Chapter Seven: Awakening

Genevieve Everhart’s POV

I went home immediately after shaking off Nathan from following me. I grabbed some bottle of water in a convenience store nearby my neighborhood on my way home, and throughout, I felt like someone was following me.

I tried to take a different path and go around the place for quite a while until I was sure I lost the person who was following me. I massaged my temples thinking that it could be Nathan.

And few minutes after arriving in the apartment I leased recently, the doorbell rang twice and to my confusion, I raised my eyebrow. Who would possibly be visiting me when no one knows I live here?

I checked the monitor beside the door and a man was in front of the door. He was wearing a cap but I can see half of his face through the monitor. He once again rang the doorbell and I just stared at him through the screen.

But what I noticed was, he was smiling.

Not in an arrogant or threatening way, he was smiling in a polite manner. The man standing outside my door looked perfectly composed. Perfectly polite. Which somehow made him even more suspicious.

I kept staring at the security screen and then the man removed his cap on and stared directly back at the monitor. As though he knew I was there watching him. And a slow chill traveled down my spine.

Viv.

My wolf remained unusually still, she was alert and focused in a way.

“What’s up?” I whispered.

I know him.

“What do you mean you know him?” I questioned.

She paused then said, “I don’t know him.”

I frowned. “That’s not what you said,” I hissed.

I know what he is.

Nyx’s answer did absolutely nothing to help.

“Wonderful, very informative.” I muttered.

Nyx ignored my sarcasm which was never a good sign.  Normally she would’ve insulted me by now but she instead remained fixed on the man outside the door.

A feeling of unease settled low in my stomach.

The man wasn’t trying to force his way inside. If anything, he looked prepared to stand there all day, and that was mildly concerning.

I checked the security screen again to see if he is still there. But he hadn’t left, not even moved even slightly. I started to analyze him, noticing how neat his suit and tie are. He was standing straight too, good posture. His hands were clasped behind his back and the last thing I noticed was his hair.

It was silver.

I looked at his face too, sharp jaw, fair skin tone, tall nose, and a pair of lips so healthy it would be so kissable for a man.

And his eyes.

They were as well silver.

A feeling of familiarity went through my system. He looks like someone I saw somewhere. Definitely not someone I know, but I must’ve seen him, his hair and eyes deemed to be something I already had seen.

Do not ignore him.

That got my attention back.

“Excuse me? I don’t know him.”

Open the door, Viv.

I nearly laughed.

“Five minutes ago, you were just threatening to bite people.”

Open the door.

“Care to explain why would I open the door for a stranger?”

I don’t have one.

And now, that really shove nervousness in me. Nyx always had an explanation even if it would be a ridiculous one, most involving violence, so this was alarming. The fact that she didn’t know why she recognized him but doesn’t know him bothered me more than the man itself, because I am feeling similar to what she is saying to me right now.

And for several seconds, neither of us spoke.

Then the man lifted one hand to check the time on his watch. And a sense of embarrassment suddenly hit me as though I had become the rude one.

Ridiculous, Genevieve.

This is my apartment, and I am not obligated to answer the door for just anyone.

And yet, after a couple of minutes, curiosity won.

I released a slow breath before unlocking the deadbolt and opened the door.

The stranger’s eyes met mine immediately the second the door swung open for him. And as if the air had shifted between us when a violent pressure slammed directly into my chest which made me stagger.

Not really physically, it was something inside me, but it was strong enough to make me legs go weak as I held onto the wall beside me to assist myself.

It felt like something unfamiliar inside me had suddenly awakened.

My pulse instantly raced and the man in front of me froze completely.

For one bewildering moment, we simply stared at each other without speaking neither moving, and then his eyes widened, and that raised approximately a thousand new concerns in my head.

“What—"

The word barely left my mouth because the man suddenly looked horrified just by looking at me.

“Oh no.”

I blinked at him.

“What?”

His expression somehow became worse and then said, “Oh, this is terrible.”

I stared at him and he stared back, and the whole energy around us became extremely awkward as neither of us seemed capable of even conducting a normal conversation with our current state.

I folded my hands after pulling myself together.

“What exactly is terrible? Are you saying I am ugly or some sort? Are you here to pick a fight?” I shot continuous questions at him.

The man opened his mouth but then closed it after a second. Then with the looks of reconsideration he opened his mouth again and uttered, “I may have made a mistake, pardon me.”

That was a one unexpected answer.

And I was flabbergasted by his tone, why is he speaking in that tone?

I held my own chest to check and felt that my heart seems to be attempting to escape through my ribs.

“Who are you?” I asked.

He straightened immediately like he remembered basic social etiquette.

“My apologies.”

His voice was smooth. It was too refined. His voice alone felt like it belonged to different tax bracket, something high class, boardrooms, or royal courts.

“My name is Damien Valecrest.”

I tried to think if his name is from someone I know, and it wasn’t. Not until Nyx reacted.

Moonfang.

Moonfang? What is that? But the word echoed through my mind as it sent shivers down my whole body. It felt something that even my own body recognizes.

Something ancient.

Recognition flashed through Nyx so sharply that I felt it myself.

Moonfang.

Somehow, I knew I should recognize the word, yet I couldn’t place it, it was just a faint sensation of familiarity inside me.

I looked back at the man in front of me who had already gathered himself up but was looking intensely to me like he was trying to solve a puzzle on my face.

“Have we met before?” I asked.

A flicker of obvious panic crossed his face.

“No.” I narrowed my eyes.

Interesting.

“Then why are you here?”

He then looked around, searching desperately for an explanation to give me. Unfortunately for him, I can see through him. And unfortunately for me, he was handsome enough that watching him do that wasn’t exactly something I’d say as unpleasant.

Annoying, but too cute to be unpleasant.

Finally, he cleared his throat and started, “I believe—"

He paused and scratched his nape for a bit.

“I believe I was sent here.”

I looked at him with complete disbelief and waited for a continuation but he also stared at me as if he was as well waiting and the silence between us grew louder.

“What? By who?”

His expression changed and changed in chorus with the seconds that’s passing, then he looked down on the floor with a face filled with embarrassment and him biting his own lip.

“I don’t know, my lady.”

I blinked twice and gazed at him like I just heard something absurd.

“That’s your answer?”

“Unfortunately.”

“Are you kidding with me?” I scoffed.

He started playing with his fingers with his head down slowly raising and looking at me. And I started considering to close the door at him which would’ve been the most reasonable response. The man sounded completely insane, yet something inside me stopped me.

Something strange.

Like it’s telling me to trust this stranger in front of me.

“Nyx,” I called out to my wolf inside my head.

She didn’t respond, but she seemed to be interested and patiently waiting and listening to this Damien Valecrest. And the idea that she wasn’t actively threatening a whole man near me was suspiciously noteworthy.

Deeply suspicious.

I looked at Damien once again and at the tension in his shoulders. The uncertainty in his expression, and the mixture of refinement, confidence, and panic inside his eyes.

If anything, he looked more nervous than I was.

Then behind his reserved figure, something flickered for the smallest fraction of a second, and I definitely felt it. I definitely sensed it.

A presence of another wolf.

And as I looked further into his eyes, I felt like a bucket of ice water was poured over me. It felt powerful, something that scared me and my wolf even unconsciously as Nyx whimpered and then went completely silent.

I looked away.

Then Nyx whispered four words.

And those words made my blood run cold.

I looked back at him at the same second he glanced back at me with the same shocked expression plastered on our faces. And suddenly, I had a very bad feeling that my life was about to become significantly more complicated.

The bond had awakened.