"You got suspended?"

"Yes, Brett, I got suspended."

He turns on the ignition and sighs over the noise of the engine revving up. "Good one, Lenore."

"It was worth it, though."

"Really? Knocking a girl out for some petty comment?" He raises his eyebrows at me.

"She said I was a whore, Brett! You should've done something yourself to stop it. But no, you just stood there until I had finally had enough and punched her in the face."

He doesn't say anything after that. I cross my arms over my chest and clench my jaw, glaring at Brett out of the corner of my eye.

"You're angry at me now, but you'll thank me for it later," he says eventually.

"Okay, you sound like my mom," I say. "Who is dead," I add.

"You know, maybe you'd be happier if you stop bringing it up," he says. The car slows to a stop outside of my house.

Ouch. That hurts. "You don't understand," I yell. "You don't have two dead parents."

A muscle feathers in his jaw. "My parents died when I was three."

I cup a hand over my mouth. "Oh my god," I gasp. "I'm so sorry. I can't believe I said that."

He purses his lips, purposely avoiding my eyes. "It's fine, Lenore," he says softly. "You didn't know." But his words have an underlying sour tone in them.

I run a hand through my hair. "God, I'm such a bitch! I can't believe I said that."

"Lenore st—"

"I am so sorry. I am actually the worst person on this planet right—"

I'm cut off by Brett's mouth colliding with mine. His lips are soft but passionate as they work in time with mine. His arms go around my waist, pulling me closer to him. When he pulls away, his lips are pink and swollen. Our faces are still millimetres apart when he says, "I thought I told you to stop."

I feel my lips curving into a dry smile. "God, our lives are so messed up."

"I know," he says softly.

His lips press down firmly on mine again, this time more passionate and strong. His lips move in sync with mine and his hands burn through my skin with every brush of contact. His hands are curious, exploring; playing with the hem of my shirt, sliding down past my hips and down to my ass. He pulls me onto his lap and trails his lips across my jaw and then down to my neck. A small noise escapes my lips as he sucks on the skin between my neck and collarbone.

And that's when I feel it and pull away. "Brett," I exclaim, a strand of mussed hair falling across my face. "I can feel your little guy!"

He widens his eyes and turns a deep shade of red. "Oh, my god. I'm so sorry. Holy crap. Get off of me right now. Right now. You're making me — okay, wow, just please get off before I embarrass myself further."

I push open the door and clamber out. "That was..." I, myself, don't even know a word that'd describe the level of awkwardness that just ensued.

He grins and tries desperately to cover what's happening between his legs. "Yep." He grimaces and looks at his phone. "Wow! Would you look at that! Satomi's called. I better be on my way, I s'pose. See ya, Lenore."

And without even waiting for an answer, he speeds down the street. "Goodbye to you too, Mr Talbot," I mumble to myself and head inside.

Turns out my streak of being charming is over, because as soon as I get inside I hear the voice of June yelling from the living room. She comes out, cheeks red — huh, her complexion is uneven for once — and eyes wide with fury. I don't need much imagination to conjure up steam coming out of her ears, either. "Suspended? Really? And for hitting another girl?"

I settle my bag down. "I — uh, hello to you, too."

She narrows her eyes at me. "Now's not the time to be a smartass, Lenore Nina Harrington!"

"You don't understand, June. She called me a prostitute and said my parents wouldn't be proud. That sort of hurts, you know."

"Still," she yells. "You shouldn't have used violence! Your parents raised you better than that!"

I sigh and look her in the eyes. I compel her. "Calm down, June. You're not angry at my suspension and it was a misunderstanding. I had a reason to hit her."

Her eyes are glazed over and her expression is blank. "I'm not angry at you for your suspension and it was a misunderstanding," she repeats absentmindedly. "You had a reason to hit her." And, just like that, she's back to acting normal. She blinks out the absent look and smiles. "I made cookies if you want any."

I smile. "Thanks, June. You're the best." I stop by the kitchen on my way to my room and grab a stack of them.

I can't shake the restless feeling I have as I get up into my room. I just got in somebody's mind! I'm a fucking mind controller!

"Cool, isn't it?" a voice pipes up behind me.

"How the hell did you get into my room, Noah?"

"The window, stupid."

I fold my arms over my my chest. "And why are you here?"

He rolls his eyes. "I don't know," he says. "But I think it's because that little episode out there was great to watch. You know, as a vampire, life gets boring after a few centuries. But you, you're so young and full of life! Ah, I'd be jealous if I wasn't so content with being diabolical."

"Why are you here?" I repeat.

"Okay, okay," he says, throwing his hands up defensively. "Why are you so demanding, woman?"

