Addison's POV
The clock on the wall read 2:47 AM. I couldn't sleep anymore. Not with the images of the hooded figure burned into my mind.
I lay there, staring at the ceiling, the darkness around me thick and suffocating. The weight of the night pressed down on me, but it wasn't just exhaustion that kept me awake. It was the feeling that something was wrong-something I couldn't put my finger on.
I had to go. I had to get out of here.
I slid out of bed, careful not to make a sound, even though the air around me seemed thick with the tension of the moment. My heart beat faster, like a drum urging me to leave, to escape whatever pull that was making my skin crawl. I grabbed my hoodie from the back of the chair, pulled it over my head, and slipped into my sneakers without a second thought.
My breath was shallow as I tiptoed past Amanda's room. Her soft breathing was the only sound that filled the silence, and I felt a pang of guilt for not telling her.
But I couldn't. Not yet. Not when I wasn't even sure of myself.
I moved quietly down the hall, my footsteps muffled by the thick carpet beneath my feet. The house felt strange tonight-empty, like it was holding its breath, waiting for something to happen. Something I wasn't ready for.
I opened the front door slowly, wincing as the hinges creaked. The night air hit me like a cold splash of water, but it didn't matter. It was refreshing. I needed this.
I stepped out into the yard, pulling the door shut behind me with a soft click. The world around me was quiet, save for the distant rustling of trees and the occasional chirp of a nocturnal creature.
I didn't know where I was going. I didn't care. I just had to get away. Away from the weight of the reflection, away from the hooded figure, away from the feeling that I didn't belong here.
I walked quickly, the cool grass beneath my feet barely registering as I moved forward. The woods loomed ahead of me, their twisted branches like dark fingers reaching for the sky.
Something inside me urged me to go further into the woods, to find something-or maybe someone-that could explain everything. The pull was almost irresistible, like I was being guided by something I couldn't see but could feel all around me.
As I reached the edge of the woods, I hesitated for just a moment, looking back at the house. The light from the windows cast a faint glow across the yard, but it seemed so far away now. So insignificant.
I turned away and stepped into the shadows, disappearing into the trees. I had to go. I couldn't stay here any longer. Not with everything I had learned, everything I had seen in that reflection.
The darkness wrapped around me like a blanket, and I felt a strange sense of calm settle over me. For the first time in a long time, I didn't feel like I was being watched. I didn't feel the weight of everyone else's expectations.
It was just me. Alone.
And for now, that was enough.
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The deeper I walked into the woods, the more the world around me seemed to fade away. The quiet was all-encompassing-no wind rustling through the trees, no animals stirring. It was as if the forest itself was holding its breath, waiting for something to happen. Something that felt inevitable.
I walked with purpose, though I wasn't entirely sure where I was headed. The path ahead of me was unclear, but my feet moved with an almost instinctual certainty, as if I had walked this route before. The trees towered above me, their twisted branches casting strange shadows on the ground. The air was cold, but it wasn't uncomfortable. It was the kind of chill that seemed to seep into your bones, pulling your mind into a quiet, reflective state.
I didn't know why I was out here. But something inside me told me I had to keep going. I had to see this through.
The further I went, the more disoriented I became. The trees started to blur together, the ground underfoot shifting from solid to spongy, like the earth itself was alive and reacting to my presence. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, but it wasn't fear. It was... anticipation.
And then, I saw it.
A figure, standing in the distance between the trees, just on the edge of my vision. At first, it was just a shadow-tall, hooded, unmoving. But as I took a step closer, I felt the air around me grow heavy. It was them.
The hooded figure.
I should've turned around. I should've run. But I couldn't. I couldn't tear my eyes away from them.
As I stepped forward, the figure turned slowly, their face still hidden beneath the shadow of their hood. But even without seeing their eyes, I could feel them staring at me, seeing right through me.
"You shouldn't have come," they said, their voice low and smooth, sending a shiver down my spine.
I swallowed hard, trying to steady myself. "What do you want from me?" My voice was barely a whisper, but it felt like it echoed through the stillness of the woods.
"You're not supposed to be here," they said again, taking a slow step toward me. "You never were."
A coldness washed over me, deep and unsettling. I felt like the ground beneath me was slipping away, and I had no choice but to follow.
"I don't understand," I murmured. "Why are you doing this?"
The figure tilted their head, and for the first time, I saw something-an emotion?-flicker beneath the hood. It was faint, barely noticeable, but it was there.
"You do," they replied cryptically. "You just don't remember."
A memory flickered-so fast, so elusive, like a flash of light in the corner of my eye. Something... familiar.
I stepped back, my chest tight. "No. I don't. I don't know you."
But even as I said the words, I wasn't sure I believed them. Because a part of me, deep down, knew that wasn't true. I did know them.
