Elena's POV
"Go! Go! Go!" Jax screamed. He didn't even stop to grab his coat. He just snatched his laptop and shoved it into his backpack.
The red light on the computer screen was still flashing. It felt like a heartbeat—Alaric's heartbeat. He was coming. I could feel it in the air. The room suddenly felt too small, too hot. That strange spark in my stomach was glowing again, like a tiny heater inside my skin.
We ran out the back door of the warehouse. The air outside was cold and smelled like old rain and car exhaust. My blue silk dress was ruined. The hem was torn, and I had kicked off my high heels so I could run faster. My bare feet hit the cold, dirty pavement, but I didn't care about the pain.
"This way!" Jax pulled me into a dark alleyway.
The city was waking up. I could hear the sounds of distant sirens and the rumble of garbage trucks. But over all that noise, I heard something else. It was a low, heavy sound.
Vroom.
A black SUV turned the corner at the end of the block. Its windows were dark, and it moved slowly, like a shark in deep water. Then another one appeared. And another. They weren't using sirens. They didn't need them. They were closing the net.
"Jax, they're everywhere," I whispered. I pushed myself against the brick wall, trying to disappear into the shadows.
"I have a car hidden two blocks away," Jax panted. His face was white with fear. "If we can just get across the street, we can—"
Suddenly, the black SUVs stopped. All at once.
The doors opened, and men in suits stepped out. They didn't look like regular police. They were too big, and they moved with too much rhythm. They moved like a pack. But they didn't come toward us. They stood by their cars and waited.
Then, a fourth car drove up. This one was different. It was a heavy, armored limousine. The door opened, and a pair of polished black boots hit the ground.
Alaric Thorne stepped out.
He wasn't wearing his tuxedo anymore. He wore a simple black sweater and dark trousers. He looked younger, but much more dangerous. He didn't look left or right. He tilted his head back and sniffed the air.
My heart stopped. He wasn't looking for me with his eyes. He was using his nose. He was tracking me like a wolf tracks a deer.
"He can smell me," I whispered to Jax. "Jax, he knows exactly where we are."
"That's impossible," Jax hissed. "We're downwind. There's no way—"
Alaric's head snapped in our direction. His amber eyes locked right onto the shadows where we were hiding. A slow, terrifying smile spread across his face. It wasn't a happy smile. It was the smile of a hunter who had finally cornered his prize.
"Elena," his voice called out. It wasn't loud, but it carried through the wind. It sounded like it was inside my head. "You can keep running, but you'll only get tired. And the 'Beast' likes it when his prey is tired."
"Don't listen to him," Jax said, grabbing my hand. "Run, Elena! Now!"
We turned and sprinted deeper into the maze of alleys. We jumped over piles of trash and climbed over a chain-link fence. I felt a sharp cut on my foot, but I didn't stop. I couldn't stop.
But no matter how fast we ran, I could hear his footsteps. They weren't fast. They were slow and steady. Thump. Thump. Thump. He was walking, but he was staying right behind us.
The Shadow in the Rain
Alaric's POV
The city usually smelled like Filth. It smelled like rot and metal. But now, all I could smell was her.
It was stronger than before. It wasn't just the scent of rainwater and roses anymore. There was something new. Something sweet and metallic. Something that called to the very center of my bones.
The Beast inside me was screaming. It wasn't the scream of anger. It was a scream of hunger. Mine, it growled. Mine. Protect. Claim.
I watched the girl run. She was fast, jumping over obstacles with the grace of a gazelle. Her friend—the little hacker—was struggling to keep up. I could kill him with one hand, but I didn't care about him. He was nothing.
I followed them into a dead-end alley. The walls were high, and there was no way out except through me.
"Stay behind me!" the boy shouted. He pulled a small pocket knife out. His hands were shaking so hard the blade was rattling.
I stepped into the light of a single, flickering streetlamp. The rain began to fall, turning the dust on my sweater into dark spots. I didn't look at the boy. I looked at Elena.
She was shivering. Her blue dress was wet and clinging to her body. Her hair was a mess. But her eyes... those Sterling eyes were still full of fire. She looked at me with so much hate, and it made me want her even more.
"Give her back the card, and we leave!" the boy yelled. "I've already sent the files to the cloud! If you touch her, the whole world sees your secrets!"
I didn't even blink. "Do you think I care about the world?"
I moved. I was so fast the boy didn't even see me. I grabbed his wrist, and with a tiny squeeze, the knife fell to the ground. I didn't break his arm—not yet—but I pushed him against the wall with enough force to knock the wind out of him.
"Jax!" Elena screamed. She ran forward to help him, but I caught her waist.
I pulled her back against my chest. The moment our bodies touched, a wave of peace hit me. The red haze in my eyes vanished. The growling in my head stopped.
"I told you," I whispered into her ear. I wrapped my arms around her, pinning her arms to her sides. "There is no coming back from the choice you made."
"Let him go!" Elena struggled, kicking at my shins. "He has nothing to do with this! It's between us!"
"You're right," I said. I looked at Marcus, who was standing at the entrance of the alley. "Take the boy. Put him in a comfortable room. Don't hurt him, but don't let him leave."
"No! Jax!" Elena cried out as my men grabbed her friend and dragged him away.
Soon, the alley was quiet. It was just me and her in the rain.
Elena stopped fighting. She went limp in my arms, her head falling back against my shoulder. She started to cry—quiet, heavy sobs that shook her whole body.
"Why won't you just let me hate you?" she sobbed. "Why won't you just let me go?"
I turned her around in my arms so she had to look at me. I wiped a tear from her cheek with my thumb.
"Because you're carrying something that belongs to me, Elena," I said. My voice was very soft now. I put my hand over her stomach.
She froze. Her eyes went wide. "You... you can't know that. It's only been a few hours. It's impossible."
"For a human, yes," I said. I leaned down until our noses touched. "But I can hear it. A second heart. Tiny. Fast. It sounds just like mine."
I picked her up in my arms. She was too tired to fight anymore. She just hid her face in my chest and cried.
"The contract has changed, Elena," I said as I walked back toward the limousine. "You're not a spy anymore. And you're not my enemy."
"Then what am I?" she whispered.
"You're the mother of my heir," I said. "And that means you are never leaving my side again."