Page 2 of The Darkness Within
She glances toward the back, where the two men sat in the shadows. There is something about them, especially the one with dark hair and piercing eyes, that holds her attention. He is looking at her, his gaze so intense it makes her heart skip a beat. She feels her cheeks warm, but she can’t look away.
For a moment, it feels like time stops. Everything else—the bar noise, her friends’ laughter, the clinking glasses—fades. It is just her and him, locked in a silent stare that feels as intimate as a touch. She swallows hard, her pulse racing. Who was he?
Then Ashley nudges her, breaking the spell. “Hey, Earth to Rayne. You okay?”
Rayne shakes her head, laughing nervously. “Yeah, sorry. Just zoned out for a second.”
Before she can fully collect herself, a man approaches her, flashing a confident smile as he leanes in. “Hey there. Can I buy you a drink?”
Rayne is about to decline politely when she feels a shadow loom over them. She looks up to meet those same intense eyes. He is standing right there, mere inches away, and she can feel the heat radiating off him. Her heart pounds in her chest as he speaks, his voice a low growl.
“She’s taken.”
The stranger—her stranger—stands tall and broad, making the other man look small by comparison. His words are clear and unyielding, leaving no room for argument. The man stammers something and backs away, disappearing into the crowd. Rayne can’t take her eyes off him, a mix of gratitude and confusion swirling in her chest.
“Thank you, I guess?” she manages, her voice sounding far too small.
He smirks, and the faintest hint of amusement dances in his eyes. “I couldn’t let him bother you.”
There is something about the way he looks at her, as if he can see right through her. She’d never felt so vulnerable, and yet, there was something thrilling about it. He was dangerous, she could tell. But there was also a strange familiarity, like she’d known him before, in a dream she couldn’t quite remember.
She clears her throat, suddenly feeling the need to fill the silence. “Do I know you?”
“Not yet,” he replies, his smirk deepening. “But you will.”
His words send a shiver down her spine, she finds herself wanting to ask him a hundred questions—who he is, why he felt so familiar, why her heart is racing like she’d just run a marathon. But before she can say anything, her friends call her back, breaking the spell.
Reluctantly, she turns away, feeling his gaze on her as she joins Ashley and Rita. Her friends are chattering away, but Rayne feels like she’s in a daze. The stranger’s face is imprinted on her mind, and she can’t shake the feeling that he is about to change her life in ways she couldn’t yet understand.
Back with her friends, Rayne tries to focus on their conversation, but her mind keeps drifting back to him. She can still feel the heat of his presence, his dark gaze like a lingering shadow. She doesn’t know his name, doesn’t know anything about him, but somehow, she knows this was just the beginning.
???
Blade watches her rejoin her friends, the pull he feels toward her almost unbearable. He clenches his fists, his nails digging into his palms. It should have been impossible—him finding his mate here, on Earth, in the middle of a hunt. He’d given up on that kind of connection long ago, resigned to the idea that it was a myth, a story meant to give hope to demons who’d lived as long as he had. And yet, here she was.
He looks at her, feeling an intense mix of possessiveness and confusion. She was so human, so fragile, and everything about her calls to him in a way he couldn’t understand. He had always thought that if he ever found his mate, he’d be prepared for it, that he’d know exactly what to do. But now that it was happening, he was utterly lost.
Scar’s voice cuts into his thoughts. “You’ve gone quiet. What’s on your mind?”
Blade takes a slow breath, steadying himself. “Everything,” he says, his tone rough. “She’s everything.”
Scar gives him a wary look. “Are you saying she’s your mate? I thought you gave up on that legend.”
Blade lets out a humourless chuckle. “So, did I. But seeing her—Scar, I’m seeing in colour.”
Scar whistles, clearly taken aback. “That’s… Well, damn. I guess the stories were true after all.”
Blade’s jaw tightens. True or not, it doesn’t make things any easier. He is Elite, a warrior with a mission. His purpose is to hunt down rogues, to keep the balance between their world and the human world. Having a mate changes everything. How ishe supposed to focus on his duty when every instinct screams at him to stay by her side, to protect her from anything that might threaten her?
And what would she think if she knew the truth? That he was a demon, that he’d lived for centuries, killing and hunting down his own kind. The idea of exposing her to that side of his life makes him feel vulnerable in a way he hadn’t felt in decades. She’d probably run screaming if she saw what he truly was.
The possessiveness flares up again, even stronger this time. The memory of that human man leaning in, thinking he had a right to touch her, was enough to make his blood boil. Blade had barely held himself back from ripping the guy apart then and there. The demon in him wants to mark her, to let every creature—human and demon alike—know she is his and his alone.
But it isn’t just about marking her. It is about keeping her safe. He knows what kind of danger she’d be in now. Rake is cunning and ruthless, and if he finds out that Blade has a mate, she would become a target. He’d seen it happen to others, seen mates used as leverage, as pawns in brutal power games. He’d never imagined he’d have someone to worry about like that.
Scar places a hand on his shoulder, grounding him. “You’ll figure it out. You always do. But if she’s your mate, you need to tell her. She deserves to know what she’s getting into.”
Blade nods, though the thought fills him with dread. How could he explain this world to her? How could he ask her to trust him, a demon, with a life like his?