All Chapters of MOONLIGHT MYSTIQUE : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Theo noticed.Of course he did. He wasn’t blind, and I wasn’t good at pretending—not anymore. My hands shook when I held my pen. I jumped at shadows. I barely slept. And every time Damien entered a room, my chest locked like a vice.Theo cornered me outside the cafeteria that afternoon, blocking my path with folded arms and a look that cut sharper than I’d ever seen on his face.“Eliot,” he said. “What the hell is going on?”I blinked, startled. “Nothing.”“Don’t lie to me.” His voice cracked, raw and frustrated. “He’s everywhere you are. I see the way you look at him—like you’re drowning.”Heat surged to my cheeks. “It’s not—”“Do you want him?”The question gutted me. My throat locked. I opened my mouth, but no sound came out.Theo’s jaw tightened. “You’re playing with fire. He’s dangerous, Eliot.”“I know.” My voice was barely a whisper.Theo’s eyes softened, some of his anger melting into worry. He reached out, brushing my shoulder. “Then let me help you. Don’t let him drag you un

I told myself I wouldn’t see him.I told myself I’d avoid him, keep my head down, cling to Theo’s warnings like they were lifelines.But you can’t outrun shadows. And Damien wasn’t just a shadow—he was the night itself.---It was late when it happened. The campus had gone quiet, dorm windows glowing faintly in the dark. I’d stayed in the art studio longer than usual, sketching furiously just to empty my head of him. But every line, every shadow, every shape turned into Damien’s face. His eyes. His smirk.Frustrated, I shoved my notebook closed and left, the night air biting against my skin.The path to the dorm was empty. Or so I thought.Halfway there, the silence shifted—the kind of silence that watched.I froze. My heart stuttered.And then he stepped from the shadows.Damien.“Eliot,” he murmured, as if he’d been waiting all night for me.My pulse lurched. “Damien, I—”He didn’t let me finish. He moved fast, catching my wrist, spinning me back against the brick wall of the old li

The air after class felt suffocating. I shoved my books into my bag, desperate to escape before Damien could close in, before Theo’s burning gaze could pin me down with unspoken questions.But fate wasn’t merciful.The hallway was too empty. Too quiet. My steps echoed against the walls, and each sound sharpened the dread curling in my stomach.And then—his shadow slipped in front of mine.Damien.Blocking the exit. Leaning casually against the wall, as if he’d been waiting for me to walk into his trap.“Eliot.” My name left his lips like a caress. “Running again?”My grip tightened on my bag. “Move.”“Say ‘please.’” His smirk curved, his gaze raking over me, devouring every flicker of panic, every twitch of restraint.I sidestepped. He blocked me, body close enough that I could feel his heat.“I told you to stop—”“And I told you…” He lowered his head, his mouth inches from mine. “…you don’t want me to.”His hand slid up, catching the back of my neck with firm, possessive control. My

The cafeteria humiliation hadn’t faded from my skin. It clung to me like a curse, every whisper in the hallways a reminder of Damien’s public claim. By morning, the rumors had mutated into wildfire—half the campus buzzing that I was Damien’s secret lover, the other half wondering how long it would take before Theo killed him.I wanted to disappear.Theo wasn’t letting me.He dragged me outside after our last lecture, his grip rough on my wrist, his jaw set like stone. We stopped near the fountain where the quad was quieter, away from curious eyes. His chest rose and fell with sharp, furious breaths.“Eliot,” he ground out, voice tight, “you’re not going to keep pretending this is nothing. Tell me what the hell he’s doing to you.”I froze. My throat tightened. Theo’s eyes—so full of protectiveness, but also anger—felt like chains pinning me in place.“I…” My voice wavered. “He—he’s just trying to mess with me.”Theo stepped closer, so close the heat of him pressed into my space. “No. T

The air after Theo left felt like ash, thick and suffocating. My chest ached in ways Damien’s touch could never soothe. I wanted to run after him, to explain, to scream that I didn’t mean it—any of it.But Damien’s arm around my waist tightened, dragging me back into his gravity.“Let him go,” Damien murmured, his lips close to my ear, as if reading my frantic thoughts. “He’ll never understand. He doesn’t want the real you. He wants his version of you—weak, quiet, obedient.”My breath shuddered out of me. “That’s not true…”“Isn’t it?” Damien tilted my chin until my eyes met his storm-gray gaze. His smile was soft, too soft, but the power in it was undeniable. “Theo can’t handle who you are. But I can. I see you.”A tremor ran through me, part fear, part… something else. Something dangerous.“You don’t see me,” I whispered. “You’re just trying to break me.”Damien chuckled low, his thumb grazing the edge of my jaw. “Break you? No, Eliot. I’m the only one setting you free.”His words b