The girl's ruby red lips pulled back showing two delicate pointed fangs, and then suddenly her face had dissolved, turning masculine and hungry the way people change in dreams,
without warning. I realised that the fangs belonged to someone else, but before I could dwell on who it was, they were lunging for me.
I sat bolt upright, a scream catching in my throat, effectively choking me. I could feel my heart pounding at a million miles an hour in my chest, threatening to break out of my
ribcage. My breaths came in short gasps and pants as I desperately tried to calm myself down, reminding myself over and over that it was just a dream. I didn't know how to
explain it, but it felt like more than a dream. It felt like a memory. Like after Jeremy's reign of terror, when I'd dreamt of that dreadful night, of Jeremy's foul breath on my face, of
Ash's head going crack! against the floor. For weeks after I'd woken up panting, just like I was now, covered in a cold sweat that had nothing to do with the chills running through my body.
The only difference was that I'd never lived through any of the things I'd just dreamt. How could they be memories when I'd never before experienced them?
I ran a hand through my tangled hair before dragging it down my cold face that was sticky with sweat. I found that it was shaking and I forced it to stop, placing it in my lap.
I looked around nervously, not being able to help the uneasy feeling that was brewing inside of me. For the first time I noticed that I was no longer where I'd been when I fell
asleep, downstairs with Rashel at my feet. I recognised the room I was in as Ash's bedroom, where I was this morning. I clutched the bed sheet in my fingers, taking comfort in the
fact that this was where Ash slept.
I took a calming breath, inhaling deeply in an attempt to pick up the smell of him. It was probably just my imagination, but I thought I could pick up the trace of the rich woodsy
smell that I associated with him. It was times like these that I wouldn't have minded the benefits of vampire senses.
I pushed myself up from the bed; unable to sit still while my heart was beating at full speed. For the first time since I'd been here, I felt no tiredness, no exhaustion. In fact, I'd
never felt so awake.
Drawing back the curtain to the big glass doors, I looked outside to see the sky was dark. The stars twinkled faintly, hidden by the artificial light leaking in from the city. I sighed.
"Hey, you're up," a voice said from behind me. I whipped around to face the speaker, and saw that Rashel had returned. I gave her a weak smile as I felt embarrassment for what
she'd witnessed swell up inside of me. Collapsing on her hadn't been the first impression I'd wanted to make. "Yeah," I said awkwardly, for lack of anything better to say.
She seemed to notice the tension in my tone as she offered me a small smile of her own. "I got you this," she said, holding up a cereal in her hand, and then added as an after
thought, "I thought you might be hungry when you woke up."
I frowned for a second; ready to remind her that I'd only just eaten but then remembered that I'd slept most of the day away. The last thing I'd eaten was breakfast. "Thanks," I
said instead, taking the cereal bar gratefully as I felt a pang of hunger.
"So," I began, taking a tentative bite of my food. "Has anything happened while I've been out?" I asked, but what I really wanted to know was if Ash was back. I would like to think
that he would have been with me when I'd woken up if he'd returned, but if Jez really was kidnapped then I guess he probably would have been caught up with other things.
"Not much," Rashel said, taking a seat in one of the armchairs in front of the window. I felt myself deflate at her words. Clearly Ash wasn't back yet. "Delos stormed into the mansion at around lunchtime looking like he wanted to trash the place. Thierry's been in his office all day. Gillian accidently waterlogged one of Illiana's flowerbeds. Oh, and Jade
tried to kill Kestrel after she said something about snacking on a tiggy, whatever that is."
I found myself smiling at that. No matter what crazy things were happening in my life, I could always count on the sisters to carry on arguing. "Where are they now?" I asked,
feeling the urge to see them.
"Rowan thought it would be best if they went hunting. You know, so that they could calm down," Rashel replied, and I felt disappointed. Without either Ash or the sisters here, I felt
like I'd been abandoned.
