But I step closer.
And closer.
And somehow, impossibly, Idon’t stop.
CHAPTER 5
VROK
She comes toward me like she’s walking into an execution and decided to do it with her chin up.
Bold, stupid, or suicidal—sometimes it’s a fine line. And she’s walking it in boots I can tell weren’t meant for this floor, spine too straight for the club’s chaos, mouth set in a line that saysthis is happening whether you like it or not.
It’s not the approach that catches me—it’s the tension rolling off her like static. I’ve seen that kind of energy before. It lives in soldiers two seconds from panic, in survivors playing brave, in people who’ve decided they’ll rather burn out than back down. She’s coiled tight, all nerves and willpower, and the moment her eyes lock with mine, there’s no flinch.
Just a dare.
I don’t move.
I don’t blink.
I don’tinvite.
She stops in front of me like she belongs there. She doesn’t. The barspace clears around her in that subtle, animal way predators make prey instinctively back off. She doesn’t seem to notice. Or she does and she’s pretending not to, which takes a different kind of madness.
“Dance with me,” she says.
Not a question.
Not a plea.
Her voice is tight but not fragile, like a string pulled taut. She’s daring me. Daring herself.
I tilt my head, studying her. Human. Smaller than she wants to be. Shoulders squared. Pulse visible at her neck.
“Excuse me?” I ask, voice low.
She doesn't repeat it. Doesn’t backpedal. Her mouth twitches—something between frustration and defiance—and she steps closer.
“Dance,” she says again, like it’s a challenge now. Like she’s doubling down before her body remembers it’s terrified.
I almost laugh.
It’s not amusement, not really. It’s that sharp edge of surprise, the one that cuts straight through the night’s boredom and lands somewhere near interest. Nobody talks to me like that. Nobody looks me in the face like that.
Nobody comes to me on purpose.
I start to say no. Start to bare my teeth and scare her off for her own good.
Then sheslapsme.
And the worldstops.
It’s not a playful tap. It’s not flirtation.
It’s a slap that means something.
Head snaps sideways. Not because she’s strong, but because she’s serious.
