aYou Wonat Get Away From Mea Cloaked in darkness, Renz stood in the street, staring up at the Wellersa house. A black mist encircled him, hiding him from sight as he moved across the front lawn to the house.

A silver scooter lay on its side at the edge of the driveway. Two cars were parked next to each other in front of the garage.

Destiny, you and your sister have visitors, I see.

He could hear their voices, their laughter.

He raised his eyes and saw light in the window of the room at the top of the garage. The mist swirled around him as he moved up the driveway to the back of the house. Now he could hear the heartbeats in that room, hear the pulsing of blood through veins.

He gazed up at the window and listened for one heartbeat. One special heartbeat.

Laura, I am here for you. Laura, I can feel

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your heart quicken for me.

You know Iam out here. You know I have fol- lowed you.

Yes, we must wait. We have weeks until the next full moon.

That will seem like an eternity to me, dar- ling. But at least I can be nearby while I wait.

I will be watching you. I promise to stay near you all the time. I wonat let you out of my sight.

You wonat get away from me. Not this time.

And as you begin to change, to gain your powers, you will be ready for me. Ready to start your immortal life at my side.

Can you hear my thoughts, Laura?

Can you sense that Iam here? Can you feel my nearness?

He stood so still now, like a dark statue inside the circling dense fog. Listening a listening a And then he heard the shrill scream from the room above.

Destinyas scream.

A smile spread over his lips. aYes a yes!a

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Chapter Nine.

Such a Powerful Craving How long did she scream? Destiny had no idea.

When she finally stopped, it was like waking from a dream. Ana-Li held her tightly.

Livvy stood above Ana-Li, pale, her mouth open in shock and concern.

Destiny blinked, then gazed at her friends.

Her throat ached and her heart throbbed in her chest.

aAre you okay? What was that about?a Livvy asked, smoothing back Destinyas hair.

Ana-Li stepped back. aYoua"you frightened us.a Destiny shook her head, clearing it. aSorry.a Livvy helped Destiny onto the couch.

aShould I call Dad? Do you need a doc or some- thing?a aNo, Iam fine,a Destiny said, swallowing, her mouth still dry.

Livvy let out a long sigh. aJeez, Dee. You

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really freaked me out.a Ari shook his head. aYou never used to scare so easy. Next time Iall bring an Olsen twins movie.a aThatas not funny,a Livvy said sharply. She held onto Destinyas hand. aWhat frightened you, Dee?a Destiny rubbed her head, still feeling dazed.

Her friendsa faces kept going in and out of focus.

aI donat know. I a canat explain it, Liv. But I feel okay now. Really.a Ana-Li handed her a Coke. Destiny took a long sip. The others were all on their feet, staring at her.

aI guess weare not going to finish the movie,a Ari said. aAnyone want to come to my place and watch it?a There were no takers.

Bree glanced around uncomfortably.

aMaybe we should go.a A short while later, Destiny saw her friends heading to the stairs. aWhoa, wait.a She struggled to her feet. aItas early. Come on. You donat have to leave.a aCatch you tomorrow,a Courtney said. aYou should get some rest, Dee. Youare just totally

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stressed, I guess.a She and Bree, Fletch, and Ari disappeared down the stairs.

aCall me later, okay?a Ana-Li said with con- cern as she followed the others to the stairs.

Ross approached Destiny, rubbing his close- shaved head, his green eyes studying her. aGlad youare all right. That was kinda freaky.a Destiny forced a smile. aI was just trying to rescue us from that awful movie.a aYou could be an actress in one of those vampire films. That was awesome screaming.a aGlad you liked it.a Why did I scream like that? Why?

Livvy quickly stepped between them. aYou heading out?a she asked Ross. aIall go with you.a He shrugged his broad shoulders. aYeah.

Sure.a aIall help clean up later,a Livvy said.

Destiny stood in front of the couch, survey- ing the clutter of paper cups, empty soda cans, tortilla chip bags. She listened to Ross and Livvy clump down the stairs. The back door slammed.

I told her this summer I had a major crush on Ross. How could she do this to me? A burst of anger burned her chest. It slowly faded as she continued to think about Livvy. She had wor-

60.

ried about Livvy all summer.

No. Actually, she started worrying before the summer began. She wondered why her sister suddenly started hanging out with Bree Daniel. Bree was wild and kind of slutty and didnat care about school or much of anything else except partying. Breeas parents had divorced last year, and it turned out neither of them wanted custody of her. She went back and forth from one parent to the other, but she was pretty much on her own.

Why did Livvy want to copy her?

And why did Livvy go after every guy in camp this summer? What was she trying to prove?

Destiny spent so many nights lying on her cot in the small camp cabin after lights out, staring up at the shadowy ceiling, worrying about her twin.

Mom didnat love us enough to stay with us.

Is that why Livvy is so desperate to find love everywhere else?

Whoa. Youare the one who freaked out tonight, Dee. Youad better not try to be Livvyas shrink.

With a sigh, she started to collect the trash.

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This is so typical. Livvy runs out and leaves me here to clean up.

She carried the litter down to the kitchen.

aDada"hi.a He hadnat moved from the kitchen table.

Alone now, bathed in the dim, orange light from above, he had a veterinary journal spread out in front of him. He stood, pushing his glasses up on his nose.

aPoor Coach. I donat know how to cheer the man up,a he said, moving to the sink and rins- ing out a mug.

aYou both looked pretty grim to me,a Destiny said. She leaned her head against his shoulder. aYou okay, Daddy?a aDefine okay.a She gave him a shove. aYou define it.a He shrugged. aIam enjoying my work a little.a aYeah?a aWell, taking care of the puppies with diar- rhea and cockatoos with seeds stuck in their beaks isnat too exciting. But my research work is keeping me on my toes.a He looks so much older up close, Destiny thought. Iave only been away a couple of

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months. His skin didnat used to look so drawn and powdery. And his eyes used to be bright and alive. All the color seems to have faded away.

aWhat are you doing in the lab?a aItas hard to explain. Itas a kind of stem-cell research. Only with animal tissue. You know, animals get a lot of illnesses that could be genetic. If I can alter the genetic makeup, maybe I can eradicate some of the illnesses.a aSounds like a lot of laughs, Dad. And what do you do for fun?a aI stand here and let you make fun of me.a They both laughed. He hugged her. aIam glad to have you girls back. It was awfully quiet around here all summer. And it was nice to have your friends in the house tonight. Great to hear all that laughing and screaming.a Mainly screaming, Destiny thought.

She said good night and hurried back upstairs to her room.

Hours later, Destiny awoke bathed in sweat, silvery-cold moonlight washing over her from the open window. She sat up in bed, feeling shaky, her skin tingling.

What time is it? She squinted at the clock

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radio on the nightstand beside her. One forty- five?

Mopping her forehead with her nightshirt sleeve, Destiny sat up, wide awake now. And thirsty. She kicked off the covers and stood up.