : I fell for it. It was just a trap to get me where he wanted me : with him. "What do you want," I growled. He chuckled. "You know what I-" he cut off with a scream. I jumped forward and saw Matt with a block of wood. He grinned and picked his brother off the floor, practically dragging him. There was no blood and I realised he wasn`t dead, sadly, he was knocked out. Matt put him in his own walk in cupboard and we bolted for the door. We got to the car and drove to my house where I got changed into my school uniform. I glanced at the alarm clock : it was 7:56! I ran down the stairs and ran to the bus-stop. Em`s was just walking to it when i suddenly appeared. She looked annoyed. "Sorry, i slept in," I said with a yawn. She glanced at her watch. "Oh right," she replied. "Sorry about yesterday, I didn`t mean it." I shook my head. "It was my fault," I said when Matt appeared and took my hand. She looked at us and said, "Thats fine." We waited for the bus.
Ryan wasn`t in school at all.
Chapter 13
Me and Matt murmered to each other as we walked in the cafeteria. "Is he awake - you should have a connection with him like I did with my..family," I whispered. He nodded and replied, "Yeah, but I don`t know if he`ll come." Just as he finished his sentence, in walked Ryan, wearing jeans and a t-shirt that was really, really tight. I shook my head and he sat down at our table, chatting with Em`s. "Oh no," I whispered. He just stood there, shaking his head, while saying, "You gotta be kidding me." I paused before saying, "I`ve got a good idea." Matt looked up and said, "What?" I smiled at him secretly. I raised my eyebrows and whispered in his ear. "Oh right!" he said. We smiled and walked to our seats, hand in hand. Ryan didn`t look up but the plan was in motion. I leaned forward and went to hug him. "No!" Ryan shouted as I was close enough to Matt to feel his breath on my face. I realised that it wasn`t Ryan and that it was Fredrick. He was staring at me and Matt in shock and he said again, "Are you`s two...?" We nodded and he whispered to himself, "Oh ,no." We ran from the cafeteria and ran home. We had a joint appartment that we had bought just 1 or 2 days ago and we settled in. We watched T.V. until we heard a knock on the door. I picked up Vampire Mountain and gasped when the book flew out of my hand. I went outside and Fredrick was there, holding his car door open. "Get in," he growled furiously, "And don`t worry about precious little Matt - you won`t see him anytime soon. I looked back and saw Matt, being held back by two big men. "Tanya!" he shouted to me, but they covered his eyes and mouth with a blindfold. "Matt! I love you!" He couldn`t reply because he was pushed into a van. "Get in!" Fredrick shouted, baring his teeth - I didn`t know he was a vampire. "I`m not a vampire, Tanya," he drew out my name, as if I wouldn`t understand him and he continued with, "I`m a were-wolf." I stared at him in shock. I had never met a were-wolf before. "Get...IN!" he roared. I made my legs move to the car and she shoved me in, causing me to whack my head off of the top. I crawled in and he slammed the door. I chewed on the inside of my lip as he drove away. He stopped 70 miles from me and...Matt`s home. I let out a breath. He stopped the car so fast I bolted upright. My breathing was ragged as he said, "This is your new home." My mouth fell open. I nearly fainted. Then, he said, "Fiancee."
Chapter 14
"WHAT?" I screeched at the monster. He smiled and said, "Look at your finger." I searched my fingers and there it was, shining beautifully in the sunshine, my engagement ring. "So, you just going to kidnap me, force me down the isle and everything will be happy?" He nodded a simple nod and I just looked at him. Fredrick, was, used to be, a good boy, my best friend, but what had happened? I never knew he loved me. He was gonna force my hand? He obviously didn`t know vampires well. "Okay," I said with a sigh. He looked away and said to me, "This...is our suite before the wedding, so you better try your dress on because it`s on Saturday." I stopped, unmoving, frozen. Saturday? Today was...Friday! I wanted to scream, but I stayed calm as I pestered him with questions, trying to freak him out of it. "Go upstairs and go and try your wedding dress on for tomorrow, hunny," he whispered as he stroke my face and leaned in to kiss me. He had pinned me against the wall so I did the only thing I could do : kiss him back. I gasped as he kissed me, and I whispered, "I`ll see you tomorrow, fiance." I felt uneasy, using his earlier words. I still ran up the stairs and grabbed my phone and phoned Em`s. I told her to meet me and kill this were-wolf. I tried on the dress and I had to say : he had good taste. I zipped it up and it fit perfectly. I hated this guy so much and I hoped Em`s would kill him, without getting herself killed in the process. She came at 12:02 a.m., waiting with knives and everything. She hid to the right as he walked out to his car. She stabbed him in the heart, then the arm, and then the shoulder. He crumpled to the floor, obviously dead and Em`s collapsed. "Emily," I shouted, runnin down the stairs. She started shaking with laughter and said, "I can`t believe it, I can`t believe I killed someone. Whoo!" She pumped her fist in the air with glee. I got her up and we ran to the Lamborgini. I sped home as Em`s slept, after a long day. I smiled and then I remembered Matt. I had no idea where he was. I slumped in my seat and sighed. Matt, all cheery, was probably thinking about me, not knowing where I was and who I was with. He knew I was captured, but didn`t know where I was. I knew he was captured, but I didn`t know where he was...but where did that leave us?
