LOGINShare
37 An Old Mistake
Last Updated:
2025-05-05 01:25:54
Karima Sa'ad UsmanThank you all for coming this far! 💖 I’m excited to share that I’ll be releasing a book trailer for this story on Inst_Grm later this week, so you can get the full picture and feel of the world we’ve built together. 🎬📚 I really hope you’ll enjoy it! Thank you again for your incredible support—it means the world to me! 🌟🙏
Related chapters
Fated In Darkness Prologue
NatalieI stood under the flimsy canopy Lisa had set up, handing out animal cruelty campaign fliers.It was a sweet little setup—messy, mismatched, but hers. I liked that about her. And in a town like Hawkshire, where boredom wrapped around you like a heavy coat, helping her felt like a lifeline.I didn’t want to be here. Cainebrielle University wasn’t my choice—it was my uncle’s dream, not mine.I was just playing along, stuck in a place that felt too polished, too fake, and miles away from anything that felt like home.My old life—my friends, my city, the pulse of it all—was behind me now. All I had was this quiet town and a school filled with kids who had never had to fight for anything.Lisa was the one good surprise.We met during orientation—two misfits orbiting the same chaos. She didn’t care about Greek life or social clout. She just wanted to laugh and talk about weird documentaries and help animals. That was enough for me.Cainebrielle might’ve been built for the ultra-rich,
Last Updated : 2025-04-14Fated In Darkness 01 You Have A Visitor
NatalieI sat through Professor Isaac’s lecture, but my mind was nowhere near the gazebo.I couldn’t focus—couldn’t pretend everything was fine. The image of that wolf, those eyes, the sheer size of it—it replayed over and over like a loop I couldn’t escape. Every sound around me was muffled under the weight of what I’d seen.Was it even real?Yes. It had to be. I wasn’t imagining things. Someone else had been there. He had been there.And that was the other part I couldn’t shake. The stranger.His voice still echoed in my head—calm, steady, like it had reached into the panic and pressed pause. And those eyes. Not just green—alive, like something ancient was staring out from behind them.Who was he?A student? A professor? Someone passing through? I hadn’t seen him around before, and the campus wasn’t that big.He hadn’t stayed long enough for me to find my words, let alone ask questions. Just appeared, said enough to haunt me, and vanished.Part of me wanted to believe I’d dreamed th
Last Updated : 2025-04-14Fated In Darkness 02 Tradition
NatalieUncle Michael drew in a long breath, his smile appearing like clockwork—polished, polite, and practiced. But it stopped short of his eyes, where something colder lingered."I'm glad you're settling in," he said, voice smooth as glass. "Hawkshire’s a fine place. The right kind of people. The kind who matter. You won’t miss the city at all."As if that alone could wipe away everything we’d left behind.I looked down, jaw tightening. My chest felt like it was folding in on itself.You won’t miss the city at all.But I did. God, I did."I miss my friends," I said, barely more than a whisper. The words floated between us like something fragile. Then, like always, Alison's name surfaced in my mind. Her laugh. Her letters. Her dream. The guilt twisted, low and sharp."And Alison? When will she come to Cainebrielle? She always talked about it like it was magic." I asked.For the first time, Uncle Michael’s composure cracked. The smile slipped. His throat clicked as he swallowed, shift
Last Updated : 2025-04-14Fated In Darkness 03 You Must Obey
NatalieUncle Michael looked at me, a half-smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. It wasn’t warmth—it was control dressed as calm.“It would be wise for you to act responsibly,” he said, his voice smooth but heavy. “Like your mother. A lot depends on this family’s money. Even your father couldn’t cut himself off completely. He might’ve lived outside the family estate, but he was still a Pierce.”He leaned back slightly, as if laying out facts in a courtroom.“Every business he started? Funded by the inheritance he got from our father. Your grandfather. Most of those ventures were just extensions of what we already owned. You see, our business moves in circles. And we’re smart enough to stay within them.”Then he looked straight at me, voice colder now.“If you refuse to follow the rules, then you and your mother can say goodbye to my support—and to your father's estate.”I stared at him, stunned.“You’re blackmailing us,” I whispered. “I won’t marry a stranger just to please you. A
