The wind howled outside the window, a distant premonition in its shrill voice. Blake felt a chill creep across his skin, realizing that at this moment, he had nothing to cover himself with—no shield, no protection.
"Damn it," he muttered under his breath, trying to keep his composure. Despite the situation, he fought to remain calm, to suppress the anxiety rising within him. His wrists were bound tightly, and every attempt to break free only resulted in the sound of metal chains clanging against the bed frame.
Suddenly, the door creaked open, and the faint sound of footsteps reached his ears. Blake froze, his body tensing. His vision was obscured by something, and he could see nothing. The only thing he could rely on now was his hearing.
"What do you want?" he asked, his voice steady but laced with underlying tension. " If it's money, I'm afraid you've got the wrong person."
The stranger didn't answer right away. The footsteps drew closer, halting at the edge of the bed. Blake felt a slight shift in the mattress, the weight of someone climbing on.
The bedframe creaked under the pressure, and Blake immediately realized: it was a woman. A very small woman.
He furrowed his brow, trying to make sense of the situation, searching his memory for anyone who might fit this mystery.
"You..." he began, only to be interrupted as something small and round was pushed into his mouth. Before he could react, a sip of water followed, and the pill slid down his throat.
"Ugh, cough, cough..." He choked violently, the foreign substance making it difficult to breathe.
But the woman seemed indifferent to his struggles. She gently wiped his lips with a rough cloth, her touch careful and almost reverent as it moved down his chest, following the curve of his neck.
Blake shivered, his body recoiling at the sensation. He forced himself to speak, trying to regain control. "What do you want from me? There's no need for this... just tell me, and I will do my best to help you."
There was a pause, but then the woman spoke. Her voice trembled but held a note of resolve, laced with excitement and fear. "I... want you."
Blake felt a rush of conflicting emotions flood through him. His mind reeled as he processed the words. The voice he had heard earlier, so quiet and unsure, now seemed to carry a strange, determined power. He paused, gathering his thoughts before speaking again, trying to keep his tone calm, almost amused. "You like me?" he asked, testing her. "Why not let me go? We can talk, figure this out. If you want to be with me, I at least need to know who you are."
There was a brief silence. Her breathing grew shallow, unsure, before the voice returned, soft but filled with quiet conviction. "No. You're lying to me. You just want to escape."
Blake couldn't help but smile bitterly. She was smarter than he thought. Not just another naïve fool. This situation was spiraling into something more dangerous by the second.
In a burst of movement, Blake kicked his legs, desperate to break free, but the force caught her off guard. His knee struck her stomach with surprising accuracy. She lost her balance, and her head hit the iron bar at the end of the bed with a dull thud.
"Ugh!" she gasped in pain, the sound almost animal-like—soft, fragile.
Blake exhaled in relief, ready to try again to break free. But before he could, a sudden heat bloomed in his lower abdomen. It spread rapidly, like fire, coursing through his veins, dulling his senses. His mind began to cloud with a strange and unsettling warmth.
"What... what did you give me?" His voice was strained, barely more than a whisper, as he struggled to comprehend the sudden shift in his body.