Chapter 1

Dying would have been less painful. It had certainly been a consideration for the last two hours Cole had been walking along a long, wet road, soaked from head to toe from the drenching rain that woke him up in the middle of nowhere.

Cole had no idea where he was, who he was or where he was going. All he knew was his name, and that he woke up in the forest with the utmost worst headache in what must’ve been the history of headaches. It didn’t help that outside was pitch black either, after the sun had left him to nothing but the dim moonlight and his instincts. Cole considered staying in the forest until a mountain lion or wolf found him, hoping to put him out of his misery. But he willed himself to try and find civilisation—only heaven knows why.

Yet, after two hours of walking, Cole’s feet didn’t feel tired or worn. He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to feel relieved or terrified. Surely, that can’t be humanly possible, right?

Heaving out a breath, Cole waved at another car as its beaming lights approached him, hoping the driver would have pity on him. But like the other two cars, the driver only honked and sped past him.

Cole cursed under his breath, thinking that he should have stayed in that forest. But as if it was a sign from above, he spotted something—something other than trees and birds. With newfound strength and determination to go on, Cole’s feet moved even faster towards the building on the side of the street. He didn’t know how, but he could tell that there was a town nearby. The way the road widened and how the trees got considerably shorter proved it.

Still, he was mentally exhausted to consider walking further when he found a perfectly good building right here.

The bright, flashing sign read ‘Jake’s Diner’, and from what Cole could tell, it seemed warm and welcoming enough.

He pushed the door open, being met by a bell that made his ears ring. He winced, throwing his hand over his ears as the woman behind the register flashed her head in his direction.

Cole stood frozen, his hands slowly falling from his ears as the girl stared at him. He couldn’t bring himself to move forward or backwards. He couldn’t even find his voice to say hi. He had no memory of his life before, so perhaps this was normal. But he had sworn that neither in his past life or life to come has he seen a creature so exquisitely perfect.

Her big, brown eyes shone in worry as her pink, lush lips pouted. She ducked under the bar and rushed towards him, wrapping her tiny fingers around his arm as she pulled him inside.

“Oh my gosh, you’re soaked!” she exclaimed, leading him towards a comfy booth. Cole didn’t notice that she had been pulling his hand until he felt the soft, warm chair cushion under his bottom.

“The rain,” he simply said, shocked by his voice. He hadn’t spoken since he woke up, so he cleared his throat to smoothen his voice. “I got caught in it.”

She pulled her lips between her teeth as her eyes focused on him. Cole thought it was the most perfect sight in existence.

“We’re closed, but I’d happily make you a cup of coffee. You must be freezing, especially at this time of the year! Gosh, you might wake up with a cold tomorrow.”

“Actually,” Cole mumbled as he focused on his senses, “I’m not cold at all. That’s odd, isn’t it?”

Really odd, he thought to himself. He didn’t feel a temperature below average.

She smiled softly at him, resting the back of her hand against his forehead. “You poor thing. You might have a fever. You are a bit warm.”

But Cole knew it wasn’t a fever. He didn’t know how to explain it, so he stayed silent.

He watched her as she rushed behind the counter, where she set a cup of coffee to brew and grabbed a blanket from her bag. It was quite small, perhaps just big enough to wrap around her petite shoulders. Cole couldn’t help the smile on his face when he noticed the cartoon design on the blanket, also that it was quite worn and pretty old.

“Here you are. This will warm you up,” she said, resting the cup before him and wrapping the blanket around his shoulder before she sat across from him. Her plump cheeks reddened against her fair complexion when Cole smiled at the blanket.

“I’ve had it forever. I know it’s embarrassing, but it was raining this morning, and I couldn’t find my umbrella or my jacket, so I resorted to—”

“It’s cute,” Cole said, cutting off her rambling. She giggled, tucking a curly, dark lock of hair behind her ear before gesturing to the cup.

“Drink it before it gets cold.”

