CHAPTER ONE

"You want me to do what?" I screamed at Boss as I rampaged through his office and threw anything and everything I could lift. Which was pretty much anything and everything in that room. After all, I'm pretty damn strong. "How can you do this to me? Damn it!" I exclaimed as I threw one of his mahogany side tables out the window.

I wonder how much that one cost, I pondered for a moment. "Look, War," Boss said, "we need one of our own inside that place and you're the only one who--"

"Great! I slip up on one fucking mission and you throw me to the wolves!" I picked up a chair and threw it against the wall, causing it to shatter into many tiny pieces and leaving the wall broken from the sheer force of the impact.

Yeah! That'll show him not to treat me like this!

He dully looked towards the wall. "Actually, I was gonna say that you're the only one who can blend in with them," he said with a duh expression on his face.

"Oh," I said with an uh, I knew that tone as a piece of the broken wall fell to the ground. Don't you hate it when people ruin your moment?

Boss exhaled heavily while rubbing his temple, clearly impressed by my maturity. "Anyways, we already have a SEMI in there but, unfortunately, he can't get any closer to the target without risk of exposure or compromise. That is where you come in. I want you to get close to the target. Your objective is both distraction and information gathering." Boss, otherwise known as Mike, then handed me a picture of...a really, really, REALLY hot Japanese guy. Dayumn. If I wasn't me, I would totally go ga-ga over this guy. "That's the target. Kiba Shinjo. Do what you can to get close to him and help the SEMI."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I got it. So who's the SEMI on this one?"

Mike looked to me for a moment before speaking. Prabably debating whether he should take cover before he told me who it was. "Nathaniel."

"WHAT?" Yep, definitely should have taken cover. "Are you serious?"

"We were short on notice and he was the only one available and capable. Not to mention he was already in position."

"Still! How can you use him without telling me first? He is my cousin after all!"

"I know. But come on, Serenity." Oh no. Not the first name. "You've been wanting to do a mission with him since you found out he was a SEMI and you haven't seen him in almost ten years." He did it. He used his intelligence to outsmart me once again. Damn him.

I let out a deep sigh with a small growl mixed in. "Yeah, I guess you're right." Jerk. I hate it when he's right. AND HE ALWAYS IS!

"Oh yeah. Try not to make too much of a show on this one. Quick, clean, and you're out of there."

"Yeah. Whatever. I know what I'm doing." For the most part. I rolled my eyes as I sat in the middle of his broken down office which looked like a tornado just went through it...twice.

I listened halfheartedly as Boss explained the situation to me. "Kiba Shinjo originates from Okinawa, Japan. Parents are Kouru and Aoi Shinjo. There's not much information we received. Nathaniel is more of a science expert than a computer guru. But his location requires files on each attendant. Files which remain confidential to only a selected few of the Boarding committee. I need you to send what you can back to me. I'll decide on how you go about it.

"As soon as you're in, Nathaniel will be more free to move about. He'll be our middleman. If I have something for you, Nathaniel will be the messenger. And the same with you for me. I don't want anything left out."

I nodded my head, taking in the information.

People really suck, you know.

---

After a few minutes of mission briefing and a short plane ride, I was in a limo and on my way to the location of this mission's target.

Let's take a break from my life and talk about me. My name is Serenity Raith-Tepes, but to those who know not of my past call me War. I was born in the heart of Transylvania and travel the world due to my job, mainly taking up residence in parts of America. I am slightly above five feet, five inches tall with wavy long black hair, blue tints streaking the length of it. I have ash blue eyes that are complemented by the olive tan of my skin. I have the body of a dancer, the heart of an Angel, and the mind of a sadist. Nice combination if you ask me.

I work under my boss, Mike, who I've known all my life and who has so graciously elected me to infiltrate our target's school (note the sarcasm there).

Back in the day, Mike was the agent at the center of infiltration missions and a fearsome opponent to the Vampire breed. He was a strong fighter who used blessed, silver knuckle braces when fighting or a .9mm standard issued silver Glock with blessed bullets for distant targets. He always kept his body in top form and was quick to improvise when the situation called for it. Especially in a fight.

Now, Mike Carnovy, otherwise known as Boss, is a six foot, two inch man with choppy dirty blond hair and clear, focused green eyes. He's smart, poised, calm, and decisive. His instincts are always on the mark and his word is always final. Even at the age of 38, he still has a well toned body and fast reflexes. He's the Head of the Hunters in his area of America and my boss wherever I go. Which means I always have to do as he says. Which I don't.

