Bloodbound: Trapped in His Darkness

Rain slams against my skin like tiny daggers, but I don't stop running. I can't.

The cold bites into my bones, my dress clinging to me like a second skin, heavy with mud and rain. My bare feet slap against the pavement, sharp rocks tearing into my soles. I barely feel it. Pain is nothing compared to what I just went through.

Their words still ring in my ears.

"You disgust me, Sera."

"You are no longer my daughter."

"How could you do this to us?"

Thunder cracks overhead, but it's nothing compared to the storm inside me. My lungs burn. My throat is raw from screaming, from begging them to believe me. But they never did. They never will.

I glance back. The mansion looms behind me-my home. Or at least, it was. Now, it's just a graveyard filled with people I thought loved me. My parents, my sister, my entire world-gone.

I choke back a sob and push forward. I have nowhere to go. No money. No plan. Just the burning need to escape. Because if I stay, they will destroy me.

A few hours ago, I was standing in the grand dining hall, the golden chandelier above me shimmering like a crown of fire. My mother and father sat at the head of the table, my perfect older sister, Evelyn, beside them. The golden child. The flawless one.

And then, in front of our entire family, she exposed me.

"She's been sneaking out at night," Evelyn announced, her voice smooth, dripping with fake concern. "Meeting someone in secret. Hiding things from us."

My stomach twisted. I turned to her, my hands shaking. "Eve... what are you doing?"

She didn't even look at me. "I'm doing what's best for our family."

Lies. She wanted to ruin me. And she succeeded.

My mother's face twisted in disgust. My father stood abruptly, his chair scraping against the floor. "Is this true?" His voice was cold. Hard.

I tried to explain. Tried to tell them the truth. But Evelyn had evidence-fake, twisted, perfectly crafted to make me look like a liar, a disgrace.

My father didn't even hesitate. His hand lashed out, striking me across the face. I hit the floor, gasping, the sharp sting spreading through my cheek.

And then he said the words that shattered me.

"Get out."

My body aches with every step. My bare feet are numb, my muscles scream for rest, but stopping isn't an option. If I stop, the pain will catch up. If I stop, the truth will sink in.

I reach an alleyway and press against the cold brick wall, my breath ragged. My dress-once an elegant satin gown-is now a shredded mess, soaked and clinging to my body.

I try to think. I need a plan. But there's nothing. I have nothing.

My dream of becoming a doctor? Gone.

The family name that once protected me? Worthless.

The home I grew up in? A prison I barely escaped.

A sob wracks through me, and I bite my lip to silence it. I can't afford to be weak. Not now.

Lightning flashes, illuminating the alley, and that's when I see him.

A figure stands at the mouth of the alley. Tall. Still. Watching.

My stomach drops.

He steps forward, slow and deliberate. The streetlights cast shadows over his face, but I already know who he is.

Killian Blackwood.

One of my family's enforcers.

I push off the wall, my body coiling like a trapped animal. "If my father sent you-"

"He didn't." His voice is low, controlled. Dangerous.

I swallow. My heart slams against my ribs. "Then why are you here?"

He doesn't answer immediately. His dark eyes trail over me-assessing, calculating. Finally, he says, "You need a way out."

Something about the way he says it makes my skin prickle.

I glare at him. "I don't need your help."

He steps closer. "You have no money, no allies, and nowhere to go. You won't last a day on the streets, Evernight."

The way he says my last name-it's almost mocking.

Anger flares in me. "Then let me die."

His lips curl, but there's no amusement in his eyes. "That would be... unfortunate."

A chill runs down my spine. There's something deeper here. Something I don't understand.

I should run. I should fight. But instead, I stand there, frozen. Trapped.

Killian tilts his head. "You have two options, Sera. Walk away and rot in the streets. Or..." His voice lowers. "Come with me."

My pulse stutters. "And what? Become your prisoner?"

He smiles-slow, sharp. "Let's just call it... survival."

I take a step back. "Why should I trust you?"

"You shouldn't." His gaze darkens. "But right now, I'm your best chance at living."

The words settle like a weight in my chest. He's right.

And that terrifies me.

But not as much as the alternative.

I don't remember deciding to go with him. Maybe I was too broken to resist. Maybe I was desperate. Or maybe, deep down, I knew I had no choice.

The car ride is silent. Tense. The city lights blur past, neon and gold. But my mind is stuck in the past-on the betrayal, the pain, the look of pure hatred in my father's eyes.

By the time the car stops, my pulse is a hammer in my chest.

The door unlocks. Killian gets out first. I hesitate, but he doesn't wait.

I step out, and the sight before me steals my breath.

A mansion looms in the darkness. Cold. Unfamiliar. Wrong.

The iron gates creak open, revealing a long pathway lined with black roses. The air reeks of power and control. Something about this place feels... dangerous.

A shiver crawls down my spine.

Killian watches me carefully. "Welcome to your new home, Evernight."

I swallow hard. I just escaped one prison.

Did I just walk into another?

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The doors slam shut behind me.

The sound echoes, final and absolute. Like a prison cell locking into place.

I swallow hard, my breath sharp in the stillness. The study is enormous-bookshelves stretch to the ceiling, filled with leather-bound volumes that no one has touched in years. A fireplace sits cold, its embers long dead. The chandeliers gleam above, casting a sterile glow over the mahogany desk at the center of the room. Everything is grand, but lifeless.

