That night, the house felt heavier than usual.
The air seemed thick—too thick—as if the walls themselves were holding their breath.
Vixen stayed close to Kin the entire evening, his gaze never wavering. Even when Kin brushed his teeth, Vixen stood in the doorway. Even when Kin slipped into bed, Vixen sat on the edge, his posture tense.
Outside, the wind howled like a living thing. Somewhere in the darkness, an old wooden shutter banged against the wall with a hollow clack… clack… clack.
Kin lay down, pulling the blanket over himself. "You're making me nervous, you know," he whispered.
"You should be nervous," Vixen replied, his tone low and grim. "I saw it in your eyes earlier. That… thing wasn't just trying to scare you. It wanted to hurt you."
Kin shivered, but before he could answer—
Tok… tok… tok.
Three deliberate knocks came from the far side of the room.
The window.
Vixen stood instantly, his Alpha pheromones bleeding into the air—dense, protective, almost tangible. Kin could feel it on his skin, warm and steady, calming the frantic pounding of his heart.
"Stay here," Vixen murmured, moving toward the sound.
He slid the curtain aside.
Nothing. Just the night, black and endless.
Then—
"Kin… open the door."
It was Shen Seizan's voice. But it wasn't coming from the window.
It was inside the room.
Kin's eyes went wide, his breath catching in his throat. He clutched the blanket tighter, his body shaking.
"That's not Shen," Vixen said without turning, his voice sharp. "Don't answer it."
The voice came again—softer this time, but closer. "Kin… you promised me… you'd open the door…"
There was no door where the voice was coming from. Only the wall.
Suddenly, the temperature plummeted. Frost began to creep over the glass of the window in jagged white veins. The lightbulb overhead flickered, then buzzed, then died completely, plunging the room into darkness.
In the faint silver light of the moon, a shape began to appear in the corner—female, hair hanging forward, arms too long, head tilted at an impossible angle.
Kin's breath came in shallow gasps. His instincts screamed to run, but his body wouldn't obey.
The shadow twitched once. Twice. Then lunged—
Vixen was faster. He stepped in front of Kin, unleashing a surge of Alpha pheromones so strong it felt like the air rippled. The smell was sharp, intoxicating, and filled with raw command. The shadow hit the invisible wall of his presence and let out a sound that was not human—a shriek like metal tearing.
It retreated, twisting back into the darkness, vanishing as quickly as it appeared.
For a long moment, the only sound in the room was Kin's trembling breath.
Vixen turned, cupping Kin's face in his hands. "It can't touch you while I'm here," he said softly. "But tonight… you do not sleep alone. Ever."
In the hallway, unseen by either of them, a faint whisper floated through the air—
"I'll wait… until he's gone…"
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