A Bloody London Sunset

by Jaz Primo

Chapter 3: Photographic Memories

  For days, Caleb silently fumed over Katrina's pact with Devon Archibald. It felt as if she had chosen the huge vampire over him. And while admittedly sanguinary, he wanted nothing less than revenge for having narrowly avoided death at the hands of his unexpected adversary. Seeking sympathy, he called Paige. And while she had listened patiently, his brief conversation with her had been useless; she had all but openly agreed with Katrina's decision. He came close to hanging up on her and decided to avoid talking to her for a while for spite.

  His friend and teaching mentor, Tanisha, had been very curious on Monday morning as to how his camping event had gone that previous Friday evening. Unfortunately, he could scarcely tell her what actually happened. His reflection on their conversation had only raised his ire, accompanied by a sense of betrayal by his mate.

  Still, he followed the rules he had promised to uphold and lied to his friend. He told Tanisha that he and Katrina had a nice enough time, but he didn't care to revisit the location anytime soon. Fortunately, his outward wounds had healed well enough that she didn't see any evidence of his physical injuries, though his body still felt very sore and achy in places. However, his perceptive friend did detect something was bothering him, so he admitted that he and Katrina had argued Sunday night, and he was still somewhat upset over the event.

  Tanisha advised him, "You know, Caleb. Part of loving someone is admitting to yourself you may not always be happy with your partner, but remembering that you love them. Sometimes you have to let go of festering resentment, or it will eat you alive inside and prove detrimental to the overall health of the relationship. In the case of arguments, it's hard to look beyond pride or ego on both people's parts and instead be brave enough to make amends for the benefit of the relationship. "

  He conceded the logic of her advice, but countered, "So, what do you do when William makes you angry by making a decision you believe is short-sighted, particularly where he didn't take your feelings fully into account?"

  She paused to consider Caleb carefully. "Well, first, I'd ask him if he thought my feelings were important enough to him to consider more seriously. "

  "And then?"

  "Then," she continued with a smirk, "if I thought he was sincere, I'd let him know how disappointed in him I was. And if he weren't sincere, he'd spend a few nights thinking it over while sleeping on the couch. "

  He smiled as she giggled and silently considered her solution might not work quite that well with Katrina. His alpha-vampire mate was cut from a little different cloth than the average person, even for a vampire. Instead, he merely sighed and thanked her for her advice. He half-considered calling Alton, but quickly discarded the idea because the stately vampire apparently agreed with Katrina on her decision. Of course, he was still boycotting Paige, as well.

  By Tuesday afternoon, he was still vexed over the entire affair, though he realized he needed to work through his feelings somehow. However, Wednesday passed with no resolution.

  By Thursday evening, he had two evening classes left to teach and needed to refocus his attentions on the upcoming lectures. He went to the student union to eat dinner and was happy when Tanisha unexpectedly joined him. Apparently, she was teaching a section of Early American History on Tuesday and Thursday evenings for an adjunct professor who had just had surgery and couldn't teach for the remainder of the semester.

  After a quick meal, his first evening class went well. But as his second section started, something odd occurred. He finished roll call and was bringing up the PowerPoint presentation for his lecture when he spied a quick blur of movement outside of his open classroom door. A pale-skinned, muscular man appearing to be in his early thirties and sporting a crew cut stood in the hallway curiously staring back at him. Another shorter man of Native American heritage in his twenties appeared beside him. He also stared at Caleb while whispering something to his taller associate. A chill went down Caleb's spine as he realized their odd mannerisms and piercing eyes suggested they were likely to be vampires. It was when the taller one smiled and revealed two slightly extended fangs that Caleb finally had his answer.

  He immediately looked down at the computer screen at the instructor station before him and tried to remain calm as he navigated through Windows. He announced, "Just a little delay getting my PowerPoint to come up, everyone. Go ahead and open up your books to chapter eight and review the questions at the back of the section for discussion. You might want to jot down some quick answers in case I call on you, as well. "

  He casually slipped his phone from its belt carrier and opened the facing to scroll to Katrina's number. He glanced up discreetly and noticed both of the men had disappeared, and he paused to consider what to do next.

  If he dialed Katrina, she might send that monster Devon, exactly the guy with whom he didn't want to contend. But she would be angry if he didn't call her. Then again, neither of the men, or rather vampires, looked particularly threatening. Certainly, while unnerving, it hadn't caused the same feelings of fear he had felt that night in the wildlife preserve.

  He sighed, finally deciding a text message might be the better part of valor. But instead of texting Katrina, he texted his friend and protector, Paige. Granted, she was in California, but she could at least advise him before he made a rash decision. And his class was just beginning, so he had a little over an hour on his hands to consider other options.

  He hastily sent the message: 2x fangs outside class. Not scary right now. Plez advise. C.

  He set his phone aside and pulled up the PowerPoint for his class. A quick glance through the room indicated his students were still reading or preparing answers to the textbook questions. His cell vibrated, and he read Paige's reply: Don't panic, kiddo. Stall for time. P.

  His reply was, Wish U were here. Thx.

  He started his PowerPoint slideshow and glanced down to read another reply from Paige: Me 2. B careful. Luv U.

  Sighing, he slipped his cell phone back into its pouch and anticipated that Paige was likely already on the phone to Katrina. So he did the only thing he knew he could do: he began lecturing, despite the anxiety forming in his stomach. But he was becoming a much better actor over time and barely skipped a step as he played his role as an engaging professor of history.

  Katrina sat at the desk in her study going over some financial paperwork she had requested from one of her overseas bank accounts and an elite credit card company she used regularly.

  She sighed, lamenting that her mate was very put out with her as of late, and wondered how much longer it would take before they either had another disagreement or managed to resolve his most recent conflicted feelings. Either way, she dreaded the thought of further arguments with him. Gotta love those lose-lose scenarios.

  The cordless phone on her desk rang, and she snatched the handset out of its charger station before the second ring. One quick dart of her eye at the caller ID revealed it was Paige.

  "What's up, shorty?" she quipped.

  But instead of a snappy comeback, she heard Paige's tense voice at the other end. "Red, our boy's in a little trouble tonight. "

  "What kind of trouble?" she demanded.

  "He's at the college teaching a class, and apparently two vampires have shown up outside his classroom. He texted me to say he's not scared, but wanted advice. I told him to stall for time and stay calm, but I think you better haul ass up there. "

  "Thanks. I'm on my way," Katrina snapped as she slapped the phone onto the desktop and sped out of the room. Dammit, Caleb, why the hell didn't you call me first? she fumed while grabbing her cell phone, keys, and combat knife.

  After Caleb finished his brief lecture, he selected individual students to answer each of the questions at the back of the chapter. He realized only about half an hour had passed, but it was more than enough time for Katrina to arrive. There was no doubt in his mind Paige would have immediately called her following his text messages. Maybe Kat's sea
rching the campus for the vampires while I'm teaching. He thought it odd that she hadn't appeared to indicate her arrival, but at least there had been no reappearance of the two vampires in his doorway, either.

  The question and answer session with his students was completed in record time. Failing to have a plausible reason to detain them further, he adjourned his students approximately fifteen minutes early, wishing them a good evening and cautioning them to prepare for a possible quiz next Tuesday. The students cleared the room before he even had time to shut down the instructor computer fully, and he found himself going downstairs to his office in near silence. As he unlocked his office door, he considered whether he should try calling or texting Katrina. He postponed making a decision in lieu of loading his briefcase with items he wanted to take home with him. Unfortunately, the briefcase was too small, so he transferred everything into a backpack he kept in his office for such an occasion. An eerie feeling crept up his spine as he wondered where Katrina was.

  He finished preparing his backpack for the journey home and decided to open his office blinds just enough to see what might be going on outside. Fortunately, most of the park-like surroundings outside the campus buildings were well lit by lamp poles scattered throughout the grounds, so he had a reasonable view of the immediate vicinity.

  Suddenly, he noticed his two unexpected visitors standing beside a large pine tree approximately thirty feet away from the building. He had almost overlooked them because they wore dark clothing and were both standing on the shaded side of the tree sheltering them from the ambient light.

  His heart leapt in his throat as he noticed one of his history class students stop near the men as they engaged her in conversation. Beth Wilkins must have lingered after class and appeared to be heading across the grounds to the parking lot on the opposite side of campus. He wasn't sure what the vampires intended for him, but he knew Beth was in a particularly vulnerable situation and would have no idea of the potential danger posed to her.

  He made an instant decision and grabbed his leather jacket before pulling his office door closed behind him. His heartbeat increased anxiously, but he deliberately walked out into the cold night air towards the trio. He adopted a stern expression and stopped perhaps twenty feet from the two vampires, who noted his approach with curious expressions.

  Beth noticed the distracted attention of the two figures, and her head slowly turned to gaze at Caleb with an almost relieved expression as she clutched her book bag tightly to her chest. Apparently, even she had begun to grow wary of the two men, even though not realizing the true extent of their danger to her.

  "Beth, it's getting pretty late," he observed. "Do you need someone to escort you to your car?"

  Beth swallowed and replied appreciatively, "No thanks, Professor Taylor. I'm parked fairly close, but I better get going. "

  "Okay, see you next Tuesday," he replied with as casual a voice as he could muster. I hope I'm around to see you on Tuesday, he thought anxiously.

  She turned and walked away with hurried steps, glancing back over her shoulder twice before disappearing around the corner of the science building. Caleb's gaze settled on the two vampires, who appeared mutually amused by him.

  "Caleb Taylor, I presume?" asked the tall vampire with the crew-cut. "Your student spoke very highly of your skills for a professor that's so young. "

  "I found my niche early, I suppose," he quipped, although his false bravado was shaken by the growing feeling of vulnerability forming from not seeing anyone else in the vicinity.

  The shorter Native American-looking vampire smirked. "I can see why Pete wanted to stop and see if you were the real deal. You're gutsy for a human. "

  Caleb gathered the taller vampire was named Pete, and he frowned, wondering what they wanted with him exactly.

  "Oh, he's the real deal, all right," came Katrina's level, steel-edged voice from somewhere behind him.

  He started to glance behind him, but quickly decided it was more prudent not to take his eyes off the two vampires before him. He was glad for that, because he would have missed the priceless expressions of surprise and dismay as they looked past him to where Katrina must have been standing. But Caleb was startled noticeably as Katrina's body suddenly appeared before him and to the left, slightly blocking his vision. His eyes caught sight of the handle of a combat knife protruding from underneath the back of her leather jacket.

  "Who are you, and what do you want with my mate?" she coldly demanded.

  The two vampires stepped back slightly and held their arms out to their sides as if expecting to engage in combat at any moment. There was a palpable increase in the tension growing in the air around Caleb, and he flexed his muscles with anticipation.

  "Wait," the taller vampire insisted with his hand held up. "We're not here to cause trouble. I'm Pete Crenshaw, and my friend is Eric Holata. We're from North Carolina and were just passing through town on our way to the Rockies. "

  The shorter vampire spoke up. "Yeah, we heard about how you and your mate killed that South American vampire. We just wanted to know if everything we heard was true. "

  "Why did you approach him? Why not me instead?" Katrina demanded.

