Serena's POVMy throat is raw from shouting, but I refuse to stop. "Let me go!" I scream, struggling against my father's unyielding grip. My body burns with frustration, muscles aching from the effort of trying to free myself. I wish—just for a second—that I had the strength to land a solid punch right on his arrogant face, to make him feel even a fraction of the pain he's causing me."Enough, Serena! We're going home," he commands, his voice cold and unwavering, like steel hardened by centuries of power. "This ridiculous infatuation ends tonight.""Infatuation?" I spit the word back at him. "You have no idea what this is. We have a deeper connection than anything you could understand."I whip my head around, my desperate gaze finding Damon. He slowly rises from where he had fallen on the road, dusting himself off with deliberate slowness, eyes locked onto mine with a tortured expression. He wants to come to me, I know he does. Just like I want to run into his arms and never let go. T
Damon's POVI slam the door shut behind me, the echo ringing through the empty apartment. Our apartment. The one Serena and I are supposed to share, the place where we are meant to live our lives together. Now, it feels like a hollow shell, mocking me with its silence. The air is thick with the weight of everything that has happened, and I feel like I'm suffocating in it.Frustration boils in my veins as I pace back and forth, fists clenching and unclenching. My mind replays the scene over and over again—Serena struggling against her father, the desperation in her eyes, the way she called out to me before he dragged her away. The helplessness I felt in that moment is unbearable. I should've done more. I should've fought harder. But what was I supposed to do? Start a war right there in the middle of the road? Risk losing her forever if things escalated beyond control?With a deep breath, I force myself to sit on the couch, leaning my head back. I need to calm down. I need to think. The
Serena's POVI sink back against my bed, biting down hard on my bottom lip as my mind swirls with endless thoughts. Damon went on that rampage because of me. He did all of that just to protect me. The weight of that realization presses down on me, making it hard to breathe. My mind replays the last thing I remember before everything went dark—the brutal wizard's fists landing blow after blow, the sharp, crushing pain radiating through my body, making me feel like my bones are literally being shattered. Each strike sends shockwaves through me, the agony so intense that I almost convince myself that my body won't be able to withstand it. The memory makes me shudder, but when I shift my body slightly, I realize something shocking—every ounce of pain I felt then has completely disappeared. My injuries, the ones that had left me feeling like I was on the brink of death, are gone.I exhale shakily, trying to process what this means. Maybe my vampire abilities have healed me while I was unco
SERENA'S POVI wake up the next morning with a burning anger simmering beneath my skin. Frustration coils in my chest like a snake, tightening its grip with every breath I take. The events of yesterday replay in my mind on an endless loop—my father's controlling grip on my life, his suffocating rules, his ruthless determination to keep me away from Damon. It all fuels the fire raging inside me, a wildfire of defiance that refuses to be extinguished.Throwing the blankets off me, I swing my legs over the edge of the bed and sit up, running a shaky hand through my tangled hair. My jaw clenches as I try to will away the sharp sting of helplessness curling in my stomach. I refuse to be powerless. I refuse to let him dictate my life. With renewed determination, I yank open my wardrobe, pull on my uniform in stiff, deliberate movements, and sling my backpack over my shoulder. Every motion feels like an act of rebellion, no matter how small.Downstairs, the house is eerily silent, but the ai
SERENA'S POV*What are you thinking, Serena?*Cassidy and Luna's voices barely register in my mind as I remain trapped in my own thoughts. My bodyguard, Lucian, is an oppressive shadow behind me, his presence suffocating, a constant reminder of the cage my father has placed around me. My stomach churns with frustration, my fingers tightening around the edge of my locker as I glance toward my friends. Lowering my voice to a whisper, I murmur just loud enough for them to hear."I need to find a way to evade him," I breathe, desperation lacing my words. "There has to be some way to slip past him, even for just a few minutes."Before I can even process my next thought, a firm, unrelenting grip clasps around my wrist. My heart lurches as I snap my head up, locking eyes with Lucian's unreadable, piercing gaze."I can hear you," he states flatly, his voice devoid of any amusement. "Enhanced senses. Your whispers might as well be shouts."Damn it. A sharp pang of realization cuts through me.
