All Chapters of OUTCAST: FIRST BLOOD: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Adrian moved through the city with a purpose that didn’t belong to a man who had just killed someone—at least not in the way humans understood grief. His body cut through the thinning night like a shadow that refused to be swallowed by dawn. Every step was guided by that faint pull in his chest, the one that had once driven him toward Emily out of curiosity, then desire, then something far more dangerous. And now, after years of distance, it was pulling him again with a quiet urgency he couldn’t ignore.Cars passed him, morning commuters unaware of the creature weaving silently between them. The sky was turning a soft lavender at the horizon, the kind of fragile early-light that always made him uneasy. Dawn was not immediate danger—he could still move—but it was a reminder that humans belonged here far more comfortably than he ever would.Emily was getting closer.He could feel her heartbeat now.It wasn’t the frantic rhythm of someone in fear. It was steady, even strong, but fast eno

Emily didn’t understand at first—not really. She heard the word run, felt the urgency in Adrian’s voice, but her body stalled for a heartbeat, stunned by the sight of the stranger stepping out from the hotel’s revolving doors. Jason looked too composed, too graceful, too out-of-place in the dusty morning light. His white shirt was spotless. His dark coat moved like liquid shadow. His eyes—God, his eyes—didn’t belong to any ordinary man.He looked like someone carved from a colder world.Emily felt something inside her tighten, a small instinctive coil of fear she didn’t want to acknowledge. She didn’t know who he was, but one glance at him made her pulse jump in a way she didn’t understand.Adrian stepped forward, still blocking her completely from Jason’s view.“Emily,” Adrian whispered again, voice deeper now, lower, almost vibrating with warning, “you need to move.”She swallowed hard. “Why? Why is he—”Jason’s voice cut through the morning air, smooth and disturbingly calm.“Adria

Jason’s breath skimmed the side of Emily’s neck, cold enough to raise goosebumps across her skin. She couldn’t move—not because she didn’t want to, but because something in the air had thickened around her, pressing in on her muscles like invisible wires. Her pulse thrashed wildly, the sound echoing inside her own skull.Adrian heard it too.Every beat was a knife.“Jason,” Adrian said, voice low, shaky, dangerous. “Step away from her.”Jason didn’t. He angled his head, studying the rapid flutter beneath Emily’s jaw with an interest that made her stomach twist. His fingers curled lightly around her chin, tilting her face as if she were something delicate he planned to savor.“She’s trembling,” Jason murmured. “That fear is… exquisite.”Adrian moved—barely an inch, barely a breath—but Jason’s hand instantly tightened on Emily’s jaw.“Ah-ah,” Jason chided softly. “You know the rules. One more step, and—”“I’ll rip your throat out,” Adrian growled.Jason smiled. “You can try.”Emily’s br

Adrian didn’t slow down. Not even once. His grip around Emily’s hand stayed firm, almost desperate, as he pulled her through empty streets and narrow side paths that were still half-asleep under the early morning haze. The city was waking up—lights flickering on in apartment windows, distant traffic growing thicker—but the world around them felt strangely muted, as if danger absorbed every sound before it could echo.Emily kept up as best she could. Her shoes slapped the pavement, breath turning sharp in her lungs, but she didn’t ask him to stop. Not when she could feel the urgency radiating from him. Not when she could still taste fear at the back of her throat.Adrian’s steps were silent, too smooth for a human, and Emily had to force herself not to stare at how effortlessly he moved. He wasn’t running—he was gliding. Every motion precise, controlled, predatory.And every few seconds, he would glance over his shoulder.Not at her.Behind her.Looking for Jason.“Adrian,” Emily pante

The shriek across the rooftops wasn’t loud—it was thin, sharp, metallic, like the sound of a blade slicing cleanly through steel. But it carried weight, enough to reverberate through the air, enough to stop Adrian mid-breath.Emily didn’t know what it meant, but the way Adrian’s body went rigid told her everything she needed to know.Another pureblood was near.The terrified slave collapsed completely, forehead pressed to the ground. His voice shook so violently the words barely came out. “You don’t understand—she’s worse than him—worse—she—”Adrian grabbed the man by the collar and hauled him upright. “Who did he call?”The man’s pupils trembled as if even saying her name would summon her faster. His cracked lips parted—But he wasn’t given the chance.A gust of icy wind shot through the courtyard.Not air.Not weather.Power.A woman’s voice—smooth, melodic, disturbingly sweet—dripped from above.“I believe he’s trying to say my name.”Emily’s breath vanished.Adrian spun, pulling E