Eclipse Bound

CHAPTER 2

The pain in my neck was a white-hot spark that traveled straight to my brain. I tried to scream, but the sound died in my throat. My legs gave out, and I hit the wet ground hard.

Everything was a blur. The rain felt like needles. The world was spinning.

The tall one—Kael—stood over me. He looked so calm. It wasn't right. Men shouldn't look that peaceful after killing people and biting a cop. Behind him, more shapes moved in the dark. The men who had been shooting at me were still there, closing in.

"Finish her," one of the gunmen yelled, stepping into the light.

Kael didn't even look back at me. He just turned around. He moved faster than anything I’d ever seen. One second he was standing still, and the next, he was a streak of shadow. I heard the sound of breaking bones and wet thuds. It didn't sound like a fight. It sounded like a harvest.

In seconds, it was over. The attackers were gone. Just bodies in the mud.

I struggled to sit up, clutching my neck. My fingers came away red. Warm, thick blood was leaking between my knuckles. I reached for my gun on the ground, my breath coming in jagged hitches. I found the grip and leveled it at Kael as he walked back toward me. He didn't have a scratch on him. Not even his hair was messed up.

"Stay... stay back," I rasped. My voice sounded like I’d swallowed glass.

Kael stopped. He didn't look scared of the gun. He just watched me. His eyes weren't just amber anymore; they were glowing. It was a soft, terrifying light that seemed to see right through my skin.

"You're bleeding out, Rhea," he said. His voice was like velvet over gravel.

How did he know my name? My heart did a slow, painful roll in my chest. I wasn't wearing a nametag. I was deep undercover.

"I said get back!" I yelled, but my arm was shaking so hard the gun was waving in circles.

"Now, now. Is that any way to treat the man who saved your life?"

Another voice. A second man stepped out of the shadows. He looked almost exactly like Kael, but his energy was different. He was leaning against a stack of crates, looking at his fingernails like he was bored. This was Kai. He had the same face, but his smile was sharp and dangerous.

"Shut up, Kai," Kael said without looking back.

Kai laughed. It was a dark, dry sound. "Just saying. She’s feisty for a human. Even if she is a little broken right now." He looked at me, his eyes dancing with something that felt like a secret. "We’ve been waiting a long time to meet you, Detective Navarro."

My head was swimming. My vision was starting to tunnel, black spots dancing at the edges of my sight. Waiting for me? Why? I was just a cop. I was nobody.

"What do you want?" I whispered.

I tried to stand up. I needed to get away. I needed to find a phone, a car, anything. I forced my lead-heavy legs to move. I took one step, then two. The world tilted. The brick wall seemed to lean in to crush me.

The gun fell from my hand. I didn't even hear it hit the ground.

My knees hit the asphalt, but I didn't feel the impact. Before my face could hit the ground, strong arms caught me. They were so warm—almost hot. It felt like being wrapped in a blanket fresh from the dryer, but I was out in a storm.

It was Kael. He held me against his chest. I tried to push him away, but my muscles felt like water.

"Let... go..." I breathed.

"I can't do that," Kael murmured.

He looked at Kai. A silent conversation passed between them. Kai wasn't smiling anymore. He looked serious, his eyes fixed on the wound on my neck.

"She won't survive the night if you don't," Kai said. His voice was quiet now. No jokes.

Kael looked down at me. There was a weird look in his eyes. It wasn't pity. It was something deeper. Something heavy. He tilted my head back, exposing the side of my neck again.

"This is going to hurt," he whispered. "I’m sorry."

Before I could ask why, he leaned down.

He bit me again. But this wasn't like the first time. This time, he didn't let go.

I gasped, my back arching as a bolt of pure electricity shot through my spine. It wasn't just pain. It was everything. It was like someone had poured liquid fire into my veins. I felt my heart skip a beat, then restart with a violent thud that shook my whole body.

Colors exploded behind my eyelids. Gold, red, and a deep, pulsing purple. I could hear things I shouldn't be able to hear—the sound of Kael’s heart beating in time with mine, the sound of a rat scurrying three blocks away, the sound of the rain hitting the individual leaves of a tree far across the city.

"Easy," Kael whispered into my skin.

I felt a strange pull. Like a golden thread was being sewn through my soul, tying me to the man holding me. It was a terrifying, suffocating closeness. I wanted to fight it. I wanted to scream that I hated him, that he was a monster, that I belonged to the law.

But my body was betraying me. The places where he touched me started to glow with a dull warmth. The pain in my side—the gunshot, the bruise—it started to fade. It didn't just stop hurting; it felt like it was melting away.

I felt something waking up inside me. Something heavy and dark that had been sleeping in my bones since the day I was born. It growled.

Kael pulled back. His mouth was stained red. He watched me with an intensity that made me feel naked.

Kai walked over and stood over us. He reached out and touched my hand. As soon as his skin hit mine, another jolt of lightning hit me. Two threads now. Two weights pulling at my heart.

"Look at her eyes," Kai whispered. He sounded amazed.

I tried to focus on Kael’s face. He looked different now. He didn't look like a stranger. He looked like... home. And I hated it. I hated him for making me feel it.

The world was changing. The grey rain started to look bright. The shadows had depth I’d never seen before. My sense of smell was suddenly overwhelmed—I could smell the metal of the ships, the salt of the lake, and the deep, wild scent of the two men holding me.

I reached up, my hand trembling, and touched Kael’s chest. I wanted to push him away, but my fingers just curled into his expensive coat.

"What..." I coughed. My voice was deeper, vibrating in my own chest. "What did you do to me?"

Kael didn't answer right away. He just tucked a wet strand of hair behind my ear.

"I saved you," he said.

But as my vision shifted and the world turned into a sharp, hunting-ground of colors and smells, I didn't feel saved. I felt like I was disappearing.

"You're one of us now, Rhea," Kai said, his voice dropping to a low, predatory purr.

I looked up at the moon through the clouds. It looked bigger. Closer. It felt like it was calling my name. My teeth ached. My skin felt too tight for my body.

I looked back at Kael, my breath hitching. Everything was going dark, but I could see him perfectly.

"What am I?" I whispered, but I already knew the answer. The growl in my chest was getting louder.