Last Updated : 2025-04-14Fated In Darkness 04 It’s Final
NatalieUncle Michael sighed, the sound sharp in the silence. Irritation flickered across his face as he set his cup down with a pointed clink.“Brian didn’t want a lot of things, Nicole,” he said, voice clipped. “But he’s gone now.”His tone was flat, too steady, like he was trying not to show just how close he was to losing control.“I need to know Natalie will be protected if something happens to me. That Brian’s bloodline doesn’t end in silence. That a Pierce doesn’t grow up poor or unguarded in a world like this.”He glanced briefly at me, then back to my mother.“You’re still young. You could remarry, start a new life. But Natalie? She’s my responsibility now. She always will be. So stop painting me as the villain.”My mother went rigid beside me. Her fingers twisted in her lap, knuckles white.“I would never betray Brian,” she whispered. Her voice trembled, but she held her head high.“I loved him. I still do. And the way he died—the way his body was so broken, I couldn’t even
Last Updated : 2025-04-22Fated In Darkness 05 Beautiful Stranger
NatalieThe moment the door clicked shut behind Uncle Michael, I felt like I could finally breathe. But the pressure in my chest didn’t lift. It sat there—heavy, unmovable—like something had cracked inside me and hadn’t quite healed right.I spent the rest of the day packing in silence. Folding clothes, stacking books, zipping up my life with mechanical precision. I didn’t cry. I didn’t speak. I just moved.It wasn’t until dusk draped the room in amber and shadow that my phone buzzed from the nightstand.Lisa.Relief bloomed in my chest at the sight of her name.“Come out with me,” she said as soon as I picked up. Her voice was light, teasing—but with an undertow of concern. “There’s a club in town. You need a night out, and I need my favorite partner-in-crime.”I hesitated. My heart was still raw. The last thing I wanted was a blur of flashing lights and fake smiles. But another part of me—tired, reckless, aching for escape—was already reaching for my closet.“I’ll be there,” I said,
Last Updated : 2025-04-22Fated In Darkness 06 Beautiful Stranger 2
NatalieThe moment we stepped inside, it felt like entering another world.Dark, pulsing lights bathed the room in shades of red and violet. The music wasn’t just loud—it throbbed, vibrating through my chest like a second heartbeat.The air was thick with smoke, perfume, and something else—electricity. Raw and charged, like anything could happen.Bodies moved like water, swaying and grinding in a rhythm that was less dancing and more seduction. The deeper we walked in, the more intimate the atmosphere became—hands on hips, lips on necks, eyes half-lidded with want.But Adrian didn’t lead us into the crowd.He took us above it.An elevated booth, set back just enough to feel private, but perfectly placed to overlook the entire room. It wasn’t just a seat—it was a throne.The way people stepped aside as we passed…The way staff nodded without making eye contact…The way glances flicked toward him, then away just as fast, like staring too long was a risk…He wasn’t just powerful here.He
Last Updated : 2025-04-22Fated In Darkness 07 Chemistry
Natalie “I’d ask you to dance, stranger,” Adrian murmured, his lips curving into a smirk that walked the fine line between charm and danger, “but I’m guessing that’s not your thing.” I stiffened. Not because of the question—but because of what came before it. Stranger. I hadn’t told him my name. He saw the flicker in my eyes and smiled like he already knew what I was thinking. “Natalie,” I said, more breath than voice. His smile deepened, pleased. Lisa chimed in with her name, light and casual, but Adrian only gave her a polite nod before his focus returned to me—sharp and unwavering. Like she was part of the background, a flicker on the edge of a frame he had no interest in. “Do you dance, Natalie?” he asked, his voice low and coaxing. Like the question itself was a dare. I almost said no. I should’ve said no. But then Lisa leaned in under the table, nudging my thigh with her knee. “Oh, come on, Nat,” she whispered, teasing. “We came here to have fun. And what’s more fun
Last Updated : 2025-04-22
Latest chapter
Fated In Darkness 37 An Old Mistake
