Rowan's POVThe woods swallowed me whole. Darkness draped over everything, thick and unrelenting, broken only by the pale glow of the moon that filtered through the skeletal branches above. Its light painted the ground in jagged shadows, stretching the trees into twisted, skeletal figures that seemed to watch me with hollow eyes. Every step I took cracked against twigs and damp leaves, the sound far too loud in the suffocating silence.I forced myself to keep moving. My pulse thrummed in my temples, syncing with the rhythm of my boots against the earth.And then I heard it.The first sound was subtle—the soft snap of a twig somewhere ahead. I froze, breath caught in my throat, ears straining to pick apart the layers of sound in the forest. The air shifted, carrying with it a low growl, guttural and primal. It rippled through the stillness, and the hair on the back of my neck rose.That wasn’t Daniel. That wasn’t any man.It was something else.The growl came again, deeper this time, v
Rowan's POVThe night air outside the cottage was thick with damp earth and smoke from the wood Daniel had been burning, but it did nothing to clear my head. My blood was still thrumming with rage, my fists itching from the memory of gripping that bastard’s collar, from the way he slurred the words 'that bitch ran away' like Elena was nothing but a discarded toy.I stepped out of the rotting doorframe, Damon close behind me. The silence of the woods was brutal—no city noise, no hum of traffic, only the icy whisper of the wind threading through the trees. It pressed down on me, gnawing at the edges of my self-control. Somewhere out there, she was alone, running through this hell of fog and shadows.Marco’s men dragged Daniel’s limp body deeper into the house, leaving us at the threshold of the forest. Damon broke the silence first. His voice was clipped, colder than the night itself.“We need to split to find her.”I turned to him, jaw locked, and without hesitation, reached into my ja
Elena's POVAll I saw was darkness and fog, each thread of mist wrapping itself around the tall trunks like ghosts guarding a secret. The forest stretched endlessly, thick and suffocating, trees crowding together like a silent army, watching, waiting. Their branches tangled overhead, blotting out the moonlight, so that only thin shafts of pale silver pierced through, illuminating the ground in fractured patches. The air was chilly, damp, and heavy with the earthy smell of moss and decay.My breath puffed out in ragged clouds, vanishing into the fog almost instantly. My chest burnt from running, my legs felt like lead, but I couldn’t stop. I couldn’t afford to. My heartbeat thundered against my ribs, loud enough to echo in my own ears, as if it might give me away to the darkness itself.Panic clawed at me, sharp and merciless. I spun, eyes darting in every direction, but everywhere I looked, it was the same—towering shadows, endless trunks, the ground soft with layers of pine needles m
Rowan's POV The drive felt endless. Every second that ticked by gnawed at me, my jaw locked so tight I could almost feel the enamel crack. The car’s interior hummed with low tension—Damon was silent for once, Marco’s man focused on the road, and me? I was drowning in my own rage.The city lights faded behind us until all that was left was pitch black and the headlights cutting a narrow path ahead. Gravel shifted beneath the tires as we veered off the main road, swallowed by trees that rose like sentinels on either side. Pines. Tall, dark, suffocating. Their branches tangled overhead, shutting out the moonlight, trapping us in.I leaned against the window, watching the woods thicken. The air here was different—heavy, damp, smelling of earth and rot. Too quiet. Too still. Like the forest itself was holding its breath, waiting for something ugly to happen.And somewhere in this black pit of trees… she was here.A muscle in my cheek ticked. My mind wouldn’t stop replaying her face the la
Elena's POVDaniel leaned in closer, and his cologne—God, that same overpowering musky scent he’d drowned himself in years ago—hit me straight in the nose. My skin crawled, my stomach flipped, but all I could think about was his smug words echoing in my skull. If you try to run, I’ll make you regret it.Who the hell did he think he was? Some twisted Romeo in a basement love story?The glass touched my lips, cold and threatening. He tilted it like I was some doll who couldn’t even lift her own hands. The gin and tonic burnt the back of my throat, the bitterness spreading like a poison. My body acted before my brain caught up—I jerked forward and spat the entire mouthful across his face.The liquid dripped down his cheeks and jaw.For a second, I blinked at him, my own disbelief mixing with a surge of reckless satisfaction. Oh my God… I actually just did that.“Fuck off,” I hissed, wiping my mouth with the back of my shoulder.Daniel froze, the droplets of gin catching the dim basement
Rowan's POVThe Vault wasn’t like any other club in the city—it wasn’t built for the masses. No strobe lights blinding your eyes, no sticky floors reeking of spilt beer. The place was curated, refined to perfection like an art gallery of excess. Chandeliers dripped with crystals shaped like shards of ice, casting a fractured glow over the deep velvet interior. The walls were panelled in obsidian black, reflecting just enough light to shimmer like oil. And everywhere, the faint hum of money lingered—not the noise of people screaming over music, but the quiet authority of wealth being flaunted without apology.I stepped inside, the heavy double doors shutting behind me with a muted thud. The air changed instantly, cool and laced with the scent of expensive cologne and something sharper—vodka, probably. Dimitri Orlov’s signature. He didn’t just sell liquor; he bathed the room in it.Damon followed close behind, his stride purposeful, like he knew exactly where to go. Of course he did. Me