The evening was magical. Clay's head rests on my chest when I awaken. I recall how he made me smile the previous night. I run my fingers through his hair and smile. They informed me that he wouldn't ever fall in love. What brought us here, then? He leaves me gasping for air, and the thought of him being gone hurts my heart. Unfortunately, as Logan enters, this moment ends even though I don't want it to.

"Clay, get up. Satan's spawn just pulled up," he exclaims, his voice filled with rage.

"Jesus Christ!" Clay replies as he gets out of bed and rubs his hands over his face.

"Guess that's my cue to leave," I say, getting dressed. "By the way, I'm borrowing this shirt!" I smile, looking at Clay. I throw my romper into my purse, slip on my heels, and wrap my belt around my waist—the perfect outfit for the walk of shame.

He sighs and replies, "No, just stay here."

"Not happening," I say. I gather my belongings and leave. They continued chatting about how Sloane will freak out when she sees me, while Brie stands behind Logan as I exit into the hallway. I squint and move in the direction of the entrance. Sloane is waiting outside when I open the door, looking like she's about to slaughter me.

Great, here we go, I think to myself.

"What are you doing here?" She asks through her teeth.

"Just leaving," I respond and walk past her, she grabs my arm. It felt as though an electric shock had been transmitted from my body to hers. I pull away, startled by the sudden jolt. "Don't touch me," I say firmly.

"Ouch, you stupid bitch." She says; I look at her, not knowing what to say. I have no idea what just happened. "What the hell is your problem? And why are you here? You're just a one-night stand for him. It's a bad look. Let me make myself clear. He is mine."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realise there was a "property" sign on him. To be fair, I'm not the one who arrives at a guy's house in sleazy fashion. Everyone knows how easy you are; where is your pride? You ought to feel embarrassed." She yells that this is her final warning to me to keep away from Clay as I turn to leave. As I go, I give a wave. As I walk away, I can feel her eyes burning into my back.

Clay is shouting at her to leave him alone, but she's dug her claws into deep already, and it won't be easy to get rid of her. This girl is too fixated on him, and I don't have time for games like this, so I can't do it.

⁂

I immediately get into bed when I arrive home. I'm reminded of the previous evening by Clay's aroma as it leaves his shirt. I need to take this off and shower.

My head starts to pound as I get to my feet. "Ahhh!" I scream as I fall to my knees. Holding my head, the pain starts to subside.

I take a deep breath. "What was that?" I say to myself. "A shower will do me some good."

I'm lost in contemplation as the hot water flows down my body. I use cold water to shave my legs by that point. I exit while wearing a towel around me. As my head begins to pound, I turn to face the mirror. I get the impression that a monster is hidden in my reflection. My eyes flicker, but this time I wasn't dreaming. I lean in to look at my eyes as a voice in my head says,

"Hush, baby, hush." The voice whispers. "You're the only one who knows I'm here."

Panic overcomes me, and I drop to my knees. Pain radiates through my skull. Finally, it stops, and I'm able to head to my room. I'm going crazy; I have to be. I take a few moments to calm down and then get dressed. I hear something fall; the book from that book store is on the floor. I pick it up and examine it. I need to know why I have this book, so I grab my bag, the book and put my shoes on, and head out the door.

Brie is being dropped off as I leave the building. As she kisses Logan goodbye, she turns to face me and instructs me to wait. Logan shouts out the window, "I'm sorry about this morning," in a sad tone. I grin and admonish myself.

"Hey, where are you going?" She asks.

"I'm on my way to the bookstore. Somehow this book got mixed in with all my class books," I say, showing her the book. She looks at the book and then at me.

"Ray, that wasn't a mistake." She says, "Let's go. I'm coming with you. I think it's time you and Mr. Michaels have a little chat."

"Okay," I say, confused, as we head to the store.

⁂

As we walk through the door, that barrier-like feeling isn't there. Maybe I imagined it the first time. Mr. Michaels is standing at the counter; he looks over at us with a smile.

"I was wondering when you would be back!" He says directly to me, "Nice to see you, Brie."

"Hi, Mr. Michaels, this is Raven, as you know, and I think she has some questions," Brie says with a smirk.

Mr. Michaels walks over to the door, turns the open sign off, and locks it; the blinds are closed, Brie is texting on her phone, and then the lights go off.

What the hell is happening?

