AdrianMilo stood there, my father’s old assistant, holding a carton of wine bottles at his feet.The realization hit me. I had completely forgotten I had instructed him to stock the lake house.But even as relief started to creep in, something else made me pause. Milo was uneasy. Too uneasy for something as simple as a delivery."Master," he said, bowing his head in deference, recognizing not just my power, but who I was — his Sire, his Lord.I stepped back slightly, a grim understanding settling over me.I was not like the others. Not strigoi. Not dhampyr.I was something more. Stronger. Older. A bloodline born pure, untwisted — built from power the strigoi could only envy.I could survive on human food. I could walk freely under the sun. I had forged a new race — my own clan — stronger than anything the old world could birth.But strength came with its burdens.My body was almost invincible. My mind sharper than most. My instincts nearly flawless.And yet, my heart — th
Adrian"Please," Graham rasped, still clutching my leg. "If she fails the transformation, she'll die. And even if she lives, I'll be powerless. I have no sons. She’s all I have left. Either way, my bloodline ends."His voice cracked under the strain. His grief clung to the air, thick and suffocating. He wasn’t wrong — but it didn’t change anything.I had seen this before — heads of families, desperate and broken, coming to me with bleeding hearts and empty hands, begging for a different fate.But my answer was always the same."No," I said quietly, my voice like stone. "I’m sorry, Graham. I can't help you."He sagged against me, the last bit of hope draining from him."If I take you into my clan," I continued, "I would be breaking the treaty. The very foundation of the peace we all cling to. When my bloodline broke from the strigoi, it was a war that could have ended us all. We reached an impasse. An agreement was forged: I would not take or turn what belonged to Volodym
NatalieI stood under the flimsy canopy Lisa had set up, handing out animal cruelty campaign fliers.It was a sweet little setup—messy, mismatched, but hers. I liked that about her. And in a town like Hawkshire, where boredom wrapped around you like a heavy coat, helping her felt like a lifeline.I didn’t want to be here. Cainebrielle University wasn’t my choice—it was my uncle’s dream, not mine.I was just playing along, stuck in a place that felt too polished, too fake, and miles away from anything that felt like home.My old life—my friends, my city, the pulse of it all—was behind me now. All I had was this quiet town and a school filled with kids who had never had to fight for anything.Lisa was the one good surprise.We met during orientation—two misfits orbiting the same chaos. She didn’t care about Greek life or social clout. She just wanted to laugh and talk about weird documentaries and help animals. That was enough for me.Cainebrielle might’ve been built for the ultra-rich,
NatalieI sat through Professor Isaac’s lecture, but my mind was nowhere near the gazebo.I couldn’t focus—couldn’t pretend everything was fine. The image of that wolf, those eyes, the sheer size of it—it replayed over and over like a loop I couldn’t escape. Every sound around me was muffled under the weight of what I’d seen.Was it even real?Yes. It had to be. I wasn’t imagining things. Someone else had been there. He had been there.And that was the other part I couldn’t shake. The stranger.His voice still echoed in my head—calm, steady, like it had reached into the panic and pressed pause. And those eyes. Not just green—alive, like something ancient was staring out from behind them.Who was he?A student? A professor? Someone passing through? I hadn’t seen him around before, and the campus wasn’t that big.He hadn’t stayed long enough for me to find my words, let alone ask questions. Just appeared, said enough to haunt me, and vanished.Part of me wanted to believe I’d dreamed th
NatalieUncle Michael drew in a long breath, his smile appearing like clockwork—polished, polite, and practiced. But it stopped short of his eyes, where something colder lingered."I'm glad you're settling in," he said, voice smooth as glass. "Hawkshire’s a fine place. The right kind of people. The kind who matter. You won’t miss the city at all."As if that alone could wipe away everything we’d left behind.I looked down, jaw tightening. My chest felt like it was folding in on itself.You won’t miss the city at all.But I did. God, I did."I miss my friends," I said, barely more than a whisper. The words floated between us like something fragile. Then, like always, Alison's name surfaced in my mind. Her laugh. Her letters. Her dream. The guilt twisted, low and sharp."And Alison? When will she come to Cainebrielle? She always talked about it like it was magic." I asked.For the first time, Uncle Michael’s composure cracked. The smile slipped. His throat clicked as he swallowed, shift
NatalieUncle Michael looked at me, a half-smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. It wasn’t warmth—it was control dressed as calm.“It would be wise for you to act responsibly,” he said, his voice smooth but heavy. “Like your mother. A lot depends on this family’s money. Even your father couldn’t cut himself off completely. He might’ve lived outside the family estate, but he was still a Pierce.”He leaned back slightly, as if laying out facts in a courtroom.“Every business he started? Funded by the inheritance he got from our father. Your grandfather. Most of those ventures were just extensions of what we already owned. You see, our business moves in circles. And we’re smart enough to stay within them.”Then he looked straight at me, voice colder now.“If you refuse to follow the rules, then you and your mother can say goodbye to my support—and to your father's estate.”I stared at him, stunned.“You’re blackmailing us,” I whispered. “I won’t marry a stranger just to please you. A
