Chapter 4
1195 Words
**Chapter 4**
For three long days, Celeste kept her impossible healing and the strange text a secret. She told no one— not the doctor and not even Callum.
How could she explain something like that without sounding completely out of her mind?
The constant overthinking during the past few days eventually became too much, she couldn't sit still anymore.
Celeste decided to take her mind off everything. She needed something — anything — to drown out the questions screaming in her head.
So she went to the nightclub.
---
The club pulsed with life, heavy bass thumping against its walls and flashing lights. Bodies moved against each other on the dance floor while the air grew thick with perfume, sweat and alcohol.
The noise was loud enough to drown her thoughts.
Celeste sat at the bar, one leg crossed over the other, barely sipping her tequila.
The bartender flashed her a charming smile. “What's a pretty lady like you doing here alone?"
"Bad decisions,” she replied with a smirk
He laughed, leaning in to flirt. "I like that." Celeste played alone for a while— until she felt it.
The shift in the air.
The pull.
Slowly, she turned her head. Searching, in the shadowed VIP corner, separated from everyone else, he sat watching her.
A glass of whiskey resting in his hands. Their eyes met.
Everything else faded— the music, the crowd, the noise. Only his intense silver stare remained. Celeste breath caught in her throat.
His stare was direct and completely unfazed. Heat bloomed low in her belly, spreading through her veins like fire.
Her fingers tightened around her glass as her pale skin flushed. She couldn't look away. He didn't even try to hide the raw hunger in his eyes.
The bartender was still talking but she hadn't heard a word.
"Hey," he said, snapping his fingers lightly in front of her.
She pulled herself back. "Yeah. Sorry."
The bartender noticed and whistled low. "Yeah… that explains it."
"What?" She asked absently.
"That's not the kind of man you want to get involved with.“ He picked up a glass to clean. "Stay at the bar."
But Celeste held his gaze for several long, charged seconds. Something deep inside her stirred violently in response. Only when she finally forced herself to look away did the man's lips curve into a dark, Intrigued smile.
---
Hours later, tipsy and tired of the men who kept approaching her, Celeste decided it was time to leave.
Instinctively, she turned back, just to see if he was still there but the corner was empty. Her brows furrowed slightly.
"Time to go…" she muttered under her breath, sliding off the stool.
As she stepped into the cooler, dimly lot hallway leading to the exit, a drunk man blocked her path.
"You leaving already?" he slurred, stepping far too close, his breath reeking of alcohol.
"Move,” she said coldly
He laughed and didn't budge. Instead, his hands reached out, brushing against her skin and she flared up.
Her eyes hardened instantly.
"I said move."
"Relax," he smirked. "You've been flirting all night—"
"Don't you dare touch me," she snapped. The loud music drowned most of it but curious glance were sent her way.
He wiped his mouth, eyes flashing with embarrassment and anger.
"You think you are all that, don't you?" He hissed. Before she couldn't react, he pulled a ring with a hidden needle against her skin.
A sharp sting followed. Fire exploded through her bloodstream.
"What did you—?!“ Celeste gasped. The drug hit fast and vicious, awakening her. Her body temperature skyrocketed. An intoxicating, sweet scent began pouring off her skin — potent pheromones that made the air thicken dangerously.
The man smirked. “Let's see how long that attitude lasts…”
Celeste's fist slammed into his jaw with surprising force. He crumpled to the floor. But it was too late. The scent had already spread.
Her knees buckled and she quickly pressed herself against the wall for support.
Her pulse spiked, skin burned, and senses sharpened—the sound, the scents, it was revolting.
Heads turned. Eyes darkened with primal hunger. Low, guttural growls ripped through the hallway as several men— some with glowing irises and partially shifted claws — began losing control.
The scent was very subtle, not strong enough to fill the hallway or it would have been a much bigger problem.
Her breath hitched. “What?!"
The air grew thick and her body burned hotter, her thoughts blurred. She tried to stand, but each time she slumped back down, her legs feeling like jelly.
Their eyes watching her. One man shoved another violently. “She’s mine!”
“You wish!” a second snarled, fangs flashing as he partially shifted.
Chaos erupted.
Fists flew. Tables shattered. Two men crashed into the wall beside Celeste, claws out, tearing into each other with savage brutality.
Blood sprayed across the floor. A third man with glowing amber eyes lunged straight for her, mouth open wide, fangs aimed for her neck to force a mark.
Celeste’s body burned. Her mind was fogging fast, but her instincts were sharper than ever.
She grabbed the attacker’s wrist mid-lunge, twisted hard using his own momentum, and slammed him into the ground with a sickening crack. Her knee pressed into his chest.
“Don’t. Touch. Me,” she snarled.
But more were coming.
They weren’t listening to her anymore. They fought each other viciously — claws slashing, bodies slamming into walls and furniture.
One man shifted partially, his bones cracking as fur sprouted along his arms. He grabbed another by the throat and smashed him into a glass table, shattering it.
Security rushed in, but even they hesitated, covering their noses against the maddening scent filling the hallway. One guard was too slow — a shifted man backhanded him, sending him flying.
Celeste tried to stand, but her legs were jelly. The heat was unbearable now, making her thighs slick, her thoughts hazy with unwanted need. She pressed herself against the wall, breathing hard.
Another man broke through the fighting, eyes wild with lust, charging directly at her with claws extended.
“ENOUGH.”
The single word cut through the violence like a whip crack.
The entire hallway seemed to freeze.
Theron Virek moved through the chaos like a storm. His presence alone made several of the feral men stumble back.
With terrifying ease, he grabbed the charging man by the throat, lifted him off the ground with one hand, and slammed him into the wall so hard the plaster cracked.
His silver eyes burned with lethal fury as they locked onto Celeste.
The raw possession and hunger in his gaze made her shiver violently despite the drug burning through her veins. Her body responded instantly — a fresh, humiliating wave of heat flooding her core.
“She's,” Theron growled, voice low, dark, and dangerously calm as he dropped the unconscious man like trash, “Mine.”
He took one powerful step toward her, the remaining men instinctively backing away from the sheer dominance radiating off him.
- Writer
