Chapter 2
877 Words
The male stared at her like the world had just ended.
Midnight could feel it happening.
Something inside her was waking up fully now, stretching beneath her skin after years trapped in chains she never knew existed. Every breath hurt. Every heartbeat sounded too loud.
And those red eyes reflected in the puddle beneath her?
They were not hers.
“Oh God…” she whispered.
The stranger grabbed her chin sharply, forcing her to look at him instead of the reflection.
“Listen to me carefully,” he said.
His voice was deep. Commanding. The kind that expected obedience.
“Do not let it take control.”
Midnight let out a strained laugh despite the pain ripping through her body. “I don’t even know what ‘it’ is.”
His jaw tightened.
“That’s your demon.”
The alley suddenly felt too small.
Too cold.
Too dangerous.
Another violent pulse shot through her chest, and black smoke exploded from her skin this time, wrapping around her wrists like living shadows.
The male instantly shoved her behind him.
A second later, three figures dropped soundlessly from the rooftops above.
Wolves.
No—not wolves exactly.
Shifters.
Their glowing amber eyes locked directly onto Midnight.
Fear flashed across every one of their faces.
One female stepped forward first. “Alpha… move away from her.”
Alpha.
Midnight’s stomach dropped.
Of course he was an alpha.
He carried power like violence wrapped in skin.
The silver-eyed alpha didn’t move.
The female shifter’s expression darkened. “You know what she is.”
“I know,” he answered coldly.
Another male bared his teeth. “Then why is she still breathing?”
Midnight flinched.
The words shouldn’t hurt.
But they did.
Because deep down… some part of her had always known something was wrong with her.
The blackouts.
The unnatural strength.
The constant feeling that she was pretending to be human instead of actually being human.
The alpha glanced back at her briefly before facing his wolves again.
“She hasn’t turned yet.”
“She’s a hybrid,” the female snapped. “You know the laws.”
Midnight’s breathing grew uneven again.
Hybrid.
The word sounded cursed coming from their mouths.
The alpha stepped slightly in front of her.
Protecting her.
Even he looked irritated by his own instinct to do it.
“She’s not the threat right now,” he growled.
The female’s eyes widened slightly.
“You scented it too.”
Silence.
Heavy silence.
Then the alpha finally spoke.
“Yes.”
Fear slid down Midnight’s spine at the single word.
The other wolves exchanged tense looks.
One of them whispered, “Demon blood…”
Midnight’s stomach twisted violently.
Suddenly the nightmares made sense.
The blood.
The claws.
The hunger.
She wasn’t crazy.
She was worse.
The female looked directly at Midnight now, and for the first time, Midnight saw genuine terror in someone’s eyes because of her.
“Do you have any idea what happens if she fully awakens?”
Midnight swallowed hard. “I’m standing right here.”
But no one answered her.
The alpha’s silver eyes stayed locked on the others.
“She doesn’t even know how to shift.”
“That makes it more dangerous.”
The female’s voice sharpened.
“If the demon side takes over before the wolf bonds with it, she’ll become feral.”
Feral.
Midnight’s pulse spiked instantly.
As if hearing the word triggered something.
Pain slammed through her body again.
This time her scream tore out half-human.
Half-animal.
Her spine arched violently as shadows burst from beneath her skin in thick waves. Black veins spread across her arms while her nails lengthened into claws.
The wolves stumbled backward immediately.
One actually reached for a weapon.
The alpha moved faster.
He grabbed Midnight before she hit the ground, pulling her against his chest while she shook violently in his arms.
“Look at me,” he ordered.
Midnight couldn’t.
Her vision kept flashing red.
The hunger inside her was unbearable now.
Every heartbeat around her sounded delicious.
Warm.
Alive.
Mine.
She gasped sharply at the thought.
Not hers.
Not hers.
The alpha gripped the back of her neck firmly.
“Midnight.”
Her eyes snapped to his instantly.
Shock crossed his face.
“You know my name?”
His expression darkened.
“The demon does.”
Ice flooded her veins.
“What?”
But before he could answer—
A horrific howl split through the night.
Every wolf in the alley froze.
The alpha’s head snapped toward the rooftops.
For the first time since meeting him—
Midnight saw fear in his eyes.
Not for himself.
For her.
“Run,” he said immediately.
The female wolf looked stunned. “Alpha—”
“That wasn’t a suggestion.”
Another howl echoed closer this time.
Deeper.
Wrong.
Midnight’s demon reacted instantly, surging beneath her skin with excitement instead of fear.
The alpha cursed softly under his breath like he realized exactly what that meant.
Then he looked at her again.
And this time, there was something terrifying in his expression.
Recognition.
“You’re not just a hybrid,” he said quietly.
The creature inside her smiled.
And somewhere in the darkness beyond the alley—
Something ancient smiled back.
- Writer
