( Chapter 3:Mira Pov)
The scent of rain clung to the air, thick and heavy, as I stepped into the dimly lit street. My heart drummed an uneasy rhythm in my chest, though I couldn't tell if it was from the cold night air or the eerie feeling that I was being watched.
Ever since I woke up in this new body, nothing had made sense. I was Mira Russo—at least, that's what the world believed. But deep inside, I knew the truth. I wasn't just a girl thrust into the cruel hands of fate. I was someone else before this. Someone powerful. Someone feared.
The problem was, I didn't remember enough.
The wind howled, carrying whispers I couldn't quite catch. My pulse spiked as I picked up my pace, my boots clicking against the pavement. A shadow flickered in the corner of my vision. My instincts screamed at me to run, but something inside me—something ancient—told me to hold my ground.
Then, I felt it.
A presence. Cold, suffocating, yet impossibly familiar.
I turned sharply, my breath catching in my throat as my eyes landed on him.
Lorenzo.
He stood there, barely illuminated by the dull glow of the streetlights. His tall frame was draped in a black coat, blending into the night, but his presence was unmistakable. He was like a storm contained in a man—dark, dangerous, and entirely unpredictable.
My fingers curled into fists at my sides, forcing down the irrational wave of emotions surging through me. I should hate him. Every fiber of my being screamed that he was my enemy.
Yet, something deeper whispered otherwise.
"What do you want?" I demanded, my voice sharper than I intended.
He didn't move, didn't blink. But the way his gaze locked onto mine sent an unsettling warmth through me. "You're reckless, Mira," he murmured, his voice smooth like velvet laced with steel. "Walking alone at night, as if you've forgotten what lurks in the shadows."
I scoffed, crossing my arms. "What? You mean creatures like you?"
Something dark flashed in his eyes. He took a single step closer, and instinctively, my body tensed. He noticed. Of course, he did. He was a predator. Every movement of his was calculated, designed to unsettle, to draw his prey in before the kill.
"You're not afraid of me." It wasn't a question.
I lifted my chin, refusing to let him see the truth beneath my defiance. "I know what you are, Lorenzo. And I know what I am. If I should fear you, then maybe you should fear me too."
A slow smirk tugged at his lips, but there was no amusement in his eyes—only something deeper, something unreadable. "Fear?" he echoed. "No, cara mia. You are not something to be feared. Not yet."
Before I could react, he was suddenly closer, impossibly fast. The world blurred, and in the space of a heartbeat, his cold fingers brushed against my wrist. My pulse leapt wildly, betraying me.
Damn him.
Lorenzo tilted his head slightly, studying me like I was some puzzle he couldn't quite solve. "You're changing," he murmured. "You feel it, don't you? The power inside you, clawing to be set free."
I swallowed hard. I didn't want to admit it, but he was right.
Lately, I had been feeling... different. My senses sharper, my reflexes faster. The storm inside me, once a whisper, was now a raging force demanding release. But I refused to show weakness. Not in front of him.
"Stay out of my way, Lorenzo," I said, my voice steadier than I felt.
His expression remained unreadable, but his grip on my wrist lingered for just a second too long. Then, with a ghost of a smirk, he let go.
"Be careful, Mira," he said softly. "You may not fear me now, but one day, you might wish you had."
Then, just like that, he was gone.
The night swallowed him whole, leaving only the ghost of his presence in the air. I exhaled sharply, trying to steady my heartbeat.
I should have felt relieved.
But instead, all I felt was the sinking realization that no matter how much I tried to fight it…
Lorenzo and I were bound by something far greater than hatred.
Something inevitable.
And I wasn't sure I was ready for it.