"Is Mark here?" I asked hopefully. I don't know what had gotten into me. Why all of a sudden I needed the people I cared about beside me. I needed them like I needed air. Maybe
it was because I was still shaken up over my dreams, and I needed the company to distract me, to make me feel safe.
Rashel nodded her head, her black hair fluttering around her. That was all the answer I needed. Without further ado, I rushed to the door, itching to see my brother.
Feeling a hand grab the crook of my arm, I spun around to face Rashel, who'd hopped up from her armchair. I glanced at her hand, frowning in questioning. "Are you sure you're
right enough to go walking about? You seemed pretty exhausted earlier. Maybe you should stay here and rest," she said, her eyebrows drawing together in concern.
"I'm fine," I said quickly, looking deep into her emerald eyes. It wasn't even a lie. All of the tiredness had faded, leaving me with a new zeal. Of course I couldn't mention to her
about the dreams and how my heart beat still hadn't completely returned to normal.
She gave me a look that told me she didn't quite believe me. I couldn't blame her after everything that had happened. "I don't think you're fine, MaryLynnette," she said, her voice
soft. "You collapsed onto the kitchen floor, and couldn't get back up again. Not to mention that you then practically passed out for several hours. Is that your definition of fine?"
I dropped my eyes, not able to hold her gaze any longer. How was I supposed to explain to this girl I barely knew what I was feeling, when I barely knew myself? "Look," I said
carefully, looking up at her through my eyelashes. "I appreciate what you did for me, I really do. And I can't thank you enough for helping me like you did. But you don't have to
worry about me. Really." Rashel opened her mouth to argue, undoubtedly to remind me that as a friend of Ash's, she felt a duty to look out for me. I continued before she could get
a word in, and persuade me against myself. "You have a lot on your plate right now with the apocalypse and everything, as well as finding this wild power everyone's talking about.
You don't need me to worry about as well."
"No, you don't get to do that," Rashel said, shaking her head. An expression of disbelief and irritation adorned her face as she took a step closer to me. "Do what?" I asked, only
partly feigning my innocence.
She gritted her teeth, her eyes hard. "You don't get to pass out on me and then pretend like there is nothing wrong. I get that you feel as if you need to be strong, I get that you
don't want to accept help and admit weakness. Don't you think that I haven't done the same thing?" I didn't answer her, just stared back silently as she continued.
"It's okay to lean on people, MaryLynnette. It's okay to ask for help. You don't want Ash to know about this? Fine. But promise me you won't try to handle all of this by yourself."
I still couldn't bring myself to answer, because that was exactly what I'd been planning on doing. If no one knew about this, it wasn't a problem. So what if I got a little tired? So
what is I collapsed and couldn't get back up again? That was my problem no one else's.
Besides, who else was there to tell? Certainly not Ash, because of the reasons I'd explained to Rashel earlier today. I couldn't put this kind of burden on Mark, or even Jade. I
couldn't even imagine Kestrel caring. And then there was Rowan, who would make me feel better, safe, who would reassure m
e that everything would be okay. But she'd also insist
that I tell Ash, leading me back to square one.
I was certain that what happened earlier today was just a result of exhaustion, a onetime thing, but if it wasn't then what could I do?
"Okay," I said, nodding my head in agreement. "I won't try to handle this by myself." Of course, I'd already convinced myself that there was nothing to handle, so it wasn't a lie
exactly. Nothing like this would happen again, I was sure of it. Rashel was just overreacting.
Rashel smiled doubtfully, clearly picking up on the false note in my voice. She didn't comment on it though, just took a step back. "Good. And remember I'm always here if you
need me."
"Thanks," I replied sincerely, because despite the fact that I didn't think I'd need the help she offered, it was still nice to know someone cared.
I made my way to the door, hesitating in the empty space for a second, before turning round to face the girl behind me. "You definitely won't mention any of this to Ash, will you?" I
asked uncertainly, only feeling slightly bad for not entirely trusting her word. If she felt hurt by my question, she didn't show it. Her eyes were steady as she replied. "I made a
promise and I intend to keep it."
