The crash outside shook dust from the rafters.
Ronan instantly stepped in front of Elena, one arm sweeping back to shield her without even looking. The movement was instinctive, primal—too fast, too precise for ordinary human reflex.
Observation 9:His first reaction isn't aggression. It's protection. Everything else comes second.
"Stay behind me," he murmured, voice low and edged with a warning she knew wasn't meant for her.
Elena's breath quickened, but not just from fear. From the way his entire body changed.
His shoulders squared. His stance widened, grounded like an anchored beast. Every line of him sharpened.
He wasn't just a man preparing for a fight—He was something powerful restraining itself from unleashing completely.
Another crash. This one nearer.
Elena flinched.
Ronan's ears reacted—No, not just ears. The muscles around them twitched subtly, angling toward the sound.
Not human.
He growled—not loud, but a deep rumble vibrating through the room.
"Ronan…" she whispered, trembling.
He turned slightly, just enough to meet her eyes.
And in that moment she saw something raw beneath the surface. Not fear. Not rage.
Worry. For her.
"Elena," he whispered, "listen to me. Whatever happens, you don't run unless I tell you. Understand?"
"But—"
"Understand?"
His voice softened at the last syllable, coaxing her to calm instead of commanding obedience. It worked. She nodded.
He eased closer, his presence wrapping around her like a shield.
His forehead briefly met hers—a grounding touch.
"One breath," he murmured. "One heartbeat. That's all I need to know you're alright."
She inhaled sharply at the intimacy of it.
And then—
A window shattered.
Ronan spun, pushing Elena gently behind the bed. "Down."
She crouched. But she didn't hide her eyes. He'd told her not to run—never not to see.
A shadow moved outside the broken window. Figures—fast, deliberate, closing in.
Ronan stepped forward, body angled protectively between their entry point and the place Elena hid. His chest rose with slow, dangerous breaths.
Elena watched the way his weight shifted to the balls of his feet—predatory balance. He was calculating distances. Angles. Threat viability.
Observation 10: He isn't planning escape. He's planning how to eliminate anything threatening her.
She whispered, "Ronan… please be careful."
His head tilted just slightly toward her—Just enough to show he heard her. Just enough to reassure her.
Then he moved.
Not like a man.
Like a beast freed from restraint.
He lunged toward the window just as a creature—a warped, wrong-looking thing with too many joints—scrambled through the shattered frame.
Ronan grabbed it mid-crawl and slammed it back out into the storm.
The wall shook.
Elena gasped. "Ronan!"
Another creature burst through the doorway—silent, grotesque, its limbs bending abnormally. Ronan turned with impossible speed, catching its wrist before its claws reached her.
He twisted—A single motion—The creature collapsed, limbs contorted.
It shouldn't have been possible. Not without strength beyond human.
Breathing hard, Ronan stood between her and the bodies—glowing eyes scanning, listening, calculating. His chest heaved, muscles taut, but his gaze flicked back to Elena constantly.
Checking her. Calming himself through her presence.
He wasn't letting the beast fully out. He was fighting to stay gentle for her.
The shadows outside retreated. The storm swallowed their figures.
The silence that followed was suffocating, thick with adrenaline.
Elena straightened, standing slowly, hand still braced on the bedframe.
Ronan's body loosened at seeing her unharmed. He took a shaky breath, turning fully toward her.
The moment his eyes landed on hers, everything inside them shifted.
From predator—Back to protector.
"Elena," he said softly, "come here."
She approached him cautiously, not out of fear but awe. When she reached him, he immediately checked her shoulders, her arms, the sides of her face—gentle, careful touches searching for any injury.
"I'm fine," she whispered.
He exhaled with relief, closing his eyes for a second as if grounding himself. "Good. Good…"
Then she noticed it—His hands were trembling.
Not from fear.
From restraint.
He stepped back as if worried he was too close.
"Ronan," she said softly, "look at me."
He didn't.
His jaw flexed, muscles shifting beneath damp skin. Rainwater dripped from his hair, trickling down his temple. He looked… lost. Struggling.
She stepped closer.
He didn't move away this time.
"Why are you shaking?" she asked gently.
"Elena… I almost—"His voice broke slightly."I almost lost control."
She blinked. "You protected me."
"That's not what I mean," he whispered.
He finally met her eyes.
And what she saw there wasn't beastly.
It was heartbreakingly human.
"Elena, when you're in danger, I feel things I can't—things I shouldn't—things that make it hard to think rationally."
Her breath caught.
His voice dropped to a raw whisper.
"My instincts… respond to you."
She felt heat rush to her cheeks.
"What does that mean?" she asked.
"It means," he said, swallowing hard, "that a part of me wants to keep you close. Always. Too close, maybe."
Her heartbeat kicked up. He heard it—she could tell by the faint, involuntary flick of his ear muscle.
"Elena…"He stepped closer. Worried, hopeful, terrified." All this time—have you really not realized what you're doing to me?"
She blinked. "I don't—Ronan, I'm just—"
"You read people," he said quietly." But with me? You feel me."
Her breath stilled.
"You knew I'd catch you on the bridge. You knew I'd protect you. You knew I'd run with you in my arms. You trusted me before you even understood why."
His voice gentled.
"And I trust you," he murmured." More than I've ever trusted anyone."
She felt the world tilt.
Then—softly—He reached out.
His fingers brushed hers. Tentative. Barely-there. Asking, not taking.
Her breath trembled. She didn't pull away.
Slowly, he took her hand fully—warm, calloused, grounding and overwhelming all at once.
"Elena," he whispered, "I will explain everything. But I need you to know something first."
She swallowed. "Okay."
Ronan's golden eyes softened, filled with something devastatingly tender.
"You're not just someone I'm protecting."
The room felt still. Held breath. A single moment suspended.
"You're someone I'm choosing."
Her chest tightened.
He squeezed her hand gently, reverently.
"And I will never let anything hurt you."
Thunder rumbled outside, fading into distance.
Elena held his gaze.
And for the first time, she realized:
He wasn't afraid of the creatures. He wasn't afraid of losing control.
He was afraid of losing her.
Ronan stepped closer. A breath away. His forehead dipped toward hers—slow, cautious, waiting for a sign.
She nodded faintly.
He exhaled a shaky breath against her skin—warm, grateful, relieved—and rested his forehead to hers again.
A soft, intimate contact.
Not a kiss. Not yet.
Something deeper. A beginning.
Outside, the storm quieted.
Inside, something far more dangerous had awakened.