"I'm so sorry again for accusing you of groping these mosquito bites."

This is about the fifth time I've apologised since we left the bathroom, got in Brett's Range Rover and started the drive to his alpha's house.

He side eyes me. We're at a stop light that doesn't seem to be moving again any time soon. "Don't say that. They're an alright size."

I knit my eyebrows together. "Did you just compliment my boobs?"

If I'm being completely honest, I'm honoured that Brett has even taken the time to look at my boobs, let alone compliment them.

He nods. "They're boobs. Hard not to compliment them."

I shake my head with a grin stretching across my face. "You are such a fuckboy."

"Don't act like you don't love it," he says.

"You are actually ridiculous," I mutter. "I mean, objectifying women like that. Disgusting."

"The walking corpse has a mouth on her," he snipes.

I glare at him. "I hate you so much."

The thick traffic soon flows into a free run again. The drive to Brett's alpha's home shouldn't have really been all that long, but thanks to the traffic it had taken at least half an hour. I realise that I hate school uniform with a burning passion by the time we're at Satomi's house. My sweater vest is starting to make my skin itch and my collar and tie are just begging to be taken off.

Initially, I had liked the idea of school uniform. No one judging you for what you're wearing, having something set out for you and also looking incredibly smart. This is one of the "be careful what you wish for" moments. In reality, school uniforms were made by the devil himself.

As I walk in with my finger stuck between my collar and neck for some air, Satomi is already looking like she means business.

If I had to describe Satomi's appearance in one word it'd be "intimidating". The woman has thick black hair pulled into a knot at the nape of her neck, high cheekbones and flawless skin considering how mature her features look. She looks to be around forty, but something tells me she had seen much more of the world than half a century.

"Please sit," she says. Brett had said he'd call her before to let her know we're coming. She doesn't seem surprised by my visit, but she does seem hesitant to help. I can tell that she'd learned not to trust anyone a while ago.

She presses her lips into a firm line and studies me. "A vampire, you say?" She's speaking to Brett, but doesn't take her eyes off me.

"Yes, Satomi," Brett says. It's strange hearing him sound so respectful. "Her eyes were black and she had fangs. There was no heartbeat."

Satomi doesn't seem to notice when I flinch as she shoots her hand out and lays it on my chest. "You're right," she says. "The girl is dead."

He folds his arms over his broad chest. "What about the blood? What about being burned from the sun?"

Satomi shakes her head. "She's transitioning now. Soon she won't be able to walk in sunlight. She'll get cravings soon as well. It varies on everyone, but it should take a few weeks."

I raise my eyebrows. "Blood? Thanks but no thanks. Once I got punched in the jaw and tasted nothing but blood for days. It was one of the worst experiences of my life."

Satomi laughs coldly. "Soon blood will be one of the only things you drink."

I lean over the table intently. "Do I have to kill people?"

"Some vampires drink animal blood. It's a tough diet and it makes you weaker, but it's a personal preference." She shrugs.

"What about the sun? I can't stay holed up like that forever."

Her voice is hushed when she speaks again. "I know there are ways to walk in the sun, but I don't know how to." She holds a finger up in the air like she's thinking and pulls a stack of sticky notes over to her. "I know someone who might be able to help you," she says. She scrawls down an address and slides it across the table. "Here. Ask for Peter Hale."

I stand up swiftly. "Thank you." I take the note and stuff it in my pocket. I make a beeline for the door. "Brett, you'll be at school tomorrow, right?"

He nods. "I'll give you my number if anything happens overnight." I pull my phone out of my pocket and hand it to him. He enters his contact and hands it back. "Good luck," he says.

"Thank you." I smile and head out into the night.

The next day at school is started with Wesley pressing on with questions about where I went. "Why did you leave so fast yesterday, Lenore?"

I shrug. "My aunt. You know, the normal annoying stuff. Where are you? Who are you with?"

He raises his eyebrows. "Really? Because I didn't see you glance at your phone once during that whole time. And you know what else struck me as weird? As soon as you were gone, Brett ran after you. I want you to be able to tell me anything. That's what friends do."

I widen my eyes, alarmed. I open my mouth to come up with some bullshit off the top of my head but Wesley cuts me off.

"There's something going on there, isn't there?" he says, squinting slightly.

I shake my head fervently. "Yeah, no," I say. "He's an asshole."

"So are you."

"Right," I say with a nod. "But still...nothing's going on between me and him."

"She wishes." I turn to Brett and find myself staring at his chest. I keep forgetting how tall he is. I crane my neck to see his face.

"See? Asshole." I gesture towards the lacrosse captain.

He frowns. "That's not very nice, Lenore."

"Sneaking up on vulnerable girls in bathrooms isn't nice," I hiss.

Wesley's mouth downturns. "What the hell happened yesterday?"

"See, it goes like this. Lenore runs off a few seconds before me. I didn't really notice, to be honest. Then I get hit in the nose with the lacrosse ball and hurry off the field. I don't check which bathroom I go into and I find Lenore in there. She's an emotional wreck over her parents. Then I try to comfort her, being the knight in shining armour I am. Cue a misplaced hand and she thinks I'm groping her."

"Brett," I scold. "You make me sound like a conceited bitch."

