《Clan of Exiles》


 Prologue - Bitten

    The night was dark, the moon a bare sliver in a seemingly empty sky. The girl knew better than to walk the streets alone at night, but she was anyway. Her overconfidence in her abilities had outweighed her caution.


    Suddenly, she stopped. Her ears perked up and her tail straightened in response to the unfamiliar noise. There was a shriek, and some shouting. She strained her ears, but all she could make out was, ¡°...lost control! He¡¯s...don¡¯t let...he might...capture him...no injuries! Watch...might be¡­no...sorry...civilians!¡±


    Her eyes widened in confusion. What was happening? She had just begun to move quickly and quietly toward the main road when she was pinned abruptly to the wall. The figure smelled like a vampire; based on his glowing-red eyes, he had lost control. She had heard of this before, young vampires going too long without feeding and going berserk. The girl gasped for breath as she considered the situation. She had no way out of it.Stolen novel; please report.


    His hand moved quickly, tilting her head to the side almost gently. She started to struggle but quickly stopped. It was no use; when an out-of-control vampire had chosen his prey, there would be no escape. He leaned forward and all she could think was, I hope he doesn¡¯t turn me.


    Vampires could drink without turning their victims, but it usually took some control. Right now, he had none, and she knew it was unlikely that she would still be unturned at dawn. She felt his breath for only a second before his lips touched her neck. He seemed to hesitate, as if even in his unhinged state he was restraining himself, before his fangs sank deep into her neck.


    She held herself still by sheer force of will. Thrashing around would only aggravate her new wounds, especially with his (very sharp) teeth still piercing her neck. She could feel the blood leaving her body as her consciousness faded. The last thing she saw was his face, no longer buried in the curve of her shoulder, bloodstained teeth on a pale face with horrified eyes. I forgive you, she thought hazily. It¡¯s not your fault.

 Chapter 1 - Wounded

    I¡¯m woken by the sound of my doorbell. I try to ignore it; all I want right now is sleep, but when it doesn¡¯t stop, I clamber out of bed and throw open the door. ¡°What do you want now, Zakin?¡± I lift an eyebrow when I realize that he¡¯s carrying a very bloody man.


    ¡°He¡¯s injured,¡± Zakin says. ¡°Sorry, Shona. I couldn¡¯t think of where else to take him, with injuries like these. The only reason he¡¯s still alive is because he¡¯s from the ShadowFang clan.¡±


    ¡°You know, you could just say that he¡¯s a vampire. It¡¯s not like there¡¯s anyone here who doesn¡¯t know.¡± In fact, we¡¯re the only people at all for at least a mile. I have an excellent home; the apartments to all sides have been cleared out due to a reason unknown even to me. ¡°All right, bring him in.¡±


    Zakin manages to get the man into the house without running him into any walls. ¡°I don¡¯t know who he is. It looked like he was attacked by something, but by the time I got there, it was already dead. As you can see, though, it ripped him a pretty big hole.¡± He looks up and meets my eyes directly, a rare move. ¡°Shona, as bad as this injury is, for him to not have already gone berserk, you know what that means. He¡¯s at least as old as you are, and probably older. I¡¯m going to run for supplies; be careful, okay?¡±


    Startled by both his words and his audacity, I stare at him before nodding with a smirk. ¡°Yeah. Got it. Go; I¡¯ll be fine.¡± He leaves and I turn to my unexpected guest, studying him. The man is pale, more so than even a vampire should be. He¡¯s lost a lot of blood, I should¡­ no. I have to administer first aid before I try to feed him, or it won¡¯t work, not with my blood at least. I start patching him up.


    After a few minutes, he groans and tries to sit up. I push him back down and hand him a damp cloth. ¡°You¡¯re not healed yet, stay down. Here. Use this to clean off your face; you look like something out of a horror film right now.¡±


    Just then, Zakin comes back in. ¡°I¡¯ve brought food, and more bandages. I know pain meds don¡¯t work, but¡­¡± He trails off when he sees that the man is awake. ¡°Ah, he woke up,¡± is his only comment.


