Author's note: I changed the name of the real estate agent's son who is Jenna's friend (Wednesday). Previously I called him by the name Edward, now he will be called by Elias.
Outskirts of Sunnyvale, 6:45 AM
In the distance, the horizon began to take on a faint orange hue, signaling that dawn was near, but darkness still persisted.
Amid scattered trees and tall grass, five figures stood out. Two of them faced the other three in a clear confrontation.
"This isn't what we agreed on. If you keep this up, Shadyside will soon be a ghost town," said one of the two hooded figures. His tone was masculine, but not rough or harsh, suggesting he was young.
"Ha, like we care. Just do as we say," one of the three figures replied mockingly. He was the tallest of his two companions.
"It hasn't even been five months since we handed over the Millers. Their disappearance was meticulously planned—no traces, no suspicions. Do you really need this girl?" asked the second hooded figure, her voice soft and high-pitched, belonging to a young woman.
After that question, the three figures who seemed to hold more authority fell silent. Then, finally, one of them, who had remained quiet until then, stepped forward. Their eyes, barely visible under the hood, gleamed with malice.
"Don't question our decisions, half-breed. Just do as you're told without complaint," he said with authority and disdain.
The hooded woman who had asked the previous question clenched her fists but did not respond.
Silence settled over the area again until the third hooded figure, who had yet to speak, said with a hint of arrogance and mockery, "I'm really curious to meet this girl. They say she's beautiful, that pictures don't do her justice. I wonder if she's really as special as they claim... though I highly doubt a simple normie could match my beauty." She let out a light chuckle and raised her pale hand, her nails painted a deep red, to examine them.
"She might be beautiful by normie standards, but she could never match your beauty, sister," the first figure said in an admiring tone.
"I know. What was her name again? Tues... Tuesday?" she asked, glancing at the two hooded figures, who nodded slightly.
"Oh, I heard a rumor, not sure if it's true, Elias," said the tall hooded figure, looking toward the man.
"What?" Elias asked, a bad feeling creeping over him.
"This supposed normie beauty has a sister, and rumor has it that she's close to you... and to you, Lauren," the lanky figure said with a grin, first looking at Elias and then at his companion, Lauren.
Elias's brow furrowed at the mention. Jenna came to mind—Tuesday's sister, her complete opposite: hardworking, shy, and a good person.
"What does she have to do with this?" Elias asked, his voice tense, almost a growl.
"Well, she's the sister of the other girl. Since we're already going through the trouble of capturing one, we might as well take both—you know, to have a spare," the tall figure replied, flashing a smile that revealed white teeth with sharp fangs.
"You..." Elias muttered, his voice filled with threat. He wouldn't let Jenna be taken.
Lauren, standing beside him, grabbed his wrist, shook her head, and whispered, "Don't. We can't win."
Elias clenched his teeth but did not respond.
"The blonde girl will be enough for now. Making two sisters disappear won't be so easy to cover up," the hooded figure in the middle stated with authority, looking at the lanky man.
The lanky man raised his hands with a carefree smile. "Whatever, I was just joking," he said.
The hooded figure in the center ignored the comment and turned to Elias and Lauren, who remained motionless. "You have one week. Use the artifact," he said firmly.
"Ah, the artifact. What a marvel. Isn't it fascinating how a simple object can erase so much noise from the weak minds of normies?" said the hooded woman with an arrogant tone.
"It's not simple. It's a relic. Let's go," the hooded figure in the middle said, turning away.
"Today's the game, right? We could take a look at that girl, see if the rumors are true," the lanky man commented.
"Mm, that's true. It'll be interesting," the hooded woman said with a slight smile. There was no way she could lose in terms of beauty.
"They're finally gone... How the hell do they drink so much blood so fast?" Lauren sighed. It was always unpleasant to run into them.
"I don't know, but I don't understand how Grandpa or our uncles let them act however they want, knowing that any mistake could be costly," Elias said, clearly displeased.
"Grandpa? Uncles? Why do you still consider them family? They don't even treat us like family, just filthy half-breeds," Lauren scoffed.
"And they let those three do whatever they want because they're their pride and joy, spoiling them too much," she added with a grimace.
"Mm, let's go back..." Elias said, not wanting to talk about it anymore.
"What will you do if they target Jenna in the future? The way things are going, in a few months, they might drain Tuesday dry and set their sights on a new target," Lauren asked as they headed back to Shadyside.
"I'll try to get Jenna and her mother to leave Shadyside... It's a shame Tuesday is going to end up ," Elias replied with a regretful expression. He didn't like Jenna's sister, but he knew she was an innocent normie who would end up as food for his vampire cousins.
Lauren and Elias remained silent for the rest of the trip back.
Luke started a new school day early in the morning. The good thing about today was that they had finally figured out who was behind the disappearances in Shadyside.
A great achievement, thanks to Wednesday's visions and her sharp investigative skills.
As for Natasha, during this time, she dedicated herself to searching for documents, files—anything related to an incident from over ten years ago—but she found nothing. She even rummaged through records she wasn't supposed to have access to, yet they didn't contain what she was looking for either.
So, she helped Luke and Wednesday and also began crossing out places in Shadyside where the evidence shouldn't be hidden.
However, this would ultimately be useless because if they managed to capture a vampire from the Drosia clan, they could extract information about when Luke's parents arrived there.
From what Luke knew, vampires possessed mental abilities, similar to his own with his blue aura, though they differed in many ways. Their powers didn't operate with the surgical precision of a psychic but rather as a shroud that enveloped those within their reach.
However, this reach was far too extensive, as they had managed to manipulate an entire town like Shadyside. Although it was a small town, it still had thousands of inhabitants.
Influencing an entire town would be too difficult for a vampire from the secondary branch of the Drosia clan. So, he wasn't entirely sure how they had made the constant disappearances of people be treated with indifference, as if it were normal for people to simply leave boring little Shadyside.
Still, this wasn't foolproof, as Violet had noticed that it was strange how so many people had left Shadyside—many of them overnight, without saying goodbye to anyone.
Luke was somewhat curious about how the Drosia clan's branch had managed this effect in Shadyside, but he wasn't too concerned with figuring it out. That wasn't his goal. If they gave him the information he was looking for, his mission would be complete.
After the school day ended at 3:00 PM, Luke and Wednesday returned home. The football game was at 7:00 PM—Shadyside's team was visiting Sunnyvale's.
It was a highly anticipated match for both towns due to their rivalry. Usually, Sunnyvale won since, having more than twice the population of Shadyside, they had a more diverse and talented team.
At 6:20 PM, they returned to the school, as students and football team members would be taken to Sunnyvale on several buses.
Natasha would drive there herself to watch the game—although more than watching the match, she had a mission alongside Luke and Wednesday: to explore Sunnyvale in search of the residence of the vampire clan's branch.
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