Chapter 3: The Pull Between Them
900 Words
The silence remain
Soryn did not move.
Her fingers remained curled tightly against the edge of the sink, her pulse uneven despite the control she had forced back into place. The faint glow in her eyes had dimmed, but it had not disappeared completely, and she knew he had seen it. The way he stood there, watching her without stepping closer or backing away, told her enough.
That alone was dangerous.
Kael’s gaze stayed fixed on her, steady and searching, as though trying to place something that refused to make sense. “You ran out of class like something was chasing you,” he said, his voice calm but edged with quiet suspicion. “And now you’re standing here like you’ve seen something you can’t explain.”
Soryn straightened slowly, her expression smoothing into something controlled, something distant. “I don’t like the smell of blood,” she replied, her tone even.
It was the safest lie she could give.
Kael’s brows drew together slightly, his eyes flickering with something unreadable. For a moment, he said nothing, as if weighing her words against what he had seen. Then he stepped forward.
One step.
That was all it took.
The air shifted again.
Soryn felt it instantly, the fragile control she had rebuilt tightening under pressure as his presence moved closer. The scent was faint now, barely there—but it was enough. Her body reacted before her mind could stop it, a quiet tension running through her as something inside her stirred once more.
“Then why,” Kael said, his voice lower now, closer, “were you looking at me like that?”
Her breath caught for the smallest second.
He was too close.
Soryn forced herself to meet his gaze, her eyes steady even as something beneath the surface threatened to break through again. “You’re imagining things.”
The words came out calm, controlled.
But he didn’t believe her.
She could see it in the way his expression hardened slightly, in the way his eyes lingered on hers as if searching for something hidden behind them. There was a pause, brief but heavy, where neither of them moved.
Then Kael’s gaze dropped.
To her hand.
Still gripping the sink too tightly.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
“You’re shaking.”
Soryn released her grip instantly, her fingers relaxing as she pulled her hand back, turning slightly away from him. “It’s nothing.”
Another lie.
And this one felt thinner.
Kael exhaled slowly, as though deciding something, before taking another step closer.
This time, Soryn moved back.
It was small. Barely noticeable.
But it was enough.
Kael stopped.
Something flickered across his face—realization, sharp and sudden. Not understanding, not fully, but awareness. Like a puzzle piece sliding into place without showing the full picture.
“You keep stepping away from me,” he said quietly.
Soryn said nothing.
Because she couldn’t.
Because every instinct inside her was telling her to keep that distance, to not let him get any closer, to not risk losing control again.
But there was something else too.
Something pulling in the opposite direction.
And that was worse.
Kael watched her for a moment longer, his gaze intense, focused, as though trying to read everything she refused to say. Then, without warning, he reached out.
His hand closed around her wrist.
The contact was brief.
But it was enough.
Everything stopped.
Soryn’s breath hitched sharply as a sudden rush of sensation tore through her, stronger than before, overwhelming, impossible to ignore. His pulse was right there beneath her skin, steady and alive, and the moment she felt it—
Her control shattered.
Her eyes flashed.
Red.
Not faint.
Not hidden.
Kael felt it too.
His grip tightened slightly, not in fear, but in instinct, as something within him responded without permission. The calm around him cracked, something deeper pushing forward, something that did not feel human.
For a second, neither of them moved.
Neither of them spoke.
The air between them felt charged, alive with something neither of them could control.
Then Soryn pulled away.
Fast.
Too fast.
She stepped back, her breathing uneven, her gaze locked on him as she struggled to force the hunger back down, to bury it before it consumed her completely.
“Don’t,” she said, her voice lower now, sharper than before.
Kael didn’t move.
But his eyes had changed.
There was no confusion left in them.
Only something darker.
Something aware.
“What are you?” he asked quietly.
The question hung between them, heavy and dangerous.
Soryn felt it settle deep in her chest, pressing against everything she was trying to hide. For a moment, she said nothing, her mind racing, her instincts clashing violently with the mission she had been sent to complete.
This was not how it was supposed to go.
He was not supposed to notice.
He was not supposed to feel anything.
And she—
She was not supposed to lose control.
“You should stay away from me,” she said finally, her voice steady again, but colder now.
Kael’s expression didn’t change.
“If I don’t?”
Soryn held his gaze, something dark flickering in her eyes despite her control.
“Then next time,” she said softly, “I might not stop.”
The silence that followed was heavier than before.
But neither of them looked away.
- Writer
