Chapter 4 Shadows in the Dark

The night was too quiet.

Aria lay in the hospital bed, staring at the ceiling, listening to the tick of the clock. Kael had moved to the corner of the room, standing like a statue, watching the door. He had barely spoken since the vampire's voice echoed inside her mind.

Her skin still tingled where the bite burned. Her shoulder still throbbed where Kael had marked her. She felt caught between fire and ice, both pulling her in opposite directions.

Aria turned her head toward him. "Do you ever sleep?"

His golden eyes flicked to hers, sharp even in the dim light. "Not when danger is near."

A shiver ran down her spine. "So I'm in danger. Even here?"

"Yes." His answer was calm, but it sent her heart racing faster.

Aria pulled the blanket tighter. "You said you'd protect me. But from what? From him?"

Kael's gaze hardened. "From everything. From anyone who tries to claim you."

Her lips trembled. "But you already claimed me."

Silence. His jaw clenched, and for a moment, he did not answer. Then his voice came low and rough. "I did it to keep you alive. Nothing more."

Aria wanted to believe him. But the way his eyes lingered on her made her chest tighten. It was not only protection. There was something else in his gaze. Something dangerous.

The air grew colder. Aria shivered, but not from the chill. A strange presence crept into the room, silent and suffocating.

She sat up, her pulse racing. "Do you feel that?"

Kael's head snapped toward the window. His golden eyes glowed faintly in the dark. "Yes."

The lights flickered.

Aria gasped, clutching the blanket. "He's here, isn't he?"

Kael's growl rumbled through the room. "Stay behind me."

Before Aria could move, the window shuddered as if something pressed against it from the outside. A shadow spread across the glass, dark and unnatural, shaped like a man but shifting like smoke.

A voice whispered through the air, smooth as velvet. You cannot hide her from me, wolf.

Aria's heart slammed against her ribs. It was him. The vampire.

Kael bared his teeth, his voice a low snarl. "She is not yours."

The shadow pressed harder against the glass, cracks forming along the edges. She is mine already. Her blood sings for me. Her body remembers my bite.

Aria's throat tightened. She wanted to scream, but no sound came out.

Kael stepped forward, his hands curling into fists. His body trembled, not from fear, but from the effort of holding back the shift. His beast was clawing to the surface.

The shadow laughed, low and mocking. You can mark her all you want, wolf. But her heart will always belong to me.

Aria's breath caught. She wanted to deny it, to scream that none of this was true. But deep inside, the memory of the vampire's eyes, his touch, his voice, lingered like a scar.

"No," she whispered, shaking her head. "I don't belong to anyone."

The glass shattered.

Aria screamed as shards rained across the floor. The shadow poured into the room, twisting and shifting until it took shape.

The vampire stood before her. Pale skin, black eyes, and a smile that made her blood run cold.

Kael lunged forward with a snarl, his body half-shifted now, claws flashing in the moonlight.

The vampire's smile widened. "Shall we see who she chooses?"

The room exploded into chaos.