NYC VAMPS (The Italians): Vampire Romance (Book Book 2)

by Sky Winters

  She walked up the stairs and went straight to the administration office. The woman behind the counter was a short, plump redhead, with lipstick to match her bright hair.

  “Hello, dear,” she said the moment she saw Savannah. “Are you the new student?”

  Savannah nodded. “Yes.”

  “What’s that in your ear, darling?”

  “It’s my hearing aid,” Savannah replied.

  “Oh…oh, that’s right.” She nodded. “There was a note in your file about your…condition.” She stalled a little and looked through her files as though she were confused and embarrassed at the same time. “I’m just looking for your file,” she continued in a voice so loud she was practically shouting.

  Savannah raised her hands. “I can hear you just fine,” she said. “You can talk at a normal volume.”

  “Really?” she asked as her eyes went wide. “Can you hear me now?”

  “Still a little loud.” Savannah sighed. “But I can hear you perfectly.”

  “Guess the hearing aids really work, huh?”

  Savannah smiled tightly. “Guess so.”

  Savannah thought back to her life in Africa. She had been born there and it was one of the only places where she had felt truly normal. Then her parents started traipsing her around the world, and Savannah realized that she wasn’t normal at all.

  She had become aware of her difference as a young girl, when the people around her started treating her differently, asking her silly questions, or making her feel as though she were less capable than everyone else. She wished she could tell them that she had never seen her deafness as a handicap; people were the ones that forced that word on her.

  “Well…the principal will want to have a little chat with you before you go to your classes. Come along,” the red haired woman said, raising her voice again, as though she had already forgotten Savannah could hear her clearly. “I’m Ms. Collins, by the way.”

  Savannah followed her into a small room with a large desk at the end of it. Behind it sat a tall woman with blonde hair and blue eyes, hidden behind glasses. It didn’t take a heightened sense of intuition to know that this woman, and the girl who had knocked into Savannah only moments ago, were related.

  Quite apart from how similar they looked, this woman’s aura burned as brightly as the blonde girl’s and the grey-eyed boy's had, except that hers wasn’t as wild or temperamental. There was a huge amount of control about her that Savannah had not felt from the others.

  “Hello, Savannah,” she said, speaking at a normal volume that made no assumptions. “I’m Principal Harris. Welcome to Grey Mountain High.”

  “Hello,” Savannah replied, distracted and confused by the strange new phenomenon she was experiencing. She wondered if there were something suspiciously different about these people that made their auras so fiery and powerful.

  “I take it you’re wearing your hearing aid as we speak?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good, that will make your transition here easier. I’ve read through your files,” Principal Harris continued. “It seems you’ve moved around a lot.”

  “I have.” Savannah nodded.

  “Well, then, you should find adapting here easy enough,” she said. “Why don’t you follow me; I’ll take you to your first class.”

  Savannah would have preferred going to class alone, but she knew she couldn’t turn down the principal’s gesture. She walked behind Principal Harris, admiring her commanding presence, and fascinated with her powerfully bright aura.

  “Here we are,” Principal Harris said as she approached a closed door with the words "English Literature" on the face of it. “Follow me.”

  She opened the door and walked in, leaving Savannah standing outside in the hallway. Savannah hesitated for only a moment before she took a deep breath and walked inside. The classroom was small, there seemed to be about fifteen kids in total, and every single one of them was staring at her as though she had two heads.

  Savannah kept her eyes averted, but she was hit by the cloud of auras in the room. Most were normal, calm, and gentle, but there were four that burned hot and bright. Savannah didn’t have to look up to know whom they belonged to. The blonde-haired girl was there, sitting beside one of her friends and staring daggers at Savannah. The grey-eyed boy was there, too, sitting beside one of his friends. The four of them burned so brightly, they cast everyone else’s aura’s in shadow.

  “Hello, everyone,” Principal Harris started. “We have a new student at Grey Mountain High. Her name is Savannah, and I trust you will all do whatever you can to make her feel welcome. She might need a little extra help, considering it’s the middle of the school year.”

  Savannah hoped the principal would not mention the fact that she was deaf; she didn’t want another reason for the students to gawk at her.

  “Savannah, this is Mr. Michaels. He teaches English Literature, but he’ll also be your teacher for history and political science.”

  “Welcome, Savannah,” Mr. Michaels greeted.

  “Thank you.” Savannah nodded, wishing they would simply put an end to this introduction so she could get to her seat.

  Principal Harris turned to the students. “Marissa,” she said, and the beautiful blonde girl raised her head a fraction. “I’m tasking you with taking Savannah around and showing her to all of her classes.”

  Savannah felt her stomach plummet when she noticed Marissa’s eyes narrow, and again she sensed hostility, but when Marissa spoke, her tone was cool and even. “Of course,” she said with a small smile that Savannah didn’t believe.

  “Excellent.” Principal Harris nodded. “Why don’t you grab a desk, Savannah? Thank you, Mr. Michaels.”

  Savannah moved toward the back of the class as Principal Harris left the room. There were two empty desks and Savannah picked the one farthest from the four kids with the bright auras. She felt their eyes on her as she slipped behind her desk, but made sure she didn’t look in their direction.

