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715 Words
Eli had the feeling again.
That strange… quiet presence.
It followed him all the way home.
Not close enough to see.
But close enough to feel.
He tried to ignore it.
Tried to convince himself it was just his imagination after what happened earlier.
But as he turned into a narrow street, dimly lit and unusually empty…
That feeling sharpened.
His steps slowed.
“…Okay, this is getting creepy,” he muttered, glancing over his shoulder.
Nothing.
Just silence.
A deep, unsettling silence.
He exhaled, forcing himself to keep walking.
Almost there.
Just a few more steps and...
“Hey.”
Eli froze.
The voice didn’t come from behind him.
It came from the front.
Three figures stepped out from the shadows.
Blocking his path.
His heart skipped.
“I... I don’t have anything valuable,” Eli said quickly, stepping back.
One of them laughed.
“Relax. We’re not here for money.”
Something in the way he said it made Eli’s stomach drop.
Then,
Pain.
A sudden, sharp sting shot through his chest, forcing a gasp out of him.
His knees almost gave out.
“What...”
“You feel it, don’t you?” another one said, stepping closer. “That little bond.”
Eli’s eyes widened.
Bond?
What were they talking about?
“We were wondering when you’d show up,” the first one continued, tilting his head. “Made things easier for us.”
Fear crawled up Eli’s spine.
Instinct screamed at him to run,
But his body wouldn’t move.
“Stay away from me,” he said, his voice shaking.
They didn’t listen.
One of them reached out...
And that’s when it happened.
A blur.
Fast.
Inhuman.
A force slammed into the man, sending him crashing hard against the wall.
The other two barely had time to react before a dark figure stepped between them and Eli.
Tall.
Still.
Terrifying.
Golden eyes glowing faintly in the dark.
Kael.
His presence alone changed the air.
Heavy.
Dangerous.
Dominant.
“Don’t touch him.”
His voice was low.
Deadly.
Not loud,
But enough to make the ground feel like it trembled beneath it.
The men stiffened.
“…So the mutt finally shows himself,” one of them sneered, though there was hesitation now.
Kael didn’t respond.
Didn’t move.
But the air around him shifted like a storm about to break.
“You shouldn’t have come here,” the man added. “This world isn’t yours anymore.”
Kael’s gaze darkened.
“Neither is yours.”
And then,
Chaos.
He moved faster than Eli could see.
One second he was standing still,
The next, one of them was already on the ground.
A sharp cry.
A heavy impact.
The last one tried to attack,
But Kael caught him mid-motion, his grip crushing.
“You touched what belongs to me,” Kael said quietly.
The words sent a strange shiver through Eli.
Not fear.
Something else.
Something deeper.
Something that made his chest ache.
Then Kael threw him aside like he weighed nothing.
Silence fell again.
The danger was gone.
Just like that.
Kael stood there for a moment, his back facing Eli, his breathing steady but controlled.
Then slowly,
He turned.
Their eyes met.
And for a second…
Everything else disappeared.
“You’re hurt,” Kael said, stepping closer.
Eli didn’t move.
Didn’t run.
Didn’t understand why he wasn’t scared.
“I…” his voice faltered. “Why do I feel like… I know you?”
Kael froze.
Hope...
Sharp and painful, flashed through his eyes.
But he hid it quickly.
“…You don’t,” he said softly.
A lie.
A necessary one.
Eli frowned.
“But when you got hurt just now… I felt it,” he whispered.
That made Kael pause.
So the bond…
It was reacting.
Stronger than before.
Dangerous.
“Go home,” Kael said after a moment, his voice gentler now. “Lock your doors.”
Eli stepped forward instead.
“Wait...”
But Kael was already gone.
Like he had never been there at all.
Eli stood alone in the quiet street, his heart racing.
His chest still warm.
Still aching.
“…Who are you?” he whispered again.
But this time,
The question felt different.
Because deep down…
A part of him was already starting to know.
- Writer
