I had to strain my ears to hear her from the living room. She took hours to fall asleep, but once her breaths became slower and her heartbeat fell to a resting rhythm, I finally climbed off my spot on the couch, slipped on my shoes and jacket, and left the apartment.

A quick run later, I was standing in the same Highgate alleyway we had left before, nostrils flaring as I inhaled the scents. 

Olivia's fear still permeated the scene, but his odour pierced my nose with such ferocity that the rage immediately burned in my eyes as I followed his trail back onto the street.

I wound myself down one road then the next. 

Past a few more drunken idiots stumbling out of a pub, followed by a few more in the nearby club. 

Then finally, his smell seemed to stop and turn into a building. 

Looking up at the rickety block of flats, I continued to follow the trail until I reached his door.

Hand grabbing the knob, I laced my magic through the metal, turning the lock from within. Then I extended the magic further up, unlatching the safety chain before opening the door.

With quiet footsteps, I crept down the hallway, all the while following where his smell lingered. But as I neared what seemed to be his bedroom—his snores creeping underneath the door, his adult heart slowly thudding on the other side—an opened door down the end with a lighter breath and heartbeat caught my attention. 

Softly padding away from the sleeping man, I glanced in to see who else was here. 

Curled up under her Frozen bedsheets, the girl with thick brown locks slept peacefully, oblivious to the monster roaming her home tonight.

Poor kid stuck with a degenerate of a father like this... I thought.

Slowly gacking out of her room, leaving the girl to her slumber, I then walked back down the hallway, searching for more signs of life. 

Adorning an entry table in the living room was a picture of his wife with his kid. Endless cards with condolences for his loss were placed around it. 

Picking one up, I heaved a sigh. Cancer had taken his wife a few months ago.

I glanced back down the hallway towards the sleeping humans' rooms.

I can't kill him... I decided then. As terrible of a person he is, I can't make the child grow up without both parents.

So I quietly walked back down the hallway, gently opened his door, and sat down on his bed. Then I shook him until he woke up.

Alarmed, he jolted up, eyes wide as he blinked through the sleep and state of delirium he was in.

"Who—" he started as his gaze met my face, but I cut him off.

Pulling the magic from deep within me, I brought it up to my eyes and swirled my irises, compelling his gaze to mine. I hadn't done this before; I had only seen my mother do it. Nonetheless, from watching her and reading some of the mind magic books available in the school library, I had a basic enough understanding to complete what I had sought out to do.

"You will forget I was here," I started, and he nodded. "You will forget that we had this conversation." He nodded again. "But you need to change your habits. What you did tonight was vile. You're lucky I'm nothing like my father or uncle, which is why I am sparing you tonight. But your daughter needs a better father."

At that comment, his eyes began to well with tears. He knew this.

"You shouldn't be creating a world for her that she will fear. This should go without saying, but you should not be raping women. From hereon, you will devote your life to campaigning for the cause to make these streets safer. Do whatever it takes. Be better. Do you understand?"

"I understand," he whispered.

"Good. Also... don't you ever touch another woman intimately again. Live a life as a celibate," I tagged onto the end, wanting to take something from him as punishment for stealing the light from Olivia. I couldn't take his life, but I could take his pleasure. "Go to sleep," I forced out through gritted teeth, knowing it wasn't enough, knowing I wanted to take more, but also knowing this wasn't my decision to make.

He laid back down and closed his eyes, drifting off almost instantly back into his slumber.

With that, I walked back out of the house, removing any trace of my presence before going back to my apartment.

· · ───── ∘☽༓☾∘ ───── · ·

My hands were chained together when I woke, strung up by the roof as per usual. I wondered what he was going to do to me today.

More burns?

More cuts?

More jeers?

His basement was a sterile environment—the first version of his now-official research laboratory. White walls boxed me in. The two windows that were meant to let light in were boarded shut. The once-stone floors were now lined with linoleum. And attached to one wall were endless stainless steel work surfaces with all sorts of potions and stones on them that he had tried and failed to use against me.

But even now, I knew he could try whatever he wanted. I wouldn't give in. Sooner or later he'd have to give up and assume the witch side of me was weak.

The door up the stairwell thudded shut, announcing his arrival. But as I listened to his footsteps descend the stairs, I realised another body was struggling alongside him.

Immediately, my head whipped in their direction.

A wicked smirk spread across Rüdiger's face as he watched the horror wash mine, knowing he had gone far enough this time to faze me.

