"Are you ready?" Damon says beside me as he slowly bends down and places both of his hands against the ground. "I want you to inhale and exhale and allow the adrenaline surging through your body to take complete residence over you. If you can do that, I can guarantee that you might probably give your inner beast the chance to unleash its viciousness so you can fight back and defend yourself. It's not necessary that you have to defeat these ginormous entities—I am completely sure that you cannot overpower them by yourself alone, but at least you should be able to prevent yourself from getting a severe injury that would be so fatal and detrimental to your lifespan."I exhale and close my eyes, taking in a deep breath, allowing the super fast beating of my heart to slowly take control over me just like he had said.Within a few minutes, it feels as though my entire senses have been heightened and I am walking on bubbles.I can feel every single thin
"Hey, take it easy Serena, okay? This is not a fight, neither is it an argument," Brian says as he steps closer and stands beside Damon, placing his hand against his shoulders. "Come on, it was totally my idea, okay? I just felt the need for us to crack your shell open a little bit and bring out that supernatural side of you. You know, about the traumatic experience you went through, we could just..."Good goddess, I can't continue to listen to the nonsense he is saying right now as I swiftly turn around and begin to make my way towards the entrance of the building.I am so fed up with this shit.Damon finally materializes in front of me and takes hold of my hands. "Okay, I am so sorry, okay? I never should have done this, and we never should have scared you this much, but please just calm down. We were just trying to make the mood a little bit lighter, you know, in some sort of supernatural way. Well, at least now you can see it was not real - w
Unable to contain the curiosity that surges through my body, I quickly move down to the Earth and stand directly in front of him, obstructing his movement. I observe as he suddenly comes to a stop and scratches the road with sharp claws.Then, within the next few minutes, he begins to shift, returning to his normal human form. I look at his completely naked form in front of me, feeling my face turn red with embarrassment."Good Lord!" I exclaim. "I seriously cannot believe this right now! Jesus, why the hell don't you werewolves have any fucking shame in your body?" I scream at him, listening as he laughs out loud and shakes his head."There's absolutely nothing to be ashamed about, Serena," he says. "it's nighttime. I wonder who would be here that would want to look at my nakedness?" He says this and begins to look around as if scanning for something, but I just shake my head and fold my arms, observing him intensely."So, do you care t
"Damon van Allen," I say, "I can promise you that you do not have a choice with this. If you do not open your mouth right now and tell me what the hell you are hiding from me, there is nothing that will ever make me forgive you, not even the moon goddess. And I promise you, we are literally going to be enemies forever. Don't think the fake marriage is going to stop anything."He suddenly stops and looks at me, feeling completely defenseless as he finally bites against his lip."You really don't give up, do you?" he asks, but I just shake my head and fold my arms."You left me with no choice. You can't just blurt out something like that and expect me to just forget easily about it. Well, your prank almost made me forget it, but well, I guess that didn't work well for you, did it?"He looks at me for a very short while before shaking his head and brushing his fingers through his hair once again."I don't know, Serena, but I don't
"Am I the only one who heard that?" he asks, and I swiftly turn my head to look at him, biting down against my bottom lip."Well, you are definitely not the only one," I say as I continue to look around.He also extends his hands, slowly moving backward and gradually squatting to the ground as if preparing to get into his battle attack mode."Something doesn't smell right here," he says and swiftly begins to sniff the entire surroundings. "We are totally not alone," he says, and this, as usual, begins to make my heartbeat increase extremely fast in my chest as I clench my fists tightly together, trying to contain the pressure moving through my body."If you know what is good for you, Serena, you will have to do everything within your power to unleash your capacity to the maximum so we can bolt out of here and not encounter anything deadly."I bite down hard against my lip as I observe him intensely with fury."And I fuc
