Chapter 1

My eyes became distant as I stared outside for a moment. The rain kept on pouring and fogged up the window glass. It showed no sign of stopping, which made the air chilly.

The rainwater flooded the minor road, so when the black car passed by, the water just splashed out to the bald man walking on the sidewalk. He had no umbrella and was only using his thick coat to face the rain. He lost the chance to dodge. The rainwater soaked his whole clothes, stunning him where he stood. Before the car disappeared from his sight as it drove away, he cursed at it, raising his middle finger.

It wasn’t him who caught my attention, but the man standing a few feet away from him holding a red umbrella. The other man gave this eerie feeling, even from a far that I could sense strongly. There was something with the man as he stayed there on the sidewalk. The clanking of utensils and chattering inside the cafe where I was didn’t help to get rid of it.

It was a year ago when I first noticed him. I thought he was observing me while planning something bad inside his head.

I wasn’t sure if he appeared to kill me. There were people who wanted me dead. But he never did something to me.

He always stood in a corner of the street, looking at the rooftop of the third floor building where I was renting a room. If only not because of the menacing aura coming from him, I would not look at him. But he’s different, so I had to check. Every time I looked down, he would walk away, disappearing into thin air.

I never tried again to chase him and just kept on ignoring him because nothing was happening to me. It would be more dangerous if I gave away my true identity by talking to him.

But that day in the cafe, I changed my mind. He was making me uncomfortable now. I had to confront him for him to stop.

It would be hard for me to approach him because I knew the moment I stepped out of the cafe, he would be gone like the wind. I had to think of a way to talk to him where he could not runaway from me in an instant.

As the man turned his attention toward the cafe, I removed my eyes away from him. I continued on drinking the coffee in front of me, which was cold now.

The reason I went there was to meet someone. I wasn’t waiting for someone special in my life, even though she was important in my study.

It had been an hour and my classmate named Maggie didn’t arrive yet. I stayed that long since we both agreed to talk in person to finish everything. We only discussed the assignment through the phone because it’s hard for us to meet during the school break. We were both doing a couple of part-time jobs to earn a few bucks.

There were only a day before school begin again, so we had no choice. I was hoping she would still come, even though the weather was not that good.

I glanced at the door when the wind chime rang. The man pushed the glass door with his other hand, putting down the red umbrella. I couldn’t believe he would enter the cafe.

My forehead immediately furrowed when I smelled him from the small distance between the door and the table where I was sitting. His scent was unique, far from the other people I’d encountered. His smell was a mixture of woody, minty, and floral scents waking up the hair on my skin. I felt weird looking at him. That’s why I reminded myself to be wary of him while he had his coffee. He also looked straight at me as he let go of the glass door and closed the red umbrella like he was studying my entire face.

He was wearing a leather jacket that showed his broad shoulders. He was the same age as me. But he had this maturity in the way he carried himself. His hair was neat, revealing his faultless ear. The brows above his eyes were thick like bushes. He raised his right hand to remove the droplet of rain from the tip of his prominent nose and the side of his red full lips.

Time stopped between the two of us when our eyes met. The rain took a break and noises around us faded away. We drowned in silence, and it became deafening. After breathing hard, my heart throbbed inside my chest for reasons unknown to me. The hairs on my skin stood up once again, sending shivers from the back of my ears down to the nape.

When he blinked his eyes, I didn’t expect it would change colors from jet black to golden brown. I only know one race that could do that and they were our enemies. What bothered me was I felt no hostility from him, which was odd. There should be something going on because I know I was thinking right.

He also stared into my eyes, so I furrowed my forehead even more. I struggled a little, facing his stare when he was doing nothing. We stayed like that for a couple of seconds.

Time started again when the bald man rushed into the coffee shop. The other man moved to the right, since he was blocking the way. Some people inside the coffee shop looked at the bald man as he sat down on the stool at the side of the counter. The bald man ignored the fact that he was soaking wet. Anger was still visible on his face, so the crew didn’t complain.

“Give me coffee,” the bald man ordered. His voice was loud, getting the attention of everyone.

I ignored the bald man and looked at the man in front of me. He was still also staring at me.

“It’s been a year. You’re facing me now. Is there something you want from me?” I asked him to make him stop.

He walked closer to my table, ignoring my question, and sat down without asking permission from me. “What answer do you want to hear?” he said to me, leaning his red umbrella against the wall. He sat up straight without blinking an eye.

