The music inside Club Eclipse thudded in perfect sync with the rising panic in Alice's chest. She ignored Ruby's stunned reaction and tried to push her way toward the VIP section, where she'd seen Rose take Natalie.
"I'm getting her out of there," Alice growled, shoving past a man swaying in a drugged trance.
A firm hand caught her arm.
Ruby didn't use brute force — just enough pressure to make Alice stop.
"Don't do this, Alice," Ruby warned, her voice sharp and stripped of its usual sarcasm. "You'll make a scene. And scenes in this place end in blood."
"She's drugging a human," Alice hissed, turning on her former lover. "Natalie doesn't know what she's doing."
"She does," Ruby shot back, pulling Alice into a darker corner, away from prying eyes. "That's how Eclipse works. We don't hunt in alleys like animals. We offer an experience. They come for the adrenaline. For the bite. For the escape. Natalie agreed the moment she walked through that door and went upstairs."
Alice stared at her, stunned.
"You call this an experience? It's exploitation. It's addiction."
"I call it symbiosis," Ruby replied calmly. "And Natalie? She looks like someone who desperately needed to forget something. Rose is just giving her exactly what she asked for. If you storm in there playing the hero, Natalie will hate you for it. She doesn't want saving, Alice. Not tonight."
Alice opened her mouth to argue, to say it didn't matter what Natalie wanted, only what was safe—
Then the feeling hit again.
Stronger. Colder.
The air around her froze. The heat, the sweat, the pulse of the club faded, as if the music were suddenly underwater.
Alice stopped breathing.
She knew that presence.
The scent of ancient parchment. Crypt dust. Authority that did not tolerate defiance.
Slowly, Alice turned toward the back of the club, where the light died and shadows thickened.
He stood there.
Tall. Wrapped in a dark cloak that seemed to swallow the neon glow around him. His hood obscured his face, but Alice didn't need to see his eyes.
Albert.
The Council's enforcer. Its loyal executioner.
The fear that seized Alice wasn't for herself.
It was for Kara.
If Albert was here, the secret was over. The quiet, fragile life she'd built — the illusion of normalcy, of happiness — had shattered.
Ruby followed her gaze and went pale.
"Oh shit…" Ruby muttered. "What the hell is he doing here? The Council never comes to North America."
Alice didn't answer.
She pulled free and walked toward Albert, her legs heavy, every step a verdict.
Albert didn't move as she approached. He stood perfectly still, like a stone gargoyle, gray eyes gleaming beneath the hood.
"Albert…" Alice said. Her voice cracked.
"It's been a while, Alice," he replied smoothly, his voice calm and utterly devoid of warmth. "You're far from home."
"What do you want?" Alice asked, forcing herself to stand tall as her hands trembled.
Albert tilted his head, studying her like an insect pinned under glass.
"The Council sees. The Council knows," he said softly. Then, after a pause, "A forbidden relationship. The exposure of our nature to a mortal."
Alice stepped forward instinctively.
"Kara isn't a threat. She kept the secret."
"That is not for you to decide," Albert cut in. "The Law has been broken."
Alice braced herself, claws itching to surface, but Albert raised a gloved hand.
"I didn't come to fight you. Not here. Not surrounded by cattle. That would be… distasteful."
"Then why are you here?"
"To deliver a warning," he said. "Do not run. Do not hide the human. An envelope will arrive at your residence in the morning. Inside will be your formal summons."
Alice felt the blood drain from her face.
"A summons?"
"The Council will decide your fate," Albert said calmly. "Be ready. And bring the mortal."
He stepped back, melting into the shadows.
"Enjoy your night, Alice. It may be your last taste of freedom."
And just like that, he was gone.
Alice stood frozen in the middle of the dance floor, surrounded by hundreds of bodies, yet utterly alone.
Panic surged.
She had to get out. Had to grab Kara and disappear.
But she couldn't leave Natalie behind.
Not with the Council watching.
Alice sprinted for the stairs to the VIP section. A guard tried to stop her — she slammed him into the wall with a shoulder check and took the steps two at a time.
She burst into the private booth.
The sight made her stomach turn.
Natalie lay sprawled on the couch, her head resting in Rose's lap. Her shirt was unbuttoned, her neck bruised and marked, her skin ghostly pale. Her eyes were half-lidded, her smile empty, blissed-out. Rose stroked her hair possessively.
"Alice?" Rose looked up lazily. "Decide to join the party?"
"It's over, Rose!" Alice shouted, yanking Natalie by the arm. "Get up, Natalie. We're leaving. Now."
Natalie groaned, trying to pull away.
"Let go… you're hurting me…"
"What do you think you're doing?" Rose snapped, rising to her feet, irritation flashing in her eyes. "You're killing her vibe."
"The Council is here," Alice said flatly.
Rose froze.
"What?"
"Albert was downstairs. They know everything. About me. About Kara. About what you and the others are doing here." Alice looked down at Natalie. "Come on, Nat. Please. It's dangerous."
She tried to pull Natalie again—
But Natalie shoved her back with surprising force, stumbling into Rose's arms.
"No!" Natalie shouted, her voice thick and slurred. "I'm not going with you! You just want to control me — just like Kara!"
"Natalie, you're not thinking straight—"
"Get out!" Natalie clutched Rose's hand. "Rose takes care of me. She gives me what I need. You and Kara — you just make me feel small and alone."
The words cut deep.
Alice looked at her and saw it clearly now —the dilated pupils, the hunger, the addiction burning bright.
She'd already lost her.
Rose stepped in front of Natalie, her composure returning.
"You heard her, Alice. She made her choice."
"They'll come for you too," Alice said quietly.
"Let them," Rose replied, defiant — but fear flickered behind her eyes. "Now leave. Before I call security and this turns into a war."
Alice looked at Natalie one last time. She was hiding behind Rose like a frightened child.
There was no saving her by force.
Not without destroying her.
Defeated, Alice stepped back.
"I'm sorry, Nat."
She turned and walked out, down the stairs, through the club like a ghost, ignoring Ruby calling after her.
The night was cold and silent when Alice reached the building she shared with Kara.
She stopped on the sidewalk and looked up.
Their apartment window glowed with warm yellow light.
She could picture Kara inside — maybe reading, maybe pacing, worried about Natalie but safe.
That square of light was the only good thing Alice had had in centuries.
Her home.
And now, because of one mistake — because of a love that defied ancient laws — that light was about to be extinguished.
A single tear of blood slid down Alice's cheek. She wiped it away quickly.
She couldn't walk in there like this.
She had to be strong.
She had to lie, or tell the cruelest truth imaginable.
Alice crossed the street, Albert's sentence crushing her shoulders, and climbed the stairs — ready to shatter the peace of the woman she loved.