"Hey," Will called out to Jason from his seat behind him in class.

Jason jumped and glanced back at him, his heart racing. He knew Samantha was a vampire, so it would make sense if he were as well. "What's up?"

"Can I borrow your notes for this class so I can catch up?"

"Isn't the teacher your sister? You could—"

"It's not quite the same."

"Yeah, sure I guess."

"So, why are you switching schools mid-year?" Roy – sitting right next to Jason - turned around to ask.

"I got kicked out of my old school... for a variety of reasons. Took a while, but they finally gave me the boot. My sister wasn't too happy about me coming here, but it's the only other high school close by I haven't been kicked out of."

Roy inched closer. "Now I'm extra curious. I've gotten up to some shenanigans myself, but I have yet to be kicked out of school. Do tell, what have you done?"

During third period English class, Samantha kept an eye on her brother as he chatted up most of the class. How does he always manage to befriend people so easily?

Jason listened to all the conversations between Will and the others, but he kept his main focus on his work. He finished his assignment and handed it to her.

"So... You have a little brother?" Jason glanced back at Will. Feeling his eyes, Will met his gaze and smirked. Jason turned away, his heart racing as it did earlier.

"Yup..." Samantha gazed at Will and sighed.

"Are you okay with this?"

"He's a brat sometimes, but it'll be fine," she smiled at him. "He's a good little brother."

"You two are close, aren't you?"

"Hmm? What makes you think that?"

"I can see it in the way you look at him with such a caring gaze. It's probably the same expression I have when I look at my little sister. You know, it's hard being an older sibling sometimes; you end up wanting to protect them like you're a parent, but you don't have the same abilities as one..."

Samantha couldn't help but remember when they were both little. Will was a sickly child and their parents weren't around much, so she had to take care of him. After their parents died and the clan took interest in her because of her blood, she ended up leaving Will alone all too often. I never got to see him acting like a regular teenager. He may be hundreds of years old, but he seems to fit right in here. Maybe this is good for him...

"Are you okay?" Jason asked, noticing the tinge of sadness in her expression.

"What?" her head perked up. "Oh, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine; don't worry about it Jason," she forced a smile.

Jason bit his lip, wishing he could reach out to her.

"Was there something else?"

"Uh, no," he shook his head and sat back in his seat.

Will glanced at her and gave her a quick, narrowed smile before turning back to the other students.

He was listening, wasn't he?

Will hunted down Jason after school while he was waiting for his sister. "Hey there, Jason," Will sauntered up to him.

Jason swallowed, bracing himself. "Hey, Will, what's up? Waiting for your sister to head home?"

"Yeah; she will always have things to take care of, so I'll always be waiting. What about you?"

"Waiting for my little sister."

Will leant against Jason's Jeep. "Both waiting on women," he laughed.

"Ha ha... yeah..."

Will focused for a moment, listening to Jason's heart race and smelling fear on him. "Why are you so nervous?"

"I'm not."

Will narrowed his eyes. "You remember, don't you?"

"Remember what?"

"What she is; what we are."

"Siblings? I have no idea what you're talking about," Jason couldn't stop himself from taking a step back.

"Yes, you do; you're too on edge for it to be anything else. You're certainly not afraid of my stature." Will stared up at him, his eyes narrowed.

"W-what are you talking about? I'm not on edge."

Will sighed, Jason's lie was too obvious. Will's eyes glowed and he suddenly grabbed Jason's face. "She might have been too weak to hypnotize you, but I'm not."

"No!" Jason tried to push him away, but no matter how much power he put behind it, he couldn't make Will budge. "Please don't do this."

"What good will come from you knowing the truth about us?"

"I-I'm on your side."

"What good do you think a human is to us?"

"Uh... Food? Eyes and ears? A comrade?"

"I can get us food anytime I want. And you fail to compare to our eyes and ears."

"But I'm an extra set."

"Why are you so adamant about this? You're better off not knowing anything about our world," Will's narrowed eyes searched Jason's, staring straight into his soul.

Samantha came around the corner, heading in their direction as she searched through her purse for her car keys. Jason's eyes drew straight to her.

Will followed his line of sight and scoffed, "You're in love with my sister?"

"W-what? No... she's my teacher..." Jason trailed off, wondering if he was right.

"Sure... that's all it is. You better give up on her, boy—"

"I'm eighteen and graduating this semester; I'm not a boy."

"Human-vampire relationships never work out in the long run, so save yourself the heartbreak and give up on her." Will released him, glancing over at his sister.

"You're not going to erase my memory?"

"I still haven't decided what to do with you. One question though, you haven't told anyone, have you? Like Roy."

"Ha, no way; I haven't told anyone. Even if I thought someone would believe me, I have no reason to expose you two; she saved my sister."

Considering she got attacked because she goes to Samantha's school, Will wasn't sure how Jason would react if he knew the truth.

Jason swallowed. "So... Does she know it didn't work on me?"

