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Blood & Moonlight

Chapter 1: Crimson Collision

The rain fell gently over the city of New Haven.

Tall buildings reached into the night sky, glowing with cold neon lights. But deep in the older parts of the city—far from humans and the rules they made—there stood a quiet ruin. An old cathedral, forgotten by time. Its roof had fallen in. Ivy crept along its broken walls. Wind moved through the shattered stained glass like a whisper.

Someone stepped inside.

His boots made soft sounds on the stone floor. Long black coat trailing behind him, wet with rain. Pale skin. Eyes the color of fresh blood. Sharp, quiet, and calm.

Lucien Virelles, a vampire.

He stood in the center of the empty church, listening.

He wasn’t here to pray. Vampires didn’t believe in gods. He was here for another reason—one that made his body tense and his mind alert.

Three people had been killed here in the last two nights.

Two were humans. One was a werewolf.

Lucien wasn’t sure who did it, but something felt wrong. The killings weren’t clean. They were messy—violent, full of fear. A rogue, maybe. Or something worse.

He closed his eyes and breathed in.

Blood. Burnt metal. Wet stone. And—

His eyes snapped open.

Wolf. Nearby. Watching.

Lucien turned—but too slowly.

A hand slammed him against the wall. Hard, but not enough to hurt him. Claws pressed against his throat. A deep growl rumbled in his ear.

“You picked the wrong place to wander, leech.”

Lucien blinked.

Then, very slowly, he smirked.

“And you picked the wrong vampire to pin against a wall.”

The voice behind the growl was low and rough. “You’re not welcome here.”

Lucien didn’t flinch. “I go where I want.”

“Not tonight.”

He was finally able to see the one holding him.

A werewolf.

Young—maybe a little older than Lucien looked. Tall, lean, with dark hair and silver streaks falling over his eyes. Muscles tight under a torn black hoodie. Golden-amber eyes, glowing in the dim light. And a scar across his chest, like an old wound that hadn’t healed properly.

Lucien stared at him. He wasn’t just strong—he was wild. Dangerous.

But Lucien didn’t feel afraid. Instead… he felt curious.

“Let go,” he said quietly, “before this turns into a mistake.”

The werewolf didn’t move. His claws stayed near Lucien’s throat, not quite cutting.

“You smell like fire,” he muttered.

Lucien raised a brow. “Excuse me?”

The wolf tilted his head. “But you feel cold.”

There was a long pause.

Lucien whispered, “You’re not from any of the city packs. Rogue?”

The wolf’s jaw tightened. “That’s none of your business.”

“Then stop making it mine.”

Another pause.

Their eyes locked. The moment stretched.

Neither of them moved.

Then—

Boom.

A sudden noise echoed through the cathedral. A loud, heavy sound from outside—followed by a flash of light. Both Lucien and the werewolf turned their heads.

Hunters.

Lucien cursed under his breath. “Of course. The night just got worse.”

“Were they following you?” the wolf asked.

Lucien shook his head. “They never need a reason.”

The walls shook again. Someone shouted.

“We have to move,” Lucien said. “Now.”

“I don’t trust you.”

Lucien gave a soft, bitter laugh. “Good. You shouldn’t. But if we stay here, they’ll kill us both.”

For a second, the werewolf didn’t answer.

Then he stepped back. Let go of Lucien.

“I know a way out,” he said. “Follow me.”

Lucien hesitated.

Then nodded.

The two of them slipped through the broken halls of the cathedral, side by side but not yet together. Each kept a little distance. Each watched the other from the corner of their eye.

Outside, the rain kept falling. But inside, something else had begun.

Not trust.

Not yet.

But something like a spark. Faint. Strange.

And quietly dangerous.

End of Chapter 1

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