Chapter Ten
1106 Words
**Kieran's POV**
"Damn it!” Blood dripped from my hand, the glass had cut deep, but that wasn't what hurt me.
What hurts me was seeing Claire laugh with him, seeing her smile for another man. I pushed through the crowd. People just stared at me. Let them stare, I don't care about it.
I made it to my office, slammed the door behind me.
My hands shook as I cleaned the cuts, the glass fell into the sink. Each piece reminded me of her laugh.
She wasn't supposed to matter. No one was supposed to matter.
I opened my locked drawer. Research files scattered across my desk. Photos of claw marks. Witness reports. Medical files of attack survivors.
The black demon wolves. I'd been hunting them for months.
I spread out the attack reports. Started matching them with dates. My stomach dropped.
The attacks got worse three weeks ago. The exact day Claire woke up from her coma.
Every attack happened closer to Maplewood. Closer to the hospital. Closer to her.
That wasn't random.
I turned on my computer. Pulled up hospital security footage. Started with Claire's night shifts.
Hours of empty hallways. Dark parking lots. Nothing unusual.
Then I saw it. A shadow moved past camera six. Too big for a person. Too fast for anything normal.
Another clip showed a dark shape by the staff door. Right when Claire's shift ended.
My blood went cold. These things were hunting her.
I grabbed my medical bag. If they wanted Claire, they'd have to go through me first.
The hospital felt wrong at night. Darker. More dangerous. Something wild lingered in the air.
I set my first trap by the emergency exit. A dart gun with enough sedative to drop a bear. Motion activated.
The second trap went near staff parking. Where Claire parked every day.
I'd made these darts myself. Regular sedative mixed with silver nitrate. If these creatures were what I thought, the silver would burn them alive.
Back in my office, I watched the camera feeds. Claire moved through the halls. She looked tired. But she was alive.
That's what mattered.
My phone buzzed. A text from Marissa. "Are you okay? That looked bad."
I deleted it.
Another text. "Want to talk about tonight?"
Delete.
I didn't want to talk to Marissa. She saw everything as a chance to get closer to me.
But Claire was different. She didn't push. Didn't demand my attention. She just existed and made everything better.
Which made her dangerous. To both of us.
The security system beeped. Motion in sector four. I switched cameras. Saw nothing but shadows and concrete.
But I could smell it through the vents. Wet fur. Old blood. Something that was never human.
I grabbed my dart gun. Headed for the parking garage.
The elevator took forever. My heart pounded. Not from fear. From excitement. I'd been hunting these things for months.
The garage doors opened. Emergency lights cast weird shadows between cars. The smell was stronger here. Fresh.
I moved carefully. Finger on the trigger. Ready.
Claire's car sat in her usual spot. A small blue Honda. Nothing fancy. Just reliable.
That's when I saw them.
Claw marks. Four deep gouges in her driver's door. Still fresh. The metal was torn like paper.
My blood turned to ice.
These things hadn't just watched Claire. They'd touched her car. Left their mark.
A warning. Or a threat.
I checked around her parking space. More scratches on the concrete pillar. Marks that looked like giant paws.
They'd been here tonight. While Claire worked inside. While I was being jealous about Simon.
I should have been protecting her.
My phone buzzed. Claire's text. "The long shift is finally over. Heading to my car now."
She was coming down here. To a car marked by monsters.
I typed back fast. "Wait. Don't go to your car."
Her response came quickly. "Why? What's wrong?"
The elevator dinged. Footsteps echoed across concrete. Claire appeared around the corner. Still in her scrubs. She looked exhausted.
"Kieran? What are you doing here?"
I stepped between her and the car. Tried to block her view.
"Someone vandalized your car."
She pushed past me. Saw the claw marks. Her face went white.
"Oh God. What did this do?"
I watched her reaction. The way her nose twitched. How her body went alert. Like she was smelling something.
"Probably kids with tools." The lie tasted bad.
Claire wasn't buying it. She ran her fingers along the marks. Her touch looked too familiar. Too knowing.
"These aren't from tools."
"How do you know?"
She looked at me with those green eyes. For a second, something wild flashed behind them. Something that I knew about predators.
"I just know."
The moment stretched between us, it was a heavy one which was filled with the secrets I had been keeping away from her. I never had an imagination. She knew more than she was saying.
"I'll drive you home." I said to her but she declined but I insisted.
"You don't have to." She responded.
"I do. Whoever did this might come back."
Claire wanted to argue. But something in my voice stopped her. She nodded and followed me.
The drive was quiet, we just let the silence take over but she gave directions softly on the roots I should take. I noticed something which doesn't seem normal, she kept checking the mirrors. Like she expected something to follow us or was scared. Whatever it was I don't know but consistently she kept checking. I couldn't bring myself to ask her what that was.
"Thank you," she said at her building. "For everything tonight."
"Claire."
She paused at the car door.
"Be careful. Lock your doors. Don't go anywhere alone."
"Why? Will they come back?"
I met her eyes. I saw fear there. But also recognition. Like she understood more than she should.
"I think you're in more danger than you know."
She stared at me. Like she was trying to read my mind.
"What aren't you telling me?"
Everything. About the creatures hunting her. About my research. About how every part of me screamed to protect her.
"Just be careful."
She got out but leaned down to the window.
"Kieran? What's really happening?"
I could tell her the truth. About the monsters. About my hunt. About the traps around the hospital.
Or I could keep lying. Keep her safe while I handle this alone.
But looking at her face, at those smart green eyes, I realized something.
Claire already knew these weren't normal vandals.
What else did she know that she wasn't telling me?
- Writer
