DAMON'S POVThe library is quiet and still with no soul in sight, the tall wooden shelves standing like ancient sentinels among the dust motes that dance lazily in the beams of afternoon sunlight filtering through the high windows. Serena clings to me tightly, her breathing still uneven and shallow, her slender body trembling slightly against mine, radiating waves of fear that I can almost taste in the air between us. I can still hear Isabella's venomous threats echoing in my mind, her unbridled rage vibrating through the air like the aftershocks of an earthquake even though she is no longer physically present. And judging by the way Serena's grip on my arm tightens with painful intensity, her fingernails leaving crescent-shaped indentations in my skin, she can hear those threatening echoes too.She looks up at me, her normally bright blue eyes now clouded with worry and uncertainty, resembling a stormy sea rather
SERENA'S POVOh, good goddess, we are definitely screwed this time. My heart pounds relentlessly in my chest, each beat hammering against my ribs like a desperate warning as I watch Lucian storm toward us, undisguised fury radiating off him in palpable waves. His chiseled features contort into an expression that is an alarming mixture of righteous rage and unyielding duty, his knuckles turning white as his grip on his sleek black phone tightens. He is clearly preparing to make the fateful call that will inevitably seal my doom. My father will hear about this transgression—this blatant defiance of his explicit orders—and I cannot even begin to imagine the volcanic eruption that will follow. A cold shiver races down my spine as countless possible scenarios flash through my mind. I know one thing for absolute certain—he is not going to take this betrayal lightly, not after everything he has sacrificed to keep our family
SERENA'S POVSchool activities have settled back into their usual rhythm, and everything seems normal again—at least on the surface. As the day crawls to an end, exhaustion weighs heavily on me. My mind is completely drained from the relentless workload, the never-ending assignments, and the overwhelming pressure of studying. Each subject feels like an uphill battle, and my brain screams for a break.To make matters worse, Lucian continues to hover around me like an unshakable shadow, never straying more than a few steps away. His sharp, piercing gaze never falters, scrutinizing my every move as if I might flee at any moment. The way everyone looks at me—as if I'm some fragile pet under my father's watchful eye—is beyond frustrating.I feel suffocated, trapped in this invisible cage of so-called protection that I never asked for. I can't keep living like this. For the third t
SERENA’S POV"Serena! Serena, look at me—hey—stay with me!"Damon’s voice. Smooth, commanding, but laced with panic. I hear it cutting through the chaos in my mind like a lifeline in a storm. It echoes inside me, pulling me out of that suffocating dark place. I blink. Once. Twice. My lungs seize, then release violently as I double over, coughing hard, desperate to catch a single clean breath.I’m back. In the hallway. My locker is cold against my back, its metal biting through my jacket. Damon grips my shoulders firmly, grounding me. His eyes dart around, sharp and alert, scanning every shadow, every corner. Always calculating, always aware."Serena, what the hell just happened?" Cassidy’s voice slices through the thick air like a blade. She crouches beside me, her brows drawn tight with worry, her hand hovering over my arm like she&rsqu
SERENA'S POVThere’s nothing I can do now. Not against Lucian. My father’s most trusted vampire bodyguard stands tall, stone-faced, unwavering. He’s as immovable as a mountain, determined to carry out his orders. And when my father commands something, there’s no room for negotiation. Right now, he wants me home. Immediately.But all I can think about is Damon. The feel of his arms around me. The way he holds me like he’s the only thing keeping me tethered to this world. I want to stay wrapped up in him, to let his warmth erase everything else. I want to hold him close and never, ever let go. But I already know that’s not going to happen. Not tonight. Not with my father pulling the strings.Lucian calls for another vehicle, his voice as cold as the air outside. Within minutes, a sleek black five-seater sedan glides to the curb, almost silently. Its windows ar
SERENA’S POVThe ride back home is quiet—eerily quiet. Not even Cassidy’s usual sarcastic jabs nor Luna’s soft humming can cut through the tension pulsing through the vehicle. My fingers grip the edge of the seat, knuckles turning white, as I stare blankly out the window. Lucian sits in the front, as still and composed as a statue, his aura unreadable as always. My heart pounds in my chest like a war drum. I don’t even know if it’s fear, guilt, or pure rage and longing coursing through me. Maybe it’s all three—merging and exploding within me like a storm I can’t control.The car slows as we approach the apartment building. A thick silence blankets us as we step out into the cool night air. The streetlights flicker overhead, casting golden glows that don’t feel comforting—just cold. I take one step toward the door, only for Lucian to brush past us with that same silent authority, his pace unwavering. He doesn’t speak. He doesn’t look back. He leads the way like a shadow determined to va
