"Yes, it's really true," he said. "You and I have Imprinted, and that severed your link with the human boy."

"But I read the Vamp Soc book, and it only talked about how painful and hard it is to break an Imprint between a vampyre and a human. I don't understand how it could have happened so easily, and it didn't say anything about one Imprint breaking another."

His slight smile spread and he gave me a sweet, soft kiss. "You'll learn that there's a lot the textbooks don't teach about being a vampyre."

That made me feel young and stupid and more than a little embarrassed, which he instantly picked up on.

"Hey, I didn't mean anything. I remember how confusing it was not to really understand what it is you're Changing into. It's okay. It happens to all of us. And now you have me to help you."

"I just don't like not knowing," I said, relaxing again in his arms.

"I know. So here's the deal with breaking that Imprint. You and the human did have a bond, but you're not a vampyre. You haven't completed your Change." He paused and then added a firm "Yet. So it wasn't a full-blown Imprint. When you and I shared our blood, that bonding overwhelmed the lesser one." His smile turned sexy. "Because I am a vampyre."

"Did it hurt Heath?"

Loren shrugged. "Probably, but the pain doesn't last. And in the long run it's better this way. The entire vampyre world will be open to you very soon, Zoey. You will be an extraordinary High Priestess. There won't be a place for a human in that world."

"I know you're right," I said, trying to sort through everything in my mind and remembering how sure I'd been earlier that night that I had to break up with Heath. It was really a good thing that my being with Loren had broken the Imprint with Heath. It was easier this way-for both of us. Another thought had me saying, "It's a good thing that I wasn't Imprinted with you and Heath at the same time."

"That would be impossible. Nyx had made it so that we Imprint singly. I suppose it's to keep us from making an army of Imprinted human minions."

I was startled as much by the sarcastic tone of his voice as by what he'd just said. "I would never have thought about doing that," I said.

Loren laughed softly. "There are many vamps who would."

"Would you?"

"Of course not." He kissed me again and added, "Besides, I'm more than happy with our Imprint. I don't need any others."

His words thrilled me. He was mine and I was his! Then Erik's face swam before my eyes and the thrill faded.

"What is it?" he said.

"Erik," I whispered.

"You belong to me!" Loren's voice was rough, as were his lips as he kissed me possessively, making my blood pound.

"Yes" was all I could say when the kiss was over. He was like a tidal wave I couldn't stand against, and I let him sweep Erik away from me. "I do belong to you."

Loren's arms tightened around me, and then he lifted me gently and shifted his body so that he could look into my eyes. "Can you tell me now?"

"Tell you what?" Even though I asked the question I thought I knew what it was he wanted to hear.

"Tell me what it is that upset you so badly."

Ignoring the sudden clenching of my stomach I made my decision. After what had just happened between us, I had to trust Loren.

"Stevie Rae didn't die. At least not like what we think of as dying. She's alive, even though she's different. And she's not the only fledgling to survive a supposed death. There's a bunch of them, but they're not like her. Stevie Rae has managed to keep a hold on her humanity. They haven't." I felt his body tense and half expected him to tell me I was nuts, but all he said was, "What do you mean?

Explain everything to me, Zoey."

So I did. I told Loren everything-from the "ghosts" I'd seen to the fact that they weren't really ghosts, to the awfulness of the undead dead kids killing the Union football players, and then how I saved Heath. Finally, I told him about Stevie Rae. All about her.

"So she's waiting at Aphrodite's garage apartment right now?" he said. I nodded. "Yeah, she needs blood every day. The hold she has on her humanity isn't very good. If she doesn't get blood, I'm afraid she'll become like the rest of them." I shivered and his arm tightened around me.

"They're that bad?" he said.

"You can't imagine. They're not human and they're not vampyre. It's like they've turned into all the stereotypes that are most horrible about vamps and humans. They're soulless, Loren." I searched his eyes. "And too far gone to fix, but Stevie Rae's affinity for the earth has made it possible for her to keep some of her soul, even if she's not whole. I really think I can do something for Stevie Rae."