1

**Dez**

Dezmond woke in a cold sweat. The ache in his heart was worse than ever before. It had been growing more intense over the past few weeks. He got out of bed and went to the bathroom to wash his face. He didn't bother looking in the mirror, he knew what he would see. His face would be white and his eyes haunted with the need to find answers. Dezmond needed to know why he was being tormented in his dreams. He was never supposed to dream again. 

"I can't take this anymore." said Dezmond gloomily. 

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**Ruby**

Ruby couldn't focus in class, another night of tossing and turning. Seeing the flames consume her house.  Hearing the screams as her family slowly died, knowing there was nothing she could do. It had been almost three years since the incident. The day she lost her family in the fire. She was the only one who wasn't in the house. And she relived that horror every night in her dreams. Though recently her nightmares felt different. More like a warning rather than a memory. 

"Rough night?" whispered Haven. Haven had been friends with Ruby since they were little kids. "Yeah, they started happening again." Ruby whispered back. They never really stopped.

"Have you talked to anyone about it? Ruby, you can't keep it a secret forever." This is the same discussion they had just after the incident. 

"Please stop, I don't want to talk about this right now," The bell rang dismissing the class. "Can you come over later? I don't want to be home alone tonight; I just have a bad feeling." Ruby was embarrassed to admit that she was really scared being home alone. "Of course. I still have your spare key, so, I'll let myself in if you're not home yet." 

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**Dez**

"Dez, why didn't you say something sooner? This is not good." Viktor said, "We don't dream." He looked away, lost in thought for a moment. "Unless it wasn't a dream. Not really."  

"What do you mean?" Dez asked. This was so perplexing. After all he was told he would never dream again when his new life began. He hadn't had any dreams in more than five hundred years. But about two and a half years ago he heard screaming and smelled smoke while he was sleeping. That’s when it all started. The need for more. More what? He did not know. Then the dreams came in flashes. A young woman crying, her eyes were the most vivid part of his dreams. Her bright green eyes were so sad then. He felt something and he didn’t know what it was. As the dreams became clearer that feeling became stronger. A powerful emotion that he had never felt before. How can you develop feelings for someone who isn't even real? 

"Your mate must be calling out for you. Does it feel as if you are being pulled to her? If she's human she must be in grave danger." Dez was snapped back into the conversation by Viktor's statement. "This is a rare occurrence. In all my time I have only seen this happen a handful of times. Of course, no one has told you. We do not speak of this to our children. Unless it starts to happen to them. "  

"I am not sure. How would I know? I have never experienced this before. What do I need to do? I thought it was forbidden to search for a mate." Determination and confusion surged through Dez. 

"After you were turned, did you ever wonder why we are always alone? Why so few of us are allowed to seek out our true mates." He half smiled. Viktor had turned hundreds but Dezmond was his favorite child. 

"No, this life was always better than the one I left behind. I never wanted a mate." Dez rarely brought up his previous life, it was so painful. Searching for a true mate was strictly forbidden. I was turned after the wars. It is not clear what all happened and how that ties into searching for mates. The history is kept secret. 

"The time has come for you to go out on your own. You must leave as soon as possible. You need to talk to her and find out where you need to go." Viktor was elated that Dez was being called. He always hoped Dez would find happiness and now he knew Dez would.  

"I still don't understand. How am I to talk to her?" The coven was the closest Dez had to family, and now he was being sent away.  

"Speak to her in a dream, see if she responds." Viktor doubted there would be any telepathic communication. That was the rarest of all bonds and takes centuries to accomplish. The strongest telepathic connection he had ever heard of was his maker, Ozias and his mate Atara. They could share how something made them feel. Ozias and Atara were together for thousands of years and still have not accomplished actual conversation.

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**Ruby**

Haven arrived at Ruby's house just as she was unlocking the door. "How was work?" Haven asked as she walked up the pathway to the house.  

"It was slow, just the regulars." Ruby worked in a small diner. She didn't have to work but she enjoyed earning her own money. Spending the life insurance money from her parents hurt too much. She only used it when absolutely necessary.

"What do you want to do tonight? We could order some pizzas and watch a movie." Haven knew pizza was Ruby's weakness. 

"That sounds great, you order while I get cleaned up. I need to wash work off of me, I feel grimy" Ruby walked into the master bathroom. It was a spacious room. A huge garden tub was the centerpiece of the room. There was also a big shower and a walk-in closet. She stepped into the tub, the water was so soothing and Ruby dozed off.   

