Chapter 79 THE WATCHER'S CLAIM
THEO’S POINT OF VIEW.
I wasn’t listening to Lucien…not really anyway. Yeah, he was in the middle of going off on Roxanne, and declaring war on her entire fucking lineage, while declaring his claim over Sloane while the world watched.
But all I could focus on, was her.
Seraphina.
Her dark hair fell to her back as she stood with tense shoulders, and her entire gaze was transfixed on Lucien. I watched as she bit her lip slightly, a sign of her tension as she clutched her school jacket in between her hands. The sight made my head bleed.
From the second Lucien started going off, I watched with rapt attention, every twitch of her lips, her hands, and the way her shoulders jerked every now and then. I doubt she knew it was even happening, because all she did was stare at him.
Lucien.
I could see the faint tremor in her jaw, the paleness in her cheeks, the way her breath hitched every time Lucien said the name, Sloane. She didn’t look scared for Roxanne, rather, she looked spooked; almost….haunted.
She catches herself a few times, and schools her expression to look like the one of indifference I know; but I wasn’t fooled. Every time she put her act back on, I was filled with the urge to rip the mask off her face, so I could see just what it was she was hiding underneath.
Next thing I knew, her phone was in her hands, as she read something on the screen. The way her eyes widened from whatever she was seeing, before she looked back at Lucien with sad eyes. The beautiful speck of brown I’d grown to like for some reason was filled with sadness….and it was for Lucien.
All of a sudden, for the first time since I’d met Ravenscroft, I felt something wild in my chest towards him….something I’d rather not name in this moment.
All of a sudden, she was no longer where she had been standing, as she bolted for the door leading out of the arena.
I didn’t waste a moment, as I marched behind her in slow, calculated steps.
But before I could get close to her, someone stopped in front of me, his hand out against my chest like it was enough to fucking stop me.
“Leave her alone.” Ace said, his voice hard as he fixed me with a harsh glare, his grey eyes sparking with something dark, and sinister.
For the first time, I understood just why Lucien fucking hated the bastard. I wanted so badly to punch him in the fucking jaw, to break his teeth for daring to stand in my way.
“Get the fuck out.” I said, my voice low, dark, and with the force of my restrained anger.
“Now isn’t the time.” He said, as I moved past him.
Something dark and ugly flared in my chest again, as the sight of him beneath me, bleeding from his nfucking mouth after I punched him filled my vision.
How dare he try to keep me from her?
I pulled my hands into my pockets in a bid to restrain myself. This was Lucien’s moment; I wouldn’t spoil it by fucking this guy up. But another day…..
I almost chuckled at the thought.
My teeth ground together as I hissed. My jaw was clenched as I said; “Why? Got something to hide.”
“Theo…just drop it.”
Drop it? Fuck no.
It will be a cold day in fucking hell before I dropped anything relating to the raven-haired beauty that spent too much time on my mind.
The possibility ripped through me like gasoline on fire, as something beneath my fucking skin crackled at the thought brimming through my mind like fucking poison.
Did she run to him when she wasn’t looking at Lucien like he hung the moon?
Was I wasting my time chasing a girl who already had her claws sunk into the wrong Horseman?
I spent too much time watching her to the point where it would be regarded an unhealthy habit, and I saw that she always looked at him….always.
I hated it.
I wanted her eyes on me alone, I wanted to occupy her thoughts like she did mine, I wanted to fucking possess her, to fill her with all of me till all she could breathe, see, feel, was me.
The thought made my chest feel tight, like I was going to rip something apart if I didn’t get answers from her.
So I followed, ignoring the fucker, and walking towards her direction.
“I warned you, Theo.” His voice called from behind me, but I didn’t bother sparing him any more attention.
I heard her voice before I even saw her, as the voice of someone filtered through her phone in a low, but patient tone. I could see her struggling to breathe, as she stood with her back turned to me. Her back was stiff, as she tried to catch her breath while clutching her phone to her chest.
‘Coming to the states…..can’t do anything right’
That was all I’d heard before the person hung up.
Who was she talking to? Who’s coming to America?
“Seraphina.” At the sound of my voice, she turned to me so abruptly that I was stunned by how fast it was. Her dark eyes zeroed in on me, and I could see one thing in them. It was a bunch of things, but one thing that hit me in the chest like a fucking ton of bricks.
Vulnerability.
Her brown orbs flared with specks of sadness, caution, but mostly….she looked scared.
The girl who usually carried herself like a fucking queen was trembling like a porcelain doll in front of me, looking like she was about to crack. And all I could think was that it wasn’t Lucien’s to see. It wasn’t Ace’s. It was mine.
“Who was that?” My voice cut through the silent hallway, but she just stared at me with careful, guarded eyes.
“How long have you been standing there?” She asked, as she patted her skirt, smoothing the non-existent wrinkles on it, as she avoided my gaze.
“Seraphina.” I said, calling her name out like it was a warning.
“It’s none of your business.”
It made me chuckle…..the thought of her thinking anything about her was not something that would be on my mind, depriving me of fucking sleep that I barely got any of in the first place.
She had no idea, but she was the only person I’d let touch me….not since the incident that took place when I was fucking seven at home.
I’d let her get under my skin, and now, she thinks it’s none of my business?
“Don’t.” I stalked closer, closing the space between us. “Don’t lie to me. You run out looking like something’s fucking chasing you, Ace tries to block me from following you, and now you’re shaking like a leaf. What the fuck are you hiding?”
Her throat bobbed as she swallowed, and then she lifted her chin in defiance. “It’s none of your business.” She repeated the darned words from earlier.
“None of my-” I laughed, the sound was sharp and humorless, before I pressed a hand against the wall beside her head, caging her in. “That’s where you’re wrong, Seraphina. Everything about you is my business.”
Her breath hitched, but she masked it with a scoff. “You think because we…because we did something once, you suddenly own me?”
That word…once….it snapped something in me.
“Once?” I growled, leaning in so close her perfume teased my senses, dizzying me for a moment, but I took in a long drag, inhaling her scent like it was a fucking drug. “That wasn’t just ‘something,’ sweetheart. That was me placing my mark on what’s mine. And you think I’m going to stand by while you run to Ace? While you look at Lucien like-”
“I wasn’t-”
“Bullshit,” I snarled, cutting her off. “I saw your face in there. Every damn twitch, every way you’re affected by him. And you think I don’t notice the way Ace hovers sometimes, like he’s waiting for his turn?”
Her lips parted, indignant, but I didn’t let her speak. I didn’t want to hear excuses. I wanted proof. Proof she was mine, even if she didn’t realize it yet.
So I kissed her.
Hard. Brutal. Possessive.
She gasped against my mouth, her hands pushing weakly at my chest for a second….then she fisted my shirt and pulled me closer.