"She has her suspicions, but I wasn't sure until just now, so no, she doesn't know."

"Are you doing to tell her?"

"I haven't decided yet." Will turned to leave. "Knowing comes with its own dangers, so be careful."

Jason sighed, leaning back against his car. When Samantha's car drove by him, he couldn't stop wondering why he was so adamant about remembering? He held his hand over his heart. Samantha's worried face flitted through his mind.

"Jay?" Maggy called out to him again and poked him in the side.

"Ah, um, I mean... Hey, Mags..."

"What were you staring at?"

"Nothing; I just zoned out. Let's go home."

"Yeah, sure..." Maggy looked around the parking lot before hopping in.

Samantha and Will sat down together on their couch in the living room. "So what did you find out?" Samantha asked, pulling out a bottle of bourbon.

"Wow, the hard stuff? Are you having a bad day?" Will asked.

She glared at him. "I'm stuck, that's what."

"I don't think Roy knows anything yet. It seems those boys followed us because of an interest in your personal life and if we were dating in secret."

"But if they followed us to our secluded house, they'll have questions..."

"Don't worry about that; I can deal with their mundane questions." Will poured himself a glass. "I'll tell you this though, they were happy to find out I was your brother."

"Oh?" She took another sip.

"Yes, they were afraid the spot of your lover was taken."

"Pleh," she spat out part of her drink and coughed.

"What shall I do with my sister, winning the hearts of all her precious students? I wonder how many of them are in love with you and are swooning like complete idiots. You're such a heart-breaker Sammy."

"They may be infatuated, but none of them have any reason to be in love with me. And I make it clear nothing will happen when students do try to ask me out."

"Are you certain?" Will smirked. "I'm not telling you to go for a student – although it could be fun – but I wouldn't write off all their feelings for you as simple infatuation."

"Ugh, you know something, don't you?"

"Maybe."

She thought about her students for a moment. Jason... It's you he's referring to, isn't it?

Will's face lit up. "Oh-ho-ho, what was the look just now? I haven't seen that in years..."

"What look? I wasn't making any particular expression."

"Oh yes, you were. Damn, I'm so torn between stopping anything from happening and egging it on. What is a little, nosey brother to do?"

"Shut up," she smacked him with a pillow.

"Watch it, almost split my drink and you know I hate to waste good booze."

"Quit screwing with me."

Ding-dong.

They both froze and then looked at the door. In their years there, no one had ever rung the doorbell.

"Think it's one of the boys?" Samantha asked.

Will stood from the couch, setting his drink down on the coffee table. "Let me check," he waved her back.

"Would you quit trying to protect me?"

"They're after you, not me; you're the one that needs protecting now."

When will he finally get past this? It's not his fault he was a sickly child and I had to protect him.

"Don't—"

"Don't what?" he snapped at her. "Don't protect my sister who refuses to feed herself properly to keep her strength up? I know you're my older sister, but I think it's time you let me be the man of the family and protect you!"

Samantha stepped back. "Fine, you first."

"Thank you." With a huff, he approached the front door and looked through the peephole. "There's no one there." Checking to make sure she was a few steps back, he opened the door. His head swivelled around, searching outside. "There's no one here... There's no way someone came all the way out here to prank us by ringing the doorbell." He sniffed the air. "Someone was here, but their scent is super light; I can't tell who it was."

"Will, look on the ground in front of your feet."

"Hmm?" A letter was laying on the ground in front of him. He picked up the letter and glanced at the name. "It's for you..."

She reached for it and he held it away from her.

"Hold on a second," Will sniffed the envelope. "There's a familiar scent, but again, it's barely there. They must've had gloves on or something."

"Will, it's addressed to me; hand it over." She reached for it again and he held his hand out, keeping her away.

With a final look around for whoever dropped off the letter, Will closed the door. She reached for the envelope while he was looking away and he held it out of reach again. "Chill, sis; let's both read it." He opened the letter and after reading it he wordlessly handed it off.

Hello, my love.

            You have a week to come back to me. I'll start killing your precious students until I'm free to come for you myself. Their lives are in your hands, Sam. I promise I'll see you soon.

Evan

Samantha crumpled the letter, ready to rip it to shreds.

"Wait, maybe I can get the werewolf girl to sniff the person out; their noses are better for it."

"Why would she help you?" she tossed the letter at him.

"Because I don't think she's with the clan wiping out ours. On that note, I'm not sure she knows she's a werewolf yet... She definitely has the gene though."

"But if she smells like a werewolf, shouldn't she be one already?"

"Normally, yes, but the scent was on the light side which is probably why you never noticed her."

"Well, as long as vampires and werewolves aren't natural enemies like they always told us, you'll probably be able to sway her with that charm of yours." Samantha turned away from Will and took a deep breath. I only have a week. Her hands shook. Evan had killed numerous people while pursuing her in the past; she had no doubt he'd kill children as well. "Maybe I should just..." End it all. At least we wouldn't have to run anymore and the kids would be safe. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes.

