Chapter 3
1502 Words
Twilight barely slept.
Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the black-eyed messenger standing in Slade’s hall, smiling like he already owned her fate. Every time she shifted in the unfamiliar bed, she felt the echo of her mark pulse beneath her collarbone, reminding her she had made a mistake coming with him.
But what choice did she have?
She pulled her knees to her chest and stared out the tall window. Dawn was breaking across the Blackthorn estate — soft gold light over dark stone. The mansion felt alive, breathing beneath her feet, watching her from the shadows.
Still, she wasn’t scared of the house.
She was scared of the truth she didn’t know.
A soft knock came at her door.
Twilight tensed. “Who is it?”
A gentle voice answered, shaky but warm.
“It’s… um… it’s Lila. Slade’s sister.”
Twilight blinked.
She hurried to open the door, unsure what to expect.
A girl about seventeen stood there, small and fragile-looking, wrapped in a long cardigan like she was always cold. Her brown eyes were wary but kind, and her smile trembled with nervous politeness.
“You’re Twilight, right?” Lila asked softly.
Twilight nodded. “Yes. You must be Lila.”
The girl exhaled, relieved. “Good. I wanted to see you before my brother chased everyone away again.”
Twilight frowned slightly. “He chases people away?”
Lila stepped inside, closing the door behind her. “Always. He thinks danger is hiding behind every corner.”
Twilight swallowed. “Maybe he’s right.”
Lila’s eyes softened. She reached for Twilight’s hands with gentle fingers.
“He brought you here. That means he trusts you more than most.”
Twilight hesitated. She wasn’t sure about that. Slade didn’t trust easily — he barely trusted himself. But Lila seemed to believe every word she said.
The girl stepped back to study Twilight more closely.
“Can I… ask you something?”
Twilight nodded once.
“Why did Slade buy you?”
Twilight froze.
Lila immediately flinched. “I’m sorry — that was rude. I just — he never does that. Ever. He hates these auctions. He refuses them. He avoids them. And last night, he came home with you.”
Twilight’s throat tightened. She looked away, unable to explain what she wasn’t sure she understood herself.
Lila moved closer, lowering her voice like she was sharing a secret.
“I’m glad he did.”
Twilight blinked. “Why?”
“Because… he hasn’t looked at anyone the way he looked at you.”
Twilight felt heat crawl under her skin. “He doesn’t look at me like anything.”
Lila’s smile lifted gently. “He does. You just don’t see it.”
Twilight didn’t know what to say.
Lila walked to the window, letting the morning light illuminate her small form. “You should eat. Slade won’t let anyone start the day unless he knows I’m fine.”
Something about the way she said it tugged at Twilight’s heart.
Lila was protected… but lonely.
Twilight followed her out of the room and down a long corridor lined with dark portraits. The mansion felt colder today, heavier. Like the walls were listening.
They reached the top of the staircase when—
Clang.
The sound of the front gate slamming open echoed through the estate.
Twilight froze.
Lila’s eyes widened, fear slashing across her face.
“That’s… that’s not supposed to happen.”
Twilight instinctively grabbed her arm. “What is it?”
Before Lila could answer, heavy footsteps entered the foyer. A guard sprinted up the stairs, breathless.
“Miss Lila — back to your room. Now.”
Twilight’s stomach twisted. “What’s happening?”
The guard looked between the two girls, hesitating to answer.
“The Duvalls sent another message.”
Lila paled instantly.
Twilight’s mark pulsed hard under her skin.
Slade’s voice erupted through the hall.
“Where is she?”
Twilight stiffened.
Slade appeared at the bottom of the staircase like a storm given flesh — broad shoulders tense, eyes dark with fury he wasn’t hiding.
He spotted Twilight beside Lila.
His entire expression sharpened.
Lila whispered, “Slade…”
“Inside,” he commanded, pointing toward the nearest door.
Twilight stepped in front of Lila without thinking.
“She’s scared.”
Slade’s gaze snapped to her.
Slow. Piercing. Hot enough to unravel her breath.
