-Sylus Pov-
The city blurred around me as the car sped through the roads, ignoring red lights and taking corners too quickly. The engine roared, as if it understood the urgency. Hyunwoo sat quietly beside me, earpiece in, fingers darting as he stayed in touch with Alex. My mind was engraved with the picture Ace sent me, the grip on the steering tightened until my knuckle turned white, my breathing uneven, trying to stay focused.
Suddenly, Hyunwoo's voice pulled me out of thought. " Penthouse it is," he sighed, working on a laptop. "Security's tight," Hyunwoo said. "But surprisingly, the security is not there." "Except 2 guards."
"That's fishy," I said, gearing up & increasing the speed. The building loomed ahead, a mix of glass and steel, cold and smug. A penthouse reflected lights; the gates slammed shut behind us. Armed security stepped forward, scanning the car. I clenched my jaw, my expression blank, as I showed the Id I had. The scanner beeped green.
"Clear." The gates opened the car stopped in the underground parking. I reached into the glove compartment, loading my gun with careful precision. Click. Slide. Ready. Hyunwoo stayed back, already setting up Overwatch from the parking level. "It's quite surprising that I didn't need to kill that guard," I said coldly. "Its same building where we used to hang out." Hyunwoo said expressionless, "Quite the audacity."
He looked at me with firm determination in his eyes. "I'm in your ear," he said quietly. "Every hallway. Every camera." I nodded and slipped the earpiece in place. My boots echoed on the marble as I stepped into the elevator. The doors closed with a soft chime that felt wrong with the storm in my chest. The floor numbers ticked upward.
"Floor 15." The elevator started to go up, and my hands clenched harder just by the mere thought of Ace being that close to Ella.
The Elevator opened. The air on this floor felt off, too quiet, too heavy, as if the walls were holding their breath. I moved quickly and deliberately, driven by something deeper than logic. Instinct. The same instinct that had kept me alive all these years.
A door opened down the hall. An elderly maid stood there, startled, her eyes widening when she saw me with recognition.
"Sir-" I brushed past her without slowing. Apologies could wait. If there was time for that. The living room was pristine, untouched. No signs of struggle. My pulse remained steady as I opened doors one by one. First room..empty. Second...empty.
Then the third. The moment I stepped inside, everything narrowed to a single point.
There he was. Ace.
Above her. Ella lay unconscious beneath him, wrists pinned above her head, hair spread across the sheets like a dark halo. She was too still. Too pale. The sight knocked the breath from my lungs and replaced it with a fierce, blood-boiling anger.
Something suppressed broke free.
I didn't think.
I acted.
I grabbed the first thing within reach, a wine bottle, which was resting on a side table, and I threw it with force.
Glass shattered.
"FUCK—!" Ace screamed, lurching forward as shards scattered across the room like fallen stars. He turned, eyes wild, just in time to see me. Wine dripping on his dress and bed sheets. I crossed the room, grabbing his collar from the back, yanking him back as he fell on the floor. He hit the floor hard.
I followed, dragging him up again, my fist twisted in his shirt. I hauled him close enough to smell the alcohol and arrogance on his breath. "You came faster than I expected," he laughed, even as he coughed with red dripping down his spine. His eyes were wild and delighted. "Guess she really owns you now."
My vision began to blur at the edges.
"Shut. The fuck. Up."
He suddenly wrenched free, adrenaline giving him strength. His fist slammed into my jaw. Pain flashed bright and sharp, but it only fueled my anger. I kicked him hard in the ribs and heard a satisfying crack as he folded with a grunt.
He laughed again, spitting blood. "Still the same, Sylus. Always full of rage and possession. You don't even know if she-"
I grabbed his hair and smashed his head into the glass table. Once.
Twice. Thrice
He coughed, gasping now, but still smirking through "Hahaha," laughing. I leaned down until my mouth was right by his ear, my grip crushing, my voice deadly calm.
"I will. Bury you Alive. With my Own fucking Hands."
As I threw him away, trying to check on Ella, he came at me again.
Fast. Desperate. Sloppy. Ace swung wide, rage making him careless. I blocked him, my elbow crashing into his forearm, then drove my fist into his gut hard enough to knock the breath out of him. He staggered back, laughter bubbling up as if he enjoyed the pain.
"Still predictable," he coughed, wiping blood from his mouth. "All that power, all that fury, and it still comes down to her."
I kicked his knee. He dropped with a snarl."You don't get to talk about her, let alone touch."
He pushed himself up anyway, eyes shining with madness. "Touched? I didn't even have to try." A grin formed, sharp and cruel.
