Chapter 1

The cheerful chatter of the cafeteria is interrupted by a loud female scream. A girl can be seen running out of the large hall with horror written all over her face. The cause of said horror is Carter Miller, who had accidentally spilled his drink on her.

Honestly, I don't blame Emily for panicking. This had to be the third time this month that Carter had spilled his blood bag all over her. I was beginning to think he did it on purpose just so he could see her freak out and have a panic attack. He was probably still bitter about Emily breaking up with him after finding out what he was.

You see, Carter Miller was one of the few vampires who attended our school. More than half of the school population was made up of what we called supernaturals. These were beings we all thought were nothing more than stories but turned out to exist—and, scarily enough, they blended well with humans to the point where one couldn't tell them apart from us.

Half a decade ago, the existence of supernatural beings was made known to the human population. Now, they lived freely alongside us, as long as they didn't hurt anybody, they were free to live as they liked. They attended our schools, worked among humans, lived with humans, and interacted with us.

Ghouls, werewolves, witches, incubuses, and vampires all lived with us now. Despite the world accepting their existence, some of us were still scared shitless of them. People like Emily, who happened to find out that her childhood friend and long-time boyfriend had all along been a blood-sucking vampire, had trouble accepting things. And for people like me, whose mom happened to be married to a vampire and had a vampire as a stepbrother, there was no choice but to accept it.

It was weird. It was scary. It was unavoidable. Living with things we once thought didn't even exist, knowing the fact that my stepfamily could one day lose control and suck all the blood out of my mom or me, was terrifying. This was why I planned to save enough money to take both me and my mom away from this town. To a place where only humans lived without fear. Things could go back to the way they were before. I don’t think the world is going to change back anytime soon. I mean, I just saw on the news last night that the president of the state was a werewolf.

I sigh to myself, taking a bite from my apple. I glance over my shoulder to see that the boy behind me is gulping down a steak, raw and uncooked. He is munching so loudly and making contented hums with each bite that it sends shivers down my spine. Geez, a girl couldn’t even eat in peace.

I grab my apple and make my way out of the cafeteria. I take a big bite out of it and head over to the bathroom. I knew I would find my best friend there. I find Emily hunched over the sink, trying to wash off the blood from her shirt.

"Are you okay, Em?"

She looks over at me from her shoulder and shakes her head. Her eyes are red, and it seems to me that she had been crying. "I don’t know why he keeps doing this to me. He knows how much blood scares me."

"I know." I walk over to her and grab some tissues to help her with her cleaning. Most of the blood has been washed away, leaving behind only a red patch. "We have only a year left, remember? After high school, we can move away, somewhere with no supernaturals "

"How do you know that? These people... they are everywhere!"

"We can only keep ourselves hopeful. Besides, I think Carter is only doing this because he still likes you."

"I know," Emily sighs, her gaze softening as she thinks back on her childhood sweetheart. "I miss him too. It’s just that... he drinks blood, you know? I know he needs it as much as we need food, but I can't handle it sometimes. I hate blood. I love him, but I hate blood."

"You’ll figure it out, I know you will," I give her a friendly nudge, and she laughs. "Clean up, I’ll get your books from the cafe."

"Kay."

I hand over the tissue to her and make my way out of the bathroom. The hallways are empty because everyone else is still in the lunchroom. I had hoped it would remain empty for much longer, but when I hear the sound of male laughter approaching, I know that my hopes will soon be dashed. The school's pretty boys were approaching. I stood my ground and waited. I needed to have a little word with Carter about the stunt he pulled today.

It doesn’t take long before their group makes an appearance. Western High School’s PB (short for Pretty Boys) was made up of four members: the handsome playboy (incubus) Kevin, the sports guy (ghoul) Ashton, the genius Walter (werewolf), and the most popular guy in school, Carter (vampire). Those four jerks were the dream and nightmare of every human girl in school. Girls both loved and feared them at the same time. All girls, but not me.

"Carter," I called out, causing all of them to look in my direction. I didn’t care to look at any of them, as Carter was my only target.

"Well, hello there, Kerry," he gives me a wide grin. He probably knows why I’m talking to him, but doesn’t care. The fuck face!

"I warned you last time never to spill anything on Emma again."

"It wasn’t like I did it on purpose. She’s such a wuss sometimes."

"It’s happened three times now." I hold up three fingers in his face. "If it happens a fourth time, I’ll send a wooden cross through your heart. Got it?"

Carter winces slightly at my threat but doesn’t give a response. I walk past him toward the cafeteria, knowing that he got the message. I know that he knows I have a rather large cross, which I keep under my pillow. It might not kill him, but it will sure as hell leave a scar.

This was my way of preparing myself. I didn’t trust my stepfather, and I didn’t trust my stepbrother either. He stares at me weirdly. Ever since the first time Mom had introduced us over dinner, I noticed how Silas stared too long at me. What could he possibly be thinking in that big brain of his? Maybe he was contemplating how sweet my blood would taste, or how soft my neck would be when he sinks his fangs into it.

Yeah, I didn’t trust Silas.

But it’s only one year. I’ll graduate high school in a year and will be old enough to look after myself.