Chapter 1

"For each of us, there comes a time when we must awaken and become what we were born to become."

- Seth Adam Smith.

May 12th, 2023 Main Vampyre Castle

Leaves cover the slightly wet ground, my feet sinking into the earth and spitting up dirt as the scent of grass and pine trees surrounds me. "Come catch me, my loves!," I shout laughing as I run under the bright moon. I begin to run faster into the night, seeing clearly as I dodge trees and duck under branches, smelling the dew on the trees as I pass them. I chuckle as I notice white fur in the corner of my eye. "I'm not going to make it that simple for you," Things are becoming more serious. I quicken my pace. My feet are now barely making contact with the ground. No footprints are indented into the moist dirt. I hear pointed nails scratching into wood, I look up in the trees and notice the body of my other lover hopping between them. My smile grows as I witness this. I am aware of his equal running speed, but he is attempting to take the upper hand by swooping down and pinning me to the ground. Not likely to occur. I swerve to the side as I hear his wings lift off, see his body moving in my direction, and feel the warmth of his deep laugh. In his attempt to catch the landing, he tumbles, and one of his feathers nearly hits me. I give him a mocking kiss as I turn to face him and continue running, but just as I get to the clearing, I'm pinned to the ground. "Hunt's over, darling," he breathes out in that delicious accent that I've grown to know and adore his half-shifted body on top of mine. His tails are gorgeous the moon seems to illuminate them, and they sway back and forth in a hypnotizing motion. He grabs my throat with his hand that is half-shifted and his claws prick my skin. I chuckle as I see wings and a long tail with a spear tip and hear footsteps. I tell myself that my reward will come after my punishment. My mates whisper, "Elve, it's time to wake up," to which I respond incredulously, "What?", "Wake up, Elve" they both shout.

I jump up, sweating and squinting, as the automatic curtains drawback and the sun shines into my room. Looking around as my eyes adjust to the light, I come to a halt when I notice someone at the foot of my bed. Tiffany looks at me with a disturbed expression, "you know I hate it when you give me that vacant stare." Blinking, she begins to click her tongue and pull my cover away from me as she speaks quickly, "Elve, get up lady Susan is waiting for you in the dining room; she's a little irritable this morning, and I don't want to hear her squawking." I chuckle as I get out of bed stretching and yawning, Tiffany laughs "What obscene behavior cousin so unladylike what would Lady Susan think" I snort in response. Tiffany follows me as I get out of bed and walk to the closet. "What do you think I should wear, Tiffany?" Tiffany's age is obvious when I look at her; she appears to be no older than eight teen. I'm wiser than that. Tiffany was adopted at birth by my uncle John and his partner Levi from a poor witch's family. When they are ready to start a family, mated vampires choose newborn witches or human children; it is a law that only mated vampires can sire and become parents, primarily because a halfling child requires strict attention and discipline. We shared a childhood. Throughout her life, she was fed Vampire blood from uncle John and his husband three times. She lived her life as a halfling as an infant, adolescent, and finally in their teenage years of life until her full transformation; this halfling stage is crucial not only because it helps to keep a person sane during the transformation but also because it creates an actual bond between child and parent. Because of the vampire blood, the newborn child's biology is identical to that of the vampire parents. So much so that during the halfling stages, they acquire the physical characteristics of their vampire parents while losing all physical resemblance to their human or witch birth parents.

The transformation places you in a coma-like state between life and death while transforming you into your best self. With Tiffany in front of me, I couldn't agree more with the statement we learned in the academy before graduation. Tiffany was stunning. She never had acne, gained weight, or had scars because of her half-transformed state. Unlike me, who never drank my adoptive mother's blood, I used to wonder how she could get any more stunning. When I later saw her after she had changed, I recall being in amazement and shocked as she rushed up to give me a hug for the first time in months. Her long, black hair swayed and flowed as if it were made of the finest silk, and her skin, which had always been light pink, took on a pearly sheen. Lips with a plump, narrow bow shape recently grew more noticeable. Her lashes fanning her eyes like tiny veils as her dark brown, slanted eyes changed to a brilliant golden hue. She was stunning. Her average-height body had grown a few more inches, her once-dainty frame had more muscular definition, her once-round high cheekbone face had taken on a more oval high cheekbone appearance, and her fingernails had changed from being short and square to being long and pointed. "I'd tell you to wear the black and red dress, but I know you'd just gawk at me and then refuse," she responds with a chuckle. "You know me so well, dear cousin," I tease back as I take the baby blue satin dress with swirling gold designs at the bottom from my closet. I enter the restroom. leaving my cousin on my bed to rest. I consider how old I am now—twenty.