"You know what? Her skin is so soft. So tempting. Her essence mixed with that alcohol must taste amazing. " He laughed as he continued to describe her, "That must have killed you."
I lunged forward. We collided, crashing into the table. Glass shattered beneath us. He landed a punch to my ribs fast, solid—but I responded by slamming my head into his face. He reeled, his nose breaking with a wet crunch.
"I have tasted her, and she tastes so fucking amazing, but you know. Let alone taste."
"Even if another guy touches or leans near her, and specially know how her essence is like."
"You know what I do?" I laughed, my voice barely containing nothing but mockery and a fact of what I would do.
"Torture them until those memories become the reason for their fucking death."
"Agh!" he yelled, stumbling back. I grabbed him again as He laughed weakly. "I wanted you to feel it. The same way I did when you left me behind."
I tightened my grip. "You were never behind me. You were beneath me."
He twisted suddenly, driving his knee up and catching me off guard. I staggered just enough for him to shove me away. He came at me wildly, fists flying, years of resentment spilling out with every blow.
"You think you're a king," he shouted. "But you're just a man who can't stand losing what he thinks he owns!"
"I am not the King, I am the villain who kills the king." I caught his wrist mid-swing and snapped it sideways. He smirked, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. I slammed him to the floor, straddled him, and landed punch after punch with brutal precision. Each hit was controlled and measured.
He spat blood, still grinning through broken teeth. "Go on," he taunted. "Kill me. Show her who you really are."
I stopped. I leaned down until my shadow covered him completely. "She already knows," I said quietly. "The day she saved me, her fate was bound by Mine."
I grabbed his right hand as he frowned, the smile on his face disappearing as my deep, cold voice rumbled through his ears.
"Right hand. It was your right hand that held her in the club." I laughed, "I saw it on CCTV. It would be a shame to let it go free like that". As I bent all his fingers and wrist back, and bones cracked, other hand over his mouth as he screamed, bones snapped, his wrist hung lose broken. My face was inches away from him, my laugh menacing through his ears. Pain and tears welled up in his eyes, those amber eyes that dared to catch her attention.
I wanted to gauge them out myself so that he can never look at her again.
He tried to push himself up against the wall, dragging his broken body with a hiss of pain. I didn't let him as I took out my gun, a clear metal barrel. His eyes went wide. My eyes dark, unhinged smile split my face as metal pressed against his teeth, forcing his jaw open, shoving it down. My other hand closed around his throat, fingers tightening, rings biting hard into his skin, red liquid dripping on the floor, it was blood, but not mine. His,
He choked, gagging around the barrel, breath coming out in panicked gasps. Wine red liquid soaked the floor beneath us, spilled alcohol, shattered glass, blood - no one would be able to tell the difference anymore.
The room looked like a crime scene from hell. Low light cast sharp shadows across my face, carving me into something monstrous.
My eyes felt wild. Alive. As he saw his reflection in my eyes, bloodied and getting choked.
I shoved the gun deeper.
"She belongs to me," I said as my laughter died.
"All of her. Every breath. Every heartbeat"
His left hand clawed weakly at my wrist.
"To Moranos," I continued, leaning closer, my voice dropping into something cold and absolute. " And if anyone. Anyone who dares lay a hand on her tries harming h.er"
I drove the blade into his stomach.
Hard. He screamed around the gun, body jerking violently as blood spilled hot and dark over my hand. I didn't pull it out right away. I watched his face. Watched the realization set in.
"I will end them," I finished, eyes locked on his. "Slowly"
I twisted the knife
Once.
Twice.
Thrice.
As I was about to pull the trigger of the gun, my hair was wilting forward on my forehead, blood on the corner of my lips, bruise contouring my skin. I choked him harder, but a soft whimper pulled me out of my murderous trance as I turned to look, and Ella was stirring.
Suddenly, I felt sharp pain in my thighs. He stabbed me as pain felt sharp as balde pierced my skin. This fucker stabbed me in the thighs. He kicked with what strength he had left as I stumbled back, and stumbled and sloppily ran, holding my side on his stomach as I felt blood flow down my legs.
"That Mother fucking Bastard." As I pointed my gun at him from behind as bullet sprang free, and as soon as I pulled the trigger, hitting him in the shoulder, as He disappered from the sight.
