Lucian Pov“What the heck did you just do?” I saw the horror in Naomi's gaze as I chuckled softly.“What do you mean?” I asked her innocently, acting like I didn't know what she was talking about. In reality, I was just pulling her legs and she knew.“You know what I mean, Lucian. Why the heck would you lick stale blood? It's not even covered and only the fates know what kind of infection could have gotten mixed with it. Why would you endanger yourself like that?” I sighed as I looked upwards. I didn't even know where to start explaining. “Why don't I finish what I came here to do, and I'll explain later when we're on our way back to the hotel?” She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest, but agreed nonetheless, albeit reluctantly. I pricked my finger on the needle beside the altar and watched as a drop of my blood fell into the bowl.I knew what was coming next, and I probably should have warned Naomi because she shrieked as I started to glow, my feet levitating from the ground.
Lucian PovUnfortunately, we had to leave Hawaii two days after I got the call from the commissioner in Russia. We had spent the next day after that at the beach and Naomi was feeling melancholic about leaving Hawaii, but I promised her we'd come back soon. I don't know how soon though, because work was already piled up and waiting for me back at home. From my business company to my duties as the head of the Russian coven to the undercover work I was doing for the commissioner. Everything will take at least months to finish. And let's not forget the fact that as I'm accomplishing them, more are piling up. The paperwork at the company was the least of my worries. I could use vampire speed to rush through it, but unfortunately, I couldn't speed up the time for the meetings. I'm sure are choked.Right now, I'm in the office of the commissioner. We had just landed, and I visited his office at night. “Still coming like a thief in the night, I see.” He commented, rubbing his tired eyes.
Naomi PovI stretched as I opened my eyes, feeling the morning light on my face. I sat up and relished the relief at being in a familiar place, although I missed Hawaii. Emma burst into my room suddenly, and I looked at her in confusion. She was always polite, and it was out of character for her to just intrude into my room without knocking. Sure enough, she looked frantic, and I was sure something had happened to her. “What's going on?” I struggled to my feet to meet her halfway. She didn't speak, instead she thrust her phone into my hands, and I was shocked by what I saw. There was an image of Lucian and me at the beach. This was taken the day before yesterday when we had gone to relax by the beach before going in to pack our things. The picture was taken when Lucian leaned over from his lounge chair to brush my hair away from my face. The picture painted it to be romantic, but I can still remember the scene. ***I had been holding a burger and a cup of juice. I didn't want to
Lucian PovI stared at the woman that was fast becoming a source of daily heartbreak for me. I was on my way to her room to talk about the post online and to know her thoughts on them when I heard her talking to Emma. Even though I knew it was wrong, I stopped in my tracks and used my vampire hearing instead. I could hear her clearly telling Emma how I was a bloodsucker and a monster. The rest of her words didn't carry any weight, just those two. And considering she was right, I didn't know why I felt pained to hear the acknowledgment from her. I had threatened to kill Garrett, the commissioner, in his office last night. I didn't feel any remorse at using his kids as leverage, so why did I feel heartbroken?I had then entered her room and, after excusing Emma, I had launched into what I would call a sob story. I basically started whining like a teenage boy that has gotten heartbroken by his first love. Naomi didn't say a word to interrupt me as I talked and when I was done, she ju
Naomi Pov“Anything I can do to help?” I asked Lucian as I walked into the kitchen. It was an unfamiliar sight to behold a vampire Lord, not to mention the fact that he was currently the leader of two covens, cooking for me. “There's nothing for you to do, really. I'm just taking my time. You can tell me if you're hungry, so I'll speed things up,” he replied. I watched him do this thing, reveling in the satisfaction. “Argh…” he groaned as he dropped the knife in his hand, hissing slightly. “What is it?” I asked as I rushed to his side. I could see the black blood on his hand where he had cut himself. “Oh my gosh, where's your first aid box?” I looked around, frantic. When I heard no reply, I turned to look at him and saw a wide smile on his face. “What?” I asked. “It's cute to see you worried about me, that's all.” I scoffed at his reply. “I'm just worried you'll get your bitter blood into my food,” my attention was now trained on him. He moved closer to my side, forcing me to
Naomi PovI had just finished dumping the salt when Lucian arrived with an Epi pen. He knelt beside me, hands trembling slightly as he moved my dress up my thigh. Before he could stab the epi pen into my thigh, I shouted. “Wait.”He stopped merely inches away from my thigh, looking at me with an incredulous expression on his face. I smiled at him and continued eating my lunch. He was still on his knees and when I looked back at him, he was still watching me with a confused look on his face. “Are you okay? I don't understand. What just happened?” I rolled my eyes. For a vampire, he was very daft.Not willing to leave him in the dark anymore, I said. “It's cute to see you worried about me.”I knew the exact moment everything clicked in his head. His expression ranged from confusion to anger, and I laughed out loud when he started getting red in the face. “You think this is funny?” He bellowed. His loud voice made me flinch, but I quickly regained my composure.“Yes Lucian. The same w
