Last Peaceful Night

Last Peaceful Night
Ria blinked once.

Then smiled again.

“Yes,” she said softly. “We’re together tonight.”

Jaden Gabe’s stomach turned.

“Helios.” His voice came out colder than intended. “Since when did all of this become a game to you?”

For the first time, Helios glanced at him.

Unbothered.

Lander immediately lifted an arm across Jaden Gabe’s chest before he could move forward.

“Calm down,” Lander warned quietly.

But even he looked seconds away from snapping.

Criss lost control first.

She stormed forward and grabbed Helios by the collar before punching him hard across the face.

“What the fuck are you doing?!” she shouted. “Are you out of your damn mind?!”

The force barely moved Helios.

He simply looked back at her calmly while wiping blood from the corner of his mouth.

Meanwhile, Ria gasped loudly.

“Baby…” Her eyes widened in panic as she looked between them. “Why are your siblings angry at you?”

“They’re not angry,” Helios answered immediately.

“But, ”

“They’re not angry, Ria.”

His voice became firmer this time.

More commanding.

And once again, he stared directly into her eyes.

Something inside Ria seemed to flicker.

Then her shoulders relaxed.

“Yes,” she whispered uncertainly. “They’re not angry.”

A weak laugh escaped her a second later.

“Why do I suddenly feel weird?”

“You’re just tired.” Helios brushed hair away from her face gently. “Let’s go upstairs.”

“Our room?” she asked softly.

“Yes.” His expression softened in a way that almost looked sincere. “We have a room here, baby.”

Jaden Gabe watched Ria smile at him again.

Trusting.
Oblivious.
Completely unaware that her own memories no longer belonged to her.

And for the first time in years,

Jaden Gabe realized Helios might have already crossed a line none of them could pull him back from anymore.

“Oh, right.” Ria smiled dreamily as she held onto Helios’ arm. “We have a room here. Our room is upstairs.”

Helios brushed his thumb lightly across her hand.

“Good,” he said softly. “Let’s go.”

“Yes,” Ria replied immediately. “Let’s go.”

She followed him upstairs without hesitation.

Like obedience had become instinct.

The moment they disappeared from sight, heavy silence swallowed the mansion.

Then Criss finally let out a harsh breath.

“He’s one sick fuck.”

No one disagreed.

Two days.

It had already been two days.

Pearly wiped angrily at the tears on his cheeks as he sat alone on Judas’ bed.

Two days since Jaden Gabe promised he would still watch over him.

Two days since Pearly last felt his presence nearby.

The silence should have made him feel relieved.

Instead, it only made the emptiness worse.

“He said he’d watch over me,” Pearly muttered bitterly to himself. “What a liar.”

The words sounded weaker than he intended.

A cold breeze suddenly swept across the room.

The curtains near the terrace doors moved violently.

Pearly froze.

His heartbeat skipped.

“I closed that earlier…”

Slowly, he stood from the bed.

“Jaden Gabe?”

Hope rose inside him before he could stop it.

But the figure standing on the terrace was not Jaden Gabe.

It was a woman.

Beautiful.
Elegant.
Terrifying.

She wore fitted black pants tucked into dark boots, paired with a long-sleeved blouse that made her pale skin stand out even more beneath the moonlight. Her lips were red enough to look unnatural.

And something about her face made Pearly’s stomach tighten.

She looked familiar.

Too familiar.

Then realization struck him.

Lucille.

She looked frighteningly similar to Lucille.

“Hi.” The woman smiled softly. “You must be Pearly.”

Pearly instinctively stepped back.

“Who are you?”

The woman tilted her head slightly.

“I’m Liana,” she said pleasantly. “Lia for short.”

Fear crawled slowly down Pearly’s spine.

My God.

When would these vampires finally leave him alone?

What else did they want from him?

Lia started walking toward him calmly.

“I came here because I need to take you with me.”

Pearly’s pulse spiked.

Take him where?

Why?

He shook his head immediately.

“N-No. I’m not going with you.”

“You will,” Lia said gently.

Then she looked directly into his eyes.

Pearly’s stomach dropped.

Mind control.

Criss once explained that vampires could manipulate human minds.

Was that what she was trying to do now?

But nothing happened.

Lia suddenly frowned.

Then her expression twisted sharply.

Black veins spread beneath her skin as fangs appeared from her mouth.

“Punyeta!” she hissed angrily. “The Vox sealed your mind!”

Pearly’s breathing quickened.

He remembered now.

