Hello guys. I hope you are enjoying this book.
"Hey baby!" Lucien's teasing voice floated down from a second-story window, dripping with mock sweetness. "You didn't tell me you were coming today, my love." Scarlett rolled her eyes as she heard Liam's teeth grind together beside her. The tension from yesterday sparked back to life in an instant. "Why don't you come on up, sweetheart?" Lucien called down, his smirk widening at Liam's obvious discomfort. "I've been waiting for you all morning!" Scarlett shifted uncomfortably, glancing between Liam's darkening expression and Lucien's mischievous face. "Um, I should probably—" "It's alright," Liam cut in, his voice tight. He forced a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "I've got some things to do anyway. You go ahead." "Are you sure?" Scarlett asked, feeling guilty at the hurt she saw flicker across his face. Liam nodded, already taking a step back. "Yeah, no worries. Just... be careful, okay?" His eyes held a meaningful look that made Scarlett's stomach twist. She watched
Lucien stared at the door long after Scarlett had gone, his fists clenched at his sides. "What is wrong with me?" he muttered, running a hand through his hair in frustration. The lingering scent of her perfume only made things worse, stirring something deep inside him he'd kept buried for centuries. Her face, the way she'd looked up at him in that moment – it had almost broken his carefully maintained control. He'd wanted to pull her close, to taste those lips that had been mere inches from his. But he couldn't. He wouldn't. Not since... "Elena..." The name escaped his lips like a prayer, bringing with it a flood of memories he'd rather forget. Elena's final moments flashed through his mind – her tear-stained face, the betrayal still fresh in his heart, yet the love... the damned love that wouldn't let him refuse her last request. He walked to the window, staring out at the darkening sky. "I promised you," he whispered to the empty room. "And I'll keep that promise, no matter wh
"Morpheus?" Scarlett's eyes widened with recognition, her heart skipping a beat. "Wait, do you mean the Greek god of dreams? That Morpheus? The one from mythology?" Lucien's laugh held no humor, the sound echoing strangely in the dream space. "Myths often have a grain of truth to them, don't they?" He turned away, his shoulders tense beneath his dark shirt. "But what exists – what truly exists – is far worse than any myth humans have conjured up." "What do you mean?" Scarlett leaned forward in her chair, fighting the urge to reach out and touch his arm. "Morpheus has no physical form," he explained, his voice dropping lower, taking on an edge she'd never heard before. "It needs a vessel – a conduit. Specifically, a dream walker. Someone who can navigate the realm between reality and dreams with natural-born power." Scarlett frowned, processing this information. Her mind raced back to all she knew about dream walking. "But then... why are you and Ezra safe? Aren't you dream wal
"Well, well, well, if it isn't the crazy freak," Claire's lazy, mocking voice rang out.Scarlett's heart slammed against her ribs. Her legs turned to lead, frozen mid-step in the crowded hallway. She didn't need to look up—god, she didn't want to look up—but her body betrayed her. Slowly, reluctantly, she lifted her eyes.There stood Claire, just a few feet away, arms folded over her designer blazer like she was posing for a magazine cover. That same cruel smirk played on her glossed lips, the one that haunted Scarlett's nightmares. Beside her, Brittany, Lily, and Ava—the faithful little puppets—giggled on cue, their eyes gleaming with anticipation.Scarlett's mouth went desert-dry, her pulse pounding so hard she could feel it in her fingertips."Please, not today," she thought, clutching her bag until her knuckles turned white. The strap dug into her palm, and she focused on that small pain, anything to ground herself in reality.She wanted to disappear, to melt into the floor, to be
Scarlett felt herself slipping from deep sleep into something else, like falling but not falling. When her eyes opened, she was standing in Crestwood Academy's cafeteria. But everything looked weird—too bright, too clear, like someone had turned up the color on a TV.A smile spread across her face. She knew what this was. A dream. Her dream.All the weight she'd been carrying around all day just disappeared, replaced by this buzzing feeling in her chest. This was her escape. Here, she didn't have to be the quiet girl who hid in corners or pretended she couldn't hear people talking about her. Here, she got to make the rules.She spotted Claire Bennett's table right away—the one in the corner where she always sat with her little group of followers. Brittany, Lila, and Ava were all there, laughing their perfect little laughs like they owned the whole world. Their voices carried across the cafeteria, making Scarlett's skin crawl.Her stomach got tight, but this time she didn't look away l
Scarlett's body ached like she'd been hit by a truck. Every muscle screamed as she rolled over, squinting at the morning light creeping through her curtains. Her dreams from last night felt like a hangover—fuzzy around the edges but leaving behind this weird heaviness she couldn't shake. Sure, watching Claire get what she deserved had felt good. Really good. But now? Now she just felt drained, like something had sucked all the energy right out of her. That guy though. The one with the white hair. Scarlett pressed her palms against her eyes, trying to clear the image of those silver eyes from her mind. They'd looked so real, so... alive. Not like the blurry faces she usually saw in her dreams. "Get it together," she muttered, forcing herself out of bed. "It was just a dream. Just another stupid dream." Her reflection in the mirror told a different story. Dark circles hung under her eyes like bruises, and her skin looked almost gray in the early morning light. Great. Just what