He sighs. "My hand was on her boob. Don't ask me why. It was awkwardly placed. That's all."

Wesley raises his eyebrows. "Well, you could've just said that, Lenore. I know it's hard with the whole dead parents thing. I'm here for you." He side eyes Brett. "And you know I won't try anything on you."

"It was, like, once. Let it go," Brett groans.

The bell rings so loud in my ears that I feel as if my whole brain is going to burst. I hold my palms over my ears. Brett widens his eyes and Wesley looks confused more than anything. I clench my teeth and try to stay balanced as the bell continues its toll. Brett places a hand on my shoulder. By the time the bell is finished, my ears are ringing so loud that I can barely hear Wesley's questions.

"Are you okay? It was just the bell," Wesley says suspiciously.

I take my hands away from my ears and grimace. "Yeah," I mutter. "Sorry. Just a little sensitive to sound. I haven't had enough sleep."

"Come on," Brett murmurs and pulls me along.

The bell is still echoing in my ears by the time we arrive at the classroom. As I drop down into the seat between Brett and Wesley. I lean over to Brett. "What's happening to me?"

His expression softens. "Vampires have super hearing," he says under his breath. He's twisting his pen in his slender fingers absentmindedly. "You'll get used to it after a while."

"You keep saying I'll get used to it, but you don't say when," I hiss from behind gritted teeth.

He stops fiddling with his pen and looks at me long and hard. "I'm trying to help you here."

"Yeah? Well I'm trying to calculate the soonest time I'll be craving blood," I retort. "We can't all be born and prepared like you, Brett."

He chuckles coldly and faces the front of the classroom. I shift uncomfortably in my seat and look back up at the teacher.

If there was one thing I hated more than Brett Talbot, it was math. I'm a relatively smart student and I've always scored high in the majority of subjects, but I could never seem to round out my good scores with maths.

I mean, most of the time I was asking myself questions about the questions. Why is that a letter? Who the fuck invented negatives? Who buys twenty watermelons at once?

Mr Reid is concluding his long and tedious explanation. "And so x equals...Lenore?"

I drum my fingers nervously on my desk. My knee bobs up and down anxiously. Who the hell thought it was okay to put all of these freaking mathematical operations into one question? A few other students snicker. Oh, god. This is going to end badly.

And then Brett mutters something under his breath. "Seventy four."

I don't even take the time to see if it's a logical answer. "Seventy four?" I call out.

"Correct," Mr Reid says. I sigh gladly.

"Thank you," I whisper to Brett.

"I figured a walking corpse would need help on their math," he says. I roll my eyes. When I look back at him, my eyes focus not onto him, but the boy behind him. Noah Terrell is looking at me with such a cold glare that you would've thought I'd killed his first pet or something.

Noah Terrell is something of a brooding, mysterious boy. He rarely speaks and when he does, they're simple one worded answers. He has dark brown hair and stubble that he never shaves all the way down. He's attractive, I suppose, but his dull, melancholy demeanour is enough to put any girl - or guy - off.

The thing is that when someone catches you looking at them, you'd usually turn away. Noah's eyes stay on me, shooting daggers. His body posture is rigid and he sits erect like he's at a formal event or something. He looks remarkably reserved, but he most of all looks resentful.

"Is there something wrong?" Brett's voice snaps me out of my reverie. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

I purse my lips and look back at Brett. "Maybe I have."

The bell rings and I stand up from my seat and sling my bag over my shoulder. The students clear out one by one until only a small cluster remain. I'm about to grab my pencil case off my desk when a hand clasps down hard on my wrist.

"You're a vampire." I flinch as I find myself looking straight back at Noah. The yelp that comes for my throat is enough to alert both Wesley and Brett.

A muscle feathers in Brett's jaw. "Hey, back off man. Leave her alone."

Noah's eyes are wide. "You're like me." He doesn't seem to have an air of lunacy to him, but he does have the crazed look of surprise in his eyes. He doesn't let go. His fingers are so tight on my wrist that I can feel my veins struggling to pump blood under his grip.

"Let me go. You're hurting me," I say.

He stares at me blankly. Brett's hand comes down hard on his and tears it off. He hauls the other boy back and with one hard shove, sends him flying across the room. I flinch as Noah hits the wall, the sickening crack of bone sounding through the near empty classroom.

Noah just laughs. "You're going to regret that, wolf." He flashes Brett his fangs from his position slumped on the ground. Brett hauls me after him and out of the room.

"What just happened in there?" Wesley asks as we walk down the hall.

Brett groans. "These vampires are too cocky to even care about keeping things a secret."

I clear my throat. "Um, I'm a vampire, too. Asshole."

"Okay, what the hell?" Wesley stops in his tracks.

Brett pinches the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. "Lenore and I are avid competitors in this online game about the supernatural," he says. "We get a little too, ah, competitive sometimes." Brett turns to me. "I need to speak to you alone about the game."

Wesley tugs on his bag's strap, clearly now bored. "I'll see you in English then, yeah?"

I nod with a smile. "See you there."

As soon as Wesley is gone, Brett resumes pulling me along after him.

"Is Noah a vampire, too?" I ask as he lugs me along.

He nods. "I don't know what he wanted with you, though."

"Maybe he just wanted to help."

Brett laughs. "Nobody supernatural just wants to help."