Megan didn't sleep that night.
She tried. She counted sheep. Then stars. Then regrets.
But her body felt... wrong. Like a wire stretched too tight.
Every time she closed her eyes, she saw him—Victor.
That look in his eyes. The way he'd touched her.
That heat that still burned under her skin.
She rubbed her wrist where he'd brushed her.
Still warm. Still tingling.
---
The next morning, she woke up with a scream caught in her throat.
She had dreamt of a forest. Of silver moons.
And of Victor—his chest bare, eyes glowing, teeth grazing her neck, whispering something in a language she didn't know… but felt.
---
Her hoodie sleeves were long that day. She kept her head down, eyes low.
Ashville Academy felt colder. Everyone stared—but not like before.
Now they stared like she smelled different. Like she glowed.
And Victor? Nowhere to be seen.
---
In the library, Megan found herself back near that forbidden section again.
This time, she wasn't alone.
"You're not sleeping."
She spun. Victor stood at the end of the aisle, arms crossed, eyes unreadable.
She swallowed. "How do you know?"
"I just do." He stepped forward. "You feel it, don't you?"
"What did you do to me?"
His smirk twitched. "Touched you."
"Bullshit."
He didn't answer right away. He just watched her with that quiet intensity that made her knees weak.
Then, casually, he took her hand. Flipped it palm up.
And kissed her wrist.
Megan gasped.
Instantly, her chest tightened. That same heat bloomed through her again, like fire crawling beneath her skin.
"What the hell—"
"That's the mark," he said, voice low. "You're reacting to it."
"I'm not reacting to you."
"Oh, sweetheart…" He leaned closer, breath brushing her cheek. "You've been reacting to me since day one."
---
She pulled her hand back like she'd been burned.
"You can't just go around marking people—whatever that means—without consent!"
"I didn't plan to." His tone shifted—softer, darker. "But you're not like the others."
"Oh, really? Because I'm fat?"
"Because you're real." His eyes glowed faintly now. "Because you woke something in me that shouldn't exist."
Megan stared at him.
"Victor, what are you?"
He smiled. But it didn't reach his eyes.
"A mistake."
And then he vanished—literally, melted into shadow—leaving behind nothing but the echo of her racing pulse and a phantom kiss burning on her wrist.
---
That night, Megan dreamed again.
Of Victor—this time shirtless, eyes glowing, body covered in strange symbols. He pulled her into his lap and whispered:
> "You're mine now. They can't unmark you, Megan."
She woke up sweating, hand still tingling.
And she knew deep in her bones—
This wasn't a crush.
It was a claim.
And she had no idea what it meant…
But something told her,
he wasn't going to let her go.