Preface:

Time. Time is the most inescapable thing in the universe. No matter what you do, time won't change—not even if you want it to. Time is irritatingly unstoppable. For humans, time is age; growing, and living their lives to the fullest in the limited amount that they are allowed. For my kind, time can be both nothing and everything. I know this for sure, because I have heard of those of my kind who spend their endless existence completely carefree and untroubled. Then there are vampires like me—the ones who spend every second of that "endless" existence knowing that that their time is running out before you can even get your chance to enjoy it. That's the problem with being able to see the future: You will always know exactly what time will bring, but you know there is absolutely nothing that you can do about it. What happens with time is inevitable.

I had been concerned with time a lot lately. I had moments where I wished that time would go faster and this pace of my existence would just expedite. I longed for this period of complete vulnerability to be over and done with, so I could go on to enjoy the more important things that came with my existence. I thought about a time in the future where I wouldn't have to worry about this kind of thing anymore.

Then, considering other factors, there were moments where I would wish that time would just slow down. What I desired most was that the events I knew to be inevitable wouldn't be approaching so soon. I didn't understand how time could seem to go so fast when something horrible was about to happen, yet creep along slowly at the thought of a better future—a better future that I wouldn't get to see. The unavoidable doom looming ahead of us was much closer than the light at the end of the tunnel. Our light was gone...

Except for right now, of course. Right now was one of those rare moments where I wished that time would just stop. If I could just freeze this moment and live here forever, I would be perfectly content. As I step forward, looking up into the golden eyes of the man I love, I know that this is one of the moments that keep vampires like me going, despite knowing what the future holds. This is the kind of moment where everything seems to be going perfectly, even when I know better. Because, deep in the back of my mind, I know that perfect never lasts. The future is never perfect, because time is a fickle thing. Here, in this moment, I had everything I could ever ask for and more, but- with a quick reminder of the future- I knew that this is the last perfect moment of my existence. And there is nothing I can do to stop it.

Important Author's Note: Please let me know what you think of the preface, I was very hesitant about this. My co-author is in Africa and I don't have the patience to wait for her approval, so this preface is very subject to change. I warn you now. But! If you thought the preface was good, I can skip the process and tell my co-author that the readers enjoyed what I had written! Yay!

Just FYI to any new readers: This is the sequel to The Witness, and you will most likely not be able to follow this unless you have read that. There are probably too many out of canon plot points for you to be able to just read the sequel. By all means, find the story on my profile and read it! Hope you enjoy it, and I hope I'll be seeing you in the sequel soon!

To those of you who have read the first installment and are ready for this one, please go on ahead. I hope everyone enjoys the beginning of The Watcher. I guess we'll see where it's going from here...