Will Susan allow me to change after a year? Will I be able to attend the mating ball this year like my cousin Tiffany and discover my blood born? One benefit of being a vampire is having a partner to love and cherish forever; in contrast to human legends, vampires do not consume human blood to maintain life; instead, they consume their blood born, a life partner who provides the ideal blood to consume for their mate, hence the name blood born. All halflings consume human food before they fully change, though they often only need to eat every three days rather than the daily requirement for humans. They detect a blood born replacement after transforming by sniffing the chosen blood samples. Of course, the substitute's blood is inferior than that of their blood born. They require more frequent feedings than a mated vampire and are not as strong, but the substitute is adequate for feeding, and they make excellent lovers until the actual blood born appears. Vampires who consume human blood are pursued and put to death since it is considered to be an illegal narcotic that drives them insane and increases their hunger. The only humans who will ever be turned into vampires are those lucky humans born as a blood born, those with tame enough blood to be blood born substitutes, newly born babies, and witches. In the past, when typical adult humans were changed, they would either lose their minds, become blood gluttonous , or stop eating altogether due to a lack of fang development. The goddess prevents changing anyone who wasn't compatible because of the harm that newly transformed, rabid vampires posed, as well as because of the growing myths and lore surrounding the vampire species.

She invented the halfing method to prevent the death of human newborns. I look up in the mirror and clutch my chest as I notice Tiffany standing behind me with a grin and her arms behind her back. "Tiffany! I told you about using your abilities to scare me." Her grin falls when I say this much harsher than I intended. "Elve, I understand. I swear I wasn't trying to scare you this time. Even after a year of control training, I'm still struggling to grasp my abilities." Tiffany's response makes me sad "Tiffany, please accept my apologies. I know you didn't mean any harm." As I say this, her grin returns, and my heart warms as I see it. I detest it when my cousin is upset; it seems horrible, like when you accidentally kick a puppy. "I hope you find your blood born tonight; any woman would be lucky to mate with you for the rest of her life." I wrap my arms around her as she hugs me. "Cousin, I wish you could join me tonight. Any man, woman, or other being would be lucky to have you as well." I'm relieved that my brown skin doesn't indicate that I'm blushing because I can feel my cheeks warm from her complement. I sense a breeze, and my cousin moves to position me behind her while using her particular telekinesis talent to pull uncle John into the air. This skill is not uncommon once a person turns, but it is useful. "What's wrong with you sneaking up on me like that, Daddy? What if I had killed you?" She sets him down, I look at Tiffany and I start to giggle, Tiffany joins in knowing she just snuck up on me like that. Uncle John asks, "What's so funny, my darlings?" while expressing confusion. "Oh nothing, uncle John," I respond. "well, you've both been in here too long, and Susan is starting to irritate me, so please, hurry up now my husband is waiting on me, gods knows what she's doing out there." Levi, the husband of Uncle John, is a guy of few words. He was taken from a hoodoo slave family who willingly liberated him so that he might lead a better life.