Lucian PovI was choking. And not on anything relatively poisonous. No, I was choking on salt. Just because someone thought it was going to be a funny joke to play on me. Well, it turned out to be an expensive one. “What the heck did you do, Naomi?” I managed to say as my heart constricted in my chest. “I already played that choking game on you earlier, remember?” She smiled cockily. So she thought I was joking. I laughed humorlessly as the joke I had plagued her earlier came to bite me back. Salt had never actually bothered me before, but in large proportions, it was lethal.My taste buds were very sensitive and dunking a huge amount of salt in them was a very bad idea. My hands shakily reached for the pitcher of water on the table, but before I could get to it, I slumped on the floor. My body was actively fighting the poison, but I had gone on without blood for two days now, and I didn't have enough strength to expel the same from my system without help. Knowing what was coming
Lucian PovBlood roared in my ears and I almost thought I imagined his words. “What did you say?” I asked, praying my ears heard wrong.“I said I want to buy Naomi back from you.” He had the gall to repeat his words. “I don't know if you're really as stupid as I have always thought, or you've suddenly grown some blind courage you finally want to put into use. But whatever it is that's happening to you, remember who you're talking to, and I'd advise you to think deeply about whatever you're saying next,” I warned. My fists were already clenched, and I was so angry I could burst a vein in my wrist just from how hard I was clenching my fists.But Alexander seemed nonchalant, sipping his whiskey like he could not be bothered by my words. He looked me square in the eyes and continued, “I would compensate you, of course. Never will I cheat you, my Lord. There are more obedient slaves I just got recently, and I think you'll be taken with them. I have just the right one in mind for you.”It
Lucian's PovYears had elapsed since Deluna’s fall, and despite the wounds of war, the world had begun healing. What once had been a country full of tyranny and fright lived with hope in its heart. Vampires, living under Deluna’s tyranny, were free at long, long last. And I, with Naomi, had sworn ourselves to seeing freedom stretch to each and every soul yet living in shackles. We fought together, forging alliances, destroying whatever of Deluna’s corrupt empire lay in its path, and providing refuge and protection to souls that lived for too long in misery and agony. And yet, even with all that we accomplished, the greatest transformation hadn’t been in the world at all—it had been in me. Naomi tamed my rougher corners, taught me in virtue of love, in hope, and most of all, in the fact that redemption existed. And I, seeing her sit out on our balcony, in sunlight and in gold, bathing in sunlight, I saw that my greatest purpose no longer lay in commanding a people, but in protectin
Naomi’s PovThe battlefield hung in a dead, matted quiet. Once, with a reek of death and sorcery, but now with a mere whisper of wind, it breathed. The sky, which was shrouded in Deluna’s shadow, seemed lighter.I turned and looked around us, and saw the faces of my companions who fought with us. Some I recognized, scarred in battle, with looks of both loss and relief etched onto them. Others… Others were not with me.Travis.Alexander.Bane.They'd gone, some dead, and gone, whose fate I could not say. But one reality I could not deny is that those who fought with Deluna, who fought to maintain Deluna’s tyranny, died with her.Some of them, perhaps, still lay in shadows, but if ever again… They'd have to answer to us.I breathed out, a slow, deep one.Lucian, noting my hesitation, stroked my hair behind my ear, out of my face. His fingers were rough but kind, a reminder of battles won, of wars won, and of love won in choosing him."We did it," he whispered, eyes bloodshot and intent
Lucian's PovThe seconds ticked in slow motion as I saw Naomi’s delicate form move towards me. The whole scenario seemed dreamlike, a nightmare I couldn’t awaken from. And then, in a matter of a split second, her form collapsed onto the ground. Everything else melted, my eyes refocusing onto Naomi's dying form at my feet. My heart thudded savagely in my chest, a thudding beat drowning out everything else. "No… Naomi…" I faltered, dropping onto my knees at her side, my shaking hands extending out towards her. “No, no, no. This can't happen.” I touched her face, and her face was dispiritedly cool to my fingertips. Something deep and suffocating took over, its talons closing in my heart. Her eyes shut, her mouth a little apart, but no sign of life moved in them. My voice died in my mouth, taken over with horror. "How far are you willing to go, Deluna?"A faint echo of laughter sounded over my head, Deluna’s mocking laughter, sharp and cutting and rough-edged, like broken glass. How
