Benji looked for Hunter, but he was nowhere to be found. Benji then went out to the parking lot and saw Hunter, sitting on his bike waiting for him to arrive.

“Benji, do you know who that was?”

“What’s going on, Hunt? This is weird.”

“Her powers, she can hear anything and everything. I should have warned you but I didn’t think she was on campus.”

“Who?” asked Benji.

“Violet— the girl who came into the coffee shop, long black hair, remember her?”

Of course Benji remembered her, he knew something was up with her, but he couldn’t pinpoint it. Benji couldn’t stop thinking about the gesture she gave him.

“You’d better get out of here,” Hunter said. “She’s bad news.”

“Yeah, I’ll go. I just wanted to tell you what happened.”

“You will be shamed,” Hunter said as he put his hands on his head.

“I’m going back to our ancestral home, to get away from things for a while,” Benji said as he took his motorcycle helmet out.

“Please stay away from here. If I need you, I know where to find you,” Hunter said. “It’s not safe here now.”

The two brothers stared long and hard at each other, then suddenly, quickly, Hunter turned and fled, hurrying down the path. As Benji watched him go, he felt a sense of sadness that his brother wasn’t more understanding, didn’t take his side. It made him wonder why he’d come all the way up here to begin with. He remembered a different Hunter, one from centuries ago, who used to always listen carefully and advise him on the best solution. Now, Benji felt more alone than ever.

As Benji drove out of the long windy driveway of Mount Pines, the sky opened up, and it began to pour. He drove faster and faster, and didn’t ever want to stop.

Chapter Seven

As Hunter walked back from the parking lot, he knew he had to do something, and quickly, to fix the problem his brother, Benji, had created. Now, his coven was in danger.

Hunter felt a cold tap on his shoulder and he quickly turned around.

“What’s that I hear?” Violet said, in a shrill tone.

“Nothing,” Hunter snapped back.

“I heard what your brother told you,” Violet continued. “Now what are you going to do?”

“You didn’t hear anything,” Hunter said.

“I heard every word. It rang through the walls of my dorm, and I came right over. Don’t question my abilities, Hunter. That will never serve you well.”

Hunter was scared. He didn’t know how to get out of this one. Violet was the most evil Vampire he had ever met. She was part of a different coven, called the Greslin Coven. She was so nasty – one day she would be your friend and the next, she would completely turn on you. Hunter had seen this go on for years now, so he would typically stay out of her way, but now, he knew she was on to him.

“Listen, Violet, what you heard was nothing. Benji didn’t mean it.”

“You can stick up for him all you want, but you can’t convince me that what I heard was untrue.”

Hunter knew that Violet always had a thing for him. She had liked him for years, but Hunter never acknowledged it. He barely spoke to her because he’d seen how she treated other guys she’d dated. He didn’t want to get mixed up in her evil ways.

“I’m late for class, I gotta run,” Hunter said, as he began walking away from Violet.

“We’re not done talking, Hunter. Meet me after class, I’ll be waiting for you in my room,” Violet said as she batted her eyes.

“Fine,” Hunter said. “I’ll meet you there.”

He knew he had to get to the bottom of this with her. If he didn’t, he knew she was capable of doing horrible things to him, Benji and their entire coven.

Hunter walked away with a sharp pain in his chest. He couldn’t believe what had just happened. If things were bad for their coven before, now they were even worse. He didn’t know how he would get out of this situation, but he knew he only had one class period to think about it.

Hunter had been looking forward to today’s class topic since the syllabus had been distributed over the summer. He loved painting night scenes and he loved using dark colors to express himself. Hunter thrived off of making and creating art, and he must have made over one million paintings. Many hung at the family castle, but he kept some of his favorites for his dorm room at Mount Pines. His favorite scene of a wolf with blood coming out of his mouth was front and center on his wall. One could describe his art as eerie and violent, but to Hunter, it was beautiful.

As Hunter walked into class, the teacher greeted him and said, “Hunter, the day has come – are you ready to learn about the realm of darkness?” the teacher laughed as Hunter took his seat.

“Can’t wait,” Hunter said back, trying to sound excited.

Hunter’s talk with Violet and Benji had completely ruined his mood. He no longer felt happy to be in the studio, or eager for the lesson on darkness to begin. All Hunter could think about was Violet. He only had one hour to strategize how he was going to get through the night.

