"Hey." Daniel came up behind me in his human form.

"Oh, hi Daniel." I replied.

"What's wrong? You sound depressed."

"Well I kind of am. Your girlfriend just completely turned my own mother against me! And Alexander hates me too. Not that I care."

"How did she do that?" he asked, sounding concerned.

"Well you know how I told my best friend about how I'm a vampire right?" He nodded. "Ok, well Gabriella found out and she told Alexander. When she told him my mom was there too, so they both know now. Alexander yelled at me and my mom just got really dissapointed. So then before I knew it me and my mom were fighting. And I may have went a little too far."

"Oh my gosh! I can't believe she would do that!" He shook his head in dissaproval. "I think I am going to break up with her."

My eyes lit up when he said that. "Oh, really?" I tried my best to sound surprised.

"Yeah, she's just too much for me to handle."

"Oh. Well, maybe that is a good idea then."

He nodded his head, "Yeah, I think it is. Well, I'm gonna go meet up with my pack now."

"Speaking of your pack," I said before he left. "I want to meet them sometime."

"Oh, ok. How about tomorrow? We can meet here around midnight." he offered.

"Sounds good." I agreed.

"Ok, bye." He walked off into the forest and I smiled to myself. I would show Gabriella not to mess with me. And I knew just the way to do it.

After finally coming back home that night, I lay in my bed trying to fall asleep. But I couldn't. I had way too much on my mind. The fight I'd had with my mom, the whole Gabriella situation, the thing with Natalie, my mom and Alexander getting married soon. It was just too much to handle!

So I took three deep breaths, silently counted to ten in my head, and closed my eyes. After laying there with my eyes shut for about fifteen minutes, I finally fell into a deep sleep.


"Wake up." my mom stated blandly, as she walked past my open door.

"Good morning, mom!" I chirped. She ignored me and kept walking. She was still mad at me. How long would she hold this grudge against me?

I went through my usual morning routine and headed downstairs for breakfast. When I sat down with my toasted bagel at the kitchen table, Alexander walked in.

"Hello, Allison. Did you have fun breaking your mother's heart last night?" he commented. I gave him the iciest glare I could manage and took a bight out of my bagel. "Alright then, I guess you aren't exactly in the mood for talking."

He grabbed his cars keys off the counter and walked over to the front door. I stared him down the whole time.

"Well, I'm off to work." He left the house without even noticing my eyes locked on him.

"Whatever." I muttered to myself. And then my mom walked down, followed by Gabriella.

"Hi mom. I'll be ready to leave in about ten minutes." I told her.

"Fine." she replied sternly. Then she sat on the couch and turned on the news. Gabriella sat next to her.

"Now for today's latest story. Just this morning around five o'clock a.m., a girl was found dead in a forest. The Naperville Police Department were contacted immediately by the person who found the body, Josh Griffen. And the head police officer, officer Mike Deblin, found that the body seemed to have been bit by an animal. There is no proof, besides the bite mark on the body's upper arm." the news reporter said on the tv screen.

My heart stopped, I dropped my bagel, my hands began to shake. In the upper right corner of the tv screen was a picture of the body. It was Natalie.

"Well when we got the call from Josh Griffen, I volunteered to go check it out right away." They were now showing an interview with officer Deblin. "And when I got there and saw the body I was astonished. The bite mark just looked so vicious, almost as if it were caused by something even more powerful than an animal. Although, I knew the most logical explanation was that an animal had done it."

I gritted my teeth and looked at my mom's face. Her face was completely blank. Gabriella's mouth was open forming a small O and hands were trembling, as they sat at her sides.

"Well there you have it folks. This must have been one vicous animal." the news reporter finished up the story. My mom turned off the tv and stood up.

"It's seven fifteen." she stated and then walked into the garage. We both got in the car and she started it up. The ride to school was completely silent.

