The town of Blackthorn was the kind of place where secrets settled like mist in the streets, curling into every crevice and crack. It was old—older than its records claimed, older than its people realized. The buildings, with their weathered stones and moss-covered roofs, whispered of forgotten times. The forests that surrounded the town seemed to breathe, shifting under the weight of something unseen.

Evangeline "Eva" Sinclair had lived here her entire life. She knew every winding path, every rusted gate, every whispered legend. But she had never believed in them.

Not until that night.

The moon hung low, casting silver light onto the damp cobblestone streets as Eva walked home from the bookshop where she worked. She hugged her coat closer to her body, her boots clicking softly against the stone. It was late—later than usual. The shop had been busy that evening, and she had lost track of time.

The wind carried the scent of salt from the distant cliffs, mingling with the crispness of autumn. The trees, their branches skeletal against the night sky, swayed like silent watchers. Blackthorn was never loud at night, but something about the quiet unsettled her.

As she turned down a familiar street, the sensation of being watched crept over her.

She paused, glancing around. The street was empty. The houses, old and forgotten, stood in their usual places, their windows dark. And yet, the feeling remained—a weight on her skin, a whisper against the back of her neck.

She shook it off and kept walking, though her fingers tightened around the strap of her bag.

Then, she saw him.

A figure stood at the edge of an abandoned estate, just beyond the broken iron gate. He was tall, his frame cloaked in a long, black coat that shifted slightly in the wind. His features were cast in shadow, but the moonlight caught the sharp angles of his face—high cheekbones, a strong jaw, lips set in something that wasn’t quite a smile.

His eyes, though…

Even from a distance, they seemed to burn—dark, endless, filled with something ancient.

Eva’s breath caught in her throat.

She didn’t know why she stopped. She didn’t know why she felt compelled to meet his gaze, to let the moment stretch between them like a silent question. But she did.

"You shouldn't walk alone at night," the stranger said.

His voice was low, smooth, but laced with something dangerous.

Eva hesitated. Every instinct told her to keep walking, to ignore him, to pretend this moment had never happened. But her curiosity overpowered her fear.

"Neither should you," she replied.

Something flickered across his face—surprise, perhaps. Then, the corner of his lips lifted in the ghost of a smirk.

"I suppose you're right."

His voice was calm, but there was an underlying weight to it, as if he were speaking from experience. He tilted his head slightly, studying her, and for a brief moment, Eva felt as though he could see right through her.

"Tell me, Eva Sinclair," he murmured, "do you believe in monsters?"

Her pulse stuttered.

She hadn’t given him her name.

A chill spread through her limbs, but not from the cold. She should have turned and walked away. She should have been afraid. But there was something about him—something that drew her in like the tide pulling toward the shore.

"Not until now," she whispered.

The stranger chuckled, but there was no amusement in it. It was a sound filled with something older, something sorrowful.

"Then let me be the first to warn you," he said, his voice softer now, almost… regretful. "Not all monsters hide in the dark."

Before she could respond, before she could even fully process his words, he stepped back.

And vanished.

Eva’s heart pounded as she blinked, staring at the empty space where he had just stood. One moment he was there, and the next… nothing. No footsteps, no fading figure in the distance. Just the wind and the silence.

She took a step forward, gripping the iron gate, peering into the overgrown garden beyond. The old estate loomed ahead, its windows dark and lifeless, its doors sealed by time. Had he gone inside?

No. That was impossible.

Wasn’t it?

Eva exhaled sharply and forced herself to move, to turn away from the estate and continue home. But her mind swirled with questions, her body still humming with the strange electricity of the encounter.

Who was he?

How had he known her name?

And why, despite every logical part of her screaming at her to forget this ever happened, did she want to see him again?

As she reached her house and locked the door behind her, she pressed her back against the wood, trying to steady herself.

She didn’t know it yet, but tonight was only the beginning.

Because the stranger she had just met was no ordinary man.

He was a vampire.

And her fate had already been sealed.

To be continued...

The next morning, Eva awoke with the weight of last night’s encounter pressing against her mind. It had been a dream. It had to be. The stranger in the long coat, the way he vanished into thin air—it wasn’t possible.

And yet, she couldn’t shake the feeling that it had been real.

The autumn sunlight filtered through her curtains, casting golden streaks across her room. Everything looked normal. The worn wooden floor, the books stacked haphazardly on her desk, the old armchair by the window where she liked to curl up with a novel—it was all exactly as it had been the night before.

But she was different.

A slow unease crept over her as she got ready for the day. Even as she brushed her long dark hair and slipped into a cozy sweater, she felt… watched. The stranger’s words echoed in her mind.

"Not all monsters hide in the dark."

She needed to stop obsessing over this. It was probably some drifter or a lost traveler. Maybe he had read her name off a package she was carrying or something. There had to be an explanation.

By the time she arrived at the bookshop, the normalcy of the day helped push her thoughts of him aside. The shop smelled of old pages and vanilla candles, and a few customers milled about, flipping through novels.

Her best friend, Caroline, was already at the counter, her blonde curls bouncing as she waved. “Finally! I was about to send a search party for you.”

Eva smiled faintly. “I overslept.”

Caroline raised an eyebrow. “You overslept? That’s new.” She studied Eva, her smile fading slightly. “Are you okay? You look… distracted.”

Eva hesitated, debating whether to tell her. Caroline had grown up in Blackthorn too, and unlike Eva, she did believe in the town’s ghost stories. If Eva told her she had met a mysterious stranger who vanished into thin air, Caroline would probably think it was some kind of omen.

“I just had a weird night,” Eva said finally.

Caroline leaned in, her curiosity piqued. “Weird how?”

Eva opened her mouth to respond when the door chime rang.

And she froze.

He was standing in the doorway.

