Two Weeks Earlier

I stumbled through the snow, every part of my body shivering. Even though my tough vampire skin kept me from suffering the worst of the cold temperature the frigid bite of the wind still struck my bone's with a chill.

This is bad, even for a vampire, I thought. If I was still human, there's no way I'd survive through this.

I had been looking down at the ground almost the entire eight hours I've been walking out in this blizzard, so far with no sign of the storm letting up. The white all around was blinding to my enhanced eyes, and the harsh wind didn't do too much to help with that either. Every time I tried to glance up a cloud of white snowflakes caught on my eyelashes shaded my vision with hazy white splotches.

The rise of my red boots in and out of the snow began to slow as the falling powder piled closely to my knees. A clear sign that it was no use to continue at this point until the storm stopped. I was only walking, yet wearing myself out of energy from that simple task. If I was ever going to get to Vampire Mountain I needed all the strength that I could gather. And at this point, strength was definitely something I was lacking. Every trudging footstep through the blanket of snow brought about another set of aches and pains to my limbs.

Venturing a look at the landscape ahead of me, another gust of icy gale hit my skin. My lips were numb, but the rest of my face harbored the sting.

I headed towards the forest of trees in the distant, yearning to rest against the rough bark where I'd be shielded above by the abundant branches. Yeah, usually not something I'd be excited about. But it's something alive, real, and thankfully not white.

I wasn't sure what was pounding louder- my heart or my head.

Thump thump. Thump thump. Thump thump.

The beating was my only companion on this trip. The pain, nicking cold, and cacophony of beating from my heart continued to remind me that I was alive and filled with purpose.

I reached the trees, and hugged tightly onto one for a moment, keeping myself from swaying face first into the snow. It's a miracle that I even made it this far. Even though I had vampire blood in my veins, I was extremely inexperienced. Usually only full vampires made the trek to Vampire Mountain, and unlike me, they actually know how to get there.

I sank to the ground, delighted to find that the dirt here was only lightly covered in snow. Now I understand why people always kiss the ground in really cheesy cartoons and movies. After walking on nothing but a freezing blank white canvas for hours on end, it truley was refreshing to see solid, mostly dry ground!

Though I was now shielded from the heaviest effects of the blizzard, the air still held a bitter chill. I pulled my cloak closer around me. The fabric, once soft and velvet to the touch, now felt stiff as if it had frozen over with the rest of the world around me.

Dammit Kurda, thought, I thought you said this was all I would need to make it to the Mountain.

My stomach lurched, and my heart weighed down in my chest. I immediately regretted that thought, and my sour manner replaced itself with remorse.

"Kurda," I whispered softly. His name felt strange coming from my lips. Countless times in the past I've said his name, but never before had it left behind the venomous taste of regret.

"Kurda," I said again, the syllables caught in the exhale of my shallow breath. "It's all my fault..."

Suddenly I wanted nothing more than to stay huddled where I was under the tree, avoiding the world around me. I had lost my family. My friends. My life. And now, I was about to lose Kurda, the only thing I had left in the world.

I gave up my humanity to save my family, and well, the rest of the world as well. It's complicated, but I eventually accepted the loss of my old life, since it was for the greater good. But Kurda's death sentence? Nothing is to gain. I already know what's going to happen if he perishes. In fact, I already know what's going to happen after his passing. It's this foreknowledge that leaves me to blame for his fate. I knew this whole time, yet I still allowed him leave for Vampire Mountain without me.

I closed my eyes, hugging my knees to my chest. My head is heavy, a dull pain throbbing in my brain, making me feel dizzy and sick. Butterflies in my stomach feel as though they are sharpening their wings. The tears that never come linger in the deepest part of my soul, begging to be let free from their prison. I know the feeling, and it's all too familiar.

It existed at the viewing for my funeral, when I had to listen to all the sobs around me, being the only one there that knew I was not actually dead.

Again it returned, when I first met Kurda, unable to reveal the truth about myself.

Throughout my life, I have periodically experienced the wretched feeling of guilt, but never had it felt as awful as it did now. And if I don't reach him in time, I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive my self. Despite the warnings Lady Evanna gave me, I'm going to my best to defy destiny and change the future, even if it means the past will be altered once again.

