Chapter 1: Being chased by wolves

Escaping into the forest at midnight wasn’t my intention, but I had to escape from my mom’s sister, Jane Anderson. She brings everything out towards me and doesn’t give me the chance to explain what happened. I remembered there was something out here with me so I ran as fast as I could. The howls of the wolves captured my attention when I paused to catch a breath. Once my breathing was steady, I picked up the pace until something humongous started to chase me. The sound of thudding paws made my heart race against my chest rapidly.  I didn’t want to look behind me. 

As I ran from the huge monster, I tumbled over a large tree root, which caused me to drop within a trench. All I remember was the golden eyes of the monster watching me. Several hours later, I woke up with an unstable vision. I sensed a chilly hand brush against my temples, and it made me inch backward a little in shock. What I witnessed was something I’ll never forget. A young man with golden blonde hair and wildfire red eyes was standing in front of me. He stuck out his hand towards me and I carefully held it. He gently pulled me up from the hardened ground. 

“Are you alright? That was quite a tumble you took,” he spoke to me. 

“Yeah, I believe I’m alright.” I tenderly stroked my head and flinched 

“Careful now. Don’t touch that cut!” he hissed then recognized his mistake. “Sorry...Didn’t intend to shout at you like that.” 

“I-It’s okay…” I shook my head, wrapping my arms around my body. “What’s your name?”

“Oh. My name is Ash. Ash Lyon. And who might you be, miss?” Ash questioned politely.

 “My name is Maddison McNeal,” I replied to him. “How did you find me?”

“Well, you remember that monster that was chasing you earlier?” he asked me. 

“Yeah. I remember that terrible beast.” I trembled slightly.

 “I followed it because I needed to comprehend what it was hunting. Then I noticed you…” Ash answered softly. 

“Ash...I’m alright. There’s no need to be concerned about me!” I chuckled to myself. “Unless you require me for something.”

“You’re not safe out here in the forest so allow me to take you somewhere,” he says while holding my hand within his own.

 “Okay...How do I know I can trust you?” I challenged him.

“You’ll trust me once you understand to recognize me completely!” Ash chuckled. 

“Let’s see about that…” I simply hesitated. 

Ash carefully strolled alongside me so that I wouldn’t drop flat on my face. Somehow I already started to have feelings for him even though I only just met him. I desperately wanted to sleep due to all that running that I did tonight. Ash possibly noticed I laid my head on his soft shoulder. The next thing was like something from a movie. I heard the howls of wolves and tried to make a run for safety, but Ash held me in place. 

“It seemed that those wolves may have discovered us. We need to hide somewhere so that they won’t hunt us down,” he muttered. “I have to figure out-”

“Let’s hide high up in that tree,” I interrupted him. 

“Alright. Let’s go with your plan,” he agreed. 

I intentionally followed close to him. Ash pointed to the highest tree that we could locate.  I quietly showed him where the most suitable place for us to go. I’m not a very good climber, but I didn’t have to climb at all. Ash motioned for me to climb onto his back, which I did without asking why, and he quickly climbed the tree with momentum. Once we arrived at our hiding position, we were just in time to notice the shadows of the deadly monsters raised beneath us. 

“Something doesn’t feel right,” one of the creatures snarled. 

“Hmph. Tell me about it,” another muttered through his teeth. 

 “We must obtain that human that’s wandering around within our territory before that vampire encounters her.” an entirely familiar and husky voice announced to the others. 

I almost panicked when I heard him. I knew that voice was familiar to me. I just wanted to go home already! I needed to glance at him but beside Ash, I understood that I couldn’t take it. Suddenly I noticed the bone-white paws and that blackish-brown tangled fur moved below us. I shifted closer to Ash’s body craving his support within my grasp. He gripped my body closer to his own while we observed the wolves below search for us. 

“Jackson, you’re not going to believe this.” a light brown spotted wolf requested. 

