I crouched in the shadows of the chapel, breath ragged, trying to calm the storm raging in my chest.
What had I done?
I'd pushed him—too far—and for one fleeting, dangerous moment, I thought maybe, just maybe, I'd gotten through to him. But now, with the crumbling silence pressing in around me, the weight of my actions settled like a shroud.
I'm screwed.
The door slamming behind me should've offered some comfort. A sanctuary. A brief illusion of safety. But now, it felt like a trap. The stone walls were closing in, suffocating.
I pressed my back to the cold, unforgiving stone, forcing myself to breathe. My heart still pounded, but it wasn't just fear making it race. No—something darker had crept in.
His near-kiss haunted me. The heat in his gaze still burned across my skin. His presence—so intoxicatingly dangerous—unsettled me in ways I didn't want to name.
I should've resisted. Should've fought harder.
But deep down, I knew—my body had betrayed me. And worse, my heart had too.
Focus, Seraphina.
What's next?
I had to think. I needed a plan—or I was dead.
Heavy footsteps echoed outside the chapel, and panic surged through me like lightning. I froze, pressing harder into the wall, praying the shadows would swallow me whole.
The door creaked open, slow and deliberate. I held my breath. He was savoring this—savoring the chase. The weight of his presence filled the doorway like smoke, thick and impossible to ignore.
He was here.
And he was pissed.
"Seraphina," his voice rumbled—low, dangerous. It slithered down my spine like a threat and a promise. There wasn't just fury in his tone. There was something else. Something… predatory.
"You thought you could escape me?"
The words sliced through the air, smooth and lethal. They hit me like a blade, sharp and cold, leaving a chill in my bones.
I stayed still, buried in shadow, praying silence would protect me. But then I felt it—that flick of his gaze across the room. The weight of it pinned me in place.
He knew.
I didn't wait. I ran.
But I didn't make it far.
His hand shot out, lightning-fast, gripping my wrist with a force that stole the breath from my lungs. His fingers dug into my skin as he yanked me back into his chest. My feet left the ground for a heartbeat before I crashed against him, trapped in his heat, his strength.
"Not this time, Seraphina," he growled, breath hot against my ear. His grip tightened, sending a pulse through me—fierce, electric, undeniable.
It wasn't fear that made my pulse race.
No. It was something else.
Something I couldn't deny, no matter how hard I tried.
I struggled, but it was useless. He was too strong. And worse… I didn't want to break free. I wanted him to hold me tighter. To cage me in with that terrible, unrelenting power.
I met his eyes, defiant, breathless, heart pounding.
"I told you before," he said, voice low and lethal, "you can't keep running from me."
The words struck deep. And worse—they were true.
But it wasn't just the truth that shook me. It was the inevitability of whatever this was between us. This connection, dark and magnetic. It felt like drowning in fire—his eyes, his touch, his scent. Everything about him made me feel terrifyingly alive.
"I won't be dragged to hell by you," I spat, voice trembling with fear and fury.
But even as the words left my lips, I knew.
There was no escaping him.
Not this time.
His hand slid down my arm, pulling me closer still. And as his strength wrapped around me like a vice, I felt it—something inside me splintering.
My freedom—the thing I'd fought for all my life——was slipping through my fingers.