4

I’d stopped counting the hours. My head was pounding. My throat was dry. I wanted out and I wanted air.

I sat up, pushing the blanket off. “This is insane,” I muttered to no one. “Completely insane.”

The flashback of the store owner lying lifeless in the pool of his own blood with a beast beside him scared me. I had me wondering if Damien was the beast. I quickly pushed that thought away, I just didn’t want to think about it, at least not yet.

I went to the door again, turned the knob—locked, of course. I hit it once, hard. “Let me out!” My voice cracked but there was no response asides my echo.

By the time the door finally opened, I was pacing.

He walked in like he owned the world.

It was Damien and he stepped in Calm, composed, in that dark shirt that made him look carved out of shadow. His eyes flicked over me like a radiant star.

I folded my arms. “Can you just let me go? Why are you keeping me here?!” I snapped.

“What kinda kidnapper are you?! You haven’t even said what you want from me?”

“You enjoy this, don’t you?”

He didn’t answer any of my question. He just leaned against the wall, his cold eyes darting at me.

“Why are you keeping me here?” I asked, trying to steady my voice. “I didn’t do anything. The only thing I remember is—” My voice dropped. “—that thing at the store. I saw it kill someone. And now I’m here. What’s the connection, huh? You part of it?”

He didn’t flinch. “You talk too much.”

The son of a bitch!

His calm tone— oh fuck it really made me want to scream. “You think this is funny?”

“No,” he said simply. “But panic makes you sloppy. I don’t want you running into something worse.”

“Something worse?” I shot back. “What could possibly be worse than being locked up by some stranger?”

“Trust me,” he said quietly. “You don’t want the answer to that.”

My brows furrowed.

For a second, the way he said it… it wasn’t arrogance. It was more of a warning.

Still, I wasn’t about to play along.

“If you think my parents have money or something, you’re wasting your time,” I said. “I don’t have anything. So what do you even want?”

He pushed off the wall, walked closer and let out a tiny half baked chuckle. “You think I need your money?”

“Then why?” My chest tightened. “Why am I here?”

He stopped right in front of me. “Because you saw something you shouldn’t have.”

My throat went dry. “You mean that—thing?”

His jaw tightened, but he didn’t answer.

I swallowed. “So what, you kill me too?”

His eyes met mine. Cold. “Who knows” his breath steamed right in my face, his lips just gorgeously sticking right in my face.

No one spoke further, I got lost in his orbs which were a dark universe.

Then I tried a different tone. Softer. “At least let me walk around. I can’t stay locked up like this.”

He raised a brow. “So you can run?”

“I won’t,” I lied. “I just—need to breathe. Being locked up in just this room is making me lose my mind”

He gawked at me for a while as tho studying me, and then—surprisingly—he nodded. “You can leave the room. But if you try to escape, I’ll find you. And next time, I won’t be this kind.”

I nodded quickly. “Deal.”

Dumbass! I’m leaving this fucking shithole!

He stepped aside, gesturing for me to follow.

When I walked out, my eyes widened. The house was… beautiful. Not like anything I’d ever seen. High ceilings. Chandeliers. Velvet and gold and marble. Every inch of it screamed wealth and danger at once.

“Ummm,” I muttered. “So this is what a mansion looks like.”

“Don’t get too comfortable,” he said, walking ahead.

We stopped at a lounge. Huge. A massive TV, leather couches, glass walls that showed the forest outside. I felt small there, like I didn’t belong.

“Can I—” I hesitated. “Watch something?”

He was already turning away. “Do what you want.”

I didn’t even know why I said it next. “You could stay. If you want.”

He turned back, slow. “Why?”

“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “It’s boring watching alone.”

A flicker crossed his face—amusement? Disbelief? I couldn’t tell. Then he walked back and sat on the opposite couch.

The movie played, but I wasn’t watching it. Not really. My eyes kept drifting toward him. The way he sat, so composed, like he didn’t even belong to this world either. He didn’t look human when the light hit him just right.

Stop staring, Claire. Stop it.

I told myself I was only doing this so he’d drop his guard. That’s all. That’s what I told myself.

Then the front door opened.

“Ah, so this is where the big bad wolf hides.”

The voice was smooth and mocking. A man stepped in—tall, rough, with a grin that said trouble. He looked like Damien but with chaos in his eyes.

“Lucian,” Damien said, low. “Elara”

Behind him came a woman also tall, elegant, with dark hair. She said nothing, but her eyes locked on me instantly. The judgy looks were obvious.

Lucian smirked at me. “And who’s this? Didn’t know you started keeping pets.”

Damien’s gaze sharpened. “Watch it.”

“Oh, come on. I’m just saying, she doesn’t look like your type. Bit too… alive.”

“Lucian.” The warning in Damien’s voice could cut glass.

Elara spoke finally, her voice soft but biting. “ who is she and why is she here?.”

“She’s under my protection,” Damien said simply.

That line made my stomach twist. Protection. From what? I needed no protection and at least now from this asshole.

Lucian’s grin faded slightly. “You sure that’s a good idea, brother?”

No answer.

The air between them felt electric. Dangerous. I didn’t understand it, but I could feel it.

After a while, I stood up. “I’ll just… go.”

Lucian’s gaze followed me and I just felt those sick eyes focused on my ass. “I’ll walk you—”

“You won’t,” Damien cut in.

Lucian just laughed. “Always so territorial.”

I didn’t wait around to hear more. I went back to my room, heart pounding, thoughts a mess.

Damien’s POV

The fire in the study burned low. The night was quiet, except for the whisper of paper as I flipped open the file. Her file.

Claire Hensley.

Lucian stood near the shelf, arms folded. “So who is hot fiesty chic really?”

“She saw me in my wolf form while I was performing the sacred moon ritual,” I said. “That’s all you need to know.”

Lucian scoffed. “You kidnapped her for that?”

I didn’t look up. “You’d rather the Council got her?”

He frowned. “They’ll come either way. You know the rules. Humans who see us—”

“Don’t live.” I finished the sentence quietly.

He tilted his head. “Then why is she still breathing?”

I didn’t answer. My eyes fell to the document again. The results. The scan my people had done.

Something in my chest tightened.

Lucian stepped closer, grabbed the file from my hand—and then froze.

“What the hell is this?” he whispered. “This can’t be right.”

I met his eyes, saying nothing.

The page shifted in the dim light, the heading catching the glow.

Subject: Claire Hensley — Genetic Mutation Detected.

Classification: Unknown Hybrid.

Lucian’s face went pale. “Brother… what did you bring into this house?”

I stared at the file, the firelight flickering over the words.

And for the first time in a long while, I had no answer.