Prologue:

A long passageway…..there was a soft, red carpet covering the floor, extending for what seemed like miles. The walls were bare, showing no sign of life that would be expected in a home. A long silence stretched on and hung thickly in the air, enveloping everything in it. In the far distance, there was a door. Something was pulling me towards it. Something unexplainable. Irrevocable, perhaps. All I knew was that I needed to go to that door. Through those doors, you will find your calling. Your destiny will be made when you reach it was the answer to my question. How had I known that? But I had no time to ponder the question. I was being pulled closer and closer to the door. I reached out to turn the gold door knob when suddenly, the door flew open and a burst of white light shone through, blinding me. And through that light, I heard a woman's rich, gentle voice speak the words Welcome child, we have been expecting you. And as suddenly as this vision had appeared, so it disappeared.

Chapter 1:

I woke up with a start, panting and sweating. That was one weird dream. There was that door….and that voice…it was so unforgettable. There was so much warmth and power in it. It would have been great if I could have just seen who the voice belonged to.

I rolled to the side of my bed and scanned for my cheap, glow-in-the-dark digital clock in the clutter of my small honey-coloured wooden bedside table. Under the clutter of earrings, hair ties, necklaces, and various papers and books, I managed to grasp it. I lifted it up and brought it up close to my face. My eyes aren't in very good shape when I wake up. The clock read 9:00 am.

I bolted out of my bed and rush to get ready. "I so don't need this today," I grimaced. I rushed out of my luxurious condo and ran into the elevator, which was just about to close. Inside was a very cute guy, probably in his early 20's. No time to check out guys right now, Arisa! I chided myself. As soon as the elevator door opened, I ran to the underground parking and jumped into my Lexus. I drove to the subway station as fast as I possibly could while still being under the speed limit.

I made it to a seat on the subway just as the doors were closing. Breathing a sigh of relief, I checked to make sure I had everything I needed for work. Satisfied, I leaned back onto the chair and closed my eyes.

I opened them a minute later to see an old, frail man enter through the doors. There were no more seats available at that point. I stood up, grabbed my things, and offered him my seat. He gratefully took it and I moved over to grab a pole as the train lurched forward once more.

I reached into my purse with my free hand and pulled out a book. I became engrossed the minute I started.

I looked up after a while to take a note of the stop we had reached. Just at that point, the train screeched forward, causing everyone to fall forward. I was one of the first to regain my upright position and I noticed the bright light that was starting to become clearer each second through the windows. Finally, the light became so bright that it hurt to stare. I looked to the side and noticed a guy moving through the crowd of people on the train. He was a blur and no one seemed to have noticed him there. He was wearing a black jacket with the hood pulled over his face. I craned my neck to get a better look at his face. Almost as if he could feel me looking, he looked up and met my eyes. I was shocked to see that the colour of his eyes was red. I tried to look away but something about them made me keep looking. I was entranced by them, by him. As he took me in, he slowly started to smile. As I looked on at his lips curling upwards over his teeth, I noticed that his teeth had a fang-like appearance to them. It hit me once more as another oddity. How many guys do you see every day that have red eyes and fangs for teeth? Just as suddenly as I had seen him, he ran away. Man, he was fast, almost like a blur!

The light receded and the train continued to move. I looked around to see if anyone else had noticed the guy. Everyone was mumbling and grumbling about the light but no one mentioned anything about the guy. I tried to dispel him from my mind but he was just too peculiar for me to forget about. I went back to reading and became immersed once again.

When I finally reached work, everyone was already busy. Just to let you know, I work for an advertising company as the senior executive. It gets pretty busy here so no one really gives a damn about anyone else. I went into my office and sat down in my chair, looking at all the work I had to get done. I started working, stopping only to go get something to eat. All the while, I was thinking about that guy. I hadn't noticed then but he was very charming. He had clear skin and really nice features. The red eyes and fang-like teeth just made him look even hotter.

Arisa, just finish your work! It doesn't matter if he's hot or not, it's not like you even got to talk to him!

I shook off all thoughts of him and finished all my work.

I headed out of my office, wished my colleagues a good night and then headed home. I briskly walked to the elevator and went all the way up to my floor. Opening the door, I tossed my bag and coat on the floor and headed for the kitchen. I quickly made myself something to eat and turned on the TV to watch the news. That's strange….they never mentioned the incident on the train… I thought to myself. Oh well, maybe it wasn't that big of a deal.

I turned the TV off and changed into my sweat pants. Locking the door to my condo, I headed out to the park for a late night jog. For as long as I could remember, I would go out for jogs at night. I used to do it with my mom but after she died….I just went by myself.

There weren't many people out tonight. Actually, I seemed to be the only one there. I continued my jog, using that time to mull over my thoughts. Needless to say, I was still thinking of that guy. Who could he be? It wasn't just his looks that were odd; he was really fast, too. Inhumanely so. Nothing made any sense. I just wished I had gotten a chance to talk to him.

