My eyes snap open, and I immediately regret it. I’m lying on the floor. My back aches, my neck feels like it’s been twisted in five different directions, and my legs are all pins and needles. I don’t even remember falling asleep.It’s dark now. How long have I been out? I groan as I push myself up, stretching out the stiffness in my limbs. The discomfort that came with sleeping on the ground suddenly disappears, and I'm left feeling brand new.Soft breeze hits my face, and I notice my window is still wide open from two nights ago.Dragging my feet, I head over to close it, but I pause when something catches my attention. Across the street, sitting on the curb with his legs casually stretched out, is a man.No. Not just a man. Him.Even from up here, I can feel Valentine’s presence like an icy breath on my neck. His golden eyes glint when he tilts his head to look at me, and that smirk of his—the one that feels equal parts teasing and terrifying—takes over his face.“Not going to come
“Bingo.” His voice rings in my mind like a cruel whisper.I freeze, my pulse quickening. Ellie sets the box of tissues down on the table and stares at me with wide, concerned eyes.“You’re scaring me,” she says, her voice barely above a whisper.I want to say something to ease her nerves, but I’m transfixed by the steady thrum of the vein in her neck. It’s hypnotic, pulling me in with a force I can barely fight.Oh no...it's back again...that feeling.I push back my chair, forcing myself to stand. “I’m sorry,” I mumble, retreating a step. “I don’t mean to. It’s… it’s the nightmares. They’ve been getting worse.”Her eyes soften, though the worry lingers. “You should get some rest. I’ll look into a therapist for you this week. You can’t keep going on like this.”I nod mechanically, turning toward my room. “Thanks. I think I just need some sleep.”She says nothing else, but I hear her sigh and I feel her eyes on me as I head to my room.Once I’m inside, I shut the door firmly and lean a
The first thing I notice as I stir awake is a cold, metallic sensation against my lips. A single drop lands on my tongue, and before I can stop myself, I lick it.The hunger hits me like a sudden force – sharp and all-consuming. My body jerks in response, desperate for more, but I force myself to open my eyes instead.An arm hovers above me, pale and steady, with crimson blood dripping from a fresh wound. My eyes trail up to its owner, and my breath catches.“What are you doing?” My voice is raspy, barely more than a whisper, but it’s enough to break the heavy silence.He doesn’t flinch, his expression calm and maddeningly unreadable. “Trying to feed you,” Valentine says, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. He shifts closer, lowering his arm. “Drink.”The scent of his blood fills the air, intoxicating and irresistible...like cinnamon. I feel my hunger clawing at me, demanding I obey, but I push myself away, pressing my back against the headboard.“No.”His golden eyes darke
The words Achilles drops before walking off echo in my head, louder than the chatter of the lecture hall. Mated to Valentine? What does that even mean? I barely pay attention as the professor drones on about economic structures. My notes remain blank, my pen idle in my hand. Every time I try to focus, those words creep back in, clawing at my concentration.The professor clears his throat, breaking my reverie. “Miss, uh…” His voice cuts through the fog in my head. “Do you have something to add, or is daydreaming your new specialty?”Snickers ripple through the class, and I look up, startled. Before I can respond, Dorothy pipes up from the back row, her voice dripping with fake sweetness. “Maybe she’s thinking about her new boyfriend.”The laughter that follows doesn’t sting as much as I expect it to. For some reason, embarrassment feels like an afterthought compared to everything else I’m dealing with. I slowly turn to her, meeting her smug gaze, and let the first thing that comes
The door clicks shut behind me, and for the first time in a long time, the silence in the apartment feels too loud. Ellie’s working the night shift, so it’s just me. I flick on the lamp in the living room, its dim light casting long, tired shadows across the walls.Mated to Valentine.The words bounce around in my head like a bad echo. I drop my bag on the couch and sink into the cushions, my hands shaking slightly as I rake them through my hair. "Mated," I mutter under my breath, tasting the word like it’s something foreign and bitter.I’m not sure if I’m supposed to feel flattered or trapped.Grabbing my laptop, I settle into bed, pulling the blankets tight around me. The glow of the screen fills the room as I type into the search bar: What does it mean to be mated to a vampire?The results are… not helpful. A sea of fictional nonsense floods the screen: eternal devotion, undying love, bonds that transcend death. Lovers bound for eternity. My chest tightens. I snap the laptop shu
