Chapter 3 :The Mark Beneath Her Skin

Aria’s POV

For days after that night, I couldn’t shake the memory. The attack replayed in my mind over and over, the sound of claws scraping against concrete, the growl that made my blood freeze, and those golden eyes that glowed through the darkness before everything went still.

I told myself he was human. Maybe he was part of some group, or a soldier, or anyone who knew how to fight like that. But deep down, I knew the truth.

No one moves like that. No human eyes glow gold.

I didn’t tell anyone. What could I even say? That a stranger killed a monster in front of me and vanished like smoke? The police would never believe it.

Still, something wasn’t right with me.

It started the next morning. I woke up sweating, my sheets sticking to my skin even though the air was cold. My heartbeat was fast, too fast, and a strange warmth spread through my body.

I went to the bathroom, splashed cold water on my face, and that’s when I saw it.

A faint red mark on my shoulder.

At first, I thought it was a bruise from when I fell. But it wasn’t purple or blue, it glowed. Just a little. Like fire under the skin.

I touched it. It burned, but not in a painful way. It was like touching something alive.

“God…” I whispered, pulling my shirt back into place. “What’s happening to me?”

The mirror fogged from my breath. My reflection looked different. My eyes seemed brighter, my skin flushed. I felt… wrong.

I tried to ignore it. I made coffee, sat on the couch, turned on the TV, anything to pretend that everything was normal. But the mark kept pulsing, steady and slow, like a heartbeat that wasn’t mine.

Every time I thought of himthe man who saved me, it grew warmer.

I pressed a hand to my chest, trying to calm myself. “It’s just stress,” I whispered. “It’s all in your head.”

That worked for a few hours. Then came the voice.

It was soft at first, barely there.

Don’t be afraid.

I froze. The mug slipped from my hand, crashing onto the floor. My breath caught in my throat.

“Who’s there?”

Silence. Only the ticking clock answered.

I stood there for a long time, waiting for something, anything, to happen. When nothing did, I tried to convince myself I was just tired. Maybe I was hearing things.

But later, as I walked past the window, the same whisper returned.

He’s watching.

My skin prickled. I spun around, heart pounding, scanning every corner of the apartment. Nothing.

I ran to the window, peering through the glass. The street outside looked normal, cars, lights, people walking. But deep in my chest, I felt that same pull again.

The warmth under my skin turned into heat. My mark burned through the fabric of my shirt, and I gasped, gripping the windowsill.

I closed my eyes and saw him. The memory was so clear, it felt real. His voice echoed in my head.

“Breathe.”

Just one word, yet my pulse slowed instantly, like my body was responding to a command I didn’t understand.

When I opened my eyes again, I wasn’t sure if I had imagined it. But the feeling didn’t go away. It grew stronger, like he was close.

That night, I barely slept. Every time I dozed off, I saw flashes of him, gold eyes, dark hair, blood on his hands, the red glow of the moon above us. Each time I woke, the mark on my shoulder burned brighter.

By the third night, it had spread.

The faint glow had turned into thin lines crawling down toward my collarbone, forming strange shapes I’d never seen before.

I tried covering it with makeup. It didn’t help. The light still pushed through, faint but visible in the dark.

When I touched it, it pulsed again, once, twice, like a heartbeat calling for something that wasn’t here.

I leaned against the wall, trying not to cry. I didn’t want this. I didn’t want any of it.

But deep down, I felt something else too. Something that scared me even more than the pain.

I wanted to see him again.

I didn’t even know his name, yet I felt like a part of me was missing without him near.

I hated it. I hated myself for it. But no matter how hard I fought the thought, it stayed.

Somewhere out there, he was still watching me. I could feel it.

And a part of me, against all reason, wanted him to.

~~~~~~

The next morning, I woke to sunlight filling the room. For a few seconds, everything seemed normal. Then the heat started again.

It spread from my shoulder to my neck, slow but steady, like warm water moving under my skin. I sat up fast, pressing my hand against it, hoping the pain would stop.

It didn’t.

The lines that had appeared last night now glowed brighter. I walked to the mirror and pulled my shirt down a little to look closer.

The mark had changed shape. It wasn’t just lines anymore. It looked like a symbol, a crescent moon surrounded by sharp, broken lines that seemed to move slightly when I breathed.

I touched it. The heat pulsed harder, and for a second, I couldn’t breathe. Images filled my head again, dark woods, a red moon, a man standing alone, his eyes burning gold.

Kael.

The name came to me before I realized I’d spoken it out loud. My heart jumped. “Kael?”

The moment the word left my lips, a strong wind burst through the room even though the windows were closed. My lights flickered, and the air thickened around me.

Then, for a heartbeat, I wasn’t in my apartment anymore.

I stood in the forest, the same one from my dreams. The ground was wet. The air smelled of pine and rain. I could hear wolves howling in the distance. And in front of me, half-hidden in the fog, was him.

Kael.

He didn’t move, didn’t speak. He only watched me. His eyes caught the moonlight, glowing softly, pulling me closer without a word.

“Where are you?” I whispered.

The forest flickered. The sound of his heartbeat filled my ears, matching mine, deep and steady.

Then everything vanished.

I gasped and fell backward, hitting the floor of my apartment. My breathing was sharp, my body shaking. The room felt colder now, but the mark still burned.

I crawled toward the wall and leaned against it, pressing my palm over my shoulder.

“What are you?” I whispered into the quiet.

The whisper returned, faint and low, right beside my ear.

You already know.

Tears stung my eyes. “No, I don’t. Please, stop.”

Silence again. Only the sound of my heartbeat filled the room.

I stayed like that for a long time, sitting on the floor, shaking and scared. The city outside carried on like nothing had changed, but inside me, everything had.

By evening, I tried to pretend I was okay. I cooked, cleaned, even turned on some music, but the feeling never went away. Every time I looked toward the window, I felt him.

It was like he was near, watching but unseen.

The pull grew stronger as the sun went down. It felt like a string between us, invisible but unbreakable, tightening with every hour.

When night came, I stood at the window again. The city lights shimmered below, but my focus stayed on the shadows across the street.

That’s when I saw him.

He stood under a streetlamp, still and silent. His black coat moved slightly in the breeze. Even from that distance, I could see the faint gold in his eyes.

Kael.

He looked up, meeting my gaze through the glass. My mark flared so hot I winced and gripped the curtain.

My pulse raced. I didn’t know what to do, run, hide, or go to him.

But I didn’t move.

He didn’t either. He just stood there, his expression calm but intense, like he was fighting something inside.

Then, slowly, he stepped back into the shadows and was gone.

I sank to the floor, my chest tight, tears burning behind my eyes.

The mark throbbed in rhythm with my heartbeat, slower now, but deeper. Every pulse carried warmth through my veins.

I pressed my forehead to my knees and whispered, “Why me?”

No answer came, but deep down, I already knew it had something to do with that night. With him.

After that, I couldn’t deny it anymore.

Something bound me to him.

Every sound, every breath, every flicker of heat beneath my skin reminded me that whatever happened between us wasn’t done.

When I finally fell asleep near dawn, I dreamed again, of the forest, of the blood moon hanging over the trees, and of Kael standing there with his hand reaching out to me.

When I woke, my palm was warm.

And faintly, across my shoulder, the mark pulsed once more… like an answer.