lucius POV:
I hunted through nights and half‑nights, through cities that smelled like rot and remembrance. I took what I needed and left nothing pleasant behind. I kept my head low because while humans were slow prey, vampire politics were a mess of opportunists. I didn't want to attract alliances I hadn't chosen. I hadn't time for politics; I had a witch to retrieve.
I moved through the ruins, swift and silent, until I caught the scent I wanted—warm, coppery, alive.
A young man, trembling beneath the remains of a fallen building. His heart beat like thunder in his chest, his pulse a symphony to my hunger.
I stepped closer, crouched, and for a moment, I simply watched him. Watched him clutch a rusted knife as if it could save him.
He looked up just as I leaned in.
"Please," he whispered.
I smiled faintly. "You should have run faster."
