AZRAEl.
I was feeding when I heard strange movement some meters away from me. Someone was close, too close, and I could feel the fear pouring out of them along with the sharp smell of fresh blood. It was strong, almost painful, and no matter how hard I tried, I could not ignore the call in my veins begging me to feed.
Slowly, I forced myself to steady my thoughts. I let go of the lifeless deer in my hands and it dropped to the ground with a dull sound, dust rising around my feet as if the forest itself was holding its breath.
Whoever had entered this forbidden part of the forest was badly hurt, terrified out of their mind, yet still moving forward instead of turning back. That alone told me this was not a normal intruder.
Curiosity pulled at me, dark and sharp. I wondered who had come here to die, but then I heard the cry. It was soft, broken, and clearly feminine, and the sound pushed my mind to the edge in a way I did not like.
I wanted to see her. I needed to see who was begging for help in a land that showed no mercy to anyone.
Using my primal power, I moved fast, covering the distance in seconds until I reached her.
She stood there in a long white dress, glowing faintly under the moonlight, like a sacrifice placed before me in the dead of night.
For a moment, the sight of her made something twist painfully in my chest.
I moved carefully, making sure not to draw her attention as I watched her, trying to understand what kind of girl would dare to step into this part of the forest.
Zazubat was not fully forbidden to humans or other creatures, but this place was different. This part was out of bounds to everyone because monsters like me lived here, creatures born of hunger and darkness.
You are probably thinking I am a vampire, right. Yes, you are right.
At night, I am a vampire, ruled by blood and shadows. But during the day, I am a werewolf, the Alpha of the entire werewolf kingdom, and no one knows about my other side.
No one knows I am a hybrid, born from a past soaked in war between vampires and werewolves, a war that lasted for more than a thousand years before I ever took my first breath.
You must be wondering how I ended up like this. How I became a creature caught between two worlds.
That is a long story, and I will tell you later.
"Help me, whoever is listening," she pleaded, her voice shaking as if it might break at any second.
"How did you stray so deep into this forest, little one?" I asked, my voice low as I stared at her from behind my mask. She barely lifted her face, and the small movement only made my curiosity burn deeper inside me.
Then I noticed the blood.
She was bleeding, and the moment the scent reached me, my strength almost failed. Her blood smelled different from every creature I had ever encountered. I had fed on many, yet I had never felt such a wild urge to tear someone apart and drink them dry just to satisfy myself. It was as if her blood was calling to me, whispering promises that it could end my hunger for a thousand years.
Still, I forced myself to breathe and pulled my thoughts back under control. This little stranger needed help, not a monster. If I lost myself now, another of my kind would find her and rip her apart, or worse, the people she was running from would reach her first.
I could already hear their footsteps from a distance and smell their desperation in the air. From the words they spoke, it was clear they wanted her dead.
No. I could not let that happen.
Quickly, I grabbed her hand and dragged us both behind a thick tree, pressing her back against it as we hid from those hunting her. As she moved, I noticed her steps were uneven. She was limping, badly hurt from trying to escape those savages, and the sight of it made my blood boil.
I should have gone to kill them instead of standing here like a foolish teen lost in a moment, but I did not. Instead, I pressed my left palm over her mouth to stop her from speaking while my eyes locked onto hers.
Her green eyes were wide and foggy with fear, yet they pulled me in. Her face was beautiful, not that I had not seen women more beautiful than her before, but there was something about her that felt different. Something tempting. I found myself staring longer than I should, wishing this moment would not end, wishing there could be another after this one.
Her heart was beating loudly, so clear that I could hear it, yet no matter how hard I tried, I could not read her thoughts. That alone shook me. This had never happened before, and for a moment I wondered if I had lost my gift.
The thought made my heart skip.
Maybe I had lost my ability to read other people's thoughts. My heart skipped as I let go of her, the strange feeling settling deep in my chest.
I pulled my hand away from her mouth, ready to ask who she was, but a soft moan slipped from her lips, sending a sharp shiver through me.
I froze.
Was she trying to flirt with me, or was it a mistake? It had better be the latter, because if it was the former, she was about to get herself into serious trouble.
I was going to ask her who she was when the sound of the guards' voices reached my ears.
I sighed and slowly drew my knife from the pocket of my trousers. The fear in her eyes left me with no other choice, even though part of me wished things were different.
I dashed out of our hiding place, my cloak flying high behind me as I landed in front of them, ready to tear them apart. The guards froze at the sight of me, fear locking their bodies in place.
One of them charged at me, but I did not move. The moment he reached me, I drove my hand into the left side of his chest, and shock rushed through his body as he realized too late what I had done.
I gripped his heart, squeezing slowly as I watched the life drain from his eyes right in front of me. Then I tore it out, my movements calm as his body fell lifeless to the ground.
I held the heart in my hand, blood dripping down my wrist, and my fangs snapped out as I licked the blood without shame.
"A-a...it's a nightwalker," one of the guards stuttered, his voice breaking.
Yeah. He was right. That was exactly what I was.
"Run," another shouted as he turned and fled, but I was never going to let any of them leave this forest alive.
I lunged at them one after the other, snapping necks, ripping hearts from ribs, making sure none escaped my wrath.
In less than ten minutes, it was over. They were all dead, their bodies scattered across the forest floor. I did not care what they wanted with the girl I had found. All that mattered was that she was safe.
I wiped the blood from my body as best as I could before heading back to the tree where she was supposed to be hiding.
"Bloody hell," I muttered when I found nothing but empty space.
She was gone, disappearing just as quietly as she had appeared.
I knew then that I had to find her. She was different, special in a way I could not yet understand, and I needed to know why she affected me so deeply.
A piece of white cloth lay on the ground. She must have torn her dress to make it easier to run. Smart girl. I smiled as I bent down to pick it up.
"I am going to find you, my little one," I chuckled softly, even though it felt like she had taken a part of me with her.
I wanted to chase after her immediately, but I could not. I had to return to the academy before anyone noticed I had been gone for too long.