Lumiére's POV"This is the only way, Lumiére," Arin whispered urgently, his voice filled with determination.Lumiére sighed heavily, frustration evident in his actions as he ran a hand through his hair. He understood the gravity of the situation and the task they were asking him to undertake. However, a sense of hesitation and doubt clouded his judgment.Since initiating the lockdown protocol in all the Sanctuaries, they had been anxiously awaiting any sign of the intruders. Yet, despite their efforts, it seemed that the trespassers were still lurking in the shadows. The safety of his people was of utmost importance, and Lumiére felt the weight of that responsibility pressing down on him."Lumiére..." Arin's voice came as a gentle reminder, urging him to make a difficult decision.Reluctantly tearing his gaze away from Arin, Lumiére turned his attention to the expansive screen before him. It displayed a real-time map of all the Sanctuaries, revealing the movements within. The intruder
Lumiére's POVThe room was filled with an atmosphere of intense tension, as everyone held their breath, anxiously awaiting any sign of life from the scouts they had sent out. Lumiére nervously bit his lower lip, stealing a quick glance at Arin, hoping for some positive news.Ten long minutes passed, and they had heard nothing from them.The weight of uncertainty pressed heavily upon them all. Lord Ramona approached Lumiére and gently tapped his elbow, a sense of urgency in his voice."We can't afford to wait any longer," Lord Ramona urged.Lumiére shook his head, refusing to be swayed into hasty action once again. He had been forced to send those scouts into the unknown, and now they had lost all contact with them. The stakes were too high to make reckless decisions again."You implanted trackers in them, right?" Lumiére turned to Arin, seeking confirmation.Arin nodded, "Yes, I did. But the trackers will only activate if the scouts are still alive and able to activate them," he repli
Lumiére's POVLumiére had been attempting to reach Raven for what felt like an eternity, but each time he called, it went straight to voicemail. He vaguely recalled leaving a voicemail message, though he couldn't remember the exact words he had mumbled; he had just mumbled stupid words.But now, she was actually calling him back.“ Who is that?” Arin asked, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.Lumiére blinked and swiftly moved the phone out of Arin's view. He couldn't begin to explain to Arin who the name on the screen belongs to."It's Middleton," Lumiére replied, his voice calm. "I need to take this call, excuse me." With that, he walked away, out of the room. He took the stairs three at a time, making sure to place a wide distance between himself and any Vampire in the fortress.As soon as he reached his room, he closed the door behind him, creating a sense of privacy. Without hesitation, he answered the call, holding the phone to his ear."Hello?" he mumbled, his voice tinged with
Raven's POVAs the sun began to peek over the horizon, Raven found herself waking up at the break of dawn; an unusual occurrence for her in recent days. With a tired sigh, she cautiously climbed out of bed, mindful of the bandage wrapped around her neck. Although her wound had healed, the bandage still limited her range of motion in certain neck movements. Despite this minor inconvenience, she was relieved to be fully recovered. Raven had been tempted to remove the bandage on several occasions, since her wound had healed.However, Aaron, Achim's brother, had sternly warned her against doing so. Taking his advice to heart, she respected his medical expertise and refrained from taking off the bandage prematurely.Leaving her room behind, Raven strolled down the hallway, intentionally avoiding the path that led to Uncle Ben's study. Ever since she had gone against his orders, she had made a conscious effort to steer clear of him, hoping to avoid any potential confrontation.As she desc
Raven's POVHe had actually sent her a voicemail? It had been such a long time, and he probably would be thinking that she had ghosted him. She decided to play the voicemail and was taken aback by what she heard.Firstly, she couldn't picture Lumiére as the type of person who would make drunken calls to anyone. Secondly, whatever he was saying in the voicemail just didn't make any sense at all.She rolled her eyes as she listened to his weird attempt at expressing how much he missed her and how badly he wanted to see her. At one point, she couldn't help but chuckle when he started singing something really bizarre.The voicemail came to an end, and Raven didn’t know when she hit the redial button. It was already ringing before she realized what she was doing. "Oh my goodness!" she gasped, quickly covering her mouth with her hand as she anxiously stared at her phone's screen. Deep down, she had been hoping that the call would disconnect and go straight to voicemail, but her heart skip
Raven's POVSince Raven didn't have a clear plan until she could locate Nolan, and he wasn't even present in the house, she contemplated heading towards the watchtower. Perhaps she might encounter Jansen there, who seemed to be purposely avoiding her, much like Nolan.Leaving the house through the backdoor, she followed the familiar route that led directly to the watchtower. Having become familiar with the surroundings and the individuals there, she knew she wouldn't face any questioning about her presence.She had also noticed that Uncle Ben had granted her certain clearance levels, and she intended to make full use of it. Making her way to the elevator, she selected the level and ascended to the top floor.With several hours remaining before her scheduled meeting with Lumiére, she knew she needed to locate Nolan or anyone else who could assist her in leaving the watchtower unnoticed.As she walked down the hallway, it remained eerily quiet, with only two men engaged in conversation.
