Monday Night, 11:30 PM.
The atmosphere in the city had shifted.
The air pressure dropped drastically, making the ears pop.
The sky, usually glowing with city lights, was swallowed by an unnatural, suffocating darkness.
Inside Apartment 4001, Elian Sterling was pacing back and forth in his living room.
He felt it before he heard it. The static in the air. The heavy silence that screams of danger.
He hated storms.
No, "hate" was too small a word. He was terrified of them.
In his previous life, before he transmigrated into this book, his death had occurred on a stormy night. He remembered the blinding rain, the screeching tires, the deafening crash of thunder masking the sound of metal crushing bones.
Every time a storm came, his body remembered the pain of dying.
RUMBLE...
A low, menacing growl rolled across the sky. The glass walls of The Obsidian Tower vibrated slightly.
Elian stopped pacing. His breath hitched.
"It's just rain," he whispered to himself, clutching a cushion to his chest. "You are safe. You are on the 40th floor. Nothing can touch you."
CRACK-BOOM!
A massive bolt of lightning struck a nearby skyscraper, followed instantly by a thunderclap that sounded like a bomb explosion.
Elian screamed, dropping the cushion. He covered his ears, squeezing his eyes shut.
"No... no... please..."
Zzzzt.
The lights in the apartment flickered once. Twice.
Then, everything went pitch black.
The power grid on the lower floors had tripped.
Elian was plunged into total darkness.
The only light came from the terrifying flashes of lightning outside, illuminating his apartment like a horror movie set.
His PTSD kicked in violently.
He wasn't Elian Sterling anymore. He was the boy dying in a Hospital.
He couldn't breathe. His chest felt like it was being crushed.
"I can't stay here," he gasped, hyperventilating. "It's a coffin. This room is a coffin."
He needed people. He needed noise. He needed light.
He stumbled toward the door, his hands shaking so badly he could barely turn the lock.
Elian threw the door open and stumbled into the hallway.
The emergency lights were on—dim, eerie red strips along the floor. The corridor stretched out endlessly, empty and silent... until the thunder roared again.
BOOM!
The sound was deafening. It shook the floorboards beneath his bare feet.
Elian let out a strangled cry. His legs turned to jelly.
He collapsed onto the carpet, just a few feet from his door.
He couldn't walk. He couldn't stand.
The terror paralyzed him.
He curled into a tight fetal position, pressing his forehead against the floor, his hands clamped over his ears so hard his knuckles turned white.
"Make it stop," he sobbed, tears streaming down his face, soaking the carpet. "Mom... Noah... someone... help me..."
He was alone.
Or so he thought.
Fifty floors above, inside the Blackwood Penthouse, the storm was just a spectacle. The soundproof glass kept the noise out.
Kaelen Blackwood was standing by the window, watching the lightning tear the sky apart.
"It's a bad one," Kaelen murmured, sipping his whiskey. "The whole city is blacked out."
Kieran Blackwood was sitting on the sofa, reading a report on his tablet.
Suddenly, a sharp alarm blared from the device.
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
Kieran frowned. He tapped the screen.
His eyes widened.
"Kaelen."
The tone of his voice made Kaelen turn instantly. "What?"
"The monitor," Kieran stood up, his face pale. "Elian's heart rate just spiked to 170. It's climbing."
"Is he hurt?" Kaelen dropped his glass. It shattered, spilling amber liquid on the rug, but he didn't care.
"Panic attack," Kieran said, reading the biometrics from the watch they had slipped onto Elian's wrist during the 'Club Incident' (a detail Elian hadn't noticed).
"He's hyperventilating. His oxygen levels are dropping. He is terrified."
Kaelen didn't wait for another word.
He ran.
He sprinted to the private elevator, punching the override code.
"Hold on, kitten," Kaelen growled, watching the floor numbers descend painfully slowly. "I'm coming."
The elevator doors pinged open on the 40th Floor.
The hallway was dim and red-lit.
Kaelen rushed out, Kieran right behind him.
They saw him instantly.
A small, shaking lump on the floor outside Apartment 4001.
Elian was rocking back and forth, making small, broken sounds of distress.
"Elian!" Kaelen Shout, sliding on his knees to reach him.
He reached out to touch Elian's shoulder.
Elian flinched violently, screaming.
"NO! DON'T TOUCH ME! THE Hospital... IT HURTS!"
Kaelen froze. He looked at Kieran.
"He's hallucinating," Kieran whispered, kneeling on the other side. "He thinks he's in pain."
Kaelen's heart broke. Seeing the arrogant, bratty, beautiful boy reduced to this trembling mess... it unleashed a protective rage inside him.
"Elian," Kaelen said firmly, grabbing Elian's wrists and pulling them away from his ears.
"Listen to me!"
Elian opened his eyes. They were blown wide, unseeing, filled with pure terror.
"Loud... it's too loud..." Elian gasped.
CRACK-BOOM.
Thunder shook the building again. Elian screamed, trying to curl back into a ball.
"No," Kaelen pulled him into his chest.
He wrapped his massive arms around Elian, completely engulfing him. He pressed Elian's head against his chest, covering Elian's other ear with his large hand.
"I've got you," Kaelen growled, his voice vibrating through his chest, directly into Elian's ear. "I am the shield. I am the wall. Nothing gets past me. Not the storm. Not the world."
