The hall leading to the bedroom is quiet and cold — no moans of pleasure, no music, no drunken giggles. Just silence.
It doesn't feel right.
It feels like fate. Like destiny has spun this very moment into place just for me.
I step into Void's room and get hit by his scent — dark, masculine, rich like sandalwood and fire. The room is huge and shadowy, the bed unmade. Empty bottles of expensive liquor are scattered across the floor and dresser.
Mm. Drinking problem? EW.
I sit on the edge of the bed, exhaling. If I were a rich playboy ; where would I hide my most prized possessions?
I tear through the room. Under the bed. Inside the dresser. In the bathroom cabinets.
Ten minutes pass. Nothing.
Frustrated, I flop backward onto the bed… and feel something hard beneath me.
I shoot up, yank the blanket back, and freeze.
Four jewelry boxes.
I squeal, grinning like a lunatic. "God, you are too good to me."
The first box holds a ring — glowing, exotic, like something pulled from a dying star.
The second and third? Matching bracelet and earrings.
"Okay, coordinated king. Cute." I mutter.
Then the fourth.
I open it — and gasp.
It's a necklace, strung on black thread with a sharp white fang dangling from the centre. It looks ancient. Raw. Like something a witch or warrior queen would wear. The thread feels like leather... or something close.
Ignoring all the read flags in my head,. I stuff all four pieces into my boots.
This is it. My final mission.
Hawaii, here I come. Maybe I'll start a farm.
Get married.
Live.
I text Rain:
"Wrap it up."
As I head downstairs, a chill rolls down my spine.
Like someone's watching.
I pause. Scan the ceiling, the corners.
Nothing.
No cameras. No shadows. Just a weird vibe.
I shake it off and keep walking.
Then — Rain's voice cuts through the party noise:
"You think you can steal my boyfriend, b*tch?!"
Oh for f*ck's sake.
Glass shatters.
Guards are shouting.
Perfect chaos.
I break into character, stomping down the stairs with my best fake-drunken slur.
"Get away from her!" I shout, grabbing Rain's arm.
"You don't KNOW us!"
We both start cussing and stumbling, totally unhinged. Rain's even crying for effect.
The bouncers don't even hesitate.
"Out. Now!"
We get tossed out like trash.
The second we hit the car, we burst into laughter.
"Mission. F*cking. Successful."
The drive home is nothing but bliss.
Music blasting.
Fast food in our laps.
Rain's giggling in the passenger seat, trying on the jewelry — all of it except the weird one. She didn't even notice I slipped it out of the set.
Good.
If she saw it, she'd freak. Tell me to toss it out, call it cursed or some voodoo crap.
But I think it's a relic.
Ancient. Valuable.
Emergency backup fund, just in case.
Maybe it belongs in a museum. Maybe it's magic.
Either way — I'm keeping it.
We finally get home. Rain kisses her fingers and gives me a dramatic curtsy like she's royalty.
"Goodnight, your highness," she laughs, still dripping in diamonds.
I shake my head, smiling.
Back in my room, I set the jewelry on my bedside table and grab my laptop. Curiosity itches.
I start Googling the stone in the center of the ring — the glowing one, strange and otherworldly.
But nothing comes up.
No images. No name. No match.
The eerie feeling crawling in my chest gets worse.
Ping.
I text Scott:
"How did you get intel on this Void guy?"
I've never heard of a "Void" before. Never seen him.
Something about him was off. His accent… unusual — but not enough for me to pin down. His features leaned Asian, maybe, but that didn't mean much.
He replies almost instantly.
"Don't worry about it, babygirl."
Somehow, that settles my nerves. A little.
Still — I need to sell this shit fast.
Good thing I lined up a buyer yesterday.
Fifty-three million. In cash.
I close my eyes and smile.
I'm building something real.
A legacy.
Generational wealth.
Maybe I'll finally reach out to Mama.
Help her get clean.
Maybe Janice — my sister — will come home again.
And as for Todd?
I'll kill him myself.
I'll watch his body burn for what he did to Mama.
And to Janice.
Finally, sleep washes over me.
The Next Day
The first thing I do when I wake up is set up a meeting spot with the buyer — somewhere public. He agrees. Good.
But the eerie feeling hasn't left.
If anything, it's worse now.
Thanks to the n my dreams.
I spent the whole night tossing and turning, sweating through visions of a beast chasing me — something massive and wild, all claws and breath and eyes that glowed like fire.
And that damn necklace.
It showed up everywhere.
Around my neck.
In my hands.
Coiled around my body like a snake.
I sound superstitious. Rain would have a field day.
I shake it off and drag myself into the shower. I take my time — Rain's not up until noon, and even then, she's still a zombie.
By the time I'm out, drying off, my gaze lands on the jewelry on my bedside table.
The relic necklace sits there like it's... humming.
Calling.
Beckoning.
I hesitate. Then pick it up.
Just try it on. It wouldn't hurt.
It feels... odd. Lighter than I remember. Warm. Almost alive.
I tie it around my neck and walk to the mirror — and burst out laughing.
"I fight for my kingdom!" I yell in a mock-heroic tone, tightening the towel around my body, posing like a warrior princess.
I laugh again.
But then—
The heat starts.
Right at the base of my throat.
The skin beneath the necklace starts to tingle… then burn.
I reach for the knot — but it's gone.
Gone.
I tug harder, trying to rip it off, panic swelling in my chest.
"No. No. NO!"
I stumble back, then lurch toward the sink and splash cold water on my neck — but it does nothing. I look up—
The necklace is fusing into my skin.
Thread by thread, it disappears.
The fang melts into my flesh like it's being absorbed.
Like I'm being claimed.
I stare in the mirror, frozen.
Mouth open.
Breathing hard.
"No, no, no—"
I press my fingers against my collarbone, where it was.
Nothing.
Just skin.
Smooth. Normal. Empty.
I'm going crazy.
Ping.
A text lights up my phone.
"I'm here. Don't make me change my mind."
—The Buyer.
I jump into action. Throw on baggy jeans, a gray T-shirt, and my old Converse. I don't bother drying my hair. I just shove the rest of the jewelry into my bag and grab my keys.
This shit is cursed.
I'm getting rid of it. Now.