Carina's POV
The room was filled with the warm scent of cooking, the clatter of utensils against the stove providing a rhythmic backdrop to the otherwise tense silence between Alaric and me.
The caretaker and his mother had excused themselves, saying they’d leave us to it for the evening. They left with barely a word, as though they understood the gravity of the situation. Alaric, on the other hand, seemed completely at ease, his movements fluid and graceful as he worked at the stove.
I sat at the small table, my hands clenched tightly in my lap, trying to calm the racing thoughts in my head. My body was stiff, alert—every muscle wound tight with unease. My stomach churned, but it wasn’t from hunger. It was from something deeper.
I could feel him—the man in front of me—just as I’d felt him all those years ago. He hadn’t changed, not in the way he moved, not in the way he looked at me. His pale skin, his white hair, his piercing eyes—they were all the same.
But it was his presence that unsettled me the most. There was something far darker, far older, lurking just beneath the surface of his easy smile and calm demeanor.
“So,” Alaric said, breaking the silence, his voice low and warm. “How do you like the house?”
I shifted in my seat, swallowing hard. My throat felt dry, my chest tight. “It’s... different,” I replied, my voice sounding foreign even to me.
“I’m sure it is,” he said with a smile, turning away from the stove to meet my gaze. He seemed entirely at ease, as though he had all the time in the world. “You must be wondering why I’m here, why I’ve been watching you all this time.”
I froze. The air in the room seemed to thicken, and I could feel my pulse quicken. My heart hammered in my chest.
“You’re here because this house belongs to you, doesn’t it?” I managed, trying to keep my voice steady.
Alaric’s lips curled into a faint smile, his eyes glinting with something I couldn’t place. “You’ve always been perceptive, Carina.”
I tried to steady my breathing, but my hands were trembling. My stomach twisted painfully.
“You knew who I was, didn’t you?” Alaric continued, his tone casual, almost as if he were talking about the weather. “From the very beginning, from the moment I saw you... You must have known, deep down, who I was.”
I swallowed, my gaze dropping to the table, trying to avoid the weight of his gaze. I couldn’t lie to him—not to him. Not now.
“Yes,” I whispered, barely able to breathe as the truth hung between us. “I knew.”
Alaric’s smile widened, and he finally turned back to the stove, flipping the dish in the pan with an elegant, practiced movement. “Good,” he said, his voice carrying an almost triumphant note. “I’ve been waiting for you to realize. It took a long time, but I knew you would come back to me eventually.”
The warmth of the stove and the smell of food in the air did little to ease the cold creeping up my spine. My heart raced in my chest, pounding with each beat.
“Why are you doing this?” I asked before I could stop myself, my voice shaky.
Alaric turned to me then, his eyes locking with mine as he leaned against the counter, arms folded casually. He looked so calm, so unaffected by the tension hanging in the air.
“Because, Carina,” he said slowly, his voice almost a whisper now, “you belong with me. You always have.”
I recoiled slightly, the words sending a jolt through my body. The weight of them settled in my chest, pressing down on me. “What do you mean?”
He took a step forward, his gaze never leaving mine. The space between us felt smaller now, as though he were closing in on me, whether I liked it or not. “You’ve always been mine, even when you didn’t know it. I’ve waited for you, for so long. All this time, Carina, I’ve been watching over you. You can’t deny that. You’ve felt it.”
I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. What was I supposed to say? That I had felt it? That the pull between us had always been undeniable?
“And now that you’ve come back,” Alaric continued, his tone soft, almost coaxing, “I can finally have you again. Just like before.”
I felt my stomach drop, panic rising in my throat. “What... what are you talking about? What happened before?”
Alaric smiled, a small, knowing smile. “We were always meant to be together. Do you remember, Carina? Those nights in the field, the touch of my hand on your skin... I never left you. I’ve been waiting for you to come back, to find me again.”
I shook my head, my breath coming faster now. “No... no, that’s not possible.”
