Mark by the vampire king

Claimed in Blood

Claimed In Blood

The ballroom smelled like smoke, blood, and death. Vulgar.

Bodies covered the marble floor beneath shattered chandeliers while terrified guests pushed toward exits in frantic waves. Hunters fought desperately against vampires hidden among the elite crowd, silver bullets flashing through the darkness like sparks of lightning.

But none of it held Lyra’s attention.

Only him.

Cassian Vale stood at the center of the chaos like a god born for war.

Blood dripped slowly from the cut across his shoulder, staining the black fabric of his suit. Around him, bodies lay broken and unmoving. The remaining hunters hesitated now, fear finally replacing their confidence.

Good.

They should’ve been afraid.

The vampire king tilted his head slightly as another masked hunter charged him with a silver blade.

Fast.

Human eyes would’ve barely tracked the movement.

Cassian caught the hunter’s wrist effortlessly.

Then snapped it backward.

The scream echoed through the ballroom.

Before the man could recover, Cassian drove his hand directly through the hunter’s chest.

Lyra’s stomach twisted.

The room went silent.

Cassian slowly withdrew his blood-covered hand while the hunter collapsed at his feet.

No emotion crossed his face.

Nothing.

Like killing meant less to him than breathing.

A chill crept down Lyra’s spine.

This wasn’t some rich immortal playing king in a hidden underground club.

This creature was ancient.

Dangerous.

And somehow obsessed with her already.

The thought should’ve sent her running.

Instead, her pulse betrayed her completely.

Because every time those golden eyes found her, heat curled low in her stomach in ways she absolutely hated.

Another explosion shook the building.

Dust rained from the ceiling.

“Your Majesty!”

Several vampires rushed toward Cassian through the crowd, dressed in dark military uniforms lined with silver insignias.

One woman reached him first.

Tall. Beautiful. Deadly.

Her white-blonde hair spilled over one shoulder while crimson lipstick stained a mouth sharpened with irritation.

She grabbed Cassian’s injured arm carefully.

“You’re hurt.”

“I’m fine.”

Her eyes immediately followed his gaze upward toward Lyra standing near the shattered window.

And instantly…

hatred appeared.

Cold.

Instant.

Possessive.

Oh great.

Lyra mouthed silently: Of course he has a psycho girlfriend.

The blonde vampire’s expression darkened further, clearly reading her lips from across the room.

Wonderful.

Cassian ignored everyone around him.

“Bring her to me,” he ordered calmly.

Lyra blinked.

Absolutely not.

The second the guards started toward the staircase, she ran.

Adrenaline exploded through her system as she sprinted from the archive room into the hallway.

Find an exit.

Find Nova.

Get out now.

More screams echoed downstairs while alarms blared throughout the underground palace. Red emergency lights flooded the corridors.

Lyra turned sharply around a corner—

—and slammed directly into someone.

Strong hands caught her instantly.

Not Cassian.

Different.

“You should watch where you’re running, little thief.”

Lyra looked up into unfamiliar silver eyes.

The man holding her was devastatingly handsome in a softer way than Cassian. Dark curls framed sharp cheekbones while amusement danced across his face despite the chaos downstairs.

A vampire.

Definitely.

“Let go of me.”

“Tempting,” he murmured.

His gaze drifted toward the mark glowing faintly on her wrist.

The amusement vanished.

“Well,” he said quietly. “That complicates things.”

Lyra yanked herself backward. “Everyone keeps saying that. What is this thing?”

Before he could answer, footsteps thundered through the hallway.

Cassian’s guards.

The stranger sighed dramatically.

“You really made a mess tonight.”

Then suddenly he grabbed her hand.

“Come on.”

“What—”

He pulled her through a hidden door concealed within the wall just as guards rushed past outside.

The secret passage was narrow and dark, lit only by dim lanterns along stone walls.

Lyra jerked her hand free immediately.

“Who are you?”

The stranger leaned casually against the wall.

“Damien Laurent.”

Something dangerous flickered behind his smile.

“I’d bow, but we’re hiding from an angry king at the moment.”

Lyra crossed her arms. “You know him.”

“I’ve known Cassian for several centuries.”

Several…

Right.

Vampires.

Immortal.

Still horrifying.

Damien studied her carefully.

“You’re human.”

“Yes.”

“And yet the Blood Mark chose you.”

Lyra looked down at the black symbol burned into her wrist.

It looked almost alive now.

“What does that mean?”

Damien’s expression shifted strangely.

“Honestly? It means every powerful vampire in this kingdom is about to lose their mind over you.”

That wasn’t comforting.

Footsteps echoed faintly outside the hidden passage.

Damien glanced toward the wall.

“They’re searching every room now.”

“Then help me leave.”

He laughed softly. “You think Cassian will let you leave after tonight?”

“He doesn’t own me.”

“No,” Damien agreed carefully. “But the mark may.”

Before Lyra could demand answers, the hidden door suddenly exploded inward.

Cassian entered like a storm.

The entire passage seemed to darken around him.

His gaze landed immediately on Damien standing too close to Lyra.

Something lethal flashed across his face.

“Careful,” Damien drawled lazily. “You’re glaring again.”

Cassian ignored him completely.

His attention locked onto Lyra.

“You ran.”

“You kidnapped me!”

His jaw tightened.

“I told you to stay upstairs.”

“Well people usually don’t listen after being choked against walls.”

Damien covered a grin badly.

Cassian’s eyes narrowed slightly at him.

“You’re enjoying this too much.”

“A little.”

The vampire king stepped closer.

Every instinct inside Lyra screamed retreat.

