Lila's Pov
Lila," he said. "I came for you."
My knees shook so hard I almost fell. Damon pulled me closer to him at once, His arm wrapped around my waist. "Do not move," Damon said. His voice was low and tight. Ryder pressed his hand flat against the door. His eyes stayed hard. "You cannot enter," Ryder said. "Leave now."
A deep laugh came from the other side. Slow, Quiet. It made my skin crawl.
"I need no welcome," Dominic said. "She opened the door for me."
"No," I whispered. "I did not, Something pushed me."
The mark on my wrist glowed bright again. Pain hit my arm like fire. I gasped. Damon grabbed my hand fast. "Stay with me," he said. "Do not let fear pull you."
"I am trying," I said. Tears rolled down my cheeks. "It hurts, It hurts so much."
Asher stepped closer. His eyes turned cold like stone. "You need to stop talking to her," he said toward the door. "Your voice pulls her."
"She hears me because she wants to," Dominic said. "She always has."
"No!" I cried. "I never wanted that!"
The crack in the door grew wider by itself. Ryder pushed back with both hands. "Do not let it move!" he shouted. Evelyn tried to help. She pushed beside him, Her face turned red with effort. "The door has a mind," she said. "It is not normal."
The two men we captured sat on the floor behind Asher. They watched with strange smiles, The young one tilting his head like it was fun.
"He will take her," the young man whispered. "She cannot stop it."
"Be silent!" Asher said sharply.
But the young man laughed. "She called him. She made the bond, She started this."
"I did not!" I shouted. "Stop saying that!"
The pain in my arm shot deeper. I felt it in my shoulder. Then my neck, My whole body felt hot from the inside. My eyes blurred.
Damon held my face gently. "Look only at me," he said. "Do not look at the door."
But Dominic spoke again. "Lila, look at me."My head turned toward the door on its own.
Damon grabbed my chin. "No," he said. "Stay here. Look at me. Not him."
But my head twisted again. I could not stop it.
I cried out. "Help me! Please help me!"
Ryder pushed the door with all his strength, but the crack kept widening like invisible hands pushed back.
Asher grabbed a chair and pressed it under the handle to stop it from opening more. "Hold it!" Asher shouted.
Evelyn turned to me. "Lila, tell us what you feel."
"I feel pulled," I cried. "I feel dragged. Something wants me, I cannot fight it."
The young man smiled. "It is him."
A low breath came from behind the door. "Come to me," the voice said.
"No!" I screamed. "Leave me alone!"
But the mark glowed again, The red lines crawled up my arm.
Damon lifted my wrist to see. His eyes widened. "It is moving," he said. "Ryder, Asher, it is reaching her shoulder."
Ryder growled. "We need to shut the door. Now." He pushed again, The wood creaked loud. Asher pressed the chair harder, Evelyn used her whole body to help. But something strong pushed from outside.
The house shook. I screamed as the mark burned bright like a flame.
My legs failed. I fell, but Damon caught me before my body hit the floor. "I have you," he said. "Do not give up."
My vision turned white around the edges. The pain grew stronger. I grabbed Damon's shirt and cried.
"Please," I whispered. "Please stop him."
Then the voice outside changed. His calm tone slipped into something colder, Something darker.
"Move away," Dominic said. "She comes to me now."
"No one moves," Ryder said. "You will not take her."
Dominic laughed again. The sound slid into the room like a slow shadow. "You cannot guard her from a bond she created."
"I did not!" I screamed.
The young man's eyes brightened. "You did. You just do not remember the moment."
Evelyn turned to him. "Tell us how she did it," she said.
The young man folded his hands. "The night she ran," he said. "Her heart had fear and pain. Pain opens doors, Pain calls power. She drew the mark without knowing."
"No," I whispered. "No, I did not."
"You did," he said. "Or the mark would not live." Asher slammed his hand against the wall beside the young man. "Tell us how to end it," he said. "Tell us something true."
The young man shook his head. "You cannot end it. Only he can."
Ryder stepped back from the door with shock in his eyes. "What does that mean?"
But before the young man could speak, the door burst open wider. The force threw Ryder across the room, He hit the floor hard.
Evelyn screamed.
Asher ran to Ryder fast. "Are you hurt?" he asked.
"I am fine," Ryder said. He stood, face dark with anger. "He is stronger now."
My heart raced fast,Too fast. I could not breathe well. My body felt heavy. Damon lifted me off the floor and held me in his arms. "Stay awake," he said. "Do not faint.""I am trying," I whispered.
Dominic's shadow appeared in the crack of the door. I could not see his full face, Just the outline of his head, His shoulder, His arm but I knew it was him. My heart felt like it would stop.
His voice came again.
"Lila," he said. "Come."
"No," I whispered. But the mark pulled me. Damon tightened his arms. "I am not letting you go."
Sheer cold air rushed toward Damon. It hit him so hard he lost his breath. He stumbled back but did not drop me. "Stay behind me," Damon told me.
"I am trying," I said.
Dominic spoke again. "Damon," he said in a cold tone. "Move."
"No," Damon said.
Ryder stepped in front of Damon with his fists tight. "You will not touch her," Ryder said. His voice had fire in it.
Asher stood beside him. "Come inside if you dare."
Dominic laughed. "I would love to."
Then something strange happened. The two strange men behind Asher began to glow. Their bodies shivered,Their eyes rolled back.
"What is that?" Evelyn shouted.
The young man smiled. "He calls us."
The other man stood up even with cracked ribs. "We return," he said. They walked toward the door like sleepwalkers.
"No," Asher said. "Do not step closer."
But they did. As soon as they touched the crack, the whole room shook. The door flew open by itself. A tall shadow stood behind the door.
Dominic….
Only I saw his face, His eyes were dark. He stared at me like I was the only soul left in the world.
"Lila," he said softly. "Come home."
I screamed and buried my face in Damon's chest. "Make him stop!" I cried. "Please!"Dominic stepped in. Asher swung his arm to block him Dominic lifted one finger, Asher flew across the room. He hit the wall so hard dust fell everywhere. Ryder charged next, Dominic raised his hand again.
Ryder slammed into the floor. Damon pulled me tighter. "Hide behind me," he whispered. "Do not look at him." But Dominic walked forward slowly.
Evelyn shook as she stood between us. "Stop," she said. "Stop now."
Dominic looked at her. She fell to her knees without him touching her. The room turned silent.
Dominic stood only a few steps from me now. My mark glowed bright red, He held out his hand.
"Come," he said.
"No," I whispered. "Leave me."
"You cannot leave me," Dominic said. "You belong with me."
Damon stepped in front of me. "She stays," he said. "I will not move." Dominic smiled."You think you can stop me?"
Damon stood firm. "Yes."
Dominic raised his hand. A sharp invisible force sliced through the air. It hit Damon in the chest, He fell to his knees with a loud gasp.
"No!" I screamed. "Damon!"
Dominic kept walking toward me. I crawled backward on the floor as tears blurred my eyes.
"Do not run," Dominic said. "You cannot hide." His shadow stretched across the ground. It reached my hands.
I shook all over. His fingers brushed the mark, A bright red spark shot up my arm.
I screamed.
He smiled.
"My bond," he whispered.
Then everything went black. My eyes opened again fast. I gasped.
I was no longer in the house, I was standing in a dark field alone.
And someone else breathed behind me.
Slow
Deep.
Warm.
"Turn around," the voice said.
I turned slowly.
And saw something that made my heart stop.