I raise my eyebrows. "Noah, I will throw you out of this window."

He raises his eyebrows, a challenge. I shove him against the wall and, to my surprise, he breaks out into laughter. He grabs my wrist and pries it away from him. "I found the vampire that bit you, Lenore."

"Who is he?"

Noah furrows his eyebrows. "It's twenty-fifteen," he says, a devilish glint beginning to sparkle in his eye. "Who said anything about a he?"

* * *

"Why are we standing in the middle of an abandoned building?"

I look up at the cavernous ceiling, its detailed woodwork playing shadows on the ceiling. The place is so dusty and neglected that I can just feel the dust settling on my skin and seething through my airways.

The furniture is ancient but solid and a massive chandelier hangs down from the centre. There seem to be pits of shadow in every corner and I can feel goosebumps raising on my arms.

"Stop complaining," Noah replies. "No wonder she hasn't made any contact with you since now."

"Who the hell is this woman?" I hiss at him.

"Stop speaking like I'm not here, loves," a feminine voice says from behind me. The British voice is sweet like liquid honey and I can tell it comes from someone who's both wise and highly regarded. I turn around and gaze upon the vampire.

She has perfectly formed blonde waves that cascade down her back like a golden waterfall. Her eyes are bright and blue, her lips full and perfectly shaped. Man, she is hot.

"Emilia Morgenstern," she says, holding out a hand. "You must be Lenore." I hesitate, keeping as still as a rod. "Oh, come on, I don't bite," she says, rolling her eyes. "Actually, I sort of do. But you have no reason to fear that do you, love?"

"Uh, no," I say. I stick out my hand and shake hers, her grip so tight that I almost feel pins and needles in my fingers.

She paces around the room so gracefully that it looks as though she is floating. "Ah, Lenore," she says, her hands clasped in front of her stomach. "I remember when The Raven came out. All women wished they were called Lenore. Such a beautiful name." She pauses, turning to Noah and me. "Too bad they were all ugly cunts."

I keep my face blank. "So, why did you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Turn me into a vampire. Why did you do it, Emilia?"

She sits down on one of the plush, dusty velvet couches, the deep purple making her skin look even paler. "You young ones are just so ungrateful," she says. "You were dying, sweetheart. I saved your life. Have some courtesy towards me."

"I didn't ask for this," I protest.

"You didn't ask to be involved in that crash," she says. "Sometimes, you don't have a say in what happens to you."

I feel anger bubbling up. "Why are you here, now?" I demand. "Why weren't you here when I started to crave blood and almost went out of my freaking mind trying to control the bloodlust?"

"I'm here," she begins, "because I need a favour."

I bite my lip, setting my jaw defiantly "I'm not doing anything for you."

"Hear me out, Lenore," she says. "I need you to kill Scott McCall."

I intake a sharp breath, going stiff. "Excuse me? You'd be damned for thinking that I'm going to kill an ally of mine."

She quirks an eyebrows, slightly amused. "Ally?"

"You want the fucking money, don't you?" I ask, narrowing my eyes at her. I take a step towards her without thinking and she gets to her feet, indignant.

"Lenore, do you really think you have a choice?" she taunts.

"You really think I'm going to let you dictate my life?" I retort.

"Oh, sweetheart," she says with a small giggle. "I'm five hundred years old. Do you really think that you can beat me?"

I open my mouth to speak, but the voice that answers isn't mine. "Who said she came alone?"

Brett emerges from the shadows, his eyes glowing yellow and fangs jutting out from where his teeth are supposed to be. He charges forward, lunging at the vampire, but she's too fast. She jolts out of his way and bares her own fangs, challenging him.

My jaw aches as I will the fangs to come out and, as they do, I can feel my senses heightening and my reflexes becoming faster. Brett goes at her again, but it's useless. She's a lightning bolt.

I run forward, and as her eyes meet mine, she quickly grabs Brett and holds him in front of her. "Nice try, sweetheart," she coos. "But I've dealt with a lot more than just young vampires. Do you want your boyfriend back or do you want to kill Scott McCall?"

I open and close my mouth numerous times, trying to muster up the right words. I'm frozen to the spot, panicked and feeling hopeless.

"What is it, Len—"

She gets cut off, her eyes wide as she slackens her grip on Brett. Her mouth is agape, and when Brett steps away from her falling body, I realise that she has blood on her shirt.

And there's a stake through her heart.

She grunts as her knees give way and I go rigid as I watch the dying vampire. She opens her mouth, a guttural noise coming from her throat before she chokes out words. "There's something coming," she says, her eyes vacant. "You won't see it coming, but it is. Something bad is coming."

And with that, Emilia Morgenstern falls to the ground with a thump, dead.