Liam had always believed he was the most dangerous thing in Eastbridge.
He was fast. Strong. Blood-born. Immortal by accident and design. A predator camouflaged as a teenage boy. He'd been careful. Hidden. A shadow in a school hallway, a whisper on the track field, a secret with sharp teeth.
But now, someone else was here.
Someone worse.
And Liam could feel it like a sickness in the air.
It started the morning after the second bite.
The moment he opened his eyes, he knew something was off. Not just the usual post-feeding guilt. Not just the hazy memory of Alex's taste — warm, sweet, intoxicating. No, this was deeper. Something wrong in the soil. In the shadows.
He dressed slowly, hands sluggish, and made his way to the kitchen. His mother was already there. She didn't turn around when he entered, but he could see from her reflection in the window that she hadn't slept.
"Someone's hunting," she said.
Liam froze.
"Not your father," she added. "Something else."
He waited.
"You smell it too, don't you?" she asked.
Liam nodded.
A silence stretched between them.
Finally, she said, "We've been here too long."
"You always say that."
"And one day I'll be right."
Liam looked out the window, toward the line of trees beyond the backyard. They used to feel like home. Now they felt like walls closing in.
"Maybe it's not after us," he said.
His mother turned slowly. Her eyes were dark as ink. "You don't get to hope for that. You prepare for the opposite."
Liam didn't answer.
Because hope wasn't something he had anymore.
Not since he'd kissed Alex.
Not since he'd bitten him.
Twice.
And still wanted more.
At school, Alex wasn't in first period.
Or second.
By third, Liam was pacing in the bathroom, fists clenched, trying not to punch the mirror. Harper found him between classes and cornered him by the vending machines.
"You look like death," she said.
"Thanks."
She tilted her head. "He's not here, is he?"
"No."
"Did he tell you he wasn't coming?"
"No."
"Then go check on him."
"I can't just show up—"
"Yes, you can. You're already bonded to him, Liam. Emotionally, chemically, supernaturally—take your pick. If he's not answering, something's wrong."
Liam hesitated.
Harper lowered her voice. "You think you're the only one watching him?"
That got his attention.
He left school ten minutes later.
The walk to Alex's house felt longer than usual.
Not in distance. In weight.
The trees on the street leaned lower. The fog felt heavier. Liam could feel something pressing against the back of his skull — like being watched, but worse.
Like being measured.
When he reached the house, he didn't knock.
He climbed the tree beside the window instead — like he had once before, long ago, when he was still a boy playing monster, not a monster pretending to be a boy.
Alex's room was dark.
But he was there.
Lying on his bed, hoodie up, headphones in.
Alive.
But something was off.
Liam tapped the glass.
Alex jumped, yanked out an earbud, and stared at him in disbelief. Then he crossed the room and yanked the window open.
"Are you trying to get me grounded for life?" he whispered.
"I was worried."
"I'm fine."
"You're not."
Alex hesitated.
Then stepped back.
"Come in," he said.
Liam climbed through the window like it was the most natural thing in the world.
They stared at each other for a beat.
Then Alex said, "Did you feel it too?"
Liam blinked. "Feel what?"
"This… weird pressure. Like the air's thicker. Like something's wrong and nobody sees it but you."
Liam exhaled slowly. "Yeah. I felt it."
Alex sat on the bed. "I didn't come to school because… I had this dream."
Liam's stomach turned cold. "What kind of dream?"
"I was in the woods. Same place you kissed me."
Liam said nothing.
"There was something there," Alex went on. "Not you. Not human. I couldn't see its face. Just eyes. Watching."
Liam sat beside him.
"Did it touch you?" he asked.
"No. But I woke up with… this."
Alex pulled down the collar of his hoodie.
There were bruises.
Faint.
Shaped like fingers.
Liam reached out — didn't touch — just hovered over the mark. "That's not mine."
"I know."
"Then whose is it?"
Alex looked at him. "You tell me."
Liam stood, backing away.
His thoughts raced. His instincts screamed.
"There's something here," he said quietly. "Something old."
Alex frowned. "Older than you?"
"Older than any vampire I know. Maybe not a vampire at all."
Alex looked toward the window. "You think it's after you?"
Liam shook his head.
"I think it's after you."
They didn't speak for a while.
The silence wasn't awkward.
It was heavy.
Liam stayed until sunset.
He didn't kiss Alex this time.
Didn't bite him either.
But when he left, he whispered, "Don't open the window tonight."
Alex just nodded.
Liam didn't go home.
He went to the graveyard.
The oldest part. Past the iron gates and broken stones. Where the trees were bent wrong, and the birds never sang. There was a tomb there — cracked, half-sunken into the earth.
It wasn't where he was born.
But it was where he became who he was.
He knelt before the stone.
Whispered a name he hadn't said in years.
And waited.
Something answered.
Not in words.
Not in breath.
But in presence.
The wind shifted.
The mist thinned.
And Liam knew, without turning, that he was no longer alone.
"Why are you here?" he asked.
The voice that replied was soft and cruel. "I missed you, brother."
Liam stood.
Slowly.
Turned.
And there he was.
His older brother.
Smiling.
Eyes gold.
Teeth sharp.
"I told you not to follow me," Liam said.
"I was never good at listening."
"You shouldn't be here."
"Neither should you," his brother replied. "But here we are."
Liam's voice went cold. "You killed her."
His brother shrugged. "She screamed your name when she died. Isn't that romantic?"
Liam moved before he could think.
Fangs bared.
Fury like lightning.
But his brother dodged with ease, stepping into the shadows like he belonged to them.
"You've grown soft," he said. "Letting humans touch you. Letting them love you."
"Stay away from Alex."
"Oh," his brother said, tilting his head, "so that's his name."
Liam's hands shook.
His brother smiled wider. "You taste it, don't you? The pull. His blood's different. Sweeter. Meant for us."
"He's not for you."
"We'll see."
And then he was gone.
Like a nightmare fading with the dawn.
Liam stood alone.
Again.
And for the first time since becoming what he was—
He felt afraid.