Lunar Captive

by Laylaa_472

Summary:

Thorne's eyes flashed with defiance as Lucien's fingers wrapped round his jaw, his fangs glinting in the dimly lit room.
"You will submit." his breath danced on Thorne's skin sending cold shivers up his spine, "they always do."

 

With an outright war between werewolves and vampires dating back to the times of old with a seemingly unknown cause, will our two heroes be able to choose between forbidden love and loyalty to their own kind?

 

**UPDATES EVERY SATURDAY**

Chapter 1: Prologue

No one knows why but vampires and werewolves have always been mortal enemies, it's been like that since the very first beings walked this Earth and in the shadowy realm of Tenebrous it is no different.

The vampires rule with an iron fist and are known to kidnap werewolves for their own personal pleasure- sex slaves, servants...I mean, with their immortal lives and aristocratic bearing it's pretty hard to bring them down. Then, we have our werewolves, fiercely loyal to their pack and with godlike strength gifted to their alphas but they prowl in forests, ever vigilant due to the raging inequality between them and the other species. A werewolf can be killed on the spot if seen by a vampire near the capital of Tenebrous.

The two species are in an uneasy truce but as the years passed, tension grew, fuelled by strong grudges, territorial disputes and the whispers of a prophecy that spoke of werewolves being the better out of the two species despite them being lower in the hierarchy.

Thorne, a werewolf who is wildly loyal to his pack and Lucien one of the most important vampire lords. Their paths are going to crash together and push them to the very limits.

Chapter 2: I

Thorne huffed as the sun's ray beat down on him, damn it was hot. The annual harvest festival was going to occur 2 days from now. It was one of the biggest festivals of the year as it was one of the only holidays not banned by their oppressors- vampires and was a particularly safe day as vampires hadn't really bothered them in the past 5 years since he started celebrating it once he had come of age. The werewolf had been running a moonberry pie stall during harvest festival days and what had made them special is the main fruit ingredient only grew under the light of a new moon, on top of that they're harder to maintain. He'd decided to collect flowers to decorate but perhaps he hadn't picked the right day for this, he was simply boiling. The wolf's eyes landed on a patch of goldenrod flowers.

"Ah perfect," he murmured to himself, stooping down to pick a couple. His ears picked up the sound of footsteps and he swivelled around to see one of his closest childhood friends Luna, his eyes softened, taking in her plump figure, deep seaweed coloured eyes, olive skin, lusciously long silver hair and the soft smell of mulled red wine as well as the combination of goldenrod too. Truth be told, he had been crushing on her for the longest time but didn't have the courage to do anything about it. Pathetic he thought to himself maybe he should change that on the day of the harvest? The messy thoughts got disturbed by Luna's sweet lilting voice.

"Need some help?" she chuckled softly "or are you just enjoying the view?" she grinned teasing him and walked closer to him before crouching beside him.

Thorne showed off his bouquet to her. "I got the classics, whaddya think?

Luna's usually big doe eyes squinted in concentration and her nose wrinkled too, if there was one thing about Luna is that she needed things to be absolutely perfect. It was a blessing and a curse as she could be pretty tough sometimes but that was also one of the things he admired about her. After a decent amount of scrutinising Luna finally spoke "I think you should get some aster flowers from there" she points at a patch of mauve coloured flowers, her lips quirk up. "And don't forget the cosmos flowers- they are your signature touch after all."

Thorne got the flowers, as instructed and together both of them worked in comfortable silence. Their hands work in tandem till they finally wove the flowers into a vibrant bouquet. As they finished up Luna playfully nudged Thorne in the rib. "Your stall is definitely gonna be the most popular one there, as per usual!"

Thorne couldn't help the big grin that spread across his face and nodded before saying "Thanks to you I'm sure it'll be." Luna turned towards him. "You better hurry down your little brother and mum are waiting down for you in the village square, I'll come with because I have some stuff to sort out there anyways." The two of them make their way back to the village, carrying the brightly coloured flowers in their arms.

Upon entering the village square, Aiden, Thorne's pain in the ass of a little brother runs up to them. "Ooh lala, were the two of you out on a little rendezvous?" he jokes and Luna laughs awkwardly besides him and Thorne quickly shuts him up but his face heats up. After this slightly embarassing moment Luna pipes up "Ah, I've got to get going now, I have a stall to run myself. Do come and check it out especially you, Aiden" she says still giggly before ruffling Aiden's hair and squeezing Thorne's arm which causes him to heat up even more.

As soon as Luna's out of view Thorne playfully wrestles Aiden to the ground. "Thanks to you she ran off...I was having a good time there." The both of them erupt into giggles before Elara barks out to both of them. "Get off the floor I'm raising young men not barbarians." The both of them straighten up and dust themselves off.

After losing their dad to vampires Elara's heart hardened and Thorne noticed the special resentment she held towards the other species since then, she still was sweet just had a harder time in showing it. Their dad meant everything to Elara...

Elara, Thorne and Aiden's mother, sighs before rubbing her temples, a visible sign she was annoyed. "Ok, Aiden since you have the strength to roughhouse with your brother you can help me cook the wolfsbane wild boar for the festival." Aiden frowns but follows Elara, she didn't seem in the mood to negotiate.

This left Thorne on his own. The sweet smell of roasting permeating the air and the crackling of the fire felt like home. It only took a couple hours before his stall was practically done, only to make the moonberry pie which he usually made the night before to keep them fresh. The young wolf packed up his supplies before heading back to his cave which he, his mother, and his little brother called home. It smelled damp but he was used to it, that just meant it was cooler on hotter nights like these.

Thorne drifts off into peaceful sleep. He just knew that this harvest festival was going to be a good one.

Notes:

btw Luna is not the love interest of this story lol. i decided to release this chpt early bc my creative juices were flowing and i didnt wanna lose any writing ideas, things will pick up soon but hang in there it is a bit of a slow start!

Chapter 3: II

Notes:

Happy Saturdayyy

Lucien hated meetings, especially impromptu ones like today. Lucien sat at the back of a chamber, the only light source being flickering candles- as vampires it'd be foolish to have big bright lights in their eyes. Cassius was going off on another hate speech about werewolves, so Lucien zoned out. Cassius was one of the eldest vampires who held extreme rank over everyone else and had burning rage against werewolves, he had lean physique and pale skin- like most vampires. Something Cassius said piqued his interest..

"Fourteen of our own have gone missing and I strongly suspect it to be those flea-bitten mongrels." Cassius declared, his voice practically dripping with venom while murmurs floated around the chamber. Cassius continued, "Their harvest festival, if I've gotten this right, should only be a mere two days away, we must act swiftly to protect our own."

The vampires nodded in agreement but Valois looked uncertain, shifting uncomfortably in his seat and looking at Cassius and the others at the meeting. Valois was one of the youngest and was quite meek and, from what Lucien had observed, seemed to sympathise with werewolves, how pitiful. It made Lucien sick to the stomach.

"I don't know Cassius," Valois said, his voice laced with hesitance. "Are we a hundred percent sure it is the werewolves behind this? Unnecessary blood shouldn't be spilled, there might be a simpler explanation to this than we are anticipating..." Valois trailed off and Lucien understood why- Cassius was staring daggers at Valois and had gone red with rage. The older vampire strode up to Valois in a couple large steps and got right up into his face, his lips sneering and curling in disgust.