I made my face blank after hearing what he said. It’s impossible he knew what I am. I was wearing the amulet.

“Do you know me?” I carefully said. “I don’t know you.”

“Of course, you wouldn’t know me.”

I didn’t want to think he needed something from me that would ruin my safety. Even though I sensed no danger, it was still possible. A man like him was dangerous.

“So, what do you want?” I asked to make everything clear. I had to know so that I could think of a way to handle him based on his response. But then again, I didn’t expect his answer, so I thought he was trying to upset me.

“Nothing.”

I took a deep breath to calm myself.

“If you don’t tell me about your reason for sitting here, you better stay away,” I growled. I didn’t have to control myself anymore.

He raised his right hand. “Chill out. I didn’t come here looking for a fight with you. I am here for other reason,” he said and looked outside. “She’s the one you’re waiting for, right?”

I turned around to the direction where he was looking outside. I found Maggie running toward the coffee shop. She waved her hand when she realized I was looking at her. I sighed and put back my attention to the man, but he was already gone from the table. He also sat down on a stool at the opposite end of the counter. He was holding his red umbrella at his side. His eyes were to that bald man. I guessed he was monitoring him. I felt something bad was going to happen while I was there.

I removed my eyes from the man and faced my classmate, who just opened the door. She rushed closing her umbrella and put it down on the side.

“I am so sorry I am late,” she said as she sat down. She grabbed her bag and took out her laptop.

“It’s okay, you’re already here. But we have to move into another cafe. We can’t stay here,” I told her as I prepared myself to stand up.

“Why? What’s the problem?” She turned on her laptop and look at me with querying look in her eyes. “Let’s just stay here. It’s still pouring outside.”

I took a deep breath again. “Fine. So, what do you want to tell me?” I said to her.

She looked up at something on her laptop before speaking. “There are changes. You need to finish your part by tonight. I can review them and send it in the afternoon. We have to be quick. I heard our professor would be gone for a month, so everyone is rushing,” she told me.

I was not hearing it wrong, but I already expected it was going to happen.

“Where is he going this time?” I was getting pissed off, thinking I had to rush again.

“I am not sure about that. Somewhere he could find a new discovery.” She smiled a little. “He’s obsessed with those kinds of things.”

“It will still be hard for him. We’re the only one who suffers,” I said to her.

Her fingers was quick on top of the keyboard. “It’s still good. We don’t have to attend his class for a couple of days.”

“Yes. I agree with that.”

“Why do you like being mysterious?” Maggie asked me. “You don’t have any social media accounts. It’s hard to contact you. If it’s not because of Tristan, I can’t get your phone number.”

“I don’t have the time for those things,” I said to her and glanced at the man. I felt like he was looking at me and I wasn’t wrong. It was not enough for him to just look at me. He also waved his hand a little and smirked. I glared at his actions before turning back to my classmate.

“Who’s that?” she asked out of curiosity. She threw glances at the man.

“A lunatic,” I answered.

“She’s too handsome for a lunatic. Don’t call people like that. Do you know him?”

“I don’t. That’s why I am telling you he’s insane,” I said, to make her stop from talking about the man. “I really don’t have the idea who he was,” I added in the end.

She did stayed quiet and resumed working.

She typed fast on her laptop and remembered a thing. “Aren’t you really going to change your topic? You’ve been doing the same topic since freshman year.”

“No. I will stick to it.”

“I see. How did you even get the ideas about myths? When I read your part, it felt like they were real and I can meet them in person.” She fixed her eyes on the laptop. She was not even looking at me.

“I’ve met and talk to them personally,” I told my classmate. It wasn’t a lie, but she looked like I said something impossible.

She stopped hitting the keyboard for a moment to look at me, confused. “You’re kidding, right?”

“No. I am telling you the truth.”

“You can’t fool me, Levi.”

“It’s not a lie. Why does no one believes me? I guess people think what they read in books is all just fantasies.”

“Because they are all fantasies. That’s why there are tales and stories,” she said to raise her point.

When she was about to say something more, the loud shout of the bald man erupted to the entire floor of the coffee shop. She turned around to see what was happening. I didn’t do it like her because I already guessed what was wrong with the bald man.

I emptied the cup, finishing the cold coffee and looked straight to the counter.

The bald man violently fell down on the floor while holding his head. The people near him stayed away, afraid. One crew walked out of the counter to help, but the man growled at him. The crew stepped back with fears on his eyes. Maggie stood up from her seat and I tried stopping her.

