Rogue Darkness by Dianne Duvall

“And Zach.”

“Zach, too. Hmm.” Her look turned thoughtful. “Maybe I should’ve tried dating immortal bad boys. They seem a lot less a-holish.”

He shook his head.

Retrieving her phone from the counter in the kitchen, she headed for the front door. “You want to give me a ride to network headquarters? Reordon’s crew plans to give me a makeover, so I’ll look more like Becca.”

“Sure. I’m glad you won’t have to cut much off the length of your hair,” he commented as he grabbed his keys.

She shrugged as she stepped onto the front porch. “It’s just hair. It would’ve grown back.”

Closing the door behind them, Sean already dreaded returning home without her.



Two weeks passed. Every night, Nicole put herself out there as Becca, walking to restaurants and bars, going to the library, and even attending a few parties.

Parties weren’t really her scene. Because the students in her classes had always been older than she was, they had never invited Nicole to any. Nor had the other students ever pressured her to join them and get wasted. She had only ever gotten drunk once, curious to learn the appeal, and had not liked it. She’d hated the pounding headache and vomiting the next day even more. So the only beverage she consumed at the parties she attended now was club soda she brought herself.

More cognizant of what happened on college campuses, Becca had issued several dire warnings before Nicole assumed her new role. “If you go to a party, don’t drink anything someone else prepared. Never leave your drink unattended. And limit yourself to one drink so you won’t have to go to the bathroom. Never go to the bathroom at parties.”

If Sean had heard the other things Becca had told her, he would’ve freaked out and insisted Nicole avoid parties altogether.

No vampires had attacked yet. Other than drunken revelers, no one approached her at all. Tessa had hunted with Sean several times and confided via text that she’d had to hold Sean back a few times when drunk guys had hit on Nicole.

Nicole thought it sweet that he’d wanted to kick their asses on her behalf.

Some had come on to her pretty aggressively—more than once in pairs—especially when she pretended to be inebriated. But any who seemed disinclined to take no for an answer got their butts kicked. Not by Sean. By Nicole.

Becca would have quite the reputation as a badass by the time this ended and she returned to school.

The network had nailed Nicole’s makeover. Sean had admitted that even he couldn’t tell she wasn’t Becca from a distance. Nicole didn’t know what Chris had done regarding Becca’s academic schedule, but that man had a hand in everything. So Nicole thankfully didn’t have to contend with putting herself out there as bait all night and getting up early to attend biology, psychology, and other classes the following morning.

She did, however, follow some of Becca’s other routines that didn’t include class time. Nicole figured it would seem suspicious if she stayed in the dorm room all day and emerged only at night. So she ventured out for lunch and went for a jog every afternoon.

Much to her surprise, none of the dorm residents she passed on her excursions seemed to notice she wasn’t Becca. While Nicole was relieved not to have her cover blown, she thought it sad that Becca had formed no friendships there in the residence hall.

Fortunately, Becca had friends who lived in other dorms and off-campus. Nicole had been successful, thus far, in ducking those. Though Becca was safely ensconced in Seth’s castle overseas, she could still text and call her friends to make excuses for not meeting them.

Nicole skipped down the steps in front of the dorm. Night had fallen. Again. If she were at Sean’s house, she would be laughing right now over the vast amount of food he consumed, then gearing him up for a hunt. She missed that. Missed their routine.

Missed him.

The isolation of this little impersonation was starting to grate on her nerves. She texted Sean every morning before dawn to make sure he made it home before sunrise. But she couldn’t call him and hear his voice. If a vampire were eluding them and surveilling her, she didn’t want him to overhear anything that would link her to Sean and the Immortal Guardians and blow her Becca guise.

She talked to Nick and Kayla, though, calling them every other night and chatting about her day. Nicole remembered enough about college to invent study- and class-related stories. She had recounted enough of them to her parents when she was in school. But her mom and dad had never responded as warmly as Becca’s did, offering encouragement, praising her accomplishments, and teasing smiles and laughter from her.

She really envied Becca that.

Her cell phone pinged loudly, making her jump.

A student walking past with her arms full of books glanced over at her.

Smiling ruefully, Nicole pulled the phone from her back pocket. “I must have been thinking too hard. That startled the crap out of me.”

The student smiled back.

Unlocking the phone, Nicole read the text.

Sean: You had to wear those jeans.

She grinned. Sure enough, she wore the jeans with a tear in the knee, one of Becca’s snug-fitting sweaters, a jacket, and a purse.

Nicole: Thought they would make a good lure. Worked last time.

He responded with a frowning emoji that made her laugh.

Her spirits lighter, she strolled along the sidewalk. Tired of the parties, she planned to enjoy a delicious meal at her favorite restaurant and hang out at the bar until it closed.