Chapter Two: A Game of Secrets
Celeste refused to be the first to look away.
The moment stretched between them, tense and charged, like a storm brewing just beneath the surface. Elias Blackwood stood mere feet away, exuding an air of controlled power, his silver eyes locked onto hers with unsettling precision.
Everything about him screamed danger—but it wasn't the kind of danger that made her want to run. It was the kind that dared her to stay.
"I don't scare easily, Mr. Blackwood," she said, tilting her chin up defiantly.
His lips curved into something that wasn't quite a smile. Amusement? Intrigue? She couldn't tell.
"I would be disappointed if you did," he murmured, his voice like dark velvet.
He moved then, slow and deliberate, like a predator measuring its prey. Celeste forced herself to remain still, though every instinct screamed at her to put distance between them. She was used to powerful men—business moguls, politicians, corrupt elites—but Elias Blackwood was something else entirely.
His presence was unearthly.
"You came here seeking answers," he said, his deep voice reverberating through the air. "So ask your questions, Miss Vaughn."
She swallowed the sudden dryness in her throat, her fingers tightening around the strap of her satchel. This was it—the moment she had been waiting for.
"Your name keeps coming up in my investigation," she began. "Disappearances. Unsolved cases. Every thread leads back to Blackwood Industries."
His expression remained unreadable. "And you assume I'm responsible?"
"I assume you know more than you're letting on."
A muscle in his jaw ticked. Celeste could tell he wasn't used to being questioned like this—most people probably feared him too much to push. But she wasn't most people.
"You're persistent," he observed.
"It's my job."
"And what do you intend to do if you don't like the answers you find?"
Celeste hesitated. That was the real question, wasn't it? She had walked into this meeting thinking she was just chasing another corporate scandal. But now… something about Elias Blackwood told her this was far bigger than a business conspiracy.
Before she could respond, he took another step toward her. Close enough that she could feel the heat radiating from him. Close enough that her pulse betrayed her.
"Some truths," Elias said, his voice barely above a whisper, "are better left undiscovered."
Her heart skipped.
She wasn't sure if it was his words that sent the shiver down her spine… or the way he was looking at her.
Like he already knew something she didn't.
Like he knew exactly what she was.
A Shift in the Air
The temperature in the room suddenly dropped, a sharp contrast to the warmth between them.
Elias' gaze flickered toward the window, his expression tightening. In an instant, the subtle amusement in his features was gone, replaced by something… predatory.
Celeste instinctively followed his gaze.
The city stretched beyond the glass, the moon hanging low and full over Silvergate. But what caught her attention wasn't the skyline—it was the shadow lurking on the rooftop of the adjacent building.
Something not human.
Celeste's breath hitched.
"Get down."
Elias' voice was a low snarl—and before she could process what was happening, the glass behind him shattered.
The next moments were a blur. A dark figure lunged from the broken window, moving faster than anything she had ever seen. Celeste barely had time to react before Elias moved—his body a blur of inhuman speed as he intercepted the attack.
A deep, guttural growl tore through the air.
Not human. Not even close.
Celeste hit the floor, her heart pounding as she scrambled backward. The attacker—whoever, whatever it was—had collided with Elias, sending them both crashing against the far wall.
For the first time, she saw Elias Blackwood unmasked.
His form was still human, but only barely. His pupils had dilated, the silver of his irises burning like molten fire. His hands had shifted, fingers elongating into claws, his muscles coiled like a beast barely holding itself together.
And his snarl—deep, primal, wolfish—sent ice racing down her spine.
Celeste knew fear. She had faced down criminals, corrupt CEOs, and men who thought they were untouchable. But nothing in her life had prepared her for this.
"Stay down," Elias growled—but not at her.
The intruder, still hidden in the shadows, let out a low, guttural laugh.
"You're getting sloppy, Blackwood," a voice sneered.
Elias bared his teeth. "And you're getting bold, Thornwood."
Celeste's stomach twisted. Thornwood.
She knew that name.
Lucian Thornwood.
She had come here looking for secrets, for the truth behind the disappearances.
Now, the truth had found her first.
And it had fangs.