Angel awaited the man walking down the street hiding in the darkness of the alle y trembling.

This was her first time to hunt a human. She'd picked her target an d had followed him through keeping to the shadows, gauging when he was alone and no one else would see the feeding. This is it! Closing her eyes she reached out to him mentally and lulled him towards her. The mind control thing was difficult, and Mara said that she should be ready to pou nce if the contact broke. Angel tried to maintain her mind control; the idea of pouncing made her blood race and she didn't want to hurt the guy. In the last se veral days she'd learned the difficulties of control. The exercises Mara had put her through showed her just how complicated it really was to be a vampire at fi rst. She shivered and her stomach ached a little. She was hungry. She needed to feed. This had to work. The man turned towards the alley. His eyes were glazed and he walked up to her d ocilely. Angel touched his head and bent it to the side baring his neck to her. Her gums tingled and she felt her control waver as she leaned closer. She could smell him; the cheap cologne, his flesh, the smoke in his hair from being at the bar, the alcohol on his breath, but most of all, the smell of his life; his blo od. A shiver ran down her spine and she trembled as she fought for control over her desire once again. The thought of pouncing, of dominating this man was overw helming. It was the nature of the beast and the hunger she would live with for t he rest of eternity. Mara had called it 'bloodlust.' It made her feel even more like a monstrous beast. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she tried to look clinically at his neck. Mara had said that it was essential to get the right spot or the blood wouldn't flow right and the human would suffer during the feed. She could see the throb o f his pulse at his neck, and with her sensitive hearing, she could hear the rush of blood running through his artery. She shuddered and pulled him close, wrappi ng her arms about him tightly, just in case she lost the mind control, and bit d own feeling her fangs slide through his skin and into his neck. His sweet essence rushed out on her tongue and all thought left her as she felt her body throb with power from his blood. Live Blood! It was nothing like the bagged blood Mara had been managing to steal from blood banks for her the past few weeks. It pulsed into her mouth with each heartbeat; it was warm, full of life, sweet from endorphins, slightly tinged with alcohol. She drank deeply letting the pleasure of feeding take over her logic; it was eup horic. "Okay, Angel," Mara interrupted. "You're almost to a point where you should stop ." Angel snapped back to reality at her words. Stop. She needed to stop. She withdrew her fangs, feeling her gums tingle as they retracted, and then lick ed the wound at his throat to heal the wound. The healing was important; vampire s supposedly didn't exist, and it was every vampire's duty to make sure it staye d that way.

Finally, after another wavering breath, she pulled away and mentally guided him back to his spot where he'd left his normal routine and commanded him not to rem ember the feeding. Then she faded back into the shadows. "Angel," said Mara in a strangled voice. "That was amazing!" She looked at her friend uncertainly. "I was just doing what you told me to do," she replied. "Did I do something wrong?" "Angel, it takes months for a Little One to have a successful feed. The mind con trol thing is nearly impossible to manage with battling your hunger." Mara looked at her strangely and bit her lip uncertainly. "What's wrong?" Angel asked. "Did I do something to upset you?" "It's not your fault," Mara said at once. She looked away for a moment. "It's ju st..." "What?" Angel demanded. Mara was looking at her and she almost seemed...scared. "That house I found you in was supposedly a secret dwelling of the Ancient One. Whoever turned you, must have been very old and near the end of his bloodline. Y ou've got incredible power." "Yeah right," said Angel almost bitterly. "If someone that powerful had turned m e, then I wouldn't have been left alone." Mara sighed. "You need to quit being so bitter and angry, Little One," she said. "Whoever turned you probably thought you were dead, which is why you were left like that." "If they thought I was dead why even bother turning me?" Sometimes she wished Mara had a better answer to that question, but it was alway s the same. "I don't know, Angel. Come on, let's get back to the hotel and pack up. It's sti ll a long drive to New York." Angel sighed and nodded. ************* Mara watched the road as she drove. Angel sat in the passenger seat next her, bu t was silent. The poor Little One kept looking at her uncertainly, and Mara knew she was being antisocial in comparison to the past few nights. The truth was; t he girl had frightened her tonight. No one, NO ONE, had that kind of power. Not right at the beginning, anyway, but here was this newly turned girl who somehow did. She was an absolute wreck; woke up nearly starved, no memory, strange dream s, completely abandoned in a prison cell in a bloodied mansion. It was the kind of thing horror movies were made about. A Little One; an absolute mess, and yet more powerful than...she couldn't even think about it, but it frightened her. "Mara," the girl finally broke the silence. "Are you mad at me?" She chuckled. "No, Little One," she replied. "I'm not mad." She sighed. "Just th inking is all." Angel nodded.

