Fallen (The Transformed Prequel)

"I couldn't sleep, so I came here to think."

He wrapped his arms around me. "Is everything okay?"

"Sure," I said, forcing myself to cheer up. "Hey, have you ever noticed Alexis Ferguson?"

His eyebrows crinkled. "No," he said, clearly deep in thought. "Wait, is she related to Natalie Ferguson?"

"They're sisters."

"Natalie has a sister?"

I laughed. "Yeah, she's going to be a junior."

Tanner shrugged his shoulders. "I thought I knew all of the girls in school," he said in a teasing tone.

Running my hands down his bare arms, I asked, "Are you trying to make me jealous?"

"Is it working?"

I grabbed his chin and kissed him. "Maybe."

He put his hands around my waist. "Good," he said, and then kissed me back.

Running my fingers through his hair, I knew that I was going to miss him fiercely. Being with Vince was never going to be the same. Not after Tanner. With Vince, it was all about power and convenience. If someone else held the key to me becoming a ruling vampire, I would drop Vince in a heartbeat. Had there been a way I could be with Tanner and still have a shot at getting my family line back on the throne, I would take it. I had tried to imagine possibilities, but being with Tanner couldn't happen. I couldn't have my cake and eat it, too. There was no way a teenage football player was going to help me achieve my goals-as much as I wished it were so.

I could hear the sounds of kids running toward the lake and we pulled apart, looking at each other with hungry eyes. Part of me wanted to tell him that I'd be leaving soon, but I preferred to spend our last time together, however long it would be, just like this. Happy and carefree. What we had was perfect, and I wanted to hold onto that as long as I could.

He held my hand. "What were you saying about Natalie's sister? What's her name?"

"Alexis. It looks like she's in the process of turning into a vampire."

His eyes widened. "How can you tell?"

"The signs are subtle, but when you've been a vampire as long as I have, you can tell these things."

"Like what?"

I hated lying to him. "I noticed her eyes turned a little red when she got angry. She's also starting to run faster."

He looked deep in thought. "How can you tell when someone is turning into a vampire? Can I tell?"

"Since you manage the track team, you should be able to tell when someone is running faster than possible. That's a telltale sign. A lot of times things around them will explode when they're angry before they can control their volatile energy. You can look for the red eyes and subtle bodily changes-always improvements. Better skin, thicker hair, stronger, and other sorts of things. Those are classic symptoms. There are other subtle signs too, but I don't think you'd be able to notice."