Samantha sighed as she sat on the couch in their living room. "So, what did you find?" she asked her brother again, finally safe at home.

"Wine?" Will offered her a glass and she raised an eyebrow. He knew she rarely drank alcohol. "You might need it."

"Okay..." she accepted the glass and took a small sip as he sat beside her.

He chugged down his glass and poured another.

"It's that bad?"

Will struggled to explain. "Well... They found us."

"What?! That can't be... Wouldn't they have come after us already if they knew where we were?"

"Considering the number of times we've run away from them, they're trying to change their tactics."

Her stomach dropped, her body tensing up. She took another sip, but couldn't even taste the wine. "What kind of tactics?"

"My go-to guy had a letter waiting for me," Will pulled an envelope out of his jacket and handed it to her.

'We see you've set up yourself a cozy little life as a teacher in this town, but you belong to us, to me. The family needs you; the clan needs you. Our numbers have dwindled due to the werewolves and the only way to gain the power we need is with you. Come back home.

If you try to run again, we'll be forced to take it out on your precious students.

Evan

Along with the letter was a picture of her on the bench at school with Roy and Jason.

A chill ran down her spine and she bit her lip. I'm putting my students in danger...

Will heard a noise and glanced outside. In the distance, he saw a Jeep sitting at the forest entrance. He took a deep breath of air and caught a familiar scent; one he recently smelled on his sister. He approached the window, taking a sip of his wine and watched as two boys scrambled away from their house. "It seems we were followed."

Samantha shot to her feet. "What?! By who?" She stood beside him to look out the window, but nothing and no one was there.

"They already took off."

"Did you recognize them?" Samantha asked.

"If I had to guess, I'd say your students. You even smelled like one of them recently..." he trailed off and looked at the picture in her hand. "Actually, I know I didn't see them well, but I think it was them," he pointed at the picture.

"Jason and Roy? Why would they follow me?" She clenched her fists, crushing the letter and picture.

"Jason's the one whose sister was attacked, right? The one you drank from?"

"Yeah..."

"But you erased his memory, right?"

"Of course I did. I couldn't leave him knowing what I am."

Will sighed and took another sip of wine as he thought. "What about the other one?"

"Roy? He's a big flirt; flirts with all the girls from what I can tell. He seemed to have an... interest in me, but I tried to make it clear I don't date my students."

"Your students are hitting on you?"

She rolled her eyes. "It happens every year."

Will laughed. "If only they knew your true age."

"I'm a vampire and forever twenty-five; if I looked my age I'd be a bag of bones."

"True for both of us. Do you think they followed you because of me?"

Samantha face-palmed. "Of course, they wanted to know who you were. All I have to do is explain you're my brother and it should be fine."

"That won't explain why we live in the middle of nowhere in a big-ass mansion. Besides, I think they're the least of our worries. Well... Them following us is, but they might be targets themselves."

"Even if I quit, they'll still go after them, won't they?" Samantha bit her lip.

"Stop that," he pinched her cheek. "You made yourself bleed."

"Ow, -top it," she tried to tell him to stop and he released her cheek. She wiped the blood off on the back of her hand.

"They've made it clear they'll go after your students if you run again. The question is: do you care enough about them for that to matter?"

"Of course I do."

"Then are you going to go back to the clan?"

Samantha's face contorted. "I can't go back... They'll turn me into a blood bag."

"I don't think—"

"Don't you get it? It won't be just Evan drinking my blood to get stronger; he'll share me with the rest of his men until they're all super-powered. He's too pissed from the last time I ran away to be sensible."

"You're probably right... If only we knew another vampire with special blood like yours; we could toss them his way and he'd give up."

"You'd sacrifice some poor other vampire for me?"

Will laughed. "Of course I would, and who's to say they wouldn't welcome it? For all we know, they're looking for somewhere to belong. And while you're right about being turned into a blood bag, they'll buy them anything they want. The clan is so full of old money; they'd be rolling in dough."

"You're assuming they need money. And besides, we don't even know if there are any others with special blood alive right now."

They sat back on the couch. "What does that leave us to do?" Will asked. "Try and keep the students safe? I mean, if it was just those two boys we might be able to manage it, but they're likely to go after any of them. I mean, it was the boy's sister that got attacked first, right?"

