STEFANIA

Chapter One

We stopped checking for monsters under our bed when we realized they were inside of us.

Joker quotes.

Dazed she stared unseeing."No one can ever stay by your side." The voice whispered with the wind."Because you're a monster. Don't ever forget that, do you understand?"

"Yes." She whisper back still dazed.

Beginning

HER FEET Touches the grass with heavy pressure, feeling a power pulling her back she stares at the dark sky desperate for anyone up there to save her from the vicious predator after her.

Even with her inhuman speed, the shrill sound of the voice yelling wasn't far behind her. In no time she would be caught in its darkness.

The dread she felt pushed her forward, refusing to look behind or beside her because of the anxiety of being caught by the darkness. She loathes this feeling of panic creeping through her bones, paralyzing her ability to fight and think. She never wants to feel this terrified again, but this moment keeps reoccurring like a broken CD.

She knows it won't take much long before it will end so she kept moving past trees in a blur. In desperate need to get away, she stripped over something causing her to plummet to the ground painfully.

Wasting no time to feel over the pain she picked herself up and then meeting the ground once again.

"Why run from me?" The voice says as black clouds gather in front of her forming into the shape of a man. The chill of evil gusts brings destruction as he closes in on her. "You can't run from me because you're powerless," He says stopping in front of her.

She cast her heated gaze on him. "I will never bow to you. I promise to get my vindication. I promise to make you bow your head to me. I promise to control the powers you have now and use them against you." She says forcefully through clashed teeth.

He guffaws mocking her words like he always did, but she never backs down from a promise. He sobers up, reaching out his cold hand he placed it over her cheek."I am the most powerful man to ever live. Stop acting ludicrous and just give up to me because I have won this war." At his words, darkness covered her vision.

She blinks her eyes open feeling the overwhelming after-effect of the dream.

This was a normal occurrence for her, these dreams which she no longer calls nightmares or holler her awake anymore. Because going through this every day those this to you.

Still lost in the sharp claws of her dream she trudges towards the bathroom, the incensed voices ringing in her head slowly eating her up.

"Let me out. Let me out, he is coming, he is coming."

Feeling her vision giving up on her she grips the edge of the sink tightly as the voice continues ringing. Whimpering in pain she takes the pocket knife on the sink.

Gripping the knife tightly she slumps to the floor, body trembling in pain. She makes a not-so-deep cut to her wrist so as not to leave a scar. She leans her head back watching unfazed by the blood rolling down her hand.

She does it, not because she is suicidal but because it enlightens her senses, calming the voices. The scent of blood in the bathroom feels like a drug calming the delirium pushing to the surface.

Strangely this makes her feel safe and brings her to reality, away from the claws of the darkness in her mind. It makes her stable until she falls asleep at night. She waited a few seconds for her wrist to heal then she bit her wrist once again, repeating the cuts until she felt calm.

She detests these dreams because it only feeds the voices in her head leading her insane. Finally getting herself she push to her feet, washed the knife, and took a long bath to wash away the tension.

She got dressed in ripped-washed black jeans and a plain yellow T-shirt. Holding a beanie in her left hand, she walked into the bathroom.

She stares at the mirror above the sink studying her unusual features with a blank stare. She has Heterochromia, her right eye is white and her left eye is a bright radiate purple. which is very odd and unseen.

Looking at her eyes through the mirror felt like looking at nothing but blank orbs, dull and unfeeling, a contradiction to what she was feeling inside. Lifting her hands she brushed her finger over the pale print of white veins visible above her right eye, imprinted on her pale white skin.

After fixing the green contact lens over her unusual eyes she runs her fingers through her natural snow-white hair, taking it into a bun then covers it with a beanie.

A forced toothy smile grace her lips, flashing the tip of her fangs. "Manya, another day."Walking out, she completes her outfit with a black worn-out hoodie, hood over her head. Feeling hot isn't something she needs to worry about because as a vampiress her temperature stays natural.

As she sits on her messy bed to wear her snickers, her gaze moves to the small standing clock on the nightstand. She has a fixed habit of waking up by six in the morning every day, and now the time reads 7:00, leaving only an hour for her to get to walk.

She works in a post-delivery office, which doesn't requires her to show her identity or change her dressing style.