  The two vampires fell silent. Then Pete replied, "We, uh, heard about how you were an alpha -"

  Eric interrupted, "We thought it would be easier to talk to your mate. There was no need to disturb you over something so trivial. "

  So, word's getting around about either Katrina's stern attitude or temper. Or maybe both, Caleb mused. He felt more at ease about the situation with each passing moment.

  "You should've approached me first," she corrected Eric. "You both seem fairly inexperienced, so let me offer you a little tip. It's traditionally better protocol to approach a vampire first, rather than their human mate. "

  These two must be really new vampires, she mused. She wondered who their creator was and why they hadn't been mentored better.

  "I see that," Pete replied. "Thanks. "

  The shorter vampire cast a quick glance at his friend and offered, "We'll be going now, if you don't mind. Sorry to have disturbed you and your mate. "

  The two slowly backed away, but Caleb stepped out from behind Katrina. "Wait. "

  Both stopped and quickly cast glances at each other before focusing on him as he reached inside his leather jacket and pulled out a business card.

  "Here, take this. Email me, and I'll answer any questions you might have about what happened to us," he offered as he extended the card in his outstretched hand.

  Pete moved forwards slowly and took the card from Caleb, glancing momentarily at his college business card.

  "Thanks," the vampire said. "I'll do that when we reach our new destination. "

  Both vampires nodded to Katrina deferentially and turned to depart in a blur. Caleb squinted into the darkness beyond the farther campus buildings, but could no longer discern their location. Katrina's hand firmly fell upon his right shoulder, and she rotated his body to face her.

  "Why did you do that?" she demanded.

  "Do what?"

  "Your offer to answer their questions basically circumvented my directive to have them coordinate through me," she explained.

  He looked away and matter-of-factly answered, "I was just being polite. "

  "I thought you didn't like menacing vampires showing up unannounced," she countered with an arched eyebrow.

  He gazed up into her eyes. "Just the ones trying to kill me. "

  Her right hand darted out to grasp his chin between her thumb and forefinger, and she tilted his face upwards to meet hers.

  "First, that was dangerous and reckless confronting them yourself, particularly with you being defenseless, no less," she chastised. "And second, I can probably guess why you contacted Paige instead of me. But if she's not in the immediate area, you call me first when trouble arises. Understood?"

  She had anticipated he chose to call Paige
first to make the point he was upset with her. It also occurred to her that he might have called Paige knowing she would call her, causing her to respond to the threat instead of asking Devon to assist. Yeah, as if I would ever defer my responsibilities to him when I had the ability to respond in person, she fumed. Either way, she wasn't pleased with his decisions that night.

  "My student appeared to be in danger, and I'm not going to just sacrifice her to the wolves without intervening," he retorted. However, he silently conceded she was correct about his being defenseless. It felt as if he would have had little chance against those vampires, even under armed and better prepared circumstances.

  She continued to hold his chin firmly. "And as for calling me first when Paige isn't around, are we clear on that?" You don't get a pass on that stipulation, my love.

  "Clear," he replied flatly, after which Katrina released his chin. His eyes strayed back towards the social sciences building, and he saw Tanisha watching from her office window with a wary expression.

  Damn. He had forgotten she was teaching a night class. He was one of the few full-time faculty teaching a class that late, so the offices were usually deserted by the time of his evening classes. He wondered what she might have seen from her office window.

  Katrina noted her mate's distracted gaze and turned her head to look in the direction his eyes were staring. She fleetingly glimpsed Tanisha before the blinds were turned up. Her mind raced with the possibilities of what Caleb's friend may have seen. Perhaps she didn't see anything vampire-specific, unless she noticed how quickly the two vampires departed. If so, she may have to be dealt with.

  Caleb didn't like the look in Katrina's eyes, and his body tensed. "Oh, no. You can't," he challenged, anticipating something grim.

  Katrina turned to head in the direction of the building.

  "Hold on! You can't -- No, wait," he stammered excitedly as his hand darted out to grasp her arm.

  She glanced down at his hand, and then stared intently into his pale blue eyes. They had a pleading look, and she sensed the tension in his body and facial expression. However, the rules were quite clear on humans who risked her safety by discovering her true nature.

  "Please. Let me find out what she saw first," he pleaded. "Just give me until tomorrow. "

  She drew in a deep breath and released it slowly while considering his request. Perhaps one day's time will be reasonable to ensure I make an informed decision.

  "Tomorrow. No later," she stipulated firmly.

  He nodded. "Fine. Thank you," he replied with relief.

  She bobbed her head curtly and directed him, "It's time to go home. "

  He acknowledged her, feeling very weary suddenly, and walked back to the building with Katrina following closely behind him.

  She was happy she had arrived in time and that the vampires apparently meant him no harm. However, she was concerned about his continued angst towards her from sparing Devon Archibald's life. Maybe she had spoken with Alton far too much lately, but for some reason she was beginning to see the potential benefits to an additional vampire's being available, if even for a limited period of contracted assistance.

  Katrina's thoughts quickly returned to Caleb, and a yearning, both physical and emotional, rose within her. She lamented how it had been over a week since they had last been intimate together. She took a moment to appreciate his masculine form as he stalked back into the building to retrieve his belongings and lock up his office. She reflected on his recent efforts at working out more, of which she appreciated the results. Not that she hadn't found him attractive to begin with.

  Nice butt, she observed with amusement. Her body craved a sudden desire to take him home and make love to him. But her hopes were dashed quickly when he exited the building a few minutes later with a tight-lipped expression. His footsteps were heavy as he walked towards her, and he stopped a couple of feet away from where she stood.

  "Thanks for coming to help me out tonight," he offered half-heartedly. "I guess I'll see you at home. "

  "Maybe a little kiss for my efforts here?" she suggested.

  He stepped forward and bent his face up meet hers. But instead of bending down to meet him halfway, she made him step up on his toes to reach her lips. Although rather than a nice, passionate kiss, he merely popped his lips against hers in a brief peck.

  "Thanks," she muttered darkly. Of course, he's likely still upset with me over Devon. And I did just suggest I might have to kill one of the few human friends he's made recently. She sighed and followed him to his car to make sure he was safe. Why the hell does it seem like I'm always ending up the bad guy lately? She was definitely starting to feel somewhat underappreciated.

  Friday morning arrived quicker than Caleb wanted, as it had been rather late when he and Katrina had arrived home on Thursday evening. He had had trouble sleeping the night before. His mind had been preoccupied with thoughts of what he would ask Tanisha to ascertain what she had seen. He certainly didn't want to lose his friend, but even more importantly, Tanisha had a family, and he didn't think he could live with himself if he deprived them of a wife and mother. Tanisha was a good, sincere person and didn't deserve to have her life cut short by something that should not have happened on campus. In fact, if anything, he felt as if the fault were partly his for bringing such threats to the campus by his very presence.

  His eventual conversation with Tanisha took place later that morning while neither was teaching. They had the same schedule that day for open office hours. He entered her office and closed the door behind him. Then he plopped down into the empty guest chair next to her desk.

  Tanisha barely looked up from grading essays before her and prompted, "Good morning, Caleb. I can bet I know why you're here. It's about last night, isn't it?"

  "Yeah, last night," he replied quietly, though his pulse was already racing.

  She pursed her lips and glanced over at him with a serious expression. "I saw you step outside to check on that student," she offered. "Was she one of yours?"

  He nodded. "Yeah. Her name is Beth. "

  Tanisha's eyes narrowed. "Did you know who those two guys were?"

  This time he shook his head. "Nope. Still don't, really. "

  "Yeah, I kind of got that impression just from watching your and Katrina's reactions towards them," she ventured as she stared at her desk like she was recalling past events.

  He let the silence grow between them for a few moments and asked, "Did you happen to see them leave?"

  She frowned. "No. I picked up the phone to call security, but stopped for some reason and glanced back to see what was happening. But they were already gone. I was surprised how quickly they left, because I only turned my head away for a few seconds. "

  A surge of relief flowed through him, and he had to force himself not to chuckle out loud. Oh thank God, he thought. "Yeah, they took off pretty fast," he agreed.

  She arched her eyebrows and admitted, "It's true that Katrina can seem intimidating at times, but I can see where that could be handy on occasions such as last night. "

  Caleb was delighted, though more from relief than from what Tanisha had said. "Oh, she can be intimidating, all right. "

  Tanisha's hazel eyes stared directly into Caleb's. "Was Katrina angry with you last night? It looked like she was reading you the riot act right after those guys left. "

  He took a deep breath and let it out slowly to stall for time while considering a response. "She thought what I did was too risky. "

  She nodded. "It was. But that also doesn't mean it wasn't the right thing to do for your student. We're not just educators. Our students expect for us to look after them while they're here. This is our domain, and you were well within you right to challenge those men. "

  "Thanks," Caleb replied with a pleased smile.

  "Although a call to security might have been smarter before you walked out there," she added.

  He rolled his eyes. "O
h, not you too! It's bad enough to have Katrina preaching to me. "

  She grinned. "Hey, just because Katrina can be gruff doesn't mean she doesn't have your best interests at heart, too. "

  He frowned as he considered that and conceded that his mate did indeed care very deeply for him. He loved her for that. And while he still felt miffed with Katrina over her Devon decision, it didn't mean he didn't love her. He shook his head and decided he was simply happy not to be forced to lose a good friend.

  Later that evening, he told Katrina about his conversation with Tanisha. She listened intently, observing his body language and staring into his eyes as if probing him like some sort of lie detector. Finally, she agreed no harm had probably been done. For that, he was thankful. However, the entire affair impressed upon him how important discretion was when it came to vampire-related matters. The ordinary world was a much more difficult place to live in than he had thought just a few months ago.

  By Saturday, Caleb had had time to reflect upon matters further. He acknowledged that even if he resented receiving assistance from Devon, he was wrong not to have called Katrina when those two vampires stopped by the campus. Even worse, his decision might have risked his own life and emotionally devastated the love of his life.

  It was for that reason he decided to look past his own aggravation and seek to do something enjoyable with Katrina. One of their recent enjoyable endeavors had certainly been his Find Caleb exploits, so it seemed a natural choice. At least he hoped she might view it as extending an olive branch. However, he was determined to make his third installment safer than the last, which meant selecting a site more familiar to him. It also meant he had to be more diligent regarding preparations.

  He targeted a nearby abandoned construction site located off the highway outside of Mableton. The largely concrete and steel beam structure was just a few years old and had been abandoned when the original owner, a small recreational vehicle and boat dealership, had been unable to fund the remaining construction. They had intended it to be a three-story structure, but only the concrete and steel framing had been completed, as well as a reinforced concrete stairwell in one corner of the building. The property was secured by a chain link fence, but his brief inspection revealed easy access underneath a section of the fence where the soil had been washed out by frequent rains.

