The hall shimmered with chandeliers and hushed anticipation. Cameras flashed outside the hall as limousines lined the red carpet. Society's most powerful men and women gathered for the night, the great unveiling of Grotech's elusive owner.
Clarissa stood beside her mother, her gown glittering with self-importance, her lips painted in smug satisfaction. At last, she thought, at last they would meet the man she had been chasing after for years through endless proposals. Whoever he was, tonight he would finally take her family seriously.
Her mother whispered with pride, "This partnership will restore us, Clarissa. All of them will see."
Clarissa smiled, already imagining herself shaking hands with a faceless titan. Then the announcement came. The host's voice rang across the ballroom.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Grotech's founder and chief executive officer--Ryan Ardyn."
The room stilled.
Clarissa's heart stopped.
Across the hall, striding with calm authority, was no faceless titan. It was Ryan. Her Ryan. The man she had mocked, dismissed, humiliated. He wore a black tailored suit that fitted him well, his dark hair slicked back, a quiet glow about him that made the cameras flash and the crowd lean in awe. His presence was undeniable, a man who belonged in the centre of every room he stepped into.
Clarissa felt her breath catch. No. It couldn't be. This was a mistake.
Ryan moved through the board members, shaking hands, the picture of calm dominance. When his eyes found hers, she felt stripped bare. All those words she had spat at him--the insults, the laughter at his expense--they returned to choke her now. She opened her mouth, but no words came.
Her mother's face, usually sharp with criticism, remained strangely blank. For once, even she had nothing to say.
Ryan stopped before them. His voice was low, steady, carrying the weight of revelation. "Surprised, Clarissa? Not the nobody you thought I was."
Clarissa stared, stunned into silence, her throat dry.
A prickle ran across his skin, an awareness far sharper than any human sense. The mark burned faintly on his arm. His gaze shifted, and in the far corner of the hall, he saw Matthias, half-hidden, sulking, his eyes darker than night. And for the first time, Ryan saw him clearly. The demon beneath the human mask. He was the one after all.
Matthias's outline wavered, his skin stretching, a shadow clinging to him. He was one of the most powerful ones the gentleman spoke of.
Ryan's pulse spiked. Matthias wasn't alone. Across the hall, another presence stirred, a demon cloaked in glamour, mingling among the guests, but Ryan's awakened senses cut through the disguise. The mark seared hotter, as though it knew what was near.
Ryan excused himself from the crowd and moved. But he couldn't find Matthias again. So he followed the lesser demon, slipping through the balcony doors into the night air.
The creature hissed, then flat out began running, Ryan drew his weapon--the only tool he had for now, a gun fitted with specially crafted rounds the gentleman had provided. He fired. The bullet struck the demon in the side. It shrieked, staggering, the impact slowing but not stopping it. It turned, lips peeling back in a snarl, and then launched at him.
Ryan braced as claws slashed across the stone, sparks flying where talons scraped the balcony rail. He fired again--missed the heart, but tore through the creature's shoulder. The demon faltered, faster still than any mortal thing had a right to be.
The demon turned on him with claws, they clashed, Ryan ducking, rolling, his instincts snapping alive in ways that surprised even him. A flicker of shadow coiled around his arm, guiding his movements.
On the third shot, the bullet found its target.
The demon's chest split open with a violent screech, black smoke pouring from the wound as its form dissolved into nothing. The sound echoed, unearthly, a reminder of what lurked beneath the world of men.
But Ryan had no time to savour the victory.
The mark on his arm flared, a warning. His breath caught, no. He realised too late. The lesser demon had been a distraction. A lure.
"Clarissa was the bait."
He broke into a run, every instinct screaming, his senses guiding him back through the mansion, up into the highest tower of Grotech. His heart pounded as he burst onto the top floor.
The glass walls trembled in the wind.
And there--near the edge of the rooftop, lit by the cold glow of the city--stood Matthias. His demon form stretched and twisted, wings shadow-dark behind him, one arm clamped tight around Clarissa's waist, her pale face streaked with tears, her body trembling as he dangled her near the drop.
"Been waiting for you, Reaper," Matthias hissed, voice warped and guttural. "Took you long enough."
Ryan's gun was steady, but his pulse thundered. "Sorry. I don't usually take appointments with pests."
Clarissa whimpered, her voice cracking. "Ryan--"
Matthias's lips twisted, his grip tightening around Clarissa. She cried out.
A door slammed open. Clarissa's mother rushed in, her face white with fear. "This was not our bargain! You promised me a long life after you got what you wanted! You promised not to hurt her!" She shouted. "Leave her--take me instead!"
Ryan's eyes flicked to her, realisation dawning. She had known. She had dealt with him. But Matthias didn't reveal he'd go to any length to get the book of contracts.
Matthias laughed, a sound like cracking bones. "You are useless, your bargain means nothing now. The Book of Contracts is awake, and the Reaper has it. He is what I want. And I have something he wants to protect."
Clarissa's mother fell silent, horror dawning as she realised she had fed her daughter into the jaws of the monster she had invited.
"Give me the book, or I take her soul," Matthias snarled. "And then I'll throw her remains from this tower."
Ryan lifted his free hand, slowly, as though surrendering. His eyes locked with Clarissa's. She trembled, but ducked.
Then, in one swift motion, he pulled the trigger.
The bullet ripped into Matthias's side. The demon roared, his grip faltering. Clarissa struggled, twisting free as Ryan lunged forward, pulling her clear. Matthias staggered, his black blood hissing on the floor.
Ryan aimed again, but Matthias moved too quickly. With a furious hiss, he launched himself out the tower window, wings of shadow carrying him into the night. His voice echoed back, a promise:
"This isn't over!"
Ryan stood, chest heaving, the broken glass glittering around him. Clarissa clung to her mother, both women shaken and pale. Clarissa looked at Ryan with wide eyes, fear, shock, and something like remorse twisting her face.
But Ryan's gaze was fixed on the night beyond the shattered window. The battle wasn't finished. This was only the beginning.
The demons were awake. And hunting season had begun.