PROLOGUE

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I don’t have to be supernaturally inclined to know when a vampire’s around. I just do—it’s my thing—well, it’s not my only thing. But, anyway, like right now—I’m on the top of the Heffler. It was the building where I volunteered at the hotline. I’d been the unfortunate one to answer the call and now I stood, teetering on the edge with a ‘jumper’ before me.

A normal person would be focused on the suicide kid, right? I’m not normal.

Oh no, instead—I was keenly aware of the two vamps that were behind me and the six that were on the ground. They looked up, intermixed with the rest of the audience, but I knew they weren’t watching with their breaths held in fright.

Vampires didn’t care about death.

“Okay…okay.” I took a deep breath and inched forward, or tried to.

I wasn’t going anywhere.

The jumper was a frail looking girl with inflamed cheeks. Her red curls whisked around her head from the wind—which didn’t help our situation at all.

She turned and saw me. Her eyes widened—she was the deer in my headlights, but I hoped to god that I wasn’t the oncoming car to push her over the edge.

“Hi—hello—how are you, no—I mean…” I should stop now…but I was the only one from the hotline there. I’d been the last to leave and because of that, I was the only one that heard the phone, answered the phone, and figured out where the girl called from.

Hence—the roof.

I took another breath and then said, more calmly, “My name’s Davina, but you can call me Davy—if you want.”

A part of me waited for the normal ‘Stay away from me or I’ll jump!’, but I was a little disappointed.

She didn’t say a thing. She just…I saw the tears, and that’s what made me pause.

She’d been hysterical on the phone, but I heard the words ‘a guy’, ‘kill myself’, and ‘love.’ My mind had leapt the natural clichéd conclusion. I thought she was going to kill herself over a guy and a part of me felt a little contempt for her—I know, I know—she’s suicidal. I should be sympathetic, but…really? A guy?

That had been my first reaction.

Now I thought differently. This girl wasn’t the suicidal virgin with love gone reality. This girl was…I looked into her hazel eyes. I saw true and utter agony in there. It was real and it blew my breath away, just for a moment—and that’s saying a lot.

“Okay.” I needed to settle myself. I needed to plant both feet on the ground and I needed—I looked at her again.

Oh—the pain. I could almost feel it—I did feel it. It was…crippling.

Okay. This might be an appropriate time to explain that I’m an empath. I could feel the girl. I could feel the pain, the—it was gut wrenching pain, but she was done. I could feel that.

She’d fought a battle, she’d lost, and she was done with it all.

For a moment, I stood in awe of her. Don’t get me wrong—I was not where this girl was, but I’d had my fair share of trauma and struggle.

I was still standing today. And I still had hope—that was my battle.

And this girl had none.

I closed my eyes and I opened every sense I had. Every empath I knew would scream against this, but I needed to know what this girl had gone through—something told me that I needed to know. So I did it. I lowered my bridge and I felt myself slip inside of her.

Turmoil. Desolation. Agony. And worst of all, I felt the surrender first and foremost. It slammed against me like waves of sleet in a downpour. It actually hurt me and I bit my tongue.

I felt…I wanted to feel more. I wanted to understand, so I pushed further. Another note: empaths are advised against this for a reason. If we touched too deep sometimes a part of us didn’t come back.

I felt it. There was something inside of her, something that promised me that it’d be worth it. It was like…I needed to uncover it.

I can’t explain. It was a seventh sense inside of me, maybe faith. But I did it. I surged further inside and as I literally fought past the hopelessness and defeat—I reeled when I touched the core.

There had been a guy. He had loved her. She had loved him…and then…I felt devastation, betrayal, and an end.

I gasped abruptly.

The end—that was it. I’m not psychic. I don’t know what happened, but…something had happened and the decision had been made then and there. She had loved this guy. She found something. And it was death. It was her decision—that was important. I’d felt that. She decided when she’d die…not…I couldn’t feel it anymore. I didn’t want to.

I normally kept an entire building between me and people like this, who felt their feelings on the surface. They were so raw.

She gasped. My eyes flew open and I felt a wind propel me backwards. It was as if the universe didn’t want me near this girl.

I couldn’t look away. Her eyes were—they wanted to tell me something, something that she didn’t even realize she wanted to say, but she didn’t have the words or she didn’t have the will.

And then a single tear rolled down to join the rest and she smiled. It was haunting. And she let go of the railing. I watched, stricken, but already in expectation as she soared downwards.

