"Hey, sleeping beauty, it's time to wake up."

I pulled the pillow over my head and rolled over, hoping that Clara would decide to leave me alone.

"Remember how excited you were to go training tonight? Let's go."

I managed to pull my blankets over the pillow that was still over my head.

She pulled the blankets and pillow off of my head and whispered in my ear, "You're still part human and still have tasty blood. I wouldn't mind a little taste."

I sat up. "I'm awake. I'm awake."

"Perfect. Now get dressed so that we can get going."

She left my room and I fell back asleep. I woke up to a sharp pain in my neck.

"Hey."

She stopped and licked the wound. "Not quite as good as straight human blood but definitely better than straight vampire blood."

"Vampires can drink each other's blood?" I asked, rubbing my now disappeared wound.

"Usually only vampires in love or fighting," she said. "It doesn't sustain us and it's not nearly as good. It's worse than that bagged human stuff."

I made a face. "Thanks for letting me know. I will keep that in mind."

"Do I have to get you dressed or will you be able to do it on your own this time? This training is not for me, you know."

I sighed. "I can get myself dressed, thank you. Do you want to meet out front in five minutes?"

"No, I'll be right back here in five minutes and you'll be ready to go." She left my room again, and this time I got up and put on some dark clothes.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this training session. She took me to a different part of the same woods where we had first met.

"You've already gone to hunt some animals and it looks like you have that down from what I saw the other day," she told me.

"How long were you watching me?" I asked in surprise.

"I saw enough to know that you can find what you are looking for. We need to make sure that your senses are more finely trained though. In doing this, we'll make sure that you will be able not only to get what you are hunting for, but also be able to sense and take care of something or someone who is hunting for you."

"Hunting for me?" I hadn't thought of that.

"Yes, and if you're caught off guard, that could be the end of you and possibly the reign of our family. The last thing that any of us needs is for the Morettis to rule over vampires worldwide."

"How long were you watching me the other day?" I asked.

"I was watching you long before you sensed me," she said. "It's good that you did finally sense me, but you need to be able to do that from a longer distance. I'm sure it will come more naturally once you are fully transformed, but we need to work on it now."

"You also weren't a predator," I pointed out.

"No, but I was in effect hunting you. That's why you felt threatened when you first discovered my presence."

"So what are we going to do to practice that? Play a game of hide and seek?"

"Nope. You're going to stand in an open area, and we're going to wait for something to come along and discover you. Your instincts will tell you when that time has come, and you'll need to fight or flee."

My heart sunk. "Are you serious?"

"Of course I am. I'm here if you get into some real trouble, but I'm not going to jump in too early. I'm not going to let you get mauled, but I'm not going to protect you from a little physical harm either."

"Wonderful," I muttered.

"I see a little clearing not too far from here. I'm going to hide here, and I want you to go over there." She pointed to left behind me, and I turned around and saw the clearing. "I'll be watching you."

I looked at her, feeling doubtful and then walked to the clearing. I didn't know what I was supposed to do, so I just stood there feeling like an idiot.

I took a deep breath and let my senses take in the sights, sounds and smells. I noticed a slight breeze and was aware of many sounds and smells that nearly overwhelmed again as I focused on them. I was glad that as I was learning to use these stronger senses, they weren't bothering me anymore when I didn't need them.

Wanting to hide, I thought about how I hated standing out in the open like this. I felt like Clara was torturing me or possibly seeing how dumb I was. I felt so exposed, and I really hated it. It felt like it went against everything in my vampire nature. Even my human nature was to hide and blend in, and I wondered if that was because of my being a vampire.

Suddenly, the hair on my arms and neck stood up, and I knew that I was being watched. Here it was—the moment of truth. It was of little comfort to know that at least I wasn't going to get mauled to death.

I listened for a heartbeat to reveal the location of my predator. I was surprised that I didn't hear anything big enough to be any kind of a threat. There was no heartbeat louder than a rodent or a small bird.

I listened for anything unusual or any sound that would give me a clue as to where the animal or person might be. I didn't pick up anything that seemed out of place.

