PROLOGUE

the brisk january wind was harsh and cold as it whipped her tousled brown hair around her face. she was running, her heart racing faster each time her feet pummeled the hard ground of the dark forest. she believed that they could no longer reach her, but something inside her compelled her to keep going.
he stopped her just before she reached the lake, taking her by the shoulders. he did not have to see the fresh stab wound in her back to know that she was bleeding. like most of his kind, he was able to smell it while she was still miles away. her desperate eyes searched his face for some kind of reassurance as she began to sway slightly beneath his grasp.
as usual, he had come to the lake to feed, not to sympathize. something in her eyes, however, told him that he had to do something to help her. his icy, bright blue eyes softened as he wrapped an arm around her waist. he mustered up every ounce of self-control possible in order to ignore the warm blood oozing from her wound and cascading over his fingertips.
sliding his other arm beneath her knees, he lifted her off the ground. she put up no resistance and let her head fall against his shoulder. he carried her back into the woods, stopping beneath a dark canopy of trees. he gently laid her against the nearest tree, slowly slipping his arm from around her back. he pulled his hand away, licking his lips eagerly as thick, red blood dripped from his fingers. she was going to die anyway, wasn’t she? couldn’t he end her pain now and allow the experience to be somewhat pleasant for her? the idea played in his mind as he stared at the thick, crimson substance blanketing his hand.
he did not have time to reach a conclusion, however, because she soon spoke, interrupting his thoughts. “it… it wasn’t supposed to happen like this.” her voice was barely above a whisper, and he was thankful that he was able to read her thoughts. hearing her was nearly impossible.
“what wasn’t supposed to happen?” the sound of his own voice startled him. he rarely ever spoke to mortals; they never had anything interesting to say.
“them coming after me. they weren’t supposed to know that i had found out what they really were.” her breath came in short gasps, and her eyes only half-opened. he knew that she was slowly dying, and all he could do was sit back and watch. fighting against the urge to expedite the process by his own means.
“what did you find out?” he did know why he had stayed behind to listen to her, but he felt the need to provide her with some security as she drifted gradually into a state of oblivion.
“about them… aurelian and pandora. i know what they are.” she leaned forward and stared directly into his eyes, her voice mysterious.
he looked away; no mortal had ever been able to affect him in such a way. he felt as if she were the one who had control over him instead of him being the one in control. he concentrated on the ground, thinking about what she had just said. aurelian and pandora. other members of his line. they hated mortals more than did any other of their kind, and they especially hated those mortals who were able to discover their true identity.
“they did this to you?” he asked, surprised. he was shocked that she was still alive. aurelian and pandora never passed up prey once they had made an attack.
all she could do was nod in reply as her eyes drifted closed. he probed her mind and could hear her thoughts crying out to him for help. he did not want to let her die this way, and he realized that one other option still lay before him.
if he were to take her back with him, aurelian and pandora would be pleased to find that she had crossed over. she would be their fledgling, bound only to their line, and they would have total control over her. and he would finally have a soul mate, someone forever bound to him through blood, who would help to alleviate the aching hunger that ate away at him with each passing second. besides, if she had managed to survive this long, she probably already had some of his line’s blood.
he looked at her once more. she was becoming weaker, and he did not have much time left. reaching for a dagger that he kept in his back pocket, he played his plan out carefully in his mind. he slowly ran the side of the knife across the pale skin below his chin, resting it against his neck. in an instant, he had cut a gash deep enough to start a steady flow of blood across his skin. the rich, deep crimson liquid permeated the collar of his shirt, and he hoped that the wound would not heal before he was able to help her.
he knelt next to her, staring at her intently. he took control of her thoughts, and her eyes sprung open. she stared at the spot on his neck, a sudden hunger rising in the pit of her stomach. he pushed his way into her mind, urging her to feed.
finally, she leaned forward, her lips closing over the wound. she slowly but eagerly began to let the rich blood slide across her tongue and trickle down her throat as her soul mingled with his – a connection that only mortal death would ever be able to break.