As Zander looked up sharply, his breath hitched.
Before he could process the man's words, he couldn't help but notice just how unbelievably stunning the man was.
The man's face was adorned by a sharp, defined jawline, and high cheekbones that could cut glass. Eyes so dark they seemed endless, framed by thick lashes. His hair was jet black, falling slightly over his forehead in that effortlessly attractive way. His build was powerful, broad shoulders tapering down to a narrow waist.
Zander felt something stir in his chest. Something he couldn't explain.
For a split second, against his wishes, he forgot about the sword and the death threat. All he could do was stare, utterly bewitched, his lips slightly parted.
But then the weight of the man's words crashed back.
"I'm here to kill you."
Before Zander could even think to stagger backwards or escape, the man's hand shot out like lightning and grabbed his throat.
"Wait, why are you..." Zander choked, but the sound died as he was lifted clean off the floor with just one hand.
His feet dangled uselessly in the air. His hands clawed desperately at the iron grip around his throat. His lungs screamed for air as panic clawed at his mind.
"Why..." he gasped, barely managing the word.
He couldn't help but wonder why he had to die again when he'd just escaped death?
"Your kind shouldn't exist. You're a collector so I can't allow you to live." the man said, his voice disturbingly gentle, as if stating a simple fact.
The sword in his other hand rose and Zander's eyes widened, the thought that he was really going to die again and probably not get reborn striking him.
But then, before the man could strike him with the sword, something happened...
He looked directly into Zander's eyes and the air shifted.
The man's dark eyes widened, his pupils dilating sharply as he stared. His lips parted in shock, the sword freezing mid-air.
For a heartbeat, it was as if the world stood still.
Then, as if burned, the man's hand released Zander's throat.
Zander crashed to the floor, landing hard on his hands and knees. He coughed violently, gasping for air as his lungs burned. His throat felt raw.
"What... the hell..." Zander rasped, clutching his neck.
When he managed to look up through watery eyes, the man still hadn't moved. He was just... staring.
His gaze traveled over Zander slowly, methodically. From his face, down his bare torso, to his legs sprawled on the floor, then back up. As if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
Pure shock was written across his features.
"You..." the man whispered, his voice barely audible.
Zander's fear mixed with anger. He pushed himself shakily to his feet, still gripping his bruised throat.
"You're out of your fucking mind!" Zander snapped, his voice hoarse and cracking.
But he didn't wait for a response before he turned and bolted.
His heart shook violently in his chest as he ran without looking back.
Behind him, the man didn't follow.
He just stood there, frozen, watching Zander disappear around the corner.
~~~~~~~~~
Several minutes passed before the man moved.
Slowly, he raised his sword.
With a sharp thrust forward, the blade shimmered and vanished into thin air like smoke dissolving.
He turned and began walking toward the parking lot, in a stiff movement, almost robotic.
When he reached his car, a sleek black luxury vehicle that screamed wealth, he climbed into the driver's seat and slammed the door shut.
For a long moment, he just sat there, staring blankly at the steering wheel.
Then, with a roar of pure frustration, he slammed his fist into it.
The horn blared briefly before silence returned.
"The new collector... is the soulmate I've been waiting for. For five hundred years?" he muttered, his voice shaking with disbelief.
He laughed bitterly, the sound hollow in the enclosed space.
"What the fuck?"
~~~~~~~~
Zander didn't stop running until he burst through the hotel's front entrance and stumbled onto the street.
His lungs burned, his legs trembled and his throat throbbed painfully where the man's hand had crushed it.
He bent over, hands on his knees, gasping desperately for air.
"What... the hell... was that?" he panted between breaths, his mind spinning in circles.
Someone had just tried to kill him. He didn't know what to think of this.
Zander straightened up slowly, his hands still shaking uncontrollably. His eyes darted around the surrounding sharply and he knew he needed to get out of there before the man caught up with him.
A taxi was parked nearby, the driver scrolling through his phone. Zander waved frantically.
"Hey! I need a ride!"
The driver glanced up, took one look at Zander's shirtless, disheveled, panicked state, and hesitated.
"Please," Zander added desperately. "I'll pay double. Just get me out of here. Now."
The driver sighed and unlocked the doors.
Zander threw himself into the back seat, slamming the door behind him and locking it immediately.
"Where to?"
Zander rattled off his address, then slumped back against the seat, his mind racing uncontrollably:
Why did that man want to kill him?
And why had he stopped?
The way the man had looked at him after their eyes met... like he'd seen something impossible, something that shocked him to his core.
Zander didn't understand any of it.
His fingers traced the tender bruises already forming on his throat. It hurt to swallow.
Twenty minutes crawled by in tense silence with Zander lost in his spiraling thoughts while the driver drove on.
Finally, the taxi pulled up in front of his apartment building.
Zander paid the driver with trembling hands, climbed out, and made his way up the stairs to his floor on shaky legs.
All he wanted was to collapse onto his bed and pretend this entire nightmare of a day hadn't happened.
He fumbled with his keys, his hands still shaking, and finally managed to unlock the door.
He pushed it open and stepped inside. Then froze completely at what he saw.
His jaw dropped and his blood turned to ice.
Sitting on his couch, legs crossed casually, arms draped over the backrest like he owned the place, was the man from the hotel.
The same man who had just tried to strangle him to death.
Zander's heart stopped beating.
"How the hell did you get in here?!" Zander snapped, though the fear in his voice was painfully unmistakable.
The man's dark eyes locked onto his, unreadable and intense.