"Mh-" A soft moan. The sound was soft, almost fragile. I shoved the gun back into my waistband without looking back. I crossed the room as the shattered glass crushed beneath my boots, finally reaching the bedside as I dropped to my knees beside her. Everything else faded away, and I focused on her face. Her scent was sweet and familiar. Mixed with the strong smell of alcohol wrapped around me, grounding me just enough to keep my hands steady. Her lashes resting on her cheeks were flushed, with slight redness, as if beautifully painted. Her breathing low, strap hung loosely of one shoulder, heels still on those bare legs.
It cut through the chaos in my mind like a knife. Her lashes fluttered, and her brows knitted together as her breath came in shallow, uneven gasps. Her skin felt warm, too warm, feverish beneath my touch. Panic surged, sharp and fast, cutting through the rage.
"Ella…" My voice cracked before I could stop it. I gathered her carefully, pulling her against my chest, holding her as if she might shatter if I breathed wrong. Her weak breath brushed against my jaw.
"Oh god...," I murmured, pressing my forehead to hers.
"I've got you. I'm here, Mio Amore." I shrugged off my jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders, cocooning her in warmth. Then I tore a strip of fabric and secured it around my thigh, precisely, before lifting her fully into my arms. She fit there like she always had, as if she was made to belong, as I held her in my arms and walked out.
The room behind us was a wreck, blood and wine smeared together, broken glass sparkling in the low light. My boots stepped through it all, crushing everything, soles darkening with blood and wine stain, leaving a trail with every step. I wiped them once against the carpet, a habit, instinct, as I kept walking down the hall.
Into the elevator, out into the night, as cold wind brushed past my skin, in as I walked to the car, Hyunwoo looked worried, but a relieved expression masked it as he looked at us, his eyes flicking to Ella and then back to me with a nod that said to go.
I laid her gently into the car, keeping one arm around her until the last second, making sure she was secure.
As I shut the door, my reflection stared back at me from the window... bloodied, wild, unrepentant, with her in my arms....with me resting against me. She was safe, that's all that mattered. Ella lay curled against me in my lap, wrapped in my jacket, breath uneven,, brushing against my crook. I kept my hand on her wrist, thumb pressed lightly to her pulse, counting every beat like it was a prayer I didn't believe in but still whispered anyway.
I leaned my forehead back against the headrest and closed my eyes for half a second.
Control, Sylus.
Hyunwoo slid into the driver's seat and started the engine. It was smooth and quiet. He didn't ask questions. He never did when answers would only add fuel.
"Is she breathing okay?" he asked after a moment, glancing at the rearview mirror.
"Yes." My voice sounded rougher than I wanted. "Drugged. Not hurt. Most likely seditated"
The car ride was silent. Thirty minutes faded into a blur of streetlights and shadows, the city moving by without meaning. Ella rested against my chest, her breathing shallow but steady. Each rise and fall of her chest anchored me. I didn't speak, I didn't need to.
Soon enough, we reached my private apartment, and Hyunwoo stepped out without a word. He glanced at Ella and nodded at me as I stepped out with her in my arms, and he vanished into the night. He gave us the privacy I hadn't realized I needed until it was there.
I carried her inside. The door closed softly behind us, the elevator chiming softly as it opened. I stepped inside, and all I could see was our reflection in those mirrors. The door slid open as we reached the floor, a sound that felt too final, like sealing the world out. I opened the door with one hand, walking inside to a place that was much safer than any outside world.
The lights stayed dim, and the apartment had a familiar scent of leather, Sandalwood, and a hint of her from the nights she'd spent here before.
I walked straight to the bedroom, boots echoing in the hushed apartment. I gently laid her down on the bed as if placing something sacred where it could rest. I removed the jacket from her shoulders slowly and carefully, afraid that even the fabric might wake her. Her skin felt warm beneath my fingers, with fever still lingering. Slowly removing heels that weighted her feet down. "So soft..." I murmured to myself, placing a soft kiss over it, holding it like she was a sacred treasure of mine, feeling like...
"I was back at My Altar. To My God."
The first time she had been here, she was drunk too. I remembered it clearly how she laughed, open and bright, how majestic she looked in that red wine dress. Back then, she hadn't really been mine. She was a guest, a risk, and a line I pretended I wouldn't cross. Pretending I wasn't feeling anything. Pretending she was just someone crossing over my mind.
Now?
Now she lies in my bed, and is My Partner finally "Mine."
My gaze fell to her neck, to her ear. The mark on the shell. My fist clenched at my side, my nails digging into my palm, my bruised knuckles turning white as Rage flared, hot and immediate, but it was quickly swallowed by something worse.
Guilt.
What if I'd been late?
What if Alex hadn't answered the call?