  The class went by uneventfully, but for Savannah, it was an entirely different climate. She sensed the emotions coming off the other students. There was curiosity and interest there, but there was also a strange, territorial protectiveness that made her feel like she was encroaching. It was a feeling she'd never experienced before.

  She spent the whole class in a cloud of mixed emotion, trying to figure out the confusing signs she was receiving. At the same time, she was desperately curious about the bright auras that surrounded some of the people in this town. It was not normal; she knew that much. There was something about those people that set them apart, but she was still so inexperienced that she couldn’t read the different layers beneath their auras.

  The moment the bell sounded signalling the end of the class, Savannah rose from her desk and moved out into the corridor. Her next class was calculus and she was confident she could find the room without help. She certainly didn’t expect help from Marissa, which was why she was shocked when Marissa came out of the classroom and turned toward her.

  “Come on,” she said. “I’ll take you to your next class.”

  Savannah tried to catch sight of the grey-eyed boy, but he seemed to have moved on to his next class already.

  “Looking for someone?” Marissa asked when she noticed Savannah’s preoccupation.

  “No,” Savannah replied quickly.

  Marissa didn’t look convinced. “What’s your next class?”

  “Calculus.”

  “Follow me,” she said after a moment, and Savannah had no choice but to follow her down the halls. Marissa didn't look back to see if Savannah was following, nor did she walk slowly. Finally, they veered to a stop in front of the calculus class, and Marissa turned to face Savannah again.

  “My mother told me you were deaf,” Marissa said, cocking her head to the side and examining Savannah unapologetically.

  “I am,” Savannah replied, refusing to back down from Marissa’s challenging glare.

  “And yet you
can hear me?”

  “I’m wearing a hearing aid,” Savannah replied. “And I read lips pretty well.”

  “Do you?” Marissa asked sounding unimpressed. “I think I know who you were looking for back there.”

  “I wasn’t –

  “It’s okay, I get it,” Marissa interrupted. “He’s hot and you’re only human, but I want to make one thing very clear, and since you can read lips so well, you can read mine now.”

  She looked directly into Savannah’s eyes and mouthed words that were as clear as day: "Stay away from Xander Wilson."

  Chapter Three

  Savannah spent the rest of the day thinking about Xander Wilson. She couldn’t understand how Marissa had sensed her interest in him, but she was not wrong. Savannah felt an inexplicable fascination towards Xander and she could barely understand why.

  He was a complete stranger to her. She hadn’t even known his name until Marissa had mentioned it. She tried to reason that it had something to do with his bright and beautiful aura, but she had counted nine people with similar energies, and her interest in them wasn’t even minimal.

  After calculus she had a free period, so Savannah walked around the school until she found the library. It was extremely quiet, and apart from the librarian, there was no one else in there. Savannah slipped between the shelves and looked through the books, but there weren’t very many choices. A half an hour later, Savannah realized she had circled the entire library twice already.

  She moved toward the back of the library, trying to search for a book that would hold her attention until her next class. She was looking through a book when she felt eyes on her back. Her senses caught the presence before she became aware of the bright aura that surrounded the person. She turned slowly and found herself staring into Xander Wilson's haunting grey eyes.

  “Hello,” she said, feeling herself tense.

  He moved a little closer. “Hello,” he replied.

  He didn’t speak like any of the other kids. His eyes seemed so much older, as though he had lived a hundred lives already. His aura was charged with energy and filled with light, made up of bright blues, fiery reds, and violently passionate purples.

  “Is something wrong?” he asked.

  Savannah realized she was staring. "Sorry," she mumbled, turning away.

  He came to stand beside her to look at the same shelf of books. “You’re new, aren’t you?” he asked. His voice was deep and silky, somehow matching his face.

  “Yes,” Savannah nodded.

  “It’s a bit late to join a new school, don’t you think?”

  “I do,” Savannah agreed, “but my parents apparently don't.”

  He smiled, and Savannah felt her heart flutter a little. She didn’t know what was going on exactly, but she knew it wasn’t normal. The energy passing between them was strong, more potent than Savannah had ever felt before, and it was taking everything she had to keep up her end of a casual conversation with him.

  “You’ve moved around a lot, haven’t you?” he asked.

  “How did you know that?” Savannah asked.

  He shrugged. “Just an observation,” he said. “You enjoy being alone, and you like the quiet, probably because you’ve been moved around so much that you've replaced friends with silence and you've had no choice but to like it.”

  Savannah raised her eyebrows in shock. She was used to understanding things about other people. What she wasn't used to was other people understanding things about her. “That was…”

  "Accurate?” Xander asked.

  “I suppose it was…somewhat accurate,” Savannah conceded, and Xander smiled.

  Whenever he smiled, Savannah noticed that his aura burned a little more brightly, and the colours surrounding him grew wilder. There was something about this boy, a secret he was hiding, and it was either special or dangerous-‒perhaps it was both.

  “How long have you lived in this town?” Savannah asked, not wanting the conversation to end.

  “My whole life,” Xander replied.

  “Wow,” Savannah said. “Graduation's not that far away…you must be making plans to leave soon.”

