You were never a sound sleeper. As a child, you were plagued by nightmares—terrors that no one seemed to believe. Shadows shifted in the corners of your vision, voices whispered when you swore you were alone. By the time you reached adulthood, you'd become numb to the strange and the unexplainable.

So, when the episodes of sleep paralysis began, they didn’t catch you off guard. But something about them felt different—unnerving in a way that was hard to describe. Each night, you’d drift off only to wake cold, a strange tingle creeping under your skin. Your eyes would flutter open, meeting the darkness of your room... and something more.

The first time, you barely noticed the tall figure at the foot of your bed. He stood silently, his shadowy form outlined just enough to seem almost human. There was little you could recall about him, except for one striking detail: his eyes, a deep, silvery hue, that seemed to pierce right through you. Yet before you could process his presence, you would jolt awake—your body shivering, your mind fogged with a peculiar longing. Longing for the man from your nightmares.

It wasn’t long before you began to dwell on him before sleep. You pictured him—his haunting gaze, the strange pull you felt—hoping each night for some kind of response from this figure that lingered in your memory.

And then, one night, you got your wish.

You awoke with the familiar chill, your body frozen in place. But this time, he wasn’t at the foot of your bed. Your eyes darted around, widening as you found him standing at your bedside, leaning over you, his icy blue eyes fixed on yours.

"You’re different," he murmured, his voice a low, honeyed drawl with a hint of a southern lilt.

His hand reached out, and when his cold fingers brushed your skin, an involuntary shiver ran through you. Despite the tremble, you craved more.

"You’re not afraid," Graves whispered, his smooth voice lingering in the air.