The night I was sold, it rained like the sky was trying to wash away my fate.
It didn't work.
"You don't have a choice, Elena."
My stepfather's voice was cold. Final.
I stared at the contract on the table, my hands shaking.
"You're trading me… for money?"
"Not just money," he said. "Power."
I followed his gaze.
And that's when I saw him.
He stood in the corner like he owned the shadows themselves.
Tall. Dark. Untouchable.
His black suit was perfect, but it was his eyes that made my chest tighten.
They weren't normal.
They were… glowing.
Faintly red.
Like something was burning behind them.
"This is her?" he asked.
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
Dangerously calm.
"Yes," my stepfather said quickly. "Elena Voss. She's yours."
Mine.
The word echoed in my head.
The man stepped closer.
Each step felt heavy. Like the air itself was afraid of him.
I tried to breathe, but it felt like my lungs forgot how.
He stopped in front of me.
Close enough for me to feel his presence wrap around me like chains.
"Look at me," he said.
I didn't want to.
But my body didn't listen.
My eyes lifted.
And the moment they met his—
Something snapped.
A sharp pain shot through my chest.
I gasped.
"What—what did you do to me?!"
He tilted his head slightly.
Almost amused.
"That," he said softly,
"is the bond."
The room suddenly felt smaller.
Darker.
Like the shadows were crawling toward him.
Toward us.
"I don't belong to you," I whispered.
My voice trembled.
But I meant it.
He leaned in closer.
So close his lips nearly brushed my ear.
"You were mine," he murmured,
"the moment you were born."
My heart stopped.
Because deep inside me…
Something answered him.