The next dayScarlett woke up feeling... different. For the first time in forever, she didn't feel like she'd been hit by a truck. That weird dream with the white-haired guy and all his cryptic stuff was still there, somewhere in the back of her mind, but she felt weirdly okay. No dark circles, no aching muscles. It was almost creepy how normal she felt. *So this is what normal feels like.* She stretched and looked out her window. Sunlight was peeking through the curtains, making her tiny bedroom feel warm and cozy. She could hear her mom humming downstairs in the kitchen. Everything felt... calm. When she dragged herself to the kitchen, her mom turned around. "Morning, sleepyhead." Her mom paused, looking at her closely. "You look better today. Sleep good?" Scarlett hesitated. "Yeah, I guess. Didn't really dream much." Her mom smiled. "Good. You need more nights like that." Scarlett just nodded and grabbed an apple before heading out. The walk to school was same as always. The
LucienLucien stood in the strange space, looking around at everything and nothing. The ground under his feet wasn't really there - it was like walking on water and air at the same time. Everything was quiet, but not in a normal way. It was the kind of quiet that made your skin crawl.Shadows moved around him like they had minds of their own, dancing at the edges of this dream-world. Lucien stood in the middle of it all, his silver-white hair giving off a soft glow in the weird light. His face was calm, but there was something else there too - something hard to read.He looked out into the fog that seemed to go on forever. A tiny smirk pulled at his mouth, but his cold eyes stayed the same."So," he said quietly, his voice smooth like honey, "I wonder if I scared her off already?"His words just hung there in the air before the silence swallowed them up. He turned his head a little, like he was listening for someone to answer him, but nobody did.For a second, his smirk went away and
"Morpheus?" Scarlett's eyes widened with recognition, her heart skipping a beat. "Wait, do you mean the Greek god of dreams? That Morpheus? The one from mythology?" Lucien's laugh held no humor, the sound echoing strangely in the dream space. "Myths often have a grain of truth to them, don't they?" He turned away, his shoulders tense beneath his dark shirt. "But what exists – what truly exists – is far worse than any myth humans have conjured up." "What do you mean?" Scarlett leaned forward in her chair, fighting the urge to reach out and touch his arm. "Morpheus has no physical form," he explained, his voice dropping lower, taking on an edge she'd never heard before. "It needs a vessel – a conduit. Specifically, a dream walker. Someone who can navigate the realm between reality and dreams with natural-born power." Scarlett frowned, processing this information. Her mind raced back to all she knew about dream walking. "But then... why are you and Ezra safe? Aren't you dream wal
Lucien stared at the door long after Scarlett had gone, his fists clenched at his sides. "What is wrong with me?" he muttered, running a hand through his hair in frustration. The lingering scent of her perfume only made things worse, stirring something deep inside him he'd kept buried for centuries. Her face, the way she'd looked up at him in that moment – it had almost broken his carefully maintained control. He'd wanted to pull her close, to taste those lips that had been mere inches from his. But he couldn't. He wouldn't. Not since... "Elena..." The name escaped his lips like a prayer, bringing with it a flood of memories he'd rather forget. Elena's final moments flashed through his mind – her tear-stained face, the betrayal still fresh in his heart, yet the love... the damned love that wouldn't let him refuse her last request. He walked to the window, staring out at the darkening sky. "I promised you," he whispered to the empty room. "And I'll keep that promise, no matter wh
"Hey baby!" Lucien's teasing voice floated down from a second-story window, dripping with mock sweetness. "You didn't tell me you were coming today, my love." Scarlett rolled her eyes as she heard Liam's teeth grind together beside her. The tension from yesterday sparked back to life in an instant. "Why don't you come on up, sweetheart?" Lucien called down, his smirk widening at Liam's obvious discomfort. "I've been waiting for you all morning!" Scarlett shifted uncomfortably, glancing between Liam's darkening expression and Lucien's mischievous face. "Um, I should probably—" "It's alright," Liam cut in, his voice tight. He forced a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "I've got some things to do anyway. You go ahead." "Are you sure?" Scarlett asked, feeling guilty at the hurt she saw flicker across his face. Liam nodded, already taking a step back. "Yeah, no worries. Just... be careful, okay?" His eyes held a meaningful look that made Scarlett's stomach twist. She watched
