CHAPTER 01

Selene was sitting at the window seat, tightly holding her black Jagger bag with her necessities in it. She was redundantly listening to a popular rock song on her iPod—it was her favorite. She leaned her head on the windshield, watching intently outside as the plane flew above the clouds.

It was early mid-summer, and the school year has just ended. When she went home from school to get her diploma from graduating in senior high school. She found out that their family has already packed for a long vacation in Manapla, Negros Occidental, her dear hometown.

That is where her maternal family resides. Centuries of their generations had been born and died there. It was also where she grew up, though she was originally born in the capital city.

Due to circumstances, her mother decided to take her to her hometown in Manapla, wherein she spent her childhood until she turned six. She could only recall the happy and exciting memories she had there, and the blurred scenarios that kept popping in her head. Of course, she would have a hard time remembering them since they have been constantly moving houses from place to place.

They had traveled through the sea when she was still a few months old and that was when her mother ran away from her father. She could also remember her mother's story where her little self-went missing aboard the ship, hence, traumatizing her and sworn never to ride a boat ever again.

As the plane ride continues, she was constantly bothered by the earsplitting noise you usually hear when you ride an airplane—it never gets old. It got her every time they visit the province.

"Are you hungry?" Her mother asked. She shook her head as a response.

Transportation wasn't fun at all. If it wasn't for her motion sickness, she would be more than happy if teleportation does exist.

"Ma, when will we arrive?" She asked, looking at her wristwatch.

She kept wishing this would finally come to an end.

"It will take more than thirty minutes. We just departed."

"My head aches a lot," she complained as her face furrowed.

"Why don't you try to take a nap? It'll make you feel better. I'll wake you up once we landed," her mother suggested. She willingly complied.

When she opened her eyes, the noise and the pain in her head stopped. Squinting her eyes, she frowned as she slowly realized she was in the same dream again. She was standing beside a very tall dead tree.

She looked around.

It was almost exactly like in the movies. It was set in a graveyard full of creepy gravestones wherein the dark lord and its underworld minions were nestling underneath.

"You're back."

A young man appeared out of nowhere. He was wearing a typical rich academic student attire of what looks like a set of black pants, black leather shoes, a white underneath polo, and a black blazer. His hands were covered with a pair of shiny white gloves that seemed like leather as well. She casually waved a hand at him with a blank expression on her face.

"Yeah, I'm back. Where are Phobos and Deimos?" She asked nonchalantly before taking a sit on a large black stone beside her.

"I don't know. I ran here as fast as I could the moment, I sensed your presence." He shrugged and walked closer to her.

"You left them again."

"They're too slow. By the time they could finally get here, you might have left already." He protested, defending himself for leaving his attendants behind.

"You're just too fast," she snorted. He heard it right but did not bother to complain. Instead, he just looked at her.

"You look depressed." He stated, curiously tilting his head to observe her face more closely. "Why does it seem like you are sulking?"

"Well, I was riding a plane back home." She explained sourly.

"A plane? What is that?" He asked before sitting on the ground, not minding the dirt staining his expensive-looking clothes. He looked up and stared at her with genuine curiosity.

"It's a vehicle that travels in the sky. In my world, it is commonly used for transportation. It could carry hundreds of people and fly high up above the clouds at the same time for hours." She explained, smiling. She stared back at him.

"That is amazing," he commented. "Where are you going anyway?"

"We're going on a vacation, in my hometown."

"Oh, right. You told me earlier your school year ended." He recalled. She nodded as confirmation.

She then noticed two other silhouettes of what seemed like human figures heading in their direction.

"I see them now." She waved her arms as she recognized them.

"Don't mind them." He stopped her from waving. He held her hand before grasping her chin and looked directly at her. "Focus on me. It's not like you could stay longer."

She was caught off guard. Before she knew it, she was already pinned on the tree behind her. He teleported, she guessed. Leaning just above her face, he looked at her predatorily. Those golden eyes staring at her, so enticing yet she managed not to get bewitched.

"You're so..." Close.

"I am what?"

