PROLOGUE

It was dark and freezing. The cold air then swift through my skin. The rain blocked my sight, and I couldn’t see anything. I have been running for minutes, or even hours, having no clue of where I was. Thunder then glowered at me from above. I tripped over at something, and it must have been the roots. Roots… I probably was in a forest, and running around it made no sense. There should have been some facts as to what I was doing. I have forgotten everything, for some reason.

I came to a halt and felt the tree beside me for support. I could see glints of light a few feet ahead. I started to walk towards it. The light grew stronger as I came closer to it. Suddenly, the pain stabbed me from my feet. My eyes widened as I looked down. There were colors, different colors. My fair white skin, mud, and the red stains that covered my white dress. I let out a loud gasp, as the smell of blood traveled around my body.

I saw figures passed by the light. There were more of them now. The figures must be looking for someone, looking for me. A feeling came to me that I have to get to them as fast as I could. My instinct told me to run away from here. The place was dangerous. My mind forced me to move, but I couldn’t. My body froze when a cold hand touched my right shoulder. The hand gripped my shoulder hard, as if trying to strangle me to death. It lifted me up, forcing my body to face its body. I figured then, that the hand belonged to a man, a young man perhaps. I thought I was being rescued. He carried me in one arm. His hands were still cold, and it moved to my jaws, holding it tightly. He lifted my chin, showing off my pale neck. I stiffened as he brushed softly his hands around my neck. My heart was beating faster, and I felt my blood rise.

I heard him say, “You should have not done that, my dear. You made me more thirsty.” The second he said those words, I felt two sharp stings pricked deeply in my neck. The smell of blood oozed everywhere. I could feel an extreme pain in my body. I was paralyzed, and I stared at nowhere. I let out a loud cry that made him pull away. I first saw his eyes, his golden emerald eyes. He was just a young adult, a beautiful young adult. My heart skipped a beat as I clearly saw his mouth. He was grinning at me, showing his two sharp teeth, dripping and full of blood.

I kept on staring at him, at his beautiful yet bloody face. I reached my small hands to touch his face. My sight slowly faded. When I touched his sharp teeth, a teardrop flowed out from my eye. I let out a very loud scream, because of the pain.

I saw him softened his look at me. He could clearly see the pain that I was having. My eyes couldn’t hold on much longer. My thoughts were still awake, but not my eyes. I somehow heard heavy footsteps closing in. I felt the man carrying me, held my little body tightly.

Bang! I heard a gunshot near me. Something hit my head, as well as the back of my body. The man must have dropped me, and I fell flat on the ground. I could clearly hear my father’s voice, a few feet away. More pain explored within my body. I wasn’t sure if the man was still there. I forced my eyes to open for a little bit, just to steal a glimpse of him. My body responded to my thoughts. My eyes slowly opened, but couldn’t keep them. I finally rested it, and not wanting to see anything was better. My thoughts were still alive, and I was talking to it.

“Hurry up! Find and kill it!” the familiar voice of my father echoed in my ear.

“She has been bitten, Sir.” Someone said.

And then, I heard my father yell something about me going to die if I didn’t get help as soon as possible.

That concept made my heart flutter slower than normal. I am going to die, I told myself. At a young age of eight, I, Ania Maurice was bitten by a vampire.

I stayed on the ground. Numb. Lifeless.

The green-eyed man appeared in the depth of my thoughts right before I lost my consciousness. Still feeling the pain, and an unknown space that enveloped me.