Prologue

The large buttress roots from the groves of large trees were spread over the ground, hindering me to sprint swiftly. The light from the full moon was penetrating from above through the rustling leaves, giving me a view of the paths ahead. I could hear the stridulating sounds of the crickets, blending with the spooky mood of this blood-curdling place.

I followed my instinct to scamper since I was incognizant in the woods. My energy was gradually consumed because I have been running for hours after leaving the Vatrimosso mansion. There was no time to come up for air because that lethal-blood-crazed predator was after my life. I had no choice but to continue the pursuit of running in order to survive.

I whimpered in so much pain when I've remembered how those monsters slaughtered my parents...my siblings, after hiding me in the manhole. It was a nightmare to hear and see their cries and agony. It couldn't get off inside my head. And I knew that it would be impossible for me to forget those tragic scenes I've captured in my memory. It was very traumatizing.

I recalled what happened a while ago before I got here. Through the metal grills of the manhole located in the basement of the mansion, I saw how the Vatrimosso patriarch's fangs pierced through my father's neck, quaffing his blood out of his body. His hold tightened even if my father was already quivering, convulsive eyes were rolling back in his head. When he drained him out of blood, he casually tossed his body to the ground.

There was no vestige of mercy in his visage and it looked like my father's life wasn't enough for him. He then threw my trembling and crying mother a vicious look, she was hugging my sixteen-year-old sister and thirteen-year-old brother. They were trembling in terror because of the attention they received from him.

"Give me that woman!" he commanded then one of his men grabbed my mother out of my siblings' embrace. Their cries up there echoed at the basement but I knew, no one could hear them except me. I was the most useless person who could help them. I couldn't help but to blame and belittle myself for being pathetic and defenseless.

How could I protect them with my small, petite body? My limbs were short and I didn't have the same agility like those bloodsuckers had. When it came to physical force, I was the only one who was at the least for being the youngest. It was frustrating that I couldn't do something about it.

"J-Just close your eyes, dear. Just close your eyes!" my dear Mother said as she suppressed her cries to calm them. However, the terror in her voice managed to slip from her mouth. It made my siblings tremble in fear. My breathing became heavy when the Vatrimosso patriarch forced her to kneel in the ground and gripped her shoulder. I saw her winced in so much pain, and it hurt me to see her suffering in his hand.

"P-Please, Don Gregor! Have mercy on me! We wouldn't dare to escape!" she begged. “Please don’t kill my children!”

"I don't tolerate rule breakers, Helena. There's no need to keep enemies inside my abode!" he said ruthlessly as he started to choke her. One of my siblings dared to run towards my mother, but Don Gregor looked at her, then in an instant, he was now in front of Ylena, my older sister.

"No please, not my daughter!" she begged. My heart was shattered by her cries and I wanted to rescue her but I couldn’t! I was so frustrated and miserable!

Please do something, Vera! Do something! But I couldn’t think of a possible way to help them. It was maddening to know that I couldn’t do something for them!

Don Gregor jerked his head and an impish smile plastered on his face. I covered my mouth to stop myself from shouting when he twisted her head effortlessly. There was a bone-cracking sound first before Ylena fell to the ground.

I felt my heart had stopped beating as my body started to freeze. Ylena wasn’t moving on the floor with her opened eyes. My breathing became heavy and the pain was starting to shatter all my energy within my body.

"No! Damn you!" my mother cried, now calling my sixteen-year-old sister's name. Tears couldn't stop running down my cheeks and it felt like my heart had stopped beating. Two of my family members were now dead, how dare he take their lives!

Yes, I knew that our family was working with them. We had a debt to pay but he had no right to put our lives in his hands! He was so ruthless, he was more vicious than an animal!

Before I could call my mother's name, there was a large hand that covered my mouth. My eyes widened a fraction when I saw a teenage boy who resembles Vatrimosso's patriarch facial features. He put his index finger in front of his lips, telling me nonverbally not to make a sound.

Of course, I knew him. Only his face but not his name. My older sister served for him and he was her friend. Their friendship was hidden because slaves had no right to associate with their masters. Why was he here? Was he going to give me to his father?

If I only knew that he was going to come after me, I should have followed my parents' order to run away!

He looked up from the grill to see how his father commits mass murder, then his jaw tightened in anger. There was a hint of tears on his face like he was done from crying. He must have seen how Ylena died in his father's hand. I was about to look up again when I heard my mother's painful growl but he stopped me.

