Chapter 5

Vampires lived far longer than humans. Most were born, but a few were turned. In the past, they were known to live under a single ruler, a ruler whom they feared and obeyed for the continuity of his rule.

Their only weakness is silver—not just any kind of silver, though. It had to be melted at a certain temperature and covered in a substance that had gone extinct. In other words, only the government had access to weapons that could end a vampire's life. I almost felt bad that the knife I kept under my pillow was of little use.

Even as I read through the pages, I couldn't find anything about vampires being psychic. Apart from having incredible strength, speed, and immortality, they seemed just like any other person. Well, except that they disliked sunlight—but even that was something they were adapting to.

I closed the book and put it away. my stomach grumbled slightly, reminding me that I haven't eaten, but I didn't want to go downstairs either, in fear that I would run into Silas. I lay on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. Eventually, I grew drowsy and then fell asleep.

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I opened my eyes, only to find that it was morning the next day. I pulled myself up to a sitting position and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. I saw some food and water left on my bedside table—Mom must have left it last night. Too bad she hadn't woken me up, and now it had gone cold.

I pulled myself to my feet and made my way toward the bathroom. I cleaned myself up before getting dressed. I threw on a black hoodie with matching pants and Air Max shoes. I pulled my hair into a high ponytail and then applied some mascara. I grabbed my bag and headed downstairs. The house was awfully quiet, and it seemed only Silas (whom I had noticed in the kitchen) was home. I contemplated whether I should ask him; maybe he wasn't in such a bad mood as yesterday.

"Silas?"

"Dad and Stella are off to Miami. They won't be back until next week," he told me, even before I could ask. Once more, I was starting to wonder if my theory of him being psychic was true.

"Then… can you drive me to school?"

"I've made breakfast. Eat first, then I'll take you." I nodded, saying a quick thank you to him before digging into breakfast. Silas was an incredible cook—even better than Mom. I had once asked him if he had taken cooking classes, but he only brushed it off with a smile. He might be acting normal, but I could tell he was still distant from me.

I finished my breakfast and followed Silas to his car. I got in and strapped on my seatbelt. Silas hopped into the driver's seat. The ride to school was silent. I would look over at him every once in a while, but Silas didn't take his eyes off the road even once. He kept his eyes ahead and gripped the steering wheel tightly.

When he pulled up in front of my school, I had no other option but to step out. I watched the car drive off and gave myself a disappointed pat on the shoulder. Geez, why was it so hard to talk to him?! It was like I became a coward in a single night. The bell for the first period hadn't rung yet as I walked through the halls to my locker. I opened it to take out my books when I heard fast footsteps approaching from behind me.

"Kerry!... Kerry!" Emily had tears running down her face as she stood in front of me. I instantly became alert and looked to the front of her dress for traces of blood splashes. There were none. Normally, my best friend only got like this when she came in contact with blood.

"Emily, what's wrong?"

"C...Carter."

"What did he do now?" I asked with a bit of anger. I knew that asshole just couldn't keep away from Emily for long. Why couldn't he get the hint that she didn't want to be with him?

"I... I happened to run into him during the weekend. I didn't mean to get involved with him, but he seemed enraged about the fact that I was on a date and came marching over to threaten..."

"Wait, you were on a date? With whom?"

"Someone I met online, but that doesn't matter at the moment."

"So you're saying you ran into Carter while on a date with some guy you met online? And Carter got jealous and threatened you guys?"

"No, he mostly threatened my date. Carter scared him shitless!"

"Um... but why didn't your date stand up for himself?"

"David is human, Kerry. How in the hell is he a match for a damn vampire?!" Emily sighed and used her hand to wipe the tears from her face. She looked extremely sad. "I like David, Kerry, but I'm afraid Carter might hurt him because of me. I am so confused that I can't even think properly. I wish Carter would just leave me alone and move on."

I placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. It felt like Emily was going through a lot with this whole Carter thing. She was ready to move on with her life, yet her past kept showing up in front of her. I've known Emily since we were in preschool, and I hated seeing her so conflicted and hurt. I had to do something. This whole Carter situation had to end.

"Don't worry, Emily. I'll have a little talk with Carter Miller for you."

"I don't think you threatening him is doing much in my case, Kerry."

"Trust me, I can be a lot more convincing if I want to." Emily looked doubtful, but she still nodded, and I gave her a small hug. The bell soon rang, and we both went our separate ways. Fortunately, today was a Monday, and the first class I had for the day was actually with Carter. He was seated at the back with his friends, as usual, not paying much attention to the class and still managing to have perfect grades at the end of the term.