Rashel didn't elaborate, but the silent message was clear. She expected me to keep my promise too.
I sighed a sigh of relief at her statement, as I turned away from the room and off to find Mark. With the sisters out, I could only imagine that he'd be freaking out at the fact he was
trapped in a mansion full of strangers, most of who were vampires. Not that he had a problem with vampires or anything, but Mark was a worrier.
Walking down the grand staircase towards where I thought I might find Mark, I felt the oddest sensation. It felt as if every single one of senses were on overdrive, picking up the
smallest of sounds, the faintest of scents. I felt as if I could feel each individual air particle brush across my skin as I descended the stairs. It reminded me of the time I'd begun the
process of changing into a vampire, where for an insane few hours my body was on hyper alert, and I could do anything. Except this time it was different.
Back then I'd felt invincible, on top of the world. I'd felt empowered by my heightened abilities. But right now, they just made me feel uncomfortable, on edge. It was what I
imagined drug addicts to feel like after coming down from a high. The little sounds that I shouldn't be able to hear made me jumpy, each unexpected noise like a drill to my brain.
The air around me felt smothering, like it was trying to suffocate me and push me away at the same time.
I found myself wrapping my arms around myself, as if I could protect myself from these little things that I shouldn't be able to sense. If I hadn't had a taste of being a vampire, I
would think that this was how they felt all the time, but it wasn't.
I picked up my pace in a useless attempt to outrun this feeling, but it followed me as I rushed through the hallway and into the living area. Only a few people sat on the
arrangement of sofas, because as I had learned earlier, this was the prime time for the inhuman sector of Circle Daybreak to go out. That was fine by me.
Still, the quiet conversation between two girls by the TV, joined by the noise coming from the small group of laughing Daybreakers in the corner, was overwhelming. Their words
travelled to me across the room in a heavy blur, barging their way into my brain, to aggressive to comprehend. Not only that, but I could hear their heart beats banging against my
eardrums rhythmically, not a steady thrum like Ash had once described it as, but a big steal drum being hammered by an angered toddler.
Without even realising it, I'd covered my ears with the palms of my hands, muffling the onslaught of sound only fractionally. I could feel beads of sweat starting to form at my
hairline, threatening to drip down my face.
I had to get out of here before anyone noticed my distress. I stumbled my way out of the living room, back into the hallway, shutting the door between the others and myself. It
was no use, the deafening whir of conversation and heartbeats carried on, slithering under the crack in the door until they wrapped around me. I wanted to scream at them to stop.
To stop talking, and to stop their hearts from beating so that I could have just a moment of peace.
"Hey, Mare. What's up?" I spun around sluggishly, my body unable to keep up with my million miles an hour senses. That was another difference between my current situation and
when I'd drank Ash's blood. Back then my body had felt strong, lithe, fast, like I could jump between rooftops, outrun a train. Right now my body felt frustratingly slow and heavy.
"Mark," I burst out, my tongue feeling like sandpaper in my mouth. He frowned as he looked me up and down, and I could only imagine what I must look like, fresh out of bed and
possibly going insane. "Are you okay?" He asked slowly, taking a careful step towards me.
Although he'd spoken at normal volume, his words were as loud as if he'd been talking through a mega phone, making me flinch at the sound. "Yeah," I answered weakly, leaning
against the wall behind me and running my hands through my already crazy hair.
Mark looked doubtful at my reply and I couldn't blame him, as my eyes were wildly flying around the room after I swore I could see something from the corner of my eye. Perhaps
I was going insane after all. "I just have a wicked headache," I added. It was the understatement of the year, but I hoped it was enough to justify my odd behaviour. Perhaps to any
other person it wouldn't have been enough, but Mark was naturally a very trusting person, despite everything that had happened in the past year.
