Mira's POV
Her apartment felt suffocating.
Not from space, not from walls, not even from the city lights stretching below, but from the anticipation coiling in her chest.
She hadn't heard from him since last night. And yet… she felt his presence everywhere. In her pulse. In her breath. In the soft, lingering heat on her skin.
The apartment door clicked.
Her stomach flipped.
"You're early," she murmured, trying to sound casual, though her voice trembled.
Damion Hale stepped inside, and everything shifted.
He didn't need to speak to make her heart race.
The faint brush of his jacket as he moved past her.
The controlled, deliberate way he surveyed her space.
The eyes. Those endless, dark, impossibly calm eyes.
Her rational mind screamed.
He shouldn't be here.
This was dangerous.
Her body didn't care.
"Hello, Mira," he said softly.
Not a greeting. Not polite. Something heavier. Something intimate.
"Damion," she replied, trying to mask her reaction.
He smiled faintly—not charming, not flirtatious, not even gentle.
It was… predatory.
And she hated that she wanted to lean in.
Damion's POV
She was here. Alone. Vulnerable.
Not in a way meant for protection, but… for him.
The curve of her jaw.
The soft slope of her shoulders.
The way her eyes darted up to meet his—flicker of fear, spark of curiosity.
He wanted to close the distance, wanted to feel her under his hands, wanted to taste that tension.
But restraint. Patience. Control. He had to.
Not yet.
He let her space shrink without touching her, letting the air between them hum with the dangerous pull neither could deny.
"Do you feel it too?" he asked softly, stepping just close enough that she smelled the faintest trace of him—wood, smoke, something almost… primeval.
Her throat went dry. "Feel what?"
"This," he said simply, letting the single word hang like a live wire.
Mira — Heart vs. Mind
Her chest tightened.
The pull of him was undeniable.
Every instinct screamed to flee, every part of her wanted to lean into him.
"I don't…" she started, voice low, faltering.
"I shouldn't feel this."
"Feel what?" His voice was velvet, soft, almost hypnotic.
She tried to step back. Her heels clicked against the wood floor.
But the distance was negligible. His presence pressed against her senses like gravity.
"You're… dangerous," she whispered.
And she hated herself for the truth in it.
He smiled faintly, letting the air between them thicken, let the tension coil, let her pulse betray her.
"I know," he said softly. "And so are you."
Damion — Controlled Obsession
He closed the last inch between them. Almost. Not fully. Not yet.
But close enough that her skin tingled where his shoulder almost brushed hers.
Close enough that she could feel the faint warmth radiating off him.
Close enough that the world outside ceased to exist.
"Do you always fight what you want?" he asked, voice low, teasing, dangerous.
"I… don't," she admitted, though the words barely left her lips.
He let that linger, savoring the small victory.
Not a physical one. Not yet.
But emotional.
Psychological.
A slow burn that would ignite far hotter if fanned carefully.
Subtle Touch
Her hand brushed the edge of a table. His fingers grazed hers—not intentionally, but deliberately enough to make her pulse spike.
The electricity was immediate.
Sharp.
Dangerous.
Her breath hitched.
His eyes darkened, tracking every microexpression, every subtle shiver that betrayed her.
He stepped back slightly, breaking contact, letting the tension simmer, let her hunger and fear twist together.
"Control," he whispered.
"Patience," he added.
Stalker Hint
Through the faint reflection of the window, a shadow lingered.
Unseen. Silent. Waiting.
Damion noticed it.
The subtle shift in the air. The scent of someone else.
And he tensed—just barely. Not enough for Mira to notice, but enough to remind him the danger was very real.
Closing Beat — Emotional Cliffhanger
Mira's chest heaved.
Her thoughts tangled in heat, frustration, fear, and desire.
His presence was impossible to ignore.
"Why are you here?" she asked softly, voice almost a whisper.
"Because I can't stay away," he said simply, the faintest flicker of a predatory smile curling his lips.
Her breath caught.
And far below, Magnus watched from afar, curiosity and jealousy burning in his chest, sensing the depth of his older brother's obsession.