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[Lucien’s POV]

A peaceful human being living with no idea of being surrounded by mythical creatures, that’s who I used to be until I became a bloodthirsty vampire, now aged seventy-three years old with the appearance of a man in his twenties which I had been before my nightmare began.

Blood splattered on my face as my sword slashed the throat of the werewolf before me while my hand dug out the heart of the one behind me. A smile embraced my lips as I licked blood off it, filled with the thoughts of finally becoming human again now that the war was over and spending the rest of my life with my beautiful Eloise.

For some reason, after the death of my parents and me being turned into a vampire, I had hated my life and wanted to die, but I never succeeded in taking my own life no matter how many attempts I made. When I met Eloise, I understood why the heavens had prevented my death. It was to make me meet her, to know I was worthy of being loved, to understand that I wasn’t alone neither had I been deserted.

Eloise was perfection itself, and from the moment our hands touched, I knew she was my destiny; the reason I could live.

I stood in the middle of the battlefield with several dead bodies of werewolves of different ranks lying all around me. I was pretty sure I had gotten rid of each and every single one of them… Well, except Arthur, the leader of their Pack who had probably ran off as the coward he was. For years, they had terrorised the community and caused terrible trouble to the witches. I minded my business, but they enraged me constantly and so, I had gladly accepted when Celeste enlisted my help in exchange for giving me a potion that would make me human again.

“Lucien! Lucien!” a voice called out urgently, and when I looked, I saw it was one of the witches who was racing towards where I was.

She stopped when she got to me, panting heavily.

“You came too late. You should have seen how those who have haunted your clan since time began were slaughtered and were begging for mercy. I could go on and…”

She cut in. “Now is not the time to boast, Lucien. Celeste sent me to you. Something terrible has happened,” she announced, and that was when I saw the despair in her eyes.

“Something terrible? What do you mean?” I demanded.

“It’s Eloise. Arthur attacked her,” she revealed.

Without bothering to hear the rest of the story, my legs took off like lightening. With enhanced speed, I arrived at my little cave home only minutes later. What greeted me was the sight of Eloise’s corpse.

My legs shook and my hands trembled as my sword clattered to the floor.

It was a gruesome sight. Her clothes were ripped and the blood that trickled down was a clear sign that she had been defiled. There were bite marks on her skin which on normal days, would gleam like milk. Her neck had also been broken, and she lay there on the cold hard sandy ground; not breathing, not smiling cheerfully like she always did.

“Eloise!” I screamed, racing to the dead body, my mouth quivering as I was unable to comprehend the reality of what was before me. My stomach tightened into knots and my chest felt heavy to the point where I couldn’t breathe.

I fell to my knees and held her in my arms as tears rolled down my cheeks, the memories of the last time I had seen her filling up my mind.

How could someone so full of life just die that way? “No, Eloise. No, tell me you’re playing a prank on me. Wake up, please. Please, wake up,” I said to her, holding her close to me.

“It’s no use, Lucien. She’s gone,” I heard Celeste, whom I hadn’t noticed was in the compound, say.

“Don’t tell me that, Celeste. Don’t. Eloise isn’t gone. She can not be gone. Not my Eloise, not her!” I screamed at her.

Even in death, she still shone like the sun and it only served as a reminder that she definitely didn’t deserve to die the way she did. A thought then came to my mind as I stood up.

“Celeste, help me, please. There’s nothing impossible for you to do. You’re the greatest witch to have ever lived, not so? Bring Eloise back to me. Please. Forget about making me human. I helped you in the war, repay me by giving Eloise back her life,” I pleaded with her.

She shook her head sadly. “Lucien, if there was something I could do, don’t you think I would have done it?”

I growled angrily as my claws sprung out. “Don’t give me that. You’re lying to me and you know it. You can save Eloise. You can save her,” I said, desperate with red flame burning through my eyes.

“I’m sorry, Lucien. My hands are tied,” she said, painfully.

“How does it feel, Lucien, to lose the only thing you ever had? At least, now, you know you ought not to have slain the members of my Pack in the manner you did,” Arthur said, appearing from nowhere.

As my eyes met his, my heart grew cold with rage as immense anger and irritation surged through my veins. My claws grew longer and fangs sprouted from my mouth as my eyes darkened. I lunged forward at him and as he tried to go around in circles, I caught him by his hand and proceeded to strangle him with my hands; my claws sinking deep into his flesh.

“You should never have come back here,” I said, tightening my grip as he coughed out blood, choking to death.

He grinned wildly. “How could I miss the chance to see that look on your face?” he asked, provoking me the more.

“You should never have come for her. I was your enemy, she was just an innocent woman. What did she ever do to deserve such a horrible death? It’s all my fault. I should have killed you earlier and this would have been prevented, but it is not too late. Today, Arthur Goldman, you will die in my hands and I’ll join you in the afterlife shortly to make the rest of eternity hell for you,” I stated, and I did mean every word I spoke.

“No, Lucien. You must not end your own life. A vampire can never be reborn, but Eloise would definitely be reborn. You must stay alive as that’s the only way you can meet her and be together with her once again,” Celeste said.

A ray of hope flickered in my heart and for a moment, I lost my grip on Arthur which aided in him getting the upper hand and pushing me to the floor. I regained my balance and appeared right in front of him as he tried to escape.

“I’m not letting you go,” I said, digging my hand into his heart.

He staggered backwards and fell to his knees, as more blood dripped from his mouth, feeling terrible pain. “If truly there’s a next life, you and Eloise would never be together. I’ll make sure of it,” he swore.

Infuriated, I took out his heart and just like that, he collapsed to the floor with eyes wide open as a mischievous smirk rested on his lips.

I looked at Eloise’s corpse and fell to the floor, crying out my heart. She was the ground I walked on, the very air I breathed. I could not live without her… I didn’t want to know how life was before I met her. A sharp pain pierced through my heart as tears kept rolling down my cheeks, filled with a terrible ache that just couldn’t go away.

I didn’t want to live anymore, I couldn’t bear this misery and torture, but for her sake, I would. If it meant that I got to see her again someday, I didn’t mind waiting for her no matter how long it was going to take. She was the essence of my existence, and I was never going to let her go.