Chapter 10 – Shadows in the Alley
The night was louder than usual. Music pulsed from the bar's cracked speakers, drinks flowed freely, and laughter masked the pain beneath. Nosi and Ivan sat in the farthest booth, half-drunk, half-trying to forget.
Nosi sipped her cocktail slowly, her head spinning just enough to make her forget Joy's words. "She said... I'm not even good enough to look at him," she mumbled.
Ivan, already two glasses ahead, snorted. "Joy's bitter. Always has been. She can't handle you shining when she's spent her life trying to dim you."
Nosi let out a broken laugh. "She thinks Fred belongs to her."
"He doesn't belong to anyone," Ivan said, more seriously now. "But he chose you, didn't he?"
Nosi didn't answer. The alcohol was making her float, separating her from her thoughts. Ivan waved to the bartender for another round, but he shook his head—they were cut off.
They stumbled out into the night, shoes clacking unevenly on the pavement as they laughed at nothing and everything. The bar's glow faded behind them as they took a shortcut through a narrow alley.
That's when it happened.
Two shadows stepped from the darkness—men, tall and rough-looking, with hungry eyes and cruel smiles.
"Well, well," one said, licking his lips. "What do we have here?"
Ivan grabbed Nosi's hand, sobering instantly. "We don't want trouble," she said, pulling Nosi behind her.
"But we do," the other man grinned. "Pretty things like you shouldn't walk alone."
They closed in. Nosi's heart pounded, her half-demon instincts flaring under her skin, but she was too drunk to summon them fully. Ivan tried to stand firm, but she, too, was swaying.
"Touch her," Ivan growled, "and I swear—"
A low growl cut through the air. Not from Ivan. Not from Nosi.
From behind the men.
They froze.
From the shadows emerged a figure cloaked in black—tall, silent, dangerous. Vincent. His eyes glowed faintly, his energy thick and unrelenting. "Back away," he said, his voice a deadly whisper.
The men hesitated for a second, thinking they had numbers. They lunged.
Big mistake.
Vincent moved like a storm. One blow sent the first man crashing into a wall, the other barely had time to scream before Vincent's boot met his chest. They didn't get back up.
Nosi blinked, heart still racing. "Vincent...?"
He didn't look at her right away, only stared at the men groaning on the ground. "You're lucky I came when I did."
Ivan, now holding onto Nosi for balance, exhaled. "Yeah. We're very lucky."
Vincent finally turned. "What were you thinking, drinking this much and wandering into alleyways?"
"We weren't thinking," Nosi muttered. "That's the point."
"You can't afford not to think, Nosi," Vincent said, quieter now. "Not anymore. You're not just a girl with problems. You're—"
"A half-demon," she interrupted, voice bitter. "Yeah, I know."
He stared at her for a moment, then softened. "Come on. Let's get you both home."
Without another word, he helped them walk, one on each arm. Ivan mumbled half-asleep curses at the thugs, while Nosi walked in silence.
But one thought kept ringing in her mind.
Even when she tried to escape her pain, danger found her.
And maybe, just maybe, that's why fate brought people like Fred and Vincent into her life—to protect her until she could protect herself.