"Yup..." I don't see any way for this to end well for us.

"I'm sure I could get us some help, but not enough to protect a few hundred students. This is starting to make my brain hurt... Let's put that on hold for now. What do we do about the stalker boys? Is it possible they know what you are?"

"Roy never knew and I hypnotized Jason to forget it."

"Are you certain it worked?"

"Why wouldn't it? It worked on his sister," Samantha huffed.

"Come on, Sammy, you know as well as I do that it's harder to hypnotize some people, especially if they're against it or have a strong will."

"Honestly, if it didn't work, I don't think he'd have Roy with him."

Will smiled at her. "I guess you have some trust in this Jason fellow. Tell you what, I'll enroll in your school and befriend them so I can keep them safe. At the moment, they're the targets, but who knows how long until they just choose someone else. We have to figure out a real game plan. And no going back to the clan on your own," he pointed a stern finger at her. "We're in this together as we always have been, big sis." He held his fist out and she bumped it with her own.

"Right, in it together..."

"Together forever," he hummed and stood. "Time for me to make a few calls. I'm going to be a student again," he laughed, heading out of the room.

---

"Thanks for the joy ride and dropping me off," Roy waved and headed to his house.

"I should never have listened to him," Jason sighed and headed for home a few minutes away. "Hey Mags," he called out to her the moment he entered his house.

"What took you so long?" she pointed a big wooden spoon at him, standing in the doorway to the kitchen.

"I guess you're feeling better," he gave her a soft smile, tension releasing from his shoulders.

"That's not an answer, mister."

"Roy—"

She rolled her eyes at his name and walked back to stir the pot. He dropped his bag by the couch and went into the kitchen. "So really, you're feeling okay?" Jason asked.

"I feel fine; better than ever actually. I'll be back in school tomorrow, so don't worry."

He picked her up in a big bear hug.

"Ah, what are you doing, Jay? Put me down," she squealed, trying to keep the spoon over the pot to avoid making a mess.

"Just glad you're really okay." The feel of her limp in his arms replayed through his mind. If it wasn't for Miss. Gilbert, she probably wouldn't be here at all.

She stiffened. "You're still overprotective because of what happened—"

"I should've noticed what was going on sooner; I'll never make that mistake again. Besides, I'm your big brother; I'm allowed to be overprotective."

"Look, I promise I'm eating properly. I don't know why I was feeling unwell last night and this morning, but I'm fine now."

He set her down with a huff. "You know, you used to like my bear hugs when we were little."

"Ah... I mean... I didn't say I disliked them, but I'm busy cooking us dinner right now, so it's not the time. This is almost done."

"Alright... Thanks for always cooking; I know it can be hard sometimes." He kissed the top of her head.

She glanced back at him and smiled. "Thanks for looking out for me all the time."

He puffed out his chest and patted it. "What else are big brothers here for?"

---

The next day, Samantha drove to school with Will. "Are you sure about this?" she asked, parking the car in her usual spot.

He glanced at the school and students hanging around outside. He eyed a few of the females talking in a group. "Could be fun to be back in school again..." Will said.

"Please don't eat any of the students."

"What if they're one with a vampire fetish and want to be bitten?"

"Will..."

"What? You know the young blood tastes different, and it's been a while, so let me have a treat—"

"Aren't you here to stop vampires from eating them?"

"To stop evil vamps, sure, but I'm not evil," he smiled at her. "I don't kill and I don't turn anyone; I'm a good vampire," he hummed.

"Ugh," she rubbed her face. "I'd much rather you stick to your regulars..."

"Aw, that was the one thing I was looking forward to coming here for..." Will grumbled and got out of the car with his bag.

Samantha got out and turned to him. "Sorry... but I think it's important to focus on their safety at the moment, not your hunger."

"You should know from experience, well-fed vampires are amply stronger than the starved ones such as yourself."

"Yeah, yeah..." she sighed. "So, what's your schedule like? What do you have for first class? I can help you find it."

"Thanks, but no thanks. I'm going to find someone else to help me, if you catch my drift."

"Will, I always 'catch your drift'."

"See ya later."

"Yeah, see you..." Samantha sighed as she watched him approach a group of girls. "We have to find a way to save them."

