Chapter 18: “Where Have You Been?”

Ivy

My blood ran cold. That voice—a voice I hadn't heard in weeks but knew as intimately as my own heartbeat.  

"Leo," I whispered, my voice trembling against his palm.  

He released me slowly, and in the faint moonlight streaming through the window, I could see him. He looked... different. His frame was leaner, his face sharper, as though the weight of the world had been pressing down on him. But his eyes—they burned with the same intensity as before, smoldering with something between anger and longing.  

For a moment, neither of us moved. The tension in the room was suffocating, like the calm before a storm. I clutched the towel tighter around me, my damp hair clinging to my shoulders.  

"Where have you been?" I asked, my voice breaking as a mixture of relief, anger, and heartbreak surged through me. "Two weeks, Leo. Two weeks of silence. Do you have any idea what that did to me?"  

He ran a hand through his disheveled hair, stepping closer. "I know, Ivy. I know. But I had to—"  

"You had to disappear? Without a word? Without telling me if you were even alive?" I cut him off, my voice rising. My emotions were a tangled mess, but the overwhelming one was anger. "You can't just waltz back into my life and expect me to be okay with it."  

His jaw tightened, and his gaze softened, though his body remained rigid. "You think I wanted to leave? You think I wanted to stay away from you?" His voice was low, dangerous, but there was a raw vulnerability in his tone that caught me off guard.  

"Then why?" I demanded, my hands trembling as I let the towel fall slightly, forgetting my own modesty in the heat of the moment.  

He hesitated, and for the first time, I saw a flicker of doubt cross his face. "Because I needed to protect you."  

"Protect me?" I repeated, my voice laced with disbelief. "From what? From who?"  

"From myself," he admitted, stepping closer until there was barely any space between us. "Ivy, you have no idea what I am—what I'm capable of. I thought staying away would keep you safe, but I can't do it anymore. I can't stay away from you."  

My heart ached at his words, but I couldn't let go of my anger so easily. "You look... different," I said, my voice softer now as my eyes scanned his leaner frame. "Where were you? What happened to you?"  

He exhaled deeply, his gaze dropping to the floor. "There are things about me, about my world, that you don't understand. And I don't know if I can explain them without losing you."  

I reached out hesitantly, my fingers brushing against his arm. "Leo, you almost lost me when you left without a word. But if you want me to trust you, you need to start being honest. No more secrets."  

His hand came up to cup my face, his touch sending a familiar warmth through me. "I missed you, Ivy. Every second of every day, I missed you."  

My breath hitched as I felt the sincerity in his words. The anger in my chest melted away, replaced by an overwhelming longing. Before I could respond, his lips were on mine, claiming me in a kiss that was as fierce as it was tender.  

I melted into him, my hands finding their way to his shoulders as he pulled me closer. The world faded away, leaving only the two of us. The heat of his body against mine, the desperation in his kiss—it was all-consuming.  

When we finally pulled apart, both of us breathless, I rested my forehead against his. "Promise me you won't leave like that again," I whispered, my voice barely audible.  

"I promise," he said without hesitation. "But you need to promise me something too."  

"What?"  

"Stay by my side, no matter what. No matter how dark things get. Can you do that, Ivy?"  

I stared into his eyes, seeing the storm brewing within them. And despite the fear and uncertainty, I nodded. "I promise."  

For now, that was enough. But I knew this was only the beginning of the truth Leo had been hiding—and the danger it would bring into my life. 

The towel slipped from my body as we stood close to each other. I should have felt embarrassed or at least self-conscious, but the way his eyes swept over me, dark and raw, erased any semblance of embarrassment.  

"Ivy," he murmured, his voice hoarse, thick with something raw.  

Before I could respond, his hands were on me, pulling me flush against his body. His lips crashed onto mine again, urgent and consuming, as though he'd been starving for this moment. My head spun, my breath hitching as his kisses trailed down my neck, soft bites sending jolts of heat through my body.  

My legs gave way beneath me, but Leo caught me, lowering me onto the bed with a care that belied the fire in his eyes. My skin burned where his fingers grazed, my body trembling with a need I’d never felt before.  

He kissed me again, his lips finding mine with a hunger that sent shivers down my spine. I felt his teeth sink softly into my lower lip, and the sharp taste of blood bloomed on my tongue. He licked it away with a growl, his movements both possessive and tender, as if he were stuck on the edge of control.  

His lips moved lower, brushing over my collarbone, then my breasts. His tongue teased me, eliciting sounds I barely recognized as my own. I bit down on my lip, the pain mixing with the pleasure, my thoughts spiraling into nothingness.  

I had never lain with anyone before, but with Leo, there was no fear—only a consuming need that ignored everything else.  I desperately want him inside me, I thought to myself. I am ready to give it up to him.

But just as I surrendered to the moment, just as I thought there was no going back, he froze.  

His body stiffened against mine, his breath ragged. Then, as if my skin had scalded him, he pushed away, his eyes wild and panicked.  

"I can't," he whispered, his voice breaking.  

Confusion crashed over me like a tidal wave. Did I do something wrong? 

"Leo... what’s wrong?" I reached for him, but he moved abruptly, backing away from me on the bed.  

His chest rose and fell with uneven breaths, his hands clenched at his sides but he didn’t utter another word. 

Leo?” I murmured, my voice breaking.

He leaned closer, his breath fanning my neck. “Shhh…Do you hear that?”

“What?” I asked, confusion swirling with the lingering haze of desire.

Then I heard it—a faint rustling of leaves, distant but deliberate, like footsteps tiptoeing across the garden below.

“No,” Leo growled under his breath, his voice guttural, almost animalistic. He shot off the bed, moving to the window in one fluid motion.

I sat up, clutching the sheets to my chest. “What’s going on?”

He turned to me, his expression wild and unrecognizable. “We’re not alone.”