Dominic's POV
I woke up with my wife in my arms and a death threat on my phone.
Nora was still sleeping, curled against my chest like she belonged there. Which she did now. Forever. The soul bond hummed between us—I could feel her dreams, soft and peaceful for the first time in months.
My phone screen glowed with a new message from Vivienne: "Good morning, newlyweds! Hope you enjoyed your wedding night. Today's your last Christmas Eve on Earth. Make it count. See you at the party. 5 PM sharp. Don't forget to open your presents first. ;)"
I carefully slid out of bed without waking Nora and walked to where we'd left the gift boxes last night.
Two boxes. One red, one white. "Open tomorrow before the party," Mrs. Winters had said.
It was tomorrow now. Christmas Eve morning. The office party was in nine hours.
I picked up the red box. It felt warm, almost alive. Something inside me—the soul bond, maybe—whispered that this was important. That whatever was inside would change everything.
But Mrs. Winters's warning echoed in my head: "Timing-specific."
What did that mean? Open too early and the magic wouldn't work? Open too late and we'd be defenseless?
"Don't open it without me."
I turned. Nora was awake, watching me from the bed with sleep-tousled hair and my shirt hanging off one shoulder. She looked beautiful and terrified and mine.
"Morning, wife," I said softly.
"Morning, husband." She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Did Vivienne send more threats?"
"Just the usual 'I'm going to kill you both' cheerfulness." I showed her the message. "She wants us to open the boxes before the party."
"Maybe that's a trap. Maybe we shouldn't—"
"Or maybe Mrs. Winters knew we'd need whatever's inside." I set the box down. "But you're right. We open them together. Later. After we figure out what we're walking into."
Nora got out of bed and came to me. The soul bond flared as she got closer—I felt her anxiety mixing with determination, her fear wrestling with courage.
"I can feel you," she whispered, touching my chest. "Your heartbeat. Your emotions. It's intense."
"I feel you too." I pulled her close. "Every thought. Every worry. Nora, we're going to survive this. I promise."
"You can't promise that. If one of us dies—"
"We both die. I know." I tilted her chin up. "So we make sure neither of us dies. We're stronger together now. The bond gives us power."
"What kind of power?"
"I don't know yet. But I felt it last night when the Shades attacked. When you were afraid, I felt stronger. Like my body was trying to protect both of us at once."
She frowned. "When you were angry at Marcus, I felt it too. Like rage that wasn't mine."
We stared at each other, pieces of a puzzle clicking together.
"The bond shares everything," I said slowly. "Emotions, thoughts, maybe even—"
My phone rang. Owen's name flashed on screen.
"Hey," I answered. "What's up?"
"Where the hell are you?" Owen sounded panicked. "Dominic, something's wrong at the office. Vivienne called an emergency all-staff meeting for 9 AM. She's saying there's been a security breach. She's claiming someone stole company files and—" He paused. "She's saying it was Nora."
My blood turned to ice. "What?"
"She has 'evidence.' Emails, file transfers, everything. She's going to the board with it today. If they believe her, Nora could be arrested for corporate espionage."
"That's insane! Nora would never—"
"I know that. You know that. But Vivienne has documentation. It looks real, Dominic. Really real." Owen's voice dropped. "This is a setup. She's trying to separate you two before the party. Get Nora arrested, keep you distracted, then strike when you're vulnerable."
I looked at Nora, who was watching me with growing alarm through the soul bond.
"We're coming in," I said. "Don't let them do anything until we get there."
"The board meeting is at 10 AM. You have one hour."
I hung up and turned to Nora. "Vivienne's framing you for corporate espionage. We need to go. Now."
She went pale. "If I get arrested—"
"You won't. I won't let that happen." I grabbed my keys. "Get dressed. We're going to stop this."
"Dominic, we can't go to the office! That's exactly what she wants! It's a trap!"
"If we don't go, they arrest you. If they arrest you, we're separated. If we're separated, we're vulnerable." I pulled her close, desperate. "We face this together. At the office. With witnesses. She can't attack us in front of everyone."
"She's not human anymore. She doesn't care about witnesses."
"Then we use the boxes." I grabbed both gift boxes. "Whatever Mrs. Winters put in here, we're bringing it. Just in case."
Nora got dressed in two minutes—jeans, sweater, boots. No time for office clothes. No time for anything except survival.
