Greywick never slept. Not really.
The streets still hummed at 2:03 a.m., washed in a half-dead orange glow from streetlamps that flickered like they were nervous. Lila crossed the intersection near Holloway Street with her hood pulled up, earbuds in - not playing music, just there to make people think she wasn't listening.
She always listened. She had to.
Ever since that night two weeks ago - the alley, the scream, the thing she almost saw but couldn't explain - sleep hadn't come easy. Neither had trust.
Especially not after someone started following her.
She didn't tell anyone. Who would believe her? "A shadow keeps trailing me, and I can hear it breathe when I turn off the lights" - yeah, totally normal, Lila.
She stepped into the corner store. It smelled like dust and vinegar. Just one thing. Coffee. Black. Something that tasted like being awake.
The clerk didn't look up. The bell didn't ring.
That's when her skin crawled.
She froze.
There was someone behind her.
She didn't turn. She didn't breathe. She just looked up at the security mirror in the corner - convex, blurry.
Tall figure. Broad shoulders. Standing too still. Watching her.
Move, she told herself.
Her legs wouldn't.
Then-
A hand grabbed her arm.
She spun fast, the coffee slipping from her grip, crashing to the floor.
Her scream never left her throat.
Because he wasn't human.
He looked human. The jacket, the sharp jawline, the midnight eyes.
But his hand burned. Hot like fire and frozen all at once. His gaze wasn't just piercing - it stripped her. Like he was trying to see something under her skin.
"You've been marked," he said. His voice was quiet. Rough. Dangerous. "You need to come with me. Now."
Lila yanked her arm away. "Who the hell are you?"
He didn't blink. "Your only chance at staying alive."
Behind him, the clerk still hadn't moved.
She looked - really looked - and realized he wasn't breathing.
Her heart jackhammered.
"Are you threatening me?"
The man's jaw flexed. "No. But something else will."
Then - glass shattered.
Not the coffee cup.
The window.
A shriek, sharp as a blade dragged across bone, split the night.
He didn't hesitate. He grabbed her wrist.
And they ran.