The night air was thick and heavy, carrying the scent of rain and cold concrete. Daniel's footsteps echoed along the narrow alleyway, hurried and uneven. He clutched his worn-out backpack tighter against his side, his heart hammering a nervous rhythm in his chest. He shouldn't have taken the shortcut. He knew that. But his last lecture had run late, and the thought of walking an extra twenty minutes through the main streets hadn't exactly sounded appealing either.
Somewhere behind him, a glass bottle shattered.
He flinched.
The moment he turned, a shadow lunged at him. Another figure appeared out of nowhere, grabbing at his jacket, shoving him back against the rough brick wall. The pain was immediate — a sharp, white-hot sting blooming from his side. Daniel gasped, staring wide-eyed at the blade withdrawing from his ribs, slick with blood.
"P-Please," he croaked, but the men weren't interested in pleas. One grabbed his backpack and tore it from his hand, another rifled through his pockets with rough, impatient fingers.
Daniel sank to the ground as his legs gave out. His vision blurred, the edges darkening. It was too fast — he was losing too much blood. The metallic scent filled his nostrils. He was going to die here. Alone.
Through the growing haze, he barely registered the shift in the air.
A figure appeared, silent as a breath, between him and the attackers. Daniel tried to focus, blinking hard against the darkness. Whoever it was moved with terrifying speed. One moment the muggers were standing over him, the next they were sprawled on the pavement, groaning in pain.
The newcomer didn't even glance at them.
He knelt beside Daniel, his pale face framed by waves of dark hair. His eyes, an impossible shade of bright, glacial blue, locked onto Daniel's. He was beautiful in a way that didn't feel human — too perfect, too sharp, too cold.
Daniel tried to speak, but blood filled his mouth.
"Shh," the stranger murmured, voice like velvet against raw skin. "You're bleeding out."
Daniel wanted to laugh. Yeah, no kidding.
The man hesitated — just for a second — then leaned in closer. Daniel caught a strange, sweet scent, something ancient and wild.
Suddenly, he bit into his own wrist.
Daniel watched, too weak to move, as the stranger pressed the bleeding wound against his lips. His first instinct was to pull away, but he couldn't. The blood was warm, thicker than it should have been, sliding down his throat in slow, burning rivers.
Immediately, his body reacted. Fire spread through his veins, not painful — not exactly — but overwhelming. His senses sharpened. The pounding in his ears softened. Colors brightened for a moment, before the world dimmed again.
Strong arms slipped under his back and knees. Daniel was lifted effortlessly from the ground, pressed against a cool chest that smelled faintly of rain and something darker, something sweet.
The man carried him like he weighed nothing at all.
Daniel let himself be carried. He was too tired to fight. His head lolled against the stranger's shoulder, and before unconsciousness claimed him, he caught one last glimpse of the stars overhead, blurred by tears he hadn't realized he was crying.
Maybe he wouldn't die alone after all.
—
The elevator chimed softly as it rose, carrying them up through the glittering city skyline. Daniel drifted in and out of awareness, feeling the slow thud of the stranger's heart — too slow to be human — and the faint hum of conversation around them. Or maybe that was just the blood roaring in his ears.
When the elevator doors opened, warm light spilled out to greet them. A penthouse. That much Daniel understood through the haze. Marble floors. Expensive furniture. Walls of glass looking out over the sleeping city.
The man carried him to a large leather sofa and laid him down with surprising gentleness. Then he knelt beside him again, one hand brushing Daniel's forehead, checking his pulse.
"You'll live," the man said quietly, almost to himself.
Daniel tried to speak, but his body wasn't cooperating. His eyelids felt impossibly heavy.
"Rest," the stranger murmured, his hand lingering against Daniel's cheek for a moment longer than necessary. "You're safe."
That word — safe — echoed through Daniel's mind as darkness pulled him under.