The light is so bright and sharp, capable of piercing through the strongest element.Damon is swift enough to quickly push me away before bending down backward slowly and evading the attack of the light that flashed in between us.We watch as it strikes a building a few meters away from us and cracks a segment of it, allowing a huge amount of debris to fall to the Earth."Oh crap," I think to myself as I turn my head to glance at the cloaked fellow, who is now walking toward us with a very sharp, determined intensity, and from what I can figure out right now, I don't know why I'm feeling as though this particular fellow is coming after no one else except me.His entire focus and attention are totally on me, and I can feel it."We need to get out of here, Serena," Damon says and quickly takes hold of my hand, about to lead me to another section when a similarly bright greenish light manifests a few meters away and then vanishes t
I don't know why, but it only feels as though his words are like honey and milk and butter all mixed together, brushing against the strings of my heart and making me feel so warm and so soft deep down within.It feels so overwhelming and so surprisingly peaceful as I grip tightly against him as though he is my life support."We really do not want to beat about the bush right now, and we want things to be so easy," I suddenly hear a very deep, manly voice coming from one of the cloaked figures, and it makes it so obvious that this person is really indeed a wizard because his voice isn't coming out with the normal, natural sound that everyone knows. It is coming out as though he is speaking through a microphone, something like an echo."Give us the girl, and we are going to be on our way," he continues, and I feel Damon tremble all the while he is still holding me tightly against himself.My heartbeat accelerates the moment the fellow says that
My heart skips a beat the moment he says that, and I quickly look up at him, pulling down his head to look at me. "Are you fucking stupid? That is a very wrong move to make right now. You should have observed and realized how dangerous these people are. Why the hell would you be suggesting a fight? Do you want to get yourself killed?" I find myself blurting out at him, but he smiles down at me. "Calm down, Serena, okay? I know what I'm doing, and I promise you that nothing is going to happen to either of us. This is really, really crazy, though, and I don't really know why I feel like I should really hold on to you and protect you with all my life, but considering how our lives have been previously, a few months ago, my first option in this kind of scenario would have been for me to just hand you over to them so they can get rid of you instantly, but right now, I really just can't explain or understand what the hell you
SERENA'S POVThe pain is indescribable—beyond any human language's capacity to capture its essence.It's not just in my head—it is my head in its entirety. It feels like someone's driving razor-sharp claws straight into the soft tissue of my brain, methodically twisting and shredding every coherent thought, every cherished memory, every fundamental shred of who I am at my core. I can't breathe through the agony. I can't form a single rational thought.I can barely maintain a sense that I exist at all.Isabella watches me with predatory intensity, her expression twisted into a sick, delighted smile that reveals too many teeth. Her glowing crimson eyes drink in my excruciating pain like it's an exquisite feast prepared solely for her consumption. There's unmistakable hunger there. Desperate, primal need. Something infinitely deeper and more disturbing
SERENA'S POVThe air turns heavier with every breath I take. It doesn't just press on my chest—it crushes it with the weight of impending doom. Like trying to breathe through viscous tar. Thick. Suffocating. Oppressive. Every labored inhale feels like it might be the last, my lungs straining against an invisible force that seeks to silence me forever.I see it in the others too—the unmistakable strain, the slow, painful unraveling of their strength. Damon's broad shoulders sag visibly, his normally perfect stance losing the military precision that usually defines him. His once-fluid movements grow increasingly sluggish, as if he's fighting through waist-deep water, each strike requiring double the effort. Cassidy stumbles mid-swipe, her dancer's grace momentarily abandoning her as she barely dodges a vampire's yellowed claw that slices the air mere inches from her flushed face. A fraction slower and her fles
SERENA'S POV The fear around me isn’t just thick—it’s suffocating, pressing into my chest with invisible hands, making it hard to breathe. It’s not panic. It’s worse. It’s the knowing kind—the kind that seeps into your bones when your body realizes you might not survive.Vampires pour into the room like a flood let loose. Their eyes burn with frenzy, fangs gleam wet with blood, and every last one of them is locked on me. I can feel their hunger like heat against my skin. My breath catches in my throat, shallow and useless. My legs refuse to move. Every muscle in my body screams to run, to fight, to do something—but I can’t even figure out where to go. There’s nowhere safe. No space left.“Hold the line!” Damon’s voice slices through the chaos like thunder cracking the sky.And then—just like that—they’re around me.Damon, Cassidy, Luna, Brooke, Ryan, Brian—they close ranks with the kind of coordination that only comes from shared survival. It’s instinctual. Protective. Fierce. They d