"We're going to make a stop before we get a hotel room this morning," she said t rying to be more conversational. "I need to get some money out of my account." "How is it that you have a bank account? Aren't you...well, dead to the world?" "Actually, with the internet, it's become easier and easier to have an account," Mara admitted. "This one is on an assumed name, though. My creator set it up fo r me using his power to get the bank people to do what he wanted." "I thought you didn't like your creator," said the girl. "You've never said anyt hing but bad stuff about him." Mara sighed. "He's a monster," she admitted. "In the human world he's a murderer , a serial killer, but he's an Old One. He has the power to do just about anythi ng he wants to." "Well, shouldn't you have that power, too?" Angel asked. "He created you." "He created me, yes, but not from his blood." She laughed bitterly. "He knew he wouldn't be able to control me if he sired me, so he found some other weakling s treet-rat to control and commanded him to turn me. With his ability to control m inds..." she shuddered. "No one can resist him, Anna. No one. He just can tell y ou something, and you'll do it. He's what we call as psychic; he can control the psyches of others." "How many kinds of vampires are there?" Angel asked. "We're all the same kind; some of us just have certain 'talents.' Let's see... t here's psychics, telekinetics or people who can move things with just thinking a bout it, vampires with incredible physical capabilities, and the very rare dream walkers." "What are those?" "They have the ability to get into your dreams and your head and consciously con trol your subconscious. Dream walkers have been known to manipulate people from hundreds of miles away by just getting into their heads and messing with their s ubconscious. Some are reputed to be seers, too." "That sounds frightening. You said they're rare, so most people are talented in other ways?" Mara nodded. "Of course your power depends on your bloodline. The fewer people b ehind you, the more powerful you are. That's why Old Ones are more powerful; the y have fewer vampires in their genealogy because they've managed to die. Some va mpires show no talent, it just depends on the strength of their blood." "Do you think I'll have a talent?" "Only time will tell," Mara admitted. "It seems that with you time is going to h ave to be the key to just about everything. You'll just have to be patient until your memories return, your power manifests itself, and you learn how to be a va mpire." "I had another dream the other night. I remember some," Angel confessed. "I reme mber my name, my childhood, everything until a moment where..." Mara could see the girl shudder out of the corner of her eye.

"I was abducted, raped, tortured, and then...nothing." "Were you raped by a vampire?" Mara asked wondering if she'd been some Old One's toy. "No. He was just a man." The girl sighed and looked out the window. "But, there is someone. I keep seeing his face. I know he's a vampire, but he's...wonderful. I see him in my dreams, but I don't know who he is." Mara chuckled as her cheeks flushed a little. "They must be good dreams, huh?" "Yeah," Angel replied. "Actually, he's the reason I know what I know, he said my name." "Well, maybe you should ask him his name in your next dream," Mara said. If possible, the girl blushed even rosier. "I...uh...kinda get wrapped up in oth er things when he's around." Mara couldn't help herself as she burst out laughing. "Not just good dreams, the n, huh Little One?" Angel smiled. "Great dreams," she admitted. She looked out the window wistfully and sighed. "Incredible dreams." Mara pulled up to the empty bank. It was the only one in this sleepy little town , so it would have to do. She pulled out the card and looked around carefully. E verything seemed in order. "I'm going to take care of this," she said. "Stay in the car." Angel nodded. Mara looked around just to make sure no one saw her, and brushed her bangs over her eyes. She didn't want her face showing up too well on video surveillance, es pecially since she'd just managed to rob a very powerful vampire's house. She'd not been able to unload as much of the stuff as she thought she could because of Angel. She glanced back to the car to see the girl sitting in the passenger sea t watching her. She thought about that. She'd hoped the heist of the mansion wou ld give her a chance to start a new life, she'd prayed for it. She never imagine d that her new life would involve taking in a Little One. She'd never imagined h erself as a nurturing person, but when the girl had opened those fantastic blue eyes, so confused and so afraid, something in her soul screamed, help her! She thought that maybe, just maybe, Angel could be her redemption. She walked up to the ATM and got ready to take out several hundred dollars. They 'd be stopping in Chicago on the way, and they both needed new clothes. Hopefull y she'd be able to sell some of her booty there, too. Just as she was about to enter her pin number, the car door slammed and the girl ran up to her. "Angel? What's wrong?" she asked at once. The girl's face was white. "Mara," she said. "We need to leave." She looked at the girl and then back at the ATM again. "It'll only take a second

