The room felt smaller now.
Tighter.
As though the walls themselves were aware of what had happened between them—what now pulsed through both of their bodies like a shared heartbeat.
Leon stood deadly still, the muscles in his jaw tightening as Elena took another step toward him.
He looked like a creature carved out of shadow and restraint.
A predator forcing itself not to pounce.
"Stop," he said quietly.
Elena didn't.
His eyes flashed—silver igniting like moonlight striking metal.
"Elena."
Her name fell from his lips like a warning.
Like a plea.
She halted.
Not out of fear—
but because she suddenly felt something.
A pull.
It was subtle at first, like a tug at the back of her mind.
Then stronger, like invisible threads twining her heartbeat with his.
Her breath caught.
Was this the bond?
Leon saw the change in her face, and his expression crumpled for a moment—pain, guilt, longing flickering through him before he resettled behind that cold mask.
"You feel it, don't you?" he asked quietly.
His voice was low… haunted.
Elena forced herself to meet his gaze.
"Yes."
He closed his eyes briefly, as if the confirmation pained him.
"That connection will only grow," he said, stepping back as though distance could weaken it. "Your emotions, your heartbeat, even your fear—if you feel it strongly, I feel it too. And it…"
His voice trailed off.
"It what?" Elena whispered.
"It feeds the hunger."
A shiver ran down her spine.
Leon lifted his hand, fingers hovering inches from his temple as though soothing an ache no human mind could fathom.
"You smell different now," he admitted, voice dropping to a raw murmur. "Your blood… it calls to me. Worse than before."
Elena's pulse quickened—
and Leon's eyes snapped open, his nostrils flaring.
"Don't do that," he rasped.
"What—?"
"Your heart."
His voice shook.
"Don't let it race like that."
"I can't help it," she shot back.
Leon swore under his breath—a rough, guttural sound that barely sounded human.
He turned abruptly, stalking toward the far side of the room.
His hands gripped the edge of the window frame so tightly the wood cracked beneath his fingers.
"Leon…" Elena whispered, stepping cautiously toward him.
"Don't," he warned again.
But the word held no real threat.
Only desperation.
Elena's feet still carried her forward.
He didn't move.
He didn't push her away.
He just stood there, breathing heavily, shoulders trembling with restraint as she slowly—carefully—reached out…
Her hand touched his forearm.
Leon went absolutely still.
A tremor ran through him so violently she felt it beneath her fingertips.
"Elena…"
His voice was barely a sound—more exhaled than spoken.
"It's alright," she whispered.
"No," he ground out.
"It's not."
His hand shot up and grabbed hers—not harshly, but with an urgency that sent a shock through her.
He spun to face her, eyes glowing with a feral light she hadn't seen before.
"You don't understand," he said, voice trembling with tension.
"This bond… it pulls me to you. Every part of me wants to be closer. To protect you. To claim you."
His breath hitched.
"And the hunger… it's screaming for you."
Elena's throat tightened—but not with fear.
With something else.
Something she couldn't name yet.
She met his gaze, steady.
"Then let me help you control it."
Leon stared at her as though she'd slapped him.
"You can't," he whispered.
"Why not?"
"Because I barely can."
Silence.
Heavy.
Unforgiving.
Crackling with something neither of them dared acknowledge yet.
Then—
suddenly—
Leon staggered.
It was subtle, but Elena caught it.
He reached out blindly, bracing a hand against the wall.
The veins along his neck darkened.
His breathing turned ragged, strained.
"Elena…"
Her name was a warning again—but weaker this time.
Elena rushed to his side despite everything.
"Leon, what's happening?"
He squeezed his eyes shut, jaw clenched so tight she thought his teeth might crack.
"The entity," he forced out.
"It's not gone."
His voice dropped to a hoarse whisper.
"It's trying to get through the bond. Trying to use me."
Elena froze.
The bond wasn't just tying her to Leon.
It was tying her to everything connected to him—including the darkness hunting him.
Her blood turned cold.
"Elena," Leon whispered.
His voice was strained, urgent, breaking.
"You need to leave… before I lose control."
But Elena didn't move.
Because deep in her chest—
past the fear, past the confusion—
the bond tugged again.
Not toward danger.
Toward him.
Toward saving him.