Alex POV
I watched from the edge of the courtyard.
She laughed.
Small, careless, the way she always did when Andrew was around. The way she had forgiven him, had opened her heart again after everything.
And I hated it.
Hated him. Hated myself. Hated that a part of me burned with jealousy even as my brain screamed to stay hidden.
I had no right.
No right to want her.
No right to be near her.
I was a monster. A shadow in the world she didn't belong to. A king of darkness she had no part in.
And yet—every laugh. Every glance she gave Andrew—felt like a blade through my chest.
I clenched my fists.
I couldn't step forward. I couldn't call her. I couldn't touch her.
Because as long as I existed near her, she would be in danger.
They hadn't stopped watching.
The people of the past—the ones I had hurt knowingly, the ones I left in shadows—they were still watching.
If I moved, if I interfered, even out of instinct… she would be the first to pay.
And I couldn't bear that.
She turned to Andrew.
Her smile softened.
The sound of her voice reached me even from a distance.
I hated myself more.
Because part of me wanted to push Andrew away.
To be the one she leaned on. To be the one she trusted. To be the one who made her laugh.
But that part—my part—was dangerous.
A part she could never see.
A part she could never know.
I had trained my life to be a weapon, a soldier, a prince of blood and darkness. I had killed, I had bled, I had survived things no human should.
I had lost my humanity somewhere along the way.
And I could never bring her into it.
Even if it killed me to watch her with someone else.
I stayed in the shadows longer than I should have.
Long enough to see her turn, walk back toward her dorm, hand brushing against Andrew's arm.
Long enough to feel the sickness in my chest, the heat in my veins.
Long enough to remind myself why I had to stay away.
Her world… it wasn't mine.
It would never be mine.
And yet… I couldn't stop thinking about her.
Every heartbeat, every breath, every shadow I moved through, every step I took, it all led back to her.
I stepped into the alley behind the courtyard.
Silent. Controlled.
Every instinct screaming to run to her. To protect her. To tear through anyone who dared touch her.
But I couldn't.
I swallowed the fire in my chest, forced it down into the shadows where it belonged.
I was a monster.
A monster she didn't deserve.
And yet…
Even knowing all of that, the jealousy didn't fade.
Even knowing all of that, every nerve in my body ached to claim what I could never have.
And I knew, deep down, the truth I couldn't say out loud:
As long as I stayed away, I could keep her alive.
As long as I stayed away… she had a chance.
I turned from the courtyard, moving back into the night.
The wind whispered through the streets.
A shadow detached itself from the darkness. Someone watching. Someone waiting.
I froze.
A presence. Not human.
I could feel it, cold and sharp, crawling under my skin.
I didn't move. I couldn't.
Because if they knew I was here…
If they knew I cared…
She would be in danger again.
And that thought made my heart beat faster than any fight ever had.
Faster than any kill ever did.
I swallowed hard.
And in the silence of the night, I whispered her name.
Alisha.
A name I could never claim. A name I could never speak aloud. A name that belonged to a world I was forbidden from touching.