1 Prologue

Growing up, I always imagined a happy ending, and if I’m being honest, I wasn’t concerned with anyone else but my little family and I; It's Cliché I know, but i couldn't help it. Every morning, when I woke up, I'd see my parents and be in awe. In my 22 years of life, I've never once seen or heard them fight, not even a tiny spat and as a child I thought this was how all families were, they had to be right? Why would anyone stay with someone who makes them miserable? But as I grew from that naïve little girl into a woman, I started to learn that that’s not always the case. People fight all of the time so how could two people be so happy, so in love, so tranquil? It's like something out of fairytale, something just to good to be true but there it was, right in front of me everyday, I had the proof that if I became the best version of myself, that my person would too and we could be happy. So, I had hope. I had a dream that one day I'd meet the love of my life, we fall in love, get married, have a few children, and pass on that dream to them but then the world changed. The world I knew, the one i grew up in, seemed to melt away in the blink of an eye and my daydream like future turned into a nightmare. The stories and folklore, the movies and television shows could never have prepared us for our new reality. Vampires. Now you probably think I’m crazy, if I was In your shoes, I’d think the same ass thing.

It all started on June 16. It was like any other summers day, hot, a perfect day to go swimming at the lake or go camping but instead, I was back home from college; using my off semester to spend time with my family. During the day, we worked around the house, My mother was tending to the box garden in the back yard, picking out weeds and pulling out fresh fruits and vegetables while sorting them In different containers. My father was in charge of mowing the lawn, front and back, side to side, any pattern really, my mom didn’t care as long as he participated and the lawn was semi-even. I was weeding the flowerbeds around the house, not my favorite thing to do but I’d rather not be up and down all the time with the garden and I still have no Idea how to mow the lawn but to be fair, I don’t think my dad does either.

By the time I was finished with my task, the sun was setting and mom was already making dinner. I walked inside and teased my mother that I going to give her a sweaty hug, after all, I had been working out in the sun for the hottest part of the day, we all had, but she just threw a hand towel at me, scrunched up her nose and said "Go shower stinky, you reek!" but then smiled at me and gave me a wink. I remember laughing at her as I mounted up the stairs, she was right, I really was in desperate need of a shower. Not only was I was covered in sweat from head to toe, oh no no no, I was also topped off with sprinkles and smears of dirt.

When I had finished showering, I picked out some comfy red shorts and a black tank top, put my wet hair up in a messy bun and rushed downstairs to see if my mom needed help finishing up in the kitchen. The weird thing was, when I got there, she wasn't around. It was pasta night, the noodle pot was boiling over and the chicken, left unattended, was going to burn So I took them both off the heat and turned off the stove. Not long after getting the food situated, I heard voices coming from the living room so I wandered in seeing my parents standing in front of the TV holding each other but their grip on each other was one out of fear.

"— if you choose to fight, I can promise you, your life will be at risk and the most likely outcome will be death. We would prefer to not to fight you but We are a proud and indigenous race, if war is what you desire we will give you a war that will never be forgotten. You have 24 hours to decide on an individual basis, then we will come."

Something about this message chilled me to the bone. It's not real, i told myself, it's just a movie or a television show. I reached for the TV remote that was in my mother's hand but there it was again, on a different channel.

"— if war is what you desire—"

And again

"—your life will be at risk—"

And again

"—We are a proud and indigenous race—"

And then I found what didn't know I was looking for, the entire message.

"People of earth, My name is Ezra Nightingale. Many of you may know me, others will not. I am the leader of my people, some might even go as to call me their king and As that figure, I’m here to speak truth. For some, this revelation will be of no surprise while for others, It may shock you. There will be many who do not believe such things and will have a hard time adjusting to this new world; that being said, my message today is to inform the public that vampires exist. I am one of them, as are all of my people. We've been around for thousands of years but out of fear of extinction, we hid ourselves from you, blended into the background, became your neighbors, your idols, your friends even but we have stayed in the shadows for to long. We are strong now, our numbers rival your own but even still, one of us equals the strength of at least 20 of you. We've allowed you to destroy this world with your wars, toxic waste, and polluting the oceans but not anymore, it is now time for us to reclaim our world and remake it in our image. Humans, I beseech you, surrender and we will show you mercy. We will take care of you and a lucky few will be accepted into the fold but if you choose to fight, I can promise you, your life will be at risk and the most likely outcome will be death. We would prefer to not to fight you but We are a proud and indigenous race, if war is what you desire we will give you a war that will never be forgotten. You have 24 hours to decide on an individual basis, then we will come."

And they did.