Victoria startled back at the stunning woman now sitting across from her. The woman whom Alex clearly knew. Perhaps even the woman responsible for his earlier mood.
	“I was just passin’ through town, and decided to stop for the night,” Nyaira all but purred. “I’d heard you lived in a town around here, but [i]never[/i] thought I’d actually run into you!” She leaned slightly into him.
	The smile on Nyaira’s face made Victoria wish she could slap it off. The look in her eyes, something between hunger and lust, made Victoria feel uneasy. The many glances Alex cast her and the false pleasantries just noticeable in his voice made it only worse.
	Something was terribly wrong. She felt it, the way she always did when she saw a supernatural. Then, like a faint whisper, it came to her. [i]Vampire.[/i] She had found the race one of the most difficult to see for what they truly were. They were, after all, already quite close to humans, but this one… she scarcely even tried to hide it. Victoria swallowed hard and slunk back in her seat, her breath caught in her lungs.
	“What’re [i]you[/i] doin’ ‘round these parts?” Nyaira asked. “And who’s your… [i]friend?[/i]”
	The way she said “friend” made a chill run down Victoria’s spine. She wanted to look away, but could not. She wanted to tell Alex they needed to leave, but words failed her.
	[i]Of [u]all[/u] the supernaturals,[/i] she thought, even her mental voice small, [i]why did it have to be a [u]vampire?[/u][/i]