SAVANNAH

"Please?" Tristan murmured with big puppy-dog eyes. "I love you. I adore you. Don't tell me you're going to hold out on me now, after all we've been through."

"No, Tristan. The answer was no yesterday, and last night, and two hours ago, and it's still no now." Crossing my arms, I leaned against my silver Corvette Stingray. "And if you keep up the whining, I'm going to be late for Charmers practice. And we both know how much Mrs. Daniels loves people who show up late for practice."

"But, Sav, it's a Corvette! How can you refuse to let me drive it? Just this once? Pretty please?"

"Nuh-uh. You say it's just this once. But once you've driven a 'Vette, there's no going back. You'll be whining the same old tune every single day for the rest of our lives. Which means you'll literally be bugging me for all eternity about this. Let's just agree to drop it now and get on with our day, okay?"

He stuck out his lower lip in a pout.

"Nope. Not going to work." I made a point of looking at my watch then circling around the car to the driver's side. "Now would you please hurry up and get in?" Thank heavens we lived in town. If we'd had to drive the ten miles from Nanna's house, we would most definitely be late. I would have to push the speed limit as it was just to get us there on time.

Heaving a noisy sigh, he got into the car, and I had to hide a smile as I reached for my seat belt. "Put your seat belt on, please. I don't want to get pulled over for a belt violation again."

"Again? How often do you get pulled over?"

"Trust me, you don't want to get pulled over by a Clann cop even once when you're a vamp."

I slipped and let a memory f lit through my mind of the one time I'd been pulled over. To this day, I still occasionally had nightmares of the hatred and barely restrained violence in that uniformed descendant's thoughts as he'd held me trapped there in my car for ten long minutes while he decided whether to be a good cop or an even better descendant.

Tristan grabbed my hand, his eyes furious. "Seriously? Did he do anything, or just think about doing it?"

Crap. I really needed to find a way to block this mind connection thing between us. I swallowed hard. "Don't worry, he was a good cop. That day. But I don't ever want to tempt him again. Which is why we can't speed this morning to make up time."

"I should-" he began in a growl.

"No, you shouldn't. Just use it as a lesson. We've got to be on our toes about this stuff. And I'm not just talking about following the traffic laws here. We can't do anything to give any of them a reason to go after us. Okay? No matter how much they may push us, we've got to keep it together. No mistakes, no losing control." I searched his eyes, needing to know he was hearing me loud and clear here.

He sighed, letting go of his anger for now. "Yeah, okay."

He put on his seat belt, and I put the key into the ignition. Then I caught his longing stare at the steering wheel.

He really wanted to drive my car.

I groaned. "Fine. Just this once, you can-"

But he was already out the door and around the car, opening the door for me like a chauffeur.

Laughing, I got out and let the spoiled brat have his way, as usual.

Ten minutes later we pulled into the parking lot with two whole minutes to spare, Tristan still grinning just like he had the whole way here. Shaking my head, I grabbed my trusty blue leather Charmers duff le bag, got out and circled the car so I could lean in through the driver's side window to say goodbye.

The plan was for him to stay in the car till the bell for first period rang in an hour and a half. Then he'd head for the office in the main hall, where he would once again be helping out as an office aide till second period.

So I was surprised when he got out of the car with me.

"Just wanted to say a proper goodbye now that we don't have to hide anymore," he murmured, leaning against the side of the car and pulling me against him for a kiss.

Realizing we were out in the open where anyone could see us together sent a thrill skittering across my every nerve ending and made my lips curve into a huge grin against his. "Hmm. I could get used to this."

We kissed again, then he leaned his head back a few inches and grinned. "And just think, we've also got lunch together in the cafeteria to look forward to."

I pictured his sitting beside me at my friends' table. Just the idea seemed like a fantasy that couldn't possibly ever come true. And yet it would. Today. My heart skipped another beat in anticipation.

Then I remembered...all the Clann kids would be staring at us in the cafeteria. I could already imagine how much they would love seeing their former leader, now a vamp, sitting with the enemy instead of them. I sighed, my excitement def lating a bit. If only we were at some other school...

"They'll get over it," Tristan said. "Today might be rough, but eventually they'll get so used to seeing us together that they won't even think about it anymore."

"Promises, promises," I muttered. Then I checked my watch and hissed. "Ouch. I have really gotta go." I gave him one last kiss, turned away then hesitated. "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"With sitting in the 'Vette till first period? Sure. What's the big deal?"

"No, I mean with...this." I waved a hand at the school campus. "You, me, being back here so soon. I know what Dad and the council and your mother want, but are you sure-"

The image of him pinning that nameless hunter to a tree in the Arkansas woods f lashed through my mind. I pushed it away, but not fast enough.

Tristan's head rocked back as if I'd slapped him. After a long beat of silence, he muttered, "That won't happen again, Savannah."

