Chapter 3
Dan’s first thought was that he was hallucinating.
That would’ve been easier.
Ashley Monroe leaned against a bookshelf like she owned the place, fur-lined jacket draped dramatically over one shoulder. Students passed by without looking twice, completely unaware that a vampire was standing three feet away from them.
Her eyes glowed red.
Not subtly. Not romantically. Full-on predator mode.
Colette followed Dan’s gaze and stiffened. “Why is she staring at us like that?”
Ashley smiled. “Because I’m bored.”
Dan grabbed Colette’s wrist. “We need to go.”
Ashley blocked the aisle.
“You’re not going anywhere,” she said lightly. “Your family would be very upset if you ran off.”
Colette’s eyes flicked between them. “Dan… who is ‘your family’?”
Dan’s chest tightened. He could hear Ashley’s heartbeat—slow, controlled. Confident.
“You didn’t tell her?” Ashley pouted. “Rude. After everything I’ve done to keep you safe.”
“Safe from what?” Colette snapped.
Ashley leaned in, whispering in Dan’s ear. “From them.”
Dan froze.
They met that night on the football field.
Ashley sat on the bleachers like it was her throne, moonlight catching on the platinum strands of her hair. She hadn’t aged a day since middle school. Suddenly it made sense—why she’d never gone to the doctor, why her parents were “always traveling,” why no one had ever seen her eat lunch.
“You’re older than me,” Dan said flatly.
Ashley laughed. “By a lot.”
“How old?”
“Guess.”
He swallowed. “A hundred?”
She smirked. “Try three.”
Dan stepped back. “You’re lying.”
“I wish,” she said. “I was turned at seventeen too. Prom night. Worst night of my life.”
Something cracked in her voice before she smoothed it away.
“You know about my family,” Dan said. “Why?”
Ashley stood, boots crunching on gravel. “Because our families are enemies.”
The word hit him like a punch.
“Your uncles killed my brother,” she continued casually. “Ripped him apart in the woods ten years ago. Claimed he was ‘corrupt.’”
Dan’s stomach churned.
“And now,” Ashley said, stepping closer, “your family wants you trained. Loyal. Obedient.”
Her fingers brushed his chest. He flinched.
“I don’t want to hurt anyone,” Dan said.
Ashley smiled sadly. “Neither did I. At first.”
She leaned in, lips near his ear.
“They’re lying to you.”
At home, Dan confronted his parents.
“Do we have enemies?” he demanded.
Silence.
His father exhaled slowly. “Yes.”
“Did you kill Ashley Monroe’s brother?”
Uncle Victor appeared in the doorway like he’d been summoned by the question.
“He was a traitor,” Victor said coldly. “And Ashley is a spy.”
Dan’s hands shook. “She goes to my school.”
“That is not an accident,” Victor snapped. “She is watching you.”
“For what?”
Victor’s eyes locked onto Dan’s. “To see if you’re worth turning against us.”
Colette stopped Dan outside the library the next day.
“You didn’t come to study,” she said quietly. “You didn’t text. You didn’t explain.”
“I’m sorry,” Dan said. “I just—”
She stepped closer. “You’re not human anymore, are you?”
His heart—what was left of it—stuttered.
“I heard you,” she said. “Your heartbeat. It’s wrong.”
Dan closed his eyes.
“I didn’t choose this,” he whispered.
Colette reached up and touched his cheek.
“I know.”
Relief crashed through him so hard he nearly cried.
“I’m a vampire,” he said.
She nodded. “I figured.”
“You’re not scared?”
“I should be,” she said. “But I’m not.”
He leaned in before he could stop himself.
Their kiss was soft. Careful. Real.
For one perfect second, everything felt normal.
Then the world shattered.
Colette screamed.
Dan pulled back, confused—
And his fangs were buried in her neck.
Blood filled his mouth.
“No—no—no—” he tried to pull away, but his body betrayed him.
Her blood tasted like smoke and lightning.
When he finally tore himself back, horrified—
There was no wound.
No blood.
Colette stepped back, trembling.
“I didn’t think it would happen like this,” she whispered.
Dan stared at her. “What are you?”
She looked at him with tears in her eyes.
“I’m not alive,” she said.
Her body flickered.
Transparent.
“I died three years ago.”
The air dropped ten degrees.
Dan fell to his knees.
“You’re a—”
“A ghost,” Colette said softly.
She reached for him.
Her hand passed straight through his chest.