  Caleb decided to survey the area from atop the unfinished building during the daytime to become familiar with the surroundings, but he needed a pair of binoculars. Fortunately, he had previously purchased a nice set some years ago and had packed them away in one of the boxes stored in the garage. With Katrina in town that evening, it seemed the perfect time to scrounge for his binoculars.

  After grabbing his iPod and queuing up Gram Rabbit's "Devil's Playground," he started pulling boxes from the shelf onto the floor. He rummaged through hordes of stuff, including old music CDs, books, tax forms, college expenditure records, and miscellaneous collectibles. As he removed the last box from the top shelf, it slipped off and fell onto the floor. The lid popped off, scattering a series of photographs across the floor.

  "Damn!" he cursed while squatting down to sift carefully through the pictures so as not to bend or crease any of them. Most were photos from his college years, but a number of them were from childhood that his mother had collected. He smiled while picking up a photo of himself at age four sitting on his front porch holding an old stuffed dog his parents had won for him at the county fair.

  Another picture was his mother standing with him next to a sparsely decorated Christmas tree, which had been their first Christmas together the year his abusive father had disappeared from their lives when he was eight. He stared at the picture, noting that he and his mother both had forced smiles. It had been a strange year, his father disappearing one evening after work from their home and not even taking the family car with him. Less than a year after the photo had been taken, his mother had secured their new home in the suburbs of Columbus, Ohio.

  He slipped the picture back into the box and reached down absently to stack the scattered photos into a pile. I can look at old photos some other time, he resolved. His past, particularly his youth, wasn't necessarily something he wanted to reminisce about at length. As he grabbed at three remaining pictures on the floor, one slipped from between the other two and floated just out of reach. After placing the other two in the container, he reached for the lone one. He quickly scanned the photograph, but something triggered in the periphery of his mind, causing him to scrutinize it at length.

  The picture was of his mother and a number of her coworkers at Columbus Mortgage at the banquet where they had won a company raffle for their children's college scholarships. Caleb had no memory of the event because the children had not been present that evening, but his mind screamed with alarm when he saw not one, but two, familiar-looking faces in the photograph. First was his mother, of course, but the second was a young brunette woman standing to the left of the winners. The caption read, Columbus Mortgage Award Recipients with Company Owner, Amber Simmons. Though Amber's hair color was different, there was no mistaking her telltale green eyes and guarded smile. Her face resembled Katrina.

  His ears rang with a piercing intensity that blocked out the music from his ear buds. Searing images flared within his mind like a series of vivid flashbacks, nearly blocking out his vision and causing him to lurch where he squatted on the garage floor. He saw brightly glowing emerald vampire eyes appear like giant orbs before him. A split-second later came the image of his father bearing an evil grimace and brandishing a leather belt in his hand. That vision sent a rush of sheer terror though his body. He felt a sudden pain in his left arm, followed by the image of blood running down it. A loud cracking sound like a branch breaking erupted in his ears, and he thought he saw the blurry image of his father falling to the floor. Then he was vaguely aware of sitting on the cold garage floor with the photograph lying on the floor next to him. He realized that the music on his iPod was still playing as if nothing had happened.

  "Crap," he muttered breathlessly while trying to understand what had just occurred.

  The visions he experienced were all new to him, save for the flashback of Katrina's glowing green eyes. He'd seen them last fall on the night she revealed her vampire nature to him, the night he fled from her in panic after receiving a similar flashback.

  His heartbeat raced, and a surge of adrenaline rushed through his body as the implications of both the flashbacks and the picture impacted him like a hammer to an anvil. His attention returned to the old photograph as he picked it up from beside him and tried to divine its meaning. Katrina knew, or at least had met his mother and was apparently the former owner of Columbus Mortgage, the company his mother spent years working for until her death just a couple of years ago. A host of questions buzzed through his head simultaneously.

  When did she cease being Amber to become Katrina? How well did she know my mother? Did she know me as well? Was her enrollment in my history class last fall more than just a coincidence? Was that why Katrina seemed so familiar to me last fall when we first met?

  "And why the hell didn't Kat tell me about this already?!" Caleb growled.

  Since meeting him as a student in his history class last fall, she had never mentioned ever knowing him or his mother. In fact, during numerous evenings of getting to know each other, well before Katrina revealed she was a vampire, she had asked questions of him implying she knew nothing about him or his past. She lied to me?

  Caleb held the picture in one hand as he massaged his temples with the other, wondering if looking at the photo would cause additional flashbacks. He went into the house to the kitchen where he tossed the picture onto the countertop. After retrieving a bottle of beer from the refrigerator and twisting the cap off, he took a few swigs. The cold liquid burned slightly as it coursed down his dry throat. Finally, he plopped onto a barstool with a heavy sigh and stared down at the picture before him.

  "What
the hell?" he demanded, his mind clawing for answers and meaning to the abrupt revelations.

  Radiohead's "Reckoner" was an ominous soundtrack from his iPod as he ruminated over the picture and started on a second bottle of beer. He felt shock, anger, and a sense of betrayal at Katrina for having kept such important information from him. By the time he opened a third beer, he was unsure how long he had been sitting at the counter staring down at the picture. He was only half-finished with his beer when he heard the garage door open. It's about time, he mulled angrily as he heard the familiar purr of the Audi's engine.

  As soon as Katrina exited the Audi, she noticed an open box lying on the garage floor next to the storage shelves. On her way into the house, she glanced casually at the box, noting that it contained some photographs. When she walked into the kitchen, she noticed Caleb sitting at the counter listening to his iPod. She immediately smelled beer and saw two empty bottles and one that was half full. She frowned as she observed the dark, almost angry, expression on his face. It was a mix of pain and anger, but laced with confusion.

  "Caleb?" she asked tentatively as she sat her purse on the counter. "Is everything all right, my love?"

  He remained silent as he stared levelly at her and took another swig of beer. He swallowed the mouthful of beer in one gulp and firmly banged the bottle back down onto the countertop. She blinked from the harsh, clanking noise it made against the marble.

  "No, not all right," he stated coldly, flicking the photograph in her direction with a swift motion of his hand.

  She slapped her hand over the picture before it floated off the edge of the counter, and her keen eyes focused instantly on it with a mix of surprise and growing horror. Her past had finally come back full circle to haunt her, and a secret she long wanted to reveal in her own time had been released prematurely. Suddenly, Pandora's Box was open, and it was too late to slam the lid shut. Oh shit, she thought with a combination of shock and weariness.

  "Please, Caleb," she pleaded. "Let me explain. "

  He jerked the ear buds from his ears, lifted his beer bottle to take a quick swig, and held it up to her. There was only a third of the contents remaining.

  "You have about that long," he answered flatly.

  She had never seen him act this way before, and it worried her. But she tried to concentrate on how best to approach the topic of the photo, desperately wishing she had more time. Yet time was no longer a luxury at her disposal, and her mind raced for something to say. "I owned Columbus Mortgage, the company your mother worked for. The picture was from an awards banquet for college scholarships --"

  "I know that already! I'm not completely stupid," he snapped, causing her to wince at his tone. "I can deduct all that from the picture. Tell me something I don't know, such as why you never told me about this. When we first met, you made me think you didn't know my mother or my past. Why did you lie to me?"

  He's so angry. She took a deep breath and released it slowly. "I never lied to you, Caleb. I listened intently to everything you told me about your past, but I never actually declared that I didn't know you. "

  He wasn't amused and deliberately lifted the beer bottle to his lips to swallow a larger-than-normal mouthful. Then he placed the bottle down before him resolutely. Only a quarter of the contents remained, she noted distinctly.

  Something else happened. He never drinks like that.

  "Caleb, my love, you have to understand that I never wanted to hurt you. And I've done everything in my power to protect you from harm," she blurted.

  But he ignored her last comment, demanding, "How long did you know my mother?"

  She blinked. "I only spoke to her directly on one occasion, the evening of the banquet. Even after I arranged for Wanda to receive an offer for a position at the company soon after your father disappeared, I maintained my distance from her. "

  He frowned at length as he processed that information. "Wait. You arranged for her to be hired? Why did you do that? Who was my mother to you that you would do that?"

  Here we go. A cascade of memories flooded through her mind at once. She silently recalled how Caleb, then an innocent young boy, had helped her by calling for an emergency blood delivery as she had lain in a painful, burned condition beneath his father's car in their ramshackle garage. She remembered how bravely he had delivered the blood supply to her and later returned to check on her. Later that night, Caleb's inebriated father had discovered him in the garage and been enraged, having assumed the child had been playing in the garage against his wishes. In the child's defense, she had killed Ted Taylor in that garage, though regrettably within Caleb's view. She had tried using a hypnosis technique, typically only useful for training animals, to try erasing Caleb's memory of the event. Of course, she wasn't sure it was prudent to blurt all of that out to him in his current state and instead chose a simpler response.

  "Wanda was a single parent to a wonderful young boy, and she needed help at a critical time in her life," Katrina answered, momentarily recalling the adorable image of him at age eight.

  "But how did you know that?" he demanded irritably. "And why would you have cared? You've told me before you try to stay out of the lives of humans because they're a threat to you. "

  She frowned at his rather base opinion of her motivations, but she accepted it in the interest of trying to placate his temper. Instead, she concentrated on how to answer best the more direct question.

  "Because I cared about you, Caleb," she explained softly. "You saved my life when you were a child, and I couldn't help but try to repay your kindness in some way. "

  His eyes widened with shock as his gaze shifted to meet her eyes. His mind raced as he challenged, "What the hell are you talking about? I didn't even meet you until last fall in my history class. " He once again recalled the sense of familiarity he had felt upon first meeting her, and yet had no idea why. There were no specific memories tied to that feeling, and it confused him.

  Katrina saw the look of bewilderment on his face and moved towards him to try to comfort him. But he jerked his hand up with his palm held outwards to her.

  "No," he insisted. "Just stay right there. "

  She stopped abruptly, folding her arms across her chest as she frowned at his curious reaction towards her. What's gotten into you?

  "I helped you to forget me, Caleb," she began with a sigh. "It was a technique that normally only works on animals, but somehow as a child you were susceptible to it. "

  "Why would you do that to me?"

  She paused, wondering how he would react following her next revelation to him. "You were just eight years old," she explained quietly. "And you saw something no eight-year-old should see. "

  His heartbeat raced, and then the flashbacks from earlier in the garage flickered in his mind. Something bad happened that he was having trouble remembering. He had memories of an abusive father, but somehow felt there was something even darker, something critical that he simply couldn't remember.

  She heard his heart racing and wondered even at that late moment if she were doing the right thing. Please don't freak out on me, my loving angel.

  "What?" he insisted in a raspy voice. "What shouldn't I have seen?"

  A nervous, tense knot formed in her stomach as she stared directly into his eyes. "Your father was abusing you in your garage after you helped me," she began.

  His jaw tightened, and his hand strangled the beer bottle as he listened and waited.

