I'm gonna be doing a Valentine's Day special for three separate twst characters, I'll do any characters except Cheka, obviously. Please tell me what characters you'd like!
-author
The ocean had its share of predators. Some lurked in the shadows, waiting, watching, biding their time. Others struck fast, but the deadliest were those you never saw coming.
Jade Leech knew this well.
He had spent his life as a patient hunter, a creature of the deep who let his prey swim just close enough before ensnaring them in his jaws. And you—oh, you were the most fascinating prey of all. The lone little human of Night Raven College, the Ramshackle Prefect who had somehow managed to swim through treacherous waters without being devoured.
How amusing.
At first, it was just entertainment. He observed you with polite interest, indulging in casual conversation whenever fate allowed. But soon, curiosity became something more insidious. He memorized the rhythm of your footsteps, the subtle way your heartbeat changed around different people, the way your scent lingered in the air after you left.
You were vulnerable. You were unaware.
You were his.
The first time you noticed something was wrong, it was subtle. The people closest to you were... different.
Ace and Deuce suddenly had excuses when you invited them to hang out. Jack, ever the loyal companion, seemed tense whenever he walked you back to Ramshackle, his tail bristling as if sensing something lurking just out of sight. Even Grim, who never left your side, began whining about "some creepy eel" watching him from the shadows.
But no one could ever explain why.
Then came the dreams.
At first, they were vague—a feeling of being watched, of cold water slipping around your limbs, pulling you deeper, deeper. But then, you saw him. Golden eyes glowing from the darkness, a slow, sharp smile just beyond the veil of sleep. The whisper of your name, like a current tugging at your soul.
And when you awoke, you could swear you heard water dripping from somewhere in your room.
You confronted Jade one afternoon, desperate for answers, but his ever-present smile never wavered.
"Prefect, whatever do you mean?" His voice was silky smooth, but there was something in his gaze, something unreadable. "Are you suggesting that I have been... keeping others away from you? That I have been following you?"
The way he said it made you feel ridiculous. And yet, when he took a step closer, you felt your body stiffen.
"Ah," he murmured, tilting his head. "You're frightened."
His gloved hand reached toward you, slow, deliberate, as if testing how far he could go before you recoiled. But you were frozen. The way he moved, the way he watched—it wasn't human. It was something far more primal, something lurking beneath the surface, unseen until it was too late.
"You see, little pearl," he whispered, voice dangerously soft, "moray eels are quite possessive creatures. When they find something they want, they do not simply let it go."
The last thing you saw before everything went black was the glint of sharp teeth as he smiled.
And the feeling of something coiling around you, dragging you into the depths.
