Chapter 102 Levi's POV

Chapter 102 Levi's POV

“Absolutely not.” Lucifiel snapped before I could even fully process Rahul’s suggestion.
Rahul didn’t look surprised. I wasn’t sure why—maybe because everyone in the room already knew exactly how this was going to go.
Lucifiel stood slowly from the couch. His now crimson eyes settled on Rahul.
“Find another plan.”
Rahul leaned back in his chair. “There isn’t one.”
“Then make one.”
Derek immediately chipped in. “For once, I agree with the psychopath.”
“Thank you,” Lucifiel said while glaring at him.
“It wasn’t a compliment.”
“Fuck you.”
"No thank you, I'm good."
Seriously, at a time like this Derek was joking. But that's who he is, he makes jokes to avoid reality.
Rahul rubbed his temple. “The attacks are connected to Levi, so it's only fair and logical that we use him to get to the attacker.”
“No.”
Rahul stared at him. “You realize simply saying no doesn’t change reality. You need to think about this.”
Lucifiel’s expression remained completely blank. “You are suggesting we deliberately expose him to the ones that want him dead.”
“I’m suggesting we control the situation instead of waiting for the killer to choose it. This is our best choice.”
I looked between them. This was already becoming exhausting. The funny thing was that nobody had actually asked me what I thought about the whole bait thing.
Lucifiel crossed his arms. “ My answer is still No.”
Rahul sighed. I grabbed the coffee sitting beside me. At this point I needed it. Badly.
Rahul looked at Lucifiel. “Our people are dying, innocent humans are dying too.”
Lucifiel’s expression didn’t change. “I am aware.”
“Then act like it..”
“Okay.” Derek raised both hands. “Let’s not start another war inside the apartment.”
They ignored him.
Rahul’s gaze remained fixed on Lucifiel. “You broke chains for him, you would burn cities for him if. I understand that.” For the first time Rahul’s voice softened. “But people are already dying.”
The room became very quiet. I didn't even have a joke for that. Because he wasn’t wrong. Nobody wanted to admit it. But he wasn’t wrong.
Lucifiel looked away first. That alone surprised me. Rahul almost never won arguments against him—not because he couldn’t, but mostly because Lucifiel was stubborn enough to argue with gravity if it annoyed him.
The silence stretched. Then a knock echoed through the apartment.
Everyone froze. Rahul immediately stood. Derek and Lucifiel. The man was incapable of letting anyone else go first.
A few moments later the door opened. Kael walked inside.
The second I saw him I relaxed slightly. Which was strange. A few weeks ago seeing vampires would have made me consider running. Now I apparently had favorites. Life was weird.
Kael looked around the room. Then his eyes landed on me. “Good to see you all in one piece.”
"Good to see you too."
He rolled his eyes.
“What happened”
Kael looked toward him. “I have information.”
The room became alert. And everyone forgot they were arguing for a short fine.
Kael took a seat. “We found Adrian.”
The name immediately ruined my mood.
Lucifiel’s expression darkened. “Where?”
“We didn’t catch him.”
“Then you didn’t find him.”
Kael ignored the comment. “One of our contacts spotted him meeting someone.” Nobody spoke. He looked directly at Lucifiel.
My stomach sank.
“Who was he meeting?” Derek asked.
Kael exhaled. “We don’t know yet." He continued. “The person wore a hoodie with the same symbol.”
The room froze. The L inside the C. The symbol from the attacks.
Lucifiel’s eyes narrowed. “You are certain?”
“Yes.” Kael reached into his coat and tossed several photographs onto the table. Everyone moved closer—including me.
The images were grainy, taken from a distance, but the symbol was visible on a dark hoodie .
My stomach twisted. “Adrian is working with them?”
Nobody said anything. I looked at their faces. Everyone including Lucifiel had this weird 'i want to kill him' mode.
Kael folded his arms. “That’s not the worst part.” Kael looked toward me, then at Lucifiel, then back at me. “Adrian still wants Levi."
Lucifiel’s expression hardened instantly. The air pressure in the room seemed to change. I was beginning to think vampires came with built-in weather systems.
Nobody spoke for several moments. Then Kael leaned back. “He wasn’t asking whether Levi was alive.” That made my stomach sink even further. “He was asking where Levi would go next.”
A huge part of me was regretting my decision to let him go. I would have let Lucifiel kill him when he had him in the lab after kidnapping me .
A few hours later the apartment became a strategy meeting.
Everyone was busy doing something except for me obviously, but I was thinking too and staying away from trouble was also me doing something.
The sun had started setting. Orange light spilled through the apartment. I wandered toward the window where Lucifiel was now standing.
“You should be resting.”
I looked at him. “I slept for eight hours. I would be the one telling you to sleep, but I guess vampires truly only sleep once in a while.”
“you slept that long but still look worndown”
I smiled briefly and at the same time a small smile appeared briefly on his face, then disappeared.
"I don't think any normal human would survive any of the things I did at this rate."
"You don't classify as a normal human." He muttered.
Eventually I spoke. “You really hate Rahul’s plan.”
His expression darkened immediately. “Yes. It's dangerous, and because it’s you.”
I looked away. My face turned hot immediately. That answer made my heart flutter.
“Thats sweet, but we still need to stop all the killings. I'm surprised none of the killings have been talked about on the TV or the internet.
"We have that under control."
Why wasn't I surprised at all?
I reached out before I could stop myself. My hand found his. For a second he looked genuinely surprised, then his fingers tightened around mine.
Later that evening everyone gathered in the living room again.
“I’ve reviewed everything again.” Nobody interrupted. "And I came to a conclusion that the bait idea is best.”
Silence.
Lucifiel crossed his arms. “No.”
Rahul closed his eyes. “Come on Lucifiel.”
“No.”
“Levi. You haven’t said anything.”
Everyone looked at me. Wonderful. I rubbed my face, thinking. People were dying. And somehow every road kept leading back to me.
Then I looked at Lucifiel. His eyes were already on me.
“I hate this.” I said, my voice low.
I stood and walked toward the center of the room. Then I turned around.
“If we do this…”
Lucifiel's expression immediately changed. Then forced the words out.
“If we do this… I want to be involved.”
“Levi.” Lucifiel’s voice was sharp like a warning.
I met his gaze and kept going. “If I’m the target and baiting is the best option,” I took another breath. “Then use me.”