Lifetimes of You [Vampire POV]

Chapter 1: The First Encounter

None of them were of any use to me.

I needed blood.

Under the canopy of trees, I finally spotted my prey. The deer stood still, its ears twitching, sensing something unnatural in the air. The moment its dark eyes locked onto mine, it bolted—racing through the undergrowth, its hooves drumming against the damp earth.

I pursued.

It ran toward the riverbank, but before I could close the distance, a piercing scream cut through the night.

The deer vanished into the darkness, forgotten.

I turned toward the sound. A woman's scream.

Her scream.

Across the river, I saw her.

The woman I had fallen for stood trembling, surrounded by three men. Their voices were rough, their words foreign to me, but their intent needed no translation. She was shaking, too terrified to move.

One of them stepped forward, his grin sharp like a blade. The other two grabbed her arms, shoving her to the ground, pinning her there as she whimpered.

Something inside me snapped.

A rage unlike any hunger I had ever known boiled through my veins.

Without hesitation, I lunged.

I crossed the river in a single leap, landing between them and her. The leader barely had time to react before my foot collided with his chest, sending him flying backward into the trees.

The other two released her instantly, scrambling to unsheathe their parangs. Their blades gleamed under the moonlight, but their hands shook.

They should be afraid.

They charged.

I was faster.

Before they could blink, I struck—bone cracked under my grip, steel fell uselessly to the ground. In seconds, they lay at my feet, groaning in agony.

I turned back to her.

She was still there, frozen, staring at me with wide, disbelieving eyes.

For the first time, she saw me.

Our eyes met for the first time.

This was what I had imagined, what I had hoped for—but not like this.

She was still trembling, shaking violently, her breath uneven. The distant shouts of the men I had left behind did not help. Panic and fear flickered in her eyes, and I knew she saw me not as a savior, but as something else—something unnatural.

Without thinking, I scooped her into my arms.

She gasped, stiffening against me, but before she could scream, I leaped. The wind howled as the jungle blurred around us, the trees nothing but shadows against the moon. With two powerful jumps, I reached the edge of her longhouse.

Gently, I set her down.

For a moment, she stood frozen, her breath catching as she stared up at me. I memorized her face, the way the moonlight kissed her features, the way her lips trembled as if she wanted to speak but couldn't.

One last look.

And then I disappeared into the trees.

I returned to the riverbank, expecting to find the two men broken and writhing on the ground.

They were gone.

I turned toward the tree where I had sent their leader flying, but there was no body. No blood. No sign of him at all.