The car's interior pressed in around me. It was cool, but not comforting, quiet in a way that made my skin prickle and my pulse hammer in my ears. The faint scent of cologne and polished metal lingered. My hands trembled slightly as I clenched them in my lap, forcing myself to breathe evenly.
Across from me, a tall figure sat motionless, broad-shouldered, exuding calm that felt almost predatory. He tilted his head slightly, deliberate in the way he studied me. Even under the dim streetlight filtering through the tinted windows, I could see the sharp line of his jaw, the eyes that seemed to weigh me, measure my every reaction.
"You're awake," he said.
The words settled over me like ice. That voice… I knew it. Somewhere, in some life long buried beneath years and memories, that voice had called me mate. Whispered promises I thought I'd never hear again.
My stomach twisted, and I froze. My wolf stirred faintly, restless, sensing him despite the seal on my power. Memory and instinct battled within me, sharp focus blooming in their place of fear.
"You…" My voice faltered, my breath catching in my throat, but my body refused the urge to flee.
The boy, no, the Lycan Prince leaned back casually, one hand resting on the leather seat as if he had all the time in the world.
"I suppose this isn't the best first impression," he said, his voice even but edged with humor I didn't feel.
His gaze drifted to the shadows outside, scanning the street beyond the car as if expecting something or someone to appear.
I forced my fists to unclench, pushing aside fear, pushing aside the pull of sentiment. Not this time. I would not let history repeat itself.
He was heir to the Lycan throne, dangerous, enigmatic, tangled in the kind of family war I had only glimpsed in visions from my past life. And now he had me trapped in a car that might as well have been a cage.
Escape was impossible. Resistance would only bring pain. I forced my expression into neutrality, taking in every detail. The faint scuff of the carpet under my shoes. The tiny fleck of light glinting off the knife tucked into the side console. His eyes, sharp and calculating, as if he could read my thoughts. For a heartbeat, I wondered if he could.
"Who are you?" I asked cautiously, letting my voice sound calm even as adrenaline set my heart racing.
"Who I am doesn't matter," he said evenly, his gaze unwavering. "What matters is that you're not safe outside."
"Safe from whom? Lilith?" I arched an eyebrow, my throat tight but my tone steady.
His lips curved briefly, a ghost of a smile. "Among others. You've drawn attention you don't understand."
I swallowed, tasting the metallic tang of fear that had been building. His calm carried danger. He wasn't bluffing.
Then, without warning, the quiet was replaced by gunshots, sharp, sudden, echoing against the buildings around us. My heart leapt into my throat. Damian's frown deepened, his body tensing.
"Assassins," he murmured, fingers brushing the door handle before stopping. The tension in his muscles told me he wanted to move, wanted to fight. But he hesitated, as if weighing the odds against something I couldn't see.
I noticed the subtle tremor in his hands. The boy I had once known, the one who had smiled so easily, laughed so freely… was human after all. Despite the aura of power, despite the title, despite the bloodline, he feared just like the rest of us.
I could have shouted. Could have tried to run, though the car was a cage and there was nowhere to go. But something held me steady. Something told me I was not helpless.
"You'll make it through," I said quietly, my words almost lost in the echo of gunfire, but they came out before I could second-guess them. His eyes widened, disbelief flashing across his face.
"You… how do you know?" he asked, voice tight.
"I know enough," I said. "You've always found a way. You'll do it again."
For a moment, the car held its silence. Outside, tires screeched on asphalt, shadows darted across the street. But inside, the air had shifted. He studied me, searching for lies, and found none.
Then came the scream. High, piercing, unmistakable. Lilith. The sound cut through my chest, sparked something long dormant in my wolf, made my pulse spike with hunger and rage.
Damian moved toward the door instinctively. I pressed my hand over his, stopping him. "No," I said, firm, grounding him. "Let me handle this."
His intense eyes met mine. "You're sure?"
"I know her," I replied simply. The memory of her cruelty, her smiles that didn't reach her eyes, the way she thrived on fear and pain, it all surged back, sharp and vivid. My wolf roared beneath my skin. Vengeance flared.
The car jerked to a stop. The door opened, and she stepped inside. Pale, sharp-eyed, unmistakable malice dripping from every movement. Lilith.
The air grew thick, heavy with tension and the scent of blood that wasn't yet spilled. My senses sharpened, every muscle taut, every nerve alive. My wolf surged, sensing danger and weakness.
Damian's hand covered mine, steady and grounding. His presence anchored me, but it didn't diminish the heat of anticipation rising inside me. I lifted my gaze to Lilith. "Not this time," I said quietly, deliberately.
"Good," Damian said, jaw tight, eyes never leaving hers. "Because I won't let her win. And neither will you."
Lilith's smile was sharp, predatory. She circled the car like a wolf, eyes flicking to me, then to Damian. "You think you've changed the rules?" she hissed. "You think you can escape me?"
My wolf growled low in my chest, and I matched her tone, calm and dangerous. "I don't escape. I hunt."
The tension crackled, electric, as the night outside simmered with unseen threats. But inside, the car had become a battlefield, a crucible where instincts sharpened and strategy mattered more than brute strength.
Lilith lunged, swift and calculating. I didn't flinch. Every motion was a reflection of memory, of instinct, of past mistakes I refused to repeat. My hands met hers midair; fingers locked, strength tested. She struggled, but I held my ground, muscles taut and ready.
Damian moved beside me, fluid, protective without overwhelming. Together, we became a single unit, a blend of human and beast, strategy and instinct. Every breath, every heartbeat, synced in tense rhythm.
"You're stronger than I remember," Lilith spat, fury lacing her words. Her eyes darted, searching for weakness, but found none. My wolf snarled, circling, every instinct screaming at me to strike.
But I waited. Patience was the key. I had learned in my previous life that haste brought downfall. And this time, I would not fall.
The car rocked as another vehicle skidded to a stop outside, gunfire crackling like fire in the night. The threat was real, immediate. Lilith's mask of confidence faltered, if only slightly. I pressed forward, voice low and steady.
"This ends now," I said, and it wasn't a threat. It was a promise.
Damian's hand tightened over mine, grounding, steadying. "Together," he said. And in that single word, the bond we had forged in the crucible of danger became unbreakable.
Lilith hissed, backing towards the door. Her fury was palpable, but so was fear. She had underestimated me once. Not again.
The car's interior, once a cage, had become an arena. Every sense was heightened: the metallic scent of blood in the distance, the tremor of tires on asphalt, the rapid cadence of our hearts. Every motion, deliberate. Every glance, strategic.
And in that crucible of danger, I realized something fundamental. I was no longer the prey. No longer the frightened girl trapped by fate, by history, by a cycle of violence I could not control.
I was the predator. And Lilith… she would definitely be the prey.