Chapter Two
Riven's POV
From the moment I stepped into that club, I felt it.
Not the music.
Not the bodies grinding against each other.
But him.
A coldness in the air that wrapped around my spine and whispered my name before I even saw his face.
I didn't need to ask who he was.
I knew.
Lior Solavar.
The heartless one.
The vampire who went through lovers like water and left them all bleeding—sometimes literally.
I'd heard the stories.
The rumors.
Even caught the end of one of his flings—a boy crying outside a club two weeks ago, whispering, "He just... disappeared."
And yet, here I was.
Meeting his eyes. Holding his hand.
My pulse didn't quicken.
My knees didn't shake.
I wasn't scared.
But I wasn't stupid either.
There was something wrong with him. Something off. Like a song stuck slightly out of key. His smile was too practiced. His gaze too sharp. But behind it all... there was pain. Deep. Quiet. Cursed.
I felt it the moment our hands touched.
A jolt.
Not of electricity—but of echoes. Like he'd left pieces of himself in every body he'd touched and carried the ghosts of them still.
I let go first. Watched his smirk falter.
Good.
Keep him unsteady.
"You're not like the others," he said. Voice smooth. Too smooth.
"I'm not here to be like anyone else."
"You're human?"
I didn't answer. Let him wonder.
Instead, I turned toward the bar. "If you're going to stalk me with your eyes all night, at least buy me a drink."
He hesitated, just for a second.
Like no one had ever said that to him before.
Then he moved. Ordered two glasses of something dark and expensive without even asking what I liked.
Typical.
I leaned in. Not because I wanted to flirt—but because I wanted to look closer. Into his eyes. Past the charm. Past the legend.
"You're cursed," I said softly.
And just like that—his jaw tightened. His eyes flickered.
Gotcha.
He didn't deny it. Just laughed. Bitter. Quiet. Like someone who hadn't laughed for real in years.
"Who told you?" he asked.
"No one had to. I see things," I said, tapping my temple. "And I feel what others try to hide."
His eyes narrowed, and for the first time... he looked scared.
"You're not human," he muttered.
"Didn't say I was."
We stared at each other.
Two liars.
Two predators.
And yet... there was a pull. Something magnetic and dangerous between us.
"I should walk away from you," I said.
"Then why don't you?"
I didn't answer.
Because I didn't know.