Chapter Text
Deep in the forest, where sunlight barely touched the ground through the dense canopy of ancient trees, peace was as fragile as glass.
Werewolves and vampires coexisted under a tense truce, sealed centuries ago after a brutal war that had nearly wiped out both species… and, in the process, a good part of humanity.
The Pact, as it was known, wasn’t a symbol of reconciliation, but a muzzle disguised as diplomacy. An agreement that prohibited direct confrontation between both sides. It wasn’t peace… it was a ceasefire, with smiles hiding fangs and courtesies that stank of mistrust.
That summer, the heat brought more than buzzing insects and trees sweating sap. It brought the Kanes, a family of werewolves who had just moved near the edge of the territory of the ancient and feared Callisto coven. They settled in a restored wooden cabin, one of those that smelled of resin and promise, isolated but spacious, with a portion of the forest all to themselves.
Between both territories, the boundary was clear: denser trees, moss growing thicker, as if even nature knew not to mix.
Introducing oneself to neighbors wasn’t a courtesy. It was an obligation imposed by the Pact.
And so, the meeting happened.
A heavy afternoon, with the air thick with the perfume of moss, humidity, and something else... like restrained electricity.
In the shade of a centennial oak, the two families saw each other for the first time.
Mrs.Kane, tall, with brown hair tied in a ponytail and a fierce demeanor, pressed her lips upon seeing Mrs.Callisto, an elegant and severe figure, whose smile barely hid her readiness to attack if anything threatened her children. They studied each other like predators who couldn’t bite… for now.
The greetings were polite, but as tense as a rope on the verge of snapping. Every word measured, every gesture calculated. Behind them, the sons and siblings watched one another like chess pieces on a board pregnant with history and ancestral hatred.
Among the Kanes, Mason, just eleven years old, stood out. His hair was a wild mess, like the back of a wolf mid-transformation. His golden eyes shone with a restlessness that wasn’t just curiosity, but an innate need to sniff, explore, discover. He didn’t yet know how to fully control his eyes; sometimes he blinked, and the gold would yield to a human blue… then return, unstable, but aware.
On the Callisto side, a young man with a haughty expression and cold eyes stood out, but Mason ignored him.
Because he saw him.
Partially hidden behind his mother’s skirt, there was a boy his age. His eyes, large and dark like hot chocolate, were fixed on the ground. His hair fell softly over his forehead, as if even the wind didn’t dare to move it.
Kieran Callisto.
Mason watched him, intrigued. There was something in his posture beyond shyness… a kind of fear that Mason recognized without fully understanding it. He had seen that fear in wounded animals, in cubs separated from their mothers it was fragile, real.
While the adults talked about borders and rules, Mason took a step forward, then another, with instinctive caution.
Kieran tensed, clinging tighter to his mother’s skirt. He remembered all too well the stories his brother Cedric told him… and the truth behind them. The night of the wolf attack wasn’t a blurry memory: his mother still bore the bite on her arm, and he, the scars of claws on his neck.
So he waited for an attack, maybe an insult, like Cedric always warned.
Mrs.Callisto looked down at her son, caressing his head tenderly, her voice changed it was a crack in the façade: soft, warm, almost human.
—Sorry… he’s a little shy.—
She said to the little Wolf, and her tone melted something even inside Mason.
—Come on, Kieran… say hello, darling.—
The boy shook his head, not lifting his gaze.
—My little bee…—
His mother whispered, with an enveloping sweetness.
And as if those words were a spell, Kieran took a small step forward. Only one hand let go of his mother’s skirt, but it was enough to reveal part of his face.
—H-hi…—
He murmured, without looking directly.
—Hi.—
Mason replied, without thinking, with a half-smile that slipped out like a sigh.
For an instant, their eyes met.
And in that second, something happened.
It wasn’t lightning, it wasn’t fire, it was more like… a silent spark, a promise without words, an invisible thread.
Mason smiled for real, a smile without fangs or hidden intention... Sincere.
—Do you like the forest?—
He asked.
Kieran nodded with a slight movement, barely perceptible.
Mason leaned toward him, as if to tell a secret.
—They say there’s a hidden waterfall nearby. Have you seen it?—
Kieran shook his head, this time with a bit less fear, slowly forgetting Cedric’s warnings.
—Maybe we can look for it… someday.—
Mason added, as if it were something simple, natural. As if the most logical thing in the world was that a vampire and a werewolf would explore the forest together.
