CHAPTER EIGHT — The Monster’s Attention
1136 Words
(Seraphina’s POV)
I should have been afraid.
That thought followed me throughout the night like a whisper I couldn’t silence.
I was trapped inside the home of a monster.
A creature powerful enough to terrify priests, silence churches, and make entire groups of women disappear without consequence.
And yet…
Fear wasn’t the emotion clawing at me.
It was curiosity.
Dangerous, reckless curiosity.
Because monsters weren’t supposed to look like Lord Michael.
They weren’t supposed to move with elegance.
Or speak softly.
Or look at you like they already knew exactly what lived inside your soul.
But he did.
And somehow…
That made him even more terrifying.
I barely slept.
Every creak in the mansion kept my senses alert.
Every distant footstep reminded me I wasn’t safe here.
By morning, pale silver light filtered through the curtains, casting shadows across the dark room.
I stood near the window, staring out at the endless forest surrounding the estate.
No nearby roads.
No visible guards.
No obvious escape.
Not that I planned to run.
A soft knock sounded at the door.
“Come in.”
A young woman entered carrying a tray of food.
Human.
Definitely human.
But unlike the terrified girls at the convent, she looked… calm.
Too calm.
She placed the tray carefully on the table.
“Lord Michael requested that you eat.”
Requested.
Interesting choice of word.
“And if I refuse?”
The woman hesitated briefly.
“He doesn’t enjoy being ignored.”
A faint smile touched my lips.
“I gathered that already.”
She lowered her gaze quickly.
Almost nervously.
“Be careful,” she whispered suddenly.
Before I could respond, she hurried from the room.
The door closed softly behind her.
I stared after her for a long moment.
Everyone here warned me.
But none of them explained why.
A few hours later, another knock came.
Different this time.
More confident.
The door opened before I answered.
And there he was.
Lord Michael
He entered like the room already belonged to him.
Which, technically…
It did.
Today he wore simple, elegant, deadly black wear again, his gaze moved over me slowly and carefully.
“You didn’t eat much.”
“I wasn’t aware you monitored my appetite.”
A faint smirk curved his lips.
“I monitor everything in my house.”
Of course he did.
Control.
That’s what this place was built on.
He walked toward the window, stopping beside me.
“You’re adjusting well,” he observed.
“I’ve had worse accommodations.” His eyes flickered with amusement.
“I doubt that.”
Silence settled briefly between us, not comfortable, not awkward, but measured.
Like both of us were testing invisible boundaries.
“You’re different from the others,” he said finally.
“You keep saying that.”
“Because it interests me.”
There it was again, that word interest.
Predators always become dangerous when they are interested.
I turned slightly toward him.
“And what exactly are you interested in?”
His gaze held mine.
Steady.
Unnervingly calm.
“You look at me like you already know what I am,” he said softly.
Because I did.
A monster.
But I smiled lightly instead.
“And what are you?”
The room grew quieter somehow.
Then—
He stepped closer.
Close enough for me to feel the unnatural coolness radiating from his body.
“You ask dangerous questions,” he murmured.
“I never liked safe ones.”
His eyes darkened slightly at that.
For one brief moment…
Something shifted between us, tension, sharp and electric.
Not attraction exactly.
Not yet.
But awareness.
Like standing too close to the edge of something fatal.
“And what if the answers destroy you?” he asked quietly.
I held his gaze.
“Then at least I’ll die knowing the truth.”
Silence.
Then unexpectedly—
He smiled, not mocking, not cruel but almost impressed.
“You remind me of someone.”
“Elara?”
The name slipped out before I could stop it. The atmosphere changed instantly.
Subtly.
But enough.
His expression stilled.
Interesting.
So he did remember her.
“She was brave too,” he said quietly. Rage burned beneath my skin.
Brave enough to die because of you, but I forced my expression to remain calm.
“What happened to her?”
His gaze sharpened slightly.
“You ask many questions about dead girls.”
“Maybe I care what happens to them.”
A long silence followed.
Then—
“She saw things she shouldn’t have,” he said at last.
Cold anger twisted inside me.
And what did you do about it?
Before I could speak again—
A presence shifted near the doorway.
I looked up and saw him.
Lucien Draven
Standing silently against the frame.
Watching us or more specifically…Watching Michael watch me.
Something unreadable flickered in Lucien’s expression.
Disapproval?
Suspicion?
Annoyance?
Interesting.
Michael noticed him too.
“You’re late,” Michael said calmly.
“I was busy.”
Lucien’s eyes moved to me briefly.
Then back to Michael.The tension between them was subtle but unmistakable.
Not fear.
Not obedience.
Something more complicated.
History.
Michael sighed softly.
“You disapprove already?”
Lucien’s voice remained cold.
“She’s human.”
“And?”
A pause.
Then Lucien looked directly at me, his gaze was sharp enough to cut.
“That’s usually how this ends badly.”
Something about the way he said it made my pulse shift unexpectedly.
Not because of fear.
Because beneath his coldness…
There was a warning there.
Real warning.
Michael chuckled softly.
“You worry too much.”
“No,” Lucien replied quietly.
His eyes stayed on mine.
“You don’t worry enough.”
And with that, he turned and walked away.
Leaving silence behind him.
Michael watched the doorway for a moment before glancing back at me.
“Don’t mind Lucien,” he said smoothly. “He’s protective of things that no longer belong to him.”
Things.
Interesting word choice.
But before I could respond—
Michael stepped closer again, his fingers brushed lightly against a strand of my hair.
Slow.
Deliberate.
My body stiffened instantly, his gaze darkened slightly at the reaction.
“You should be careful, Seraphina,” he murmured softly.
“Why?”
“Because this world…” he said quietly, “changes people.”
I looked directly into his eyes.
“Maybe I’m tired of being the same person.”
Something dangerous flickered across his face, then slowly…He smiled.
And suddenly, I understood something terrifying. He wasn’t just intrigued by me anymore. He was beginning to want me close.
Good, because the closer I got to the monster…
The easier it would be to kill him.
Even if part of me was beginning to understand why people got lost in his darkness.
- Writer