Naomi’s PovThe battlefield lay covered in shadow, thick with smoke, burning wood, blood, and residues of lingering magic. Under my feet, the earth shuddered minutely, unsure whether this war had actually reached its conclusion. Deluna was a distance of a few feet, her black cloak fluttering a little in the evening breeze, her eyes squinted in observation of me. She yet seemed powerful, untouched by events transpired about her. But I could detect it now, the tiniest tremble of doubt in her eyes. She was starting to understand. Understand that she wasn't as unscathed as she long convinced herself to believe. I breathed in, slow and deliberate, then moved to speak. "What request?" Deluna questioned me, with a taint of distrust in her voice. I jerked my head, raising my chin a notch. "What way would you like to breathe your last?" Her mouth twisted in a cold sneer, but I could detect tension in her shoulder. "You can't do that," she taunted me. I took a pace in her direction. "I
Lucian’s PovI'd long been convinced wickedness took a face and one I'd seen in both monsters and in men, too. But tonight, with dusk consumed and sunset gone, I saw an atrocity that challenged my definitions of wickedness and forced me to redefine them. I'd seen evil I could hardly have dreamed in my most fevered imagination.The sky wasn't at its radiant best, but one contrast alone remained: one silver glow of the moon painted everything with an eerie, dark radiance, and I could almost feel its vigor. I kept moving onward, a burning fury in my heart burning brighter with each pace I took. "Your face, moon," I whispered in a snarl of anger, "tonight, your face bore witness to my friend’s murder." Travis’s dying memories looped in my head forever: laughter, soft comforts, and a shocked cry of betrayal that took him from me. I hadn't seen him coming.Travis, a man who firmly insisted wicked souls bore a glimmer of virtue, lay dead, robbed of life at our hands through a wickedness I co
Deluna’s PovDid I just kill Travis? The question echoed in my mind as I stood in the middle of the battle, blood on the floor. The taste of blood and regret was in my mouth, and I could barely breathe. The silence after the fight was louder than all the noise before.I staggered back, my limbs trembling as I tried to steady myself against a shattered column. Every heartbeat throbbed in my ears, a cruel metronome marking the passing of a moment I could never undo. The pain consumed me deeply; it was as though the very essence of my soul was being torn apart. I felt as if I might die from the weight of my own remorse.For a long while, I recalled our fight. Travis, even in his final moments, had pressed me with questions that now haunted my every thought. His eyes, full of anguish and bitter disappointment, burned into me as though searing my skin. I could still hear his voice in the clamor of my memories: "Why did you do all this, Deluna?" he had demanded, his tone a mixture of sorr
Naomi's PovMy pleas were swallowed by the chaos around us. Amidst the din of battle and the cries of wounded men, I could only hear my own heart breaking. I remembered Travis’s promise from earlier, a promise made with a laugh and a spark of defiant joy. I remembered how he had vowed to come back victorious. And now, that promise lay shattered like glass on cold stone.Lucian looked into my eyes, and for a moment, the anger in his gaze shifted to sadness. "Naomi," he said softly, "we can't bring him back, but we can make sure his sacrifice wasn't wasted." His words felt like both a blessing and a burden. A reminder that this war's cost was counted in blood and lost love.The thought of Deluna, the traitorous witch who caused Travis’s death made me burn with a need for revenge. "Where is she, Lucian?" I demanded, voice trembling with a mix of anger and despair. "I must face her. I must know why she did this. I want her to answer for Travis’s death!"Lucian’s eyes darkened further, and
Naomi’s Pov"Wake me up, someone, please wake me up!"My voice echoed through the pain, like I was calling out to a bad dream. I blinked at the bright light, tasting blood and sweat in my mouth. Everything around me was a blur of red and shadow. I could barely remember the morning, only broken memories of the night before the screams, the clash of steel, and the grief still twisting in my chest."Travis...?" I whispered, my voice breaking. My mind spun with disbelief. Travis Scott, my dearest friend, the one who had always been there to watch my back, to make me laugh even in our darkest moments, was gone. Gone, as if snatched away by some cruel fate. And all because of this cursed war and the betrayal that has splintered our lives. I pressed trembling fingers to my lips, tasting the bitter tang of my own tears. "How… how can this be?" My heart pounded painfully against my rib cage, each beat a reminder of the promise he had made earlier that day. I remembered the way his eyes had sp
Lucian’s PovDeluna’s voice echoed through the hall like a death knell. With her dark eyes burning, and her words laced with venom, she had suddenly declared war in the grand dining hall. “Kill them all, bring Naomi to me!” she roared, her command reverberating off the bloodstained walls. My heart thundered as I took in the chaos. The hall transformed into a nightmarish tableau: broken bodies strewn across the flagstones, heads severed, and crimson pools of blood pooling around fallen soldiers.“Has she forgotten who she’s dealing with?” I spat internally, anger coiling inside. I was not merely a man. I was a rabid vampire warrior fueled by vengeance and duty. I could not let Deluna’s treachery stand.I stepped forward, my voice cutting through the din. “Deluna, face me!” I demanded, halting her advance with my challenge. For a brief, electrifying moment, her eyes widened in astonishment, as if she had not expected me to stand so defiant. It was then that I realized how much our fates