Great. Now I'd done it.

"Right," I said too quickly with a smile that felt fake even to me. "I know that. You weren't yourself that day. Now you are."

Except now we would be facing a way bigger challenge than resisting regular human blood. Today we would be around members of the Clann, each one of them full of the most tempting blood any vamp could ever wish for, thanks to the powerful extra energy their magical abilities filled them with. Tristan was going to feel like a newly recovering alcoholic forced to spend eight hours trapped inside a bar.

A bar where just asking for a drink could risk starting a war, and would also probably send the vamp council after us, as well.

And there was nothing more I could do to help him resist that urge to drink.

He looked down at his feet, staring without seeing, his mind filling with images and memories...of the feel of that hunter's fragile neck trapped within his hand, the human's heartbeat pounding beneath his fingertips. The taste of the blood as it had rushed down Tristan's throat, warming him, filling him not just with energy and life but a rush of power and excitement, as well.

Just a short moment in time that had seemed so good yet now had become his worst mistake ever. A mistake that had haunted his nightmares yet again last night.

He hated himself for that mistake, for what he had done and nearly could have done to that innocent human. Thanks to his victim's blood memories, he knew that man, though divorced, still loved and missed his wife and the two little girls he only got to see at Christmas now that their mother had moved them three states away. He knew that man had been in those woods hunting only because this Christmas, he hadn't had enough money to see his girls, so he'd gone hunting alone to try to distract himself from his misery and loneliness. And he'd nearly died because Tristan had lost control.

"But he didn't die," I murmured, my heart hurting for Tristan so much it caused a physical ache within my chest. "He's still alive with no memory of what happened."

"Yeah, well, you and I sure remember."

Tristan wouldn't look at me now, his gaze rising only as high as my knees. But I could see the misery in his eyes.

All the joking around about who would drive us to school this morning had been an act, a distraction to keep him from thinking about what he would be facing today. He was worried, too, afraid he wouldn't be strong enough, and scared to admit that fear to me or even to himself.

And here I was with my stupid, wayward memories adding to his fear and making his first day back even harder on him.

"I'm sorry I remembered that." I laid a hand along one hard side of his face, waiting until he looked me in the eyes. "I wish I wasn't worried, or that at least I could turn off this mind connection thing sometimes so you wouldn't have to feel my worry. But just because I'm worried doesn't mean I don't have faith in you. I know you'll do your best to stay in control today. I just also know how hard it can be to fight the bloodlust, especially for Clann blood." I hesitated, then handed him a thin braid of red, brown and white.

"What's this?" he asked, his voice coming out rough.

"Remember that old tapestry blanket we always shared at the cabin? I pulled some threads from it before we left."

One corner of his mouth hitched as he stared down at the braid.

I gently took it back from him then tied it around his left wrist. "And then I added a little oomph to it to help block any vamp wards the descendants might be using today. It should last you through at least the morning, if not the whole day, and we can recharge it tonight if needed." I had a matching one tied around my left ankle under my sock, so I wouldn't have to answer any questions from my friends about it.

Now both sides of his mouth curved up. He lifted his head and looked at me, his eyes softer as some of the fear there was replaced with love. "Thanks, Sav."

I leaned in for one last kiss, resting my palms against his chest, his strong arms wrapped around my waist, feeling his heart beating beneath my fingertips.

I rested my forehead against his. "No matter what happens today, I'll still love you," I whispered, wishing there was some other spell I could do to somehow magically make this day easier for him.

We stood there in silence for a moment longer, both of us trying not to think or worry.

I wanted to stay with him in the parking lot. I'd gotten spoiled, used to being with him all the time. Maybe it was because he carried some of my blood within himself now, or maybe it was because I could read his thoughts as easily as my own. Whatever the reason, over the past five months, he had become like an extension of my own body, so much so that sometimes when we held hands I could no longer tell where his hand ended and mine began. All I knew was that when I was with him I felt warmer, almost human again. And when we were apart, I felt cold and every bit the inhuman hybrid I really was.

But it was time to return to reality, whether I was ready for it or not.

So I took a deep breath then forced myself to step away from him, hating the feel of his arms loosening around me and then their complete absence. The moment we no longer touched, I could already feel my body losing the tiny amount of heat it always managed to generate from direct contact between our skin, setting me up for a long day of hiding shivers I wasn't supposed to have in the humid, late, East Texas spring.

As I crossed the parking lot and headed for Charmers practice, trying to resist the urge to rub the growing chill from my arms, I looked back over my shoulder at Tristan and said, "See you for lunch? I've got chem class second period today. Maybe you could pick me up outside it?"

One corner of his mouth lifted in a half smile as he said, "It's a date."