I had to.
The figure took another step closer, their presence now overwhelming. "You were never meant to stay here," they said softly, as if the words were a promise.
I shook my head, my breath quickening. "I don't want this. I want to go home."
"Home?" The figure's voice was laced with something that sounded like a cruel laugh. "You think you have a home? You don't belong here, Addison."
I froze, my heart skipping a beat at the sound of my name.
How did they know my name?
But before I could react, the figure reached out, a long, pale hand emerging from beneath the folds of their cloak. I felt the pull again, like gravity itself was shifting, dragging me toward them.
"No..." I whispered, panic flooding my veins. "I won't-"
"Don't fight it," they interrupted softly, their voice like a whisper in the wind. "You're not meant to stay with her. Not anymore."
The words hit me like a slap. Her.
Amanda.
I could feel the panic surge within me. My twin. I needed to get back to her. She was the only thing that mattered now, the only thing that kept me grounded in this reality. But everything about this moment felt wrong-like the world around me was unraveling, and I was caught in the middle.
I opened my mouth to speak, to say something, but no words came out. The air was thick, suffocating, and the weight of the figure's presence grew heavier with every passing second.
I needed to leave. I needed to get away.
But as I turned, trying to break free from their grip on me, I saw something else.
A shadow, moving swiftly through the trees. Another figure. Taller, broader, its silhouette cutting through the mist of the woods.
And for the briefest moment, I thought I saw a flash of familiar features-eyes that shimmered in the dark, a presence I couldn't quite place.
Then, the figure was gone, swallowed up by the shadows.
But I didn't have time to think about it.
I ran.
I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, not daring to look back. The woods were no longer silent, no longer still. Every tree, every branch seemed to whisper as I tore through the underbrush. The path was a blur beneath my feet, but I couldn't slow down. Not now.
I had to get away.
I had to get back to Amanda.
But in the back of my mind, one thought lingered:
Whatever this was, whatever was happening, it wasn't over yet.
Aonmi's POV
I had always been careful. Calculated. It was one of the things that kept me from losing control. But when I stepped into Addison's room, my mind already restless from the earlier events, I felt something shift. It was too quiet. Too still.
The bed was empty.
My heart stuttered in my chest as I stepped closer, my eyes scanning the room, the walls, the shadows. No sign of her. No sign of anyone. Just the faint smell of her lingering in the air.
"Addison?" I called softly, my voice betraying none of the fury rising within me.
No response.
My mind raced, my thoughts already spiraling into darker places. Where could she have gone? Why hadn't she told anyone?
She was supposed to be safe. Here. With me. I told myself she was safe, that nothing would happen to her as long as I was around.
But now? Now, she was gone.
I clenched my fists, the nails digging into my palms as I turned sharply and left the room, my steps quick, purposeful. She couldn't have gone far. She couldn't be out there alone in the middle of the night, not with that lingering in the air, that feeling from earlier-the one that gnawed at my gut, the one I could barely suppress.
I need to find her.
I stormed through the house, ignoring the darkened hallways, the silence of the rooms I passed. All I could think of was her. Her absence.
I pushed open the front door with a force that rattled the frame. The night air hit me, cool and sharp, biting at my skin. The moonlight was harsh, revealing shadows that seemed to stretch unnaturally. The world around me felt wrong, like it was conspiring against me, shifting in ways I didn't like.
Where was she?
The woods. Of course.
Without hesitation, I moved toward the tree line, my body already in motion before I could fully process it. My breath came fast and shallow as I cut through the underbrush, every rustle of leaves, every snapping twig underfoot amplifying the rage growing inside me.
She wasn't supposed to be out here. Not at this hour. Not without me.
I'd warned her. I'd told her she couldn't go, that it was dangerous. But she didn't listen. She never listened.
A part of me understood why she had left. She was scared. She was running from something-something that was too big for her to handle, something she didn't know how to face.
But that didn't matter. What mattered was that she wasn't here. And I was the one who had to fix it.
She belongs to me.
The words rattled through my mind like an echo of some dark promise. I had always known, deep down, that she was mine. I was the one who understood her, who could protect her. It had always been me, no one else. And now... now, there was the possibility that someone else was threatening that.
No.
I wasn't going to let it happen.
The trees blurred past me as I picked up speed, my senses heightened. The scent of the forest mixed with something else-something faint, but unmistakable. Addison's scent.
And underneath it, something darker. Someone else.
I skidded to a halt as the realization hit me.
The figure. The one I had seen before.
They were here.
I narrowed my eyes, the burning anger inside me shifting into something sharper, more dangerous. My fists clenched, my claws elongating, the familiar, dangerous edge to my power ready to spring to life.
Whoever it was, whatever they were trying to do, I wasn't going to let them take Addison from me.
