(Lucien's POV) It was just past six when I walked into the living room, barefoot, coffee in hand, shirt loose around my shoulders. Noah hadn’t come out of his room yet. Good. I wasn’t ready for him, not until I’d organized my thoughts— something he seemed uniquely skilled at scattering. I lowered into the armchair by the windows, watching the city blink awake beneath me. Everything is neat, predictable, in order. Just how I liked it. Except now, one room down, there was a wildcard sleeping in my house. I exhaled slowly, fingers tightening around the mug. He was small, but not weak. I’d seen that spark in him, the flare of defiance when Red sedated him. But physically? He was slight. Lithe. The kind of boy who shouldn’t be walking alone at night, let alone playing in the lion’s den. And yet… here he was. His mouth hadn’t stopped running since he arrived. Using sarcasm like a defense mechanism. He challenged everything— everything. The floor, the rules, my voice. He called my penth
Read more