And that he did. Cole took small sips of the coffee—smaller than he knew was normal because he wanted this moment to last forever. Sitting across from her, watching her stare at him while he drank, caused his heart to pound. She would sometimes drop her gaze to her dark-painted nails, and Cole could’ve sworn he heard her heartbeat increasing each time.

The scent of her was tantalising. It was a mixture of fresh coffee and forest, perfectly enveloped in the smell of roses. Her scent was quite distinct too, but he knew it wasn’t cologne. It was as if he could smell her skin, hair, and even aura which was impossible. She drove him wild, and he had only known her for a few minutes.

“My name is Syanna, by the way,” she said as Cole rested the cup before him.

“That’s a beautiful name,” Cole said. “Mine is Cole.” He couldn’t help how her voice and the sound of her name caused his heart to pound. It was almost painful.

She smiled. “My uncle… well, he’s sort of my dad, but we aren’t related… he raised me, so I see him as a dad, but I’ve always called him uncle when I was younger. Sometimes I still do…” She blushed after noticing her rambling. “Well, he owns the place. He left me to close up.”

“Jake?” Cole questioned, hugging the blanket closer to him though he didn’t need its heat. But gosh, her scent—it was all over it.

Syanna cocked her head to the side. “How did you know?”

“The sign,” came his simple reply.

Syanna dropped her gaze again, pulling her lips between her teeth. “Right.”

“Hey, don’t be embarrassed.” Cole reached across the table to hold her hand but instantly yanked away at the jolt that ran through his body. It seemed like she felt it, too, because her eyes widened, and her back went rigid as she peered at his hand.

Cole tried to understand the logic. She touched him earlier, more than once, and nothing happened. But it was different when he touched her.

Cole reached out to touch her again, wanting to know more, but she pulled her hand away, shifting her gaze to anything but him.

“Well, you seem warm enough,” she said, forcing a smile as she jumped from the booth. “We’re closed after all, so I think you should get going.”

“Right,” Cole mumbled as he shuffled from the booth. “I really should.”

“Is your destination close to Quinn Town? I didn’t ask where you were coming from. You seemed lost.” Her brown eyes shone again, watching him in mere curiosity but still keeping her distance.

Cole smiled, not wanting to worry her head as he said, “Quinn Town. I think I found where I was going.”

Syanna nodded. “Great. The square is just about a five-minute walk from here. There’s a motel and a police station. Just in case you really are lost.”

Cole smiled. “Thank you, Syanna.”

Syanna shivered. The way her name rolled from his lips evidently affected her, and Cole could see it. Something else bothered her too, but Cole thought there’d be another day for him to ask. So, with a single wave in her direction, he left, wincing as the bell at the door rang again.

He stepped into the fresh air with a smile, still wrapping her blanket around his shoulders as he headed toward the town square. Something happened between them. He could tell. And though her attitude towards him changed when he touched her, Cole decided to give his mind rest, hoping she was probably just as nervous as he was.

“Cole?” A female’s voice said from behind him. Cole’s strides paused as a smile grew on his lips, thinking it was Syanna. He didn’t question it until…

Until he realised this wasn't Syanna's voice.

He stiffened, suddenly growing defensive and rigid as he spun around. A girl around his and Syanna’s age stood before him, dressed in a black coat that covered everything but her ankles. Two men stood beside her, looking equally serious and rigid. He growled, taking himself by surprise at the sound from his chest and the sudden heat that grew in his veins.

“Who are you?” he demanded, his strength now unexplainable as he took a daring step towards them. But the girl, with a slight smile, simply held her hand towards him.

“Purdeu isa monshinka,” she mumbled, and Cole’s feet betrayed him by turning to jelly. His eyes widened as he stared at the girl, who stalked towards him with a smile on her face.

“You are a hard demon to find, Cole. Do you know that?” she mumbled, confusing and shocking Cole even more.

And then, with the snap of her fingers, everything went dark.