Bound to the Vampire

Chapter One

The rain had been falling since dawn.

It drummed against the broken roof of the little wooden house, slipping through the holes in the old thatched covering and landing in small puddles across the uneven floor. The wind pushed through the cracks in the walls, carrying the cold smell of wet earth into the room.

The house was quiet.

Not the peaceful kind of quiet.

It was the kind that came when there was nothing left to say.

Elena sat beside the small window, her knees pulled against her chest as she watched the rain fall outside. Her dress was old and faded, the fabric thin from years of washing. She pulled the sleeves over her fingers, trying to keep herself warm.

Their home had never been much.

Two small rooms. A crooked wooden table. Three chairs, though one had been broken for months. A fireplace that barely worked. And a kitchen where her mother spent most of her days trying to turn a handful of ingredients into enough food for four people.

Elena had grown up knowing what hunger felt like.

She knew what it meant to drink water just to make her stomach feel full.

She knew how to pretend she wasn't hungry when her younger brother was staring at the last piece of bread.

And she knew better than to ask her parents for things they couldn't afford.

Her mother, Mara, was standing over the small fireplace, stirring a pot that contained little more than thin soup.

She had been awake since before sunrise.

Every morning, she walked to the village and worked in other people's homes. She washed clothes, cleaned floors, carried water, and sometimes helped prepare meals. Whatever coins she earned were brought home and immediately spent on food.

Her hands were roughed from years of work.

There were small cuts across her fingers that never seemed to heal completely.

Her father, Tomas, was no better off.

He worked whenever he could find work.

Most days, he chopped wood for wealthy families outside the village. On other days, he repaired fences or carried heavy sacks at the market. But work had become scarce, and the little money he made disappeared almost as quickly as he earned it.

That morning, he sat at the table staring at empty hands.

Elena watched him silently.

Her father looked older than his thirty-nine years.

His hair had begun to gray at the temples, and deep lines had formed around his eyes. His boots were covered in mud, and his coat was still damp from the rain.

Mara placed three bowls on the table.

"That's all there is," she whispered.

Tomas looked into his bowl.

"You eat," he said.

Mara shook her head. "I'm not hungry."

Elena looked on.

She had heard her mother say those words countless times.

I'm not hungry.

And she know her mother had barely had anything to eat since yesterday.

Elena slowly stood from the window and walked toward the table.

"Mother, you should eat."

Mara looked at her and forced a smile.

"You've always worried too much."

Elena sat down.

Her younger brother, Noah, was asleep in the corner of the room beneath a thin blanket. He was only eight, and his small body seemed to disappear beneath the worn fabric.

Elena looked at him.

She picked up her spoon.

Before she could take a bite, there was a knock at the door.

Everyone froze.

Tomas's expression changed.

Mara slowly lowered her spoon.

Another knock came.

This one was harder.

"Who is it?" Tomas called.

No answer.

He stood and walked toward the door.

Elena watched as he opened it.

A tall man stood outside beneath a black cloak, his face partially hidden by the hood.

Elena didn't recognize him.

But her father did.

His face immediately lost its color.

"What do you want?" Tomas asked.

The man stepped inside without waiting for an invitation.

"I'm here about your debt."

Mara stood.

"We've already paid what we could."

"Not enough."

The man's eyes moved around the tiny house before settling on Tomas.

"You owe my master seven silver coins."

Tomas swallowed.

"I'll pay."

"You've been saying that for months."

"I'll find work."

"You won't."

The man's voice was cold.

Elena looked between them.

Something about the stranger made the hairs on her arms rise.

He reached inside his coat and pulled out a folded piece of parchment.

"Your final payment is due tonight."

Tomas clenched his fist.

"And if I can't pay?"

The man smiled.

"Then you give us something worth sixty silver coins."

Elena's heart began to pound.

Her father didn't answer.

Neither did her mother.

The silence that followed felt heavier than the rain outside.

Elena lowered her spoon.

"What does that mean?"

The stranger looked directly at her.

Her father's face changed.

"Elena," he said quietly.

She looked at him.

"What?"

"Go outside."

She frowned.

"Why."

"Just go."

For the first time in her life, Elena heard fear in her father's voice.

And she knew something terrible was about to happen.

She didn't move.

The stranger smiled.

"No."

His eyes remained on Elena.

"She stays."

Mara immediately stepped between them.

"Leave my daughter out of this."

The man looked at her.

"Then pay the debt."

Mara's lip trembled.

"We don't have that kind of money."

"I know."

Elena stared at her parents.

She didn't understand.

Not yet.

But the look they exchanged told her everything.

They had already made a decision.

And somehow, she knew the decision was about her.

Outside, thunder shook the sky.

And inside the little house, Elena's life was about to change forever.