BOUND BY BLOOD

CHAPTER 3: BOUND BY BLOOD

The car screeched to a halt in front of black gates. Ahead, the driveway was already occupied.

3 men in black. Standing perfectly still ,waiting. Nora’s heart dropped into her stomach. “Who are they?”

Damien didn’t answer. He got out, yanked her door open, and pulled her out by the wrist. The folder was still crushed to her chest. Lucien slammed his door and stepped in front of them. That humming gun was already in his hand.

“Move,” Damien ordered. His voice was ice.

The 3 men didn’t move. The one in the middle stepped forward. “Lord Virelli,” he said. “By order of the Council, surrender the human.”

Lord Virelli.

So that was his real name. Damien was just for her.

Damien laughed. Once. No humor. “She’s not yours.”

“Then she’s dead,” the man said.

Lucien fired first.

The sound was deafening. Nora screamed as Damien shoved her behind him and ran toward the mansion. Black stone. Carved into a cliff. No lights. Windows like dead eyes. Behind them, the gates exploded inward.

“They’re in!” Lucien shouted, firing back as he ran. Damien dragged Nora through the front doors and slammed them shut. Cold marble. No photos. No warmth. Just black, silver, and red. Every curtain was drawn. It was 4am but it felt like midnight. Nora noticed it immediately. No mirrors. Not on the walls. Not in the hallway. Nothing.

“You live here?” she gasped, trying to catch her breath.

“I don’t live,” Damien said.

Gunfire cracked outside. Glass shattered.

He shoved open a study door. Books floor to ceiling. A desk. And in the corner, a wall of weapons. He stopped in front of a bookshelf and pressed his palm to it and It clicked. The entire bookcase slid aside, revealing a hidden elevator.

Nora stumbled back. “No. I’m not going underground"

“You are,” Damien said. He dragged her in. Lucien followed and hit the button. The doors closed and the elevator descended far, too far below the city. Nora stared at Damien in the dim light. His eyes weren’t glowing now but his skin was too pale, too still. There was blood on his knuckles.

“What are you?” she whispered.

Damien met her gaze.

“A vampire.”

Nora laughed. Broken. Hysterical. “This has to be a nightmare.”

“I wish it were,” he said.

The elevator stopped with a soft ding and the doors opened into something that didn’t make sense. A massive underground chamber. Ancient books stacked to the ceiling. Glowing symbols etched into the stone floor and 6 guards standing at attention all armed with silver weapons.

They all bowed when they saw Damien. “My lord.”

Nora’s legs went weak. “What is this place?”

“My home,” Damien said. “Now yours.” He walked past her. Past the guards. To the far wall where one painting hung alone. No other art. Just that.

It was a woman.

Long black hair, Pale skin, Tired eyes. She was wearing a dress from another century and she looked exactly like Nora.

Nora stepped backward. “That’s... that’s impossible.” Damien didn’t look at her. He stared at the painting. “Her name was Elara,” he said. Voice low. “My wife.”

Nora’s breath caught. “You’re lying.”

“She died three hundred years ago,” Damien said. Silence filled the room. Even the guards went still. Damien turned to face her then his eyes were dark again. No glow but they were looking at her like she was a ghost.

“The moment I saw you in my office,” he said, “I knew.”

“Knew what?”

“You carry her blood.”

Nora shook her head. “No. I’m nobody. I’m a cleaner—”

“You’re her descendant,” Damien cut in. “That’s why the Council wants you. That’s why they’ll kill you to get to me.” Before Nora could speak, the ceiling above them shook. A thunderous explosion. Dust rained down.

Lucien burst through the chamber doors. “They’ve broken through! The Council is in the house!”

Panic shot through Nora. “What do we do”

Damien walked to the weapon wall and drew a black sword. It didn’t reflect light. He turned back to Nora and grabbed her wrist.

“Listen to me,” he said. “The bill is paid. Your son is safe.”

He reached into his jacket and pulled out the paper. CHILDREN'S HEART INSTITUTE - BALANCE: $0.00. PAID IN FULL.

Nora’s hands shook. “You... you did it?”

“I did it,” Damien said. “Which means you belong to me now.”

Another explosion shook the room, Closer this time.

Lucien cursed. “My lord, we need to move!”

Damien’s grip tightened on Nora’s wrist. “Rule 1: You don’t leave my side. Rule 2: You don’t speak about tonight. Rule 3: You do what I say.” He pulled her toward a door at the back of the chamber. Steel. 3 locks.

“This is the panic room,” Lucien said. “No one gets in without my lord’s blood.”

Damien shoved Nora inside. It was small with just a bed and water. A screen showing cameras from upstairs. “Stay here,” Damien said. “Stay quiet. If the door opens and it’s not me, don’t answer.” Nora grabbed his arm through the door. “Why me? Why does my blood matter?” Damien paused. For a second, the monster mask slipped.

Grief. Real, old grief.

“Because 300 years ago, they killed her for being mine,” he said. “I’m not letting them take you too.” He closed the door. Locked it.

Nora was alone. On the screen, she watched them. Damien and Lucien moving through the chamber then the lights flickered. Then went out.

Total darkness....On the camera, she saw them. 4 figures in black. The Council walking down the stairs into the chamber. The woman from the phone call stepped forward. Cold. Beautiful. Dead eyes.

“Lord Virelli” her voice echoed through the speakers. “Give us the girl with Elara’s blood!

Or we take what’s left of your family". On screen, Damien didn’t move.

Lucien raised his gun. Then everything went black on the feed. Nora pounded on the door. “Damien? Damien”

Silence.

Then footsteps outside her door slow and deliberate.

The handle turned. A whisper came through the steel. Not Damien’s voice.

“Ms. Hart. We know you’re in there.”Three knocks.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

The lock clicked.

The door started to open. Nora backed away, trapped in the corner. She had nothing. No weapon. No escape and the man standing in the doorway wasn’t Damien.

He was smiling.

END OF CHAPTER 3