The dreams had gotten worse,Or maybe they weren't dreams at all.
Sera woke up breathless, trembling, her skin burning where unseen hands had touched her in the night. Her sheets were tangled, her body aching with a need she didn't understand.
And the worst part? She wasn't afraid, She wanted more. A knock at the door made her jolt upright Elias.
She knew it before he even spoke.
"Sera" His voice was tight, edged with something dangerous, She hesitated before answering, the ghost of a phantom touch still lingering on her skin.
When she finally opened the door, Elias stepped inside without permission,He looked wrecked.
His silver eyes were darker, his jaw clenched as if he were barely holding himself together,"What's wrong?" she asked.
Elias didn't answer,He just lifted a hand trailing his fingers down her arm, pausing where the heat still burned.
Sera's breath hitched,He felt it ,a sharp flash of something feral crossed his face, "You let him touch you." His voice was quiet,Too quiet.
Sera swallowed hard, "I......"
"Don't lie to me," His grip tightened, his body pressing closer, radiating heat and something else... possession.
She should have pulled away,She didn't Because part of her wanted to see what would happen if she pushed Elias too far.
If she let him break,"Say it," Elias demanded, his breath hot against her cheek.
Sera shuddered, torn between guilt and something darker,"I didn't stop him,"Elias went still.
A slow, dangerous silence stretched between them, thick with tension, with hunger, with barely restrained fury.
And then....
He slammed her against the door, Not hard enough to hurt, But enough to steal her breath,Enough to make her feel his rage, his jealousy,his need.
His hand cupped her jaw, forcing her to look at him, "You are mine." A thrill shot through her, her fingers curling into his shirt.
"You don't own me," she whispered,Elias growled, Low, dark ,primal.
His lips ghosted over hers, teasing, tormenting, "Then tell me to stop." Sera parted her lips but no words came.
She couldn't say it,Because she didn't want him to stop, A triumphant smirk crossed Elias's lips before he crushed his mouth to hers.
But just as she melted into him, "Pain" A sharp, burning lash across her spine.
Sera cried out, collapsing into Elias as her skin seared with invisible fire, A mark,a binding mark was burning itself into her flesh.
Elias caught her, his own face twisted in pain, And that's when they heard a Laughter,The stranger's voice filled the room, mocking, amused.
"You should know better, Elias." His tone was smooth, dripping with satisfaction "You are not the only one who can claim her."
Sera gasped, gripping her side as black veins coiled beneath her skin,a mark of possession, Not Elias's mark, His.
The shadow man had just bound her to him, A warning,A challenge, A promise And it was only the beginning.