C5 Women

ALARIC

She'd been living with me since Sophie's death and she was the only family I had.

I, who never grew old, watched her as she grew from a five year old to a twenty nine year old woman.

The night was quiet. Too quiet.

My house sat at the edge of the city, away from the noise and chaos, tucked against the woods where the air was sharp with pine and earth. Silence wrapped around it like a coffin. For most, silence was peace. For me, it was torment.

Because in silence, Sophia’s laughter haunted me.

Her photograph sat on my nightstand, the edges worn from years of being touched, lifted, stared at. Twenty-four years should’ve dulled the pain, but every time I looked into her hazel eyes, it was as raw as the day I lost her.

I caught my reflection in the mirror. My expression was smooth, cold, flawless—exactly as it had been for centuries. But my eyes… my eyes betrayed me.

“You’re brooding again.” Maya said

“I’m not brooding,” I muttered.

She arched an eyebrow. “Really? Then why do you look like you’re about to throw that mirror through the wall?”

I smirked faintly. “Do I?”

“Yes. And I know why.” She stepped closer, her eyes searching mine. “It’s her again, isn’t it? You never stop thinking about Sophia.”

Her name on someone else’s lips was a blade twisting in my chest. I turned away, shoving papers into my briefcase. “Sophia will always be with me.”

“And you think working at Stallone Enterprises will give you answers?”

Her tone wasn’t mocking, but it was heavy with worry.

I froze, my jaw tightening.

Twenty-four years ago, when that red truck hit Sophia, the driver never stopped. Never looked back. But I wasn’t just any man—I saw everything. I smelled the driver’s fear. And when I searched the wreckage, when I cradled her broken body in my arms, I found something.

A business card.

Smeared with grease, torn at the corner, but clear enough. Stallone Enterprises.

Accident? No. That had been a message. A threat. A murder planned.

And ever since then, I’ve been chasing shadows.

“Alaric.” Maya’s voice softened. “It’s been twenty-four years. Whoever did it is probably dead. Or untouchable. You’re destroying yourself with this obsession.”

I met her gaze. “Sophia’s death was not an accident. I felt it. I know it. And I will not stop until I uncover the truth.”

Maya sighed, stepping closer, brushing a speck of lint from my jacket as though I were a child she had to fuss over. “Then at least… promise me you’ll be careful. This company you’ve inserted yourself into—it’s dangerous. Your curse makes it worse.”

My curse.

How many times had Maya seen me at my weakest? Shaking, trembling, fangs bared, drenched in crimson after I lost control? I had killed women who loved me. Women I swore I wouldn’t hurt. My thirst was a monster chained inside me, and every time I kissed someone, every time I let myself feel, the chain snapped.

It always ended the same.

But never with Sophia. I never ruined her. Perhaps that was why fate stole her from me in another way.

“I avoid women for a reason,” I said darkly, pulling on my coat. “They die if I don’t.”

“And yet…” Maya’s voice trailed off knowingly, her lips twitching into the smallest smirk. “You looked different when you came home last night. Lighter. Troubled, yes. But lighter. Something happened.”

I ignored her.

“You met someone,” she pressed, grinning now. “Didn’t you?”

Damn, she knew me in and out.

My silence was her answer.

Maya tilted her head. “What’s her name?”

I let out a humorless chuckle. “Sydney.”

Her brows shot up. “Sydney Stallone? The new CEO? Supermodel?”

I fastened my watch, not meeting her gaze.

Maya groaned. “Oh, Alaric. Of all the women in this city—you choose her?”

“I didn’t choose her,” I snapped. “She… distracted me. That’s all.”

The memory of her eyes flashing with fire, of her lips curving into a smirk, of the electric pull between us—it all replayed too vividly in my mind. Her scent had hit me like wildfire, her heartbeat thrumming in my ears, tempting me closer, closer—

I slammed the thought away.

“This is why I avoid women,” I said bitterly.

Maya softened, reaching for my hand. “Maybe she’s different. Maybe…”

“No.” I pulled away. “Different doesn’t exist. Not for me. The curse always wins.”

I turned for the door.

“Time to begin my day”