Novels by Ze Von

Lucian's POV The gala was in full bloom by the time I stepped inside. Gold lights washed over glass walls and polished floors, painting everything in warm, expensive hues. Laughter swirled in the air, backed by the soft clink of glasses and the occasional hum of a quartet buried somewhere near the balcony. It was all textbook perfection—the kind of atmosphere built to distract. But my eyes were keen tonight. “Lucian!” Gideon’s voice boomed across the entrance, loud enough to momentarily silence the chatter around him. “You actually came!” He strode over with his usual cheer, arms wide like he was greeting a long-lost brother. His suit was a shade too bright, his cologne sharp enough to sting the air, but his grin was genuine — or practiced well enough to pass. “I did,” I said smoothly, fixing a deep gaze on him and daring him to wrap his filthy hands around me. He shivered and put his arms down. But then, he leaned in. “I wasn't exactly sure you'd come. Didn’t think galas we

Aritzea’s POVRejecting Lucian offer to be his plus one to the gala didn't bother me at all. It wasn't like I was loosing sleep or feeling overwhelming guilt over it.No, not at all.However, now standing in front of the mirror, tightening the last button on my jacket, it didn’t feel so smart anymore.I stared at my reflection critically — black tailored blazer cinched at the waist, slim trousers pressed so sharply they could probably cut someone, black button-up shirt tucked in clean and perfect.My hair was pulled into a sleek bun at the back of my head, a few wisps framing my face just enough to look effortless, not messy. Minimal jewelry. No nonsense.I looked like I could strangle someone with a silk tie and not wrinkle a single thread.Good. That was the goal.I smoothed my hands down my jacket but my brain... had other ideas.Because suddenly, all I could think about was Lucian. I could already picture it — him walking into the gala with ‘her’ clinging to his arm.I didn’t know

Lucian’s POVIf there was an award for the most unbothered man before a high-stakes gala, it should have my name engraved on it by now.Or maybe not. I twirled the silver pen between my fingers, leaning so far back in my chair that all it would take was one nudge and I'd go sprawling down to the floor. And honestly, it was tempting.Perhaps the floor would be an easier alternative than the reality of what I was about to do: asking Aritzea to be my date for the gala.As it turned out, I was excellent at avoiding that. Two weeks and I hadn't said anything. We talked about the gala a few times, yes, but I hadn't asked her to be my escort.But the gala was tonight, and there were only so many hours left to stall.I stared at the ceiling like it might offer a solution.Little spoiler: it didn’t. I exhaled a breath, sharp through my nose. I wasn’t nervous. Lucian Vaughn did not get nervous. I was...strategizing.

Aritzea POVIt had been two weeks since that night.Lucian hadn’t brought it up again. He didn’t mention the cold shower, the snapped words, or the sharp silence that settled between us after. He didn’t apologize again. I didn’t ask him to, I wasn't really angry or mad at anything.We just… moved past it. Or tried to.Sort of.We still spoke, of course—about work. About the case. About the new bodies popping up randomly and the leads we were finding. But everything else? It was clipped. Bare-boned. Quiet.No more dry teasing over breakfast. No more eye-roll-worthy comments about my temper. No more of that ridiculous smirk he always wore when he knew he was getting under my skin.And weirdly, I missed it.Which is exactly why I decided to keep my distance.The banter had made me feel something. Comfortable, maybe. Familiar. Like we were... close. And I couldn’t afford to feel that way. Not with him. Not with a vampire. Not when I still didn’t know which side of the line Lucian would f

Lucian POVThe moment I shut the door behind me, I leaned against it, jaw tight. The door sealed off the scent of her—the sharp, maddening scent that clung to the air like a ghost.I walked into the bathroom and turned the shower knob all the way to cold. The water hit me like a slap, but I didn’t care. I didn’t even bother taking off my shirt. I just stood there, letting it soak through, hoping it would cool the burning feeling inside me.Bloodlust.It wasn't just hunger. Not the simple craving for sustenance. No. Something about her, about her scent, made everything much worse. This was darker. Heavier. The kind that curled low in the gut and whispered terrible things. The kind that made the sound of her heartbeat feel too loud in the next room. Made her scent unbearable in all the wrong ways. The kind that left my fangs pressed tight against my gums.Hell, I didn’t even want to look at her too long right now. That’s how dangerous this was.I should’ve asked Armand to bring a bag.

Aritzea’s POVThe house was quiet. It was just me here. Excuse me, me and my new prisoner. But he wasn't important.I curled up on the worn leather couch, dressed in jeans and a loose sweater, thumbing through the file Lucian had left behind. It was thicker than I'd thought, filled with detailed records—more than I expected, honestly. The vampires had been watching the hunters for a long time.Each page was a slow burn of anger. Routes, ambushes, kidnappings. Some attacks mirrored the ones we wolves knew about—individuals disappearing along forest borders, scouts taken without a trace. But then there were the things we didn’t know. Things they hadn’t done to us.The hunters weren’t just murdering vampires.They were experimenting on them.One report detailed a vampire locked in a sun-sealed room for days, kept just barely alive to test how long they could survive extreme starvation. Another had been dismembered and pieced together with surgical precision just to “observe their limit