Cassie

So what am I supposed to do? Cassie wondered to herself as she stared at the bright yellow curtains and kept her back turned on her best friend, Beth. Sleepovers had never been a thing Cassie longed for or relished when she was invited. Now, at twenty-three, babysitting her friend when her guy was out of town didn't appeal to Cassie at all. Yet, there she was, sleeping beside Beth in the upscale apartment in NYC where Greg managed to be constantly to check up on his wife while somehow making wealth enough to pay for it.

I shouldn't have said anything to her, Cassie mused as she rolled onto her back and listened to her friend's steady breathing. I shouldn't have mentioned the blonde I saw him hugging or the brunette he kissed passionately outside the deli. Cassie sighed softly and sat up slowly. She couldn't lay next to her friend any longer and pretend that everything would be okay when she woke. She had made Beth cry, something Cassie had never done before.

Cassie closed the bedroom door behind her and tread across the thick carpet to the kitchen, turning on the light and the coffee pot with little thought. So, he cheats? Who cares? It definately wasn't my place to inform her. I'm only her best friend. Cassie snorted a laugh and felt pain deep in her heart. Only her best friend, indeed.

The clock above the black stove stating seven past midnight clicked softly as the coffee dripped its way into the glass pot. Cassie debated leaving, staying, screaming, laughing and crying all while the coffee brewed but Beth found her sitting at the dinner table sipping black coffee and smiling softly.

* * * * * *

"What a wonderful city, Greg," Pamela gushed as he swept her into his hotel room. "I'm so glad I decided to come."

"Me too," Greg replied lazily as he watched her walk across the room to the balcony. He enjoyed the sway of her hips and the seductive movement of her long brown hair. He knew she would agree to go to Venice with him, who wouldn't? He was handsome, muscular and very wealthy.

A pang of regret touched him for a moment when he thought of Beth. He had wanted her to be his and his alone and so he had married her almost instantly so that no other man could possess her. Now, she was a bore to him but he wouldn't let her leave him. She was his, the only woman he laid claim to. His alone.

Pamela turned around, her eyes alight with passion that only Venice could ignite. Thoughts of Beth fled as she slid off her dress and moved toward him, the lights of Venice shining behind her.

* * * * * *

Shard watched the people stroll along the narrow streets and decided that he wouldn't feed tonight. If nothing changed soon, he was certain that would go mad and dance into the sunlight willingly. But such thoughts didn't help the situation and so he turned on his heel to return to his home.

It was then that the thoughts of mortals making love caught his attention. "No," he murmured as he moved closer to the hotel. "Not love. They are having sex." The animal hunger in him rose to extreme heights under the strain of their passion. Pamela and Greg, their names were, but another name rose up through the haze on a cloud of black guilt. Beth.

Shard took to the air and glided onto their balcony. He tilted his head as he stared at the bodies writhing upon the floor, his lip curled in disgust. Affair.

Although Shard didn't consider himself pure or caring, affairs angered him greatly. His mother had had one and had been stoned by the village when he was thirteen. Eons ago, it seemed, and yet an affair filled him with rage so great it was blinding.

"I guess I will feed tonight afterall," Shard whispered as he stepped through the open doors and towered over the naked bodies of his prey.

* * * * * *

Beth looked at Cassie from the corner of her eye and Cassie nodded. The funeral had been over a week ago and yet Greg's family and 'friends' continued to come by. Both Beth and Cassie knew that it was only for the wealth rumored to have been left to Beth. Rumored and true, but only Cassie and Beth needed to know that fact.

Cassie moved closer to the blonde woman that gripped Beth's hand. "Hi, I'm Cassie."

"He was a wonderful man," the woman said, ignoring Cassie completely. Cassie took in Beth's long black hair, brown eyes and pale skin. She could marry again, Cassie decided for the hundreth time, reassuring herself that Greg's death wasn't too great of a burden on her friend.

"And you are?" Cassie interjected coldly, her gaze capturing the woman's and breaking her concentration.

"Suzie," the blonde replied with a toss of her head and a dab at her eyes.

"Cute," Cassie retorted, "But I meant which affair were you?"

Beth didn't blink an eye. After all the women that had come to the funeral she had decided that Greg had truly been having affairs and so it came down to when, where and for how long. That was Cassie's job, that was why she was still hanging out in the penthouse.

"Seven, he said," Suzie replied with a tight lipped smile. "And the best."

"I'm sure," Cassie snapped.

"Well, seven, thank you for coming by," Beth said as she moved to the door and flung it wide. All three women were breathless at the sight of the man standing there. He was over six feet tall with pitch black hair, so black it shone blue, dark gray eyes and full lips. He possessed a strong jaw and a good sized build that caught the women's attention. They felt as if they couldn't move and didn't want to at that. He stepped easily into the room, his gaze immediately landing on Beth.

"Hello, Beth," he said in a deeply seductive voice. "I am Shard."

* * * * * *

Shard stared at the blonde woman first and immediately decided she was one of Greg's affairs. He would kill her later, he decided, after he took care of Beth. But his eyes found the redhead and he felt as if she couldn't be real, as if he had imagined her. She looked just like Reagan, the virgin he had loved and his creator had killed. She had the same long, wavy red locks, the deep green eyes and the light skin although she was wearing a deep shade of red lipstick and wearing clothes of the current era but Shard felt as if he had stepped back in time.

He shook himself inwardly and looked at the darkhaired beauty holding the door open. Beth. He would redeem her and offer her eternity as his apology for killing her husband. Affairs...they would be his downfall.

