PRE-AUTHOR’S NOTE
Here we are at Chapter 1.
This is an Alternate Universe.
The rules and lore of the main COTR are still intact here, as well as the backgrounds and personalities of the characters.
The only major difference is that the apocalypse never happens.
I’m writing this because I’m taking a break from the main book.
I have multiple plot threads to solve, timelines to arrange, and honestly, it’s getting overwhelming.
So I thought I’d take a step back from all of that while still staying connected to COTR.
And this is what I came up with.
I won’t be putting as much effort into this AU as I do with the main book because this is really just something I’m writing to get my creative juices flowing while still remaining emotionally connected to the cast.
It’s also a nice breather.
I don’t have much free time to consistently update the main book while making sure every chapter is of the quality I want and satisfies that little gut feeling I have when something is finally right.
I don’t want to rush chapters simply for the sake of updating.
I’d rather take my time and figure things out properly.
So no, I’m not abandoning the main book.
I’m simply taking a step back so I can figure out how to connect and advance the multiple plot threads happening simultaneously.
There is a lot going on in my head right now, and honestly, Book 1 is a lot.
I can only imagine you guys being overwhelmed too.
😭
This AU is basically a bridge.
Something I can write while I’m figuring out the main story, so I don’t feel too emotionally distant from the characters I’ve spent so much time with.
It’s also a chance to have some fun with them without having to worry about the weight of everything happening in Book 1.
Think of this as a lighthearted, comedic romance AU.
I’ll update Book 1 once I figure out how to solve the roadblock I’m currently dealing with.
That’s a promise.
Meanwhile, we’ll have this AU.
So…
pardon this little side story.
It’s simply a breather story for me.
I still hope you guys enjoy it, though.
And when I eventually publish another chapter of the main COTR, I hope you won’t be disappointed.
I have a lot going on in my head and in my life right now, but COTR won’t disappear.
I’m still here.
Your Realmmaker is just taking a quick breather and a little break.
❤️
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“So far, her vitals are stable.
We haven’t found any signs of external injury or neurological trauma.
Her pupils are reactive, and there’s no indication of a concussion.
I think she simply fainted.”
Yve’s eyes flickered open, her vision hazy.
A muscular man, another man, an older gentleman, and an older woman stood around her bedside, along with the doctor, who was still explaining her condition.
Her senses returned all at once, overwhelming her.
Her eyes widened as she abruptly sat upright.
The older woman immediately stepped toward her.
“Hey…
young lady, are you alright?”
Yve stared at her, breathing rapidly as she looked around the room.
The lights were blinding, the voices were too loud, and every unfamiliar scent seemed to assault her senses at once.
“We’re not gonna hurt you, miss…
calm down,” the woman said, raising her hands.
The doctor stepped forward.
“Miss, you’re safe.
You fainted.
You’re in a hospital, and we’re just trying to make sure you’re alright.”
The nurses approached her, trying to calm her down.
“Please, just stay calm,” one of them said.
They reached toward her.
Yve panicked.
She shoved them away.
The force behind the movement was far greater than anyone expected.
One nurse was thrown backward across the room while the other slammed against the wall.
The doctor stumbled backward, barely managing to keep her balance.
Everyone froze.
Yve stared at her own hands.
Dylan stepped forward.
“Hey…”
Yve looked at him.
He approached carefully, keeping his hands visible.
“It’s alright.
Ain’t no one’s gonna hurt you.”
He reached for her.
But Yve shoved him away.
Dylan was thrown several feet backward before catching himself.
Yve hissed, her lips parting slightly as the tips of her fangs began to emerge but she immediately forced them back.
Her eyes darted around the room until they landed on the window.
Yve ran.
“Hey!” Dylan rushed after her and managed to grab her by the shoulders just before she reached it.
Yve twisted violently.
Dylan’s grip slipped.
She yanked herself free and shoved him away.
Clyne stared at her.
“Damn…
ain’t she strong?”
Yve didn’t stop.
She crashed through the window and glass shattered as she jumped.
Dylan immediately rushed toward the opening.
“Hey!”
He looked down.
Yve was falling.
Her stomach dropped as she finally realized how high up she was.
She reached desperately for the nearest window and managed to catch the frame.
The impact shattered the glass beneath her grip, slowing her descent for only a moment before her fingers slipped free.
She fell again.
But the brief interruption had reduced the distance considerably.
Yve hit the ground hard and rolled across the pavement before coming to a stop.
For several seconds, she remained still.
Dylan looked down from the broken window.
Yve was already on her feet.
She limped away from the building, one hand pressed against her side as she tried to put as much distance between herself and the hospital as possible.
“Miss!”
Dylan looked around and spotted a drainage pipe running down the side of the building.
