Chapter 0 - Prologue

In a forest, there was a clearing. In the clearing, there was a man and a wolf. The wolf was circling around the clearing while the man stood in the middle of it, tensed up into a crouch.
”I should have known you’d be here,” the man muttered under his breath, his red eyes glinting with hatred so that they glowed and sparked. He had hair so black that it shone blue when under light, and was quite young, probably in his late teenage years. He had extremely well-proportioned features, which made him handsome in a flawless, perfect kind of way.

The wolf snarled its reply, and pounced onto the man. They rolled about on the ground, all but strangling each other; when a woman stepped into the clearing, holding a basket.

Both the man and the wolf relaxed immediately and the man pushed the wolf off him with a flick of his hand.

“Laura,” he said, smiling and pulling her into an embrace while the wolf growled in pain as it hit the ground.

The woman gave him a quick smile. “Hello, Jaxon. I’m afraid I can’t stay long. Kieran, can you phase back? This is something we’re going to need to discuss.”

The wolf stepped back, and closed its eyes. A gush of wind blew up the leaves on the forest floor so that they were swirling around the wolf. A few seconds later, the wind died down, and as the leaves began to fall back lifelessly on the ground, it was plain for all to see that a handsome man about the same age as the other had taken the wolf’s place.
Unlike the other, this man bore a rugged quality about him. He had auburn hair that had a gold tint, and the gold shone brightly against the dark red in the sun. He had a small scar over his left eyebrow, which was so light in colour that it shone silver against his dark, tanned skin. His eyes were of the same silvery grey colour, and he had a straight nose and full lips with a square jaw.
“Thank you Kieran.” she said, giving him a quick hug. She sat down on the ground next to the basket, and Jaxon and Kieran joined her after glaring briefly at each other.

Laura ignored the looks. She was, after all, quite used to them. She reached into her basket and gently lifted out a sleeping baby girl. ”This,” she said after taking a big breath, “is Arianne.”

Kieran exhaled and reached over to stroke the baby’s face. “She’s beautiful,” he breathed. He wanted to add “just like you”, but thought better of it.
Laura gave Kieran and Jaxon a few minutes to fawn over the baby, before she looked at them both. “I want both of you to have her.”
Jaxon and Kieran took a look at each other, and then looked back at Laura
“Are you insane?” Kieran asked her just as Jaxon said “You can’t possibly be serious.”

Laura sighed. “Look, I can’t keep Arianne. Elliot must never know that this child exists.”

Kieran raised an eyebrow. “Why?” He asked. He narrowed his eyes and added, “It is his baby…right?”
Jaxon rolled his eyes while Laura glared at him. “Of course it’s his,” she snapped. “It’s not like it’s yours, is it?”

“If only,” Kieran muttered wistfully under his breath.

“But I don’t understand,” Jaxon said, ignoring Kieran’s comment. “Why can’t he know?”

Laura frowned and said, “Well…I don’t know whether I’ve told you before, but Elliot is half werewolf, half human, and I’m a pure witch. So basically…Arianne is…half witch, a quarter werewolf, and a quarter human.” She smiled weakly.
Jaxon and Kieran stared at her. “What exactly are you trying to tell us?” Kieran asked after a moment.

“That Arianne may have some kind of mystical or magical power—the kind Elliot craves—due to the fact that she’s a bit of everything. If Elliot were to know that she even existed, he would hunt her down and somehow—I don’t know how he’s going to do it, but trust me, he will—find a way to extract that power from her,” she paused, “Killing her in the process.”

Jaxon gave a low whistle. “That’s…harsh. And very uh, un-fatherly. But I have another question for you. Of all the people you could have chosen, why us?”

Laura shrugged. “Because you two are my best friends, and if she stays with you, she’s probably in the safest hands.”

Kieran snorted and said, “Oh, so it’s not safe for a mother to look after her own baby, but it’s totally reasonable for a teenage boy slash vampire—who by the way, just in case you’ve forgotten, drinks human blood—to look after one?” Jaxon snorted. “You’re one to talk. You’re even younger than I am. And if memory serves, wolves are carnivorous. ” “Whatever. At least I don’t look like I just bounced out from I-reached-puberty playground.” Jaxon pursed his lips. “Laura, are you sure that a dog can take care of a baby?” Kieran bristled at the insult, and snapped, “Way much better than a leech.” Laura’s eyes glowed furiously, and as she held her hands up, Kieran and Jaxon could see a green orb of light glowing in each of her hands. They shut up immediately. It was never a good thing when the orbs of light were green. “You two are acting like you haven’t even graduated from kindergarten. What is wrong with you two? Can’t you even try to get along?” asked Laura, her eyes narrowing. “But that’s not fair, werewolves and vampires have always been sworn enemies!” Kieran cried, “It’s…a natural instinct to hate each other. It’s like some kind of classic movie thing.” Laura laughed wryly. “Kieran, in case you didn’t know, life’s not fair. Jaxon, I want you to keep Ari for a month, and then let Kieran keep her for another, and then he’ll give her back to you for another and so on and so on.” “You’re making it like we’re divorced?” Jaxon asked incredulously.
Kieran snorted, “It’s not like I’d even marry you in the first place.”
Jaxon rolled his eyes. “This is so like one of those twisted movie plots.” He leant down and scooped up the baby gently from Laura’s arms and was about to say something when she stood up.

“I have to go. Elliot will be wondering where I am.” She paused and looked at them pleadingly. “Please…take good care of her.”
She gave them one last sad smile, and faded into the darkness behind the trees, leaving Kieran and Jaxon staring at each other, then finally, down at the baby, still in Jaxon’s arms.

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