(Cole’s POV)“I grew up on this island and knew the place like the back of my hand.” We heard Giles say. I could imagine him pacing outside the cave, probably looking for it.“Perhaps we’re wrong.” It was Adam.Giles sighed. “This could take another day. There’s no report of seeing them crossing the water.” He heaved a deep sigh this time. “I believe they didn’t kidnap Bryce. He probably went on his own. It’s wise of him to give us clues.”Lucilla turned her head to Bryce, and if it weren’t dark, he would see she was glaring at him. If looks could kill right now, he would not make it even before we could move deeper into the cave.“There are… how many? There are, maybe, ten caves here, Giles,” another voice said. “It’s all connected. If you really think they’re hiding there, we can send more people to find them.”There was a long pause. I closed my eyes, focusing on the sound outside. Although it was a challenge that Lucilla and I could not read their thoughts, I could still hear thei

(Brielle’s POV)I hit the ground gracefully but didn’t have time to admire myself because I had to run. Run? It was more like to escape… but from whom?I narrowed my eyes, listening carefully to the faint swoosh sound behind me. I gasped, wincing at the intense pain of the wound from an arrow, even though it missed my arm. I ran toward the tree and pulled the shaft from the tree’s body.The familiar design of the fletching and the silver bullet point made my heart hammer as I recognized who owned it. It used to be my grandfather’s and was given to Dad. I was twelve when my father gave me this handmade arrow as a gift.“Argh!” I hissed, tilting my head to check the wound. The slight cut caused a tingling pain and was getting worse.The noises from a distance proved to me that I was being chased. My ears twitched, recognizing their voices.“Giles!” I snarled, running again but halting abruptly and blinking when my vision blurred; the woods became foggy and fuzzy.Taking a deep breath, I

(Brielle’s POV)“An experiment.”It was Kione who answered. She murmured her answer and straightened up, lowering her gaze. The look on her face told me she was not proud of it.“What?” Bryce gasped; horror flowed in his eyes.“Newborn vampires will always be hungry for blood and confused for a long time. Sometimes, they forget who they are,” Kione added.Blood escaped Bryce’s face, then a surge of it went to his head, making his skin red in rage. When he understood what Kione meant, he looked at Xian and glowered at her.“You made us your bait?” He growled, gripping the edge of the bar table.If the table wasn’t attached to the wall, he might have thrown it to the person sitting across from him. Kione smiled and continued to eat, ignoring Bryce.I pressed my lips together, glancing at Cole, but like Xian, he was quiet. Aarush walked toward his sister, blocking his body before Bryce could jump and strangle his sister.“Oh, please, Bryce. We were watching you. Just in case, we want you

(Brielle's POV)“Travis,” he answered. “T-R-A -”I raised my hand, stopping him.“I heard you. My hearing’s perfectly okay,” I muttered, widening my eyes, stunned at the line of blood dripping from his nose.He smirked and wagged his eyebrows. “I’m more handsome than Cole, right?”“You’re human?” I said shockingly, raising my hand and pointing my index finger at my nose.“What? What?” He asked in a panic and lifted his hand, gasping at the sight of blood. “Damn!” he muttered, craning his neck and pinching his nose.He turned around and stepped forward, walking away from me.“Wait!” I almost sprinted following him.For a human being, his pace was relatively fast. When he turned left, my forehead creased as Travis disappeared from the long hallway.I sat on the floor and leaned on the wall, not minding the cold and pouting as I pinned my eyes on the engagement ring. As I brushed Travis off my mind, I was filled with what Bryce had said about my mother. I groaned, closing my eyes in defe

(Brielle’s POV)The sky was illuminated with a soft orange hue when the sleek vessel broke the surface and glided smoothly toward the dock. No one talked as we quickly made our way to the deck except for Travis, who tried to crack a joke, but no one dared to laugh.As Lucilla led us on the creaky deck, the only source of light we had was from the small beams of flashlights, casting eerie shadows across our path. I stopped, wanting to look back to see if Cole had joined us, but Kione hissed when I halted. Sighing, I stepped forward and stopped only when we reached the gravel surface of the road. Travis mentioned earlier that we were alone on the island, but something felt off as we walked into the dense woods. The sound of the insects that had been chirping incessantly faded, causing an eerie silence as if to tell us we weren’t meant to be there. I flickered my eyes on the woods, adjusting my eyes in the dark. I didn’t want to be startled by outcasts pouncing on us.“Don’t worry, Br