The shadows under my skin were getting harder to control. I could feel them writhing, pushing to break free, hungry for something I couldn't name. Then I saw him across the room—Valen Nightfell, the legendary shadow hunter—and every dark thing inside me surged toward him like he was a fucking beacon. I knew right then I was completely fucked.
I ducked behind a column in the crowded nightclub, my heart slamming against my ribs. What the hell was a hunter doing here? Especially *that* hunter. Even in the pulsing darkness, his presence cut through the crowd like a blade—tall, imposing, with those ice-blue eyes that were rumored to see through shadow itself.
The darkness beneath my skin rippled, sending a sharp pain through my veins. I pressed my palm against the cold stone wall, watching in horror as my shadows leaked out, stretching like inky fingers toward the dance floor. Toward him.
"Fuck," I hissed, clenching my fist. The shadows reluctantly retracted, leaving black scorch marks on the wall. This was getting worse by the day.
Three months ago, I could control it perfectly. Now my power was like a rabid animal, clawing to escape. Soon, I wouldn't be able to hide it at all. And then hunters like him would have every excuse they needed to put me down.
I needed to get out of here before—
"Kai Chen."
His voice hit me like ice water. Deep, commanding, flowing over my name like he owned it.
I turned slowly, keeping my face impassive despite the chaos erupting beneath my skin. "Nightfell."
Up close, he was even more imposing. At least seven inches taller than my 5'10", with broad shoulders and a face that looked carved from stone. A thin scar ran from his right temple to his jaw, stark white against his tanned skin. His black hair was pulled back, revealing those piercing eyes that didn't miss a goddamn thing.
"You're slipping," he said, his gaze dropping to my hand where shadow still pulsed beneath my skin. "Leaving a trail a blind man could follow."
"If you're here to kill me, get in fucking line." I flexed my fingers, fighting to keep the darkness contained. "I'm having a shitty night."
His mouth curved into something too cold to be a smile. "If I wanted you dead, shadow walker, you wouldn't see me coming."
The club's bass pounded around us, bodies writhing on the dance floor, oblivious to the predator in their midst. To what I was.
"Then what do you want?" I asked, backing up a step.
He moved forward, closing the distance I'd created. "Information."
"I don't know shit about other shadow walkers."
"Liar." He reached out suddenly, his fingers closing around my wrist.
The moment he touched me, electricity shot up my arm. Not pain—something far worse. Pleasure, sharp and unexpected, ripped through me. My shadows exploded outward, tendrils of darkness lashing the walls around us, and I saw shock flash across his face as he felt it too.
He dropped my wrist like it burned him, but the damage was done. That split second of contact had my shadows going wild, reaching for him, hungry for more. And fuck me, my cock was hard, throbbing against my jeans from just that brief touch.
"What the hell was that?" His voice was lower, rougher.
"No idea," I lied, fighting to rein in my shadows. But I did have an idea, and it terrified me. The old texts spoke of shadow walkers finding their antithesis—their perfect opposite whose touch could either destroy them or complete them. An eclipse.
Valen's eyes narrowed, and I knew he wasn't buying my bullshit. "Your control is deteriorating faster than the others. Why?"
"What others?" I snapped, suddenly alert. "Who else have you found?"
A cruel smile played at his lips. "Now who's fishing for information?"
The shadows under my skin were screaming now, pushing outward, desperate to touch him again. It took everything I had to hold them back. If I lost control here, surrounded by humans...
"We need to continue this conversation elsewhere," Valen said, eyes scanning the club as he came to the same conclusion.
"We don't need to continue it at all."
His hand shot out, not touching me this time but landing on the wall beside my head, caging me in. He leaned close, his breath hot against my ear. "You think I can't tell how close you are to losing control? Your shadows are practically fucking the air around you."
My cheeks burned, but I refused to look away from his icy stare. "Back off, hunter."
"You have two options, Chen. Come with me now, or I call in my team and we take you in by force." His voice dropped lower. "And trust me, they won't be as gentle as I'm being."
The threat hung between us, but it was the promise in his eyes that made my shadows surge again. They wanted his touch. They craved it. And that could only mean one thing—this hunter was either going to be my salvation or my execution.
"Fine," I growled. "Lead the way."
He stepped back, giving me space to move, but his eyes never left mine. As we pushed through the crowd toward the exit, I could feel my shadows stretching toward him, invisible tendrils seeking his heat.
The cool night air hit my face as we stepped outside, but it did nothing to calm the fire under my skin. Valen walked ahead of me toward a sleek black car, and I couldn't help but notice how he moved—confident, powerful, like a predator who never had to rush because his prey was already cornered.
"Where are we going?" I asked as he opened the passenger door.
His eyes met mine over the roof of the car. "Somewhere we can figure out what the fuck just happened when I touched you."
The way he said it—low, almost angry—sent a shiver down my spine. My shadows responded instantly, coiling tighter around my core, making my breath catch.
I slid into the passenger seat, the leather cold against my back. As Valen got in beside me, the small space filled with his scent—sandalwood, metal, and something else I couldn't place.
"Just so we're clear," I said as he started the engine, "if this is a trap, I'll tear your fucking throat out before your clan can save you."
He glanced at me, those ice-blue eyes darkening to something deeper. "And if this isn't a trap?"
I didn't have an answer for that. Because the alternative—that this legendary hunter and I were somehow connected in a way the ancient texts warned about—was far more dangerous than any trap.
Valen pulled away from the curb, his profile sharp in the city lights. "I've been hunting shadow walkers for fifteen years," he said quietly. "I've never felt anything like that before."
"Lucky you," I muttered, staring out the window as my shadows writhed beneath my skin, begging to reach for him again.
"Whatever's happening between us," he continued, his voice dropping to a tone that made my cock twitch, "I'm going to figure it out. And if you're a threat, I won't hesitate to end you."
I turned to look at him, letting my eyes shift to solid black, letting him see the monster beneath my skin. "Same goes for you, hunter."
His lips curved into that not-quite-smile again, and a thrill shot through me that had nothing to do with fear and everything to do with the way his eyes dropped briefly to my mouth.
"I guess we understand each other then."
As the city lights flashed across his face, I realized with perfect clarity that I was riding to an unknown destination with the most dangerous man in the world for someone like me. And my shadows, my traitorous fucking shadows, couldn't wait to get there.
Yeah, I was completely fucked. And from the tension radiating off Valen's powerful frame, he knew it too.