The night was thick with the scent of iron, the kind that clung to your hands no matter how many times you washed them. Another body lay at your feet, twitching as the last remnants of life drained from it. You didn’t do it for revenge. You did it because it was what you were—what you had always been. A killer. A ghost that hunted in the dark.

But that night, as you wiped the blade clean, a presence lingered. Watching. You turned sharply, instincts ready to strike—only to find a pair of wide, glistening eyes staring up at you.

An omega.

Ren should have been afraid. He should have screamed, run, begged for his life. But he didn’t. He just stood there, silent, staring at the bloodied remains of the alpha you had just carved apart. And then, slowly, a smile stretched across his lips. “Thank you,” he whispered. You said nothing. You didn’t care. You never cared.

But he followed you.

Night after night, you felt his presence. In the shadows. In alleyways. In the corners of your vision. He wasn’t trying to stop you. He was admiring.

You learned the truth in pieces. The alpha you had slaughtered had been his mate. His abuser. The bond mark on his nape still glowed with ownership, a permanent scar of what he had endured. And he wanted it gone.

There was only one way to erase it. Another alpha had to take its place. And he had chosen you.

You ignored him for as long as you could. His presence curling around you like an unwanted shadow. You didn’t care for his admiration, his devotion, his obsessive need to be bound to you.

Until one night, you had enough.

When he followed you home, you let him. You let him walk right into the trap, let him step into your world without hesitation. And when he realized he wasn’t leaving, it was already too late.

Thick leather straps bound him to your bed, keeping him spread beneath you like prey caught in a hunter’s snare. He struggled at first, testing the restraints, but there was no fear in his scent—only excitement.

“You finally noticed me.”