    I look around and curse under my breath in several languages. The two men stare at me. ¡°He needs blood. His injury drained almost all of what he had. If he was a normal human, he¡¯d be dead a long time ago.¡±This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Zakin sighs. ¡°He can have mine, Shona, but I¡¯ll need yours. There¡¯s no one else around to replenish our supply, and you¡¯re the only one present who can survive without.¡±


    I groan but nod. He offers his wrist to the stranger, who hesitates. ¡°Go on,¡± Zakin says. ¡°I know you Ancients train yourselves to not need any, but you¡¯ll die if you don¡¯t. Just try not to kill me, okay? I do still value my life.¡± The man nods and bites.


    I busy myself with cleaning up as the man heals himself with my friend¡¯s blood. When he finally releases Zakin¡¯s wrist, I have my arm in front of my friend¡¯s pale lips before anyone else can even blink; he doesn¡¯t even twitch before sinking his fangs into my ulnar artery. It doesn¡¯t bother me much anymore - after all, we¡¯ve been working together for millennia. I continue cleaning with one hand.


    When he lets go, I send him out in the kitchen. ¡°Zakin, will you make breakfast? I have something I want to discuss with this man.¡± I look the stranger in the eye. ¡°Alone.¡±


    Zakin nods. ¡°Yeah, of course. Take as much time as you need. I¡¯ll knock when breakfast is ready.¡± He leaves and I turn to the man.


    Before I can speak, he cuts me off. ¡°My name is Tylerin Shadowfang. I¡¯m the CEO of Funny Shadows.¡±


    I roll my eyes. ¡°You own that toy store?¡±


    ¡°Ah, yeah?¡± He seems confused. ¡°Yes, I own the multi-million-dollar toy store.¡± Now he¡¯s acting offended.


    I wave away his indignation. ¡°Yeah, sure. My name is Shona. Do you need more blood? I still have plenty to spare, though it won¡¯t help you as much as Zakin¡¯s did.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± He immediately shakes his head. ¡°No, never mind. I¡¯m good, thanks.¡± He looks up. ¡°I suspect that¡¯s not what you wanted to talk about, though. So what¡¯s up?¡±


    I lift an eyebrow as his casual speech, but answer anyway. ¡°I¡¯m going to tell you a little story. You don¡¯t get to ask questions until the end. Just listen.¡± He places a hand over his mouth to say that he won¡¯t speak. ¡°Good.


    ¡°A long time ago, a young girl was walking home when an out-of-control vampire, not much older than she was, attacked and turned her. While she bore him no ill will or malice, she couldn¡¯t find him to tell him so. This girl, despite being their princess, was abandoned by her clan for the sin of being a mixed-blood. The vampires likewise would not take her in. Despite this, she continued to survive, making a name for herself in the Hidden World. When she still could not find him, she decided to leave her position and live a quiet life in the human world, working various jobs. Then one day, he stumbled in on her, and she had to make a choice: help the man who changed her life, or leave him to die. She chose to save him, but he didn¡¯t remember her. She tried to jog his memory with her story, but could not tell if it was working. Now, do you think the man figured out what she was trying to tell him?¡±

 Chapter 2 - Negotiations

    He¡¯s staring at me as if I¡¯d just said that he¡¯d suddenly turned into a normal. ¡°D-does that - is that your story? Are you the former clan princess who was turned?¡± I nod, and his viewpoint seems to suddenly shift. His next words are very quiet, almost a whisper. ¡°Am I the one who turned you?¡±


    I offer him a slight smile and hold out my wrist. ¡°Why don¡¯t you find out?¡± A vampire rarely forgets the taste of someone they¡¯ve drank from, and never that of someone they¡¯ve turned.


    He slowly, hesitantly takes my wrist, biting gently, almost guiltily. His eyes immediately go wide and he pulls back. ¡°Y-you¡¯re¡­ that girl. The one they told me I turned, yet would never tell me how to find. I¡¯ve spent millennia searching so I could apologize to you.¡± He drops to his knees on the floor. ¡°I owe you more than my life. How can I repay you?¡±


    I close my eyes as I remember the rules about berserk vampires. The law states that vampires are exempt from formal punishment for any actions performed while in that state, though common-law says that if they turn someone without that person''s consent, they must perform at least one favor for that person per year of their life. Then he says, ¡°I¡¯ve stolen I-can¡¯t-even-remember-how-long of your life, and I haven¡¯t even done you yearly favors.¡± His eyes light up. ¡°I know! I¡¯ll give you my time in exchange. Ah, how long has it been?¡±


