Amelia stormed out of the hallway the moment Aric loosened his grip. Her heart was pounding too loudly, her breath too unsteady. Being near him felt like standing too close to a fire—dangerous… and intoxicating.
She pushed through the back doors of the library, letting the cold air slap some sense into her.
Except it didn't.
Because Aric followed.
"Amelia, wait."
"No," she said sharply, not even looking back. "I'm not doing this again. I'm not letting you drag me into whatever weird, intense—"
She spun around. "—thing this is."
He stopped a few steps away from her, chest rising and falling like he'd been running. "You think I want this?" he muttered. "You think I asked for it?"
"You act like you own me."
"Because I—"
He cut himself off, jaw tightening. "Forget it."
"No. Say it," she challenged, anger pushing her forward. "Say whatever it is you're always keeping locked behind your teeth."
His eyes flashed—not with anger, but something deeper. Something that made her stomach twist.
"I can't," he said.
Her frustration exploded. "Then stop acting like you have the right to touch me. Or chase me. Or pull me into shadows every time you feel like it!"
He stepped closer, voice low and rough. "I pull you because I feel—"
"Feel what?" she snapped.
The silence between them turned heavy, electric. He looked at her like she was the only person in the world who made sense… and the only one who could ruin him.
Then he suddenly dragged a hand through his hair and turned away. "I'm losing control."
"Control of what?" Amelia demanded.
"Of myself," he growled.
"That's not an answer."
"It's the only one you're getting."
She moved around him, blocking his path, refusing to let him shut her out again. "Then tell me why it feels like you're everywhere I go. Why you look at me like I'm some kind of—"
"Don't."
His voice broke on the word. Actually broke.
It stopped her short.
Aric's expression wasn't angry now—it was pained. Strained. Like he was fighting something inside him.
Something big.
Something terrifying.
"Amelia," he said softly, "you have to stay away from me."
Her breath hitched. "Then why were you the one who dragged me into that hallway?"
He closed his eyes. "Because I'm selfish."
She stared at him, shaken. "And what exactly do you want from me?"
When he opened his eyes again, the intensity hit her like heat.
"You," he said simply. "But I shouldn't. I can't. Not with what I am."
"What you are?" she whispered.
He froze. "Forget I said that."
Before she could ask anything else, the library lights flickered. A low rumble echoed from somewhere behind the building—deep, unnatural, like something shifting in the dark.
Aric's head snapped toward the sound.
Instantly alert.
Instinctive.
Predatory.
"Go inside," he ordered.
"Aric—"
"Amelia, now."
The look in his eyes wasn't human anymore.
It was something else.
Something ancient and sharp and on the edge of breaking loose.
Amelia stepped backward, heart racing.
For the first time, she wasn't scared of him.
She was scared of what might be coming for him.
Or worse—what he might become.