," she protested. "No," Angel cried her voice on the verge of hysteria. "Not here." She actually g rabbed her arm and started pulling her towards the car. "Easy, Little One," Mara said. Something had seriously freaked the girl out, she was relentless. They got in th e car and locked the doors. "Just pull away," Angel said. "Just drive." The girl was literally panicking. She decided to humor her and talk her down with the drive. She started the engin e and pulled out of the bank, noting that Angel was looking around her blue eyes glittering. With her eyes shining with her power she looked downright impressiv e for a moment. "What's going on?" Mara demanded. The girl just shook her head and kept looking around. Mara felt a strange sizzli ng clarity in the air of the car. "Look there!" Angel gasped as a speeding car seemed to swerve out of control and hopped the curb at the bank. With the terrible screech of tires, the car crashe d straight into the ATM crumpling like tinfoil upon hitting the brick wall. Mara gasped. The vehicle must have hit the building at nearly 50 miles an hour. If Angel hadn't moved her she'd be dead. She looked back at the young woman. Her eyes were their normal sky blue again, and the strange feeling in the air was g one. It was like the moment never happened. She swallowed. There was something a bout this girl; something powerful, something terrifying. Suddenly she was very glad the woman was on her side. Taking one look at the totaled car in front of t he ATM she stepped on the gas and sped away. ************* Kieran looked over the report. The business side of Alexander's empire was as st rong as ever. Despite troubling economic times among the humans and the fuel cru nch in the states, he was still making record profits. The dark-haired vampire s miled proudly about that. He'd helped a lot with that. Who knew the knife-fighti ng street rat from Damascus had a sound head for business? He'd managed to almos t double the size and value Alexander's business empire. And now, with news of h ow the Ancient One in America had dispelled the coup and rumors of his incredibl e power, the vampires in the business world were treading as lightly as the vamp ires in America. Word had spread quickly; Alexander LeGaulle had returned to rul e both the kingdom of America and the corporate world with an iron fist. Kieran couldn't remember the last time he'd received so many calls from the CEO's of Al exander's companies 'just checking in.' It seemed that even the stupid humans co uld feel the tension in the air and knew when groveling and pandering was approp riate. He sighed. Now if only Alexander could pull himself back together as well as he'd pulled th e kingdom back together. He would never have imagined that his friend could be s o taken with a woman. Surely not Alexander whose conquests were legendary; not t he vampire who'd bedded the most beautiful and powerful women in history and the n walked away as if they were nothing. How could he have fallen for the tiny, wh