AdrianArya walked in five minutes later, moving with that same graceful arrogance she always carried like a second skin.“Took you long enough,” I said, not bothering to hide the edge in my voice.“I wasn’t in the club,” she replied, tone sharp—just a little too forward for my liking.I let the silence hang between us for a beat longer than necessary. Her tone was bold, but I understood where it came from.That confidence wasn’t entirely hers. It was inherited—gifted, even—by my mother.Ever since I turned Arya, over two hundred years ago, my mother had made her position clear: Arya was to be kept close.The girl had been the daughter of one of my mother’s closest friends—a bloodline she didn’t want to see vanish. Arya had been dying from a rare illness, the same one that had taken her mother. There was no surviving it.My mother asked me to turn her.And I did.Not out of compassion. Not because I felt some stirring in my undead heart. I did it because of obligation—to my mother, t
Fated In Darkness 36 Show Some Respect
Adrian“I plan to report everything to Dimitri,” Phelix said carefully, “so he can decide whether we hand over the vampire who turned her… or Geoffery, for deceiving us.”I didn’t need to think long. Either way, someone was going to die.But I knew how this would play out. It wasn’t the fault of the vampire who attempted the turning—he couldn’t have known. And Volodymir? He’d never sacrifice Geoffery. The man was too valuable.A loyal servant, head of a bloodline tied too deeply into the old covenants. Volodymir would rather extract a lifetime’s worth of debt from him than offer him up as payment. That was his style—slow control, not clean endings.I wasn’t about to say any of that to Phelix.He was only telling me this much because the fight had happened on my doorstep—outside my club.Otherwise, I’d be hearing it thirdhand like everyone else. He knew that, and so did I.The real conversation would happen behind closed doors—with Dimitri. The decisions, the maneuvering, the blood—non
Fated In Darkness 35 The Cause Of The Brawl
AdrianI left Natalie’s place with tension coiled tight in my chest. The moment I found out someone had ignored my direct orders, the night was over. Someone—bold or foolish—had decided to call my bluff and tell Graham exactly where I was.I had a few suspects in mind. Faces. Names. But I wasn’t the type to act on impulse. Not yet. I needed to be certain before making a move that couldn’t be taken back.Natalie hadn’t been happy about the interruption. I didn’t blame her. We'd barely had any time together before the knock interrupted us. Her eyes said everything—disappointment, frustration, the silent question she didn’t bother asking: Can you ever just stay?But this wasn’t something I could let slide. Neither of us was pleased, and both of us knew why.The club was packed—loud, chaotic, electric. Heat rolled off the crowd, thick with music and the scent of sweat, perfume, and blood.Most nights, I’d make my way to the VVIP section, let the night blur under strobe lights and velvet r
Fated In Darkness 35 An Invite
Natalie“Let’s give it time, Mom,” I said softly, my fingers tightening around hers. “I have a plan.”She pulled back slightly to look at me, her eyes scanning mine—hope flickering there, desperate to latch onto anything that resembled a way out. “A plan?” she echoed, her voice tentative.“I’ll stall Uncle Michael,” I said, choosing my words carefully. “We won’t leave. Not yet. Not until your treatment is complete. And if he still insists on pushing this marriage nonsense… then we’ll go. But I want to be sure we’ve explored every option first.”She let out a small, bitter laugh and shook her head, though a trace of a smile tugged at her lips. “How long do you think you can stall your uncle?” she asked, her tone laced with dry sarcasm. “He’s not exactly the patient type.”Her laugh quickly faded, replaced by a flash of shame, and I saw it then—that quiet anger she carried. Not at me. At herself. At her body for failing. At the fact that her illness had become chains, not just around he
Fated In Darkness 34 What I Want
NatalieSomething had to have happened to make her say this—to even think about leaving Hawkshire so suddenly. My mother, for all her spontaneity, wasn’t careless. And this? This felt like more than a whim.“Is everything alright, Mom?” I asked softly, searching her face.She nodded, but the gesture was too quick, too rehearsed. She was lying. Not out of malice, but to protect me. She always did that—carried the weight quietly, so I wouldn’t have to.“You know we can’t,” I said gently, grounding the truth between us.Her eyes shimmered instantly, and she looked away. The dam behind her composure cracked, and tears welled in her eyes. She tried to blink them back, but I saw. I felt it.This confinement—this looming illness, this shadow of uncle Michael—was caging her spirit. My mother, who once danced barefoot in the rain, was now drowning in stillness.“I can’t sit back and let you sacrifice yourself for my sake,” she said, her voice trembling.I shook my head, tears already burning a