Criss once told him the Vaughn family had protected him when he was younger by sealing his mind against vampire influence.

Lia’s panic deepened.

And suddenly,

She lunged forward.

Pearly tried to move away, but Lia caught his arm before he could escape.

Sharp claws pierced into his flesh instantly.

Pain exploded through him.

A weak gasp escaped Pearly’s lips as his entire body suddenly lost strength.

“You’re coming with me,” Lia said coldly. “Whether you like it or not.”

The claws sank deeper.

Then darkness swallowed everything.

Cold.

That was the first thing Pearly felt when he woke up.

Cold floor.
Cold walls.
Cold air.

His eyes snapped open.

For several seconds, panic froze him completely.

Steel surrounded him from every side.

The walls.
The floor.
Even the ceiling.

It looked less like a room and more like a prison cell.

“Where am I…?”

Pearly pushed himself upright too quickly and immediately gasped.

His body still felt weak.

His knees trembled beneath him.

Then he noticed the heavy steel door across the room.

A small barred window sat at eye level.

And behind it,

A familiar face appeared.

Pearly’s eyes widened instantly.

“Don?!”

The man outside smiled at him calmly.

“Hi, Peri,” Don greeted softly. “I’m glad you’re finally awake.”

Confusion crashed into Pearly all at once.

“What am I doing here?!” he demanded.

He tried forcing himself to stand fully,

But his legs immediately gave out beneath him.

Pearly hit the freezing floor hard, breathless as weakness spread through his entire body again.

And outside the bars,

Don only kept watching him quietly.

“It’ll take two days before the poison my wife injected into you leaves your system.”

Donovan smiled casually as he said it.

Too casually.

The grin on his face no longer looked friendly or teasing.

It looked cruel.

Calculated.

Like he was already enjoying whatever nightmare he had planned next.

Pearly’s breathing became uneven.

“Poison…?” His voice came out weak. “Wife?”

Lia.

The sharp nails digging into his arm.

The sudden weakness swallowing his body afterward.

Pearly immediately looked down at his arm.

The claw marks were still there.

But now the skin around them had turned dark.

Black veins spread slowly beneath the surface.

Fear crashed into him all over again.

He looked back at Donovan sharply.

“What do you want from me?”

“From you?” Donovan chuckled softly. “Nothing.”

That answer terrified Pearly more.

His eyes burned with tears.

“Then why am I here?” His voice shook harder now. “What are you planning to do to me?”

Donovan leaned slightly closer to the bars.

“You’re bait.”

The word hit Pearly like ice water.

His entire body went cold.

“No…” Pearly immediately shook his head, panic rising too fast inside his chest. “No, no, ”

He crawled toward the steel door desperately despite the weakness in his body.

“Please let me go!” he cried. “I didn’t do anything to you! I’m a victim too!”

His voice cracked completely.

“Please, Don…”

But Donovan only watched him calmly.

Almost amused.

“Don’t be too lonely inside your little prison,” he said with a meaningful smile. “You won’t stay alone for long.”

Pearly froze.

His tears continued falling silently.

“What do you mean?”

Donovan’s grin widened slowly.

“You’ll have company.”

A horrible feeling twisted inside Pearly’s stomach.

“What company?”

“You should be happy,” Donovan said lightly.

Pearly swallowed hard.

Everything about Donovan’s expression felt wrong.

Dangerously wrong.

“Tomorrow night,” Donovan continued, “during the second full moon…”

He tapped lightly against the steel bars.

“There will be two of you locked in there.”

Pearly’s heartbeat stopped for a second.

No.

No.

His voice came out trembling.

“Who…?”

Donovan laughed softly.

The sound echoed horribly inside the cold steel room.

“Your friend will come willingly,” he said. “He’ll walk right into this place himself.”

Pearly’s eyes widened in horror.

Jaden Gabe.

Donovan was talking about Jaden Gabe.

Instantly, Pearly shook his head violently.

“No… no, he won’t, ”

But the confidence in Donovan’s face destroyed the lie before Pearly could even finish saying it.

Because deep down,

Pearly already knew Jaden Gabe would come for him.

No matter the danger.

No matter the cost.

Fear closed painfully around Pearly’s chest.

“W-What are you planning?” he whispered.

Donovan stared at him for a long moment.

Then smiled.

“Goodnight, Pearly.”

He stepped away from the bars slowly.

“This might be the last peaceful night either of you ever gets.”

And before Pearly could speak again,

The hallway lights outside the prison cell suddenly shut off.

Leaving him completely alone in the darkness.