#greyford

It felt strange to be back. The last time I had stood here, I had been human. Young. Naive. The beloved daughter of Greyford’s wealthiest man. My father owned half the buildings in this town and knew every important name that lived here. My future had been carefully planned long before I was old enough to question it. But then Sebastian arrived. I can still see him as clearly as the night I first met him. Tall. Elegant in a way that made every other man seem clumsy by comparison.  

His ash-blond hair always looked like the wind had just brushed through it, and his eyes—those piercing blue eyes—had a way of holding yours just a second too long. Long enough to make you forget what you had been saying. Long enough to make you forget what you should fear. I had been a first-year college student then, wandering the Greyford University library long after midnight, pretending to study while secretly dreaming about a life beyond my father’s expectations. Reading fairytales of dragons and knights who saved the princess when Sebastian had found me there between the shelves. 

Sebastian... my knight in shining armor, my hero, the one who promised me to see the world, to be his forever.

My father warned me about him, of course. Men like Sebastian didn’t belong in towns like Greyford. They appeared without history, without family, without explanation. But I was young, and I fell in love with him anyway. The memory of that night still lives somewhere deep beneath my ribs. 

The night the rain fell harder than it does now. The night he took me beyond the edge of campus and into the forest where Ravenwood swallowed the sky. The night he changed me. I touched the side of my throat without thinking. The skin there looked smooth now. Perfect. Untouched by time. 

Sebastian had called it a gift, immortality. Freedom from the slow decay of the human world. At the time, I believed him and I wanted nothing more than to be with him. A soft smile curled on my lips as I stepped onto the empty sidewalk. Greyford had been the beginning of everything. My love, my death, my rebirth. And eventually… my loss. 

The forest loomed beyond the edge of town, dark and thick and impossibly green beneath the rain. Ravenwood had always looked peaceful from a distance. Somewhere deep inside those trees, a memory waited for me. A promise that had never truly died. I told myself this visit was temporary. Just long enough to find Seb and bring him home to me. Assuming he didn't leave me. 

Then, if he didn't want me anymore I would leave him be. Disappear into another city. Another life. No, I can not think like that, Seb would never leave me. He loves me, but he was working on something dangerous he said. And last he called me he said he was back home, investigating a lead. Whatever that means.

It took me a while to realise he didn't mean one of our shared houses across the world when he said 'home'. He meant my home, Greyford.

 I turned toward the road that led to the university. Greyford University looked exactly the same as it had the day I first arrived — stone buildings wrapped in ivy, warm lights glowing behind rain-streaked windows, students rushing across campus with backpacks and umbrellas. 

No one noticed me. They never did. I had always been good at blending in. Still, as I stepped through the old iron gates, something strange prickled at the back of my senses. A feeling. Awareness. Like the quiet shift in the air before a storm breaks. I paused at the edge of the path and glanced toward the dark line of forest beyond campus. For a moment the rain seemed to grow quieter. The trees stood motionless in the mist. Watching. I exhaled slowly and shook the thought away. 

“Don’t start imagining things,” I murmured. Greyford had always been good at making people paranoid. I adjusted the strap on my shoulder and walked deeper into campus. The rain continued to fall, steady and patient. And whether I liked it or not, I had finally come home. 

The administrative building at Greyford University hadn’t changed either. The same wide stone steps. The same heavy wooden doors that creaked when you pushed them open. Even the faint smell of old paper and polished wood lingered in the air, as if the building itself refused to age. But I heard the faint zooming sound of computers, so I guess somethings evolved in the time I was gone. Inside, the front desk sat beneath a tall arched window where grey light filtered through the rain.  

A woman looked up as I approached. She had to be well past retirement, her silver hair pinned carefully at the back of her head, glasses resting low on her nose. She smiled immediately — the kind of warm, effortless smile that comes from decades of greeting nervous students. And she smelled like blueberries and cake. Not the artificial sweetness of perfume, but something softer. Homemade. Warm ovens and sugar and flour clinging gently to her clothes.

 Human senses would never notice it. Mine did. “Hello there, dear,” she said kindly. “You must be a new arrival.” I returned the smile, keeping it polite and carefully measured. “Yes. I’m here to check in.” She reached for a folder beside her keyboard. “Name?” For a fraction of a second, my mind flickered through the past. 

Old documents. Old signatures. A last name that had once carried weight in this town. But those people were long gone. Still, I wasn’t foolish enough to stir sleeping memories. “Vivienne Clarke,” I said smoothly. The name rolled off my tongue like it had belonged to me for years. She nodded, typing it into the computer, using her index finger, one key at the time. “Ah, there you are.” Her red flakey painted fingernails moved slowly over the keys. 

