Silver Shackles Under the Moonlight

Chapter 4: Shadows of the Hunter and Silent Hill

At dusk, the steel jungle of New-Lun City was stained a morbid, rusty hue by the dying sun. The offices of the Valkyrie Building were nearly deserted. Astrid stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, staring down at an eyesore of a figure lingering below.

Julian was stationed at the main entrance, clutching a bouquet of vibrant red roses. The man hailed from a decayed werewolf branch that survived solely on ceremonial posts within the City Council. His father—the largest heavy-industry proxy in New-Lun City—had always vehemently opposed their inter-species romance, setting his sights instead on the political power wielded by the pureblood vampire princess, Isabella. Julian, a greedy opportunist, clearly preferred trading his flesh for a leap in social hierarchy.

Astrid put on her headphones and walked toward the elevator bank. Julian’s call arrived on schedule. She swiped through design drafts on her tablet with a cold expression, a smirk of derision touching her lips.

"Of course, darling," she cooed, pitching her voice into a sickeningly sweet, syrupy register. "Go to the theater first. I’ll be there as soon as I finish this trivial paperwork. I’ll be on time, wait for me."

She was so engrossed in her performance that she failed to notice the elevator doors sliding open silently behind her. Sebastian was using his body to hold the sensor, while Killian stood directly behind him.

"Yeah... you know how it is. My boss is a cold-blooded vampire bat, desperate to suck every last drop of blood out of us..."

Astrid was in mid-sentence when she instinctively turned around, slamming right into Killian’s face—dark and brooding, like a gathering storm. To the side, Sebastian offered a sympathetic "good luck" look.

She snapped the call shut instantly.

"Mr. Valerius..."

"Mhm."

For a fraction of a second, a faint, almost illusory curve appeared at the corner of Killian’s mouth.

"Get in," Sebastian urged, blinking frantically.

Astrid squeezed out a stiff smile and shuffled into a corner of the elevator. In the enclosed space, the congealed awkwardness was nearly suffocating.

"Going on a date?" Killian asked suddenly, his voice causing a faint vibration in the small car.

"No, sir. I’m merely planning to escort a so-called 'old friend' to the crematorium of hell," Astrid blurted out.

"Do you require me to provide transportation?" Killian seemed genuinely intrigued by her explosive response.

"Not for the moment."

Ding—

The elevator stopped at the 18th floor, and a boisterous crowd from the PR department surged in. Astrid was forced into the corner with Killian.

"Lord Valerius!" The staff offered perfunctory greetings before shamelessly returning to their gossip.

As the car grew more crowded, Astrid felt a powerful arm wrap around her waist. His searing body heat burned through her thin shirt instantly, and the force pulled her flush against Killian. Her cheek brushed against his expensive black blazer, leaving a faint, pale smudge of powder on the cool fabric.

Killian released her quickly, as if the intimacy had been solely to prevent her from being jostled. But Astrid felt her blood boiling, triggered by the raw Alpha werewolf pheromones radiating from him.

When they reached the lobby, the crowd surged out like a broken dam, but fragments of their conversation drifted back:

"Did you see the mark on the Lord’s neck? Those scratches..." "I heard someone saw him having breakfast with a woman this morning. My God, the 'Ascetic Tyrant' has finally been marked by a wildcat!"

Astrid moved to follow the crowd, but seeing Julian still lurking at the door, she recoiled into the corner like she’d been electrocuted.

Killian glanced at her sideways, his expression inscrutable.

"Not getting off?" Sebastian teased.

"I... I left something in my office. You two go ahead." Astrid faked a clumsy excuse.

The feeling of being on a witness stand finally vanished as the elevator descended to the basement level.

10:30 PM.

Astrid shut down her design software and stretched. To avoid Julian, she had stayed at her desk for an extra four hours.

She walked to the elevators, only to find the indicator lights dead. Checking her phone, she saw a channel notification: System maintenance. All elevators shut down, rebooting in eight hours.

"Dammit, 28 floors..."

She snapped a photo of the pitch-black elevator and posted it to her feed: [Trapped on a desert island. Someone save my legs.] The attached photo showed her hand trembling slightly from sheer frustration.

Then, with the resolve of a martyr, she pushed open the heavy fire exit door.

Two steps in, her ringtone shrieked through the silent stairwell. She let out a startled cry, and the phone slipped from her hand, plummeting through the gap between the stairs.

The ringing stopped abruptly, and darkness swallowed her whole.

"You've got to be kidding me..." She groped around and retrieved the device; the screen was shattered, unresponsive.

Just as she was sinking into despair, the motion-sensor lights above began to flicker on, one by one. The crisp, powerful rhythm of leather soles striking concrete echoed down from the darkness above.

"Who’s there?" Astrid shrunk against the wall, cold sweat beading on her forehead.

A tall silhouette appeared at the turn of the stairs. With the light behind him, his perfect outline cast a massive, beast-like shadow against the wall.

"Me. The 'cold-blooded vampire bat boss'."

Killian’s voice carried a playful magnetism in the hollow stairwell.

"Mr. Valerius? Why are you..."

"Vampires usually hunt in the dead of night, isn't that what you said?" Killian descended the steps, his amber pupils gleaming with predatory light in the half-shadows.

The man was irredeemably vengeful.

"Come up," he commanded.

"I want to go home." Astrid felt the Alpha before her was far more dangerous than the darkness.

Killian let out a sigh so faint it was almost a hum, laced with a strange, reluctant indulgence.

"The ground-floor pressure doors are locked; they won't open without my thumbprint. The elevator maintenance will take another hour. If you don't wish to feed the mosquitoes in this stairwell, come up for a coffee."

He didn't wait for her answer, turning back up the stairs.

Astrid looked down at the bottomless, pitch-black labyrinth below, then gritted her teeth and followed the scent of cold cedar up toward the forbidden "Silent Hill" on the top floor.