Chapter 46 - The Embrace Of The Shadow

• Alina
• I wake up with a start, gasping for breath. The room is pitch-dark, pierced only by the faint moonlight streaming through the window. Damon lies beside me, his arm around my waist, his steady breath caressing the back of my neck.
• My heart is pounding. My hands tremble under the blanket. I close my eyes, but the image of Ezra's gaze is etched behind my eyelids. That red glow, that cold smile... and that feeling, as if something inside me had responded to him.