Something was off, something that reeled inside of me.

Some thing had not gone according to plan and I’m the kind of girl where I knew that plans should go according to plan! It was usually highly essential, but—this—this wasn’t good. Not only for the fact that some part of me still felt connected to her—empath con of the job—but…there was a universe/world/future issue at stake. I had no idea why I felt that, how I felt it, but I did.

I was panicked. The girl had jumped and it was like the world was now going to end…I gulped.

And besides that feeling—I looked down and saw the cameras below.

The girl’s suicide would be on the 9 o’clock news.

I really didn’t need that. And I highly doubted my hotline supervisor would be happy.

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CHAPTER ONE

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“Mr. Moser is not happy.”

I’d been right.

That was my greeting as I dropped my books on the library table and plopped down next to my roommate and the originator of my stupid hotline volunteer career—the career that was finite, done, over, finale. I’d handed in my notice that morning and I’d been proud that I had avoided all run-ins with anyone. I slipped inside, slipped the envelope underneath the door, and bolted.

There are occasions where I’m very much a coward—this was one of those times.

“I’m not surprised,” I muttered and bent to grab a pencil out of my bag. The location of the bag was just opportune. It was on the floor—I was able to turn and present my back to my roommate.

I hoped she’d take the hint.

“What do you mean, you’re not surprised. Why aren’t you surprised?”

Emily hadn’t taken the hint, but then again—she never did.

My roommate for three months. Her entire life’s plan was written in detail with bulleted expenditures, but it all revolved around her career choice in social work. She was the one to first volunteer at the hotline. She was the one who dragged me there and she was the one to even point out Adam.

Emily wasn’t the reason why I stayed. Adam was that reason.

I like boys. Most people would say that I’m boy crazy, but the truth is that I just find them entertaining. I’d never ever kill myself over a guy. They’re not worth that much, but still—they’re worth a fun evening activity or a cuddle in front of a movie.

And when I saw his rich chestnut hair and almond eyes, I knew that Adam would make a great movie cuddler.

Too bad the jumper had cut short my career stint at the hotline. I’d been cheated out of that movie cuddling experience, but alas the future was unsure. Anything could happen and I knew enough to know it would.

“Davina!” Emily called out sharply. She was being ignored. That made her pissy.

I sighed and fought the urge to bury my head in my book. No. Why fight that? I buried my head in my book and groaned dramatically.

I knew one thing, Emily would shut up. If it was one thing that made her uncomfortable, it was when someone was aggravated or in need of emotional reassurance. I once saw her spill a drink and use that as an excuse to leave a group when one of the girls started crying.

I highly doubted Emily’s social work career plan would make it past the paper it was written on, but…I wasn’t going to be the one to break that to her.

And on another note—I hated being called Davina. It’s Davy. It’ll always be Davy. It’ll never be Davina.

And then I realized the silence. Emily had quieted. I risked a look and saw that her eyes were downcast on her own pile of books.

I thanked my own quick wits for this reprieve.

“Davina.”

I stiffened at the name, but when I looked over my shoulders the stiffness melted into a gooey feeling inside.

Adam was approaching with an eager stride. His almond eyes sharpened with warmth and I saw the earnest grin on his face. Tall, dark, and just pretty. That’s how I’d describe my perfect guy and Adam easily fit the bill. Plus, he wore Abercrombie. What girl didn’t like that?

“Hi, Adam.” I was warm. I was always warm around him.

He stood at the end of our table and seemed riveted with me. I almost wondered why and then I just let it go. The guy had woken up and realized his true love for me.

“I heard about the suicide last night. Are you okay? You were there, right? That’s what Shelly said.”

Shelly. All the gooeyness turned hateful at her name.

Shelly was my competition. I cheated on my empath rules and took a peek inside of her once. The feeling was mutual. She hated me even more and there was a darkness inside of her. I didn’t need to be psychic to know if the darkness was how she planned to murder me—not literally, but every now and then, I do wonder if it was literal.

I was a short five foot six inch girl. I was average, not slim, but not big. I had brown curls on a good day and a frizzy fray on a bad, but I knew my dark brown eyes and my full lips were my best features. Guys liked to stare at both of them, but Shelly was a tall willowy blonde with absolutely beautiful blue eyes. I always felt like I was swimming in a lake when I looked at them.

Shelly liked Adam. I liked Adam, but I wasn’t sure who Adam liked.

“What else did Shelly say?”

