Entry One

I was only six when my parents were torn apart by vampires. My father shoved me into a cabinet and told me to not come out until it was clear. I remember hearing screams from outside and the smell of smoke filling my lungs. I remember hearing my mother's scream pierce into the night air. I clamped a hand over my mouth to keep my screams silent seeing blood splatter onto the floor from the peephole. I only saw my father's body hit the floor limply. His eyes darting to mine in one last weak attempt to say goodbye before he was dragged into the darkness. I only had a small knife in my tiny hand at that time. I saw a woman, or what I thought to be a woman enters into the room I was hiding in. Her eyes were nearly filled with black but had gleaming red in the centers of her eyes. Her hair was an ash color that nearly matched her white skin. Her teeth and mouth were dripping with blood that I assumed belonged to one of my parents. She sniffed the air, her eyes scanning the entire room while another came in. He resembled her but this time only with long black hair that was around his bloodied face.

"Do you smell that, Dragoth?" She hisses into the air, I hold onto the small knife harder biting my tongue down trying my hardest to not soil myself.

"I smell fresh blood, sister." He hisses back and his eyes land on the cabinet. I press my body against the back of the cabinet. What I thought was my escape turned out to be me being trapped. I was good as dead but it wasn't an option at this point. The two begin to come toward the cabinet with terrifying smiles painted onto their faces. Their teeth are glimmering from the candle, the teeth that were going to tear me apart. They swung the cabinet door open giving each other a laugh seeing me in my trapped state. I closed my eyes and prepared for the worst but instead I heard the door open.

"UNHOLY CREATURES," A voice screamed into the house as a small object bounced into the room. A ray of light shot out of the ball and splattered yellow matter onto the wall next the creatures. They hissed being blinded. I covered my head while the man stepped through the room with a crossbow. I remember hearing the silver arrows pierce into the skin of the vampires. I remember hearing their skin boiling and their screams, their screams that sounded exactly like my parents only moments ago.

Then, I heard them hit the floor in a heap. I was shaking uncontrollably when I looked up. Smoke was filling the room and I could see fires outside the window. My rescuer stepped through the smoke wearing full plated armor with a collar covering his neck. He leaned down to me; I didn't cower away because his eyes were normal. They were a soft green that calmed me down almost immediately. His long white beard covered most of his armor but he held out a gloved hand to me.

"Come child, the bad part is over."

Being only that small child then, I still knew that the bad part was far from ever being over. For that matter, it had just begun for me.

Two decades later

Emma threw her hair back sitting down at the bar, her body ached like a bitch from her most recent adventure. She didn't even take the time to wash off the vampire blood from her armor before entering. It was almost immediately that the men surrounded her asking for her story before she could properly order herself some rum.

"Did you slay that foul creature?" A villager asked her, she nearly gave a remark of how foolish he sounded. If she didn't slay the blood sucker she wouldn't be here. She shouldn't even be standing in the damn pub but report to the constable of her success. But after that battle that nearly got her throat torn out, she needed a drink to celebrate the fact that she took her neck for granted.

"The beast is being burned inside her home on the outskirts of the town; if you're brave enough to venture out you'll be able to hear her screams."

It was one hell of a bitch to get that vampire to sit still enough to tie her up but with an arrow sticking through her knees it made it a little bit easier. Emma grasped the small cup of rum and tossed it back. Letting the alcohol hit her blood stream. The barmaid gave her a look before grabbing the bottle. Emma grasped the entire bottle and gave her a polite smile.

She had been taking these missions from Melkan for four months now, the vampires were growing and getting in bigger groups. Melkan spent most of his time in his study trying to figure out where the bastards were spawning from. It was one town to another every time she finished a mission. He somehow knew when she was finished because a letter would always arrive telling her next destination. She wondered for a moment when she could actually go back to the Sanctuary. She missed most of her comrades but they weren't as trained as she.