We drove to Kane Industries in silence, both of us feeling each other's terror through the bond.
The office was chaos when we arrived. Everyone was gathered in the main conference room, whispering and staring at us as we walked past.
Vivienne stood at the head of the table with the board of directors, looking smug and professional in a perfect suit.
"Ah, Ms. Chen," she said sweetly. "So glad you could join us. We were just discussing your interesting activities over the past six months."
She clicked a remote. A screen lit up with emails, file transfers, bank records—all with Nora's name and employee ID.
"Theft of proprietary data. Sale of company secrets to competitors. Embezzlement of company funds." Vivienne's smile was poison. "The evidence is overwhelming."
"That's fake," Nora said firmly. "All of it. I never—"
"Of course you'd say that." Vivienne turned to the board. "I recommend immediate termination and criminal charges. We can't have thieves in our company."
"She's not a thief!" I slammed my hand on the table. "Vivienne is framing her. This is personal, not professional."
"Personal?" Vivienne's eyes glinted dangerously. "You mean because you're sleeping with your assistant? Yes, I know about that. The whole office knows. You received an inappropriate photo from her last night, didn't you, Mr. Kane?"
Gasps around the room. My stomach dropped.
"She has that photo?" Nora whispered.
"Of course I have it." Vivienne clicked the remote again. "I have LOTS of photos."
The screen changed.
And there, for everyone to see, was the lingerie photo Nora had accidentally sent me.
Followed by more photos. Ones taken through Nora's window. Personal, private photos that made my vision go red with rage.
"Sexual harassment," Vivienne said smoothly. "Mr. Kane has been pursuing his assistant inappropriately. Ms. Chen was forced to comply to keep her job. This is a textbook case of workplace abuse."
"That's a LIE!" Nora shouted. "I sent that photo by accident! He never—"
"Save it for the lawyers," Vivienne interrupted. She looked at me with pure hatred. "You're both done. Ruined. And the best part? There's nothing you can do about it."
The board members were murmuring, looking at me with disappointment and disgust.
Owen stood up. "This is ridiculous. Dominic would never—"
"Wouldn't he?" Vivienne pulled out another document. "Here's a report from three employees claiming they witnessed Mr. Kane making inappropriate advances toward Ms. Chen over the past two years. Unwanted touching. Explicit comments. Abuse of power."
"Who?" I demanded. "Who claimed that?"
She smiled. "People I convinced very easily. Amazing what a little money and fear can accomplish."
She'd bought witnesses. Fabricated evidence. Destroyed our reputations in one carefully planned attack.
And we couldn't tell anyone she was a supernatural monster. We'd sound insane.
"The police are on their way," Vivienne announced. "Ms. Chen will be arrested for corporate espionage. Mr. Kane, the board will vote on your termination this afternoon. Your company, your reputation, your life—all of it ends today."
I felt Nora's despair through the bond, mixing with my own rage.
This was it. The trap. And we'd walked right into it.
Vivienne's eyes flashed black for just a second—proof of what she really was.
Then the conference room doors slammed shut.
Locked from the outside.
"What—" Owen tried the handle. "We're locked in!"
Vivienne laughed. "Oh, this is too perfect. All of you. Trapped in here with me. And at exactly 5 PM, during the Christmas party, this room is going to have a terrible gas leak. Tragic accident. Everyone dies. So sad."
She was going to kill everyone. Not just us. Everyone.
"You're insane," I breathed.
"I'm thorough." Her form started to shimmer, shadows leaking from her skin. "You broke the curse. Freed the bloodlines. Made my masters very, very angry. So now everyone connected to you dies. Your company. Your friends. Your wife."
The word "wife" made her snarl.
"That bond won't save you," she hissed. "It'll just make you die together. Romantic."
Nora grabbed my hand. Through the bond, I felt her idea forming.
The boxes.
We'd brought the boxes.
"Now," she whispered.
We both lunged for the gift boxes we'd left by the door.
Tore them open.
Inside mine: a simple silver ring with glowing symbols.
Inside Nora's: a matching ring with golden symbols.
And a note from Mrs. Winters: "Put them on together. Channel the bond. Speak your truth. Save everyone."
Vivienne's eyes widened. "NO! What are those—"
We put the rings on.
The world exploded with light.