ANMELDENLilith didn’t leave the mansion that night. Not because she was trapped inside. But because something within her no longer wanted to run away from there. Lucas stood by the tall window in the library, moonlight framing his silhouette. Too still. Too quiet. Too inhuman. And yet, she felt safest there.“Tell me everything,” she said softly.Lucas didn’t turn immediately. “If I do, you won’t be able to go back to believing this is madness.”“I already can’t.” Silence stretched between them before he finally faced her.“Are you sure you want to know who you really are?”She nodded. “And about my bloodline.”A shadow crossed his expression. “It wasn’t your family, Lilith,” he said quietly. “Not the way you thought before.”Lilith stepped closer. A deep frown appeared on her forehead. “Then who was that woman?”Lucas moved toward the fireplace, the fire unlit but unnecessary for him. “You remember, don’t you, that Noah and I were dying in 1865?”“Yes, of course I remember.” Lilith nodded sl
Lilith’s heart pounded painfully. “You remember when we told you that you’re a descendant of the vampire bloodline that turned us into vampires, right?”Lilith nodded faintly as her world tilted again. “In 1920, when you died, you tried to protect me from them.” Her breath caught.“You stepped between me and the blade.”Another flash struck in her mind. A man lunging. Cold steel. Lucas shouting at her.“You died because you chose me over those who kept trying to exterminate our kind.”Lilith’s knees weakened. Her breathing grew more labored, and her vision began to blur. It felt as though Lucas’s words were a wind shaking her to her core.“And I chose you long before any of that happened, Lilith,” he added softly.Silence enveloped the three of them. The trees. The wind. Everything felt distant. Lilith stared at Lucas. At the man who wasn’t a man to her at that moment. At the monster who looked at her as if she were salvation.“So, you’re real,” she whispered.Lucas didn’t smile. “Yes,
Lilith’s pulse quickened instantly. A strange warmth flickered in her chest. She hated the fact that her body responded to him. “I don’t remember loving you,” she whispered.“You don’t remember hating me either.” That immediately silenced Lilith. Lucas stepped closer, but still didn’t touch her.“If you want to leave me, I won’t stop you, Lilith,” Lucas said quietly. “But if you want to stay here with me, it won’t be because I bought you, Lilith. It’s because you are my sire bond, my mate...”Lilith’s heart pounded painfully. “You should have told me everything.”“I was afraid.”“You?” she asked bitterly.“Yes.” His voice dropped. “I was afraid that if you remembered how you died in 1920, you would never look at me the same again. And I knew that you didn’t remember who I was to you when we first met. Because I wanted to make a new impression on you, so you wouldn’t have to remember what had happened before.”Tears slid down her cheeks. She didn’t know what she was feeling. Fear, ange
The darkness faded slowly, giving way to a mist that gradually revealed light from behind the previous darkness. Lilith felt warmth before she lost consciousness. Strong arms wrapped around her body, holding her very tightly. A steady chest beneath her cheek. And a voice that sounded distant and low, calling out to her.“Lilith... Please, wake up...”Her eyelids fluttered open. She was in a bedroom. Not the Northern mansion, but the main one. Soft curtains and a familiar ceiling. And Lucas was there. He was sitting beside her on the bed, still gazing deeply at her. The moment their eyes met, something twisted painfully in her chest.And then, it hit her so hard. A flash. Candlelight. Soft music. A grand ballroom filled with people dancing together. A white gown. Laughter. Lucas standing across the room, looking young or perhaps not younger. Just different. The Lucas there looked gentler than the cold Lucas of now.Another flash occurred so quickly. The scene shifted as a deafening scr
“A curse? A cure? A bloodline?” Lilith whispered in disbelief.The paintings. The photograph. Her head was pounding violently with all the new and unfamiliar information she was taking in.“Stop it, both of you! Just stop it! I’m not a cure! What bloodline are you talking about?!” Lilith shouted, her voice breaking.Both brothers turned toward her at the same time. And that was even worse! Their eyes were red and glowing in the dark. Not like those of humans. Lilith’s breathing became erratic.“You two are monsters,” she whispered, unable to believe what she was seeing.Lucas’s expression shifted instantly. Pain flickered in his eyes. Meanwhile, Noah merely tilted his head, as if mocking Lilith’s words.“We are monsters?” Noah repeated softly. “We were made, Lilith.”“Made?” she whispered hoarsely. “By whom?” she choked out.Lucas stepped forward cautiously. “Noah, enough! Don’t say another word!”“No, brother. No,” Noah replied. “She should know everything. She must know everything!”
It was Lucas. The same eyes. The same sharp jawline. The same unreadable expression. Lilith’s vision blurred. That wasn’t possible. Photography existed back then, yes it did. But still, no one had ever lived that long. Her fingers trembled as she touched the photograph.“Looking for answers, Lilith?” The voice came from behind her.Lilith gasped and turned. Noah was already there. He leaned casually against the doorway, hands in his coat pockets, watching her for a while. Lilith didn’t say anything; her mind felt scattered with all the questions flooding in.“You came,” he said softly. “I thought you were still too afraid to find out the answers you wanted.”“This isn’t funny,” she whispered. Lilith pointed at the photo. “What is this?”Noah tilted his head, looking at Lilith as if she were amusing. “That is your answer,” he replied so calmly, it almost sounded eerie.“Answer to what? That doesn’t answer anything!”“The answer and also proof that Lucas Estevan Luigi was alive in 1865.