"How dare you question me Valois?" He spat, voice oozing with revulsion. "You think that you of all people know better than me? I've lived for eons upon eons and I know werewolf tactics. You're just a naive child, blinded by your own idealism."

Lucien observed as Valois sank far back into his seat, eyes widened in fear. "I-I just think that we should proceed with caution." Cassius seemed to have calmed down but Lucien picked up the glint in his eyes.

"We shall show the werewolves no caution. We'll show them our strength and ultimate power. And we'll take 14 of them as our captors since they took from us, every man in this room by the end of this week shall have their own person werewolf to do whatever with- even fuck." The vampires in the room cheered at this statement and Lucien swore he heard someone say how much they enjoyed werewolf pussy. He was disgusted- he was a strong believer in keeping you sexual fantasies and lust to yourself.

"I wasn't planning on doing that before but everyone can congratulate Valois because he gave me that brilliant idea," Cassius continued "And Lucien you shall lead the hunt and take Valois here with you."

Lucien frowned and glanced at Valois, people like him would only slow him down but Cassius' word was final. Lucien replaced his frown quickly with a tight smile and nodded. "It will be my pleasure Cassius, I'll make sure to pick the most appealing out of the bunch. Valois will understand his role in the situation."

A ghost of a smile appeared on Cassius' face and they locked eyes momentarily. "I have no doubt in that, Lucien, you always deliver what i expect of you unlike some members of our cove, I want no more dissent among our ranks. We're vampires and we'll act like it." His voice emanating sarcasm towards Valois who now looked like he was going to cry any second.

The meeting drew to a close, vampires dispersing into the bleak night. Valois lingered behind, his eyes fixed on the floor and his shoulders slumped in defeat, Lucien decides to nod to him as he passes him but gets no such greeting back. The vampire's heart races with excitement and his mind fixated on the task. The hunt was on and Lucien was going to enjoy every single second of it.

Notes:

The plot is starting to shape up now :>

Chapter 4: III

Notes:

happy saturday- hope u enjoy todays chapter

Thorne

 

 

The past two days leading up to the Festival had been a blur for Thorne and finally- today was the day, it was officially the annual Harvest Festival for werewolves and Thorne was over the moon with pure joy, nothing was going to ruin his day. Without a doubt, this was the best time of the year for the werewolf, the festival grounds bustling with people, the smell of roasting meats and freshly baked bread wafting throughout the air, mingling with the sweet scent of ripe pumpkins and the earthy smell of falling leaves. Heck! He had even summoned up the courage to ask Luna out today. His moonberry pies were fresh off the stove and the sweet smell permeated around his stall, he arranged them on petite, wooden trays and stood behind the stall, beaming with pride. The morning had been a bustle of people preparing but the Festival was in full swing now, and Thorne was determined to win the coveted Golden Harvest award for the best stall, as he had done so in previous years. The crescent moon hung low in the sky, Harvest Festivals usually started at night and went into the early mornings, the moon is of utmost importance to werewolves, of course.

It was beloved for werewolves- it was the one time when vampires were guaranteed not to attack. Thorne gazed over the stalls to check out the competition, there were stalls selling all manner of goods, from fresh produce to handmade products.

Just then, the festival organiser, Old Man Jenkins, approached his stall. "Thorne, my boy, I see you're ready to defend your title as the best pie maker in the country, eh?" He said with a grin.

"I certainly am, sir," he said confidently. "I've been perfecting the recipe for months now." Jenkins nodded, his eyes twinkling with excitement. "Well, let's get the judging underway then, I'm popping off to greet the other contestants but after that, the judges should come by to sample your pies.

Later, after 10 minutes of waiting or so the judges came to check out Thorne's stall and watched hesitantly as they sampled his pie, they soon left. After what felt like an eternity to Thorne, Old Man Jenkins came back with a broad smile on his face.

"And the winner of the Golden Harvest award is...Thorne, with his delicious moonberry pies!" He announced, holding up the award for everyone to see.

The crowd erupted in cheers and Thorne felt a huge surge of pride and accomplishment. As he accepted his award he spotted Luna, his mum and Aiden in the crowd, clapping and cheering for him. Luna was glowing with pride and Thorne swore his heart jumped out of his chest as he saw her smiling from ear to ear.

"Congratulations Thorne!" She exclaimed as the young werewolf made his way through the crowd to see her face to face. She continued. "You deserve it! Your stall has always been the best in the county."

Thorne grinned back at her. Now would be the perfect time to ask, Thorne thought to himself. "So, Luna-" he started but got interrupted, "I think it's time we start the festivities! Let's dance!" Luna said oblivious to what he had tried to say. "Um, yeah, let's go dance." He replied. Damn, that was so embarrassing, he cringed to himself and internally facepalmed

Luna grabbed his hands and dragged him away from his stall. Pulling him close, Luna rested her head on his chest and started swaying to the music, it was becoming harder to control himself. The gas lamps strung up around cast a warm, golden glow over the scene and the both of them settled into comfortable silence, rocking to the music.

"Hey, I wanted to give you something," Luna said breaking the quiet, she fiddled and pulled something out of her breast pocket and out came a little wooden trinket. Shaped like the crescent moon- it was gorgeous. 

"Is this for me?" Thorne asked. "Of course it is, silly, you deserve it." Thorne gently took it from her hands and slipped it carefully into his pockets. He would treasure it- that's for sure. Now was the time to ask, he thought. 

"So you know earlier how I was saying somethi-" without warning chaos erupted and all hell broke loose.

Flames began to lick at the edges of the secluded location they had picked for the occasion and screams were heard. The music screeched to a halt as the panic began to sink in and the crowd surged forward in an attempt to escape the inferno. The thick smell of smoke filled the air and the heat was almost unbearable. Stalls were overturned and goods were scattered everywhere.

"Oh, my, what's happening?" Luna cried, voice trembling with fear. "I don't know what's happening but we have to get outta here!" With Luna clinging tightly onto his arm they tried to make their way through the crowd. Where are Elara and Aiden he thought to himself and he cursed under his breath, all he could do was hope and pray that wherever they were, they were alive.

Suddenly, a group of shadowy figures emerged from the chaos and Thorne knew they were vampires from the way their fangs glinted in the darkness, the way their eyes had no emotion whatsoever. What are they doing here? he thought to himself but it was too late- much too late. One of them lunged at Luna and he saw her face contort as they sucked the life out of her, she looked confused almost, as if she herself hadn't believed what had just happened. He watched the wrinkles on her face become more prominent, her skeleton and muscle showing due to the lack of blood in her body..vampires were evil- how could they do this much amount of damage in mere seconds?

"No...No, no, not like this- this isn't how you were supposed to go out." Thorne was still in deep disbelief- she had been there just a second ago, damnit. He dropped to his knees besides her and she was making these awful guttural noises. Mustering the little courage he had left he looked up at their attacker.

