22. Lucien

Chapter 22

Lucien

T he room smells of sex. Kim is at my desk, in my chair, and Trent is standing opposite practically growling.

The two of them didn't fuck. For a wolf, Trent is strangely rigid in his approach to sex; he wouldn't even contemplate being in the same room as an erect penis.

I notice the feed on the screen. Luna's room.

Kim catches me looking and adjusts his glasses. I try not to let my lip curl into a smile. So, he was watching. And it turned him on enough that he very clearly, judging from the scent in the air, got himself off to it.

Interesting.

But, right now, irrelevant.

"What's going on?" I gesture for Kim to leave my chair. He gets up and stalks around to the other side of the desk, standing next to Trent and glancing at him. "Whatever you have to say, you can say it in front of Trent." He might be a wolf, but he's a loyal wolf. Dogs are, after all, stupid.

"I went to the Crimson Moon, asked some questions."

"So, that's why you look like shit. When was the last time you slept?"

Kim looks at me with an expression that says, "Why the fuck are you asking after my sleep all of a sudden? Has Luna softened that cold, black heart?"

If we were alone, he'd make the joke out loud. But he doesn't trust Trent. According to Kim, he's a slimy mother fucker and I'm blinded by the fact he was a cute puppy once upon a time.

He might be right. But so far, Trent has given me no reason not to trust him. Except for the way he looked at Luna, and I allowed him a free pass for that.

One free pass.

"Rumor is there's a new boss in town who's trying to take over the FHB trade in the city." Kim folds his arms in front of his chest.

"I run the FHB trade." I pick up the half-drunk glass of blood on the desk and down it in one. I glance at the screen. Luna is too distracting. I shouldn't be thinking about her now. But what if this concerns her? What if it's all linked?

"Apparently, someone didn't get the memo." Kim raises his eyebrows.

"Pretty useless information unless you know who this guy is and where he's hanging out," Trent mumbles, looking smug as fuck because Kim hasn't been able to give me anything solid. He turns to me. "Let me go to the bar. I'll get some answers."

"Oh, yeah? And how will you do that?" Kim's hand moves to his belt and his fingers twitch. He carries a blade these days.

"Put your dicks away, boys. This isn't a pissing contest."

"I'll get a name." Kim looks at me and bites his lower lip. Then he says, "I need to talk to you alone, Lucien." He glances pointedly at the screen.

I hesitate. I don't like how much I trust him. He's a human. It seems unnatural to trust a human more than a super, but something tells me to listen.

"Trent. Leave us."

"Boss, seriously?" The slight whine in his voice makes me slam the glass down on the desk. He whimpers a little then mumbles, "Yes, boss. You know where I am if you need me."

When he's gone, and the door is closed, Kim leans on the desk, palms flat. "It has to be linked, right? It can't be a coincidence. A new boss trying to mustle in on the FHB trade. Someone sending vamps to attack Luna and raid her house?"

I drum my fingers on the side of the glass. On the screen, Luna is curled up in bed, sleeping.

It's daylight outside now, but with the lack of natural light in her room her body probably can't tell whether it's day or night. And she'll be coming down from the blood.

My blood.

I glance at Kim. Did he see her feeding from me? Was that what turned him on? Or was it the way I fucked her?

"Did you see what happened?" I point at the screen and Kim's complexion pales.

"Not the fucking, I know you saw that. Were you paying attention to what happened while we were fucking?"

He frowns at me.

I gesture for him to come and look at the screen. He stands behind my shoulder, and I skip back through the recorded footage.

I had hoped to watch this alone but needs must.

When I press play, Kim's body stiffens and the air between us thickens. "Don't watch us," I murmur. "Watch the room. Watch the shadows."

The sounds of Luna's climax fill the room.

Kim's breathing is slow and heavy.

I glance down and notice he's getting hard.

Would Luna like it if she knew? Would it make her feel proud that she's turned him on?

I wait for the usual tsunami of jealousy to rake through my body, but it doesn't come. Perhaps because Kim is so very polite and respectful , and because even though he doesn't know Luna the way I do, he cares about her safety.

Truly cares.

If he didn't, he wouldn't have been in The Crimson Moon in the middle of the night. Risking his own safety if they found out he was a hunter, and his precious six hour sleep requirement.

My gaze moves to his face now. His eyes widen, and I know what he's seen.

I skip back the feed and we watch it again.

The shadows in the corners are rippling and swirling like dark water disturbed by an unseen force. They stretch and twist, defying the laws of physics and light.

"Incredible," Kim mutters, his eyes wide.

I nod, my gaze fixed on the writhing darkness. It moves almost like a living thing, reaching tendrils towards Luna's arching form. The shadows pulse in time with her gasps, growing darker and more substantial with each wave of pleasure.

For a moment, it looks as if the entire room is engulfed in a cocoon of living shadow. Then, as Luna's climax subsides, the darkness gradually retreats, settling back into normal, motionless pools of blackness.

"I've never seen anything like it," I admit, my voice hushed.

Kim turns to me, his expression grave. "What does this mean, Lucien?"

I shake my head, still processing what we've witnessed. "I'm not sure. But whatever power Luna possesses, it's more potent than we imagined. And it's growing stronger."

"But she has no idea?"

"She didn't notice it." I skip the video back again, and again. Each time, I'm transfixed by what I'm looking at.

"Maybe it's time you told her the truth, Lucien. About the Covenant. It can't be a coincidence that her power is growing at the exact same moment a new challenger to your empire arrives in town? What if the FHB stuff is all a front? And they're really here for her?"

I hesitate, biting the inside of my cheek. I hate to admit that Kim's theory sounds plausible. But it does.

"Get me a name, Kim. Get it for me tonight."

He nods solemnly at me. "Trent?"

"No. Leave him here." I meet his eyes. "You deal with this. You understand we need to keep her safe."

As Kim leaves, I turn back to the screen and watch myself kissing Luna gently on the lips. Holding her close.

I am tender with her, and seeing it like this – as if I'm watching from above – is jarring.

Because in that moment, with her, I don't look like a monster. I look like a man holding a woman, trying to show her he loves her.

And that cannot be the truth of it.

I cannot love her.

Because if I do, I will break her.