Chapter 1: Bound By Fate

The night was thick with the scent of rain and something darker something dorminant. Evelyn ran through the dense forest, her white gown torn, her bare feet bruised against the cold earth. The damp wind clung to her skin, but she barely felt it. Behind her, the sound of footsteps, slow and deliberate, sent a chill down her spine.

She didn't dare look back.

She was being hunted.

Her breath came in sharp gasps as she pushed forward, dodging low-hanging branches. The trees loomed tall, their shadows twisting in the moonlight. She could still feel his touch, his tooth piercing her skin, the burn of his mark, Damien's mark. It was more than just a bite, it was a claim. And she wanted nothing to do with it.

A sudden break in the trees led her into a clearing bathed in silver light. A figure stepped forward broad-shouldered, tall, familiar.

Ronan.

Her pulse stuttered. His piercing blue eyes locked onto hers, filled with something dangerous. Something hungry.

"You should have stayed in the castle, Evelyn," he murmured.

She shook her head, her chest rising and falling rapidly. I can't stay there… not after what I saw.

A deep chuckle creeped through the night. Another presence.

"She belongs to me, Ronan."

Evelyn turned in shock.

Damien.

She turned sharply, her heart slamming against her ribs as he stepped from the shadows. Dark-haired, crimson-eyed, utterly terrifying. The vampire who had marked her. The monster she had tried to escape from.

Ronan immediately moved in front of her, a silent protector. "She's not a prize for you to claim."

Damien smirked, his gaze sliding to Evelyn's throat. She already bears my mark. And you know what that means.

Immediately, she touched the faint scar at the base of her neck. The place where Damien's tooth had pierced her skin, where a heat unlike any other had consumed her. Her body had betrayed her that night, responding to something it shouldn't have. But she had fought. She had run.

And now… now she was trapped between two monsters.

Two men who would kill for her.

 The Betrayal That Changed Everything

For a while, she had thought Ronan was her savior. A vampire who had defied his kind to protect her. But the truth had shattered that illusion.

He wasn't just any vampire.

He was Damien's brother.

And worse…he had lied to her.

"You never told me," she whispered, stepping away from him, her fingers trembling. "You never told me who you really are."

Ronan's jaw tightened. I wanted to protect you

"By keeping me in the dark?" she shot back, voice shaking.

Damien chuckled. Oh, sweet Evelyn, did you really think Ronan was your knight in shining armor His crimson eyes gleamed in the moonlight. He's no better than me.

Evelyn's heart pounded as she turned to Ronan. Is it true?

For a moment, he hesitated.

That was all the answer she needed.

Her stomach hurts. She had trusted him.

A gust of wind wailed through the clearing, rustling the trees, a warning from the night itself.

 The Blood Oath

Damien's voice dropped to something almost gentle. "You don't understand, Evelyn. You were never supposed to be part of this."

She shook her head. Then why did you take me? Why did you mark me?

Ronan answered before Damien could.

"Because of the prophecy."

Evelyn froze. "What prophecy?"

Damien's gaze was something monstrous, his expression a mask of secrets.

"One of us will die. The other will claim you. And you… will decide which one of us survives."

The words hit her like ice.

Evelyn staggered back, her breath shuddering. No. No, this wasn't happening.

Ronan stepped toward her, his voice urgent. You don't have to choose him, Evelyn. You know what he is.

Damien smirked. And what does that make you, brother?

The tension crackled in the air like an approaching storm.

Two powerful, immortal beings stood before her, bound by blood and hatred. And she was the key to their fate.

Evelyn swallowed hard. She had thought she was running for her life.

But the truth was far worse.

She was running from destiny itself.

And now… there was no escape.

 ….Continued…