đ Chapter 1: The Night I Saved the Devil
I was late.
Again.
The streetlights flickered above me as I hurried down the nearly empty road, my bag bouncing against my shoulder. My lecturerâs voice still echoed in my head, reminding me of the assignment due tomorrow morning.
Just perfect.
If my grades dropped again, I was done for.
âFocus, Liana,â I muttered under my breath, tightening my grip on my bag. âJust get home.â
The night was too quiet.
The kind of quiet that made your skin crawl.
I had taken this shortcut a hundred times beforeâthrough the narrow alley behind the old buildingsâbut tonight felt⌠different.
Wrong.
Then I saw it.
A dark stain on the ground.
At first, I thought it was water.
Until I stepped closer.
My breath caught.
Blood.
Fresh.
Thick.
And leading deeper into the alley.
âNoâŚâ I whispered, already shaking my head. âNo, no, no. Not my problem.â
I turned to leave.
I really did.
But thenâ
A low groan cut through the silence.
I froze.
Every instinct screamed at me to run, to pretend I heard nothing. I was just a student trying to survive exams, not⌠whatever this was.
But my feet wouldnât move.
Slowly, like I was being pulled by something I didnât understand, I followed the trail.
And thatâs when I saw him.
A man slumped against the wall, his white shirt soaked in blood, his head tilted slightly to the side.
For a second, I couldnât breathe.
He didnât belong here.
Even like thisâinjured, barely consciousâthere was something about him that felt⌠powerful.
Dangerous.
Like the kind of man people warned you about.
âHeyâŚâ My voice came out small, unsure.
No response.
I stepped closer, my heart racing.
âCan you hear me?â
His eyes snapped open.
I gasped.
Dark. Sharp. Alive.
Too alive.
His gaze locked onto mine, cold and calculating, like he was already deciding something about me.
âDonâtâŚâ His voice was rough, strained. âCome closer.â
I should have listened.
Instead, I crouched beside him.
âYouâre bleeding,â I said, my hands trembling slightly. âYou need help.â
A faint smirk touched his lips, like he found that amusing.
âHelp?â he repeated quietly. âYou should run.â
âIâm not leaving you here,â I said, surprising even myself.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
âStupid girl,â he muttered. âYou donât know who youâre dealing with.â
He was right.
I didnât.
But I couldnât just walk away.
âCan you stand?â I asked, ignoring the fear creeping into my chest.
For a moment, he just stared at me.
Then he asked, âWhy?â
The question caught me off guard.
âWhy help me?â
I hesitated.
âI donât know⌠I just canât leave you to die.â
Something flickered in his eyesâgone before I could understand it.
âFine,â he said after a pause. âBut whatever happens next⌠thatâs on you.â
A chill ran down my spine.
Still, I slipped my arm around him, helping him up. He was heavy, his weight pressing against me as he struggled to stand.
âWhere do you live?â he asked quietly.
âNot far,â I replied. âIâm a studentâI stay off campus.â
Bad idea.
Terrible idea.
But it was already too late.
Step by step, I helped him out of the alley, my heart pounding louder with each second.
I didnât know his name.
I didnât know who he was.
I didnât know why he was covered in blood.
All I knew was that I had just brought a stranger into my life.
And somehowâŚ
Deep downâŚ
I had a feeling he wasnât just any man.
He was something worse.
Something dangerous.
Something I should have feared.
But insteadâ
I saved him.