*

*

*

Lucien

 

 

 

Today had dragged, absolutely dragged. The vampires planning the attack had had a slow morning due to Valois dragging his feet about- Valois still somehow felt pity towards those savages even after knowing what they had done to fourteen of their own. It didn't really matter to Lucien, though, as today was special, he was going to get his own werewolf sex slave. He felt hot just thinking about it, it'd have to be a male of course- he didn't want to impregnate it. 

Even though they only had two days to prepare, the coven had been able to collect an abundant amount of information. And here they were, standing in the wooded area outside the Harvest Festival, luckily for them the celebration occurred during nighttime making things much easier for the group. Valois had been tasked with something easy, just creating a diversion so that the vampires could have an entry point without making too much fuss.

They watched from the shadows and Lucien signalled for Valois to go off and make the distraction, Valois paused. "I don't see why we need to attack the festival still-" his voice was low and measured, the werewolves were being loud but talking too much was risky at this point.

"We've been over this, Valois," Lucien replied, his voice firm but controlled. "Cassius has made his decision- let's not disobey him." Lucien once again did the hand gesture before shooting Valois a dangerous look with no room for him to complain or moan about it. With Valois slinking away in the darkness, Lucien could finally survey the people at the festival without Valois pestering him.

A deafening cheer was heard and Lucien's eyes immediately followed the sound to...A young male werewolf winning a prize for something? The vampire cocked his head to the side in curiosity before taking in the werewolf's features. He lazily gazed at him, he must've been at least 5'11" . The werewolf had a warm, nutmeg-hued complexion that made him look golden in the light. His brown eyes, deep and rich with a friendly warmth. They were of an almond shape but slightly tilting upwards at the outer corners, giving him a subtle, exotic flair. A small but perfectly placed beauty mark below his left eye adding a touch of whimsy and charm to his already stellar looks. And, oh, my his hair...Lucien could talk about his hair for ages...The werewolf's hair was a true showstopper, thick, curly and full of life with subtle more golden highlights dotting his hair. His physique was honed to perfection with toned muscles. And that's when Lucien decided he'd be the perfect toy to break- to ruin.

Lucien's eyes tracked him to see this other female werewolf dragging him around and then dancing. He hated it when other people touched what was clearly his, and as of right now that golden-haired beauty was his so why the hell was that thing touching him? She'd have to be killed- simple as that. His skin started to itch from jealousy and he couldn't be more happy as to when he could smell the tell-tale smell of burning.

Nodding to the other members that the chase was on, Lucien slipped into the night with the others in close suit behind him. 

As the crowd erupted into chaos and the flames broke out at the edges of the grounds, Lucien's eyes darted around wildly looking for the werewolf he had seen earlier and there he was holding onto that thing, trying to protect her he supposed. It infuriated him and even though he shouldn't necessarily kill anyone because that wasn't part of the plan he wasn't thinking straight- hopefully Cassius would understand. Before the pair could realise what had happened Lucien had dragged the girl roughly and sank his teeth into her neck. Drinking every, last, drop before he loosened his grip and dropped her as if she was nothing- well she was nothing to him. He gazed at his newly found pet and watched as his pet registered what had just happened. Lucien felt no guilt- his toy would just have to learn the hard way. 

"No...No, no, not like this- this isn't how you were supposed to go out." the brown-eyed werewolf muttered, his hands were slightly shaking due to the shock. The werewolf suddenly turned around and stared at him... those beautiful eyes. They suddenly stood up and attacked him- clawed him to the face. Lucien felt warm blood trickle down his face as to where he had been scratched, it hurt like hell. How dare his pet think he could fight him like that? Especially since he had just helped him get rid of that obviously annoying girl? He'd just have to render him unconscious for now and teach him not to fight him like that ever again in the future.

Lucien chomped down on his neck and drank just enough blood to make him faint- not kill him. Then, he carried him bridal style back to the coven's meeting point, there were already other vampires with their own catch. Lucien spotted one werewolf that looked dangerously close to the one he was carrying but looked much younger.

Valois had come back, looking slightly dishevelled. "I think we're done here...we've already done enough damage and we got what we came for, I think we should go now."

For once, Lucien actually agreed with him and the coven managed to take the group of exactly fourteen werewolves- no more no less- and used their extreme speed and agility to make it back to their group cave before any werewolf could realise who had just attacked them.

Cassius was damn impressed with them. Lucien could've sworn he could see a smile on the old man's face. 

"Well done, everyone," he said. "The Harvest Festival was burnt to a crisp and I see you brought the hostages I asked for, our plan was executed flawlessly and the werewolves are sure to know not to mess around anymore."

Cassius paused, his gaze lingering on each and every member of the group that had planned the attack. "Lucien, your role in leading the attack was crucial and Valois...you were ultimately able to follow orders in the end so for that- I am proud. And to the rest of you, your efforts in chaos and destruction were simply exemplary," Cassius continued. "So, for that I think you all deserve a little fiesta, the werewolves can be put over there." Cassius nodded to a corner in the cave. "Use them to your delight."

Before you knew it elegant glasses were filled to the brim with blood and vampires danced together but Lucien just grabbed one glass before making a quick, unnoticed exit back to his own corner of the vast cave tunnels the vampires inhabited, carrying his werewolf bridal style with him- still unresponsive.

Now that all the fuss was over, Lucien was contented to know that his pristine pet was still unconscious and he could do anything he wanted with him.

Notes:

there might be some non-consensual drugging in the next chapter??

Chapter 5: IV

Notes:

happy saturdayy

Thorne  

 

 

Thorne pored into those deep onyx eyes with a cat-like shape, his long black hair tied back into a loose ponytail- that brute had no regret on his face, in fact, the fucker looked like he was smiling .  The vampire’s gaze was hypnotic, drawing him in.  

Before Thorne could think, he had stood up and clawed him in the face, a deep gash with coagulated blood running down steadily. The vampire looked confused, but the confusion soon subsided and was swiftly replaced with a look of deep anger.  

Thorne couldn’t exactly remember what happened next, the onyx-eyed man closed the gap between them in a few strides and with surprising gentleness, tucked a strand of hair behind Thorne’s ear before he felt fangs sink into his neck.   

The world around Thorne began to spin, his vision going blurry as the last thing he saw was those deep black eyes staring at him before everything went dark.  

~  

Thorne’s eyelids flickered open, his gaze bleary and disoriented. He was met with the unfamiliar surroundings of a cave and sat up on the plush, blood red bed that he had been placed on supposedly. Crying out for his family, or just anyone in general, Thorne was disappointed to not get any response. His head hurt as his mind caught up with the previous events of the day...Luna had just died; he rummaged in his pockets and was slightly content to find that the wooden carving that Luna had given him was still on him, but he was so tired- physically and mentally.   

His thoughts got interrupted as he was aware of the other person in the cave with him and heard footsteps quicken towards him, it took him awhile for his eyes to adjust to the dark but once they did Thorne was honestly not that shocked to see the vampire from earlier.   

