I smacked Dorian in the arm. "I totally had it. Right Salvatore?"He responded by chugging down his soda. "Uh-huh, sure you did." Dorian looked freshly showered too. His sandy hair was still wet and slicked back. He always dressed so nicely, and today was no exception: a light green polo with dark jeans and a brown belt that matched his shoes."You're so pretty, Dorian." I grabbed the can of soda from him and cracked it open.He smirked. "Don't I know it."One by one, the guys sauntered into the kitchen, each handsome in his own way, each dear to me. These guys were my family. I'd do anything for them, and I knew the feeling was mutual. After last night's freak-out, I figured the guys might act weird toward me, but it was the same ol' same ol,' and for that I was grateful.Gabe walked in last. He looked just as he always did - gorgeous brown hair, mischievous green eyes, olive skin, and a body of lean muscle - but everything was different too. Those arms held me last night. He
Heathcliff answered as though he'd been holding his breath. "We'd love to.""Excellent." Kenmei moved inside. "Apologies for the smell. It keeps away the undesirables." "No problem," Heathcliff said.After the four of us were inside, Hiro appeared seemingly out of nowhere and barked, "Take off your shoes," as he closed the door."I'll be right back," Kenmei said when he reached the end of the hall. "Show them into the dining room and get them some tea," he added, speaking to Hiro. Hiro bowed. "Yes, Grandfather."Kenmei disappeared.I rolled up my pant legs because the ends were wet and removed my shoes as I waited for my eyes to adjust to the dimly lit room. It'd been dusk outside, but for some reason, it seemed darker in here. I could barely make out that Gabe and the others were removing their shoes as well. "Follow me, please, and don't touch anything." Hiro shook his pointer finger at us slowly but seemed to be looking directly at me.Did I have "klutzy" stamped across my fore
"Let me show you." Even freaked, I noticed a twinge of regret or remorse in his words. Focusing on that was pointless, though. Escaping. Leaving the room in one piece. That was priority number one. I'd moved from one side of the bed to the other, trying to get out. Without meaning to, I stepped off the edge and between the curtains and the mattress.When my foot hit the floor, a sharp pain zinged my knee, but I barely noticed. Swinging my other leg around, I placed it on the floor, scooted onto all fours, and climbed out of the curtains.Free! I let out a sob of relief but quickly covered my mouth as I stood. If I couldn't see, then maybe he couldn't either. Wiping my eyes, I stuck my hands out in front of me, feeling for the wall, or a chair, or a door, and took a cautious step forward. My knee gave, and I whimpered. "This isn't funny," I said, my teeth chattering. A moment later, I bumped into something. It was pliable yet solid. Apprehensively I touched it, trying to fig
I spent another hour in the chair, hiding my face, barely listening to the conversation between Kenmei, Dorian, Heathcliff, Gabe, and Hiro. Professor Pops finally arrived along with the other four brothers. With his assurance that he'd fill them in later, he sent them home. Then Kenmei led Professor Pops and me into another room. It was small, more like a closet, with just an organized brown desk and three straight back chairs.Professor Pops patted my back kindly. "Tell us what happened, and don't leave anything out."I relayed the events, including the embarrassing fact that I'd found pleasure in the guy biting me, sucking my blood. Professor Pops and Kenmei exchanged a knowing look."Do you understand what happened?" I asked Professor Pops.He cleared his throat and studied his hands. His nervousness scared me worse than anything. "Snow, I've known for some time that you'd been marked. I expected she would wait until after your sixteenth birthday to send him," Pops said. "That'
At the thought of blood, my mouth watered. I ignored it. "I'm fine," I said to Professor Pops, grinding my teeth. "The food tasted wonderful. Please tell your wife thank you," I added, studying Kenmei. It was a lie. The rice and vegetables had tasted like ash, but I had the distinct impression it wasn't because of his wife's cooking skills; more that my body had already begun its transformation. He nodded. "I will.""Now, let me answer your question," Professor Pops said, crossing one of his long legs over the other.I peered at him, slightly confused."You asked why she chose you.""Oh, right. Yes." I leaned back in the chair and clamped my twitchy hands in my lap."First, a little history." He crossed his legs, his reading glasses perched on the edge of his nose. "Okay," I said, noting it'd become my word of the day."The vampire queen has been alive for thousands of years. By our best guess," he eyed Kenmei, "we'd say probably since the world began. Every hundred years, she mus
I thought a moment, then repeated the words, "'Lips red as rubies, hair dark as night. Drink your true love's blood, become the vampire, Snow White.'" As I spoke, thick darkness packed the air. It was as though the queen entered me."This is worse than we believed," Professor Pops uttered."Yes," agreed Kenmei. "It seems the vampire queen may have a distinct interest in this one. Perhaps it's her name or her beauty. I must admit, Snow does have something extra special."The tremor in my hands traveled into my arms and down my body. "Is there nothing we can do? Because, I don't want that. Her, to take over my body. No!"Professor Pops patted my hand. "Yes, of course. But we've shared enough with you tonight. Let's get you home."I wanted to yell and tell him I needed to know everything right then, but I didn't. He picked me up, like I weighed nothing. "I can walk," I said, though my legs were wobbly, but Pops wouldn't hear my complaints, so I relaxed, tucking my head against his ch
Fondling the paper, I unfolded the paper and read:Dearest Snow,You have been bitten by your hunter and are now a revenant.Congratulations!The strong survive, and only one will have the pleasure of becoming my new host.Now is the time to play. Build up your strength. Enjoy all your new body has to offer. Find your true love. Get your fill of him physically, emotionally, spiritually, and then kill him. You must do so by your eighteenth birthday. I believe in you, Snow. You are passionate, and that is why I've marked you.The sooner, the better.Yours,The Vampire QueenMy hands shook. The letter had been written by her and in - I sniffed the red ink and instantly knew it was blood. Dread surged through me. She could be anywhere, yet I knew nothing about her, not even what she looked like.Quickly I went downstairs, the letter still clutched in my hand. The aroma of toasted bread greeted me, and I hurried into the kitchen. The guys were in varying degrees of feeding their
Inside the school, Gabe walked me to my locker. When we arrived, he stopped and touched my arm. Shivers danced along my sensitive skin. "I've got to get to class. See you at lunch." He squeezed my hand, and I squeezed back. A gnawing nervousness swelled as I watched him walk away. I was nervous about being without him. My first class was chemistry, and I was totally unprepared for the quiz on Matter. I also had an assignment due in Algebra II and verbs that needed conjugating for Spanish. While I emptied my books into my locker, I made a mental promise to talk to my teachers about extra credit or a way to make up the work."Bonjour, Snow. Where have you been?" Cindy asked, using the French word for hello despite the ring of agitated irritation I detected in her words."Hey, Cin. Your French is coming along nicely," I returned, wondering if she'd discern anything different about me. Closing my locker, I turned to face her annoyance, which I knew I deserved. She'd said she'd call