NatalieUncle Michael sighed, the sound sharp in the silence. Irritation flickered across his face as he set his cup down with a pointed clink.“Brian didn’t want a lot of things, Nicole,” he said, voice clipped. “But he’s gone now.”His tone was flat, too steady, like he was trying not to show just how close he was to losing control.“I need to know Natalie will be protected if something happens to me. That Brian’s bloodline doesn’t end in silence. That a Pierce doesn’t grow up poor or unguarded in a world like this.”He glanced briefly at me, then back to my mother.“You’re still young. You could remarry, start a new life. But Natalie? She’s my responsibility now. She always will be. So stop painting me as the villain.”My mother went rigid beside me. Her fingers twisted in her lap, knuckles white.“I would never betray Brian,” she whispered. Her voice trembled, but she held her head high.“I loved him. I still do. And the way he died—the way his body was so broken, I couldn’t even
NatalieThe moment the door clicked shut behind Uncle Michael, I felt like I could finally breathe. But the pressure in my chest didn’t lift. It sat there—heavy, unmovable—like something had cracked inside me and hadn’t quite healed right.I spent the rest of the day packing in silence. Folding clothes, stacking books, zipping up my life with mechanical precision. I didn’t cry. I didn’t speak. I just moved.It wasn’t until dusk draped the room in amber and shadow that my phone buzzed from the nightstand.Lisa.Relief bloomed in my chest at the sight of her name.“Come out with me,” she said as soon as I picked up. Her voice was light, teasing—but with an undertow of concern. “There’s a club in town. You need a night out, and I need my favorite partner-in-crime.”I hesitated. My heart was still raw. The last thing I wanted was a blur of flashing lights and fake smiles. But another part of me—tired, reckless, aching for escape—was already reaching for my closet.“I’ll be there,” I said,
Adrian"Please," Graham rasped, still clutching my leg. "If she fails the transformation, she'll die. And even if she lives, I'll be powerless. I have no sons. She’s all I have left. Either way, my bloodline ends."His voice cracked under the strain. His grief clung to the air, thick and suffocating. He wasn’t wrong — but it didn’t change anything.I had seen this before — heads of families, desperate and broken, coming to me with bleeding hearts and empty hands, begging for a different fate.But my answer was always the same."No," I said quietly, my voice like stone. "I’m sorry, Graham. I can't help you."He sagged against me, the last bit of hope draining from him."If I take you into my clan," I continued, "I would be breaking the treaty. The very foundation of the peace we all cling to. When my bloodline broke from the strigoi, it was a war that could have ended us all. We reached an impasse. An agreement was forged: I would not take or turn what belonged to Volodym
AdrianMilo stood there, my father’s old assistant, holding a carton of wine bottles at his feet.The realization hit me. I had completely forgotten I had instructed him to stock the lake house.But even as relief started to creep in, something else made me pause. Milo was uneasy. Too uneasy for something as simple as a delivery."Master," he said, bowing his head in deference, recognizing not just my power, but who I was — his Sire, his Lord.I stepped back slightly, a grim understanding settling over me.I was not like the others. Not strigoi. Not dhampyr.I was something more. Stronger. Older. A bloodline born pure, untwisted — built from power the strigoi could only envy.I could survive on human food. I could walk freely under the sun. I had forged a new race — my own clan — stronger than anything the old world could birth.But strength came with its burdens.My body was almost invincible. My mind sharper than most. My instincts nearly flawless.And yet, my heart — th
AdrianNatalie was perfect — a beauty crafted for me alone, even if she didn’t know it yet.Her body knew. Her soul knew.But her mind was still catching up, still caged by the fragile logic of human life.When I felt the string tighten in my chest — that sharp pull of fear — I knew it wasn’t mine. It was hers.The one I had waited centuries for. The one I had been told would never come.Being a vampire with a soul had its curses. I had sired a few, built a new bloodline stronger than the old ways, but nothing filled the hollow ache inside me. Nothing dulled the loneliness that shadowed me through endless lifetimes — through wars, through plagues, through the rise and fall of civilizations.I had lost friends, lovers, allies. I had buried them all. And yet I remained.Always waiting. Always incomplete.Unlike the strigoi before me, I could not simply choose a mate and bind her to me by force or tradition. Fate had to choose for me. And until Natalie, it never had.I had begun t