Chapter 15
When me and Em`s reached my house, I decided to tell her the truth. "The reason me and Matt were talking was....because we`re vampires. On New Years Eve, I got turned, when we were counting back from 100. And...so is Matt. Oh and the reason why I told you to kill Fredrick was because he was a were-wolf." She stared at me with wide eyes and a long jaw. "So...that`s why you didn`t visit me! Because you were away somewhere!" she remembered. She had it right. "I was never at Matt`s house and everything, okay?" I asked her. She nodded and replied, "Yeah, but, I kinda like his brother, cause he`s hot and kind to me." I sighed. This was really bad. "He likes me - he even tried to threaten me with a knife when Matt hit him with a block of wood. I...don`t really like him to be honest, but now we need him to get Matt! He should have a connection with him." I put my hands up and realised I still had my engagement ring on. I chuckled and with a grin I said, "I`m getting married today." Em`s laughed with me and then we walked in my house. I slid the ring in my pocket, so my mum or brother wouldn`t find it. I cleared my throat and shouted, "Anyone home?" There was no answer so I just walked up to my room. I opened my room door, and I knew my mum must have tidied it when I was...away. I went to my chest of drawers to get a cardigan on when I saw a note lying there. It said Tanya on it so I obviously opened. Em`s peeked over my shoulder and said, "Oh my." I nodded and replied, "Uh huh." Underneath my name, it said, "You will not find Matt, even with...Ryan, is it? You wouldn`t want me to get someone to hurt him, would you now? Matt is with two of the strongest of my wolves and will be kept there until he is drained, and drained, and dust. Matt is already weaker, thinking about you. If there was someway you could stop him....I`m not gonna tell you. There is a clue at my house, but oh, I`ve said too much already...my Tanya. P.S., if you are reading this, you have until 1:30 to save Matt and his little...brother. Lots of love my dear, Fredrick. I stared at the note in horror and glanced at the clock - it was already 12:40 a.m.! I staggered back - the clue at fredricks house was impossible to reach, so that was out the window. I just remembered what had happened. "Why didn`t I do this in the first place?" I asked myself. Em`s just stared, but didn`t speak, just standin there.
It was a Saturday afternoon, me and Matt were sitting there, when he suddenly pulled me up off of the grass and said, "Lets do the vampire love thing." I stared at him, confused. "What?" I asked with a laugh. "Come on - we could totally do it!" he had replied. "Okay," I answered with a grin. We cut both of our fingers, and let each other drink each others blood, so we could connect and find each other, but in one condition - if the other dies, you die too. It was in the vampire law contract - If you loved someone, and you did the exchange, you were sentenced to die too. After we did it, I felt more powerfull with him, and we lay on the grass again. As I pulled myself out of the memory, I got a shock in my hands - and I could feel the power rushing through as I found out were Matt was. It was in a very dark place he was being tortured...