"Where are you? What is your name? Can you hear me?" Ruby sat up in surprise and looked around the room. Someone was talking to Ruby, but she couldn't see anyone. His voice was so sexy and comforting. "I can hear you, but I can't see you." A figure was approaching, he was tall. Ruby felt as though she was being pulled toward him. 

Haven knocked and the vision was gone in an instant. Disappointment ran through her. Why was she feeling like that? It was just a random dream. A nice change from the nightmares of her burning house. "Ruby, the pizzas are here, are you almost done?"  

"Yeah, I'm getting out now." Ruby got dressed in a hurry and for the first time in a while she was excited to go to bed later. Maybe she would get to see the man that was talking to her. 

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**Dez**

"I couldn’t find any answers!" Dezmond was yelling at Viktor. Dez hadn’t actually told Viktor that she could hear him. He had a feeling that should remain a secret for now. 

"Why are you shouting at me, son." Viktor was not angry, he was amused. It had been centuries since he had seen Dez this riled up, he couldn't help but chuckle. 

"I don't know, and stop laughing at me. It's not helping." Dezmond took a deep breath, trying to calm down. He didn't know why he was so angry. "This is crazy, what if I don’t want to find this woman?" That wasn’t true, he had an intense desire to know her. 

"Then you will never be the same. You will go insane if you do not try to find her." Dez could see in his friends' eyes that he wasn't joking. And if he was being honest with himself, he already felt slightly insane. "Dez you must go to her. You must win her heart, and open yours. Now go to her."

Dezmond was pacing back and forth in his apartment. He lived in a gated community. Most of the people were vampires like him and they were all a part of his coven. And Viktor was their leader. Dez decided to lay down and try to relax. 

The moment his head hit the pillow he fell asleep and began to dream. He was searching for her, he had to know. It hit him, the smell of smoke, and a blood curdling scream. He ran toward the scream; he began to see flames. There she was standing outside of a house that was engulfed in fire. She was calling for someone, anyone to help her. She fell to her knees sobbing. Dez ran to her, he tried to talk to her. She couldn't hear him, or see him. This wasn't his dream, He had somehow managed to find her, inside her own nightmare. He had never been inside her head before. She had always found her way into his head. 

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**Ruby**

"HELP ME! SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP ME!" Ruby jumped out of bed, looking for the fire. Her heart was racing. Haven ran into the room wielding a baseball bat. "What's wrong? Are you okay?" Haven realized what had happened as soon as her eyes adjusted to the dark. "Was it another nightmare?" Ruby nodded, she couldn't lie to her best friend. "It's getting close to the anniversary of their death. I think I'll take another bath, maybe that will help me relax." Haven looked concerned; she didn’t want to leave Ruby alone. "You promise to tell me if you need anything? I hate seeing you like this. Have you talked to your shrink about these dreams?" Ruby sighed, "Yes. She says it's normal and offered a medication to help me sleep, but I feel like a zombie when I take it."  

Another reason Ruby didn't want the medication had nothing to do with dreaming at all. She needed to know she could wake up and run if she needed to. Ruby never told anyone why she wasn't in the house the night of the fire. The cops asked, but she told them that she must have been sleepwalking. They believed her because she had a history of sleepwalking. The truth was crazy. She knew somebody was watching her. Ruby felt like someone had been following her for weeks before the fire. She seen them that night in the woods by her old house.  

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**Dez**

A couple days had passed since her nightmare. Dez had been pacing for hours. He hadn't been able to get any information from the woman in her dreams or in his. How was he going to find her with so little information? All he knew was that she had survived a housefire. He had searched the internet for house fires but that gave him thousands of results. It would take too long for him to go through every article one by one. He needed her name. Anything that would help narrow his search.  

"What are you doing?" Dez was too deep in thought and didn’t hear Mariah talking. "Dezzy, I'm talking to you. Hello!" Dez looked over, surprised to see anyone in his apartment. "Oh, what are you doing here? Why didn't you knock?" This was getting old; she knew he didn't like it when she showed up unannounced. 

"Dezzy I missed you. I thought we could do something together." Mariah was pretty. She had dark brown eyes and blonde hair. "We haven't talked in two years. If I remember correctly, I told you to stay away from me." 