What if Ace had-
The thought made my chest tighten painfully. I lay beside her and gently pulled the blanket up, tucking it around her as if she needed protection even from the air. My movements were careful and reverent, as if she might wake if I breathed too loudly.
I didn't realize I was shaking until I leaned closer to her.
"I'm so sorry, Ella," I whispered, my voice rough and raw.
"I should have kept you safer."
I pulled her closer, sliding onto the bed beside her, my arm wrapping around her instinctively. She fit there like she always had perfectly, devastatingly. I buried my face in the crook of her neck, breathing her in and grounding myself in the proof that she was here.
Alive with Me. Her breath brushed against my skin, warm and real. My arms tightened around her, holding her as if she were the most precious thing in the world because shewas.
Not as property. Not as possession.
"But as the one thing that could still make a monster like me feel fear and relief for once. And love I never meant to let myself have. A part never dared to step into, A light in my darkness, the very essence for me to live again, My addiction. My salvation"
I leaned closer without thinking, drawn by her warmth and the quiet force she had always had on me.
My lips brushed her skin, barely there, more of a whisper than a touch. It sent a slow, dangerous shiver up my spine. Her scent wrapped around me, soft shampoo, something faintly floral, unmistakably her. For a moment, my head spun as if I had lost my balance.
I breathed her in, steadying myself.
My mouth traced the shell of her ear, reverent and careful, as if I was afraid the moment might break if I pressed too hard. My teeth grazed lightly, not to claim or hurt, only to erase. To overwrite the memory of his hands, his presence, his curse.
Her earring brushed against my jaw, cool metal against restless skin, and the contact made my pulse jump quickly.
I buried my face in the crook of her neck, tracing my lips along her throat and feeling the warmth of her skin. My arms wrapped around her tightly, sinking over her slender waist. My hips pressed against hers, the proof of my need unmistakable, I tried to suppress. The grip created a pressure that intensified the moment. As my fingers dug into her dress. My voice was deep, hoarse—raw with need, as I pulled back just enough to speak, my breath hot against her soft feversih skin.
"God… what she does to me…"
The sharp sting of my teeth sinking into the soft skin of her throat drew out another soft sound, "Mmh-" half gasp, half moan. My grip tightened, possessive and demanding, as if I wanted to take in every breathless reaction she gave me.
I pulled back just enough to admire the mark I'd left, my lips hovering over the dark bruise.
"There," I murmured, "Now everyone will know."
My thumb brushed over the spot, claiming it again before my mouth crashed back onto Her skin, pulling her, molding her against my body as I drowned beneath the sound of her heartbeat.
When her soft sound reached my ears, a delicate, breathless whimper, I growled low against her skin. My teeth pressed in just enough to leave another mark without hurting the skin.
The sting was sharp but sweet, followed by the comforting warmth of my tongue over the spot.
I lifted my head to meet her gaze, my own dark with hunger, pupils wide. My voice came out rough, "Marked," I rasped close to her ear, low but certain as if she could hear me,
"So you remember. So everyone knows. You. are. Mio. Amore."
The sensations were overwhelming. I noticed everything the way she curled her fingers against me, how she stirred slightly, inhaling my scent. Every reaction stood out, every flutter of her lashes, every hitched breath.
It fueled the fire already roaring inside me. My hand tightened on her waist. I pressed even closer, wanting to merge into her. "S-sylus?" Her voice was soft and questioning, like a lifeline amid the heat. My eyes searched her face, taking in every detail her heavy-lidded eyes, the flush in her cheeks, and how her hair fell slightly out of place from my movements.
I loosened my grip just a little, but my body stayed close, still pinning her against the counter. "Yeah?" My brow furrowed slightly, concern flickering through the haze of desire. I pulled back just enough to see her face clearly, cupping her cheeks in my hands, my thumbs brushing over their warmth. "It's really-y you?" her voice slurred.
"Of course it's me," I murmured, my voice rough but quieter now, gentler. "Who else would dare touch you like this?" A pause hung in the air. I traced her gaze, searching. I froze for a moment. Her words and sudden vulnerability hit me like a cold splash of reality.
I froze as she nuzzled into him, resting her head against my chest. It was such an innocent gesture, it felt like a whiplash after the heated moments before. He hesitated, torn between the heat in my veins and the concern that outweighed it all.
I pressed my lips gently against her forehead, chaste, almost protective—before pulling back enough to look at her. On one hand, automatically finds her hair, fingers carding through the strands almost instinctively. I exhaled sharply, the tension in my body still evident. "Shh. I am here, my love."