Eternal Changes (Mikah) (5 page)

“Why deny that we can help each other?” she asked as she stared into his black eyes. “You’re the strongest male in the clan besides our leader and I’m the strongest female. It’s in fates design that we be together.”

“I could easily rip your heart from your chest while you sleep,” he whispered in her ear. “Doesn’t that bother you?”

Ophelia shook her head as she bared her fangs. “I don’t want a rafa as my male, Jaymes. The thought of being overpowered thrills me. I can’t be with someone weaker than I. You and I make perfect sense.”

He gave up trying to argue with her. “We’ll head to Oklahoma and find a place to rest. The closer we get, the stronger the waves of power should be and the easier it’ll be to track.”

Ophelia nodded her acquiescence. “Let the hunt begin.”

Chapter 5

Lucy drove to school the next morning with a million thoughts running through her head. The ride home in Michael’s truck last night was fairly quiet and she wasn’t sure what to say. It just didn’t make any sense to her. He was model material and she’d been off every male’s radar her entire life.

“Oh, great. Just wonderful,” she mumbled as she slowed Betty the Beetle down to almost a complete stop. There was nothing better than getting stuck behind a tractor on a one lane road. The old man driving it looked like he could kick the bucket at any time. Lucy sighed, trying to release her pent up frustration. The weather matched her mood perfectly. The ominous grey clouds covered up the sun like child’s blanket, causing the sky to be overcast. It looked like it was going to come a flood at any moment. It was one of those days that she should have stayed in bed.

A half hour later, she pulled into the school parking lot. She grabbed her books and hurried towards the school. It would be a miracle if she wasn’t late to her first class.

Ashton watched from a distance as Lucy made her way to the front door of the school. It looked like she was deep in thought about something. Her golden eyebrows were pinched together in concentration creating creases on her forehead. She suddenly tripped over her shoelaces and her books went flying in every direction as she pitched forward, falling towards the concrete walkway. Ashton was a blur of movement as he ran towards her. His arms wrapped around her tiny waist, catching her before she fell flat on her face. His nostrils tingled as her enticing scent graced his nose. Lilac. She smelled like fresh lilac.

Lucy felt a jolt of current run through her as hands wrapped around her saving her face from the cold concrete. She looked up expecting to see Michael holding her. A gasp escaped her lips as she looked into the honey gold eyes of her savior. It was definitely not Michael.

“Ummmm, thanks for catching me,” Lucy said as he put her down. “I’m not usually so clumsy.”

“It’s no problem. I’m just glad I was close enough to help,” Ashton said as he watched her bend down to tie her shoelace.

“Where are you from?” she asked him, her curiosity getting the best of her. “I noticed that you don’t have a country accent.”

“I’m originally from up north. My family and I just recently moved into the area,” Ashton lied as he finally let go of her.

“Really? Today’s only my second day. The whole school will probably have a meltdown since there’ll be two new kids instead of just one,” Lucy joked as she glanced down at her watch.

Ashton felt a few raindrops hit him as he stared at her. He looked up at the sky as the clouds unleashed the torrent of rain.

 “Are you serious?!” Lucy screamed at the sky in frustration.

“The rain never hurt anyone,” Ashton said. “Plus, you look kind of cute wet.”

Lucy rolled her eyes. “Thanks for complimenting me when I look like a drowned rat. I guess since you saved me, you’re obligated to tell me your name.”

“My name’s Ashton,” he said with a glorious smile on his face.

Lucy was amazed at how good Ashton looked wet. The rain was sliding down his face making his honey gold eyes stand out. His smile lit up his whole face, but there was still a seriousness to his eyes that she wondered about. Lucy wanted to reach out to move the piece of hair that had fallen across his forehead, but she wasn’t brave enough to do it. His mocha brown hair had golden highlights in it that seemed to sparkle even when it was wet. She’d never seen anything like it before.

 She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. “I’m Lucy. All of my friends and family call me Luce. I don’t mean to be rude, but I’ve got to run or I’m going to be late for class,” she managed to stammer out as her brain started to function again. His looks were hypnotic.

Ashton smiled. “I’ll see you around, Luce.”

Lucy shivered as headed for the school. She glanced over her shoulder as she opened the door. Ashton was still watching her. His golden gaze bore through her causing her heart to take off like a horse at the derby as it beat in her chest. She gave a small wave before dashing into the hallway.

Ashton watched Lucy leave in amusement. The day was definitely going to be interesting. He pondered over the current that went through him when he held her. He had started hearing her thoughts after he’d briefly touched her. What did it all mean?

Ashton went into the school as the bell rung, announcing the beginning of the school day. He headed for the main office. Silence filled the halls, but the different scent of the humans’ blood was still present. His stomach clenched. He’d fed right before leaving in anticipation of what was to come.

His mind drifted as he thought about the Haemon vampires. They killed every human that they took sustenance from by sucking them dry. Humans were their cattle. It didn’t matter to them that the humans had thoughts and feelings. Vampires were superior and humans were made to be devoured.

Ashton thought about his people. The Dragomir vampires were different from the Haemon. They only took what they needed to sustain themselves. Each human was put in a trance as the Dragomir fed from them, taking only what was necessary for their survival.

Ashton shook his musings away as he went into the office.

 “Good morning,” a woman at the front desk greeted. “My name’s Mrs. Carter. How can I help ya?”

