(One Month Later)

The night was draped in a mysterious stillness, the air heavy with tranquillity. A soft breeze whispered through the trees, causing their branches to sway gently, as if in a silent lullaby. The moon, a radiant orb of silver, cast its enchanting glow upon the world below, painting everything in hues of its ethereal beauty.

Overhead, a cluster of clouds danced across the darkened sky, their edges tinged with the moon’s luminous light. Among them, a solitary cloud moved gracefully, as if on cue, and the moon began its celestial game of hide-and-seek, retreating behind the drifting cloud with a shy grace.

A lonely figure in a cotton white dress sat alongside the river that peacefully flowed under the silvery rays. She stared at the glistening orb, being reflected in the water, unaware of a majestic being that had descended from the sky and silently watched her from the distance.

His ethereal beauty complimented the moon above as if he had been a resident there and alighted to this realm just to watch her bask in the moonlight.

His graphite eyes brimmed with thousands of emotions as they bore into her back where her golden locks were let loose. They were much longer now almost falling below her shoulders and swaying in the gentle breeze that slowly blew. He inhaled slowly and deeply, taking in her enticing floral aroma that was hitting him in torrents. How he had missed inhaling her sweet scent and here it flowed in abundance towards him.

He had just landed on the roof of her house and it had been ten excruciatingly long months since he had last held her in his arms or seen her in person. What would he not give to hold her just for a few seconds? But he only watched her from a distance for now. He was merely a stranger to her.

He lowered himself onto the rooftop and slowly folded his wings, never taking his eyes off her for even a microsecond. His heart thudded so loudly that one would think it might explode. She moved her hand and tugged a single stray lock behind her ear and slightly lowered her head to place her chin on her folded legs.

The door to her house flung open. "Partner! Come on in dinner is ready," Yurian’s voice sounded from the door and she finally turned around. The side of her face bathing in the silvery strokes from the moon above and his heart stopped, breathing ceased and the world came to a halt.

She was as beautiful as he had remembered, reminiscent of the divine Aphrodite herself. Her flowing locks cascaded like liquid gold, catching the moon’s gentle glow and scattering it in a mesmerizing display.

Her haunting gaze and those turquoise orbs drew him into a realm of enchantment and endless love and for once he was lost and out of control. It took all his sheer willpower to not fly towards her and steal her away from this world.

Her porcelain complexion glowed with soft luminescence. Her lips, a delicate rose-petal red, parted effortlessly to reveal a smile that warmed his heart and sent him plunging into pools of desires.

She was a living embodiment of his desires and he shifted uncontrollably to the vision that had captured and jailed his heart.

"I am coming," she called out and getting to her feet she threw one lingering glance towards the moon and slowly walked towards the door in graceful steps. Her shoes made no noise against the rough surface.

His eyes fell on her swan-like neck and there gleamed the tattoo of two distinguished wings. His heart almost leapt in his throat. This pleased him and a satisfied ’ahh’ escaped his throat, as the passion-filled eyes trailed her until she disappeared inside the house and the door shut behind her with a loud thud.

He quietly climbed down from the house and encircled it to find out which of the rooms belonged to her. He peeked through the window of one room and it had a huge screen with a paused video game on it. This had to be Yurian’s room he guessed.

He moved to the other, the lights were turned off and the curtains were drawn, only some part of the room could be seen through the crevice which was left as moonlight filtered in and gave him a clear view. Not that he needed it to see in the dark and knew this was her room, for he could see the painting hanging on the wall.

The painting of a man with two wings but no face and he couldn’t help but smile. The silvery rays of the moon illuminated the two wings, making them glow in the dark. In every aspect of her life, she still seemed to carry him with her.

He wanted to get inside but the window was barricaded with thick rods and locked, so no vampires or creatures could get inside. He knew the special metal which hunters used to forge their weapons was the one used here. Rogues and simple vampires could never break these. He was satisfied to see that security protocols had been taken seriously.

Although he knew he could break them for he was much stronger than ordinary vampires, he didn’t want to do that. Instead, he went to Yurian’s window and waited for him to return to his room.

Minutes moulded into an hour before Yurian opened the door of his room and entered, once he had shut it and approached his bed, there was a knock on the window.

Yurian jerked his head, his body on high alert and what he saw not only baffled him but also enraged him to the point that he could feel steam coming out of his ears. Sending a death stare to the man standing outside his window he sternly approached it while cursing under his breath and unlocked it before hissing:

"What in the actual hell are you doing here, Xiran?" 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Xiran threw him an apologetic glance and swiftly climbed inside.