— Aeryn's POV*
He didn't just fall into my arms that night.
He crashed into my life like a curse I couldn't shake.*
It was supposed to be just another storm.
The kind that made the streetlights flicker and turned the city into a quiet hum beneath the rain.
I've always liked storms — they make the world sound less loud.
But that night, something felt off.
Like the rain wasn't falling... it was watching.
I had just finished a late shift.
Back aching. Jacket soaked. Head down.
The usual.
Until I passed the alley near the bakery.
And saw him.
He was slumped against the wall.
Drenched. Still. Barely breathing.
There was blood — so much of it.
His shirt was torn, skin soaked red... but he didn't look wounded.
No gash. No bruise.
Just pale skin and a strange stillness that made my stomach twist.
I should've walked away.
But I didn't.
"Hey... are you okay?" I asked, voice barely above a whisper.
He didn't move.
I stepped closer.
Closer than I should have.
His chest rose, slow and calm — too calm.
That's when his eyes opened.
Red.
Glowing.
Wrong.
"You shouldn't have touched me," he rasped.
Before I could back away, he collapsed forward.
Into me.
And like an idiot, I caught him.
Ten minutes later, I was dragging him into my apartment, soaked to the bone and shaking.
I didn't know who he was.
What he was.
Or why I didn't leave him there.
But I couldn't let go.
Not with the way his voice echoed in my head.
Not with the way those eyes looked through me.
Something about him felt... inevitable.
.....