Morning sunlight spilled through the apartment blinds, catching on the faint shimmer of runes drawn across the window.
Protection wards — Felix's work.
Sky pulled his jacket on, half-buttoned, half-awake.
From the kitchen came the unmistakable hiss of something boiling over.
"Felix!"
"It's fine, it's fine!"
It was not fine. The witch stumbled out holding a mug of something that looked radioactive and smelled worse.
"Drink this," Felix said proudly. "New formula. Stronger masking charm. Should hide your energy for forty-eight hours."
Sky stared. "You said that yesterday. I couldn't feel my tongue for three hours."
"Progress!" Felix chirped. "Also, side effects are temporary. Mostly."
Sky sighed, took the mug, and downed it in one go.
He winced. "Tastes like burned socks."
"But do you feel hidden?"
"I feel sick."
Felix grinned, tossing him his badge. "Perfect! You're ready for your first day as a respectable, totally-normal-beta-wolf employee."
Sky rolled his eyes but smiled faintly. Beneath the banter, he knew how much Felix risked to keep his secret safe.
"Thanks," Sky muttered. "For everything."
"Don't get sentimental," Felix said, waving him off. "Go charm your vampire bosses. Try not to bite anyone."
"No promises."
---
Hirunkit Holdings — 9:00 a.m.
The building rose like obsidian glass against the sky, sleek and silent.
Sky adjusted his tie, joining the line of new recruits outside the training hall — six in total, all veterans from private military or security backgrounds.
At the front, William stood with perfect posture — sharp-eyed, unreadable.
Beside him was Joss, head of security: broader, warmer, but still the kind of man who could break you in half if you breathed wrong.
"Welcome to Hirunkit Holdings," William began, his tone smooth but authoritative. "You've all been selected for your… particular skill sets. This is not a typical assignment."
Sky noticed how the room quieted when William spoke. His presence carried the same weight Sky had felt on battlefields — calm, commanding, lethal.
"The company handles high-risk assets," William continued. "Human and otherwise."
A ripple of confusion passed among the recruits, but Sky kept his expression neutral.
He'd learned long ago: listen more than you speak.
"You'll be evaluated in two teams," William said, gesturing toward the roster on the wall. "Team One — Sky, Gawin, Micah. Team Two — Mosin, Tor, Billkin."
Joss stepped forward, crossing his arms. "Your performance this week determines who joins the CEO's personal protection detail. That's the highest position you can earn here. You fail, you go home. Questions?"
No one dared speak.
"Good," Joss said. "We start now. Follow me."
---
Evaluation Grounds — Lower Level
The training floor gleamed under fluorescent lights — a modern arena with reinforced glass, weapon lockers, and an observation deck above.
Sky felt the shift in the air — faintly electric, unnaturally still. He could sense power here, hidden under steel and concrete. His instincts twitched, warning him that something ancient lingered in this building.
Control it, he told himself. You're Sky Nateetorn, not the Guardian.
Joss clapped once, snapping him back.
"Team One — your assessment starts first. Simulated escort and defense scenario. William will observe."
Gawin, tall and confident, gave Sky a smirk. "Hope you can keep up, soldier."
"Hope you can follow orders," Sky replied coolly.
Micah chuckled nervously. "Great. Day one and we're already competing."
---
The test began — simulated attack drills, tactical maneuvers, timed coordination. Sky slipped easily into soldier mode: calm, precise, deadly efficient.
When the alarms blared for the "ambush," he moved before anyone else — assessing threats, shielding his assigned "client," neutralizing opponents in three calculated strikes. His instincts were razor-sharp, almost too sharp for a normal wolf.
From the observation deck, William's eyes narrowed slightly. There was something… unusual in this one. Too fast. Too disciplined. But his energy signature was muted — the potion working perfectly.
Below, Joss barked, "Time! Team One, good formation. Sky — impressive reaction."
Sky simply nodded, chest rising steadily.
"Former soldier," Joss said approvingly. "Shows."
"Discipline is a valuable trait," William murmured. "We'll see if it holds under pressure."
---
After the session, the recruits gathered, sweaty and exhausted.
Sky leaned against the wall, catching his breath.
"Not bad for day one," Micah said.
"Not over yet," Sky replied, wiping his brow.
From across the hall, William spoke quietly into his earpiece.
"Update the report. Candidate Sky Nateetorn — promising."
A pause.
Then softer, almost to himself,
"Strange… I can't read him."