I wanted to run up a tree and use my senses from there, but I had to stand exposed in the middle of the stupid clearing and wait for my predator to show itself or until I could track it down.

The hairs on my arms and neck continued to stand on end, alerting me to danger. Then I realized that the only times I have felt this particular feeling had been when a vampire had been near me. I felt it when both Brooke and Cliff had showed up in my room and when I first met Clara. That explained why I couldn't hear a heartbeat.

My heart started racing. Was Clara messing with me, or was there possibly another vampire in these woods? If that were the case, would he or she know that I was transforming into a vampire? Would that even matter?

I swallowed slowly and used my vision to look for a vampire hiding in the woods. I noticed that my night vision had improved significantly, ever since the last time that I was out there. I slowly began to turn around to see if my senses would alert me to the direction where the vampire was hiding.

When I had made three-quarters of a turn, I felt for some reason that I had reached the direction that I needed to focus on. My skin was crawling with the sensation of being watched, and I wanted to scream from both frustration and fear.

I looked around intently. I felt like I was staring at one of those pictures where you are supposed to see a hidden scene if you let yourself go cross-eyed. I never could find those hidden scenes, but hoped this would be different.

My nerves were shot, and I did not feel like putting up a fight. I wanted to crawl back into bed, but my life might be on the line, so that was not an option.

Finally, I thought I saw something. It looked somewhat like a head, hiding and blending in very well between some bushes. I took a deep breath and braced myself. I thought that my mind might be playing tricks on me, but I was pretty certain I was looking at the head of a vampire who was causing all the distress on my senses.

I heard a small rustle, and nearly jumped and ran off. I looked to my left and saw a small mouse scurrying along a branch. My heart was racing, and I was sure that the vampire knew it too.

I turned my attention back to the vampire that was watching me. I could not tell if I was truly in danger, or if it was just having fun scaring me. I was glad that at the very least, it couldn't read my mind.

I could feel myself start to crouch a little, and I was gaining some confidence. My senses all intensified at once, and I was sure that I could smell him or her.

I couldn't believe it when I started walking toward the vampire. In my mind, I screamed at my legs to stop, but they refused to obey. I continued to walk directly toward it, as if it was the prey and I was the predator.

When I had gone about twenty yards, I could see it smile. That infuriated me, and I wanted to attack the prideful thing.

"Show yourself," I commanded with much more confidence than I actually felt. I was acting purely on instinct, and probably adrenaline.

"You found me," he said, and stepped out of the bushes.

I looked around for something that I could use as a weapon. At least I was in the woods and nearly anything could be used as a stake to drive through his heart if need be.

"Who are you?" I demanded.

"My name is Jordan, and you must be Alexis, the Sonnast."

"How did you know that?" I demanded.

"I know a lot of things," he said mysteriously. "I have to say though that I am quite impressed with your ability to track me as a transforming vampire. Most vampires going through the transformation don't have their senses so finely tuned."

"I'm not most vampires. What are you doing out here and why are you watching me?"

"Your cousin Clara called on me because I was in the area, and I owed her a favor."

I let out a sigh of relief, knowing that I wasn't going to have to fight. "Some favor," I muttered. "Did you enjoy yourself?"

He laughed. "Maybe a little. I was very curious to see how our princess is coming along. I don't know if you realize it or not, but a lot of vampires are very curious to see you. Most of us have not seen you since you were a toddler. There are a lot of rumors flying around."

"What kind of rumors?" I asked. The last thing I needed were more rumors about me.

"That you're alive, for one thing," he said. "For over ten years, we've all been under the impression that you were dead. Someone found you and word got to the Morettis first since they had put out the order for your death. Then after that, rumors started flying amongst all the other vampires."

Clara came out from hiding. "I see that you found Jordan. Good job. I thought that he would have to get a lot closer to you before you could find him."

"You didn't tell me that I would be hunting a vampire," I complained.

"Exactly the point," she said. Then she turned to Jordan. "Thanks again for helping me out. Maybe we can go grab a bite to eat before you leave town."

"What about tonight?" he asked her.

"I've got to get this one back to bed. She has school in the morning."

I felt about eight years old. "You will have school next week too, don't forget."