The third f loor of the sports and arts building-where the Charmers' dance room, storage closets and director's office were located-had a great second set of stairs that led down to the left side of the school theater's stage. This backstage access between the f loors allowed the dancers and stage crew to easily run up and down the stairs during shows without having to be seen in the second f loor foyer where audience members might be. It was also the most direct route for me this morning. Two weeks before a Spring Show usually meant the Charmers would still be working out the kinks in each show number's choreography and transitions, which meant frequent rewinding and fast-forwarding to specific parts in each song. The theater's built-in sound system was harder to do this kind of stuff on, so I figured we would probably still be using the portable sound system for a few more days.

The sophomore managers were running even later than I was, judging by the fact that the sound system and trainer's bag were still in the director's office. By the time I retrieved the equipment and brought it down the backstage stairs, most of the Charmers had already arrived and gathered to stretch in the two aisles that cut through the auditorium's seating, and the sophomore managers were just strolling in through the main auditorium doors.

The familiar dusty smells of paint and freshly sanded wooden props made me sigh and smile. Now here was a silver lining to having to come back to Jacksonville. While football season came in a close second, Spring Show season was my absolute favorite time of the Charmers performance year. I was lucky that we'd returned in time for me to help with it. Normally Spring Show happened a few weeks earlier in the year. But this year for some reason the director had pushed the show back, and we still had two more weeks of rehearsals left. Maybe there had been some scheduling conf lict for use of the theater?

I slipped through the wing's shadows and along the side of the center stage, stopping at its front edge, or apron, to set down the sound system. Immediately several people gasped and whispered my name, and all conversation in the auditorium died.

I froze and looked up to find forty-plus dancers equally frozen in midstretch, their eyes blinking fast as they openly stared at me.

That's when I realized I was on stage, both literally and figuratively.

And though the theater was silent, their thoughts were anything but.

Oh. My. God. She actually had the nerve to come back?

Miss Savannah's back! Oh, thank God. If I had to listen to Mrs. Daniels rip the soph managers apart one more time...

Oh, boy. Miss Savannah's back. I wonder if Tristan's back, too. If he is, just wait till Miss Bethany sees him. That'll be a show!

I forced my suddenly stiff legs to carry me down the short f light of stairs off the side of the stage and into the audience area, then around to the front edge of the stage so I could finish setting up the sound system. This also gave me a reason to keep my back to everyone and hide my face so they wouldn't see me react to the thoughts that kept washing over me in wave after wave. After five blissful months of having to listen to only Dad's and Tristan's thoughts, I'd forgotten just how loud a bunch of humans thinking fast and furiously could be. I'd have to reschool my face not to show anything.

And still their thoughts kept coming.

Miss Savannah's back! Just in time, too, 'cuz I was totally considering quitting this team. Bad enough having to fetch crap constantly, much less get yelled at every single day. Just because I haven't had as much practice working the music like Miss Savannah has doesn't mean I deserve to be made to feel like crap about it...

Wow. Look at her...you can't even tell she was ever pregnant. I wonder who's watching the baby? Or maybe she gave it up for adoption? Maybe Tristan found out it was Ron Abernathy's and made her give it up?

Whoa. Gone away for five months to secretly have Ron's baby? That was the rumor behind my disappearance? I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

I pressed a shaky hand to my forehead as it started to pound. Normally I would have dreaded listening to the sniping thoughts of the Clann. But right now, I would have given anything to have a descendant's mind to listen to and drown out the humans' thoughts instead. At least the descendants all knew the real reason behind our absence. Unfortunately no descendant had made the dance team in the past couple of years. Maybe they preferred being on the cheer team. Or maybe they were just avoiding me.

I took a deep breath. Focus, Sav. Just think about what you're here to do. The gossip will die down eventually.

"Miss Savannah!"

I turned around just in time to be wrapped in a tight hug.

Mrs. Daniels leaned back, gripping my shoulders, her face lit up. "Oh, thank G-" She glanced sideways at a nearby sophomore manager. "I mean, I'm so happy you're back! You are back for good now, aren't you?" Her eyes turned a little panicky.

"Um, yes, ma'am." I blinked fast, trying to assimilate the fact that my usually frosty dance team director had just hugged me.

She let out the longest sigh. "That is the best news I've had all year. Welcome back, dear!"

We can finally get our practices back on track! Mrs. Daniels thought to herself as she turned and headed back up the aisle to take a seat toward the center back of the audience. Too bad Savannah wasn't here for the first part of show season; maybe then we could have held the show when we were supposed to, instead of having to delay it because of these inept newbie managers. I swear, this has been the longest year of my life!

I had to turn back to the stereo to hide a smile. At least someone on this team was happy I was back.

"Hey, Miss Savannah!" A voice behind me made me turn around yet again to find the entire team lining up to welcome me back with hugs as they followed their director's lead. They still weren't sure why I had missed five months of school. But if their director was okay with my return, then they would be, too.

