chapter 5
564 Words
~ KAIA ~
His smirk falters just slightly.
Then he stills completely.
His nose twitches once… twice… and his grip on my wrist loosens like I just turned into something too hot to hold.
“What did you say?” His voice lowers, almost guttural.
“I said I’m your neighbor,” I snap, yanking my arm back. “The one with a sick six-year-old who was finally sleeping until you decided to DJ hell’s playlist next door!”
His gaze darts toward the half crowded dim hallway, then back to me—only this time, his pupils are dilated. His chest rises and falls like he’s trying to catch a scent in the air.
He inhales sharply.
Then takes a slow step back.
“You’re… hu… man,” he mutters.
I blink. “What the hell is that supposed to mean? Am I supposed to be an object?”
But he doesn’t answer.
He just stares.
No. He studies me.
Like I’m a puzzle piece that doesn’t fit.
Then… he growls.
A low, feral sound that doesn’t come from his throat. It rumbles out of him, like it came from somewhere deeper and his jaw ticks like something finally clicks.
“s**t,” he mutters. “What are you doing here?”
Weirdo.
The music stops.
The silence hits like a slap at first, followed by low murmurs.
I’m still frozen near the wall when the front door bursts open behind me. My eyes dart behind me just to see a second man step in.
Taller. Broader. Darker. Not just in coloring—but in aura. He radiates power. Danger. And something else I can’t name.
The air shifts.
My breath catches in my throat.
His voice is sharp and deadly.
“What the hell are you doing, Maddox?”
The guy who dragged me in—Maddox—whirls around, breathing hard.
“I didn’t know,” Maddox says. “She came to the door. I thought she was the girl I ordered, but then she said… I—”
The second guy growls, staring through me. “You touched her?”
“I didn't. She—”
“You shouldn’t have laid a hand on her at all. Don’t you smell it?”
They both freeze.
Then... their eyes snap to me.
Maddox inhales again.
The second guy’s nostrils flare.
“She smells like mine.”
“She's my mate.”
They say at the same time.
And I stare dumbly, my eyes darting between the both of them like they've grown two heads.
Mate?
Mate?!
Are they drunk?
Nope. Nope. NOPE.
I don't know what kind of culty-ass s*x club this is, but I’m not sticking around for the afterparty.
I spin on my heel and bolt out the door, hoodie flying, heart racing.
“Maddox—wait—! No! Don’t chase her!”
Their voices slam behind me like hounds let off the leash.
But I’m already halfway down the porch steps, lungs burning, bare feet slapping wet pavement as I tear across the tiny front lawn and barrel into my apartment.
I lock the door. Deadbolt. Key. Chair under the handle.
Then I collapse, shaking, heart pounding like it’s trying to escape.
Mate?
They said mate?
And what the hell was with their eyes? That… growl?
What kind of psychotic Twilight fanfiction did I just walk into?
- Writer
