Extraits

Chapter 1

Rounding the corner of the path, I pushed myself harder, red and gold fall trees blurring in my peripherals as my legs demolished the last mile of my run. I was totally going to break my record. My best time so far was five miles in thirty minutes. I was so beating that today.

I breathed deeply, finishing the last few yards at a slow jog, and as I glanced down at my watch, I had to stop for a second before looking closer.

Twenty-five minutes ... Okay, that's ridiculous.

I'd only started running a year ago ... after that night, the night when everything in my word changed. Since then - running, selfdefense, gun training - I wouldn't be a victim again, that was for damn sure. But to be smashing out five miles in twenty-five minutes - I wasn't even breathing hard. Not exactly normal.

As I jogged up the steps into my dorm building, a breeze ruffled my long black hair, refreshing against the light sweat I'd worked up. It was late September; the fall days were beautiful and it was just starting to get cool at night.

Pushing open the door, I crossed the common room quickly and hopped up the three sets of stairs to reach my room. My university, Portland State (PSU), was in northwest Portland, which happened to be my home town. I would have loved to have gone to college in New York or LA, but we couldn't afford it and I couldn't leave my mom. I was almost finished now though; this was my last year - four years of majoring in marketing. God knows why I chose that. I was twenty-one and still had no clue what I really wanted to be when I grew up. Everyone else I knew had the next ten to twenty years of theirs lives mapped out. Me? I had nothing. So for now, marketing seemed like a good ticket to an interesting job.

"...totally and ash. They were fucking gorgeous."

Two girls pushed past me going in the opposite direction, their voices loud and excited as they chatted about the newest batch of ashes at our university. Personally, the vampire/human hybrids didn't do ti for me, but I was in the minority there. The blond girl giggled, and I kind of wanted to bitch-slap her.