Without hesitation, he grabbed it and slid down, using it to reach the ground as quickly as possible.
He landed and immediately ran after her.
Yve kept moving, but the pain in her leg made it difficult to run properly.
She glanced around, trying to find somewhere to hide, but the unfamiliar city overwhelmed her.
Then she reached the highway.
The sound hit her all at once.
Cars rushed past at high speed, their engines roaring and their horns blaring.
Yve froze.
Her breathing became rapid.
The noise grew louder and her eyes began to glow.
“Stop…” She covered her ears.
The traffic continued rushing past her.
Yve screamed.
“STOP!” She stumbled into the middle of the highway, completely overwhelmed.
Cars swerved around her, tires screeching as drivers desperately tried to avoid hitting her.
Dylan finally reached the road.
“Miss!”
Yve turned toward him.
Her vision blurred and her knees gave out.
Dylan caught her before she hit the pavement.
“Miss…
miss…” He held her against him, looking around at the chaos surrounding them.
Yve’s body went limp in his arms.
Dylan tightened his grip as he lifted her and carried her away from the highway, heading back toward the hospital.
~~~
Two hours later, Yve’s consciousness flickered back to life.
The cold bite of metal against her skin registered first.
Handcuffs secured her wrists to the bedframe.
Instinct took over.
She wrenched her arms against the restraints, muscles screaming in protest.
Nothing gave way.
Yve gritted her teeth, summoning a surge of adrenaline, but her body betrayed her—strength completely drained, limbs refusing to cooperate.
From the shadows near the window, Dylan rose from his chair as her eyes fluttered open.
“You alright?”
Yve’s head snapped toward him, and for the briefest moment, her eyes emitted an ethereal glow that illuminated the space between them.
Dylan froze, his hand halfway to his face.
The luminous quality vanished as quickly as it had appeared, leaving him wondering if it had been a trick of the fluorescent lights overhead.
He approached cautiously.
“Why’d you run?
How’d you survive that fall?”
Yve’s gaze darted around the sterile white room, ignoring his questions completely as she pushed herself upright.
“Who are you?
Where am I?”
Dylan’s eyebrow arched.
“So you can talk.”
Her expression hardened into a mask of defiance.
“Let me go!” She wrapped her fingers around the handcuffs and pulled with renewed desperation.
The metal remained unforgiving against her skin.
Dylan crossed his arms, leaning against the wall.
“No use trynna break free.
I’m gonna catch you again anyway.”
Yve’s glare could have cut glass.
“I feel so weak…” Her voice trembled slightly as she examined her restrained wrists before fixing her eyes on him again.
“What have you done, human?”
Dylan’s other eyebrow joined its partner.
“Human?”
Yve’s lips tightened into a thin line, offering no explanation.
Dylan studied her for a long moment, then shook his head.
“I’m gonna go get a doctor.
Stay put.”
The door clicked shut behind him, leaving Yve alone with the rhythmic beeping of medical equipment and the unyielding steel at her wrists.
~~~
Finally, the doctor returned to the room with the medical results in hand.
Yve was still sitting on the bed, her wrists secured to the frame.
The nurses remained cautious as they approached her, clearly remembering what had happened earlier.
The doctor glanced through the results again before looking toward Dylan.
“The imaging doesn’t show any intracranial bleeding or obvious structural damage, and there are no signs of a significant traumatic injury.”
Dylan nodded.
“So no concussion?”
“Nothing consistent with one based on the examination and imaging we’ve done.
Her pupils are reactive, her neurological responses are normal, and her vital signs have remained stable.”
The doctor looked down at the report again.
“The main injury we found is the fracture in her ankle.
She’s also got several superficial wounds, including the cut on her palm, but nothing that requires surgery.”
Dylan glanced toward Yve.
“So she’s good?”
“Medically, she’s stable enough for discharge once we’ve finished treating the wounds and completed the paperwork.
But given what happened earlier, I’d still recommend someone keep an eye on her.”
The doctor paused.
“She did just survive a significant fall, after all.”
Dylan nodded.
“Alright.”
The doctor glanced toward Yve.
“She’s lucky.”
Dylan nodded.
Yve looked between them, trying to understand what they were saying.
She pulled against the handcuffs again.
“Let me go, humans!”
The restraints rattled against the bedframe, but her strength was still nowhere near what it had been before.
She stopped after a moment, staring down at her wrists.
Outside the room, two hospital security officers stood near the nurses’ station, speaking with the doctor who had examined Yve earlier.
One of the nurses was still rubbing her shoulder after being thrown across the room.
“Are we calling the police?” one of the officers asked.
The doctor glanced through the observation window toward Yve.
“I already reported the incident to administration.
Given what happened, I think we should at least have them take a statement.”
One of the nurses nodded.