Chapter 16
"Where are we going?" Em`s had asked. "To find Ryan, he should probably be at his house," I replied as I sped along the road. Em`s just nodded her head and fell asleep. Once we got there, I chapped the door. Ryan appeared and said, "What happened?" I told him everything with Fredrick and Matt and the note and everything and he just sat there in shock. "That...that guy,...has my,...brother?" he whispered. I nodded and replied, "Ryan, about yesterday..." "It was my fault! Don`t blame yourself!" he shouted. I nodded and just stayed silent. His mother and father came home and I explained everything to them. "You did a good thing, ditching the note. He would have lied." Me , Em`s and Ryan went to talk in private, even though his parents could hear us. "Em`s, you will need to stay away - you can`t come," I explained. She stared and replied, "Why not? Oh, the human can`t come because she might get killed?" I didn`t want to play this card on her but I knew she would leave the subject alone because she wouldn`t want this. "You could only come if you were a vampire and your not, so-" "Turn me into a vampire then!" she shouted. Me and Ryan stared at her with our mouths open. "What?" Ryan asked with a laugh. "What? I always kinda wanted to be a vampire," she answered with an embarrased smile. Good Lord she was serious. "What?!" I shrieked. She covered her ears but sat her hands back down again. She turned to Ryan. "Ryan? Please?" she pleaded with wide eyes. "But-You-I..." he trailed off. It looked like he was going to say that he couldn`t but he proved me wrong by saying, "I, will." It was Ryans turn to get the shocked faces. "What! You can`t do that. I mean-she`s-best-what?!" I was so confused! "I need to lie down," she replied but she stayed up anyway. "Don`t we all," I said to Ryan with a growl. He looked away from my uncomfortable stare. "Come on, lets get ready!" Em`s said, surprising us all with a grin. I couldn`t watch. Em`s went into the kitchen and got a knife. I ran outside. That`s when I heard Em`s scream. But...there was...a heartbeat.
Chapter 17
A heartbeat? That couldn`t be right. "Eh, Tanya?" Ryan called from his bedroom. "Yeah?" i asked, alerted. "Can you come here for a minute?" I walked in slowly, feeling a little confused but excited to see Em`s in vampire form. I stopped straight away when I saw her. She was in...a form, but not the one I had expected. I stared at her until I could find words. "What...?" I asked, my mouth barely moving. Ryan ave his shoulders a stiff lift up, but said anyway, "I don`t know." Em`s, was a vampire, but, something else too. She looked different but I couldn`t put my finger on it. i shrugged my shoulders and said, "Conratulations! Your a vampire!" And some other weird thing, I said to myself. She smiled at me, and said, "Wow - everything looks different," she said. "And feels different, too," she said as she felt the cracks in the wooden walls. Me and Ryan shared a glance but Ryan looked away and whispered, "Yeah...congratulation." I nodded and I thought about Matt. Ryan and Em`s did too and Em`s replied, "We better get going. Come on!" she said as she hopped off the bed. "Are you thirsty?" I asked her, wondering why she hadn`t mentioned about cravings. "Nope,...but I could do with some food, meat... I can smell it," she answered with a smile. "Meat? Don`t you want blood?" I asked with a grin. She shook her head. "I`m cravin some meat," she said, no louder than a whisper. "She wants meat, she doesn`t want blood, and she wrinkled her nose at blood...oh no!" Ryan shouted. I stared at him. "You don`t think that Fredrick...do you?" Ryan nodded and I finished off my sentence," You think that Fredrick,...poisoned her with wolf blood? So if she died - or in our case- turned, she would become, half were-wolf-" "-half vampire. This is so typical of were-wolves!" Ryan said. I sighed and said, "Lets go and find Matt. I`ll drive." Ryan was going to protest but I stared at him until he stopped. "Very well," he grumbled. I laughed and ran to my blue Ferrari F430 and jumped in the drivers seat. Sitting on the passenger seat, was a yellow note, and it almost blended in with my bright yellow bag. I opened it and I gasped aloud. It was from Matt, and I re-read it until Ryan came. He looked over my shoulder and said, "What you got the..." He read the note from his brother and got in the car, and I could see he was nearly in tears. The thing I re-read over and over again, was, 'They say if you love someone, let them go. And that`s what I`m doing. I`ll hold you in my heart forever, and I won`t forget you, but hopefully you`ll forget me, and not save me. Because at least I`ll know I died trying to save you. Love from, Matt.' I hadn`t realised I had been crying until I saw the wet patches on the paper. It couldn`t be over, could it?