“What is it, Jonathan?” Jackson urged bitterly, “What did you encounter?” 

“I discovered the girl’s scent. She’s around here somewhere with a vampire.” he laughed to himself. “I’m positive that vampire boy is guarding her right now.”

“Heh, who cares about the vampire kid. All I want is the girl! She’s the one running into our territory. So we need to get her before that kid spots her,” he snapped at them. 

“Heh. That’s where you’re mistaken Jackson,” I quietly cheered to myself. 

“Yeah...He’ll never get to you while I’m nearby!” Ash muttered without hesitating.

 “Her scent is...up this tree?” a grey wolf sniffed the tree. 

“What are we going to do now, Ash?” I whimpered to Ash. 

“W-We need to get out of here,” he stuttered. 

Jackson sprang up to climb up the tree with such haste that I didn’t have the chance to respond. Ash clutched my hand 

and we both vaulted off the tree branch together. 

“GET HER!” Jackson barked out to his pack. 

As the pack pursued us within the forest, my heart rate had accelerated immediately. The monsters ran behind us until we reached the identical trench where I’ve fallen into before. We both froze in our tracks and glanced behind us. The leader slowly crept forward snarling its razor-sharp teeth. 

“You believed you could attempt to avoid us....?” Jackson growled strongly. “You should’ve acknowledged we lived out here among you, little girl.” 

“I’m not a little girl! I’m just a teenager,’ my voice quivered with anger, “Why are you chasing us?” 

“Haven’t your mother told you not to appear over here? It would be such a disgrace to have you gone missing, now would it?” the leader shuffled closer to me as he gazed at Ash with his golden eyes. 

“You already created plenty of damage, Jackson! Just leave her alone!” Ash growled through his teeth. 

“And look who it is! It’s that vampire kid we were talking about earlier...What are you doing here, Ash?” Jackson laughed under his breath. “I thought we got rid of you.”

“Ha you didn’t, and I’m only here to protect Maddison from you guys! Also, how do you recognize my name if I don’t even remember you?” Ash hissed furiously. 

Jackson tensely laughed and muttered, “I know you because I know what you’re capable of. I heard your name in a few conversations around this area.” 

“W-Why you-?!” Ash stuttered so quickly.

“And now it’s time for your death!” Boys, you know what to do!” Jackson beckoned over his shoulder. 

The wolves moved closer to us as both Ash and I stumbled to the edge of the trench. With a bump of their furry heads, they shoved us into the trench. Once we got to the bottom, I slowly picked myself back up and threw the biggest rock I could find at one of the wolves ’ heads. The wolf that I hit fell into the trench and remained still. It was a light grey wolf with white spots on its paws. The corpse of the wolf stayed at my feet, and I kicked it with all my strength. 

"That’s what you get for messing with a teenager!” I yelped at it. 

When Ash woke up, he saw me trembling with the anger that was building up inside my body. I knew what I had to do towards those pathetic wolves. 

“Maddie, come on!” Ash pleaded to me, “ We need to go. They’ll find this and know it was us who killed one of their pack.” 

“F-Fine...let’s go,” I told him. 

Making our way back up the trench wasn’t that hard. Once we were both out, I took the moment to catch my breath and looked over towards Ash. His injuries were about the same as mine. I silently stumbled over to him, then placed my hand out towards him. He took it in silence, but I knew something was wrong. I gently pulled him up with all the strength that I had. He dusted off his clothes and then stared off into the distance. 

“Ash...Are you okay?” I asked him politely. 

“Yes, I’m fine. What about you?” he answered deeply. 

“I’m limping a good bit,” I sighed, “Ash...I’m worried about you.”

Ash wrapped his arm around my waist to secure me. “There’s no need to worry about me. Let’s just get you somewhere safe.” 

A few minutes later, we arrived at a small cottage in a beautiful meadow. Ash placed me down on the grass and ran to open the door. 