He simply nodded his head, a look of concern still hovering over his features. "I'll just get you some paracetemol then. I'll be back in a second," he said, reluctantly making his way
to the kitchen. I seriously doubted that a couple of paracetemol would do the trick on this occasion, but I smiled gratefully anyway.
I followed Mark into the kitchen, even though he'd told me he'd be back in a second. Perhaps it was l the aftereffects of the too real dream still wearing off, but for some reason I
didn't want to be left alone. So as he rooted through the cupboards for painkillers, I stuck to his heels like an abandoned puppy, still jumping at every sound and movement.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Mark asked after he caught me flinching at the sound of him shutting the cupboard. I didn't saying anything, just nodded my head viciously. "Okay," he muttered, obviously not completely believing my excuse of a bad headache.
"Well," he began after he had scoured every cupboard and draw. "I can't find anything in here, bu_" He was cut off as the front door was flung open. I couldn't see it from my
position in the kitchen, but I heard it with my hyperactive ears. I squealed in fright at the sound, almost jumping out of my skin. Mark moved past me towards the kitchen door to
see what was going on. I wanted to drag him back, pull him behind me just in case there was a danger that he needed protecting from. The urge left me once I heard who had just
come in, recognisable by his voice, which I vaguely noticed was stricken with panic.
"Where's MaryLynnette?" Ash boomed from the hallway, and from the emotion running into me from the soul mate link, I could tell that he was not just panicked, but terrified. The
emotion was so strong that I couldn't even tell what had made him feel this way. But if it was enough to scare Ash, it had to be bad.
"She's in the kitchen," I heard Mark's hurried reply, as I began to make my way to the sound of voices, uncaring that they were threatening to burst my eardrums.
Before I'd even made it to the door, I saw a flash of blonde hair, as Ash moved at lightening speed to where I was standing, almost knocking me over as he pulled me into a tight
hug.
Then something really weird happened.
All of a sudden, the noise in my ears, the air grating against my skin, the movements in the corner of my eyes, just stopped. It was as if someone had just pressed a button to turn
off my heightened senses, releasing me from the discomfort and insanity. I felt normal again. Plain old MaryLynnette Carter, who couldn't hear heartbeats or feel individual air
particles, but lived in a beautifully dimmed world. It was bliss.
I sagged against Ash in relief, melting into his chest as I inhaled his scent. His embrace around me tightened as he pulled me closer, resting his head on my own. "I'm so glad
you're okay," he whispered, and I didn't need hyper aware senses to hear the floodgate of emotion behind his words, as his soft lips brushed against my ear. I didn't question the meaning behind his words, or ask him why I wouldn't be okay, all I could do was sigh against him, thinking to myself, me too.
I almost groaned when he pulled back from the hug, taking his body warmth with him. He held me at arms length, scrutinising me from head to toe. I noticed as he did so, that his
eyes were a stormy grey, the colour of a crashing sea. "Do you want a picture?" I asked with raised eyebrows, unsure of what he was trying to find. "It'll last longer."
This earned me a shaky smile and a small chuckle that was more out of relief than humour. I frowned at his behaviour, wondering what had gotten him so worked up. It hit me all
at once.
"Oh my god, is Jez okay, did you find her?" I asked, worry filling my voice as I gently placed my hands on top of his where they were holding my biceps. "What?" He replied,
looking into my face in surprise. "Jez," I prompted, squeezing his hands. "Did you find her?"
"Oh yeah, yeah. We found her at some warehouse," he said, frowning as he did so, searching around for the details. When he didn't add more to his statement, I tilted my head to
the side, forcing him to meet my eyes. "Well? Is she all right? What happened?" I had too many questions to get them all out at once, but I figured these two were the easiest.
'Um, yeah she's fine. A little shaken up, but she'll get over it. She's a strong girl." He seemed distracted as he spoke, as if he had something else more pressing on his mind. But
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