The music from the party faded the moment Trisha stepped into the corridor.
But the words Rowan had spoken did not.
You were mine the moment I tasted you.
The sentence echoed in her mind again and again as she walked down the quiet hallway toward the staff elevators.
Her steps were slower now.
Not rushed like before.
Just… heavy.
Confused.
The hotel looked normal again. Calm. Luxurious. Polished marble floors gleaming beneath soft golden lights.
Nothing about it suggested that only one floor above, vampires and humans were dancing together while blood ran like wine.
Trisha pressed the elevator button.
Her reflection stared back at her from the mirrored wall.
Her dark eyes looked unsettled.
Her lips parted slightly as she exhaled.
You were mine.
Her fingers moved instinctively to her neck.
The place where Rowan had bitten her.
The memory of that night flashed vividly in her mind.
The warmth of his breath.
The sharp pressure of his teeth.
The strange pull she had felt when his mouth touched her skin.
Things they did afterwards.
Her hand dropped immediately.
"No, just leave it. I will apply the ointment again. It would be fine." she whispered to herself.
She stepped into the elevator.
The doors closed.
The moment the elevator began descending, she leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes.
Rowan's voice returned again.
Low.
Certain.
I didn't feed. I marked.
Her stomach tightened.
What did that even mean?
What exactly had he done to her?
******
The next morning felt strange.
Trisha woke earlier than usual, her thoughts already restless before the sun had even fully risen.
For a few seconds she lay still in bed, staring at the ceiling of her small apartment.
Everything from the night before replayed in fragments.
The party.
The blood.
Rowan's explanation.
And finally—
The mark.
Her hand slowly moved to her neck.
Her fingers brushed the skin just below her ear.
She frowned.
It was still tender.
That wasn't normal.
The bite should have healed by now.
She stood up quickly and walked to the mirror near her dresser.
Her hair fell loosely around her shoulders as she tilted her head slightly to the side.
And then she saw it.
The mark had changed.
It wasn't a simple bite wound anymore.
Two small punctures remained faintly visible, but the skin around them had darkened.
A deep shade of red.
Almost purple.
It looked less like a wound…
And more like something permanent, like a tattoo.
Trisha stared at it.
Her heart beating faster.
It had been several days.
Bite marks didn't last this long.
Yet this one hadn't faded at all.
If anything, it looked stronger.
More defined.
She touched it carefully.
A strange warmth pulsed under her fingertips.
Not painful.
But alive.
"What did you do to me?" she whispered.
******
Across the city, Rowan stood near the tall windows of his private office.
The morning sun stretched across the polished floor, illuminating the dark wood furniture and the quiet elegance of the room.
But Rowan wasn't paying attention to the view.
His thoughts were elsewhere.
Specifically—
With Trisha.
He could still remember the look in her eyes the night he told her the truth.
Shock.
Confusion.
Anger.
Little Jealousy.
And something else he couldn't quite define.
The door behind him opened without a knock.
Seraphina stepped inside.
She moved with the same effortless grace she always carried, her long dark hair falling over one shoulder as she crossed the room.
"You marked her."
Rowan didn't turn immediately.
Silence hung between them.
Finally he spoke.
"Yes."
Seraphina folded her arms.
"That was reckless."
Rowan turned slowly.
His expression was calm.
"It was necessary."
Seraphina's golden eyes narrowed slightly.
"She's human."
"I'm aware."
"You've spent centuries maintaining control," Seraphina continued. "Avoiding attachments. Avoiding complications."
Rowan didn't respond.
"And now suddenly you mark a human girl who works in your hotel."
Her voice sharpened slightly.
"You realize what that means, don't you?"
"Yes."
"Do you?"
Seraphina stepped closer.
"Because once a mark like that is made, it doesn't disappear."
Rowan met her gaze steadily.
"I know."
"She'll feel it."
"I know."
"You'll feel it."
" You can feel when she is in danger. She can feel you too."
"The other vampires can smell you on her because of the mark, they will know you marked a human."
Rowan's jaw tightened slightly.
Still he said nothing.
Seraphina studied him carefully.
Then she asked quietly,
"So why her?"
Rowan's voice was calm when he answered.
"Because she matters to me ."
Seraphina stared at him for a moment.
Then she laughed softly.
"Well."
Her lips curved into a faint smile.
"This should be interesting."
"Don't pretend you are my Forever, Rowan. I know what you did."
Seraphina hesitated
"What do you mean "
" Sera, I have known you for 800 years. You are my best friend and business partner. You are the only family I am left with"
"You invited Trisha to the party "
Rowan smiled and winked
" You made sure , she attends it."
Seraphina confidently said
"Of course I did that. I had to. She should know what she is getting into. But then I smelled you on her.
I thought it's best for her to leave the party before others are aware of the mark"
Rowan's jaw tightened
" If you care about her safety, then why would you kiss me and plant doubt and jealousy in her heart?"
Seraphina explained
"Yeah, that was a little dramatic , even for me"
"But I had to. She is brilliant, but only a Human. She could have a proper human life. Marriage, children, everything. I thought it's better for her to stay away from you , from our world."