Chapter 18
I drove home, my eyes blurry, needing sleep. I nearly fell asleep while driving, but the thought of Matt always woke me up. I groaned and Ryan said, "What?" but I just ignored him. He left the subject alone. I couldn`t leave the subject alone so I just said, "I need blood!" No walking human would hear or see us at the speed I was driving at. Ryan lifted something up to me and I realised it was blood. I took it gladly and drove with one hand on the steering wheel, and the other hand tightly squeezing the blood bag. I finally got home and got all the weapons I kept in my room after the transformation. I gave Ryan some and I turned to look out the window to see if Em`s was alright in the car. She was drinking blood, so she would probably be fine. I went to the door and Ryan followed me from behind. I walked away, probably leaving him hurt and went into the kitchen. "Right, Tan, wait," Ryan said. I turned around and gasped. He hugged me. I hugged him back, and I couldn`t stop until I remembered what it said in the vampire laws - If you mate, in anyway, with someone else, it would be lost, and you`ll be bound to the other person! I was bound to Ryan! I pulled away from the hug. "What`s wrong?" Ryan whispered. I shook my head but replied, "The connection!" Ryan looked at me, puzzling over what I said, and I truthfully replied, "We did the connection." I heard the door open and there was...Matt.
Chapter 19
Matt blinked, stood there without speaking, and worried me completely. I felt like I couldn`t breathe as Ryan stood away from me. "Matt," I whispered. He stood motionless at the front of the door, staring into space. He didn`t answer, and I whispered his name again. Ryan tried as well. "Matt, I thought you were gon-" "And that gives you the permission to hug my girlfriend?! I can`t feel the imprint - why? Was it you, or her," he asked, pointing his finger at me. "Matt - I`m sorry! I don`t know what happened! One minute I was running down the stairs and then I was hugging-" "My brother," he finished off for me. Matt launched for his brother but I pushed them both back when I saw a fight was about to brew. "Stop!" I shouted as Em`s walked in. Em`s looked confused while she said, "Matt? Good to have you back, man!" "Em`s, go outside please. While I sort these-" I looked at them and continued, "Brothers...out!" She sighed and walked out, putting her earplugs in. "What is with you`s?! You are brothers! And your fighting over me!" I whispered. "Fine. We`ll stop...but only if you choose," Matt replied, anxious to get a fight going, knowing I wouldn`t want to. "No, don`t make her choose!" Ryan shouted. "Why? You afraid she`s going to chose me?" "No!" he roared at Matt. "Just stop!" I screamed. Both boys looked at me and stopped fighting. "Leave," I shouted,confusing them both. "Okay. Wait,...who?" they both said together - brother, vampire stuff I`m guessing. "Matt,...leave," I whispered, my eyes on the floor. "What?" he answered back with a frown. "Leave...I hate it that you`s fight...especially over me," I said. Matt stormed out the house but turned back to his brother and said "You will regret this." He picked up a chair and flung it in our direction. We ducked out the way and it hit the window with a crack. The window fell apart and I could see the anger and hurt in his eyes. He walked out and Ryan whispered, "Why did you choose me? Why didn`t you choose him?" I sighed. He didn`t know. "I chose you because I don`t love him - I love you. When the imprint was lost, I knew that I loved you more," I said, trailing off. He sighed and said, "Well, thank you. That`s really thoughtful, and amazing." I looked up in his sky blue eyes. Matt was my past...Ryan, was my future.
