Chapter Two

When the final bell rang, Rose and Thorn trailed Skyler and me from our lockers to the big double doors at the front entrance.

I’d dressed up this morning for the first day of school, but I was ready to change into my comfy clothes. Normally, I lived in band tees, faded jeans, and sunscreen. So. Much. Sunscreen. As a redhead, I’d learned my lesson during a seventh-grade beach trip, when I’d stayed in the sun too long and fried my skin. My classmates had called me Rock Lobster for six months. Christian even did the song’s choreography from Just Dance every time he saw me.

And that was before I turned into a vamp hybrid.

Rose and Thorn stayed on our heels as we walked to Skyler’s car.

There were a bunch of guys crowded around a souped-up orange Challenger. I was almost sure it was the same car that had been in front of us at lunch, the one that had ordered enough food for thirty and had been driven by Connor Mahoney.

I caught the scent of Axe body spray and, underneath that, something like wet dog. Rose and Thorn stopped and sniffed the air, but before they said anything, the boys piled into the Challenger and took off.

“Thorn and I will see you tomorrow, Your Majesty,” Rose said. “After your morning training, would you like a ride to school?” Everyone knew my old car, the Deathtrap, was unreliable, but lately it was in the shop more often than not. Like right now.

“I’ll take her,” Skyler said.

Rose gave me a tiny nod in acknowledgment, and then she and Thorn left.

My best friend and I had carpooled to school. She lived a few houses down from me, and Vaughn lived two streets over.

“Want to come over and raid Gertie’s going to Goodwill bag?” Skyler asked.

“Who am I to turn down free clothes?” I replied. Gertie, Sky’s stepmother, had a credit card with no limit and a serious shopping addiction, which was a bad combination. Well, bad for Gertie—not so bad for me. Since Gertie was a former Vegas showgirl with showgirl curves, her hand-me-downs didn’t fit Skyler’s slimmer build. I had what Granny Mariotti described as bounty. Or maybe she meant booty. Either way, I had it, so Gertie’s clothes were a close-to-perfect fit on me.

When we got to Skyler’s house, I plopped said booty on her king-size bed while she rummaged through a bag of discarded clothing.

“This would look great on you,” Skyler said, throwing me a jade-colored top. I held it against me and looked in the mirror. I had to admit, that shade of green did something wonderful for my eyes. I also snagged a pair of expensive, downy-soft jean shorts with the tag still on them.

“Why don’t you let me cut your hair?” Sky asked. One side effect of being a striga vie I hadn’t anticipated was accelerated hair growth. I usually kept my hair shoulder length, but I’d been to a stylist less than a month ago and it had already grown to my waist.

“Thanks, Skyler,” I said, “that’d be awesome. Do you have everything you need?”

She whipped out a pair of shears. “Let’s do this in the bathroom, where it’ll be easier to clean up.” Skyler had her own bathroom, which was nearly as big as my bedroom. “I forgot the stool,” she said. “I’ll be right back.”

I looked in the mirror, opened my mouth, and examined my teeth. Did my incisors look more pointy today?

She came back carrying a stool and motioned for me to sit, then tied a big fluffy towel around my neck and started snipping. Pretty soon, there was a pile of red hair at our feet.

Then silence. She hated when I brought it up, but I had to. “Hey…how are you doing?”

“Not craving human blood, if that’s what you’re asking,” she said. “Also not hooking up with vampire musicians.”

“All good, then,” I replied, but there was a look on her face I didn’t like. “What?”

“You never talk about it,” she said.

“It?” I repeated, but I knew what she meant.

“It happened to you, too,” she said.

“I know,” I replied. “I was there. I’m just not ready to talk about…what happened.” My stomach churned when I thought about it. Sometimes, it was hard not to wonder, Why me?

Travis had bitten Skyler multiple times this summer, but since she didn’t ever become a Sundowner, which was what the vampires called the people near the final transformation, she and the other baby vamps had returned to being fully human. Because I was a witch, I hadn’t fared so well. One bite from a reckless vampire and I became the creature I saw before me today.

Skyler wrapped an arm around me. “Okay.” She paused and then added, “I know Connor’s back, but I’m not ready to deal with him.”

“Fuck Connor,” I said, fury boiling out of me suddenly. If her ex hadn’t bailed on her, she’d never have hooked up with Travis, the vampire asshole musician.

“Tansy,” she said. “I just worry about him, you know.”

“He doesn’t seem to be worrying about you,” I spit out.

She flinched. “That’s not like Connor.”

“Neither was dumping you without a word and taking off to another country for a year,” I said.

“True,” she agreed. “I honestly thought he…he loved me.” Her ex’s callousness toward Skyler had set off a chain reaction, one that had left me with fang marks on my neck and Sky enthralled to the vampire who’d bitten me.

“I know,” I replied. “But sometimes, love isn’t enough.” I tried not to sound bitter, but I was woman enough to admit that I was.

Bitter was the new black.