Everything shattered on a Tuesday night in January.
Aiden was walking home from Columbia, cutting through Washington Square Park as he usually did. It was late—nearly midnight—but the park was well-lit and usually safe.
Usually.
He felt them before he saw them—that primitive instinct that warned of predators. Three figures emerged from shadows, moving too fast to be human.
Vampires.
"Aiden Luxury," one of them said, female, with red eyes that glowed in the darkness. "The human who's caught an Ancient's attention. We've been very curious about you."
Aiden backed away, reaching for his phone. Kieran had made him memorize an emergency number, just in case.
But the vampire was faster. She knocked the phone from his hand, sent it skittering across pavement.
"Who are you?" Aiden demanded, trying to keep his voice steady.
"We're members of the Council of Shadows. We don't believe humans should be allowed into our world. And we especially don't believe a human should be bonded to one of our Ancients."
"I'm not bonded to anyone—"
"Not yet. But Kieran Ashford is grooming you for it. We can see the soul connection, even if you can't." Another vampire, male, circled around him. "The question is: do we kill you now, or wait to see if he actually turns you?"
Fear spiked through Aiden's veins. These vampires weren't here to scare him. They were here to eliminate what they saw as a problem.
"Kieran will—"
"Kieran will grieve. Again. For the millionth time. Honestly, we'd be doing him a favor. Putting him out of his misery."
The female vampire lunged.
Aiden dove sideways, but he was human, slow compared to vampire speed. Claws raked across his shoulder, tearing through coat and shirt and flesh.
He screamed.
And suddenly, Kieran was there.
Aiden didn't see him arrive. One moment he was alone with three hostile vampires. The next, Kieran stood between them, his eyes blazing crimson, power radiating from him in waves that made the air crackle.
"Touch him again," Kieran said, voice pitched low and deadly, "and I'll show you why Ancients are feared."
"Kieran!" the female vampire's confidence faltered. "We were just—"
"Just attempting to murder my mate. Yes, I noticed."
"The Council of Shadows—"
"Is not sanctioned by any authority I recognize. You're rogues. And you've made a fatal mistake."
What happened next was too fast for Aiden to follow. Kieran moved like death incarnate—precise, brutal, efficient. Within seconds, all three vampires were on the ground, bleeding, broken.
Not dead. But wishing they were.
"Leave," Kieran commanded. "Tell your Council that Aiden is under my protection. Anyone who touches him will face me. And I have sixteen hundred years of rage to work through."
They fled, dragging their injured with them.
Then Kieran turned to Aiden, his expression transforming from terrifying to tender in an instant. "You're hurt."
"Just my shoulder." But Aiden was shaking, adrenaline crashing through his system. "I'm okay."
"You're bleeding." Kieran gently examined the wound, his jaw tightening at the deep claw marks. "We need to get you somewhere safe. Can you walk?"
"Yeah, I—" Aiden's knees buckled.
Kieran caught him, lifting him effortlessly. "I've got you. Hold on."
The world blurred. One moment they were in the park, the next in Kieran's penthouse. Vampire speed—Aiden had seen it before, but experiencing it while injured and terrified was disorienting.
Kieran laid him on the sofa, already pulling out a first aid kit. "This is going to hurt. I'm sorry."
He cleaned the wounds with careful efficiency, and Aiden hissed in pain but didn't pull away.
"Why?" Aiden asked through gritted teeth. "Why did they attack me?"
"Because you're human in a supernatural world. Because some vampires believe humans contaminate our society. Because I've made you visible by loving you." Kieran's hands trembled slightly as he bandaged the wounds. "Because I failed to protect you. Again."
"This wasn't your fault."
"It absolutely was. I knew there would be resistance to our relationship. I knew there were radical factions who oppose human-vampire bonds. I should have been more careful, kept better watch—"
"Kieran." Aiden caught his hand. "Stop. You can't watch me every second. And I won't live in a cage, even a golden one."
"Then what do you suggest? Because those vampires will tell others. More will come. The Council of Shadows is small but growing. They see you as a threat to vampire purity."
"So we fight back. We—" Aiden stopped as a wave of dizziness hit him. "Sorry, I feel weird."
Kieran's expression turned alarmed. "Weird how?"
"Like... like everything is too loud and too bright and—" Aiden gasped as pain lanced through his shoulder, worse than before. "What's happening?"
Kieran cursed in a language Aiden didn't recognize. "Their claws. They must have had venom on them. A paralytic agent some vampires use."
"Am I going to die?"
"No. But you're going to be very uncomfortable for the next few hours." Kieran gathered him close. "I can help. My blood has healing properties. If you drink just a small amount, it will counteract the venom."
Aiden's mind was getting foggy, but he understood the implication. "Drinking your blood... won't that start the turning process?"
"Not from a small amount. Turning requires draining you to the point of death, then giving you massive quantities of vampire blood. A few drops for healing won't transform you."
"You're sure?"
"I'm sure. But Aiden, it's your choice. Always your choice. If you'd rather ride out the venom—"
"No. I trust you. Help me."
Kieran bit his own wrist, and dark blood welled up. He pressed it to Aiden's lips. "Drink. Just a little."
The blood was strange—metallic and sweet at the same time, with an electric quality that made Aiden's nerves sing. He took three small swallows, then Kieran pulled away.
Almost immediately, the pain began to recede. The dizziness faded. Aiden could breathe properly again.
"Better?" Kieran asked.
"Much better. That's... that's incredible."
"Vampire blood is potent. It's why the turning process works—it literally rewrites human biology." Kieran's expression was anguished. "I'm so sorry, Aiden. This is exactly what I feared. Loving me puts you in danger."
"Loving you makes me happy. The danger is just... a side effect we'll have to manage."
"How can you be so calm about this? You were just attacked by vampires who wanted to kill you!"
"And you saved me. Like you always do, apparently." Aiden pulled Kieran down to sit beside him. "I'm not naive. I knew getting involved with you meant entering a dangerous world. But Kieran, I'd rather have a dangerous life with you than a safe life without you."
"Even if that dangerous life ends up killing you?"
"Even then. Because at least I'd have lived. Really lived, instead of just existing." Aiden touched Kieran's face. "You've been existing for sixteen hundred years. I've been existing for twenty. Maybe it's time we both started actually living."
Kieran closed his eyes, leaning into the touch. "I can't lose you again."
"Then don't. Turn me. Give us forever."
"Aiden—"
"I mean it. Not out of fear or because of the attack. But because I want forever with you. I want to learn everything about your world. I want centuries to love you properly. I want—" His voice broke. "I want what we almost had in my last life. What we've been denied for a thousand years."
"If I turn you, there's no going back. You'll lose your humanity, your family, your normal life—"
"My family will be you. My life will be you. And humanity is overrated if it means dying and leaving you alone again."
Kieran was quiet for a long time, warring with himself. Finally, he said, "Let me think about it. Give me a few days to make sure this is right, that I'm not rushing because I'm scared. Can you do that?"
"Yes. But Kieran, I'm not going to change my mind."
"I know. But I need to be sure I'm doing this for the right reasons. That I'm not turning you out of fear, but out of love."
They spent the night wrapped around each other, both processing what had happened. Aiden drifted in and out of sleep, his body still recovering. Kieran didn't sleep at all, just held him and thought about the impossible choice before him.
Turn Aiden and risk losing him as a vampire again, like last time.
Or keep him human and watch age and mortality eventually take him away.
There was no good answer. Only hope that this time—this lifetime—they could finally get their forever.