Scarlett woke to sunlight streaming through her window, feeling exhausted despite her sleep. The worries of the previous day – vampires, dream walking, Ezra – weighed heavily on her mind. *I hope Lucien managed to handle everything*, she thought, stretching her tired limbs as she made her way downstairs. The smell of pancakes, coffee, and something sweet wafted up the stairs. Entering the kitchen, she found her mother at the stove, humming softly again – a sound so foreign in their usually tense household that it made Scarlett pause in the doorway. "Good morning, honey!" her mom said, turning with a spatula in hand. Her smile faltered into surprise as she really looked at her daughter. "Oh! You've done something different with your hair again. I can actually see your beautiful face for once." Scarlett self-consciously touched her newly cut bangs, remembering Lucien's bathroom scissors. "It's nothing special..." "Nothing special?" Her mother's eyes took on a knowing twinkle tha
Scarlett collapsed onto her bed, her mind whirling with the day's events. When sleep finally claimed her, she felt the familiar sensation of lucid dreaming wash over her. The misty landscape materialized around her – swirling tendrils of dream-stuff that seemed to respond to her very presence. Instinctively, she looked around for Lucien's tall figure before remembering his words about meeting Ezra. "Right," she muttered to herself, her voice echoing strangely in the dream space. "He's busy saving my life, probably." The words came out more bitter than she'd intended. To pass the time, she began experimenting with the dreamscape. She raised her hands, concentrating hard, and watched in wonder as flowers sprouted from the misty ground – roses in impossible shades of blue, lilies that glowed like starlight, flowers that couldn't exist in the waking world. Their colors were more vivid than any real blooms, their petals seeming to shimmer with inner light. Growing bolder, she created
The tension crackled in the air as Lucien continued his predatory approach toward Liam. Each step seemed to make the very air grow heavier, more oppressive. Though Liam maintained his defiant stance, the trembling in his hands and the pale colour of his face betrayed his fear. "For God's sake, both of you just STOP!" Scarlett's voice exploded through the tension, making both men freeze. "This is ridiculous! Stop acting like children fighting over a toy in the playground!" Lucien's dangerous expression melted into that infuriatingly smooth smile of his. "My, my... quite the temper you've developed," he chuckled, though his eyes remained serious. "But we really should be going, Scarlett. We have matters to discuss." Before turning to leave, Scarlett gave Liam one final look. In that moment, days of friendship, betrayal, and forgiveness seemed to pass between them. He nodded, understanding in his tear-stained face, and she turned to follow Lucien. As they walked down the quiet st
"How... how are you doing?" Liam asked, his voice trembling as he wiped hastily at the tears threatening to spill from his eyes. In the afternoon light, they glistened like tiny crystals. "I'm... good," Scarlett replied awkwardly, painfully aware of the gulf between them – not just the physical space, but the emotional chasm that had opened since that terrible day with Claire. She noticed his gaze drift past her to where Lucien stood watching them, something complicated passing across his features. Fear? Concern? She couldn't quite read it. Liam took a shaky breath, seeming to gather his courage. His hands were trembling at his sides, and his East Haven uniform looked rumpled, as if he'd been running his hands through his hair all day. "I'm sorry," he finally burst out, the words seeming to tear themselves from his throat. "I'm so sorry I didn't believe you before." The words hit Scarlett like a physical blow. How long had she waited to hear those words? How many nights had she spe
When the final bell signalling the end of classes rang, Scarlett let out a breath of relief. She was tired of the stares and different look everyone was giving her. Lucien sided up to her and signal to her that it was time to go home. This made Scarlett feel weird. The fact that a probably 1000year old vampire was acting like this made her feel weird. The walk home was heavy with unspoken questions. Scarlett kept stealing glances at Lucien, trying to gather her courage. Finally, she couldn't hold back anymore. "Lucien," she began, her voice shaky but determined. "I need to ask you something about what Jacob said back there. Were you... I mean, he said..." She took a deep breath. "Were you really sent to kill my family?" Lucien's laugh caught her off guard – rich and resonant, it echoed off the nearby buildings. "My, my... is that what's been eating at you this whole time?" His eyes sparkled with amusement. "Your imagination runs quite wild when you're worked up, doesn't it?" He
Questions churned in Scarlett's mind as Lucien guided her down the concrete stairs from the roof. Each step seemed to echo with Jacob's revelations. *He was supposed to kill my family? No, he specifically said 'line' – like ancestry, like bloodline.* She couldn't stop stealing glances at Lucien's perfect profile as they descended, noting how his jaw seemed tighter than usual, how his usually relaxed posture held an edge of tension. How could she trust someone who was keeping so many secrets? The same person who had saved her life moments ago was apparently involved in trying to end her family line. The contradiction made her head spin. "Lucien," she started, her voice barely a whisper. "Not here," he responded softly, his hand warm against her waist as he guided her. "Not now. Everything will be explained, but we need to be somewhere safe first." The walk back to the gymnasium felt surreal, like moving through one of her lucid dreams. Everything she thought she knew about hers