Hazel has a habit she never liked to admit to anyone. Most people collect books, while some collect toys. But since she was little she like to explore places, go into abandoned houses, where is hunted to other kids was fascinating to her, she never liked to play with kids but she loved haunted place.
Now she is an adult free to do as she please
She still continue doing what makes her happy.
Until one day she got into a bet with her friend to check out the castle up the hill mentioned to be hunted and it said that anyone who got in never came out, if found would be found dead, she was curious to see what was in stall, so she accepted the bet but her friend's was scared for her but she was nothing close to being scared the more she thought about the place the more she wanted to see what was inside what legend was behide those wall.
The castle has always been a shadow on the towns edge, looming where the forest thinned locals whispered about it over campfire saying it was cursed and hunted and a black hole for the foolish and curious some claimed to see to see candlelight flickering in it windows at night though no one ever admitted getting close enough to check. But to her it was something worth checking out.
So she decided to go at night and alone to check what mysteries it hold
But fate had other plans for her in there
The Gate was rusted tall enough to keep people out but when she pushed against them, they groaned open easily like they had been waiting for her. Hazel sneakers crunched over the cracked stone path weeds crawling between the gaps. The air grew colder as she approached the castle she pulled her jacket tighter around herself, though it did nothing for the weight pressing around her chest. Up close the castle was enormous. It tower clawed at the sky. And it windows gleamed faintly in the moon light watchful eyes. It should have looked ruined with ivy strangling the walls or pieces of stone missing from the roof but it didn't. It look untouched. She who is no the one to be scared got scared she wanted to go back but remembering the bet she moved as if a force was pulling at her feet.
The Door was heavy, carved with a symbol she didn't understand. She embraced herself pushing until the door cracked open the sound echoed through the empty hall sending a shiver down her spine
Inside was not what she expected
Her flashlight beam skimmed over velvet curtains that still clung to the windows, portraits in gilded frames that watched her with painted eyes, a chandelier above her head that glittered with dustless crystals. There were no cobwebs, no signs of decay. It was as though the place had been frozen in time, waiting for her to walk in.
"Creepy," Hazel whispered to herself,
Though the words came out softer than meant She moved farther inside, her footsteps echoing against marble floors. Part of her thrilled at the sight—this wasn't just another brokendown building this was a treasure. Every corner promised discovery, every staircase dared her to climb it.
What Hazel didn't know was that she was not alone.
Far above, hidden in the shadows of the upper floors, someone was already watching her. He had known the second she crossed the gates. Her presence disturbed the silence he had endured for centuries, but it wasn't her footsteps that betrayed her.
It was her heartbeat.
Steady. Quick. Alive.
Lucain stood in the darkness, listening, each thud of her heart thrumming like a drum in his ears. For years, he had lived in silence, in shadows, in a world that no longer dared to send mortals into his domain. Yet now, a girl had wandered straight into his halls. Bold. Reckless. Unaware.
His lips curved—not in amusement, not in anger, but something sharper. Curiosity.
For the first time a long time , the castle was no longer silent. And he had no intention of letting her leave it unchanged.
Her wanted to teast her blood it was calling him
He was surprised cause it was not hunger that calling but a bond
And he hated the sound of that