THE BITTER SUN

Elena’s POV

​The sun was too bright. It cut through the dark curtains of the penthouse like a golden knife. I opened my eyes and felt the soft, expensive silk of the pillows against my face. For a second, I forgot where I was. I felt warm and safe.

​Then, I felt the heavy weight of an arm across my waist.

​Memory hit me like a physical blow to the stomach. The gala. The wine. The scars on Alaric’s back. The way I had fallen into the arms of the man I was supposed to destroy.

​I looked down. Alaric was still asleep. Without the angry look on his face, he didn't look like a "Beast." He looked like a man who hadn't slept in years. His dark hair was messy, and his long eyelashes cast shadows on his cheeks. He looked peaceful.

​But I couldn't be peaceful.

​Slowly, very slowly, I lifted his arm. I held my breath, waiting for him to wake up and growl at me. He didn't move. He just let out a deep, quiet sigh.

​I slipped out of the bed. My legs felt weak, and my head was spinning. I felt a strange wave of nausea in my stomach. It’s just stress, I told myself. You haven't eaten. You’re just nervous.

​I found my blue dress on the floor. It was wrinkled and smelled like him. I pulled it on, my fingers shaking as I tried to do the zipper. I didn't care about looking pretty anymore. I just needed to leave.

​I looked at the floor near the sofa. There it was. The silver key-card.

​It was sitting there, shining in the sunlight. It was the key to everything. With this card, I could go to the Thorne servers. I could find the emails that proved Alaric cheated my father. I could give my family their pride back.

​I picked it up. The plastic was cold. This was what I wanted, right? This was the goal.

​But as I looked at Alaric sleeping in the bed, I didn't feel like a winner. I felt like a thief. I felt like a traitor to my own heart.

​"Going somewhere?"

​The voice was like a whip. I froze, the card hidden in my palm.

​Alaric was sitting up. He wasn't moving fast, but he looked like he was ready to spring. His amber eyes were sharp and clear. He wasn't sleepy at all. He had been watching me the whole time.

​"You gave me your word," I said, trying to make my voice sound strong. "The night is over. You said I could have the card."

​Alaric stood up. He didn't care that he wasn't wearing a shirt. He walked toward me, and I had to force myself not to step back. He stopped right in front of me. He smelled like the night before—warm and dangerous.

​"I keep my promises, Elena," he said. He looked down at my closed hand. "The card is yours. You can take it. You can walk out that door right now."

​"Then let me go," I said.

​Alaric reached out. I thought he was going to grab the card back. Instead, he tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. His touch was so gentle it made me want to cry.

​"You can go," he whispered. "But you should know one thing. Once you use that card, there is no coming back. You will be my enemy again. And the Beast does not show mercy to his enemies twice."

​I looked at the door. I looked at him.

​"I have to do this, Alaric. For my father."

​"I know," he said.

​He walked to the wall and pressed his thumb against a scanner. The heavy locks on the penthouse door clicked open.

​"Run along, little ghost," he said. His voice was cold again. The man from last night was gone. "Go play your game. Let’s see who wins."

​I didn't wait. I ran.

​

The First Symptom

​Elena’s POV

​I didn't go home. I went straight to the secret office where Jax was waiting. My stomach was still turning, and the smell of the city—the hot pavement, the trash, the cheap coffee—made me want to throw up.

​"You're late!" Jax shouted as I slammed the door. He was sitting in front of five computer screens. He looked messy and tired. "I lost your signal four hours ago! I thought you were dead, or worse!"

​I didn't say anything. I just walked to the desk and slammed the silver card down.

​Jax’s eyes went wide. "No way. You actually got it? How? How did you get the Beast to give up his biometric key?"

​"It doesn't matter," I said. I sat down in a hard plastic chair. The room felt like it was spinning. "Just use it, Jax. Get into the files. Find the proof."

​Jax grabbed the card and started typing. The sound of the keys was like gunfire in my ears. Click-click-click. "Okay, I'm in," Jax whispered. "Wow. This guy has layers of security. It’s like a maze in here. Wait... Elena, are you okay? You look green."

​"I'm fine," I snapped.

​But I wasn't fine. A sharp pain shot through my stomach. It wasn't like a normal cramp. It felt hot. It felt like a tiny spark of electricity was moving inside me.

​I stood up to go to the bathroom, but my knees gave out. I fell against the desk, knocking over a cup of pens.

​"Elena!" Jax jumped up and caught my shoulders. "Hey, talk to me! Did he drug you? Did he do something to you?"

​"No," I gasped. I gripped the edge of the table. The pain passed as quickly as it came, leaving me breathless. "He didn't drug me. I just... I haven't eaten."

​"You're shaking like a leaf," Jax said. He looked at me closely. "Wait. Your eyes. Elena, look at me."

​I looked into the small mirror on the wall. I screamed.

​My eyes weren't brown anymore. For a split second, a flash of bright, glowing amber moved across my pupils. It looked exactly like Alaric’s eyes.

​"What is happening to me?" I whispered, my voice full of terror.

​"I don't know," Jax said, his voice trembling. "But I’m looking at the Thorne files right now. There's a folder here labeled 'Bloodline Project.' Elena... the Thorne curse isn't just a story. It’s biological. It changes the DNA of anyone who carries the Thorne blood."

​I sank to the floor. I touched my stomach.

​The one-night stand wasn't just a mistake. It was a transformation. I wasn't just carrying a secret anymore. I was carrying his heir. And the heir was already changing me.

​"Jax," I whispered, tears streaming down my face. "Close the files. We have to go. We have to hide."

​"Hide? Why?"

​"Because if Alaric finds out," I said, looking at my shaking hands, "he will never let me go. He won't see me as a woman. He will see me as a container for his legacy. He will put me in a cage and never let me see the sun again."

​Suddenly, the computer screen turned red. A loud alarm started to blare.

​"SECURITY BREACH," a robotic voice said. "LOCATION TRACKED. TERMINAL 402. INITIATING RECOVERY TEAM."

​Jax looked at me with pure fear. "He found us, Elena. He let you take the card so he could find our hideout. He’s coming."