Swindon – 11:47 PM
Location: Cadet Housing Alley | Van Route Escape – East Outskirts
The cold night air had barely touched Kiaan's collar when it all happened in a blink.
A whisper of footsteps.
A click—like a serpent's fang locking.
A sharp sting in his neck.
Another cry—the cadet boy fell beside him.
A van door flung open like the jaws of hell.
Two bodies shoved in.
Tires screamed as the van peeled into the darkness."KIAAN!" Zid's voice roared through comms as he darted out of the shadows. Rehaan and Dev chased after the fleeing vehicle, Rehaan yelling coordinates, Dev already behind the wheel.Tara slapped her laptop open in the moving SUV, fingers flying, hacking nearby traffic cams, intercepting van routes, praying for a signal.
"Zid to Zayed. We've lost visual on Kiaan. Repeat—he's taken. He and the cadet both. East highway—headed into the old mill zone!" he barked into his secure line.
---
12:21 AM | Unknown Location – Inside the Killer's Lair
Kiaan's eyelids fluttered open like bruised petals. His vision was blurry. His body ached. Cold metal cuffs bit into his wrists. He was bound—again.Wood beneath him. His jacket gone. His legs tied at the ankles. His head throbbed from the drug's effect.
Beside him, the cadet boy lay unconscious, breathing faintly.The room smelled like old blood, dust, and antiseptic. Flickering bulbs overhead hummed as a masked man stood by the tools table—sharp gleaming objects placed in an eerie row.
The killer.He turned slowly, the mask shifting, a quiet amusement radiating from the man's stillness.Kiaan's blood went cold.
"You," the killer said in a low voice, "You shouldn't have come back. Once I let you go... but now?"His fingers brushed the sharp edge of a scalpel, and then… he smiled.
"Tonight, I got lucky. Two young bodies." His eyes raked over Kiaan. "But you? You're beautiful. Strong. I knew the first time I touched you... there's no one like you."
Kiaan's body jolted, fury rising like bile. "Don't you dare come near me!" he roared, tugging against the ropes violently. His voice cracked—not in fear, but in rage. "You think you're going to mark me again?! I'm not the same prey you once touched—I came back to burn you down."The killer tilted his head. "So brave. But that mouth will scream again… You'll carry another mark. Just like one you got on your head by me before . That day I didn't get to taste you but now i will take my time to taste and mark you fully." The killer was happy but what the monster didn't know—what he would never understand—was that Kiaan Verma was never unclaimed. Kiaan was already claimed by one dangerous name "Reyaan Malhotra" and now that name is going to be the death of the monster himself
---
A Hill Overlooking the Mill – Sniper's Perch
Wind rustled through the dry grass as the sniper slowly exhaled, adjusting his scope. He tracked the room's narrow, broken window. He had Kiaan in his sights now.
A tiny red laser dot blinked for half a second and vanished."Visual on target. He's restrained. Cadet unconscious. Suspect approaching. Need green light."
Zayed's voice came through the earpiece, tight. "Rex says not yet. Wait for clear shot. He wants the bastard to step closer."
A breath.
"Copy that. Scope holding."
---
Agent Vehicle | Minutes Out.Dev swerved past another traffic cone, tires screeching.
Tara looked up from the laptop. "They're in the old lumber mill near the river. GPS just pinged the sniper's beacon. We're five minutes out—max."Zid checked his weapon, eyes wild with rage. "If that bastard touches Kiaan again, I swear to god—"
Rehaan cut him off coldly. "He won't. That killer doesn't know who's marked him now."
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Back in the Room – One Step Too Close
The killer moved forward, one hand on his belt, the other reaching toward Kiaan's face, a twisted hunger in his eyes.
"You don't have to scream this time," he whispered. "Just let it happen."
Click.
Kiaan's face twisted into a snarl. "You're not touching what already belongs to someone far more dangerous than you."
Confusion crossed the killer's eyes.
Then—CRACK!
A silenced shot punched through the window—straight through the killer's throat. Blood mist sprayed in the air like a horror painting. His body dropped like a puppet's cut string.Kiaan gasped. The boy on the floor stirred weakly.From the hilltop, the sniper breathed, "Target eliminated. Confirmed kill."
---
Moments Later – Team Infiltration
Agents burst through the mill doors, guns raised. Rehaan rushed to Kiaan, slicing through the restraints with a knife.
"You okay?" he asked lowly.
Kiaan's eyes burned. "He almost… again…" His voice cracked. But he was alive. And untouched.Dev was already checking the cadet. Tara called med-evac. Zid stood over the killer's body, eyes narrowed. "Rotted soul. Good shot," he muttered.
Kiaan sat up slowly. His wrists raw. His breath shaky.Rehaan knelt beside him, his hand tightening slightly on Kiaan's shoulder.
"You're not alone anymore," he said firmly. "No one touches what already marked."
Kiaan looked at him, eyes flickering with something between pain and relief.
And this time… there would be no second mark.