"You've been the talk of the realm these past couple of months." The barmaid whispered while wiping off her bar. Emma raised an eyebrow, she tried her best to keep her executions quiet as she moved through the villages. All she asked was for some gold and a place to rest before venturing forth. Most villagers didn't notice that their vampire was killed until it was burning at a stake in the center of the town. The thought of her being the talk of the realm was hard to believe.

"They say you're one hell of a vampire hunter, but you don't take any companions along with you?"

Emma sighed and looked up at the woman, her eyes were filled with admiration and a sense of longing. This kind of work wasn't meant for women but there was only a handful of capable women in the Sanctuary and this line of work suited them. Most women would have been married or had children at Emma's age but the thought nauseated her.

"It's not worth the risk," she muttered taking another sip of the bitter rum. She felt her muscles beginning to relax. She needed to start stretching out before going out to hunt. She was starting to stiffen up.

"You'd rather fight alone?"

"I've never found anyone that lives long enough," Emma sighed, she's only had two partners in her entire lifetime and they've all gotten murdered in front of her very eyes. It brought out a side of her that she hated to think about.

"Why not talk to that man over there? He's been here since you got here waiting for you, says his skills are unmatched and his strength beats every man in this intolerable town."

Emma shifted her eyes over to a man that was leaning against a wall staring right at her. He was tall with a good muscular form but his eyes were a little unsettling. They were a strong light blue that looked like it was lighting the whole area around him. He was dressed in a thick black armor, unlike any armor she had ever seen before. No weapon hung onto his side and that nearly made her suspicious. He moved from the wall and made his way toward her.

She sat up a little straighter when he approached flashing a smile. He stuck his hand out but all Emma did was gawk at his outstretched hand. She raised an eyebrow at the man when he took a seat next to her. "Ruby here told me you're looking for a companion?" Emma glowered at Ruby, who retreated to some men calling to her.

"I'm not looking for a companion, I don't need anyone."

"That's not very convincing."

"Neither are you,"

Emma hissed feeling her irritation level rise. Who did this man think he was? He may out match any man here but so could she. No man here could match her skill and this man couldn't even reach her own level of mastery. She was suspicious that he didn't carry some sort of sword with him but he wore a unique set of armor? She didn't like the idea of this man and she didn't trust anyone easily.

"You haven't given me a chance, love."

"Don't call me that,"

He rolled his eyes and leaned back taking her bottle of rum. She opened her mouth to object while he held out a finger while taking a long sip. Her mood was at a simmer earlier and now that he took her drink her mood was boiling. He put the bottle on the counter and turned back to her.

"Listen, I'm not like the rest of your companions back at First Light Sanctuary. I'm hard a little hard to kill unlike the rest of your-ahem unfortunate comrades."

"Most of my comrades said the same thing." She said giving a dry laugh.

The man sighed and in one quick moment he grasped Emma's dagger from her boot and sliced himself across the palm. Emma's eyes flashed in confusion. Her mind was telling her to beat this man senseless. He had lost all his marbles. He pointed at his palm and urged her to watch at the deep cut spilled blood. She watched closely as the wound slowly started inching back together. Goosebumps rose over her skin seeing the wound close itself. In a matter of seconds his gaping wound didn't even show signs of a scar.

Emma jumped out of her seat and held her crossbow out to him. Her dart pointing at him in the chest, if he was some sort of vampire she was going to end him now. She knew vampires liked to play with their food but she wasn't going to stick around to be eaten.

"Who and what are you?" She hissed, the man smiled holding up his hands yielding to her pointed weapon.

"My name is Killian Jones, and I'd like to think I'll be your newest companion."

"Not the answer I wanted," She said, her finger itching on the trigger.

"If I'm not a vampire, what else can I be?"

It didn't take Emma long before the answer hit her quickly. Killian smiled when the realization hit her face. Emma was purely stunned seeing the man-creature before her. Never once in her travels had she ever come across this before. Only one word was on her tongue.

Werewolf.