BLOODBOUND

CHAPTER 1

THE BOY IN THE SHADOWS

The first thing Amara Vale noticed about university was that everyone looked like they knew exactly where they were going.

She didn’t.

She stood in the middle of the crowded campus with one hand wrapped around the strap of her handbag and the other clutching a crumpled piece of paper with her timetable printed on it.

“Great,” she muttered. “First day and I’m already lost.”

Students rushed past her in every direction.

Some were laughing with friends. Others hurried toward lecture halls, their arms filled with books. A few stood beneath the trees, taking pictures and pretending they weren’t just as confused as she was.

Amara glanced at her timetable again.

Room B14.

She looked up.

The building in front of her had three floors.

Of course it did.

She sighed.

“Excuse me?”

Amara turned.

A girl with long braids and a bright smile stood behind her.

“You look lost.”

Amara laughed softly.

“Is it that obvious?”

“Very.”

The girl held out her hand.

“I’m Maya.”

“Amara.”

“First year?”

“Unfortunately.”

Maya laughed.

“Come. I think B14 is in the next building.”

Amara followed her.

She didn’t notice the black car parked beneath the trees.

She didn’t notice the five people sitting inside it.

And she definitely didn’t notice the way one pair of dark eyes followed her until she disappeared through the building doors.

“Tell me again why we’re doing this.”

Adrian Cross stared out of the tinted car window at the university entrance, looking personally offended by the sight of hundreds of students walking across campus.

Lucien didn’t answer.

Adrian turned around.

“Lucien.”

Nothing.

“Lucien.”

Still nothing.

“Lucien!”

Lucien finally looked at him.

“What?”

“Why are we here?”

Damon, sitting beside Adrian, sighed.

“We’re here because someone apparently decided that spending the next few years pretending to be university students was a brilliant idea.”

Adrian pointed at Lucien.

“Exactly.”

Lucien remained calm.

“We need new identities.”

“We have new identities,” Adrian replied. “We could’ve gone anywhere.”

“We needed somewhere crowded.”

“London.”

“No.”

“Paris.”

“No.”

“New York.”

“No.”

“Somewhere with a beach?”

Lucien glanced at him.

“Adrian.”

“What?”

“Get out of the car.”

Adrian’s mouth fell open.

“You wouldn’t.”

“I would.”

Damon laughed under his breath.

“Please do.”

Adrian looked between them.

“None of you appreciate me.”

From the other side of the car, Elena laughed.

Unlike the others, she looked genuinely excited.

She had been staring through the window for the last ten minutes, watching students walk past with backpacks, books and coffee cups.

“I think it’s nice,” she said.

Adrian stared at her.

“You cannot be serious.”

“I am.”

“It’s university.”

“I know.”

“You’ve already done this.”

Elena smiled.

“A long time ago.”

“A very long time ago,” Damon muttered.

Elena ignored him.

“I liked university.”

“You were human then,” Elias reminded her.

“And?”

Adrian turned toward Elias.

“Don’t encourage her.”

Elias shrugged.

“I’m not complaining.”

Adrian stared at him.

“You’re not complaining?”

“No.”

“Why?”

Elias looked at Elena.

“She’s happy.”

Elena smiled at him.

Adrian groaned dramatically.

“Oh, wonderful. I’m surrounded by couples.”

Damon rolled his eyes.

“You’ve been saying that for eighty years.”

“And it remains true.”

Lucien finally opened the car door.

“Enough.”

Everyone looked at him.

He stepped out.

Black trousers.

Black shirt.

Dark jacket.

He looked more like someone who owned the university than someone who was about to attend it.

Adrian climbed out after him.

“You realize we’re actually going to have to attend classes.”

“Yes.”

“Take notes.”

“Yes.”

“Talk to humans.”

Lucien looked at him.

“Unfortunately.”

Adrian shook his head.

“This is going to be the worst year of my existence.”

Elena stepped out of the car, smiling as she adjusted her bag.

“I think it’s going to be fun.”

Damon looked at her.

“You’ve been waiting for this, haven’t you?”

“For months.”

“Why?”

Elena looked toward the campus.

“Because I’ve spent the last hundred years watching humans live their lives.”

Her smile softened.

“For once, I want to feel like I’m part of it again.”

Nobody laughed.

Nobody complained.

For a moment, they simply looked at her.

Elias reached for her hand.

She intertwined her fingers with his.

“Then let’s make it a good year,” he said.

Elena smiled.

“I plan to.”

Adrian sighed.

“Fine. But if anyone asks me to join a student club, I’m leaving.”

“You’re not leaving,” Lucien said.

“You can’t stop me.”

Lucien raised an eyebrow.

Adrian immediately looked away.

“Fine.”

Damon chuckled.

They began walking toward the university entrance together.

Five students.

Five faces that looked young enough to belong there.

Five people who had absolutely no business being there.

And none of them knew that this year would be different.

None of them knew that something had already changed.

Except perhaps Lucien.

Because he could feel it.

Something unfamiliar.

Something he couldn’t explain.

Something that had begun the moment he saw a girl standing across the campus with a crumpled timetable in her hand.

He stopped walking.

Adrian took another step before realizing Lucien was no longer beside him.

“What?”

Lucien didn’t answer.

His eyes were fixed across the campus.

On her.

Amara had stopped walking.

She was laughing at something Maya had said.

Lucien watched her for a moment longer.

He didn’t know her.

He shouldn’t have cared.

Yet something inside him had gone completely still.

Elena followed his gaze.

Then she looked back at him.

Her smile slowly disappeared.

“Lucien?”

He said nothing.

Adrian looked between them.

“What?”

Lucien forced himself to look away.

“Nothing.”

But Elena knew him too well.

She had seen that look before.

And she knew better than anyone what it meant.

Something had just entered their world.

Something Lucien would eventually be unable to walk away from.

⸻

Amara had no idea.

She was too busy trying not to embarrass herself in her first lecture.

She slipped into a seat near the middle of the room just as the lecturer walked in.

Maya sat beside her.

“Made it.”

“Barely.”

The lecture began.

Amara tried to concentrate.

She really did.

But something felt strange.

She couldn’t explain it.

It was the feeling of being watched.

She glanced around.

Nothing.

Students were taking notes.

Someone whispered at the back.

A girl near the window was scrolling through her phone.

Amara frowned.

Then she looked toward the doorway.

A boy stood there.

Tall.

Dark hair.

Black shirt.

His face was expressionless.

For some reason, Amara couldn’t look away.

Their eyes met.

Only for a second.

His eyes were the strangest shade she’d ever seen.

Not brown.

Not black.

Something darker.

Something she couldn’t name.

Then he turned and walked away.

Amara blinked.

“Who was that?” Maya whispered.

“I don’t know.”

“You were staring.”

“I wasn’t.”

Maya smiled.

“You definitely were.”

Amara rolled her eyes and returned her attention to the lecturer.

She didn’t see the boy stop at the end of the corridor.

She didn’t see him close his eyes.

And she didn’t hear the quiet words he whispered to himself.

“She shouldn’t be here.”

His name was Lucien Veyr.

And he had already decided he needed to stay away from her.

He just didn’t know how long he could keep that promise.