“North. North, wake up.”A voice drags me out of the haze of sleep, paired with a persistent tapping on my shoulder.I groan, rolling onto my side, the couch beneath me lumpy and unforgiving. “Five more minutes,” I mumble, pulling the throw blanket over my head to block out the harsh light spilling into the room.The tapping turns into a light shove. “You’ve already overslept. Get up before I pour water on you.”Peeking out from under the blanket, I see Ellie standing over me, arms crossed, looking like she’s barely holding herself together. There’s exhaustion etched into her face, her ponytail loose and uneven, and her uniform rumpled from hours on the night shift.“You look like you’ve been through the wringer,” I say, my voice scratchy with sleep.She raises an eyebrow. “And you look like you’ve been dead for three days.”I chuckle, sitting up and stretching. “Maybe a few more days than three days, don't you think?"A faint smile tugs at her lips before she sobers. “Laugh it up, b
The library smells like aged paper and quiet desperation—a perfect setting for my current state of mind. I shuffle to an empty corner, cradling a thick book on European history, though I have no intention of reading it. My thoughts are too loud.Achilles’s words play on repeat in my head. You’re not a vampire. If you were, you’d have burned in the sun. And word is spreading that someone like you exists. It’s like a storm that won’t pass, shaking my resolve with each echo.The air in the room shifts, subtle but sharp, like the drop in temperature before a thunderstorm. I glance around. The library is as it always is—students buried in books, murmuring whispers bouncing off the walls. But the hairs on the back of my neck stand on edge. Someone is watching me.I force myself to focus, flipping through pages I can’t understand. My chest tightens as I tell myself it’s paranoia. I’m just rattled after everything. That’s all.“North Harper?”The voice is smooth, too smooth, and it takes
I pace my room, every step adding weight to the storm building inside me. My mind won’t stop. It keeps circling back to the same impossible truths: I’m not human. I’m not a Vampire. I’m… something else. Something that shouldn’t exist. I can still feel Elias’s cold, judgmental gaze on me, his words like daggers in my chest. His visit earlier wasn’t just a warning—it was a declaration.The council doesn’t trust my existence. They see me as a threat.I grab the pile of clothes on my chair and toss them into the closet, hoping that the distraction will ease the suffocating tightness in my chest. But the motion feels useless. No matter what I do, my thoughts spiral back to the one person who might have answers. Valentine.I drop onto the edge of my bed and call out to him. I know he won’t answer. Achilles said he never does when he’s with his parents, but the words leave my lips anyway. “Valentine,” I whisper, the sound swallowed by the silence of the room.Nothing.Of course.I stand
It's been two weeks and the long awaited visit to the council is on me. I'm only thrilled to be going to Paris. Maybe I can think of it as a vacation and not certain death.It's only Valentine and I on this journey, sad really. If Achilles were here, then the flight wouldn't be so long and silent.It's funny how he's already growing on me like an unwashable fungus.The hum of the plane’s engine fills the cabin, but the space between Valentine and I feels heavier than the noise. He sits across the aisle, his golden eyes fixed on the tinted window, his face set in that bland look. You can't tell what he's thinking or if he's thinking.I don’t bother trying to make conversation. What’s there to say? Two weeks of training, and I still feel like I’m stumbling in the dark. Now, we’re heading straight into the lion’s den.We touch down in Paris twenty minutes before midnight and a sleek white BMV is already waiting to drive us over to our hotel.Vampires do live quite the life. They've ha
The sunlight streaming through the tall windows feels almost mocking. It’s bright, golden, and warm—everything I shouldn’t be able to experience as a vampire. But here I am, standing in the middle of Valentine’s mansion, feeling the heat on my skin like it’s normal. Like I’m normal. I hate it.The mansion is quieter during the day, the air heavy with a stillness that feels unnatural. The staff move about silently, their footsteps barely audible on the polished floors. Most are human, others are not. It's strange how I can tell now, and too fascinating to actually see immortals.I wander aimlessly, my fingers trailing along the cold stone walls, until I find myself in the kitchen.The scent of fresh bread and herbs hits me first, warm and inviting. A woman with silver hair tied in a tight bun stands at the counter, her hands moving deftly as she chops vegetables. She doesn’t look up when I enter, but her voice cuts through the silence like a knife.“You’re not supposed to be here.