I noticed Bethany Brookes, however, wasn't so eager to join the welcome wagon. She stopped to fiddle with her shoe, then took her time removing her warm-ups from over her dance outfit. By the time she managed to actually get in line, Mrs. Daniels was calling everyone to get ready for the start of practice. Bethany's shoulders seemed to sag a bit with relief as she took a seat with the dancers who weren't climbing the stage steps in preparation for the first number.

Bethany and I had always had a lot of awkward tension between us, though we both did our best to be polite to each other in spite of it. She was actually a really nice girl. It wasn't her fault that Mrs. Daniels had started to call out my number, then corrected herself and called out Bethany's instead, at Charmers tryouts our freshman year. Or that Bethany used to have a terrible crush on Tristan while he and I were secretly dating last year. Or that he accidentally and very stupidly led her on for months after the vamp council and Clann made me break up with him.

And now she probably knew, or was about to find out, that he and I were very publicly together again.

I just hoped she wouldn't hold it against me for too long. Otherwise getting through Charmers practices was going to be extremely awkward.

By the end of first period, I was all too eager to escape to chemistry class, where Ron also surprised me with a huge hug as soon as I walked up to our lab table.

"It's about time!" he said with a grin as we settled onto our wobbly metal stools. "So? How's the...uh...new situation working out?"

"Well, we're both here today," I answered cautiously, trying and failing to ignore the fresh wave of whispers involving both my and Tristan's names that broke out behind us.

Ugh. First the Charmers. Then everyone on campus that I'd been forced to walk past on my way here. And now this. Was it going to be like this all day long? I honestly didn't know how much more of the JHS rumor mill I could take.

"Oh, yeah, she totally slept with both of them, so it's anybody's guess who the baby daddy really is," someone whispered.

That was it.

I twisted around to glare at my classmates, stopping just short of baring my fangs at them. The whispering stopped.

Hmm. Maybe being the only female vamp on campus did have some perks after all.

"And our golden boy?" Ron asked. "How's the...er, transition going?"

I faced forward again and shrugged one shoulder. "I haven't heard any screams or explosions yet, so I guess he's doing all right so far."

Ron laughed as he reached for a glass beaker to begin the day's lab experiment. Then he glanced at me and realized I was serious. "Jeez. You two must have had a fun five months away."

"Oh, yeah, and then some." I scowled at the lab table's black enamel surface, scarred by countless knicks and bored students' carvings. "Let's just say it's been a learning process for both of us."

Ron grunted. "I guess it's safe to assume you two won't be eating with us in the cafeteria then?"

I looked at him in surprise. "Why wouldn't we?"

"Uh, because of all the humans and descendants that'll be packed in there?"

"He thinks he can handle it. He's even looking forward to it now that we don't have to sneak around anymore."

Ron snickered. "Yeah? And is he also looking forward to getting grilled by all of your friends? Who, I should mention, all blame Tristan for your five-month absence from their lives."

Oh. I hadn't thought of that. I'd stayed in contact with my friends by way of the occasional text message. But life in that cabin in Arkansas had been pretty boring, and since Anne was the only one of my human friends who knew the truth about vampires and the Clann, I hadn't been able to say much to Carrie or Michelle.

So now, not only would Tristan be dealing with smelling and hearing all those humans and their stinky human food and the hateful descendants around us-plus feeling the Clann kids' constant scrutiny of his every little twitch and blink-but he would also be trying to earn my friends' approval as my boyfriend.

Not to mention we'd be sort of rubbing our relationship into poor Bethany Brookes's face.

What the heck was I thinking when I agreed to our eating together in the cafeteria?

Groaning, I propped my elbows on the table and buried my face in my hands. "This is going to be a disaster, isn't it?"

"Probably. But it'll sure be entertaining."

I stared down at the sheet of instructions, the letters blurring together into a meaningless jumble. Somehow I had to find a way to talk Tristan out of our going to the cafeteria today. Maybe I could convince him to delay tackling that challenge till later in the week when we both knew he could handle being around so many humans and descendants. Facing it all on his first day back, however, was practically suicidal.

The problem was finding a way to bring up this suggestion in a way that wouldn't further bruise his ego and make him think I had no faith in him.

I rubbed my pounding temples and tried to figure out the best arguments to use on him. Deep down inside, I had a hunch nothing I said was going to come out right. Especially since he could read every thought in my head whether I verbalized it or not.

Why wasn't there some kind of training manual for sires of teenaged vamps, like How to Train Your Teen Fledgling?

I glanced at the clock on the wall, which suddenly seemed to have sped up. All morning long, the seconds had eked by while I worried about Tristan losing control in class.

Now I wanted nothing more than for time to slow down again.