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“It’s just horrible,” Callie groaned into the phone. I could almost see her rolling her eyes in that dramatic way of hers.

“I’m sure it’s not that bad, Cals. A lot of actors do it.”

“I mean, yeah, but I have a whole soulmate. I don’t want to do the kiss scenes and I’ve tried hinting it to the director, but he refuses to change the script. Can you believe it?”

“I can,” Melissa laughed into the phone.

“And you won’t believe what he told me. The director says I have to either wear a brown wig or dye my hair to match Mila’s. Like that’s totally unbelievable. My red hair is like my trademark,” she cried.

“You’ll look good in brown,” I mused.

“I’ll look good in anything but it still doesn’t change the fact that I don’t want to do it.”

“Look at the bright side. At least you get to act with Mila.” Melissa tried to cheer her up.

Callie sighed. “Mila isn’t as nice as I thought she was. She’s super rude and a total diva. I’ll still do my best in the movie though. I won’t let any of this get me down. Apart from that, everything else is really cool,” she giggled.

I smiled as we ended the call. I knew Callie would shine in this movie. Mila or no Mila, my bestie was a star. I considered going over to the palace. I’d already completed my morning study session already and it was almost twelve p.m.

Two weeks had passed since Armani’s death and Micah still wasn’t doing much better. He was severely depressed. He slept for most of the day and he only ate when it was absolutely necessary. His eyes were perpetually puffy and his skin was like bleached paper against his sharp jawline. He'd lost even more weight and I was really worried about him. Since the funeral, I hadn’t seen him smile.

He was almost emotionless except for the crying. He had nightmares where Armani blamed him for his death. When that happened, he woke up screaming in a cold sweat. Other than those he slept dreamlessly.

He was just living because he had to live, but he had no real desire to keep going. I tried to read to him from the law book, but the words seemed to pass through his ears. Esmeralda came around more often than she usually did. Since Micah no longer had Armani, she made it her duty to ensure that he was eating. The doctors came to see him alternately, but Micah wouldn’t allow any of them to come close.

Esmeralda had tried to cheer him up with stories of soulmates, but he just said he didn’t want a soulmate and that he couldn’t doom someone else in his life.

I really longed to see Micah smile again, but it might take a while.

While I was contemplating going over to him, my phone rang. The catchiness of the ringtone distracted me for a while as I sang along. Then, I remembered that I actually had to answer it.

Looking at the caller ID, I couldn't help the frown that crossed my face. What did Nicole want? Other than Kevin. Even after graduation she was still infatuated with the idea of getting Kevin. She was almost stalker level and it really creeped us out. Everyone at school knew her now as Ashton's psycho ex.

Against my better judgement, I decided to answer it. I mean, what if it was something genuinely important?

“What is it, Nicole?”

“Watch your tone. I want to meet up with you.”

“Why?”

She sighed. “I want to apologize to you for everything I’ve done.”

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. Nicole and apology did not go hand in hand. And why wait until now? It was already a month after graduation.

“I appreciate the thought, but really, that’s not necessary.”

“Just let me apologize to you,” she insisted. “I’ve been feeling really bad about things and I don’t want to end high school this way.”

I wasn’t one to turn away an apology, but I really was okay with accepting it over the phone. I didn’t trust her that much either.

“It’s alright, Nicole. It’s all behind us. Let’s just both try to become better people in the future.”

“You really hate me that much, huh?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Then come to the school today. I’m helping the sophomores with cheer practice. I’ll be on the field by the bleachers. Don’t you dare make me stand there and look stupid by myself.”

“Okay,” I sighed. “I’m on my way.”

I guess I knew what I was going to do today. I would just go to the palace afterwards. My dad was at home since it was the summer holidays and he was a lecturer. Of course, he was watching golf. I told him where I was going and got into my car.

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A wave of nostalgia hit me as I arrived at the campus. Westwood High. It hadn't changed at all, not that I'd expected it to in just a few weeks. My fingers absent-mindedly traced the familiar uneven cracks on the wall as I walked. It hadn’t even been that long since the last time I was here, but it felt like forever ago. It was weird.

I made my way to the bleachers. Nicole was nowhere in sight. I didn’t see any cheerleaders on the field either. Did practice end already? I checked my phone, but there were no new messages or calls from her.

I walked up the bleachers to a spot near the top where me, Melissa and Callie always sat to watch Kevin play football during the season. He and Ashton were always in the spotlight. The rival teams never stood a chance. I smiled. Looking back, high school wasn’t that bad. My friends made it fun.

“Waiting for someone?”

I looked over and my eyes widened in surprise to see none other than Demetri walking up the steps to me. His gait was lithe and easy, as if he was coming to meet up with an old friend. His black leather jacket gleamed in the light. What was he doing here? This wasn't even his school.

My eyes narrowed. “Why are you here?”

“Is that how you greet me after so long?” He pouted.

“You’re a real jerk, you know that?” I hissed. “I’m so glad Callie’s done with you.”

“Well, I was done with her first.” He shrugged. “But the details don’t matter.”

“How dare you?” I gasped. “It’s bad enough you did what you did. Don’t you feel sorry about any of it?”

“It was necessary,” he chuckled. His eyes lingered on my necklace. “You’re still wearing that?”

I clutched it instinctively. “It’s mine, isn’t it? Why does it matter to you?”

“You can be quite fiery when you want to be, huh?” he smiled. “I like that.”

I rolled my eyes. “Bye.”