Before leaving the room, like she always does, she pinned her gaze on the paper plastered on the wall beside the door leading outside the room.

The paper contains handwritten rules which she memorizes and keeps at the forefront of her mind before leaving the safety of the house.

Rules built on survival

1. Never venture near the packhouse or the king's mansion. *First most momentous rule to keep herself hidden and safe*

2. Never drink blood directly from the vein *Because it's just outright disgusting*

3. Never stay in a location for more than two years *Second most momentous rule to keep her identity hidden*

She never stays in a location for more than two years because she is different, she might be the only one of her species left. And people tend to fear or hate what they don't understand.

She has never felt like she belong anywhere, it is over twenty years from what she could remember, and there's still no place for her.

She woke up in the forest twenty-two years ago without any memory of her life before that. She has no clue about her name, her family history, or even her age. All the young vampire girl knew was that she needed to run, hide, and survive because of the sense of anxiety she felt and the need to feed. And one year ago she moved into the lycans territory. One of the deadliest creatures created by the moon goddess.

They are said to be the most powerful immortals, even more powerful than the werewolves. Living among other immortals was dangerous but also the safest for her.

Shrugging her bag over her shoulder she walks into the room beside hers. Her gaze falls on the woman, spread out on the bed asleep. 'Mitzi' She was lying beside Manya in the forest on that day.

Mitzi is the only closet person Manya has to a family, She's like an older sister figure to Manya. She has dark black locks which have grown over the years, and her countenance is soft and innocent but she is neither a vampire, a werewolf, a lycan, or a frail(human). Mitzi is different and vulnerable to any form of danger.

Closing the distance between them, Manya plants herself on a seat beside Mitzi. She might not know anything about her life but Manya knows she has to keep this woman safe.

She plants a tender kiss on Mitzi's forehead."Mitzi" Hearing the sound of Many's voice Mitzi blinks her eyes open showing gray orbs.

Manya puts her hand behind her head and the other hand behind her knees before carrying her and then placing her in her wheelchair. Moving with Mitzi every two years was difficult because she neither walk nor speak. But discovered she could teleport by just thinking of where she had been before or a place she has seen a visual image of. Another trait that made her different but made things easy for her.

Also getting Mitzi ready was something she those easily since she is no long a little girl. And taking care of her meal was something that also took longer to get used to.

"You okay with having oatmeal today?" Manya asks, pushing her into the kitchen.

One of the upsetting traits of being a vampire is that she can't depend on normal human food for survival, she feeds on animals' blood, which she gets from the butcher who supplies meat to everyone.

After having a glass of blood she moves Mitzi into the joint living room. She deposits a kiss on Mitzi's forehead before leaving for the outer world.

Manya always follows the same routine for every location. Everything she does is about survival and searching for the reason behind her dreams.

PEOPLE ALWAYS Stay in a location for so long if they are bonded to something from that location, it may be a lover, family, or even money. The more you get connected to a place the harder it will be to let go.

That's why she would never get too affixed to anyone or a place, she wasn't going to let anyone or anything get close or get intimate with her. She just wants to live in a place where no one knows her.

All her life from what she could remember, she has lived rooted in survival propensity, accumulating any smattering of information she gets on her hands. She has lived among the werewolves and the frail(human). So she understands that everyone lives on survival propensity, how to strengthen and survive for the next day.

The frail. They have laws and obligations just like the werewolves but are different and less bestial. She stayed among them probing their sophistication and principles. They don't live in packs like the werewolves and also don't have critters subsisting in them.

She also spent years and time reading and probing werewolves, she knows everything about werewolves' convictions.

The werewolves have two primitive nature that guilds them-the frail side and the feral side. They can live in both forms by altering into their wolves but most prefer the human side because it could be risky choosing to stay in a feral state for too long.

They acknowledge and honor the moon goddess which they see as their mother, believing that the moon goddess grants the ability to coalesce and alter to their true nature at the ripening age of sixteen. Giving them the ability to reach their bestial side then at the age of eighteen they can scent their true mate.

A Mate is like a soulmate just like the frail name it to be but it is more intense because it is like the second half to their temperament, unlike the human who feels a lesser connection to theirs. The werewolves are blessed with only one mate and are deeply bonded to them, it could lead to the death of the other if one dies as a result of the bond breaking or lead to the craziness of the other.

