The storm came without warning.
Tokyo's skies darkened in minutes, lightning dancing like restless ghosts across the skyline. Rain slammed against the mansion's windows in sheets. Anika stood at the glass, her fingers trembling slightly as she held the curtain back. Even the storm outside seemed safer than the man behind her.
Rai Kurosawa had returned late. Blood on his collar. Eyes colder than frost. As always, he said nothing to her.
Just a silent glance. As if she were a painting on the wall.
But tonight was different.
She heard the argument first. Down the hall, voices—sharp, angry. Then something crashed. A vase? A gun? She couldn't tell. Then—
"Check the east wing. If she's here, drag her out."
Her stomach dropped.
The door burst open before she could move.
Two men in dark clothing. Not Rai's guards. Not the usual silent watchers in suits. These men wore rival clan markings—subtle, but there. Red and gold threads twisted into the black.
Her breath hitched. She backed away.
"Don't scream, little bride," one of them said, grinning. "We just want to borrow you."
They lunged.
Anika screamed.
Then the hallway exploded.
Rai moved faster than she could blink. A blur of black and steel. One man dropped with a wet crunch. The other reached for a blade—but Rai's hand closed around his wrist and twisted. The snap echoed.
Blood splashed across the floor.
Silence.
Anika stared. Her knees buckled.
Rai turned, his breathing steady. His suit was soaked with blood and rain. He wasn't even looking at the bodies—just her.
"You're not to leave your room without permission," he said, voice quiet but laced with fury.
Her lip quivered. "T-They tried to—"
"I know." He took a step forward. She flinched. "And I handled it."
His eyes burned like coals in the dim light. For a moment, she saw the beast—the one the underworld feared. The one they called Kurohana no Akuma. The Devil of the Black Rose.
But then something shifted.
He moved closer, slowly, as if approaching a frightened animal. "Did they touch you?"
Her silence answered.
He reached out. Not to grab—but to brush her hair aside, revealing a cut on her cheek she hadn't even noticed.
His jaw clenched.
She didn't expect it. But his thumb touched her skin—soft, warm.
"I will kill anyone who lays a hand on you," he murmured. "Whether you are mine by choice or not… You are mine."
Her eyes filled with tears—not just from fear, but from confusion.
Was this protection? Possession? Or both?
She didn't know.
He turned away before she could speak. "Aiko will bring you medicine. Do not open the door for anyone else."
And just like that, he vanished into the storm.
Anika sank to the floor.
Her heart raced.
For the first time since being dragged into his world, she felt something other than terror.
She felt watched.
She felt… claimed.
And despite herself, a traitorous part of her heart whispered—
He saved me.