Adam’s smile dimmed slightly, but he pressed, excited, “Is it true? You answered the phone and she was on our roof?”

Alas. The boy was goal oriented—I’d like that on most days.

I surrendered in my defeat, “Yes. I was there, but she jumped.”

Emily looked up with wide fearful eyes.

Adam shifted a little uncomfortable now and his eyes skirted from me to Emily and back again, “Are you…are you okay? Shelly said that you quit the hotline.”

Emily harrumphed.

“Um…” I looked around for an escape. I didn’t want to get away from Adam, but…my stress was at a dire level—it was spiking past my comfort zone. I didn’t like being uncomfortable.

“I can’t believe you quit.” Emily had to put her two cents in.

“Yeah, I mean…” Adam took the seat next to mine and lowered his voice. It was soothing and seductive to my ears, “I mean…the place won’t be the same without you. You know?”

Of course I knew, but that was the point of it. I was an empath. I wasn’t freaked out with agony and so forth, but the truth was that I was freaked out by the gut-wrenching feeling inside of me that something worldly awful had happened—and that it was connected to me. I wanted to get as far away as possible, but I lied, “I just…it’s too much, you know? I can’t handle—she died in front of me. I can’t…it’s just too much for me.”

I saw the sympathy in Adam’s soulful eyes. He placed his hand on mine and cupped it gently, “I know exactly what you mean. If you ever need anything, call me. Okay? I want to help you through this tough time.”

Emily fled the scene.

I almost caught a back draft from her sprint, but I didn’t care. I smiled cheekily and sighed, “I’d really like that, Adam.”

He squeezed my hand, “Any time. Remember that, Davina.”

I’d remind him another time not to call me that.

And then the happily ever after feeling was gone when I felt a vampire walk past us. A cold wind slapped my insides and I looked up.

Normally, vamps ignore me. They can’t feel me like I can feel them, so they just imagine that they’re not noticed.

Not this time.

I silently gasped when I saw a pair of coal black eyes staring right back at me. The vamp was tall with jet black hair, a small Mohawk style, and he wore a white buttoned-down shirt over—I’m pretty sure they were Abercrombie jeans. He kept going, but I still felt his eyes after he turned the corner.

“Davina,” Adam said sharply, confused.

His voice penetrated the weird spell and I came back to reality.

His hand was gone. I missed its warmth.

“What…what were you saying?” I wanted his touch back.

“I…” He frowned again and asked, “Are you okay? You suddenly pushed me away and I mean, that’s okay if that’s what you need right now. I just thought…”

He trailed off and looked away.

I didn’t have to be empathic to see the insecurity there. I rested my hand on his and reassured, “It’s not that. That guy scared me just now. I’m sorry. I want your help. I really do.”

Gratitude sparkled in Adam. His eyes literally twinkled.

I sighed again. How could any girl not fall in love with how adorable he was?

“Can you two stop with the sappy moment?” Emily had returned and with a storm at her backside. She slumped in her seat and growled, “I’m trying to study.”

“Oh, yeah.” Adam laughed, a little embarrassed. He stood up and ran a hand through his hair, “I-uh—I’ll talk to you later, Davina?”

I nodded. Hell yeah, we’d talk.

“Good. See you later then.”

I glanced at Emily as he left and saw her too-sharp green eyes on me. She narrowed them and announced, disgustedly, “You make me sick.”

“What? Why?” I was innocent.

“You totally lied to him just now. I had to run to the bathroom to keep from barfing. Really? You can’t handle it? She died in front of you? Mr. Moser told me that you need to get yourself back to the hotline. You broke protocol and that’s why you quit, not because you’re emotionally shaken. Seriously, Davina.”

Okay. Maybe my roommate knew me a little better than I realized. Or maybe she was an empath. I frowned at that thought, but I highly doubted it. And I wasn’t willing to break my rule again and take a peek inside her.

“Can you blame me? Adam is to die for.”

I could not believe I had just said those words.

“I can’t believe you said that.” Emily reiterated my thought.

I flushed, embarrassed, and leaned back in my chair. I asked, “What am I supposed to do? I didn’t quit because of protocol, okay? And I need any advantage with Adam. You know Shelly Whistworth has her claws in him.”

Emily was annoyed. She huffed and leaned forward, “You have to go and talk to Mr. Moser. You did break the rules and he’s worried about a lawsuit. And Adam Darley is not worth your time to lie and lower yourself. If he’s a stand-up guy, he’ll recognize that you’re much more fun to be with than Shelly Witless. If he’s not and he goes to her, he’s not a guy that you’ll respect anyway.”

