Two guys, one girl, and two dark secrets that threaten to tear her world apart.
Alice Wright is a young vampire going to high school for the first time at the age of seventeen at the behest of her eccentric mother. In many ways, she's more afraid of the human students than they would be of her.
She feels lost and awkward in human society, but she soon develops a strong bond with the cousin of one of her human classmates, nineteen year old Kai. He is beautiful, but somewhat of an enigma. She discovers a dark secret in Kai's life, and she instantly wants to shelter him from the pain that has tormented him all his life.
Then she meets Maksim Augustine, the incredibly gorgeous guy who seems more like he should be a model than a high school student. She is overwhelmingly attracted to him physically, but her love for Kai causes her to continually push him away. Eventually, she discovers a frightening secret about Max, too.
But Max's secret threatens to destroy everything...
Excerpt
It was a relief to get out of the crowded house and into the night air. The loud music was still pounding in my brain, although it was much less audible once we were out of the house.
I followed Van to a shed in the back yard, and he opened the door.
“Hey, there you are!” Van said to someone inside.
“Hey, man,” answered the voice.
The voice was low and quiet, and it had a melancholy edge to it that almost saddened me.
“Kai, let me introduce you to Alice,” Van said, stepping aside. “Alice Wright, this is my cousin Kai Walker.”
I started to mention the fact that his name sounded like Skywalker without the “S”, but I didn’t want to let anyone know how much of a Star Wars nerd I really was. I got the idea that “nerds” were a group that was often ostracized.
I peeked into the shed, and there stood a sight that took my breath away. Kai was tall and thin, but his muscles were well defined. He wore a dark gray shirt that clung tightly to his frame, and it was tucked into black jeans. He wore black strappy boots, but splotches of paint in different colors dotted the toes. He had crystal blue eyes and long, striking rich burgundy hair. He was intensely beautiful. I never imagined any human could be so attractive.
Kai paused with a paint brush in one hand and a palette in the other, and he eyed me suspiciously.
“Hello, Alice,” he finally said.
“N-nice to meet you,” I replied, fumbling for words like an idiot.
He turned his head to the side, looking at me like a puppy with its head cocked to the side as if he were trying to understand me. His crimson hair fell over his shoulder, and I noticed his eyes were piercing into me as he attempted to size me up. I noticed his eyes fall downward from my face, eying the whole length of my body and back up.
“Hmm,” he said.
I wasn’t sure what that meant. His face gave me no clue. It was completely expressionless and dull. He stared at me for a moment, then he turned his attention back to his painting. I wanted to see what he was painting, but the easel was facing away from the door.
I stood there awkwardly for a few moments, and then I started to leave to go back into the house. It seemed obvious he had no interest in talking to me, and I saw no reason to keep standing there like an idiot.
“Hey, Van!” shouted Zach from the back door. “Dave brought a keg!”
“Come on,” Van said, slapping me lightly on the arm with the back of his hand.
I started to follow him, when I heard my name.
“Alice,” Kai called.
I paused. I was extremely uncomfortable in the huge crowd of people inside the house, but I also wasn’t sure if I wanted to be around Kai. The way he had looked at me… I wasn’t sure what he was thinking. That made me nervous.
“I’ll be inside,” Van said, heading back to the party.
Anxiously, I turned around to face Kai. The golden light of the lamp inside the shed cast a glow onto the grass. It was almost inviting me in – like a red carpet rolled out for me. I took a step toward the door, but I did not enter.
“Come in,” Kai said softly. “Close the door.”
With some trepidation, I stepped up into the shed and closed the door behind me. I turned back toward Kai, who once again seemed lost in concentration as he painted. He said nothing.
After several long moments of silence, I was just about to frantically burst out of the shed to escape the awkward situation. Finally, Kai looked at me and spoke.
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