  "And I killed him. "

  Caleb's jaw dropped open in shock, and he nearly slipped off of the barstool. "What?!" Holy crap! Kat killed my father? He shook his head. "No. I don't remember that. That can't be true. He disappeared, but --"

  A flashback hit him like a lightning strike. A loud snapping sound rang in his ears, and he saw a horrifying vision of his father's face as he stared back at him through hollow, empty eyes. Then his father's body plummeted limply to the floor. Caleb lurched from the barstool as
his hands went to his ears, and his eyes widened with distress.

  Katrina was shaken as she watched his reaction, sensing that something had jarred both his mind and body. A flashback? She had seen that powerful a reaction from him only once before, last fall when they had walked in the park together. She had revealed herself as a vampire to him, and he had endured a flashback after viewing her glowing eyes. He had fled through the woods from her in terror and nearly fallen into a steep ravine. Fortunately, she had been able to grab his leg at the last minute to prevent him from falling.

  "Oh God," he gasped once the flashback faded.

  She moved towards him in a flash and wrapped her arms around him protectively, willing the pain from his body with her strength. But she felt him struggle in her arms.

  "No," he growled. "Let go of me!"

  He twisted his body in her grasp before she finally relented and released him. She was very worried about his reaction and wondered what thoughts were going through his mind at that moment.

  Caleb backed away from her and shook his head resolutely. "This is too much. It isn't making any sense," he insisted as he backed further away from her. "What did you mean earlier when you said that I helped you? Exactly how did I help you?"

  She slowly waved her hands in a calming fashion and urged, "Please Caleb, calm down. I promise to explain everything. Let's sit down. "

  Other thoughts played through his frayed mind, and he muttered, "Wait a minute. If that's true, all those years, all that time, Mom and I thought my father was still out there somewhere, but he was already dead. My mother wasted all those years preparing to defend us in case he tried to return, and it was for nothing!"

  I never thought of that, she realized.

  The room felt too small for him, and he had a hard time trying to catch his breath. Gotta get some air, clear my head. He turned and dashed through the house towards the front door.

  She was at his heels immediately. "Caleb, where are you going?" she insisted with concern. No, my love. Not another dangerous flight reaction.

  "Outside," he mumbled.

  "Wait! Your coat," she interjected, but he was already halfway out the door and onto the front porch.

  She hastily grabbed his leather jacket from the coat closet and followed him outside, pulling the door closed behind her. He was already halfway to the end of the house, heading towards the neighborhood park area, before she managed to catch up with him using her vampire speed. He's wound too tightly.

  Caleb maintained a brisk walk in the cold winter air while staring at the ground before him. "What could I have done to help you as a child?" he asked with a frown.

  He abruptly stopped, leaving Katrina a step ahead before she stopped and turned to look at him. His eyes widened with realization as he stared up at her.

  "Hold on. Did you drink my blood as a child?" he demanded.

  It was her turn to be shocked, and she snapped, "No! Never children or pregnant women. Never them. I merely healed a wound on your left arm. Although your blood tasted so sweet, just as it still does. "

  He recalled the flashback of his left arm bleeding. He frowned and opened the gate at the side of her property facing the park. It felt like he had to keep walking, keep moving, to match the pace of his mind. He inhaled cold air into his lungs, trying to clear his head. "How exactly did I help you, then?" he asked.

  She kept stride beside him. "You called a blood delivery service for me. Then you brought the cooler of blood to me so I could feed and heal. "

  His frown deepened. I don't remember any of that. Is it even true? He had no way of knowing, so he was forced to trust her for the time being. "Heal from what?" he pressed as they reached the concrete path winding throughout the park.

  "I met the morning sun," she explained sadly. "I wanted to end my life. "

  Caleb stopped, completely caught off guard by her answer, and stared at her incredulously. She regarded him soberly, matching him stare for stare in the light of a nearby light pole.

  "Suicide?" he asked with upraised eyebrows. "You?"

  She shrugged, unhappy to dwell on that time in her life. "Life grew tedious, and boring, and pointless. "

  His mind tried putting the pieces together, although he still had no tangible memories to draw upon. "You changed your mind?"

  She smiled thoughtfully and nodded. "Yeah," she replied. "The sunlight hurt like hell, and I lost my nerve. "

  He nodded. "Why me?"

  She adopted a smirk, suddenly appreciating the simple coincidences in life. "Your family's detached garage was the closest building within my running path, the closest shelter from the sunlight. A completely unplanned coincidence, really. "

  He frowned and considered the oddity of her statement. He had never given the idea of fate or predestination much thought before. Thought it wasn't as if he thought divine intervention had much to do with vampires, or if there really were such a thing. Absently rubbing at his eyes, he turned to walk further down the pathway.

  She patiently observed him as they walked. At least he seems less agitated. And he hasn't made a run for any cliffs.

  "What made you want to keep living?" he asked, finding the change of subject soothing for some reason.

  "You," she whispered.

  He stopped and stared into her eyes as if trying to divine the honesty in her statement. "What?"

  "No human had ever helped me like that before, much less a child," she explained with a distant expression, smiling. "You were -- are so very special, so unlike anyone I've ever met. "

  He didn't know what to say and tried to force his mind to recall anything at all about what she was saying. But nothing came.

  Her expression changed to something much darker, and she continued, "It was evening, and you came out to check on me again. I had healed a great deal after drinking the blood, and you were so curious to look underneath that old tarp-covered car to try and look at me. But then your father came into the garage, drunk and feeling mean. And you were his target. "

  Caleb balled his hands into fists at his side, and his stare became vacant as he recalled the man who was his father. He recalled the frequent beatings, sometimes for little or no reason, and the smell of booze on his breath. Then he remembered his mother crying and the black eyes she sometimes received from his father's abrupt temper.

  Katrina watched his reaction intently and listened to his elevated pulse. "He whipped your left arm with his belt and drew blood. I was so angry, and I repelled his attack on you. I put you outside so you wouldn't see anything further, but you came back into the garage as I confronted him again. And this time, I snapped his neck, letting his dead body drop to the floor. But you saw the entire thing, and it almost broke my heart. "

  He recalled the snapping sound in his flashbacks and the vacant look on his father's face. "I hope the bastard rots in hell," he muttered angrily.

  She waited a moment for his attention to return to her.

  "I wanted to erase that memory and try to help you lead a normal life without someone abusing you," she offered gently. "I helped your mother to find employment at my company. Although her continued success was hers alone. "

  "Except the college fund," he interjected.

  Katrina nodded. "Yes, the college fund. "

  "Wait," he said. He abruptly turned and walked down the concrete path again at a brisk pace.

  She walked silently a couple of steps behind him, watching him intently. He's doing better, I think. Thank goodness.

  He stopped next to a park bench and perched on the front edge of it. "So, then you deprogrammed me," he muttered absently.

  She sat in the middle of the bench next to him and reached out with her left arm across the short distance between them. Her fingers were nearly at his shoulder when he stood up abruptly, stepping away from the bench while rubbing his eyes wearily.

  Almost, she thought with a grimace. She wanted to touch him, soothe him
somehow. Maybe if I could just hold him. She sighed. "I hypnotized you somewhat, yes. "

  A thought occurred to him, and he turned to face her as she sat on the edge of the bench. "You enrolled in my history class last fall," he prompted almost as an accusation. "That was no coincidence, was it?"

  She frowned, and then sighed with resignation. "No, it wasn't," she replied. "I wanted to see how you had turned out as an adult. I had no further contact with you after you had helped me, you see. Oh, I read some newspaper clippings about how you were doing on your school baseball teams, but nothing really substantive. And while I was traveling for years throughout Europe visiting with other vampires and seeing the world, I heard from a contact at the company that your mother had passed away. I knew then that I had to check on you. So I came to Atlanta, and here we are. "

  Caleb felt the chill from the evening breeze begin to penetrate his sweater, and he folded his arms in front of him as he stood steadfastly before her. "So," he ventured carefully, "you didn't program me to fall in love with you, then?" He wanted his feelings for her to be real. Hell, I want anything to be real right now.

  Katrina looked at him sharply, only to find him staring back at her intently. She leapt up from the bench in a blur and wrapped her arms around him snugly. It caught him off guard, and he spun in an almost complete circle from her impact. But she held him upright firmly and pulled him against her body.

  "We genuinely fell in love, Caleb," she assured him. "It's all real. Just us. No programming, no hypnosis. In fact, I never actually thought I would see you again once I left my Amber identity behind to become Katrina. "

  He appreciated the warmth from her and stood in her arms for a moment as he contemplated her response. He suddenly felt so tired and tried to move towards the nearby bench, but she was like a statue bolted to the ground, and her embrace was like a steel cable wound around his body.

  She frowned down at him, suspecting the nature of his effort. Instead of releasing him, she moved in a blur, pulling him onto the bench beside her, happy to maintain her embrace around him once she had him next to her. However, she did momentarily free one arm to pick up his leather jacket beside her and drape it across his shoulders.

  He appreciated the increased warmth as they sat in silence. Though still quite upset that she hadn't told him any of the evening's revelations until he had confronted her, he still deeply cared for her. He felt a little hurt and betrayed.

  "Who else knows about this?" he asked. "Paige? Alton?"

  "Nobody," she replied quietly. "Just you and me. "

  He sighed.

  "Are you mad at me?" she asked tentatively.

  "Yes. "

  Crap. "Do you still love me?" she queried with some hesitation. Her heart was in her throat as the seconds ticked silently by.

  "Yes," he finally replied. "If what I feel is real, then yes. "

  Good, very good. "It's real. It has to be," she confirmed.

  But he frowned and challenged, "Why? Why does it have to be real?"

  "Because if it's not, I don't think I could handle that. "

  He turned to look at her with an odd expression, not quite sure what to make of her answer, but not liking the implications of it, either. He paused, then shrugged and inclined his face to softly kiss the skin of her pale neck.

  She smiled contentedly and quickly turned to face him, pressing her lips against his. She tried to kiss him passionately, but he abruptly pulled away.

  "No, not like that. Not right now," he insisted. "I'm still angry with you for not telling me all of this already. "

  Her lips tightened into a thin line. He's been upset with me so much lately. First, Devon Archibald, and now this. Dammit to hell, she fumed.

  "Fine," she replied forlornly, but quickly kissed him on the lips before he could object.

  He conceded that and shrugged into his leather jacket. She removed her arm from around him long enough for him to put on his jacket, but he moved away from her before she could embrace him again.

  He's going to make me pay for this, I suppose, she considered darkly. "What's restitution going to cost me?" she asked half-playfully.

  He looked at her with a serious expression. "I'm not entirely sure yet. But I know one thing for certain. "

  She frowned. "Yes?"

  He pointed to his head. "You're going to help me unblock these memories. I want to see what happened that day and night when I was eight. "

  She inhaled her breath sharply and countered, "Caleb, no. Not that. There's nothing to be gained by that now. "

  But he shook his head defiantly and demanded, "I'm already having flashbacks. I had a horrible one in the garage tonight and another one back in the kitchen earlier. So, I don't care how you do it, but make it happen. "

  She was taken aback by the strength of his insistence and silently considered him at length. His eyes are so determined, so intense. What if I can't?

  "I'll try. "

  "Promise me," he insisted with an arched brow.

