The Supernatural Exposure

The nagging sense of dread only deepened after that night. Every shadow felt too close, every sound too loud. I couldn’t shake the feeling that someone—or something—was always watching me.

My sleepless nights turned into restless days, and as the city outside continued its usual bustle, I delved into an entirely different world. Late nights at the library, dim-lit corners of obscure websites, anywhere I could find whispers of the things lurking beneath the surface, I wanted to be sure that I was not losing my mind. Most of it felt like nonsense, ancient folklore and children’s tales. But the more I read, the more these so-called legends started to feel… uncomfortably familiar. Beings who lived on the fringes of our world, creatures who slipped in and out of human lives, feeding off them, binding themselves to them.

One night, I stumbled on an article about a local legend: a cursed protector, a being who appeared human but was anything but. It was said he was bound to a single soul—a “fated mate,” they called it—but his very presence brought danger. Those who crossed his path were never the same. A chill settled over me, but I couldn’t look away from the screen. Fated mate. Protector. The words echoed in my mind, dragging up memories of his gaze, that haunting promise that I’d never be safe around him. Could this really be him?

I couldn’t take it any longer. I needed answers, real ones this time.

Night had fallen again by the time I left my apartment, my feet carrying me back to the dark, winding streets where I’d last seen him. I didn’t even know if he’d be there, but my instincts said he would be. Sure enough, as I rounded a corner, he was standing there, half in shadow, waiting for me.

He watched me with that same intense stare, a look that seemed to pierce through every wall I’d built around myself. “Back again so soon?” he asked, his voice low and hauntingly familiar with complete confidence.

I took a deep breath, steeling myself. “I know you’re hiding something from me, you are literally tormenting me” I said, trying to keep the tremor out of my voice. “I know you’re not… human.”

A ghost of a smile tugged at the corner of his lips, though his eyes remained hard. “And if I’m not?” he asked. “What then?”

I felt my pulse quicken, but I forced myself to hold his gaze. “Then I want to know what you are. I want to know why I feel like this… why I can’t stop thinking about you, even though everything in me says I should be running the other way.”

He took a step closer, his expression shifting to something darker, almost sorrowful. “You don’t know what you’re asking, Daniel,” he murmured. “Once you learn the truth, there’s no going back.”

I clenched my fists, my heart pounding. “ Just fucking tell me anyway.”

He studied me in silence, his face unreadable. Finally, he spoke. “I’m bound to you,” he said quietly. “In a way that goes beyond anything you can imagine. But that bond—it’s dangerous, more than you could ever understand.”

I shook my head, refusing to let fear get the better of me this time around, I needed the truth. “I need to know. What are you?”

For a moment, he hesitated, as if he were weighing the consequences of what he was about to say. Then, he let out a low sigh. “I’m… not human,” he said, his voice like gravel. “I was once, long ago, but I haven’t been for centuries. I am bound by a curse, forced to protect the one I’m fated to. But my protection always comes at a cost.”

The words hit me like a wave, dizzying and disorienting. Centuries. A curse. The idea of it should have been ridiculous, absurd, but there was something in his eyes that made it impossible to doubt. I took a shaky step back, struggling to process what I’d just heard. “So, you’re saying… you’re some kind of… creature?” I stammered, hardly able to believe the words coming out of my own mouth.

“Yes.” He sounded almost resigned. “You could call me that. A vampire, a demon, a curse—none of those words are quite right, but all of them are true in their own way.” His voice softened, almost like he was pleading. “But I’m also bound to you, and that puts you in danger. As long as you’re near me, they’ll come for you.”

I felt a cold prickle of fear down my spine. “They?” The more he spoke, the more confused I got.

“Enemies of my kind. Those who want to use you against me. They’ll stop at nothing to hurt you… to hurt us.” His expression hardened, his eyes flicking to the darkness around us, as if he sensed something I couldn’t. “You have to stay away, Daniel. You don’t understand what’s coming for you.”

Just as his words sank in, a low growl echoed from somewhere behind me, followed by the sound of something shifting in the shadows. My blood ran cold as I turned to see a pair of glowing eyes peering at us from the darkness. My heart hammered in my chest, every instinct screaming at me to run.

But before I could react, the creature lunged, moving with impossible speed. I braced myself for impact, but a blur of movement passed in front of me, and suddenly, my stranger was there, blocking the attack. He moved with inhuman speed and grace, his eyes flashing with a dark, predatory light as he grappled with the creature.

The sound of claws raking against flesh filled the air, and I staggered back, watching in horror as he fought off the monstrous attacker. He was faster, stronger than anything I’d ever seen, his movements fluid and deadly as he dodged and countered with lethal precision. Blood splattered the ground as the creature let out a strangled snarl, thrashing in his grip.

I could only stare, frozen in shock as he finally landed a final blow, sending the creature crumpling to the ground in a lifeless heap. He turned back to me, his chest heaving, blood smeared across his face. His eyes were still wild, feral, and for a moment, he looked less like a man and more like a beast—a predator unleashed.

I backed away, my heart racing. “What… what are you?”

He took a step toward me, his expression softening slightly, though his eyes still held that dangerous gleam. “Now you understand, Daniel. This is the world you’re stepping into. This is what I am.”

I shook my head, struggling to find my voice. “Why… why me? Why am I tied to you?”

“Because,” he said quietly, a hint of sorrow in his voice, “you’re my fated one. The only one I’m bound to protect. But that bond comes with a price, Daniel. It will make you a target—until the end.”

Before I could process his words, he took a step back, his eyes shadowed with regret. “You can still walk away,” he murmured, his voice barely above a whisper. “But know that from this moment on, you’ll never be safe. Not as long as we’re bound.”

Then, as quickly as he’d appeared, he vanished into the shadows, leaving me alone in the dark alley with the lifeless creature at my feet, my mind reeling from everything I’d just seen.

Nothing would ever be the same.