“She didn’t look like she knew what she was doing.
She was terrified.”
“That doesn’t change the fact that she assaulted two staff members,” the officer replied.
“I know.” The doctor sighed.
Then she turned toward one of the nurses.
“Clean her wounds again.”
The nurse nodded and entered the room, approaching Yve carefully.
~~~
Yve looked around the hospital hallway as she followed Dylan toward the exit.
He walked a few paces ahead of her, phone pressed to his ear.
“Doc says she’s fine…
no head injury, just a broken ankle.” He listened for a moment before answering.
“Don’t worry about it, Mom.
Good night.”
Dylan ended the call and slipped his phone into his pocket.
They finally stepped outside the hospital.
Dylan turned toward Yve and handed her a set of papers.
“The hospital bills are covered.
They’ll give you the paperwork for the medicine.”
Yve looked down at the papers.
“What’s this?”
“Where d’you live?” Dylan asked.
“I’ll take ya there.”
Yve looked at him.
“The ocean.”
Dylan stared at her for a moment.
“Really?” He glanced around.
“Shouldn’t be far from here, then.”
Yve said nothing.
Dylan gestured toward the parking lot.
“Hop in the car.”
As they walked toward the vehicle, he glanced at the papers in her hands.
“Didn’t know your name, so they had you down as Jane Doe.”
Yve stopped.
She looked at him with a confused expression.
“Yve…”
Dylan raised an eyebrow.
“What?”
“My name’s Yve.
Celestia Yve, daughter of the Virellis line.”
A smirk appeared on Dylan’s face.
“That’s an odd way to put it.” He held out a hand.
“Name’s Dylan.
Dylan Pierce.”
Yve looked at his hand before giving a small nod.
“Dylan Pierce.”
They got into the car.
A few moments later, Dylan started the engine and pulled away from the hospital, with Yve sitting beside him as they drove into the night.
Dylan glanced over at Yve as they drove.
“So…
what’s your address?”
“Reefville.” Yve gave him a set of longitude and latitude coordinates.
Dylan stared at her.
For a moment, he said nothing.
Then he shook his head.
“Thought they said you got no concussion.”
Yve looked at him, unsure what he meant.
Dylan entered the coordinates into the map on his phone.
The location appeared on the screen, far out in the ocean.
He glanced at it again before smirking.
“You sure that’s where you live?
There an island there or somethin’?”
Yve smiled.
“Or something…”
Dylan gave her a brief look before returning his attention to the road.
Yve turned toward the window.
The unfamiliar buildings and streets passed by as she studied the world around her.
“Humanity has come a long way…”
She paused.
“Maybe a peace treaty will come soon.”
Dylan glanced at her.
“What?”
Yve looked at him for a moment before her attention shifted downward.
She looked at the cast around her ankle.
Yve moved her foot slightly, testing it.
She wriggled her toes, then moved her ankle as much as the cast allowed.
Her expression changed.
She could feel it.
The pain was gone.
Yve reached down and began pulling at the cast.
Dylan noticed.
“Whoa, whoa…
Doc said you ain’t supposed to take that off for a few weeks.”
Yve looked at him.
“What does he know…” Her voice carried a hint of sarcasm as she continued trying to remove the cast.
Dylan just shook his head, helplessly staring at the road.
“Where’d you really live?”
Yve ignored him as she continued working at the cast.
She managed to loosen it enough for the hardened material to finally come apart, and a chunk of plaster dropped onto the floor of the car.
Dylan’s jaw tightened.
He glanced down at the mess before looking back at the road.
Yve brushed the remaining pieces from her leg.
“I just told you.”
Dylan stared at her for a moment before letting out a long sigh.
“I’ve got work tomorrow…” He rubbed his face with one hand.
“I’ll take ya to my apartment.
Tomorrow, I want ya out, alright?
If you’re gonna file a lawsuit, go ahead.
But I need sleep.”
Yve looked at him.
Dylan didn’t wait for a response.
He kept his eyes on the road and continued driving toward his apartment, already looking exhausted from dealing with the strangest passenger he’d ever picked up.
~~~
They finally reached Dylan’s apartment.
He unlocked the door and pushed it open, only to stop when he saw the state of the place.
Boots were scattered across the floor.
Underwear had been left near the couch, and several disassembled guns and boxes of ammunition were sitting on the table.
Dylan stared at the mess.
“Damn it, Clyne.”
He stepped inside and immediately started gathering whatever he could reach, kicking the boots toward the side of the room and trying to move the ammunition out of sight.
He grabbed the underwear from the floor without thinking, then turned around and noticed Yve standing in the doorway.
She cautiously stepped inside, looking around the unfamiliar apartment.
Dylan looked down.
He was still holding the underwear.
His face immediately tightened with embarrassment.