SERENA’S POVThe moment I start acting like the word rebellion, both Cassidy and Luna freeze. It’s almost comedic how their jaws drop in perfect sync. Luna blinks like she can’t see me properly, and Cassidy’s eyebrows shoot so high I think they might vanish into her hairline.“You want to rebel against your dad?” Cassidy gapes, eyes wide in mock horror. “Serena, are we absolutely sure you’re not possessed?”I roll my eyes, but I can’t help the smirk tugging at my lips. “I’m serious. I can’t take this anymore. He’s crossed every imaginable line.”Cassidy grins and leans in. “Easy there, girl. I envy you, though. Getting to experience this whole mate bond thing. I’ve read about that feeling so many times in those supernatural historical romance novels. I’ve seen other members of the community describe it too—‘The moment the heroine decides to fight for what she wants.’ It’s powerful. It’s giving serious main character energy.”Luna giggles, nudging her teasingly. “So, how powerful is it,
SERENA’S POVThe clinking of cutlery against porcelain is the only sound that echoes in the grand dining hall. The luxurious ambiance—the golden chandelier, the velvet-draped windows, the polished marble floors—does nothing to ease the pressure sitting on my chest. I watch my father from the corner of my eye, every muscle in my body taut with tension. He calmly slices into his steak with methodical precision, each movement slow, deliberate, like he’s savoring the silence, owning the moment. Every bite he takes is calculated, measured, as though he’s orchestrating more than just a meal. Despite the rich aroma of roasted meat and aged wine filling the air, the atmosphere is suffocating—heavy and thick, wrapped in a silence that clings to the walls like an unbroken curse.I shift slightly in my chair, leaning back with practiced grace, then cast a discreet glance toward Cassidy and Luna. One subtle look is all it tak
SERENA'S POVThe whispers have stopped abruptly, leaving behind a vacuum of sound that feels more threatening than the voices themselves.But the air still trembles with unease, the silence pressing against my skin like invisible fingers searching for weakness. I can feel the weight of it—the kind of oppressive stillness that sinks into your bones and settles there, making you feel like you're the only thing left alive in a world that's suddenly forgotten how to breathe. The quiet has substance, a presence that fills my lungs with each desperate inhale.The hallway stretches before me, unnaturally... still. No footsteps echoing against marble. No distant chatter of students. No subtle humming of electricity through the walls. Just an eerie stillness, like time itself has forgotten to move forward, caught between one moment and the next in perpetual suspension.I blink rapidly, my pulse quickening to a frantic rhythm as I spin around in place, eyes darting to every corner, every shadow
SERENA'S POVCassie and Luna are staring at me with an unsettling intensity, their expressions frozen somewhere between concern and alarm. It's as though they've just witnessed something shift in my face—something subtle yet profoundly disturbing that I can't see myself."What did you hear?" Luna asks carefully, her amber eyes scanning the space around me methodically, as if she might spot something invisible lurking in the air between us. Her fingers twitch at her sides, ready to summon her power if needed.Cassie leans closer, the scent of her jasmine perfume momentarily overwhelming my senses. "Serena. Talk to us," she urges, her voice low but firm, deliberately calm in a way that makes my skin prickle. "Your eyes just... glazed over for a second."I shake my head, forcing my lips into what I hope resembles a reassuring smile. The muscles in my face feel stiff, uncooperative. "It's nothing. I think... I'm just tired. Stressed. You know how it is with finals and everything." The lie
SERENA'S POV The air feels too still, unnaturally suspended in time and space.The library—usually quiet, yes, but never like this—has taken on a heavy, oppressive silence. A silence that presses against my eardrums and weighs on my shoulders like an invisible burden. My pulse is slowing to an ominous crawl, my breath shaky and uneven, and I finally notice the subtle environmental changes that my anger has triggered: the way the floorboards creaked earlier under invisible pressure, the faint hum of old wiring now fallen silent, the way dust motes have stopped swirling in the golden streams of late afternoon light that slice through the tall windows. It's not just quiet in here.It's frozen. Suspended in amber. Time itself seems to hesitate.Because of me. Because of what I am. What I've become.Cassidy leans in close, her warm breath tickling my ear, her voice a hushed whisper brushing just beneath the oppressive silence. "Serena," she murmurs, her eyes darting nervously to the human
SERENA'S POVThe guard positioned in front of me might as well be carved out of granite—stone-faced, unflinching, and somehow immune to every ounce of white-hot fury I throw at him. His massive frame blocks my way completely, arms crossed over his chest like living barriers."Move," I say through clenched teeth, my voice dangerously low, vibrating with barely contained rage. The corridor's fluorescent lights cast harsh shadows across his impassive face.He doesn't blink. Doesn't even acknowledge that I've spoken. His eyes—dark and cold as a winter midnight—stare straight ahead, looking through me as if I'm nothing but air."I said, move." Each word drops like a stone between us, heavy with threat and desperation. My hands curl into tight fists at my sides, nails digging crescents into my palms.Still nothing. Not a muscle twitches in his face. The library is too quiet, unnaturally so, as if the world is holding its breath. The air feels too still, too thick with tension. It feels lik