“No, no,” he said, grabbing my arm. “You can’t leave yet.”

I wrenched my arm away from him. “Don’t touch me.”

He raised his hands in surrender, then asked. “How’s Callie doing with the love of her life?”

“She’s happy without you and I can see why.”

“You’re a little tense. Should I give you a kiss?” he suggested with a teasing smile.

“You’re disgusting.”

He laughed, clearly amused. “His name is Daniel, isn’t it? I thought I’d separated them for good.”

“What?” I frowned.

“Callie’s memories? I played around with them for a while. I did it to her as a favor to help her forget the boy who dumped her.”

“You did what?”

“Well, to be fair, I told her that I could do it and she asked me to make her forget.”

“How is that even possible? Undo whatever you did to her.”

He swirled his index finger around like a magic wand. “Sweetheart, that’s not how it works.” He laughed. “I can’t undo it.”

“Are you lying right now?” He seemed to be telling the truth about taking her memories away, but that was so unlikely. How would that even be possible? Did he use some kind of drug on her?! That possibility made my temper flare and I glared at him with cold animosity.

“No. I struck gold with her, though,” he continued, coming closer to me. “That human was at least useful to me. She led me straight to you. Lucky.”

“You were looking for me?” I tried to piece this weird conversation together.

“Of course, sweetheart. That’s the only reason why I stuck with her for so long. Humans really aren't my type after all,” he said, shaking his head. “It’s a pity.”

“Humans aren’t your type?” I frowned, feeling the need to put some space between us. “You’re a human too.”

He snickered. “As if.”

“Then what are you?” I whispered.

“I’m asking the questions.” He shifted slightly and I noticed how that little movement brought him closer to me. “Ashton and you have gotten pretty close, huh. To think I'd been right from the beginning.”

“What are you?” I repeated through gritted teeth. I reached into my bag as discreetly as I could and pressed the speed dial.

Demetri smiled and was over to me in a flash. He yanked my phone from my bag, crushing it in his hand as if the metal was nothing more than aluminum, before chucking the pieces all the way across the field. My lips parted in surprise. This guy was bad news.

“I’d appreciate it if this conversation stayed between us,” he requested with a tauntingly placating smile. “Since you’re so curious, I’ll enlighten you. I’m an Origen; a Beta to be exact.”

There was a long pause of silence as his words registered. A heavy feeling settled in my stomach and I felt my muscles becoming rigid as my body stiffened. A warm summer breeze rustled through my hair and he raised an eyebrow at me. “Satisfied?”

I was still trying to keep my brave front up, so I kept my glare leveled at him as I took an inconspicuous step back, but it turned into more of a stumble. He saw through my bluff, but either way, I needed to put as much distance between us as possible.

My head spun. My racing thoughts were an almost incoherent blur. This couldn’t be true. I didn’t know how he found out about Origens, but it wasn’t possible that he was one without Ashton and Kevin knowing.

“You’re lying.”

He pursed his lips and sighed. “You’re probably wondering how your little friends could have missed that important detail.”

He raised his hand and the silver ring he always wore glinted in the sunlight. “This completely erases any trace of my rank and limits my Origen abilities. When I take this off,” he pulled the ring off his finger and smiled. “That feels so much better.”

His teeth extended into long canines. “You’ll believe me now, won’t you?” he asked, pointing at them.

I could hear Ashton’s voice in my head telling me to get away from him. His teeth had returned to their humanlike appearance, but he still looked menacing. I paled as his dark eyes seemed almost animalistic, like a predator about to capture his prey. He moved closer to me, slow and deliberate. His body was mere inches from my own. I could feel the heat emanating from him; I could sense the danger.

“What do you want with me?” I asked, slowly backing away.

“To know that, you’d have to come with me, but I doubt you’ll agree to that so easily. No matter, the time isn’t right yet.” He leaned in to me and inhaled.

“You smell really good. It’s too bad you’re mated to him of all people.”

“Stay away from me,” I warned him. I tried to steady my frantic heartbeat, but I was scared. There was no-one else here.

The little self defense I knew wouldn't work on him. I could try to get past him and make a run for it, but I had zero confidence in my ability to outrun him. My clumsiness would only make it so much easier for him.

“No. I will not stay away from you,” he growled lowly. His eyes trailed across my neck. “He didn’t even mark you? Or did he do it somewhere else?”

My mind flicked through my options while I inched away from his scrutinizing gaze.

“I don’t sense a mark,” he laughed. “He really has you out here as a walking target. If he had marked you, then you could just talk to him telepathically. You wouldn’t need to use your phone,” he commented.

I winced, realizing that he was right. It was obvious that without my phone I couldn't contact Ashton. What would Ashton want me to do in this situation? Was there any way to escape an Origen, and a Beta at that?

“Demetri, I’m warning you to stay away from me!” I shouted another bluff. "Whatever you do to me won't compare to what Ashton will do to you when he finds out!"

Still, he drew closer with a wicked grin.

“I’m tempted to do this, but the time isn’t right yet,” he sighed as he moved closer. For every step he took forward, I took one back.

He leaned closer to me and grinned in ecstasy. “I can’t wait… to break you.”

I tried to push him away, but he was far too strong. His canines extended again. There was nowhere for me to run. He stretched out his hand towards me and I took another staggering step backwards.

“Fall and forget,” I heard his voice say as my foot slipped from the edge of the bleachers and my body fell through the air.

I saw him leaning over to look at me with a devious smile and then everything went black.

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