The air felt different when Alaric appeared. It wasn't just the electricity that sparked around him an otherworldly presence that distorted reality itself but the suffocating sense of inevitability. As though the earth was holding its breath, waiting for something to snap.
Selene didn't know how to react. Her body froze, caught between the lingering terror of Viktor and the gut-wrenching recognition of the man who haunted her past. Alaric's gaze locked onto hers, a burning intensity that made her skin crawl. His dark eyes, once warm and comforting, now felt like a curse, an imprint on her soul that she could never escape.
He stepped forward, the ground beneath his feet seeming to buckle with every step. The space between them was charged alive with every emotion Selene had ever buried beneath layers of ice and fear. Anger. Regret. Desire. And above all, pain.
"Alaric…" she breathed, the name slipping from her lips like a whisper from another life.
He smiled then a slow, cruel smile that made her stomach tighten. "Did you miss me, love?" His voice was smooth like velvet, but the malice beneath it was unmistakable. He was playing with her, toying with her emotions as if he had never truly left.
Cassian, still recovering from the brutal encounter with Viktor, stood beside her, his expression hardened. He didn't trust Alaric. That much was clear. His eyes flicked between Selene and the newcomer, suspicion etched deep into his features.
"Who the hell are you?" Cassian demanded, his gun still raised, but his voice wavered, uncertainty creeping in despite the bravado he tried to project.
Alaric's laugh sent a chill through Selene's bones. "The question, dear boy, is not who I am. The question is…" He turned his gaze back to Selene, his eyes darkening. "What are you to me?"
Selene felt a knot tighten in her chest. The world felt as though it was closing in on her. She hadn't been prepared for this. Not for him. Not for the ghosts of a past she had tried so hard to bury. But there he was, and it was impossible to ignore the fire that burned between them.
"You were supposed to be gone," she murmured, the words slipping out before she could stop them.
Alaric's eyes softened, but only for a moment, before the mask of indifference returned. "Gone?" he repeated, almost mockingly. "Do you think I could ever be truly gone, Selene? You know better than that."
The air around them grew heavy with tension as Viktor.... bloodied, furious, but still standing broke the silence. His voice was cold and filled with venom. "So, this is the real threat, then?" he sneered, glaring at Alaric. "A ghost from her past? You've got to be joking."
Alaric's smile never faltered. "You're a pest, Viktor. I suggest you keep your distance if you value your life." His words were smooth, but there was a deadly undertone that made Viktor take a step back, though not without gritting his teeth in defiance.
Selene felt her chest tighten. This wasn't just a fight between Viktor and Alaric. No, it was far more complicated than that. It was about her. It was about the past she had tried so desperately to forget, the ties that bound her to a world she had hoped she could escape.
"You shouldn't have come back," she whispered, even though every part of her longed to pull him closer. To let the pull of the past consume her. But she couldn't. She wouldn't.
Alaric's gaze softened for a moment, his hand reaching out as though to touch her face, but Selene recoiled, instinctively stepping back.
"You never could resist me, could you?" he murmured, a hint of amusement in his voice. "Even now, after all this time, you're still the same. Still the girl I left behind."
Her heart skipped a beat, and the old wounds, the scars she thought were healed, reopened with agonizing clarity. Her pulse raced, a combination of rage and a sickly longing.
"You never left me, Alaric. You never did," she spat back, her voice trembling but defiant.
For a moment, a shadow crossed his face, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared. He took a step forward, closing the distance between them, and for a split second, Selene thought he might actually reach out and kiss her. Her heart hammered in her chest, and she felt the heat between them, the undeniable attraction that still lingered.
But just before he could, Viktor spoke, his voice filled with icy menace.
"Enough of this," he said, his hand moving to his side, where a blade gleamed under the dim light. "You've had your fun, Alaric. But this ends now."
Alaric's gaze flicked to Viktor, his expression darkening. "You still think you can stop me, don't you?" he asked, a dangerous edge to his words. "You're pathetic."
Viktor sneered, stepping closer, the air between them thick with animosity. The tension in the room was unbearable, a powder keg waiting for the smallest spark. But Selene couldn't tear her gaze away from Alaric. She couldn't stop herself from feeling the pull of the man who had once been everything to her, and now… now, he was her greatest threat.
"I'm not afraid of you," she said, her voice steady, though her hands were shaking.
Alaric smirked, his eyes narrowing in amusement. "You should be."
The words hung in the air like a promise. A dangerous one.
And then, without warning, the ground trembled again. The earth beneath their feet groaned as if something massive was coming something far worse than Viktor, than Alaric.
Selene's heart sank.
"What the hell is that?" Cassian demanded, his voice tinged with panic.
Alaric, however, didn't flinch. Instead, his lips curled into a knowing smile. "The end is only just beginning," he whispered, and the world seemed to hold its breath.
Before Selene could react, the earth split open. The sky shattered above them.
And from the cracks in the world, a new nightmare emerged.