Fated In Darkness 33 How Did You Meet
Natalie“So,” my mother began, folding her hands in her lap with a polite smile, “how did you two meet?”There was a hint of curiosity in her voice, carefully masked but unmistakable to me. She wasn’t just making conversation—she was searching, trying to fit the pieces together.“Cainebrielle,” I answered simply, and her smile deepened. She turned her gaze to Adrian then, clearly expecting him to fill in the blanks.“A student?” she asked lightly, but I felt her eyes slide to mine, subtle and questioning. I hesitated, caught off guard. I didn’t know how much to say.Adrian, ever composed, answered before the silence stretched too long. “A former student,” he said gently. “But now, a sponsor.”His tone was modest, but I saw the flicker in my mother’s eyes—a flash of surprise she couldn’t quite hide. She was probably doing the math in her head. He was far too young, far too striking, to be a sponsor.“I’m filling in for my father,” Adrian added smoothly, catching the shift in her expres
Fated In Darkness 32 Home
NatalieAs I stepped out of the car, the night air wrapped around me, cool and still. I closed the door gently, expecting Adrian to follow, but when I glanced back, he was still seated behind the wheel, hands resting casually, eyes following my movement with quiet curiosity.I hesitated, then leaned against the window, suddenly aware of how fast my heart was beating.“I didn’t want to seem too forward,” I began, chewing on the inside of my cheek, “but… would you like to come in? I mean, just to meet my mom.”As soon as the words left my mouth, I cringed and instinctively covered it with my hand. God, why did that sound like a proposal? My face flushed with heat, and I scrambled to undo the damage.“Not like we’re getting married or anything…” I added, forcing a laugh that came out too breathy, too nervous. My mouth opened again to explain further, maybe soften the awkwardness, but I gave up and sighed instead, defeated.Adrian let out a full, warm laugh—one of those genuine, deep ones
Fated In Darkness 31 The Drive Home
NatalieWe slipped into Adrian’s car in silence, the soft click of the doors closing feeling louder than it should have.I could sense the weight of his disappointment as he gripped the steering wheel a little too tightly, his jaw set in quiet frustration.He had ended the interruption quickly, whoever it was, but the damage had already been done. My mother’s call had cut the evening short, bringing an abrupt end to what was supposed to be our first real chance to just be—no past, no obligations, no shadows trailing us.I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding.“Sorry about the interruption,” Adrian said gently, stealing a glance at me. His eyes softened when they met mine, but he quickly turned his focus back to the road.“It’s okay,” I murmured, though the words felt hollow. I stared out the windshield, watching the world blur by in shades of grey and gold, but my mind wasn’t in the car anymore.My mother’s voice had been steady on the phone—too steady. I knew her calm tone we
Fated In Darkness 30 A Cold Way Out
Adrian"Please," Graham rasped, still clutching my leg. "If she fails the transformation, she'll die. And even if she lives, I'll be powerless. I have no sons. She’s all I have left. Either way, my bloodline ends."His voice cracked under the strain. His grief clung to the air, thick and suffocating. He wasn’t wrong — but it didn’t change anything.I had seen this before — heads of families, desperate and broken, coming to me with bleeding hearts and empty hands, begging for a different fate.But my answer was always the same."No," I said quietly, my voice like stone. "I’m sorry, Graham. I can't help you."He sagged against me, the last bit of hope draining from him."If I take you into my clan," I continued, "I would be breaking the treaty. The very foundation of the peace we all cling to. When my bloodline broke from the strigoi, it was a war that could have ended us all. We reached an impasse. An agreement was forged: I would not take or turn what belonged to Volodym
