Hayley's POV
Being a vampire means a lot of things: eternal youth, super strength, blood cravings, but apparently, it doesn't stop me from oversleeping for school.
For someone who's a hundred and fifteen years old, you'd think I'd have figured out how to wake up on time.
Spoiler: I haven't.
Normally, vampires stay up all night hunting and sleep during the day, and that's exactly what the whole clan was doing last night. We were all hunting deer for survival. Although their blood isn't enough to keep us afloat like human blood is; sweet and desirable, we had no choice.
The whole move changed our schedule. Instead of sleeping during the day and resting from our midnight activities, which is essential for our survival, we now have to go to human school. Well, some of us do, and I happen to be one of them.
In order to fit in and escape curious eyes, I had to catch a quick nap before school, which might have overrun its intended course.
I open my eyes as the sun hits my skin, and for one terrifying second, I forget I have the ring on.
Luckily, it's there, protecting me, because I never remember to pull the curtains down when it's time to sleep.
New Jersey wasn't supposed to be home. But when humans start sniffing out your secrets, you don't get a choice.
And honestly? If there's one thing worse than moving in next to a werewolf pack, it's having to pretend I'm just another teenager.
I hated New Jersey the second we got here. Too many humans, too close to werewolves, and way too far from the life I wanted.
But anyway, nothing says good morning like realizing you're late for school.
My mom says I'm a brat. She's probably right, but in my defense, I'm a one-hundred-and-fifteen-year-old brat.
I jump out of my coffin and rush downstairs, only to find my wonderful family already eating breakfast without me.
My mom and brother are feasting on a pile of blood like animals. As usual, I don't blame them, especially after having to survive over a week without blood while trying to adapt to our new environment and avoid making ourselves obvious to humans and werewolves about our arrival.
We couldn't go hunting frequently.
My dad, on the other hand, is sitting calmly in the dining chair, eating toast and eggs while reading the newspaper.
He is so different from us because he was once human and even after being turned, he still kept some of his human traits like eating their food...yuck. I still find it weird, though, that my mum's soulmate was human, considering how old-fashioned a vampire she is.
But the love between them is stronger than anything I've ever seen between vampire soulmates. Just the way they look at each other is so pure.
Gosh, maybe I crave that one day.
I wonder who my soulmate will be.
My brother Rick and I haven't gotten ours yet, and I try so hard not to think about it because I'm not even sure I'm ready for it, the whole ritual and all.
"Why didn't anyone wake me up?" I demand.
Not that I'm too young to wake myself up. For fuck's sake, I'm one hundred and fifteen.
Immediately, everyone looks up from whatever they're doing to stare at me.
My mother, of course, takes the initiative to respond, and both my dad and brother know better than to interject.
"Well, your brother wanted to," my mother says sharply. "But I figured you'd still act like a brat and ignore me, so I told him not to bother."
I expected that answer.
Three weeks ago, we were still safe in Texas, far from werewolves. Now, thanks to humans sniffing around our secrets, we had to move.
My mother, our clan maestra, found us a place in New Jersey.
The catch?
We're living dangerously close to a werewolf pack.
And if there's one thing everyone knows, it's that vampires and werewolves have hated each other for centuries.
Even so, our secret has stayed safe. Still, I hated the move and made sure everyone knew it, especially by giving Mum the silent treatment for weeks.
"Mother, I won't lie and say I'm happy here," I admit. "But I understand this is what the clan needed. They're more important."
I may be a lot of things, but selfish isn't one of them.
If humans find out about us, they'll come after not just the adults but the fledglings too.
My mother hums in approval.
"Alright then, hurry upstairs and get ready."
I smile, nod, and head back toward my room, ignoring the fact that my dad and brother are still in the background watching the scene.
After getting dressed and grabbing my things, I come back down.
Dad is still sitting with his newspaper, but he drops it when he notices me.
"Morning, sweetie. Your brother's waiting in the car," he says.
I hate that we have to use a car when we can just run, but we have to stay perfectly hidden according to my mum.
We can't just carelessly risk anything. Any small thing could give us away.
"Thanks. See you later."
The drive to school is painfully quiet, so I decide to start a conversation.
"So," I ask, "are you excited about going to a school filled with humans and probably werewolves?"
I know I'm not.
Rick sighs and shoots me a look.
"No. I'm just more optimistic than you are," he says with a mischievous smile.
I scoff.
"Fuck off."
He's always been good at getting under my skin.
Rick is fifty years older than me, which, in vampire years, isn't much. Neither of us has ever been to a human school before.
Our clan teachers always handled our lessons: hunting, surviving without blood, and learning how to complete the bond with our soulmate.
Most vampires meet their soulmate at one hundred. They're meant to spend eternity together.
But I'm one hundred and fifteen, Rick's one hundred and sixty-five, and neither of us has met ours yet.
Not that I'm in a rush.
Honestly, the idea of someone tying me down doesn't sound appealing.
I'm pulled out of my thoughts when Rick parks in the school driveway.
The empty front lawn tells us we're late.
Oh, Great Deity, help us.