CHAPTER 2 — The Man With Silver Eyes
773 Words
Mirabel woke with a violent gasp.
Air rushed back into her lungs as though she’d been underwater for hours. Her heart thudded painfully, her hands trembling as she pushed herself upright.
White sheets.
Soft pillows.
A dimly lit room that smelled like cedarwood and something warm… something alive.
She wasn’t dead.
At least—not anymore.
“Easy,” a deep voice murmured from the shadows.
Mirabel spun, her breath catching in her throat.
He stepped forward slowly, like a predator too used to being feared. Tall, broad-shouldered, with raven-black hair that fell around a face carved like ice and fire. But it was his eyes that froze her—
Silver.
Unnatural.
Glowing faintly even in the dark.
“You,” she whispered. “You were in the room… when I collapsed.”
He didn’t deny it.
“Who are you?” she demanded, her voice trembling between fear and defiance.
He crossed his arms, the motion casual and confident—far too confident for a stranger standing in a woman’s bedroom.
“My name is Lucian.”
“And what do you want from me?”
Lucian’s gaze hardened. “Nothing.”
But his eyes said something else.
Something hot.
Something dangerous.
“Then why am I here?” Mirabel snapped.
Lucian stepped closer. The air shifted around him, warm and intense. Mirabel swallowed hard as her pulse quickened for reasons she didn’t want to understand.
“You died,” he said quietly. “And you called to me.”
Mirabel’s blood ran cold.
“I didn’t call anyone.”
Lucian’s jaw tightened. “Your soul did.”
Her heart stumbled. “You’re insane.”
“No,” he murmured, tilting his head slightly. “But you’re scared. And rightly so.”
Mirabel glared at him, fear sharpening her anger. “Did you kidnap me?”
“No,” he said simply. “I saved you.”
Her throat tightened. Memories of Esther forcing the poison into her mouth flashed through her mind—the betrayal, the darkness, the cold.
“Saved me… how?” she whispered.
Lucian’s eyes flickered.
“I stopped your death,” he said. “But the price was… binding.”
“Binding?” She frowned. “What is that supposed to—”
His hand reached out, not touching her, but hovering just above her skin.
A strange heat radiated from him.
The closer he got, the faster her pulse raced.
“You feel it,” he said.
Not a question.
A fact.
Mirabel jerked her hand away, breath shaking. “Stay away from me.”
Lucian’s expression didn’t change, but something darker flickered in his eyes.
“Fear suits you, little one,” he murmured. “But don’t mistake me for your enemy.”
“You are my enemy,” she whispered fiercely. “I don’t know you. I don’t trust you.”
Lucian laughed softly—dangerously. “You will.”
“Never.”
He stepped closer.
Mirabel pressed herself back against the headboard, heart pounding wildly.
Lucian’s voice dropped, low and deep.
“You think I wanted this?” he said. “You think I wanted to feel your fear. Your pain. Your heartbeat in my chest as though it were my own?”
Her breath hitched.
“What are you talking about?”
Lucian leaned in, his face inches from hers.
His eyes glowed brighter.
Silver.
Wild.
Unforgettable.
“You’re bound to me now,” he whispered. “By life. By blood. By fate.”
Mirabel froze, unable to breathe.
“You,” Lucian said softly, “are my mate.”
Her heart stopped.
“No…” she whispered. “That’s not possible.”
“It shouldn’t be,” he agreed. “You were human. You were dying. But you called out to me—and fate answered.”
Mirabel shook her head, panic rising. “No. I don’t want this. I don’t want you.”
Lucian’s eyes turned cold as steel.
“Mate bonds don’t ask for permission.”
She tried to get off the bed, but the moment she stood, dizziness hit her hard. Lucian caught her arm—firm, warm, unyielding. His touch sent electricity racing through her veins.
“Don’t touch me!” she yelled, jerking away.
Lucian stepped back, but his voice was deadly calm.
“You can fight me. Hate me. Curse me.”
His silver eyes locked onto hers, intense and consuming.
“But nothing will change what has already begun.”
Mirabel trembled, overwhelmed and furious.
“What has begun?” she whispered.
Lucian’s answer was soft—dangerously soft.
“Our bond.”
---
- Writer