Now he had more time to look at his features. Like he had noticed before, the vampire had cat eyes, and his skin was extremely pale.  Thorne had assumed that he would have a slim but toned frame, and the vampire was slightly shorter than he was. His hair also wasn’t in the ponytail like last time but was let down. The vampire’s long, jet black hair was left cascading down his shoulders... he must easily get mixed up for a female , Thorne thought. To his surprise, his injury healed up quickly, but then again, he is a vampire  

“You weren’t supposed to wake up this early,” his voice was low and smooth. Thorne picked up that his voice was very lilting. “You’re quite the resilient one; I like ones like you. All the more exciting to toy with.” he finished.  

Thorne tried to speak but his voice turned out to be a hoarse whisper. “Wha...where...who are you?” Thorne hoped that his voice had come off more confident that he’d actually felt in that moment.  

The long-haired man smiled, and a dimple appeared on his left cheek. “You’re home now and you can call me Lucien.” Lucien paused for a second before continuing, “actually, I’m sure you calling me master would turn me on more so let’s stick with master instead.”  

Thorne’s eyes struggled to stay focused, his mind was foggy. He tried to push himself up from the bed but was wobbly and Lucien’s hand pressed down on his chest to push him back down.  

“You look so tired, pet.” Lucien gazed at him. “I have something that’ll make you feel better.”  

Lucien produced a vial of glowing liquid, seemingly out of nowhere, before pressing it against Thorne’s lips.   

“No, no. Stop fighting it, you need to drink this- it'll help you relax.” Lucien said soothingly.  

Thorne’s eyes widened in protest, but Lucien had unyielding grip and whatever that concoction was, was poured down his throat. The liquid was sweet and fruity, but Thorne could feel himself growing tired- his eyelids felt so heavy...he knew he had to try and resist though.  

As the potion started to take its hold over Thorne, his eyelids began to droop again, and he entered darkness once again.  

*  

*  

*  

Lucien  

 

 

Lucien wasn’t expecting him to wake up so soon but had come prepared by drugging a drink. It’d just put him to sleep for a bit longer.  

After force-feeding it to him he watched him for five minutes or so to ensure he was asleep before he started getting a bit handsy with the unconscious werewolf.  

Lucien peeled off the werewolf’s shirt and admired his bare chest, practically drinking in the sight of him. He was extremely muscular and had a fairly large scar on his abdomen- Lucien would have to ask about that later. Lucien then started to rub their nipples just to make them erect.  He leaned and began to suckle on it slightly before letting go with a satisfying pop. At this point he was achingly hard, and his cock felt like it was about to burst out of his pants.   

Lucien messed around with the werewolf’s hair for a bit before he started to rub his own member. How could anyone be this pretty...? Lucien picked up the pace of his strokes before little beads of precum dribbled down his lengths. Glancing over at the unconscious body, Lucien picked up at a brutal pace before he released all over his hands and groaned.  

That was surprising...He usually lasted longer when it came to things like this, but he assumed that this was due to him not getting any action for a while.  

The vampire began to idly trace little circles onto the werewolf’s chest before beckoning for a couple sprites to draw up a bath. The golden-haired man was absolutely drenched in sweat due to the stress and Lucien wasn’t an absolute monster at heart, the poor thing needed rest plus, he needed to clean all this come off himself anyways.   

Lucien waited for a bit, the soft sound of the water running in the background while he casually ran his hand through the werewolf’s tight coils and cleaned up his mess from earlier. Once the water running stopped, he picked up the curly-haired boy and both sank into the warm water.   

Lucien found himself having to prop up the werewolf a couple times as his body was still limp. It felt...cosy with someone by him, his body warmth sending soft shivers through him, he felt his chest tighten with a sense of possession. They were done in five minutes or so, Lucien didn’t like taking long baths as he thought this made him more susceptible to sneak attacks.  

The sprites soon came and let the water down the drain while Lucien dressed himself up in a silk, it was just entering autumn so the nights could still sometimes be hot, breathable fabrics were always the better option. After having dressed himself, he dressed the werewolf in matching silk fabric- black with deep red accents  

Abruptly, a faint tremor ran through his fingers and his head started pounding- Lucien was aware of this, it’d been a while since he drank anything. His grip tightened on the silks he had half put on the werewolf and his chest tightened, a familiar ache growing within him.  

The thirst never truly subsided.  

The vampire glanced back at the sleeping werewolf before quietly exiting his part of the cave, the sounds of the party below grew louder as he got closer. Navigating through the crowd he got stopped by William, knocking into him, Lucien audibly groaned.   

The stout, balding man was annoying: he talked too much, was too brash and was too vulgar on top of that, Lucien could tell he was drunk, and he reeked of bad sex. He had probably already raped a couple of the werewolves and slept with some vampires too- Lucien's hated people that slept around with multiple people at the same time, he may be called a ‘monster’, but he had standards and things like that disgusted him.  

“Lucien, my old friend!” William’s voice boomed, already grating the pale-skinned vampire’s nerves. William clamped one of his sweaty hands down on Lucien’s shoulder.  

Lucien’s voice turned cold. “William. What do you want?” He said flatly.  

William was always a bit dramatic, and this time was no different. “I was just impressing the ladies by telling them of my latest conquest. You must hear the story!” He grinned, breath smelling strongly of some sort of beer.  

Lucien could feel his patience growing thin already, despite only talking for a couple seconds. “I’m busy, William. And thirsty.” Lucien replied bluntly while grabbing a glass of blood from a counter.  

“Ah, always so serious Lucien, eh? Lighten up, you’re no fun sometimes.” William grinned, but it was an extremely perverted one. “I saw you sneak away with one of the werewolves, how is he in bed? He was quite the looker; how do you feel about a threesome sometime?” William said in a conspirational tone.  

He felt his grip tighten on the wine glass at just the mention of sharing his newfound obsession and judging by the look on William’s face he knew it too. “He’s mine- do you hear me? Mine. And stop bothering me.” Lucien stared right into William’s navy-blue eyes.  

William laughed, an attempt to ease the awkwardness and changed the subject. “Try a female as well, especially the virgin ones- their pussies are tight as fuck.”  

Lucien started walking away but not before pulling a face at that last remark, he quickly gulped down the glass of blood before rushing back to his section of the cave. It was of upmost importance to make sure that his werewolf hadn’t made any dumb attempts to escape.  

Lucien entered the room, and his eyes locked onto the partially still drugged werewolf who was standing a couple feet away from him, swaying slightly, with a candelabra held menacingly in his hand.   

To be fair, Lucien had expected this type of uprising, it was well expected, and Lucien could see that the other was absolutely seething with fury, but he also looked disoriented- he was probably still trying to wear off the drug. A little convincing should be enough to get him to put the weapon down.  

The werewolf’s eyes were glassy and unfocused, struggling to maintain eye contact with Lucien. “You...you can’t keep me here,” he slurred, his voice barely above a whisper.  

He took a step forward towards him, his movements fluid. “You’re not going anywhere.” Lucien replied.  

The other’s eyes started swelling up with tears and for a second...just for a second Lucien felt his heart pang slightly. “It’s futile, stop fighting...” he paused, thinking of something to say to distract him slightly. “What’s your name, pretty one?” He ends up asking nodding at him.  

He saw the werewolf’s jaw clench but his grip on the candelabra loosened. “Thorne.” he replied.   

Lucien repeated the name after him and liked the way it rolled off his tongue and smiled to himself. His name matched him perfectly.  