  Xander’s expression was unreadable. He looked at Savannah with those cool, grey eyes, and shook his head. “I don’t have any plans to leave Grey Mountain,” Xander replied. “This is my home.”

  “You must really love it here,” Savannah said.

  Xander smiled gently. “This town…it grows on you.”

  “I’ll take your word for it,” Savannah replied.

  “Don’t take my word for it,” Xander said. “I’d much rather you take it on proof.”

  “Proof?” Savannah repeated in confusion.

  “Let me show you around after school,” Xander said.

  Savannah was taken aback and thrilled by the offer, but she couldn’t help thinking about Marissa’s threat that morning. She was obviously Xander’s girlfriend, in which case the last thing Savannah should be doing was going off alone with him to explore the town.

  She contemplated turning him down for a moment, but her resolve melted the moment she was faced with the intensity of those hypnotic, grey eyes.

  “Okay,” Savannah nodded. “Show me.”

  Chapter Four

  Once the last bell had rung to dismiss everyone for the day, Savannah skulked around her locker, marking time. She had no desire to go off with Xander while the entire population of Grey Mountain High watched.

  Her thoughts fluttered back to Marissa, and she wondered if she was making a mistake. Her doubt disappeared the moment she set eyes on Xander, walking down the corridor toward her. He was tall and well built, with a lean, athletic frame that hinted at a muted power, lying just beneath the surface. Savannah was able to sense it every time he got close to her.

  “Hi,” he said as he approached her. “Are you ready?”

  “Yes.” Savannah nodded as she followed him outside.

  Almost all the other students had dispersed by then, and the school looked practically abandoned. Xander walked her down the stairs and toward a large, intimidating, black motorcycle.

  “You ride a motorbike?” Savannah said, staring at it with wide eyes.

  “Yes.” Xander nodded as he put on his helmet. “Is that a problem?”

  “I…well, I’ve never actually been on one,” Savannah replied. “I’m probably not even allowed on one.”

  “According to your parents?” Xander asked with interest.

  “Well…yes.”

  “Well, lucky for you they’re not around at the moment,” he pointed out.

  Savannah looked from him to his mammoth motorcycle, and felt her excitement rise with her nerves. She had never done anything remotely rebellious in her life. She had always followed the rules, and sometimes even enjoyed it. She had lived in villages, towns, and big cities, and in every single one of them she had stayed away from boys like Xander.

  Which was why she couldn't understand the strange pull she felt toward him. It was almost as though she had no choice in the matter. She had this unexplainable, intrinsic need to be with him, and she could find no reason for it.

  “Savannah?”

  Savannah felt a thrill of electricity speed down her back at the sound of her name on his lips. She had never experienced such a strong connection before, and she had sensed enough to know. She stared into his grey eyes and felt something pass between them, but she had no name for it, and no understanding of what it was. It was the only time Savannah had ever questioned whether another person had felt the same thing she was feeling, but she didn’t have the courage to ask.

  “I’m coming,” she said.

  He smiled and handed her the spare helmet. “You’ll need to wear this.”

  Savannah took the helmet and slipped it on. It was a little big, but she could see through the visor clearly enough.

  “You’ll have to fasten it,” Xander directed her.

  “How?”

  “There’s a clasp under your chin.”

&
nbsp; Savannah found the clasp easily, but she couldn’t seem to fasten it together. She had never really experienced this kind of fumbling uncertainty before, but her nerves were dulling her other senses, it seemed.

  “Let me help you,” Xander said.

  He leaned forward and Savannah was forced to move her hands out of the way. Their fingers brushed against each other, and she felt that strange sensation of heat flood through her body again. She noticed his eyes flitted to hers at the exact same moment, and she thought she saw a flash of confusion in his eyes, but it was gone in a flash, and Savannah wasn’t sure if she had imagined it.

  “There,” Xander said as he took a step back. “You’re all set.”

  “Thank you,” Savannah replied softly.

  He nodded and helped her onto the bike. “You’ll have to hold on to me tight,” he instructed her. Savannah placed her arms around him gingerly, feeling a sense of wholeness she had never experienced before.

  Xander revved the engine and within seconds they were whizzing down the streets of Grey Mountain. Savannah didn’t know where he was taking her and she really didn’t care. She felt a sense of freedom she had never experienced before, a freedom that came with making her own choices. She had chosen to be here, she had chosen to shirk the rules and listen to her instincts instead.

  They kept riding until they had left any sign of human activity behind. When Xander finally came to a stop, it was in front of a massive, emerald forest that stretched off into eternity.

  “Is it safe here?” Savannah asked, looking around at the wild trees. She could sense that the forest was crawling with wildlife, and any number of dangerous creatures.

  “You’ll be safe with me,” Xander replied.

  Savannah glanced at him. His reply hadn’t really answered her question, but it suggested something Savannah couldn’t quite wrap her head around. She pushed away her frantic thoughts and moved toward the trees behind Xander.

  He led her into a thicket of firs. Savannah had to reach out for one of them to support her climb. The moment she touched the tree, a flash of light shot across her eyes and she saw something. It was a passing vision, a bolt of lightning shaped in the image of a large, feral animal.