Vampire's Assassin: The Original's Forbidden Vows

The moment I saw the gun on the dashboard, I knew one of us wasn’t leaving that car alive. It's raining heavily on the windshield as I pulled onto the deserted highway. The dashboard clock glowed 11:47 p.m. “Lena, why the hell did you stop here?” he asked, his voice tight, eyes moving toward the weapon like he hoped I hadn’t noticed it. I kept my hands steady on the wheel, heart pounding with the familiar mix of adrenaline and exhaustion. “I should be asking you the same thing. You look like you’re about to piss yourself.” He forced a laugh. “It’s late. We’re in the middle of nowhere. Kinda makes a man nervous when his fiancée pulls over like this.” “I need answers.” My voice came out colder than I intended. “And I can’t wait until we get home.” The air inside the car thickened. He shifted, fingers inching closer to the gun. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said, eyes sliding away. “We can discuss it on our vacation tomorrow. Please Lena just… drive.” “That’s assuming I’m still alive tomorrow.” I turned to face him fully. “Or did you think I wouldn’t find out you sold me out to those hunters at the party? That you were planning to watch them torture me dry?” His face drained of color as real fear flashed in his eyes, quickly twisting into hatred. “You killed them?” he whispered. “I did.” I didn’t bother hiding the satisfaction in my tone. “Don’t ask how.” He lunged for the gun but I was faster. With a flick of my mind, I yanked the weapon into the air using telekinesis, don't bother understanding, it's a witch thing, It hovered for a heartbeat before slamming into my palm. I pointed it at his chest. “I’m sorry it has to end this way,” I said quietly as he froze. “But thank you. After this, I’ll never be stupid enough to trust a man’s love again.” “You f*****g witch!” he snarled, still lunging. I pulled the trigger. The shot cracked like thunder in the confined space. His body jerked once, then slumped against the door. Blood flowed across his shirt, dark and wet under the dashboard lights. I stared at him, my chest tightening as a single tear slipped down my cheek and regret twisting in my gut. He wasn’t the first, but killing him still left a sour taste. I never asked to be stolen as a child and forged into a weapon at Shadowveil Academy. I never chose this life for myself, but choice was a luxury I lost the day they took me from my parents. Now my chance at ascension was ruined. Another six months wasted. Vesper Kane, the headmistress would not be pleased. “I never asked to be a witch,” I muttered to the corpse. “I was taken, and made into this. I can’t even go home to my sisters until the assignment is done. And you… you just cost me everything.” Headlights appeared in the distance. Patrol? I didn’t wait to find out. I pushed his body out into the rain, wiped the gun clean, and tossed it after him. Then I slammed the door, killed the interior lights, and peeled back onto the highway with my own lights still off. The road blurred in a minute, I flicked my lights on only when I was sure no one was behind me. Then suddenly, a massive figure lunged across the road too quickly, I slammed the brakes, but it was too late. The car jolted violently as I hit him. My head snapped forward against the seatbelt. Heart hammering, I killed the engine and stumbled out into the pouring rain. The man lay sprawled and unmoving on the wet asphalt. Please don’t be dead. Please don’t be another body I have to hide tonight. I crouched beside him and noticed he was tall, powerfully built, dressed in a torn black suit soaked with blood and rain. Bullet wounds marred his side and shoulder. For a split second, I swore I saw something unnatural, shadows twisting across his skin like living smoke before smoothing back into human flesh. “I wouldn’t touch me if I were you,” he growled, his deep voice low and rough with pain. His dark eyes snapped open, locking onto mine with predatory intensity. I froze. Something deep in my chest pulled under tension like a blood thread awakening at the sight of him. I shook it off convincing myself it was exhaustion, hunger and nothing more. “But I have to help,” I said, already reaching for him. “You’re bleeding badly.” “Save yourself.” He groaned, trying to rise. “I’m being hunted by the Obsidian Council. My men are dead. You’ll die too if you stay.” He was right. In the distance, multiple headlights shined through the rain of black SUVs moving fast on the other lane, armed silhouettes visible even from here. “I have nothing left to lose,” I muttered, more to myself than him. I hooked his arm over my shoulders. He was really heavy, solid muscle, and carried a faint aged scent that made my magic stir uneasily. “Get in.” He didn’t argue as we dragged and half-ran to the car. I got him into the passenger seat just as the convoy behind us began their U-turn, tires screeching. “What kind of car is this?” he rasped, voice fading as blood loss took hold of him. “They’ll catch us.” “Not if I can help it.” I floored the gas, engine roaring. The wing mirrors showed them gaining. I muttered an old incantation under my breath. Thick, unnatural fog billowed across the highway behind us, choking and disorienting the atmosphere. I reached out with my senses, borrowing the vision of a hawk circling overhead. The pursuers slowed, confused and firing blindly now. We just lost them. I didn’t stop driving until we reached the edge of the city. I found a discreet private clinic known in certain circles for not asking questions. The stranger let me help him inside. But the moment the doctor finished patching the worst of his wounds which to me is healing faster than normal, I felt another witch’s presence probing nearby, must be Shadowveil surveillance. I got him out as quickly as I could. “Where are you taking me?” he asked from the passenger seat, voice stronger now but laced with suspicion. “Somewhere safe. By the way… what’s your name?” He studied me for a long moment, as if deciding whether I was worth trusting. “Luther,” he finally said, voice deep and rough. “Luther Hernandez. And you just saved the last Original.” The words sent strange shivers across my skin. That same inexplicable pull tightened in my chest when I first met his eyes. I ignored it. But as the rain continued to fall and the dark road stretched toward whatever came next, I couldn’t shake the feeling that this man wasn’t just another target. He might be the one who finally ruined me.