As he sat there, with his hand to his head, thinking, his mind drew a blank. He couldn’t come up with a solution to this problem. He wished Benji had never come up to see him today, and he especially wished that Violet hadn’t heard what he said. He wished she didn’t have the power of supersonic hearing.

Hunter sat there listening to the teacher explain how to create the illusion of darkness. He decided to forget about this whole thing and start painting. After all, painting was his therapy. He could deal with any problem when he painted.

He pulled out his paintbrush, dipped it into a midnight black shade of paint and touched his brush to the canvas. As he sat there painting the night sky, he became inspired. Hunter knew exactly what he could do to keep Violet in his good graces.

Chapter Eight

Hunter’s brush was flying across the canvas as he created his masterpiece of darkness. The teacher walked by in astonishment at his work. He couldn’t believe how fast Hunter had painted this piece and how much of the lesson he had absorbed and used in his work.

Hunter looked at the big black and white clock that hung on the wall above the door. It said 3:30pm, which meant he only had fifteen more minutes until class was over and until he would meet back up with Violet.

He sat there watching his artwork dry as thoughts of his conversation with Benji flashed through his mind. He was trying to recall exactly what Benji told him so he would know how to face Violet. He hoped she hadn’t heard everything but feared she had.

The bell rang. Hunter packed up his bag and walked out the door on his way to Violet’s dorm room. He knew his plan would work, which made him less worried about the outcome of their meeting.

Hunter got to the top of the fourth floor of her dorm and walked down the hall. As he walked, girls on either side stopped what they were doing and stared at him. Humans. He’d seen this reaction in them before. There was something about him that attracted them to him like a magnet. They all openly stared, and wouldn’t look away. But he wasn’t interested in any of them.

Hunter stood there, in front of Violet’s door, waiting for her to open it. He heard her footsteps coming close to the door as she swung the door open. She stood there alone in the doorway, motioning for him to come in with her pointer.

“Hey Violet,” Hunter said in a kind voice.

“Hunter, glad you came back. That was smart of you,” Violet said in a creepy tone.

“Listen, let’s get to the bottom of this.”

“Oh, don’t you worry. We will get to the bottom of this. Benji should never have disobeyed the ancient code and he will pay for it.”

“What do you mean he will pay for it?”

“That Rachel girl he likes so much-- we will have to bring her down. We can’t have anyone knowing our secret. It’s too risky.”

“Take her down?”

“Yeah, take her down…terminate her. What don’t you get about that, Hunter?”

“You can’t do that. You have to promise me you won’t kill her.”

“And why can’t I?” Violet said.

Hunter thought for a moment and then said, “You can’t kill her. If you kill her, Benji will kill himself.”

“He will not, he’ll be fine,” Violet said.

Hunter knew the powers that Violet had, and he knew she was backed by the Greslins, an evil pack of vampires that lived at Mount Pines. He knew if he were on her bad side she would make his life a living hell.

“Listen, Violet, there’s no need to go terminating anyone. Benji made a mistake -- but that doesn’t mean you have to go killing this poor human. She didn’t do anything wrong.”

“She heard the secret, that’s what she did wrong. How do you think she is supposed to live knowing our ancient code? If she keeps it bottled up inside, one day she will surely have to tell someone.”

Hunter knew the only thing he could do was make a pass at her. He knew that all Violet wanted in this world was to be loved by Hunter. She had tried to be with him many times before, but Hunter had rejected her. He figured that if it would keep her quiet, he would at least pretend he liked her.

“Have I ever told you how beautiful your eyes are?” Hunter said, changing the subject and gazing into Violet’s eyes.

Hunter watched as Violet’s demeanor shifted. She became soft and let herself smile.

“My eyes?” Violet said.

“Yeah, you are beautiful,” Hunter said, trying to keep a straight face.

Hunter walked close to her and grabbed her hand. He could feel Violet’s body begin to relax. She grabbed his hand and pulled him down onto the couch. Hunter looked at Violet, and before he knew it, the two had locked lips and were making out.

He felt her tongue in his mouth and her cold hands going up his shirt. He didn’t want to think about what was happening. Hunter would have never predicted that his day would end up like this when he woke up this morning.