The Night We Began Novels & Stories

--- The night raid began at midnight. We moved through the forest like shadows, our steps silent, our senses sharp. Altan led the way, his massive form blocking the wind, his eyes fixed on the path ahead. Ayşe walked beside me, her blade drawn, her breath steady. And Stellan walked at my side, his hand in mine, the bond pulsing between us like a second heartbeat.

That's why we had to leave early in the morning. At exactly five o'clock, one by one, my friends arrived with sleepy faces. Leopold was the last to arrive. I'm sure he didn't take a shower because the shirt he was wearing was upside-down. After hearing Nancy's explanation, the trekking began. The hill was not that far away; it was behind the resort. It was a light trek, but it was quite sweaty. The rest of the sleepiness immediately disappeared when we arrived at the hilltop. They laid out a healthy breakfast there, but no one touched it. All my coworkers were stunned when they saw the dark sky that suddenly opened up and presented a beautiful orange color.

The night that we didn't use protection though was one of the hottest nights that we'd ever fuck each other, though, and even now while I still sort of freak out about the thought of her being pregnant, just thinking about that night makes me hot enough I have to stroke myself. It started off like any other night really. My roommates weren't home, and Stephanie wanted a booty call. No big deal. She knew, and she showed up. We didn't really waste any time in doing anything like talking, or catching up.

she said, her tone deadly serious for a second, “I got dragged off the street by a stranger who looked like he could bench press a car, and as a thank-you, I promised myself I’d treat us to something nice. Tonight’s that night.” The three of us piled into a cab, laughing, teasing, feeling for a few hours like the rest of the world didn’t exist. Inside the nightclub, lights spun in iridescent patterns, music pulsed through our bones, and for the first time in weeks, I let myself forget. Forget Carson. Forget Luke. Forget everything that had nearly torn me apart. I raised my glass, clinking it against Cole’s and River’s. “To new beginnings,” I said, voice trembling just a little.

"It's over. Now, truly, it begins. No more sins. No more crimes. Only us. You and me. And our friends." The car moved forward through the lights of New York. The night was in its final hour. Dawn was not far away.

We went in. And the evening began. Not as an arrangement. Not as a performance. Just as what it was. Finally, completely, without the qualifier. What it actually was.

It felt like maybe, just maybe, we were starting something real. When we pulled apart, he didn’t say anything. He just smiled, leaning back against the couch as Vegas rolled into his lap. Lily stirred and crawled into mine. And that’s how we ended the night me and Dean, side by side, dogs asleep on our legs, and the kind of silence that wasn’t empty anymore. It felt like a beginning.

The noise, the chaos, the energy—everything that had been swirling around us for hours—vanished into the silence of the apartment. And for the first time in a long time, the stillness didn’t feel empty. It felt like a new beginning. “Well?” Night said. “Let’s get to cleaning so we can head to bed early.” “Early in the morning, you mean,” I corrected, leaning against the kitchen counter, a small smile tugging at the corner of my lips. “It’s nearly two.” I glanced at Night, who was already picking up empty cups from the coffee table. Then he walked over and picked up the pizza boxes scattered across the room.

He turned his face into my hand. And the last ordinary evening became, quietly, without either of us saying a word, the beginning of the night that was ours.

"But just for tonight... can we just be Zeroes?" He kissed my temple, his breath warm against my skin. "For tonight, we’re less than Zeroes. We’re just us." The silence of the night was broken not by machines, but by the sound of the wind in the trees and the distant, lonely howl of a dog. It was a terrifying, beautiful sound—the sound of a planet that had been under a dome for a century finally breathing. But the peace didn't last. Near dawn, a low, rhythmic thumping began to vibrate the floorboards. It wasn't the heartbeat-sync. It was the sound of boots. Many boots.