No fucking way!
Riley’s POV
I didn’t even get the chance to turn around before sothing ca up behind and covered my mouth completely, cutting off whatever I was about to say and whatever air I was about to take in, and my whole body reacted imdiately as I tried to fight it off.
My hands shot up fast, grabbing at the arm holding , trying to pull it away, trying to twist out of the hold, but the mont I made contact, sothing felt wrong in a way I couldn’t explain properly at first.
My strength, It dropped all at once like it had been taken from .
My grip loosened without wanting it to, and my fingers stopped responding the way they should, like they weren’t fully mine anymore. My legs weakened under , and I struggled to stay upright as I tried to force my body to move the way I needed it to.
I tried to bite down on the hand over my mouth, but even that felt slow and delayed, like my body wasn’t keeping up with my thoughts.
My chest tightened, and my breathing beca uneven, shallow, like I couldn’t pull in enough air.
"What the—"
The words didn’t co out.
Everything around started to blur at the edges, and no matter how hard I tried to focus, it kept slipping further away from .
I fought harder, pushing against the arm again, trying to break free, but my strength wasn’t there anymore.
And then everything went dark.
The first thing I noticed when I woke up was the sound.
Voices.
More than one, overlapping in a way that made it hard to focus on a single one, like several people were talking at the sa ti without caring who was listening or who understood what.
My eyes stayed closed for a mont as I tried to get my bearings, my body feeling heavy in a way that didn’t feel natural.
It wasn’t the kind of weakness from injury.
It felt forced.
Like sothing had been done to .
I opened my eyes slowly, my vision adjusting as I looked up at a ceiling that I didn’t recognize.
It was higher than normal, structured and clean, with dark wooden details that gave the room a controlled and deliberate look.
Nothing about it felt casual.
Nothing about it felt like a place I was supposed to be.
I pushed myself up slowly, my hand pressing into the bed beneath , the surface smooth and cold against my skin.
That alone told enough.
This wasn’t anywhere familiar.
My hearing sharpened automatically, picking up different tones and fragnts of speech without trying too hard.
Berlin.
My jaw tightened imdiately as her face ca back into my mind, along with the way she held in place like I didn’t have control over my own body.
I stood up quickly, my body adjusting faster now that I was fully awake, my senses alert and scanning the room.
Empty.
At least, that’s what it looked like at first glance.
But sothing didn’t sit right.
I took a step forward carefully, my eyes moving across every part of the room, taking in the details, trying to find anything that explained where I was or how I got here.
Then I felt it.
Soone else was in the room.
I didn’t hear him co in.
But he was there.
Standing a few steps away from with his back turned like he had been there the whole ti.
My body went still without deciding to stop.
He was tall, his build solid and clearly strong even under the long flowing regalia he wore. The fabric fell neatly over his body, dark and detailed in a way that looked intentional, important.
But that wasn’t what held my attention.
It was the way his presence and aura filled the room.
I could feel it in a way that didn’t make sense.
And it didn’t feel normal with .
It felt like sothing I should be careful around.
I swallowed slowly before I spoke.
"Who are you?" I asked, my voice coming out steady but quieter than I expected.
He didn’t respond.
He didn’t move at first either, and that made sothing tighten in my chest as I watched him.
Then he turned.
Just enough for to see his face.
Or part of it.
Because a golden mask was covering most of his face.
It fit him perfectly, shaped to his features in a way that didn’t look random. It covered more than half of his face, leaving only part of his profile visible.
What I could see was enough to notice the details.
His skin was smooth, clean, without any visible flaws. The structure of his face was sharp and defined, and near his eye, there was a faint scar that stood out only because everything else looked untouched.
His gaze settled on fully now.
Sothing that made my body stay alert at the sa ti.
I had never reacted like that to anyone before.
He took a step toward .
I moved back imdiately, my legs hitting the edge of the bed behind as I tried to put space between us.
"Stay there," I said quickly, my tone firm.
He didn’t stop.
He took another step
Like he wasn’t even considering listening to .
"What do you want?" I asked, my voice sharper now.
Still no answer.
He kept walking toward like the question didn’t matter.
The closer he got, the stronger that feeling beca, like sothing inside was reacting whether I wanted it to or not.
My back pressed fully against the bed now, and I pushed myself up onto it, moving backward as far as I could, my hands gripping the sheets tightly.
"Stop," I said again.
That was when he finally spoke.
"You’re my mate, Moria."
The words hit hard enough to make freeze completely.
For a second, I didn’t even understand what he said.
Mate?
No.
That didn’t make sense.
That wasn’t possible.
My breathing beca uneven as I stared at him, trying to process it, trying to find anything that proved he was lying.
But he didn’t look like soone who needed to lie.
He took another step closer.
Then he smiled slightly, just enough to show it wasn’t accidental.
"Co," he said.
And my body moved.
I didn’t decide to move.
I didn’t agree.
I didn’t even think about it.
My hand pushed against the bed, and I slid forward, my knees hitting the floor as I moved toward him.
My heart started pounding harder.
What the hell was happening?
I tried to stop.
I tried to push back against it.
But my body didn’t listen.
It kept going.
Closer like I was hypnotized from that single command of his.
Until I was right in front of him.
The second I reached him, his hand ca to my waist and pulled up easily, bringing against him without any effort.
My breath caught imdiately.
"Don’t fight it," he said calmly. "It’ll only cause you pain."
Pain?
I forced myself to look up at him despite everything.
"Who are you?" I asked, my voice steady even though nothing else felt steady. "And what are you doing to ?"
His hand moved up slowly, brushing the strands of hair away from my face.
The contact was light, but my body reacted instantly, and I hated that I noticed it.
"Which should I answer first?" he asked.
"Answer the first one," I said without hesitation.
I wasn’t giving him room to play with this.
A small smirk ford on his lips as his finger traced lightly along my face.
"Your sister must have told you about ," he said.
My brows pulled together imdiately.
Sister?
What was he talking about?
"Aemoria."
The na hit hard.
My eyes widened before I could stop it.
That na wasn’t supposed to co from him.
"What?" I said quietly, my voice barely steady. "No... that’s not—"
It didn’t make sense.
There was no way it was—
He watched like he expected that reaction.
Like he knew exactly what it would do.
"I’m Emberkin Dracula."
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