Mated at Midnight

Jayden's POV

I tore down the street, lungs burning like they were laced with acid, legs jelly-soft but somehow still moving. Fast. Faster. But not fast enough.

They were behind me again.

I could hear them-heavy boots pounding against wet pavement, splashing through puddles, voices sharp and brutal cutting through the night air.

"There! He went left!"

"Don't let him get away!"

Three of them this time. I recognized the one with the buzz cut in a black leather jacket. He always seemed to be there. He looked like he belonged on the cover of some edgy fashion magazine, all chiseled jaw and too much cologne. But hot or not, he was still trying to ruin my life.

Why me? Why always me?

My name is Jayden Hart. I'm twenty-two years old. No parents. No family. No idea who I even really am. I've lived in Nocturne City since I was born-or at least, that's what I assume. I don't have any memories before I was five. That's where everything starts for me. A blank slate before that. No birthdays, no bedtime stories, no baby pictures.

And ever since I turned fifteen, I've been hunted. By men like this. Always different, but somehow... the same. Tall, dressed in black, eyes scanning for me like I was a prize to be caught. And I've never committed a crime. Not one. Never stolen anything, never hurt anyone.

But somehow, I've always been running.

I left home at fifteen. No choice. Every time I went back, they found me. Kicked down doors. Chased me through alleyways. I started crashing in motels. Cheap ones. The kind with flickering lights and weird smells. I changed locations every few days, sometimes I risked a week. This time, I stayed seven days at Bratt Motel.

Mistake.

They found me. Again.

I took a hard left into a narrow alleyway. My shoulder scraped against a brick wall slick with grime and city grease. The stench of piss, rot, and old rain filled my nose. I hurdled over a busted crate and sent a trash can flying in my wake. A loud crash echoed behind me. One of them cursed-good. That bought me seconds. And seconds were everything.

I bolted through the other end of the alley and exploded into a busy street. Horns honked. Pedestrians scattered. A delivery bike swerved and nearly clipped me. I didn't stop running. I dashed across, vanished into the crowd, and turned sharply into another side street, hugging the shadowed corners until I finally found a dip between two buildings.

I pressed my back to the wall, panting like I'd just run a marathon on fire.

Then I peeked.

They were there, searching. Spinning in circles like sharks confused by a blood trail. One of them threw his hands up in frustration. Buzz Cut shouted something into a walkie-talkie. And then... they were gone.

I exhaled. A shaky, relieved breath.

"Fuck," I muttered to myself, tugging my hoodie up and slipping back into the moving crowd.

I hailed a cab by sheer instinct. My brain hadn't caught up yet, but my body moved on autopilot.

"Main city," I told the driver, trying to keep my voice steady.

He glanced at me through the mirror. "You sure? You don't exactly look like-

"Just drive," I cut in, tossing a few crumpled bills onto the seat beside him.

The cab rolled forward. And as the city shifted around me, so did everything else.

I'd never been to the main city. Too expensive, too flashy. Downtown was all I knew-dark alleys, cracked concrete, dusty neon lights flickering over rusted signs. The place where the forgotten lived.

But now... this?

The cab rolled into a different world.

Sleek skyscrapers sliced the sky, shimmering like blades of silver and glass. Roads were smooth black rivers lined with glowing blue lights. Holograms and drones danced through the air like it was nothing. Digital screens wrapped around buildings, flashing vibrant ads and influencer drama in pixel-perfect resolution.

It didn't feel real. It felt like I'd stepped into someone else's life.

I leaned forward, forehead nearly pressed to the window. "Damn," I whispered.

We stopped at a red light. My gaze caught on a billboard the size of a building. It shimmered, transitioned-and suddenly, the word blazed across the screen in white fire:

LUNARIS.