  She frowned. "I promise," she conceded unhappily. Somehow.

  He rose from the bench and turned his back on her. "I'm headed back. I'm cold," he stated and began walking back towards the estate.

  She rose quickly to follow, but inwardly she was concerned by his suddenly dark demeanor. I hope this is just a passing phase. But then, what can I do except try to help him through it? She was devoted to him and determined to get her light-hearted Caleb back somehow. I won't give up on him when he needs my support more than ever, whether or not he realizes it himself.

  Nearly a week had passed since Caleb found the banquet photograph of his mother and Katrina. By that Friday he had at best remained stoic regarding Katrina's failure to inform him about his past, though inside he still felt a tumult of emotions. And while it had been difficult for Katrina to view and sense his continued displeasure on a daily basis, she had remained pleasant and understanding in addition to giving him his space and leaving him to his own diversions. The problem was that it had been tearing her apart with guilt, frustration, and sadness. And as was her nature, she bottled up her emotions and concealed them from him.

  In keeping with her self-imposed quiet suffering, Katrina chose to divert her own attentions to anything that would keep her mind or body occupied. She cleaned out the basement wine cellar, sorted her files and financial records, and emailed a host of vampires from around the world who sought her out. By that Friday evening, her welcome diversion was in the form of shopping.

  Caleb spent the official start of the weekend grading history exams at the new dining room table. As with a number of pieces of furnishings at the estate, the large oak-finished table had been delivered in the past few weeks. A lot of former furniture had become a casualty of the battle between Chimalma and Katrina the past December. He considered that he was sitting in the very room that had nearly been the location of his death. And though it was with discomfort that he recalled those dark events, it failed to deter him from grading exams in the room. It was the roomiest tabletop in the house and ideal for spreading out paperwork.

  He paused from grading long enough to glance down at the photograph that had started the argument with Katrina a week ago. In the past few days, no flashbacks occurred, and he had begun to wonder if the effects were dulled by his frequent glances at the photo. A pang of sadness passed through him as his eyes passed over the younger vision of his mother. He glanced with a sigh at the short-haired brunette version of his mate, then known as Amber. Why didn't you just tell me? he wondered before returning to grading.

  A few minutes later the doorbell rang. He stretched and yawned on his way to the front door, and unlike a previous occasion when opening the front door nearly earned him a crossbow bolt in the chest, he made the effort to look through the door's peephole. To his pleasant surprise, he saw one of his favorite people standing in the glow of the twin front porch lamps.

  He swept the door open and
beamed at the short, petite young woman dressed in form-fitted jeans and a Ramones concert t-shirt who quickly launched into his arms, knocking him back slightly with her momentum. Paige Turner was a spunky force of nature, and he was proud that she considered him a younger brother since their exploits together.

  She kissed him lightly on the lips, lingering just a moment longer than would be plutonic, and whispered, "Hey kiddo, missed you. "

  His grip tightened around her midsection with both arms as he pulled her small body close to his, feeling as if a sudden weight had been lifted from him merely by her presence.

  "God, I've missed you," he whispered desperately in her ear.

  Paige considered his warm, but almost troubled greeting and pulled away from him only slightly so her penetrating blue eyes could gaze into his. His attention darted to her trademark blonde hair, styled in a straight bob, reminding him of a Charleston dancing girl from the 1920s. He had learned it was a style she had originally worn during those days before she became a vampire. It was yet another characteristic he loved that made her so different from anyone else he had ever known. There was no way Paige Turner could ever blend absently into a crowd.

  "Are you okay, tiger?" she asked with a narrow-eyed expression. She had anticipated that he would be happy to see her, but she had vastly underestimated the intensity of his greeting.

  He forced a smile and nodded. "Sure, just glad to see you after what seems like forever. "

  She rolled her eyes. "It's only been a little over a month, silly. But I decided you've been getting into trouble a lot since I was last here. So, here I am. "

  Paige was well informed of how the episode with Devon Archibald and the subsequent agreement between him and Katrina had negatively affected the young man before her. Additionally, she was concerned about the recent visit from the two vampires who had visited him at the college. Despite some personal challenges in her own life and reassurances by Katrina over the phone, she needed to check on him herself. Caleb's too important to me. I told him in December that his interests are also my interests.

  He grinned at her warmly, and then noticed a young man standing on the front porch, which startled him.

  "Oh, sorry," she apologized, sensing his reaction. "This is my date. "

  Caleb shook hands with the slim, mid-twenty-something-looking fellow standing before him. He wore black jeans and a concert t-shirt for some band called The Red Letters. His short, spiky, jet black hair was tossed in an unkempt manner and reminded Caleb of a famous lead singer from one of his favorite rock bands.

  "Hi, I'm Caleb," he offered. "Um, aren't you the lead singer for --"

  "Green Day?" the man asked with a grin. "No, sorry, man. I wish!"

  Paige groaned. "Caleb, this is Gil Yeager. While he's not in Green Day, he's the former lead singer for an underground LA band called The Red Letters. "

  Gil appeared amused, but she added with a sour expression, "He just likes it when people think he's Billie Joe Armstrong, hence the copy-cat appearance. "

  "Aw, c'mon babe," he pleaded, "You know I love Green Day. They rock!"

  She shook her head and returned her attention to Caleb. There was something about his demeanor that bothered her. She ushered Gil into the entry so she could close the front door, taking a moment to relock it. Old habits, she considered. "Where's Katrina?"

  "Out," Caleb replied dismissively. "She should be back soon. In the meantime, come in and relax. When did you get into town? You've got to stay with us while you're here, of course. "

  He led them into the main living room at the back of the house and gestured for them to be seated. Paige and Gil plopped onto the large leather couch in the middle of the room, while Caleb sat on the edge of a leather recliner.

  "How about something to drink?" he asked politely.

  "Yeah, man. You have some beer around by any chance?" Gil asked eagerly. "It was a long flight, and I'm bone dry. "

  Paige rolled her eyes and shook her head. "You mean, other than the four beers you had during the flight?"

  "You're in luck. We've got some Samuel Adams," Caleb recalled, to which Gil energetically responded with a thumbs-up. He looked to Paige with a raised brow, uncertain if to ask her about blood since he wasn't sure if Gil knew about her true nature or not.

  "It's okay, he knows," she responded to his unspoken question. "And I'll have a type A-positive, if you have it. "

  His eyes darted to hers with sudden recognition that his own blood was that type. He raised an eyebrow playfully and asked with a grin, "Will that be fresh or chilled?"

  She smirked slyly. "Refrigerated will be fine, thanks. For now. " She deliberately extended and playfully displayed her fangs at him.

  He went into the kitchen with a grin. As he opened the door leading into the basement wine cellar, he heard Paige's voice in the background: "I'll just give him a hand. Oh, and the nearest bathroom is off the main hallway just down that way, if needed. "

  Caleb descended the concrete stairs leading to the lower level where Katrina kept her wine selections, some storage, and of course, a refrigerator stocked with plastic packets of various types of human blood. It was her food pantry, of sorts. He'd no sooner opened the refrigerator door when Paige suddenly appeared behind him in a blur. However, he had halfway expected her to follow him after her comment to Gil. "So, I see my babysitter has a new client," he commented nonchalantly as he picked out a bag of blood and closed the refrigerator door.

  She frowned, grasped him gently by his upper left arm and turned him around to face her. "Babysitter only has one client, and you already know who that is," she reassured him with a sly smile.

  "Boyfriend then?" he asked.

  She took the bag of blood from him and turned to walk upstairs. "More like my boy-for-right-now-friend," she replied as he followed her back into the kitchen.

  "You know, you're not your usual happy self, kiddo," she noted while removing a drinking glass from the cabinet. As she poured the blood into the glass, she heard his pulse increase slightly. "What's been going on?" she asked.

  "I just thought that since Gil knew you were a vampire you had chosen a mate," he ventured in an attempt to defer the topic of his situation with Katrina. While he would have liked to confide in her for her perspective, he didn't want to antagonize Katrina by revealing details she might want kept between the two of them.

  She considered his comment as she heated the glass in the microwave. "Nah, the reveal was purely a mistake, really. I outed myself during a late night tumble between the sheets. Lusty moments bring out our fangs and flashing eyes, you may recall. Gil seemed like a nice guy despite a rather strong marijuana habit, so I didn't want to just kill him. And although he's not the brightest bulb in the socket, he's a really great fu --"

  He glanced at her with wide eyes as she corrected herself midsentence, ". . . bed partner. And his blood's pretty sweet, though that's probably due to all the weed he smokes. "

  He smirked at her while shaking his head slightly, retrieving two cold beers from the refrigerator.

  "So, a lead singer for -- what's the name of his band?" Caleb asked.

  The microwave went off, and she withdrew her glass of warm blood. "The Red Letters. They broke up about three weeks ago," she said.

  "Creative differences?"

  She scoffed. "Yeah, the drummer got creative with his use of heroin a few weeks ago and overdosed, and the bass player got creative in a bar fight and ended up in county jail that same week. The lead guitar player got upset with the whole situation and filled an opening with another band in San Francisco. Then there's the creative streak Gil gets, until the pot runs out, that is. But that's life in a rock band for you, I guess. "

  "Oh," he muttered. He was completely confused and had no idea how someone as cute, desirable, intelligent, and capable as Paige could wind up being paired with Gil. But despite being so close to her, it wasn't really his place to say anything. Life is st
range, he considered.

  It was at that odd moment that he focused on how fortunate he was to have Katrina in his life. However, he was upset with her for sparing Devon Archibald's life and still angry for her not telling him about his past. He had always thought their meeting was serendipitous, rather than merely her checking up on an old interest. But nothing changed the fact he was in love with her. Never mind that she not only saved his life as a child, but saved his life on numerous occasions as an adult as well.

  Paige noted Caleb's distracted demeanor and could only guess at the nature of his thoughts. She waited for him to lead the way out of the kitchen. As he passed, she poked him in the ribs with the tip of her index finger and whispered, "Sometimes it seems like all the good guys are already taken. "

  He smirked at her off-handed compliment and led the way into the living room where Gil was patiently waiting for them on the couch.

  Katrina drove particularly fast down the highway on her way back to the estate as "Fake Plastic Trees," by Radiohead, played on her car stereo. Despite the sedate nature of the tune, she still felt somewhat edgy, so the feeling of the car's velocity as it propelled her down the highway helped to channel those feelings for the moment. Her thoughts mulled over her current situation with Caleb. She had been particularly patient with him the past few days, but she had decided she was hardly going to hang around the house waiting for him to forgive her. It was bad enough that he was already upset over the issue with Devon in Marietta, but adding the unexpected revelation about his past had really tipped the scales against her.

  Kind of crappy timing on the photograph.

  At least she sought refuge in personal interests as an escape mechanism, such as the brief shopping trip she had gone on that night. She had looked at some new women's suits that were on sale, but found nothing in her size in the color she wanted. She browsed the shelves of one of Atlanta's largest bookstores until she found a few romance novels that intrigued her. While she had always taken time to read, she now had a lot more time on her hands with Caleb avoiding social interaction and activities with her.