iney, little Anna? She wasn't anything special in comparison to the women he'd k nown. Kieran had to admit there was something a little unsettling about looking into those eyes, but she wasn't any more incredibly beautiful than others Alexan der had been with. He sighed. And yet, her death had almost destroyed him. He'd overheard him talking with Darian about how the girl was haunting him in hi s dreams still. He growled in irritation as he looked over the other stack of re ports about Mara; Francisco Paola's Little One. Had she been alone? Why would sh e take Anna's dead body? Even dead, it seemed that Anna's uncanny ability to fin d trouble followed her. In a way, he'd rather wished she'd lived just to throw a wrench into Alexander's life. That woman had been like a rocket and he was sure she would have kept Alexander on his toes for many centuries. His cell phone rang startling him from his reverie. "Montasse," he growled. "Sir, we've got some information of the woman named Mara. She's been spotted jus t outside Chicago." "Were you able to get some kind of identification on her vehicle? Is there some way to track her?" "Well," the vampire on the other end paused. "I'm working on getting a copy of t he footage from a bank. Something strange happened..." Kieran heard the strange hesitation in his voice. "What do you mean?" he demande d at once. Couldn't people quit with the bullshit and say what was bothering the m? "Well, from what I've heard she went to the ATM, made ready to withdraw, but the n stopped and got back in the car. Just as she pulled out, another car barreled into the side of the bank right into the ATM. The driver was killed instantly. T hat's all I know," he admitted. "Once I can actually see the video I'll be able to get you your information. "How long will it take?" "The human bank is being difficult, but I've got people working on it. Maybe thi s afternoon." "The moment you've got it, get me," Kieran replied. "I don't care if you have to wake me up. We owe it to Alexander to get this mess cleaned up." "Yes sir." **************** He knew it was a dream the moment he realized he wasn't alone in bed and she was nestled against his side. Anna...his mind sighed the name with painful recognition. In real life she was l ost to him forever, but in his dreams...in his dreams he could relive the happin ess for a brief moment. He relished every sensation as he held her close; the soft feel of her skin, the scent of her hair, the way she breathed. He wrapped his arms about her tightly, delighting in the warmth of her body, the feel of her soft curves, trying once again to memorize everything about her essence to take him through the next nigh t without her. She cooed at his touch, that sweet little sound making the beast

within him quiet. Even the vampire side of him missed her little noises. She seemed to rouse a little for she sighed deeply and nuzzled his chest; the so ftness of her lips against his skin sending a delicious tingle down his spine. H e felt his body respond as she worked her way towards waking, moving seductively against him unconsciously. "Anna," he breathed. "If you keep that up, I'll lose whatever self-control I hav e left." Her glorious eyes opened and she froze suddenly, stiffening rigidly in his arms. She looked at him in confusion, almost fearfully, and then with saddened resign ation, as though she felt lost in his arms. He couldn't understand the emotions playing across her face. Perhaps it was his own guilt that his subconscious was using to color his dreams, but he hated that stare; the uncertainty, the doubt, as though she didn't even know him. He couldn't stand that look on her face. He leaned over and kissed her lips passionately, wanting to erase those damning doubts with desire. She didn't kiss him back, but he wouldn't let her resist him ; not in his dreams. He rolled her over on her back, keeping his lips locked wit h hers in a fiery assault on her mouth. She whined weakly in protest, but he swa llowed the cry with a growl. His hands roved her warm silky skin touching her so ft belly, gently sliding over her hip, rubbing that little spot that he knew fro m their strange connection sent shivers of pleasure down her spine. Once again she whimpered into his mouth and struggled against him for a moment a s though she knew if she didn't escape him that she'd lose herself. He didn't let her go. His fingers slid up her soft stomach, to caress the soft m ound of her full breast, cupping it in his palm and delighting once again at how it filled his hand perfectly. As if driven by its own volition, his fingers fou nd her tender nipple tracing it in tiny circles, tweaking it lightly even as his mouth devoured hers. Whimpering softly in defeat, she softened in his arms. She could never defy him, but the thought that in his dreams she had tried to, incensed him with passion and anger. This was his dream and he was going to ignite every inch of her soft body with the flames of passion, and then smother her in love, so those gorgeous eyes would look into his with loving desire once again. He released her mouth and kissed his way down her cheek to her neck. For a momen t he nuzzled her there, recalling how sweet she'd tasted, how addicting her flav or was to him. This was his dream. He'd take that, too, but not yet. Instead he licked her lightly brushing his sensuous lips across her sensitive skin. She shi vered in response and reached out to touch him timidly, her tiny hands just bare ly stroking his shoulders. He growled angrily. Since when had his Anna ever been timid? The thought drove h im even closer to the edge of his control. She was his lover, his life! He grabbed her delicate hands from his head, holding them by the wrists with n her soft flesh at her neck. Her eyes denly, but he easily subdued her, even shoulders roughly and moved them over her one of his own as he continued to feast o widened and she struggled against him sud with one hand.

