Mark of the Bloodline

kidnapped

Lilian pov:

As I walked out of the college, the rain had just stopped, leaving the air fresh and the streets shining under a thin layer of water. Kate wasn’t coming to pick me up today because she had a meeting. Normally, I would have promised Yasmin to take an Uber, but the post-rain atmosphere was too tempting. Walking the two-hour distance home actually sounded exciting.

The road leading away from the college was empty, with a long trail running parallel to it and disappearing into a dense forest. I loved that trail. Its twists and turns often went so deep into the trees that even the sound of passing cars became faint. I tilted my head back, letting the pale sunlight filter through the gray clouds, warming my closed eyes for a moment.

The street was unusually quiet. A light mist blurred the headlights of the occasional passing car, making them look like faint, flickering stars. From the corner of my eye, I thought I saw a shadow move. My heart skipped a beat as I felt a strange, heavy gaze on me. I quickly turned, but no one was there.

Trying to shake off the uneasy feeling, I decided to take the trail into the forest instead of staying by the road. After all, what was there to fear in the rain-soaked woods? Maybe a squirrel or a stray cat—but they were nothing compared to the dangers posed by humans. Still, thoughts of Sara’s death crept into my mind, reminding me why my twin sisters, Kate and Yasmin, were so protective.

It had been three years since Sara’s murder. At the time, I was just a high schooler. Our aunt, barely in her twenties, had taken us in after our parents died in a car accident. She worked two jobs—one at an office and another at a bar—to support us. She was in her thirties when she was attacked by a drunk customer while walking home. The brutality of her murder shocked the entire town. All her blood had been drained, and her finger was severed to steal the old, cherished ring she always wore.

Lost in thought, I blinked away the tears gathering in my eyes. The rain had started again, lightly at first, but the mist grew thicker. Quickening my pace, I considered catching the next bus on the main road instead of walking all the way home. The cloudy skies made it feel later than it actually was.

A sudden snapping sound from behind froze me in place. I turned around sharply—nothing. Another crack, this time from a different direction. I spun again, but still, no one was there. The sounds grew louder, coming from all sides as if something unseen was moving around me. My heart raced, and cold sweat ran down my back despite the chill of the rain.

“It’s just my imagination,” I muttered to myself. But the air smelled different—sharp and strange, with a faint masculine scent that made me even more uneasy. It reminded me of the nightmares I had after Sara’s death. In those dreams, that smell always came before something terrible. A pleasant smell that was a promise of death at the same time.

Suddenly, the noises stopped. My breath quickened as a burning heat flared at the back of my neck where my birthmark was. The sensation was unbearable, and I knew what it meant—my light brown mark had turned blazing red, just as it always did in moments of danger. Or when it has been a long time since I drank the herbal tea that Sarah made. That drink soothed the burning sensation.

Before I could react, three pairs of polished black shoes came into view. My hair was pushed aside, and a cold hand touched the birthmark on my neck. The searing pain was unlike anything I had ever felt before, and my vision went dark. Then, I blacked out completely.

Lucas pov:

I couldn’t believe it. The foretold threat to our bloodline was this girl—a mere child who had collapsed unconscious at my feet, without even seeing or speaking to us. How could this fragile creature possibly be our prophesied destroyer?