Caius’s presence loomed over the forest, his steps light but certain, the shadows bending around him as if they feared his very existence. He had been hunting for hours—his senses sharp, his body moving with practiced grace, and his thirst for blood growing more demanding by the minute.

He could feel them now—their heartbeat. Slow, steady, tinged with panic.

A human.

The figure was ahead, cloaked in the shadows, their back turned as they fumbled in the dark, trying to make sense of the forest. They were alone. Alone and vulnerable.

And yet, something lingered in the air that gave him pause—a sharp, unnatural pull—a tug in his chest that was entirely unlike the usual hunger he felt. Something about this human was... different.

In a split second, he closed the distance between them, his feet barely making a sound on the soft forest floor. The moonlight reflected off the sharp edges of his pale hair as he reached the figure, his breath cold on their skin before they even realized he was there.

"Lost, are we?" His voice was a low drawl, smooth and languid. The words spilled from his lips like silk, dark amusement lacing each syllable.

The human spun, eyes wide, face pale, and for a brief moment, the two locked gazes—his cold, unfeeling eyes meeting theirs.

There was something in those eyes, something that struck him like a punch to the chest. His smirk faltered just slightly, his gaze darkening as he looked deeper, searching.

The human recoiled, their breath catching as they stumbled back, the terror written all over their face.

"Please, no..." They whispered, their voice strained with fear.

Caius’s lips curled up in that ever-present smugness, his fangs barely visible beneath his smile. Fear—it was something he had become intimately familiar with. Yet, in this moment, it wasn’t the fear that gripped him. It was something more. The proximity to their throat—the faint pulsing of blood beneath their skin—the warmth of their body—it was maddening.

"Don't beg," he murmured, stepping closer with deliberate, slow movements. "You know what happens next."

The human flinched, but they didn’t run. Instead, they seemed... resigned. They were shaking, but there was something in their eyes, something that flickered. The same flicker that had pulled him in, that had made him pause.

And then it happened.

His hand shot forward, grasping their chin roughly, tilting their head back as he lowered to their throat. But as his fingers brushed against their skin—something shifted.

It was like an electric current, a jolt that shot through his entire being, freezing him in place. His hand trembled just slightly, his grip loosening on their throat. His breath hitched as something unfamiliar stirred inside him. His eyes, once cold and calculating, now widened in disbelief. His chest felt tight, his pulse thundering in his ears.

He stopped.

For a moment, neither of them moved.

Caius’s gaze softened, but only slightly, as he slowly pulled back, his fingers still grazing their skin, but not with the same hunger. Instead, there was a strange reverence, as though he were afraid to touch them too forcefully. His eyes moved over their face, studying every detail as if seeing them for the first time. The features were different—sharper, unfamiliar—but there was something... there.

His breath caught.

It’s you.

Caius didn’t move. He didn’t make a sound. His eyes locked onto yours, unwavering, as the seconds stretched into eternity.

It was you. He was sure of it.

But the question lingered—Why?

You weren’t the same, not entirely. You weren’t his lost love. The scent was different. The essence was different. But the eyes, the way you stared at him—something about it, something deep within him, knew it was you. The same spark of defiance, the same flicker of recognition, the same fight in your gaze.

"You can't be them," he murmured, the words filled with an almost painful conviction. "But you are... something. Aren’t you?"

His gaze never wavered from yours, as if searching for something. "Tell me your name."