“Saphira, wait,” Jed called from behind her. She turned around and faced him as he got out of the car and ran over to her.

“Is everything okay?” she asked, confused.

“Yes… well, no. Look, there is something about you that makes me want to protect you. I know we have only just met, but you are special. I don’t know why or how, but my instinct is telling me to protect you,” he spoke.

“Unless you can kidnap me away without ever being found, there isn’t much you can do I’m afraid,” Saphira says, trying to make light of the situation.

“Not physically. But everyone knows of me and my family, the Matchmakers may have tricked our leader, but no one else would cross us. We are a large family, and the most powerful. So, I can protect you by putting you under our family’s protection,” he explains.

“I don’t understand, I don’t know you or your family. Plus, you said before that your family had certain rules, wouldn’t this be breaking them?” she questions.

Jed gave Saphira a small smile and took her wrist; she watched him, confused. “There are rules, yes. But this is one I will pay the price for; I will not allow you to be harmed. Once this is over, they will understand. It is almost like I have found a long-lost sister; it’s hard to explain,” he said, still holding her wrist.

“Jed, I can’t allow you to get into any trouble for me. I am not worth it,” Saphira tried to reason, knowing it wouldn’t be fair for him to be in any danger for protecting her.

“That is the reason why I should. Saphira, my brother, our leader, his name is Nikolas. From now on, you are under the protection of the Arrax family, and personally me, Jed Arrax,” he said, holding her right wrist tighter. She felt a burning sensation where he was squeezing and looked down confused. Once he released her wrist, she noticed a small letter ‘A’ fading away.

Saphira ran her finger over the spot where the mark had been. “What is that?” she asked.

“This is a mark of our protection,” Jed explained. “If anyone tries to harm you, you tell them you are under our protection. If they don’t take your word for it, the mark will appear. All you do is show it to them. You will be safe.” The significance of this protection amazed Saphira, making her wonder about the true power of Jed and his family.

“What will happen if I make it out?” Saphira asked, not wanting to be forced into another situation, and she was sure that Jed knew this too.

“That is your choice,” Jed replied, “You will be free to do whatever you want, whether that is going your own way or becoming part of our family. But no matter what, you will always have my protection, Saphira. Now you need to go, be safe, and I will see you soon.” He pulled her into a hug before releasing her and turning back to his car.

“Okay, now I need to take some blood and analyse the results.” She retrieved the necessary tools with practiced efficiency. Saphira nodded, silently extending her arm. The woman worked swiftly, drawing blood with precision.

It didn’t take the woman long to collect what she needed. As soon as she finished, she moved to the large machine on the other side of the room, leaving Saphira sitting there, waiting. Once the machine completed its task, she entered the results onto her device, just as before.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” she muttered under her breath, though loud enough for Saphira to hear.

“What?” Saphira asked, but the woman ignored her completely.

“Head out the door and take a left into the main hall. You’ll be given a room number for your match,” she explained, her tone dismissive. No further conversation, no explanation—just instructions.

Saphira followed them anyway. Exiting the room, she took a left down a narrow corridor, which soon opened into a vast hall. The space was filled with supernatural’s—hundreds of them. Did they have this many in rooms as well? It seemed excessive. As she scanned the crowd, trying to take it all in, she accidentally bumped into a woman standing beside her.