Chapter 3 Questions Without Answers

Aria sat frozen, her heart racing in her chest. The man with the golden eyes was still there, standing by her hospital bed like a guard who had no intention of leaving.

He had not moved since the vampire disappeared, but his presence filled the room. His shoulders were broad, his stance firm, his gaze never leaving her. He did not look like any man she had ever met before. He looked too sharp, too alive, too dangerous.

Finally, Aria found her voice. "Who are you?"

His eyes softened, but only a little. "Kael."

The name rumbled out of him like thunder.

Aria swallowed. Her throat was dry, her lips trembling. "And what are you?"

For a moment, silence. Then he answered with the same bluntness. "A werewolf."

Aria's stomach dropped. She wanted to laugh, to deny it, to tell him he was insane. But the memory of silver fur, of golden eyes glowing in the dark, of heat searing her skin, was still too fresh. Too real.

She shook her head. "No. No, this isn't possible. Werewolves don't exist. Vampires don't exist. I must be dreaming."

"You're not dreaming," Kael said firmly.

Her eyes burned as tears welled up. "Then what happened to me? Why me?"

He stepped closer, slow and careful, as though afraid she might bolt from the bed. "Because you were claimed."

The word sent a shiver down her spine.

Aria clutched the blanket tighter. "He bit me," she whispered. "He said I belonged to him. Then you... you marked me." She pressed her hand to her shoulder, feeling the heat that still lingered there. "What does that mean?"

Kael's jaw tightened. For a moment, he did not answer. Then he said, "It means you are caught between us now. Between two worlds that are already at war."

Her chest constricted. "I don't want to be between anyone. I don't want this."

Kael's gaze softened, but his voice stayed rough. "Neither did I want to mark you. But I had no choice. If I had not, he would have taken you fully. You would have been lost."

"Lost?" she repeated, her voice cracking.

Kael's golden eyes locked on hers, steady and unblinking. "Yes. Forever."

The weight of his words settled over her like stone.

She wanted to scream, to cry, to demand he fix it, but her body felt too heavy, her mind too clouded. Instead, she whispered, "So what happens now?"

Kael's silence was answer enough.

The door opened suddenly, and Aria flinched. It was only the nurse again, her eyes flicking from Aria to Kael with a strange tension.

"You shouldn't be here," the nurse said sharply to him.

Kael growled low in his throat, but the nurse did not flinch. She simply set down a tray of water and medicine, her face calm.

Aria looked between them, her heart pounding. "You know him," she said to the nurse.

The nurse hesitated, then said, "Drink some water, Miss Hale. You need your strength."

Aria shook her head. "No more games. Tell me what's happening. Please."

The nurse's expression softened. She sat on the edge of the bed, her voice quiet. "You were attacked by a vampire. And saved by a werewolf. Both of them left their mark on you. That makes you... important. Too important."

"Important?" Aria echoed.

Kael stepped closer, his voice low and grim. "It means you are the prize they will fight for. And the choice you make could decide the outcome of a war that has been building for centuries."

Aria stared at him, her hands trembling in the blanket. "A war? Between vampires and werewolves?"

"Yes," Kael said simply.

The nurse looked at Kael with a warning in her eyes. "You should not burden her yet. She needs time."

Kael's gaze never wavered from Aria. "She has no time."

The nurse sighed and left, closing the door behind her. The room fell silent again.

Aria pressed her palms to her face, her thoughts spinning. "This is insane. I'm just... I'm just a waitress. I work late shifts, I pay bills, I look after my mom. I'm no one. Why me?"

Kael's voice was steady, but there was something fierce behind it. "Because fate does not choose at random. There is something in you, Aria. Something even you do not see yet."

Her stomach knotted. She wanted to deny it, but deep inside, she felt the truth. The bite on her neck still burned. The mark on her shoulder pulsed with strange heat.

Something had changed in her. Something she could not undo.

Aria looked up at Kael, fear and anger clashing in her eyes. "I don't want to be yours. And I don't want to be his either."

Kael's jaw clenched, but his eyes softened, almost pained. "You may not have a choice."

The words made her chest tighten.

Before she could reply, a whisper slid through the air, cold as shadow.

Mine.

Aria gasped, clutching her neck. The voice was not spoken aloud. It was in her mind. His voice. The vampire's.

Kael's eyes narrowed. "He is reaching for you already."

Aria shook her head, tears slipping free. "I don't want this. I don't want either of you."

Kael stepped closer, kneeling beside her bed, his golden eyes burning with intensity. "Then fight. Do not let him win. Do not give in."

Her chest rose and fell fast, fear and anger mixing inside her. "And what about you? What if you try to take me too?"

Kael's gaze held hers, unflinching. "I will protect you. Even from myself if I must."

For a moment, silence hung heavy between them.

But Aria knew the truth. She was not safe. Not with him. Not with the vampire. Not with anyone.

And as the shadows thickened in the corners of the room, she realized something chilling.

Her life was no longer her own.