Tessa stepped inside her house, her exhaustion from late-night classes weighing heavily on her shoulders. The house was eerily quiet, the soft hum of the fridge the only sound that filled the air. She set her bag down on the chair, kicked off her shoes, and sighed in relief. She didn’t want to think about the strange dream she’d had earlier—the one where she saw Liam crawling out of an open grave, eyes bloodshot, and hands clawing at the dirt. It had felt so real, but she pushed it to the back of her mind.

She moved toward her room, thankful to be alone. As she reached the top of the stairs, she froze. The door to her room was ajar, just a crack. She didn’t remember leaving it that way.

Tessa stepped forward cautiously, her heart starting to race, though she couldn’t explain why. Her hand was just about to push the door open when a figure moved in the shadows of her room.

She froze, her breath catching in her throat. The figure was tall and familiar, standing with his back to her. She opened her mouth to scream, but before she could, the figure turned slowly.

Tessa’s world stopped.

"Liam?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.

The man standing in front of her had the same dark blond hair, the same sharp features, but his eyes were different—haunted and wary.

"Liam, it can't be you," Tessa said, backing away from the door, her mind spinning. She felt dizzy, like the floor had dropped out from beneath her.

"I’m alive, Tessa," Liam said, his voice low but firm. "I know you think I’m dead, but I’m here."

The room seemed to spin as she tried to process his words. She had buried him two years ago. She had watched her parents cry, and she had felt the earth close over his coffin. She had stood at the grave, her hands trembling as she held a handful of dirt.

Tessa’s vision blurred, her breath quickening. This couldn’t be real. She’d had dreams, sure, but they didn’t mean anything. And yet, here he was, standing in her room, as alive as she was.

"No," she whispered, her voice breaking. "No, no, no, you... you died. Liam!"

"I know," he said quietly, taking a cautious step toward her. "I’m sorry, Tessa. I don’t know how, but I’m here. I swear to you, I’m alive."

The room felt like it was closing in on her. She was suffocating under the weight of disbelief and grief she thought she had buried. She looked at him, searching for some sign that he was still the brother she had lost—but all she could see was a stranger.

"Liam," she choked out, her hands trembling. "How? How are you even here? After everything? After two years?"

"I don’t have all the answers," he said, his voice quieter now, but there was a raw intensity in his eyes. "But I’m alive. And I’m not human anymore."

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Tessa blinked, her head jerking back as if she’d been slapped. "What... what do you mean?"

Liam looked down, his face clouded with guilt and sadness. "I’m a vampire now, Tessa. I can’t go back to being... human. I can’t reach out to you. I never could, not after... after what happened to me."

Tessa felt like the floor had fallen out from under her. A vampire? Her brother? It couldn’t be. This was a nightmare she hadn’t woken from yet. She clutched at her chest, feeling the pounding of her heart.

"No," she whispered, shaking her head in disbelief. "No, Liam, that... that can’t be true."

"I wish it weren’t," he said, stepping forward. "But it is. And I never wanted you to find out like this. I couldn’t come to you. I couldn’t see you, knowing what I’ve become."

"How... how are you even standing here?" Tessa asked, her mind spinning. "You died. You... you were gone!"

Liam’s eyes darkened, and he looked away, pain flickering in his gaze. "I was supposed to die. But things changed. I was brought back... changed." He rubbed a hand over his face. "I couldn’t warn you. I couldn’t tell you. I didn’t want to hurt you."

Tessa’s eyes searched his, as though she were looking for some sign of the brother she once knew—something that would make sense of this impossible situation. But there was nothing. He wasn’t the same Liam. He was still him, but at the same time, he wasn’t.

"I don’t understand," she whispered. "How could you... be a vampire? What... what happened to you?"

Liam hesitated, his gaze softening as he stepped closer. "I’ve been watching over you, Tessa. The night of your accident... I was there."

Tessa’s breath hitched, her heart seizing. "What? What do you mean you were there?"

Liam’s jaw tightened, and his eyes darkened. "I saw the car, I saw what happened. I wanted to intervene, to stop it, but I couldn’t. I was knocked out before I could do anything." His voice grew softer, filled with regret.

Tessa blinked, then shook her head slowly.

Tessa swallowed, her voice trembling. "A big wolf... it jumped in front of the car. It saved me."

Liam stared at her, a strange expression crossing his face. "It wasn’t a wolf, Tessa."

Tessa frowned, not understanding. "What do you mean? It was a wolf. I saw it."

"No," Liam said, his tone firm. "It wasn’t a wolf. It was a man."

Tessa’s eyes widened, her chest tightening. "A man? What do you mean, a man?"

Liam’s expression darkened as he took another step closer. "It was a shapeshifter, Tessa. Someone who can turn into a wolf. That night, it wasn’t a random animal. It was someone—someone who may have been trying to protect you, or maybe even something else."

Tessa’s mind raced. A man? A shapeshifter? The night that had always felt so surreal suddenly became even more impossible. She had seen the wolf. She knew what she had seen.

"But..." Tessa whispered, looking at her brother. "Why didn’t you come for me? Why didn’t you warn me? You could’ve stopped it!"

Liam sighed, his face softening with pain. "I couldn’t, Tessa. Not like that. But I swear to you, I was there. And I’ll always be there now."

Tessa’s heart pounded in her chest, her head swirling. She wasn’t sure if she could trust her own memories anymore. But one thing was certain—her brother was alive. And no matter what, she wasn’t going to let him go again.

---

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Shadows of Truth

A few moments later, Liam had successfully updated Tessa on everything she needed to know. The supernatural world, Thornewood’s secrets, and the truth about what happened to him. The shock of it all still had Tessa reeling. She barely had time to process everything before he was gone, leaving her with nothing but her racing thoughts and unanswered questions.

Tessa sat down on her bed, her head spinning with everything Liam had just told her. The idea that her brother—her brother—was now a vampire felt like an impossible dream. But the reality of his words was sinking in, a weight she couldn’t ignore. He was alive. He wasn’t human anymore, and now, nothing in her world seemed quite the same.

But her thoughts couldn’t stay on Liam for long. Her mind kept drifting back to that night—the night of her accident.

She had always known something was off. That wolf, the one that had appeared out of nowhere, the one that had thrown itself in front of her car without hesitation, without fear. It had been her only memory of that night that made sense. The wolf had saved her. There was no doubt in her mind.

And now, she knew. She knew there was more to that night than she’d ever realized. Liam had hinted at something, said it wasn’t just a random animal, but a man—a shapeshifter. Someone with the ability to transform. The question was, who?

She couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to the story. The wolf had saved her, but who had been behind that wolf? Was it someone she knew? Someone who had been watching her all along?

Tessa stood abruptly, her heart pounding in her chest. She needed answers. She couldn’t just sit here and let this mystery hang over her.

With her mind made up, she grabbed her jacket and slipped quietly out of her room, her heart beating faster now with each step. She needed to meet the man behind the wolf. She didn’t know why, but something told her she had to. The pull was almost magnetic, as if fate itself was urging her forward.

As she stepped into the cool night air, her thoughts collided with each other. She had no idea where to start. But something inside her told her that the truth—the whole truth—was out there, waiting to be uncovered. And tonight, she would find it.

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