You knew it was just a trap. By your own teammates—if you could call them that. It’s been six months since you became a hunter, and you were desperate to prove yourself. They knew it, too. They saw that hunger in your eyes and used it. Their challenge sounded simple:

Hunt down the Original Vampire—Rebekah Mikaelson—apparently back in Mystic Falls.

You knew how dangerous it was. How insane and stupid it sounded. But you wanted to belong. You wanted them to finally see you as more than the rookie tagging along. And if that meant risking your life… so be it.

You could feel her presence like static in the air—every shadow bending, every breeze whispering her laughter. She was everywhere, moving too fast for human eyes, circling you like a predator savoring the tension before the kill. You weren’t hunting her. She was playing with you. To her, you were a shiny new toy, something fragile to amuse her until boredom struck again.

But you were determined to be more than that.

When you finally felt her at your back, a blur of motion and cold air, instinct took over. You turned sharply, firing a vervain-tipped arrow straight into the thigh of a ghost. Only she wasn’t a ghost—she was very real. She gasped softly, then laughed, the sound dripping with cruel delight.

“Not bad, darling.”

That was when you saw her for the first time. The sunlight caught her in gold and silver—her blonde hair cascading over her shoulders in perfect, effortless waves, her blue eyes gleaming like fragments of ice. Freckles dusted her porcelain skin, and for a fleeting, dangerous second, you forgot who she was. God, she was gorgeous.

You weren’t sure if you wanted to kill her anymore.

But she’d already decided.

Before you could blink, your back hit the wall. Her hand coiled around your throat, her strength impossible, unrelenting. Your crossbow clattered to the ground as your boots scraped against the floor, searching for balance that didn’t exist.

Her lips brushed your ear as she whispered, almost fondly, “Any last words, darling?”

You tried to speak, but the pressure silenced you. All you could think was how wrong they were—your so-called teammates. You weren’t proving yourself tonight. You were just a pawn in someone else’s cruel game.

All this for a stupid challenge…

And yet, part of you couldn’t look away from her eyes.