Tyler walked slowly along the edge of the quiet road, a few miles away from the towering Davidson estate. The air was crisp with a faint morning chill, and the golden hue of sunlight painted the trees in soft orange and yellow streaks. The wind carried the distant scent of dew-drenched grass and faint exhaust fumes. Several cars zoomed past, their engines growling against the silence, and further down the street, children hurried along the sidewalk some with backpacks bouncing, others holding the hands of tired parents.
He watched them with a stillness in his eyes, a kind of longing buried deep within. Their laughter echoed faintly as they skipped toward school, so unaware of the monsters that roamed their world.
"I wish it could be this way," Tyler thought, his gaze lingering on a boy playfully chasing his younger sister. "No vampires, no werewolves… just humans. Ordinary people, going about normal lives."
It used to be that way.
He kicked a small stone lying near the curb. It flew off into a shallow ditch, bouncing once before disappearing into the grass. Then, just as the quiet resumed, the memory returned sharp and sudden like a blade slicing through still air.
He was ten. The house was dark, eerily silent. The kind of silence that warned of something being very wrong.
"Come on, Bella hide!" he whispered harshly, hurriedly pushing his seven-year-old sister into the bottom shelf of the hallway cupboard. Her breathing was shallow, fast, eyes wide with terror.
There had been a sound a fence rattling, the faint creak of a door opening. Their parents had left just an hour earlier for an emergency, trusting the locked gates and walls would keep them safe.
But they hadn't.
From the shadows, two men entered through the back. Their bodies were large and hulking, faces masked, voices rough. Thieves. The kind who didn't care who got hurt.
"I heard a noise," one of them muttered.
"I heard one too," the other replied, clutching a knife tightly as he moved toward the corridor.
The first man dug through their parents' wardrobe, stuffing wads of money and jewelry into a sack. "Go check it out," he ordered.
Footsteps crept down the hallway—soft, but deadly. The second man approached the cupboard where Tyler and Bella trembled inside.
"I'm scared," Bella whispered.
"Shhh…" Tyler whispered back, gripping her hand tightly. "They won't find us."
The cupboard door creaked. The robber paused. Then he spotted it a flash of white from Bella's nightgown.
He flung the door open and grabbed her roughly. "Hey! Here you are," he sneered beneath his mask.
"Let go of my sister!" Tyler shouted, leaping from the shadows. The man kicked him back, sending him sprawling onto the floor.
"Easy now, little girl," the robber grinned, gripping her earring. "That's a nice one… it'll fetch a good price."
"It's hurting me!" Bella screamed, squirming in his grip.
And then it happened.
The pain. The fury. The rage.
Tyler's body twisted, shifted, bones snapping, fur sprouting. His scream became a growl, and in seconds, standing in his place was a black wolf massive, fangs bared, eyes glowing with primal fury.
He lunged.
The second robber didn't even get a chance to scream properly before the wolf's claws tore into his chest, ripping him apart. Blood splattered the walls as Bella scrambled back in terror.
The first man tried to run. He made it to the front door.
But Tyler was faster.
He pounced on the man, slamming him into the ground with brutal force, and then with one deep, vicious swipe dragged his claws across the man's face. Screams echoed into the night, then fell silent.
Bloodied and panting, Tyler shifted back, collapsing to the floor near Bella.
Bella stared in horror but only for a moment. Then, she rushed to his side, tears streaming down her face. "Tyler!" she cried, holding his barely conscious form. "Tyler!"
That night… was the end of their childhood. And the beginning of everything else.
Back in the present, Tyler sighed deeply, his breath visible in the cool morning air. A shadow approached behind him light footsteps against gravel.
Sophia.
Tyler and Sophia sat across from each other in a quiet corner of the small, rustic diner. Morning light filtered through the glass windows, painting soft golden streaks on the table between them. A half-empty milkshake stood in front of Sophia, the straw slowly circling in her fingers. Tyler, on the other hand, had a magazine open in his hands, but his eyes weren't really following the words. Every now and then, he stole glances at her—quick, sharp looks—careful not to let her notice.
Sophia's head was bowed, her expression unreadable as she stirred the drink absentmindedly. A long pause stretched between them like fog.
Then she cleared her throat.
"So... what were you doing so early in the morning, outside?" Her voice was calm, but there was an edge of curiosity as she lifted her eyes to meet his.
Tyler didn't look up from the magazine. "How is that your business?" he muttered, flipping a page without reading it.
Sophia grinned, unbothered. "Sorry. I just wanted to know."
He glanced at her briefly. "I could ask you the same. What are you doing here?"
"I come here almost every day," she said with a small shrug. "To drink… and clear my head."
"I see," Tyler replied, his eyes back on the glossy page. "Good for you, then."
Sophia leaned back slightly. "Is that why you think I brought you here? Just for milkshake therapy?"
He looked at her now, brows slightly raised.
"I brought you here," she continued, "so we could have a good time. Talk. Relax a little. Tyler, you know we're the ones leading the pack now. If we're going to keep things steady, we have to stay close. The others need to see that feel that."
He didn't respond right away. The idea of togetherness wasn't one he'd ever dwelled on. His whole world had always revolved around Bella his sister, his only family. He never let anyone in. No friends. Just duty and survival.
But something about the pack had begun to stir something different in him.
He remembered their laughter shared jokes around the fire, training sessions, running through the woods at night. He wasn't just watching over Bella anymore. He was watching over them. And Sophia... she had a way about her. A pull. Like gravity.
She was like glue. She brought people together, made them feel seen. He hadn't figured her out yet. And maybe… he didn't want to.
Then, suddenly, the muted television on the wall flickered to a live broadcast. Both of them turned toward it.
"Breaking News," the anchor said, voice tight with urgency. "Five people were found dead this morning at an abandoned building near the western district. The victims were discovered with missing limbs and signs of brutal mutilation. Locals say similar disappearances have occurred over the past few weeks…"
On-screen, a man in a flannel shirt spoke to a reporter. "People vanish. Then we find their bodies like this torn up. It's not right. It's like something's hunting out there."
Tyler's jaw clenched. Sophia narrowed her eyes.
Just then, a buzz from Sophia's phone drew her attention. She checked the message. One word from James:
"Come back soon. Vampires spotted."
Tyler's phone buzzed too. Same message.
Sophia stood at once. "We have to go."
Tyler nodded, already rising from his seat.
Without another word, the two of them left the diner, the echo of the newscaster's grim report following them out the door.