Chapter 1

 Ann made her way into the school building, eager for its warmth, hardly noticing the beautiful aurora lights that painted Barrow Alaska’s sky that not so dark morning because of the Northern Lights. She saw her best friend Jessica leaning against her locker. People nicked named them ‘twinsies’ because they looked so similar. The biggest difference between them was that Jessica had dark brown eyes, almost black, with long brown hair that reached her hips, and Ann’s hair reached mid-back.

“Hello stranger,” Jessica embraced Ann. “Tell me everything! Did you hook up with that hot guy from the club?” she asked curiously.

“What guy?! I don’t remember anything,” Ann said worriedly, her hazel brown eyes looking more on the green side as the hallway light reflected on them.

“That guy!” Jessica exclaimed, shocked to see the guy from the club. He looked up at them, his mysterious gold-silver eyes catching Ann’s. A smile crept up his face, and he gave her a wink. Ann blushed and looked away.   

“I don’t remember anything!” she told Jessica and took her coat off to hang it in her locker. The school building was a comfortable warm temperature despite the cold weather outside.  

Ann and Jessica were top students and seated in front of the class. They liked to have fun and sneak out on weekends, but when it came to their classes, all fun and games got set aside.  Both with aspirations to leave for warmer horizons, they knew they must get good marks to get into good Universities. Both girls were on the honor roll, Jessica being top of her grade with Ann coming in 2nd. Ann strived to knock Jessica off her pedestal and Jessica welcomed the healthy competition. What Ann did not know was that Jessica has a romantic flirtation with one of the teachers that were their Math and Science teacher and therefore always graded Jessica a tat better than what she deserved. Ann was more reserved than Jessica when it came to romantic relationships.

They noticed that their math and Science Teacher had turned into a young male instead of their usual teacher. He was yet to face the class as he was busy writing his name and surname on the whiteboard. “Good morning students, I am Mr. Dario Carden and I will be your Math and Science substitute teacher while Miss Erin Wangberg recovers,” Dario introduced himself after turning around to face the class. He caught a hint of blood smell in the air, and it led him to Ann.

Ann felt obligated to say something, feeling a bit uncomfortable with the sexy substitute teacher’s gaze on her. “What happened to Miss Wangberg?” Ann asked, trying her best not to shy away from the teacher’s eyes on her.

“An animal attacked her. It is all over the news,” Jessica informed her and smiled at the new teacher. She was a bit bumped that Miss Wangberg won’t be around for a bit fearing that Ann might kick her off her top spot, but when she saw the substitute teacher, she knew she had this year as the top student in the bag. Jessica deliberately changed her leg position and was satisfied that Mr. Carden’s eyes fell on her.

Dario masterfully ignored the hint of blood in the air that came from Ann as he has been a Vampire for over 2500 years. He was about to ask Jessica’s name, even though he already knew it when the classroom door opened.

“Is this the Senior class?” a pretty teenage girl popped her head into the class, bright blue eyes, a pearly white smile, and a dashing mob of blond hair.

Dario rolled his eyes. “Yes, Shysie, you guys are late,” he said, annoyed. Dario hoped that the group of Vampires that are in hiding with him would have kept a low profile and behave themselves until the air was cleared with the Higher Council.  

A group of 3 students stumbled into the classroom laughing. Ann’s eyes met one, and she started to get a glimpse of flashbacks. She shifted uncomfortably under his eyes, blushing a bit, not sure about the images in her head. She forced her eyes down onto her table. Paris smiled slightly as he knew that Ann was getting flashbacks of a heated session. Even though they did not go all the way, he saw her life when he was drinking her blood from her inner thigh. That night was the wildest she has ever been with a guy. When he drove her home Saturday morning, he compelled her to forget everything and sleep the weekend off. He compelled her to only remember everything when she was near him.

“Shysie, Paris, and Wynn are new in town, and I hope all of you will make them feel welcome and show them around,” Dario introduced them. 

Wynn and Shysie looked like they could be siblings. Wynn, like Shysie, had bright blue eyes and blond hair. Both were tall and had heavenly appearances. Paris had a hint of bright blue, but mostly his eyes were silver and golden brown. Jessica found it strange that the three of them and the teacher's eyes all had a blueish shine to them. Wynn and Shysie took chairs at the back of the class and Paris went standing at a desk behind Jessica. “I would like this seat please,” he openly compelled the student to get up.

“Sure, no problem,” a guy named William stood up and found another seat. Only when William was seated, he snap out of it and was confused as to how he got to the new seat.

Ann’s flashbacks were coming back full force. Now that she remembered everything, she looked around at Paris. Paris gave her a smile and a wink. Ann quickly faced forward again; cheeks flushed.

“I woke up in my bed this morning, but don’t remember how I got to it. The worst part of all is that I don’t remember anything. The last memory I have is of Friday night,” Ann whispered to Jessica, “and there is this strange bite mark on my inner thigh.”

“You left with that sexy guy we saw in the hallway. Maybe you drank too much,” Jessica whispered back with a chuckle.

Jessica wasted no time and flashes Dario a sexy smile. Dario felt a bit uncomfortable. He picked up the Math textbook that was heavily marked with sticky notes. He opens it at the bookmark that Miss Wangberg placed and quickly looked over the page. “Let us get started with today's math lesson. Please open your textbooks on page 107. Would anyone like to explain to the class their understanding of example 98?” Dario asked, not expecting an answer from the students. He was about to make his way to the whiteboard.

“Sure.” Jessica got up and walked over to the whiteboard, and seductively took the marker out of Dario’s hand, making sure her fingers touch his skin. Dario flinched at her touch and the marker fell. Jessica was a bit taken aback by his reaction toward her, but picked up the marker.