Normally, I would complain just a little and then go along willingly (partially), but this is a completely different case than most. The school is not only a private school, it is an all male Boarding school. That's right, nothing but guys. Now you're probably thinking, Why is Mike making a chick do that? Well, I'll tell you why. It's because I stole his pudding from the fridge last week.

Oh, wait. That's not the reason. He never found out about that. Oops.

You remember that whole thing about how I'm the only one who can blend in with them? Well, that is because I kind of am one of them. Are you still lost? Okay, then I'll just tell you. My boss and I--along with everyone we work with--are Hunters. That's right. As in Vampire Hunters. And the school Mike is sending me to is no ordinary school. It's an All Male Boarding School For Vampires! And why am I the only one who would blend in with them? Because I'm a half-breed. That's right. You heard me. I'm half Vampire. I swear, it's a racial thing. But I guess Mike has a point. I am the only Hunter they have with Vampire blood. Oh well, I'm still not going to apologize for his office. I never do, anyways.

Back to my explanation. This Vampire Boarding School, called St. Crimson Academy, was established around 40 years ago and since then it has been under the hidden eyes of the Hunters in its area, which just so happens to be just on the outskirts of Mike's area.

Everything about it seemed pretty normal. Well about as normal as normal could get for a Boarding school of male Vampires. That was until Boss was informed about a month ago of some suspicious activity after the arrival of a new student, Kiba Shinjo. My target. Apparently, after that report was submitted, Mike had a SEMI assigned to keep an eye on things. Want to know what a SEMI is? Well, technically, SEMI means Sanctioned Enemy Movement Informant. In layman's terms, it's a mole. A spy. And the SEMI Mike has assigned, I miss him so much! He's a full-blooded Born Vampire but is not a Hunter. The only reason he would consider doing this type of job is because he loves me so much. And Mike has so graciously taken it upon himself to use this to his advantage.

Unfortunately, Nathaniel is unable to get close enough to the target due to social status. You see, Nathaniel has both a very high and a middle class lineage but he chooses to take name in his lower one for personal reasons. That's right, Vampires aren't much different than humans when it comes to social classes and political groups. Nathaniel Jacobs, our SEMI and my cousin, uses his mother's name and middle class background because he doesn't "fit in with the higher ups". At least that's how he felt when we were kids. It was how he was treated by the Elders of our family. Because of that, the ones in Shinjo's class would never take the light of day (or night) to acknowledge his existence...much less socialize with him on a friendly basis.

I, on the other hand, will have no problem getting in with that crowd. Not only will I get their attention by being the only girl there but I also have one Hell of a background. One in which they cannot ignore. Not even the school could ignore it when my application was submitted. Which is how I got in so easily. What is it, you ask? My background, my lineage, comes from my parents. My father, to be more precise. His name? Vladimir Dracula Tepes. That's right, the all-mighty big-bad Dracula is no more than Daddy Dearest to me.

You see, about 20 years ago Daddy was out hunting in a heavily wooded area of North America when he soon found himself as the hunted. He fought a group of American Hunters, somewhere near Boss's present area, until it came down to him and the Head Huntress named Harmony Raith. Needless to say, it was love at first fight (please excuse the cheesy line). I know it's weird but for some reason, Harmony, Harm for short, fell in love with the Father of Vampires, the creator of the very thing she fought against, and he soon fathered her baby. Yep, me. Oh, and just so you know, I'm 18 years old. You would think that Vampires aged slowly right? Well, they do. But Born Vampires, on the other hand, age like humans until their 21st birthday. Cool, huh?

---

An hour's ride later, I was down the street from St. Crimson Academy. I thought about my plan of action as I looked at the picture of the completely gorgeous Japanese guy I'd have to use and abuse.

Okay, so he's an evil Vampire who I might have to kill if need be. Doesn't mean I can't think he's hot. Right?

Then I took out a lighter and burned the picture. I can't very well have this evidence on me at the school, now can I?

In order for me to get close to him without him suspecting me, I'm going to have to play hard-to-get. That means really pissing him off--or at least being a complete bitch to him. That's how these types of Vampires work. They enjoy the challenge. The chase.

This just might be fun, I thought.

The picture turned to ash in my hand as the limo pulled up to the St. Crimson Academy Boarding School.

Time to play.