I couldn't breathe.
Not properly.
Not fully.
Like the air itself had turned too thick, too heavy to pull into my lungs.
Everything felt wrong.
The ground beneath me.
The silence around me.
Him.
Standing just a few feet away.
Watching me.
Those eyes—
Too dark. Too sharp. Too aware.
I didn't understand what I was looking at.
I didn't want to.
"Please…" My voice trembled, barely holding together. "I didn't see anything."
It was a lie.
A terrible one.
But it was the only thing I had.
His head tilted slightly, like he was studying me.
Not like a person.
Like a puzzle.
Or prey.
"You ran," he said quietly.
My stomach twisted.
Of course I had.
What else was I supposed to do?
"I panicked," I whispered.
Another lie.
Because panic didn't explain what I had seen.
Didn't explain the blood.
The way that man had gone still.
The way he had looked at me.
Hungry.
Curious.
Wrong.
My fingers curled tightly against the ground as I tried to push myself back, inch by inch.
Distance.
I needed distance.
But he followed.
Slow.
Unhurried.
Like he knew I wasn't going anywhere.
"Humans usually scream," he continued.
The word humans sent a chill through me.
"I'm… not good under pressure," I said quickly, my voice cracking slightly.
Why was I talking?
Why was I trying to explain anything to him?
His gaze dropped briefly.
To my hands.
Then to my face again.
"And yet," he murmured, "you stayed long enough to watch."
My throat tightened.
"I didn't—"
He took another step.
Closer.
Too close.
The cold coming off him wasn't natural. It sank into my skin, sharp and invasive, making my body shiver uncontrollably.
"Don't lie," he said softly.
I froze.
Completely.
Because something in his voice—
It wasn't loud.
It wasn't threatening.
But it carried weight.
Like it could force the truth out of me if I wasn't careful.
"I… I thought it was an animal," I admitted, the words slipping out before I could stop them.
That wasn't entirely a lie.
At least not at first.
Something flickered in his expression.
Amusement.
"Did it look like an animal to you?" he asked.
No.
It didn't.
It looked worse.
I swallowed hard, my eyes dropping for a second before I forced them back up to meet his.
"No."
Silence.
Heavy.
Stretching between us.
My heart pounded so hard it felt like it might give me away all on its own.
He stepped closer again.
I stopped moving.
Not because I wanted to—
Because I couldn't.
Fear had locked my body in place.
"Interesting," he said under his breath.
My brows pulled together slightly.
"What is?"
He didn't answer.
Instead, he inhaled.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Like he was trying to smell something.
My stomach dropped.
Was he—
No.
No, no—
He frowned.
Just slightly.
Confusion flickering across his face.
And for a moment—
just a moment—
he looked… unsure.
"That's not possible," he murmured.
"What?" My voice came out smaller than I intended.
His eyes snapped back to mine.
Sharp.
Focused.
"You were close," he said. "Too close."
I didn't understand.
"I don't—"
"I should have sensed you."
The words hit me strangely.
Like they carried more meaning than I could grasp.
"I'm right here," I said, my voice shaking.
He ignored that.
Stepped even closer.
Now I could see every detail of his face.
Too perfect.
Too still.
Too… inhuman.
"You're afraid," he continued.
My breath hitched.
"Well, obviously—"
"But I can't smell it."
The words landed heavy.
Confusing.
Terrifying.
"I don't know what you mean," I said quickly.
His gaze searched mine, like he was trying to see something beneath the surface.
Like he was trying to find something that wasn't there.
And that—
That scared me more than anything.
Because he wasn't looking at me like a normal person would.
He was looking at me like I was wrong.
Like I didn't belong.
His eyes dropped again.
To my chest.
To the necklace.
My hand moved instinctively, gripping it tightly.
Something about the way he looked at it—
I didn't like it.
Not at all.
"Where did you get that?" he asked.
The question came out sharper than anything he had said before.
"It's mine," I said immediately.
His gaze lifted back to mine.
Unblinking.
"From where?"
"My mother," I answered, my voice steadier this time. "It's all I have left of her."
Something flickered in his expression again.
Not recognition.
Not exactly.
But something close enough to make my stomach twist.
Before I could say anything else—
A sound cut through the night.
Low.
Deep.
Vibrating.
My entire body went still.
The vampire froze too.
Instantly.
Like something had flipped a switch.
Slowly…
very slowly…
he turned his head.
Toward the darkness behind me.
I didn't want to look.
Every instinct I had screamed at me not to.
But I did anyway.
And what I saw—
Made everything worse.
A figure stood at the edge of the alley.
Tall.
Broad.
Still.
But it wasn't his size that made my breath catch.
It was the feeling.
The air around him felt different.
Heavier.
Wild.
Dangerous in a way that felt… alive.
The vampire's lips pressed into a thin line.
Annoyed.
"Of course," he muttered.
My heart pounded wildly.
One monster was already too much.
Now there were two.
"Stay out of this," the vampire said coldly.
The other man didn't respond.
Didn't move.
But something about his silence felt louder than words.
Threatening.
Final.
I didn't understand what was happening.
I didn't understand any of this.
All I knew was that I was trapped between them.
And neither of them felt safe.
The vampire shifted his attention back to me.
Just for a second.
But it was enough.
That hunger—
It was still there.
Still focused.
Still real.
He stepped toward me.
And everything inside me screamed.
But before he could take another step—
It happened.
A sound exploded through the air.
Not human.
Not anything I had ever heard before.
A howl.
Deep.
Feral.
Powerful enough to shake the ground beneath me.
I gasped, my hands flying to my ears as the sound wrapped around me, vibrating through my chest, my bones, my very skin.
The vampire stopped.
Completely.
Mid-step.
Like he had been commanded to.
Silence followed.
Heavy.
Charged.
And in that silence—
I realized something terrifying.
That sound…
wasn't just a warning.
It was a claim.
And somehow—
I was at the center of it.