“Come in,” Ash says tenderly. “Don’t have me drag you in here!”

“Oh! Okay then.” I slowly walked on the gravel walkway.

“Are you doing that to annoy me? Cause if you are, then it’s working.” he chuckled tiredly.

“Well, I’m not doing it on purpose!” I teased him playfully. 

“Alright! Heh, let me help you out.” he smiled while picking me up. 

When we got inside the small cottage, he placed me on a red velvet couch, then left me in the living room by myself. I was just starting to close my eyes when I felt the couch shift slightly. Looking up to see what it was, Ash gave me this look of humor. 

“Did I wake you up?” he laughed behind his hands.

“I was about to rest, so yes, you woke me up!” I playfully teased him. 

I took a deep breath and crawled closer to him. I laid my head on his chest carefully listening to the rhythm of his steady heartbeat. 

“Hey, Ash. I have a question for you.” I implied to him. 

“Go ahead and ask me the question,” Ash answered with pride. 

“Why was that wolf calling you a vampire?” I asked him with caution. 

“Do you really wanna know why he called me that?” he questioned me right back. 

“Yes please!” I quietly told him. 

“The reason why he called me a vampire is that I am a vampire. I have pale skin, the red-colored eyes, and also my skin is a lot colder than yours.” Ash says this with a lowered voice. 

I placed my hand on top of his just to feel how cold his skin was. Once I did that, I quickly pulled my hand back and rubbed it with the other. 

“Wow. You feel like somebody has dropped you in the snow and left you there. You’re freezing!” I felt myself shiver a bit. 

“Well, what did you expect?” he placed his hand on my cheek. “You, on the other hand, feel warm to me.” 

‘Yeah, that’s because I’m warm-blooded.” I told Ash with ease. “And besides, I-I…”

“What is it?” he asked politely.

“I know I just met you and now I’m starting to have some deep feelings for you. Ugh! Why now?” I murmured under my breath. 

“O-Oh. I didn’t know about that. Heh. You know I feel the same way about you as well.” he pulled up his hoodie, trying to hide himself blushing.

I pulled down his hood, placing my hand on his cheek. He looked at me with sparkles glowing in his eyes. I leaned forward and kissed him softly, then gently pulled myself off from him. Ash covered his mouth and started to laugh with joy. When he started to laugh, it made me giggle with happiness.  

“So you do have feelings for me then?” Ash suggested. 

“Yep…” I responded quickly. 

“Looks like I finally got somebody to love!” Ash had proclaimed this with affection. 

“Wait, you didn’t have a mate before?” I wondered if this was why he came to my rescue earlier.

“That’s correct. The others would always bother me about not finding “the perfect mate.” It just annoyed me that I haven’t encountered my soulmate yet until I met you.” he confessed quietly. 

“That’s something you can now tell the others! You got me as your mate even though I’m human.” I agreed.  

“Yes, I can tell Logan to stop nagging me about a mate! He’s so annoying!” he smirked slightly. 

"Who’s Logan?” I asked Ash. 

“Oh, he’s just a close friend of mine! Although he’s also a vampire.” He gazed at me with wariness. “He prefers to chase down humans for their blood so we must be cautious about him.” 

“H-He hunts d-down humans?” I stuttered in fear. “I-I-Isn’t that dangerous for me?”

Ash stared away from me and we took in the stillness that encircled us. I glimpsed at him with fear that I couldn’t shake away. My hands were trembling while I pulled my knees tight to my chest. Ash must have sensed my fear because he came close to me laying his hand on my shoulder. 

“I’m sorry I mentioned that about Logan.” Ash apologized softly. “I didn’t know it would harm you in such a way to where it would make you scared.” 

“I-It’s alright, Ash. Good point that you told me so we can know ahead of time…” I trailed off taking a deep breath to calm myself down. 

“I truly am sorry. Logan is friendly once you get to know him better!” Ash smiled with compassion. “Once my parents get here, you’ll love them!”

