Chapter 15 #2
His hands were trembling where they gripped me, not from hesitation but from the sheer violence he was holding back.
His claws bit faintly into my skin through my shirt, a reminder of what he was, what he could unleash.
His fangs gleamed in the dim light, his eyes glowing with that predator’s fury, molten fire and shadow all at once.
“He’s mine,” Lucien hissed, every syllable dragged from the depths of hell itself. “I’ll take him apart piece by piece. He’ll beg for death before I give it to him. And when he dies, it will be knowing he never should have laid a finger on you.”
I should’ve been terrified, shrinking away from the beast uncoiling in front of me.
But I wasn’t. My heart was racing, yes, but not with fear.
What I felt was something else entirely.
Something dark. Something twisted. Safety.
His rage wasn’t aimed at me, it was for me, because of me.
It was a shield made of claws and fangs, brutal and unrelenting, and somehow, I felt safer inside it than I ever had in my life.
“Lucien…” I whispered, my voice breaking. I didn’t even know what I was trying to say. To stop him? To calm him? Or maybe just to remind myself that this wasn’t a dream, that I really had someone who would kill gods and devils alike if it meant keeping me safe.
His thumb brushed over my cheek, a small touch that shouldn’t have carried the weight it did.
The fury boiling out of him, the predator coiled tight and ready to kill, all of it clashed with that single act of tenderness.
A gentleness that felt like it belonged to another man, yet somehow, impossibly, it lived in him too.
“No one touches you. No one hurts you. Not anymore.” His voice dropped, softer, but still heavy with conviction. His eyes, molten with rage only moments ago, softened just enough to steal my breath. “That’s in the past. And I promise you, Sorcha…I won’t let anyone hurt you again.”
He cupped my face in both hands now, his calloused palms warm against my skin.
I could feel how tightly wound he was, like his body was straining to keep the violence contained, yet the only thing he showed me was care.
His forehead dropped against mine, his breath warm, his chest heaving like he was dragging air through fire.
“You’re safe,” he murmured, like if he said it enough times it would stitch itself into me. “With me, you are always safe.”
The storm in me, the panic and overwhelming fear, that aching thread of disbelief eased under the weight of his words. My body leaned into him before my mind caught up, seeking the safety of his hold, the steadiness of his presence.
His hands slid down to my shoulders, massaging gently, grounding circles. He tilted my chin up just slightly, scanning my eyes like he was searching for any sign of fractures. “Better?” he asked, his tone rougher now, but not with anger but with concern.
I swallowed, nodding. “Better.”
He kissed my temple, lingering, his lips brushing there like a vow etched into skin. His arms wrapped around me, pulling me to his chest, holding me so tight it was like he thought I might vanish if he let go.
“I need you to believe that I’ll always be here,” he said quietly, words meant for me alone. “No matter the war, no matter the monsters outside, you’re mine. And as long as I breathe, you will never face them alone again.”
I closed my eyes, letting the weight of him, the solidity, sink into me. For the first time since Keller’s name had passed my lips, the tremor in me began to fade.
Only when my breathing steadied, only when my body relaxed fully against his, did Lucien finally release a breath of his own. He brushed his lips across mine, feather-light, nothing like the brutal heat he so often burned me with. This kiss wasn’t about claiming, it was about calming.
And then, when he was certain I was steady, when my eyes no longer carried that fractured panic, he finally drew away. His hand lingered on my cheek, thumb tracing once more before leaning forward and kissing me gently.
And then, as if the restraint in him finally snapped, he tore himself away just enough to yank his phone from his pocket. His fingers shook as he dialled, not from weakness but from too much power fighting to get out.
The storm hadn’t gone. He’d just hidden it, for me. And when he dialled Draugr, I knew the monster inside him was finally going to have a target.
The call clicked open, Draugr’s deep, gravel voice answering, “Lucien.”
“Don’t touch Keller,” Lucien snapped before Draugr could say anything else. His voice was raw steel, sharpened to kill. “Don’t mark him, don’t break him. Don’t even fucking give him a scratch. Do you understand me?”
A pause, Draugr’s silence heavy, then “You want him alive.”
“I want him breathing,” Lucien corrected, pacing like a caged wolf, his free hand clawing through his hair.
His eyes never left me, as if reminding himself why he hadn’t already sprinted into the night to rip Keller’s throat out with his bare teeth.
“I want him knowing what’s coming. I’m going to leave soon and then I’ll be on my way.
You hold him, Draugr. You fucking hold him. ”
“You’ll have him,” Draugr said without hesitation.
Lucien’s jaw tightened, his fangs bared in a grim smile that wasn’t human at all. “Good. Because when I get there, I’ll make sure his last breath is spent choking on regret.”
He ended the call without another word, the silence after it loud enough to press against my chest.
And God help Keller, because I knew Lucien Dragic never made empty promises.