CHAPTER 7: They Found Me
735 Words
It started with a sound.
A sharp noise that cut through the quiet like a blade.
I sat up instantly, my heart racing.
What was that?
For a second, everything went still again.
Then—
Voices.
Distant.
Urgent.
My breath hitched.
I slid out of bed slowly, my bare feet touching the cold floor as I moved toward the door.
Something was wrong.
I could feel it.
When I opened the door slightly, the hallway wasn’t empty this time.
Guards.
Running.
Fast.
“Lock it down!” one of them shouted.
“Check every entrance!”
My stomach dropped.
Lock it down?
Before I could process anything else—
“Get back inside.”
His voice.
Ethan.
I turned quickly.
He was already walking toward me, his expression darker than I had ever seen it.
“What’s happening?” I asked, panic rising in my chest.
“They’re here.”
My blood ran cold.
“Who…?”
But I already knew the answer.
The people he warned me about.
“They found you faster than I expected,” he said, more to himself than to me.
My hands started shaking. “What do we do?”
For a split second, his eyes softened when he looked at me.
Then the cold mask came back.
“You stay with me.”
Before I could respond, another loud noise echoed through the mansion.
Closer this time.
I flinched.
Without thinking, I grabbed his arm.
“I’m scared,” I admitted, my voice barely above a whisper.
He looked down at my hand gripping him.
Then back at my face.
Something shifted again.
“You’ll be fine,” he said.
But this time…
It didn’t sound like a lie.
Suddenly, a guard rushed toward us.
“They breached the outer gate!”
My heart nearly stopped.
“They’re inside?” I whispered.
Ethan’s jaw tightened.
“Yes.”
Panic flooded my chest. “We need to hide!”
“No.”
His answer was immediate.
“What? Are you crazy?!”
His eyes locked onto mine.
“I’m not hiding.”
Another loud crash echoed through the house.
Closer.
Closer.
“They’re not here for the house,” he said.
“They’re here for you.”
My legs felt weak.
“Then why aren’t we running?!”
“Because running makes you a target.”
“Then what am I now?!” I shouted.
He stepped closer.
So close I could feel his breath.
“You’re mine to protect.”
My heart skipped.
Before I could react—
A loud bang exploded somewhere down the hallway.
I screamed softly, instinctively stepping closer to him.
And this time…
He didn’t pull away.
Instead, his arm moved around me, pulling me behind him.
Shielding me.
“Stay behind me,” he said firmly.
Footsteps.
Fast.
Approaching.
Everything felt like it was happening too quickly.
Too loud.
Too real.
Then—
A shadow appeared at the end of the hallway.
A man.
Dressed in black.
Watching us.
My breath caught.
“That’s her,” the man said.
My entire body froze.
Ethan stepped forward slightly, placing himself fully in front of me.
Blocking me from view.
“You’re not taking her,” he said coldly.
The man laughed.
“You think you can stop this?”
“I know I can.”
Silence stretched for a second.
Heavy.
Dangerous.
Then—
The man reached for something.
My heart jumped into my throat.
Before I could even react—
Ethan moved.
Fast.
Everything blurred.
A loud crash.
A shout.
I stumbled back, my hands covering my mouth in shock.
I couldn’t even process what was happening.
All I knew was—
This wasn’t just a warning anymore.
This was real.
And I was right in the middle of it.
My chest tightened as I watched Ethan fight like someone I didn’t recognize.
Cold.
Precise.
Dangerous.
Not the boy who stood in my room.
Not the one who said he needed time.
This version of him…
Was terrifying.
And yet—
When he glanced back at me for a split second…
His eyes changed again.
Soft.
Checking.
Making sure I was okay.
That one look did something to me.
Something I didn’t understand.
Because in that moment…
Even with fear everywhere—
I felt safer standing behind him…
Than anywhere else in the world.
And that was the most dangerous feeling of all.
- Writer