  He's just being difficult, she reflected darkly. No, it's like he's deliberately rubbing it in.

  At least that's how it felt to her. Like anyone, she didn't appreciate being shut out from someone important to her, even if she had been at fault. It wasn't as if she had done anything deliberately to hurt him. She had merely failed to reveal something she had intended to tell him all along but for which she was waiting for just the perfect time. She sighed irritably while reflecting on how fate had conspired against her on that matter. How was she supposed to know that he would go digging through old pictures his mother had collected? Better yet, finding the sole photograph she allowed to be taken of herself as Amber Simmons?

  Geez, I must be cursed, she thought acidly as she weaved in and out of slower traffic on the busy highway.

  It was so hard being patient while waiting for Caleb to work the angst out of his system. She felt confident that she had communicated well enough how she had been protecting him as a child from an abusive father. So that makes me the hero in this story, right?

  "It wasn't like I was going to waltz into the house and tell his mother, 'Oh, hi, Mrs. Taylor. Thanks for the use of your garage today. And don't worry about that wife-abusing and child-beating husband of yours, I just killed him. The body's out in the garage, but I'll bury that for you. Now you can carry safely on your way through life. Oh, and yes, I'm a vampire, but please try not to say anything about that, okay? I'll be on my way now. And be sure not to dial 911 as I'm leaving. Nice meeting you,'" she muttered.

  She shook her head while reconsidering her relations with Caleb and decided she just might have to say something to him if he didn't snap out of his funk in the next week or so. The situation was killing her, and she was only willing to let matters stew for so long before confronting them. It was in her nature, after all. Although being somewhat morose and melancholy seems to be in my nature a lot lately too.

  She sighed with resignation as her car entered the addition, and she made her way down the dark, winding street, eventually arriving at the estate's driveway.

  Caleb idly chatted with Paige and Gil about California and their flight to Atlanta. After a time, Gil pulled a partially battered pack of cigarettes and a lighter from his jeans pocket and slipped a cigarette from the pack. Caleb wasn't sure what his mate's rules on smoking in the house were, but neither he nor Katrina smoked. However, Paige quickly spoke up before Gil flipped the lighter open.

  "Uh, Gil, no smoking in the house," she interjected smoothly. "Maybe you could take that out back for us?"

  "Yeah, sure, babe," he replied amiably, rising from the couch.

  "The back porch is through the dining room there," Caleb offered while pointing towards the back of the house.

  Once Gil departed and they heard the back door close, Paige looked at Caleb with a mix of amusement and curiosity. She patted the couch cushion next to her a number of times with her left hand. "Come sit with me, and tell me what's wrong," she offered lightly.

  He considered the perky blonde vampire with a tentative expression. "Kat and I kind of had a disagreement of sorts, that's all. "

  "Yeah, I already gathered that from a recent phone call with her," she replied. Her eyes narrowed, and she asked in a curious tone, "Caleb, did you forget I'm a vampire?"

  "What? Of course not," he replied in a confused tone.

  "I've been listening to your heartbeat since arriving, particularly when I mentioned you weren't your usual cheerful self. I also noted the change in the dilation of your pupils from all the way across the room. So, come on over here and sit down, and tell me why you seem upset. But don't make me ask you twice, okay, tiger?"

  He moved slowly to sit down next to her, slightly unnerved by her intense stare.

  "Katrina mentioned you two had a pretty heated disagreement, but I failed to get a call from you about it, which I found sort of strange, kiddo," she explained. "We usually talk about everything. In fact, you haven't called me at all recently, despite my leaving you repeated voicemails. So, in the four or five minutes it's going to take Gil to get back, you need to have told me a little bit about it. Now, spill. "

  He smiled briefly at Paige's popular catch phrase, but reverted to a more serious expression and ventured tentatively, "Well, it all started with a photograph of my mother that I found by accident in the garage when I was going through some things. "

  "I don't get it. Why would that cause an argument?" she asked in a confused tone.

  He swallowed, wondering if Katrina would be upset with him for saying more. "It was a photo taken when I was only a child, back when my mother worked at Columbus Mortgage. She and a few others won a contest for receiving a college scholarship for their children, and there was a group photo taken with the lady who owned the company. She had personally sponsored the giveaway, you see. "

  Paige frowned and shook her head while trying to discern the substance of the issue. She could tell he was clearly uncomfortable talking to her about it, but she didn't know why. "Can I see the photo?" she asked.

  Caleb sat where he was and, folding his arms in front of his chest, stared past her to the dining room nearby. She watched his eyes and turned to look in the direction he was staring. Darting into the dining room, she picked up the picture lying next to the exams he had been grading. She scanned the image, noting that the woman on the far left had eyes that reminded her of Caleb's. The other faces were rather ordinary looking, until her eyes fell upon the face of someone she recognized. Her eyes widened with surprise.

  "So, Katrina knew your mother?" she asked. "And she didn't mention it to you, which instigated an argument?"

  "Sort of," he conceded, fearing to say more. "I guess that's sort of silly, isn't it?"

  Yeah, unusually silly. But there's got to be more to this than meets the eye. Her eyes darted back to Caleb, who appeared very tens
e and even less pleased than a few moments ago. "What aren't you telling me about this?" she asked with narrowed eyes as she walked slowly back into the living room with the photograph in hand.

  "There's things I don't recall from my youth, Paige," he hedged. "And I'm having some flashbacks, which started when I first looked at that photo. Although actually, I suppose I had a couple even before seeing that, but didn't realize they were related. "

  Paige's mind raced to try and put the facts together in some meaningful fashion, but she was still having trouble. She stood before him and noticed him glance at his watch nervously.

  "Kat should be back anytime now," he ventured.

  Is he relieved about that, or worried? She sat down next to him and stared into his pale blue eyes with concern. "Are you okay, kiddo?"

  "Not really," he answered with a weary expression.

  They heard the back door open, and Gil walked into the room muttering, "Well, it's not as cold out there as I thought it would be, but it's still way worse than winter in L. A. "

  Paige suddenly wished she hadn't brought Gil to Atlanta with her. But she wouldn't have been comfortable leaving him alone in California until she had a better idea of his trustworthiness. When she turned her head again, Caleb had risen from the couch and was heading back towards the reading chair. More than anything, she wanted to know the full story of what was going on between him and Katrina, but Katrina's absence coupled with Gil's presence was complicating matters.

  "Hey man, any chance I could snag another beer?" Gil queried as he plopped down on the couch.

  Paige rolled her eyes and glared at him. "How about 'please?'"

  "Huh?" he asked obliviously, and then smirked in recognition. "Yeah, please, dude?"

  She bit her lower lip and managed to keep from growling as she looked at Caleb with a visibly strained expression. "He calls everyone dude, Caleb. It's so cute that I almost hear it in my sleep sometimes. "

  Caleb stifled a laugh while shaking his head and heading towards the kitchen. "No problem," he replied easily, though he wondered how long it would take before Paige lost her composure. As he entered the kitchen, he thought he heard the garage door opening. A few seconds later, Katrina appeared in the kitchen seemingly out of nowhere wearing a frown as she glanced into the living room.

  "Hi, Kat," he greeted her amicably. "Oh, Paige and Gil just got here an hour or so ago. "

  "Gil?" she asked curiously as she moved towards Caleb, suddenly noting his unusually pleasant demeanor. It was only hours earlier when he had still seemed somewhat distant from her, not that she didn't appreciate his upbeat attitude change.

  He detoured from the refrigerator to approach her and bent his head up towards her while puckering his lips. She arched an eyebrow and met his lips in a quick kiss.

  "She didn't mention him to you, either?" he asked. "Gil's her date. "

  "Oh," she replied absently. She recalled Paige mentioning dating someone recently, but she failed to remember his name. At the time, she thought that Paige's news seemed more incidental than substantive. And I've had my hands full lately.

  Caleb reached out gently to take her hand in his, looking up into her eyes with a mix of distress and concern, "Two things. First, I've been thinking about us, and I hope you know how much I still love you, even though I haven't been very pleased with things lately. You've done so much for me in the time I've known you, Kat. I realize that I should be more appreciative about that. I hope you'll understand, and I suppose I wouldn't blame you if you were upset with me. "

  Her eyes rose with surprise, but she appreciated his sudden and sincere acknowledgement of his recent attitude towards her. It also helped to soften the feelings she had been contemplating on her return home that evening. A hopeful feeling flowed through her, but she was concerned by the other emotions reflected in his eyes. "And?" she prompted by squeezing his hand in hers lightly.

  "Well, second," he broached uneasily, "I've really tried to keep our recent disagreement to ourselves for the most part. "

  She noticed Paige was suddenly standing in the doorway to the kitchen with a photograph in her right hand. "Howdy, Red," she offered with a tight-lipped smile.

  "Hi, Paige," Katrina acknowledged, realizing the photo was the one that had started the troubles between she and Caleb. "Always good to see you, though I didn't realize you were coming to town. How long are you here for?"

  "Not sure yet," she replied and turned her attention to Caleb. "Why don't you forget that beer for now and help Gil bring the luggage up to one of the spare bedrooms?"

  Caleb released Katrina's hand as he glanced sidelong at Paige. His eyes darted back to Katrina, and she smiled wanly at him and nodded.

  "Go ahead, my love," she replied with resignation.

  He gratefully slipped from the kitchen into the living room, not particularly wanting to be around when they had their discussion about the photograph. It was still a difficult enough topic for him to discuss just with Katrina.

  Paige waited until she heard Caleb and Gil in the front entry area before she addressed Katrina. "What's going on, Red?" she insisted emphatically. "First there's the situation with Devon Archibald, and then the visiting vampires on campus. And since last Saturday, Caleb quit returning my calls, and all you've said is that you two were fighting. On top of that, I felt like he's avoiding me. Come to think of it, you've been pretty downtrodden and unusually distant in our conversations, as well. So, I called Alton, and he didn't seem to know anything about it, which is odd because you normally tell him everything. "

  Katrina felt irritated that Paige came all the way to California just to confront her about things, although some of that might be because she was altogether avoiding the topic with both her and Alton. The issue had been her little secret for so many years, and she had hoped Caleb might be the only person in whom she would need to confide.

  After another moment of no response from Katrina, Paige continued assertively, "I decided to come check on things firsthand and maybe surprise Caleb, but I'm the one being surprised because he greets me like I'm his last, best hope or something. Then our boy's all tight-lipped and won't say anything, and that bothers me, Red. Finally, I've got this photograph of you with his mother from way back when. So now it's time to spill. "

  "Let's go for a walk," Katrina urged as she led the way towards the door leading out into the back yard. She determined that her friend seemed genuinely concerned and perhaps deserved an explanation. There was also no denying that Paige had an important vested interest in Caleb, which merited the information more than most.