"Ugh. Don't remind me, please. I hate dealing with teenage humans."

"This bunch is especially bad. Remember what they're doing to me."

Jordan looked confused. "What could those little weaklings do to you? You have more power than even most vampires."

"I can't exactly go around biting into each of them," I said. "That would raise just a little suspicion."

"Obviously," he said. "Can't you use mind control yet?"

"Vampires can control people's minds?" I asked. "See what I mean. Nobody tells me anything."

"Not all vampires can," Clara told me. "Many can."

"You will definitely be able to," Jordan told me. "I don't think that there is a single vampire gift or talent that you will fail to possess."

"I'll have to try the mind control tomorrow," I said.

"Just be careful and start small," he said. "Get a feel for it before you try anything too big."

"Thanks for the tip."

The next morning, I was waiting in my car for Tanner in the school parking lot. Time was going by fast, and it was getting really close to the beginning of the first class. I really did not want to be late.

I sighed as I considered going in alone to face the rudeness of my classmates. I figured that it would probably be even worse today after Emma had gone and trash talked me at the football practice. I really didn't want to practice mind control under those circumstances. I wanted to feel relaxed and in control when I did that. If it didn't work, I wanted to be able to come up with a quick comeback.

I looked at the clock on the dashboard one more time before turning off my car and getting out. Just as I closed my door, Tanner pulled into the lot and parked near me. He jumped out of his car, apologizing.

"Alexis, I'm so sorry that I'm late. I hope that you didn't think that I had deserted you. I wouldn't do that. My brother missed his bus, and I had to drive him to school. I got here as fast as I could."

"That was nice of you to do," I said. "Well, we'd better hurry."

"I hope you're not mad at me," he said. "I should have texted you so that you knew what was going on. I was so frustrated with him that I didn't think about it."

"No, I'm not mad. You don't have to walk me to my classes. I appreciate what you're doing. I just don't want to walk through those halls today. It's probably going to be worse because of what Emma did last night."

"I hate how cruel those people can be. You're such a nice person, and you don't deserve it at all."

We walked through the doors and up the stairs towards my locker. People stared at us, but nobody actually said anything, which was nice. I tried not to focus on anyone in particular so that I wouldn't hear someone's thoughts which would just upset me.

When I was getting my books from my locker, someone made some comments that I didn't hear, and Tanner asked, "Do you want to repeat that to me?"

"No, dude," was the reply.

"Then don't talk about Alexis this way. If you do, you'll have to deal with me. Emma and Hailey are nothing but jealous liars. Hailey is still mad about not being homecoming princess. Why don't you go spread that rumor? At least you would be telling the truth."

As I slammed my locker door, the warning bell sounded and I said, "Let's get going. I don't want you to be late for your class."

When we were almost to my class, someone threw something at my head. I sighed and rubbed my head.

"I saw that," Tanner yelled to a guy and ran over to him and grabbed his shirt. "You want me to throw something at you? How about a fist?"

"Hey man. Let go of me!"

"If you have a problem with that sweet girl over there, why don't you go over there and talk to her? Why act like an ape?"

"Let go of me."

"Tell her you're sorry before I break that ugly nose of yours."

He looked me and then back at Tanner, who starting to make a fist. He looked back to me again and said, "Sorry. That won't happen again."

Tanner let go of him. "Now if you like rumors so much, go tell everyone how Emma and Hailey spread lies about this beautiful girl because they're so jealous of her."

He grabbed his bag and ran off.

"Let's get you to class," he said. "I'll be back when it's over, and then I'll walk you to your next one."

The rest of the morning went the same way, and by lunchtime, word had spread that anyone who messed with me would have to get through Tanner first. I didn't want to go to the cafeteria, but he insisted that I go so that I could eat.

Amanda came up to me. "Are you still mad at me?"

"Of course I am," I told her. "I can't believe what you did to me. You really should be friends with Emma again because I can't be around you."

Are you going to sic Tanner on me if I don't?

I felt like hitting her, but instead I thought that this might be a good time to practice the mind control. I knew her well, so she would be more susceptible. I didn't know what I was supposed to do, so I looked her in the eyes and got close to her. "You will go and be friends with Emma again. You will also tell people that the rumors about me are lies."

