Serena's POVI remain against the ground, crawling backward as the wizard begins to move closer towards me, extending his hand and resuming the dangerous sorcery he was about to perform against me.But he is unable to complete that when we hear a very loud growl coming from behind him.Both of us turn our heads to behold a bizarre-looking wolf that jumps against him, gripping tightly against his neck and swinging him toward another direction.Good goddess, that is Damon's full wolf self, and it takes me completely off guard to behold how huge and gigantic and extremely terrifying he looks right now.I continue to step backward, observing the battle between Damon and the wizard when another presence catches my attention.I quickly look up to behold the other witches and wizards whom we had neglected all this while, slowly moving towards me with an urgency."Let's take this chance. We can't perform the ritual he
Fear takes over my entire spirit, so intense that I turn my head to look at him. Damon looks excessively determined not to let me go, staring at the demonic-looking wizard standing before them. He seems to shine brightly all over his figure.Damon holds me tightly, and I continue to look at him with shock and admiration at how willing he is to protect me, even in the face of this dreadful experience."I am so sorry, but it is going to take more than a silly threat to get what you want," he replies, and I watch as the fellow chuckles, his head shaking before his eyelids close intensely. He opens them again."I really do not want things to go the hard way, Damon," he says. "Like I said, I respect your dynasty, and I do not want you to do anything that will come between the business of the House of Van Allen. So please, just respect yourself and step out of our business.""Okay, fine. I'm going to step out of your business if you can just tell me one thing," Damon says as the wizard gla
Damon shakes his head with determination and extends his hands, pulling me back a step, slowly backing away as the wizard glares, a strange, particularly green light flashing endlessly in his irises."We are offering you a last chance, Damon," the wizard speaks, and Damon shakes his head, chuckling as he throws his head back, laughing slightly."This is the third time you have said you are offering me a last chance. How many last chances do you feel you need to keep offering me in order to make it known to you that there is nothing that will make me let her go, and I am not leaving her in your wicked hands for you to deal with anyhow you wish.""This is not your affair to meddle with, Damon. This is totally beyond you, and you have no idea what you are doing. You don't know what she is, you don't know what she is capable of. She needs to be taken under our wing so that we can handle her to the best of our ability.""Okay, then why don't you be a wise wizard and tell me why the hell sh
The entire atmosphere is darkened by an extremely powerful range of energy that seems to be tearing through every single veil so present in the entire scenario. Tension in the air makes Serena's body begin to tremble, and she feels the extreme energy moving through her veins while she tries to create a balance within herself so she doesn't lose control. She clenches her fists tight, feeling her heart palpitating extremely fast without control in her chest as the witches and wizards draw closer and closer. The strange dark energy hovering all over their bodies makes the entire situation much more difficult for her to comprehend as her lips tremble and her hands begin to shake without control. Damon turns quickly and looks at her with worry in his expression. He moves closer to her and takes hold of her hand, gripping tightly against her palm as he gazes ahead of him, keeping his own attention on the dangerous individuals coming closer towards them. "Calm down, Serena, okay? Just r
"You are outnumbered, Damon, and at this point in time, if you feel you still have the audacity to refuse our request, I'm just going to take you as a very big fool that doesn't know what he is doing. So please be kind enough to hand the girl over to us right now so we can spare you, and then we would be on our way," the leader says with menace.At this point in time, both Serena and Damon begin to tremble visibly before the dangerous looking individuals. Serena is expecting that Damon would finally let go of her due to the strange amount of vibration she could feel from his body, but his next action completely takes her off guard.He grips tighter against her hand and pulls her closer to himself with his arms tight around her waist. She looks up, partly with shock and disbelief, as he turns his head to look back at the fellow standing a few meters away."Do your worst," he says, and Serena's eyes look as if they are about to pop out of their sockets.*Is this guy so crazy or foolish?
The trembling of her heart becomes even more dangerous, as though an earthquake and tornado have taken residence in her chest.She watches as the blood washes out of Damon's wolf stomach, becoming too much to bear.Damon grips tightly against the witch's hand and tries to pull her so he can end her life instantly, but another wizard takes advantage of the situation and strikes his weapon straight into Damon's back, sending him screaming loudly with his wolf howl deep into the night as the pain continues to tear through his muscles.Serena finds herself whispering, "Damon," to herself as a very sharp, searing pain begins to move through her body, forcing her to clench her fist tightly."Let him go!" she screams out with her voice as she finally gets up from the ground and begins to make her way towards him to stop the witches and wizards from continuing their assault on him.But a very strong, muscular, manly hand takes hold of her neck from behind, stopping her from making her move."
I tilt my head to look at the Wizard hovering above me without demonic light in his eyes as he chuckles and leans over me. I am shaking my head and struggling to lift a bone, but it is just practically impossible, and this futile attempt forces him to laugh out loud with his voice coming out so brutal and demonic in ways it makes my spine shiver.I bite down hard against my bottom lip and glare at him. "You wouldn't dare," I tell him, but he only chuckles and winks at me before slowly tilting his head to look somewhere else, and I follow his gaze.I turn to look at Serena struggling with another able-bodied wizard a few meters away, and from how violent she is, I can tell that she's extremely furious and really wants to get to me right now.She is probably feeling the pain I am feeling, and she can no longer contain it and wants to do everything she can to break me free from this, but I don't really know how this is possible because we are totally outnumbered, and she doesn't look lik
The enchantment of The Wizards and witches reduces drastically as their hands gradually descend. Serena's body is gradually lowered to the ground telekinetically, completely lifeless. There isn't a single sign of life in her anymore. I watch the scene intensely, struggling with my best effort to get up on my feet, but it proves fruitless. I feel extremely powerless as I continue to watch with horror while the wizards and witches finally drop her onto the bare ground. They slowly begin to step closer towards her, as if observing her with fear.What have they done to her?!I swallow hard, fury and anger racing through every single organ in my body, but it's all pointless because I can't do anything. All I can do is lie on the ground and watch with extreme pain and severe anger as they continue to move slowly towards her, treating her like a ticking time bomb waiting to be unleashed. They step closer and closer towards her body when their leader suddenly materializes before them and give
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