**Chapter 1: Death's Threshold**
Lena Grant's life slipped away like sand between her fingers. A brutal mugging in a dark alley and a broken body, crushed beneath a dumpster
Her vision fading to black...
Just as death's chill kissed her skin, a low, velvet voice whispered:
"Do you want to live, Lena?"
Lena's fading gaze met piercing emerald eyes –
belonging to a stranger with ivory skin and raven hair.
Julian Saint Clair.
His full lips brushed hers, breathing life back into her body...
along with something else – a dark, ancient magic.
Lena felt her heart restart, pounding violently in her chest.Lena's eyes fluttered open, disoriented and confused. She was alive... yet something felt terribly wrong.
Julian's emerald gaze held hers, intense and unblinking. His lips still touched hers, warm breath dancing across her skin.
As he pulled back, Lena saw her own hands – pale, almost translucent. Her fingers ended in sharp, curved claws.
Panic set in as she scrambled to sit up, heart racing wildly. Julian's strong arms supported her, holding her upright.
"What... what did you do to me?" Lena stammered, voice barely audible.
Julian's expression was solemn. "I saved you, Lena. By making you one of us."
Lena's mind reeled – "One of us"... Vampire