Thorne dropped the candelabra suddenly- all too suddenly and collapsed on to Lucien. Both landed on the, luckily, plush carpet and Lucien let out an oof noise.  

“Hey...Hey! Don’t tell me you fell asleep so quickly?” Lucien asked frantically hitting Thorne’s back repeatedly. The big oaf felt like he was going to crush him.  

Thorne’s head rested in the crevice of Lucien’s neck and let out a soft sigh that tickled against the vampire’s ear, sending a pleasant shock down his spine. On top of that, Thorne’s member was pressing up against his thigh and Lucien could feel he was huge and chuckled softly to himself.  

Lucien gave up on trying to move the werewolf and in the silence Thorne’s breathing started to get more rhythmic, and the vampire felt warmth with his body draped over him like a blanket. His tightly coiled hair was tickling his nose and Lucien ran his hands through it every now and then.  

Lucien never really felt the need to sleep but lack of rest could take a toll on his mental state, so he usually tried to sleep at least once every two or three weeks. The vampire never slept for long though, only a couple hours because he never liked to be caught unaware. Anyhow, with this giant on top of him with no means of getting off him, Lucien tried to take a short nap. He realised that Thorne was a werewolf and needed food to survive not blood- he'd have to sort something out for him to eat in the morning.  

For once in his eternal life, it didn’t take him very long to get to sleep.  

Notes:

ive got exams coming up so the next chapter might take 2 weeks to arrive- i'll try my best and get it in my the normal time but this is just a heads up in case u dont see the next chapter next week saturday :>

Chapter 6: V

Notes:

i have to release this chapter early cos on saturday i wont be able to, hope u enjoy

Thorne  

 

Thorne woke up, his head and body feeling heavy, but he felt surprisingly well- rested. He attempted to sit up, but a sharp pain shot through his head making him wince. As he moved, the person that Thorne had no idea was beneath him stirred, it was Lucien.  

The vampire’s eyes shot open. “What the...?” Thorne muttered. 

Thorne froze, sinking in that he had slept on top of Lucien. He tried to roll off him, but Lucien held his wrists firmly. 

“Ah-ah, I don’t think so,” Lucien said his angled eyes narrowing. “You’re not going anywhere until you explain why you tried to hit me with a candelabra yesterday.” 

Thorne’s face flushed with embarrassment before realising he didn’t owe him an explanation- he was the one that’d just been kidnapped, watched someone he loved die before his eyes and had no clue as to whether his family was dead or alive. “Sounds like you deserved it, and I will do it again until I get released from this hellhole,” he replied bluntly. “Plus, I don’t even remember doing that, my memory of last night is hazy.” 

Lucien’s face dropped even further, Thorne was kind of regretting his choice of words but still tried his best to stand his ground. 

“Wow.  I’m not sure what’s more disturbing the fact you tried to attack me or the fact you thought a candelabra would be a suitable weapon.” Lucien said sarcastically. 

Once again, Thorne reiterated that he didn’t recall last night. “I... I don’t remember.”  

“You know...Your brother just so happened to be one of the werewolves that got kidnapped, I’m sure you’d hate for something to happen to him, no?” Lucien’s smile was like a knife cut to him. “There are so many vampires that’d love to get their hands on a younger werewolf like him...Using him as their personal fuck toys.” 

Thorne’s heart dropped at the mention of his brother; he wasn’t sure whether Lucien was lying or not but risking it over the dignity and safety of his brother was too much. “He’s just a child, leave him out of this. What do you want me to do?” He said flatly. 

Lucien’s grin grew wider. “Now, we’re talking,” the vampire tapped on his own chin as if thinking. “Get on your knees.” 

Thorne’s heartbeat spiked but he slowly got on his knees before he watched Lucien walk towards the massive bed. “Crawl to me.” Lucien continued. 

Thorne paused, this was so fucking humiliating. The werewolf crawled to him, his head looking down before he kneeled in between Lucien’s legs.  

Lucien cocked his head to one side, before he neatly tied Thorne’s hair into a small ponytail. “Wouldn’t want this getting in the way, right?” 

Thorne felt his fear spike to the max, just what did he have in store for him? 

“I’m sure you haven’t done this before right?” Lucien asked while undoing his robe and Thorne saw his already erect member, he felt like vomiting. 

“I’ll try and go slow for you...Open your mouth and watch those teeth- I'm warning you.” 

Thorne looked up at him. “Is there no other thing for me to do? Anything would be better than thi-”  

Lucien’s face hardened and quicker than Thorne could react the vampire grabbed his face and shoved his cock down his throat. He gagged; this was disgusting. 

“Move your tongue around the tip, and be careful with those teeth, damnit.” Lucien continued, his teeth gritted. Thorne felt like he wasn’t a person anymore, he felt like an object, but Aiden was worth this, so his tongue made little circles on the tip of his cock and started to feel his precum in his mouth, it tasted salty, but he wouldn’t dare spit it out. 

Lucien let out a satisfied sigh. “Good, that’s it. Try sucking on it now,” the pale-skinned vampire guided him. “Hollow out your cheeks.” 

Thorne followed his instructions and for a minute or so he sucked and licked at Lucien’s cock before the vampire abruptly stood up. Thorne straightened up due to his sudden movement and height difference, Lucien’s member slipping out of his mouth.  

Lucien tapped his cock against Thorne’s face. “You’re quite bad at this y’know? But practice makes perfect, we’ll try again in the future. For now, I just wanna finish up quick, slacken your jaw and brace yourself, ok?” 

Thorne hurriedly nodded, thank goodness he was going to finish soon. Thorne was fighting off the urge not to bite half his cock off anyways. 

Thorne opened his mouth, and slackened his jaw as instructed before the vampire slammed his cock into his mouth- the tip rubbing up against the back of his throat. Thorne’s eyes widened in surprise, and he gripped onto his thigh to hold him back from throwing up. Lucien slowly took out his cock before ramming it back in again. 

“You look prettier like this; your mouth stuffed with my cock.” Lucien said tauntingly, Thorne grunted angrily as his response. 

This motion continued for at least three minutes until Thorne felt salty sliminess drip down his throat.  

“Don’t you dare spit that up, swallow it.” Lucien said sharply while panting heavily and doing his robe up again. 

Thorne swallowed all the semen. Lucien had laid back down on the bed and seemed to be enjoying his post-orgasm state before he sat up and used his foot to poke at Thorne’s erection “That turned you on, huh?” Lucien said mockingly. “You did an ok job for a newbie.” 

The werewolf looked down, damn, he hadn’t even realised, he felt too disgusted to do anything about it. 

“My brother, you’ll make sure the other vampires leave him alone, right?” He stared up into his dark eyes. 

“I’ll try...” Lucien muttered in response.  

Thorne frowned. He was going to need a better response than that, he stood up. “What do you mean try?”  

“ I mean I’ll try, now drop the attitude.” Lucien said, while furrowing his brows. 

Thorne sighed in response. “I’m sorry, um...Can I have a bath?” 

Lucien seemed amused. “Why you feel disgusted when you were on your knees sucking my cock?” He chuckled, “yeah, ok, whatever go take a bath.”  