"But we had so much fun together." Mariah was looking hopefully at him. She is one of the vampires who is looking for any kind of mate she could find. She was desperate for companionship. "Look Mariah, I told you that you meant nothing to me. I was not joking. All you were to me, was something to pass the time. You want something and I can't give it to you."  

"Why not? Neither of us have found our true mates and it's unlikely that we ever will. So why not keep each other company?"  The sadness in her eyes was gone in an instant.  

Dez was getting frustrated, "You don't get it. I don't like you. You annoy me. You need to leave. I have more important things to do." Mariah was livid. She was about to pounce on him when Viktor walked in, "Enough! Mariah, I didn't know you were visiting our coven. Vivian didn't send you, did she?" 

"No, she doesn't know that I left. I should call her now." Looking at Dez, "I will see you later." She walked out without looking back.  

"She just showed up, I had no idea she was here." Still irritated by her intrusion.  

"I know. I have a feeling she is up to something. I wanted to know what you found out. Do you know where you are going?" 

"No. I don't know how to find her. All I know is that she survived a fire. I somehow ended up in her nightmare. She couldn't see or hear me. I don't think I was there because she called me. It was different than what has been happening. I felt the difference. She has always been inside my head, but this time I was in her head. I don't know how it happened." Dez was pacing again, he was confused. "What do I need to do?" 

Viktor was silent for a moment. Dez looked at him and saw shock on his makers face. Finally, able to speak again, he said. "The elders spoke of this. We all thought it was a myth." 

"They spoke of what?" This is the first time Dez has seen Viktor speechless. 

"It is not common for us to have an ability show up overnight. You have never had any extraordinary psychic abilities before. I must to go to the elders, they must know about this at once. Try talking to her with your mind, see if she can hear you while she is awake." Viktor practically evaporated out of the apartment.  

"That was odd." Dez sat in a chair and focused on the woman in his dream. 

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**Ruby**

Ruby hadn't been back to work since her latest nightmare two days ago. She hadn't slept either. Haven was texting constantly to check on me. I asked her if she would move in so I was not alone. Haven said that she needed to talk to the housing manager on campus.  

Ruby decided to soak in the tub, that always helps her relax. The hot water felt refreshing. "Can you hear me?" Ruby opened her eyes and looked around. Nobody was there, but she could have sworn she heard someone talking. She settled back down in the water. "Hello? Can you hear me? Please answer me." Ruby sat up; she still didn't see anyone.  

"Is someone there?" This is stupid, I know that no one is here. 

"Yes. What is your name? My name is Dezmond" 

"Where are you? Why are you in my house?" Ruby was starting to panic; she was having a conversation with an invisible man. 

"I am not in your house. I am inside your head. Please tell me your name, it is important." He sounded concerned and Ruby instantly started to trust him. 

"I'm Ruby Lockton. I must be crazy"  

"You're not crazy. Where do you live?"  

"Royal Wood."  

"I will find you. I will keep you safe. I will be with you soon." It was silent. Ruby sat in the tub reeling from the brief conversation. 

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**Dez**

"Viktor! I found her; I'm leaving now." He was ecstatic and ready to leave. 

"Do not say where you are going. No one needs to know what you are doing. This must remain a secret until we know more about this situation." This was an odd request but he didn't mind. Dez was a private person anyway. "This may be more dangerous than I originally thought. Be extremely cautious."

"I understand, I will text you after I get settled." He turned and was out of the building and in his car in less than thirty seconds.  

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**Ruby**

Ruby was walking down the street with Haven. They were going to a small café near campus. Two girls came giggling out of the admissions building. They were talking about the hot guy in the office. Haven over heard them and asked the girls if it was the new professor. Ruby and Haven talked to the girls for a few minutes before continuing on to the café. Haven was excited to see this new professor. "It's about time they hired someone to teach our mythology class." Ruby was listening to her, but something felt different today. It was like someone was watching her. Ruby's body was screaming for her to run.  

That feeling stayed with her all week. She couldn’t sleep. The only comfort that I felt was that I no longer live alone. Haven was approved to move off of campus and moved in a few days ago.  

"We should get a couple guard dogs." Ruby had been looking to get one for a while. Haven looked up from her books. "Why do we need guard dogs?"  

"No reason really. I have been thinking about getting one for a long time. And since you moved in, I figured we could get two. One can be mine and you can have the other one. We could keep them with us in our rooms at night." Ruby couldn’t stop the words coming out of her mouth. 