He stepped closer, closing the distance between us until I could feel his presence—his coolness, his intensity—bearing down on me. “It is possible, Carina,” he whispered, his voice dropping to a hush. “You’ve always missed me. Even when you tried to forget. Even when you tried to push me away... deep down, you’ve always missed me.”
My heart skipped a beat.
And then, with an almost sadistic pleasure, Alaric leaned closer, his lips brushing against my ear.
“I can feel it, Carina. You’ve missed me, haven’t you?”
I froze, my eyes going wide, my breath caught in my throat.
The words echoed in my mind, rattling me to my core.
Had I? Had I missed him?
I didn’t want to answer. But I could feel the truth rising in me, seeping out from the places I had tried to bury it.
I looked up at him, my eyes wide, and before I could speak, Alaric smiled—a smile that sent chills down my spine.
“I knew you did,” he whispered.
Alaric’s eyes never left mine as he raised his hand, palm open, as if inviting me to take it. There was a softness to his gesture, but beneath it, I sensed something dangerous—a quiet, persistent pull that made my heart pound in my chest. The atmosphere in the room had shifted, thickening like the air before a storm.
I wanted to run. I needed to run. But my legs felt rooted to the spot, my body betraying me, unwilling to move.
I turned toward the door, my mind screaming at me to leave, to get out of the house and away from him. Away from the pull of his presence, from the weight of his words. But the moment my feet moved, Alaric was faster.
In an instant, he was standing in front of me, his hand wrapping around my wrist, pulling me toward him.
I gasped, trying to step back, but he was too strong, his grip unyielding. “You can’t run from me, Carina,” he murmured softly, his voice carrying an edge of satisfaction. He pulled me closer until my body was pressed against his chest, and I felt his cool breath against my hair.
“Let me go,” I whispered, trying to break free, but the words were weak.
Alaric didn’t respond with words. Instead, he lifted his hand to my face, cupping it gently as he leaned down, pressing his lips against my temple in a kiss so soft that it made my breath catch in my throat. The touch of his lips sent a jolt through my body, the feeling of it like fire and ice, tender and consuming all at once.
“I’ll do anything for you, Carina,” he whispered, his voice low, almost reverent. “Anything. I’ll burn this town down if you ask me to. I’ll tear the world apart to keep you by my side.”
A shudder ran through me, my body trembling in his embrace. The words hit me like a shockwave, ripping through the fragile defenses I had left.
My mind screamed at me to stay strong, to pull away, to escape him once and for all. But as I stood there, caught in the intensity of his gaze and the heat of his touch, I felt everything I had tried so hard to bury rise to the surface.
His words... his promise...
I had felt this before.
The pull. The need. The undeniable connection between us that neither of us could escape.
And in that moment, I couldn’t fight it anymore.
A sob caught in my throat, and before I knew what was happening, I was clinging to him, my arms wrapping around his waist as I buried my face in his chest. Tears welled up in my eyes, and they spilled over, streaking down my cheeks.
I didn’t want to want him. I didn’t want to feel this way. But the truth was undeniable.
I needed him.
Alaric’s arms wrapped around me, pulling me even closer as he gently stroked my hair, soothing me with his touch. “Shh, Carina,” he murmured softly, his voice gentle now. “I’ll never let you go. I’ll keep you safe.”
My body trembled, my heart racing in my chest as I cried against him. I could feel him, his coolness, his presence, wrapping around me like a dark cocoon, pulling me in, holding me tight.
“I don’t want to be alone anymore,” I whispered through my tears.
****
The air was thick with tension, the humid breeze swirling through the still night, as the distant sound of thunder rumbled, signaling another storm on the horizon. A search party, along with a group of local authorities, stood in front of the old house—Carina’s childhood home. The once vibrant fields now felt desolate, the trees casting long, twisted shadows across the overgrown grass.
