Chapter 16: The first Kiss

Chapter 16: The first Kiss


As the night progressed, I sensed the burden of the event bearing down on me. The throng, the murmurs, the subtle flow of influence that permeated each discussion, it was simply excessive, utterly daunting. However, I was aware that I couldn’t go, not at this moment. 

Just as I was ready to speak to Alexander, the lights unexpectedly flickered. 

A loud bang reverberated in the space, causing the audience to burst into disorder. 

I glanced over to witness Alexander’s eyes blaze with rage, his hand clenching into a fist. 

And then I saw him.
A figure in the shadows, slipping away into the night, Max Carter.
But it wasn’t just him. Someone else was with him. Someone I hadn’t seen before.
The room was about to erupt into something far worse than I had anticipated.
Alexander’s grip tightened on me, pulling me toward him. “Stay close. And don’t make a sound.”
I followed his orders, yet inside, I was aware: Max Carter had just played his hand, and everything would change from now on. 

As we approached the exit, the loud bang of a gunshot shattered the silence. My hand was yanked away from Alexander's hold, and I wobbled, my heart racing in my chest. The environment surrounding me whirled, fading into a fog of anxiety and disarray. 

I couldn't make out anything clearly, people were yelling, dashing in every direction, but I felt as though I was frozen in place, trapped in the chaos. My breath caught in my throat as I looked around anxiously, searching for him, but Alexander was absent. 

A surge of panic overwhelmed me, and in a fit of sheer fright, I shouted, "Alex!" My voice faded away in the chaos, but before I could completely grasp the noises around me, a familiar pair of arms wrapped around me from behind. 

“Quiet... it's alright, I’m here,” Alexander said in a soft yet urgent tone, covering my mouth with his hand to hush me. His presence was the sole thing anchoring me at that moment, his hold steady, drawing me against his chest. His warmth penetrated the chaos, and gradually, the rapid beating of my heart started to calm. 

I released a trembling sigh, pressing my face against his chest, thankful for his closeness. Yet the dread, the pure fright, remained hidden just below the surface. 

“You shouldn’t have come here.”  

Alexander's voice was piercing, slicing through the turmoil as he seized my arm and drew me away. The sounds of the party lingered in the background, yet the tension between us overshadowed all else. His icy-blue eyes glowed with a fierceness I hadn’t encountered before, and his hold on my arm was strong, nearly controlling. 

"Did I have any options?" I retorted, holding him tightly. My heart raced from what we had just seen, a man falling down, blood gathering beneath him, his last breath taken in an instant. 

Alexander breathed out forcefully, his jaw clenching. “No” "And that's the reason I advised you to remain nearby." 

“Near enough for me to see someone perish?” I whispered, my voice hardly louder than a hiss. “Does your world appear like this?” 

His face shadowed, and for a brief instant, I believed he could erupt. However, he inclined closer, his tone ominously soft. "This is about survival, Dysis. You may not grasp it now, but you will later." 

I took a step back, shaking my head. “I’ll never understand this. I don’t want to.”  

Alexander straightened, his towering presence filling the small space we had ducked into. “Then you shouldn’t have tried to fight me at every turn.”  

Before I could respond, the sound of footsteps approached, and Alexander shifted, blocking my view of whoever was coming. John appeared, his face impassive as always, but his eyes held a warning.  

“Max left,” John said simply. “Nathaniel wants a word.”  

Alexander nodded, his body tense. “Make sure she gets back to the car,” he ordered, his voice cold and final.  

I bristled. “I’m not a child. Don’t talk about me like I’m not standing right here.”  

He turned back to me, his eyes narrowing. “Then stop acting like one. Go with John. Now.”  

The command in his tone sent a fresh wave of anger through me, but before I could say something I might regret, John stepped between us. “Miss,” he said calmly, gesturing toward the hallway.  

I didn’t move. “No. I want answers, Alexander.”  

His eyes met mine, and for an instant, the space between us appeared to spark. However, rather than providing what I desired, he turned and walked off, leaving me seething behind him. 

Returning to the car, I couldn't dispel the memories from the evening. The blood, the motionless corpse, the grin on Max Carter’s face, it all swirled in my thoughts like a tempest. 

The door opened wide, and Alexander stepped in silently. The quiet in the vehicle felt heavy as we navigated the city roads, with just the soft purr of the engine disrupting the calm. I looked at him for a moment; his jaw was tight, and his hands were balled into fists resting on his legs. 

Finally, I broke the silence. “What happened back there?”  

His head turned slowly, his eyes piercing. “A message.”  

I frowned. “A message to who?”  

“To me,” he said, his voice clipped.  

“Why involve me, then? Why bring me to a place like that if you knew it wasn’t safe?”  

His eyes narrowed, and for the first time, his calm facade cracked. “Because I thought you’d be smart enough to listen. To stay quiet and stay close.”  

My anger flared again. “You can’t just expect me to blindly follow your orders, Alexander. I’m not your soldier. I’m not your property.”  

The car screeched to a halt. My breath caught as Alexander turned toward me, his icy-blue eyes blazing. 

“You don’t get it, do you?” His voice was low, dangerous. “Every move I make, every decision, it’s to protect you. Whether you like it or not.”  

I glared at him, refusing to back down. “Protect me? By dragging me into the middle of your twisted games? That’s not protection, Alexander. That’s control.”  

His hand reached out, holding my chin softly yet securely, compelling me to look into his eyes. "Control is the sole factor sustaining your life at this moment." Had you remained at home, you might have been abducted or worse… 

I gulped down nervously, the anxiety of all that had just occurred constricting my chest. "I would have been dead by that time, correct?" I murmured, the phrases slipping away in a trembling exhale. 

The tears that had been about to fall finally rushed out, flowing down my face. I was unable to halt them, unable to cease the shaking that shook my frame. It felt like every bit of control I possessed had drained away, rendering me defenseless and naked. 

In an instant, his hand was present, gently cradling my face, his thumb sweeping over the tears on my cheek, yet his eyes... his eyes conveyed a deeper darkness, a more profound intensity than I had ever encountered. 

And then, without a sound, without any indication, his lips pressed against mine. 

The kiss resembled a tempest. Intense. Starving. It knocked the breath from my lungs and caused the ground to tilt underneath me. His hand glided to the nape of my neck, fingers sinking in as he drew me nearer, his body against mine as if he feared releasing me. 

All my instincts urged me to reject him, to struggle against him, to resist the powerful attraction of his presence. However, I was unable to. I did not. Instead, my body leaned toward him, my fingers gripping the material of his shirt as if I required something, anything, to steady myself. The intensity between us was overwhelming, occupying the emptiness that had existed within me. 

His kiss was demanding, urgent—but there was something more. Something soft, a quiet desperation hidden beneath the force, like he was holding onto me for dear life. In that instant, it felt like he was holding onto me in a way I couldn't comprehend, as if I were his sole source of support. 

When he eventually let go, the quietness surrounding us was overwhelming. 

His breath was ragged, his chest rising and falling with each heavy inhale, his eyes never leaving mine. He looked... lost. Torn. 

His voice was a raw whisper when he spoke. “That was what Max Carter wanted,” he muttered, his words laced with bitterness and regret. “He thought I’d leave you at the mansion, so he could make his move.”