4. Daylight
DAYLIGHT
The bedroom was pitch black.
Not dim. Not shadowy. Completely, suffocatingly dark.
Heavy blackout curtains covered every window—thick, expensive fabric that didn't let in a single sliver of sunlight. The kind of curtains that cost more than most people's rent. The kind that made the room feel like a tomb.
Reign woke up feeling like death.
His whole body ached—muscles sore, bones heavy, like gravity had doubled overnight. His head pounded with a dull, persistent throb that made it hard to think. His mouth was dry, his skin felt too tight, and every breath took effort.
This was the price.
Feeding always left him wrecked the next day, especially when the sun was up. His body needed rest, needed darkness, needed to recover from the high and the exertion. During daylight hours, he was weak. Vulnerable. Almost human.
He hated it.
His phone buzzed on the nightstand—once, twice, three times in rapid succession.
Reign groaned, reaching for it without opening his eyes. The screen's brightness made him wince even through his closed eyelids. He squinted at the notifications.
Sevyn (10:17 AM): delivery at the warehouse at 2. you handling it or nah?
Soleil (10:19 AM): meeting with the Southside connect moved to 1 PM. need you there.
Soleil (10:28 AM): also we got a problem. RPD found another body. girl from the club. this is getting visible.
Reign's eyes snapped open.
Another body.
Sevyn (10:31 AM): yo you sleep? we got business today
Soleil (10:32 AM): Cairo calling emergency meeting tonight. this shit is becoming a liability. human world starting to notice.
Reign sat up slowly, his head pounding. He read Soleil's messages again, his jaw clenching.
RPD found another body. Girl from the club.
Fuck.
This was exactly what Cairo had warned them about. The disappearances were supposed to be clean, untraceable, spread out enough that nobody connected the dots. But bodies were piling up. The news was reporting it. People were asking questions.
The human world was starting to notice.
Reign typed back with one hand, his other arm still wrapped around Soreya.
Reign (10:34 AM): can't move til tonight. y'all handle it
Soleil (10:35 AM): again? this the third time this week
Reign (10:35 AM): and? i said handle it
He dropped the phone back on the nightstand and pressed his face into the pillow.
Daytime was the worst. He couldn't do shit during the day—couldn't handle business, couldn't meet with connects, couldn't even think straight. The sun drained him, made him irritable and weak and useless. His siblings knew it. His uncle knew it. The whole crew knew it.
But Soreya didn't.
She stirred beside him, her body warm against his. He felt her shift, felt her hand move across his chest.
"Reign?" Her voice was soft, still thick with sleep. "You okay?"
"Yeah," he muttered, not opening his eyes. "Go back to sleep."
"It's almost eleven," she said, sitting up slightly. "Don't you gotta go to the club or something?"
"Nah. Not til later."
"How much later?"
"I don't know, Soreya. Later." His voice came out sharper than he meant it to, irritation bleeding through.
She went quiet.
He felt her pull away slightly, felt the shift in her energy.
He knew he was being an asshole, but he couldn't help it.
During the day, everything felt wrong. His body didn't work right.
His emotions were all over the place. He was exhausted and weak and he hated feeling like this, especially in front of her.
"You been sleeping all morning," Soreya said carefully. "And you won't even open the curtains. You sick or something?"
"I'm fine."
"You don't look fine."
"Soreya, I said I'm fine." He finally opened his eyes, squinting at her in the darkness. "Why you questioning me?"
She stared at him for a long moment, her expression unreadable in the shadows.
"I'm not questioning you," she said quietly. "I'm worried about you."
Reign closed his eyes again, guilt twisting in his chest. "I'm just tired, aight? I had a long night. I just need to sleep."
"You always tired during the day," Soreya said, and there was something in her voice—suspicion, maybe. Concern. "You sleep til like 3 PM, then you up all night. Every single day."
"That's how my schedule is. You know that."
"I know, but—" She stopped herself. "Never mind."
She climbed out of bed, and Reign heard her moving around the room in the darkness. Heard her open the closet, heard the rustle of clothes.
"Where you going?" he asked, his voice muffled by the pillow.
"Work. Some of us got day jobs, remember?"
There was an edge to her voice that made him wince.
"Soreya—"
"It's fine, Reign. Get your rest." She was getting dressed now, moving efficiently in the dark like she was used to it. "I'll see you tonight. Maybe."
"Baby, don't be like that."
"Like what?" She pulled on her scrubs, her movements sharp. "I'm not being like anything. I'm going to work."
Reign wanted to get up, wanted to pull her back to bed, wanted to apologize for being short with her. But his body wouldn't cooperate. He was too weak, too exhausted, too drained from last night's feeding.
"I love you," he said quietly.
Soreya paused at the bedroom door. He couldn't see her face in the darkness, but he felt her hesitation.
"I love you too," she said finally.
Then she was gone.
Reign lay there in the dark, listening to her move through the house. Heard her in the bathroom. Heard her in the kitchen. Heard the front door open and close.
Then silence.
He reached for his phone again, checking the time. 10:52 AM. The sun wouldn't set for another eight hours. Eight hours of feeling like this—weak, useless, trapped in the dark.
He closed his eyes and tried to sleep.
Outside, Soreya stood in the driveway, keys in hand, staring at the empty space where Reign's Hellcat should've been.
It wasn't there.
She frowned, looking back at the house. If his car wasn't here, how did he get home last night? Did someone drop him off? Did he Uber?
Why wouldn't he just drive himself?
She pulled out her phone, almost texted him to ask, then stopped herself.
He'd just get irritated again. Tell her she was asking too many questions.
Soreya unlocked her Honda and slid into the driver's seat, but she didn't start the engine right away. She just sat there, staring at the house with its dark windows, its closed curtains, its secrets.
Something was wrong with Reign.
She didn't know what it was yet.
But she was going to find out.