Dean POV
The world around twisted and blurred, shifting until I was no longer leaning against a tree in the forest. Instead, I was inside Elena’s mind.
But this wasn’t just her consciousness—it was sothing darker.
The air was thick, heavy, laced with the scent of sex and sothing rotten. Shadows pulsed along the walls of wherever the fuck I was, shifting unnaturally like they were alive.
And there she was.
Elena.
She was standing in the middle of the room, naked, her body covered in a thin sheen of sweat. But it wasn’t just her appearance that made my stomach clench—it was her eyes.
Pitch black.
Empty. Endless. Wrong.
She wasn’t alone.
There were figures around her, all faceless, their hands reaching for her, touching her, worshipping her. She arched under their touch, her body writhing as they dragged their hands over her skin. But none of them were real. They flickered, like illusions, or maybe... manifestations of whatever the fuck was inside her.
A low, breathy moan left her lips as she tilted her head back, eyes rolling.
Her hands slid up her own body, nails dragging along her skin, her hips shifting as if she was riding so invisible force.
"Elena." My voice ca out sharper than I intended, but fuck, I needed to snap her out of this.
Her black eyes snapped to .
I froze.
For a mont, I wasn’t looking at my mate. I was looking at sothing else.
Sothing ancient. Hunger. Lust. Darkness.
A slow, wicked smile stretched across her lips.
"Dean," she purred, her voice syrupy sweet, but tainted. "What took you so long?"
She took a step toward , her hips swaying, and I caught a flash of sharp fangs. Not like mine. Sothing worse.
I tensed, instinct screaming at to move, but the second she reached for , her fingers brushing my chest, I felt it.
The pull.
A force so strong it nearly made stumble forward. It wasn’t the mate bond. It wasn’t even lust.
It was sothing else.
Sothing that wanted to devour .
"Elena, stop," I growled.
She just laughed. A slow, sultry sound that slid down my spine like a blade.
"Why?" she whispered, stepping closer, pressing herself against , her hands trailing down my stomach. "You want , don’t you? I can feel it."
Her fingers wrapped around my cock, and fuck—she wasn’t wrong.
I was hard.
Even knowing this was wrong. Even knowing she wasn’t fully in control.
Her hand tightened.
"Give in, Dean," she murmured, brushing her lips along my jaw. "You’re mine."
Fuck.
I had to get out of here.
I clenched my jaw, forcing my hands onto her shoulders, pushing her back.
"Elena," I said again, forcing the dominance in my voice. "Wake up."
Her smile faltered.
Sothing flickered in her black eyes.
A flash of confusion.
Then—pain.
She gasped, clutching her head as the faceless figures around her screeched and began to dissolve into black smoke.
The shadows flickered, the world around us shaking.
I was still inside her mind.
And I was losing her.
Elena stood before , naked, her body glistening with sweat, her pupils dilated and black as the abyss. Her lips parted, her breath coming out in ragged pants, her fingers curling at her sides as she watched .
No—she was hunting .
This wasn’t just Elena anymore. Sothing else had taken root inside her.
And it wanted to give in.
Her voice ca out in a soft purr. "Why are you fighting it, Dean?"
She stepped toward , her hips swaying, seduction in every movent. The pull between us crackled like raw electricity, my vampire instincts screaming at to take her, claim her, mark her.
But I wouldn’t.
Not like this.
"Elena," I growled, keeping my feet planted despite my own raging need. "This isn’t you. You need to fight whatever the fuck this is."
She sighed, rolling her head back. "You’re making this so difficult."
Then her gaze snapped back to mine, sothing wicked flashing across her face.
"If you won’t give what I need..." she whispered, licking her lips. "Soone else will."
And that’s when the shadows moved.
A dark figure erged from the inky blackness, faceless, towering, its body shifting and flickering like it wasn’t bound by the sa laws of reality. It was humanoid, but wrong—unnatural.
And it was coming for her.
Elena didn’t resist when it reached her, its shadowy hands sliding over her bare skin, gripping her hips, her thighs. She let out a low moan, tilting her head back as the thing pushed her down onto all fours.
What. The. Fuck.
A snarl tore from my throat.
"Elena!" I barked, stepping toward her, my hands curling into fists.
She ignored .
Her back arched as the figure behind her positioned itself, its form shifting, taking on sothing more solid—sothing it was about to use to fuck her.
I saw red.
Pure, violent, bloodthirsty red.
"No one touches my fucking mate while I’m around!" I roared, lunging forward.
I swung hard, my fist connecting with the shadow’s chest.
But instead of feeling solid, it dissolved.
The fucking thing just—disappeared into thin air.
I stumbled forward, my rage turning into confusion as I watched the shadows around us shift and swirl, as if they were laughing at .
Elena let out a frustrated whimper, her black eyes flashing.
"Why did you do that?!" she snapped, glaring at like I had just denied her the greatest pleasure of her life. "I needed that!"
My entire body went rigid.
"The fuck you did," I growled, stepping closer to her. "You needed to pull you out of whatever twisted hell this is!"
She laughed.
A low, taunting, sinful sound.
"I don’t need saving, Dean," she whispered, reaching out, trailing a single finger down my chest.
I shuddered.
Because it wasn’t just her touch.
It was sothing deeper.
A pull so carnal, so dangerous, that even I—a fucking vampire—felt like I was on the verge of losing control.
"Elena," I exhaled, my jaw tightening. "This isn’t real. That thing wasn’t real. It’s fucking with you."
She blinked, her lips parting slightly.
And for a second—just a second—I saw sothing flicker behind her black eyes.
Sothing human.
Sothing afraid.
I grabbed her wrists, forcing her to look at . "Fight it," I demanded. "I know you’re still in there."
She shook her head. "It’s too late."
"No, it’s not."
She was trembling now, her breath coming in short, sharp gasps.
Then the world around us shuddered.
The shadows pulsed, the figures flickering before they disappeared.
Sothing was changing.
Sothing was breaking.
And just before I was ripped from her mind, I saw it.
The real Elena.
Terrified. Helpless. Screaming.
And then—darkness.
And just like that—I was ripped away.
I gasped awake, my body jerking violently as I was thrown out of her mind.
My breath ca in sharp, ragged gulps.
Kane was crouched in front of , eyes narrowed. "What the fuck happened?"
I wiped the sweat from my forehead, still reeling from the intensity of what I had just seen.
"Elena," I exhaled. "She’s... not herself."
Kane’s eyes darkened. "What do you an?"
I pushed off the tree, my entire body still shaking.
"I an, whatever the fuck is inside her? It’s winning."
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