She stared at me for a minute and said, "I'll see if Emma still wants to be my friend and then I will start telling people that the rumors are lies."

"Thank you," I said, hoping that it worked and that she wasn't making fun of me.

She walked away, and when she passed a group of people she stopped and said, "Those rumors are lies."

Tanner whispered, "Did you just control her mind?"

"I hope so," I said. "It was my first time, so I didn't know what I was doing."

"It looks like it worked. You'll have to keep working on that," he said with a smile. "You might just put me out of a job though."

I gave him a confused look.

"My job as your bodyguard," he said.

"Oh, right." I laughed. "Sorry, I'm not so quick today. I didn't sleep a lot last night."

"Why is that?"

"Clara is training me and she thought that the middle of the night would be the best time."

"Don't do that every night," he said. "You need to make sure that you get enough sleep."

"I do seem to need less sleep these days, but I do need some. I will get some rest tonight. She isn't going to do any more training with me until Saturday."

"During the day?"

"Yes, during the day. It sounds like she is planning on spending the whole day preparing me to fight."

"Are you doing anything this afternoon? I have no practice today, and I would love to go somewhere with you."

I smiled. "I'd really like that. I'll treat you to some coffee or whatever you want to eat or drink. It'll be my way of saying thank you for threatening to punch people for me all day."

"Whatever I want?" he asked with a twinkle in his eyes. "I'll have to think about that. I might want to be the drink."

"Already?" I asked. "Was yesterday not enough for you?"

"Yesterday was perfect," he said. "I was just teasing you. Warm coffee sounds heavenly—as long as you're with me."

We had agreed to meet at a local coffee shop and risk running into kids from school. As I was getting out of my car, I saw Braydon.

I walked over to him. "Hi Braydon."

He seemed surprised to see me. "Uh, hi Alexis."

"So how's Natalie?" I asked.

He looked around us and said, "What do you want?"

"I just asked how Natalie is. You would know, right? Since she's your girlfr…"

"Let's go talk over there," he whispered, pointing to an area near some bushes where nobody else was.

"Sure, sounds great," I said, and we walked over there.

"What do you want?" he demanded.

"I want to make sure that you're treating my sister as well as she deserves."

"Why wouldn't I?" he asked.

"You tell me."

"Look, I don't know what you want from me."

"I just want you to treat her like a princess. None of this secret boyfriend garbage, and certainly no skipping school with her to smoke pot."

"How do you know about all of that?" he demanded.

"I overhear things and I don't like what I've heard."

"I'm a senior, and she's a sophomore," he said. "She doesn't seriously believe that she's my only girlfriend."

"I knew it."

"Well, you're the smart one."

I got in his face and said slowly, "You will either stop seeing your other girlfriend, or you will break up with Natalie. You will stop using her."

"I'll stop using her," he said.

"You will break up with her or you will break up with your other girlfriend."

"I will break up with Natalie."

"That sounds wonderful," I said, backing up. "I'm so glad that we could have this talk." I made a mental note to check on Natalie that night.

I walked back to the coffee shop and saw that Tanner was just getting out of his car.

"What was that all about with Braydon?" he asked when he got to where I was waiting. "That looked serious. Was he picking on you?"

"No. He's been using Natalie, and I convinced him to stop."

He laughed. "I'd better watch out before you start using that power on me."

"Tanner, I wouldn't use that on you. Ever."

"You're so sweet, Alexis. I believe you," he gave me a hug, and I hugged him back. Even though I was losing my sensitivity to temperature, I felt his warmth and it was intoxicating. I could stand in his embrace forever.

After we had gotten our coffees, we sat down at a table in the back.

"I have a confession to make," he admitted.

My heart sunk a little. "What is it?"

"This ring," he said, showing me a silver ring on his middle finger, "actually protects me from being mind controlled by a vampire. Samantha gave it to me, and I've just kept it on."

My skin crawled with jealousy. I did not want to hear her name even though Tanner would have never approached me if she hadn't told him about my transformation. I hated the thought of him wearing jewelry that she gave him. "You don't trust me?" I asked.

