Chapter 1

Chapter 1

“Lana, run!” The man screamed back to the woman holding the baby, who had stopped to catch her breath by a tree. He went back to check on her.

“Kenneth, you must carry Ken. I can’t go on any longer,” she said, holding her chest with one hand, trying to get her lungs to catch up. Kenneth growled. “No! I won’t leave you. I love you, Lana. Our baby will make it. I will protect you both. I promised, didn’t I? You have to continue.”

He kissed Lana on her forehead and placed his forehead against hers lovingly. He looked down at the baby; the new revolution of the vampire species. Vampires were not welcomed in these times, not even a half-breed like the child. Most people considered them a threat, and with the rebellion raging, Kenneth had to go on the run to protect the love of his life and their baby.

“We must get the baby to Rosa and Allen. They will carry him south as planned, and we will meet them there.”

“I can’t leave him,” Lana said, shaking her head. Kenneth sighed.  He knew how she felt, because he felt the same way. However, he had little time to reflect, for his nose caught the scent of hunters close by, his ears detecting the sound of whispered threats in the distance.

“We must go now,” he said, swiftly picking Lana up into his arms. “Close your eyes.”  He took off into the night, running with supernatural speed. Lana squeezed the baby in her arms tightly. Kenneth continued to run until he reached  an opening in the forest.  Rosa and Allen  were there, waiting for him as planned.

“You finally made it . We’re behind schedule; you should’ve just left the wench,” Allen said. Kenneth growled viciously, warning  him to back off.

“Give me the baby,” Rosa said,   gesturing towards the child . Lana held the baby  close to her chest as Kenneth gently placed her on the ground.

“Give her the baby, Lana. Everything will be fine.” He held her as she released the baby to Rosa.

“We will see you at the safe house,” Rosa said, trying to soothe Lana. Allen bowed, and  then walked away with Rosa, leaving Lana in tears. Kenneth held his love close, trying to keep his emotions at bay while his world crashed down. He prayed for the child’s safety, and his sanity.

Twenty-two years later

“Hurry up, Teya, or we’re going to be late.” Teya looked over at her roommate. The frat boys were having a party – one that Teya really wasn’t interested in. She wasn’t the prettiest girl at school – she much rather preferred her space and privacy. She had chosen to live off campus in order to avoid the college life, but tonight she wanted a chance to let go and have fun.

She was heartbroken and alone. Her boyfriend of two years had cheated on her, and had only used her for sex.  The only time he was with someone was when he could get between her legs, and that wasn’t who Teya was.

“Wow, you look great Leslie,” she said. Leslie did a quick twirl to show off her outfit.

“Don’t I know it?” she said, grabbing her friend’s hand. “Let’s go.”  Teya looked around uncertainly, but eventually followed Leslie to the frat house.

The music was booming and the alcohol was pouring. The more Teya saw, the more uncomfortable she became. Leslie had dragged her everywhere, in order to meet everyone. She was a social goddess. The last stop was the bonfire. As Teya looked around, she noticed three ethereal people, two men and a woman, walking out of the darkness, straight towards Leslie.

“Good evening,” one of the men announced. He had long black hair that he kept tied in a ponytail, and eyes like fire, that glowed as he bent down to kiss Leslie’s hand. Teya looked over at the woman. She also had straight black hair, as well as the same dangerous fire in her eyes. The other male had short blonde hair, a boyish face, and sky-blue eyes – eyes so beautiful that Teya could get lost in them. He stared at her for a moment, but quickly turned away.

“May we join the party? It’s been awhile since I have partied,”  the man with long black hair, who appeared to be their leader,  asked, speaking with a British accent and followed by a delish smile. Leslie blushed.

“Of course. The party is open for everyone. Are you guys from another school? I’ve never  seen you guys around here.”

“You can say that,” the blonde guy said. Teya noticed his jaw tightened whenever the leader  spoke, as if he was disgusted.

“I can grab you guys a drink,” Leslie offered.

“That will be delightful,” the leader said,   following Leslie to the bar area with the woman, while the blonde one remained and stared at Teya.

“Aren’t you going to follow them?” she asked, her heart  pounding. Why was he staring at her like that?

