Chapter One – The First Encounter
The city never slept, and neither did my worries.
I had just finished another late shift at the bookstore, my bag heavy with unsold dreams and the little cash that barely paid the rent. The streets were quiet, almost too quiet, except for the distant growl of motorcycles.
That's when I saw him.
Tall. Broad shoulders. A presence that swallowed the night around him. His leather jacket was soaked from the drizzle, and a silver chain glinted against his dark shirt. A scar traced along his jawline, but it only made him look more untouchable—danger wrapped in perfection.
He was leaning against a black car, cigarette smoke curling around him like a warning sign. His eyes found me instantly, sharp and unreadable.
"You shouldn't be walking out here alone," he said, his voice low, deep, and unsettlingly calm.
Something in me froze. Strangers didn't usually talk to me, and when they did, they never looked at me like that—like they could see every secret I had ever tried to bury.
I clutched my bag closer. "I'll be fine," I muttered, trying to walk past.
But he stepped forward, blocking my path. Not threatening, but unshakable, like the world itself moved to make room for him.
For reasons I couldn't explain, my heart wasn't screaming at me to run. It was whispering something far more dangerous: stay.
That night, I didn't know his name. I didn't know his world.
But I would soon.
And it would change everything....