Raven's POV“ You have information?” uncle Ben asked, “ I think you should tell me now who you really are”The woman, Ophelia, let out an exasperated sigh. "I already told you, I'm Ophelia," she muttered, slightly annoyed by the question.Uncle Ben snorted dismissively. "Yeah, you said that before, but now you claim to have information about vampires. So, who the hell are you really?" he fired back, his tone laced with frustration.With a hint of resignation in her voice, Ophelia replied, "I am Madame Ophelia, the leader of a religious cult. We are the infamous group dedicated to fighting and eradicating these monstrous creatures of the night from our Earth… a task that the Night Watchers seem to be failing at," she added, her words dripping with disdain.The cult killing people? Ophelia was the one responsible for that? The realization hit Raven like a punch to the gut. Ophelia was the one responsible for the killings, but not just any killings, she was targeting vampires. Shit! Th
Lumiére's POV The car ride was quiet. Lumiére noticed that Arin seemed lost in his thoughts, so he decided to remain silent until they reached their destination. As they drove past, he looked out at the scenery. The last few months had been really tough for both him and the vampire community. There were incidents of vampires killing humans, which they now knew who was responsible. On top of that, there was a troublesome religious cult on a mission to hunt and kill vampires. As if that wasn't enough, strange things had been happening to Lumiére as the full moon approaches, the council forcing him to chose a bride. And now, they were on their way to rescue three scout vampires they had sent on a mission. Arin moved and picked up the tablet from his lap, turning it on. The red beeping dot on the screen indicated that the ones who had taken the vampires were still on the move. Lumiére wondered how far north they were going. Arin sighed and handed the tablet to Lumiére, who felt uncert
(10 months later)Phoenix watched Lumiére through the window as he gazed into the distance. He had been doing that for months, and she was starting to get worried. She missed home too, just like him. She missed uncle Ben, Jansen, Achim, Nolan, hell, even the cook, but she hadn't abandoned everything, including her duties to her kind, to run away with the man she loved.She sighed and walked out the door to meet him outside. He turned when she opened the door, "Hey, I thought you were sleeping," he said, pulling her into his arms.She rolled her eyes, "I've been awake for a while," she said, resting her head on his shoulder.He sniffed her hair and smiled, "Are you okay?" he asked.Phoenix nodded, "I am, and yes, before you ask, the baby is fine too," she said, placing his hand on her swollen belly.He sighed in relief, "I can't help it. I'm tense. The full moon should have come out five months ago, but it didn't. Not knowing why is killing me," he whispered to her.She hummed a reply
Lumiére's POVHe should have been the one groaning in pain, but it wasn't him. Instead, Heather was coughing up blood. Lumiére was confused, and when he looked down, he saw that Heather's heart was missing. What on earth was happening?Heather fell to the floor, and Lumiére saw Reagan standing behind him, holding Heather's heart in his hand. Lumiére was relieved and happy to see his cousin. He hugged Reagan tightly, feeling a sense of safety in his presence.“ What took you so long…” he mumbled.“ I’m sorry…” Reagan muttered, returning the hug.They stayed in that embrace for a while. When they finally let go, Lumiére felt tired, and he would have collapsed if Reagan hadn't supported him.He didn’t know how long they had stayed that way but when he released Reagan, he felt very tired and almost collapsed if Reagan had not been holding him.“ you need to feed…” Reagan said, lowering Lumiére down and handing the blood bag to him.He didn’t want to do this, but had no choice, so he sucke
Lumiére's POVAt first, he stumbled as he tried to stand up, but he kept going. Slowly, he made his way out of the room. The hallway was empty, which was strange, but he didn't have time to think about it. He wanted to find Phoenix.His vampire senses were weakened by the Allicin in his body, so he couldn't rely on them to find her. He chose to turn left and walked down the hall, leaning on the wall for support.As he passed by each room, he opened the doors, hoping to find Phoenix. The alarm was still blaring, and he wondered if it was a trap.He spotted Maria and another woman leaving a room, and he knew that Phoenix might be there. He waited for a moment before cautiously approaching the room.His heart filled with relief as he saw Phoenix inside, connected to tubes and wires. Seeing her hurt made him furious with those who had done this to her.Lumiére stumbled into the room, knocking some things over because he couldn't stand properly. Phoenix noticed him and smiled weakly.He ma
