Prologue 1

Every time I close my eyes I find myself in the same woods. The same trees and how the bark felt on my hands. The same scents the scent of wet earth and blood. The same eerie fog seemed to be inching closer the more I wandered these strange woods. Everything is identical each time. I started walking around to find my bearings in the thick fog. I walked around for a while until I stumbled upon a fork in the path. Two paths both identical for some peculiar reason yet they seem so different. I walked towards the fork and that is when I saw two identical girls just standing there. 

I started questioning who they were, where they came from and why I had not seen them before. I blamed the fog for the last one. I approached them because I thought they could answer the questions I had been asking myself. As I got closer I noticed something strange on the girl on the right. Although identical to her counterpart on the right, one feature distinguishes her, her tail. A wolf's tail, to be more specific. How I could tell it was of a wolf I cannot explain. This startled me and I stop in my tracks. As I stood there bewildered I heard a sweet melody I know all too well. It was the lullaby my mother sang to me when I was younger. 

The sweet sound of the melody drew me closer to the girl on the left. The sounds enchanted me, and I walked closer to her and she smiled, and I saw something that brought me back to reality. Fangs. She had fangs. Long, sharp fangs where her canines should be. I did not know why this bothered me because the fact that she had fangs meant that she was like me. I stood there, a million thoughts racing through my mind, and then I heard another melody coming from the right. I had never heard this melody before but it seemed to soothe something. And so I walked to the girl on the right.

 I walked towards her, and she smiled. A genuine, warm smile. This drew me in even closer. As I was about to enter her embrace, the melody from the right intensified. And so did the one from the left. It was as if both were competing. It felt as if both wanted and I had to make a choice. And so I did. I chose right. Right could never be wrong. I walked to the girl on the right. And I could see that she was happy with my choice, but the one on the right was not. As the girl with the tail led me into the woods, I could hear the one with fangs say something about choosing my kin. I ignored her as we walked towards a tree I had never seen before. The tree resembled an apple tree but its fruits were not apples. The girl approached the tree, plucked one fruit, bit it and tossed me the fruit. 

I took a bite, and it tasted sweet. I looked at the girl to ask her what I had just eaten when she started running deeper into the woods. This shocked me, but she turned around and shouted," If you want to know more, catch me first." I stopped eating the fruit and started chasing her through the woods. My athletic body and "genes" allowed me to close the distance between us. As I was about to catch her, she transformed into a wolf. I stopped chasing, but her voice taunted me to continue if I wanted answers. This only fueled the fire that had started burning within me. I gave in and continued the chase.

As the chase continued, the distance between us grew significantly. With every passing moment, I could see her silhouette getting further away. This turn of events awakened the winner in me, for I hated losing, especially to women. And so I increased my speed in an attempt to catch up. The faster I ran, the more the fire in my chest burned. What had started as an ember had now turned into a raging inferno that threatened to consume my entire body. This new-found energy had reached its critical point and wanted to be released. And as I ran through the woods I lept into the air and unleashed a mighty howl that shook the entire forest and my core. As I landed on the ground on all four legs, I realised I had gained a significant boost in my strength and speed. Her silhouette was finally visible.

Just as I was about to catch up, she suddenly disappeared. I assumed this was just another of her tricks so I walked around for a while until I found a large lake. I decided to drink some water because all the running had made me extremely thirsty. I lowered my head to drink water, and what I saw shocked me. I looked like a dog. This should not be possible could I have turned into my natural enemy? I asked myself such questions as I searched everywhere trying to find the girl I thought might have some answers. As I circled the lake for a second time, she was still nowhere to be seen. The eerie fog had started covering the lake. Although my vision was obscured, I could feel something was following me. I turned and saw a pack of wolves walking towards me from every direction. I could sense the bloodlust in their eyes as they started circling me. They started pushing me back to the lake and when my feet started touching the water, the girl reappeared walking with the wolves.

" Why do you reject who you are? Why do you forsake your birthright? Why do you try so hard to be one of them when you could be both of them? Why are you so contemptuous of being so weak? Why do you not wish to be the Messiah?" She asked as she walked towards me. " If you fail to choose now, death and destruction shall follow you and your loved ones to the grave. A war is coming, not even the patriarchs can stop it, and you think you can stop it, in your current state. Sooner or later you will have to pick a side and hope you pick the right one." She said in a grim tone of finality. What the hell was she talking about? A war? Who are the patriarchs? Why do I have to pick a side? Why did she call me "The Messiah"? As I asked myself these questions, the pack of wolves charged at me. I jumped into the lake to try and get away from the bloodthirsty wolves when I felt something grab hold of my leg and pull me into the lake. I was dragged deeper into the lake, I saw the girl looking at me from the water's surface as she whispered, "Choose a side."

As the air in my lungs escaped, I woke up suddenly to find my bedding marinated in sweat. That had to be the weirdest dream I have ever had. I mean it had to be a dream. Since when have vampires transformed into werewolves? Especially an Eternal.