Chapter 5 5.

Damien POV

The skyline burned gold through the glass walls of my office. I ruled both the city's supernatural and the business world. Every deal, every contract, every empire that thought itself untouchable eventually bent to me. Power wasn't just something I had - it was who I was.

"Damien," Adrian's voice broke the silence as he entered, sharp suit matching the steel in his eyes. He carried a file and placed it on my desk like it might explode. "The reports you wanted."

I leaned back in my chair, steepling my fingers as I watched him. "Tell me something I don't know."

His mouth twitched. "You're still impossible to please." He opened the file anyway, pointing at the figures. "Profits are up, expansions are moving on schedule. You're untouchable right now."

"Untouchable?" I arched a brow, my voice a low threat. "You should know better than to tempt fate with words like that."

Adrian smirked faintly, but his gaze sharpened, cutting through the calm like a blade. "She's in your head again, isn't she?"

I said nothing, only tapped the desk once, a sharp sound that silenced him. But he wasn't wrong. She had been on my mind since that day in the club. Her scent, her cries, her taste ,every inch of her had branded itself into my soul.

My mate. My obsession.

Adrian studied me for a long beat, then exhaled. "I'm happy you finally found your mate, Damien."

I smirked, snapping the folder shut. I glanced at my watch - almost time for her to leave work. I stood, adjusting my suit jacket. "Cancel the dinner with Harrison."

Adrian frowned. "Really? Harrison's flying in from London..."

"Yes." My voice left no room for argument. "Everything can wait. My mate cannot."

Adrian's jaw clenched, but he nodded. "Understood."

I walked out without another word. My empire would still be here tomorrow. Tonight, I would claim what was mine.

I parked across from her workplace and watched her through the tinted glass. She came out with her friend, laughing. A sharp spike of jealousy burned through me. I wanted to be the only one who made her laugh. She waved at her friend and slipped into her car, and as soon as she pulled away, I followed.

It had been three days since our hot session at the club. Three days of craving her, imagining her moans, remembering how her body felt wrapped around me. I'd been furious that she left my bed without a word. I'd planned to wake her with my tongue between her legs, but she'd ruined my plan.

It wasn't hard finding her. I knew her workplace, her hobbies, her friends. Everything. I'd been watching her since then, and tonight, I would stop watching. Tonight, I would claim her.

She is mine. And mine alone.

She parked in front of her building. I parked a few cars away, eyes locked on her as she got out. My hands tightened on the steering wheel when a man who'd been leaning on a nearby car walked straight toward her. He tried to hug her, but she pushed him away.

What the fuck?

Who is that idiot?

I would kill him for touching what's mine. My blood boiled. My vision blurred red. I turned off my ignition, stepping out, ready to rip him apart.

---

Laura POV

I parked my car in front of my building, exhausted. I couldn't wait to shower and sleep. Today had drained me. As I shut the car door, a voice stopped me cold.

"Hey, babe."

I froze and turned toward the sound. James. Not tonight. I didn't have the energy for this. I stepped back as he moved closer, immediately pushing him away when he tried to hug me.

"What are you doing here, James?" My voice was sharp, cold. I hoped he got the message.

"That's no way to talk to your boyfriend, Laura." He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"Stop it, James. We broke up, remember? You're not my boyfriend anymore."

"I never broke up with you, Laura. I love you and I know you love me too." He stepped closer, his voice tightening.

"Stop it, James. Stop being delusional. We broke up, and that's final." I tried to sidestep him, but he grabbed my wrist and slammed me against my car. Pain shot up my spine from the impact.

"You don't get to end it, Laura. We are in love. We're going to make this work," he hissed through clenched teeth.

My stomach dropped. He was crazy.

He leaned in, trying to kiss me, forcing me against the car. I twisted, fighting him off, ready to knee him where it hurt - but before I could, he was ripped off me.

It happened so fast.

One second James was on me, the next he was flying through the air like a rag doll. He hit the ground hard. A man loomed over him, and my breath caught.

When the man straightened, I saw blood on his shirt. James was on the ground, throat slit, blood pooling beneath him.

I gasped.

I looked at the man - the man from the club. But he looked different now. Terrifying. His eyes weren't the blue I remembered, they were red. Blood red. There were fangs in his mouth, sharp and glinting. His hands... oh God. Long, sharp claws dripped with blood. James's blood.

He turned his gaze to me, and I trembled.

He took a step forward.

I took a step back.

"Don't come near me! Stay away from me!" I screamed.

He didn't listen. He kept walking. My hands fumbled for my keys, trying to open the car, but before I could, I was slammed back against it, his body pinning mine. Red, furious eyes burned into me.

"You want to run from me?!" he growled, his voice not human anymore.

I squeezed my eyes shut, tears spilling down my face. "Don't hurt me, please. Don't hurt me," I pleaded.

Silence.

"Look at me," he ordered.

I kept my eyes shut.

"I said look at me now!" His voice roared like thunder.

