21: Done For

LUCIEN

The room was dark by design.

No windows. No clocks. Just concrete walls that absorbed sound and a single light hanging overhead, swaying slightly. The smell of iron sat heavy in the air. Old blood, new blood, fear, and a single chair bolted to the floor.

Theo was tied to it.

He looked smaller than I remembered. Thinner. Blood streaked his mouth, his nose. One eye was already swelling shut. He lifted his head weakly when I stepped in, chains rattling softly as he tried to move.

“Please,” he croaked the moment he saw me. “Please, Lucien. I swear, I didn’t mean for it to—”

I closed the door behind me, and the sound echoed, cutting the rest of his words off. Then, I walked toward him slowly, my footsteps measured. Calm. I wasn’t angry anymore. 

That was the worst part for him.

“How did you know?” I asked calmly.

“ I-I don’t understand,” he stuttered.

“My secrets,” I clarified. “Tell me how you knew them.”

“Please,” Tears streamed down his face as he shook his head frantically. “I’ll do anything. I’ll disappear. I swear. I won’t say another word.”

I sighed, already bored.

“Nothing is going to save you,” I said evenly. “You are going to die and rot in hell. But if you’re smart, you’ll at least list your sources so they can join you.” I stated matter-of-factly.

He cried harder, words tumbling out uselessly. Apologies. Promises. Bargains. I sighed. 

“Was it Maeve?”

His head snapped up. 

“She didn’t know,” he blurted out quickly. “I mean, she didn’t know what she was doing. I just…she was easy.”

Something cold slid down my spine. I cocked my head to the side and stared at him. 

“I moved into the neighborhood because of you,” he continued desperately. “Got a job at the company because of you. I watched you for years. You never noticed me. Never once. But her?” 

He laughed weakly. 

“She was desperate. Lonely. Needed a friend. It wasn’t hard to manipulate her.”

My jaw tightened.

“But then, she wasn’t even that helpful,” he added, rolling his good eyes. “Didn’t know much. Just that things weren’t perfect behind the scenes, honestly, she’s kind of slow. Not exactly the brightest kid on the block—”

Something inside me snapped.

“Stop.”

The word came out sharp.

Theo flinched.

“You don’t get to talk about her like that,” I continued, my voice low and dangerous. “I am the only one allowed to use her. I am the only one allowed to speak about her.”

I hated that reaction, hated the way my chest tightened, hated that my pulse spiked. Hated that his words touched something they had no right to touch.

Maeve should never make me this sensitive. 

Theo stared at me, realization dawning too late.

“I—I didn’t mean,” he swallowed hard. “I didn’t get much from her. Just that your life wasn’t perfect, that was it. She didn’t know anything real. I swear.”

I stared at him for a long moment.

Then I straightened.

“You’ve served your purpose.”

His eyes widened as understanding dawned on him. 

“No,” he sobbed. “No, please. I’ll give you names. I’ll tell you everything. Please!”

My fangs slid out smoothly.

He screamed at the sight. 

I stepped forward and gripped his jaw, forcing his head to the side despite his struggles. His screams were cut short the moment my teeth sank clean into his neck.

His blood filled my mouth, hot and panicked. It wasn’t delicious. It wasn’t Maeve’s. 

Still, I drank steadily, deliberately, ignoring the way his body thrashed, the way his heartbeat fluttered wildly beneath my hands.

Then it slowed, and finally, it stopped.

I pulled back only when there was nothing left to drink, and Theo’s body went limp in the chair, lifeless. Then, I stepped away, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.

It didn’t satisfy me.

If anything, the hunger felt sharper. Louder. Like feeding had only reminded the monster inside me that it was still starving.

I turned and walked out without a word. I didn’t need to give orders. My men would handle the body. Theo would disappear the same way his courage had.

Outside, the night air hit my face, cool and empty. I got into my car, gripping the steering wheel tighter than necessary.

That was when my phone rang.

Hera.

I answered without thinking.

“Thank you,” I said immediately. “For today.”

There was silence on the line. Not the dramatic kind she usually enjoyed. This was… real, unprepared. Almost as if she had no idea what I was talking about.

“You’re welcome,” she finally said, her voice slower, almost cautious. “Or whatever. Kinda shocked you survived, actually.”

I frowned. “What?”

She hung up.

I stared at the phone for a second before tossing it onto the passenger seat.

Weird.

The drive home passed in a blur. My head throbbed. My body felt wired and exhausted at the same time, like I’d been stretched too thin.

When I got back, I headed down the hall toward my room. Or at least, that’s what I meant to do because somehow, I stopped in front of Maeve’s door.

I didn’t remember deciding to go there. I didn’t remember reaching for the handle.

But it was already opening.

Her room was dark, curtains drawn. She was asleep, curled loosely on the bed, breathing slow and even.

Anger flared immediately.

She was sleeping. Peacefully. Like today hadn’t been the worst day of my existence, and she was the absolute cause of it, for coming into my life.

I took a step closer.

Then she shifted, and the blanket slipped.

My breath caught before I could stop it.

She was naked.

The sheet fell just enough to show her breasts and taut nipples standing at attention in the cold air of the room, begging to be tugged between my fingers. My gaze locked there without permission, my body responding before my mind could catch up.

I swallowed hard.

Fuck.

Heat pulled in my lower stomach, and I could feel my cock stirring and getting hard, nudging against my pants uncomfortably.

I was done for.