Prologue
500 Years Ago
The forest smelled of smoke and iron.
Torches flickered between the towering trees, their flames trembling in the cold wind. Shadows stretched and twisted across the forest floor like living creatures, dancing over roots and stones. The night was bitterly cold, and the wind howled through the branches high above, carrying with it the distant echo of wolves somewhere deep in the mountains.
Sebastian ran.
His boots struck the frozen ground as he pushed through the dark forest, branches snapping beneath his steps. His breath came in sharp bursts, forming pale clouds in the icy air. Every muscle in his body burned with exhaustion, but he refused to slow down.
Behind him, somewhere among the trees, something moved.
Something fast.
Something hunting.
“Sebastian!”
The voice cut through the darkness.
Clear.
Familiar.
He turned sharply, his hand instinctively reaching for the sword at his side.
Olivia.
She ran toward him through the forest, her long dark cloak flowing behind her like a shadow. Strands of her dark hair had escaped the hood, whipping across her face as she moved. In her hand she carried a silver dagger, its polished blade catching the orange glow of the distant torches.
Even in the chaos of the hunt, she looked fearless.
Alive.
Sebastian slowed his pace until she reached him, her breathing slightly uneven from the run.
“You should have stayed behind,” he said quietly, his voice low but firm.
Olivia raised an eyebrow at him, clearly unimpressed.
“And let you hunt a vampire alone?” she replied.
There was a spark of humor in her eyes despite the danger surrounding them.
Sebastian allowed himself a small smile.
“You’re stubborn.”
“And you love that about me.”
He didn’t argue.
Because she was right.
Olivia Laurent had been part of his life for as long as he could remember.
They had grown up in the same small village hidden between forests and mountains, a place where old stories were whispered by the fire at night. Legends of monsters that walked in darkness. Creatures that drank blood and feared the sun.
Most people believed they were only stories.
Olivia’s family knew better.
For generations the Laurent family had hunted vampires, protecting nearby villages from creatures that lurked in the shadows.
Sebastian had joined them years ago.
At first, it had been nothing more than excitement. Adventure. The thrill of danger.
But over time, something else had pulled him deeper into that world.
Her.
Olivia had always been fearless, always charging forward while others hesitated. Where others saw monsters, she saw a fight that needed to be won.
And Sebastian had followed her every step of the way.
The wind suddenly shifted.
Olivia stopped.
Completely still.
“You feel that?” she whispered.
Sebastian nodded slowly.
The air had changed.
It felt heavier.
Colder.
As if the forest itself had begun to hold its breath.
Something dark was nearby.
Ancient.
Watching them.
A low growl echoed through the trees.
Not an animal.
Something worse.
Sebastian slowly drew his sword from its sheath. The metal glinted faintly in the torchlight.
Then—
A shadow moved between the trees.
Sebastian instinctively stepped in front of Olivia.
“Stay behind me.”
But Olivia stepped beside him instead.
Her dagger lifted.
“Together,” she said firmly.
Sebastian glanced at her.
Even now, with death possibly seconds away, she refused to stand behind him.
A small part of him admired her for that.
The vampire stepped slowly out of the darkness.
Tall.
Unnaturally pale.
Its eyes glowed like burning embers in the night.
There was something ancient about its presence. Something far older than any creature they had hunted before.
It studied them with quiet amusement.
A cold smile spread across its face.
“You should have stayed home tonight,” the creature said.
Its voice sounded wrong.
Like dry leaves scraping against stone.
Sebastian tightened his grip on his sword.
“We’re here to end you.”
For a moment there was silence.
Then the vampire laughed softly.
“You humans always believe you can.”
Before Sebastian could react—
The creature moved.
Faster than anything human.
One moment it stood twenty feet away.
The next it was already attacking.
A blur of black movement.
Sebastian barely managed to lift his sword before the vampire struck him. The impact felt like being hit by a falling tree.
He was thrown violently backward.
His body slammed into a tree trunk with bone-shaking force.
Pain exploded through his chest as the air left his lungs.
He crashed to the ground.
“Sebastian!” Olivia shouted.
She rushed forward without hesitation.
The silver dagger flashed through the air.
The blade struck the vampire’s arm.
The creature hissed sharply as the silver burned its flesh.
For a moment it stepped back.
Olivia stood between it and Sebastian, breathing hard but refusing to retreat.
Her grip on the dagger tightened.
“Run,” Sebastian rasped weakly from the ground.
She didn’t even glance back.
“No.”
The vampire tilted its head slightly, studying her.
“Brave little hunter,” it murmured.
Its eyes gleamed with dark curiosity.
Then it moved again.
This time Sebastian saw everything.
Too fast.
Too sudden.
The vampire’s hand shot forward, closing around Olivia’s throat before she could react.
Her dagger slipped from her fingers and fell to the ground with a dull thud.
She struggled, trying to break free.
But the creature was far too strong.
“Stop!” Sebastian shouted.
The vampire slowly turned its burning eyes toward him.
For a moment it simply smiled.
Then it lowered its head.
And sank its fangs into Olivia’s neck.
Her scream tore through the forest.
Sebastian felt something inside him break.
Rage.
Fear.
Desperation.
He forced himself to his feet, ignoring the pain screaming through his body.
With a desperate cry he charged forward.
His sword drove straight into the vampire’s chest.
The creature roared in fury.
For a moment the forest exploded into chaos.
Steel clashed.
Blood splattered across the frozen ground.
The vampire lashed out wildly, trying to tear the blade from its body.
Sebastian pushed harder, driving the sword deeper.
Finally—
The creature collapsed.
Its body crumbled into the cold earth.
But Sebastian barely noticed.
He was already falling to his knees beside Olivia.
Her body lay limp in his arms.
Her breathing was shallow.
Uneven.
“No…” he whispered.
His hands were shaking as he pressed them against the wound on her neck.
Blood soaked through his fingers.
Her hand weakly grabbed his shirt.
“You… have to finish it,” she murmured.
“It’s already dead,” he said quickly.
His voice trembled.
But Olivia slowly shook her head.
“No… Sebastian… listen to me.”
Tears blurred his vision.
“You’re going to be fine,” he insisted.
Even though he knew.
The wound was fatal.
Her blood covered his hands.
She gave him a faint smile.
“You always lie so badly.”
Her breathing slowed.
Each breath weaker than the last.
“I don’t want to lose you,” Sebastian whispered.
Her fingers gently touched his cheek.
“You won’t,” she said softly.
Her eyes searched his one last time.
“Find me again.”
Then her hand fell.
Her heart stopped.
For a long moment, Sebastian didn’t move.
The world seemed to freeze around him.
Then the scream finally came.
Raw.
Broken.
His grief echoed through the silent forest.
But he never noticed the dark blood from the vampire’s bite spreading slowly through his veins.
The poison.
The curse.
The transformation.
By the time the sun rose—
Sebastian was no longer human.
And the girl he loved was already buried beneath the cold earth.