Her knees were bent, hands prying at his hand that yanked her by her silky blonde hair down the stairs and through the room. Yet she couldn't even get a finger to budge.

"Sit," he commanded when they reached the chair in front of me.

Anja obliged. At once in a speed she couldn't follow, he quickly shackled her to the chair so that her palms faced upwards on the armrests and her legs were attached to the chair's legs.

"You can try using as much magic as you want," he whispered in her ear, "But these chains have an unbreakable spell on them. So you're not going anywhere." Then he stood back up to full height. "I hear you two are in love," Rüdiger said, venomously gleaming at me.

"She's one of our kind," I hissed back. "Let her go."

"Ah... but you care for her. You haven't cared for anyone but your parents and... well, I can't hurt my brother, and he won't let me touch your mother."

"Let Anja go," I said again.

"I hear you two are bonded. Is it true?" Rüdiger turned to Anja, one of his bony fingers trailing over her cheek as he dissected her with his stare.

Her blue eyes found mine, pleading with me, terrified. "Lukas... what's happening?" she whispered.

I wanted to tell her that she'd get out of here. That she'd be fine. But it meant using my powers...

'Don't ever show him what you can do,' my mum's warning resounded in my ear. In response, I clamped my eyes shut, so that I could no longer see her. I could only hear her rapid breaths and accelerating heart.

"Don't look away now boy," Rüdiger said. "You'll miss the show."

My eyes flew open and I screamed, "Let her go!" 

The tears were streaming down my face and I could feel the anger frothing at my mouth. The magic was starting to swirl within, begging me to reach for it, to grab it, to harness it.

One flick of my wrist and these shackles would drop. Another flick and I could have him across the room. But if I didn't use enough magic, he might be able to stop me... And who knew what other tricks he had up his sleeve in anticipation of me actually retaliating.

In response, my uncle walked over to his tools, opened a drawer, and pulled out a knife.

"Please, Uncle. I'll do anything you ask. Just don't hurt her." I pushed back the magic trying to seep into my palms, enticing me to wield it. This is what he wanted. Surely he wouldn't actually harm one of our kind anyway... He just wanted a reaction. That's all. And I had to not give in... then he'd give up, surely.

Suddenly in front of me, his black eyes bore into mine. At fifteen, I had almost reached his height, but he still had that bit of prominence over me. "Then dig deep to save her," he sneered.

In a blink, he was back by Anja, throwing me a smirk before slapping his hand across her cheek. 

She howled in pain, the red print of his fingers already tarnishing her soft skin. 

"Uncle, please," I begged.

Then he hit her across the face with the other hand, eyes flickering up to me straight after, gauging my response, while she began to cry. 

He was challenging me. 

Threatening me.

"Stop it!" I cried, feeling my body begin to tremble, the bond tugging at me to do something to help her.

"Come on, my boy. I know you've got it in there. Reach!" Then he wielded his scalpel, pressed it into her arm, and slowly dragged it across her skin.

Anja shrieked in agony, pleading for Rüdiger to stop, heart going wild at the pain.

And my heart crumbled as I let the sobs pour out. The chains shook alongside my body as I watched him continue.

Day in. Day out.

Torture, after torture.

Cutting her.

Maiming her.

Removing every ounce of beauty in the woman I love.

"Please save me, Lukas," she pleaded again on the final day, voice weak as he gripped her head. 

Cleaver held against the nape of her neck, he looked at me, tired, bored, and waiting for my final move. He had been trying for over a month now to get something from me.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, wanting to clamp my eyes shut before I knew what came, but still too frozen.

"Lukas," she whimpered, just before the cleaver—

"Lukas," a female voice said again. Rüdiger paused, glancing around the room for the sound of the voice.

"Lukas!"

My eyes flew open. The room was dim, and Olivia's hair had been tied into a braid behind her head. But her green gaze swirled with concern as her hand rested on my shoulder. She was seated on the sliver of space available on the couch.

"Are you okay?" she said. "It's just a night—"

I immediately sat up and reached for her. 

Pulling her into my arms, I held her tight against me as I buried my head into the nape of her neck. 

If she was in my arms, she'd be safe. I wouldn't let him touch her. I wouldn't—

"Hey, it's okay," she said, hand patting my back as she tried to soothe me.

"I won't let him hurt you," I mumbled into her soft skin. Eyes still half-closed, I nuzzled into her, inhaling her fruity scent that smelled so delightful this close.

"Won't let who hurt me?" she asked softly, though confusion tainted her tone.

Then I finally woke up. 

