Viktor
The man turned, his movement was smooth, and his demeanor impossibly calm for someone who almost died.
He studied me for a moment before speaking, as if trying to get his voice to be more controlled than it already was. "I'm Louis Blackthorne."
My ears pricked up instantly. I knew that name. Louis Blackthorne. The son of the most ruthless alpha anyone dared whisper about. The kind of alpha that even the strongest werewolves, vampires, and shifter clans avoided. The kind who ruled the darkness with a hand heavier than any mafia boss, though the gullible human authorities had labeled him one, which was an insult to the immense power he had.
And now, he was here, looking at me. Bigger than life, bigger than fear, and yet… studying me as though I were something new, something intriguing. My hands trembled slightly. "W-what… what did my father do?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
Louis tilted his head, a faint smile curving his lips. "That's not important."
"Not important?" I repeated, swallowing hard. "I at least deserve to know if you're going to… end me."
He chuckled, a sound that sent shivers crawling up my spine. "You're cute when you're scared," he said softly, almost teasingly.
I swallowed the lump in my throat, forcing my gaze back to him. "You know what?" I felt the courage slipping out, but I maintained my composure. "If you're gonna kill me… get it over with," I muttered, my voice shaking. "End my meaningless life and be done."
He raised an eyebrow, still smiling as he replied. "No."
A gasp escaped my lips. "W-what?"
"No," he repeated, in a way that was really audible, in case I didn't hear him the first time. I had a feeling he was a man that didn't like to repeat himself.
"And why's that?"
He turned towards the door, then back at me. "Because… for the first time in forever, I've felt like mating."
My breath caught in my throat, the cool sensation from the dried sweat, wrapped itself around my skin. Mating. Did he just say what I thought I heard?
He leaned slightly closer, his gaze locking with mine, and for a brief moment, the world narrowed down to just him, just me, and the electricity humming between us. I couldn't move. I couldn't speak. My mind screamed, but my body betrayed me, frozen under the weight of what he had just said.
For the first time since the bullet, since the blood, since all the chaos… I was terrified. But it wasn't just fear. It was something deeper. Something that rooted itself in the pit of my chest and refused to let go.
Louis Blackthorne… had made me feel seen.
And that scared me more than any threat ever could.
My hands trembled slightly as I tried to steady them on my knees. I wanted to speak, to demand answers, but the words caught somewhere between my lungs and my throat. My body was betraying me in ways I didn't fully understand—heat pooled in places it shouldn't, my stomach twisted, and yet a part of me… wanted him here.
Louis tilted his head, watching me carefully, his expression unreadable but amused, like he could see everything I was feeling and found it… entertaining.
"Relax," he said, his voice soft now, almost intimate, but it made my pulse spike even faster. "I won't hurt you. Not yet."
"Not… yet?" I whispered, my own voice foreign to my ears. My knees shook, and I had to grip the edge of the counter just to keep from falling forward. "Then why—why are you here?"
He stepped closer, slow enough that every movement felt deliberate, like he was measuring me, testing me. My breath hitched as I realized I couldn't take my eyes off him.
"Because," he said, and his lips curved into that impossible smile again, "for the first time in forever… you make me feel like matin."
The word hit me again, sharp and strange, and I felt my chest seize. My throat tightened, my stomach fluttered, and I could barely form coherent thoughts. I had no idea what it meant, but I felt it. Deep, somewhere I hadn't known existed, like a thread connecting me to him, and I hated it.
I tried to shove my panic aside. "Then… just do it," I said, forcing the words out. "If you're going to kill me, just—get it over with."
He laughed softly, low and dangerous, and I shivered. "No."
My heart stuttered. "What do you mean… no?"
He leaned even closer, his presence pressing against me in a way that made my knees threaten to buckle. "Because, for the first time in forever… I want you."
I felt heat crawl up my neck. My hands shook, my breath caught, and I couldn't look away. That single word—want—made everything inside me both tense and wild. Fear, confusion, something dark and thrilling all twisted together.
I didn't know whether to run… or beg him to stay.
And the truth was, I wanted him to stay.