“Where are you going?” I asked her.

She looked at me. “I will check what’s wrong. The man needs help.”

“Don’t go. Don’t involve yourself with him. Let him be. He will walk away,” I said to my classmate, but she didn’t listen to me and ignored my warnings.

I stood up from my seat as my classmate ran toward the man, shouting in pain.

“Are you alright?” she asked the man as she kneeled beside him. The man didn’t respond, pushing his head to the floor. “I will call 911 now,” my classmate added, taking out her phone.

She didn’t get to the chance to call. The bald man grabbed her neck, and I quickly moved closer. But I was late for a couple of second. Before I could grab Maggie’s hand, the man carried her easily, holding her on the neck. He took her out of the coffee shop, breaking the windows, and jumped high on the rooftop. I took a step to chase the bald man, but I stopped when something passed by me. When I turned around, I didn’t find the other man in his seat.

Knowing what was going to occur, I also stepped out of the coffee shop through the broken window. I looked up, searching the rooftop, but I never found them. As I plan on running, I finally saw them inside an alley twenty hands span away from the road. I ran inside to get Maggie, who was unconscious lying the ground next to the garbage can. The man was just standing near the garbages while looking blankly at the bald man in front of him. The bald man growled as he changed halfway into werewolf form.

The bald man looked at me as I checked my classmate’s pulse by pressing two fingers under her chin. Fortunately, she was still alive. When I put my attention to the two, the bald man speak up to me.

“Help me,” the bald man begged me. “I don’t want to die here.”

I wanted to say to him he should have stayed at home instead of going outside being a newly turned werewolf, but I didn’t. Because if I did, it would say I also belong to the world behind the city lights. I just looked at him instead, without opening my mouth. I looked away to carry Maggie and didn’t get to do it this time because of the other man.

“Why don’t you really help him? If you’re willing to do it, he could not kill now and in the coming days,” the man said to me as our eyes meet as if he didn’t see humans as livestock.

“I don’t know why you think I can help him,” I said to the man. “Look at him. He’s turning into a monster.”

“Because you’re both came from the same race,” the man explained.

I frowned, hearing what he said. “Do you know what you’re talking about?”

“Of course. You can’t hide your true self to me because I already know what you are even before this day.”

It sounded like a warning to my ears. I stood up straight to prepare myself if he was going to do something. “Did you come to eliminate the two of us?”

“No. I don’t expect to see you here. I am just tailing him,” the man said to me. “There’s something I need to ask him.”

The moment he said those words, the bald man jumped to the wall of the narrow alleyway and climbed up. The man in front of me turned around to chase him. I held the man’s wrist, making him stopped. He looked back at me and stared at my hand holding his.

“Are you freaking serious? If you’re going to chase him, it will cause a fight,” I reminded him.

“Don’t worry about that. He’s a rogue,” he said to me. When I heard them, I let go of him. “Because of you, he escapes.”

He put his hand on his pockets. The rain kept on pouring around us.

“Stop playing with me. You can still chase him if you wanted to.”

He smirked again because of what I had said. “I changed my mind. I can still find him no matter where he hides.”

“You’re too confident.”

“I know myself,” he said to me. “By the way, are you together?”

“What are you talking about?” I said to him as I carried my classmate on my back.

“My question is simple. Why don’t you just answer”

I stared at him. “I don’t have to answer you.”

“I need to know so I will know how far I can go.”

“You’re confusing me,” I said to him. “Stop following me.”

I walked over and left him standing under the rain, carrying Maggie on my back. But this man was not planning to leave me be.

“Come on. Can you give me an answer?” he said as he walked to my left.

“We’re not. She’s just my classmate,” I told him so he would leave. But I thought wrong.

“Let’s be together then. I like you, Levi.”

What he said really shocked me.

“Are you forgetting vampire and werewolf should not associate with each other?” I told him.

“No one will know we’re together.”

“Look for someone else. I will not like you. I am not into men,” I said to him as I stepped out of the narrow alleyway.

I freed my other hand and raised my thumb as I saw the cab. It stopped just right in front of me and the man opened the door for me, even though I didn’t tell him. I glared at him, but I put my classmate inside, lying her down. I also went in after removing the man’s hand holding the door.

“Where I should bring you?” the driver asked me from his seat.

“The nearest hospital,” I answered and looked at the man outside, who was walking back toward the coffee shop. What he had said to me stayed in my head. That’s why picking up my classmate’s belonging didn’t cross my mind.