WebNovels

Chapter 2 - Chapter 2: Ride With the Devil

The car was silent, but not calm.

Lucien sat beside me like a loaded gun—powerful, quiet, and just one wrong move away from destruction.

I pressed myself against the door, pretending I wasn't scared.

He didn't look at me. Just stared ahead, jaw clenched, one hand resting on his thigh. That same hand could break bones.

"Where are we going?" I asked, barely breathing the words.

He didn't answer.

My heart raced.

I tried again. "I asked—"

"I heard you." His voice was sharp. "You ask too many questions for someone who gets into strangers' cars."

"I didn't have a choice."

He turned his head slowly. "You always have a choice. Just most people don't want the consequences."

His words hit hard. I stayed quiet.

The city outside blurred past. Lights, shadows, echoes of life that didn't feel like mine.

Lucien finally spoke. "I don't like secrets."

"Good," I said, forcing strength into my voice. "Because I don't like liars."

A moment passed. Then he laughed.

A low, cruel sound. Not happy. Not safe.

"You're brave," he said. "Stupid. But brave."

I turned to the window. "Just let me out. I won't tell anyone I saw you."

"You think this is about seeing me?"

I froze.

He leaned closer, his breath brushing my ear. "I didn't follow you to be seen, Ivy. I followed you because someone else already was."

"What?"

He pulled out his phone, tapped it once, and showed me.

A photo.

Me. On my way home.

Taken from behind.

Tonight.

I gasped.

Lucien's eyes met mine. Cold. Fire.

"You're being hunted," he said. "And now you belong to me."

I stared at the photo on Lucien's phone.

My back.

My coat.

My hair.

Taken in secret—tonight.

"Who... took that?" I whispered.

Lucien's jaw tightened. "I don't know yet. But I have enemies, Ivy. And now you do too."

"I didn't ask for this."

He turned the phone off and slipped it back into his coat. "Doesn't matter. You're already in it."

"I want out."

He looked at me, eyes hard as stone. "You don't get out. You survive."

The car stopped in front of a tall black building. Steel, glass, shadow. No sign.

"Where are we?"

"My place," he said simply.

I flinched. "I'm not going in with you."

"You will. Because you're safer with me than alone."

The driver opened my door.

Lucien stepped out. Didn't offer a hand. Didn't wait.

I sat there, frozen.

Then I remembered the photo.

Someone had followed me.

Lucien wasn't the danger.

He was the wall between me and it.

I got out.

Inside, the elevator ride was silent.

I could feel him watching me.

When the doors opened, we stepped into his world.

Glass walls. Blood-red furniture. A view of Veloria that looked like it belonged to a god.

He poured himself a drink.

"You're not sleeping in your apartment again," he said. "You stay here. I'll protect you."

"I don't trust you."

"Good," he replied, sipping. "Trust is for fools."

I crossed my arms. "Why are you helping me?"

He turned slowly, his eyes dark. "Because they want you. And no one touches what's mine."

My lips parted. "I'm not yours."

He walked up to me. Close. Too close.

"You are now," he whispered.

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