Lucien said something in what Thorne couldn’t decipher, and these fairies popped out of seemingly nowhere. They were of different pastel colours and smelled like flowers. 

Lucien must’ve seen the amazement on his face because he explained what they were, “those things are sprites, they help with the small tasks here and there and they’re going to help set up your shower, it should take a couple minutes.”  

While waiting, Thorne broke the silence and asked the question that’d been bubbling on his mind since yesterday. “Why’d you attack us during the Harvest Festival? You vampires never attack us during this special occasion so why now?” 

Lucien seemed taken aback but regained his composure. “Because you mongrels started it! Taking fourteen of our own and expecting us not to retaliate?!” Thorne knew he shouldn’t have pushed more instead he fuelled the other’s anger even more, but he was just as angry right now. 

“Don’t dare call my pack mongrels and we didn’t do anything!” Thorne answered with the same fury. 

“So, who the fuck did, hmm? The only possible answer are you guys.” Lucien said. “Now drop it and go and have your bath.” 

Thorne didn’t say anything more about the subject still worried about his brother, also where were his original clothes? He wanted to get the moon carving, I mean, as of right now that was the only thing he had that reminded him of home and he felt on the cusp of crying but didn’t want to give this monster the benefit of showing his tears. 

“Where are my clothes?” Thorne asked dejectedly.  

Lucien nodded towards them, in a pile on the bed. Thorne hurriedly grabbed them before rushing towards the bathroom, feeling Lucien’s eyes on him. 

He sank into the bath scrubbing every inch of his body, yes, Lucien hadn’t touched him, but he still felt dirty.  

He was hoping that the werewolves back home were planning some sort of rescue mission, the only thing keeping him going was knowing that his brother was going to be, hopefully, kept safely. 

* 

* 

* 

Lucien  

 

 

 

Truth be told Lucien wasn’t half as angry as he’d seemed, as he’d thought it was to be suspected, but seeing Thorne getting all scared really turned him on. Fuck, Lucien didn’t even know whether Thorne’s brother was really here, he’d only seen a vampire that looked like him. It was kinda cute seeing him get all defensive over his brother, though. 

His cock sucking was terrible but in a way that was clumsy, and cute. It was so adorable seeing him swallow his come, it almost made Lucien want to shove his cock back down his throat again. 

Realising that Thorne would probably want some breakfast, he thought of leaving him unattended but decided against it after his last attempt of escape. He settled on tying him onto the bed before getting something to eat. 

As if on cue, Thorne came out of the shower looking adorable. His usually brown curly hair was drenched and his towel wrapped loosely around his waist, showing his Greek God-like physique. It was becoming harder to fight off the urge to do something unholy to him. 

“Why are you staring at me like that? Perv.” Thorne raked the towel through his tightly coiled hair.  

“I just like looking at you.” Lucien said.  

“Ok...Um, anyways I was wondering what clothes I should wear? My original clothes are soaked in sweat.” Thorne asked cautiously. 

“Nothing.” The vampire replied plainly. He waited to see his reaction and smiled when he saw the shock on Thorne’s face. 

“You’re joking...right?” Thorne said with disbelief. 

Lucien waited a beat before nodding. “Yeah, just look through my wardrobe and pick something you like. I’ll take you to the tailors or something to get you properly fitted out sooner or later.” 

Lucien watched as Thorne decided on a vintage dark black vest with nice cool green accents and dark trousers. The jet black-haired vampire looked him up and down before approving silently, he looked nice in it, Lucien supposed that Thorne would look nice in anything though. By chance, Thorne’s stomach rumbled, reminding him that he needed to get the werewolf food. 

“You’re hungry right?” He looked into his hazel eyes, “I want to get you food but I’m going to need to tie you up, wouldn’t want you trying to attack me again.”  

Without warning he pinned Thorne under him and tied him on the bedpost. “Don’t try anything dumb- I will find out.” He warned. 

Lucien headed towards the kitchen area; there was never really any use of them as vampires didn’t really need to eat so the ingredients weren’t fresh. Plus, he wasn’t sure what Thorne would eat. Scrounging the cupboards for something that hadn’t gone out of date centuries ago, Lucien settled upon some cheese and bread. He’d have to tell Cassius to get some new supplies for their new werewolf guests later. 

He had started to arrange the cheese and bread, so they looked more pleasing until he heard a cry for help through the cave. That was worrying- Lucien tracked the sound to William harassing a kid that looked like Thorne but younger. Honestly, he wasn’t surprised. 

“Sir, please stop that...I don’t like it.” he heard the young werewolf say.  

William replied gruffly, “it doesn’t matter if you like it or not, kid, now strip.”  

Lucien usually never involved himself in matters when it came to William’s odd sexual desires but for some reason because it was potentially Thorne’s brother, he felt like he had a duty to help him. 

Just as William was about to pull Aiden closer, his voice cut through the air, cold and authoritative. “I think that’s enough William, he’s not of age yet.” 

William’s face twisted into a snarl. “You’re always ruining it when I’m about to have fun.” but he released the kid’s arm and walked off, probably cursing Lucien under his breath. 

Lucien turned to the child, yup, that was most definitely Thorne’s little brother, but he asked of his name and soon learned he was called Aiden.  

He offered Aiden some cheese and bread. 

“Just tell me when someone bothers you, ok? I’ll deal with them, you should be able to see your brother in the next couple of days or so- that I can promise you.” Lucien said firmly. 

Aiden nodded shyly...even their mannerisms were the same. 

Lucien quickly made it back to Thorne and if looks could kill then the vampire would most definitely have died on the spot. The werewolf looked furious to having been tied up. 

“I took a while, right?” Lucien said apologetically 

“Yeah...you kinda did.” Thorne said but he shrugged it off. “At least you came back with something edible.” 

Thorne reached out with the hand that wasn’t tied to the bedpost for the food. 

“Not so fast, I want to hand feed you.” Lucien stated. 

Thorne looked horrified. “Haven’t you humiliated me enough today?” His lips trembled slightly, shoulders slumping. 

“Clearly not enough if you still have the energy to talk back.” Lucien remarked. “If you’re truly hungry I suggest you let me feed you.” 

Thorne looked resigned before opening his mouth. Lucien layered a piece of cheese on top of the bread and popped it into his mouth. There wasn’t that much but the vampire supposed you weren’t supposed to eat that much for breakfast, right?  

Thorne chewed up the last bits of food, his dark skin looking particularly charming with the candle lights, making him look like he was glowing.  

Thorne was perfect. Thorne was his.  

Notes:

have a great dayy, btw i will not be able to post the next chapter in time for next week, ive got exams coming up. Wish me luck!

Chapter 7: VI

Notes:

guys i somehow managed to finish the writing in timee

Thorne  

 

 

It always seemed dark here, unlike the area he lived with his pack, where you could easily tell day from night. Since he had woken up a couple hours ago though, he assumed that it was morning.  

Thorne was slowly chewing on stale bread and cheese, hand-fed by Lucien, it was humiliating but he couldn’t do anything to stop it plus he was too hungry to complain.  

Lucien’s eyed him for a while before his face broke into a grin.  

“Ah, you’re so cute, I could just eat you up...” The vampire murmured under his breath.  

