Se connecterGift’s POVI stared at the crumpled piece of paper in my hand, my mind spinning in complete confusion.Don't trust the one who smells like rain.Was this left behind by the original Gift? Or did one of the two hundred and ninety-nine previous players write this warning before she was killed? I tried to remember every detail from the book, but nothing came up. Malakor brought the biting chill of frost, but Mich was the one who had walked through the pouring downpour to get to my door. My eyes flicked toward Mich, my stomach tightening with a cold, terrifying doubt."Gift? Did you find the extra water bottles?" Mich’s deep voice shattered my thoughts as he zipped his backpack closed. He stepped into the kitchen, looking at me with genuine concern. "Hey, you're staring off again. Are you alright?""I'm fine," I said quickly, shoving the paper deep into my pocket before he could see it. I forced my hand to stop shaking and picked up two large plastic bottles from the counter, slipping the
Gift’s POVI forced myself to pull my trembling body off the rumpled bed.My arms were weak and my legs felt like lead, but I couldn't let Mich find me like this. I grabbed my shirt from the floor and pulled it back over my head, smoothing down the fabric with quick, nervous sweeps of my hands. I stepped over to the small mirror beside the closet to check my reflection in the dark. My lips were slightly swollen, and my skin still carried a faint flush, but the heavy marks along my collarbone were hidden beneath the high neck of my shirt.Taking a deep, shaky breath, I unlocked the bedroom door and pulled it open.Mich was standing in the dark hallway, his gun held low at his side. The worry on his face was raw and obvious, his dark eyes searching my expression the second the door swung wide."Gift," he said, stepping forward. "Are you alright? I thought I heard you crying out in there.""I'm okay," I said quickly, offering him a small, reassuring smile that took everything in me to pu
Gift’s POVThe ice-cold pressure of his fingers against my neck was the only thing keeping my mind from completely melting away.Malakor stepped fully out of the dark shadow near the closet, moving with a terrifying, weightless silence that didn't belong to a living man. His tall frame seemed to absorb the pitch-black room around us, radiating a numbing, heavy chill that rolled over the mattress like an invisible wave. The air in my lungs turned instantly to frost, but inside my skin, the feverish fire of the pathogen roared back, screaming for more of that impossible relief.I didn't care who he was. I didn't care that he was a dangerous monster whose threat level made my system screen flash red warnings. I didn't care what he wanted or why he was here. In that exact second, all my pride, caution, and fear burned away, leaving behind a raw, desperate need to survive the unbearable heat in my blood."Please," I gasped out, my voice coming out as a raspy, pleading whisper. I reached up
Gift’s POVI couldn't tear my eyes away from the frozen glass. The white letters carved into the pane stared back at me, glowing softly under the erratic red lights from the street below.SHE IS MINE."This doesn't make any sense," Mich said, his voice dropping low as he stepped closer to the balcony door. He held his service weapon tight, his knuckles white as he stared at the icy text. "The temperature outside must have dropped suddenly. Some kind of strange chemical reaction with the glass and the moisture in the storm air... it's just a freak weather event."He was trying so hard to find a logical explanation. He wanted to believe we were just dealing with a bad storm and a citywide power outage. I knew better. I knew those words weren't caused by the weather, and I knew the creature who left them was standing in the dark right outside our door only moments ago."Mich, don't stand so close to it," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. I wanted to tell him everything, to warn hi
Gift’s POVThe heavy knock against the glass rattled the entire window frame.I froze, the breath catching in my chest. Beside me, Mich reacted in a split second. He stepped sideways, shielding me with his broad back, and drew his service weapon with a swift, fluid motion. The dark steel glinted under the rhythmic flash of the emergency lights from the street."Stay behind me, Gift," Mich commanded in a tense whisper, his fingers tightening on the grip. "Don't move."He aimed the gun directly at the heavy curtains blocking the balcony doors. Rain was pouring hard outside, the heavy drops drumming against the glass like tiny, frantic fingers. My mind raced as I stared at the dark fabric of the curtains. Four floors up. There was no fire escape on this side of the building, no ledge, and no balcony large enough for anyone to stand on without falling into the alley below."Mich, wait," I whispered, reaching out to touch his shirt, my hands trembling violently. "Be careful."He didn't ans
Gift’s POV I couldn't move. My feet felt glued to the floor tiles, my eyes locked onto the dark figure standing at the bottom of the stairs.The freezing air poured up the stairwell like an invisible wave, soaking through my blood-stained shirt and making my skin sting. Every breath I pulled into my lungs turned to a thick white mist in front of my mouth. I had read about all kinds of monsters in the web novel, but nothing in those pages had prepared me for this. Zombies were supposed to be rotting, mindless corpses that stumbled blindly toward noise.The man standing in the dark wasn't stumbling. He stood perfectly still, his posture tall and commanding. His glowing, pitch-black eyes fixed on me with a quiet, terrifying intelligence that made my stomach drop into a cold void."Get behind me!" Mich shouted, stepping directly in front of me.His broad back blocked part of my view, but I could feel the intense tremor in his arms as he raised his gun with both hands. Mich was a trained