“I’m not lowering myself,” I remarked and crossed my arms. “I’m just being manipulative.”

Emily looked at me knowingly, “Well, stop. It’s annoying.”

“It’s fun.” Besides, it wouldn’t be fun if it was just all easy and honest.

Emily opened her mouth and started to say something, but I felt the blast of cold race through me. I looked up and my heart slowed as the vamp walked towards me from the opposite direction. His eyes were on me again. He seemed to look right through me, but he didn’t slow his pace. He walked right past.

I hated vampires.

I knew what they could do from personal history. However, for the most part, there were a lot of good vampires that liked to hang out on campus. Some of them even took classes and wanted to learn.

This guy looked like a regular college student and he even walked like one, right to the computer lab and back out again for a Mountain Dew. That was very typical college behavior.

“Do you know who that is?”

“You interrupted me.” Emily was annoyed.

She’d been saying something, apparently.

I watched as he returned from the vending machines and sat back down at a computer.

“That guy.” I nodded towards him. “Do you know him?”

“We’re at a school with six thousand students. Really? We’re freshmen, Davina. How can you expect that I’d know him.”

I turned and regarded her, “Do you know him or not?”

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

Triumph flared inside of me. I soo knew my roommate too—and I didn’t even use my empath on her.

“Who is he, Emily?” I leaned closer and hoped he couldn’t hear us. There were two glass walls between us and the computer lab always buzzed with conversations and printing papers. If he tuned in, he could hear us, but for once I hoped that I wasn’t a speck on a guy’s radar. Correction—make that a vampire’s radar.

“He’s in my social work class.”

“Intro?”

“Yeah. He’s a junior and he’s fulfilling an easy requirement.”

She sounded like she’d practiced that. And that told me one thing—Emily was still uncomfortable. And that was wrong. She liked to share her opinions on people, but she didn’t want to with this guy.

I grinned—I knew how vampires were, remember?

“You like him.” I couldn’t fault her. Vamps had the seductive appeal down to perfection. Emily was a girl, even she would fall under their power whether they intended it or not. It’s when you know what they are. that’s one of the ways to battle their seduction.

“I do not!” Emily cried out. She started to gather her books back up, but I laid a hand on them, stopping her.

“It’s okay. He’s dreamy. I understand.” I glanced back over, but sighed in disgust. He just sat there at the computer. His hands didn’t move on the keyboard.

“Who is he?” I asked again, still watching the back of his head.

He sat rigidly.

“Luke Roane,” Emily sighed. She’d be mortified at how dreamy it sounded.

“Roane?” I arched my eyebrows. What kind of name was that? I’d heard of a Roane from back home, but the name was only spoken about as a legend. Most of the vamps back there didn’t believe he existed.

I didn’t like this new twist. My college life wasn’t supposed to deal with supernatural things like this. I wanted an Adam in my life—not a vampire with the name of Roane.

“He’s really intelligent.” Emily had opened her floodgates. Now her opinions would flow freely. “He cares about the world and he’s got some super insights into humanity.”

I bet he did.

“Even Professor Sulls asks his opinions on some matters. Luke’s like no other guy that I know. I mean, I respect him. I have really high standards and I only respect two other guys,” she said, casually and matter of fact.

“I know.” I said dryly, “Jesus and Martin Luther King Jr.”

“Can you believe it?” Emily sighed again. She was on the fast track for her first college lovecrush.

I chuckled. It was my little name for those crushes when a girl thinks she’s in love. They were annoying—to her friends and the girl.

Lovecrushes aside—or maybe front and center…

I hadn’t moved my eyes off of Roane’s back, but then my eyes slid past his shoulders, to his black computer screen, and I found myself staring smack head-on with him. I gasped in mortification. He’d been staring right at me the whole time.

This was not good. Not at all.

He knew I knew. And I knew that he knew I knew.

It was just—it was in the way we both looked at each other.

I could’ve pretended that I didn’t know he was hearing us. I could’ve turned around and made some comment that I was a stupid ignorant freshmen, but now—all bets were off.

He’d seen.

I felt the cold flare inside of me, but I was used to it now. So instead I smiled smugly and whispered, “I know what you are.”

His face didn’t move. His eyes didn’t react, but I knew I’d made him angry. And that wasn’t the empath in me. It was the woman inside of me.