Chapter 4: "I'm not a hero"

Paige’s Pov

“Holy shit!” screamed the man standing at the door.

“What have you done, bitch?!” another man cried out, his voice cracking with panic.

I was frozen in place, dizzy, and unable to move. My limbs trembled, and my chest tightened with fear.

Four men stormed into the dark room, their eyes instantly drawn to Clark’s lifeless body on the floor.

“He’s dead…” one of them whispered, disappointment and disbelief lacing his voice.

“You—” he snapped his gaze toward me, eyes burning with rage. “You killed my brother!”

Before I could say anything, he lunged at me. His hand moved so fast I barely saw it coming. A sharp sting exploded across my cheek as he slapped me hard.

Then, without pause, he grabbed me by the throat and punched me in the stomach. The pain knocked the air out of me.

“I’ll kill you,” he growled, seething with fury.

Without a second thought, he dragged me across the floor like I weighed nothing. He shoved my face into the icy water of the bathtub, forcing me under until I couldn’t breathe.

My limbs flailed, panic rising.

“Did you think I’d let you die easily, bitch?” he snarled above me. “You’ll suffer until your very last breath.”

I choked. My lungs screamed. My tears mixed with the water, blurring everything around me.

Is this it? Is this how I die? I thought bitterly.

Is this my destiny? I whispered to myself as my consciousness began to fade. Will I die like this? How fortunate I am...

A flood of memories from my broken past crashed down on me. I had never truly been loved. Never truly been cared for. Was my entire existence meant to end in this cold, violent silence?

Just as I felt myself slipping away, a new sound cut through the air—a deep voice, clear and commanding.

“Who are you?” the man choking me shouted behind him.

“I said, who are you?!”

A calm yet firm voice responded, “Let her go.”

“Over my dead body! That bitch killed my brother!” the man roared, tightening his grip on me.

“Okay,” came the reply. The voice was dark… but strangely warm. Something about it made my heart ache with a sense of safety I had never known.

The man holding me turned, dropping me to the floor like I was nothing, and charged at the mysterious figure.

“You shouldn’t meddle in other people’s business unless you want to die tonight!” he threatened.

The stranger smirked.

Without hesitation, the two clashed. Their strength and fury shook the small room. Fists flew. Bones cracked. It was chaos—raw and violent.

I lay on the floor, trembling, my vision blurred. But I saw it. The stranger finally overpowered him, locking his arms around my attacker’s neck and choking him until he stopped moving.

It felt like a nightmare.

And if it was...

Please, someone—wake me up.

CULLEN’S POV

An hour had passed, yet I couldn’t find peace in my room. Something gnawed at me—an itch beneath the skin, a voice I couldn’t silence. There was a part of me—however small—that wanted to return to that wretched, filthy bar.

“Cullen… Cullen,” I muttered to myself, pacing the floor like a man possessed.

I tried to close my eyes, to sink into the silence, but the image of that woman wouldn’t leave me. The more I tried to ignore her, the louder the ache inside me grew. It wasn’t just concern. It was something deeper. Something I didn’t understand. Something dangerous.

Why do I care? I scolded myself. This isn’t my concern. Humans live. Humans die. It’s not for me to meddle in.

“I can’t interfere in human affairs,” I whispered to the shadows. “I am a reaper. If I disrupt the balance, there will be consequences.”

And yet… her face haunted me. Her eyes, though terrified, held something familiar. Something that unsettled the cold logic I’ve lived by for centuries.

Will she die tonight?

Unlike what most mortals believe, I’m not the only reaper walking this world. There are many of us, spread across the earth like silent watchers. Death is constant—every second, someone takes their last breath. But not all of them fall under my charge. I only reap those whose names appear in my book—the appointed souls bound to my hand.

I kept checking my note, flicking through its cursed pages, waiting for her name to appear. But it didn’t. Not yet.

Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling.

What if another reaper has her tonight?

No, I told myself again. I shouldn’t interfere…

But even as I said it, my body moved on its own. My hands reached for the car keys, my feet moved toward the door. Moments later, I found myself behind the wheel, heading back toward that bar like a man chasing a storm.

As I pulled up, my suspicion was confirmed.

Another reaper was already there—tall, cloaked, and walking toward the entrance with purpose.

“Hey,” I called out, stepping in his path. “Who’s on your list tonight?”

He glanced at me coldly. “None of your business,” he snapped. “You know the rules.”

He moved past me and entered the bar. Straight into the same hallway. The same room.

My pulse raced—something I hadn’t felt in years. Is this fear?

“Let me take that soul for you tonight,” I offered, trying to steady my voice.

He paused, amused. “You’re not thinking clearly, Cullen.”

He was right. But I didn’t care.

I reached out and touched his forehead. A reaper’s touch to another reaper’s mark is sacred—ancient magic. A spell of banishment. In a blink, he vanished into the mist, leaving behind his death note.

I picked it up.

“Paige,” I read aloud.

A smirk tugged at the corner of my lips, but it didn’t reach my eyes.

“So… you were meant to die tonight.”

But not on my watch.

I moved quickly, entering the hallway and finding the room. Inside were three men, eyes wild with fury.

“Who the hell are you?!” one barked, stepping forward.

I scanned the room—Paige wasn’t there.

“She’s not here,” I muttered.

“Hey, I asked you a question!” the man snapped again, fists clenching.

They began to circle me. I couldn’t kill them—that would change too much. But I could put them to sleep. Reapers have tricks beyond death.

A shimmer of shadow wrapped around my fingers. In seconds, all three collapsed like puppets with cut strings.

