The rain poured hard that night, drumming against the roof as I prepared for my next hunt.
Everything was ready. The restaurant was silent, waiting with me.
Then the doors creaked open on their own.
A cool breeze slipped inside, brushing against my skin.
I felt the shift immediately—someone had entered.
A girl.
I sighed. "Tch. Why is it always girls? I was hoping for a man's blood tonight."
A faint, amused smile pulled at my lips anyway.
Prey was prey.
She sat shivering on the bench, unaware of the danger standing just a few steps away.
I moved toward her silently—no heartbeat could hide from me.
Her scent was warm, familiar, and tempting.
A perfect target.
I leaned closer, ready to strike—
Thud.
The floor beneath me trembled.
I froze.
The restaurant… reacted.
A low hum rolled through the walls, almost like a warning.
The lights flickered, not from electricity—
from something alive.
I narrowed my eyes. "What now?"
The girl didn't notice anything.
She just sat there, staring at her hands, lost in her own world.
I tried taking another step.
Thud.
Stronger this time.
The walls creaked, and a gust of cold air swept across the room, pushing me back—
forcing me to stop.
I hissed under my breath.
The restaurant had never interfered before.
It didn't care who I hunted.
It didn't care who died inside its walls.
So why… her?
Suddenly, the walls creaked—loudly.
A shadow slipped through the cracks as if the wall itself opened for him.
Someone stepped out… wearing a black hoodie, head low, face hidden.
I stiffened instantly.
No human could enter like that.
He walked toward me with slow, steady steps.
The girl on the bench didn't even notice—
as if she couldn't see him at all.
He finally stopped in front of me.
Then, with one smooth motion, he lifted the hood off his head.
My eyes widened.
That face…
I knew it.
Familiar.
Too familiar.
"It can't be you," I whispered.
His face appeared beneath the hood, pale under the dim lights.
I knew him.
But I had never expected to see him here.
A protector.
And not just that—
her protector.
"Step back," he said quietly, his voice low but heavy with authority.
"The girl is under my bloodline. She's not yours to touch."
Bloodline.
So she really was related to him.
No wonder the restaurant refused to let me feed.
No wonder the walls trembled like a warning.
He took one more step forward, blocking her completely from my view.
"Leave her," he said.
"Or the night won't protect you."
For the first time in a long time…
I felt the hunt slip out of my hands.
My breath caught for the first time in years.
Because the face under the hood wasn't just familiar—
it was unforgettable.
"You…" I whispered, voice dropping to a growl.
"What are you doing here?"
His eyes were cold, steady, and dangerously calm.
The kind of calm that comes right before a storm.
He didn't look at me.
He looked past me—
at the girl sitting silently on the bench.
"I'm here for her," he said, his voice firm.
"She isn't yours to touch."
My jaw clenched.
So that was it.
The girl wasn't just special to the restaurant.
She was special to him.
"Stay away," he added, stepping between us, his presence heavy and commanding.
"She's under my protection."
A protector.
A guardian.
And judging from the aura rolling off him—
He was far stronger than last time we met.