"It's not that," he said. "It really isn't. I know that vampires are around here often, and I don't want any of them to be able to control me. I can't tell the difference between humans and vampires unless it's really obvious."

"Okay. I believe you. Can you do me a favor and never mention her name again? It makes my skin crawl."

He smiled. "You don't need to worry about her. Even if she were still around, she pales in comparison to you. You're perfect."

I blushed. "Hardly."

He rolled his eyes. "You're too hard on yourself. On my way here, I saw a park with a big pile of leaves. You know what I was thinking?"

I smiled. "You want to jump in the pile and ruin the day of the poor person who made the pile?"

"That wasn't exactly the way I would have put it. But basically that's what I was thinking."

"After how much fun we had yesterday, I think that is a great idea."

He suggested that we walk to the park because it wasn't too far away, and he grabbed my hand as we walked along. I didn't stop him, and we walked quietly, just enjoying the afternoon.

"I see what you mean about that pile of leaves," I said when we got to the park. The pile was at least five feet wide and about two feet high.

"Wanna race?" he asked.

"Of course." We ran, still holding hands, and dove into the pile, sending leaves flying in all directions.

We started laughing and throwing leaves at each other. He knocked me over and I pushed him down, shoving leaves down his back.

"Hey, you can't do that."

"I think I just did." I laughed.

"Two can play that game." He grabbed a bunch with both hands, and I ran out of the pile and hid behind a tree.

"You can run, but you can't hide," he called.

I peeked around to see where he was, and he was right in front of me and dumped the pile on my head. I chased him back to the pile and tackled him, and we landed with a thud and burst out laughing again.

"I never knew how weak my stomach muscles were. It keeps hurting to laugh."

"Me too. I never knew how much I needed some fun in my life."

"Same here," I said. "Sometimes life gets to be a bit much."

"Here's some more fun." He grabbed me, and we rolled around in the pile.

I squirmed away and stood up putting my hands on my hips. "You'll never catch me." I started running toward the woods and hid just as I entered them.

He came running after me, and I grabbed him. He screamed and said, "You really scared me!"

I giggled. "You just screamed like a girl."

"I did not."

"You most certainly did," I said, laughing.

He grabbed me and pulled me close, kissing me.

All of a sudden, there was a gust of wind and a loud noise that I knew could only be the sound of hundreds of crows cawing. We pulled apart and sure enough, right at the edge of the woods was a flock of crows flying around and cawing.

I sighed. "I hate these things. We've got to get away. They have been chasing me since about the time I started my transformation."

"They've got us blocked in," he said. "We can't get out of these woods."

"I know how to find my way out of the woods," I said. "Let's just run."

The crows started flying faster and faster, and for some reason, I couldn't pull my eyes away from the sight. They looked like a mass of black. It was impossible to see even one single crow.

The black mass took on the form of a man in a black cloak.

"Alexis, we've got to run," Tanner whispered to me, looking completely scared.

"We can't," I told him.

"Why the heck not?"

"There are vampires surrounding us from behind," I said.

"How do you know that?"

"I can sense them. There are at least five of them."

"Alexis Ferguson. We finally meet," said the vampire in front of us. "Or should I say, Marguerite Westerfield?"

"We haven't met," I informed him. "I have no idea who you are."

"My name is Adam and I've been looking forward to meeting you for a very long time."

Tanner grabbed my hand. "Adam, we have no interest in talking with you. Step aside so that we can go home."

"That's not possible. I'm not leaving without Alexis."

"You're going to have to go through me first," Tanner explained.

"Don't do this," I whispered to Tanner. "He's a vampire and he can rip you to shreds. I need you alive and well."

I sensed that the other vampires behind us were moving towards us. They stepped forward standing in a half circle around us.

"Samantha," Tanner exclaimed. "I thought you were dead. What's going on?"

I whipped my head to the other side of Tanner to get a look at Samantha. I saw a drop-dead gorgeous vampire, and my heart sank.

She gave him an evil smile. "Of course that's what you thought. That's what I wanted you to think."

I looked at Adam and demanded, "What's going on here?"

"I already told you. I'm not leaving without you."