Chapter 20
Em`s walked in, looking at the window, listening to loud music. "Wha...?" she said, raising an eyebrow. "Oh, umm, sorry, I accidentally threw,...a chair to the window?" I said with an innocent expression on my face. She nodded and replied, "Wheres Matt?" I looked at Ryan, beckoning for him to speak, and he stood for a minute, dazed - smiling - something Matt hardly did now. "Oh, sorry, just thinking about stuff.Matt, eh, had to leave, and do something," Ryan said with a shrug of his shoulders. Em`s nodded and said, "Well, he`ll be back soon though! Why the sad faces?" I frowned, and whispered,"Matt`s not coming back." It was her turn to frown, and moan, "What this time?!" I laughed, the tears blurring my vision as I smiled, only a weak smile from wanting to burst out crying. "He,uh, just left, ha, and there was, um, nothing I could...do, to stop...him," I lied weakly. "Awww, I was looking forward to talk to him!"she whispered, and quickly rethought her words as me and Ryan`s eyebrows went up, and said, "I didn`t, like, mean it like that...What I meant was, I had to ask him something! Yeah, I do." She smiled and said,"We better get going." She sighed and put her headphones in. She started singing 'My Love' by Sia. "So...what just happe-" "We cannot talk about," I cut him off, nodding to Emily, as she turned back and waved for us to come forward. "I think we should go on holiday, where no one else will go : with Emily, of course," he whispered in my ear,making me go dizzy. I nodded and tapped Em`s on the shoulder. She spun around with a grin on her face and said, "Why I`d love to come!" I nodded and looked at Ryan. He was wearing the same expression as me and I asked Ryan where and when. "Well, obviously, where theres no sun, no people, and, right about...now?" he asked. I nodded and walked out to my blue Ferrari and stopped. I laughed and said, "I need to go get packed!" Ryan laughed and said, "No, I`ve got that covered. Your stuff is already there." I laughed even harder this time, and answered back a little too angry, saying, "Aha, magician Matt to the rescue!" I stopped laughing and froze. Ryan had stopped too. "I meant, magician Ryan!" Oh damn! I got in the passenger seat and I sat there, not breathing, thinking about Matt - what I`d done.I hadn`t mean to cause him pain. I hadn`t meant to destroy his life, and the silenter the car ride had gotten, the more I realised Matt would probably be right - I was going to regret this. Ryan, reading my thoughts, grunted and sped he car along faster. I blinked as silent, unwanted tears ran down my face. Was life over? Or was this just the beginning?
Chapter 21
Ryan didn`t talk to me, not even after I apologised. "How could he blame me?" I asked Em`s when Ryan was away out, who knows where? "Don`t worry, hes just going through a phase of missing his brother, thats all!" she replied back with a worried smile - her eyes told me she didn`t believe herself, either. I nodded and sat back, enjoying the sun. I walked into the massive cabin, breathing in the deep scent of human blood from the fridge. I was living the life here, but Ryan was bringing my mood down. "Em`s?" I shouted. She appeared with a creepy grin on her face. I stopped drinking the blood and smiled back at her. "What is it?" I asked, getting a little creeped out by her smile. "I just saw Ryan...without a shirt!" she squealed. I copied her enthusiasm for a joke. "OMG! Where?" I shouted. "Seriously?" I asked. She nodded, obviously thinking I meant by the shirt, just as Ryan walked in, his hair dripping with water - and yes, she was right - he was shirtless. I turned away and concentrated on the blood - it was kind of hard when Ryan leaned right in front of me! I could smell the shampoo and conditioner he had used, it was an apple smell. I smiled at him as he gazed at me, eyes wide, mouth up in a grin. "So...what do you want to do?" he asked.I turned to Em`s and nodded to her. "Oh, right, I was thinking about going for a swim?" Ryan nodded, took the towel off - he was already in his swimming trunks - and jumped in the pool. I looked at Em`s and laughed - she was gawping over to him like a lifeless fish! I smiled secretly to myself. Em`s saw me, and pushed me in the pool. Thinking about Matt and not realising the encounter, I fell right into Ryan`s open arms. I looked up, wondering if he knew and he gazed at me. I slipped out of his arms and pulled Em`s in. I tried to play and laugh about in the water, but I couldn`t stay away from Ryan`s gaze, drifting back to me every so often. What was I going to do about Matt? Also, what was I going to do about Ryan? For him to back off?
Chapter 22
I reached for a towel to dry off and shook my head. I felt Ryan`s gaze on me. Wondering what my next reaction to hurt his feelings could be - slipping out of his arms when he caught me, not meeting his gaze - what more was there? And then I thought it - telling him that Matt was right all along - I would regret it. All of my thoughts directed to Matt, how I had hurt his feelings, took away any love, I`ll regret it forever. I ran to the bathroom, ignoring the calls of, 'Tanya! Wait up!', and just running in and locking the door, even though they could barge in at any moment. But they didn`t. A tear streamed down my face, followed by a waterfall. I brung out a pad and paper, the ones to write letters and postcards. I got out a pad and wrote to Matt, the letter a paragraph long, saying :
Matt, I think about you everyday, and I wish you were here. After that day, I know that you were right - I would regret it forever, unless you came. Please, forget about me or come back, I picked Ryan because the spark was gone, and I realised it was because he hugged me - he broke the spell, and he knew that he was breaking it. I hope you come back, I`ll love you forever.
