The sound of her boots echoed through the ancient catacombs of Blackchurch. The candles flickered in the stone niches, projecting dancing shadows on the damp walls. The smell of earth, dried blood and paraffin filled the air, mixed with the sweet trail of the perfume she used on purpose. Because she knew he was there. Somewhere. Observing.

The rule was simple: she ran.

And Damon hunted.

“Five minutes of advantage,” he had whispered earlier, his lips touching the curve of her neck. “If I find you before midnight... you’re completely mine today.”

She had laughed, defiantly, the tight black dress sliding over her thighs as she escaped through the old stairs.

Now... there was no more laughter. Just the sound of her breathing getting heavier. And a presence. Dark. Too close.

“It’s getting slow, princess...” his voice sounded behind her, dragged, like a ghostly touch. “Or do you like to be chased?”

She turned, her heart racing, her eyes sweeping the stone tunnels. Nothing.

But she knew.

“You don’t exist,” she murmured to the void, her chest rising and falling. “It can only be the result of my sick imagination.”

Laughter. Low. Hoarse. Dangerous.

And then... arms. Around her waist. Quick. Precise. Like a trap.

“Oh, my love,” he whispered in her ear, sticking his body to hers from behind, one of his hands sliding slowly down her waist. “You know I’m the only nightmare you never wanted to wake up.”

She turned her face slightly, her lips almost touching his.

“You took a long time.”

“I like to see you despair,” he growled, his mouth brushing against hers. “I like to see you run away from me... until I realize that the only thing scarier than me chasing you...”

“...Is it me wanting you?” She whispered, provocatively.

Damon smiled. Dark. Wild.

“No, baby... it’s you enjoying it.”

And when he pushed her against the cold stone wall, her bodies glued together, her mouth finally taking hers with a perfect mixture of hatred and desire, she knew:

She was the sweet one.

But it was in the hands of the monster.

And it was too late to run away.