Tuesday afternoon. The university cafeteria was crowded, filled with the usual lunch rush noise. Arav sat with Min, picking at his pad thai while she talked about an upcoming exam.
"Are you even listening?" Min waved her hand in front of his face.
"Sorry," Arav smiled apologetically. "I'm just tired."
He hadn't told her about the memories, about Arthit, about any of it. How could he? *Hey Min, turns out I'm the reincarnation of a thousand-year-old temple guardian and I'm soul-bonded to a vampire.* Yeah, that would go well.
"You're always tired lately," Min said, concerned. "And Kayen isn't here again. You two have a fight?"
"No, he just had something to handle." Kayen had gone to meet with Jin and Preeda—they were researching protection spells for the bonding ceremony, now only nine days away.
Arav's phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number: *"Parking lot. Level 3. Alone. If you want your friend to live."*
Below it, a photo. Min's roommate, Ploy—not the shape-shifter Ploy, but human Ploy—tied to a chair, eyes wide with terror, tape over her mouth.
Arav's blood went cold.
"I need to use the bathroom," he said, standing abruptly.
"You okay? You look pale—"
"I'm fine. Be right back."
He walked quickly through the cafeteria, then broke into a run once he was out of sight. The parking lot. Level 3. His mind raced. Should he call Kayen? But the text said alone. What if they hurt Ploy?
The parking lot was nearly empty at this hour—most students were at lunch. Arav's footsteps echoed as he climbed the concrete stairs to Level 3.
"Hello?" he called out, his voice shaking.
A figure stepped out from behind a pillar. Not Theron—this was someone else. A woman, tall and muscular, with short black hair and cold eyes.
"Arav," she said in accented Thai. "Come quietly and the girl doesn't get hurt."
"Where is she?" Arav demanded. "I want to see her—"
He didn't see the second person behind him until it was too late. A cloth pressed over his mouth and nose, chemical-sweet smell filling his lungs.
Chloroform.
Arav tried to fight, tried to scream, but his limbs went heavy. The world tilted.
The last thing he saw before darkness claimed him was the woman pulling out her phone: "We have him. Bring him to the master."
---
Arav woke to the smell of incense and old wood.
His head throbbed. His hands were bound behind him with something that burned his wrists—not rope, something else. Silver? No, it felt different. Magical.
He forced his eyes open.
He was in a large room, luxuriously decorated. Silk curtains, antique furniture, walls lined with ancient artifacts. Through floor-to-ceiling windows, he could see Bangkok's skyline—they were high up, in one of the expensive high-rises.
"Awake. Good."
Theron sat in an armchair across from him, looking elegant in a dark suit. His silver hair caught the late afternoon light.
"Where's Ploy?" Arav's voice came out hoarse. "You said—"
"The girl is fine," Theron waved dismissively. "Already returned to her dorm room with no memory of this. We only needed her photo to lure you."
Arav struggled against his bindings. "Kayen will come for me—"
"I'm counting on it," Theron smiled. "But he won't find you. This building is warded with magic older than vampire tracking abilities. He could search for weeks and never sense you here."
"What do you want?" Fear clawed at Arav's chest, but he tried to keep his voice steady.
Theron stood, walking slowly toward him. "I told you before. I want you. Your power, your potential, your extraordinary bloodline." He crouched down so they were eye-level. "The full moon is in nine days. If you complete the bonding ceremony with Kayen, you'll be locked to him forever. But if I can convince you to choose me instead..."
"Never," Arav spat.
"Such loyalty," Theron mused. "Tell me, has Kayen explained what will happen to you after the bonding? The truth?"
"What truth?"
Theron's smile widened. "The human body wasn't meant to bond with thousand-year-old vampire magic AND ancient Thai soul binding simultaneously. The convergence of those powers inside you..." he paused dramatically, "will slowly destroy your human form."
Arav's heart hammered. "You're lying."
"Am I? Haven't you already felt it? The coldness spreading through your veins? The way sunlight bothers your eyes now? You're changing, Arav. Kayen's bond is transforming you into something neither human nor vampire. A hybrid. And most hybrids don't survive the transformation."
"He would have told me—"
"Would he?" Theron asked softly. "Or is he so desperate to keep you that he's willing to risk your life?"
Doubt crept into Arav's mind. Kayen had been secretive about certain things. And Mae Siri had looked worried when discussing the merged bonds...