  Paige followed her friend, laying the photograph on the dining room table as she passed by. Once outside, she fell into step beside her friend and waited patiently. The two vampires walked through the darkness of that cold, moonless evening until Katrina reached a stand of pine trees in the furthermost part of the property. She turned to Paige with a serious expression and related the history of her first meeting with Caleb following her aborted suicide attempt nearly twenty years prior.

  Paige listened raptly, her surprise turning to shock as the story unfolded. Although she had only known Caleb in recent months, she had no difficulty envisioning him as a curious blue-eyed child who unknowingly helped a vampire under the guise of aiding a supposed angel from Heaven. She shared Katrina's outrage at how Caleb had been abused by his father and sympathized with her decision to kill Ted Taylor. And she was touched by Katrina's desire to help Caleb and his mother following Ted's disappearance, as well as Katrina's generosity to provide for Caleb's college expenses. But most of all, she was amazed that Katrina had been able to hypnotize Caleb as a child, never having thought it was possible to do so to a human, much less with such success.

  She was still wide-eyed by the time Katrina finished speaking, merely shaking her head in disbelief. She had once marveled at the close, loving relationship that Caleb and Katrina had settled into, but the complete story made it see
m incredibly fateful. And it made their eventual pairing once he had reached adulthood seem like something from a Hollywood film rather than reality. However, she disagreed with Katrina's decision to wait so long to tell him about the past, even while appreciating her reluctance. Still, she had a full understanding as to why Caleb had been so upset.

  "Holy crap, Red!" Paige exclaimed. "My fangs nearly popped out of my head, and I can only imagine what Alton would say. "

  Katrina nodded and sighed deeply, feeling as though a heavy burden had been removed from her shoulders. She was suddenly happy she had told her friend everything and hadn't anticipated that such relief was even possible, given the subject. Still, she wasn't sure what her close friend and former mentor, Alton, would say. I'll cross that bridge later.

  Paige warmly reached out to embrace her tall friend and asked, "What can I do to help?"

  Katrina wrapped her arms around the young woman who was like family to her, rested her chin atop the short blonde's head, and asked with a sigh, "Do you know anything about hypnotic memory modification?"

  Paige arched one eyebrow in silence.

  Gil was sitting alone on the couch when Katrina and Paige walked into the living room. Caleb appeared from the kitchen with a fresh beer and placed it on the coffee table for Gil, unaware the two women were standing at the side of the room near the dining room.

  "Thanks, dude," Gil offered.

  "Sure," Caleb replied and stopped upon seeing the two women standing off to his left.

  Paige walked purposefully up to him, and her short arms slowly encircled him in a warm embrace. She inclined her head upwards so her lips were near his ear and whispered, "I had no idea before about yours and Katrina's history, but I understand completely now, kiddo. I'm always here for you. "

  She kissed him on the side of the cheek warmly, lingering for a few moments before pulling away from him. It was an uncustomarily emotional gesture for the normally playful and eccentric vampire, and her actions meant the world to him. He smiled gratefully, feeling both satisfaction and relief wash over him that his guardian finally knew the truth about him and Katrina.

  "Thanks, babysitter," he quipped in a whisper.

  Meanwhile, Gil looked up with a mix of surprise and curiosity. "Hey babe, what's with the body pressing going on there? I thought you said he was your adopted brother. "

  "Hush, Gil," Paige admonished as Katrina looked on with a wry expression.

  Caleb separated from Paige's embrace, moved to stand next to Katrina, and held her hand while interlacing their fingers together. "Gil, I'm proud to introduce you to Katrina," he said while glancing up at Katrina with a smile. "She's my mate. "

  Gil's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at Katrina and clarified, "Hiya, Katrina. So, you two really are a couple then?"

  Paige rolled her eyes, popped Gil on the back of his head lightly with the flat of her palm and chastised, "Yeah, Gil, a couple. Remember when I told you about vampire mates on the plane? Like common-law spouses but without rings?"

  He grinned and nodded, "Oh, yeah. Well, that's a relief. You had me worried for a minute there, babe. "

  She shook her head with a tight-lipped expression and observed dryly, "He calls most women 'babe,' by the way. Though I recently expressed to him how I really hate that. "

  "Nice to meet you, Gil," Katrina offered with an amused nod from where she stood, not wanting to remove her hand from Caleb's. It felt like it had taken so long finally to get back to that point with him.

  "Same here," Gil replied as he raised his beer bottle in salute and drank.

  The four of them stayed up visiting, learning more about Gil and how Paige and he had met while she was out on the town club-roving. Around midnight it was obvious that both men had grown tired, though Gil's response might have been due to the volume of beers he had consumed. And while Katrina and Paige were both night dwellers by nature, a silent signal between them prompted a mutual herding of their partners to their respective bedrooms.

  In the sublevel room, Katrina showered first and lay on top of the king-sized bed reading a novel. Caleb stifled a yawn as he exited the bathroom wearing a pair of dark sweatpants and the pendant Katrina had given him at Christmas. He paused for a moment to admire her in her satin pajama pants and form-fitted sleeveless top. Her long red hair was combed out smoothly and draped across her shoulders like a flowing mantle. She's a vision of beauty, he resolved, feeling affirmation that despite their recent differences she was undoubtedly the love of his life.

  Katrina glanced up from her book and smiled at him before returning to read again. She uncrossed her legs at the ankles and stretched her bare feet out before her. He walked to the end of the bed and began massaging her feet gently.

  "Ooh, that feels wonderful," she purred. "But you don't have to do that. I know how tired you are. "

  "Eh," he replied. "I want to do something nice for you. "

  She smirked and returned to reading her novel. That certainly works for me.

  After a few minutes of ministrations, he said, "Kat, I've been thinking about Paige's active night life. I mean, I feel bad enough you have to spend your days cooped up here in the estate. Then in the evenings you rarely go out unless you and I do something together. Don't vampires need to roam through the night to exercise or something?"

  "I work out in the home gym," she replied off-handedly. "Besides, our stamina and constitution don't require exercise in the same way humans do. "

  Must be nice. He considered the topic from another perspective. "Aren't you bored, though? I mean, if you wanted to roam around town all night I'd understand. "

  She frowned and glanced up at him from over her book. "Do you honestly want me to spend my nights away from you?" she asked.

  He massaged one foot at length while mulling that over. "Well, maybe not every night. But I feel guilty that I may be keeping you from enjoying life while you wait around for me. And even then, I can't stay up all night with you because I need at least five or six hours of sleep so I can make it through work the next day. Half the time, you spend the night lying in bed next to me, and you don't even need more than two or three hours of sleep every few days. "

  "I like watching you sleep. It's soothing to me to listen to the rhythm of your heartbeat, my love," she replied simply. "It's a meditative experience, really. "

  He wasn't sure how to respond to that, and instead just continued to massage her other foot and ankle. "But if you wanted to go out --" he began.

  "Prowling around town? Skulking in the shadows for victims?" she offered in an amused tone.

  "Well. . . "

  She nodded as she turned a page in her novel and only glanced up at him briefly. "Thanks so much to Hollywood once again. Caleb, do you think for a moment I miss 'the old days' when much of my time was spent scoping out blood sources? Some of the best developments to our kind include large refrigerators and regular blood deliveries. I'm just like any other human you know, for the most part. I like reading, Internet surfing, watching television and films, shopping, and a host of other diversions. Sometimes I even like pursuing business interests or part-time careers. For the most part, I'm very content with things. "

  "For the most part?" he asked as he ran his hands up and down both of her calves.

  She paused from reading, relishing the feeling of his firm fingertips. "Well, I have enjoyed our Find Caleb sessions, despite the most recent troubles at the wildlife preserve," she mused with a smile. "But I understand if you're kind of turned off by that for a while. "

  He nodded, happy to hear she enjoyed his attempts at meeting her hunting need. However, he silently admitted he was wary about elaborate Find Caleb sessions following the encounter with Devon Archibald. But he made a mental note to continue plans for the abandoned construction site.

  After a moment, he looked up and stared at her in a penetrating fashion, admiring how beautiful she was. She's a red-haired vision of loveliness.
She's perfect, and I can't believe how fortunate I am to be with her. Although it's true that I'm still not entirely pleased about everything that's happened lately.

  After a moment, she looked up with a quizzical expression and asked, "What is it?"

  He swallowed, stopped massaging her ankle and replied, "I was just admiring. You have to be the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, Kat. "

  She grinned broadly, placed her novel aside on the nightstand, and beckoned to him with the crook of her index finger. "Come here. "

  He crawled onto the bed, perching next to her. She reached out to grab him by the arms, rolled his body onto the bed next to her, and draped her leg across both of his. He lay on his back looking up at her as she softly kissed him on the lips a number of times, to which he responded eagerly and felt a sense of excitement wash through him.

  "Do you know how many vampires would love to have you?" she asked endearingly.

  "For dinner?" he countered with raised eyebrows.

  She chuckled. "No, silly. For a mate. "

  "Very kind," he replied, although he wasn't sure if he necessarily agreed with her. But then, he didn't know many vampires, either.

  Her expression turned somber as she perched over him, staring down into his blue eyes. "I'm serious, my love. You proved your worthiness for that kind of role by age eight, and then solidified it again last December. Do you know how many vampires never meet a human as dedicated and devoted as you, even over a period of centuries?"

  Not that I considered you for the role of mate at age eight.

  He nearly blushed. "Thanks, Kat. I'm proud to be your mate. "

  She smiled back at him and placed a warm kiss on his lips.

  After lying in silence in her arms for a time, he felt he needed to revisit a topic. "I'm ashamed to admit that I laid the guilt on a little heavily this past week, Kat," he conceded. "While I'm not okay with what happened, I've also held a bit of a grudge against you this past week. You didn't deserve that, and I apologize. "

  "But you're still unhappy?" she asked.

  He shrugged, admitting, "I'll move beyond it eventually. But I still want to know what happened, and I need my memories back to do that properly. "

  She respected his resolve, even if she disagreed with it. "Well, I suppose I'll forgive your angst-ridden indulgence from this past week. "

  Grateful for her understanding, he kissed her in appreciation.

  A series of exchanged kisses ensued as they embraced in silence, each enjoying the intimacy of being with the other. Finally, she sighed and searched his face with a distant expression. If only we had more time together. Time passed so quickly for humans, and she was quite fond of the one cradled in her arms.

  He regarded her silently and considered inquiring about her thoughts, but she spoke before he had the chance.

  "You would probably make a remarkable vampire, my love," she muttered under her breath in a manner that, even with their close proximity, he almost missed.

  His eyebrows rose, and he looked into her eyes with unabashed intensity as his mind contemplated the scope of her comment. She noted his expression and heard his pulse increase marginally, and the corners of her mouth upturned with veiled amusement.

  "We won't speak of this further," she stated firmly. "But yes, the thought has crossed my mind on occasion. Although I've never turned anyone before. " She tapped him on the end of his nose lightly with her fingertip. "But you have many human years ahead of you, and I probably shouldn't have mentioned the topic. "

  He tried to put the subject aside, but felt compelled to ask, "If I became a vampire, what would that mean for us?"