"Hello," Beth said softly, breaking the spell so craftily woven. Shard inclined his head and looked at the blonde again. Go away, he commanded and she rushed past him without so much as a good-bye to the others. "Uh, won't you come in?"

Shard was doing well ignoring the redhead until that moment, when Beth looked at the girl for help. Cassie...her name flowed into his mind effortlessly with Beth's thought. Cassie...

"Thank you," Shard said as he entered the apartment, his eyes on Cassie all the while. She smiled then and her thoughts exploded within his head.

Vampire, her thoughts said as he looked away. He heard Beth shut the door. It was time for him to explain everything to her...and Cassie too. He wouldn't let her go. Not again.

* * * * * *

Cassie frowned as Shard whispered to Beth in the kitchen, in view but not in hearing of Cassie. She had no reason to stay, she knew, but she felt compelled to stay, felt compelled to wait until Shard looked at her once more. She knew why and that made her want to leave terribly. But she stayed.

Cassie had drawn as near to the door as Shard's vampire powers of control allowed her. It wasn't near enough. Cassie released a breath through her teeth slowly, keeping her mind blocked, just as her father had told her.

Cassie would never admit to anyone that her father had believed in vampires, had shoved literature and movies at her all her life, had taught her how to control her breathing, her heatbeat and close off her mind. Cassie had been a quick learner, only to satisfy her father, but now she realized the importance of his lessons.

The day her fathers body had floated in the harbor, Cassie shunned vampires from every angle, novels and movies, friends and internet, she avoided the word, the study.

But, the moment Shard had entered her life, she knew, without a doubt, that he was what her father had always believed existed. She knew, despite the police report, that her father had died at the hands, or in reality the fangs, of his life long enemy.

And now she was facing one. Cassie wondered if she had continued her studies if this could have been avoided. With a gentle shake of her head, she realized it couldn't. She didn't believe...now she had no choice.

The vampire's hold lessened as he leaned close to Beth, Cassie's friend tilting her head to give Shard access to her neck, her veins, her life. The gasp escaped Cassie just as her hand reached the knob of the door.

* * * * * *

Shard lay Beth upon the cool tile floor gently, knowing that Cassie wouldn't get far from him. He had felt her break away from his hold, something she had been fighting the whole time he'd whispered truth and promises in Beth's ear. Now, he turned and found the apartment empty, the door open wide.

A smile formed on his lips. He had been amazed that the woman was able to keep her thoughts from him, that she was able to fight his pull constantly while keeping her heartbeat and breathing steady. Cassie was meant to be his, he knew, and he would definately claim her.

Shard glanced down at Beth who was in her death throes. He wouldn't leave her until she woke and understood that all was well. Cassie wouldn't get far, not far at all.

Her fatal mistake, Shard mused, was her panic. When she saw her friend submit, she despaired and her fear escaped its cage. Now, Shard knew she was running in fear, panic pushing her on headless of everything but running. She was his. As soon as Beth woke, Cassie would be his.

* * * * * *

Cassie turned the corner and ran faster. She couldn't get away, she knew, but it never hurt to try. It never hurt...

She tripped and fell, sprawled on the dirty alley floor, and saw his feet land before her. She shut her eyes and the fear entered its cage once more, calm took reign again.

"Why do you run from me?" Shard questioned as he lifted her, panting, to her feet. "Why?"

Cassie refused to meet his gaze, fought his pull with all her strength. Her heartbeat slowed, her breathing with it. She was in control. Never lose control, her father had said, never. But she had. No longer though.

A sight rose in her mind, a terrifying sight. Beth... her friend's name rose unbidden in her mind as Cassie, once again, saw her friend submit to the vampire's embrace.

"She is fine," Shard said softly and felt Cassie close her mind off again. "Don't do that."

"Leave me alone," she whispered as she struggled against him, struggled against sickness rising within her, sleep calling to her.

"One little bite," Shard said and moved closer. "That is all."

Cassie screamed as fear slammed through its bars, bursting forth anew, and then she fainted.

* * * * * *

Beth soared.

Greg was dead and so was she, but she lived on. Shard was the key to all of it, Shard had set her free twice.

Even as she drifted, she fell. Cassie wasn't willing, Shard had said, she doesn't want to change.

Beth walked into the bedroom cloaked in darkness and stared down at her friend. She slept but Beth couldn't wait for her to wake. She shook her.

Cassie's eyes fluttered open in confusion before flying open in fear. Beth smiled reassuringly, keeping her teeth hidden.

"Are you well, Cassie?"

"Let me go," Cassie said softly.

"He loves you," Beth shrugged. "He claims it's an endless love, one that he has had for centuries."

"You're my best friend. You should understand."

"You're my best friend and so should you," Beth countered. "It doesn't even hurt."

Cassie shook her head. "I've read about them and seen the movies..."

"So have I,"

"I won't do it,"

"Your time for deciding has passed," Shard said as he swept into the room. "Today you are to be changed."

"I will kill myself," Cassie swore.

"I won't let you," Shard said and he decended upon her as Beth watched.

* * * * * *

Cassie swallowed. Drinking blood wasn't so horrible once you got used to it. But she missed the sunlight, missed living and breathing and feeling a heartbeat. She missed her freedom and her small apartment on the east side. She missed her life as it was before and even her co-workers.

Turning her head, she met the watchful gaze of Shard. She dropped the body and moved to his side. Yes, she decided as her thoughts reached Shard, I miss my freedom the most.

Shard didn't reply, he never did. Cassie was his and she would remain so, until the end of vampires, until the end of time.