“This ain’t mine…
it’s Clyne’s.”
He tossed it toward the other side of the room.
Yve watched it land.
Dylan quickly turned toward the table and threw a cloth over the disassembled guns and ammunition.
He glanced back at her.
“I ain’t this messy.”
Yve raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
Dylan pointed toward the bathroom.
“You could wash up…” He opened the door and gestured inside.
“I’m gonna get some sleep.
Don’t be too loud.”
Yve looked toward the bathroom, then back at Dylan.
She gave a small nod.
Dylan walked toward the bedroom, leaving her standing in the middle of the apartment as she continued taking in her unfamiliar surroundings.
Inside the bedroom, Dylan closed his eyes and rubbed his face, still trying to get over the embarrassment.
He sighed.
“Goddamn it, Clyne…”
Dylan pulled out his phone and dialed his brother’s number.
It took several rings before Clyne finally answered.
“Hey, my fugly brother.”
Dylan just sighed.
“Told ya not to leave your underwears around.”
“Told ya not to leave your guns lying around.”
Dylan scoffed.
“Mine saves lives.
Yours are just an assault to my eyes.”
There was a pause on the other end.
“Where is this coming from?
Ya can’t tell me what to do without you doing your end of the bargain.”
Dylan gritted his teeth.
“Ya got nerves, Clyne.
Ya pissin’ me off.”
“Oh yeah…
go ahead and piss.
Stop bothering me, I’m at work.”
Dylan shook his head.
He was about to end the call when Clyne spoke again.
“What happened to that girl, by the way?”
“She’s fine.
Should be washin’ up in the bathroom.”
There was a brief silence.
“You crazy, man?
You brought her to my apartment?”
“Its mine.
You’re livin’ here rent free.”
Clyne chuckled.
“Alright, alright.
Your apartment.
Stop throwing that in my face.
Once I find a nice apartment to myself, ya can have that stinky place all to yourself again.”
Dylan leaned back against the wall.
“And hey…
don’t let her in my room.”
“Too bad.
Was gonna let her use your room for the night.”
Dylan lowered the phone.
Clyne’s voice came faintly through the disconnected line.
“Dylan!
You mo-!”
Then Dylan ended the call.
~~~
Inside the bathroom, Yve looked around at everything with cautious curiosity.
She examined the sink, the shower, the cabinets, and the various objects arranged around the room, trying to understand what each of them was for.
Everything was unfamiliar, yet oddly simple compared to what she was accustomed to.
She eventually stopped in front of the mirror and stared at her reflection.
“I’m in a human’s home.” A small smile crossed her face.
“Interesting…”
Her thoughts drifted back to what had happened only a day ago.
Her mother’s voice came back to her.
It will be good for you.
That way, I wouldn’t have to worry all the time if you have someone like Arcenaux supporting you.
Yve scoffed at the memory.
“How the hell is he going to protect me?” She folded her arms and stared at herself in the mirror.
“I’ll show you, Mother.
I can survive on my own.”
Then an idea came to her.
Yve’s expression brightened.
“Not bad…” She looked at herself again.
“Dylan seems like a good human…”
She paused, thinking.
“A month…” Her eyes narrowed.
“Ah, no.
A year.” She nodded to herself.
“If I survive a year here on the surface, that ought to show my mother I don’t need Arcenaux.”
Yve straightened.
“Right.
A year.” She repeated it to herself as though making the decision official.
“A year.
Hopefully that’s enough for Mother to leave me alone.
Give me some space.” A smile spread across her face.
“Oh heavens…
a year.”
She imagined it for a moment.
“A year of freedom.” Her smile disappeared.
“Heavens…
what am I going to do?” She looked around the bathroom.
“I’m going to die out here.”
Yve began pacing.
“Why did I do this?
Oh, what have I done?
What have I done?”
She stopped and took a breath.
“Wait.” Her expression hardened with determination.
“No.
I can do this.” She nodded firmly.
“What’s a year?
I’ve survived a whole lot worse.
I can definitely do this.” Another thought entered her mind.
“But this is the surface.” She looked toward the bathroom door.
“And I know no one.” Her confidence began slipping again.
“What happens if they find out I’m not human?”
Yve’s eyes widened.
“Oh heavens…
what have I done?” She resumed pacing.
“What do I do?
What do I do?” She covered her face with both hands.
“Oh, Yve, you idiot…”
After a moment, she lowered her hands.
“Eh…” She looked at herself in the mirror again.
“I can just hide my identity.” She nodded.
“Let’s just…
let’s just not let them know I’m a Siren.” She examined her reflection.
“I look like a human anyway.
Nobody suspects a thing.”
She took another breath.
“I’ll be fine.”
She paused.
“Right?” Yve stared at herself.
“I should be fine…”