The night wind carried the metallic scent of blood as Lucian stood at the edge of the old cathedral ruins, moonlight slicing across the cracked stone floor. The forest was quiet now, but his mind wasn't.
His fingers brushed over the bandaged wound on his arm. The fabric was uneven—torn by human hands. Asher's hands. It should've been nothing. A meaningless act. But the warmth from it still lingered against his cold skin like an echo that refused to fade.
He hated that feeling.
"I told you not to come near me," he muttered to no one, though his voice bounced off the walls like a confession.
But he could still hear Asher's heartbeat in the back of his mind—soft, alive, human. The bond had strengthened tonight. He'd felt it snap into place the moment Asher shouted his name in the clearing.
Lucian leaned against the altar, closing his eyes.
"If I was going to hate you, I wouldn't be here right now."
The words slipped through his mind like a blade and a balm at once. No one had spoken to him like that in centuries—not since 'her.'
Amara.
The name itself was enough to burn. His hands curled into fists, nails digging into his palms. "You should've stayed dead," he whispered to the memory. "You should've taken it all with you."
The cathedral door creaked open. Orion stepped in, his boots silent against the stone. His sharp, calculating gaze landed on Lucian immediately.
"You're hurt," Orion said flatly.
Lucian shot him a look. "I've had worse."
Orion approached slowly, the dim moonlight catching his silver hair. "I heard about the hunters. They're getting bolder. And the boy—"
Lucian's jaw clenched. "Don't say his name."
A faint smile ghosted across Orion's lips. "That bad already?"
Lucian didn't answer. He couldn't. Because the moment Orion said 'boy,' something inside him tightened—something he wasn't ready to name.
"The bond's awakening," Orion said more seriously now. "I felt the shift."
Lucian's eyes narrowed. "Then you know how dangerous this is. The hunters won't stop until he's either dead or bound to them. And I…" His voice caught for the briefest second. "I won't drag him into my world."
Orion tilted his head. "Then why didn't you let him die in the forest?"
The question hit like a strike to the ribs. Lucian didn't answer, because they both already knew.
Orion sighed. "You can pretend to be a monster all you want, Lucian. But monsters don't bleed for humans. And they sure as hell don't ' care ' ."
Lucian turned his gaze toward the cracked window, where the moon hung bright and cold.
"I made that mistake once," he whispered. "I won't make it again."
But even as he said it, the locket's faint pulse flickered in his chest—not his, but through the bond. Asher's warmth. His heartbeat. His defiance.
And for the first time in centuries… Lucian wasn't sure if he 'wanted ' to be alone anymore.
To be continued.....