DISCLAIMER: Unfortunately, I do not own The Covenant or any of its affiliates (ex: Caleb, Pogue, Kate, Sarah, Tyler, Reid, Aaron, Keira, and/or Provost Higgins.). I do, however, own Sheila, who is an original character.

FULL SUMMARY: Born into an elite (and very strict) upbringing, they are the sexiest, smartest, and most talented. They are the Ladies in Waiting and they hold a secret, each carrying the Power in their DNA until the day when they meet the Sons. It can take years after the Sons Ascend before they meet their Ladies. If any of the Sons ever "touch" (even a mere handshake) their Lady, he'll know immediately and must claim her through Marking. Once she Ascends, they achieve ultimate Power and become each other's lives. If he dies, the Lady will soon follow (or vice versa).

Sheila Higgins comes to Spenser in trepidation. Her father's passing left her with nothing and being adopted by the Provost of Spenser Academy was definitely not in her plans. But being that he was an old friend of her father's, she accepts his offer and moves to the Academy that same summer.

Strange happenings surround her arrival and as the year progresses, untold secrets and buried legends come to light. Brought to Spenser under special and very strategic circumstances, someone wants her, or rather, her power and will stop at nothing to Claim her.

She is a Lady, conceived to bring one of the Sons hope for the future...

But during all this planning, someone to forgot to tell Sheila...

A/N: This story is rated for the simple reason that in future chapters there will be VERY adult themes happening. Caleb/OC. My story is loosely based on the movie. Some moments I kept in, simply because I like them, but really I just followed the movie's time line. I just added a few extra details to fatten it up! This first chapter happens the week before school starts in the movie, but here, I pushed it back a month or so. July 14th, for my own reasons, of course. So, my story starts in the middle of the summer rather than the beginning of the school year! Thank you so much! Please review... I'd appreciate any feedback!

P.S.: I just realized that this an extremely loooong chapter, but please, PLEASE, bare with me... all this is significant, I promise.

CHAPTER ONE:

JULY 14TH

Sheila fiddled with the buttons on the cracked dashboard, the monotone hot air blasting from the vents in a lazy drawl. "Son of a bitch." She cursed, slapping the dash with an open palm. "Damn A/C." She could already feel her shirt sticking, unladylike, to her back as she turned off the broken unit. She took in a deep, ragged breath of stuffy air and with a quick glance in her rearview mirror, tapped the button for her emergency lights and pulled onto the dirt-covered roadside, her father's sleeping form shifting slightly in the turn.

He opened his eyes, blinking rapidly. "Are we there yet?" He asked, yawning.

"No, the A/C's screwing up again. I'm going to put the top down." He nodded, eyes closing, mouth opening and closing a few times before he settled back into his dreams.

She smiled at him and turned the ignition off, the big, purring engine of the '67 Mustang dying at her touch. Sheila grabbed the steering wheel with both hands, gripping hard as she let out a sigh, hot tears pricking the corners of her almond-shaped eyes. She looked at the top of her father's head and tentatively let her fingertips touch his soft, graying hair. 'I could turn around now and just go back...' She thought, wiping the wetness from under her eyes. She let out a laugh, a laugh so out of place in this situation. 'Go back to what...?'

She shook her head, the reverie breaking, and leaning down to pull the lever, popped the button for her convertible top. Sheila could feel the outside air sneaking in through the cracks under the top. It was much cooler than the air in the car, and as she unlocked and pushed open the somewhat rusty door, it hit her full blast, chilling the sweat on her body. She involuntarily shuddered.

The cold wind blew harder as she stepped onto the road, her skirt flying above her knees revealing her smooth, tanned thighs. She gasped, clutching at her skirt. Sheila could have sworn that she heard a light laugh, masked to sound like thunder rumbling in the rapidly darkening Massachusetts sky. She wrapped her jacket tighter around her petite frame and pulled the frayed drop top up and back, locking it into place behind the head rests of the backseat. Thunder boomed again. She watched as the trees shook in angry response to the howling wind.

Lightning flashed white-blue, adding to the mix of low rumbles and random spatter of Spenser rain. She shielded her eyes from the brightness and saw him, no it!, crouching there by the nearest tree, eyes fixated on hers. She was not afraid. She has seen this creature, this darkling, before in her dreams. 'Someone has a sick sense of humor...' She thought as she looked at the darkling that was in the disguise of her late mother. She recognized her from her father's pictures.

