(TW: Su*cdal Ideation, Depression, Non-con Physical Contact, Dubious Consent)

  Once upon a time, people claimed there was beauty to be found in pain. But to the boy standing atop the crumbling pinnacle of a crooked city, it had always been a bitter lie---a cruel justification for suffering.

  He stood at the city's heart, where a monument once heralded as humanity's greatest achievement now lay fractured---a shattered testament to their arrogance. Pride, greed, ambition---it was all there in the jagged ruins and lifeless streets. And so was he, caught in the middle of it all. Not a hero, not a villain. Just someone who had made a choice.

  A choice that had helped bring all of this to ruin.

  The weight of it sat heavy on his chest, suffocating. His boots scraped against the jagged edge of the rooftop, sending a few crumbled fragments tumbling down. Every shattered window, every warped beam, whispered accusations. They screamed guilt in the voices of the countless lives lost.

  This city had been their pride, their salvation. And now? It was nothing more than a graveyard, crumbling under the weight of its own lies. The irony wasn't lost on him. A place built to protect had become its own executioner.

  He shifted his gaze downward to the endless descent below. Would it hurt? The thought slithered in, cold and treacherous. His fingers flexed at his sides, palms damp with nervous energy. The ground seemed to call to him, promising silence, stillness. A final escape from the weight pressing down on him.

  He took a step closer to the edge. The fractured concrete crackled beneath his weight. The wind lashed at him, sharp and biting. It wasn't fear that held him back. He'd faced worse than the void waiting below. No, it was something else. A feeling creeping along his spine, curling tight around his chest.

  Someone was here.

  The realization hit like ice water. His breath stalled as tension coiled in his muscles. The wind howled louder, as if trying to drown out the shifting presence behind him.

  Then, before he could move-before he could even process it-a cold, unyielding grip closed around his wrist.

  The force yanked him back with a startling strength, his balance ripped away in an instant. The world tilted. His back met the rooftop with a jarring thud. Air whooshed from his lungs as his vision blurred from impact.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Above him, the figure loomed-knees planted on either side of his waist, fingers like claws locked around his wrist. It wasn't just weight pressing down on him; it was presence. Suffocating. Inescapable.

  Not a moment passed before a sharp crack split the air.

  The slap landed with enough force to send a sharp sting radiating across his cheek. His head snapped to the side. Pain bloomed across his skin, the aftershock rattling through his skull. A rush of heat prickled behind his eyes. The fuck just happened?

  "Elias. Don't."

  The voice was low, vibrating with a feral intensity that pinned him in place.

  "You are mine."

  Elias's breath hitched, his mind scrambling to catch up. His fingers drifted to his throbbing cheek, trembling as they brushed over the tender skin. His mind should have been racing---should have been fighting against the cold finality in those words. But instead, the abyss that had been calling to him moments before had gone silent.

  Before he could fully react, the figure leaned down. Glowing eyes locked onto his with an intensity that left no room for escape. His wrist remained pinned beneath a firm grip, claws pressing just enough to remind him of his place beneath this being.

  Then, its lips crashed against his.

  The kiss wasn't tender. It wasn't a plea or an apology. It was possession---raw, inexorable, a force that swallowed him whole. The being's body radiated heat, an oppressive weight against him, anchoring him in a way he couldn't comprehend.

  "You belong to me," it murmured against his lips, voice coiling around him like a chain, dragging him away from the ledge he had been so ready to step off of.

  Elias's fingers curled into fists. His body screamed at him to react-to shove the being away, to push back, to resist. But that part of him, the part that still thought he had a say in this moment, was quickly unraveling.

  Because he wasn't falling anymore.

  The wind wasn't calling to him. The whispers of the abyss had disappeared. The chaotic tempest of his thoughts had been replaced by something else entirely. Something heavier, something suffocating, but grounding in a way that left him breathless.

  Belonging.

  The word struck something deep, something fragile. His lips burned from the force of the kiss, a brand seared into his very core. His chest ached---not from fear, not from despair, but from a raw, aching surrender he couldn't name.

  A part of him wanted to claw his way back to the broken fragments of who he thought he was. But that part was small. Fleeting. Drowned beneath the weight above him.

  Whoever had said there was beauty to be found in pain---

  Maybe they were right after all.

  A/N: Thank you for reading my prologue! I hope you have enjoyed. I would appreciate any and all feedback as long as it remains respectful.

  This will be my first book ever! I'm extremely nervous but also beyond excited.

  Let me know what you think, please! <3