CHAPTER 2 : The Nightwatch Doesn’t Save Girls Twice

Ella's POV 

“Ella , RUN!”

Adrian’s voice rips through the alley like a gunshot and my legs finally remember how to move . I sprint, sneakers slapping wet concrete , lungs burning, golden sparks spitting off my wrist with every pump of my arms .

“Faster !” he roars from somewhere behind me. “Don’t stop !”

“Who the hell are those guys?” I scream back without turning.

“The kind that don’t miss twice!”

A body crashes into a dumpster right beside me, metal crumpling like paper. I risk one glance. Adrian’s fighting both new vampires at once, blade flashing, blood spraying, moving so fast he’s a blur.

“Eyes forward!” he snarls .

I tear around the corner , chest on fire, and slam straight into a chain-link fence . Dead end .

“No, no, no ;”

Hands grab my waist from behind , lift me clean off the ground . Adrian. He throws me over the fence like I weigh nothing , vaults after me, grabs my hand .

“This way!”

We run again, his grip crushing, golden mark between our palms exploding with heat.

“Why are they after me?” I pant.

“Later!”

“There is no later if I’m dead !”

He yanks me into a side street , shoves me behind a parked van . “Stay down .”

I peek. The two vampires land on the roof of the van, silent, smiling.

Adrian steps in front of me, blade out. “Touch her and I take your hearts.”

The taller one laughs. “The human wants to play hero.”

“I’m not human,” Adrian says, voice ice. “And she’s under my protection.”

“Protection?” the vampire mocks. “You’re bleeding, hunter.”

Adrian glances at his side, shirt soaked red. He didn’t even notice.

I grab his sleeve. “You’re hurt !”

“I’m fine .”

“You’re bleeding everywhere !”

“Shut up and stay behind me .”

The vampires drop down together. Adrian meets them head-on , blade singing , fists flying. I watch him fight like a storm , brutal, beautiful, terrifying .

But there’s two of them and only one of him .

One vampire gets past , grabs me by the throat, lifts me off the ground . “Time to go home, little hybrid .”

Adrian roars , actually roars, spins, blade buried in the vampire’s spine . The grip loosens. I drop, gasping .

The second vampire kicks Adrian so hard he flies ten feet , crashes into a wall .

“Adrian!”

He’s up instantly , blood pouring from his mouth, eyes wild . “Ella, get out of here !”

“I’m not leaving you !”

“You don’t get a choice !”

The vampire grabs me again . Adrian charges. They collide like thunder .

I scramble backward , heart in my throat, golden mark burning so hot it hurts .

Then headlights flood the street .

A black SUV screeches to a stop . Doors fly open. Four people in tactical gear jump out , guns raised .

“Nightwatch! Stand down!”

Adrian freezes mid-fight. “Jared?”

The guy in front , Jared, gun trained on Adrian . “What the fuck are you doing, Vale ?”

“Saving her!”

“She’s the target!”

Adrian steps in front of me, arms wide. “Lower your weapons.”

“Step aside, Adrian,” a woman says, voice shaking. “Orders are terminate on sight.”

“I’m not letting you touch her.”

Jared’s eyes flick to me. “She’s hybrid, man. Look at the mark. Look at the sparks.”

“I see it,” Adrian growls. “And I’m still not moving.”

Another guy, Mason, steps forward. “You’re compromised.”

“I’m not compromised, I’m right.”

The woman, Elora, voice soft. “Adrian… please don’t make us do this.”

“Do what?” I snap, stepping out from behind him. “Kill me because I’m suddenly a walking sparkler?”

“Ella, shut up,” Adrian hisses.

“No! Somebody explain what the hell is happening!”

Jared sighs. “Professor wants her alive for questioning. New orders just came in.”

Adrian doesn’t lower his blade. “Then I’m coming with her.”

“You don’t get a vote anymore,” Jared says. “You’re bleeding out and you just fought your own team.”

“I fought vampires.”

“You fought for her.”

Adrian’s jaw clenches . “She’s not a monster .”

“She’s not human,” Elora whispers .

Adrian looks at me, silver eyes wrecked. “I know.”

The golden mark flares again, brighter. Everyone flinches.

Jared swears. “Cuff her. Gently.”

Two steps and they’ve got silver cuffs on my wrists. Cold. Burning.

Adrian lunges. “Take those off her!”

Mason tackles him. They hit the ground hard.

“Stop!” I scream. “You’re hurting him!”

“He’s hurting himself!” Jared yells. “Adrian, stand down!”

Adrian fights like a wild animal, blood everywhere, roaring my name.

I yank against the cuffs. “Let him go!”

Elora grabs my arm. “Stop fighting, you’ll only make it worse.”

“Worse than what? You’re kidnapping me!”

“We’re saving the city!”

“From what? Me?”

“Yes!”

Adrian breaks free, staggers toward me. “Ella....”

Jared tasers him in the back.

He drops, convulsing.

“NO!” I scream, tears burning. “Stop it! Stop!”

They drag him toward the SUV. He’s still reaching for me, fingers shaking.

“Ella…” he rasps.

I fight harder. “Let him go! He saved my life!”

Jared shoves me into the back seat. “He just signed his own death warrant doing it.”

The doors slam.

Through the window I see them zip-tie Adrian’s hands, throw him in another van.

Our eyes lock across the distance.

The golden mark between us flares one last time, so bright it lights up the whole street.

Then the SUV peels away.

I’m sobbing , fighting the cuffs , screaming his name until my voice breaks .

Jared up front, voice cold. “Welcome to Nightwatch custody, hybrid.”

I glare through tears. “My name is Ella.”

“Not anymore.”

The van turns a corner.

I catch one last glimpse of Adrian being loaded, unconscious, blood dripping from his mouth.

And on the dashboard screen, a new file pops up.

My face. My name. Red stamp across it.

**PRIORITY TARGET. HYBRID SIGNATURE CONFIRMED . TERMINATE ON SIGHT .**

Except someone has crossed out TERMINATE and written in sharpie :

**BRING HER TO THE PROFESSOR . ALIVE .**

I stare at the screen until the words blur .

And from the shadows of an abandoned building across the street , a man sits on a throne made of bones , eyes closed , smiling like he just won the lottery .

“She’s awake ,” Valerius whispers to the empty air . “And the hunter just chained himself to her fate. Perfect.”