The forest whispered her name.
Viana ran barefoot through the damp leaves, her laughter echoing between the trees. She moved fast—too fast for a ten-year-old girl. Her silver eyes sparkled like moonlight, and her dark hair flew behind her like a shadow.
She was not just a child.
She was a hybrid—born of vampire and werewolf blood.
And she was the only one of her kind.
---
Vikram watched her from a distance, his eyes glowing softly in the shade. He had seen many wonders in his 130 years, but nothing like her.
She had Ahaana's fierce spirit. His own calm nature. And powers that were still growing—powers even he couldn't fully understand.
"Viana," Vikram called, "slow down!"
She turned, smiling. "I'm not tired!"
"You don't have to run from the wind to feel free," he said.
She skipped toward him, barefoot and wild, and took his hand. "But the wind listens to me, Papa."
He smiled. "That's what worries me."
---
Back at the cottage, Ahaana was chopping vegetables in the kitchen. Her long hair was tied in a loose braid, and her sharp ears twitched as she heard them return.
"You let her run again?" she asked Vikram.
"She needs to feel the world," he said, kissing her cheek.
"She needs to hide from it too," Ahaana replied, handing Viana a piece of fruit. "Eat. You're still part human."
Viana sat down, nibbling on an apple. "Mama, when can I go to school like normal kids?"
Ahaana and Vikram exchanged a look.
"You're not like normal kids," her mother said gently.
"I know," Viana whispered, "but I still want friends."
Vikram knelt beside her. "You have us. And one day, maybe… more."
"But for now," Ahaana said, brushing hair from her daughter's face, "you need to learn how to survive."
---
That night, under a full moon, the training began.
Vikram stood by a wooden dummy in the backyard, carved with chalk symbols and enchanted with herbs.
"First lesson," he said, "control."
Viana narrowed her eyes. "What does that mean?"
"It means not giving in to the monster inside you. You are both vampire and werewolf—but you are *you* before anything else."
She nodded slowly.
"Close your eyes," he said. "Feel your heartbeat. Then slow it down."
Viana took a deep breath. She could feel it—the rush of blood, the pull of the moon, the quiet voice of instinct.
But she did as she was told. She breathed. She focused. She slowed it.
When she opened her eyes, her irises had turned silver-blue—bright, but calm.
"Good," Vikram said, smiling. "Now hit it."
She punched the dummy.
It shattered into splinters.
They both stared in silence.
"Oops," Viana whispered.
Vikram chuckled. "We'll use a stone dummy next time."
---
Meanwhile, Ahaana was training her differently.
"Your body can change," she explained, walking beside her in the woods. "But you must learn *when*. If the change controls you, you'll hurt people. If *you* control it, you'll save them."
"How do I know when to change?" Viana asked.
"Your heart will tell you," Ahaana said. "But sometimes... so will your pain."
She stopped by a clearing, where a fox was caught in a trap.
Viana rushed forward, her claws instinctively sliding out.
"No," Ahaana said calmly. "Control it."
Viana froze.
"Free the fox," her mother said. "But stay... you."
Viana's breathing was shaky, but she knelt down. Her claws faded back. Her hands trembled, but she opened the trap.
The fox limped out, paused, and looked at her with knowing eyes—then disappeared into the forest.
"I did it," Viana said softly.
Ahaana hugged her tightly. "Yes, baby. You did."
---
But not all days were filled with learning and peace.
One evening, a family knocked on their door. Their son had gone missing in the woods.
"We heard you help people," the mother whispered, terrified. "Please… he's only twelve."
Vikram and Ahaana looked at each other.
They had promised to stay hidden. But some things… some things mattered more.
"We'll find him," Vikram said.
---
It was Viana who picked up the scent.
"He's alive," she said. "And scared."
She followed her nose into the dense trees, Vikram and Ahaana close behind.
After an hour of searching, they found the boy trapped in a dry riverbed, his leg twisted.
"Don't be afraid," Viana said, jumping down beside him.
"You… your eyes!" he gasped.
"I know," she said gently. "But I'm here to help."
She lifted him in her arms like he was weightless.
That night, they brought him home.
The family never asked what she was.
They only said "thank you" again and again.
---
Back in the cottage, Ahaana rubbed her daughter's shoulder.
"You could've been seen."
"I couldn't leave him there," Viana said.
Vikram smiled. "She's one of us."
"No," Ahaana said quietly, pride shining in her eyes. "She's *better* than us."
---
Viana fell asleep between them that night, her fingers curled around their hands.
She had her father's kindness, her mother's fire, and a future none of them could fully see.
But one thing was certain.
The world would know her name.
Not because she was feared…
…but because she cared.