    I stare at him in bemusement as he tries to calculate how long ago he turned me. Finally, I decide to show him a little sympathy. ¡°Eight thousand, four hundred, seventy-two years. I don¡¯t really need a manservant anyway, so why don¡¯t we just stick to extra favors?¡± I¡¯ll do nearly anything to stop him from devoting his life to me; I would hate to take over his opportunities like that. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice that the door to the kitchen has swung open, but I don¡¯t comment.


    He frowns. ¡°Then¡­ 8472 months? Is that better?¡±


    I groan and start doing mental calculations. ¡°8472...divided by 12...makes 706 years¡­ I don¡¯t think I want him as a servant for that long¡­¡± I pause. ¡°Oh! I have an idea. 8472, divided by 365, is¡­ just over 23 years.¡± I turn to look at him and speak up so he can hear me. ¡°23 years, and lots of favors. Fair?¡±


    He stares up at me. ¡°O-okay¡­ and I still have to pay for the treatment! Let¡¯s make the time an even 30, to pay most of my debt, and an infinite number of favors.¡± He doesn¡¯t look like he¡¯s backing down on this.


    ¡°Fine. Now get out to the kitchen; breakfast will be ready soon.¡± I grin. ¡°I know you pureblood vampires don¡¯t need to eat, but it would be a shame to pass up Zakin¡¯s cooking.¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    I step out and start setting the table. Zakin looks over at me. ¡°My, my, so the Shadow Empress does have compassion,¡± he teases, too quietly for even Tylerin¡¯s vampiric hearing to catch.


    ¡°Ha!¡± I roll my eyes at him. ¡°Not only has it been centuries since I held that title, but you of all people know that it was just an act. Also, I didn¡¯t hold a grudge against him from the beginning, so pulling back on how long he¡¯s in my service was easy.¡±


    ¡°Is something wrong?¡± I glance back to see Tylerin watching us worriedly from the other side of the room. ¡°Is there anything I can help with?¡±


    Zakin shakes his head. ¡°I think we¡¯ve got it covered, but thanks.¡± He turns to look. ¡°I didn¡¯t hear it, what is your name?¡±


    I know he¡¯s lying, because Zakin rarely lets me be alone with someone he doesn¡¯t fully trust, but I appreciate his attempt to maintain the illusion of privacy. From the look on Tyler¡¯s face, he knows it too, but he graciously lets the lie stand. ¡°Tylerin Shadowfang. Nice to meet you - ah, Zakin, was it?¡±


    My friend nods. ¡°Yes, but I have no clan. She was my friend even before she was turned, so I left to follow her; I¡¯m only slightly younger than she is, by about two years.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s been a vampire longer, though,¡± I murmur. ¡°But my control is better.¡±


    Tyler¡¯s eyes fly back and forth between us. ¡°Are you¡­ lovers? Married?¡±


    ¡°Nah,¡± we say in unison. Zakin continues, ¡°We¡¯ve known each other far too long to ever even consider trying that. We¡¯re just really close best friends.¡±


    After a moment of awkward silence, Zakin speaks up again. ¡°You know, who you are right now is far different from your public image. Is that normal for you?¡± Tyler nods.


    I lift an eyebrow. ¡°Should I be concerned about being attacked by hordes of jealous girls?¡±


    He looks mortified. ¡°Of course not! A-at least¡­ I don¡¯t think so¡­¡± He¡¯s sounding less and less certain with each word. ¡°Here¡¯s an idea. Do you want to come with me to my company? I don¡¯t usually take vacations, so I don¡¯t want to be away for too long. I¡¯ll have to go alone for a couple days to set it up, but I think I can get you in as a business advisor.¡±


    I consider the idea for a moment. Money doesn¡¯t mean much to me, but at least it¡¯ll be different from usual. ¡°Sure.¡±


    ¡°What should I use as your last name?¡±


    The room is silent. Since I¡¯m not a part of any official clan, I can¡¯t use my clan name. I hesitate. ¡°Shadowmoon. Use Shadowmoon.¡±


    Zakin startles. ¡°You¡¯ve decided? You know they might catch hell for this, right?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ll be fine. It¡¯s a fitting name.¡± I¡¯m not going to back down.