Although he was born with albinism, he shares my race as a black person. Vampires despise the idea of race. They see it as yet more illustration of how primitive and wicked mankind is. Even those considered impoverished by coven aristocracy wouldn't be called poor by human standards; no vampire is ever left homeless or without blood; vampires have a system in place, but nothing harsh. Levi is a tall man with the build of a gymnast; he has high cheekbones, gorgeously plump lips, lovely almond-shaped eyes, long lashes, and silver hair that is typically pulled back in elegant braids. My cousin and I used to be picked up by Levi when we were attending the academy. It had gotten so bad and cringy Tiffany would just run me home on her back, all the girls would giggle and try to flirt with him, saying he could take on any model and come out victorious. Levi was adopted by vampires who, like him, had albinism; the Nezera family only accepts people with albinism due to their genetic makeup. Albinos are perfect trackers for some reason, and for the Nezera family, a vampire clan of assassins, albinos were the perfect children to turn. Due to his hoodoo witch pedigree, which confers blessings from the goddess of witchcraft and sorcery, he also had an advantage in earning powers after turning. When a witch is turned, these benefits either become enhanced or take on entirely new characteristics. Levi attained one of the rare abilities of shadow control, which allowed him to transform shadows into physical beings that could not only kill targets quickly and covertly, but also spy on others and communicate with him. Albino vampires typically have white or silver hair, depending on the degree of their albinism, and red or silver eyes because their human eyes were pink or blue. The transformation, transforms a person into the ideal version of themselves.

But it does not attack an albino's pale skin by giving them melanin. Instead, it gives them unbreakable skin and sun resistance; all vampires have unbreakable skin, but not all have sun resistance. Through a treaty of peace between Hecate, the goddess of witches, and our goddess, vampires are now given blessed jewelry after completing their transformation that will protect them from the sun. Halflings can withstand the sun, but because of their sensitive eyes, they must wear sunglasses or carry an umbrella when the weather is warm. Uncle John isn't related to Susan in any way; he's just her adviser, but he's the only one who raised me as if I were family. In the Kamakura Period, Uncle John was born to a human Japanese lower-class family. He was left behind, which was unusual at the time because boys were viewed as valuable assets. He was adopted by the vampire family Novis. They have a reputation for serving as advisors to vampire rulers throughout history since they can predict if a vampire will be gifted when they transform, and they have the capacity to see and end the lives of other supernatural beings. The eyes of the dead, the second-rarest ability, is possessed by them. They observed Uncle John's talent. He was regarded as a wonder in the Novis vampire clan because it was uncommon for humans to have any gift, much less a unique gift. The distinctively colored eyes that the Novis family are reborn with are their most distinguishing feature. Uncle John is gorgeous; he shares the same almond eye shape as Tiffiny, a sharp jawline, bow-shaped lips, and short boyish black hair. One of his eyes is apricot, while the other is entirely white. My uncle stops me as I approach the bedroom doorway after my cousin leaves.

"I know you're disappointed that you weren't able to transform alongside your cousin as you had hoped, but please understand that there is a reason. Susan is the only one who can tell you why. Happy birthday, my dear Grudo no Hoshi." I'm shocked and don't answer; instead, I give Uncle John a kiss on the cheek and watch as he walks away. I move toward the dining area, I am aware of the absence of maids and realize how severe the situation is. Susan doesn't want any rumors to go outside the castle grounds because the only time the maids would be gone is when an important clan is over. Sam's hurried voice causes me to halt sliding back behind the corner. "My dear, I am aware that you dislike the girl, but there is nothing we can do to stop her from attending the event with Tiffany. The previous time you offended the child, the goddess let you off the hook. You won't have such luck this time." In order to observe what is going on, I lean far out of the corner. And the preceding scene is unlike any dispute I've ever witnessed between them. Sam is the one person Susan loves and is happy with; even when they have a dispute, it's typically in a lighthearted way. Susan despises but respects everyone else, including me, but with Sam she glows with kindness and compassion. Sam, whose long, curly black hair reaches the floor, kneels before a fanged, growling, silver-eyed Susan. His brows are furrowed, his full lips are pouting, and his apricot eyes are filled with grief as he beseeches her. Her hissing makes my skin prickle. "Sam, get up; she doesn't deserve to go if it were up to me. You already know she'd be dead and replaced." Sam moves up behind her and comfortingly encircles her shoulders while shaking his head. "I know, love, but this is a part of the prophecy we can't ignore

