All Chapters of Mated To Valentine : Chapter 1 - Chapter 4

“Do the dead speak?”The question cuts through the silence like a knife, sharp and deliberate. I freeze mid-sentence, my fingers clutching the grass beneath me as I look up.And there he is.Perched atop my mother’s gravestone, cross-legged in that yoga pose like he owns the place, with a smirk curling his perfect lips. His blonde hair gleams in the moonlight, strands catching the silvery glow like some divine spotlight has chosen him. But it’s his eyes that root me in place...golden, luminous, and otherworldly. They’re not just reflecting the moonlight; they’re glowing, as if lit by something deep and eternal.My throat tightens.A thousand and one things pass through my head. I could run...I could scream at the top of my lungs so the graveyard keeper would hear me... but no.A strangled noise escapes me instead, somewhere between a gasp and a whimper. My heart pounds in my ears, drowning out the nocturnal whispers of the cemetery.“Well?” he asks, tilting his head slightly, the sm

The streets are quiet as I speed walk home, but the silence doesn’t comfort me. It presses against me, thick and suffocating, amplifying the echo of my thoughts.What is Valentine? My mind plays through the possibilities, none of them comforting. A ghost? A trick of my imagination? Or worse… something real, something I can’t even comprehend.The feel of his cold hands on my neck...he must definitely be a ghost. And he said he's a dead man. I saw the gravestone...that sums up.But then again, ghosts aren't real. I guess he's proof?My breath comes quicker as I approach the apartment. Every shadow feels alive, every sound louder, but yet, dull. When I finally reach the door, my hands are shaking so badly I fumble with the keys twice before I manage to unlock it.The moment I step inside, Ellie’s voice cuts through the air, almost giving me a fright. “You’re late. Where the hell have you been?”She’s sitting casually on the couch, a half-eaten bag of chips beside her. Her hair is up in