Thorne gave him a funny look before his face burned with embarrassment, thank the gods that he had dark skin so his flushness wouldn’t show up. He fiddled in his pockets for the carving which always seemed to soothe him now, he was still in shock but with all that was going on right now, he couldn’t even begin to process the grief of losing Luna.  

There was the sound of very light footsteps and in stepped this man, he was slim and even paler than Lucien, his hair looked thin.  

“Um, sorry to disturb,” The presumably a vampire said, his hands in front of him as if he could use it to shield himself. “But I need to collect the werewolf.”  

Lucien looked taken aback but only briefly before setting down the plate of food, only having crumbs on it now. “Can’t you see he’s eating?”  

“I understand but, Cassius will be livid if he figures out I let a werewolf go like this. We need to clean the cave up before the celebration that’s occurring a couple moons from now, the werewolves can join too.” the skittish vampire said with surprising coolness.  

Celebration? His ears perked up, maybe he’d be able to meet Aiden there...But knowing the situation they were in, he wasn’t too sure what was going to happen to him and his fellow pack members.  

“A party? Again?” Lucien said gruffly.  

“Yes, well, Cassius wants this party to be more, um, like a party to show off our catch to neighbouring covens?” He wants the vampires to be properly introduced to the werewolves.” The paler vampire said quite hurriedly.  

Thorne felt his stomach drop at the word ‘party’, perhaps if he begged Lucien enough, he’d be able to miss it.  

Eyes flickering to Thorne, Lucien exhaled slowly and quietly. There was something unreadable in them- cool and glassy. Not quite fondness, though. Just a flicker of something that made Thorne frown.  

“Very well then.” Lucien quietly.  

Thorne couldn’t hide his grin at the opportunity of leaving, that other man looked much friendlier. Following the vampire, the werewolf turned around to get a glance at Lucien to see him zoning out, as if deep in thought.  

Thorne tried his best to match the vampire’s quick pace. He was muttering under his breath about dusting and blood rations. The werewolf tried to focus on other things like the doorways, the shadows- the slight scent in the air he couldn’t quite place.  

The silence stretched for a while longer before Thorne finally broke it. “Do you always mumble like that?”  

The other flinched but his pace didn’t slow down. “It helps me think.”  

“You think a lot for someone who’s just supervising chores.”  

“I also do a lot of other things!” He said defensively. “It’s not glamorous but it’s very organised.”  

Thorne raised an eyebrow. “You sound proud of yourself.”  

“Well, I have to be proud of something,” The other muttered.  

There was an awkward pause. The vampire glanced at him from the corner of his eyes, looking more relaxed.  

“...Do you have a name?”  

Thorne glanced at him, and he felt his anger bubble, he wasn’t some sort of lesser type of living thing, of course he had a name, but he couldn’t blame him.  

“Thorne, what’s your name?” The hazel-eyed werewolf asked.  

The other blinked. “Oh.”  

Thorne frowned. “What?”  

“No-nothing. Just...It fits you...Ah, right, my name’s Valois.”  

Thorne nodded in response. They walked in silence, but not heavy silence, comfortable silence. Since he had arrived this was the one moment when he felt he wasn’t walking on eggshells.  

“Valois,” Thorne said testing the name like a knife in his hand. “If I asked you for help- like external help- you'd tell Lucien, wouldn’t you?”  

Valois’ shoulders tensed. Then slowly, he whispered, “Depends on what you’d ask me to do.”  

Thorne didn’t answer. But Valois didn’t press. The werewolf liked that about him.  

They stopped near a grand door, and it make a creaking sound as Valois opened it. It was vast and had the scent of old parchment. The shelves looming like walls and the moonlight filtering through the windows.  

Valois gave him a quick debrief on his work and got thrown a rag. He was trying his best to focus on the shelves- but his nose caught something. A familiar scent. Then another. And another.  

Leather. Pine. Iron. Could this possibly be other members of his pack?  

“...Cato?” Thorne knew it was pathetic to call out to someone who could potentially be dead and knew he would probably receive no answer until...  

“Thorne?” The familiar tall werewolf popped out from behind a shelf, with his broad-shoulders and blonde hair, that was definitely Cato.  

Then came Bran, grinning as he always did despite the fatigue in his eyes and Mira, eyes wide shining with disbelief.  

Thorne exhaled. His chest ached and felt heavy, but he didn’t move. Not yet. Not until-  

“We thought you were dead.” Mira said, her voice low and soft to not alert Valois.  

Thorne stepped forward before laughing awkwardly. “I thought you were. I hope none of these brutes have touched you yet?”  

Bran’s smile faltered slightly before glimpsing up at Mira.  

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Mira said before looking down, her brown locs hiding her face.  

Thorne’s eyes softened. “Of course, of course, this is a happy time, we’re finally reunited, eh? Even if under unfortunate circumstances.”  

The group leaned in and gripped forearms, shoulder to shoulder. Wolves didn’t hug often, but this was close enough. This was nice...He was able to take his mind off things this way.  

The moment almost passed too quickly before Valois’ small voice piped up for the wolves to get back to cleaning.  

Bran spoke up again after a couple minutes of work. “Are you okay, Thorne? You don’t look as roughed up.”  

“I’ve been hand-fed,” Thorne muttered as he swept up some ash. “And harassed, but I’ll be fine.”  

“I knew the short, stocky one with the robe had funny vibes.” Cato said.  

Thorne’s head cocked to the side; Lucien wasn’t short or stocky maybe they were talking about a different vampire?  

Right on cue, the library doors creaked open once again.  

A short, balding man entered like a bad perfume- slow, lingering and impossible to ignore. His robe was half fastened so you could see his pot belly and hairy chest, it looked like he wasn’t wearing any underwear too.  

The vampire practically purred once his eyes landed on their small group of four and Thorne could feel Mira freeze beside him.  

The blue-eyed man zeroed in on Thorne, fiddling with the werewolf’s top button, the curly-haired werebeast was this close to choking the man on the spot but if Lucien heard of this and harmed Aiden...He just couldn’t.  

“What a pretty bunch...I believe I’ve already tried one of you though.” The pervert said his eyes narrowing. “Yes, I tried that one. She was a little too tight for my liking though and bled a lot.” He nodded towards Mira, and she looked down and was wringing at her hands.  

The stocky man reached out to touch her hair and Thorne smacked it to the ground and could sense Cato and Bran flinching. Shit , he shouldn’t have done that.  

“How dare you touch me like that you inbred mutt?” The balding man said.  

“Excuse me!”  

Valois entered, with some sense sort of authority. “You- Lord William- you're not authorized to be in this wing during work rotation!”  

William, as Thorne had learned was his name, rose his eyebrows. “And you are?”  

“Oh, come on, you know my name is Valois.” The smaller vampire said his voice raising about half a decibel. “Please...please leave before I must report this to Cassius.”  

William took a step forward. Valois took two steps back.  

Thorne could cut the tension with a knife.  

The temperature seemed to drop, ever so slightly and from the far end of the library, Lucien emerged from the shadows. His gaze levelling with William.  

“William.” The room froze.  

Lucien’s voice was silk, but sharp. “What did I say about bothering Valois?”  