Lights flickered in the house, but no one dared to enter. For days now, the authorities had been searching for Carina. Her disappearance was no longer just a mystery—it was becoming something darker. Her family, now frantic with worry, had even contacted investigators from the US, people who specialized in finding missing persons. But still, no sign of her.
The town murmured in hushed voices. Stories passed around like wildfire. "She was seen near the house last week," one man whispered. "But after that... nothing."
A young officer stood by the entrance, his face pale and hesitant. "Are you sure we should go inside? The caretaker said the house was vacant, no one’s been living here for years..."
But his colleague, an older officer with a grim expression, shook his head. "We’re not here to talk to the caretaker. We need to see for ourselves."
And so they entered.
The floorboards creaked beneath their feet as they made their way through the house. The once cherished home of Carina, now forgotten and untouched, seemed to hold secrets within its walls. Dust hung heavy in the air, and the smell of aged wood filled the space, making it feel like time had stood still.
Upstairs, in Carina’s old room, one of the investigators stopped suddenly. His eyes scanned the room, lingering on the old wooden desk. A flash of movement caught his attention—a small, worn leather book lying open on the desk.
He approached it slowly, his gloved hands lifting the book carefully. It was a diary. A child’s handwriting filled the pages, the neat loops of Carina’s young hand bringing memories of innocence long gone. The detective flipped through the pages, stopping at a particular entry. The words were unsettling.
"I can feel it near me. The shadow, always watching. I don’t know if it’s real, but sometimes it feels like it’s alive. I don’t want to tell anyone, but I’m scared. I think it knows me. I think it’s waiting."
The officer’s breath hitched. He turned the pages more quickly, his mind racing as the eerie feeling in the room grew. Another entry.
"It speaks to me now. Softly, gently, like it understands. I don’t want to be scared, but I can’t stop thinking about it. It’s not like other people. It’s not like anyone I know. But I think... I think I’m in love with it."
The officer dropped the book, his hand shaking. “What the hell is this?” he muttered under his breath.
At that moment, a sharp voice echoed from behind him. It was the older investigator, who had been searching the downstairs. “Come here. You need to see this.”
The younger officer rushed down the stairs, his heart pounding in his chest. He found the senior investigator standing in the dark hallway, a look of horror etched on his face.
“Look,” the older officer said in a whisper, his voice barely audible.
A faint outline, almost like a shadow, was visible at the end of the hallway. It looked like a figure—tall, almost human—but something about it was wrong. The shadows in the room twisted, contorting, stretching unnaturally in the dim light. The air itself seemed to hum with an energy that sent a chill through the investigators’ spines.
“Is it... is it him?” the younger officer stammered.
The senior investigator remained silent, his eyes narrowing as he stared at the figure. The house felt suffocating. It was as if time itself had stopped, holding its breath, waiting for something to happen.
The sound of a door creaking open broke the stillness.
The officer’s flashlight flickered. The darkness in the room seemed to deepen, absorbing the light like it had been waiting for them. And in that moment, the air felt too cold, too unnatural. The investigators exchanged nervous glances, their instincts telling them to leave. But they couldn’t. They were trapped.
And then, just as quickly as it appeared, the figure was gone. Vanished into thin air.
The room felt emptier than it had before.
One of the officers quickly turned to the others. “We need to get out. Now.”
As they rushed down the stairs, the shadow of the house, the same one that had haunted Carina for years, seemed to follow them—silent, lingering, watching them as they left.
Outside, the wind had picked up again. The sky crackled with distant lightning. The investigators stood together, unsure of what had just happened.
But they all knew one thing for sure: Carina’s disappearance was no ordinary case. The search for her had only just begun, but they could feel the weight of something sinister lurking beneath the surface.
Carina’s diary, left behind in her old room, was the only clue they had—a clue that would lead them into the darkness of a mystery far deeper than they could ever imagine.
The sound of the wind howling in the distance seemed to echo Carina’s fate.
*****
END