CHAPTER 233
The heavy quiet of the master bedroom felt less like a sanctuary and more like a tomb. Lucian remained frozen over Isabella's still frame, his fingers dug deep into the mahogany wood of the headboard, his ears straining against the absolute silence of their mental bond.
The slow, rhythmic *thump... thump... thump* of her human heart was the only thing keeping him from tearing the mansion apart piece by piece, but it was too slow. Too weak.
A sharp, sudden knock on the heavy oak doors shattered the stillness, the sound vibrating aggressively through the tense atmosphere of the en-suite.
Lucian's head snapped toward the entrance, a low, lethal snarl tearing past his fangs. The midnight-black void in his eyes flared with a murderous promise.
He had bypassed Marcus downstairs with an explicit aura of finality; any servant who valued their life knew that approaching this room right now was an invitation to an immediate execution.
