Chapter 1: The Night They Found Me
The rain had been falling for hours, turning the streets of Ashbourne into mirrors that reflected the neon glow of bars and streetlights. I walked with my hands stuffed into my hoodie pockets, ignoring the chill that seeped into my bones. My life had been ordinary, predictable, until tonight. Until the moment the world I didn't know existed decided to crash into mine.
I had always been careful—maybe too careful. A good student, a decent kid from a small town in upstate New York. Safe. Boring. And then… they found me.
It started with the whispers. At first, I thought it was just the wind rustling through the trees outside my window. But the whispers followed me, soft, urgent, like someone breathing secrets I wasn't supposed to hear. And then I saw them. Shadows moving against the light, figures I couldn't explain.
I froze in the middle of the deserted street when the first one stepped into the lamplight. Tall, impossibly graceful, eyes that glowed faintly in the dark. A vampire.
I should have run. I wanted to run. But my legs betrayed me, rooted to the wet asphalt as he approached, his movements fluid, silent. His gaze locked on mine, piercing, almost examining.
"You're awake," he said, voice smooth as silk, and somehow it sent a shiver down my spine. "I wondered if you'd notice us."
"I… noticed what?" My voice sounded small, fragile even to my own ears.
He tilted his head, a faint smile curling his lips. "That your life isn't as simple as you think. That there are things out there—things you're connected to, whether you know it or not."
Before I could respond, a sudden rustle of leaves announced the arrival of another figure. This one was taller, broader, with eyes the color of amber and teeth that gleamed too sharp to be human. A wolf. A werewolf, I realized with a shock.
"You're late," he growled, low and threatening, yet there was something in his tone that made my chest tighten in ways I didn't understand. "We've been waiting."
"What… what is this?" I stammered, my mind racing. I felt like I had stepped into a dream—or a nightmare—where everything familiar had been stripped away.
"You've been chosen," the vampire said, stepping closer, their presence overwhelming. "Chosen to witness, to understand, to decide. There are rules you haven't been told, alliances you don't know about. And you…" His gaze sharpened. "You are more important than you realize."
The werewolf's growl deepened. "Important doesn't mean safe."
I swallowed hard, heart pounding. My life had never felt so fragile, and yet, a part of me—something stubborn, something reckless—wanted to stay. Wanted to see.
The vampire extended a hand, gloved in black leather, and in the rain, it seemed almost ceremonial. "Come with me. Learn before it's too late."
And against every instinct screaming at me to flee, I stepped forward.
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We walked for what felt like hours through streets and alleys I thought I knew. They moved with a confidence I couldn't hope to match, slipping in and out of shadows, blending into the city like it belonged to them. And all the while, I noticed details I had never seen before: the way the air shifted around them, the way my senses sharpened in their presence, the way the ordinary became extraordinary.
"You'll need a name," the werewolf said suddenly, breaking the silence. He was walking beside me now, close enough that I could feel the heat radiating off him, human and not human all at once. "A name they can call you. It's… a tradition."
"I don't understand." My fingers dug into my hoodie, trying to keep calm. "I'm just… me."
"Not anymore," the vampire said softly, almost kindly. "Not if you want to survive tonight. They will test you, probe your mind, challenge your heart. You'll need a name. Something you choose, something that anchors you."
I thought for a moment, feeling the rain slide down my face. Something anchored me. Something I had always hidden behind. "Call me… Ethan," I said finally, the word solid, grounding. "Ethan Miller. That's me."
The wolf nodded, approving. "Ethan," he repeated. "Good. You'll need that."
And then we arrived. A building tucked between two others, ancient in appearance, but with modern touches: reinforced steel doors, windows covered in iron grates, and the faintest hum of energy pulsing through the walls. This was the gateway, the place where my ordinary life ended—and my real life began.