Ashton surveyed the surroundings. No one else was in the office. He looked deep into her brown eyes as he began to speak to her.

“My name’s Ashton Crawford and today’s my first day. You’ve already received my transcript and registration forms. I’ll have the same classes as Lucy Walden. Do you understand?” he asked as his voice mesmerized her.

“Yes. Let me get your schedule for you. Hold on one minute,” Mrs.  Carter said in a monotone voice.

Ashton closely examined Mrs. Carter’s every move as she went into the school’s computer system to look at Lucy’s classes. She was creating a new set of classes for him that matched every course Lucy was taking for the year. Perfect.

Mrs. Carter handed a paper to him with a smile plastered on her plump face. “Here you go, Mr. Crawford. You’ll ‘ave a wonderful year here and we’re tickled to have you.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” Ashton said and then headed out of the office. He looked at his first class and smiled. He couldn’t wait to see Lucy’s face when he walked in.

Lucy sat in the back of first period as she listened to Mr. McCleary’s lecture. A soft sigh escaped her lips. American History was as dull as it got. She looked longingly out the window and watched as the rain softly beat against the glass as her mind drifted to the events of this morning. Why did an electrical current flow through her when Ashton held her? She had never felt a semblance of attraction to any guy that she had come across and now she was attracted to not just one guy, but two guys.

A door creaked, dashing Lucy’s trail of thoughts. She looked up as Ashton glided in with a yellow slip of paper grasped in his hand. He handed the slip to Mr. McCleary.

“Class, it looks like we’ve another new student. Please welcome Ashton Crawford.” Mr. McCleary stated. “You can sit where ever there’s an open seat.”

Ashton glanced over at her and smiled. Lucy looked at the empty seat next to her as heat fused through both cheeks. Why would he want to sit next to her? Lucy glanced over at the empty seat next to Alexis. Alexis was the girl that every guy in the school wanted to be with. She was drop dead gorgeous and popular. There wasn’t a doubt in Lucy’s mind where Ashton would sit.

Shock coursed through Lucy as Ashton made his way past Alexis without evening sparing her a glance. Alexis looked back at Ashton in disbelief as he slid into the seat next to Lucy. Lucy tried to pay attention to Mr. McCleary as he continued with his lecture. She pretended to look down at her notes as she stared at Ashton from the corner of her eye.

Ashton was gazing at her with a perplexed look on his face. He slid his hand through his hair as he looked away. What was he was thinking about that had him so flustered?

 “Class, we’ll be doing a group project,” Mr. McCleary boomed. “There should be a total of three people in each group. I’m going to be nice and let you choose your own groups.”

Lucy peeked over at Ashton and blushed as she noticed he was staring at her. She broke her gaze away from his as she felt someone touch her arm. Lucy looked up to find Sam staring down at her.

“You wanna be in my group,” Sam murmured with her eyes slightly downcast.

Lucy beamed. “Sure, Sam.”

“Do you mind if I join, too?” Ashton asked as he walked up to Sam.

Sam looked a little shell shocked as she shoved her bifocals back up her small nose. “You w-w-want to be in m-m-y group?”

Ashton’s smile lit up his gorgeous face as his soft velvet voice floated through the air. “I wouldn’t want to be in any other.”

Lucy glanced over at Sam. Sam eyes were the size of saucers and a blush stained her cheeks.

Sam’s glanced down at the floor as she wiped her palms on her jeans. “I’d love to have you in my group.”

“Wonderful,” Ashton said as he began moving his desk.

Lucy helped Sam move her desk and they placed them in a circle for the assignment. Lucy slid into her desk and stared at Ashton.

Mr. McCleary banged his ruler on the desk to get the class to quiet down. Lucy attempted to pay attention to what Mr. McCleary was saying, but her heart wouldn’t let her. It pounded in her chest like a stampede of wilder beasts. She snuck a glance at Ashton as she pretended to take notes. What was it about him that kept her off balance every time he was near her? His brown eyes were flecked with slivers of topaz. They made Lucy think of melted chocolate with honey dropped into it.

“So, did you take good notes on what we’re supposed to do?” Ashton asked as he looked at Lucy, his mouth hinted at a smile.

Lucy looked down at the piece of paper in front of her. The white paper glared back at her. Not a drop of ink graced the page. She started to blush as she heard Ashton’s light chuckle.

“I’ve everything outlined right here,” Sam said as she enthusiastically waved a sheet of paper in her hand. “I’ve some great ideas on what we can do.”

Lucy smiled at Sam as Sam rambled on about American women throughout history and how far they had come. Sam continued to explain that women had even pretended to be men to join in the fray of the Civil War battles. Lucy could feel Sam’s passion about the subject as Sam rattled on.

“So, what do you guys think?” Sam asked with an earnest look on her face.

“I think it’ll be perfect,” Ashton said as he touched Sam’s shoulder.

Lucy smiled as she noticed Sam looking at Ashton like he hung the moon. Sam was getting sucked into the black hole and would soon be lost forever. Lucy shook her head. She knew how easy it was to get hung up on a bunch of words. She had to give credit where credit was due.  He was
good.

Ashton watched as Lucy scrambled out of her desk and headed for the door as the bell rung, dismissing the class. Her cheeks were flushed a pretty pink.

Ashton ambled out of the classroom after Lucy. He glanced down the hall. The human male that Lucy ran with the other night was walking beside her.