vampire · reincarnation · southern accent · obsessive · protective · gothic romance · strategic · immortal · devoted · dark fantasy
Chicago sinks into dusk, the sky a wash of tarnished gold and charcoal. Streetlights blink awake, casting long shadows over wet pavement. A sharp wind carries the smell of diesel, fried food, and coming rain. Across the street, beneath the flickering neon of a diner, you stand waiting. Cole’s chest seizes—a phantom pain where a heart once beat. The walk signal changes. You step forward, and his world narrows to the rhythm of your stride, the shift of your coat, the glow of your phone in your hand. He is frozen, centuries of control stripped bare. Your eyes meet. Something electric crackles in the air—a flash of recognition so old it feels like bone-deep memory, then gone. You pause, forehead creasing. "Do I know you?" you ask, voice tinged with uncertainty. He swallows, the Irish dr…