"Nevermind. Stop touching me so carelessly." She reluctantly complained."And back off! I told you not to do those mind tricks on me."

He just chuckled while she threw a fit, emphasizing his annoyingly handsome face.

"Why not? It's very fascinating to find someone who can nullify my ability." He said, grinning.

"For the hundredth time, Ares, I'm not your experimental thing."

It was time for the other twins to have arrived. They rushed beside the young man, both panting like horses. They still haven't yet noticed Selene's presence.

"Young master! Don't just disappear like that! Why are you always doing this to us?" The two beautiful siblings protested in unison while kneeling passionately in front of their young master Ares.

"It's not like young lady Selene had already arrived," said Phobos.

"That's right. She was expected to come here around midnight," said the other twin, Deimos.

"She's here, you morons." Ares corrected the two, looking irritated by their loud voices.

Both the young man and woman, identical to each other, found Selene discreetly watching them from behind.

"You did not see me waving before?" She asked, smiling casually at the twins.

"Selene!"

"Young lady Selene!" They cried in excitement and immediately went to hug her, abandoning their young master Ares.

"Woah, you missed me that much?"

"Of course, we've missed you. Young master Ares took you away from us last night." Phobos protested, pouting her lips at Selene.

"Yeah, right." Deimos agreed. "Young master is so selfish. He wants you all for himself."

Selene noticed how Ares's pale face turned beet red while hearing his two attendants' unexpected remarks about him.

"Hey! Would you stop making it sound like I like her?" Ares scowled. "You were just too loud, that's why I took her someplace quiet."

"You just admitted yourself, young master." teased Phobos, grinning at him.

"We never said you like Selene. So, you like her, huh?" Deimos seconded.

Ares blushed even more. He pointed at the twins with an enraged expression. "Shut up, you two!"

"Stop teasing, Ares-!"

Selene was about to defend Ares when suddenly, she has dragged back again in reality. She wrinkled her forehead as she slowly opened her eyes. She saw her mother looking at her, still trying to wake her up.

"What? Who's teasing who? Who's Ares?" Her mother asked in confusion. She shook her head and answered, "It was no one. Are we here yet?"

"Yes. Both your father and your brother left first to collect our baggage."

She looked around and noticed that the plane had already landed considering that the other passengers had also started to leave the aircraft.

"I see."

She stood up before hanging her bag on her left shoulder, then followed her mother on through the exit. She yawned, rubbing her eyes in an attempt to get rid of the sleepiness left in her. She remembered the dream she had a while ago, yet she only shrugged it off.

It had been quite some time now since Selene started dreaming of a world that could only happen in movies but even, so she never treated it as a potential reality. For her, they were just episodes her creative mind was making up. Still, it felt weird and quite misleading that she could clearly remember almost every bit of it. It was as if it is happening like it, was her reality.

Also, Ares was a vampire— existed only in her dream. Physically, he appeared to be of the same age as her but was actually a hundred-year-old blood-sucking creature. Phobos and Deimos were identical twins, only with different gender; Phobos as the female and Deimos as the male one.

It began during her toughest times struggling with depression where she, out of the blue, dreamt of a strange dream and met them for the first time. It was two years ago, her sweet sixteenth year. And now that she's of legal age, she had learned that going through pain and struggles will help you get stronger and become wiser.

Although she had already recovered, the episodic dreams continue. Eventually, she had befriended the three. Her dream was set in the underworld where vampires like Ares himself exists. There were fairies, ogres, pirates, mermaids, kings, and queens-you name it! But out of all the creatures she had encountered, only the werewolves caught her interest.

She had no idea why. All she knows is that she was deeply attached to them. Was it because she loved dogs, and they looked almost just the same? Plus, she was just unfortunate to have a brother allergic to fur.

Even though she could never show her appearance to anyone but only Ares and his attendants, she could still wander around and witness the existence of those magical creatures.

It was amazing-ethereal to be exact. Living in it felt more realistic than it was in her real life. It's like, every time she falls asleep, her imagination turns to reality.

Nevertheless, no matter how involved she becomes, she would always choose to wake up.

Always.