“As he walked away to catch up with his group, he turned back to her and stated cryptically, “You should watch your neck.”Teya watched him leave, puzzled. He was clearly the outcast of the three . He almost seemed broken and hurt, like his soul had been ripped out of  his body. She felt sadness for the stranger.

Later that night, Teya noticed people starting to leave the party. Leslie had walked inside with the strangers, but never came back out. Teya cautiously decided to  walk back in  to find her friend.

“Les?” No answer. “Leslie, let’s go home. The party is over!” she yelled into the bathroom. She decided to  walk out to the balcony, in order to get a better view of the bonfire. Out of her peripheral view, she spotted the man and woman carrying Leslie into the woods. She covered her mouth to keep from screaming. They disappeared into the darkness, with nothing but Leslie’s scream echoing through the campus. Teya could see Leslie trying to escape her captors, running back towards the bonfire, but it was hopeless. With a fierce jump, the woman landed perfectly on Leslie’s body and pinned her down. Moving with lightning-fast reflexes, the leader bit Leslie’s neck with his mouth and ripped her throat open while the woman viciously bit her wrists. He looked up towards the balcony while he drank the blood from Leslie’s now-limp body. Teya backed away, her feet fleeing before her body could even respond. The leader looked over at the blonde.

“Kill her, Ken,” he said. With a swift motion, Ken jumped onto the balcony as Teya ran for her life. In a panic, she pulled off her shoes before she could trip and threw them behind her, hoping to slow Ken down.

“Stop running,” he said, as Teya ran straight into the steel that was the blonde’s chest.

“Get away from me!” she screamed. Ken covered her mouth.

“Scream. They can hear it. Scream. Then go into the  poolroom and stay there until morning,” he stated. Teya looked confused, but only momentarily. He waited until she understood  before releasing her mouth.  He growled viciously and hurtled himself at her like he was going to attack. Teya screamed and ran. Ken sighed and returned to his comrades Allen and Salina, pretending to wipe his mouth as if  there was blood.

“I did what you asked. Now give me my freedom. I want to leave,” he declared. Allen grabbed his throat.

“You let her go, Ken. I know you did. You will not leave the house. You are still far too weak,” he snarled. Ken didn’t flinch as Allen squeezed his throat harder. His sky blue eyes locked into Allen’s fiery red ones.

“You are not my father,” Ken replied, pushing Allen away from him. Allen recovered quickly, using his knee to hit Ken in the stomach, sending him flying into the forest. Before he could even hit a tree, Allen appeared and smashed him into the ground, stomping on his back until blood spilled out.

“I’m the only father you have, ever since your real daddy abandoned you,” he said,  stomping down on his back. “It’s about time you learn who’s the boss around here. I am all you have. Your father is dead. Deal with it.”  Allen removed his foot from his back and began to walk off. As he left, the woman walked over to him.

“Why do you keep defying Allen?” she asked, lovingly grabbing his cheeks to pull him up from the ground. “You must feed, Ken, or you will die.”

Ken slapped her hands away. “Just let me be, Salina.” She pouted as he stood on his own.

“I love you, Ken. All you have to do is ask me. I’ll turn you and you’ll be stronger than ever,” she said. Ken growled.

“I don’t want this. I don’t want you. Go follow Allen like the hound dog you’ve always been,” he roared. Salina crossed her arms.

“ You’ll regret that Ken. I’m only trying to help you.”

“Well don’t,” he said, and with that, Salina disappeared,  leaving Ken alone. He had become weak putting up with Allen’s abuse for so long. Salina didn’t understand that he didn’t want this life. He didn’t want to be a killing machine. Twenty-two years had gone by, and the pain was all Ken knew. Salina didn’t love him. Nobody did. Maybe at one point in time, he had a loving mother, but he would never know her. He resented his father for handing him over to Allen.

He hated himself for what he was. A half-breed. Part man, part monster.  However, his supernatural senses came in handy every now and then. For instance, he could pick up the scent of the girl he was supposed to kill earlier. This time, he would do something right with his curse. He found her in the storage closet inside the poolroom,  passed out from the shock. It was becoming day, and Allen and Salina would never know he was gone. He scooped her up and ran with lightning speed to his secret house.