Lumiére's POVLumiére winced in agony as Heather injected him with another dose of Allicin. The pain was unbearable, pushing him to his limits. Most Vampires wouldn't have survived being exposed to Allicin every hour for weeks, but he was different. He was stronger, or so he believed.But as the days turned into weeks, doubts began to creep into his mind. How much longer could he endure this torture? He had lost track of time since his capture, possibly a month or more. It was all a blur.He let out a weary sigh, bracing himself for what was to come. No matter how many times he resisted, Heather refused to believe him."Where is the sword?!" Heather sneered, the frustration evident in his voice."I've already told you, I don't know," Lumiére snapped back, meeting Heather's gaze defiantly.Heather scoffed, grabbing another syringe filled with Allicin. Lumiére raised an eyebrow, surprised at the sudden escalation. Two shots in such a short span of time? This was a new tactic."I see you
Raven's POVRaven felt cold water splash on her face, waking her up with a gasp for air. The memories of her past life caused a heartache and regret that she wished she hadn't remembered them. Recovering her memories was painful, and she wasn't even fully there yet.Somehow she wished that she had not remembered this piece of her past life. She hasn’t fully recovered her memories and it already hurt this much, she thought.She knew she had tears running through her eyes, but because she was now drenched in water, it was not noticeable to the ordinary eyes, except one looked deeply.She had known Lumiére in her past life, and they were lovers. The realization that she had betrayed him felt like being stung by a thousand bees at once.Ophelia's presence was no surprise anymore. It was clear that she was working with both the witches and outlaws. Raven couldn't help but mock Ophelia's comment about beauty sleep, feeling the anger and pain in her heart.“ I think you need to redefine your
Raven's POV"Hurry up, Miére!" Raven playfully shouted, waving him over to where she was sitting on the picnic mat.His rich laughter filled the air as he ran to join her. "Seriously! I told you to let it go," she said, teasingly scolding him.He rolled his eyes, sitting down next to her on the mat. "I couldn't help it; it was beautiful… not as beautiful as you though," he added, playfully sniffing her neck.Raven chuckled and gently pushed him away, though she secretly loved his affectionate gestures. Being close to Lumiére made her heart skip a beat. She smiled at him, and he seemed to be lost in the sunset that was now painting the sky with beautiful colors.They had spent a long time out there, enjoying each other's company, and though it was time to head back home, she didn't want to leave this moment behind."You think we could build a house here to watch the sun set in the horizon?" she murmured, voicing her dream.Lumiére scoffed gently, "Oh, Phoenix, I wish we could do just t
Raven's POVOakhurst? Raven's mind was buzzing with questions. Why was Lumiére in Oakhurst? It was the same place she had been abducted by the witch. It had to be a coincidence; she couldn't fathom any other explanation. But she didn't want to reveal her own presence in Oakhurst to Lumiére. After all, it was almost an hour away from her home and university.Just as she was about to speak, the door creaked open, saving her from any potential lies. Finally, someone was coming in, and maybe they would get some answers to their bewildering situation.She wondered what the guys would be doing now that she was missing. Would they see this as a collateral loss and forget her or would they search for her.In her mind, she worried about Achim, who had been with her when she was taken, though unconscious. She hoped he would have been able to provide some valuable information to the others.With bated breath, she watched Lumiére, who seemed equally anxious, waiting for the newcomer to enter the
Lumiére's POV"Are you happy?" Raven asked, her voice soft and filled with warmth as she turned to face Lumiére. The afternoon sun painted a beautiful glow on her face, making her green eyes shine brilliantly, the brightest green eyes he had ever seen."I am," he replied with a content smile, feeling a sense of peace and joy being with her. After all that had transpired recently, knowing she was happy made him even happier."I am happy too," she said, and he could see the genuine happiness in her eyes. It warmed his heart to know that he could bring her joy."I like being with you," she added, and Lumiére couldn't help but chuckle. He felt the same way – being with her was something he cherished deeply.Raven reached for an apple from the picnic basket, taking a bite before offering it to him. He playfully teased her, "Feeding me now, are you?"She rolled her eyes playfully in response, "Well, you need someone to take care of you since you don't like eating. I guess that's my job now
Reagan's POVReagan winced as he felt a pang of pain shoot through his head. It was as if a massive weight had fallen on him, and he couldn't help but groan. Slowly, he opened his eyes and took in his surroundings.He found himself in a room, and it didn't take long for him to recognize that it was Lumiére's room in the fortress. How did he end up here? The last thing he remembered was... he stopped himself from thinking further and turned his attention to the door as it opened."Oh, you're awake now... how's your head?" Noah asked as he entered the room.Reagan furrowed his brow, trying to recall what happened. "What happened?" he inquired, attempting to sit up on the bed. Noah quickly moved to his side, helping him to sit up before settling back on a nearby chair.Noah let out a sigh. "You don't remember?" he asked.Reagan knew he wouldn't like what he was about to hear from Noah. "Lumiére knocked you out earlier and left the fortress with Arin and the others," Noah explained.Groan