Arms wrapped around her from behind, shaking. "Whatever you're thinking of doing, don't. I'll get rid of the vampires in the school if they're after us... and then I'll find a way to get rid of Evan. With Evan gone, the clan will leave us alone."

"Will... I wasn't—"

"Don't lie." His hug tightened. "I sensed it, you know? This sudden dread came over me and it felt like you went really far away... out of my reach," Will's voice shook. "Don't run away... Don't leave me all alone here."

Samantha chuckled. "You're not alone; you're always boasting about your friends."

"They're not family; they're not you, Sammy."

"I've already lived a long life; many times longer than a human's—"

"It's still not long enough, especially when you consider how much of that time was either spent in captivity or on the run."

"It's a bit much to call living with the clan captivity."

"It was though... You were allowed around the grounds, but no further and you had to give him blood... regularly. And don't think I don't know about the other things he did to you. He called you 'his woman' and I know what that means... They kept tabs on you constantly and tried to use me to get to you. I was a hindrance to you then when we were human... and when they captured us that one time, but I won't be anymore. I'll make sure everything's okay, so please... stay with me."

"Will...How can you expect me to risk my students?"

"How can you expect me to let my own sister kill herself?!" he yelled, struggling to hold back. "We may have been alive for a long time, but we've never truly gotten to live. I think it's finally time we free ourselves."

"Can you guarantee none of the students will end up dead?"

"Of course not; there's bound to be casualties with Evan in the situation. I'll try my best to catch the vamps he sent here, but... that's all I can say. Besides, do you really think killing yourself will solve this?"

"If I'm not here, they'll have no reason to kill them, so yes."

"He might kill all of them just to spite you."

Her body stiffened. "He... wouldn't..." Samantha swallowed.

"I never wanted to tell you this, but the last time they caught us... he slaughtered the family that hid us along with anyone he found that we came in contact with."

"W-what?! If he already had me, why would he do that?"

"Do I really have to explain to you how much of a spiteful bastard he is? And if you're gone, he'll have no reason to leave me alive..."

"Will..." She slumped against him, losing all power in her body.

"And then he'll probably be off to look for the next vampire with special blood to turn into his personal blood bag. See, killing yourself isn't the answer; it's just the easy way out for you while condemning who knows how many people."

Samantha shrugged, still not holding herself up.

"Promise me you'll keep fighting. Promise me you won't kill yourself."

She bit her lip, staring at the space in front of her in a daze.

"Promise me!" his voice hitched. He leaned his forehead on the back of her head. "Please... I'm begging you..."

She nodded.

"Say it; I need to hear you say it."

"I promise," she mumbled.

"You better keep that promise or I'll find a way to bring you back using dark magic, and you know that's not something we should dabble in."

"We're vampires; aren't we already infused with dark magic or something?"

"I suppose... But you know I meant a different kind of necromancy." Will took a deep breath. "You'd probably come back without your soul or something."

"Are you going to let me go yet?" She released him from her weight, standing on her own now.

"One second," he took another deep breath, trying to calm himself before he'd let her see him.

"Come on, Will, I've seen you at your worst; I won't judge you if you're crying right now."

"I'm not crying," he snapped, letting her go.

She turned around and hugged him. His arms wrapped around her again.

"I thought you wanted out of my grasp..." Will frowned.

"I couldn't give you a hug while facing away from you," she laughed and let him go.

"Oh..."

"So, what's the plan?" Assuming we have one.

"For now, let me deal with it."

"You expect me to sit on my butt, twiddling my thumbs and doing nothing? No way."

"In case you've forgotten, you're the one that needs protecting. Besides, you're busy as a teacher anyway... Just make sure you keep an eye on your surroundings. And once I'm certain I've identified the enemy vamps, I'll let you know who they are or take them out if I see the chance. And since this letter is here, it's likely they'll attack someone soon, but they're not stupid; it'll be someone secluded." Will thought for a moment and he shook his head.

"What is it?"

"There is one thing you could do, but I doubt you'll do it."

"Well? What is it?"

"Drink human blood." Samantha shook her head. "See," Will sighed. "I knew you wouldn't like it, but it would help if you were eating properly to keep your strength up. You got a little boost from Jason, but that wasn't enough, and whatever boost you got from it won't last too long. I keep blood bags in the other fridge... Feel free to feed yourself."

"I'll... think about it."

"I mean, I know it's not as good as the fresh stuff, but it's better than animal blood – which tastes disgusting – and gives you way more strength than regular human food."

"I said I'd think about it," she snapped at him.

He flinched back. "Look, I know you had a rough time after—"

"Will, stop talking."

"You don't even want to talk about him? Feels like his name is taboo or something even though it's been decades."

It pretty much is... "I'm going to bed..." Samantha walked away feeling Will's eyes still on her.

"It's been decades, Sam; you need to get over him," he mumbled, unsure if she was still listening. He rubbed his forehead. "Gah, time to come up with a real plan..."