I claimed the Sun, the Moon and Stars since I was a little girl. My mother had promised that they were mine.

The sun caressed my already golden brown skin, the moon leaked through my window so I wasn't alone in the dark, and the stars- well they winked at me when the world stopped wishing upon them.

I remember the day they all disappeared, six years ago on my 11th birthday. In the blink of an eye. The snap of a finger. The brush of the wind. It was just like that. More than half the population didn't get a goodbye and there were no bodies left to burn or bury. I didn't cry though. My stepdad didn't let me even though he allowed Julian to, allowed himself to when he thought I wasn't awake. He said there was too much love left for me to give and not enough tears to spill. He told me to keep them for later. And so I did.

I pretended that my mother was a Queen in disguise, the mother of Another Land. Wherever that was, they had needed their Queen back. And so she went. Goodbyes had always been overrated. She took her court with her to Another Land to fight off the two-headed dragons that spit fire on her beautiful, golden flowers.

The story seemed legit then, but I discovered there was only one thing wrong with it. Why wasn't I apart of it? I was loyal. I was brave. I protected my mother from heartbreak and misery. Why leave when she had me? And so I added more and more to the story until I ran out of pages in my diary. I didn't stop there though. No, I went on to have 20 books in the series, if you count the stand-alone novels too.

It was sad, but it was me. I was nothing without those books. Nothing.

"June, it's time to eat!" Jackson called in that rough rasp of his.

"You have two minutes," Julian added. Oh how they both knew me too well. Knew that if I had a say, I would take writing over eating any day.

Sighing, I threw on a blue sweater, tied the mess of curls on my head into a low bun, and hastily washed my hands before practically falling down the stairs...again.

"Damnit June, be careful. One of these days you're gonna break your neck," Jackson scolded, grabbing my arm to steady me. I just grinned at him in return, letting my eyes flash red for a second.

"The monster won't let me fall, don't worry." Jackson smacked me with the towel on his shoulder when I laughed at his expression. He hated when I called it a monster because in truth I was calling myself a monster. Well, technically.

Contrary to the world of fiction's belief, Vampires and Werewolves have a lot in common. We started, evolved if you will, from humans. Whether you were born or made that way, the mutation still spawned from human DNA. Since mutated DNA and human DNA can't truly mix, you have to switch between the two. You can turn into a Vampire or Werewolf, then back human again. That's how it works. If your control is good enough though, you can partially change, like I did with my eyes.

"Oh hush and go help your brother finish up." I did as my step father asked, still chuckling silently. The small dining room was dimly lit, due to the spotty power in these parts of the woods. Hell, there was no one in this part of the country. They all migrated South to Recovery Camps, while we isolated ourselves in our winter cabin.

"What do you have for me tonight, Julian?" I asked, licking my lips at the prospect of fresh blood. He turned to me, dark brown hair forever covering his hazel eyes. Walking up to him, I pushed it away, earning a boyish smile from him.

"We found a lamb a couple miles West earlier," Julian explained, waving the spatula in his hand around. "And you know how that went, it lead us to its friends. Anyways, we'll eat it raw. I cooked yours how you like it and put a blood bag in the fridge. It should be nice and cold for ya by now."

A smile graced my lips as I kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks Jewls."

Julian scowlded at the girly nickname, then grinned. "Take it back or I'll tell dad you snuck out last night," he threatened.

"I don't care. He already knows."

"You're right he does know...just not about how far you went." My eyes narrowed as I realized he had followed me.

"You wouldn't-"

"Wouldn't what," Jackson asked, making me flinch. Julian's smile grew as I struggled to cone up with a lie.

"I...uhm....wouldn't dare call Julian Jewls again. Yep, that's what I won't do," I said lamely. Julian nodded in approval while Jackson eyed us suspiciously.

"Anyway," he continued, "we have to go out tomorrow and stock up for the next few weeks. A blizzard isn't that far off. It should be here in a couple of days."