    The two men lock eyes, and Zakin says, ¡°I don¡¯t care if you¡¯re her servant or not, or what you owe each other. If you bring Shona trouble, I will take action against you.¡±


    Tyler doesn¡¯t flinch. ¡°I know.¡±

 Chapter 3 - Advice

    Two days later, as he leads me into his building, I close my eyes briefly to recall what he said last night.


    ¡°I have to protect a certain reputation while I¡¯m at work,¡± he said, ¡°and it might make you a bit uncomfortable. I have an image as a genius playboy with a thing for well-endowed women.¡± I glanced down at my average chest before raising an eyebrow at him. He smirked. ¡°The best thing for you to do would be to dress as the absolute opposite of what the public believes is my type. Wear something serious and overly modest, like a business suit with pants instead of a skirt. Button the shirt up to the collar and keep your blazer fully secured. Your goal is to look like anything other than arm candy.


    True to his suggestion, I¡¯m now wearing a men¡¯s business suit that¡¯s been cut and tailored to fit my curves. My hair is tied into a completely unstylish bun; my heels are exactly two inches high and come to sharp points. Completely unappealing. I¡¯m even carrying a small notebook and pen in one arm.


    The elevator ride to his office is quiet. His assistant is waiting at the top. The moment he sees me, he glares. I lift an eyebrow. As I step past, I murmur to him quietly, ¡°If I had been about four millennia younger, you might have overpowered me just then.¡±


    Tylerin sits down at his desk and smiles. ¡°This room doesn¡¯t feel nearly so large and empty now that there are three desks here! Sadly, yours is somewhat small, but I hope it¡¯s satisfactory.¡± His assistant, already pale from my comment, goes wide-eyed at his boss¡¯ subservience.


    I nod. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I would¡¯ve worked on the floor, honestly, you didn¡¯t have to bring in a new desk.¡±


    Finally his assistant can¡¯t stand it anymore. ¡°Who are you?! You resist my control, you tease me about your age, and you disrespect my boss¡¯ efforts on your behalf, even after he shows you deference! Do you even know who you just--¡±


    Tyler cuts him off. ¡°Alexi, stop now. I owe her a great deal. Besides, you tried to control her? Why would you do such a thing?¡±


    The assistant, apparently Alexi, ¡°This is the first time you¡¯ve brought in a woman that wasn¡¯t either desk candy or a fellow CEO. Who is this woman? I wanted to know. What do you mean, you owe her?¡±


    I cut in. ¡°I¡¯m the girl he turned eight and a half millennia ago. The rest doesn¡¯t matter.¡± I turn to Tyler. ¡°What do you want me to do? I can look into the financial records if you want, I recall you telling Zakin that you think you have an embezzling problem but can¡¯t find the source.¡±


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s an excellent idea. Alexi, will you please bring her the records?¡±


    Alexi swallows. ¡°S-sure. But can I at least have your name?¡± He asks, directing his words at me.


    I look up at him. Realizing he¡¯s nervous, I smile gently. ¡°Shona Shadowmoon.¡±


    I hadn¡¯t thought his eyes could get any wider, but somehow they do. It¡¯s not a formal clan name; rather, it¡¯s a combination of two. It¡¯s something hybrids do frequently if those around them are aware of their status. Most clans won¡¯t accept hybrids, though, so most hide in one clan or the other and use that name instead.


    Every clan name is compound with two parts: one identifies what kind of Hidden they are, and the other indicates which clan of that race. For instance, the forest elves have the Greenleaf, Brownleaf, Blueleaf and Redleaf clans, among others. On the other hand, the vampires are all assembled under one name - Shadowfang.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    Hybrids who have been exiled are not permitted to use formal clan names, so they often combine two clan names as their last name. For example, mine is Shadowmoon, a combination of the vampires¡¯ name and that of my birth clan, Mooncat. There are also many who simply refer to themselves as Clanless and take on the last names of normals in order to blend in.