"Okay. Well I don't know if I can afford a dog right now." Haven looked down to avoid eye contact. 

"I would feel better if we both had our own dogs. I'll help with everything you would need for yours. It could be your birthday gift. Please?" 

"Would it really make you feel better?" Haven glanced back up. 

"Yes. I don't like being alone and I don't like leaving the house empty either. I have already found two trained dogs. We can go get them tomorrow if you don’t mind." I was exhausted. 

"Yeah. If this is what you need to feel better then let's go in the morning." Haven looked worried. 

I was so relieved that she had agreed, because I had already paid for them. "Thanks." 

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**Dez**

I had been following Ruby for a few days. She is an interesting person. She is the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.  

"Hello handsome, what can I get for you?" The waitress asked. She was all charm, batting her eyes and leaning toward me. I hate when I get interrupted while in going over things. "No not yet. Thank you." 

"Are you waiting for your girlfriend?" She smiled at me and leaned in further. "No." She cut me off after that. "Well I get off work in an hour. Do you want to go get dinner with me?" She was confident. I'll give her that. 

"No, I am not interested. I really want you to leave me alone for the moment." Her cheeks turned red. I don’t even feel bad for her.  

Now, where was I? Ruby went into a tattoo shop a few times. I know she got tattooed, I could smell the ink and her blood. Her blood smelled so good. It was difficult controlling myself on those days. I found myself wondering where her tattoo was, I couldn’t see it on her exposed skin. Being so close to her is not what I expected at all.  

"Are you going to order anything?" The waitress asked, I could hear the annoyance in her voice.  

"Yes, I'm not sure what I want yet." She rolled her eyes. I see she is still upset that I rejected her. The bell above the door jingled. I look up and there she stood, looking right back at me. 

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**Ruby**

"What kind of dogs are we getting?" Haven sounded excited now. I smiled. "Dobermans, they are one of my favorite breeds." 

"I didn't realize we were going to get big dogs. They are already trained?" Haven looked nervous.  

I started laughing at her. "I did say I wanted guard dogs. Small dogs aren't as effective for that job." She can be so ditsy sometimes. I love this girl; she makes life so much better. She started laughing as well. 

"Oh, well yeah that does make more sense. Who is going to run away from a toy poodle or a pug?" We were almost to the café before we stopped laughing.  

Havens' phone was ringing. "Can you go in and order our drinks? I have to take this." She looked anxious. "Yeah, sure." 

I had butterflies in my stomach all of a sudden. It was almost like my body started to hum in anticipation. Opening the door only intensified the sensation. The moment I stepped through the door; my eyes were drawn to a man. He was talking to a waitress, he looked at me and the world stopped. Those eyes we so blue, almost white. He was sexy. Oh my god, I have never been so attracted to a man. Even before that horrible night.  

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**Dez**

I had to look away from her. My body felt like it was vibrating. I feel like I am being pulled to her. I have to keep my distance for just a little longer. I don’t want to scare her. Maybe I should try to talk to her with my mind again. 

("If you can hear me, try to talk back to me in your head.") I see her tense; it was barely noticeable. She looked around slightly alarmed. I smiled at her. She was looking around, not really scared but curious. Then she closed her eyes and I heard her reply in my mind. ("This is seriously getting creepy. Are you real? Or am I legitimately going crazy?")  I can’t stop watching her. ("I promise you're not crazy. I am in the café with you. I did tell you I would find you.") 

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**Ruby**

("You're here?") I can't believe I am talking to someone in my mind. This can't be real. ("Let's play a game. Let's see if you can figure out who I am.") He sounds so sexy. I began to look around again. Slowly studying every face in the café. ("Come sit with me, if you think you've found me.") "What can I get you?" The cashier was smiling at me while I ordered our drinks. The humming intensified as I walked closer to the man I seen when I walked in. He smiled at me. ("It's you. Right?") I smiled back at him. He stood up. "Yes. I am Dezmond. It is so nice to finally meet you in person." I didn't know my heart could beat so fast. "I'm Ruby. I'm so relieved that I haven't gone crazy." I laughed. Haven walked up smiling. "Who's this?" She asked me. "This is Dezmond. Dez this is my best friend Haven."  Haven looked stunned; she was staring into his eyes. "Ruby, why are you introducing me to your boyfriend?" She laughed while rolling her eyes. My jaw dropped.