The town of Elaridge looked normal.
Too normal.
Every morning the same yellow buses rolled through quiet streets, stopping in front of white-painted houses where sleepy teenagers dragged themselves out the door. Parents waved from porches. Dogs barked lazily.
Nothing about the town suggested that something ancient, dangerous, and immortal watched over it.
And nothing suggested that among the students of Elaridge High School, a vampire walked the halls.
Rusof Noir stood in the shadow of a tall maple tree across the street from the school gates.
His dark coat moved slightly in the cold autumn wind. Students passed by him, laughing, arguing, scrolling through their phones.
None of them noticed him.
They never did.
To human eyes, Rusof looked like any other seventeen-year-old boy.
Tall. Pale. Quiet.
But his eyes-deep crimson hidden behind dark lenses-belonged to something far older than seventeen years.
Rusof checked the time on his phone.
7:48 AM.
Two minutes before the bell.
Perfect.
He stepped forward and joined the flow of students entering the school building.
Inside, lockers slammed and voices echoed through the hallway. The scent of perfume, sweat, and cafeteria food filled the air.
Rusof ignored all of it.
Instead, he focused on something far more important.
Heartbeats.
Dozens of them.
Each one different.
Each one loud to his vampire senses.
**Thump**
**Thump**
**Thump**
Human life surrounded him like music.
And yet he had never tasted a single drop.
Not since his family forbade it.
Because Rusof Noir was not just any vampire.
He belonged to the Noir Bloodline.
The most powerful vampire family in the hidden world.
Their duty was simple.
Protect humans.
Destroy rogue vampires.
And never reveal the truth.
Rusof reached his locker and opened it slowly.
A voice interrupted him.
"Still pretending to be human?"
Rusof didn't look up.
"I thought you were supposed to be watching the west district tonight," he replied calmly.
Leaning against the locker beside him stood a girl with silver-blonde hair and icy blue eyes.
Lena Voss.
Another vampire.
Another student pretending to be normal.
She smiled slightly, revealing the edge of a fang.
"Relax," Lena said. "No rogue vampires for weeks. The hunters are quiet too."
Rusof closed his locker.
"That usually means something bad is coming."
Lena tilted her head.
"You worry too much."
Rusof turned to walk toward class.
But suddenly- He stopped.
A heartbeat.
Different.
Not louder.
Not stronger.
Just... strange.
Rusof slowly turned his head toward the main entrance of the hallway.
And then he saw her.
Ashra Heil stepped into the building with sunlight behind her.
For a moment, the entire hallway seemed quieter.
She was new.
That much was obvious.
Her long dark hair moved gently as she walked, and her eyes-soft but bright-scanned the unfamiliar corridors.
Students glanced at her.
Some whispered.
New students always attracted attention.
But Rusof wasn't staring because she was new.
He was staring because of her heartbeat.
It sounded...
Beautiful.
Not in the way normal humans sounded.
Something about it felt deeper.
Older.
His vampire instincts stirred in a way he had never experienced before.
Ashra walked past him without noticing.
But as she passed, she looked up for a brief second.
Their eyes met.
Rusof felt something strange.
Not hunger.
Not threat.
Something else.
Something he couldn't name.
Ashra quickly looked away and continued walking.
But her heart suddenly beat faster.
Rusof heard it clearly.
**Thump-thump**
**Thump-thump**
Lena noticed his reaction.
"Well," she said quietly, following his gaze. "Looks like someone caught the prince's attention."
Rusof frowned.
"Don't call me that."
Lena smirked.
"But it's true. Future leader of the Noir bloodline hiding in a high school hallway."
Rusof ignored her.
His eyes were still fixed on Ashra as she disappeared around the corner.
Something about her presence disturbed the balance of his senses.
And Rusof Noir hated mysteries.
First period began.
Rusof sat in the back of the classroom as usual.
*Silent*
*Watching*
*Listening*
The teacher was explaining something about world history, but Rusof wasn't paying attention.
He was focused on the empty desk near the window.
Three minutes into class, the door opened.
"Sorry I'm late," a soft voice said.
Rusof didn't need to look.
He already knew who it was.
Ashra Heil.
The teacher nodded. "New student, right? Take the empty seat near the back."
Of course.
The seat beside Rusof.
Ashra walked across the classroom and sat down.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Rusof kept his eyes on his notebook.
But every vampire instinct inside him was alert.
Her scent was different too.
Not just human.
Something else.
Something ancient.
Impossible.
Ashra glanced at him shyly.
"Hi," she whispered.
Rusof hesitated before answering.
"Hello."
Her voice was gentle.
"I'm Ashra. I just moved here yesterday."
Rusof nodded slightly.
"Rusof."
She smiled.
Something warm and genuine.
"I know," she said.
Rusof finally looked at her.
"You know?"
She laughed softly.
"Everyone in school knows you. Apparently you're the mysterious quiet guy."
Rusof didn't respond.
But Ashra didn't seem uncomfortable with the silence.
Instead, she leaned closer slightly.
"Can I ask something?"
Rusof raised an eyebrow.
"What?"
Ashra studied his face carefully.
Then she asked the strangest question he had ever heard from a human.
"Why do your eyes look like you're always watching for danger?"
Rusof froze.
For the first time in years...
A human had noticed something unusual about him.
He looked away quickly.
"You're imagining things."
Ashra didn't argue.
But she didn't look convinced either.
Meanwhile, somewhere far from the classroom...
Deep inside the forest outside Elaridge.
A figure stood in the darkness.
Holding a silver blade.
A hunter.
His eyes were fixed on the distant lights of the town.
He spoke quietly into a small radio.
"Target confirmed."
A voice responded.
"Which one?"
The hunter smiled coldly.
"A Noir vampire."
The voice on the radio went silent for a moment.
Then it replied.
"Then the war begins tonight."
Back in the classroom...
Rusof suddenly felt a chill run through his body.
A warning.
Vampire instinct.
Danger was coming.
Soon.
Very soon.
And somehow...
When he looked at Ashra Heil again...
He felt certain that her arrival in Elaridge was not a coincidence.
Not at all.
Ashra noticed him staring.
She smiled again.
But this time her heart beat faster.
And for reasons Rusof didn't understand-
His own heart responded.
For the first time in centuries...
The vampire prince felt something dangerously close to curiosity.
And far more dangerous than curiosity.
Fate.
‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾ THANKS FOR READING ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