Chapter 29 - A Small Piece of Gift

She stopped mid-sentence, her words catching in her throat like she’d suddenly forgotten what she was going to say.

Or maybe she realized she ’couldn’t’ say it.

Because what was the threat here? ’I know you’re not human’? ’I know you’re dangerous’?

She didn’t ’know’ anything. Just felt it.

But before either of them could break the tension—

’Click.’

A camera flash went off directly to their left.

Both of them turned their heads at the same time, eyes snapping toward the source.

A girl stood about fifteen feet away, phone raised, eyes wide with a mixture of guilt and excitement.

She looked like a freshman—messy ponytail, oversized hoodie, the kind of nervous energy that came from doing something stupid and knowing it.

The moment their eyes locked on her, she ’bolted’.

"I’m sorry!" she yelled over her shoulder, already sprinting down the hallway. "But I need to win the fest!"

And then she was gone, disappearing around the corner before either of them could react.

Silence settled over the hallway.

Elena and Raven looked at each other.

He could feel her now—the soft press of her body against his, the warmth of her breath, the firm pressure of her hand still resting on his chest.

And lower, just barely noticeable, the brush of her nipples through her sweater, hardened from adrenaline or anger or something else entirely.

Elena seemed to realize it at the same moment he did.

Her eyes widened slightly, and she stepped back, pulling her hand away like she’d been burned.

"You need to get those pictures," she said quickly, her voice tight. "If my fiancé sees them, he’ll be angry."

Raven raised an eyebrow, his expression shifting back to casual indifference.

"So let him be angry. Why would I care?"

Elena’s mouth twitched, her lips pressing into a thin line.

"Because he’ll ’hurt’ you," she said, biting out each word like it physically pained her to admit it.

Raven just smiled.

Slow. Dangerous.

"Will he now?"

Before Elena could respond, Raven moved.

He grabbed her waist with both hands and ’twisted’, spinning her around so fast she barely had time to react.

Suddenly ’she’ was the one with her back against the wall, and ’he’ was the one leaning in close, his body caging hers in with an ease that made her breath hitch.

His face was inches from hers now, close enough that she could see the way his eyes had darkened, the predatory focus that made every nerve in her body scream ’danger’.

But she didn’t move.

Didn’t push him away.

Just stared at him with that same aloof expression—curiosity bleeding through the cracks, her favorability meter flickering above her head.

♡ 74%

Higher than it should be. Way higher.

Because despite everything—despite the fear, despite the warning bells going off in her head—there was something about him that ’drew’ her in.

Something she couldn’t explain.

Raven leaned in closer, his lips brushing the shell of her ear as he whispered:

"Why does it matter to you?"

Elena’s breathing quickened, her hands coming up to rest against his chest—not pushing, just... ’there’.

"What?" Her voice came out quieter than she intended.

Raven pulled back just enough to look her in the eyes, his expression unreadable.

"You heard me. Why do you care if your fiancé hurts me? Why warn me at all?"

He tilted his head slightly, his gaze dropping to her lips for half a second before meeting her eyes again.

"Who are you to me?"

Elena opened her mouth to respond—to give some logical answer, some excuse—

But Raven didn’t give her the chance.

He closed the distance and sealed her lips with his.

"Mmph—!"

Elena’s eyes flew wide, her entire body going rigid as his mouth claimed hers.

For half a second—maybe less—she ’froze’.

Her brain short-circuited, caught between the instinct to pull away and something ’else’. Something deeper and more primal that made her lips soften against his despite every logical reason not to.

She could taste him. Feel the heat of his body pressed against hers. The way his hands gripped her waist like he ’owned’ her.

And then reality slammed back into her skull like a hammer.

"Mmph—’no’!"

Elena’s hands shot up and ’shoved’ him backward with enough force to make him stumble half a step.

Her chest was heaving, face flushed a deep crimson that spread from her cheeks down to her neck.

"What the ’hell’ do you think you’re doing?!" she yelled, her voice cracking slightly with a mix of anger and something she refused to acknowledge.

Her arm came up instinctively, fingers pressing against her lips like she could erase the sensation of his mouth on hers through sheer willpower.

Raven just stood there, hands back in his pockets, looking completely unbothered.

Like kissing her had been as casual as checking the time.

"You—you can’t just—" Elena sputtered, trying to find words that made sense through the hurricane of emotions tearing through her. "That was completely inappropriate! I’m ’engaged’! You—"

Raven tilted his head slightly, that same infuriating smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

"My bad," he said, his tone light and completely unapologetic. "You were just too hot."

And then he snapped his fingers.

’Snap.’

The sound echoed in the empty hallway.

And Raven ’vanished’.

Not walked away. Not ducked around a corner.

Just... ’gone’.

Like he’d been a trick of the light that someone finally switched off.

Elena’s arm was still pressed against her lips, her eyes wide with shock as she stared at the empty space where he’d been standing.

"H-he really vanished?!"

The words came out barely above a whisper, disbelief warring with the undeniable evidence of her own eyes.

This wasn’t stress. Wasn’t hallucination.

She’d been ’touching’ him. Had felt his hands on her waist, his lips on hers.

And now he was just... ’gone’.

Elena’s hand dropped from her mouth, trembling slightly as she rubbed her forehead with the other.

’What the hell is he?’

But before she could spiral further down that rabbit hole, another thought cut through the fog.

"Wait—that woman. I need to get the camera."

The girl who’d taken their picture. The one who ran off yelling about winning the fest.

If that photo got out—if it ended up online, or worse, if Victor somehow saw it—

Elena didn’t want to think about what would happen.

She turned on her heel and ’ran’, her feet pounding against the linoleum as she sprinted down the hallway in the direction the girl had disappeared.

Behind her, the air shimmered.

And Raven materialized in the exact spot he’d been standing moments before.

Still. Silent.

Watching her retreating form with cold, analytical eyes.

His gaze dropped, tracking the sway of her hips as she ran, the way her jeans hugged the curve of her ass, the bounce of her body with each step.

He could imagine it so clearly—bending her over, spreading those thighs, eating her out until she was ’sobbing’ his name. Fucking her all night until that cold, aloof expression shattered completely and all that was left was raw, desperate ’need’.

Raven’s jaw clenched.

He tore his gaze away, looking up at the ceiling instead.

"What a bastard I am," he muttered under his breath.

[System Notification: Favorability increased! Elena: 74% → 78%]

[Bond potential detected. Continue interaction for—]

"Not now," Raven said flatly, dismissing the interface with a mental swipe.

He stood there for another moment, hands still in his pockets, before shaking his head.

"I feel like déjà vu," he said to the empty hallway, a dry laugh escaping his throat. "I have to stop saying the same thing, or I’ll lose my aura."

But even as he said it, his eyes were already scanning upward, locking onto the CCTV camera mounted near the ceiling.

The lens was pointing directly at where he and Elena had been standing.

Where they’d kissed.

Raven’s smile returned—slow, dark, and utterly without mercy.

"Let’s send a small gift to her fiancé."