It is an order, and we must obey when the goddess commands." She lets out a resolute sigh. Then she directs her gaze at me. "Did you like the show?" In the blink of an eye, she is standing in front of me, her face scathing. "You should come sit down; we need to talk." I follow her as we make our way to the dining room table. "What's the matter, Mama Susan?" I notice that she recoils when I refer to her as mama and smile at the small, insignificant victory of upsetting her. Susan was negligent since she didn't show up for me emotionally, despite the fact that she wasn't abusive. She merely came to see how things were going with my schoolwork and my physical development. which she frequently made sarcastic remarks about. I had an hourglass body, but I was unfortunately on the larger side. I still had jiggly arms, and instead of being flat like a washboard, my lower stomach was chubby and bulging. She would frequently make fun of my thick, cellulite-covered thighs and my full back, telling me that nature was teaching me where I belonged and that my flaws were lowly. I look at her now; she's sickly, her eyes stained with darkness; beneath them , her once-thick, straight blond, nearly white hair is now thin and practically shows the coloring of her scalp, her skin appears dull and washed out, and her once-thick, full lips are now simply thin. Even if Susan was terrible on the inside, her appearance was lovely and graceful, she no longer had the one thing that made her a beloved queen, her beauty. Even among the vampire species known for their extraordinary beauty and deadly grace she was the most favored.

She now appears to be bitter and elderly on the outside. "We told you we found and adopted you from a sick human mother; well, that wasn't entirely true." She begins to cough. Sam rushes to her side, gently patting her back; she raises her hand, he comes to a halt. "You are a chosen child, chosen by the goddesses who created each species as one of three heirs to lead the future into prosperity and peace." she looks at me pointedly, "As you may know, Sekhmet is our goddess. One of your allies' goddesses is Inari kami, the mother of the shifters known as kitsune; the next ally goddess is Lilith, the mother of the succubus and incubus demon species. Áine the goddess has decided to withdraw her protection of the fae because they have abandoned her, employing forbidden magic to control all other species, including humans, and thus disrupting nature's balance. You will lead the other two armies into battle in order to defeat the fae ruler who has been employing forbidden magic. "We've been in contact with Sekhmet since your birth. As much as you may want to believe it, I did not withhold your half-turned phase. It was the goddess. She has plans, so you will go with Tiffany tonight and spend the weekend at the mating ritual." As this all comes to light, I feel sick. My mind is racing and my stomach is grumbling. "Wait a minute, you're sending me to the ritual as a human. During the ritual, every being will be present, at their most primal state of mind." I'm feeling even worse. It's as if she's attempting to murder me. All shifters, including nagas, web weavers, and merfolk, will be present. All demons, not just succubus and incubus, but also dream feeders, gluttons, volcanics, and others. Hunting their mates, they will all be at their most primal natural selves.

"Well, Elve, you'd better run hard and fast while trying not to injure yourself; your blood would have the vampire newborns hunting you instead of their mates." She laughs and coughs, and the pity I once felt for her vanishes. Sam has a horrible smile on his face as he looks at me. "You're worrying too much; it's not like you'll find a mate with your human flaws; just don't hurt yourself, and you'll be fine." Both of them burst out laughing. I dash to my room, crying as I lay on my bed, and then I come to a halt as I realize something. If I survive, I will become a ruler. I smile to myself. Oh, I'm sure I'll make it back. I jump up, gather my belongings, and pack my suitcase. All I have to do now is get through the mating ritual. It begins tonight, and I will be prepared. I'm standing in the front hall, waiting for the limo that will take me to my destination. The limo arrives and a men in a gold suite get's out to open the car door for me. He looks at me In confusion, then he sniffs at me, his eyes turning into reptile slits. Oh great, a naga. "Yes, I am human." "Can you not sniff me like that?" he blushes, his snake-like tongue nervously sticking out. "I'm sorry, ma'am," he says as he closes the door. He gets in the car, and we begin driving. I smile as I look at my house. I'll be a ruler soon. I return to the front. I just have to get through the mating ritual first.