The Blood Within

PROLOGUE

He walks beneath the crown of night, in the shadows of darkness, beneath a lightless moon.  Not a whisper is heard as he passes.  The night hushes as it hears his footsteps coming out of the midnight blackness.  The wind disappears and not a single leaf rustles as he stalks through the inky blackness.  His eyes glow softly and a piercing white sharpness radiates from his smile.

He knows she is near.  He can smell the soft, sweet scent of her blood.  It pulses loudly in his ears as it courses through her veins.  He lifts his nose to the delicious aroma.  He smells something else.  He smells the distinct scent of something that sets her apart from all other mortals.

He turns the corner and sees her standing beneath the pale light of a street lamp.  Her blonde hair shimmers, like a halo of light surrounding her head.  She turns her head and her piercing green eyes rest on the patch of darkness where he is hidden.

His heart stands still, hoping she does not see him, but her eyes stay riveted to the spot where he is standing.  He thinks that she can feel his presence, even though he has not revealed himself.  A tiny smile parts her ruby red lips.  Her teeth shine through her smile.  He is entranced by the way her teeth glisten softly through her smile.  He pulls his gaze away from her luscious mouth and looks into her eyes again.  Her eyes shine and glow with an inner light he knows all too well.  She is like him.  She shares his blood.

He has found her, at last, the one who will change his life forever.  His heart is beating rapidly.  It’s hard for him to believe she is standing there, only a few feet away.  He steps out of the darkness and reveals himself.  Her eyes widen in surprise and she looks at him warily.  He doesn’t want to scare her off.  He needs her.  He takes a slow step toward her with his arms outstretched.  He has finally found her and now his new life will soon begin.

CHAPTER ONE

Brin Cross woke from the dream, breathless as always.  Her body was covered in sweat, the sheets soaked through.  She sat up in bed and smoothed back her damp hair.  This wasn’t the first time she had this dream.  The dream had haunted her ever since she could remember.  She always saw the same man, staring at her with fierce intensity.

 The dream was always the same.  She was standing under a street lamp, alone in the middle of the night.  She had no idea why she was there.  She always felt like she was waiting for someone.  The only light around was the light that was coming from the street lamp.  It shed its small halo of light around her but couldn’t seem to penetrate the inky blackness that lay beyond.

She could sense that something was coming.  She felt it in her bones as a deep, unsettling chill, even though the night air was pleasantly warm.  The chill resonated through every part of her body.  She wrapped her arms around herself, hoping to ward off the coldness she felt inside of her.  It didn’t help.  The chill wasn’t coming from her.  It was emanating from the darkness beyond.

She stared out into the velvet blackness.  She couldn’t see anyone or anything beyond her small circle of light.  She didn’t hear any sounds coming from the night either.  The silence seemed ominous and deep, like there was nothing beyond the halo of light that surrounded her.

She shivered the coldness still in her bones.  The hairs on the back of her neck started to stand on end.  She could feel someone watching her from the darkness.  She sensed that the thing she had felt coming was here.  She peered intently into the darkness, scanning it slowl