Two months after the council meeting, Adrian started having dreams he couldn't explain.
Not memories from his past lives—he'd grown used to those, the occasional flash of being Wei the painter or Zhang the general. These were different. Older. Stranger.
He dreamed of a garden that predated human civilization, where the first vampires walked. He saw Cain—not as a monster, but as a man cursed by God, weeping over his brother's blood. He watched as Cain's children spread across the ancient world, creating bloodlines that would become the vampire species.
And he saw something else. Something impossible.
In the dreams, Adrian was there. Not as Elias, not as any of his nine past lives. But as something else—a presence, a witness, someone who'd existed before his first human incarnation.
He woke gasping, Kieran immediately alert beside him.
"Another dream?" Kieran asked, concern in his voice.
"More than a dream. It felt like... a memory. But that's impossible. My first life was Elias, a thousand years ago. I couldn't have memories from five thousand years ago."
"Tell me what you saw."
Adrian described the dreams—the garden, Cain, the first vampires. Kieran's expression grew increasingly troubled.
"The garden of the first vampires is legend," Kieran said slowly. "A place that existed before the Flood, before recorded history. No one knows where it was or if it even existed. It's vampire mythology."
"But I saw it. I was there somehow."
"That shouldn't be possible. Unless..." Kieran trailed off, his expression shifting to something like shock.
"Unless what?"
"Unless you're not who we think you are. Unless your soul is older than we believed."
Before Adrian could respond, his vision blurred. The bedroom dissolved, replaced by the garden from his dreams. But this time, he wasn't just observing. He was there—fully, completely, as real as he'd been in any of his lives.
Cain stood before him, looking exactly as he had in the dreams. Ancient, powerful, with eyes that had seen the beginning of everything.
"Finally," Cain said, his voice echoing strangely. "You're starting to remember."
"Remember what? I don't understand—"
"Your first life wasn't a thousand years ago, Adrian. Your first life was in the garden, at the dawn of vampire existence. You were there when I was cursed. You witnessed the creation of our species."
"That's impossible. I'm human—or I was. I'm not ancient—"
"Your soul is ancient. Older than you know. Older than any vampire except me." Cain stepped closer. "You were my companion in those early days. My friend. One of the first to drink my blood and transform. You died shortly after—killed by humans who feared what we were becoming. Your soul has been cycling since, living and dying and living again, waiting."
"Waiting for what?"
"For me to return. For the time when I would be needed again." Cain's expression was sad. "I've been hiding, Adrian. Sleeping. Waiting for a sign that the vampire species needed me. And that sign is you—your soul awakening to its true age, remembering what came before."
Adrian's mind reeled. "So I'm... what? Your ancient companion reincarnated? That's why my soul has lived so many times?"
"Yes. Your soul is tied to mine, to vampire history itself. Which is why Asmodeus wants you." Cain's expression darkened. "He knows that controlling you means controlling access to me. Your blood, your memories—they're the key to finding me."
"But we stopped him. We hid the mirror—"
"The mirror was one tool. There are others. And he won't stop until he has what he wants." Cain placed his hand on Adrian's shoulder, and the touch felt real despite this being a vision. "You need to be careful. Protect yourself. And when the time comes, when I'm truly needed... you'll know how to find me."
The vision dissolved, and Adrian crashed back into his body in the Shanghai penthouse. Kieran was shaking him, calling his name, his face pale with worry.
"You were gone," Kieran said urgently. "Your body was here but your mind—I couldn't reach you through the bond. What happened?"
Adrian explained the vision, Cain's revelation, everything. With each word, Kieran's expression shifted from worry to awe to something approaching fear.
"If this is true," Kieran said slowly, "if your soul really is that ancient, then everything changes. You're not just my reincarnated lover. You're tied to the very foundation of vampire existence. You're..." He trailed off, struggling for words.
"A target," Adrian finished. "An even bigger target than before."
"And more powerful than we realized. If your soul remembers the first vampires, the original blood rituals, the source of all vampire magic..." Kieran pulled Adrian into his arms. "We need to be more careful than ever."
"How do we keep this secret? If Asmodeus finds out I have actual memories of Cain, he'll never stop hunting me."
"We don't tell anyone. Not Wei, not Marcus, not even the council. The fewer who know, the safer you are."
But keeping secrets in the supernatural world was never easy. Within days, Adrian started noticing changes. His vampire abilities were growing stronger—he could move faster than before, heal more quickly, sense things other vampires couldn't. His blood, when he fed, was more potent. Donors reported feeling energized, almost high, after he fed from them.
"Your ancient soul is waking up," Kieran observed. "The power that's been dormant for five thousand years is surfacing."
"How do I control it?"
"I don't know. You're unique—no other vampire has your history, your soul. We'll have to figure it out together."
They trained harder, pushing Adrian's limits. He discovered he could do things most vampires couldn't—compel stronger vampires, heal others with his blood, even manipulate shadows to some degree.
"This is going to draw attention," Adrian said after accidentally compelling Marcus. "People will notice I'm different."
"Then we need to get better at hiding it," Kieran said. "Practice discretion. Don't use your full power unless absolutely necessary."
But the universe had other plans.
Three weeks after Cain's vision, Adrian was feeding from a donor at their usual club when another vampire entered—one he didn't recognize. The vampire was old, ancient even by vampire standards, with an aura that spoke of power and blood and centuries of experience.
The moment their eyes met, the ancient vampire froze.
"Impossible," the vampire whispered, moving closer. "You have Cain's blood. Original blood, undiluted by millennia of replication."
Adrian's heart—if he still had one that beat—would have stopped. "I don't know what you're talking about—"
"Don't lie. I was there at the beginning. I was one of Cain's children, transformed in the first century of vampire existence. I recognize the bloodline." The ancient vampire's eyes widened. "You're not descended from Cain. You are Cain's bloodline. Original stock. How?"
Kieran appeared between them instantly, his hand on his concealed weapon. "Leave. Now."
"Lord Ashford. I mean no harm." The ancient vampire bowed slightly. "I'm Nathaniel, of the First Generation. I simply wanted to understand how someone so young could carry such ancient blood."
"You're mistaken," Kieran said coldly.
"I'm not. But I'll keep the secret—for now. Original blood should be protected, not exploited." Nathaniel looked at Adrian with something like reverence. "Be careful, young one. There are vampires who would kill for a taste of what you carry."
He left, and Adrian sagged against Kieran.
"It's starting," Adrian said. "Other vampires can sense what I am. It's only a matter of time before everyone knows."
"Then we prepare. We build stronger alliances, better defenses, more protections." Kieran cupped Adrian's face. "I won't lose you. Not to Asmodeus, not to ambitious vampires, not to anyone."
"You might not have a choice."
"I always have a choice. And I choose you. Every time, in every lifetime, I choose you."
They kissed there in the club, surrounded by humans and vampires and the ever-present danger that came with immortality. But for that moment, nothing else mattered.
Only them. Only always.