22. The Witness #2
The woman's body slumped to the ground, lifeless, her neck torn open, blood pooling around her head. Her eyes were still open, staring at nothing, her mouth frozen in a silent scream.
Reign stood over her, breathing hard, his chest heaving, his face still twisted into that inhuman mask.
He was covered in blood.
It was everywhere—on his face, his hands, his clothes, dripping from his mouth and chin. His eyes were still glowing faintly, his fangs still extended, his body still vibrating with that predatory energy.
He looked down at the corpse, then kicked it once, hard, sending it rolling across the asphalt.
And then he laughed.
It was a low, dark sound—satisfied, almost euphoric.
Soreya's blood turned to ice.
This wasn't Reign.
This was something else.
Something that wore his face but wasn't him.
Reign tilted his head back, closing his eyes, his hands flexing at his sides. He looked like he was savoring it—the kill, the blood, the violence.
And then he opened his eyes.
And saw her.
The moment their eyes met, everything stopped.
Reign's expression shifted—the predatory satisfaction draining away, replaced by something that looked like horror.
His mouth opened, his fangs still visible, blood still dripping from his chin.
"Soreya—"
Her name came out broken, desperate, human.
Soreya took a step back, her hand still pressed to her mouth, tears streaming down her face.
Reign took a step forward, his hands raised like he was trying to calm her, but she saw the blood on his hands, saw the way his body was still trembling with adrenaline, saw the way his eyes were still glowing faintly in the darkness.
"Don't," she whispered, her voice shaking. "Don't come near me."
"Baby, please—" Reign's voice cracked. He took another step forward, and she saw his face starting to change back—the veins receding, the glow fading from his eyes, his fangs slowly retracting.
But it was too late.
She'd seen it.
She'd seen what he really was.
"What are you?" Soreya's voice was barely audible, choked with tears and terror. "What the fuck are you?"
Reign stopped, his hands dropping to his sides. He looked down at himself—at the blood covering his clothes, his hands, his face—and something in his expression broke.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm so sorry. I never wanted you to see?—"
"See what?" Soreya's voice rose, hysteria creeping in. "See you kill someone? See you—see you drink her blood? See you turn into—into?—"
She couldn't finish.
She couldn't say it out loud because saying it would make it real, and if it was real, then everything she thought she knew about Reign, about their relationship, about the past six years of her life—all of it was a lie.
Reign took another step forward, his movements slow, careful, like he was approaching a wounded animal. "Soreya, I can explain. Just—just let me explain, aight? Let me?—"
"You're a monster," she said, and the words came out flat, emotionless, like her brain couldn't process what she was saying.
Reign flinched like she'd slapped him.
"I'm not—" His voice broke. "I'm still me. I'm still Reign. I'm still the man who loves you, who?—"
"You killed her." Soreya pointed at the corpse lying a few feet away, the woman's lifeless eyes still staring at nothing. "You ripped her apart. You drank her blood. You?—"
Her voice gave out, and she doubled over, her hands on her knees, trying to breathe through the panic attack that was threatening to consume her.
Reign moved toward her instinctively, but she held up a hand, stopping him.
"Don't touch me," she gasped. "Don't fucking touch me."
Reign stopped, his hands clenched into fists at his sides, his whole body vibrating with the effort of holding himself back.
"She was trying to kill me," he said quietly. "She was sent by Noctis—a rival crew. They trying to take our territory, and they knew—they knew you were coming here tonight. They were gonna use you to get to me."
Soreya looked up at him, her vision blurred with tears. "What are you talking about? What crew? What territory?"
"The vampire families," Reign said, and hearing him say it out loud—hearing him confirm what she'd just witnessed—made Soreya's stomach drop. "We run the nightlife in Richmond. The clubs, the lounges, the after-hours spots. It's all feeding grounds. It's all?—"
"Feeding grounds," Soreya repeated, her voice hollow. "You've been feeding on people. All this time. All those nights you disappeared, all those women?—"
"I never hurt nobody who didn't consent," Reign said quickly. "I never forced nobody. I never?—"
"You're a vampire." The word felt foreign in her mouth, ridiculous, impossible. "You're a fucking vampire, Reign."
He didn't deny it.
He just stood there, covered in blood, his face human again but his eyes still haunted, still desperate.
"Yeah," he said quietly. "I am."
The silence that followed was deafening.
