Adrian ( The vampire)

Chapter 12: The Curse That Won't Let Me Go (Adrian's POV)

Blood.

It was always blood.

The scent thick in the air, clinging to my skin like a second curse. The echoes of the past pressing against my ribs, threatening to drag me under.

I wasn't breathing.

I couldn't.

Because if I did, I'd taste the iron, the loss, the

guilt that had followed me for centuries.

I was stuck.

Trapped in the moment I'd never escape.

—

Centuries ago

I smelled it before I saw it.

The stench of blood . Thick. Metallic. Heavy.

It wasn't mine.

Not this time.

I moved quickly, my boots silent against the cold stone floor. Shadows stretched across the corridor, flickering under the dying candlelight.

Then—

A soft gasp.

My breath hitched.

I rounded the corner and—

Eleanor.

Collapsed on the ground. Her pale hands pressed against her stomach, blood pooling between her fingers.

So much blood.

I had seen death before. Caused it.

But never like this.

Never her.

My entire world Stopped.

"No," I whispered.

My body moved before my mind could catch up, dropping to my knees, grabbing her shoulders.

Her eyes fluttered open, dull and fading.

"A-Adrian…"

Her voice was barely above a whisper. Weak. Shaking.

I pressed my hands against the wound, desperate, useless. Blood soaked into my skin, warm and sticky.

"You're fine," I muttered. "You'll be fine."

She gave me a small, sad smile. "You always say that."

Because it was true.

I had always protected her. Always saved her. Always kept her out of the darkness that followed me like a curse.

But this time?

This time, I wasn't fast enough.

"You should have run," I whispered.

Eleanor exhaled softly, her fingers brushing against my cheek. "I couldn't."

She never could.

And then—

Her body went still.

The light in her eyes flickered.

Then vanished.

And just like that—

She was gone.

Something inside me snapped.

A sharp, piercing agony shot through my chest, clawing up my throat, ripping through my ribs.

I let out a strangled scream.

And the shadows answered.

—

Present day

I jerked awake gasping for air, my body coiled like a predator about to strike.

Not real. Not real.

But the scent of blood still clung to me.

Even centuries later.

I exhaled slowly, dragging a hand over my face.

The past never let me go.

And it never would.

—

The night was quiet.

The stars hung motionless, indifferent to the memories unraveling inside my mind. I sat on the edge of my bed, hands clenched, trying to pull myself back to the present.

But it was getting harder.

The lines between then and now were blurring.

And the problem?

Amber.

Amber Rose.

She was getting too close.

Or maybe I was.

It had been centuries since someone had looked at me the way she did.

Like I was something worth figuring out.

Like I was a puzzle, not a monster.

And I knew exactly how this story ended.

With her blood on my hands.

—

I exhaled sharply, pressing my palms into my eyes.

I needed distance.

I needed to push her away.

Because no matter how many times I told myself this was just a game—**that's all it had been at first, a distraction, something to entertain me in a life full of repetition—**it was changing.

She was changing it.

Amber wasn't like the others.

She wasn't afraid.

She should be.

I had spent years perfecting my distance. My indifference.

People knew better than to get too close.

But Amber?

Amber never listened.

—

Earlier that day.

I had been waiting for her to break.

I watched as she gripped her pen too tightly, her fingers twitching against the notebook.

I listened as her heartbeat stuttered every time I leaned in, every time I said her name just to see her shiver.

She thought ignoring me would work.

It wouldn't.

She was already crumbling.

Then the bell rang.

She bolted.

Like she was running from something.

Me.

I let her.

For now.

Because Amber Rose didn't realize something yet.

She could fight this all she wanted.

She could glare and pretend she hated my presence.

But she was already mine.

And I always take what's mine.

—