"You try to resist me, Anna," he grated, his voice harsh with passion. "Since wh en have you ever been able to resist me?"

She opened her mouth to reply, but he wouldn't let her. He covered that protesti ng mouth with another engulfing kiss. She struggled and tightened her body benea th him, desperately trying to shake her head in refusal, but he kept her pinned helplessly with his body, his hand and his mouth until she quieted again. At las t, she kissed him back and her tongue danced with his returning his consuming ki ss with passion. In satisfaction, he released her mouth and smiled rather posses sively at her swollen, red lips. "Perhaps it's time I showed you a little more magic, my love," he purred. He released his grip on her hands smiling wickedly as she tried to move them and found that she was still restrained. "Please," she begged. He chuckled darkly and traced his fingers lightly down her arms smiling as she j umped and shivered at his touch. He liked seeing his beautiful Anna helplessly r estrained with his power. Her angelic eyes were wide her breasts were pushed for ward rising and falling enticingly as her chest heaved with each breath. Unable to resist those soft mounds exposed so erotically he cupped one with his hand as his mouth latched onto the other. Anna's breath hitched and once again her slen der body jolted as though a shock of electricity leapt down her spine. The more he tweaked her nipples with his fingers and lathed them with his tongue the more she squirmed and thrashed about beneath him whimpering softly until sh e was a writhing mass of need. He abandoned the tasty feast and slowly kissed hi s way down her stomach leaving a trail of wetness, making sure to stroke that li ttle erogenous zone on her hip with his fingertips on his way down. She struggle d to swallow the little whimper and he chuckled darkly. "Still fighting me, little Anna?" he breathed. "I do believe I'm winning." He kissed his way down her pelvis and looked at her soft folds smiling at how th ey glistened with wetness despite her struggles. He took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of her arousal and felt his control slip. "My, my," he scolded smiling inwardly at her wide-eyed stare. She looked so inno cent right now; her hands restrained above her head like sweet sacrifice. "You'r e all wet, Anna," he taunted her wickedly. "Could it be that you want me after a ll?" He gently stroked her folds running his fingertips through her wetness smiling a s she jumped from the shock of sensation once again. "Please," she gasped brokenly. She took a breath to say something else, but at that moment he replaced his teas ing fingertips with his tongue and latched his mouth over her clit. Whatever els e she was going to say was cut off with her strangled moan. He feasted on her fl esh suckling on her clit, pushing his fingers into her tight channel. She thrash ed beneath him and closed her eyes, tossing her beautiful head back and forth be tween her restrained arms in a silent 'no,' but he knew she was getting close to pleading 'yes.' "Do you want this?" he growled noting the dewy glow of her skin, feeling through their connection that she was close. "Just say it, my sweet. Just call my name. " "Please," she begged brokenly. "Please, yes!"