Like him.

A man sits in the shadows.

Killian Blackwood.

The infamous heir turned recluse. The legend whispered about in hushed voices-the ruthless, vengeful beast.

And he's watching me.

His chair-black, sleek, and mechanical-melds into the darkness, making him seem even more imposing. He doesn't move, but the weight of his presence suffocates me. I can't see his face completely, but I feel his stare. Cold. Calculated.

Waiting.

For me to speak? For me to beg?

I refuse.

My heartbeat is too loud. My dress still clings to my skin, damp from the storm I ran through hours ago. I force myself to stand taller, to not let him see the cracks.

He shifts slightly, and the dim light finally catches his face.

Sharp jawline. Tousled black hair. A scar tracing from his temple down to his cheek. Eyes-dark, almost black-filled with something colder than hatred.

Disgust.

I know that look. I've seen it before.

In my father's eyes.

My stomach knots, but I don't break his gaze.

"You're wasting my time," Killian says. His voice is deep, controlled. Like a knife sliding between ribs.

I exhale slowly. Don't react. Don't let him win.

"I didn't ask to be here," I shoot back.

A low, humorless laugh. "And yet, here you are."

My fists clench. "If you want me gone, then let me-"

CRASH!

Something shatters against the wall beside me.

I flinch as shards of porcelain rain to the floor. A vase-once beautiful, now a pile of ruins. My pulse spikes, but I don't move.

Killian's lips curl. "That was your warning, Evernight."

My throat tightens.

"For what?" I force out.

His fingers drum against the armrest of his chair, slow and deliberate. Measuring me. Testing me.

"For walking into my home thinking you have a choice."

A chill runs through me.

"I never wanted to come here."

Killian's gaze sharpens. "Don't lie."

Anger flares in me. "You think I want your money?"

His expression is unreadable. Then-cold amusement.

"I know you do."

It takes everything in me not to scream. He doesn't know anything about me.

But Killian Blackwood doesn't deal in emotions. He deals in power. Control.

And right now, he has both.

"You want my money?" His voice turns lethal. "You'll have to survive my hell first."

The words slither into my bones.

My breath catches. Survive.

Not live. Not exist.

Survive.

I feel it then-the invisible chains locking into place. The trap.

Killian knows I have nowhere to go. That without him, I'll be devoured by the streets. That no matter how much I hate it, I need this place.

He sees it all. And he revels in it.

I take a step back, my pulse hammering.

His voice drops to a whisper. "You're mine now, Evernight."

I turn toward the doors.

Locked.

Panic claws at my throat.

Killian watches me, his expression unreadable. Like he's waiting for me to accept it.

The truth settles in, heavy and suffocating.

I escaped one prison.

Only to land in another.

And this time, the beast is watching.

The doors slam shut behind me.

The sound is final. Trapping me.

I whirl around, but there's no escape.

Killian Blackwood sits behind his desk, his dark gaze fixed on me. The weight of his presence presses down like chains around my throat. His wheelchair is still, but his power coils through the room, suffocating.

On the polished surface before him lies the contract.

Thick. Unforgiving.

My prison, bound in ink.

A man clears his throat. The family lawyer, a vulture in an expensive suit. His cold eyes flick between me and the papers.

"You will sign," he says. "Or your family will ensure you never see daylight again."

My breath stutters.

Panic surges like wildfire, but I swallow it down. Don't show weakness.

Killian leans back, watching me with cruel amusement. "You look pale, Evernight. Did you really think you had a choice?"

I glare at him. "You can't force me."

His lips twitch. Not a smile-something colder. More dangerous.

"Oh?" He tilts his head. "You think defiance makes you brave? You think it makes you strong?"

He slides the contract toward me.

No love. No freedom. No escape.

The words glare up at me, a noose tightening around my throat.

I grip the edges of the desk. "Why me?" My voice is hoarse. "You could marry anyone. Why ruin my life?"

Killian exhales, slow and mocking. "Ruin?" His voice is silk and steel. "You've been ruined since the day you were born. I'm just finishing the job."

My stomach twists.

"I won't do it."

The lawyer sighs. "Then I suggest you send a final letter to your mother. Before your father finds a better way to punish her for your disobedience."

My blood runs cold.

I feel it then-the walls closing in. The trap snapping shut.

I am powerless.

Killian watches me, his expression unreadable. "You know what to do."

I lift the pen with trembling fingers. The ink is thick, the weight of my decision pressing into every stroke.

The moment my name bleeds onto the paper, my fate is sealed.

Killian smirks. "Not yet."

A blade glints in his hand.

I freeze.

"Sign it properly," he murmurs.

My pulse skitters. "You're insane."

He leans in. "You don't get to say no."

The knife presses against my palm. A sharp, deliberate cut.

Pain flares as blood wells to the surface.

Killian's voice is a whisper of poison.

"Welcome to your prison, wife."

I press my palm to the paper.

Red stains the page.

My soul, sold.

Killian leans back, satisfied. "Good girl."

I feel the weight of my shackles.

No love. No freedom. No escape.

The beast has won.

And I have just signed my life away.

The contract is sealed in blood. The trap has closed.

Evernight is no longer free.