Chapter 26 I DON’T SHARE
/Edlyn/
The darkness cracked open like a thin shell and a voice slipped through, soft and warm in a way that didn’t match the blood and screams around me.
“It’s alright… you’re not alone.”
The tone wrapped around me like velvet pulled over raw skin. Calm. Deep. Steady. It didn’t push. It didn’t command. It simply existed, and something in me leaned toward it like a moth desperate for warmth.
My chest loosened.
My heartbeat steadied.
Every drop of fear melted into the sound of that voice as it whispered again, closer this time, brushing against the shredded edges of my nightmare.
“I’ve got you.”
My body moved on its own, drifting toward the safety in that tone like gravity had chosen a new center. The nightmare blurred. The blood. The bodies. My corpse staring back at me. All of it dissolved like smoke being chased away by light.
I felt arms wrap around me.
Strong.
Cold.
Protective.
The world shifted. The nightmare peeled away completely, and the moment my eyes opened, I found myself pressed against a chest that was definitely not my bed, not my pillows, not anything remotely familiar.
But the scent…
That scent hit me like a punch.
Crisp night air. Snow melting on black stone. Ancient blood. Power thrumming so quietly it felt like it was humming under my fingertips.
My breath caught and slowly, I tilted my head up.
And stared straight into the face of a man I had never seen before.
He looked like he was carved from a sculptor’s fever dream. Sharp cheekbones. Jaw cut from shadow. Eyes that glowed a deep ruby from the inside like embers refusing to die. His skin was pale but not sickly more like moonlight poured into human shape.
Stranger.
Dangerous.
Familiar.
Too familiar.
And right as that realization hit me like thunder, Vamp lunged forward in my head and screamed so loud the inside of my skull vibrated.
Soulmate. Soulmate. Soulmate.
Vamp was practically clawing at the walls trying to get to him, her voice wild and breathless like she’d just found the missing half of her universe.
Moon gasped too, softer but stunned. This is him. The vampire from earlier. The one who spoke into our head. The one whose power brushed yours. He is not just a vampire. He is something ancient.
I swallowed hard, trembling in his arms.
The stranger held me closer like it was the most natural thing in the world, his breath brushing the top of my head as if he’d been waiting centuries for this moment.
“You’re safe,” he murmured again, voice lower this time, rumbling through my bones. “I won’t let anything touch you.”
My heart didn’t know whether to sprint out of my chest or curl up in his hands.
My throat tightened as panic and recognition collided inside me at full speed.
“Who…” I breathed shakily, staring up at him. “Who are you?”
His lips curved not a smile. Something deeper. Darker. Possessive.
“Luca,” he said quietly. “And you… little hybrid… belong with me.”
The haze of the dream peeled off me like a ripped curtain, and reality slammed back into my skull all at once.
I jerked fully awake in his arms.
And that’s when it finally hit me.
I WAS IN MY ROOM.
IN MY BED.
WITH A WHOLE ASS VAMPIRE KING HOLDING ME LIKE SOME DARK FAIRYTALE PRINCE.
My hands shot to his chest, pushing well, trying to push because he didn’t budge an inch. Not even a polite wobble. The man was basically a marble statue with a pulse.
My breath flew out in a shocked gasp.
“How… how the fuck did you get in here?!”
Yeah. That was the first thing my brain could form. Not ‘who are you’, not ‘why are you in my bed’, not ‘hey maybe don’t cradle me like I’m your emotional support teddy bear’.
Just straight-up panic with a sprinkle of profanity.
Luca blinked once.
Then twice.
And then oh gods he laughed.
Not a polite chuckle.
Not a soft huff.
He laughed like I had just handed him the best comedy of the century.
Deep. Warm. Smooth. And absolutely amused.
His chest vibrated under my palms as he tipped his head back slightly, his lips curving into the most annoyingly breathtaking grin.
“Gosh,” he said, eyes dropping back to me like he was memorizing every detail. “You are too cute.”
I stared at him, scandalized. “Cute?! I literally just asked how you broke into my—”
He leaned closer in one fluid, impossibly graceful motion, eyes glowing with that unholy red warmth that made my stomach flip.
“You were having a nightmare,” he murmured, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear like he had the right to do that. “A bad one. You called for me.”
“I—what—NO I DID NOT!”
He raised a brow, smirking like he knew every thought I’d ever have.
“You did. Your mind pulled on mine.” He tapped a finger lightly against his temple. “You reached for me first.”
My soul actually left my body for a second.