    Suddenly, I¡¯m startled out of my thoughts by Alexi dropping a box of files on my desk. ¡°I would offer to help, but I have my own work to do. Sorry,¡± he says, sounding genuine. I tilt my head in confusion and he leans forward. ¡°Your last name. I¡¯m in the clan, so I use Shadowfang, but my mother was a Bloodwolf.¡± He steps away. ¡°Good luck with the files.¡±


    I watch after him with an amused smirk. Who¡¯d¡¯ve thought that revealing my mixed nature actually won me more respect than hiding it would¡¯ve? Certainly not me.


    Just as I¡¯m starting to find my rhythm with the files, the door to Tylerin¡¯s office opens loudly. ¡°Hey, Ty!¡± It¡¯s a group of guys that I vaguely remember Zakin telling me were young playboy CEOs. They crowd into the room and he welcomes them with open arms. I glare a little bit, and Alexi appears to be vaguely annoyed by the noise level.


    I step over to Tyler to give him my report, but one of the guys suddenly notices me. He gasps. ¡°Ooh, look! Ty¡¯s got himself a new woman!¡±


    ¡°No way!¡± ¡°She¡¯s not his type at all.¡± ¡°She¡¯s even got a desk this time!¡±


    Tylerin clears his throat and they all turn to look at him. ¡°She¡¯s not here as desk candy, guys. She¡¯s my new business advisor. Her current project is attempting to figure out who¡¯s embezzling money from my company.¡±


    One of them snorts. ¡°You don¡¯t bring girls that aren¡¯t desk candy. I know you.¡± He reaches for me.


    My eyes flash. In a split second, he goes from relaxed and reaching for my butt to tensed up and gasping in pain. I have him pinned to the wall with one arm twisted up behind his back. Looking around, I can see the others staring at me in shock, even Tyler. My voice comes out as a hiss as I hold back a shift. ¡°Don¡¯t touch me.¡± I glare at each of them individually. ¡°Or next time, it might come off.¡±


    There¡¯s a collective gulp as they all nod like bobbleheads. I close my eyes and force myself to remain human. No ears, tail, whiskers, fangs, claws¡­ slowly but surely, I rein myself in. Taking calming breaths, I release the one I¡¯m holding and step back. When my eyes open again, the men are relieved to see that my pupils are no longer vertical slits. ¡°My apologies, gentlemen. It seems you successfully provoked my cat into attacking. You should be proud; that¡¯s no easy feat.¡± They shudder in place.


    I turn to Tylerin. ¡°I figured out who¡¯s responsible for your embezzling problem. Go check the accounts of the Finance Department Director. There should be some discrepancies between his salary and his paycheck.¡±


    He nods. ¡°Alexi, will you handle it? I think my friends and I need to have a talk.¡± Alexi nods, takes the file I¡¯m holding, and scurries out. Turning back to the other guys, he says, ¡°Let¡¯s try this again. Allow me to introduce you to my new business advisor, Shona Shadowmoon.¡±


    There¡¯s utter silence for several minutes before anyone responds. ¡°Nice to meet you, Miss Shadowmoon,¡± he says politely. ¡°I¡¯m Rikko Shadowscale. I hope we can get along.¡± I study him with renewed interest upon learning that he¡¯s a hybrid. He seems to be the youngest of them, with chin-length golden hair and kind brown eyes.


    I tilt my head toward him slightly. ¡°Yes. I hope so too.¡±


    One by one, the others introduce themselves. Based on their behavior, I¡¯m guessing that the three pureblood members - a vampire, a wolf shifter, and an elf - were unaware that two of their friends were hybrids. Shadowscale is a combination of Shadowfang (the vampires) and Venomscale (the ruling clan of the reptilian shifters); Bloodclaw is a combination of Bloodwolf (the ruling clan of the canine shifters) and Skyclaw (a lesser clan of bears).


    ¡°A word of advice, boys,¡± I say when I feel them testing my resistance. ¡°Never try to control an Ancient. It won¡¯t turn out well.¡±


    They startle, and Tylerin grins. ¡°She¡¯s only a couple years younger than I am, and she¡¯s been a vampire for all but about fifteen of that. You guys won¡¯t be able to control her. If anything, she¡¯ll be the one controlling you.¡±