I Fell In LOVE with a VAMPIRE

Chapter 3 : Secrets in the Dark

The forest fell silent.

Only the sound of Elena's racing heartbeat filled the space between them.

She stared at Lucien.

At the sharp fangs that slowly disappeared.

At the crimson glow fading from his eyes.

At the man who had just saved her life.

"You..." she whispered. "You're really a vampire."

Lucien nodded once.

"I am."

Elena expected herself to run.

To scream.

To faint.

Instead, she asked, "Why did you save me?"

Lucien looked away.

"I couldn't let you die."

"Why?"

"Because..." He hesitated. "You're important."

"Important how?"

His jaw tightened.

"I can't tell you."

Before Elena could protest, Lucien's head snapped toward the trees.

"They're still watching."

"Who?"

"The creatures you saw weren't wolves."

"What were they?"

"They're called Blood Hounds."

"They hunt vampires?"

"And humans."

Elena swallowed.

"What did they want with me?"

Lucien didn't answer.

His silence told her everything.

They hadn't been after him.

They had been after her.

───

The next morning, rumors spread through Raven Hollow Academy.

Some students whispered that wild animals had attacked someone near the woods.

Others claimed they had heard terrifying screams.

Elena stayed quiet.

No one would believe the truth.

During chemistry class, a folded piece of paper landed on her desk.

She unfolded it carefully.

Meet me behind the old church after sunset. Come alone.

There was no name.

But she recognized the elegant handwriting.

Lucien.

───

That evening, the abandoned church stood beneath a crimson sunset.

Its stained-glass windows were cracked.

Vines covered the stone walls.

Elena stepped inside.

"Lucien?"

"I'm here."

His voice echoed from the shadows.

He emerged slowly.

Without the school uniform, he looked older somehow.

More timeless.

"I owe you the truth," he said.

"You do."

"I've lived for over three centuries."

Elena blinked.

"...Three hundred years?"

He nodded.

"I've watched kingdoms rise and fall."

"You don't look a day over twenty."

"I stopped aging the night I died."

The words sent chills through her.

"You... died?"

"I was human once."

His eyes drifted toward an old stained-glass window.

"I fell in love."

"What happened?"

"My enemies couldn't destroy me."

"So they destroyed her instead."

Silence filled the church.

"I held her as she died."

His voice cracked for the first time.

"And I promised myself I'd never love again."

Elena's heart ached for him.

"So why are you helping me?"

Lucien looked directly into her eyes.

"Because..."

"You have her eyes."

Before Elena could respond, every candle inside the church suddenly went out.

Darkness swallowed the room.

A slow clap echoed through the silence.

"How touching."

A man stepped from the shadows wearing a black suit.

His smile was charming.

His eyes glowed like molten gold.

"Lucien," he said smoothly.

"It's been far too long."

Lucien's expression hardened instantly.

"Damien."

Damien's gaze shifted to Elena, and he smiled as if he'd just found something precious.

"So..."

"This is the girl everyone's been searching for."