I rushed down the hall, following the cold pull of energy that always led me to dying souls. The door to the bathroom was ajar. Inside, my heart stopped.

She was drowning.

Her head was shoved beneath the water, limbs flailing weakly.

The man holding her didn’t even flinch.

“Let her go,” I said calmly, stepping into the doorway.

He didn’t listen.

“I said let her go.”

His rage was blinding. This wouldn’t be settled with words. Not tonight.

He charged at me, teeth bared like an animal. We fought—vicious, primal. The walls shook. My strength matched his, but mine was sharpened by purpose.

I pinned him at last, his breath ragged in my grip.

“One soul will be reaped tonight,” I whispered coldly.

I looked over to the girl.

“But it won’t be hers.”

Not in my hands.

Not tonight.

PAIGE’S POV

Who is he? 

He looked so dark—dangerous even—but something about him made my heart slow, as if it recognized him before my mind did. My body was still trembling. I tried to speak, my throat raw, my voice barely there.

“Who… are you?” I finally whispered.

“None of your business,” he replied, voice cold and distant.

My chest tightened. “Then… why did you save me?” I asked, confused, desperate for answers.

He didn’t reply. He just turned and began to walk away.

“Wait!” I cried, my voice cracking. I didn’t even know him—but every part of me screamed not to let him go.

“Please… please take me with you,” I begged, falling to my knees as tears spilled down my cheeks.

He didn’t stop. He didn’t even look back.

I stayed there, trembling, feeling like a forgotten soul in a dying world. He was my only chance—my only moment of light in all this darkness—and he was leaving.

I stared at the blood on my hands, the bruises on my arms, the silence screaming louder than any words.

Who am I to him? Just another broken girl in a cruel world.

I may have survived tonight, but the management would come for me. They always did.

“There’s no escape,” I whispered to myself, the words like poison on my tongue.

If this was living… 

Why did it still feel like dying?

CULLEN’S POV

 I heard her voice—faint, broken, trembling. It reached me like a ghost whispering in the wind.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, the weight of everything settling on my chest like a stone.

“Cullen… what have you done?” I muttered to myself, pacing the floor, fists clenched. “This is a mess. A damn big one.”

I couldn’t bring her with me. It went against everything. Against the code. Against the balance. Against what I’ve lived by for nearly a hundred decades. But how could I leave her behind?

Why was I even asking myself this? Why did this soul matter?

I’ve reaped the lives of kings, criminals, children, and lovers. I’ve watched empires fall and lovers cry. Never once did I falter. Never once did I feel this… pull.

But now? Now my judgment was clouded by a woman I barely knew.

From the hallway, the tension thickened. I heard them—the heavy footsteps of men in black, and the sharp, confident taps of heels. They were here.

The management.

Five large men in black suits. And her. The woman. She always led these operations, with her blood-red lipstick and serpent-like smile. She looked like a witch, and perhaps she was something worse.

“Well, well, well,” she purred as she entered. “Who’s here making trouble?”

She surveyed the room like a predator surveying prey. Her eyes locked on me.

“I saw everything on the security feed. Quite the stunt, Cullen,” she sneered. “But you’re not walking away from this one.”

I didn’t flinch. I smirked, already smelling the rot beneath her perfume. She reeked of greed. Death and greed—the perfume of people like her.

“How much?” I asked bluntly, my voice void of emotion.

Her eyes glittered, and her grin widened.

“Oh, straight to business. I like that.” She tilted her head. “This is a big mess, darling. Super big. But lucky for you, everything has a price. A hundred million dollars will fix it.”

She leaned in slightly, lowering her voice like she was whispering a dirty secret. “And if you want to take that bitch with you… make it one-oh-one.”

She laughed. Loud, sharp, and heartless.

Money. It’s always about money.

For most humans, it’s life or death. Power or poverty. But for me? It was just paper. Souls mattered more than coins.

“Fine,” I said, pulling out my phone. “Let me call my lawyer.”

“Oh, what a hero,” she cooed mockingly. “Is this a rescue mission or a love story?”

She turned to the men behind her and snapped her fingers.

“Clean the girl up. Wipe the blood off her pretty little face. Make her look presentable before we gift-wrap her for this fine gentleman.”

Two of the men disappeared into the corridor. A few minutes later, they reappeared—carrying her.

Paige.

Her body was limp, her head resting against one of the men’s shoulders. Blood stained her cheek. Her lips were cracked. Bruises colored her arms and legs like paint from a tragic masterpiece. She looked so fragile. So human.

They passed her by me without a word, like she was a transaction. A product.

I saw her suitcase tucked under one arm, and despite everything, someone had dressed her in a silk blue dress.

She looked like a ghost. Beautiful and broken.

And for the first time in centuries… I didn’t know what to do.

An hour later, my lawyer finalized the settlement. Digital documents. Quick transfers. Silence.

The woman returned, her smile wider now that she’d bled me dry.

“Here,” she said, pushing Paige toward me like she was handing over a package.

Paige barely stood on her own. She swayed as if gravity barely recognized her. Her pale hands trembled, clinging to the suitcase like it was the last piece of her old life.

I didn’t look her in the eyes. I didn’t want to frighten her more than she already was. I saw the fear in the stiffness of her shoulders, in the silence of her lips. She was lost, and I had no map.

“Let’s go,” I said quietly.

She followed without a word.

As we stepped into the night, the air hit me—cold, heavy, real.

What the hell was I doing?

She was just a human. Just a soul.

But something inside me had shifted.

I wasn’t supposed to care. I wasn’t supposed to save.

And yet here I was.

Am I becoming a hero?

Or was this the start of my greatest mistake?