Soreya stared at him—at this man she'd loved for six years, this man she'd given everything to, this man who'd just torn someone apart in front of her like it was nothing.
And she realized she didn't know him at all.
"How long?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
"What?"
"How long have you been—" She couldn't say it again. "How long?"
Reign's jaw tightened. "I was born this way. My whole family—we're all vampires. Cairo, Soleil, Sevyn—all of us."
"Your whole family." Soreya laughed, but it came out broken, hysterical. "Your whole fucking family, and you never thought to tell me?"
"I was trying to protect you!" Reign's voice rose, desperate. "I was trying to keep you out of this world because I knew—I knew if you found out, you'd look at me exactly the way you looking at me right now!"
"Like you're a monster?" Soreya shot back. "Because you are, Reign! You just killed someone in front of me! You drank her blood! You?—"
"She was trying to kill me!" Reign shouted. "She was sent here to kill me, and if I didn't stop her, she would've killed you too! I was protecting you!"
"By lying to me for six years?" Soreya's voice cracked. "By making me think I was crazy for suspecting you were cheating when you were out here feeding on people?"
"I never wanted to hurt you," Reign said, and his voice was so raw, so broken, that for a moment—just a moment—Soreya almost believed him.
But then she looked at the corpse lying on the ground, at the blood pooling around it, at the way Reign's hands were still trembling with adrenaline.
And she knew.
She knew she couldn't stay.
"I have to go," she said, her voice shaking.
"Soreya, please?—"
"I have to go, Reign." She turned toward her car, her legs barely holding her up. "I can't—I can't do this. I can't?—"
"If you leave, they'll come after you," Reign said, and his voice was cold now, controlled. "Noctis knows about you. She knows you matter to me. If you walk away, you're a target."
Soreya stopped, her hand on the car door handle.
"So what?" she said quietly. "You gonna keep me prisoner? Force me to stay with you because it's safer?"
"No." Reign's voice softened. "But I'm asking you—begging you—to let me explain. Let me tell you everything. And then, if you still wanna leave, I won't stop you."
Soreya turned to look at him one last time.
He was still covered in blood, still standing over the corpse of the woman he'd just killed, still looking at her with those eyes that used to make her feel safe.
But she didn't feel safe anymore.
She felt terrified.
"Reign," she whispered, and his name came out like a prayer, like a goodbye.
He took a step toward her, his hand reaching out, and for a moment, she thought he might try to stop her.
But he didn't.
He just stood there, his hand suspended in the air between them, his face twisted with anguish.
"I love you," he said, and his voice broke on the words. "I love you, Soreya. That's the only thing that's real. Everything else—the lies, the secrets, the bullshit—none of that matters. I love you."
Soreya's vision blurred with tears.
"I don't know if that's enough anymore," she whispered.
And then she got in her car, started the engine, and drove away.
She didn't look back.
She couldn't.
Because if she did, she knew she'd see him standing there, covered in blood, watching her leave.
And she didn't know if she'd have the strength to keep driving.
Reign stood in the parking lot, watching Soreya's taillights disappear into the darkness.
His hands were still shaking.
His whole body was still vibrating with adrenaline, with the high of the kill, with the terror of what had just happened.
She'd seen him.
She'd seen what he really was.
And she'd left.
Behind him, he heard footsteps—Sevyn and Soleil emerging from the club, their expressions grim.
"She saw," Soleil said. It wasn't a question.
Reign didn't answer.
He just stood there, staring at the empty road, his chest tight, his throat burning.
"Cairo's gonna want to know what happened," Sevyn said quietly.
"I know."
"He's gonna want to know if she's a liability."
Reign's jaw clenched.
"She's not."
"Reign—"
"She's not," he repeated, his voice hard. "I'll handle it."
Soleil crossed her arms, her expression unreadable. "You better. Because if Cairo thinks she's a threat to the family, he'll handle it himself."
Reign turned to look at his sister, his eyes still glowing faintly in the darkness.
"If he touches her," Reign said quietly, "I'll kill him."
Soleil's eyebrows rose. "You'd go to war with your own family over a human?"
"She's not just a human." Reign's voice was raw. "She's mine."
"Not anymore," Soleil said. "She just drove away, Reign. She saw what you are, and she ran. That's what humans do. They run."
Reign didn't respond.
Because deep down, he knew his sister was right.
Soreya had seen the monster.
And she'd run.
The only question now was whether she'd come back.
Or whether he'd lost her forever.