Nyx stared at the words on her mobile, teasing her and bringing back long-buried memories. Micah.

"Here, babe," Selene shouted in Nyx's ear, startling her hard enough to drop her phone on the club's concrete floors.

"Goddamnit!"

"Sorry, hun. Here, take your damn drink before I spill it!"

Nyx grabbed the fluorescent concoction and downed half before bending to pick up her fallen companion. It tasted like rocket fuel and burned like a bitch. A surge of bodies appeared from nowhere, and a rogue limb sent her cellphone flying into the dancing crowd. "Oh, goddammit!"

She finished the drink, slammed the glass on the table and went hunting, leaving her friend wide-eyed at the counter. No doubt, the strength of the alcohol and Nyx's apparent numbness to it had her reeling.

"Where are you," Nyx whispered as she pushed through the crowd attempting to stare past everyone's legs. Her heart raced, and her palms practically dripped.

He did promise to message me, but that was years ago. So how the hell does he even remember me?

Hot bodies writhed and gyrated around her, and she kept her bare palms tucked under her opposite armpits to stop unwanted soul reads.

Nyx almost gave up when she spotted her daisy phone case between a ridiculously long pair of toned legs.

"Excuse me!" She tried to call as she ducked down and swiped the device off the floor. Her relief surged until she flipped it and saw a dozen cracks across the screen. "Shit! This is not my night!" The power button did nothing, and she realised her trusty Samsung had officially died.

Nyx went to turn and escape the swarm when she slammed into the chest of a giant. Her hands gripped his black shirt, resting on his defined pecks, while his warm hands grasped her shoulders, pulling her upright and steadying her.

"Shit, I'm sorry!" she shouted, but when her eyes peered upward, his face made the rest of her words die in her throat. 

He was hauntingly beautiful. Dark features, carved with sharp edges. His hair was tied in a messy topknot revealing an intricately shaven undercut that Nyx could only see half off. The patterns were vaguely familiar, but his piercing gaze captured her before she could ponder further.

The man lowered his mouth beside her ear, and her stomach flipped. "You should probably look where you're going."

Nyx pulled back and shook her shoulders from his grip. "I plan to," she shot back before turning and walking toward what she hoped was the bar. Unfortunately, she was much shorter than most patrons and found it impossible to see anything past their moving bodies. 

A cold, wandering hand gripped her waist painfully before sliding down her hip. Its intended path was evident, and she whipped around to gouge the person's eyes out when the sensation jerked away. 

The dark-haired man reappeared behind her, facing the groper, who scrambled on the concrete floors. A few other club goer's kicked at his winded form, and Nyx felt a growing sense of retribution. She knew it was cruel, but seeing the guy get his karma felt good. 

She could see his markings clearer from her position. They looked like runes she saw in one of her Witchcraft books. After years of honing her 'skill' but being unable to tell anyone, she searched many places to find others like her with no luck. 

Finally, Nyx's gaze wandered back to the wannabe assaulter straight past the gorgeous man's ass. I'm not a hypocrite. No sneaky peeks.  Blood poured from his nose, and significant swelling appeared around his eyes. Giddiness washed over her, followed by shame.

"Are you alright?" a deep voice asked.

She hadn't even noticed the dark-haired guy turn around.

"Yeah, thanks."

"Where are you trying to go?" He looked over his shoulder and nodded to someone.

"Back to the bar with my friend."

"Follow me," he went to offer his hand but seemed to think better of it and presented the crook of his elbow. Nyx blushed and threaded her arm through his, resting her hand on his bicep. The fabric of his long-sleeved shirt felt warm and soft, the perfect barrier preventing her from reading his soul.

When they reached the bar, she couldn't see Selene anywhere. "Ah, shit."

"I've never seen you here before," the man remarked. "Who are you?"

Nyx avoided his gaze and roamed the crowd with her eyes as she responded, "Nyx Knight, at your service. Not literally." She rolled her eyes at herself and spotted his beautiful face again. He was so divine; she just wanted to reach out and touch him. Just a peek at his soul. She didn't realise her hand lifted towards his cheek until he flinched, just before she made contact. "Sorry, I-"

"Nyx, where the hell did you go?" Selene appeared out of nowhere and gave the mystery man a scowling once-over.

What's her problem?

"Let's go," she said, pulling Nyx's arm.

She let her, and they disappeared into the crowd again, losing sight of the mystery man.

"I didn't even get his name...."

"So what?" Selene hissed. "He is bad vibes, babe. My skin is crawling right now." Her beautiful friend shuddered and pulled a face. "Stay away from him."

Nyx rolled her eyes. If he were bad news, she would have known, surely. She didn't get a glimpse at his soul, but something about him drew her in. She searched for him through the sweating bodies, but snapping fingers in her face brought her attention back to Selene.

"What?"

"We should go...."

"He helped me, Selene. I at least owe him a thank you. If I can even find him." She pulled her arm free from her friend and searched again, much to Selene's chagrin. "He defended me against a pervert, okay? How bad can he be?"

The stony face of her roommate answered her as she searched for her defender again.

*

"He's gone, Nyx. Let's go, please!"

After at least twenty minutes, the man was still nowhere in sight. Nyx begrudgingly agreed that the search was a lost cause and followed Selene from the club into the dank night air. The sense of being watched returned when she walked out the door, and her pace quickened down the poorly lit sidewalk.

"Can you call an Uber? My phones' busted."

Selene raised her brow. "Why? We aren't far from home."

"I know. I just feel creeped out." Nyx peered around them, unable to see anything past the buildings and flickering streetlights.

"It's probably that skeevy guy-"

"Selene! What is your problem? Would you prefer he just left me to get assaulted? Please call the damn-"

Nyx's frustrated remarks were cut short when she turned back and saw she was alone. Despite Selene being beside her a second ago, nothing remained but a vague smoke cloud and the scent of rotten eggs.

"Selene?" Her voice came out in a meek whisper, and she rubbed her hands together. The lights of Demonology were a blip in the distance, and the darkened path before her looked like a foreboding wall.

"Selene, this isn't funny."

She could only hear the hum of electricity from the nearby buildings and the increasing tremor in her quickening breath. "Oh, God."

With a second of indecision, she half-jogged back toward the club, her heels aching from the height of her stilettos. Then, just out of time with her footsteps, she heard another set of beats, and she spun, expecting to see a person tailing her. 

There's No one there, Nyx. Get a grip. 

Her heart thumped harder against her rib cage as she broke out in a trot, hoping the low snickering she heard was from a nearby television and not a person laughing at her from the endless shadows.

The snickering grew into a chorus from every dark alleyway, and she sprinted headlong into the night. Demonology's lights grew brighter, and the laughter became fainter when her foot caught the lip of a raised concrete section in the path. She flew straight into someone's arms from the forward momentum, her knees hovering only millimetres above the concrete ground.

"You should probably look where you're going."

A/N
Well, well, well...
How are we all feeling about this mystery man?
Who could he be?
Hmmm... Until next time xxx
K ❤️