Just as I was taking a turn on the trail, someone grabbed my hand and pulled me to the dark shadows. I tried to break free but they had a strong hold on me. I started screaming but there was no one there to hear me. I had to get away. My blood was pounding in my ears. Flailing this way and that, I used my whole body to hit against him. My leg connected with his groin and he swore and let go of me for one minute. In that one minute, I ran as fast as I possibly could. I had to get back to my house. I could hear him pursuing me. My breath came in short gasps and pain was shooting throughout my whole body. I came to a dead end. He was coming closer and closer. He was going to find me soon. Where could I go?! Where could I hide?! My mind was frantically trying to figure something out.

It was too late. My pursuer had found me. He walked towards me menacingly, a cruel smile playing on his lips. He blocked my way out. He pinned me to the wall with one hand. I kept trying to fight him off but he was too strong. He slapped my face once to calm me down. I whimpered. Why was this happening to me? I didn't want this. I turned my face away and closed my eyes, trying to come up with something. I He pressed a knife against my throat and said "You're going to pay for that, bitch." The cold blade pressed into my skin sharper and sharper and I whimpered in fear as he let out a menacing chuckle.

I closed my eyes and just begged someone somewhere to come to my rescue.

Right then, another guy came. I panicked, thinking this might be someone connected with my pursuer. I twisted to try and escape and was rewarded with a nick on my neck.

The other guy came and pulled this one off of me. He spun to face his new opponent "Hey, watch it! Get lost or else you're gonna get hurt, too." He spun back to face me. The other guy pulled him off once more but this time, he punched him. My pursuer doubled over from the pain and fell to the ground, moaning. Another kick was administered and he lay down on the ground, barely making a sound. My saviour turned to me and I gasped when I saw who he was. It was the guy from the train! Even through the dim light of the lamppost, his beautiful features stood out and pulled me in.

"Are you alright?" he asked me, his deep, sexy voice filled with concern.

"Yeah – yeah, I'm alright. Uhh…thanks for just now." I stuttered lamely.

He smiled "It's all good. Glad I could help."

I started blushing. This was definitely one of the most EMBARASSING things ever! This was NOT how I had imagined meeting him.

I noticed something trickling down the right side of my neck. Using my hands to wipe it off, I looked at it and saw my hand was stained red. It was my blood. Then I remembered the knife nicking me. I looked up to see train guy looking at my neck, too. His eyes were wide and glowing bright red. Not even kidding, they were actually GLOWING! Even though this looked totally freaky, I couldn't help but think how hot he looked.

He moved closer and closer to me, seeming entranced. I couldn't move; it was like he had put me under his spell and all I could do was stand there. He kept staring at my neck, mesmerized by the blood on it. He stood right in front of me. There was barely any room between us. My breath came in slow, shaky gasps. He was so close and I could feel the intensity between us growing.

He reached out with one long, thin finger and gently stroked my neck. I moaned softly but it was lost to both of us. He took back his finger. For some strange reason, I was panting. He took his bloodstained finger and put it to his lips, slowly licking the blood off, all the while staring at my neck in a hypnotic state. He came closer once more but this time, this time, he tilted his head and leaned over. Oh my god, he's going to kiss me! I thought.

But I was wrong. He leaned over and nuzzled his lips against my neck, right where I got cut. And then he started sucking my blood.

I couldn't believe this was happening. He was SUCKING MY BLOOD. A GUY was sucking my blood. He was sucking my BLOOD. I was petrified, paralyzed, and unable to move or do anything. I didn't KNOW what to do. Even though, he was SUCKING MY BLOOD, it didn't feel bad or anything. Actually, it felt kind of good. Really good, if I thought about it. No, this isn't right! I have to stop him….NOW!

I pushed him away from me as hard as I could. He backed away, blinking in stunned amazement of what had just passed.

"What – what are you?" he whispered, horrified.

"Uhhhh….excuse me?! YOU'RE the one who was sucking MY blood! And you're asking ME what I AM?!" I yelled angrily. Who the hell does he think he is, asking me what I am?! Like IM the weird thing here.

"Your blood….it – it is different. Like no human's that I've ever tasted before." he continued whispering. His eyes took on a look of recognition and understanding. "No….no, no, NO! You can't be! Noooooo….." he said, sounding more panicked each time. Then, before I could register what just happened, he ran away, fast as lightning.

As I got back to my place, I was still fuming and mulling over the events of the night. What was wrong with that guy? Was I really that ugly? I went into the kitchen, got some ice for my face and went to my bedroom. Just get to bed, Arisa. Forget all about this. I put the ice away, crawled into my bed, and fell fast asleep.