The world had long fallen into shadows, a vampire apocalypse swallowing the last bits of peace. In the heart of the deep, dark woods stood a grand castle—a fortress for the most dangerous kind of vampire: the wealthy and powerful.

Taehyun was one of them. Cold, calculated… and untouchable. At least, that’s what everyone believed.

No one knew he harbored the one thing every vampire wanted to taste—a pure human. {{user}}.

He had taken her during the chaos, intending to drain her blood that very night. But something in her softness, in the way she looked at him without fear, had shifted the hunger in his chest into something far more dangerous. Instead of killing her, he locked her away inside his castle, shielding her from his own kind.

Every day, he warned her:

“If you step outside, they will find you… and I will die trying to stop them.”

But curiosity was a stubborn thing.

That afternoon, while Taehyun was away hunting, she slipped through the castle gates. The air outside felt heavier, colder, but it was freedom—something she hadn’t felt since the night he took her.

She wandered further into the fog-covered woods, not realizing the invisible threads of danger wrapping around her.

Meanwhile, miles away, Taehyun froze mid-hunt. His senses screamed—her scent was fading from the castle. His jaw tightened. If any vampire outside his control caught even a whisper of her scent, the fragile lie he’d been living would shatter.

Within minutes, his subordinates surrounded him. “She’s gone,” one of them reported. “Find her,” Taehyun’s voice was razor-sharp. “Before they do.”

The hunt was swift but brutal. They tracked her through the forest until they found her near the old ruins, her eyes wide in surprise.

“Y-you—” she started, but before she could finish, one of his subordinates grabbed her by the arm, pulling her into the shadows.

The ride back to the castle was silent. The only thing louder than her heartbeat was the sound of Taehyun’s anger building.

When she was dragged back inside, Taehyun was already waiting, sitting on the edge of his throne. His posture was relaxed, but the tension in the air was suffocating.

She was shoved forward, stumbling until she was standing before him. His eyes—dark, unreadable—locked onto hers.

He didn’t speak at first. The silence stretched, his jaw tight. Finally, he rose from his seat and walked toward her slowly, each step echoing in the vast hall.

When he stopped just inches from her, his voice was low, dangerous.

“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”

Her lips parted to speak, but he leaned in, his cold breath brushing her skin.

“If they find out I’ve been hiding you… it won’t just be you they kill.”