Chapter 51 – A Fateful Decision

The silence between them was thick, stretched taut by unspoken truths and impossible choices.

Elena gripped the book in her hands, her pulse hammering so hard it drowned out everything else. The words she had just read burned in her mind. The weight of it was suffocating.

Leon was a vampire.

He was dying.

And she was the only one who could save him.

She opened her mouth, but no words came out. What was she supposed to say? That she wasn't terrified? That she hadn't just realized she was standing in the middle of something far bigger than herself?

Leon took a slow step forward, his expression unreadable. Even in his weakened state, his presence filled the room, swallowing the space between them. His usually sharp features were tense, drawn tight by something that wasn't just exhaustion.

"Elena," he said softly, but his voice was rough, like it took effort to even speak. "Come with me."

She didn't move. "Why?"

His gaze darkened. "Because if you stay here, you'll be in danger."

A bitter laugh nearly escaped her lips. She was in danger? From what? Him? Or the things lurking in the shadows that had been chasing them from the start?

She swallowed hard. "If you wanted to hurt me, you would have done it already."

Leon's jaw tightened. "It's not that simple."

Elena's grip on the book tightened. "Then explain it to me, Leon. Stop avoiding the truth."

For a long moment, he didn't answer. Instead, his eyes dropped to the open pages in her hands. His fingers twitched at his side. Whatever was written there—he knew. He had known all along.

"Elena," he murmured, but this time his voice held something different. Something raw. "You weren't supposed to find out this way."

She felt like she had been punched in the stomach. "So, it's true," she whispered.

Leon hesitated, then nodded once.

A shiver ran down her spine.

Vampire. The word echoed in her skull. It felt impossible, yet standing here, looking at him now, she saw it. The unnatural way he moved, the sharpness of his gaze, the way he had always seemed to know things no one else did.

And then there was the undeniable truth in the book.

Leon was bound to her. Somehow, someway, they were connected.

She inhaled sharply. "The book says… the only way to save you is if I let you—" She couldn't finish the sentence.

His shoulders tensed. "If I mark you."

The room seemed to shrink.

She took a step back, bumping into the desk behind her. The candlelight cast eerie shadows on his face, making his sharp features look almost otherworldly.

"I won't force you," he said again, but she could hear the restraint in his voice. The way his fingers twitched like he was barely holding himself together.

Elena exhaled shakily. Her heart was telling her to run, but something deeper—something she didn't understand—kept her rooted in place.

Marking. She didn't fully understand what it meant, but if the book was right, it would bind her to him. Permanently.

She didn't know what scared her more—the idea of being tied to Leon, or the idea of losing him before she ever understood what he really was to her.

A sudden crash echoed from outside.

Leon's head snapped toward the sound, his entire body going rigid. The air grew colder, thick with something unseen.

They weren't alone.

"Elena," he murmured, this time urgent. "Choose now."

She sucked in a sharp breath.

If she said no—if she let him die—then this was it.

If she said yes… everything would change.

The choice was hers.

And time had run out.