Blood and the Sea's Song

Chapter two: The Pull of Shadows

To the siren who stole my heart with a single glance, whose song echoes in my soul. In your depths, I found the part of me I never knew was missing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~♡~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Selene's heart still thundered in her chest as she walked deeper into the woods, leaving behind the strange vampire she had encountered by the shore. His image was burned into her mind, refusing to fade like the others she had crossed paths with over the centuries. Something about him was different-something more than his golden eyes and the cool stillness that radiated from him. He had called to her, not with his voice alone but with something much deeper, something primal.

It was as though a thread had been woven between them in the moment their eyes met, binding her to him in ways she didn't understand. Her instincts screamed at her to return to the sea, to plunge back into the safety of the waves, but the pull of the soul bond kept her tethered to the land.

Her footsteps were quiet, despite the twigs and leaves beneath her bare feet. The forest in Forks was unlike any she had wandered through before-dense, shrouded in mist, and brimming with life. It reminded her of her old home, the one she had abandoned long ago when she chose to live away from her kind. But that wasn't what held her here.

It was him.

Selene had encountered many creatures in her long existence, but none had ever caused this kind of turmoil within her. She wasn't used to feeling this way-uncertain, vulnerable. She was always in control, always the one with the upper hand. But not with him. The way he looked at her by the water... it was as though he could see straight through her, into the very depths of who she was. That scared her more than anything.

Who was he?

More importantly, what was he to her?

She kept replaying their encounter over and over in her mind. His voice-low, steady-had cut through the silence, the question hanging in the air between them. Who are you? It was a question she could hardly answer for herself, much less for a stranger. But then, he wasn't just a stranger, was he? Not with the way her soul had reacted to his presence.

Selene had heard of soul bonds before-rare connections between beings that tied them together across lifetimes. Her mother had spoken of them in hushed tones, telling stories of the sirens who had found their soulmates, only to be cursed by fate for daring to love. Selene had never believed those stories. She had never believed in such weakness.

Now, though, as she wandered deeper into the forest, the moonlight barely filtering through the thick canopy of trees, she couldn't deny the truth. She had felt it the moment she locked eyes with him. The bond had snapped into place like a chain around her heart, pulling her toward him even as she fought against it.

And so, she stayed on land.

Her footsteps slowed as the trees began to thin. The scent of water drifted to her on the breeze, cool and refreshing, and she could hear the faint trickle of a stream nearby. She had wandered for hours, though she couldn't be sure how much time had passed. Time had always been slippery for her, especially on land. But now she was aware of every second, every moment she was separated from him.

She came to a stop as her eyes caught sight of a structure ahead, half-hidden in the shadows. An old cabin, abandoned and forgotten, its wooden frame worn by the elements. Moss clung to the sides of the building, and the roof sagged in places, but it was sturdy enough. More importantly, it was secluded, surrounded by the forest and near the water.