He laughed darkly into her flesh sending another delightful shiver through her b ody. "Since you said the magic word, Little One," he teased. He latched his mouth on her clit and suckled one last time sending her body conv ulsing beneath him and around his invading fingers. He looked up at her beautifu l face as she writhed and gasped with pleasure. She was so gorgeous when she cam e. He made his way back up her slender body watching her with relish; her beautiful eyes were deep blue and smoky with passion, her lips were swollen, her cheeks f lushed, and her body covered with a glistening sheen sweat. His control slipped a little more. "One more time," he breathed kissing her lips, letting her taste herself. He pressed her thighs apart with his own, and taking his throbbing erection in h and, slowly entered her. He groaned at her tight heat encompassing him and smile d as she gasped beneath him in blissful agony as he filled her aching body. "You see what you do to me, Anna?" he demanded. "You see how you drive me to my absolute limit?" She shook her head. "Don't deny me," he growled. "I can't take you denying me in my dreams." She moaned and closed her eyes once again as he began to thrust into her; grindi ng into her pelvis and then slamming his hips against hers. He put his hands und er her knees and angled her hips to allow his thrusts to penetrate even deeper. He groaned in pleasure as he felt even more blessed friction. She struggled agai nst the invisible bounds on her hands and her head thrashed back and forth as he thrust and ground against her gasping in tiny hiccoughing breaths as he brought her to the brink once more. He could feel the heat between them; the sweaty moi sture at their pelvises where their bodies were joined somehow just intensified the sensation of their coupling. He felt his cock swell inside of her even more as he struggled to maintain control and he could tell by the trembling of her sl ender frame beneath him that she was just as close. "Open your eyes and look at me," he growled. In the heat of passion, she could only obey. "Say my name, Anna," he demanded. "Say it." "I..." she whimpered. "No!" he cried harshly, barely holding on himself. "My name; I want to hear you scream it. Now, Anna!" "Please," she begged, "you don't under..." "Anna!" he screamed. "No!" she screeched back. "I..." His control slipped, and with a roar he came convulsing and thrusting within her . He wrapped his arms about her frame and at the same moment bit down at her nec

k, clutching her against his body with bestial possessiveness as he fed from her sweet, endorphin-filled blood. He could vaguely hear her cries as she lost hers elf again, but he could barely hold onto his raging body as he slammed merciless ly into her riding out his orgasm and succumbing to the pleasure of the feed. When he finally came back to his senses, she was crying beneath him. The beast w as quieted at once. With a thought her hands were released and he licked the wou nds at her neck sealing them. "Anna," he said gently. "What's wrong?" She shook her head and kept crying. "My love," he breathed. "Why are you crying?" Her beautiful blue eyes looked into his brokenly. "I don't know your name," she sobbed. "I don't know who you are!" Cael stared at her in horror. ***************** Alexander! Alexander! A voice echoed in his mind, pulling him away from his Anna's broken eyes. "Alexander!" "Alexander!" His eyes popped open and he rose with a vicious snarl. "What!" Kieran froze and stared at him uncertainly. "Are you all right?" "No," he returned passing his hands over his eyes for a moment to bring his raci ng heart back to normal. "What the fuck are you doing waking me up in the middle of the afternoon?" "We've got a video of Mara just outside of Chicago," Kieran began, but he paused as though searching for the right words. Even though he was thoroughly irritated and confused by his strange dream, Alexa nder could tell that something about the video had upset Kieran. He almost looke d...spooked. "And?" he demanded, knowing he was being an ass but unable to help himself. "You need to see it. I don't know what else to say. You just need to see it." He nodded. "Give me a minute to pull myself together and I'll meet you in the se curity room." Kieran nodded and left him. Alexander sighed. His boxers were soaked again and his body was drenched in swea t. It had been centuries since he'd had dreams like this; it made him feel like