Candles appear to be lit by none other than magic, yet Mr. Michaels is still there next to us. There is nobody else in the store.

"How did you do that?" I ask, Deja vu is hitting me all over again as if I remember things happening like this in the past.

"Magic!" Brie says excitedly.

"What?" I'm a little confused. "Magic doesn't exist." "Well, how else do you explain it?" Brie retorts.

"Contrarily, Miss Beauregard, vampires do exist; why then wouldn't magic?" Mr. Michaels amuses himself by staring at me. Okay, this guy is weird and creeps me out. I look at Brie, and she seems comfortable.

"Okay, so say magic does exist, which it doesn't. What does it have to do with me and this book?" I ask, slamming it down on the counter.

"That book is your family's grimoire," he says.

"My family's what?"

"Raven, you're a witch!" Brie says.

"No, no, no!" I yell before I begin to laugh nervously. "I'm not a witch, that's ridiculous!" But deep down, I couldn't shake the feeling that there was something more to my family's history than I had ever known.

Brie tries to put me at ease. I sit down on the floor after taking a deep breath. My friend is trying to say I'm a witch, but I don't know anything about witchcraft. I have always known that there is something unusual about me. I have always felt as though there is something missing and that there must be more to life than chasing after every fleeting high to make me happy. Is this what was missing? I look over at Brie, then at Mr. Michaels. "Explain," I demand.

Mr. Michaels occupies a chair next to us, while Brie is seated next to me. They begin by describing a prophecy that stated one of the witch covens would create the most powerful witch ever seen 20 years prior. This witch would possess immense power, capable of single-handedly eliminating all supernatural entities. The vampires were vigilant, watching for any sign of the existence of the witch. If she did, she would employ magic before becoming an adolescent. As soon as she could speak, the girl was doing magic.

The vampires were divided in their opinions. Some believed that they were safe as long as she had no reason to fight them, while others were not willing to take any chances and chose to declare war. Witches, warlocks, and Lycans gathered from various locations to fight against the vampires. The young child was kept hidden to ensure her safety. The war between the supernatural world resulted in a mere 2% survival rate, with all participants losing their lives. The world was forever changed.

The Lycans vanished and returned to their place of origin, causing subsequent generations of vampires to believe they were merely a legend. Before they perished, the last of the witches cast a spell to protect the world from supernaturals. As a result, our country is the only one that knows about our existence. This is the place where the vampires and witches first lived. Cladwell University came into existence as a result of the peaceful agreement between vampires and humans.

"Cool story, but what does this have to do with my family?"

"Raven, your parents died that night," Brie says quietly. I stand up and pace.

"Are you telling me that my parents were a part of this war the vampires caused fourteen years ago?" I yell. Now I'm freaking out.

"Yes." I look over to see Zack.

"What are you doing here?" I ask him.

"I'm one of those Lycans," he says, head down. "I was sent to watch over you." I can feel myself getting angrier by the minute.

"Raven, calm down, please," Brie begs.

"And where is this little girl? Who is she? If all these witches died to protect her and they're gone, how is she still alive?" I have so many questions. "And how do you know about all this?" I ask Brie.

"Well, I'm a witch. My Grams is one, but not my parents, so I didn't come into my powers until I was fifteen," Brie says.

"You never told me," I yell at her. "I couldn't. I wasn't allowed to until now." I can hear the guilt in her voice.

"Miss Beauregard, please calm down!" Mr. Michaels says.

"My. Name. Is. Raven!" And just like that, all the candles went out. The lights turn on, and I'm pissed. I can't believe she would hide something like this from me; she's like my sister. I look at both of them.

"Okay, so let me get this straight: you're a Lycan, and you are a witch; supposedly, my parents were witches. They died with every other witch to protect this little girl. Who's oh so powerful, correct?" I ask

"Yes and no? Your father was a vampire." Brie quietly says.

"Haha." These cretins want me to think that my father was a vampire; wouldn't that make me one too? I start to laugh out loud uncontrollably.

"Then why am I not a vampire?" I ask them. If it's true, there has to be an answer.

"Your mom's witch line suppressed your dad's vampire line."

"So I'm a witch, according to you all?"

"Yes," they both say.

"I guess my next question is, who is this girl, and how do I fit into all of this?" I ask, looking directly at Mr. Michaels.

"You are," Brie's eyes light up.