With my eyes still closed, I listened to the forest around me. It wasn't surprising to hear only silence, aside from the rush of the wind dancing through the branches above. But beneath the sway of the trees, another sound seemed to be muffled.

My eyes snapped open, and I cocked my head to the right, fairly sure that my sensitive vampire ears had detected the sound again, laced in the wind. It was more than likely that I had heard an animal, or that my ears were playing tricks on me. After all, I was exhausted, and it had been days since I last tasted human blood. My senses had obviously been dulled by the lack thereof, and should be to blame for the strange noises I was hearing. So why was it bothering me so much?

I stood up, squinting from behind the trees to see through the blowing snow beyond it. Any other time, my sense would have picked up a disturbance before it came this close, but the raging storm capped even my perfect vampire vision. I had expected to see nothing, but then a figure emerged. Even after blinking multiple times, I still couldn't believe what I was seeing was real. Tangible. Before my very eyes.

About 100 or so feet away, a boy was stumbling through the snow. Stumbling...as in he was literally falling down again and again, slowly making progress. Something, or somethings were pushing on behind him, yapping and nudging at his legs every time his knees kissed the snowfall. I didn't need to observe long before I realized that the boy's helpers were wolves.

It was clear to see that they were headed towards the sanctuary of trees, coming straight to where I was hidden. My first instinct was to run to the boy, and help him up. But Kurda had taught me better than that. "Always observe a situation before you involve yourself," I remember him saying, "not everything is what it first appears to be."

Taking heed to the words of my mentor, I remained still, and watched as the boy continued to heave through the snow, prompted by the wolves. It was a peculiar sight. The wolves were obviously helping the boy, who was clearly in distress. His stumbling was getting more frequent, and he was taking longer to get up after each fall. Finally, he collapsed, and I watched in horror as the wolves began to sink their sharp teeth into the exposed flesh of his arms and legs.

That was enough observing for me. I took off running towards them, not really giving much thought to the consequences of doing so. I mean sure, I was a half-vampire, and that should give me the upper hand in a fight. But could I really take on two wolves when I had such little experience?

The distance between myself and the wolves closed rapidly, and they snapped their attention towards me, snarling. I launched onto the larger of the two, knocking both of us to the ground.

Losing my grip on the wolf, I sat up, panting rapidly. The boy still lay in the snow, unmoving. I knew I had only seconds before one of the beast would pounce, so I had to move fast.

The boy was groaning softly; hardly stirring. I ran to him quickly, fearing the worst. A shadow flew by above my head, and I knew one of the wolves had pounced. The larger of the two landed in the snow in front of me with a thud, once again baring his teeth at me. The other followed suit, standing defiantly on the boy's chest.

Were they...protecting him? I stared, baffled by the sight. I didn't move, fearing that if I did, the wolves would surely attack. They continued their stance as well, preventing me from coming any closer the body crumpled in the snow.

Another groan came from the boy, and I watched wide eyed as he slowly sat up. He wasn't a boy, but a man. A young man, probably not much older than me. He was almost completely naked, besides bloody bandages wrapped all around in his limbs. Where the gauze was absent, purple bruises covered his pale skin. He brushed his dark hair off his face, then looked up to meet my gaze.

His green eyes seemed to pierce right through me, and for a second I almost felt as though I was greeting an old friend.

Speaking between coughs, he broke the silence.

"Streak, i-it's ok," he reached out to the largest wolf, fingers shaking.

The wolf didn't respond right away; he growled at me a few more times before stepping down to lie next to the boy. The other followed suit, and I took it as my cue to approach them.

"Streak..." he again moaned weakly, dropping back into the snow. My heart stopped, as I realized what he had just said.

He called the wolf Streak. Streak. I knew that name. I knew this wolf! But more importantly...I knew who the dark haired boy was.

A gasp caught in my throat, and suddenly a million questions buzzed in my head. I had waited for this moment for many years, never anticipating that it would actually become reality. Yet here I was, standing in front of a boy I knew everything about, from his past to the present present and future; that had given everything to protect me from the grasp of destiny, including the sacrifice of his own life. The boy who, in the original version of time, knew exactly who I was, and even called me a friend.

The boy who tricked the powerful magician Desmond Tiny, and literally saved the world from utter chaos and destruction. The very same boy who was now collapsed in the snow in front of me, barely breathing.

"Darren?" I stammered.

Then the world went black.