Autumn was reaching its end, and winter was already waiting just around the corner.
Lilian hurried down the dim and cold streets, cursing her decision not to take the bus that night, as her light jacket and coat could not protect her from the cold autumn wind.
The city around her was busy in its usual way. Commuters were running or walking hurriedly past her as they tried to catch the last train, a group of people stumbled out of a bar while laughing loudly, and a man in a suit shouted angrily into his phone about something Lilian didn't want to know.
She frowned at the noise, and quickened her steps, wanting to put distance between herself and them.
But all of that was the normal nightly scene in her neighborhood. What really bothered her was how different everything felt tonight. Every streetlight she passed seemed weaker than usual, and the shadows were creepier, like they were alive and waiting for the right moment to jump out at her.
Lilian shook her head, annoyed at her own paranoia. "Stop being weird," she whispered to herself. This was her usual route, the same path she had walked countless times between her apartment and her workplace.
There should have been nothing to fear, but her gut told her otherwise, as if it warned her that something was about to happen.
Just as she passed a narrow alley between two apartment buildings, only one building away from her home, a hand suddenly grabbed hers so hard she nearly fell backward. Her phone slipped from her other hand and hit the pavement, and Lilian heard it shattered with a bitter regret, knowing she couldn't afford a new one.
But the thought vanished instantly as she was yanked backward, and her world spun when she was dragged into the dark alley.
Lilian tried to scream, but another cold hand clamped tightly over her mouth. Her back then slammed into the alley wall hard, knocking the air out from her lungs.
Then she saw the attacker. His face appeared before her, making her choked in fear. His eyes glowed red, reflecting the headlights of a car passing by the alley entrance. He smiled at her, revealing fangs that were way too long and sharp to belong to any human.
"Vampire?~" she managed to gasp, but her voice caught in her throat.
"You smell divine," he whispered hoarsely.
Before Lilian could understand what he meant, or before she could fight or run or do anything except trembling in pure terror, his head moved with inhuman speed.
He bit deep into her neck, making her feel pain that was both burning hot and freezing cold at the same time.
Lilian tried to scream, or push him away, but her arms felt so weak. Her voice wouldn't come out, leaving her suffering in silence.
She stared desperately toward the street where people were still walking past the alley entrance, but none of them noticed her.
The creature moaned with a satisfied sound, purring as if she was the best meal he had tasted in years. Lilian felt her consciousness slipping away and her vision blurring.
'This is how I die…' she thought, strangely calm as she accepted that she would die there tonight.
But suddenly, everything stopped. The sounds of the street vanished, the wind stilled, and the air itself felt heavy, hard to breathe.
Even the creature froze, his mouth still against her neck but no longer drinking her blood.
Through her fading vision, Lilian saw three figures standing at the alley entrance. The air around them rippled and warped, like heat waves on summer asphalt she had ever seen.
And they were beautiful in a way that hurt to look at, like staring at something too perfect and too unreal for human eyes.
The man in the center stood slightly ahead of the others. He was tall and looked like he was born to lead, with dark hair and eyes like a deep void, pulling everything toward them.
To his left stood another man, leaner but just as intimidating. He had sharp features that looked like they were carved from marble by someone who understood beauty in ways mortals never could, his red hair and green eyes gleamed coldly under the streetlamps.
The third man stood casually, though he looked the most dangerous of all. His blond hair and blue eyes glowed softly in the darkness.
All three wore elegant clothes with the kind of effortless grace that only comes from never having to worry about anything.
"Release her," the dark haired man commanded.
The creature holding Lilian began to tremble against her body, though just seconds ago he had looked so confident in his actions.
"My lords," he stammered in fear. "I swear… I swear I was just hungry~"
In a blink of an eye, they were surrounding them. The dark haired man reached out slowly and placed a hand on the creature's shoulder, as if calming a frightened animal.
What happened next was too fast for Lilian's human eyes to follow properly, but suddenly she was free.
Lilian stumbled against the wall, her hand clutched the blood as warm blood started to soak into her collar. Her legs gave out, and she slid down the wall until she was sitting on the dirty ground, her vision swimming with spots.
Everything felt distant and unreal, as though she was watching it all from far away through a thick fog.
The three lords, as the creature had called them, moved with incredible speed, and now the creature was kneeling, begging and pleading before them. Lilian could hear his words, but they sounded like gibberish to her.
All she could feel was the world tilting and the spreading warmth of her blood to her shirt in the cold night air.
Then came a sound like flesh being torn, and he was gone, reduced to a pile of gray ash on the ground, unmoving in the still air.
Lilian stared at the dust, her mind was too slow to understand what she was seeing through blood loss and shock.
The dark-haired man turned toward her, and her fear flared again. She wanted to scramble away, but her body wouldn't respond. She could only sit there, shaking, holding her bleeding throat weakly.
He approached her slowly and carefully, the way someone might approach a scared animal. When he knelt in front of her, she couldn't look away from his dark eyes that felt like they were seeing straight through her.
"You're safe now," he said softly, his voice nothing like the creature who had attacked her. It was smooth and cultured, with an accent she couldn't recognize.
Lilian tried to speak, but only a choked sob came out. When she tried to swallow, a sharp pain lanced through her throat, making her eyes sting with tears.
She shook her head weakly, but then she saw that they had fangs too. More tears spilled down her face.
"She's going into shock," the red-haired one said, stepping closer with movements that were far too smooth to be human. "And she's lost too much blood. We need to move her now, Dante."
Dante, the leader, nodded, his gaze never leaving her as he reached out slowly, making sure she could see what he was doing. "I'm going to pick you up now. Try not to fight me."
But Lilian did try to fight, pushing feebly at his chest, and making a small sound from her damaged throat as his hand touched her while the world spun.
"Shhh," he murmured. There was something in his voice that made her body relax against her will. "I know you're scared. But we won't hurt you. I promise."
She wanted to scream that monsters don't keep promises, but was just too weak. As he cradled her gently, the adrenaline that had been keeping her conscious finally faded.
The last thing she could remember was the rapid beat of her own heart slowing, the cool fabric of his coat against her feverish cheek, and the blond man saying something about a car in an urgent tone.
Then darkness flooded her vision, and she fainted.