"What do you want?" It raised a hand towards her, their eyes still locked, lightning flaring again. It threw its head back, mouth agape, lips stuck together, revealing holes where his true mouth should be. It seemed to be laughing at her, its body shaking in a grotesque manner, noises escaping its maw in gurgles. Sheila's eyes flashed gold, despite the darkness, and it disappeared. She sighed.

The brief rain had suddenly stopped and, without touching them, she knew her white leather seats were damp with regurgitated seawater, her father's clothes clinging to his body as he lay in a fetal position. He did not wake, despite the rain. She put on a fake pout. "Now what am I going to do about this?" Her eyes flared black, dark as the surrounding woods and with just as much creepiness. With her cheeks puffed slightly, she blew out, the Mustang trying to steady itself against her less than fierce spell, her father's hair ruffling slightly. She slid into the now dry seat and laughed. "I love that!"

She was still laughing when she felt something tiny land on her cheek. She looked into the rearview mirror, expecting to see a drop of rain, but instead a tiny spider made home to her flushed cheek. It sat completely still, as if staring back at her in the mirror. She gently picked it off her cheek and crushed it between her pointer finger and thumb. 'An imp...' She thought. The wind bit at her again, her hair swirling around her head.

'Sheila...' It whistled. She glanced around, holding her hair away from her eyes. 'Sheila... come to me...' The trees swayed as if they were the ones trying to entice her. Her eyes went completely black and she scanned the surrounding area, finding no sign of dark magic. 'Come to me, Sheila...' She stared at the unturned key in the ignition. 'Come to me...' The steering wheel was silently mocking her. She sighed and slowly put her hands on it. She closed her eyes, her body trembling.

'What's happening to me?' She steadied her arms and finally let them fall to her sides, her shoulders slumping, defeated, forehead resting on the steering wheel. She sighed, convincing herself to sit up and looked into the rearview mirror. The wind around her was calm, the sky lightening, sunlight breaking through. She ruffled her strands of hair back into place and wiped her nose delicately.

She gasped, startled, as her father's hand shot out and gripped her forearm. She tried to wrench her arm free, but he only absorbed her struggles by squeezing harder. She let out a groan. "Dad... you're hurting me..."

He laughed, a mocking tone, his eyes flashing to black. "He is mine now." It was a voice she didn't recognize. A voice that scared, yet intrigued her. It sent a quiver through her already shaking body.

She looked at him in horror. "Who are you?" She managed to ask, her voice cracking on the inquiry.

Her father smirked, his smile spreading passed its normal limits, causing his lips to crack. Blood trickled out of his split lip, dripping onto the white, leather seat underneath. His grip on her arm tightened further as his other hand reached out to brush the hair from her face. "So beautiful..." Drops of blood flew from his lips and left flecks on her cheek. She automatically flinched away and when she did, his hand tightened around her throat, constricting her air flow. "You will be mine..."

Her eyes flashed black to match his. "I don't know who you are, Creature, but I will never be yours."

He smiled. "Whether you want it or not, Lady, you belong to me..." He said this in an almost growl, his eyes growing darker (if that were even possible) and pressed his bloody lips to hers.

She let out a muffled sound of disgust and twisted her arm, successfully freeing it, and pulled back, staring him defiantly in the eyes. "I belong to no one..." The blast of magic hit him before he could stop it and he fell back with a grunt, releasing the grip on her throat. She coughed, scrambling to get away, falling on her butt as she opened the car door, never taking her eyes off the Creature.

She watched as the invading magic within him escaped, his body writhing and screaming as it captured his Soul, taking it with its departure. His skin flushed to a dull bluish-grey, eyes fading to a milky white. Sheila let out a sob and wiped her shaking arm across her lips as she stood.

She didn't hear the vehicle until it was right behind her, the tires squealing and burning as it zigzagged across the road to avoid her. She jumped back, her arms catching the side of her car. The SUV went into the ditch, the trees on the other side of the road trapping it, the gnarled, metallic body of the SUV hugging the trees like a lost lover.