I arrived at school and headed for my locker like always. It was alot quieter today then it was yesterday. And nobody laughed or cracked a vampire joke as I walked by. Everyone seemed to be mourning over Natalie's death.

I sat in my seat during algebra and stared at the board until the bell that began first period rang.

"Alright class, I'm sure that most of you have heard about the tragedy that has unfortunately come upon all of us here at San Diego High School. One of our fellow class mates, Natalie Clements, has passed away." Mr. Miller stated.

The classroom was dead silent. The only sound was the buzz of the air conditioning vent.

"In honor of Natalie Clements," Mr. Miller continued, "our school will be having our own special memorial for her. The school board has decided to build a tree outside of our school in Natalie's honor. All students will be asked to help plant this tree, next Saturday. We will also have a power point on Monday honoring Natalie. And today during every lunch hour you will all be asked if you want to say anything in her honor for the power point. It will be presented during first hour Monday, since today is Friday."

I bit down on the inside of my cheek. What would I say when the they asked me if I had anything to say in Natalie's honor at lunch time. There would probably just be teachers or staff going around to ask students if they had anything to say. And most teachers had seen us talking in the halls or eating lunch together, so they probably knew we were friends. Fifth hour lunch would be a nightmare.

When fifth hour finally did roll around, I sat down at my usual table where I would sit with Natalie, Jacob, a girl named Haylie White, and her boyfriend, Cody Williams. Haylie and Cody were already seated when I arrived, but neither of them spoke a word. The bell to start fifth period rang and Jacob still wasn't there.

"So, Jacob's not here today?" I asked quietly. Haylie shook her head. "Oh."

I reached into my brown paper bag and pulled out my peanut butter and jelly sand which I had packed this morning. Then I began eating. My eyes kept darting around the cafeteria; I was now on look out for any teachers or staff who might ask me about the power point.

"Hi, I know you were all friends of Natalie's so this must be a very difficult time for you." Mrs. Elden, my English teacher, came up to our table. "Anyways, I was just wondering if any of you would like to say anything in honor of Natalie for the power point tomorrow. I'm sure she would have appreciated it."

"I have something to say." Haylie spoke for the first time since I arrived.

"Wonderful! Would either of you like to say anything?" she asked Cody and I. I looked at him and he shook his head. "How about you? I know you were her best friend." She turned and looked directly at me.

"Um, sure." I replied hesitantly.

"Alright, you two can just go down to the multipurpose room. When you get there just get in line. Once it's your turn, Mr. Miller will just ask you to sit down and say anything you want. He'll be recording you with a video camera so that we can put it on the power point for tomorrow." she explained. We both nodded, showing her that we understood these directions, and started walking down to the multipurpose room.

Once we arrived we got in the back of the short line. There were only three people ahead of me, one of them being Haylie. I racked my brain for something to say, but I couldn't think of anything. So I decided that when it was my turn, I would just sit down and say whatever came to my mind.

Haylie sat down. I was next. I didn't pay much attention to what she said, I was too busy fretting over what would happen when she finished.


"Next person in line, please." Mr. Miller called. I stepped over to the chair that was set up in front of the video camera and took a seat. "Whenever you're ready." Mr. Miller told me.

"Ok. Well, Natalie was my best friend in the whole world." I began. "She was always there for me and I could trust her no matter what. We did everything together. And now that she's gone I just wish that I could tell her I'm sorry. Because right before she passed away, we were in a fight. And it was my fault. So I'm just really sorry about that and wish I could take it back." I got up and walked back to the cafeteria while struggling to hold back tears. I guess once I said it out loud it really hit me. My best friend just died. From a vampire biting her.

I sat down at my table and finished my lunch. And as I went to throw my paper bag away, I realized something. Alexander killed my father when he found out that he knew his secret. Alexander found out that Natalie knew and the next day she was dead. I began choking for breath. Alexander had gone too far. He'd murdered two of the people I loved. And now it was his turn to suffer.