***

It was past six o'clock in the evening and still, no one was there to pick her up.

Emily could not understand exactly what was wrong with her brothers. Nothing like this had ever happened to her before.

They had always made sure to keep her fully protected and none of them were ever late to pick her up.

However, this time, Mark was supposed to pick her up at five o'clock. It was already one hour past the decided time and there was not even a single car in sight.

Not only that but her team of bodyguards was also not with her. She did not even notice when they disappeared from around her.

One moment, there were six of them following behind her when she checked out from the City Library, and the next second, she was the only person walking on the sidewalk.

She never would have imagined finding herself without Joy. The man had almost become her shadow.

No matter what time of the day it was, he would always be present around her, hiding in the shadows.

She already started to doubt if he too was a supernatural, especially a vampire since she had never seen him eating or taking a break like ever.

The word vampire almost creeped her out but whenever the thought of Joy appeared in her mind, it only reminded her of the impression of safety that he provided her.

But look at her current state. It's like she had been left alone once again. The feeling of being unwanted and replaceable returned, making her shiver at the horrid thought.

"You are looking so worried."

The sudden velvety voice that interrupted her thoughts made her turn towards the direction from where the voice came.

A tall man in a black suit was slowly walking towards where she was sitting on the bench at the bus stop.

The way he was walking appeared like he was actually taking a walk in the park.

He had waist-length black hair with a few blonde strands in them. As it was left open, the soft flowing breeze made those silky strands flutter.

His dark eyes were looking directly at her and his red luscious lips attracted attention due to their contrast with his milky white skin.

He was beyond handsome and if possible, even beautiful.

As her eyes registered the slightest twitch that was present on his lips, she realized that what she just heard was a statement and not a question.

She immediately stood up when the man finally reached the bench where she was sitting.

Her eyes were keenly observing the man, trying their best to work along with her mind to find whether the man was a good person or bad.

The man opened the button of his black custom-made blazer before he took a seat on the bench.

It's not until he was relaxed on the bench like he was actually sitting on a throne, did he turn his attention towards her.

The way he raised only one of his eyebrows while slightly tilting his head as he looked at her, made Emily, even more, self-conscious.

It finally struck her that what he just said was a statement rather than a question.

For a few silent moments, she just stood there staring at the man before finally deciding to take a seat beside him on the bench.

Since it was nearly the end of October month and the wind had turned a little chilly, Emily was wearing a long black overcoat along with a white cotton blouse and blue ripped jeans.

However, suddenly the temperature started rising, or at least that was what she was experiencing.

She took off her overcoat and placed it on the bench between herself and the man along with her little backpack.

"You are a human, but not a normal one."

The man once again spoke and she clearly heard the interest that was coating his velvety voice.

She took off her cap to brush the loose strands of her hair that were covering her face before she spoke.

"And you are not a supernatural!"

She had no idea why she said that, but she knew that what she just said was actually true.

Somehow, she knew that the man sitting beside her was not a supernatural even though he did not look like any normal human either.

The man let out a light chuckle before he turned his attention towards her. The twinkle that was present in his obsidian eyes made her stare back at him with hostility.

"You are cute....."

He suddenly said with a small smile which was still playing on his lips as he looked at her with his beautiful twinkling eyes.

But then his eyes suddenly started turning dark. It was not a bad kind of darkness, rather it was an intense kind of darkness that held the power to consume her completely.

It almost threatened her but not in a bad way. She was unable to understand the emotions that the man was making her experience. They were not bad kinds of feelings but also very strange at the same time, making it quite hard to pinpoint whether he had good or bad intentions towards her.

Emily was not prepared for his sudden statement even though she agreed that she was cute.

After all, she had gotten used to being called cute countless times a day by everyone around her.

Before she could find a way to respond to his unexpected comment, she was once again taken by surprise when the man suddenly inched his face closer to her.

She was surprised to such a level that she did not even try to move away, resulting in their close proximity.

Their faces were only inches apart and she even saw a silvery reddish glow in his eyes as he intensely stared directly back into her green eyes.

"You are just as beautiful and pure as before. Probably even purer and innocent than before..."

He softly whispered as his eyes held a little bit of warmth in them as his fingers grazed her cheek before they settled a loose strand of her hair behind her ear.

Emily's mind was barely working, which made her stare at the man in bewilderment while she tried to possess everything that the man was saying.

With a last soft and sincere smile at her, the weird but handsome man once again returned to his original sitting position.

The cold and distant aura that took over him, cleared off all the warmth and softness that he held just a few seconds ago.

"You are weird."

Emily could not help but comment as she hurriedly pulled herself to the farthest corner of the bench along with her backpack and coat.

As she took a side glance at the man she found the same little smile on his lips as he looked at her with those same twinkling eyes.

His smile and dark eyes which were filled with fun, made her realize that he was actually finding her comments funny.

"What?"

She asked when the man continued to look at her and even forgot to blink.

The twitch on his lips only increased at her sharp tone. But this time, he decided to speak.

"You are right."

"Huh?"

Emily looked at him with confusion as she had no idea what he was talking about.

"Your second statement is right, I'm weird. However, the same can't be said about your first statement which is making me curious to know why and how you concluded that I'm not a supernatural. Wanna share?"

His eyes still held the twinkles as he asked the question.

Emily was quiet for the next few moments as she too tried to understand the reason which made her say something like that.

"That....it's just a feeling....like....like.....you are not a supernatural? But you are not a human either, right?"

The way she ended up changing her answer into a question, made her cringe inwards.

However, since she was a pro in keeping her true emotions hidden behind her usual calm and collected expressions, she barely showed any reaction on her face.

The man slowly nodded his head as he played with the ruby ring that he was wearing. He turned his attention towards her as he answered.

"There's nothing mundane about me. But it's also true that I'm a part of this supernatural society. Your guess is neither completely wrong nor totally right."

"Oh!"

Emily nodded her head as she tried to understand exactly what he meant by his statement.

"Wait! Can you explain it more clearly? I'm not that knowledgeable about the supernatural society and its hundreds of races."

She ended up meekly asking the question before she hurriedly told him the reason behind her lack of understanding.

"It's not the right time. I just wanted to meet you once since I'm here. But don't worry, you will slowly start getting answers to all your questions."

His last statement made Emily close her mouth as she was about to complain.

"It's time for you to return to your world. Sleep." He once again spoke as he moved closer to her and before Emily knew what was happening, she found him placing a soft feathery kiss on her forehead.

And then the world turned into the familiar black abyss!