“So, Vivienne… where are you joining us from?” I kept my expression easy. “Chicago.” A lie, but an easy one. Big cities were perfect for disappearing. “Oh my,” she said pleasantly. “That’s quite the move. And what brings you to little Greyford?” “My parents,” I replied. “They’re both doctors. I grew up around hospitals and labs. I suppose biology just felt natural.” That part wasn’t entirely a lie. 

Greyford University had always been known for its biology and environmental science programs. It was the reason my father had approved my enrolment here all those years ago. Because women in those times weren't always send to school. Only if daddy dearest was wealthy and approved, you could study. Luckily for me, my dad had no son, and wanted me to one day take over.

The woman smiled approvingly. “Well, you certainly picked the right place. Our biology department is one of the best in the state.” Her eyes softened as she looked back at the screen. “And your family? Still in Chicago?” “Yes,” I said easily. “Very busy people.” Dead would have been more accurate. But there was no need to burden a stranger with centuries-old truths and not so child friendly fairytales. 

She nodded sympathetically. “Oh, doctors are always busy. My nephew’s a surgeon — never home for dinner.” I offered a small laugh at that. Then she reached into a drawer and pulled out a key attached to a small wooden tag. “Now,” she said, sliding it across the desk toward me, “there is one small change regarding your room.” 

I already didn’t like the sound of that. “You were originally assigned a single room,” she continued apologetically. “But because of your late enrolment, we had to make a small adjustment.” Of course. She pushed the key a little closer.  “You’ll be sharing for now.” I kept my expression calm. Neutral. Inside, irritation curled quietly through me. I had grown accustomed to solitude over the years. Privacy was more than a preference, it was survival.  

Sharing a room with a human student was… inconvenient. But I had learned long ago how to play the role expected of me, I’m a killer in human skin, or skin like a human. It was meant to blend in, how hard  could it be to live with a teenage girl. I was one once. “That’s alright,” I said gently. “I understand.” Her smile brightened. “Oh, you’re a sweetheart. Your roommate moved in just a few days ago. Lovely girl from what I hear.” Wonderful.

 She scribbled a room number on a small campus map and handed it to me. “Third floor of Alder Hall. End of the corridor.” I took the paper and the key. “Thank you.” “Welcome to Greyford, Vivienne.” I inclined my head politely before turning toward the exit. The rain was still falling outside the tall windows. I turned the corner, absentmindedly looking at the key in my hand. 

Alder Hall – 312. 

Sharing. I still didn’t like the sound of that. My mind was already turning through possibilities as I walked down the hallway. A single human roommate could make things… complicated. I preferred solitude. It made life simpler. There were ways around it, of course. Dark thoughts had a way of creeping in when convenience presented itself. For a fleeting moment I imagined it — feeding once, quick and quiet, while she slept. No suffering. No struggle. Just enough. Afterwards I could store the body somewhere cold until I figured out how to dispose of it. The dorms had maintenance freezers. 

The idea slipped into my mind with the cold practicality that came from centurie of survival. And I hated myself for it immediately. I sighed softly. No. I didn’t kill humans. Not anymore. There had been a time when survival had demanded uglier choices. But I had spent too many years learning control to throw it away now. Instead, I survived the boring way. Hospitals. Blood bags. Stealing like an ordinary thief in the night. Slipping into storage rooms, taking what I needed, leaving before anyone noticed the shortage. 

Pathetic, perhaps. But at least no one died. I rounded the next corner without looking up. And walked straight into something solid. Or rather, someone. Three someones. My shoulder slammed lightly into a broad chest and the impact stopped me short. “Hey, watch it,” I snapped automatically, still on edge from the room situation and my own wandering thoughts. The words came out sharper than I intended. I barely looked at them as I stepped sideways to move past, my eyes dropping back to the key in my hand as if the number on the tag were suddenly the most interesting thing in the world. 

Just three college guys in the hallway. Nothing unusual. I took two steps forward. Then it hit me. The smell. God, what was that? It slammed into my senses so suddenly I stopped mid-stride. Wet earth, pine, something foresty. And beneath it all— wet dog. Not the friendly scent of a household pet. Something older. Sharper. Alive in a way that made the instincts buried deep in my bones flare awake like a struck match. 

My head turned slowly. The three guys were still behind me in the hallway. Tall. Broad shoulders, all three wearing dark T-shirt and dark jeans. One of them — the tallest — was watching me now. Dark hair. Sharp jaw. dark-brown eyes with a hint of gold that seemed a little too alert. For a moment the hallway felt smaller. The air thicker. 

My instincts screamed something I hadn’t felt in a very long time. Danger. Not the obvious kind I was used to as a human, besides nothing like that could scare me now. The ancient kind. The kind my kind was born to recognize. My fingers tightened slightly around the dorm key. Interesting. Very interesting. 

Because if I was smelling what I thought I was smelling… 

Then Greyford had changed more than I realized while I’d been gone. 

And I had just walked straight into three wolves. 

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