“Are they also vampires?” I requested him to give me an answer. 

“Well, my dad’s a vampire and my mom’s a human like you.  They get along quite well, and they adore meeting other people. The situation is you can’t say to anybody else that my dad’s a vampire,” Ash shared with a tiny voice. 

“How come?” I asked him gently. 

“It’s because if anybody else knows about this, the Volturi will know and they’ll punish my dad,” he looked at me. 

“I don’t wanna know what a Volturi is,” I mumbled to myself. 

“Honestly, I suppose they’ll punish me too because I encountered a human. Technically, I’m not supposed to tell any humans that I’m a vampire. And also vampires can’t date humans due to some consequences,” Ash explained to me and I took it all in.

“What will they do to me?” I wondered if the Volturi could pull me away from Ash now that we’re in a relationship. 

“I’m not so sure. The Volturi can think of anything,” Ash sighed, “They might have you sent to your death.”

A sound of a car engine startled me from my thoughts as it came closer to the house. I jumped when I heard the engine stopped. Ash placed his hand on my shoulder and gave me a secured look. 

“That’s my sister’s car. Don’t worry about it. She won’t bite,” Ash got up to answer the door. 

“Hey, little bro! Whatcha been up to?” A teen the same height as me dragged Ash into a playful position and rubbed his hair. 

“Elana, stop messing around with my hair! I just brushed it!” he shouted out pathetically. 

Elana playfully dropped Ash to the ground while Ash attempted to redo his hair. I layed low on the couch and wrapped myself with a blanket so that his sister wouldn’t notice me. Ash gazed at me realizing that he remembered his sister could detect my human blood. He motioned for me to come to him. I didn’t want to leave my spot, but she’ll know something’s up if I didn’t. 

“It’s alright, Maddie. She’s friendly.” Ash strolled over to me and lent me his hand. 

“Who are you speaking to, little bro?” Ash’s sister called from the kitchen. 

“Um, Elana. Can you come into the living room for a sec?” he asked his sister politely. 

“Yeah, sure!” Elana set her phone on the counter and strolled over to us. 

Ash pushed me behind his back so in case his sister thought of attacking me, she wouldn’t be able to fight against him. Elana saw me stopping in place. 

“I know what this looks like, but you have to hear me out, Elana.” Ash hesitated with fear. “Just trust me, okay?”

Elana sat on the couch stunned. “Alright, Ash. Spill the beans.” 

Ash glanced at me and sighed, “I found her being chased down by wolves.”

“WHAT??” Elana got up taking me in her grasp. “Are you alright?” 

“I-I’m fine thanks to your brother.” I stuttered. 

“What type of wolves were chasing you?” she questioned me. 

I looked at Ash and he nodded his head, “Werewolves…”

“This can’t be good! You’re in extreme danger!” Elana hissed under her breath. “Ash, why didn’t you call me when this happened?!” 

“Because I knew you would react this way!” Ash yelled at her loudly. “I-I thought I could handle this on my own without anybody’s help…”

“Ash.” she walked over then hugged him. “You know we’re always here for you no matter what happens. Mom and Dad will be home soon.” 

“And what about the Volturi?” I asked her. “What will they do to me?”

“You told her about the Volturi?” Elana glared at him. 

“Heh heh...Not really. All I told her was not to tell anybody else about our secret,” he answered with confidence. 

“I informed him that I wouldn’t expose you at all,” I declared with confidence. 

“That’s good! Now I have more faith in you,” she says with a trustworthy approach. 

I smiled at her and Ash. Something told me that I’ll get along with Ash’s family just fine. I know now that their secret is really important to them and that I’ll never tell anyone about it. I just hope that the werewolves won’t find us and report us to the Volturi. They’re capable of doing so and I won’t let that happen. Not while I’m here with Ash and his family. 

*End of Chapter 1*