✦ EIRA POV ✦
I don't know why I'm crying so much. Why it hurts this badly. How can someone be so stone-hearted? How can he feel nothing—when it was his girlfriend… his child he was hurting?
And the worst part?
Why does it hurt more than anger?
I was so stupid… so blind. I thought somewhere inside him there was goodness. Something human. Something real.
But there's nothing.
Only emptiness.
And now… I don't want to see his face ever again. Not even in my worst nightmare.
"WOOOO… OOO… OOOOOO…"
Wait! What's that sound?
I looked around.
I was in the forest.
What? How did I even get here? My chest tightened in panic. I shouldn't be here—I need to leave.
I turned to go, but the sound came again. Closer. Heavier. Like it was inside my bones now.
I started running.
My breath tore through my throat. My heart slammed so hard it hurt. The sound followed me, crawling into my mind, twisting fear into something unbearable.
Something… something was running behind me.
Then—
A loud, echoing howl shattered the air.
I turned.
"AAHHHHHHHH!" I screamed, shutting my eyes tight.
But when I opened them—
It wasn't a beast.
It was—
A bus.
Four inches. Maybe five. From crushing me into nothing.
Time stopped.
But a hand had stopped it.
A hand… holding death itself back.
Shaking violently, I turned my head.
Adrain.
"Are you mad?!" His voice exploded as he yanked me aside.
"Oh God! Where do these idiots come from nowadays?" the driver cursed.
Adrain pulled me to the edge of the road. My knees almost gave out. My chest wouldn't obey me. I couldn't breathe properly.
I had almost died.
Again.
"What the hell were you doing here?!" he shouted, fury burning in his eyes. "What if I hadn't come in time? Do you even realize—you were seconds away from being gone!"
"I-I'm sorry," I stammered, voice shaking uncontrollably. "I heard that sound… I got scared… I didn't even know when I ran here…"
My voice broke at the end.
"We should leave."
"Wait…" My eyes locked onto him, trembling. "How did you stop it?"
"I didn't stop it," he said coldly.
"I saw it. With my own eyes! You stopped that bus—with your hand!"
"You're in shock," he dismissed without even looking at me properly.
"I know what I—"
"Do I look like Superman to you?!" he snapped, anger sharper than before. "You're lucky the driver hit the brakes on time!"
Before I could respond, his phone rang. He picked it up instantly.
"Hello. I'll be there in the morning," he said coldly—and cut the call.
Claira.
That name stabbed something inside me again.
Of course.
Even now.
Even after that girl. Even after everything.
"I can go on my own," I muttered bitterly, swallowing the lump in my throat. "You don't need to worry about me."
"I don't care about you," he said sharply. "But I can't leave you here at this hour."
Then why… does it feel like you always appear when I'm about to break?
"Let's go."
"I said it's fine! I'll call a cab or—"
"Let's go!" he growled, grabbing my hand.
"Leave my hand, Adrain!" I struggled, tears rising now without permission. "Leave!"
But he didn't.
"I said leave!" I shouted—and finally he let go.
His jaw clenched so tightly it looked like it hurt him too.
Tears blurred my vision, but I forced my voice steady.
"I know exactly what type of person you are."
"I can't believe myself… I was so stupid to think there was any goodness in you. How can you be this cruel? You tried to hurt your own girlfriend… your own child!"
My voice cracked completely at the end.
He froze.
For a second… something flickered in his eyes.
Pain.
Real pain.
But it vanished before I could understand it.
"Come with me," he said low, voice darker now.
I had nothing left inside me.
"…Where's your car?" I whispered.
He didn't answer.
Just walked.
And I followed… because I had no strength left to hate him properly anymore.
The ride back was suffocating.
Silence didn't feel empty—it felt heavy, like it was crushing my lungs.
I stared out the window, but his words kept echoing inside me.
"I don't care about you."
Then why… does it always feel like he's saving me anyway?
When we reached the hostel, I stepped out without a word.
I didn't look at him.
Because if I did…
I didn't know what would hurt more—
Hating him…
or not being able to fully hate him.
✦ ADRAIN POV ✦
She hates me now.
And I saw it clearly this time.
Not anger.
Not confusion.
Pure disgust.
And I should be satisfied. This is what I built myself for.
But instead…
it feels like something inside my chest is cracking slowly.
I am not human.
I don't feel things like this.
So why does her hatred feel like pain I can't heal?
Why does it make me want to grab her and tell her she's wrong—
that I am not what she thinks…
A loud banging on my door pulled me back.
I sat on the sofa, blood in my glass, forcing myself to stay still.
"You idiot! I've been searching for you everywhere!"
Drek stormed in, his face twisted with anger.
"What happened?" I asked flatly, taking another sip.
"Do you remember the Sarijiya tribe?"
I opened my mouth to reply, but he cut me off.
"They're dead. Someone killed them."
"What?!" My glass shattered in my hand the moment rage erupted.
I bolted out of the cave, running full speed through the forest, Drek close behind. My chest burned—not from exhaustion, but something far worse.
Fury. Sharp and blinding.
The Sarijiya tribe… they were the ones who helped us find Dawson. They saved Mike's life from other vampires without hesitation. They never harmed humans. To them, drinking human blood was a sin.
And now… they were gone.
Just like that.