So living is all about surviving. The werewolves live based on survival policy, they live in packs having high prestige and low status.

The Alpha is the one on top of the food chain, the authority, and custodian of the pack. Then the Beta, the second in command and the adviser to the Alpha, next the Gamma, the third in command who deals with the defense and conflict strategy of the pack. Then the Deltas, which are only put into position if the pack is large and divided into sectors, Deltas lead those sectors.

Not to forget the rouge the outcast of the werewolves, they are known to be forced to be rouges or born to be one. Rouge are known as the outcast and dangerous to be in a pack life.

Life is about survival, you fight or get killed.

She sighs agitated as she skims through the book angrily, she knows so much about the humans, werewolves, and lycan like the back of her hands. She understands the lycans are just like the werewolves but a much better version, they have more enhanced optics, are more dominant, and even more graceful than the werewolves.

The lycans have the same ruling system as the werewolves but instead of an Alpha, they are ruled by a king. They don't need to be in a pack, they are free but stay at a safe distance away from frails, and werewolves territory but they are still bonded to the higher ranks. They are highly respected among the werewolves

With all this information she is still yet to find any information on vampires or their history, all she could find was only history recorded about a war between the vampires and other supernatural beings which took place almost two decades ago, but no detailed explanation. It was like vampires were wiped out of existence after the war. Leading her to think maybe she's the only survivor, but they have to be something, anything.

She groans shutting the book feeling disheartened with everything, the need to know everything about herself is burning holes into her sanity. She sighs moving her gaze to the big wall clock just above the entrance to the library, she arrived here from work by 2:pm and now the clock reads 5:38 pm, meaning she's spent close to four hours in this library.

Shrugging her bag over her chest she made her way toward the entrance. She scans the crowd of lycan as she makes the thirty minutes walk to her house, she could just take the bus to the house but she just can't stand any minute longer incarcerated in the same space with lycans giving her inquisitive and fierce look in their eyes.

It is enough that she has to tolerate going through it to the Eastern sector where she works and then back to the Western sector where the sector library and her house are located.

The lycans are so good-looking but under so much beauty hides their true beast. Never read a book by its cover when dealing with a lycan. She has never seen a lycan alternate to its feral size but from the notes, she read and drawings they are appalling, there are the nightmares you hear about in horror stories. Unlike the werewolves who walk on four legs, the lycan walks on two feet and is so tall and huge that at the sight of them you wish you never meant one in the first place.

She doesn't feel susceptible or skittish, staying among them, but still, she needs to be cautious and choose her battle wisely.

YOU Worked so hard for such a long time, but the satisfaction of achievement only last so long. After everything, she's stuck here in Adrian's office listening to him rant about things she gives no s**t about.

"Manya. " Adrian her boss calls trying to gain her attention once more.

Adrian, in general, is handsome like all other lycan with brown curly hair and blessed in the height department again like all other lycan, but Adrian flirts with every lady he comes across. The only good thing is that he keeps his normophilia away from his workplace.

"Yes? Mr.Adrian."

"I want you to try being friendly to everyone here because everyone is like a family here. In this word, you have to coexist with people you like and dislike." He advises."It's just the way it is, and there is nothing you can do about it, Manya." But I'm doing just fine alone. I dislike no one or like anyone.

She loves doing things her way and besides the only reason we are here is to work and not to exchange pleasantries." I understand. Can I leave now, I've a lot of deliveries today." she stands, ready to leave.

The sound of his phone ringing stops his next words. Using it as an opportunity she picks up her bag, making her way towards the door to freedom.

"Manya." He calls halting her escape plan.

"What? Mr.Adrian."

"I need you to take something to the royal packhouse."

"What? No. I don't do deliveries to the royal packhouse."

Going to the royal packhouse goes against her first rule which states 'never venture near the packhouse or the king's mansion

"Manya you have to since you are the only one available right now."He groans with fatigue."And it comes with a large pay." That got her attention. The material reward she could see and holds excites her way more than anything.

She needs money, this could help sort out a few bills before receiving her pay at the end of the month.

"Okay. " She could do this, she just needs to be cautious not to come across the king and the royals.

This is a very bad idea but she will survive.