SERENA'S POVThe moment Brian and Cassidy step into the living room from their hiding place, I see it in their eyes. That shimmer of gold, pulsing beneath the surface like molten metal struggling to break free, tells me everything I need to know. It's their werewolf instincts kicking in—heightened senses, sharpened awareness, primal intuition thrumming beneath human skin. We were not the only ones who felt it. That oppressive pressure in the air, like the sky itself dropped a few feet lower, crushing us beneath its invisible weight. That split-second stretch of time, how the shadows dragged just a little too long, as if something unseen pulled at them, toying with reality itself. Something is terribly, dangerously wrong.Cassidy's eyes narrow, sweeping over the large space like a blade ready to strike. Her posture shifts, muscles coiling tight beneath her skin, tense and poised like a predator se
SERENA’S POVThe warmth still lingers between us—tender, quiet, and deeply comforting.I tug my shirt over my head and smooth my hair down with a soft exhale as Damon finishes buttoning his jeans. There's a softness in his gaze, a kind of afterglow that transcends the physical—it's emotional, magnetic, and hard to look away from. We don’t need to speak. The way he reaches over and intertwines our fingers says more than a thousand whispered words ever could. We’re wrapped in something real, something deeper than desire.As we step out of the room and descend the winding spiral staircase, the low hum of laughter and conversation rises to greet us. Down in the cozy living area, Luna, Ryan, and Brooke sit huddled around a rustic wooden table, a deck of cards splayed between them like a colorful puzzle. Luna’s fingers move with elegant flair, each shuffle deliber
DAMON'S POVHer words, raw and demanding – "Give me all of you. Now." – resonate deep within the core of my being, echoing through me like a physical blow. They send a powerful tremor down my spine, a vibration that has absolutely nothing to do with the lingering, pleasant tension of bringing her to a shattering release just moments before. This is something new, something fiercely reciprocal. My gaze locks with hers, instantly captivated, drowning in the brilliant, almost feverish shine that illuminates her eyes from within. I see the deep, becoming flush staining her high cheekbones, spreading down her neck – undeniable, visceral proof of the inferno I deliberately stoked within her soul. An inferno that now rages with an almost desperate need for completion, for absolute possession. She wants me. All of me. Badly. The knowledge is a potent drug, intoxicating and overwhelmingly satisfying.A lo
DAMON'S POVI can't help it. The need claws at me, an overwhelming tide that’s been building for hours, days, maybe longer. It’s a physical ache deep in my gut, a frantic energy buzzing just beneath my skin. And now… now she’s here. Right in front of me, in my apartment, the very place my fantasies have played out a thousand times. There’s nothing between us, no watchful eyes, no imminent interruption – at least, not yet.I know this is borrowed time. A stolen moment before the world, before her father, inevitably discovers she’s gone and rips her away again. That knowledge sharpens the edge of my desire, making every second precious, potent. There’s no room for discussion, no time for hesitant talk. Action is the only language that makes sense right now.With a low growl rising in my chest, I surge forward, pinning her against the cool wood of
SERENA’S POVThe night air is cool on my skin as Damon holds me close, carrying me as though I’m the most precious thing in the world. His strong, steady arms beneath me feel reassuring, the steady rhythm of his heartbeat vibrating against my cheek as I rest my head against his chest. It’s the only sound I focus on as we finally reach the apartment, my heart pounding—not just from the run, not just from the fear, but from the overwhelming swirl of emotions inside me: relief, joy, love... hunger.Damon pushes the door open, the scent of warm takeout and something faintly herbal filling the air, but there’s something else too—a tension, thick and unspoken. Inside, his friends are sprawled across the living room, a deck of cards scattered across the table between them. Brian, Ryan, and Brooke all look up in unison, their eyes widening slightly as they take in the sight of Damon cra
SERENA’S POV"Duplication spell."The words reverberate in my mind like a haunting melody, a constant echo I can’t seem to silence. I stare at Luna, my heart pounding against my ribs, my pulse a wild thing thrumming beneath my skin. My lips part, ready to ask what she means, but before I can utter a single word, the idea hits me like a rush of wind through an open window.My eyes snap wide.Luna sees it—sees the shift, the sudden spark igniting behind my gaze. Her knowing nod tells me everything: You’ve figured it out.“That…” I whisper, my voice barely more than a breath. “That’s actually a damn good plan.”I try to keep the tremor out of my voice, but it slips through. Fear coils in my gut like a restless serpent, tight and unyielding. Every second we waste here is a se