"I can offer you something better," Theron continued. "Bond with me instead. I'm older, stronger—my magic can stabilize the transformation. You'd become truly immortal, fully powerful, without the pain and risk. You'd keep your humanity, Arav. Your warmth. Your life."
"And Kayen?"
"Would be heartbroken, yes. But alive. Isn't that better than both of you dying in a failed bonding?"
Arav closed his eyes. The words were poisonous, designed to create doubt. But what if there was truth in them?
"I need time to think," he said finally.
"Of course," Theron stood. "You have eight days. I'll keep you comfortable here. Fed, safe. And Arav?" He paused at the door. "I'm not the villain you think I am. I genuinely want to help you reach your full potential. Kayen wants to keep you small, hidden, dependent on him. I want to see you soar."
The door closed, locked from outside.
Arav was alone.
---
Kayen knew something was wrong the moment he arrived at the university.
The bond—even incomplete—let him sense Arav's general emotions. And right now, there was nothing. Just emptiness where Arav should be.
He found Min in the cafeteria.
"Where's Arav?" he demanded, probably too forcefully because Min stepped back.
"He went to the bathroom like an hour ago. I thought he went home early—"
Kayen didn't wait to hear more. He ran to the parking lot, following the faint trace of Arav's scent. It led to Level 3, then... stopped. As if Arav had vanished into thin air.
Chloroform. He could smell it. And something else—vampire scent. Not one he recognized.
His phone rang. Unknown number.
"Yes?" he answered, voice deadly calm.
"Kayen. It's been too long." Theron's smooth voice.
"Where is he?" Kayen's hand crushed the phone, nearly breaking it.
"Safe. Comfortable. Having a conversation with me about his future. You see, I've explained some things you neglected to mention—like how your bonding might kill him."
Kayen's blood went cold. "You don't know that—"
"Neither do you," Theron interrupted. "That's the point. You're gambling with his life because you're too selfish to let him go. I'm offering him a real choice. Me—stable, powerful, safe. Or you—desperate, reckless, and potentially lethal."
"Let me talk to him." Kayen was already moving, heading for his motorcycle.
"Not yet. Give him time to think clearly, without your influence." Theron paused. "Oh, and Kayen? Don't bother searching. You won't find him. But if you somehow do... I have twelve vampires guarding this location. You might be old, but you're not strong enough to fight them all. You'd die trying to reach him."
The line went dead.
Kayen stood in the parking lot, rage and terror warring inside him. Arav was gone. Taken by the one vampire who could actually offer him everything Kayen couldn't.
His phone rang again. Mae Siri.
"I felt it," she said without preamble. "A disturbance in the bond. What happened?"
"Theron took him." Kayen's voice broke. "And I can't find him. Mae Siri, I can't feel him—"
"The bond is being suppressed. Dark magic. Theron must have a witch working for him." Mae Siri's voice was grim. "Listen to me carefully. We have eight days before the full moon. If Arav completes a bond with Theron instead of you..."
"I know," Kayen said bitterly. "I'll lose him. Forever."
"No. Worse. The ancient soul binding between you will shatter. It could destroy both your souls—you'd both die, or worse, be trapped in a cursed state between life and death."
Kayen felt like he'd been stabbed. "Then what do I do?"
"Find him. Before Theron convinces him to choose wrong. And Kayen?" Mae Siri's voice softened. "Tell him the truth. About the risks of bonding. About everything. No more secrets. That's the only way he'll trust you over Theron's lies."
After hanging up, Kayen called Jin, Preeda, and Som. Called Ploy the shape-shifter. Called every contact he had in Bangkok's supernatural community.
"Theron has Arav," he told them. "We have eight days to find him. Eight days to save him. Who's with me?"
---
In the locked room, Arav sat staring out the window at the city lights beginning to appear as evening fell.
Somewhere out there, Kayen was looking for him. He could feel it—a faint pull toward the north, like a compass needle pointing home.
The bond might be suppressed, but it wasn't dead.
*Hold on,* Arav thought desperately. *I won't give up on us. Just find me. Please, find me.*
But Theron's words echoed in his mind: *The bonding might kill you.*
Was love worth dying for?
Arav looked at his bound wrists, at the magical restraints burning his skin.
Nine days until the full moon.
Nine days to decide: death with Kayen, or immortality with Theron.
*Please, Kayen. Find me before I have to choose.*
**To be continued...**