Bitten By Lust

Chapter 2_The Eyes in the Dark

Evi couldn’t sleep.

She tossed beneath her blanket, eyes on the ceiling, mind racing. That voice—it hadn’t just scared her. It had moved something inside her. Something she didn’t understand.

> “You shouldn’t walk alone this late, dove…”

It echoed in her head like a melody too seductive to forget. Smooth, deep, laced with danger—and something intimate. Like he already knew her.

But how?

She lived a quiet life: school, her part-time job at the café, late-night study sessions. She wasn’t someone people noticed, especially not mysterious voices in the dark.

Unless she was being watched.

She rolled over, heart thudding.

---

Across town, hidden behind the iron gates of the ancient Vale estate, Lucien sat in a velvet chair near the fire, his jaw tense, his fangs aching.

> “Why her?” he muttered. “Why now?”

He’d lived for over 300 years. He’d mastered hunger, seduction, war, even death. But tonight, the scent of that girl’s blood had shaken him to his core.

Worse — he hadn’t even seen her face.

Just the shape of her. The sound of her breath. That heartbeat.

He remembered the warmth of it, the way it stuttered when he whispered to her, the way it called to him. And something deeper… a pull.

Something that felt ancient.

> “You shouldn’t have followed her,” he growled at himself.

“But you will again.”

He stood and walked to the tall window.

Outside, the mist thickened. The town slept.

But not him.

---

The next day

Evi sat at the back of her philosophy class, notebook untouched. Her best friend, Tasha, nudged her shoulder.

> “Earth to Evi. You look like you saw a ghost.”

Evi blinked. “Just… weird dreams.”

Tasha raised an eyebrow. “Weird or hot?”

Evi flushed. “Shut up.”

But it was both.

Because in her dream, the same voice whispered in her ear again. This time, it was followed by lips grazing her neck, cold fingers brushing her waist…

And fire blooming low in her stomach.

She didn’t tell Tasha about the mansion, or the voice in the mist. It sounded insane. But she couldn’t stop thinking about it. About him.

Whoever he was.

---

That night, it happened again.

She was walking home alone—this time on purpose. Part of her wanted to feel that presence again. Part of her wanted to prove to herself it wasn’t real.

The fog rolled in heavy as she passed the same rusted gates.

And then…

A whisper, so close it brushed her skin:

> “I warned you, little dove.”

She spun around. This time, he was there.

Standing just beyond the bars, in the shadows—tall, lean, wrapped in black. Pale skin. Jet-black hair. Eyes like liquid fire.

Lucien.

And when their eyes met, time seemed to hold its breath.

She couldn’t move. Couldn’t speak.

And he?

He looked like sin dressed in velvet.

> “You shouldn’t tempt the things that watch in the dark,” he said softly. “Some of us… are barely holding back.”

She swallowed hard. “Are you following me?”

He stepped closer. The bars separated them, but his presence made her feel exposed, like he saw everything she was trying to hide.

> “You walked into my world,” he murmured.

“And now I don’t know how to let you leave it.”

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