Chapter 3

Layla's POV

"I... I... don't cry a lot..." I choked with sobs. 

I lifted my head to look at the boy. Tears blurred my views, so I had wipe them off with my sleeves.

I thought the boy would walk away and leave me alone, but he didn't.  

Instead, he moved a bit closer to me, so I could lean on his shoulder. 

"OK, there, there. Everything will be alright." He mumbled in seemingly the softest voice he could do. 

Is he comforting his brother like this when he's crying? I thought to myself. 

I didn't want to lean against an enemy, but he was like a magnet that pulled me toward him. 

It took me a while before I figured out that this vampire boy was genuinely concerned about me.

So I blew my nose and muttered, "My mother passed away today..."

He sighed, gently patting my back while looking for something in his pocket. 

Then, he pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to me.

I had never seen someone carrying a handkerchief around. 

I looked at him with an incredible look on my face. 

"Have it." He said in a commanding voice, looking a bit impatient. 

I immediately took the handkerchief and wiped my tears with it.  

It was made of silk and very soft. It smelled just like him. 

I wanted to give the handkerchief back to him, but I felt it would be a bit rude to toss a dirty handkerchief at someone that looked so sophisticated. 

So I held that handkerchief in my hands tightly. 

"Both of my parents died last week." The boy said in a cold voice. "Some bad people killed them. Now they are after me and my brother." 

"Is that why you're bleeding? Did they shoot you?" I lowered my head to check on his wound, which was still bleeding. 

I used to help doctors and nurses around the camp, treating wounded soldiers. 

I knew if I didn't do anything, he would definitely bleed to death. 

So, I didn't think twice before pressing the handkerchief against his wound. 

It was really the most stupid thing that I could think of. 

Using a dirty handkerchief to apply on an open wound?

But to my surprise, as soon as the handkerchief touched the surface of his wound, the bleeding magically stopped.

I couldn't believe what happened, so I lifted the handkerchief to see what was going on.

I was petrified when I saw the wound closing itself right in front of my eyes. Before it was fully closed, something shiny fell out of it. 

I picked it up from the ground and found out it was a silver bullet. 

I held that silver bullet in my hand and didn't know what to do. 

I looked up and saw the boy's face darkened. I could see vicious anger accumulating in his eyes. 

"They want me dead. That's why they used silver bullet to shoot me. I will kill them. I will kill them all." He muttered in a cruel voice. 

He looked furious. I could see veins popping up on his forehead, which was horrifying. 

Is he going to kill someone? I thought to myself. Or... Maybe he has already killed someone?

He looked so dangerous and appealing at the same time, which made me overwhelmed. 

But as soon as his eyes met mine, the anger disappeared, replaced with a soft glow of admiration. 

"Did I scare you again? Is that why you're trembling like little rat? Are you a little witch?" The boy asked with a naughty smile.

My face was burnt by his gaze. No one had ever looked at me like that. 

"I'm not a witch," I mumbled in a quiet voice and lowered my head to avoid his gaze. 

"Are you sure?" he asked. "You've healed me with your tears. That makes you a witch." 

Then, he stood up and stretched out a bit, like a lethargic cat. 

Rubbing his abdomen, he turned back and stared into my eyes.

I saw a naughty smirk on the side of his perfect lips. 

My heart skipped a bit. 

A gentle night breeze stroked past. I held my elbows and started shivering. 

I must have been miserable and drenched wet like a sewage rat, while he looked dazzling under the silver moonlight. 

I looked around and wanted to run away, but he must have detected what was on my mind because, within a blink, he appeared behind my back like a draft of wind. 

Then, he removed his cloak and wrapped it around me. 

"I'm not a witch..." I argued in a faint, muffle voice in his arms. 

I wasn't sure if he had heard it, because my voice was so low. 

It was a paradoxical feeling. 

My body was burning, but I was trembling. 

His body was icy cold, but he somehow managed to make me feel so warm. 

It was so conflicting that I didn't know what exactly happened. 

The only thing I could do was lean against his chest. I strained my ears, trying to look for his heartbeat, his warmth.

I was trying to look for any indication that he was still alive.  

But there wasn't any. 

I couldn't believe that a boy who looked so elegant and full of life was actually a vampire.

At that time, I heard his gentle, soothing voice -

"Are you coming with me?"

I lifted my head to look at him. I was confused. 

"What do you mean?" I asked. I thought he was joking, but he looked very serious. 

"I'm asking you to come with me. If I get injured, you can heal me with your tears again." He said in a plain voice. 

I bit my lips. 

I really wanted to go with him, because I didn't know if my aunt would kill me. 

However, I couldn't possibly leave this forest and run away with a vampire. My father would have killed me for being a traitor. 

I couldn't possibly leave my father. 

Even though he didn't want to look at me, he was still the only family I had got in this world. 

At that time, a scary thought appeared in my mind -

What if he wants to abduct me and snatch me away? Vampires are vicious creatures and they will do anything to achieve their goals. 

At that moment, I heard some rustles coming from a distance. 

"Damn. They're coming for me." The boy's voice was still collective, but I could tell that he was nervous. 

"Who're they?" I asked. 

"The ones who shot me." He said with clenched fists. I couldn't see any emotion in his eyes. The void reminded me of a shark staring at its prey. 

I immediately realized that he was about to run away, so I held him in my arms.

"Please... Take me away with you..." I whispered. 

The boy looked surprised at first. For a brief moment, I thought he was about to push me away, but he didn't.

Instead, he held my hands. 

"Listen, I'm on the run and that's why my life is in danger. I really want to take you with me, but it's just too dangerous. I have to go abroad to hide there for a while. I don't know how long it will take." 

He took a pause and squeezed them gently. I could feel the silver bullet in my fist pressing my palm. 

"Take this silver bullet with you at all times. Don't lose it. When I come back, I'll take you away with me. Trust me, I'll be back. Before that, take good care of yourself." 

Then, like a thin mist, his long, slim figure evaporated in the darkness of the forest. 

I was left alone again. The silence in the forest was so loud that it drove me mad.

At that time, I felt gripping pain coming from my chest, as if it was about to explode. 

What happened to me? I thought to myself. 

I thought my wolf would talk to me in my mind, but there was not a single sound. 

Where are you, wolf?! Talk to me! I'm in pain! I'm going to die! I shouted in my mind. 

Again, nothing.

I curled up on the ground to relieve the pain in my chest.

My eyes were blurred by my tears. 

My mother is dead.

My wolf is gone. 

The vampire boy, who promised to take me away from my aunt, is also gone. 

Is that why my heart is throbbing like this? How am I supposed to do to stop this pain?

As I was rolling on the ground in pain, holding the silver bullet in my hand like a stray of hope.

"The boy in the rain... My wolf... Will I ever see them again?"