“Twilight,” he said quietly, dangerously, “you do NOT get between me and my sister.”
Twilight’s heart hammered. “She’s safer if she stays beside me.”
Slade inhaled sharply — not in anger, but in surprise.
Lila tugged Twilight’s sleeve. “It’s okay. He’s not angry. He’s… protective.”
Slade’s jaw clenched, but he didn’t deny it.
Lila retreated into a nearby room under a guard’s supervision, giving Twilight one last worried look.
Now it was just her.
And Slade.
And the message in his hand.
The room felt too small suddenly.
Twilight swallowed. “What did they send?”
Slade held up a thin black envelope sealed with blood-red wax.
“It arrived at dawn.”
Twilight took a slow step closer. “What does it say?”
Slade studied her — the faint glow beneath her collarbone, the way she was instinctively bracing herself, the fear in her eyes hiding behind stubborn bravery.
He didn’t want to show her.
But he also didn’t want to lie again.
He handed her the envelope.
Her hands trembled slightly as she broke the seal and opened the letter.
Only one sentence was written inside.
“Give us the girl before the next moon… or we take her from your corpse.”
Twilight’s blood froze.
Slade watched her carefully.
“When did you first notice your mark?”
Twilight’s voice was barely audible. “A few months ago.”
“And it glows only when—?”
“When I’m in danger,” she whispered. “Or when… something is looking for me.”
Slade stepped closer.
One step.
Then another.
Until she could feel his heat, his presence, the raw dominance of an alpha who would destroy a world for the people he claimed.
“Twilight,” he said, voice low, “they didn’t just send this message to threaten me.”
Her breath shook. “Then why?”
He lifted her chin gently — not forceful, but unavoidable.
“Because they can’t find you.”
She stared up at him, confused. “What do you mean?”
“Your mark should pulse like a beacon to them.” Slade’s voice deepened. “But it doesn’t.”
Her heart stumbled. “So… they don’t know where I am?”
Slade shook his head. “They know you exist. They can sense you now. But not your exact location.”
Twilight felt dizzy. “Why not?”
Slade leaned in slightly — close enough that she felt his breath ghost against her ear.
“Because you’re with me.”
The confession trembled through her.
Her body reacted before her mind processed it.
Her mark glowed faintly beneath her skin.
Slade saw the light.
His eyes darkened, almost unbearably intense.
“Twilight…” His voice dropped to a rough whisper. “That mark reacts when the bond is close.”
Her breath hitched. “Bond?”
He swallowed hard.
“The Duvalls want that mark for a reason. They want its power. Its prophecy.”
Twilight shook her head. “I don’t understand.”
Slade took her hand.
Not gently.
Not roughly.
Just firmly, as if grounding her.
“The mark belongs to only one bloodline,” he said. “The Aetherian line.”
Twilight frowned. “But that’s a myth.”
“No.” Slade’s eyes softened for the first time since she’d met him.
“It’s a curse. One that binds destiny to blood.”
Twilight’s heartbeat thundered.
Her mark glowed brighter.
Slade stared at her like he was seeing something ancient, something forbidden, something meant only for him.
“The reason they can’t find you…” he whispered.
Twilight stopped breathing.
Slade finished quietly, “is because your mark is reacting to me.”
Silence.
Thick. Heavy. Unbreakable.
Twilight stepped back like she’d been burned.
“No,” she breathed. “That can’t be possible. I don’t even know you.”
Slade didn’t move toward her.
Didn’t touch her again.
He just looked at her with a truth that scared them both.
“Your mark glows around me,” he said softly. “It reacts when I’m near. That only happens when the Aetherian chooses an anchor.”
Twilight shook her head violently. “Stop. Please. I’m not— I don’t—”
Slade’s voice dropped to a whisper.
“Twilight… I think you’re bound to me.”
Her world cracked.
And the last thing she saw before darkness pulled at her vision was Slade reaching out — not in anger.
In fear.
Fear of losing her before he even understood what she was.
- Writer
