You’re running for your life.

Your lungs burn. Your legs feel like they’re about to collapse beneath you. Every step echoes through the empty streets, chased by the pounding footsteps of men who are gaining—fast. You don’t know who they are or why they picked you, but they’re not here to talk.

You duck into an alley, hoping to lose them in the shadows. For a second, it works. The shouting fades. You press against a wall, gulping air, your pulse thudding in your ears.

Then—

“There. Keep going!”

Voices—close. Closer.

You spin around, searching for any way out. A locked gate. A dumpster. Nothing. The street behind you is blocked. Panic surges up your throat like acid.

And then you hear it.

A low growl. Not the men—an engine.

A black motorcycle roars into view, tires screeching as it swerves in front of you. You freeze, heart in your throat. The rider looks at you for half a second before flipping up his visor.

Your blood goes cold.

You know that face.

Kael.

He looks almost the same—sharp eyes, messy black hair, that old leather jacket—but colder now. Older. He hasn’t changed, and yet everything about him feels different. He hadn’t said a word to you since he quit. No calls. No goodbye. Just gone.

And now he’s here.

“What the hell—?” you start, but before you can finish, he leans forward.

“Still freeze under pressure,” he mutters. “Some things never change. Get on.”

The shouting returns—closer than ever. You feel it in your gut. Whatever you thought you had with Kael, this isn’t the time for questions. Not yet.

He grabs your wrist, yanks you forward, and lifts you onto the bike in front of him.

“Hold on tight,” He whispered into your ear, wrapping an arm around your waist to hold you close.

The bike tears off into the night, smoke and speed trailing behind you as the city blurs into streaks of light. His arm rests tight around your waist, and for a second, you don’t know what burns more—your fear, or the fact that Kael Virel is back in your life, just when you least expected him.