Love, your once lover,Tanya . A . Renaree.
I folded the note and sat it in my pocket, memorising this address. I pulled out an envelope,sat it in the post box, and got to my car. And fled to the shops to wear something fashionable, so in a month or so, I could say to Ryan, 'We`re going home'.
Chapter 23
I smiled as the air rushed past me in the car. I sipped some blood before leaving, ignoring Ryan and Em`s. "You should have told him you were going," Matt whispered. I looked around and there was no one there - this was probably the angel side of my talking. "I love you," he whispered before disappearing. I started hypervenalating, checking my window, exhaling when there was no one there. I turned the radio and changed the station to Capital. I started singing along to Rhianna`s 'Whats my name', very off-key, as I was rubbish at singing. Soon I had forgotten who I was - what I was - because I felt human, normal again. I laughed at the people who noticed my speed, but only because they would never be able to look at my number plate. When I reached the shops, I headed into a massive shop, full of dresses of all sorts. I picked out a knee-length green one, a long blue one, a three-quarter length pink one and a sparkly long red one. I got shoes to match, and went into a cafe where I sat, looking at people as they looked at me, probably thinking, 'She looks quite ill, because shes so pale-faced'. Truth is, I was thinking that about them. I orded a Coke with Cherry, my favourite drink before I was turned. A boy walked in and gawped at me, and I recognized him instantly. "Luke!" I shouted, getting more glances at me as I wrapped my arms around him. He staggered back and said, "Tan, you haven`t changed a bit...how`s Em`s?" I smiled and replied, "She`s great, and here, with me and Ryan..." I saw his expression and said, "Well, Ryan asked me and I asked Em`s." He smiled and said, "I need to talk to you." I nodded and sat down, gesturing to the empty seat next to me.
"I`m in love with Em`s."

Chapter 24
What? Did he just say- "I`m in love with Em`s," Luke said as he waved a hand infront of my face. I sighed and said, "Come with me." He came in the car and didn`t even ask about my speed. I didn`t know I was about to find out why. "I know you`re a vampire, and that Em`s is half were-wolf and half vampire - and I know Ryan and Matt are vampires," he explained truthfully. I froze in shock, tears running down my trembling lip as he mentioned Matt`s name. Luke thought I was crying for another reason and said, "I`m sorry, I didn`t mean that. It`s all fine, I`m not so human myself." I looked at him, one hand on the wheel, one wiping the tears off of my face - I wasn`t even looking at the road as my eyes widened in alarm. "Don`t be afraid, I`m just not human - normal," explained. I sighed and finally said, "Well, what are you then?" He grinned and said, "I`m a vampire." I stared at him in shock and he said, "Funny story, umm...Matt turned me." The tears flew down my cheek, but he wiped them away and said, "Why you crying?" I shook my head sadly and said, "You`ll see at the house." He nodded and left the subject alone. For now.
"So, what are you doing here?" I asked him.
"Oh," he whispered, "I was just needing to talk to you`s..."
"All of us?" I asked warily, but we were already at the house and he shouted, "More mansion than house!" I grinned and nodded, agreeing that it was more mansion-like than home-like. "Ryan? Em`s? You there?" I shouted as I entered the cabin of the house. They came out of the pool and when Em`s saw Luke she grinned widly and said, "LUKE!" I smiled and said, "Ryan, I need to talk to you." Ryan shook his head, as well as Em`s and said, "No can do amigo, we`re going to the beach!" I looked over them both, suggesting to their wet clothes but they shrugged and never spoke of it. I put on a pink bikini underneath my jeans and a colourfull summer top, flung on a random pair opf shoes and put an old cap on.
"Lets go," I whispered. We went to the beach. Ryan stopped halfway and hugged me, but we started walking again soon. You could say that this was a beach, and there was a cave that we huddled into. This place even had a vampire death center. That wasn`t empty. Ryan hugged me again and we walked out of the cave and watched as the flames licked the stakes. I felt another pair of eyes on me and looked around, but there was no one there. Then my gaze rested on the top of the stakes and flames - the seat where you get lowered was already at the top of the flames, the bottom of the mans legs burning as fast as we burn in the sun. There was a man doing this. There was a face I recognized. It was Matt.

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Tag der Veröffentlichung: 07.01.2011

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