I opened my eyes. His eyes were back to their original blue. The fangs were gone. He looked human again, except for the blood on his shirt.

"I would never hurt you," he said, softer but still deadly. "You're mine. And I will kill any man who tries to touch or hurt you."

My breath hitched. Oh God. He's crazy. Why do I always attract the crazy ones?

"Please let me go... please," I whispered, trembling.

He studied me for a long moment, then slowly let me go.

The second his hands left me, I bolted. My legs were shaky, but I ran into the building, heart pounding in my ears.

Inside the elevator, as the doors closed and it began to rise toward my flat, I collapsed onto the floor and let out a strangled sob. A man had been killed in front of me, and the monster who killed him had just claimed me as his.

When the elevator doors finally opened, I stumbled into my apartment, slamming the door shut and locking it twice. My breath came in broken gasps, my whole body trembling so violently I could barely stand.

I pressed my back against the door, palms slick with sweat. My chest rose and fell in jagged bursts. Then my stomach lurched, a violent wave of nausea climbing up my throat.

I staggered to the bathroom, fell to my knees, and shoved my head over the toilet, retching until my ribs ached. Acid burned my throat. When it was finally over, I flushed and forced myself upright, clinging to the sink for balance.

The face staring back at me in the mirror didn't look like mine. My eyes were bloodshot, skin pale, mascara streaked down my cheeks.

"What should I do?" I whispered to the empty bathroom, voice cracking. "What should I do?"

James's blood. His scream. The flash of red eyes and claws. It looped behind my eyelids like a nightmare I couldn't wake from.

"Yes," I rasped, gripping the counter. "The cops. I have to call the cops."

My fingers fumbled for my phone. I nearly dropped it twice before I managed to dial 911.

The operator picked up instantly, voice calm and steady. "911, what's your emergency?"

"My...my ex-boyfriend," I stammered, words tumbling out between sobs. "He's...he's dead! A man just killed him outside my building, Please, you have to come quickly." My voice cracked. "There's blood everywhere."

The operator stayed perfectly calm. "Ma'am, where are you?"

I rattled out my address.

"Okay, ma'am. Units are on their way. Stay calm and stay inside if you can."

Stay calm. As if that were possible.

I hung up and began pacing my apartment like a caged animal, every sound outside making me flinch.

Minutes dragged like hours until flashing red and blue lights painted the walls through my curtains. My breath caught. They were here.

I bolted for the door, not even bothering to put on shoes. My bare feet slapped the stairs as I flew down to the lobby, my heart hammering so hard I could taste it.

Two uniformed officers stood in the lot. One of them looked up at me as I burst outside.

"Are you the caller?" the older one asked.

"Yes," I gasped. "Yes-over here-please-"

I led them across the lot, my stomach twisting. I didn't want to see it again, but I had to show them.

The beam of the flashlight swept ahead and stopped.

James.

He was sprawled on the pavement, his throat torn wide open, blood pooling beneath him like a black-red shadow. His lifeless eyes stared upward, glassy and unblinking.

I staggered back, both hands flying to my mouth. "Oh God," I whispered. "Oh God."

The younger officer swore violently under his breath. The older one crouched, keeping his flashlight steady over the wounds.

"Jesus Christ," he muttered. "Looks like some kind of animal attack."

"No!" My voice tore from my throat, raw and desperate. "It wasn't an animal."

Both officers turned to me, startled by my tone.

"I saw him," I said, my voice breaking. "His eyes-they were red. His teeth, his hands-they weren't human. He...he killed James."

The younger officer frowned, lowering his flashlight a little. "Miss... are you saying a man did this? With his bare hands?"

"Yes!" I cried, my voice pitching higher. "I'm telling you, it was a monster. He looked human, but he wasn't. I saw it. I saw everything."

The officers exchanged a long, heavy glance.

The older one rose slowly, his face unreadable. He placed a firm but not unkind hand on my shoulder, his tone soft, careful, the way someone speaks to a child who's frightened.

"You're in shock," he said gently. "You've been through a trauma. Sometimes the mind... it twists what we see. What's real."

"I'm not crazy!" I snapped, my eyes burning with tears. "I know what I saw. He was real. He's real."

"Miss..." the younger cop began, but his partner cut him a look.

The older officer exhaled heavily. "We'll take the body in. We'll investigate further. But for now, you should go upstairs, get some rest. You've been through enough tonight."

Their words blurred after that. I barely heard them, barely felt their guiding touch as they led me back toward the building. The image of James's lifeless body, the blood on Damien's claws, those monstrous eyes-it replayed over and over until it made me sick.

As I stepped back inside, I glanced once over my shoulder. The officers were already working, taking photos, muttering to each other. But in my head, all I could hear was his voice, low and rough: You're mine.

I couldn't unsee his blood-red eyes. His claws. The way he'd looked at me like I belonged to him.

They thought I was crazy but I had seen the monster with my own eyes.