NatalieI watched Adrian for a while, unsure how my next words would land. My throat felt tight, my heart louder than it needed to be. But I said it anyway. "Actually… I’m not hungry."My voice came out softer than I intended — hesitant, uncertain.He paused, slowly setting down the utensils and turning off the stove. Then he looked at me, amused. "So," he said, peeling off the apron, "what do you have in mind?"I opened my mouth, then closed it. Words failed me. I wasn’t the type to take the lead — not like this. And I knew, somehow, he already understood that."You don’t strike me as shy," he said, stepping closer.And then he was between my legs.I was still perched on the counter, his presence suddenly too close and not close enough. I had nothing on underneath his shirt, and when I looked at his face, saw the quiet heat in his eyes, I felt the blush rush up my neck and into my cheeks.He smiled at the sight of it. "I like it when you blush, Little Fox," he whispered
NatalieAdrian was waiting in a sleek black sports car parked just outside my apartment building. He looked… casual. A white T-shirt and jeans, nothing layered, nothing sharp — a world apart from the calculated elegance he usually wore.It was the most relaxed I’d ever seen him, and somehow, that made him even more dangerously attractive.As I stepped out, I noticed how people on campus were watching him — some with wide-eyed disbelief, others with open hunger, like they were hoping he'd glance their way, hoping for a crack in his armor. He was important, and everyone knew it.Then his eyes found mine. And he smiled.That smile — it wasn’t for just anyone. I was starting to think he reserved it. And I was one of the few who got it."Hey," I said, the word small, soft.He frowned in mock disappointment. "Is that all you have to say?"Before I could answer, he reached for me and pulled me in — kissing me full on the mouth, like there was no one else in the world watching. No hesitat
NatalieProfessor Alester stood at the front of the room, arms crossed, that same smug, knowing smirk playing at his mouth. He watched the chaos unfold—laughter, jokes, nervous banter—as if he were pulling the strings, letting us dance.Then he raised a hand.The room fell into a strained, twitching silence."Very well," he said, his voice slicing through the leftover chatter like a blade. "If it’s so unbelievable, I challenge you: How would you explain a myth like this being true? Hypothetically, of course."He paused, his dark eyes glittering—not with curiosity, but something sharper. Hungrier."If you can’t imagine it," he said, "perhaps you lack the curiosity to consider the possibility."Silence stretched out, thick and sticky. No one moved. No one wanted to be the fool who answered.Except... me.Before I even knew what I was doing, my hand was in the air. Tentative but steady.A ripple went through the room like a rock dropped into water. Heads whipped toward me. Whispers bu
NatalieA low murmur spread through the hall, but Alester silenced it with a flick of his hand. His gaze was wildfire, sweeping over us, daring anyone to speak."Lord Volodymir saw the boy for what he was—a threat. For the first time in millennia, the strigoi tasted fear. Not from humans. From something greater."The ache in my chest deepened. I knew what was coming, somehow. I felt it like a wound waiting to be torn open."To protect their old ways, Volodymir made a decision that would stain his legacy forever. He ordered the death of Alexei, his mortal wife, and their extraordinary son."The words hit like a blade to the gut. I could feel it, the collective mourning in the air, the weight of inevitable tragedy pressing down on all of us."But Volodymir underestimated the strength of a family bound by more than blood," the professor said, his voice softening just enough to sound almost human. "The boy, trained by his father, was already strong. When the assassins came, he fought them
NatalieProfessor Alester’s gaze swept the room, slow and heavy, almost like he was looking for something. Or someone. His dark eyes caught mine for a breathless second, and I had to force myself not to look away.I wasn’t sure if he found what he was searching for. But whatever it was, it made my blood run cold."However," Professor Alester said, his voice dropping low enough that we all leaned in without meaning to, "there was an anomaly. A moment when fate—or perhaps something greater—intervened. One bride, one sacrifice, was unlike the others. The venom did not take her. The transformation failed. But… she did not die."Gasps flickered across the room, but I couldn't even make a sound. My breath stuck in my throat, thick and heavy, as his words sank deeper into me, pressing against my chest like a hand trying to crush me from the inside."She was immune," he said, almost reverently, almost like he feared the very idea."Immune to the venom that was supposed to remake her. And yet,
NatalieThree days had crawled by since my uncle’s visit — three long, heavy days — and somehow, the man had managed to steal whatever small scraps of joy I had left.Carson still hadn’t taken me out on that lunch date he’d asked for, and honestly, I was grateful.I didn’t know why I had said yes in the first place. Sitting with it now, the decision felt wrong. Heavy. Like I'd already made a mistake I couldn’t undo.The fact that it hadn’t happened yet... it mattered. It felt like a small mercy.Now, it was time for Myths and Legends — a class I dreaded more than anything.Professor Alester had a way of making your skin crawl, like he could see every secret you tried to hide. If the course hadn’t been mandatory, I would’ve dropped it without a second thought.Most universities made you take things like Psychology or Philosophy as freshman core classes — subjects that at least made sense. But not Cainebrielle. No, here at this so-called prestigious institution, Myths and Legends was re