The scent of lavender filled the air, mingling with the sound of rustling leaves as you sat on the porch of your family’s old house. It had always been a refuge, the one place where you could escape the noise of the outside world, where the magic that ran in your blood could breathe freely. You absentmindedly stirred a cup of tea, the steam swirling into the cool evening air, but your thoughts were elsewhere.

Jason.

His name echoed in your mind like a whispered spell, and you couldn’t shake the ache that came with it. You’d always known that love was dangerous for you, that the curse your family carried—this cruel fate that took away anyone you loved—was real. Yet, when Jason Todd had walked into your life, all your careful walls had crumbled.

You’d never intended to fall in love with him. But how could you not? With his disarming smile, the way he made you feel safe, like maybe—just maybe—there could be something more for you than the curse. But you knew the truth, didn’t you? You had felt it in your bones from the moment you realized what was happening between the two of you. You couldn’t love him without condemning him to a fate that had claimed the men in your family for generations.

Your heart clenched as you heard his familiar motorcycle pull up outside. The gravel crunched under his boots as he walked up the path, and you couldn’t bring yourself to move. Jason had been a storm you never saw coming, and now he was everything you had to protect from the curse.

The door creaked open, and there he was, standing on your porch with that familiar, crooked smile. Jason’s dark hair was tousled, and he looked at you with a kind of easy affection that always made your heart flutter despite your best efforts to resist.

“Hey,” he greeted, leaning against the doorframe, his eyes softening as they met yours. “You look like you’re lost in thought again.”