SERENA'S POVRight now, the only thing consuming my mind is finding a way to evade the relentless presence of Lucian, the ever-watchful vampire bodyguard standing like an immovable force at the entrance of my classroom. Cassidy, Luna, and I have already devised a plan—a desperate attempt at freedom. Whether it will work or not, we don't know. But at this point, we have no choice but to try.Lucian is no fool. He knows we're up to something, and his suspicion lingers in the air like a storm waiting to break. We are well aware that he has likely heightened his senses, making him ten times more perceptive than before. He is watching us, analyzing our every move, waiting for us to slip. But that's fine. Because we are watching him too.Throughout the entire class, I can feel his gaze drilling into me, a constant reminder of the chains wrapped around my freedom. His frustration is palpable, especially since he cannot decipher what we are plotting. Our whispers would have given us away, but
The air between them is thick with heat, a wild, uncontrollable force that neither of them can fight any longer. Damon's grip on her tightens, his hands pressing her against the rough bark of the tree as if she is the only thing keeping him tethered to this world. His breath is ragged, his chest rising and falling with the same desperate hunger that courses through her veins.His lips trail along her neck, his fangs grazing her skin, sending an electric shiver down her spine. She clutches onto his hair, her fingers weaving through the soft strands as he presses his body against hers. A soft gasp escapes her when his tongue brush down her chest, tracing the curves of her body with possessive intent. Every touch is a claim, a silent declaration of a desire too long restrained.Damon moves with unrelenting need, his hands sliding beneath the fabric of her shirt, his fingers slowly undoing each button with agonizing precision. The moment her bra comes undone, his lips find her skin, press
Isabella sits motionless in her classroom, her fingers drumming lightly against the polished surface of her desk, her expression a mask of simmering rage. Around her, the school buzzes with the aftermath of the earlier chaos—the fire alarm has sent students into a frenzy, but now the initial excitement is fading. None of it matters to Isabella. The world outside her seething thoughts is insignificant. Her mind is fixated on a singular purpose: revenge.She replays the events of yesterday, the sting of betrayal carving deeper into her heart with each recollection. Damon had dared to strike her—to slap her—over that wretched half-breed. The memory of it is a scorching brand against her pride. Her blood burns with indignation, her magic simmering just beneath the surface, aching for release. Serena will pay for this. For all of it.As her anger churns, her power responds instinctively. The pen on her desk lifts into the air, spinning slowly at first before picking up speed, a silent exte
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
DAMON'S POVEveryone's watching me.The silence is brutal, like a noose tightening around my neck with each passing second. I feel eyes cutting into me from every direction—some curious and probing, some coldly judgmental, some downright suspicious and calculating. They're all waiting for me to speak, to break this suffocating quiet. Waiting for me to confirm what they're already whispering in their heads: that something's going on between me and Serena. Something deeper, more forbidden than politics or pack obligations could ever explain.And they're right. Of course they're right. But I can't say it. Not like this, not with my father's penetrating gaze boring holes through my skull.It feels like I'm trapped in a damn cage constructed of expectations and traditions, and every breath is getting harder to take, like the oxygen is being sucked from the room. My chest tightens painfully against my ribs. I have so much I want to say—to shout, even. To tell my father that this is what the
The silence after Damon's outburst is thick. Heavy. It clings to the ruins around them like toxic smoke, suffocating and inescapable. Chunks of concrete and twisted metal lie scattered across what was once a pristine beautiful mansion meant for Damon and Serena's supposedly honeymoon, now a battlefield graveyard. The destruction feels almost alive—a silent witness to the confrontation unfolding in its midst. Mobius doesn't speak right away. He just stares at his son, not with rage or offense—but something infinitely worse. Amusement. A slow, almost indulgent smirk curls across his aristocratic face, the kind of expression one might wear while watching a child throw a tantrum in the middle of a royal hall. His eyes, cold and calculating as winter midnight, scan Damon with clinical detachment, as if trying to decide whether this unprecedented display of defiance was brave… or just pathetically human. The contempt in his gaze is unmistakable—centuries of unquestioned authority compre
Mobius isn't done.Even as Eleanor's words still hang in the air, sharp as blades and weighted with defiance, Mobius steps forward with deliberate menace. His aristocratic features twist into something primally cruel and determined—an expression that has made empires crumble over centuries of his immortal existence. His eyes narrow, cold as winter midnight, and he looks ready to strike—not with claws or fangs, but with words sharpened by centuries of unbending pride and unyielding conviction. His piercing gaze stays fixed on Eleanor like she's a persistent stain he intends to scrub out of the conversation—and possibly existence—entirely."You mortals," he says low, venom curling on his tongue with each syllable, his voice resonating with the dangerous harmonics of ancient power, "forget yourselves too easily. Your lifespans are mere eyeblinks in the cosmic timeline, yet you presume to under
A heavy silence hangs over the wreckage, oppressive and thick like a burial shroud. Dust still dances in the air, countless microscopic particles suspended in time, glowing faintly under the silver fingers of the full moon that stretch across the devastation. And in the middle of it all, Eleanor stands like a flame refusing to flicker out—small yet unmistakably bright against the backdrop of destruction.Everyone is watching her now—Serena's mother, the only mortal in this war-torn circle of supernatural power. Her jaw is tight, muscles visibly clenching beneath her skin; her eyes burning with an outrage that cuts deeper than any magic ever could. The pulse at her throat beats rapidly, betraying the adrenaline coursing through her veins, yet her stance remains unwaveringly steady."You're all arguing?" she says, voice trembling with restrained fury that threatens to break free with each syllable. "Stil
The dust hasn't even settled, still hanging thick in the air like a mourning shroud over what once stood proud and tall.Chunks of concrete lie like carcasses across the compound, jagged and lifeless; twisted steel rods jut from the ruins like broken bones piercing through torn flesh. Smoke curls up into the thick night sky, thick and slow, carrying the scent of destruction with it. And in the middle of this apocalyptic landscape stands Elder Mobius. Damon's father. His sharp eyes—cold as winter frost—sweep the wreckage, not with horror or concern, but with a calculating gaze that assesses value and loss. Like he's watching a fortune vanish before his eyes, each crumbled wall representing nothing but diminished assets.Not a word about Damon. Not a flicker of concern for his own flesh and blood."What the hell happened here?" Mobius demands, voice laced with fury that rises like th