Once, you and I were more than just a dark promise. We were lovers—entangled in a forbidden passion, a bond so deep it felt unbreakable. But your hunger for power led you down a path that shattered us. You betrayed me in the most unforgivable way, leaving me in the wake of your lies and manipulations. You disappeared without a trace, vanishing into the shadows where you belong. In your absence, my father made sure to claim my fate, binding me to another—someone chosen to control me, to tie my future to a man who wasn't you. You, the vampire, the monster I once trusted, broke us, and I've never forgiven you. Now, standing here again, it feels as if nothing has changed—except the part of me that loved you. That part is gone.
My shoulders stiffen when he notices the blood on my shoulder, a thin stream tracing down my arm. It's only then that he moves, his footsteps slow but deliberate, a predator's approach. he reaches out, his cold fingers brushing my shoulder, and I flinch, but I don't pull away. Not yet.
"What happened?" he asks, his voice low, barely above a growl.
I back away, instinctively, trying to create space between us. "Let go," I snap, but he doesn't. His grip tightens, and I freeze, caught between wanting to escape and knowing I can't.
He leans in closer, his face inches from mine. "It's a shame. you could have avoided all this. But you've made your choice." His voice drops an octave, the words now laced with the deadly truth. "If you refuse me again, there's nothing left for you. Not even your heart."
I swallow, eyes narrowing. "I'll never be yours. I won't sign. Not now, not ever."
He smiles, cold, calculating. "You think you have a choice? You think you can walk away from me without paying a price?"
He lets go of my shoulder, but he's still too close. The air between us is thick, heavy. "If you won't join me willingly, I'll take what's mine."
I can see it in his eyes now, the danger. The promise. "I will take your heart, sweetheart. And no contract, no fight, no scream will stop me."
The words hit me harder than the rain pounding against the windows. I can feel my pulse quicken. The blood on my shoulder feels hotter now, more urgent, as if my body knows what's at stake.
My breath catches. I don't know if I can trust you, but I understand the gravity of the situation now.
"You're insane," I whisper, but even to my own ears, it sounds like a last plea. "I won't let you control me."
He reaches for the contract, sliding it closer to me, the paper crinkling under my touch. "Sign it," he says softly, his voice a velvet caress that hides the razor-sharp threat beneath it. "Or I'll take what I'm owed. And believe me, you don't want to know what that feels like."