I sat in a seat beside the window and kept myself from staring in his direction. If I made it obvious that I might want to have another word with him, then he might just speed off before I can even approach him. It was against the rules for a supernatural to use their ability on school grounds, but it didn't mean I hadn't caught some of them doing it anyway. I supposed if I also had such cool abilities, it would be impossible not to show them off.

Biology wasn't my best subject. I tried to pay attention as much as I could, but Mr. Eliot always made it so difficult not to zone out with his thick accent. Finally, the bell rang, signaling the end of that period—and the beginning of my quest. I got out of my seat and approached Carter. Aston saw me coming and whispered something to the vampire's ear, causing him to frown.

"Carter," I called out as I stood in front of him. I bluntly ignored the strange looks his little group flashed me. Maybe it was because of my outfit. I had to be the only girl in this school who wore hoodies on a hot day. But the thing was, I didn't feel much heat, just like I didn't feel the cold. I had just assumed it was some sort of gene I had gotten from my parents, so I never thought much about it.

"What do you want, Jones?"

"I want to talk to you."

"Not a chance. I have gym class next."

"It will only take a minute. You'll be back with your group of weirdos before you know it." He flashed me an annoyed look at my words. I gave him a smile in return.

He must have known I wasn't the type to easily give up, because he got on his feet with a heavy sigh. He walked ahead of me, and I followed, knowing that he was leading us somewhere private to talk. He entered one of the classrooms, which wasn't in use at the moment, and turned to me.

"What do you want?"

"Emily. You need to stay away from her."

"I see, so you're here to threaten me again?" His pupils shrank slightly into a dull red as he watched me. I had seen this look on Silas, and I knew he was getting pissed. I stood my ground, either way. "Can't you get it over your head that your threats make no difference to me?"

"Carter, I don't want you to go near Emily again," I said, taking light steps toward him. There was only a small space between us now. Carter was much taller than me, so I had to look up to meet his eyes. Those now-scarlet eyes of his were... beautiful.

"Why do you think I give a living fuck about what you want?" he spat. Carter was getting pissed now—like really pissed. Most people would back down at the moment. They would probably scurry off with their tails wagging between their legs. But Kerry Jones wasn't most people. I mean, I had a ghost friend named Terry—normal people couldn't handle that either, right? This thought caused my lips to curl up in a smile, which seemed to piss off Carter even more.

"Kerry, I'm fucking warning you to mind your damned business..."

I leaped onto my toes and sealed his lips with mine before he could finish his sentence. I didn't pay attention to how stiff his body had become all of a sudden and instead wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him even closer to me. I moaned against his mouth, pushing my tongue against his parted lips.

Despite myself, I found that I enjoyed kissing Carter. His lips were soft against mine, and his mouth felt warm, unlike the rest of his body, which was always cold. Carter was still frozen throughout most of the kiss. He only snapped out of his daze when I pulled back to

catch my breath. I looked up at him, feeling a slight flush spread across my cheeks. Carter was staring at me, his mouth slightly open in shock. He blinked a few times, as if processing what had just happened. His eyes were still tinged red, but I could see something else there now—confusion, mixed with an intense, unspoken curiosity.

"What the hell was that?" His voice was hoarse, and it took me a second to realize how close we were, how fast my heart was pounding in my chest. I had done something reckless, something impulsive—and now it felt like the room was too small.

"You needed a reminder," I said, my tone more confident than I felt. "Stay away from Emily. If you don't, I won't hesitate to make you regret it."

Carter took a slow step back, his expression darkening as he ran a hand through his messy hair. "You're insane."

"Maybe. But it worked, didn't it?" I kept my voice calm, trying to ignore the adrenaline rushing through my veins. I needed to keep control of this situation.

His gaze flicked to the door for a moment, as though weighing his options. "You think you can control me? You’re just a human, Kerry. You have no idea what you're dealing with."

"I'm not trying to control you," I said, taking a step toward him, "but I am making it clear that if you hurt Emily again, I will come for you. And I won't stop until I make you regret it. Got it?"

For a moment, Carter didn’t say anything. He just stood there, staring at me with a mixture of disbelief and something else that I couldn’t quite place. Then, with a slight smirk, he spoke.

"I’m not scared of you, Jones. But… this isn’t over."

I raised an eyebrow, a challenging smile playing at the corners of my lips. "It never is with you, is it?"

With one last piercing look, Carter turned and walked out of the room, his footsteps echoing in the silence that followed. I stood there for a moment, breathing heavily as the reality of what had just happened started to settle in.

What the hell had I just done?

Shaking my head, I took a deep breath and walked back out of the classroom. I had no idea what kind of mess I’d just stepped into, but I knew one thing for sure: Carter Miller wasn’t going to make this easy. But neither was I.

It was time to put an end to this once and for all.