Chapter Ten: "The Shadows Close In"

The Shadows Close In

Myra's POV

The rest of the morning passed in a blur. After my conversation with Jenna, I felt disconnected, almost as if the world around me had shifted just slightly out of place. I kept replaying the dream—the wolf, the blood contract, Luke—and the unsettling feeling that something was being hidden from me. But I couldn't shake the pressure that filled the air when Jenna spoke, as if she were trying to convince herself as much as me.

I couldn't trust her, not now. She wanted me to believe the dream wasn't real, but deep down, I knew what I felt. The pull of the bond, the power of the contract—it wasn't just in my head. And Luke… there was something wrong with him. He wasn't just the distant cousin my father had promised me to. He was part of something darker. I could feel it in my bones.

I didn't say much to Jenna after she'd gone back upstairs to her room with Luke. I wasn't in the mood for her cold words or fake reassurances. I just needed to get out. To clear my mind. So, I threw on my coat and decided to head to the library. I always found solace among the pages of books—until now.

The walk to the library felt longer than usual, and my thoughts kept drifting back to the strange encounter the other day in the library. That man. He had been in my dreams. I'd seen his face so clearly, his dark eyes and that cold, calculating smirk. And in my dreams, he'd done things to me—things I had never felt before, things that made me tremble even now.

It was as if he knew exactly what I needed before I did, touching places in my mind I had never dared to explore. And when I woke up, I'd felt it—like a lingering warmth that shouldn't have been there. A connection I couldn't explain. I hated how my body responded to his presence in my dreams. I hated how much I wanted to see him again.

I arrived at the library, the familiar scent of old paper and dust comforting in a way that nothing else could. Mrs. Brown greeted me warmly as usual, but I wasn't really there. Not mentally, at least. I was lost in my thoughts, trying to make sense of the chaos swirling inside me.

The minutes passed by slowly as I checked the returns and sorted through the shelves, trying to keep my mind occupied. The afternoon sun was already dipping below the horizon when I looked up and noticed the time.

I should have gone home, but something—some unexplainable feeling—kept me there. I couldn't shake the sense of being watched, as if someone were standing just outside the library, waiting. Every time I turned a corner or glanced out the window, there was nothing. Just the empty street, darkening with each passing minute.

But then, I saw him.

He was standing in the shadows across the street, his tall figure outlined against the fading light. It was him—the man from my dreams. The man who had touched my soul in ways I couldn't understand. His dark eyes met mine, and I felt a jolt in my chest, as if he had pulled a string that connected us.

I couldn't look away. I didn't want to. His gaze held me captive, his eyes intense, burning into me with something primal, something so raw and dangerous that it made my breath catch in my throat. Every nerve in my body reacted to him, my skin tingling, warmth pooling in places I didn't want to acknowledge. A strange heat flooded my chest, rising to my neck and spreading lower. I felt a sudden rush of desire that twisted my stomach. And then it hit me.

I remembered his eyes—the color, the intensity. His lips. The slight curve of them when he smiled, that enigmatic expression that made my pulse race. His nose, his jawline, everything about him seemed to pull at me, like a force I couldn't resist.

Just the thought of his touch, the brush of his skin against mine, made me ache. I shouldn't feel this way. I barely knew him. But everything inside me screamed otherwise.

I blinked rapidly, trying to shake off the feelings that were threatening to drown me. What was happening? Why was my body responding like this?

And then, as quickly as the desire had taken hold, I snapped back to reality. I gasped, realizing how close he was. He was still standing there, just beyond the library's windows, watching me. My heart hammered in my chest, the blood rushing in my ears.

Why was he out there? Why was he standing in the dark, waiting for me? What did he want?

I turned away quickly, ducking behind one of the bookcases, the warmth that had filled me now replaced by a cold, gnawing unease. I couldn't afford to let myself get caught up in whatever strange connection this was. I didn't understand it. I didn't want to understand it.

But when I dared to glance around the corner, my eyes met his once more. He hadn't moved, but his presence was overwhelming. He was like a shadow, stretching across the empty street, waiting, patient.

My heart skipped. I had to know why he was here.

Suddenly, the door to the library swung open, and the wind whistled through, sending a chill through the room. I froze, my gaze snapping to the figure that stepped inside.

It was him.

He was here.

My body responded to his presence the moment he crossed the threshold, the air around him thick with power. He didn't speak right away, just stood there, his eyes scanning the room until they landed on me.

And then, the world went still. His gaze locked with mine, and everything else faded into the background. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as his piercing eyes bore into me, sending a rush of heat through my veins, flooding my senses with an intensity I couldn't ignore.

He took a single step forward, and I felt it—something deep inside me shifted. My breath hitched, and for a moment, I was lost in the magnetism of his presence.

"Myra..." His voice was a low, dangerous whisper that curled around me, binding me to him.

I couldn't breathe. His name on his lips—my name—sent shockwaves through me.

But then, before I could make sense of what was happening, the door slammed shut behind him, a loud crash echoing through the library. I whipped around, my heart racing, but when I turned back to him—

He was gone.

I stood there, frozen, trying to process the events that had just unfolded, when a faint noise at the back of the library made me spin.

And then, the voice I'd feared to hear.

"Myra..."

It wasn't the man. It was Luke.

And suddenly, I realized—I wasn't alone.