Lucian's POV
Her blood was like liquid fire on my tongue, more intoxicating than anything I'd tasted in three centuries of existence. But it was more than mere sustenance—it was recognition, completion, the missing piece of my soul finally clicking into place.
Mine. The word echoed through every fiber of my being as I held Seraphina's limp form against my chest, her pulse fluttering weakly beneath my lips. Finally, completely mine.
I forced myself to pull back before I took too much, licking the puncture wounds closed with reverent care. She would heal without scarring—one of the few mercies in what I was about to put her through.
"Sleep now, little dove," I murmured, lifting her easily in my arms. "When you wake, nothing will ever be the same."
The rain had stopped while we were inside, leaving the campus grounds shrouded in mist that parted before me like a living thing. My kind moved unseen through the mortal world, and tonight that gift would serve me well. I had to get Seraphina somewhere safe before the Council discovered what I'd done.
Before they learned I'd found my mate and marked her without permission.
My penthouse apartment overlooked the city from the top floor of a building I owned through several shell companies. Mortal authorities would never think to look for a missing girl here, and it was warded against other vampires—at least temporarily.
I laid Seraphina on my bed, smoothing her auburn hair across the black silk pillows. Even unconscious, she was breathtaking—high cheekbones, full lips slightly parted, skin like porcelain kissed with the faintest blush of life. But it was more than her beauty that called to me. It was the strength I sensed beneath her mortal fragility, the fire that burned in her spirit.
The prophecy had been right. She was the one.
"My lord?" Viktor materialized from the shadows, his expression carefully neutral. He'd served my family for two centuries and knew better than to question my decisions, but I could sense his concern.
"Have the apartment sealed," I commanded, not taking my eyes off Seraphina. "No one enters without my explicit permission. And send word to the Council that I'm... indisposed for the next few days."
"Sir, they're expecting you at tomorrow night's gathering. Lady Selene has been asking—"
"Lady Selene can wait." My voice carried a warning that made Viktor straighten. "My priorities have shifted."
"Of course, my lord." Viktor hesitated. "Forgive my impertinence, but is she...?"
"She's the one from the prophecy." I finally looked at my advisor, seeing my own wonder reflected in his ancient eyes. "After all these centuries, I've found her."
Viktor's expression shifted from concern to something approaching awe. "The mortal who will change everything."
"She's not entirely mortal." I turned back to Seraphina, noting the subtle changes already beginning in her features. Her skin was growing paler, her breathing deeper and more rhythmic. "There's vampire blood in her lineage, old and powerful. It's been dormant, but the bite has awakened it."
"A halfling?" Viktor's voice was carefully controlled. "My lord, the Council laws regarding halflings are quite clear—"
"The Council's laws don't apply to me." I sat on the edge of the bed, taking Seraphina's hand in mine. Even unconscious, her fingers curled around mine with startling strength. "Not in this. She's my mate, Viktor. The bond is already forming."
It was true. I could feel her even now, a warm presence at the edge of my consciousness that grew stronger with each passing moment. When she woke, the connection would be complete and unbreakable.
"The implications could be... significant," Viktor said diplomatically.
Significant. That was one word for it. A crown prince bonding with an unauthorised halfling would send shockwaves through vampire society. Some would call it an abomination. Others might see it as the fulfillment of ancient prophecy.
Either way, it would mean war.
"Let them come," I said softly, lifting Seraphina's hand to press a kiss to her palm. "I've waited three hundred years for her. I won't give her up now."
Viktor bowed deeply. "Then we'll be ready for whatever comes."
As he left to carry out my orders, I settled beside Seraphina to wait. The transformation process was different for halflings than for full humans—faster, less traumatic, but no less profound. She would wake tomorrow night changed in ways she couldn't yet comprehend.
And then I would have to tell her the truth about what she'd become, about the destiny that awaited her, about the enemies who would stop at nothing to tear us apart.
But first, I would have this moment—this perfect stillness before the storm, with my mate safe in my arms and the future spreading out before us like a dark promise.
I traced the curve of her cheek with my fingertip, marveling at the way she leaned into my touch even in sleep. "Sweet dreams, my little dove," I whispered. "Tomorrow, your real life begins."
Outside the windows, the city sparkled with a million lights, each one representing a mortal soul blissfully unaware that their world stood on the brink of change. But I only had eyes for the woman in my bed, the one who would either save us all or destroy everything I'd ever known.
Either way, I was hers now.
Completely and irrevocably hers.