I packed my things in my bag in the dimly lit practice room. All the other girls had already left the company but I stayed behind to practice a bit more before showering and dressing back in comfy clothes. A pair of high waist jeans and a green pine batwing tee tucked into my jeans with a simple leather belt and white shoes to finish the look.

Zipping my bag up, I sat comfortably on the bench inside the dimly lit room itself. I had already texted Eli earlier either way to come fetch me. And he would soon be here.

I couldn't wait to get back home. My muscles and toes were all aching from today's session. Eli's magical hands kneading my muscles and massaging my sore body was exactly what I needed.

Right on cue as if hearing my thoughts Eli walked in, but the familiar rush of comfort I usually felt when he came to get me didn't follow.

I paused, my hand tightening on my bag. I looked up at him, my eyes tracing the sharp contour of his perfectly straight nose and the neat framing of his dark hair. His black jeans and turtleneck engulfed his frame perfectly.

At first glance, it was him. His fair skin still carried that soft, light tan reflection I adored. But when he smiled at me, my chest tightened.The movement was too slow. The corners of his mouth turned upward, but the skin around his cheekbones stayed completely smooth, unbothered by the expression. There were no tiny crinkles by his eyes - those pitch black, fathomless pools of dark liquid that usually held so much warmth looked different. Tonight, they looked like stagnant water. The light in the room hit his forehead, but instead of a natural sheen, his skin had a dull, waxy texture that swallowed the glow.

Something didn't feel right.

"Hey, Love." Eli said.

The voice belonged to My Eli, but his lips barely parted to let the syllables out. My hand froze over my bag. He looked exactly like Eli, so why did every instinct in my body want to scream?

"Are you okay?" I asked, setting my bag down and getting up.

Eli didn't answer right away. He just stood by the door, framed by the hallway light. He was stunning, as always but as I walked closer, a cold bead of sweat rolled down my spine.

I looked into his eyes again. Those pitch-black, fathomless pools of dark liquid that usually softened whenever I looked up at him stared back at me wide, unblinking, and entirely hollow. It was like looking at a house with the lights off, knowing someone was hiding inside.

What was going on with him?

Why did he look so strange..

He tilted his head. The motion was slightly jarring, a fraction of a second too rigid. The shadow under his jawline didn't shift naturally against his neck, it looked almost like a seam. I reached out to touch his arm, but my hand hesitated in mid-air, repelled by a sudden, primal wave of fear I couldn't explain.

Everything about him was visually perfect. I stared at him from head to toe again. His dark hair was exactly how he styled it, and his fair skin glowed with that soft light tan reflection from the sun. Even his perfect straight nose looked flawless in the dim lighting.Yet, looking at him made my stomach drop.

Something was terribly wrong.

He leaned down to kiss my cheek, and the illusion shattered immediately. His skin wasn't warm. It didn't yield or soften against my cheek. No. It felt dense, cool, and oddly synthetic. When he pulled back, I looked straight into those pitch-black, fathomless pools of dark liquid, trying to find a glimmer of light. And my heart stuttered. There was no reflection of me in them. No pulse beneath the fair skin of his throat either.

He blinked, and the eyelids moved with a heavy, unnatural deliberate click that made my breath catch in my throat. This was Eli's face, but it wasn't Eli.

"I'm alright, little Flame" He whispered, wrapping one arm around my waist in a deadly bruising grip that made goosebumps erupt all over my skin. A sickening feeling churned in the pit of my stomach.

Eli would never hold me like this.

Before I could get out of his grip, a sharp, cold pinch bit into the side of my neck making me gasp as I looked up into his emotionless eyes.

The bastard had injected something into my neck.

The world immediately began to tilt. A heavy, synthetic warmth flooded down my throat and into my chest, heavy as lead. I tried to lift my arms, to push him away, but my muscles melted into water. My legs gave out entirely. Before I could hit the polished floor of the theater practice room, his arms caught me.

He lifted me effortlessly, scooping my limp frame against his chest. I tried to scream, to draw a breath to yell for help, but my vocal cords were entirely unresponsive. My lips wouldn't even twitch.

Ay Diosito, por favor... ayúdame

(Oh, dear God, please...help me)

"You won't escape me a second time" The imposter said, making my stomach drop further as he pressed a kiss against my temple.

It was Kyron.

I could only watch helplessly as he walked out into the corridor, carrying me past the backstage crew. I watched through half-lidded eyes as our head of security passed us nodding briefly in acknowledgment to the one impersonating Eli.

Help me!

I screamed in my mind.

Look at my eyes. Please.

The guards and Eli's men barely glanced up. Some of them smiled instead, giving Eli a respectful nod. "Have a good night, Boss."

Kyron nodded back, his chest rumbling with silent laughter against my cheek, and he kept walking. Nobody stopped him.

Why would they? They were just watching their boss carry his girlfriend out after a long rehearsal. Something that Eli often did - Carrying me bridal style when I was exhausted.

Except today.. It wasn't my Eli carrying me home..

My heart broke in my chest. Eli would never recover from this. He would lose his sanity and blame himself for this. I tried desperately to move but my eyelids turned heavier by the second. Whatever drug he injected me with, it was clearly powerful.

My only consolation was the tracker in my shoes and the secret one in my scrunchy.

Eli would find me. Mi Sol(My Sun) would.

And I wouldn't go down without a fight.

The cool night air hit my face as we stepped out of the theater, but I couldn't feel it. He slid me into the passenger seat of the car, the leather cold against my legs as he placed the safety belt around me. The moment the door slammed shut and he started the car, his words were the last thing I heard before the world dissolved into pure, empty black.

"Sleep, coneja(Little rabbit). You and I are going to have lots of fun"