Shoving her away from me, I scooted back on the couch until I was no longer touching her. 

Averting my gaze, I could feel the flames enveloping my face. It was a good thing it was too dark for her to notice... 

"Sorry," I mumbled. "I shouldn't have done that."

"It's okay. You were having a nightmare. Who do you think was going to hurt me?" she asked, voice still soft, still reaching for me affectionately.

Hesitantly, I met her awaiting eyes, full of warmth and understanding. But after staring at her an immeasurable amount of time, I replied, "No one. It was just a dream."

"Okay," she breathed, though her brows turned down with worry, evidently not buying my lie.

Glancing around the room, eyes zeroing in on the clock, I noticed the time: 4am. "What are you doing awake?" I asked.

"I woke up from a nightmare myself," she whispered, looking to her lap. "Then I couldn't get back to sleep, so I thought I'd sneak past to get some water but... It sounded almost as though you were crying."

"It was... um... a really bad dream." I found myself unable to meet her concerned gaze that was still studying me.

"Yeah... Sounded like it."

We sat in silence for a while, until I looked her way again. "Water?"

"Right." She got to her feet and headed to the kitchen. But she came back only moments later, snagging her lip between her teeth while staring at the ground.

"You can say whatever it is," I said, knowing too well that she bit her lip when she was nervous about something.

"It's just... I'm a little scared waking up alone in there." She nodded over towards the bedroom.

Following her gaze, it finally sunk in what she was suggesting. My cheeks flushed and I glanced away. "I'm right here on the couch if you need me."

"It's just... I hate that you're out here and I hate being alone."

"Olivia... I think it's inappropriate if I share the bed with you."

She took another step closer to me, calling my eyes to look up at her towering figure. "I trust you," she whispered. "You won't hurt me. And we can make a pillow fort down the middle to separate our sides."

"A pillow fort?" I replied, unable to stop the amusement colouring my face.

Returning my smirk, she nodded. "You've got plenty of them so... it wouldn't be hard to separate the bed."

Then, when I didn't say anything, she reached down to grab my hand with her free one.

"I need a friend right now, Lukas," she whispered into the night.

With no more excuses left and still feeling exhausted from the few restless hours of sleep I had gotten, I let her pull me to my feet and drag me into my bedroom.

Setting her drink down on the bedside table, she began collecting the throw pillows from the ground and making a partition down the middle of the mattress.

"This bed is huge, by the way," she commented. "More than enough room for the both of us and the fort." While she was trying to make light of the situation, I could still see that hesitancy lurking in her eyes—the fear of the terrors that would come when she closed her eyes to the night.

I grabbed my own pillows and began helping her separate the bed, before opening my cupboard and pulling out another blanket.

"Perfect," she said when we had finished, crawling onto her side of the mattress.

I carefully sat down on my side and joined her in laying down. 

But as I jostled the bed, I felt her rolling over to her side. 

Lolling my head, I saw one of her eyes peering at me over our fort.

Reaching over, I switched off the bedside light before rolling onto my side to look back at her in the darkness, feeling more comfortable now that she couldn't see how nervous her proximity made me. In the day, during normal waking hours, it was easy to put up a front around her, to pretend I was cooler, calmer, collected. But knowing Olivia had caught me crying during a nightmare... I felt so vulnerable in these early hours of the morning.

Suddenly, Olivia extended her small hand over the fort, palm facing up as she waited for me to take it.

I paused, staring at it for a moment, before hesitantly placing my hand in hers. 

She responded by weaving her fingers through mine.

"Thanks Lukas," she whispered, eyes closing as a small smile slipped onto her face.

Admiring the peacefulness of her resting face, I breathed, "No... thank you."

"What for?" Her eyes fluttered back open as she squinted through the darkness, trying to gauge my expression—though, judging by the crease between her brows, she was failing.

"Waking me..." I was glad I didn't have to relive that final part of the memory. While some elements had changed in nightmare form, the imagery was still vividly burned in my conscious and subconscious all these years later.

"What were you dreaming about?"

I shook my head in response, which she gathered through the noise of the sheets protesting against my movement.

"Another time?"

"Sure..." I whispered, then gave her hand a gentle squeeze. Though I hoped she'd never know that part of me... or that world. I hoped I could forever keep her safe from all the monsters that threatened her in this world, so she'd never have to cry again. But, "Sleep well," was all I added.

"You too," she yawned. 

It didn't take her much longer after that to drift off, hand still gripping mine all the while, like we had become each other's comfort against the terrors of the night.