The stranger from last night.

He looked the same—tall, draped in his long black coat, his dark eyes scanning the shop with quiet intensity. In the daylight, his skin looked even paler, almost luminous against the shadows that seemed to follow him.

Eva’s breath caught as his gaze found hers. For a moment, neither of them moved. The world around them faded.

Then, he stepped forward.

Caroline let out a small, appreciative whistle. “Holy hell,” she muttered under her breath. “Who is that?”

Eva swallowed hard, her pulse hammering. She had so many questions, but only one managed to slip from her lips.

“…What are you doing here?”

He stopped a few feet away, his expression unreadable. “I wanted to see you again.”

Caroline glanced between them, her eyes widening. “Wait, you know him?”

Before Eva could answer, the stranger turned his gaze to Caroline. “Would you mind giving us a moment?”

Caroline blinked, then shot Eva a look that practically screamed explain later before stepping away.

Now it was just the two of them.

Eva crossed her arms, trying to steady herself. “Who are you?”

A pause. Then, finally, he answered.

“My name is Lucian.”

Lucian. The name felt ancient, like it had been whispered through time.

Eva exhaled sharply. “How do you know my name?”

His gaze softened. “Because I’ve known you before, Eva.”

Her breath caught.

“What—”

Before she could finish, Lucian took another step forward, closing the distance between them. “There’s something you need to understand,” he said, his voice lower now, as if he didn’t want anyone else to hear. “You are not safe.”

A chill ran through her. “Safe from what?”

He hesitated.

Then, so softly she almost didn’t hear it, he said—

“From me.”

To be continued...

Eva’s heart pounded so hard she was sure Lucian could hear it.

You are not safe… from me.

The words lingered between them, heavy and unshakable.

Lucian stood close now, too close, his presence consuming the air around her. His dark eyes held something unreadable—regret? Warning? Something else entirely? She couldn’t tell.

She should have stepped back. She should have walked away. But instead, she whispered, “What are you?”

Lucian exhaled slowly, and for the first time, she saw something flicker across his face—hesitation, maybe even pain. Then he glanced around, as if suddenly remembering they weren’t alone.

“Not here,” he murmured. “Meet me tonight. The old chapel in the woods. Midnight.”

Eva stiffened. The old chapel? No one went there. It had been abandoned for decades, left to rot under the weight of time and ivy.

“Why would I meet you there?” she asked, her voice barely above a breath.

“Because if I don’t explain everything to you,” Lucian said, “you will end up dead.”

A sharp chill went through her, but before she could press for more, he was already turning away.

She almost reached for him, to grab his arm, to make him stay. But the moment her fingers twitched, he was gone. Not walking. Not running. Just… gone.

Eva stood there in stunned silence, her pulse roaring in her ears.

“Okay, what the hell was that?”

She turned sharply. Caroline stood a few feet away, her arms crossed, watching her with an expression that was half curiosity, half concern.

Eva swallowed. “I… I don’t know.”

Caroline narrowed her eyes. “You don’t know? Eva, that guy looked at you like he knew you. And you looked back like you were about to pass out.”

Eva’s mind raced. If she told Caroline about last night—about how he’d vanished, about his warning, about the way his eyes seemed too dark, too endless—what would she say?

Would she even believe her?

Eva forced a shaky breath. “I met him yesterday.”

Caroline raised a brow. “And?”

“And… he’s weird.”

Caroline snorted. “Yeah, no kidding.” She studied Eva’s face a moment longer, then sighed. “Look, just… be careful, okay? He’s hot, but also intensely creepy.”

Eva nodded, but her mind was already elsewhere.

Because despite every warning bell in her head, she already knew what she was going to do.

She was going to meet Lucian.

Midnight. The Old Chapel.

The wind howled through the trees, rustling the leaves in a song of whispers. The path to the chapel was long forgotten, covered in tangled roots and fallen branches. The moon cast pale light over the ruins, its broken steeple barely visible through the overgrown ivy.

Eva’s breath curled in the cold night air as she stepped forward. Her heart slammed against her ribs, but she didn’t turn back.

She needed answers.

And then, from the shadows—

“You came.”

Eva spun.

Lucian stood at the edge of the ruins, half-shrouded in darkness, his coat billowing slightly in the wind. There was something almost… otherworldly about the way he blended with the night.

“I need to know the truth,” she said, trying to sound steadier than she felt.

Lucian sighed. “I know.”

Then, slowly, he stepped into the moonlight.

And Eva saw it.

His skin, too pale. His movements, too fluid. And his eyes—now glinting with an unnatural light.

Lucian Sinclair was not human.

She took a step back. “What are you?”

He hesitated. Then, finally—

“I am a vampire.”

Silence stretched between them. The wind howled. The trees groaned.

Eva should have laughed. She should have called him a liar and walked away. But deep down, she already knew the truth.

She had felt it.

Lucian studied her carefully. “You don’t seem surprised.”

Eva swallowed. “Because I think I already knew.”

Lucian’s lips twitched in something that wasn’t quite a smile. “Then you understand why I warned you. If you stay near me, Eva, you will not be safe.”

Her chest tightened. “Then why tell me the truth? Why warn me at all?”

For the first time, Lucian’s expression softened—just slightly.

“Because,” he said, voice barely above a whisper, “this isn’t the first time we’ve met.”

Eva’s breath hitched.

“What do you mean?”

Lucian took another step forward, his eyes burning into hers.

“I knew you, Eva. A long time ago. In another life.”

The world tilted. The wind stilled.

“What?” she breathed.

Lucian exhaled slowly. “You don’t remember yet. But you will.”

And then, so softly it was almost lost to the night—

“You were mine once.”

Eva’s entire body went cold.

Her past. Her fate. Her very soul—

Had already belonged to him.

To be continued…