Chapter 21

He was standing behind me.I froze, my fingers still hovering over the glass I’d meant to pour from. The air between us felt charged — heavy, like the few seconds before a storm.“I’d also like a drink,” Perth said quietly.My chest tightened. His voice was close, too close, and I could almost feel the words brush against the back of my neck. “O–okay,” I managed, my voice sounding small even to my own ears. “I’ll make you one.”I reached for another glass, but before I could even lift it, his hand came down over mine. Cool. Firm.“Not that kind of drink,” he said, his tone unreadable.He took my wrist gently but with an authority that made resistance feel pointless. I felt him draw my hand closer, until my pulse beat right beneath his fingertips. Then, to my surprise, he didn’t bite — not yet. He only breathed in, as if the air around my skin carried something he needed.The sound of his breath was quiet, almost thoughtful. And when he finally pressed his nose lightly to my wrist, I

Last Updated : 2025-11-22

Chapter 22

I crouched down in front of the boy, my knees bending until I was almost sitting on my heels. Up close, he looked even worse. His breathing was fast and shallow, and there was a long cut across his arm that was still seeping blood.“Hey,” I said softly. “Can you stand?”His eyes flicked up to mine. Bright blue. Shaking. Terrified.“I… I don’t know,” he whispered. His voice sounded like he had swallowed sandpaper.“Okay, let’s try.”I slipped my arm under his and slowly pulled him up. He let out a quiet sound — pain or fear, I wasn’t sure — but he didn’t fight me. He was so light it scared me a little. Like if I pulled too hard, he might break.“Come on,” I murmured, guiding him toward the room. When we made it inside, I shut the door quickly and pressed the lock.The boy sagged against me, and I half-carried him to the couch. He sank into it like someone whose body had finally given up.“Just stay here,” I said, brushing his hair out of his eyes. “Let me look for a first aid box or so

Last Updated : 2025-12-02

Chapter 23

The vampire stepped back the moment Perth’s voice sliced through the hallway. He dipped his head slightly, shoulders tight, the blood on his chin catching the dim light as he murmured, “Sire.”Perth’s footsteps echoed closer. His tone was sharper this time, clipped and irritated. “What is going on here?”The vampire finally straightened his spine a little, though his head remained bowed. “I was just asking if he had seen my companion.”Perth turned to me. His eyes were unreadable. “Have you seen his companion?”My throat went dry instantly. I cleared it, stalling, feeling Jerome’s fear radiating behind me like cold air. I paused, fighting with myself about whether to tell the truth or not. But I’d already committed. I shook my head.Perth walked up to me so smoothly it made my stomach twist. He tilted his head, examining my face. “You’re lying, aren’t you?”“No,” I said, though it came out a bit too fast. “I’m not lying.”He stared at me in silence. I could feel the weight of his gaze

Last Updated : 2025-12-08

Chapter 24

I woke up the next morning feeling like my bones were made of sand. Everything inside me felt heavy, foggy, worn thin. The night kept replaying behind my eyes, looping over and over like some kind of cruel show I didn’t sign up for.For a second, I just lay there staring at the ceiling, letting my mind drag me back into everything I had seen. The vampires. Their eyes glowing like embers. The feeders on leashes. The collars. The fear. The powerlessness. All of it swirling in a sickening mix under my skin.I lifted my hand slowly and touched the side of my neck.The collar wasn’t there anymore, but somehow the phantom weight still was.Before I’d reached my room the night before, Perth had stopped me in the hallway and told me quietly—no, commanded me—to return the collar. I had slipped it off right after, relieved for even a moment of freedom, but the pressure of it, the tightness, the humiliation… my hand could still feel all of that as if it were carved into my skin.A breath tremble

Last Updated : 2025-12-08

Chapter 25

“What are you doing here?”The words slammed into my head like a thunderclap. For a second I honestly thought one of the gods had thrown lightning straight into my skull. I jerked so hard my spine almost snapped.I spun around—well, more like twisted stiffly—and there he was. Kieran. But weirdly, he wasn’t even looking at me. His face was turned toward the direction I had just fled from, the path where those gossiping guards had stood moments before.His voice came low, smooth, but edged the way a blade glints under sunlight. “Are you so free,” he asked, “that you have time to take strolls and have chats?”A beat of silence, then the guards stammered in unison, “N–no, sir!”“Get back to your duty post,” he snapped.I heard the shuffle of feet—fast, panicked, and definitely eager to be anywhere but here. The garden fell silent except for the whisper of leaves overhead… and the pounding thud of my own heartbeat beating somewhere near my throat.Then Kieran finally turned his head toward

Last Updated : 2026-01-03

Chapter 26

The figure froze when my voice cracked out, and then it slowly turned toward me, like the sound had tugged at it. My breath hitched. I couldn’t see a face yet — just the outline of someone tall, someone still, someone watching me.Then it started walking toward me.Quiet steps. Steady. Closer. Closer. Closer.I pressed harder into the mattress without meaning to, my muscles locked. My eyes strained in the darkness, trying to make out anything — a jawline, hair, something — but everything was just silhouette and moonlight until the figure reached my bedside.Before I could open my mouth, it leaned past me and clicked on the lamp.Warm light spilled across the room.And my stomach dropped.It was Perth.He sat on the bed beside me like it was the most normal thing in the world, then held out a hand toward me. “Your hand,” he said quietly.For a second I didn’t move. My brain had lagged behind everything — behind the shock, behind the fear, behind him showing up in my room in the middle