Celeste didn't sleep.
Not after the way Lucien had looked at her.
Not after the words he whispered—"I think someone's already claimed you."
What did that even mean?
Claimed? Like possession? Like… ownership?
She sat in the bookstore's back room while Lucien stood at the window, unmoving, always watching. He hadn't left. Not once. He barely blinked.
She wasn't sure if that made her feel safer… or more terrified.
"Lucien," she finally said, her voice hoarse from hours of silence, "what did you mean last night?"
His jaw tensed. He didn't look at her.
"You said someone claimed me. What does that mean?"
He closed his eyes. "It means someone is already tying their energy to yours."
Celeste blinked. "What—how?"
"There are ways to do it. Blood magic. Venom rituals. Dreams. If it started before you met me… you wouldn't have even noticed."
"But… I've never let anyone touch me like that. I would know."
His gaze finally met hers—haunted, heavy.
"Not if they marked you while you were unconscious."
Her stomach twisted.
Her attacker that night.
The one Lucien saved her from.
"He didn't…" she whispered, blood draining from her face.
"I don't know what he did," Lucien said darkly. "But I intend to find out."
---
That Afternoon...
Celeste sat on her bed, staring at the small silver scar on her inner wrist. She'd noticed it weeks ago, a tiny mark she thought came from work—a scratch, nothing more.
But now…
It pulsed.
Not visibly. Not painfully. Just… strangely.
Lucien watched her from the corner of the room, arms folded tightly across his chest.
"That's it," he said.
"How do I get rid of it?"
He walked toward her slowly. Sat beside her, close but careful not to touch.
"You don't," he said. "Not without killing the one who made it."
The air between them thickened.
"So someone put a… claim on me," she said. "Why?"
Lucien's expression darkened. "Because you're rare. And powerful vampires want what they can't have."
Celeste stared at him. "What makes me rare?"
"I don't know yet," he said honestly. "But I will find out."
---
That Night...
Lucien had left to "hunt." He never explained where, and Celeste didn't ask. Part of her didn't want to know.
She stayed curled on the couch, wrapped in her favorite blanket, trying to read—but her eyes kept drifting toward the window. Toward the dark.
And then—
She felt it.
Like someone watching her.
She stood slowly and approached the glass.
Nothing.
Just the empty street, the lamp still flickering.
She turned.
And froze.
There was a man standing in the hallway.
Not Lucien.
Not human.
He was tall, impossibly still. Skin pale like marble, eyes black—not soulless, but full of something far worse.
Hunger.
"You shouldn't be alone," he said, stepping forward.
Celeste backed away. "Who are you?"
He tilted his head. "Hurtful. After all we've shared."
"What?"
The man reached out, tapping his finger against his own wrist—the same spot where her scar lay.
"Do you feel it yet?" he asked. "The pull? The ache when I'm close?"
Celeste's heart stuttered.
"You're the one who attacked me."
"I saved you," he said calmly. "Lucien just got in the way."
She turned to run—but he was already behind her.
"No need to scream," he said. "I won't hurt you. Not yet."
Celeste trembled. "Why are you doing this?"
"Because you belong to me."
---
Lucien appeared like smoke.
One second, the intruder stood inches from Celeste.
The next—he was flying backward into the bookshelf, wooden shelves shattering beneath him.
Lucien stood between them, his eyes burning silver now, his body a weapon of pure fury.
"You don't touch her."
The stranger smiled through bloodied lips. "Still pretending she's yours, Vale? She's already marked."
"I'll rip that claim from your corpse."
"Try it," the stranger hissed—and vanished into shadows.
Celeste dropped to her knees.
Lucien turned to her, his glowing eyes fading.
"Are you okay?"
She shook her head. "I don't know what that was."
Lucien crouched beside her. "That was the vampire who's trying to turn you without your consent."
---
Later…
Lucien pressed a cold cloth to her wrist.
"He's not just marking you," he said. "He's trying to bind you. Slowly. If he completes the link, he'll be able to track you anywhere… control you."
"Can we stop it?" she asked.
"I'll kill him before it's done."
Celeste shivered. "He was already inside."
Lucien clenched his jaw. "He won't get that close again."
She stared at him for a long moment.
Then asked the one thing she hadn't dared to before.
"Lucien… why me? Why are they so interested in me?"
He looked at her like she was a puzzle he hadn't solved yet.
"Because your blood isn't just rare. It's forbidden. And the last time someone with your lineage was born…"
He paused.
"What happened?" she asked.
His voice was barely a whisper.
"They burned down three kingdoms to keep her alive."
---