Kieran didn’t answer, but this time he didn’t look away he raised his gaze a little more.
It was a moment that felt special.
The chaos came after…
While the adults continued talking, drawing lines with words that cut deeper than any claw, the silence was broken by a shout.
—Enough, Cedric!—
Roared Mr.Callisto himself.
The older siblings from both families had gotten into a clumsy but intense fight, throwing insults, shoves, even branches.
—CEDRIC!—
Mrs.Callisto bellowed, running into the chaos. Mrs.Kane wasn’t far behind.
The scene was absurd: a diplomatic meeting turned into a childish war.
In the middle of the commotion, Kieran was left alone, his mother far away, and his expression changed. Fear filled him like icy water. A projectile a pinecone thrown clumsily flew near him, and Kieran jumped to the safest side.
Toward Mason.
Without thinking, his small hands clung to the werewolf’s arm.
And Mason… didn’t pull away.
On the contrary, he instinctively wrapped his arms around him, protecting him from the chaos, as if it were natural. As if the contact felt more comforting than awkward.
Kieran, cheeks flushed and lips trembling, let himself be held.
And in the midst of the shouting, two enemies by bloodline found something unexpected.
It wasn’t love, not yet. It wasn’t friendship, not really.
But it was something.
A seed planted in forbidden soil, a connection without a name.
And although summer had only just begun… Mason knew.
This summer wasn’t going to be like the others.
A year had passed since that day under the oak.
Mason and Kieran were twelve now. Although they hadn’t spent as much time together as they would’ve liked, their connection had still grown stronger.
And then came Marcella.
It was Kieran who met her first a human girl who lived nearby. Her presence changed the dynamic.
Marcella was sweet, creative, and full of laughter. Soon, she became part of the small group.
But Mason… Mason wasn’t entirely happy.
It wasn’t that he didn’t like Cella, he did but when the three of them were together, it wasn’t the same anymore.
He preferred it when it was just the two of them, in that secret world of shared games and unspoken secrets.
He tried to get used to it, told himself it was normal. That it was how things should be.
That it was nothing, just friendship.
But sometimes, when he saw Kieran laughing with Cella, a part of him… twisted.
—Is something wrong?—
His mother asked one afternoon, seeing him staring out the window toward the forest.
Mason hesitated.
—No… not really.—
—Aren’t you going to play with… your friends?—
Mrs.Kane’s voice had a note of discomfort. She tolerated the human, but the vampire… that was another story.
—No, Mom… not today.—
That surprised her.
Wasn’t he happy with them? She had seen him wearing that paper crown, playing as the human girl’s prince… But what unsettled her most wasn’t that image.
It was the way her son looked at the little Callisto. A look that wasn’t just play, not entirely.
And then… the doorbell rang. She moved toward it slowly, very slowly.
Mrs.Kane opened the door with a mix of tension and resignation, doing it slowly because she already knew who it was.
Kieran.
—Oh… hello,Mrs. Kane. I… came to see Mason. Is he home?—
The smile he tried to give her was an awkward grimace.
She wanted to lie, say he wasn’t there, that he was grounded, sick. Anything.
But Mason had already smelled him.
And he didn’t smell like Marcella. Mason smiled a little too much. And that made him happier than it should have.
He appeared running, almost tripping in his hurry.
—Kieran!—
He exclaimed, with a joy he couldn’t hide.
—Where’s Cella?—
—She’s sick. Said she couldn’t come today… but told us to have fun for her.—
Mason made a very well-acted face of fake sadness.
His mother felt a chill. Since when did he know how to fake it so well?
—We can make her something nice, and give it to her when she feels better.—
Mason said, now sincere… just a little.
Kieran smiled, so sweetly, and that made Mrs. Kane feel a knot in her stomach.
—Wanna come to my house? Mom made cookies… obviously for you…—
Mrs.Kane frowned.
—Didn’t you say you weren’t going to play with your friends?—
She said to her son, crossing her arms.
—I never said that.—
A lie. And he said it with a smile.
Mason took Kieran’s hand and ran off with him into the woods.
She stayed at the door.
Cold, like a statue.
Mrs.Kane watched them go, her heart heavy.
Her other children arrived, concerned.
—Mom? Are you okay?—
She didn’t answer.
She feared what she didn’t even dare name.
They were still children.
But that attachment… wasn’t normal.
And in her mind, one unwanted word began to repeat itself.
Soulmates.
She didn’t want to believe it.
She wanted it to be Cella.
Just this once.