Rory didn’t sleep.

She lay in bed, eyes wide open, staring at the cracked and partly burnt ceiling. The floor creaked as her father moved through the house, heavy footsteps swaying left and right. He was drunk again. She could smell it—cheap alcohol and sweat.

Her throat still hurt from where Kael touched her.

She reached up and Randy her fingers over the spot. It didn’t bruise, but it felt like it had. His fingers were cold, but his grip was strong. Too strong. Like he wasn’t used to touching anything without breaking it.

She didn’t know what he was.

But she knew one thing.

He wasn’t human.

Flashback

She saw it again in her mind.

The blood on his lips.

The way he moved—too fast, too smooth.

And those sharp white fangs.

A vampire.

Do they really exist?

It sounded crazy. But what else could he be?

Outside her window, the moon had begun to fade. But she didn’t feel safer. She felt watched. Like the shadows had eyes now. Like something had followed her home.

And maybe it had.

She closed her eyes and told herself over and over:

He’s gone. He’s not coming back. He said he hated me. There’s no reason for him to return.

The sun rose weakly, hidden behind clouds. Rory dressed quietly and left before her father could notice. Her stomach was empty, but she didn’t care.

She just wanted to get out of that house.

Campus was a 40-minute walk. She didn’t have money for the bus. Again.

Her shoes were worn. Her jacket thin. But at least she felt invisible.

She liked being invisible.

Until last night.

Now, part of her wanted to be seen. Not by the world. Not by her professors or classmates.

Just by him.

She shook her head, ashamed.

Why am I thinking about him? He hated me. He called me nothing.

Still... he could have killed her. But he didn’t.

Why?

Deep in the forest, Kael sat on a stone throne in the ruins of what once was a grand castle. The roof was gone, and the vines had grown thick around the walls. Crows circled overhead. It smelled of rot and blood.

He hadn’t fed enough.

Still starving.

His hands were shaking.

But all he could think about... was her.

“Her blood felt different,” he whispered.

He stood up suddenly, pacing.

“She looked weak... but something’s inside her. Something hiding.”

He hated this feeling. Curiosity. Hunger. Confusion.

He hated her.

But he wanted to taste her again.

Not to kill.

Just to know.

What was she?

Rory stayed late again.

The sun disappeared quickly. The library closed. And she walked the long road home.

She should’ve been scared.

But a strange part of her... wasn’t.

She stopped at the same spot where they first met.

Same trees. Same air.

The wind whispered through the branches.

And then—she heard it.

A soft thud behind her.

She turned.

He was there.

Standing only a few feet away, silent. Watching.

Her breath caught in her throat.

He didn’t move. His face was unreadable. Cold. Empty.

But his eyes—his eyes were darker than before.

“Why are you here?” she asked.

He didn’t answer.

Instead, he walked closer.

She took a step back, but he was faster. Suddenly, he was in front of her again, towering over her.

“I told you not to get in my way,” he said, voice low and dangerous.

“I didn’t,” she whispered. “You came to me.”

He stared at her for a long time.

Then, slowly, he reached out.

His finger touched her neck—where he had gripped her before.

“It’s healing,” he said, almost to himself.

Then his voice changed—sharp, angry.

“That’s not normal.”

She frowned. “What do you mean?”

He looked into her eyes, and for the first time, she saw something behind his anger.

Not affection.

Not interest.

Just confusion.

And something else.

Fear?

Kael took a step back, like she had burned him.

“I need to know what you are,” he growled.

“I already told you. I’m just a girl.”

He shook his head slowly. “No. You’re not.”

Suddenly, without warning, he grabbed her and pulled her against him. His mouth brushed her neck. She gasped, heart pounding.

And then—

He bit her.

Rory gasped.

Kael’s fangs sank into her neck like knives, fast and deep.

Pain bloomed—hot, sharp, overwhelming. Her fingers clawed at his chest, trying to push him away, but he didn’t move. He held her tightly, like a wolf sinking its teeth into prey.

His mouth was cold.

But her blood was warm.

Kael groaned against her skin. A deep sound. Wild. Hungry.

He was drinking her.

And she couldn’t stop him.

Her knees buckled, but he held her up easily, one arm around her waist. Her head tilted back as her strength drained away. The trees spun. Her breath came out in weak, short bursts.

This is it, she thought. I’m going to die in the middle of the woods… in his arms…

But she didn’t scream.

Even as everything faded, she didn’t scream.

The moment her blood touched his tongue, something changed.

It was wrong.

Wrong but addicting.

Sweet and strange.

Not human.

Not like anything he had ever tasted before.

His eyes rolled back as warmth spread through him—fast, burning, electric. It shot through his veins like lightning. His hands trembled, his heart pounded.

For the first time in over three hundred years... he felt alive.

But it wasn’t normal.

It was too much.

Too powerful.

He wanted more.

Needed more.

He drank deeper, pressing her body closer. Her pulse slowed. Her lips parted.

She was slipping.

Dying.

Her eyes fluttered.

Everything was dim. Quiet.

Like floating underwater.

Her fingers were cold now. She felt herself falling—but she wasn’t sure if it was her body or her soul. Her chest hurt, but only a little. Mostly, she felt... empty.

Drained.

Fading.

But just before darkness took her, she felt something else.

A spark.

Small. Hidden. Buried deep inside.

It pulsed once.

Then again.

And something old stirred in her blood.

Something that didn’t belong to humans.

He stopped.

Breathless. Staggering.

He pulled away, blood dripping from his mouth, staining his shirt. His lips parted as he stared at her—shocked.

She was unconscious.

But her body—

It wasn’t cold.

She should’ve been cold.

But she was burning.

He stepped back, staring at her with wide, confused eyes.

“What the hell…?” he whispered.

Her blood inside him was doing something he didn’t understand.

Changing something.

He clutched his chest. His heart beat once—then again. Hard.

Pain shot through him, sharp and strange.

“No,” he said. “No—this isn’t right.”

He looked down at her.

She looked peaceful. Like she was sleeping.

But he could feel it now.

Her blood was not human.

Not fully.

What did I just drink?

Kael picked her up, lifting her in his arms like she weighed nothing. His hands were shaking.

He had no idea why he didn’t leave her there.

But he couldn’t.

He had taken too much.

And now

She was connected to him.

Bound.

Maybe cursed.

He disappeared into the night, carrying her deep into the forest.

And behind them, where her blood had touched the ground...

The grass began to wither.