If the night was anything, it was cold. Stupid dress, she kept thinking. Everybody had just told her that it was so beautiful. They told her how gorgeous she looked in the deep purple, halter-topped sundress. It made her break her scowl and laugh darkly. A sundress, in the middle of a classic Michigan winter?

A deep, lone howl pierced the crisp nights air. She flinched at the sudden noise, of course, Aurora flinched at most things. The howl of the coyote echoed twice thorugh the frozen, deserted park. Deserted, except for her. Afterward, it went back to near silence. It was only Aurora's heavy breathing, the buzz of the old streetlights and the constant tap tap tap of her shiny new pumps.

The wind ruffled her strawberry blonde hair, bringing a fresh flurry of snow through the park, and goosebumps anew to her arms. Aurora must have been walking through the never-ending bike trail for an hour or two now, and for the first time in her life wished she had a watch. As she walked, the annoying tapping, breathing and buzzing seemed to become louder, drowning out her hearing. She couldn't shake the feeling that somebody was following her, but Aurora refused to turn around. Tap. Tap. Tap. Stupid shoes. Eventually she found herself tearing them off her blistering feet. The cool, icy-slick ashfalt felt amazing.

"I was wondering if you'd ever take those off. They were getting annoying." A deep, masculine and strange voice spoke. It caught her off guard. Aurora gave a little shriek, her hand on her heart. She didn't turn around. Something told her to run like crazy, but she stood her ground. Aurora was sick of running. So sick of it. Slowly, she gathered up the guts to pivot around and face the stranger, ready to defend herself, just in case. What she saw stunned her.

It was his piercing blue eyes that stopped her. They seemed to see right on throught o her soul, and they were so attractive, like lights to moths. She knew she could never disobey those eyes, and the strength behind them. There would be no way physically possible. Aurora was transfixed, it was not like her to fall off guard so easily, especially around strange men. Especially not in the face of danger.

Breaking the gaze was harder than she could ever put into words, but she forced herself. Aurora overlooked him as thoroughly and quickly as possible. He had medium length hair, pale skin and dark clothes on. She let herself stare in longing to the giant winter jacket he was wearing for mere seconds. She refused to look back into his crystal-clear, transfixing, soul-seeing eyes.

"Who-who are you?" She tried to sound strong. It didn't really work from behind her chattering teeth and her heart that was fluttering faster than a humming bird's wings. The man just stood there, terrifying and ominous, yet somehow handsome. Devistatingly handsome. Aurora shook herself once agian. This time she was more demanding.

"Who. Are. You?" she looked back into his eyes uncontiously. They burned her with their fierce power. He sighed.

"Take this," he finally said, shoving his jacket into her arms. She had no choice but to. Aurora shrugged it on gratefully.

"What are you here for?" she tried.

"To warn you," the man said. In the next second his face was inches from hers. This time Aurora did not flinch. She let the stranger graze her face with his cold hand. She stood completely under his spell, unmoving. She felt his hot breath on her face. "To warn you."

"Of what?"

"You, Aurora, are in grave danger. Be weary of death."

With that, the man was gone. In just the blink of the eye, Aurora stood. She stood in the middle of the snowy park, completely alone, and shivering because of her bare arms. There was nothing except the howl of a lone coyote and a faint memory of crystal clear, soul-seeing eyes.

Vampire eyes.