Another month had passed, and Amelia was certain—Ethan Gray was hiding something. She couldn’t shake the feeling, the little details she had picked up, the strange behavior, the ring that never left his finger. More than that, the moment that had truly unnerved her was the brief touch of his hand.

She remembered it clearly: during a class exercise, their hands had brushed when they passed a book. His hand had been ice-cold, not just cold from the weather, but dead cold, like the touch of something lifeless. It lingered in her mind, gnawing at her. She had never felt anything like it. And that wasn’t the only thing—his comings and goings didn’t make sense. He disappeared for hours, sometimes days, never offering explanations. It wasn’t normal.

Amelia sat on her bed, her notebook spread out in front of her, filled with scribbled notes and observations. She had been watching him carefully for weeks now. Every time he disappeared, every strange behavior, every odd detail—it was all here. He wasn’t just a rich kid from a powerful family. There was something more to him, something darker. She needed to find out what.

She flipped through the pages, her mind racing. The coldness of his skin, the way he avoided the sun on the brightest days, how he never ate much at lunch. It was all adding up, but to what? Amelia wasn’t sure yet, but she felt close to discovering the truth.

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MEANWHILE, DEEP IN THE FOREST...

Ethan had been testing his limits. Over the past month, he realized that he could only develop his abilities when he was in real combat. Alaric had hinted at this, but now it was clear. Training alone wasn’t enough—he needed the heat of battle to unlock his true potential.

That’s why he had started fighting wild animals. Wolves, bears, even the occasional mountain lion. He never used his vampire powers—no blood attacks, no supernatural strength. Just his fists and whatever human strength he had. It was brutal. He was pushing himself to the edge, often getting severely injured, but it was the only way he could learn.

At first, the injuries had been a problem. Broken bones, deep gashes—things that should have taken weeks to heal. But then, he noticed something strange. After drinking blood, his body recovered much faster than before. A few pouches of blood, and his wounds closed up within hours.

The temptation to drink more was growing. Human blood was by far the most effective—rich, warm, and powerful. But Alaric’s warning echoed in his mind: “Do not drink more than you need, and never too frequently. Addiction to blood is a dangerous thing. It consumes you.”

Ethan had experimented with animal blood. It was disgusting. It barely helped his recovery, and the taste was revolting compared to the human blood he craved. But he forced himself to limit his intake. He wouldn’t become a slave to it. He couldn’t.

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ONE AFTERNOON, IN THE FOREST...

Ethan was searching for his next challenge. He had found a quiet spot in the woods, far from the academy, where he could fight in peace, away from prying eyes. He didn’t want anyone to know what he was doing, not even Alaric. Fighting the animals without killing them was difficult, but he managed. Leaving dead bodies would only raise suspicion.

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As he moved through the trees, he caught a scent in the air—something metallic, something he recognized. Blood.

His instincts sharpened. He followed the trail, weaving through the dense underbrush until he came upon the source. In a small clearing, a large bear lay sprawled on the ground, dead. Its body was torn apart, massive claw marks gouged into its fur. But what caught Ethan’s attention weren’t the claw marks—it was the bite wounds. Vampire bite marks.

Ethan’s heart raced. Alaric had told him there were no other vampires in this city. So how could this be? He crouched beside the bear, examining the wounds. They were fresh. Too fresh. Someone had been here recently. A vampire.

Just as he was about to rise, he heard a soft sobbing nearby. Ethan froze, his heightened senses immediately alert. He glanced around and saw a young girl, no older than 15, sitting just beyond the clearing. She was crying, her face buried in her hands.

Ethan watched her carefully, trying to assess the situation. She didn’t seem like a threat. In fact, she seemed completely human. What was she doing here?

As he approached cautiously, he heard her whisper through her tears. “You were all I had left...”

Ethan stopped a few feet away, his eyes darting between the girl and the dead bear. It didn’t take long for him to piece it together. This bear—it wasn’t just a wild animal. It had been her companion.

The girl lifted her head, revealing tear-streaked cheeks. Her eyes were swollen from crying, and her hands trembled as she reached out toward the bear’s lifeless form. “I raised him since he was a cub,” she said, her voice cracking. “I—he wasn’t supposed to die like this.”

Ethan felt a pang of sympathy, but he couldn’t afford to show it. His mind was racing with questions. Who had done this? What vampire had broken the rules by coming to this city without permission from the Council? And more importantly, why?

The girl glanced at him, finally noticing his presence. Her eyes were wide, filled with a mixture of grief and fear. “Who are you?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Ethan hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to say. He couldn’t reveal his true identity—not to a human. But as he looked at the dead bear and the heartbroken girl, he knew he couldn’t just walk away either.

“I’m no one important,” he said softly, taking a step back. “But you shouldn’t be here. It’s not safe.”

The girl wiped her tears with the back of her hand, still staring at the bear. “What happened to him? What kind of animal could do this?”

Ethan’s jaw tightened. He couldn’t tell her the truth. “I don’t know,” he lied. “But you should go home. This isn’t a place for you to be alone.”

The girl shook her head. “I can’t leave him. He was like family to me. I found him when he was just a cub, abandoned... I raised him. And now—” her voice cracked again as fresh tears welled in her eyes.

Ethan swallowed hard. He had never been good with emotions, and this situation was quickly spiraling into something he wasn’t prepared for. But there was something else gnawing at him—whoever had killed the bear wasn’t far. And they might still be around.

“You need to leave,” Ethan said, his voice firm. “Now.”

The girl looked at him, her expression confused. “Why? What’s going on?”

Before he could answer, a faint rustling in the trees caught his attention. His senses went on high alert. He didn’t have time to explain. Whoever had killed the bear was close, and he couldn’t let the girl get caught in the middle of it.

“Just go,” he insisted, his tone sharper now. “I’ll take care of this.”

The girl hesitated for a moment, but the urgency in his voice seemed to convince her. She stood, casting one last, heartbroken look at the bear, before turning and running toward the edge of the forest.

Ethan watched her disappear into the trees, his mind spinning. There was no time to lose. He needed to figure out who was responsible for the attack, and why they were in this city. But first, he had to ensure no one else got hurt.