Chapter 1 The Night The Mark Appeared ⭐
🌑 Chapter 1 — The Night The Mark Appeared
The night started like every other night.
Quiet.
Normal.
Safe.
At least, that was what Elena Hart believed.
The rain tapped gently against the glass window of her small apartment as she sat alone on her bed, reading a medical anatomy textbook she had not really been paying attention to for the past thirty minutes.
Her mind was elsewhere.
Work.
School.
Life.
Everything felt heavy lately.
Elena rubbed her tired eyes and sighed.
“I need sleep,” she whispered to herself.
She placed the book beside her and reached for her phone on the bed.
No new messages.
Just silence.
Elena unlocked her phone and checked the time.
11:43 PM.
Too late to be awake.
Too early for nightmares.
She was about to switch off the light when she felt something strange on her wrist.
A faint warmth.
Not painful.
Just… unusual.
Elena frowned and slowly raised her hand under the yellow light of her bedside lamp.
And then she saw it.
A mark.
It was black.
Like two dark wings curved around a tiny crimson flame that seemed to pulse slightly as if it was alive.
Her heart stopped.
“What… is this?”
Her fingers trembled as she touched it gently.
The skin around the mark was smooth, but the symbol felt strangely deep — as if it was not painted on her skin but carved into her soul.
Elena rushed to the bathroom mirror.
She turned on the bright white light and stared at her reflection.
The mark was still there.
She tried rubbing it.
Nothing happened.
She grabbed a towel and scrubbed harder.
The mark did not move.
Fear began crawling slowly up her spine.
“This is not funny,” she said shakily.
She had never had this mark before.
Not yesterday.
Not this morning.
So how did it appear?
Elena returned to her bedroom and picked up her phone again.
Her fingers hesitated for a moment before she opened the messaging app.
Then she froze.
An unknown number had sent a message.
She did not remember seeing it before.
Her chest tightened as she opened it.
The message was short.
Only three words.
“I found you.”
Elena’s hand started shaking.
She typed slowly.
Who is this?
And pressed send.
The reply came almost immediately.
“You are mine now.”
The phone slipped slightly from her fingers but she caught it before it fell.
“No…” she whispered.
Her heartbeat was loud inside her chest.
She stared at the screen, waiting for another message.
Another explanation.
Anything.
But there was nothing.
Just silence.
Outside, the rain suddenly became heavier.
The wind howled softly against her apartment walls.
Tap.
Elena froze.
The sound came from her window.
She turned slowly.
Tap.
Again.
Something had hit the glass.
“Elena.”
A voice called her name from outside.
Deep.
Dark.
Unfamiliar.
Her blood turned cold.
“Elena Hart… open the window.”
Her throat tightened.
“Who… who are you?” she whispered.
The mark on her wrist suddenly burned.
Elena cried out and clutched her wrist.
The pain felt like fire crawling under her skin.
“Stop it!” she cried.
The burning stopped as suddenly as it started.
Silence filled the room.
Then the voice spoke again, softer this time.
“I am the son of darkness. And you carry the mark meant for my bride.”
Elena shook her head even though the man outside could not see her.
“No… go away.”
The window latch clicked on its own.
Slowly.
Terrifyingly.
The window opened.
Cold night wind rushed inside, lifting the edges of her nightgown.
And then she saw him.
Standing on the balcony like he had been there all along.
Tall.
Dangerous.
Beautiful in a terrifying way.
His black hair moved slightly in the wind, framing a face that looked carved from shadows.
But his eyes…
His eyes were the colour of fresh blood under moonlight.
“Elena Hart,” he said quietly. “You were not meant to know fear before tonight.”
Elena’s legs felt weak.
“You are supposed to be dead,” she whispered.
A faint, cold smile touched his lips.
“I am not the one who dies easily.”
The mark on her wrist glowed faintly again.
Pain returned — sharper this time.
“Help…” Elena cried, clutching her wrist.
The man lifted his hand slowly.
And strangely, the pain stopped immediately.
“You were chosen before you were born,” he said.
“The contract was sealed when your blood touched the ancient stone twenty years ago.”
Elena’s eyes filled with tears.
“I don’t know what you are talking about.”
“You belong to me,” he said.
The words were not said harshly.
They were spoken like a truth that could not be changed.
“I am not your property,” Elena said, though her voice was shaking.
For a moment, something flickered in his crimson eyes.
Something dark.
Something almost… human.
“I did not say you were my property,” he said.
“I said you are my bride.”
Thunder suddenly rumbled loudly above the building.
The wind became stronger.
The air felt heavier.
Like the night itself was listening.
Then the man spoke again.
“And tomorrow night, you will come with me to the world of the fallen.”
Elena’s knees trembled.
“What if I refuse?”
The faintest, dangerous smile touched his lips.
“Then the mark will consume your heart before sunrise.”
Elena felt her chest tighten in terror.
Because deep inside, she knew he was not lying.
The clock on her wall suddenly struck midnight.
And at the same moment…
The mark on her wrist began to glow brighter than before.
As if it was waiting for something.
Or someone.
And somewhere in the darkness outside…
The son of the Devil was still watching her.
Waiting.
