Loved by Morgan Rice Page B

driveway. There was the sound of gravel, as the car’s shiny tires made their way slowly towards the house. Who on earth, she wondered, could be pulling into the driveway this time of day? Who knew she was there?
    Her heart stopped momentarily, as she wondered if it could be a member of her coven. Had someone seen her mating? Had some rival vampire reported her, and had they come to punish her?
    The car door opened and out came a human, poorly dressed in a cheap suit, carrying a “for-sale” sign beneath his arm. He walked towards the front door of the house.
    She was so relieved, that she laughed out loud. It was just another pathetic human. And this one, a real estate broker. The worst of them all.
    Of course. Now it made sense. He was probably preparing to show the house, probably had an open house scheduled, and was here bright and early to make sure everything was fine. Overzealous. And desperate.
    As she watched him approach, she saw his brow furrow in confusion and then concern, as he began to notice the signs that the house was occupied. Sam’s pickup truck in the driveway. A light on. He seemed utterly confused, as if racking his brain to remember if he’d left a light on, or whose car that could be. Then, as he seemed to realize that it was something more, his expression turned to annoyance.
    Samantha smiled. She loved how annoyed he was, and she reveled in the fact that it was about to get much worse. She couldn’t wait.
    She opened the front door widely, and walked out, heading right towards him.
    His look changed to one of outright outrage.
    “What the hell are you doing in this house?” he yelled from across the lawn, strutting right towards her. “Do you realize that this is breaking and entering? You young kids think it’s all a joke, that you can crash anywhere you want. I’m sick of it. You’re not gonna get away with it this time. I’ve had just about enough of this!” he yelled in a rush, as he pulled out his cell, still strutting towards her.
    She smiled even wider, and this really set him off.
    “You think this is a joke, don’t you?” he said, as he began to raise his phone to his ear, walking towards her with twice the speed.
    As he reached her, he grabbed her roughly under her arm. He turned, thinking that he would drag her off.
    His expression changed to one of shock, as he realized she had other plans. Before his fingers could fully dig into her skin, she had swept his arm around in one swift motion, and then twisted it back, snapping it cleanly in half.
    His face contorted in pain as he began to scream. But before he could make any noise, she grabbed his head and brought it down right into her knee. There was a crack, and then nothing, as his body went limp.
    Before his body hit the floor, she was already pouncing, sinking her teeth deep into his neck. Her eyes rolled back in her head as she fed, and fed. She felt ecstasy, as his blood coursed through her system.
    When she finished, she picked up his lifeless body, went to his car, opened the trunk and threw his body in. Before she slammed it shut, she reached in and grabbed the car keys from his pants pocket.
    She headed back towards the house, wiping the last remnants of blood from her mouth, and admired the morning sky.
    This was going to be a great day.
     

 
    FOURTEEN
     
     
    Caitlin was running. She was back in the field, running through the knee-high grass. It was daybreak, and as she ran, the world seemed to rotate. She felt as if she were running right towards the large, glowing sun.
    There, on the horizon, stood her father, his silhouette lit by the sun. His arms were opened wide, waiting to embrace her. She could not make out his features, but she did know that he was grinning, waiting to embrace her. If only she ran faster.
    Caitlin ran for all she had, but no matter how fast she went, he kept getting farther.
    She was not surprised. This was how the dream always went. A part of her knew this even as she dreamt