  She paused, and then reached down to pinch the pendant around his neck between her fingertips. She raised it up until it was suspended before his eyes. "You're mine forever, Caleb," she answered resolutely.

  He actually shivered as her words sunk into his mind. Hers forever. The thought was simultaneously thrilling and ominous. Despite his love and adoration for her, forever was a long time to contemplate.

  He wrapped her hand in his as she held his pendant and rose to meet her lips with a passionate kiss. She pressed him back down onto the bed and nipped at his lower lip as she kissed him. Within moments, she felt his hand probing underneath her knit top, and his fingers gently caressed her breasts.

  A tantalizing shiver ran through her as she turned his body to lie on top of hers while continuing to kiss him. Acting upon her signal, he used one hand to shift his sweatpants off while she slipped from her pajama pants. He kissed her passionately and endeavored to please her tenderly. Then time stood still as darkness blanketed them from the cares of the outside world.

  After Caleb fell asleep, Katrina glanced at him in the darkness and pulled the covers up to his neck so he didn't catch a chill. She slipped out of bed, pulled her pajama pants and sleeveless top back on, and made her way upstairs to the first floor. She found Paige in the front entry room, curled up on one end of the couch with her feet pulled beneath her as she lounged against the arm rest. Katrina grinned at her friend's attire: a pair of black Lycra biking shorts and a black cotton t-shirt with the image of a large, red, flaming skull on the front.

  "There you are," Paige greeted her.

  "Sorry," Katrina offered as she commandeered the other end of the couch, draping one leg over the edge of the cushion. "Took a little longer than expected. "

  Paige smirked and ventured slyly, "Make-up sex is great, isn't it?"

  "What makes you think --"

  The blonde vampire looked away and interrupted, "Fine, whatever. "

  "Yes, it's wonderful, actually, particularly after a couple of weeks or more," Katrina conceded with a sigh.

  Paige smirked and affirmed, "Yep, thought so. "

  The red-haired vampire shook her head. "So, what's the scoop on Gil?"

  Paige recounted everything that she had told Caleb earlier. "So Gil has two women in his life: me and Mary Jane. "

  "Ah, but do you have feelings for him?"

  Paige considered that with a slight frown. "Somewhat, but it's still too early for me to say for certain. "

  The two chatted at length about a host of other topics, including the upcoming spring break trip to England that Katrina had in mind for her and Caleb. That led to a discussion of their favorite European destinations, and Paige revealed her desire to revisit Italy and Greece following the few decades since her last visit. Since then, most of her time had been spent in North or Central America, and she welcomed a change of scenery. But with needing to observe Gil for the time being, she was putting off any vacation plans.

  "Why not take him with you?" Katrina asked.

  "I need to wait to find out if he's on any watch lists before he applies for a passport," Paige explained. "I'm still researching his background, but it wouldn't surprise me if he's had some trouble with the law in the past for --"

  "Drugs," Katrina interjected.

  Paige nodded and chuckled. "Yeah, he's kind of a pot-head. But I can probably break him of that eventually, if I wanted to. "

  Katrina nodded and hoped everything would work out for her. It had been years since anyone had caught her friend's eye, although Katrina had a sneaky suspicion that someone like Caleb might have been on her radar under different circumstances. Fortunately, she trusted Paige implicitly, and the thought of her former pupil's friendship and innocent affections for Caleb no longer made her jealous. Besides, few were as devoted as the young man in her life.

  "Hello? Earth to Katrina," Paige interrupted with a snap of her fingers. "Lost you there for a minute. "

  Katrina jolted from her reverie with a smirk and remarked, "Okay, I'm back now, Houston. "

  "So what are you going to do about Caleb's memory?"

  Katrina quietly considered a response. "I was thinking about trying to use the same hypnotic technique to undo what I did nearly twenty years ago. "

  Paige's eyebrows ros
e. "You can do that?"

  The red-haired vampire shrugged. "I can try. I've never actually faced something like this before. In fact, I haven't hypnotized anyone else since then, either. I was surprised when it worked the first time, actually. "

  "We could call Alton for his advice," Paige ventured.

  Katrina countered, "Or I could try myself first and see what happens. "

  "So, when are you planning to try?"

  "Sometime soon. He seemed pretty insistent about it again tonight, actually. "

  Paige shrugged. "Okay, why not tonight?"

  "Now?"

  "Sure, why not?"

  "He was pretty tired earlier," Katrina hedged.

  "And that matters?" Paige retorted pointedly. "Maybe it's better when his mind is more receptive to it. I dunno, like when he's already tired?"

  Katrina conceded that the idea seemed logical and peered at the clock across the room. Nearly two hours had passed. "Fair enough. "

  "Can I watch?" Paige asked. Katrina shrugged and nodded.

  The two proceeded into the dark sublevel chamber where Caleb was sleeping. After closing the door behind them, the two vampires quietly navigated their way across the room through the darkness until Katrina sat on the edge of the bed next to Caleb while Paige stood near the foot of the bed, watching intently.

  "Caleb?" Katrina asked gently as she caressed his forehead with her fingertips. "Wake up, my love. "

  He murmured something unintelligible and stirred. His eyes fluttered open. "Kat? Is everything okay?"

  "Yes, everything's fine," she replied softly. "But I need you to wake up for me, okay?"

  "B-but why?" he stammered as he rubbed at his eyes, straining unsuccessfully to look up at her in the darkness as she leaned over him. He was barely able to make out her form in the nearly pitch black conditions.

  "I'm going to try the hypnosis removal," she offered.

  "Awww, Kat, can't it wait until morning?" he groaned and rolled over on his left side while trying to pull the covers over himself again.

  She rolled her eyes, pulled the sheet and comforter down to his waist and insisted, "No, my love. I need to do this while you're vulnerable. "

  His eyes shot open as he clawed to grasp at the covers. "What?"

  She quickly corrected herself. "I meant, susceptible. It may be easier that way. "

  He sighed and rolled back over to stare at her dark silhouette as she sat next to him.

  "Maybe you could sit up for me?" she suggested.

  He sat up in bed lazily, and she was suddenly pleased he had pulled his sweatpants back on since leaving him earlier. She wasn't comfortable parading her mate around naked in front of Paige, or anyone else for that matter. Reaching behind him, she pulled his pillow up to rest against the headboard. "Lean back against the pillow. "

  He sighed again and leaned into the pillow while pulling his legs up underneath him to sit Indian-style before her. Then he crossed his arms before his bare chest.

  "Just keep staring into my eyes and try to relax," she instructed as her eyes began glowing bright emerald.

  He watched her eyes and yawned, while shivering slightly from the cool air in the room. He noted that Katrina's eyes continued to glow more and more brightly. They look like beautiful emeralds floating in a black sea. After a few minutes his breathing relaxed, but he shivered again as a chill reverberated through his body. A fleecy blanket was abruptly wrapped around his upper body, startling him.

  "Sorry, kiddo," Paige offered to his left.

  He broke his gaze with Katrina and glanced to his left. "Paige?"

  Katrina made an exasperated sound and growled, "Caleb, please concentrate. Paige is just supposed to be observing quietly. "

  He smirked in Paige's direction. "Glad you could make it to our little seance. "

  He felt the bed move slightly as Paige scooted next to him and pulled her knees up to her chest. "Happy to be here, actually. "

  "Could we please get back to business?" Katrina asked with an exasperated sigh.

  "My bad," Paige whispered while nudging Caleb slightly.

  "Sorry about that," he added quietly as his gaze returned to Katrina's glowing eyes. He felt Katrina's hand pat him lightly on the inside of his thigh and withdraw again, leaving him feeling much more comfortable while wrapped in the comfy blanket.

  After staring into Katrina's eyes for an undetermined period of time, he felt his eyelids grow heavier. He could have sworn that her eyes were actually pulsing, becoming brighter.

  "Think back to your childhood, Caleb," she whispered. "Think of your back yard, and your toys, and the garage. "

  He tried to recall his childhood and immediately recalled images of opening gifts at Christmas when he was just a boy. He flashed on an image of riding his bike from the front yard out into the street during late spring or early summer, though he couldn't recall how old he had been. He thought of his mother baking cookies and pies at the holidays, followed by his father coming home from work and the smell of alcohol.

  "Think of your garage, Caleb," she urged soothingly.

  Caleb's flashbacks shifted, and he was able to see the inside of their old garage, including the tools and old car parts his father left lying around. He saw the old car covered in the dirty plastic tarp that his father had renovated for years when he was a child. He recalled the times he sneaked beneath it to peek at things just out of curiosity. Caleb no longer saw Katrina's glowing orbs, and instead flashed to a time when the garage seemed somewhat scarier. He breathed in sharply as he flashed on a vision of his father lashing out with a belt at him and the searing pain across his left arm. The pain was fresh, but it felt like a stabbing dagger instead of simply a leather belt.

  "Pain!" he shouted as his eyes went wild, and he kicked away from Katrina abruptly, nearly catching her in the chest as he flailed away with his right foot while his left foot dug against the mattress. He sprang to one side as his foot finally impacted the mattress beneath him, and he flung the blanket from around him in a sudden lurch.

  "Caleb!" she shouted, trying vainly to reach out for him.

  But Paige was closer and faster and was able to wrap her arms around his torso, trapping his arms to his sides as he tried to launch his body past hers. He bounced against the mattress, shutting his eyes tightly against the images which still flashed before him.

  "Stop!" he pleaded. "Just stop, I changed my mind. No more!"

  Paige's eyes were wide with shock as she held him against her body. Her gaze darted over to Katrina, who quickly recovered and was stretched across the bed alongside him.

  Katrina held his face between her hands, whispering, "It's okay, my love. You're safe. We're stopping. "

  He nodded and quietly lay there, no longer trying to fight against the strong arms that held him in place like iron bands. Paige relaxed her embrace and unwound her arms from around him.

  "I'm so tired," he murmured raggedly into the comforter pressed against his face.

  Katrina's mind raced as she tried to understand what had just happened, but she suspected that questioning him about it at that moment would prove both unwise and fruitless. She kissed him affectionately on the forehead, and Paige assisted her with maneuvering him back under the covers in the center of the bed.

  The petite vampire gathered his pillow and slipped it beneath his head for him. "Try and get some rest, kiddo," she whispered.

  Both vampires moved off the bed and stared at each other silently with wide-eyed expressions.

  "Please don't leave," he mumbled quietly.

  They glanced down at him, and then Paige looked back at Katrina. "You call Alton," she suggested. "I'll stay with him for now. "

  Katrina nodded with a resigned sigh, picked up the phone handset near her computer hutch, and preceded upstairs up to the first floor while Paige lay down beside Caleb.

  "Babysitter's right here, tiger," Paige whispered as she la
id her arm over his huddled form. She kissed him lightly on the back of his head.

  "Thanks," he whispered.

  Her mind raced to understand what had just happened. She had never seen anything like that from him before, and she realized it was going to take more than just amateurs to assist the young man in reconciling his memories. She just hoped that Katrina realized it and that Alton advised her friend of the same.

  Within minutes, Caleb drifted off into an exhausted, dreamless sleep.