Chapter 17: The Midnight Meeting

POV – Ava

I shouldn’t be here.

The logical part of my brain screamed at me to turn back, to return to Dante before he realized I was gone.

But the other part of me—the one filled with doubt, temptation, and raw curiosity— refused to listen.

Lucien’s note had set something off inside me.

"I can give you the answers he won’t."

And I needed those answers.

That’s how I found myself slipping through the city’s darkened streets, wrapped in a hooded cloak, heart hammering against my ribs.

Lucien had chosen the meeting place well—a secluded rooftop overlooking the city skyline.

A place where secrets were spoken in whispers.

And where I was walking straight into danger.

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The Game Begins

Lucien pov

She came.

I knew she would.

Ava may have tied herself to Dante, but deep down, she was still searching.

Searching for the truth, for freedom… for something Dante would never give her.

She thought she belonged to him.

She was wrong.

I watched her step onto the rooftop, her breath misting in the cool night air.

Beautiful. Defiant. Mine, if I played this right.

“Brave little thing,” I murmured, tilting my head. “Or reckless. I haven’t decided yet.”

She stiffened but didn’t back away.

“Tell me what I want to know, Lucien.” Her voice was sharp, demanding. “No riddles. No games.”

I chuckled, stepping closer.

“Oh, Ava,” I whispered, my gaze trailing slowly down her body. “Everything is a game.”

Her jaw tightened. “Then I don’t have time for you.” She turned, as if to leave.

I reached out, my fingers barely brushing her wrist. “But you do, darling. Because I’m the only one willing to give you the truth.”

She hesitated. Just for a second.

Then, a slow breath. “Start talking.”

I smirked. “Where’s the fun in that?”

Her eyes flashed. “Damn it, Lucien—”

In an instant, I was behind her, my lips inches from her ear.

“Careful,” I murmured. “You sound almost desperate.”

She shivered but didn’t move away.

“Magnus. Dante. The curse.” Her voice was steady, but I could hear the uncertainty beneath it. “Tell me.”

I exhaled slowly, my breath warm against her skin.

“Dante doesn’t want you to know because he’s afraid of what you are.”

She stilled. “What?”

I trailed my fingers up her arm, slow, deliberate. “He wants you to believe you’re just some reincarnation of a tragic love story.”

Her throat bobbed in a swallow. “And I’m not?”

I smirked. “Oh, darling… you are so much more than that.”

Ava’s breath quickened, her body betraying her.

I leaned in just enough for my lips to graze the shell of her ear. “And if you let me, I’ll show you.”

She let out a shaky breath. “I didn’t come here for this.”

I chuckled. “Didn’t you?”

I moved closer, my hands skimming along her hips, feeling her body react despite her protests.

“You don’t have to be his, Ava,” I murmured, my voice smooth as silk. “You have choices.”

Her eyes flickered with something unreadable. “This isn’t about choosing between you two.”

I sighed dramatically. “Oh, but isn’t it?”

I tilted her chin up, forcing her to look at me.

“What if I told you Dante’s obsession with you isn’t love?” My voice dipped lower, more dangerous. “What if it’s a sickness? A curse of its own?”

Ava inhaled sharply.

“You’re lying,” she whispered, but her voice lacked conviction.

I smiled. “Then why are you trembling?”

Silence.

I brushed my lips along her wrist, just barely—just enough.

And then, I let her feel them.

Fangs.

Not biting. Just… there.

A promise. A warning.

I felt her body freeze, her pulse thundering beneath my touch.

She should have pulled away.

She should have told me no.

But she didn’t.

And that was all the confirmation I needed.

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A Dangerous Proposition

POV – Ava

I clenched my fists. “Magnus. Dante. The curse. Tell me the truth.”

Lucien tilted his head, studying me.

Then, so fast I barely registered it, he was behind me.

His breath brushed against my exposed neck.

“Do you really want the truth?” he murmured, his lips almost touching my skin.

I swallowed hard, my pulse thundering.

“Yes.”

Lucien’s fingers ghosted over my wrist, trailing up my arm.

“Dante doesn’t want you to know because he’s afraid of what you are.”

I froze. “What?”

Lucien chuckled darkly. “He wants you to believe you’re just some reincarnation of a tragic love story.”

His lips brushed the shell of my ear.

“But you’re so much more than that, darling.”

My chest tightened.

Dante had warned me that Lucien was dangerous.

That he only wanted to manipulate me.

But what if… what if Dante was the one hiding things?

Lucien shifted closer, his hands skimming over my hips, his body heat against my back.

“You don’t have to be his, Ava,” he murmured.

I let out a shaky breath.

“This isn’t about choosing between you two.”

Lucien chuckled. “Oh, but isn’t it?”

His fingers trailed up my throat, tilting my chin slightly.

“What if I told you Dante’s obsession with you isn’t love?” he whispered.

“What if it’s a sickness? A curse of its own?”

I exhaled sharply, my head spinning.

“Let me show you,” Lucien purred.

His lips grazed my wrist, teasing, testing—

And then I felt it.

Fangs.

Not biting. Just… there.

A promise. A warning.

I should have pulled away.

I should have told him no.

But my body was betraying me.

And I knew Lucien could feel it.

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Dante’s Fury

POV – Dante

I smelled her before I saw her.

The scent of her desire, her hesitation— and Lucien.

Something inside me snapped.

I moved faster than the wind, my body slamming into Lucien, ripping him away from Ava before his fangs could pierce her skin.

Lucien barely staggered, his smirk unfazed.

“Well, well,” he drawled. “Took you long enough.”

Ava gasped, stumbling back, her eyes wide with shock and guilt.

I didn’t look at her.

I couldn’t.

All I could see was him.

Smirking. Tempting. Taking what was mine.

My fangs descended, rage burning in my veins.

“I should rip you apart.”

Lucien laughed. “For what? Showing her the truth?”

I lunged.

Lucien barely dodged, but I caught him by the collar, slamming him into the rooftop’s ledge.

I wanted blood.

I wanted to make him suffer for touching her, for whispering in her ear, for making her doubt me.

But then—

Ava’s voice.

“Dante, stop!”

I stilled.

Only for her.

Lucien chuckled, wiping a spot of blood from his lip. “Tsk, tsk, Ava. Look at him.”

He gestured to me, his grin widening.

“This isn’t love, darling. This is possession.”

Ava’s breath hitched.

And I realized—Lucien had already won this round.

Ava stared between us, her lips parted, her hands trembling.

For the first time, I saw it.

Doubt.

Lucien exhaled slowly, stepping back. “We’re not done, little one.” His eyes flicked to me. “Not even close.”

And then he was gone.

Leaving only silence.

And a divide between me and the woman I couldn’t live without.