LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 7: Chapter Seven
A Predator's Mistake.
The air outside the club was cool, a stark contrast to the sticky, humid chaos inside. Lila leaned heavily against the man who had escorted her out, her limbs too weak to resist, her mind swimming in a fog she couldn't break through. She was barely conscious, her thoughts fragmenting into scattered pieces as the drug coursed through her system.
The man kept glancing over his shoulder as he half-dragged, half-carried her down the dimly lit alley. His heart raced,not with concern, but with excitement. The drink he had spiked was working faster than he'd anticipated, and he knew he didn't have much time before the effects began to wear off. But that didn't matter.
He found a secluded spot tucked behind a stack of crates and garbage bins, the shadows thick and undisturbed. No one would find them here. The faint buzz of music from the club was still audible, but it felt worlds away. He propped Lila up against the wall, her head lolling forward, her soft murmurs barely intelligible.
"Stay right there, sweetheart," he muttered, his voice low, almost giddy.
His hands trembled as he knelt down beside her, brushing her hair back from her face. She didn't react. Her skin was soft, her breathing shallow, her helplessness intoxicating. This was the moment he had been waiting for, and he didn't plan to waste it.
The hem of her dress slid higher as his hands moved, his breath quickening with every inch of exposed skin. But just as his fingers grazed her thigh, a flash of movement caught his eye. He froze, glancing up, his body tense.
"Who's there?" he barked, his voice sharp with sudden fear.
The alley was empty or at least, that's what he thought.The flickering light from the streetlamp at the alley's mouth cast long, distorted shadows, but nothing moved.
He shook his head, annoyed at himself for being jumpy. Turning back to Lila, he reached for her again, but before his hand could touch her, something slammed into him from behind with bone-crushing force.
The impact sent him sprawling, his back hitting the pavement hard enough to knock the air from his lungs. Pain radiated through his chest as he struggled to sit up, his vision swimming.
"What the—"
Before he could finish, a shadow loomed over him.
The figure was tall, his features obscured by the darkness, but there was no mistaking the sheer presence of him. His posture radiated menace, his shoulders broad, his stance unyielding.
"Who—who the hell are you?" the man stammered, scrambling backward on his hands and feet like a cornered animal.
The figure didn't answer. Instead, he stepped closer, his movements unnervingly smooth, like a predator stalking its prey. The dim light finally caught his face, and the man's stomach dropped.
Silver eyes glinted like knives in the darkness, cold and unrelenting. The face was sharp, beautiful in a way that felt almost inhuman, but there was nothing comforting about it. It was the kind of beauty that froze your blood.
"I could smell your intentions from across the room," the figure said, his voice low and steady.
The man opened his mouth to respond, to defend himself, but the words caught in his throat as the stranger crouched down in front of him. The movement was slow, deliberate, like a predator sizing up its prey.
"You think no one sees men like you," the stranger continued, his voice laced with quiet venom. "You think no one cares what happens to women like her." He gestured toward Lila, still slumped against the wall. "But you're wrong."
The man barely had time to blink before the stranger struck.
It was fast,too fast. One moment, the figure was crouched in front of him; the next, he was on top of him, pinning him to the ground with a grip like iron. The man struggled, thrashing and clawing, but it was like fighting a steel trap.
"Please!" he gasped, his voice cracking. "I wasn't—I didn't mean—"
"You meant every word of it," the stranger growled, cutting him off.
Then, the man saw them.
The fangs.
The realization hit him like a freight train, his mind reeling as he tried to process what he was seeing. But before he could scream, the stranger's mouth was on his neck.
The pain was sharp and fleeting, a sudden burst of heat that was quickly replaced by cold. The man's strength drained from him as the blood was sucked from his veins, his vision fading, his body going limp.
When it was over, the stranger straightened, wiping the blood from his lips with a look of disgust. The body at his feet was lifeless, pale, crumpled like a discarded puppet.
Adrian turned his attention to Lila, his silver eyes softening as he approached her.
She was still slumped against the wall, her breathing uneven, her face pale. He crouched down, brushing her hair back gently, his brow furrowing.
"Lila," he murmured, her name barely audible.
He had seen her before. Watched her. She had always drawn his attention, though he couldn't explain why. There was something about her—something warm, something real,that stirred something in him he hadn't felt in years.
Guilt twisted in his chest as he lifted her into his arms. She was so small, so fragile. She didn't deserve any of this.
Carrying her out of the alley, Adrian moved quickly, his heightened senses on high alert. The tainted blood he'd consumed was beginning to affect him, its toxicity burning in his veins and making his head swim. But he pushed through it. He needed to get Lila somewhere safe.
He found a hotel nearby, discreet and quiet, and paid for a room in cash without drawing any attention to himself.
Once inside, he laid Lila gently on the bed, adjusting the pillows beneath her head. Her dress was up from the earlier struggle, but Adrian carefully pulled it down, ensuring she was comfortable, though still unaware of what had just happened. Her face was pale, and her breathing still shallow, but there was a softness to her expression now, as if the weight of the world had been momentarily lifted from her shoulders. He could only hope it was enough to let her rest, to sleep off the drug and whatever else was still lingering in her system.
Adrian took a moment to sit on the edge of the bed, watching her. His own exhaustion was catching up with him—draining him more than he cared to admit. The blood he had taken, while not as potent as his usual feed, had still been tainted with alcohol and drugs, and it left a bitter taste on his tongue, gnawing at his insides. His vision was blurry, and he felt a faint nausea creeping in.
But there was no time to dwell on it. Lila needed him to stay sharp. He glanced over at her, a pang of guilt tugging at his chest. She had no idea what had happened, and though it would have been easy to slip away, to let her wake up in peace, he knew he couldn't leave her here alone—not after all she'd been through.
The hotel room was quiet, save for the occasional hum of traffic outside and the distant sounds of the city. It was too quiet for Adrian's liking, too still. His fingers drummed absently on the armrest of the chair he had pulled up beside the bed, a restless energy building in him. He had always been one to keep moving, never staying in one place for long. But tonight was different. Tonight, Lila had brought something out of him that he hadn't expected.
As he leaned back in the chair, closing his eyes for a moment, the exhaustion overwhelmed him. The pull of sleep was heavy in his limbs, but he fought it. He wasn't sure what it was about her that had triggered something inside him,he had spent so many years shutting himself off from the world. Detached. Detached from everything. But Lila… she made him feel too much.
He cursed under his breath, frustrated with himself. He was supposed to be the one in control. He didn't get involved. He didn't get attached.
But now, as he sat in the room, watching her sleep, something told him that wasn't going to be the case anymore.
The next few hours passed in a blur. Adrian dozed in fits, his awareness flickering in and out of sleep. He could still hear her soft breaths, steady but ragged, and it kept him tethered to the present. Every time his mind wandered, he would snap back to reality, checking on her, making sure she was still okay.