Chapter 1

Jia Hao heard the sound of a shot muffled by a silencer and a strangled cry. He drew his gun from the holster and ran toward the direction the sounds had come from, slowing down before turning the corner. He ducked and looked around with his weapon ready to fire. There was only one figure on the ground, so he rushed over.

From the smell, he understood it was a werewolf and that he was losing a lot of blood. He bent over him. The man had Asian features like his own. Brown eyes with long lashes turned to him in alarm. The vampire put the gun back in the holster.

"I mean you no harm," he said, showing his empty hands. "May I?" he asked, pointing to the wound.

After a moment's hesitation, the werewolf nodded and removed his hands from his abdomen.

Jia Hao looked at the bullet hole, then took off his black leather jacket, tore off his shirt sleeve, and pressed it to the wound. "Keep pressure on it. I'll get you out of here, okay?"

But the male tensed. From the scent, he had realized Jia Hao was a vampire and likely didn't know whether to trust him.

"I understand your doubts, but if I don't get you out of here now, you'll bleed to death on this sidewalk. Let me help you."

Those brown eyes studied him carefully, then finally nodded.

Jia Hao picked him up in his arms and carried him to his car. He laid the werewolf in the back seat and got behind the wheel. "Where can I take you?" Vampire doctors wouldn't be able to treat him—nor would human ones—and he didn't know any werewolves personally.

Getting no answer, he pulled over and looked back: the male had lost consciousness.

Jia Hao called Anthony. "I've got a werewolf with a gunshot wound. Where can I take him?"

The vampire leader told him to wait and said he'd call back with the necessary information.

While he waited, Jia Hao moved to the back and tried to stop the bleeding. The werewolf had delicate, harmonious features. His hair was short and black, a little longer in the front, falling messily over his forehead.

The phone rang. Jia Hao listened, nodded, and then got back behind the wheel.

He quickly reached the meeting point, where he found a white van. Two werewolves got out and came toward him with a stretcher.

Jia Hao lifted the male and laid him on it.

"It's Dr. Mu!" exclaimed one of the paramedics.

"Will he make it?" asked the vampire as they loaded him into the ambulance.

"We'll do our best," said the other. "Thank you for helping him," he added before closing the doors.

Jia Hao stood watching as the van disappeared from view, a strange feeling inside him. He truly hoped the wolf would survive.