As Rylan pondered the moment between him and Lucian, he suddenly heard the creak of the door. His father was stepping into the room, and without thinking, Lucian transformed back into a bat, feigning a lifeless state. Rylan quickly turned his head towards the door, trying to mask his nervousness as his father entered, his expression a mixture of curiosity and authority.

“What’s this?” his father grumbled, his gaze falling on the bat lying on Rylan’s desk. Rylan’s heart raced as he scrambled for an excuse. “It’s, uh… from hunting,” he stammered, the words barely slipping past his lips. The truth was he had never been hunting, so he hoped his father wouldn’t pry too deeply.

His father picked up the bag that accompanied the bat, studying it closely. Rylan fidgeted, trying to keep his ears and tail hidden, picking at his nails casually as if the entire situation were nothing out of the ordinary. The weight of the bag seemed imposing in his father’s hands. Rylan held his breath as the older man examined the contents.

“What’s this supposed to be, Rylan?” his father asked, his stern gaze piercing through him as he probed the stuffed bat. “Looks a bit heavy to be just a craft project.” Rylan felt a knot tighten in his stomach, and he could sense the eyes of the bat glaring back at him from the desk.

“I—I was trying arts and crafts,” Rylan replied, regretting the moment the words left his mouth. His father’s eyes narrowed, giving him a scrutinizing look.

“Arts and crafts are for the women of the village, not for the hunters,” he said flatly. Rylan felt a flush of embarrassment and defiance rise within him, but he said nothing, choosing instead to focus on keeping his composure as his father gave the bat one last assessing glance before leaving the room.

Once the door clicked shut behind his father, Lucian quickly shifted back into his human form, a grin spreading across his face, clearly amused. “Did you hear that? He called me heavy!” The laugh escaped Rylan’s lips, a mix of relief and amusement at Lucian’s sassy remark. The tension in the room began to dissipate, replaced by the familiar ease that came with Lucian’s presence.

But that ease was short-lived. As they shared a moment of laughter, Rylan felt a sharp sting at his cheek. He reached up to touch the cut, realizing that it had started bleeding again. Lucian’s expression shifted abruptly to concern, and he quickly pressed his hand against his mouth, his demeanor turning serious.

“I should go. The blood—I need to leave,” Lucian said, urgency threading through his tone.

Rylan felt an instant pang of disappointment. “No, don’t go! I don’t want you to leave!” he pleaded, not wanting their time together to end so abruptly.

“Rylan, I’m a vampire,” Lucian replied, his voice soft yet firm. “If I start, I won’t stop.”

Rylan’s heart raced as he processed that statement. “But I don’t mind… You won’t kill me, right? It’s just a small cut,” he insisted, an edge of desperation coloring his words. He couldn’t bear the thought of Lucian leaving, of this connection dissipating into the night.

Lucian took a deep breath, pinning Rylan with an intense gaze. “If I start, I won’t stop,” he repeated, and Rylan could see the resolve in his eyes. “But… meet me tomorrow by the woods. I’ll help you escape. We can figure this out together.”

The promise ignited something within Rylan—a flicker of hope, but also a sense of urgency. “What if someone catches us?” he asked, wariness creeping back into his voice.

“Then we’ll be careful,” Lucian replied, his expression softening, reassuring Rylan that he would do everything in his power to protect him. “Just trust me. Tomorrow. By the woods.”

Rylan nodded, unable to suppress the nervous excitement that bubbled in his chest. He felt a strange combination of fear and exhilaration. As Lucian transformed back into a bat and flitted out of the window into the moonlit night, Rylan knew that his life was about to change forever. The decision before him was filled with risk, yet it was one he was ready to take. The pull to the forest, to Lucian, was undeniable, and he felt drawn into a fate that waited just beyond the horizon.