Rain fell in jagged sheets, drumming on Luna Vale's messy black umbrella. She stomped through the forest, muttering like a caffeinated storm cloud.
"Seriously? Of all days to be cursed, it had to be today," she grumbled. "I'm a disaster magnet. A literal magnet."
From the corner of her eye, shadows moved. Luna froze. A pair of glowing, golden eyes pierced through the darkness.
"Oh, great. Another creepy forest thing. Just what I needed," she muttered, rolling her eyes.
"Finally… you show up," a deep, icy voice echoed, as cold as a grave.
Luna turned. There he was—a tall, impossibly sharp vampire in a long black coat, hair plastered by rain, fangs glinting. His expression was dead serious.
"Um… hi?" Luna waved awkwardly, like she was greeting a very confused neighbor.
The vampire raised an eyebrow.
"Do you always greet your death like that?"
Luna snorted.
"Well, I like to keep things polite. Wouldn't want to be rude before… you know… eternity."
He frowned, unamused.
"You've been marked by the Shadow Curse. You're mine now."
"Mine? Oh, perfect! I always wanted a brooding vampire stalking me. Definitely on my life goals list," she said, flipping her wet hair over her shoulder with exaggerated flair.
His eyes narrowed. Polite. Hah.
"And… wait, let me guess—you're going to tell me I'm in danger, right? Because my life is suddenly dark and dramatic? Big surprise." She held up her hands.
"Relax, broody."
Kael Duskbane didn't relax. Instead, he stepped closer, and the air around him thickened, cold and dangerous.
"Escape?" he growled. "There's no escaping fate, witch."
"Challenge accepted," Luna said with a grin, pulling out a small wand-like charm.
Before she could finish her triumphant speech, a burst of sparkling magic shot from her hands—straight at Kael's chest. He yelped, staggered, then glared.
"Oh! Sorry! Was that supposed to hurt? Because I'm actually a very polite witch," Luna said, tilting her head innocently.
Kael's lips twitched into a smirk—not quite amused, but definitely intrigued.
"Do you always ruin serious moments with sarcasm?" he asked, voice low.
"Always," Luna shrugged. "Life's too short to be broody 24/7."
Just then, a wolf-like shadow lunged at her from behind. Luna barely dodged, tripped, and rolled into Kael.
"Oops… my bad. Sort of."
He caught her mid-fall with one arm. His other hand clenched in frustration, not from effort, but from her sheer audacity.
"You are… impossible," Kael muttered, staring down at her.
"And you're… a vampire with anger issues. Cute!" Luna grinned, completely unbothered by the supernatural tension.
Kael's eyes glowed faintly. This witch is going to be the death of me… or maybe the most entertaining disaster I've ever seen.
Luna blinked up at him.
"Wait… are you seriously expecting me to be scared?"
Kael's smirk widened. And just like that, Luna Vale's life spiraled into chaos: vampires, curses, magic, and a dangerously attractive vampire who now claimed she was bound to him.
A shadow moved behind them, larger than any wolf Luna had ever seen. Kael's hand tightened on her wrist.
"Run," he growled.
And Luna… grinned.
"Oh, this is going to be fun.