CHAPTER NINE — Teeth Behind Beautiful Smiles
1061 Words
(Seraphina’s POV)
The mansion never truly slept.
I realized that on my third night there.
No matter the hour, footsteps echoed somewhere in the halls. Soft music drifted through distant rooms. Doors opened and closed. Whispers traveled through the walls like secrets trying to stay alive.
And beneath it all…
There was hunger, not ordinary hunger.
Something darker and more primal.
I could feel it in the air, like the entire estate was breathing around me.
Waiting.
Watching.
I stood at the balcony outside my room, staring into the moonlit forest below.
The night was cold, but not cold enough to quiet my thoughts.
Elara.
Father Dominic.
Lord Michael.
Lucien.
Everything was becoming tangled together.
And somehow…
The deeper I went into this world, the less human it felt. A soft sound behind me, I turned instinctively and found Lucien Draven leaning against the balcony doorway.
Silent as always.
I was beginning to think he enjoyed appearing like a ghost.
“You have a habit of sneaking into my room,” I said.
His gaze flickered toward me.
“You have a habit of standing near open edges.”
A faint smile touched my lips.
“Are you worried I’ll fall?”
“No.”
He stepped closer slowly.
“I’m worried you don’t realize how dangerous this place really is.”
There it was again, that warning.
“You keep saying that,” I murmured. “But nobody explains anything.”
“That’s because explanations usually get people killed here.”
I crossed my arms slightly.
“Convenient.”
His jaw tightened faintly.
For the first time since meeting him, I saw irritation crack through his controlled expression.
“You think this is a game?” he asked quietly.
“No,” I replied. “I think everyone here is hiding behind half-truths.”
Silence.
The moonlight caught the sharp angles of his face, making him look almost unreal.
Too beautiful.
Too still.
Too dangerous.
Then finally—
“You should leave,” he said.
I laughed softly.
“That’s adorable.”
His expression darkened.
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.” I stepped closer. “I’m not running.”
His eyes locked onto mine.
Sharp.
Searching.
“You don’t understand what Michael is.”
“I know exactly what he is.”
“No,” he said quietly. “You know what he looks like.”
The words settled heavily between us.
A chill moved down my spine, not from fear but from truth, because part of me had noticed it already.
The elegance.
The charm.
The calm voice.
Michael wore humanity like expensive clothing.
But beneath it…
There was something ancient.
Something monstrous.
Lucien stepped closer.
Close enough now that I could feel the cold radiating from his skin.
“If he becomes obsessed with you,” he said softly, “people around you die.” My breath caught slightly not because of the warning, but because of the emotion hidden beneath it.
Anger.
No…
Not anger.
Fear.
For me?
Interesting.
“And how would you know that?” I asked carefully.
Something shifted in his expression instantly.
A shadow passing behind his eyes.
Pain.
Real pain.
“You ask too many questions,” he muttered.
“And you avoid answering them.”
For a moment, neither of us moved.
The tension between us thickening into something dangerous.
Then—
A scream echoed somewhere deep inside the mansion.
I froze.
The sound cut off abruptly.
Silence followed.
I looked toward the hallway immediately.
“What was that?”
Lucien’s expression hardened instantly.
“Nothing you need to involve yourself in.”
“Someone screamed.”
“It happens.”
Coldness crept into his tone again.
Controlled and detached, but I wasn’t letting this go.
I moved toward the door.
Lucien grabbed my wrist instantly.
The contact sent a sharp jolt through me.
Cold skin.
Strong grip.
“Don’t,” he said quietly.
I looked down at his hand around my wrist.
Then back at him.
“You think I’m afraid?”
“No,” he murmured.
His grip loosened slightly.
“That’s the problem.”
For one brief second…neither of us moved.
The air between us shifted.
Awareness.
Heat.
Danger.
Then footsteps echoed down the hallway, Lucien released me immediately. Stepping back just as the door opened and Lord Michael entered.
His gaze moved from me…
To Lucien.
Silence.
Something invisible passed between them.
Something old.
Sharp.
Then Michael smiled smoothly.
“Am I interrupting?”
“Yes,” Lucien said flatly.
Michael chuckled softly.
“How territorial.”
Lucien’s expression darkened.
But he said nothing.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Michael’s gaze shifted toward me.
“You heard the disturbance.”
“That sounded more like murder than a disturbance.”
A faint smile touched his lips.
“You adapt quickly.”
“That’s twice you’ve avoided answering a direct question.”
Lucien glanced at me like I had lost my mind.
Probably because most people here didn’t speak to Michael that way.
But Michael only looked amused.
“Curiosity again,” he murmured.
“And secrecy again,” I replied.
For a second…
The room grew very quiet.
Then unexpectedly—
Michael laughed.
“I understand now why he finds you interesting.” Lucien stiffened instantly. My eyes flickered toward him.
And for the first time…
I saw it clearly.
Jealousy.
Tiny.
Controlled.
But there.
Oh.
That complicated things.
Michael noticed it too.
Of course he did.
His smile deepened slightly.
“Careful, Lucien,” he said lazily. “You’re beginning to look protective.”
Lucien’s voice turned cold enough to freeze blood.
“She’s useful.”
Useful.
Right.
Something about that irritated me more than it should have.
Michael hummed softly, unconvinced, then his attention returned to me.
“There’s a gathering tomorrow evening,” he said. “Some very important guests will be attending.”
Every instinct inside me sharpened instantly.
Guests.
Clients.
The trafficking network.
Finally,
“I want you beside me,” Michael continued.
Lucien immediately looked at him.
Bad idea.
The warning was practically written across his face.
But Michael ignored him completely and kept his eyes on me.
“Will you behave?” he asked softly.
I smiled slowly.
“Probably not.”
His eyes darkened with amusement.
“Good.”
And suddenly…
I realized tomorrow night might change everything.
- Writer