It's been three days since the council last reached out with a shade. Three days since I left my apartment, and three days since I've been in a total disarray.To be frank, I don't even know what to think about. There's been a set date for my visit to the council which happens to be in Paris, by the way.It's a two weeks away and all Valentine and Achilles have been breathing down on my neck for the past three days is training.Well...here we are, midnight. Such an ungodly hour to be up, especially now that my eyes has been opened to the existence of creatures the human eyes have been blind to.Things that are supposed to be dark fantasies and now I walk among them, mated to one of them...I am one of them.The courtyard looks ancient at night, the air thick with the scent of damp stone and burning torches. The flickering flames cast long shadows across the cracked ground, and the ivy-covered walls seem to close in around me. It’s quiet, too quiet, except for the occasional crackle
The drive is silent. Each moment passing like a blur, yet slowed down so I can get reasonable thoughts together, and in good time.The night presses against the windows, swallowing us in darkness, but I barely notice. My thoughts are too loud, crashing into each other like waves in a storm. The scent of burned shadows still lingers in my nose, the memory of that thing—shade, Valentine called it—clawing at my mind.Ellie.She’s going to think I’m dead.I left her behind.The apartment was a wreck. The window shattered, the living room torn apart. She’s going to come home and assume the worst—that someone broke in, that I was taken, that I was killed.My chest tightens. I should have left a note stating that I was okay and in good hands. Heck, told her there was a break in and I've gone to stay with a friend for a while.I swallow hard, staring out the window. The city blurs past, but my reflection stares back at me, hollow-eyed and furious.Valentine doesn’t say a word. He grips the s
The room is dead silent.My breath comes in shallow bursts, my heart hammering so hard it might explode. Valentine stands in front of me, his back rigid, his entire body coiled like a predator ready to strike.The presence in the apartment is wrong. Thick. Suffocating. A darkness that curls in the air like smoke.And then, the voice slithers through the shadows again."The Sunlit One."My blood turns to ice.Whatever’s out there, it’s not human. It’s not a vampire, either. It’s something else."Stay behind me." His voice is sharp, clipped, his stance widening. He’s not playing around.I grip his arm. "Who is that?""A Shade." His tone is grim. "They hunt for the council."I swallow. "Hunt… as in, kill?"The air shifts. I hear something—no, I feel something moving. Too fast. Too wrong.Valentine barely gets a word out before the lights flicker—then die.The apartment plunges into darkness.Oh perfect, just what I didn't need!My pulse spikes, panic crawling up my throat. I can’t see.
I pace my room, every step adding weight to the storm building inside me. My mind won’t stop. It keeps circling back to the same impossible truths: I’m not human. I’m not a Vampire. I’m… something else. Something that shouldn’t exist. I can still feel Elias’s cold, judgmental gaze on me, his words like daggers in my chest. His visit earlier wasn’t just a warning—it was a declaration.The council doesn’t trust my existence. They see me as a threat.I grab the pile of clothes on my chair and toss them into the closet, hoping that the distraction will ease the suffocating tightness in my chest. But the motion feels useless. No matter what I do, my thoughts spiral back to the one person who might have answers. Valentine.I drop onto the edge of my bed and call out to him. I know he won’t answer. Achilles said he never does when he’s with his parents, but the words leave my lips anyway. “Valentine,” I whisper, the sound swallowed by the silence of the room.Nothing.Of course.I stand
The library smells like aged paper and quiet desperation—a perfect setting for my current state of mind. I shuffle to an empty corner, cradling a thick book on European history, though I have no intention of reading it. My thoughts are too loud.Achilles’s words play on repeat in my head. You’re not a vampire. If you were, you’d have burned in the sun. And word is spreading that someone like you exists. It’s like a storm that won’t pass, shaking my resolve with each echo.The air in the room shifts, subtle but sharp, like the drop in temperature before a thunderstorm. I glance around. The library is as it always is—students buried in books, murmuring whispers bouncing off the walls. But the hairs on the back of my neck stand on edge. Someone is watching me.I force myself to focus, flipping through pages I can’t understand. My chest tightens as I tell myself it’s paranoia. I’m just rattled after everything. That’s all.“North Harper?”The voice is smooth, too smooth, and it takes
“North. North, wake up.”A voice drags me out of the haze of sleep, paired with a persistent tapping on my shoulder.I groan, rolling onto my side, the couch beneath me lumpy and unforgiving. “Five more minutes,” I mumble, pulling the throw blanket over my head to block out the harsh light spilling into the room.The tapping turns into a light shove. “You’ve already overslept. Get up before I pour water on you.”Peeking out from under the blanket, I see Ellie standing over me, arms crossed, looking like she’s barely holding herself together. There’s exhaustion etched into her face, her ponytail loose and uneven, and her uniform rumpled from hours on the night shift.“You look like you’ve been through the wringer,” I say, my voice scratchy with sleep.She raises an eyebrow. “And you look like you’ve been dead for three days.”I chuckle, sitting up and stretching. “Maybe a few more days than three days, don't you think?"A faint smile tugs at her lips before she sobers. “Laugh it up, b
The door clicks shut behind me, and for the first time in a long time, the silence in the apartment feels too loud. Ellie’s working the night shift, so it’s just me. I flick on the lamp in the living room, its dim light casting long, tired shadows across the walls.Mated to Valentine.The words bounce around in my head like a bad echo. I drop my bag on the couch and sink into the cushions, my hands shaking slightly as I rake them through my hair. "Mated," I mutter under my breath, tasting the word like it’s something foreign and bitter.I’m not sure if I’m supposed to feel flattered or trapped.Grabbing my laptop, I settle into bed, pulling the blankets tight around me. The glow of the screen fills the room as I type into the search bar: What does it mean to be mated to a vampire?The results are… not helpful. A sea of fictional nonsense floods the screen: eternal devotion, undying love, bonds that transcend death. Lovers bound for eternity. My chest tightens. I snap the laptop shu