005

Calen’s POV

Karl’s grip on my wrist was iron.

“Let go,” I hissed, trying to yank my arm free as he dragged me across the athletic center. People stared as we passed, but Karl didn’t seem to care. He moved with purpose, pulling me down hallways I’d never been through before, deeper into the building.

“Karl, stop…”

“Keep walking.”

His voice left no room for argument. I stumbled after him, my feet barely keeping up with his long strides. We turned a corner, then another, until we reached a door marked ‘Captain - Private’. Karl shoved it open and pulled me inside, releasing my wrist only to lock the door behind us with a sharp click.

The room was small… just a desk, a couple of chairs, some lockers, and a window that overlooked the pool. Karl stood with his back to the door, and his eyes were still that burning, impossible gold.

“Are you insane?” The words burst out of me, sharp with fear. “You’re just… you’re parading yourself around like a vampire now? ‘Hey, everyone, look at my glowing eyes, I’m a monster’? What the hell is wrong with you?”

My voice cracked on the last word. I sounded terrified and I was actually terrified.

“Keep your mouth shut,” Karl said quietly.

“No!” Something inside me snapped. “No, I won’t shut up. Do you have any idea what you’ve done to my life? Do you even care?”

Karl’s expression didn’t change, but I couldn’t stop. All the frustration and fear I’d been holding in for the past few weeks came pouring out.

“I had a plan,” I continued, my voice rising. “To graduate quietly, stay invisible and not cause problems. That’s all I wanted. But then you…then” I gestured wildly between us. “Now the whole university knows who I am. People are talking about me. Those girls are going to expose everything I’ve been hiding, and it’s all because of you.”

The memories hit me like a physical blow.

The rooftop incident back in high school. My so-called friend telling me the homeroom teacher wanted to see me up there. Walking into a trap that bullies set. Five guys waiting for me, their faces twisted with disgust and hatred. The first punch. Then another. And another. Kicks when I was already on the ground. Slurs spat at me like venom while I curled up and tried to protect my head.

‘Faggot. Freak. Disgusting.’

I’d transferred schools to escape it and started over. Promised myself I’d never go through that again.

Tears burned down my cheeks before I could stop them.

“I don’t want to go through that shit again,” I whispered. “I can’t.”

Karl moved so fast I didn’t see it coming.

One second he was by the door, the next his hands were cupping my face and his mouth was on mine. The kiss was brutal… demanding, consuming, like he wanted to devour me whole. His fingers tangled in my hair, holding me in place while his tongue forced its way past my lips.

For a moment, I forgot how to breathe.

Then reality crashed back in.

I shoved him away with both hands, stumbling backward until my back hit the wall. “Don’t…” I gasped, anger flooding through the fear. “I don’t care if you suck my blood. I don’t care what you do to me. But don’t play with me.”

Karl had the audacity to chuckle.

Then he smirked.

“You gave me the signal, Calen.”

“What?” I stared at him. “What are you talking about?”

Karl moved closer, slow and deliberate, like a predator stalking prey. “Your eyes,” he said softly. “They’re always on me during practice. Watching and following.”

Oh God.

That hit me like ice water. He’d noticed. All those stolen glances I thought were subtle, all those moments I’d let myself admire the way he moved through the water… he’d caught every single one.

“That’s not…” I started, but the words stuck in my throat.

I had been looking at him. But not because I wanted him. I’d been watching because he was everything I wasn’t… confident, talented, respected. I wanted to swim like him. To be good at something.

How could I possibly want someone like Karl? He was a player. A monster. Someone who used people and threw them away.

“I don’t…” I tried again, but Karl cut me off.

“Those girls won’t say anything,” he said, his tone shifting to something almost reassuring. “You don’t need to worry about them.”

I blinked. “What?”

“I hypnotized them.” He said it so casually, like he was commenting on something simple. “I deleted what they said to you. What I did. All of it is gone from their memory.”

The room tilted.

“You…” My voice came out barely above a whisper. “You can do that?”

“Among other things.”

Horror crawled up my spine. He could manipulate people’s minds. Make them forget and make them do things. How many times had he done it? How many people had he used that power on?

How did I know he hadn’t already used it on me?

“You’re terrifying,” I breathed.

Karl’s smile widened. “I know.”

Then his expression shifted, growing serious. “Take off your clothes.”

I froze. “Are you out of your mind?”

“Take them off,” he repeated calmly. “Or I’ll do it for you.”

Panic surged through me. I backed against the wall, curling in on myself protectively. “No. I’m not… I won’t sleep with you again. I won’t…”

Karl laughed… and shook his head. “God, what are you thinking?”

He moved to a drawer on the far side of the room and pulled out a fresh swim jacket. He tossed it to me, and I caught it reflexively.

“Your shirt’s stained with coffee,” he said, like it was obvious. “Change into this.”

Oh.

Heat flooded my face. I looked down at my coffee-soaked shirt, still sticky and uncomfortable against my skin, and felt like an idiot.

“Right,” I muttered. “Thanks.”

Karl turned around, facing the wall. “I won’t look.”

How pretentiously gentlemanly.

I pulled off my ruined shirt quickly, tossing it aside. The cool air hit my bare skin, and I reached for the clean jacket…

The atmosphere changed.

It was the same sensation I’d felt in the locker room that night. A charge in the air and shift in pressure. The low, dangerous sound of something barely restrained.

Before I could turn around, Karl was in front of me.

His hands gripped my shoulders, spinning me to face him. His eyes blazed gold, brighter than before. His fingers had elongated into claws that pressed against my skin without breaking it. And his teeth… his canines had grown long and sharp, pressing against his lower lip.

“Karl…” Fear locked my throat.

He leaned in, his nose brushing along my collarbone, and inhaling.

“You smell so good,” he murmured, his voice rough and strained. “There’s something about your scent. Something unique. I can’t…” He inhaled again, deeper this time. “I can’t resist it.”

In one fluid motion, his canines retracted. His eyes stayed gold, burning and hungry, as he grabbed me and slammed me against the wall. One hand pinned my wrist above my head. The other slid down my chest, over my stomach, lower…

“Ah!…” The sound escaped me before I could stop it.

His hand found my cock through my pants, and I whimpered.

Karl grabbed my free hand and pressed it against the hard cock straining against his pants. His fingers wrapped around mine, guiding the movement… slow, deliberate strokes that made my head spin.

“Mmm!!! Karl…”

Then his mouth was on mine again, and this kiss was different. Hungrier and more desperate. He kissed me like he was trying to consume every part of me, like he couldn’t get close enough, and take enough.

My hand moved against his cock, his hand moved against mine, and the world narrowed to nothing but heat and pressure and the overwhelming sensation of being wanted in a way I’d never experienced before.

The door handle rattled.

Then it cracked open.

Time stopped.

I turned my head, still pinned against the wall, Karl’s hand still on me, my hand still on him… and saw a figure standing in the doorway.

My world shattered all over again.​​​​