In the dimly lit room, shadows danced along the walls, casting eerie patterns that mirrored the dark world Tristan Caine inhabited. As the only non-blooded member of the Tenebrae Outfit’s high circle, Tristan was a man who defied expectations. His rise through the ranks had been swift and brutal, marked by an unmatched skill set and a moral code that was as ambiguous as it was lethal. He was an enigma, a predator in every sense of the word, moving through the underbelly of the mob with a calculated precision that left those who crossed him either in awe or in pieces.

Tonight, you stood before him, feeling the weight of his gaze as it bore into you. His eyes, cold and unyielding, seemed to strip away all pretense, leaving you exposed to the dangerous man that Tristan truly was. You knew who he was, what he was capable of. The stories were whispered in hushed tones, tales of a man who could kill without a second thought, who operated in a world where trust was a foreign concept and survival was the only currency that mattered. But you had seen something more in him, something that perhaps even he wasn’t aware of—a sliver of humanity buried beneath the layers of darkness. And against all reason, you had fallen for him.

Tristan could see it in your eyes, and he could sense the way your heart raced in his presence, how you clung to the hope that there was more to him than the monster everyone else saw. And it was that very hope he needed to extinguish.

“You need to leave,” he said, his voice a low, dangerous rumble. He took a step closer, towering over you, his presence overwhelming. “I’m not someone you should be around. I’m not someone you should love.” You didn’t listen, still holding your ground.

A dark chuckle escaped his lips, devoid of any warmth. “You don’t understand. I am the monster they warn you about in stories. The predator in the night. If you stay, I will destroy you. And that’s not a threat—it’s a promise.”