Chapter 37
Sofia Bliss
He stepped even closer, bringing his face near, hovering just above my shoulder.
His breath hotly brushed against the back of my neck, and my body nearly gave out from the sensation.
“What's your name?” he asked, his voice low and serious.
Those words, the way he spoke them, breathed them close to me... It was as if he was inhaling my scent, as if he wanted to record it somehow.
And it almost made me shudder.
I turned slowly, startled, to meet his eyes.
For a moment, I couldn’t speak.
His face was too close—those dark eyes gleaming in a strange.
My throat closed up. I didn’t think I could make a single sound.
“I asked you... What's your name?”
His face became more serious.
His gaze then shifted from my eyes to my mouth, as if he were impatiently waiting for answers.
“What clan are you from?”
It was then that my mind almost collapsed.
Clan?
What the hell was he talking about?
I frowned, confused… uncomfortable.
Was that some kind of slang? A code from the bar? A secret word I wasn’t supposed to understand?
I turned to Letícia, silently begging for help.
And my cousin again tried to take charge. She put herself between me and the policeman and stared at him before speaking.
“She doesn't belong to any clan,” she said, in a way that surprised me.
There was something strange in her voice, almost as if she was communicating something that only the two of them understood.
And somehow… he understood.
He remained silent for a few seconds, as if he was considering believing her words.
Then, without looking at her, he moved again, calmly and calculatedly.
He walked around her like she wasn’t even there—closing the space between us.
Now he was in front of me.
And his eyes… they weren’t just threatening anymore.
There was something darker there now.
Something feral.
No.
That wasn't human.
It wasn’t normal.
“I’ll ask one last time…”
His voice dropped to a near growl, dragging each word out like a sentence.
“What. Is. Your. Name?”
Something in his voice shifted.
Yes, there was authority.
But not the kind that comes with a badge.
No, this was something deeper.
Like a beast hiding behind a man’s face.
A beast that was getting more and more restless.
My knees weakened. My hands trembled at my sides.
I was scared.
Truly scared.
It felt like he could devour me whole and leave nothing behind.
And then, suddenly
Then a familiar voice, low and rough, cut through the tension in the air, bringing me back to my senses.
“Good evening, officer...”
My heart slammed against my ribs.
I knew that voice.
Adrian.
He was by my side at the same moment, pulling me against his body, as if he were claiming something that was his.
His strong arm wrapped tight around my shoulders, holding me close—so close it almost felt like he was becoming a shield.
It was strange.
But that single gesture…
It seemed like a wild statement to anyone who dared to get involved.
I tilted my head up to look at him.
And the expression on his face
I’d never seen him like that before.
He was serious. Almost… possessed.
His eyes locked onto the cop with lethal precision, like he was seconds away from tearing him apart.
They stared at each other like predators, ready to rip each other to shreds.
The entire bar shifted.
The air became even denser.
People began whispering under their breath, nervously shifting in their seats.
Musicians missed notes. Conversations died mid-sentence.
Everyone could feel it.
How close this was to exploding.
“Adrian…” I whispered, not even sure why or what I meant to say.
He didn’t look at me.
He just tightened his arm around me, pulling me in so close I could feel his pulse against my back.
I couldn’t tell if it was possessive or protective.
Or both.
I was confused.
Completely lost in the chaos that was unfolding around us.
One thing, though, was becoming clearer by the second:
I wasn’t surrounded by ordinary people.
I was in a room full of predators.
Starving ones.
It was as if everything was moving in slow motion around me.
My heart was beating so hard it hurt.
I looked at Leticia again, silently begging for something - guidance, support, anything.
But her face…
She looked just like me: frozen. Speechless.
Letícia, the girl who always had a plan, didn’t know what to do.
Then, the cop spoke.
His voice broke the silence with a low, mocking chuckle—as if he liked the way things were going.
“Well… what a surprise. I never thought I'd see a Valehart in a place like this.”
The silence grew darker.
Thicker.
Every breath in the room felt forced.
As if everyone was waiting for something awful to happen.
Adrian didn’t say a word.
Not at first.
He tilted his head slowly, eyes fixed on the cop like a predator sizing up his kill.
His jaw clenched.
And those eyes…
They gleamed with something dangerous.
“Is that a problem?” he finally asked, voice low, —controlled, but deadly.
The cop didn’t answer.
Instead, he looked straight at me.
I shrank instinctively, pressing closer to Adrian like he was the only safe thing in the room.
The officer’s stare cut through me.
Then he looked back at Adrian.
And with a slow, deliberate tone, laced in venom, asked:
“Should I add your name to the list of regulars here, Mr. Valehart?”
Something about the way they stared at each other...
It felt off.
Like they already knew each other.
Like there was something unsaid between them.
Or maybe I was just imagining things.
Maybe it was all in my head.
Adrian turned his face toward me.
There was something in his eyes I couldn’t place—anger, maybe… but also concern.
And something deeper.
He seemed to actually be considering the cop’s question.
Like answering it… meant something serious.
Would admitting it ruin his reputation?
Was that it?
Or… was there something else at stake?
Damn it…
Why did he look so torn?
Then, with his gaze still fixed on mine, he answered the policeman.
“Should I…?”
A pause.
“…I wonder.”