The evening sky above Brewster University burned with fading gold as the last light of the sun slipped behind the Gothic towers. Long shadows stretched across the campus lawn like silent fingers reaching toward the coming night.
Morgan should have been thinking about the equations she had just spent two hours studying.
Instead, one name kept echoing in her mind.
Rafael Blake Nightborne.
She stepped out of the science faculty building, hugging her books closer against the cool air. The temperature had dropped sharply since morning, but the chill crawling along her spine had nothing to do with the weather.
It was him.
The new professor had taught the entire class without raising his voice once. No dramatic gestures. No strict warnings.
And yet the entire lecture hall had obeyed him as if under an invisible command.
Even Tristan Vanhart—the most disruptive student in their department—had barely dared to whisper.
And then there had been that moment.
That look.
Morgan could still feel it like a lingering pressure against her skin.
As students began packing their bags earlier, she had glanced toward the front of the classroom by accident.
Professor Nightborne had been standing beside the desk.
And their eyes met.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three.
Too long.
Far too long for it to be accidental.
His eyes were dark.
Not simply brown or black.
They were deeper than that—like staring into a sky without stars.
Morgan had wanted to look away.
She couldn't.
It felt as though something invisible held her gaze in place.
Rafael hadn't moved either.
He wasn't looking at her the way a professor looked at a student.
There had been focus in his gaze.
Careful.
Intent.
As if he were studying her the way a scientist studied a strange phenomenon.
Or trying to solve a puzzle that shouldn't exist.
The classroom noise faded strangely around them. Chairs scraped the floor. Bags zipped closed.
But for those few seconds, it felt like silence.
"Morgan?"
A nudge on her arm broke the spell.
Morgan blinked and turned.
Elena was staring at her with raised eyebrows.
"Uh… why are you spacing out like that?"
Morgan quickly tore her gaze away from the front of the room.
"Huh? No—nothing. I was just thinking."
But when she dared to glance forward again—
Professor Nightborne was gone.
On the opposite side of campus, Rafael stood alone on the second-floor balcony of an old academic building.
From there, he could see the courtyard below.
Students walked in small groups, their conversations drifting faintly through the evening air.
The breeze stirred his dark hair.
Rafael closed his eyes.
And listened.
Heartbeats.
Hundreds of them.
Fast.
Slow.
Nervous.
Excited.
He could distinguish them all effortlessly.
But he wasn't listening for them.
He was searching for one specific rhythm.
Morgan's.
He focused harder.
Nothing.
Silence.
Rafael slowly opened his eyes.
That was impossible.
Every human heart produced sound. Even the faintest pulse could be detected by his senses.
Yet when it came to her…
There was only emptiness.
No rhythm.
No pulse.
No life-sign at all.
And yet she was clearly alive.
"How very interesting…" he murmured quietly.
If the girl truly was the human rumored to be protected by another clan, then approaching her carelessly would be foolish.
He should observe.
Wait.
Confirm.
So why…
Why was curiosity tugging at him instead?
By the time Morgan left campus, dusk had settled fully over the university.
The sky had turned a muted purple-gray, and the garden lamps along the pathways flickered on one by one.
She adjusted the strap of her bag over her shoulder.
Most students had already left.
The campus was growing quiet.
Her footsteps echoed faintly as she passed through the smaller side gate.
Suddenly—
Someone slammed into her from behind.
"Hey—!"
Before she could react, the strap of her bag was ripped violently from her shoulder.
"HEY!" Morgan shouted in panic.
A man in a black jacket was already sprinting down the road with it.
Morgan froze for half a second.
Her laptop.
Her wallet.
All her lecture notes.
Without thinking, she ran.
"Stop! Thief! Someone help!"
A few people turned their heads.
But everything was happening too fast.
And then—
A dark figure stepped into the road ahead.
The movement was… wrong.
Too fast.
One moment the road was empty.
The next—
Professor Nightborne stood directly in front of the thief.
Morgan hadn't even seen how he got there.
The thief skidded to a halt.
His face instantly drained of color.
"I—I was just—"
Rafael looked at him.
Just one look.
And the air seemed to turn colder.
"Return it."
His voice was quiet.
Calm.
But the threat inside it was unmistakable.
The thief's hands began shaking violently.
Without another word, he threw Morgan's bag onto the pavement and ran.
He didn't look back.
Morgan arrived seconds later, slightly out of breath.
She crouched quickly and grabbed her bag.
"Th-thank you…"
Her voice was still uneven.
When she stood, she realized how close Rafael was.
Too close.
"Walking alone after dark is not a wise decision," he said calmly.
Morgan pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
"I don't usually leave this late. I just had… a lot of assignments today."
Rafael studied her face.
Silently.
Again.
Morgan felt warmth creeping into her cheeks.
"Is… something wrong?" she asked softly.
He didn't answer.
Instead, Rafael slowly lifted his hand, as if intending to touch her face—almost as though he wanted to confirm something.
Morgan instinctively stepped back.
Her heel caught on the edge of the pavement.
She lost her balance.
Before she could fall—
Rafael pulled her toward him.
Morgan stumbled forward and collided directly with his chest.
Everything slowed.
Her hands grabbed the front of his suit.
His body was firm.
But the cold shocked her.
Too cold.
Not the chill of evening air.
The cold of something that had never known warmth.
Morgan froze.
Her face hovered inches from his neck.
A faint scent reached her.
Not ordinary cologne.
It smelled like rain-soaked night air… and something darker she couldn't name.
Rafael's hand rested at her waist, holding her steady.
For a moment—
He forgot to breathe.
She was too close.
Too warm.
And still…
Nothing.
No heartbeat.
No pulse.
Morgan quickly pulled away.
"I'm sorry! I'm so clumsy…"
Rafael didn't release her immediately.
His hand lingered at her waist.
Their eyes met again.
This time deeper.
Longer.
Something subtle shifted in the air between them.
Morgan felt a strange flutter in her stomach.
Not fear.
Not comfort.
Something in between.
"Professor…?" she whispered.
Slowly, Rafael lowered his hand.
"You need to be more careful, Morgan."
The way he said her name sent a small shiver down her spine.
"How do you know my name outside of class?" she asked automatically.
A faint smile curved his lips.
Not warm.
But not cold either.
"You are my student."
It sounded logical.
Yet somehow, it didn't feel like the whole truth.
The wind picked up, rustling the nearby trees.
Streetlights bathed the road in soft yellow light.
For a brief moment, the world felt strangely small.
Just the two of them standing there.
Morgan hugged her bag to her chest.
"I… really am grateful."
Rafael looked at her one last time.
And for the first time in centuries—
Something unfamiliar stirred inside him.
Not bloodlust.
Not the instinct to hunt.
But the quiet, unsettling desire to make sure this girl was never harmed.
He turned away.
"See you tomorrow, Morgan."
Morgan stood still as he walked down the street.
His footsteps were calm.
Measured.
Almost too calm.
And when he finally disappeared around the corner—
Morgan pressed a hand against her chest.
Her heartbeat felt strangely uneven.
She didn't know that somewhere beneath the cover of that deepening night…
The leader of the Radical Clan had just made a discovery that could ruin everything.
Because the one human whose heartbeat he could not hear…
Was also the only one capable of shaking a heart that had been silent for hundreds of years.
And Rafael Nightborne had just begun to wonder—
Whether protecting her…
Might become more dangerous than killing her.