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A sopho gesture that brought the first true smile to her face With few students in the halls, it was far easier to s from her locker and strolled to ho against the cool wall as he watched her olden hair cascaded in thick waves to the sh he couldn’t see her face, the utter perfection of her beautiful, delicate features had been burned into his irl fro softly, he stepped away from the wall as she disappeared into one of the near e here, he had never stepped foot in a high school before He had never had any intention of ever doing so But for sost the stark, foreign halls

Well, he knew the reason, and it was her

Ever since he had first laid eyes on her, first smelled her, he had been inexplicably drawn in He had been passing through town, heading for the woods in search of food, when he had caught her scent The blood flowing through her veins was strong, its fragrance deliciously alluring It had reeled hi to let go She had been a bright beacon against the dark night encoh he hadn’t fed off a hu ti aroma He was so ensnared by it that he hadn’t been able to wander far froely, she was a shining light against the darkness residing in hih he had not wanted to coure out the strange hold she had over hiured it out, nor had he been ier today Hence, why he was here, and why he had stood outside of her house last night for a bit

There was a wealth of sadness in her, a longing and need that called to hi that he had thought cold and dead centuries ago Hell, she touched so that he hadn’t even known he possessed It had taken hi inside hinized it as hope Seeing her again now, he felt the strange hope once e spark of life that kept him rooted in place She led with the astonishing feelings threatening to consume him

He had not felt like this since Annabelle Had not felt this pull, and need, and… obsession? Yes, it was definitely obsession he felt for this girl, but it was different froht This girl affected him in such a different way than Annabelle had He had simply had to have Annabelle, had to possess her, had to break her, but this girl…

This girl he wanted to protect and hold and cherish for soain, almost normal, almost human even He didn’t understand her hold over hi at hiirl was completely different than Annabelle With Annabelle it had been a gaht, when this girl had turned to him, his heart had leapt in his chest, or at least it had felt like it for abeat of it in centuries, because he had not felt anything in the region of his heart in years However, he swore he could hear it beating now, could alh his deadened veins once irl was beautiful, spectacular, perfect, but it was not her looks that captivated hih she radiated loss and loneliness, he also sensed a steel rod of strength and pride running through her

Looking upon her, seeing her, he instantly felt as if he were complete, as if he had found his home Somehow, in her, he had found the one person that could ht He kneith absolute certainty that she could ease the aching loneliness that had eaten at his soul for centuries That had nearly destroyed hie reaction to her In all hislike what he suddenly felt for her After all of his time on earth, he had never expected to be shocked or thrown off balance again He had thought that he had seen it all, that he knew it all

He had been wrong

He was completely thrown off balance now He was unsettled and enchanted by this girl, a teenage girl no less He needed to know more about her, see e effect she had upon him He needed her to ease the ache that filled his deadened spirit, and he knew that she could do it

He watched silently as the halls began to fill up, the chatter and laughter grew louder as students milled about Lockers opened and slammed as they prepared for the day He found himself oddly captivated by the simplicity of their lives, a that he had never witnessed before as he tended to stay away fro hearts

Though he had control over his baser, more murderous instincts, he felt it best to avoid tereat temptation, no matter how much control he had now Even after all of these years, he could still clearly recall the taste of their ware of power that their deaths had brought to him However, no matter how much of a temptation their blood was, he had been drawn here by her, and he was loath to leave her now

Slipping froence caused the students closest to him He sensed the fear, curiosity, and lust that followed his oal as he made his way toward the offices he had seen at the front of the building

If he was going to stay close to her, and get to know her better, than there was only one thing he could do He glanced around the crowded hallways, ignoring the fluttering beat of the hearts surrounding hi the rest of the day with

CHAPTER 4

Cassie played idly with the pages of her notebook as the principal droned on about the daily announce toand about ready to snap Closing her eyes, she folded her ar a yawn Chris shot her a questioning look, but she ignored it as she allowed her eyes to drift shut

Theannouncean Cassie shot her hand up, not bothering to lift her head when her name was called Chatter started up the minute that attendance was over Homeas discussed; plans for the weekend were made in the few minutes left before the day started

"You ok?"

Cassie opened her eyes, her lids felt like lead as she aze "Fine, just a little tired," she assured hie silence settled over everyone Cassie frowned at the startled look that cahtened upon her desk as his eyes beca of foreboding stole through her The strange tingling sensation once again raced down her spine Her already frayed nerve endings leapt to blazing life, see to sizzle and crack with electricity She remained frozen, unable to lift her head to see what had captivated everyone’s attention; she was certain she already knew