Chapter 1

Ash Redfern looked out over The Strip in Las Vegas from the window in his room. He was at Circle Daybreak's main headquarters in the mansion of Thierry Descoudres. It had been just over nine months since Ash had left his soulmate, Mary-Lynette Carter behind in her small town of Briar Creek. She had sent him away with the request that he try to make up for the way he had treated humans in the past. As a vampire, Ash had seen humans as vermin, only good for food. That was in the past though. Over the past nine months, Ash had taken a close look at humans and began to realize they weren't that bad. Only four months ago now, he had found Thierry and Circle Daybreak through his cousin James and his soulmate, Poppy. Through their constant badgering, Ash finally looked upon humans as his equals. Hah! Who was he kidding, humans were still below him, but he no longer saw them as food. Instead, he had been forced to hunt – gah – animals.

It wasn't too overly bad, Ash supposed; he found that the longer he abstained from human blood, the easier it got. Though he still wasn't thrilled with the idea, Ash was dealing. Before him, The Strip began to light up as the sky gradually grew darker. In the past, Ash would have just been getting ready to go out and enjoy a night out – friends, parties, girls; especially the girls. Ash shook his head to try and get the flashbacks out of his head. I'm changed now. I'm not like that anymore, he told himself firmly, trying to convince himself. He still wasn't totally sure though.

Just then, Ash heard a knock at the door. His turned around quickly and lazily walked towards it, thinking it was probably just one of his cousins or a friend or someone. When Ash opened the door, he was surprised to see Lord Thierry himself standing at the door with a letter in his hand. "Oh. Hi Thierry," Ash said.

"Ash, this letter just came to you from Briar Creek. I figured I'd deliver it to you myself – might be important" Thierry told him with a hint of a smirk on his face.

"Thanks…." Ash said, trying not to appear as anxious as he was.

Sensing his anxiousness anyways, Thierry bid Ash a good night and walked down the hallway. Ash half slammed the door and walked over to the small dresser to open the letter.

Ash was certain it was from his Mary-Lynette. It had to be. Maybe she wanted him to come back early and see her! Or, maybe something was wrong. No. It couldn't be that. He would not let him even imagine anything being wrong. That kind of possibility was too painful to imagine. Plus, she had his sisters – Rowan, Kestrel, and Jade – to protect her. Desperate to see what the contents of the letter held, Ash ripped it open and looked at the bottom of the page, just to ensure it was actually from his soulmate.

As Ash looked at the bottom of the letter, he felt his heart plummet to the floor. Hell, it probably was smashed into itty bitty little pieces at the center of the earth. Or melted. Maybe that's what happened. Ash backed up until he felt the soft covers of his bed press up against his knees, and sat down dazedly. The letter wasn't from Mary-Lynette after all. It was from his eldest sister, Rowan. As Rowan was older than Ash himself, she seemed to hold a sort of natural authority over him, though he was technically the head of them when in Briar Creek. He supposed a letter from Rowan wasn't too bad… It was just… A letter from Mary-Lynette would have made him so much happier.

After he was done sulking, Ash finally decided he might as well read the note.

Ash,

As you surely remember, Mary-Lynette sent you away about nine and a half months ago. Well, in about half a month, she'll be graduating from high school and I figured that you'll probably want to be there since it's considered quite an important milestone to her. Assuming that you are going to say yes, I'll get the room you stayed in last time ready for you. I also won't tell Mary-Lynette you are coming – surprises are much more fun. Well, see you in a bit. Remember, you have to be here by the twentieth of June, or you'll miss the ceremony.

See you soon,

Rowan

Ash lightened up considerably after finishing the letter from his sister. He liked the thought of going to see Mary-Lynette graduate. She had told him that she needed time to grow up a bit before he came back and that she wanted to graduate before she left Briar Creek. Of course, that may have just been because he wanted to take her away with him when she left and she wanted him to make up for his past. That made sense.

Quickly glancing at the calendar sitting on his dresser, Ash realized that it was already the fifteenth! He would have to leave right away if he wanted to reach Mary-Lynette on time! Damn Rowan! Why'd she send the letter so late? Unless the post office had temporarily lost it or something on its way. Anyhow, he had to make it in time. He just had to. He quickly threw some clothes and a few belongings and hygiene products in a bag, and scribbled a note to the Day Breakers to explain his absence. He left it on the main table where most of the house's current residents ate their breakfast. Ash jumped in his car, and headed for the highway to Oregon.