Chapter One

All you need to know about my history is that I came from a shitty family living in a crappy town and faced a bleak future.

I was bored and wanted adventures.

I was lonely and wanted a lover.

I was poor and wanted riches.

I was the outcast goth girl and wanted to belong.

I was sickly and desired strength and immortality.

Impossible dreams.

When I wasn’t working my ass off washing dishes in a greasy diner, my nose was buried in a supernatural romance novel. I loved magic and shapeshifters, but most of all I love vampires. They had all the time in the world to do anything they wanted. Almost anything, except sunbathe and eat roasted garlic.

It was my birthday yesterday and no one remembered. My brother and sister took off years ago. My mom and step-dad didn’t give a fuck. As long as I didn’t go to the clinic again for my cough, handed over my weekly paycheck and kept the trailer clean I was invisible to them.

That late afternoon I walked outside of the diner with a full order to throw in the dumpster. The old lady that ordered it didn’t have enough money. My asshole manager refused to let her have the food and ordered me to toss it out. I stormed out back to the rank dumpster and hesitated. Then I crept to the corner of the building and looked for the old lady. She was shuffling along the broken sidewalk with her head hanging.

“Psst,” I hissed at her.

She raised her head and looked around.

“You want your food?” I held out the order.

“I-I don’t have enough money. I lost the other dollar I had.” Her voice was hoarse and tired.

I stepped out and glanced around. “It’s free as far as I’m concerned.”

“Your boss…”

“Is a fucker. Grab this so I can go back in and not get caught.”

She toddled to me, took the bag in one hand and grasped my hand in a vice-like grip with her other hand.

Shit, she was strong.

“I don’t have the money, but I’ll trade you.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“I will give you your heart’s desire.”

A bark of laughter escaped my lips. “What are you? A fairy godmother? Or a genie?”

“Not exactly. What time does your shift end?”

“In a couple of hours, but I’ll get in trouble if my boss sees me with you. Look, I gotta get back in before I'm fired.”

“Where are you going after work?”

“The library.” I tried to peel her fingers off my wrist.

She abruptly let go. “See you there.”

I turned away and rushed back in to the waiting pile of dishes.

I had forgotten about the old lady until I spotted her on a bench just outside the library. I debated on whether I should ignore or acknowledge her. She was staring at the ground muttering to herself. Reluctantly I approached the bench and plopped down at the other end.

She looked up and offered a gummy smile. “What is it you want out of life?”

I sighed and rotated my shoulders. “I want adventure, lovers, wealth, a tribe or pack, health, strength and while we’re at it, how about immortality?”

“Sound like you want to be a vampire.”

“Works for me.”

“Okay, it’s a deal.”

The woman was fucking nutters. “What? You’re a vamp? You gonna turn me?”

“I’m not one, but I can help. Vampires are an endangered a species, you know. They need more breeders.”

“Well, actually I didn’t know, but having never seen one I’m not surprised.”

“You might have seen one and didn’t realize it.”

I shrugged my shoulders, swung my legs around, and lifted my feet onto the bench between us. “So you know a vampire?”

“I have connections,” she said. “But a meal for a watcher isn’t enough of a payment. There’s a price for your dreams. And hard work. You’ll get a start and the rest is up to you.”

“Oh yeah? What’s the price?”

“You need to birth one hundred vampire babies.”

I hooted in laughter. “Look, old woman, my uterus isn’t a clown car. And I have no intention of popping out litters for some old vamp, even if he’s the sexiest thing out there. No man will tell me how to live my life.”

She cackled. “That’s not the way it will work. You’ll be given a home in Forgotten Hollow plus a nice sum of cash to get yourself started. You’ll go up the hill and ask Vlad to turn you, then you’ll mate with various human men until you have one hundred vampire babies. The human babies don’t count.”

My jaw dropped. “Am I supposed to drown the human ones?”

She glared at me. “No, you must raise all the children well, human babes included. All the rules are in the contract. You can look it over before you sign.” She reached into her tattered handbag, pulled out a rolled up parchment, and offered it to me.

I leaned forward and took it. Then I unfurled the parchment and gave it a glance. “What happens after I have one hundred little vamps? Do I get gold or a mansion?”

She snorted. “If you want gold, dig it up. If you want a mansion, earn the money. You’ll be immortal, there’s plenty of time for all that. Find yourself a job to work from home because raising children is a full-time job. You have to support yourself and them.”

“I could stay in this shitty hellhole if I wanted to barhop and single mom it.”

“Oh, is immortality offered around here?”

“Well, maybe there are vamps around here too.”

“And you’re certain they’ll turn you instead of draining you of your life?”

I chewed my lower lip thoughtfully. “Okay, you’re saying I get a home in a new town, cash and what else?”

“The home is on a very special lot. Two ley lines intersect there: a light and dark ley line. It’s also been magicked with a romantic aura. You’ll have a brand new laptop to work from home. What's your dream career?”

I glanced down at my backback filled with borrowed supernatural romance novels. “I’d like to write, create stories, romantic stories with sexy, beastly men.”

The corner of her mouth quirked up. “You might need to write other things to pay the bills at first, but that sounds like a good plan. There’s money to be made in love books.”

“So what if I change my mind and quit after I’m turned?”

“Once you sign the contract, you’re bound. Your immortality is conditional with this contract. Once the contract is fulfilled, all conditions are dropped. You are forever a vampire, any kind of vampire you want to be. You’ll have all of time in the world. You call it quits and immortality will be stripped from you. Then the grim will pay a nasty visit.”

My flip phone buzzed. “Hello?” My mom was screaming at me to get my ass home and to bring a pizza for their dinner. For fuck’s sake it was my fucking birthday. I hung up the phone without answering her. “Where do I sign?” I snarled.

The woman dug into her tattered bag. She pulled out a brand new cell phone, a bus ticket, a map, keys and a deed to a house.

I swiveled around and dropped my feet back to the pavement. I watched her set the items on the bench between us. She produced an old fashioned pen and a small knife.

“What? I’m signing in blood?”

“Smart girl. Now if someone listed three traits about you. What would they be?”

“Um, I guess I’m Neat, a Perfectionist and a Snob?”

She raised her eyebrows in response to my last trait.

I shrugged rather than explain I was a gal with champagne dreams living on happy hour watered down beer.

Then she nodded. “Those are pretty good traits. Can I suggest a starting aspiration for you?”

I shrugged again.

“How about a Serial Romantic? It will add allure and provide much fun.”

I flashed a wide grin at her. “Sounds like a plan to me.”

She smiled and handed me the knife.