an adolescent boy. He hastily hopped in the shower cleaning the remainders of his disturbing sleep from his body and dressed in his habitual well-pressed suit. Being the Ancient O ne in America forced him to keep a certain appearance; powerful, tailored, wealt hy. He sighed remembering the few happy days when he could just be a normal pers on, driving with his beautiful Anna, stealing her French fries. How her eyes had glittered playfully as she smacked his hand away...he only had time for those t houghts in his dreams anymore. It was time to put her to rest, deal with this Ma ra woman and Paola, and work to strengthen the American kingdom once again. Kieran was waiting for him with the surveillance tech in a small, dark room unde r the New York mansion. They were having a discussion about the clarity of the v ideo, and as usual, Kieran looked pissed. When he entered the room, the tech rose and bowed. "Good afternoon, Ancient One," he said respectfully. "Let's see what we have," Alexander replied. The tech nodded and after typing a few things on his keyboard, pulled the video up on the screen. The quality wasn't great, but Alexander couldn't see why Kieran was so angry abo ut it. Granted, just about everything seemed to irritate the testy vampire; it w as part of his charm. He watched as a woman went up to the ATM. She had straight hair, though the vide o was black and white, he'd guess it to be light brown or dirty blonde. Her bang s were pulled over her eyes and she was careful to keep her head down in order t o hide her features. From what he could see, Mara wasn't a woman to write home a bout. He watched her swipe her card and then froze as another woman rushed up to her. For a moment it was like his world completely stopped; his heart didn't be at, he didn't take a breath, there was no sound, no movement. For an endless sec ond life was a frozen frame, a picture. It couldn't be. When the film started moving for him, Alexander couldn't tell because his mind a nd body were still immobile. Dark hair, slender...even with the black and white cameras you could tell she ha d amazing eyes. Those eyes glittered strangely, and she seemed to be afraid. His heart started pounding again, but it was viciously loud in his ears. He was still unable to move as he watched her try to pull Mara away from the ATM. Her a ngelic eyes were wide, her movements were hurried, her hands were shaking. She w as afraid. Finally, Mara seemed to relent and went with her. They passed out of the view of the camera. "Play it again," Alexander demanded. He wasn't quite sure if he'd said it loud e nough. He could hear nothing over the pounding of his heart. "Wait," replied Kieran. Only a few seconds later a car came barreling towards the camera and crashed vio lently into it. The video went dead. "Okay," Kieran said to the tech. "Play it again. Freeze when we get to that face

shot we talked about." The tech nodded. Alexander stared mutely as the video played again. This time as the girl looked in the direction of the camera on the ATM, her beautiful eyes glittering strange ly, her expression marked with fear, the frame froze. Alexander stared. His heart pounded even louder. Was he breathing? He looked at her face once again and felt his eyes fill with tears. "Leave us," he vaguely heard Kieran say to the tech. Impossible. Impossible... He fell to his knees gasping, his chest aching, his eyes leaking tears. OH GOD! How was it possible? She was dead. Her heart didn't have the ability to move the blood through her body enough to force the change. She was dead. Three days lat er when he said goodbye to her, she was still dead. The woman on the screen was some kind of imposter. He looked up at the image and felt his soul scream. Anna, my Anna, you're alive! "Well, now we know what Mara did with her body," Kieran said quietly. Oh fuck. She'd been alive. He'd locked her in the tomb alive! "I left her in that room. As a newly turned vampire she would have no strength. I left her there to die," he said brokenly. "You thought she was already dead." "Good God," he gasped. "What have I done?" "You didn't do anything. She shouldn't be alive." "And yet, there she is," he said. He bowed his head and struggled to control the overwhelming emotions. Joy, grief , horror, anger, guilt, and...hope. "Why hasn't she come to you?" Suddenly his dreams made sense. His Anna, looking at him in confusion; drawn to him even though she couldn't remember she loved him. Their connection was still pulling them towards each other unwittingly. He looked up at the frozen frame; h er gorgeous eyes were glittering with power; the power his blood had given her. Then there were the strange dreams; they were too real, as though she was really there, and there was something about them...the way his body had responded so p hysically to them; he'd known those were the signs of a dream walker. In those d