She cried out, a soft "Oh" that no one on the deserted road heard. She crossed to the other side in trepidation, afraid of what she might find. As she neared, she saw smoke curling in tendrils from the engine, the horn letting out an unwavering whine. She gasped, a body was trapped against the steering wheel. She half ran, half stumbled towards the driver. A crimson river ran along the side of the man's face and she didn't have to check his pulse to know that he was dead.

She swallowed hard, the nausea fighting for release in her throat. She circled around the back of the SUV and found a woman sprawled across the backseat. Her neck was broken. 'Fuck.' She walked to the front, broken headlights crunching underneath her flip flops, and stepped over a tire that had popped off.

The front of the SUV was molded around the tree. She couldn't tell where one ended and one began. She did, however, discover a huge hole in the front windshield. Her eyebrows furrowed. It was as if something, or rather someone, had gone through the window. Sheila looked around helplessly and let out a sob. She didn't see a body in the immediate proximity. 'Maybe they survived and they went to get help...' She hoped, as she scanned the surrounding trees.

Her attention was brought to a remote section of forest some 5 or 6 feet away. Something was moving and Sheila soon realized that her feet were treading towards it, a sense of foreboding tucking at her stomach. She discovered a body, no, a boy, laying there, covered in cuts and blood, windshield glass scattered in his hair. He was young, Sheila saw as she knelt beside him. She rested a tentative hand on his shoulder and felt his muscles tense beneath his shirt as he rolled onto his back.

"Are you all right?" He coughed, his eyes closed and she moved her hand to touch his cheek. Her touch was gentle, his face looking as if it were bludgeoned a hundred times over by a blunt object. Her fingertips fluttered across his skin so she didn't cause him further pain.

The spark was instantaneous and Sheila, for a moment, thought she had imagined it, but as the heat from her fingertips that lay on his cheek forced its way into her hand and up her arm, she knew she hadn't. She watched in disbelief as the heat traveled up her arm and into her chest. She took a deep breath as it coursed through her body, to her toes and up her calves.

For some reason, she sighed and closed her eyes. It felt... nice... Even though nothing was really touching her, the mere thought that this stranger could really touch her that way excited her. She squeezed her eyes tighter in an attempt to rid herself of such a selfish, blush-worthy image. She could feel the heat slowly rising up, up, up her thighs where it settled in between her legs.

Sheila gasped and opened her now flashing eyes. He let out a grunt of pain and she quickly jerked her hand away, bringing it to her forehead. She gave her head a light shake. 'What the hell was that?'

She scanned his body with her eyes for magic. 'That's what it certainly felt like to me...' She sensed none and her eyes unknowingly strayed their way to his crotch. She saw his pants in that area were tightened from his hard on and she blushed, turning away. 'So she wasn't the only one that felt it...' She brought her eyes to his pale face. 'He's very handsome... no doubt about that...' She thought, despite the fact that his head was swollen in the most unnatural areas and was covered in purple and red splotches where the blood rose to the surface.

She heard the low rumble of thunder in the sky above her head. She turned her head upward, looking into the vastness of sky, and saw nothing but dull gray glowering back at her. It was starting to drizzle now, some of the cold precipitation sprinkling across her arms. It was the beeping that finally turned her attention back towards him.

It was his watch and for some odd reason this boy had set it to go off at this exact time. The lightning sliced the sky, aggressively forcing itself into the opening where the boy lay. The light was blinding and Sheila let out a cry of pain, shielding her eyes with her hand. She told herself to open her eyes and let out a sharp exhalation when she saw the boy floating in the air above her. He was writhing and screaming as the lightning violated his body. 'This is unnatural... I shouldn't be seeing this...'

Sheila's hair stood on end, the static of magic in the air all around her. She didn't stick around the see what happened to the stranger and quickly climbed the embankment, clawing her way onto the road. She fell upon the rough gravel, rocks digging into her skin, and rolled onto her back. She fought hard to hold back the tears, but failed and she wiped at her face frantically, dirt and blood, someone else's blood, smeared across her cheeks and shaking hands. She turned her head to the right with a groan and saw a blue bumper and two tires rapidly approaching her.

Sheila screamed.

A/N: She just needs to stay of the road, doesn't she?! Please review!