"Crawl if you still want to live," he said in an authoritative tone, there was no trace of humor in his face. I was afraid to talk back or to disobey him, so I carried out his instruction before he killed me. It was also a good thing to escape now even if I wanted to save them. Their sacrifices would be useless if I would remain here.

We crawled in the malodorous underground tunnel of their mansion. Intense fear was submerging within me, making me tremble as we slithered our way out of the tunnel. I couldn't control the rivulet of tears running down my face when I heard the cries of Yvo, my brother. He was asking for mercy, begging for his life to be saved. But after a series of pleas, silence ensued again. I've never thought that a mere silence could announce the status of my life.

I didn’t know how to live a Veraitary life but I had to at least acknowledge all their sacrifices. My heart was so heavy and it felt like my life was taken away from me. I felt so alone and like I was deprived to live happily. There was an idea popping inside my head that I was trying to ignore, to acknowledge. I couldn't accept what happened to the rest of my family.

I wanted to return but my parents strongly instructed me to run away from here. They wanted me to take flight like my life was the only thing that matters. If they knew that they were going to die, why didn't they allow me to be with them? Living now felt like dying painfully. I couldn't see myself spending every day of my life with the same happiness when I was with them.

He told me to resume crawling even if darkness was now filling the tunnel. I had no choice but to follow his order. When the tunnel led us to the sewer, he ushered me out by holding both of my shoulders from behind so I knew which way to take. I didn't know where he was taking me. But I've planned to escape if I had the chance. He was still his son. I shouldn't trust him.

"You can run away from here, Vera. Don't ever come back," he said when we were at the end of the sewer, now introducing the chills in the woods. Realization dawned on me, was he helping me all along to escape? Why? His father wanted to kill our family because he perceived our request to leave his mansion as a betrayal. We had paid all our debts, it was right to start again after suffering from slavery.

I looked at him with so much confusion. It was the right time to leave but what he did to me was beyond my comprehension. Why would someone from that wicked family have the guts to help me? Was that because of my older sister?

"Take this," he said, giving me a familiar small brown pouch. "Your sister told me to give that to you when... she was still alive. Better to keep it."

I opened the pouch and saw the familiar stone my family kept like it was a treasure. My father said that his ancestor protected it for many centuries and my sister was the only one who could inherit it. But she...was gone now. Ylena gave it to me according to the Vatrimosso teenage boy, I would be the one to take care of it now.

"You can escape through the woods. Just keep on running. The guards could still smell your scent, so be careful. I can't go there because it isn't our territory anymore," he said. "This is your only way to leave so please go away and don't ever come back!"

I followed him and that was the reason why I was now in the woods, still running for my life. I forgot to thank that Vatrimosso teenage boy for helping me because of my fear of being caught. It was a good thing that he wasn't like his father. The only thing that I wanted to do now was to survive like what my family wanted. It was the only thing I could do for them to save me.

I resumed running not until I got tripped because of the root I forgot to notice. I bit my lips when I saw a bruise on my knee and felt like my ankle got broken. Tears poured down my face because of excruciating pain, I blamed myself for being so clumsy. I had to get up now because they might find me and kill me! I shouldn’t disappoint my parents, I didn’t want their deaths to be in vain. I had to...live.

My fear intensified when I sensed someone in the woods like I wasn't the only one here. I could feel their presence and they were all watching me. I cried more because I couldn't hold my feelings anymore. I wanted to apologize to my parents for disappointing them. I wasn't able to protect my life. I wasn't able to save myself. Maybe they were the guards from the mansion, tasked to bring me again there to kill me! They wouldn’t have a second thought of killing me!

I've remembered the stories my mother told us before we slept in bed. In her stories, there were many monsters lurking in the woods. Anyone who dared to overstep in their territory would be at their mercy. They considered it as intrusion, and that intruder should prepare himself for their judgment. They were very vicious, powerful and ruthless! However, those monsters in the mansion were more evil! They were evil for killing my family!

I felt so hopeless. I couldn't run. Why I was born to be like this. Why was I unable to save my family, even myself?

I surveyed my surroundings to look for them but they were not yet revealed themselves. Maybe, they were going to attack me at any moment to give me an instant death. I couldn't be wrong, I could feel them around!

