Transylvania, Hungary

The deep forests of Transylvania were already cool with the bite of the coming winter. In the misty gloom and the fading moonlight, a young girl stood, breathing heavily in fear. Her auburn hair came over her shoulders and down her back, her deep sea blue eyes looking around for any sign of danger. There was a look of royal bearing in her features, but the air she gave was anything but. She was scared, pure and simple.

An unusual silence had descended on the forest. Even the early morning mountain winds were barely a rustle among the tree branches. It was enough to un-nerve anyone.

A twig snapped. She spun around, her breathing becoming more erratic as she looked around, trying to find the source of the sound. Why she had volunteered for this, she still wasn't sure. She should have listened to everyone else and left it to her cousin, but Anastasia Corvinus still had felt the need to help in stopping some part of what ever plot the vampires were building.

Now she wished she had listened and stayed home. She wouldn't be here as bait for one of the most dangerous creatures on the planet.

"Where are you?" she whispered, eyes flitting around as more sounds could be heard. "Dracula unleashed you for a reason..."

She turned, now seeing something coming, coming very fast, and it was breathing heavily. It didn't take much to figure out that it was the werewolf, coming to attack its prey. The moment she had seen it, she ran, hurrying as fast as she could through the forest. So far, things were going according to plan, but if even one thing went wrong, she was doomed. All she had to do now, though, was get to the clearing.

Anna ran through the forests, and despite running with every ounce of strength she had, she knew that the werewolf was closing on her. It was faster than her, stronger, and if it caught her, it would tear her apart. She was nothing compared to that beast. The blood and meat set out as secondary bait had already worked the creature into a frenzy.

She raced into the clearing, bolting for safety. She almost had forgotten where to go when she felt the ground slacken under her. Anna gasped as she reach solid ground again, and looking back, the werewolf burst from the trees, still coming for her. It was only by luck and the design of the carefully laid trap that the beast fell through the false ground and into a pit.

"Cut the rope!" someone cried. The moment Anna heard the werewolf hit the ground, there was the sound of an axe hitting wood. High up in the trees, as a large cage and net rose from the pit, waited a young man, who had black hair and brown eyes that burned with anger. He waited there, drawing out a revolver and aiming as the cage, along with the werewolf inside, rose toward him.

Anna watched, knowing that her cousin, Velkan Valerious, couldn't possibly miss that shot at fifty yards, and there was much less than that separating him from the monster. But something went wrong. He fired, but at that moment, the top of the cage shut, blocking the silver bullet from hitting its target. Even worse, the cage slammed into Velkan on its way up into the trees. His revolver went flying, and Velkan was now stuck on tope of the cage, he and the cage tearing upwards through the huge trees.

Far above in the trees, it came to a halt. Velkan took his chance and jumped off onto a sturdy branch, safe now for the moment. But it did little to comfort Anna. Two things had already gone wrong on this hunt, and while it was a miracle they had recovered from the first, it seemed impossible that the werewolf would let them survive the second.

The creature began thrashing around in the cage. Foolishly, the men on the ground raised their rifles and fired. Some shots hit their target, some bounced off the strong iron, but some hit the ropes, weakening them. One broke as if on cue, and then another.

"No!" Velkan screamed, knowing well that the riflemen would doing much more harm than good. "My gun! Find my gun!"

Anna looked about on the ground. "Find Velkan's gun!" she cried in vain. "It has to be the silver bullets!"

There it was, laying in the leaves. She heard another rope snap, but there was no other choice. If the werewolf got free, it was all over. Anna took the chance and sprung for the revolver, but at that moment, the last rope snapped and the cage dropped to the ground just a few feet in front of her.

With a high-pitch scream just as the werewolf tore open the cage, the girl did the only thing she could do; run. She didn't even bother to look back, she knew that the werewolf was right on her heels. It would not rest until she was dead. She prayed that someone would save her, but she knew that the best she could hope for was to given Velkan the precious time he needed. In that, at least her death, and the end of her family, would not be in vain.

She knew these woods well enough, and Anna knew that she would soon run out of ground before the creature caught her. Scrambling out of the forest, she came upon a few yards of clearing, and barely managed to skid to a halt before going over the cliff- the edge of the Transylvanian Plateau, twelve hundred feet up. Looking down, she could barely see the bottom, the mighty river below.

Spinning around, she heard the angry roar. She was going to die here, or worse. Either way, it was over, and Velkan would be the one to bear the burden. Ever since her father vanished two years ago, her mother having died from birthing complications, Anna had been alone, with only the Valerious family to go to. Last of the Corvinus line, descendent of Matthias Corvinus himself, one of the last remaining ancient royal bloodlines in Romania and Hungary, and she was going to die here as a scared little girl.

The werewolf launched from out of the trees, sailing through the air toward Anna. She closed her eyes, waiting for that moment of pain. At least it would be over quickly.

It never came. Instead, something shoved her roughly to the side, and Anna opened her eyes to see what had saved her. No, not something, someone: Velkan.

"No!" she screamed and she hit the ground hard. Velkan stood steadfast, raised his revolver toward the great creature, and fired. It did little good though, even as the beast howled in pain. The werewolf continued to fly toward him, crashing into Velkan and biting into his shoulder before throwing him backwards...

...into the abyss.

Her mind couldn't comprehend what had just happened, could not accept that what she had just seen was possible. Velkan was the strong one, the one with real courage. He had promised to always be there for Anna, he couldn't be gone. And she owed him her life, twice now. He couldn't leave her now, not with that debt unpaid

She looked over the edge, expecting him to be there hanging from a bush or a root. He would pull himself up and give her a smile - that self-satisfied smile that drove her crazy.

Anna looked and saw a splash below, the only sign of his fall. She couldn't believe it; he was gone. He had taken in her in when her father never came back, promised to look after her as not a cousin, but a sister, and now he was gone.

A soft hand took hold of her shoulder. She looked to the gloved hand and knew already who it was. "Lord Tepes," she whispered, trying to hold back her tears. "He...he's..."

Turning the girl around, the man holding her shoulder nodded and held her close. It was then that she finally broke down and began to cry, staining his rich black velvet coat with her tears. He didn't stop her though; he knew well her pain.

"He made a noble sacrifice," the man said. He looked out at the ravine, sorrow in his eyes, but all he could do was try and comfort the girl. "Do not let it be in vain, Anna."

There was a noise from behind him. Anna looked back at saw what it was; the werewolf, lying in the brushes. She tore away from the man whom she called Tepes, grabbed the gun from where it lay on the ground, and walked over to aim at the creature's head. It wasn't much, but at least she could finish her cousin's work. "At least you'll be his honor guard in the afterlife!"

"Anna!"

She halted at the call of Lord Tepes, and then, she saw why he had meant for her to hesitate; the werewolf was shifting. Rippling and shrinking, the creature shed its fur like a second skin and disappeared before her eyes. And in its place was an old man in the last moments of his life. Anna could see the bullet wound in his chest; Velkan had not missed his mark.

"Thank you," the old man whispered. He wheeze, unable to breath, but still he smiled. "I'm...free..."

You killed my cousin! her mind screamed, but then, she remembered that this man was not at fault; he too had been a victim. Not you...the creature you became.

He exhaled a final time, then fell silent. Anna dropped the gun from her hands and turned to bury her face in Tepes' coat. "Oh god," she whispered, hoping that the deity could hear her. "Please, help us."