The night was alive with the hum of city life. Streetlights cast golden halos on the sidewalks, where shadows of passersby stretched and swayed beneath them. Cars cruised by with soft whirs and the occasional honk, their headlights slicing through the rich, velvety air. The breeze was gentle, laced with the scent of baked goods, pavement, and pine trees swaying far off in the estate corners.
Tyler walked beside Sophia in silence, their footsteps syncing beneath the soft rustle of leaves overhead. The moon hung low, glowing like a sentinel, watching over their quiet stroll. He hadn't meant to go far just needed air but Sophia had insisted on tagging along, and as usual, he hadn't been able to say no.
She was like gravity. No matter how much he tried to drift, Sophia always pulled him back with a kind of ease he didn't understand, lately he had been very close to Sophia and he couldn't resist it, the way she smiled and laughed it always made his heart beat.
He had always been the odd one at school, never had a thing with girls, it always made his classmates think he was weird especially as he was handsome, but that was how he was but with Sophia he felt something else...
"Come on, Tyler," she said suddenly, her voice playful. "Let's buy cookies. We can share them with pack."
She reached out and took his hand, tugging him toward a street vendor with a warm smile. And just like that, Tyler followed. No resistance. No arguments. Just her warmth tugging at the colder parts of him he didn't like to show.
"Six packs, please," she said to the vendor, and Tyler watched her with a mix of awe and confusion. How had she gotten so close to him? When had he let her?
Then it hit him a smell. Sharp. Bittersweet.
Powerful… it felt like a stab in his nostrils.
He turned, eyes narrowing as he searched the crowd. People were passing laughing, talking, walkingbut that scent was growing stronger, he realised he was close.
He moved through them with a kind of instinct, following the trail like a tether pulling him forward. His heart thudded. His breathing deepened. Something wasn't right.
Then he saw him.
A man in a flowing red cloak, walking just ahead. His gait was calm, effortless. Tyler's instincts screamed.
He reached out and tapped the man's shoulder, jaw clenched, every muscle tensed.
The man turned slowly.
His face was flawless — smooth, pale, with sharp cheekbones and lips pressed in a faint, unreadable line. But it was the eyes that locked Tyler in place. Crimson red. Cold.
Like dying embers waiting to spark.
"Can I help you?" the man stared at him as if searching for something, his voice deep and rumbling, like thunder rolling through dry clouds.
Tyler froze.
Sophia's words echoed in his mind her description of Susun. The red cloak. The beautiful yet deadly face. The eyes like fire.
It matched him, his instincts were always right
could it be wrong now, or could he really be.
Susun.
The night air hung thick with tension as the city buzzed around them, unaware of the storm brewing in one corner of the street. The breeze that once carried laughter and passing scents now felt sharp and charged. Car horns hummed in the distance, and people moved casually under glowing streetlamps, oblivious… until they weren't.
Tyler stood firm, his breathing heavy, his eyes locked on the cloaked figure before him. The red cloak swayed slightly as the man turned, expression unreadable. His crimson eyes met Tyler's, and for a second, the world seemed to pause.
"What do you want from me?" the man said, voice cold and cutting like ice through stone. "How dare you stop me right in the middle of the road?"
Tyler's fists clenched. His heart thundered.
"Susun," he said aloud.
The name dropped like a hammer, and the man visibly shuddered. His eyes narrowed, gaze now full of intent. That name… how did this boy know it?
"Susun… could it really be you?" Tyler asked again, panting, trying to steady his nerves.
"The Vampire King."
The man let out a low, mocking laugh, one that echoed with venom and denial.
"Have you lost your mind?" he sneered. "Which world do you come from? Vampires don't exist."
Tyler stepped forward, defiance written all over his face. "Don't play that with me," he barked, voice rising.
People on the street turned their heads. A few stopped, drawn by the strange exchange.
"I know it's you. I've got you now. You're not going anywhere!" Tyler shouted, his voice sharp with conviction.
The man's expression hardened.
"Are you crazy?" he said, stepping back. "Don't you have manners?" He looked to the gathering onlookers, raising his voice. "Can someone please call the police? I was just passing by, and this young man stops me and starts embarrassing me!"
The small crowd began to murmur. A man stepped forward.
"Hey, kid, leave him alone!" he called.
"Yeah!" another voice a woman joined in. "No manners at all!"
A third an older woman clutching a small child shook her head.
"Can someone call the police on this boy?" she said, shielding her child as if from madness.
But Tyler's eyes never left the man in red.
Susun.
Susun, for the first time in what seemed like centuries, felt unsure. How did this boy know him? Know his name? He looked deep into Tyler's eyes… and froze.
Those eyes…
They reminded him of him.
Constantine.
Could it be he is a werewolf, this young man.
The wolf who had once nearly ended him. The wolf whose strength haunted his nightmares. It couldn't be…
Susun turned sharply, making to leave. But Tyler reached out, grabbing his arm, his grip like iron.
"I'm not letting you go." His voice was low, resolute.
Susun's eyes dimmed with warning. With a twist of strength and shadow, he pulled free, his face now calmer but hiding a storm underneath.
"I'm sure you're looking for someone else," he said coldly.
And then like smoke he vanished, as he followed the crowd moving quickly.
Tyler blinked. A second later, he spotted him again, walking away just a few feet ahead. But before he could chase, the crowd surged forward, blocking his path.
Still, he yelled.
"Susun! Know this now it's not over!"
"I will find you, I would put an end to you.You'll never win no matter what!"
His voice rang through the street, fierce and unrelenting. Susun heard him, but he kept on moving.
Lost among the shadows.
Swallowed by the crowd.
And yet the fire in Tyler's eyes burned