MY DANGEROUS DARLING

The city glittered like a box of spilled stars beneath Ariana Cole’s balcony. She stood barefoot on the cool marble floor of her penthouse, silk robe loosely tied around her waist, phone pressed to her ear as she stared down at the glowing skyline. At twenty-four, she was the youngest CEO in the state—owner of Cole International, a company powerful enough to make grown men sweat in boardrooms. But tonight, she didn’t feel powerful at all. Tonight, she felt tired. “Tiffany, I already said no,” Ariana said calmly, though her patience was thinning. “The decision is final.” On the other end of the line, her foster sister scoffed. “You’re being unreasonable. Grandma would have wanted—” “Don’t speak for her,” Ariana cut in, her voice sharp now. “Goodnight.” She ended the call before Tiffany could respond and exhaled slowly. Her foster siblings always did this—using Grandma Evelyn’s name like a weapon, trying to guilt her into handing over pieces of a life she had built herself. They hated that Grandma had chosen Ariana. Hated that she had been loved. Ariana tightened her robe and turned away from the balcony. Grandma Evelyn was away for the weekend, visiting an old friend. The house was quiet—too quiet. And for the first time all week, Ariana didn’t want silence. She wanted air. Movement. Something that reminded her she was alive and not just a machine built for success. She grabbed her keys and slipped on a soft cream-colored dress, letting her dark curls fall freely down her back. One glance at the mirror showed a woman composed on the outside, but behind her brown eyes was a loneliness she rarely allowed anyone to see. “I’ll just take a short drive,” she murmured to herself. Minutes later, she booked a ride home from her favorite café downtown. The app pinged almost instantly. Driver arriving in 2 minutes. The evening air was cool and cozy when Ariana stepped outside the café, wrapping her arms around herself. Streetlights hummed softly. Cars passed. Everything felt… normal. Too normal. The black sedan pulled up smoothly in front of her. The driver didn’t say a word, just nodded once. He wore a cap pulled low over his face. Ariana hesitated for half a second. Then she got in. The door shut with a heavy click. As the car pulled away, Ariana buckled her seatbelt and glanced at her phone. The route displayed on the screen twisted left instead of right. Her brows furrowed. “Excuse me,” she said politely. “That’s not the usual way to my place.” The driver didn’t respond. A chill crawled up her spine. “I said—” The car sped up. Her heart slammed against her ribs. Ariana leaned forward. “You’re going the wrong way.” Still nothing. Her fingers trembled as she unlocked her seatbelt. She tried the door handle—it wouldn’t open. Panic surged. “Stop the car,” she demanded, her voice rising. “Stop the damn car!” The driver finally spoke. His voice was low. Wrong. “Sit back.” Fear exploded inside her. Without thinking, Ariana shoved herself forward, grabbed the emergency brake, and yanked with all her strength. The car screeched violently. She threw the door open and stumbled out onto the road, heels scraping the pavement. The car spun to a stop behind her. Ariana ran. “HELP!” she screamed, her voice tearing through the night. “PLEASE—HELP ME!” Her lungs burned. Tears blurred her vision. The city suddenly felt vast and empty. Above her—far above—someone else was watching. Kai Blackthorn stood on the edge of a rooftop, coat fluttering around his legs as the wind whispered against his skin. His eyes glowed faintly crimson in the dark, pupils sharp, senses alert. He hadn’t been hunting tonight. He rarely did anymore. But fear… fear had a scent. His head snapped toward the sound of her scream. Female. Human. Terrified. Below, he saw her—a small figure running for her life, curls flying, heart pounding so loudly he could hear it from five stories above. And behind her— A man stepped out of the car, pulling a knife from his jacket. Kai’s jaw clenched. “So that’s how it is,” he muttered. In a blink, he vanished from the rooftop. Ariana tripped, crashing onto her knees. Pain shot through her palms as she scrambled to stand, but strong hands grabbed her arm and yanked her back. She screamed again— And then suddenly, the weight was gone. The air shifted. Something moved impossibly fast. Ariana looked up just in time to see a tall figure slam into the driver, lifting him off the ground with inhuman strength. Her breath caught. The stranger’s eyes glowed red. The man screamed—but only once. The sound cut off abruptly as his body went limp, collapsing to the ground in a boneless heap. Blood pooled on the asphalt. Ariana stared, frozen, chest heaving. The stranger turned to her. Up close, he was devastating. Tall. Broad shoulders. Dark hair falling into eyes that glimmered like embers. His jaw was sharp, his expression unreadable—but not cruel. He looked at her like she was something fragile. Something important. “Are you hurt?” his voice was low, rough… but gentle. She couldn’t speak. Her gaze dropped to his arm. A black tattoo curled around his wrist—alive, shifting, pulsing faintly as if it had a heartbeat of its own. “What… what are you?” she whispered. For the first time in centuries, Kai hesitated. “I’m not your enemy,” he said softly. Sirens wailed in the distance. Ariana blinked—and when she looked up again, he was gone. The street was empty. The body… gone. As if none of it had happened. She stood there shaking, heart racing, the echo of red eyes burned into her memory. --- Kai didn’t stop moving until he reached another rooftop miles away. His chest rose and fell sharply. He stared down at his arm, at the demon mark glowing faintly under his skin. “She saw,” he muttered. Humans were not supposed to see him like that. And yet… he hadn’t regretted saving her. Not even for a second. Something about her scream had pulled at him in a way nothing ever had. Kai clenched his fist. “Stay away from her,” he warned himself. But somewhere deep inside, the demon part of him smiled. Because fate had already noticed her too. And it never let go.