Not now. Not ever.
I forced myself to push the thoughts of Amanda out of my head. She was a distraction now. I couldn't afford to think about her.
Addison. I just need Addison.
I pressed forward again, moving with calculated speed, following the trail her scent left behind. The ground beneath me felt wrong, soft and unstable, but I didn't care. Nothing mattered except getting to her. Nothing else could stop me.
I could feel her. She was close.
I was going to find her.
And when I did...
There would be no more distractions.
She would be mine.
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Narrative POV
The air was thick with tension as Aonmi plunged deeper into the woods, his movements sharp and calculated, driven by an obsessive need to find Addison. The leaves rustled in the wind, but there was no comfort to be found in the quiet darkness of the trees. His mind was consumed by one thought: Addison.
She had slipped away in the dead of night, leaving no trace of her intentions. He had tried to convince himself that she would stay, that she would wait for him, but the moment he found her room empty, that hope shattered like glass.
As the minutes passed, his search grew more frantic. His eyes scanned every shadow, every corner of the woods. The wind carried a faint trace of her scent, but there were other smells now, too-smells he couldn't place. The night had grown colder, the darkness stretching unnaturally. It felt wrong. He had a sense of it, deep down in his bones. He wasn't the only one out here.
There was something else lurking in the dark. Something unfamiliar.
Aonmi's pulse quickened. The figure.
He hadn't seen them directly in days, but the lingering sensation of their presence was unmistakable. It clawed at him from the back of his mind, a reminder that whatever this was, it wasn't a coincidence. They were tied to her. To Addison.
The memory of the hooded figure's words came back to him. "You were never meant to stay."
Aonmi's jaw clenched, his claws extending as he prowled forward. His thoughts swirled with the unspoken promise in those words-the promise that Addison's place was not here, not in his world. That thought alone was enough to burn away the small remnants of rationality he had left. He would not let them take her.
He wouldn't let anyone take her.
Aonmi's steps grew faster, his eyes narrowing as he picked up her scent again, stronger this time. It led him toward a small clearing, the trees opening up just enough to let the moonlight spill through. And there, standing in the middle of the clearing, was Addison.
For a brief moment, he felt relief wash over him. She was here.
But then his gaze shifted. She wasn't alone. The hooded figure stood a few paces away from her, their form looming like a dark, twisted shadow against the pale moon. Their presence felt wrong, unnatural. Aonmi's blood boiled as he felt the full weight of their connection to Addison-the way their energy wrapped around her like a vice, pulling her in.
He wanted to scream. To demand that they leave her alone.
But he couldn't. Not yet. Not when Addison was still standing there, her body stiff and unmoving. She looked... lost.
"Aonmi," she whispered, her voice barely audible. She didn't seem to see him yet, too focused on the figure in front of her. Her eyes were wide, her face pale, her breath shaky as she stood frozen.
"Addison..." Aonmi took a step forward, his voice tight with frustration. His eyes locked onto the figure as his anger boiled over. "What is this? Who are you?"
The hooded figure turned their head slowly, the motion fluid and unsettling, like the movement of something that didn't belong in this reality. Their face remained hidden in the folds of the dark hood, but their voice was as cold as before.
"She's mine," they said, their voice smooth, almost mocking.
Aonmi felt a surge of fury. His hands trembled with the urge to lash out, but he forced himself to stay calm, to keep control. He couldn't let his emotions drive him. Not yet.
Addison's eyes flicked toward him then, finally seeing him, but there was confusion in her gaze. She looked torn, like she was stuck between two worlds. Aonmi's heart sank at the sight. She didn't understand yet. She couldn't see the danger, the threat that was standing right in front of her.
"She's not yours," Aonmi growled, the words slipping through his teeth like a promise.
The figure tilted their head slightly, as if considering him. "We shall see."
In a flash, the figure lunged forward, a dark blur of movement, and for a moment, Aonmi thought they were coming for him. But then, in a move that sent a chill down his spine, the figure reached out toward Addison. They brushed their hand across her arm, and the air seemed to crackle with energy, the world around them warping in response.
Addison gasped, her body flinching as the figure's touch seemed to drain something from her. Her knees buckled, and for a moment, she wavered on her feet, her eyes wide in terror.
Aonmi's instincts kicked in. He moved in an instant, grabbing Addison by the waist and pulling her back against his chest, shielding her from the figure's reach.
"Stay behind me," he whispered, his voice shaking with urgency.
But Addison's hands shook as she reached for the figure, her eyes filled with an emotion Aonmi couldn't quite place.
"Addison, no!" he growled, but she didn't hear him.
The figure smiled beneath their hood, their lips curving just slightly. "It's already begun."
Aonmi's blood ran cold.
And then the world went black.
The last thing he heard was Addison's scream.