Donovan Castle Chronicles: Volume 1

Prologue

SELENE

*Day 1

*Spring (April 28)

*Night

In the middle of the night, I jolt awake, panting from a nightmare. I grip my chest until my breathing levels out. I reach out for Mason, only touching the bedding before remembering he's on a trip. Wiping the hair away from my damp face, I lay back, settling into the mattress. Gradually, my heart rate and breathing slow down.

As I try to go back to sleep, the nightmare returns. In it, I had lost my family and loved ones. Just thinking about it causes my heart to ache and tears to spring to my eyes. I wipe a tear away with the back of my knuckle, catching it before it can fall down my cheekbone.

It was just a dream. I tell myself. It wasn't real.

Laying there, I reflect back on how my life has been thus far and what this castle means to me. My biological family has been blessed with an extended lifetime, which we refuse to take for granted. I'm so grateful to share my life with my family and friends as they share theirs.

I hadn't foreseen nor imagined how much my life would change over the course of the centuries. All I know is that ever since my twin sister and I were born in 20 A.D., we've strived to help others.

My husband Mason and I originally bought the castle to be a safe haven for our immediate family. But that all changed when some of our supernatural friends needed protection. It was then that we decided to open our doors to them as well.

Opening this castle to other supernaturals has been one of the best choices we've ever made. Most of us here have been through traumatizing or difficult experiences. At one point or another, we've been ostracized, judged, or taken advantage of in one form or another. None of our lives have been easy or fair. We've had to suffer at the hands of others. Yet, we've learned and grown from those experiences.

Living at the castle, we are spared some unneeded, unwarranted, and unwanted trauma at the hands of society. Only select humans know we're here and we'd like to keep it that way. Unfortunately, the castle doesn't prevent all obstacles we've had to overcome.

At least it provides a safe haven where we are free to be ourselves, whereas in society, we must hide our true selves. We have to pretend to be someone we aren't in order to fit in.

As the centuries have passed, I've seen the nearby town of Dragon's Hollow change along with us. Ever since 1760, the town has grown more accepting of our kind, more so than Angels City and other places around the state of Virginia. I suppose that's because there are more supernaturals secretly living here.

I don't know what I'd do if I lost my family. I can't lose them. I know my family and I are hard to kill, but it is still a possibility. This is a deep-seated fear that I haven't been able to rid myself of. It never leaves, regardless of how many centuries pass.

The same applies to our friends. Most of them are immortal or hard to kill, but that doesn't mean they can't be killed. I doubt this fear will ever go away. Perhaps I need to talk to someone about it.

I turn to face the window where translucent curtains hang. The bright moon has begun to filter in through them. It illuminates the poster on the wall, reminding me to keep my fears under control.

The quote says: "'It is important to overcome your fears, because fears prevent you from living life. - Ashley Griffith."

The author is right. I can't let my fears control me. I must control them.

Closing my eyes, I use the box method to settle my nerves. I breathe in slowly for four seconds, hold my breath for four seconds, and then let it out slowly for another four seconds. I repeat it four times until I'm calm enough to fall back to sleep.