"But then I saw her mark."
"Poor girl, she has been dragged into our world."
Rowan smiled.
"Don't worry. She is strong. She won't break."
*****
By the time Trisha arrived at the hotel for her shift, the mark on her neck had become impossible to ignore.
She had tried covering it with makeup.
But the color kept showing through.
The strange warmth beneath her skin hadn't faded either.
It pulsed faintly.
Almost like a heartbeat.
Her heartbeat.
Except it wasn't.
As she walked through the lobby, she noticed something strange.
People were looking at her.
Not guests.
Staff.
Some of the employees, even the manager glanced at her neck briefly before quickly looking away.
Almost nervously.
It made her uncomfortable.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
She knew exactly who had answers.
And she was determined to get them.
*****
Rowan was in his office again when the door opened abruptly.
Trisha walked in without waiting for permission.
Her expression was tense.
Her eyes sharp.
Rowan looked up from the documents on his desk.
He wasn't surprised to see her.
"I was wondering how long it would take you to come back to me."
Trisha shut the door behind her.
Her voice was controlled.
But only barely.
"What did you do to me?"
Rowan leaned back in his chair.
"That's a very broad question. We did quite a lot of things.."
She stepped closer.
Her hand moved to her neck.
"The bite."
Rowan's gaze followed the movement.
"The mark."
She tilted her head slightly so he could see it clearly.
"It hasn't healed. I applied everything."
He studied it carefully.
For a moment his expression softened slightly.
"That's because it isn't supposed to."
Trisha's heart skipped.
"What does that mean?"
Rowan stood slowly.
The space between them felt charged now.
"You remember what I told you."
Her voice tightened.
"You said you marked me. You claimed me."
"Yes."
"And what exactly does that mean?"
Rowan stopped a few steps away from her.
"It means other vampires know you belong to me."
The words made her stomach twist.
"I don't belong to anyone."
His voice remained calm.
"It also means they won't touch you."
"That's not the point."
Her frustration rose quickly.
"You can't just decide something like that without asking me."
Rowan's gaze held hers.
"I didn't decide it lightly."
"You didn't ask."
"You were already in danger."
Trisha stared at him.
"Danger from what?"
Rowan didn't answer immediately.
But his silence said enough.
From vampires.
From his world.
She exhaled slowly.
"You could have told me."
"You wouldn't have believed me. We had just met. "
"That doesn't give you the right to mark me like a property."
Rowan stepped closer.
His voice lowered.
"You're not property."
"Then what am I?"
He studied her face carefully.
Something softer flickered in his expression.
"You're someone I'm not willing to lose. You might be my Forever."
"FOREVER. WHAT ???"
"A vampire can only have one true love , his FOREVER. When we find that person, we mark them. Usually it's a vampire. The bite mark becomes more and more permanent when they both fall in love, live together for eternity. The mark changes."
The honesty in his voice caught her off guard.
For a moment she didn't know how to respond.
Then she forced herself to stay focused.
" But how could that be?"
"I can't be your Forever. I am a human"
"How does the mark actually mark?"
Rowan answered calmly.
"It signals to other vampires that you're protected."
"That's it?"
"No."
She waited.
Rowan's eyes darkened slightly.
"It also creates a connection."
Her heartbeat quickened.
"What kind of connection?"
"One that allows me to sense you."
Trisha frowned.
"What?"
"If you're in danger," Rowan said quietly, "I'll know."
The room fell silent.
She didn't know what to say to that.
Part of her felt uneasy.
Another part—
Strangely safe.
Finally she asked the question that had been lingering in her mind.
"I can't be your forever. I don't even know you. You don't know me. Can it be removed … please ?"
Rowan didn't answer immediately.
His silence stretched just long enough to make her uneasy again.
Then he said,
"No."
" If you don't love me, then don't worry . The mark won't change further. "
"Change further?"
"Yes"
"You are a free woman. Date who ever you want. "
Trisha stared at him.
Her chest tightened.
"You're serious."
"Yes."
"So I'm just supposed to live with this?"
"For now."
"For now?" she repeated sharply.
Rowan's expression didn't change.
"You still have a lot to learn about our world."
"And you expect me to just accept that?"
"No."
" And you expect me to date anyone I want."
"Yes."
"And you won't interfere."
"Yes."
He paused.
"I will wait for you, for the right time. When that comes, you will be MINE. ONLY MINE."
Trisha exhaled slowly.
Her mind was spinning.
She saw something in his eyes, something she couldn't explain.
Nothing about her life had been simple since she met Rowan.
And now—
She carried something permanent on her skin.
A mark.
A claim.
A connection she didn't fully understand.
Her fingers touched the spot again.
The warmth pulsed softly beneath her skin.
Rowan watched the movement carefully.
Then he said quietly,
"You should get used to it."
Trisha looked up at him.
"Why?"
His voice dropped slightly.
"Because it isn't going anywhere."
And neither, it seemed, was he.