Chapter 3: Shadows That Breathe
Olivia's Point of View
The moment I stepped through the front door of my apartment, I felt like I had walked into a different world. The lights were off, but not because I had forgotten to turn them on. The air felt still, too still — like it was waiting for something… or someone.
I placed my keys on the table, my heart still pounding from earlier. The man in the alley — the piercing gaze, the overwhelming presence, the strange pull. I tried to push him out of my mind, but it was impossible. Even now, it felt like his scent clung to my skin — earthy, smoky, dangerously intoxicating.
I headed to the bathroom to splash cold water on my face. As I looked up, my reflection stared back, pale and wide-eyed. Then suddenly — I flinched.
There it was again. The faint outline of something glowing just beneath my skin. A mark… right over my collarbone. It shimmered softly, like moonlight dancing on water, only visible for a second before disappearing. I gasped and stumbled back, knocking a bottle off the sink.
"What the hell is happening to me?"
Was I imagining things?
The knock on the door nearly sent me into cardiac arrest.
Three sharp raps.
I froze. It was already past midnight. Who would knock at this hour?
"Olivia," a voice called — low, commanding, and unfamiliar… yet I knew it. It was him.
My feet moved before my brain could stop them. I opened the door slowly, and there he was. Jaden. The man from the alley. Only now, he didn't look like a stranger. He looked like someone who belonged — tall, broad-shouldered, wearing a leather jacket over a black shirt, his piercing golden eyes glowing faintly in the dark.
"You followed me?" I whispered, not sure whether to be angry or afraid.
"I needed to make sure you were safe," he said, stepping inside without waiting for permission.
"Safe? From what?"
He paused, scanning the room like he expected something to attack at any moment. "From those who now know what you are."
I blinked. "What I am? What the hell are you talking about?"
He turned to me, his eyes intense. "You're not just human anymore."
My knees buckled, and I grabbed onto the couch for balance. "This is insane. I don't even know you."
"But I know you," he said, voice calm and sure. "And your blood is changing. You've been marked."
"Marked? By who?"
His jaw tensed. "By me."
I took a shaky step back. "You think this is helping? That mark on my shoulder, the one that burns every time I think about you — that's your doing?"
"Yes," he said quietly. "I didn't mean for it to happen… but the bond has already begun."
"What bond?" I asked, heart thudding violently in my chest.
He moved closer, his voice barely above a whisper. "The one that ties your soul to mine."
I should've run. I should've screamed. But something inside me stirred — not fear, not confusion, but something else… something primal. The way he looked at me — like I was the only thing anchoring him to this world — it terrified and thrilled me at the same time.
Then I felt it again — a cold presence creeping in like smoke under the door. Jaden stiffened and turned sharply.
"They found you already," he muttered.
"Who?" I asked, but it was too late.
The lights flickered and died. A gust of wind burst through the windows. My living room plunged into darkness, and from the corner of the room, a figure began to emerge.
Jaden growled — yes, growled — a deep, feral sound that didn't belong to any normal man. His hands clenched at his sides as his back arched unnaturally. I heard bones crack.
"What's happening to you?" I asked, panic rising in my throat.
His eyes shifted — golden to a glowing, dangerous silver.
He wasn't human either.
"Stay behind me, Olivia," he said, voice ragged. "Whatever happens, don't move."
The figure stepped into view, pale-skinned, with blood-red eyes and a smile like shattered glass. A vampire. I didn't need Jaden to confirm it — I just knew.
"You're too late, Alpha," the creature sneered. "She's already ours."
Alpha?
I stared at Jaden in horror and awe as the truth hit me like a truck.
He's not just a werewolf… He's an Alpha.
And he marked me.
But before I could process it all, the vampire lunged, and the room exploded into chaos.
Jaden shifted mid-air — his body elongating, muscles tearing and reforming, black fur spreading across his skin. A massive wolf with eyes full of rage and protectiveness crashed into the vampire mid-leap.
I screamed, stumbling backward as glass shattered and growls echoed through my home.
Everything I thought I knew about the world… had just burned to ash.
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Cliffhanger Ending Suggestion:
As I pressed myself against the wall, heart pounding, something grabbed my wrist from behind.
I turned —
And came face-to-face with another vampire.
This one… was smiling.