Chapter 1: Midnight at the Alley
Dark blood pooled at Aiden's boots as he squared off against the thug in the alley. Rain fell in thin sheets; neon signs flickered. One wrong move and the criminal lunged again. But in the pause between seconds, something inside Aiden snapped. A faint ringing filled his ears, a voice deep and raspy echoing in his mind: "Let's teach him a lesson."
Aiden's heart pounded. The world around him blurred. In the reflection of a puddle, he saw his amber eyes flash gold. Muscles in his arm tensed like iron. The thug's smirk vanished as Aiden lunged, a cold grin twisting his lips. BAM! His fist connected, and the man flew back against a wall. The thug groaned, writhing in pain.
Aiden took a sharp breath. Not again, he thought weakly. "You okay?" asked a soft voice. He turned to see a young woman standing at the alley entrance, eyes wide in concern. In the dim light, water droplets on her auburn hair caught the neon glow. His knees felt weak.
"Yes… I'm fine," Aiden managed to say. His hand trembled as he rubbed his jaw. The homeless man on the ground groaned, rubbing his face, mostly unconscious. Aiden's eyes flicked back to the woman. She should leave. This is dangerous. But she remained, concern replacing fear.
"Let me call someone for you," she offered, pulling out her phone. The warm tilt of her lips and sincere voice calmed Aiden's racing pulse. He nodded, managing a shaky smile. "Thanks."
As she scrolled for emergency contacts, Aiden's gaze lingered on her. There was something about the tilt of her head and the gentle determination in her eyes that made his heart ache. He realized his hand was still shaking. Swallowing down fear, he took a step forward to thank her properly, but inside, the other voice grumbled, jealous and impatient: Who does she belong to now?
Aiden straightened. "I'm Aiden, by the way," he said softly, voice still hoarse.
"Lila," she replied with a faint smile. "Lila Chen."
They stood there awkwardly as sirens wailed in the distance. The thug had finally given up moving, holding his cheek. Lila frowned at Aiden's bruised knuckles. "You shouldn't get into fights alone," she chided lightly.
Aiden glanced at the fallen man. I ended it quickly. It's safer this way, he argued in his head. "I had him," he muttered.
Lila shook her head and just smiled. There was a strange kindness in her eyes. "Be more careful. You could have been hurt."
He met her eyes and felt something softening inside. It was the gentlest, strangest emotion. "Right. Thank you… Lila."
She nodded once. "Let me get help for him."
As she disappeared around the corner toward the street, Aiden's hand fell to his pocket where his phone vibrated with a barrage of missed messages. He unlocked it, heart still racing from the fight and the surprising comfort of meeting Lila. One message caught his eye: a reminder of tomorrow's schedule. Morning shift, hospital morgue. He sighed. Tomorrow couldn't come soon enough, perhaps just to escape the confusion of tonight.
Walking away from the scene, blood matted on his shirt slowly mixing with the rain, Aiden forced himself to calm down. This needed to stop. He knew it wasn't normal, the way his body moved on its own. The other voice in his head had sounded so ready to hurt. I am not him! he reminded his reflection in a store window as he hurried past.