I tried to stand again despite the pain but I slumped again to the ground because I couldn't make it. I growled in so much pain because my landing wasn't good for my broken ankle. It wasn't bearable, I felt like dying!

It didn't help when an animal showed itself. It was bigger than a dog and more dangerous than a simple wolf. I found its white fur very beautiful, especially its eyes with the glowing specks of enchanting emerald stone. I was more astonished than frightened because of its form of beauty I haven't seen before.

I felt the stone vibrating in my hand. Believing that it was telling me to hide it, I hid it in my body. My parents told me that we should not let anyone have a glimpse of it. I wouldn’t know why but I would follow their orders.

“Who are you? Please state your name.” My eyes widened a fraction when I heard the animal talk. It was speaking using a female voice—meaning this animal was a she-wolf. But my parents told me that animals couldn't talk, what kind of creature was she? She was so alluring to be a monster!

“I-I’m Vera Moore,” I stuttered because of bewilderment.

"Why are you here in the woods? Alone? Go back home and don't ever come back here in the woods, kid."

At first, I gaped at the words but when I realized that I couldn't go back home because my family was now gone. I felt the muscles inside my chest contract, making me unable to breathe. Again, I started crying.

The beautiful animal in front of me was about to leave me but she stopped when she saw me breaking down at my spot. I knew I looked miserable but I didn’t care. I couldn’t control what I felt.

"What's the problem? It is better to come home,” she said.

"M-My family was killed. I should not return there if I want to live,” I said in between my cries.

She looked surprised to discover my dilemma, her eyes were so expressive to the point that I could mirror her pity for me.

"Where are your parents? Your family?" I pointed my forefinger back to the way where I came from. Through her countenance, I could say that she was aware of the horrible place I wouldn't like to step on again.

“I have no place to go. I have to get out of here before they take my life,” I said, crying. “They were monsters! They killed my mother! We only want to be free!”

I was in utter shock when the talking wolf shifted into a naked human form in front of me. It was my first time witnessing this kind of transformation in my whole life. I meant, how could it be possible for her and couldn’t be possible for me? What kind of creature she really be? During her transformation, she was glowing beautifully, very enchanting for my eyes to see.

She was a beautiful woman who had an hourglass body. Her long, curly back hair covered her ample bosom and slightly her front bottom. She bent her knees and brought her upper body forward to touch my bruised knee gently. I winced in pain because of what she did. Her touch was so soft and gentle like a light feather. She looked sadly at me like she understood my situation very well.

“You don’t have to worry. You will be safe. They will not come after you,” she said gently while looking at me. “You can come with us.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, puzzledly.

“I will bring you to the place where they can’t reach you. You will be safe there,” she said as she cupped my cheeks. Her gentle touch reminded me of my mother which made me burst into tears again.

“My family, they are all gone now.”

“I feel so sad about what happened but you have to think for yourself. You have a second chance to live your life. They might be dead but they are surely happy because you’re safe now.”

Before I could speak, there were five wolves who revealed themselves from hiding in the dark. Compared to her, they were scarier as they kept on frightening me with their sharp fangs like they were angry at me. The woman looked at them, giving them her ardent stare which made them stop.

It looked like she could control them without saying any words. Those wolves looked at one another, they still disliked her idea to keep me. Did I wonder why? Was it because I was so coward and very tiny to belong with them?

“She has no family now. We can keep her in our pack,” she said like she was talking to them. I couldn’t hear their conversation but they were obviously communicating with one another. “She is harmless! She is a child! Her family was killed by that vicious vampire family!”

I couldn’t help but look at her, realizing that she knew the Vatrimosso family’s secret. She knew that they were vampires! My parents told me never to share their dark secrets with anyone because they would surely kill me. She also knew that that family was vicious! She might probably know their evilness!

At the end of their argument, the woman carried me carefully and put me above to ride one of the wolves and they weren’t showing their objections anymore. It looked like they respected her so they were now following her orders. At that point, I felt relieved because I had them to look for me. I would like to express my gratitude to her because of her kindness but she was now shifting back again to her wolf form.

I didn’t know what kind of creatures they were but they were the ones I could trust. I wanted them to take me away from here and fulfill my family’s order to compensate for all their sacrifices for me to escape. As we ran across the woods, I promised myself one thing.

I would offer that man a sweet taste of vengeance.