Chapter 7
826 Words
I didn’t realize how exhausted I was until I lay down.
The room was quiet in a way that felt safe rather than threatening. The lights had dimmed automatically, and the curtains were drawn across the windows. For the first time since the restaurant, I was alone without feeling exposed.
I told myself I would only rest for a moment.
I didn’t remember falling asleep.
In the dream, I was standing in darkness.
Not the building.
Not the restaurant.
Something deeper.
The air felt thick — almost warm — and I could hear distant voices whispering, though I couldn’t understand the words.
Then I felt it.
A pull.
Not physical.
Internal.
Like something inside me was responding to something outside of me.
A faint glow appeared beneath my skin — just below my collarbone.
It wasn’t painful.
It was warm.
Pulsing.
The rhythm matched my heartbeat.
Slow at first.
Then stronger.
Images flickered through my mind:
Gold light.
Red shadows.
A contract being signed.
Bryant’s face — not afraid… but calculating.
And then Lina’s eyes.
Watching.
Waiting.
The glow beneath my skin intensified.
The whispers grew louder — not threatening, but reverent.
Like something was being recognized.
The warmth spread slightly.
Not across my body.
Just outward from the center point.
And then a voice — clearer than the rest — spoke inside the dream:
Marked.
The word echoed.
Then everything went dark.
I gasped awake.
My heart was racing.
For a moment, I thought I was still dreaming.
But the room was real.
Quiet.
Dim.
My hand moved instinctively to my collarbone.
And that was when I felt it.
A steady pulse beneath my skin.
Not my heartbeat.
Something separate.
I froze.
Slowly, carefully, I sat up and looked down.
There was a faint mark visible just above my heart — subtle, but undeniable.
It wasn’t glowing anymore.
But it felt warm.
Alive.
The pulsing matched the rhythm I’d felt in the dream.
My breath became uneven.
“What is this…” I whispered.
The door opened before I could move.
Lina stepped inside immediately.
She hadn’t knocked.
Her eyes went straight to me.
Then to my collarbone.
Her expression didn’t change — but something in her posture did.
Sharper focus.
Silas appeared behind her in the hallway, but he did not enter.
Lina closed the door behind her.
“You felt it,” she said quietly.
It wasn’t a question.
My throat felt dry.
“Yes.”
She moved closer — but this time, not with observation.
With certainty.
Without asking permission, she gently lifted my chin so she could see the mark clearly.
Her fingers were cool.
Not unpleasant.
Just different.
Her dark eyes studied the faint imprint on my skin.
Then she exhaled slowly.
“So it is active,” she murmured.
My heart pounded harder.
“What is?” I asked.
She lowered her hand but did not step away.
“You carry a rich blood signature,” she said calmly.
The words didn’t make sense immediately.
“A what?”
Her gaze returned to mine.
“Some humans are… unusually valuable to our kind.”
The way she said it was careful.
Not hungry.
Not predatory.
Measured.
“Your husband knew,” she continued.
My stomach dropped.
“That’s impossible.”
“It is not.”
Her voice remained steady.
“He used your genetic value as leverage. It allowed him to escape a situation that would have otherwise cost him greatly.”
The realization settled slowly.
Bryant hadn’t just betrayed me.
He had traded me.
My breathing grew uneven.
“And you?” I asked.
Lina’s eyes softened slightly — just enough to notice.
“I was informed of your existence weeks ago,” she admitted.
My pulse spiked.
“And you waited?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Her gaze locked onto mine.
“Because I wanted to confirm the mark myself.”
The room felt smaller.
“This mark,” she said quietly, “means you are rare.”
My hands trembled slightly.
“So I’m just… food?”
Her expression shifted instantly.
No.
Not offense.
Correction.
“No,” she said firmly.
“Rich blood does not mean prey. It means power.”
That word changed the air.
Power.
She stepped back just slightly — giving me space.
The pulsing under my skin continued — steady, rhythmic.
“What does it mean for you?” I asked softly.
Something almost personal entered her voice.
“It means,” Lina Zhang said carefully,“you are worth protecting.”
Silence filled the room.
Not tense.
Different.
The mark pulsed again.
And this time, I realized something terrifying.
It responded to her proximity.
Not violently.
Not dramatically.
But in sync.
Lina noticed too.
Her eyes narrowed slightly — not in suspicion.
In calculation.
Then, very quietly, she said:
“Interesting.”
I wasn’t sure whether my value was my salvation.
Or the reason I could never leave.
- Writer