Elian struggled for a second, then went limp against Kaelen.
He could hear Kaelen's heart beating—steady, strong, rhythmic. It was louder than the thunder.
"K-Kaelen?" Elian whispered, his voice broken.
"I'm here," Kaelen kissed the top of his sweaty hair. "We are taking you upstairs. You aren't staying in the dark."
Kaelen scooped Elian up into his arms effortlessly. Elian instinctively wrapped his legs around Kaelen's waist and buried his face in Kaelen's neck, hiding from the world.
Kieran stood up, his grey eyes cold as he looked at the storm outside the window. If he could sue the weather, he would.
"Let's go," Kieran said, guiding them to the elevator. "He's freezing."
They brought him to the Master Bedroom in the Penthouse.
The room was warm, lit by soft amber lamps. The curtains were drawn tight to block out the flashes.
But the panic had taken its toll.
As soon as they laid him on the bed, Elian started shivering uncontrollably.
His skin was clammy, but his forehead was burning.
"Fever," Kieran announced, placing a hand on Elian's brow. "Adrenaline crash. His body is going into shock."
Elian was delirious. He tossed and turned on the black silk sheets, kicking off the duvet.
"Hot... cold... make it stop..."
"Shhh," Kaelen climbed onto the bed behind Elian. He pulled Elian's back against his chest, spooning him. "I'm right here."
"Kieran," Kaelen looked at his brother. "Get the water. And towels."
For the next four hours, the Ruthless Blackwood Twins became nurses.
Kieran sat on the edge of the bed. He unbuttoned Elian's sweat-soaked shirt gently.
"I need to cool him down," Kieran whispered.
He dipped a soft cloth in a bowl of cool water and wrung it out.
With infinite tenderness, he wiped Elian's face. Then his neck. Then his chest.
Elian sighed, the coolness soothing the fire in his blood.
He leaned into Kieran's touch, his eyes fluttering half-open.
"Mom?" Elian mumbled.
"No," Kieran said softly, brushing wet hair off Elian's forehead. "It's Kieran."
"Kieran..." Elian tested the name on his tongue. "Smells like rain."
Kieran smiled—a sad, sweet smile. "Yes. I'm here."
Meanwhile, Kaelen was the anchor.
Every time thunder rumbled faintly, Elian would tense up. And every time, Kaelen would tighten his hold, rubbing Elian's arms, humming a low, deep sound that vibrated through Elian's spine and calmed him down.
"You are safe," Kaelen whispered into Elian's ear, over and over again, like a mantra. "You are in the fortress. The monsters can't find you here because we are the monsters. And we don't eat our own."
By 4:00 AM, the fever broke.
Elian stopped shivering. His breathing evened out into a deep, peaceful rhythm.
He fell into a true sleep, sandwiched between the two men who would burn the world for him.
Tuesday Morning, 10:00 AM.
The sun was blindingly bright outside.
The storm had washed the city clean.
Elian woke up slowly.
His body felt heavy, like lead, but his mind was clear. The terror was gone.
He blinked his eyes open.
He was in the Penthouse bed.
He tried to move, but he was pinned down.
He looked to his left.
Kaelen was asleep. He was lying on his side, one arm thrown protectively over Elian's waist, his face buried in Elian's shoulder. He looked younger when he slept—less angry, more peaceful.
He looked to his right.
Kieran had fallen asleep sitting in the armchair next to the bed. His head was resting uncomfortably on the mattress, his hand still loosely holding Elian's fingers.
Elian lay there, stunned.
He remembered everything.
He remembered the panic. The hallway. Kaelen's voice saying "I've got you." Kieran's cool hands wiping his fever away.
Tears welled up in Elian's eyes.
In the original book, these men were villains. They were supposed to destroy him.
But last night... they had saved him.
They had seen him at his weakest—screaming, crying, broken—and they hadn't mocked him. They had cared for him.
Elian moved his hand gently to squeeze Kieran's fingers.
Kieran woke up instantly. His grey eyes snapped open, alert.
"Elian?" Kieran's voice was raspy with sleep. "Are you okay? Is the fever back?"
He immediately reached out to touch Elian's forehead.
Elian didn't flinch. He leaned into the palm.
"I'm okay," Elian whispered, his voice weak. "My head hurts a little. But I'm okay."
Kaelen stirred beside him. He groaned, tightening his grip on Elian's waist before opening his blue eyes.
"You're awake," Kaelen mumbled sleepily, nuzzling Elian's neck. "You stopped screaming."
"Yeah," Elian smiled weakly. "Because you guys were... loud."
Kaelen chuckled, lifting his head. "I told you. I'm louder than the storm."
Elian looked at them both.
"Thank you," he said, and he meant it from the bottom of his soul. "For coming to get me. For... staying."
"We will always come get you," Kieran said seriously, standing up to stretch his stiff back.
Elian laughed softly.
Kaelen grinned, resting his chin on Elian's chest. "Now, stay in bed. Kieran makes terrible porridge, but you need to eat."
"I heard that," Kieran called from the bathroom.
Elian closed his eyes again, feeling the sunlight on his face and the warmth of Kaelen beside him.
He wasn't ready to admit he loved them.
But he knew one thing for sure:
He wasn't afraid of the monsters anymore. Because the monsters were his.