Still, she held her ground stubbornly.

Cassian stopped inches away.

Too close.

The scent of smoke, spice, and blood wrapped around her instantly.

Dangerous.

Addicting.

“You’re injured,” Lyra said before thinking.

Cassian blinked once, almost surprised she noticed.

Blood still stained the collar of his shirt from the silver wound.

“It’ll heal.”

“Silver slows the healing,” Damien explained casually. “Hurts like hell too.”

Cassian shot him an icy look.

Damien smirked.

Lyra swallowed hard as silence stretched between them.

Then Cassian reached toward her wrist slowly.

“This mark,” he said quietly, “has not appeared in over four hundred years.”

His fingers brushed her skin.

Heat flooded her body immediately.

God.

Why did every touch from him feel like fire?

“The last person to carry it,” Cassian continued softly, “started a war that nearly destroyed the vampire kingdoms.”

“Okay,” Lyra said carefully. “Good to know. Can someone explain why it’s on me?”

Cassian’s gaze lifted to hers.

“Because your blood belongs to an ancient lineage.”

Lyra laughed once in disbelief.

“No. Absolutely not. I’m nobody.”

“That,” Cassian murmured darkly, “is where you’re wrong.”

Suddenly another explosion shook the building violently.

Dust cracked from the ceiling stones.

One of Cassian’s guards appeared at the ruined doorway.

“Your Majesty—the hunters breached the lower vaults.”

Cassian’s expression turned murderous instantly.

“Seal the east tunnels.”

“They already escaped through them.”

A dangerous silence followed.

Cassian looked back toward Lyra slowly.

“Someone knew exactly where to find my kingdom tonight.”

“You think I set this up?” she snapped.

“I think,” he said calmly, “someone sent you here for a reason.”

Lyra opened her mouth angrily—

Then froze.

Because deep down…

she remembered something.

The man who hired her.

Silas.

The moment she mentioned the palace location earlier, he’d looked nervous.

Excited.

Like he knew more than he admitted.

Oh no.

Cassian noticed her expression immediately.

“You know something.”

“I don’t—”

“Lyra.”

The way he said her name sent heat crawling down her spine.

Low.

Rough.

Possessive.

She hated how much she noticed it.

“I was hired to steal the ledger,” she admitted reluctantly. “That’s it.”

“By who?”

“A man named Silas.”

Damien cursed softly under his breath.

Cassian’s face darkened instantly.

“You know him?” Lyra asked.

“He’s dead,” Cassian said coldly.

Lyra blinked.

“What?”

“He betrayed the crown twenty years ago and disappeared before execution.”

Ice flooded her veins.

That wasn’t possible.

She met him yesterday.

Unless…

Unless he never planned for her to survive tonight.

Cassian stepped closer again.

“Did he touch you?”

The question caught her off guard.

“What?”

“When he hired you.”

His voice had turned dangerously calm.

“No.”

Cassian visibly relaxed.

Which somehow felt even more intense.

Before Lyra could process that, shouting erupted nearby again.

More guards.

More chaos.

The palace still wasn’t secure.

Cassian glanced toward the hallway impatiently.

Then made a decision.

“You’re coming with me.”

“No, I’m not.”

“Yes,” he said flatly.

“I barely survived tonight because of you!”

“And you’ll die before sunrise without me.”

The certainty in his voice unsettled her.

“What does that mean?”

Cassian stared at the mark on her wrist.

“That mark calls to vampires.”

Lyra frowned.

“Meaning?”

Damien answered quietly this time.

“Meaning every vampire in this city can smell you now.”

Silence.

Then:

“…what?”

Cassian’s gaze never left hers.

“The Blood Mark awakens hunger,” he said softly. “Possession. Obsession.”

Lyra’s pulse began racing again.

“That’s not possible.”

“You already felt it downstairs.”

Images flashed instantly through her head.

The stares.

The hunger in the ballroom.

The way Cassian looked at her.

The blonde vampire ready to kill her on sight.

Oh God.

“You’re lying.”

Cassian stepped even closer.

“No,” he murmured. “I’m trying very hard not to.”

The meaning behind those words hit her like a physical blow.

Heat flooded her face.

Damien looked suddenly fascinated by the wall.

Cassian’s eyes darkened slightly at her reaction.

For one dangerous second, neither of them moved.

Then distant screams echoed again.

Reality returned sharply.

Cassian straightened immediately.

“We leave now.”

Lyra shook herself free from whatever spell his voice created around her.

“I’m not going anywhere with you.”

His expression hardened.

“You don’t understand the danger you’re in.”

“And I don’t trust you.”

That answer seemed to affect him more than expected.

Something unreadable flickered behind his eyes.

Hurt?

No.

Impossible.

Monsters like him didn’t get hurt feelings.

Cassian suddenly removed the long black coat from his shoulders and handed it toward her.

Lyra frowned. “What?”

“Put it on.”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re bleeding.”

She looked down.

A thin cut stretched across her collarbone from shattered glass earlier. She hadn’t even noticed.

But Cassian had.

His eyes remained fixed on the small line of blood visible against her skin.

And the hunger in his expression became terrifying.

The air shifted heavily.

Damien cleared his throat.

“Ah… perhaps we should leave before our king starts making regrettable decisions.”

Cassian tore his gaze away from Lyra slowly.

But not before she saw it clearly.

The restraint.

The battle inside him.

Like every instinct he possessed wanted to drag her closer instead of letting her breathe.

Lyra’s heart slammed painfully against her ribs.

Because a terrifying part of her wanted to know what would happen if he stopped resisting.