Chapter : The Trap We Set

I stood at the window, watching the sky bleed into dusk, amber light spilling across the estate like fire licking the horizon. Every sound felt sharper tonight—the creak of the wooden floor, the rustle of the trees, even Leo’s quiet laughter down the hallway.

We’d built this place to be a fortress. But the cracks were showing.

And the monster wasn’t clawing at the gates anymore.

He was already inside us.

"How are you holding up?" Lucien asked from behind me.

I didn’t turn. “You ever feel like your whole life has been written by someone else’s hand?”

He walked closer, slipping his arms...