reams she'd been so timid, confused, sad, and after tonight he finally understoo d. "She doesn't remember me," he said quietly. "What?" Kieran demanded. "How could she not?" "How much did you remember after your change?" He sighed. "It was so long ago, Alexander. I know there is memory loss with the change at first, but she's been alive for almost a month. It should be back by n ow." "The change process must have been incredibly slow," Alexander said rising to pa ce thoughtfully. "Her heart wasn't moving the blood through her body. It only ha d its own invasive characteristics. It shouldn't have happened. The blood isn't that strong." Kieran chuckled darkly. "Your blood is stronger than anyone can imagine. With yo u, anything is possible." He frowned. "How do you know she is suffering from mem ory loss and hasn't just decided to leave you?" Alexander looked at the screen and stared at his beautiful Anna's glowing eyes a nd frightened face. There she was; his Little One, his love, his mate. She was a live, alone, and abandoned by the man who'd sworn to protect her to flounder in their world with only an outcast of society for her guide. She'd come to him unk nowingly in her dreams, and he'd taken control of them, making love to her, but denying her what she'd been truly seeking; answers. "She's a dream walker. She's been coming to my dreams." ************** Anna awoke with a start sitting up at once. Her body was still hot from the erot ic dream, her thighs were soaking wet, and her heart pounded. She wanted to let out a scream of frustration. She'd been so bent on talking to him but he'd unwit tingly done everything in his power to keep her from asking him the one thing he 'd demanded; his name. She was sure if he just told her that she'd remember ever ything. GOD! She wanted to remember so badly. The only thing that restrained her from throwin g a temper tantrum was the sleeping Mara in the other bed. Not that much would w ake her up during the day. Over the past few weeks, Anna had learned that she and Mara were very different. Mara could barely rouse herself when the sun was up, and she wasn't nearly as f ast or as powerful. However, what she lacked in power, she made up for in street smarts. Last night they'd managed to unload most of the stuff she'd stolen from the abandoned mansion and their pockets were filled with money. Mara deposited a great deal of it in the bank before sunrise, but she'd held out nearly $1000 s o they could buy some new clothes for the trip to New York. Anna was a little excited about that. Mara was shaped differently than she was a nd her clothes were ill-fitting. Even though Anna's body was less frail now that she was a vampire, she had always been delicate and her mentor's clothes hung i n all the wrong places. The sun was supposed to set at 7:30 tonight and Mara had promised they'd go shopping at the mall before they continued on. She was ready . She was ready to go to New York and to start a new life; a life as a vampire.

She hopped out of bed and went to take a shower to get cleaned up. She smelled l ike sex even though she'd not had intercourse. She blushed to think about what M ara would say to that. The hot water relaxed her and she took time to shampoo an d condition her hair. She'd been noticing strange changes in her body. The hair on her head was thicker than ever, but she was losing it in other places. She ha dn't shaved her legs in over a week, but she didn't have stubble, and the hair a t her sex had fallen out, too. At first she panicked. The last thing she wanted to be was a bald and ugly vampire, but Mara had laughed kindly and told her that losing body hair was all part of the change; just like dealing with the hunger pangs, the strange urge to growl and bare fangs at irritating people. She'd noti ced other things; the tone of her voice, the sway of her hips, the glow of her e yes. She was becoming less and less human every day. She sighed and soaped her breasts thoughtfully. Other than the tremendous memory loss and trauma of the forced change, being a vampire wasn't so bad... She felt a stab of pain in her heart and fell to her knees gasping. It was like a sudden torrent of indescribable emotions; guilt, celebration, horror, passion, elation, and aching loneliness all crammed into a moment's breath and a few bea ts of her non-human heart. She shivered despite the hot water. She was quite sur e those feelings weren't hers. Okay. So there was one tiny problem with being a vampire. She felt things. Like the car at the ATM. She felt when bad things were coming. She wasn't quite sure if she liked that part. She didn't know what it meant and she could tell it scared Mara shitless. She stood and took a deep breath and stood up again. The panic attack was over. She finished her shower and stepped out wrapping her dripping body with the roug h motel towel that was barely big enough to cover her breasts. Sighing, she pick ed through her tangles staring into the cloudy mirror thoughtfully. Suddenly she screamed in horror. Staring back at her were shadowed, black eyes g littering evilly. Mara... a wicked voice whispered. ************** Well, I hope you are all still interested in my story. Your comments have been a wesome and I have appreciated them so much. Some of you are making some really g ood guesses. My writing will probably slow down a little since I'm back to work now and I usually work about 60 hours a week. That doesn't leave much time to th ink about Cael and Anna. You guys are the best! Please don't forget to vote and comment. Your words are w hat have kept this going since day 1. E