SERENA'S POVI count seconds. Minutes. Hours, maybe. The ticking clock on the wall becomes my only focus as I've stopped listening to the lecture entirely. My fingers tap relentlessly against the polished wooden desk—an impatient, staccato rhythm that's driving Cassidy crazy beside me, though she's too polite to say much beyond the occasional sigh and pointed glance. My eyes flick nervously from the analog clock to the window, where I spot one of the black-suited shadows stationed across the sun-drenched courtyard. Another bodyguard, stiff as a statue, lurks near the gym entrance, his eyes constantly scanning the perimeter. Yet another one positions himself strategically behind the library, almost blending into the shadows of the building. All of them here for me—watchful, vigilant, suffocating.I grit my teeth until my jaw aches. The realization sits heavy in my chest: I'm a prisoner in my own school, surrounded by walls both visible and invisible."Serena," Cassidy whispers, her war
SERENA'S POVI'm surrounded.Not by enemies, not by anything dangerous—well, not in the usual sense of supernatural threats that have become my unwelcome norm. Instead, I'm surrounded by four armed boarding guards stationed strategically throughout the school hallway as if I'm a high-profile political target under imminent threat of assassination. Their vigilant eyes scan everyone who walks by with clinical precision, their postures rigid as steel beams, their expressions ice-cold and perpetually alert, betraying nothing but absolute focus on their singular mission: keeping me "safe."And I am absolutely fuming.I clutch my notebooks to my chest with white-knuckled fingers, trying desperately to breathe past the tightness constricting my throat like an invisible hand. The weight of so many watchful gazes—both the guards' and the curious students'—presses down on me, making the hallway feel smaller with each passing second. I look at the guards again, scattered along the corridor like
The forest is unnaturally still, as if the very air has frozen in anticipation of some unspeakable event.Thick, serpentine mist coils around the gnarled roots of ancient trees as Isabella moves deeper into the woods at the far end of the city, her long dark gown trailing like spilled ink over the carpet of dead leaves. The fabric whispers against the forest floor, a sound too delicate for the malevolence that radiates from her slender form. Shadows crowd her from every angle, pressing against her skin like curious spectators, but she doesn't flinch. Not tonight. The searing pain in her chest is too consuming, drowning out all lesser fears.She grits her teeth, jaw muscles flexing visibly beneath her pale skin, each step sharp with fury and frustration that pulses from her like a beacon. The forest itself seems to shy away from her presence, branches curling back as she passes.Her mind, restless and raw, replays the moment again and again in vivid, excruciating detail—Serena suspende
SERENA'S POVI'm falling.There's no wind, no gravity—just this endless, sickening drop into a black pit that stretches forever beneath me. My arms flail wildly, desperate fingers grasping at empty air, seeking something, anything to halt my descent. But there's nothing. Just darkness so complete it seems to devour even the concept of light.I scream.No sound comes out. My vocal cords strain against the silence, but the void swallows every vibration before it can form into something real.I twist my body, neck craning painfully as I search frantically for a ledge, a crack, a single handhold in this endless darkness. Still nothing. Just me and the hungry void, its maw opened wide to consume me whole. Panic squeezes my lungs with iron bands, my chest burning with a helplessness so profound it feels like drowning on dry land. Then—A light.Far off, warm and pulsing like a heartbeat. Golden threads of hope in an ocean of despair. I reach for it with everything I have, muscles straining
The dust has barely settled, hanging suspended in beams of fractured light that pierce through the collapsed sections of ceiling.The building is a shell of what it was—walls cracked and splintered like brittle bones, furniture reduced to unrecognizable ruins, and the air heavy with the acrid sting of scorched magic that burns the nostrils with every breath. Ancient power lingers, a toxic residue clinging to every surface. But Frederick's eyes aren't on the wreckage surrounding them. They're locked on Serena—his daughter, his blood—with an intensity that could burn through steel.She lies still, her body cradled in Luna's arms like something precious and broken beyond repair. Her skin is ghostly pale against the dark fabric of Luna's clothes, her chest rising and falling in uneven rhythms. Luna kneels beside them, her slender hands hovering just above Serena's face, fingertips trembling with concentration. Her lips move in silent incantations—ancient words passed down through generati