---

"Dude, look," Roy nudged Jason and pointed over at Miss Gilbert. "It's that boy again." Will was sitting beside her in her car. "They came here together... Do you think it means they're..." Roy wiggled his eyebrows.

"No way," Jason sighed and shoved him along. "Quit worrying about her and the boy and get to class."

"Quit acting like you're not curious too," Roy stuck his tongue out at him.

"If you're that curious about him, ask her; don't ask me to stalk her again," Jason shuddered, thinking about their trip to the house in the woods.

"Oh, that's a good idea. I like the direct approach."

"Coulda fooled me," Jason mumbled. With one final glance over at them, they headed for their first-period class.

---

Samantha sat on her usual bench at lunch, the hunger settling in as she stared at the people passing by on the street ahead. I didn't bring a lunch...

A grocery bag appeared in front of her. Her eyes trailed along until Will's face came into view. "Hey there, I forgot to make us lunch today, so I grabbed some from a place nearby."

"Thanks," she took the bag and set it on her lap. Will snagged the top box and started eating right away.

"You know, I thought you didn't like human food much."

"That's not true at all. I enjoy these meals, it's just they don't satiate the hunger. I guess you'd know all about it though."

"Well... It helps a little bit."

"A minuscule amount," Will said as he stuffed his face with chicken strips. "For me anyway; you've been doing this for so many decades, so it helps you more."

Barely... Sometimes I wonder if it's all a mind over matter issue and I could control it completely with normal human food if I really wanted to.

Will suddenly stopped eating and took a deep breath. "In case your dulled senses can't tell, those same boys are watching us again."

Samantha froze with a French fry headed for her open mouth. Jason and Roy?

"Should I go befriend them now and find out the truth?"

"You were serious about that?"

"Of course," Will laughed. "I should probably also tell you I sniffed out a few people who don't belong in this school."

"Wait, what are you talking about?" she asked.

"I haven't been able to pinpoint them, but there are a couple of other vamps at the school," Will whispered. He glanced over at Jason and Roy and they retreated back towards the school, freaking out because they were spotted.

"What are you looking at?"

"Those boys."

"Have they said anything?"

"I heard them wondering who I was, and I scared them just now."

She sighed and glanced over where they were. They're going to cause trouble even without the vampires after me.

"Anyway, there's also a werewolf at the school," Will said.

Her eyes widened and she set her convenience store lunch aside. "How in the world have I not noticed them? And don't say it's my diet; I should've been able to tell."

Will shrugged. "You got used to the peace. And if things are peaceful, you don't have to pay attention to every little thing. The vamps and wolves here might genuinely be here to go to school and learn like normal people."

"You think so?"

"Probably happens way more often than either of us would think. That said, there's still a chance they're with the clan and have been staking you out."

"One of them could've made the new vampire to send after the students." Samantha grabbed her head with both hands. "Will, what do I do?"

He hated seeing her like this, but they were stuck between a rock and a hard place. "I'll have to investigate them too, I suppose..."

"Um, don't you think I should be doing some of it? I can't rely on you for everything."

"It's harder for a teacher to integrate themselves into their students' lives than another student. It's almost time for class," Will dumped his box in the trash. "Let's go, teach."

"Why does it sound like..."

"I'm in your class? Because I am; didn't you get the memo?" he smiled.

Her face paled. "You're going to be my student?"

"Yes, ma'am," he laughed. "Now, lead the way." He swayed his hand.

"Ugh, please don't torture me by being a troll."

"I'll try not to, but I can't promise since I don't know how long I'll have to be here and you know how much I enjoy poking at you like the little brother I am."

They made their way to class and she found a note on her desk about Will joining the class. "Alright everyone, settle down. I'd like you all to welcome a new addition to the class this is Will... Gilbert..." she read his name off the slip. He went with his real name?! And after the grief he gave me...

The class instantly noticed his last name and started questioning their relationship.

"Why yes, Miss Gilbert is my elder sister," Will said, smiling at them.

"Will, find a seat so I can start class."

"Yes, ma'am." He sat in the empty desk behind Jason.

Samantha shuddered at Will calling her ma'am. "Quiet down, class; you can bother him after you get your work done." She moved on to starting the lesson.