ADRAIN'S POV
How dare he.
The glass in my hand shattered.
Blood dripped from my palm, but I didn't feel it.
Didn't care.
I had made a promise.
A promise I failed to keep.
Andy was gone.
Again.
And this time she was in Dawson's hands.
A darkness stirred inside me.
Six years of hatred.
Six years of waiting.
Six years of wanting revenge.
If Dawson hurt her...
If he even looked at her the wrong way...
I would tear his kingdom apart stone by stone.
Because I remembered.
I remembered everything.
SIX YEARS AGO
Washington.
The memory was burned into my soul.
I had been running through the forest when I heard it.
A scream.
Not anger.
Not rage.
Fear.
Pure, desperate fear.
The kind that makes your blood turn cold.
The kind you never forget.
I followed the sound until a castle emerged from the darkness.
And then I heard her again.
Begging.
Crying.
Pleading for help.
Every instinct screamed at me to break down those gates.
Instead, I returned home and gathered the others.
"What happened?" Elisa asked.
"We need to save someone."
Mike frowned.
"Who?"
"A girl. She's trapped inside Dawson's castle."
The room fell silent.
Then came the answer I hated.
"No."
My fists clenched.
"He's going to kill her."
"We can't interfere."
"He'll destroy her!"
Still they refused.
I slammed the door so hard the walls shook.
Fine.
If nobody would help me—
I'd go alone.
Hours later I crouched outside the castle walls.
Waiting.
Watching.
Then footsteps approached behind me.
I turned.
Mike.
Drek.
Elisa.
George.
Justin.
Harry.
A slow grin appeared on my face.
"I thought you weren't coming."
Mike rolled his eyes.
"Don't make me regret it."
Minutes later the attack began.
Steel clashed.
Shouts echoed.
The castle erupted into chaos.
"Go!" Elisa shouted.
"We'll handle this!"
I ran.
Hallway after hallway.
Room after room.
Nothing.
No sign of her.
Then—
A sound.
Soft.
Weak.
Almost impossible to hear.
I froze.
Beneath me.
I ripped away the carpet and revealed a hidden trapdoor.
Without hesitation, I descended.
The darkness below felt suffocating.
The smell nearly made me gag.
Rot.
Decay.
Despair.
Then I saw her.
Curled in the corner.
Broken.
Terrified.
Alone.
For a moment my heart stopped.
No one should ever have to look that afraid.
I knelt beside her carefully.
"Hey."
She flinched violently.
"P-Please don't hurt me."
The words shattered something inside me.
I lowered my voice.
"I'm not going to hurt you."
Slowly, cautiously, I offered my hand.
"I'm here to take you home."
For a second she simply stared.
Then she broke.
Tears poured down her face as she threw herself into my arms.
Outside, Drek met us.
"The king escaped."
I barely heard him.
Because Andy suddenly grabbed my shirt.
Pure terror filled her eyes.
"He'll come back."
Her voice trembled.
"He always comes back."
I looked directly into those frightened eyes.
And swore.
"If he comes for you..."
My voice was ice.
"I'll kill him."
For the first time, hope flickered in her gaze.
Tiny.
Fragile.
But there.
Later, after she was safe, I sat beside her room.
For a long time she said nothing.
Then finally she spoke.
"My name is Andy."
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
"I had a normal life once."
Tears gathered in her eyes.
"I had a family. A home. I was in college."
She smiled sadly.
"They loved me."
Then the smile vanished.
"One day, while coming back from college, I accidentally bumped into someone."
She laughed bitterly.
"I apologized and walked away."
Her fingers trembled.
"I didn't know that one mistake would destroy everything."
After that, she always felt watched.
Followed.
Observed.
But she ignored it.
Then she met Dustin.
And for the first time, her eyes softened.
"He was kind."
A tear slipped down her cheek.
"He listened to me. Protected me. Loved me."
Slowly, they fell in love.
Life felt normal again.
Until one afternoon.
"I was leaving college when a man suddenly got down on one knee in front of everyone."
Her breathing became uneven.
"It was Dawson."
The room fell silent.
"He proposed in front of the entire campus."
I felt my jaw tighten.
"I told him I was sorry."
Her voice cracked.
"I told him I loved someone else."
She closed her eyes.
"I didn't know one rejection would cost me everything."
That night she told Dustin about what happened.
He told her not to worry.
To forget it.
But Dawson never forgot.
Late that night, she went downstairs for water.
Then suddenly—
A hand grabbed her from behind.
She froze.
"He whispered in my ear."
Her entire body trembled.
"'You thought you could leave me?'"
Tears streamed down her face.
"'I really love you.'"
Then he pointed toward her house.
Her voice broke.
"The next second..."
She couldn't finish.
I already knew.
Her family was gone.
Everything she loved.
Gone.
Then Dawson brought Dustin before her.
Beaten.
Broken.
Still trying to protect her.
"I tried to reach him."
She sobbed.
"But I couldn't."
I clenched my fists so tightly my nails cut into my skin.
"He wiped my tears away and said nobody would come between us again."
The room felt colder.
Darker.
Then came the final blow.
"He took everything from me."
Her voice was empty now.
"My family."
"Dustin."
"My future."
"My life."
She stared at the floor.
"And then he brought me to that castle."
Silence.
Heavy.
Crushing.
"I died there."
The words barely escaped her lips.
"And the thing that came back..."
A tear rolled down her cheek.
"...wasn't the same girl."
She looked at me.
Lost.
Broken.
Alone.
And in that moment I made a promise.
Not as a vampire.
But as family.
No matter what it cost.
I would never let anyone hurt her again.
PRESENT
My eyes opened.
The memory vanished.
But the rage remained.
Six years ago I had promised to protect her.
Now she was gone.
Again.
And this time I wouldn't fail.
A violent knock shook the door.
Drek burst inside.
His chest heaving.
His eyes blazing.
"We found him."
Silence.
Deadly silence.
I slowly rose from my chair.
The darkness inside me finally had a target.
Dawson.
A predator's smile touched my lips.
Cold.
Merciless.
Lethal.
"Good."
The single word sounded like a death sentence.
I grabbed my coat and headed for the door.
Every instinct screamed for blood.
For vengeance.
For justice.
Andy.
Hold on.
Just a little longer.
Because this time...
I wasn't coming to rescue you.
I was coming to end him.