CHAPTER 18
934 Words
MIA'S POV
“Xavier!”
His head snapped toward me.
Relief hit me so hard it almost knocked the breath out of me.
In the next second, he was in front of me, his presence filling the space like everything else had disappeared.
“Mia.”
He didn’t touch me immediately. His eyes moved over me first—quick, sharp, checking.
“I’m fine,” I said quickly, even though my voice wasn’t steady. “But they didn’t do this alone. Someone helped them.”
His jaw tightened.
“Did he tell you who?”
I shook my head—
Then froze.
The vampire was standing by the doorway.
Watching.
Like he had been there the whole time.
“You don’t actually think she’s leaving here that easily, do you?” he said.
Xavier stepped in front of me without hesitation, blocking me completely from view.
A low growl left him.
“Stay behind me,” he said, not looking back.
I hated how my body listened instantly.
The vampire’s gaze shifted between us, something unreadable passing through his expression.
“Let’s take this outside,” Xavier said.
Calm.
Controlled.
But I could hear it—
The anger underneath.
The vampire smiled faintly.
“And leave her here?” he asked. “Unprotected?”
His eyes flicked toward me.
“There are dozens of mine outside.”
A pause.
“Hungry ones.”
My stomach dropped.
Dozens.
I glanced at Xavier instinctively, but he didn’t move. If anything, his stance became more rigid, like he had already made a decision.
“Move,” he said.
The vampire didn’t.
Instead, he took a slow step into the room, his gaze shifting between us like he was observing something he found interesting.
“You came alone,” he said. “That was… unexpected.”
“I don’t need anyone else,” Xavier replied.
“That’s not confidence,” the vampire said lightly. “That’s impatience.”
Xavier didn’t respond to that.
I could feel the tension building in the room, thick and suffocating. Neither of them looked like they were in a hurry to strike, but I could tell it wouldn’t take much.
“Let her go,” Xavier said again.
“No.”
The answer came too easily.
Too simply.
Something in my chest tightened.
Xavier moved before I could process it.
One second, he was in front of me. The next, he had crossed the distance between them. The impact of his strike echoed against the walls, and the vampire barely moved back a step.
Barely.
That alone told me enough.
He wasn’t normal.
The room shifted instantly.
I heard movement behind us—fast, controlled. More of them.
They were closing in.
“Xavier—” I started.
“Stay where you are,” he said sharply.
I froze.
The vampire straightened slowly, brushing invisible dust from his coat like the hit hadn’t meant anything.
“You’re stronger than I expected,” he said.
“And you talk too much.”
That faint smile returned.
“I could say the same about you.”
Another movement.
This time closer.
Too close.
I turned slightly and saw them—figures gathering just beyond the doorway, shadows stretching across the floor.
They weren’t rushing in.
They were waiting.
“This is pointless,” the vampire continued. “You’re not getting her out of here like this.”
“I’m not leaving without her.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.”
Something changed in his tone.
Subtle.
But enough.
Before I could react, one of the vampires moved behind me.
Fast.
I barely had time to turn before a hand clamped over my arm, pulling me back hard.
“Let go!” I struggled, but my body still wasn’t fully steady. The earlier exhaustion hit me all at once, slowing me down just enough.
Xavier’s head snapped in my direction.
“Don’t touch her—”
He moved, but the vampire in front of him stepped in, blocking him just long enough.
Just long enough.
“I told you,” the vampire said calmly, “you should have thought this through.”
Xavier’s eyes burned, his entire body tense like he was one second away from tearing everything apart.
“Let. Her. Go.”
The grip on my arm tightened.
Pain shot up my shoulder, and I sucked in a sharp breath.
“This is the problem with wolves,” the vampire continued. “Everything is possession. Everything is force.”
“And this is the problem with you,” Xavier snapped. “You think you’re in control.”
For a moment, no one moved.
Then the vampire’s gaze shifted to me again.
Thoughtful.
Calculating.
“Take her back,” he said quietly.
My heart dropped.
“No—”
I tried to pull away, but the hold on me didn’t loosen. If anything, it tightened.
“Xavier—”
He took a step forward but stopped.
He had to.
Because now there were too many of them between us.
“This doesn’t end here,” he said.
His voice wasn’t loud.
But it carried.
The vampire’s lips curved slightly.
“I didn’t expect it to.”
I was pulled back toward the corridor again, my feet barely keeping up. I twisted just enough to look at him one last time.
He didn’t look away.
For the first time since I got here—
I wasn’t just afraid of what might happen to me.
I was afraid of what he was going to do to get me back.
And something told me…
That might be worse.
- Writer