---
That night, as Sky left the building, he glanced once toward the top floors — where the Supreme Vampire's office overlooked the entire city.
He didn't know why, but something in his chest stirred — the faint echo of an old rhythm, like his blood remembered a song it shouldn't.
High above, behind tinted glass, Nani Hirunkit sat reviewing files for the new recruits.
His gaze paused on one name.
Sky Nateetorn.
For the briefest moment, the Supreme's heartbeat faltered — and the faintest trace of silver shimmered behind his eyes.
---
The city at night was alive in a different way — neon lights and sin, shadows too deep for comfort.
Sky preferred walking home. It helped him think, breathe, feel human.
Felix's apartment wasn't far, but the air tonight felt wrong.
He slowed, scanning the street. The world had gone oddly quiet — even the traffic hum fading into a strange, pressing silence.
Then he smelled it.
Blood.
Human and vampire.
Fresh.
His pulse quickened before his mind caught up. Instinct roared awake.
Sky turned the corner — and froze.
A man and woman huddled in the alley, both wounded. The woman — pale, trembling — bore faint fang marks on her neck, but not the kind that came from feeding. These were ripped, not bitten. The man, human, was unconscious, bleeding from his side.
And crouched above them was something else.
It wasn't wolf. Not vampire.
Its shape flickered — half-shadow, half-corpse — eyes burning with dull red light. It hissed, low and wrong, like it hadn't drawn breath in centuries.
Sky didn't think. He moved.
He grabbed a length of pipe from the ground and swung, fast and clean. The creature shrieked as metal met bone, but it didn't fall — it turned on him, all claws and teeth.
"What the hell are you…" Sky muttered, ducking a swipe that shattered brick.
He couldn't shift here. Not with the vampire woman watching. His identity depended on staying invisible — just another ex-soldier who happened to be in the wrong alley.
He dodged again, slipped behind it, landed a strike to its throat — no use. The thing didn't bleed, didn't even flinch.
Then it lunged, catching him across the shoulder.
Pain flared. His blood hit the pavement — dark, shimmering faintly silver in the light.
He bit back a growl. No. Not here.
Sky twisted, forced the creature's arm back, and drove the pipe through its chest.
It screamed — a sound that made the air itself shudder — before dissolving into black ash.
Silence.
He stood panting, shoulder bleeding freely.
Behind him, the vampire woman stirred.
"You… you saved us," she whispered, eyes wide.
"Call for help," Sky said shortly. "Stay together. Don't go out again tonight."
He turned to leave before she could ask questions.
But she caught a glimpse of the blood staining his sleeve — not red, but faintly silver. Her lips parted.
Then he was gone, lost to the shadows before the sirens reached the street.
---
Elsewhere — Hirunkit Tower
High above the city, in an office of glass and shadow, Nani Hirunkit froze mid-sentence.
William stopped talking at once.
"My lord?"
Nani's eyes darkened, pupils narrowing to thin crimson slits.
Something ancient stirred beneath his skin — the faintest echo of a call older than memory.
He stood slowly, crossing to the window. Below, the lights of the city bled together — white and red, like veins beneath glass.
"Blood," he said quietly. "I can smell it."
"Another attack?" William asked.
"No." Nani's voice was lower now, distant. "This isn't human blood. Nor vampire. It's… wrong."
His fingers grazed the glass as thunder rumbled in the distance. The clouds were clear, but the moon above glowed faintly crimson.
"The Blood Moon," Nani murmured. "It's waking again."
For the first time in centuries, something stirred in his chest — a pulse, faint and unwanted.
William watched him carefully. "Shall I investigate, my lord?"
"No," Nani said, though his gaze never left the horizon. "I already know what it means."
He could feel it — a thread tugging at the edge of his consciousness. A warmth he hadn't felt in lifetimes.
Somewhere out there, someone bled under the same moonlight.
Someone who shouldn't exist.
Nani's eyes gleamed faintly red.
"The curse breathes again," he whispered.
---
Back in the Alley
Sky leaned against the wall, pressing a torn sleeve to his wound.
His breath came slow and rough, the world spinning for a moment.
He looked up at the moon — red-tinged and heavy, watching him like an old, cruel god.
"Not again," he said softly. "Don't start this again."
But the wind shifted, and for an instant, he thought he heard a voice — low, velvety, familiar in a way that made his chest ache.
Found you.
He blinked, heart pounding. The street was empty.
Only the blood moon remained, hanging low over the city.
And though he didn't know it yet, the one who had spoken wasn't human.
Nor was he far.