Lucian's POV
I should kill her.
The thought comes soft, almost sweet, like mercy dressed in shadow. I could end this all — the ache, the hunger, the bond. Snap that fragile neck and be free.
One twist.
Clean. Final.
Or drink her dry. Let the last taste of her blood flood my mouth and brand me forever. One final indulgence. She’s already ruined me — might as well go all the way. At least then, she’d be mine, in the way every vampire knows how to claim something.
Dead. Devoured. Eternal.
But I hesitate.
Not out of mercy — no, I’m no saint.
*********
I didn’t mean to come back.
Hell, I ran the entire city trying to drown her scent in the stench of human filth and rotting alleyways. Tried to bury the taste of her blood beneath the screams of the dead. But somehow... my feet betray