“That’s… not… that’s impossible,” I muttered, heart racing so fast I was sure Moon and Vamp were doing cartwheels.
He just shrugged with that immortal arrogance only a four-hundred-year-old vampire king could pull off.
“Impossible is cute on you too.”
Moon squeaked inside my head. He’s flirting oh goddess he’s flirting.
Vamp was already rolling out a metaphorical red carpet. Let him flirt. Let him wrap us in this deliciously dangerous energy.
Meanwhile, I was stuck trying to form a coherent argument while sitting in his lap like some confused baby deer.
“Luca,” I managed, pointing at him and trying to look intimidating. “You can’t just break into a Supreme Alpha’s territory. Into my room. Into my BED.”
He tilted his head. “You weren’t complaining a minute ago.”
“I WAS ASLEEP!”
“And adorable.”
My soul did a full reboot.
He grinned wider, clearly enjoying the absolute chaos in my expression.
“Relax, little hybrid,” he said softly, thumb brushing my jaw in a way that sent shivers up my spine. “If I wanted to sneak in without anyone noticing…” His eyes glowed brighter. “No one could stop me.”
My brain short-circuited.
“Oh great,” I muttered, “a cocky immortal ninja bat.”
Luca laughed again, loud and shameless and absolutely delighted.
“See?” he said. “This is why I like you.”
Luca’s laughter faded into a low, dangerous hum, and the shift in his aura hit me like a cold breeze. One second he was amused, playful, and annoyingly smug. The next, he tilted his head slightly, eyes narrowing just enough to make every hair on my body stand at attention.
Then he said it.
“Does your wolf boy know about me,” he murmured, voice dropping into something darker, smoother, “or what you are?”
My entire spine locked up.
Moon snarled inside me, pacing in circles. Wolf boy. He means Nelson. The disrespect is wild.
Vamp scoffed. Oh he’s jealous. This is delicious.
I sucked in a breath, trying to rearrange my scrambled brain, even though Luca still had one arm loosely around me like he owned the lease to my soul or something.
“What…” I blinked at him. “Why do you sound like you’re about to start a supernatural turf war?”
He raised a brow, completely unbothered. “Answer the question.”
“Luca,” I began, rubbing a hand down my face, “first of all, he’s not my wolf boy.”
Luca gave the most judgmental look I’d ever seen. “He touched you like a mate. Holds you like a mate. Looks at you like a mate. He’s either a mate or extremely stupid.”
Moon: He’s not wrong but he didn’t have to SAY IT LIKE THAT.
Vamp: Honestly he can say whatever he wants as long as he keeps holding us like this.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Look. No, he doesn’t know about you.”
Luca’s fingers tightened slightly on my waist, not enough to hurt, but enough that I felt it possessive, territorial, like some ancient instinct just got slapped awake.
“And what about your nature,” he pressed. “Do these wolves know what you carry? Do they know the blood humming inside you? Do they know whose mark your soul screams for?”
My heart launched itself into my throat.
“Stop,” I whispered, suddenly struggling to breathe. “You can’t just… say things like that.”
He studied me, eyes glowing faintly as if reading every flicker of fear, confusion, and the stupid spark of attraction I was trying very hard to pretend didn’t exist.
“Then answer.”
I swallowed hard. “No. No one here knows who I really am. What I really am. They just think I’m a regular wolf less girl who got lucky with strength.”
He went still.
Completely still.
Like a predator caught on the scent of something rare.
“So I am the only one who knows.” His voice dipped, low and satisfied. “Good.”
“Good?” I choked. “How is that good? That’s the opposite of good.”
His gaze slid over my face, lingering, intense. “Because information is power. And right now…” his thumb grazed my lower lip, sending an electric jolt down my spine. “You have handed all of yours to me.”
My entire nervous system malfunctioned.
Moon backed up, stunned. This is illegal levels of hot.
Vamp purred. Sweetheart he’s basically claiming us. Let him cook.
I slapped his hand away, cheeks burning. “That’s not what I meant! I didn’t hand you anything. You just show up, break into my dreams, break into my room, and act like you invented flirting.”
His lips curved. “If I invented it, you’d be on your knees already.”
“LUCA!”
He chuckled, leaning back a little but keeping hold of me like I might try to bolt. “Relax. I’m only asking because if your wolf boy knows nothing… then he needs to be kept out of my way.”
I froze.
“What does that mean?”
He leaned in until our foreheads almost touched.
“It means,” he whispered, “I don’t share.”