William opened his mouth but then thought better of it. “I was just-”  

“You’re just leaving,” Lucien interrupted. “Now.”  

There was a long pause and William’s smile faltered  

“...Fine,” he said, voice tight. William’s gaze seemed to linger on Thorne for just a second longer before he sauntered off with far less grace than when he had entered.  

Valois exhaled like he’d been holding his breath in for a week. “Thanks for that, Lucien.”  

Lucien didn’t look at him, he was looking at Thorne.  

“That was risky what you did there, you seem to like trouble, you’re unharmed, right?” he murmured stepping closer.  

“We were handling it just fine before you came along.” Thorne quipped.  

Lucien smiled faintly. “You’re refreshing.”  

Then his tone changed- light, almost conversational. “There’s a gathering in the next couple of days as I’m sure you heard from Valois earlier this morning. You and the others here will be entertaining. You know, like serving drinks and whatnot.”  

He continued. “You will clean up after us as well. We like things tidy.”  

Lucien reached forward and brushed a bit of dust from Thorne’s collar- slow and deliberate before leaning forwards and giving him a fast peck on his cheek quicker than the werewolf could react.  

The black-haired vampire lingered for a moment longer- then turned and vanished, leaving behind cold air.  

Thorne pulled a face and rubbed away the kiss on his cheek, he was acting suspiciously nice today unlike yesterday, he wasn’t dumb and knew that Lucien definitely put something in his drink. If he thought that acting friendly today was going to put him in Thorne’s good graces, then he had another thing coming.  

He got pulled away from his thoughts. Bran let out a shaky breath. “My Gods. He’s handsome and terrifying.”  

“Pick one.” Cato muttered.  

Thorne would have to talk to Mira about what had happened, she was so sweet, no one deserved that. He’d have to deal with that after this party thing, and it didn’t even seem like Mira was ready to talk about it. Thorne swore he would break that monster’s neck.  

Three packmates found. Ten still missing including his little brother.  

And a house filled with horny vampires getting ready to throw a party.  

*  

*  

*  

Lucien  

 

 

Valois coming to disturb them in the morning was not on his agenda. Lucien had been planning on showing Thorne the rest of the area and hopefully sneak a couple kisses as well.  

After Thorne had left, the vampire treated himself to type B blood, his favourite, and was trying to sort out the coven’s finance.  

Lucien started at the ledger in front of him. The ink was dry, the numbers made perfect sense, yet he hadn't turned the page in twenty minutes.  

He tapped his quill once. Twice.  

Then set it down.  

The wolf had disrupted everything.  

Not with violence, however, but with his presence. That simmering energy that made Lucien’s blood itch in his veins. He had kidnapped Thorne to be his sex slave, to be Lucien’s quick fix.  

And now he sat over his desk, twiddling his pen idly between his fingers, heart pacing fast.  

He kept replaying that damn image in his head:  

Thorne leaving his room with Valois. That ragged look softening for a moment when that wreck of a vampire stepped in.  

He hadn’t got the chance to see him smile yet, and he gave his smile away to Valois for free?  

Lucien had seen it.  

And he hated that that smile wasn’t for him.  

He stood abruptly, gazing through his window where the moonlight made the marble look like bone. Somewhere in the west wing, the wolves were cleaning up. Without him really wanting it to, his mind drifted to Thorne- his rough hands cleaning the dirt away, his jaw clenched and him smelling like dust.  

Fuck , he hadn’t expected to get hard from that though...He really needed to get laid. The vampire was trying to be patient with the werewolf and was waiting for the right time to come up before he slept with him. Thorne would eternally hate him if Lucien forced himself upon him.  

Lucien’s imagination ran away for a bit, and he rubbed away at his pulsating erection before he realised that Thorne would be working in the same place as Valois.  

Lucien’s lips curled before he could stop it. Valois . Always nervous. Always eager to please. Always watching Thorne like a rabbit too dumb to know when to run.  

Moving himself closer to the fireplace, he read poetry, that usually calmed him down. He flipped it open absently. Poetry. Mortal. Useless.  

“ And he is gone with silver feet,  

And I remain, with ashes sweet.”  

He slammed the book shut and a lower-ranked vampire knocked on his door to fill him in with the rest of the details for the party later.  

Now, he had an excuse to visit Thorne. It didn’t take him long to get to the library, but he hadn’t expected to see his werewolf fighting with William. It was extremely attractive seeing Thorne defend himself and he honestly wasn’t that surprised; it was only a matter of time before William and Thorne would run into each other and he knew their heads would crash.  

He quickly sorted out the situation, William was easy to scare away. Lucien then walked closer to Thorne before giving him more details on the party and the werewolf’s face was back to its usually frowny look.  

Fighting the urge to bite his neck while brushing the dust off it was hard, though. He could just imagine the blood oozing out of his neck and the little love bites he’d leave from Thorne’s neck to his shoulders.  

Lucien knew it was a risk, but he gave the werewolf a quick peck on the cheek before he had left as a kind of ‘reward’ for resisting the temptation to completely wreck Thorne in front of this group.  

The vampire planned his clothes ahead of time, he didn’t like to leave things last minute. He planned to wear a three-piece suit with strong royal blue highlights that would show off his slimmer waist and perhaps some jewellery to help make the outfit stand out a bit, he’d need a second opinion on that.  

Lucien may not have liked parties but when it came to impressing people- he always liked to excel in that.  

Notes:

think weve seen a bit of development in this chpt.

Chapter 8: VII

Notes:

this chapter made me have a bit of writers block icl and i only finished it yesterday at like 2am, it's a bit longer than my usual

Thorne  

 

 

The next couple of days had passed by quickly. When Thorne would arrive back from his cleaning sessions Lucien would greet him and the werewolf would go to sleep soon after. It was unnerving sleeping though, as Lucien didn’t need sleep and would often just watch over him.  

Truth be told, it had been awkward, somehow. Lucien hadn’t asked anything perverted of him and was acting quite kindly, but Thorne wouldn’t fall for that.  

The werewolf also had the chance to mourn, after telling Cato, Bran and Mira about Luna’s death the four of them cried and Thorne felt free in a sense. They made jokes, Luna would’ve hated it here and would have probably ripped off William’s balls. Thorne felt free in a sense, yes, the pain was still there but having talked about it and having Luna’s trinket still on him, he felt much better.  

Also, Thorne had managed to ask Valois to smuggle a letter out back to his pack. It was just the two of them and Valois was escorting him back to Lucien’s chamber as he so often did. It was nice and silent, which is how he liked it.  

“Valois, can I ask you something?”  

The vampire perked up like a startled cat. “Oh. Yes. Of course. I mean within reason. I don’t have the authority for everythi-”  

“It’s not about that,” Thorne cut in. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of parchment. The edges were frayed, and the ink was slightly smudged, but it was still legible. “It’s a letter. For my pack.”  

Thorne could hear Valois’ breath catch.  

He continued. “I don’t know whether they’ll reply but they need to know I’m alive and the other are too and that we’re...Holding on.”  

Valois took the letter delicately. “If I’m caught-”  

“I know. You’ll do it anyways though, right?” Thorne said softly.  

Valois hesitated for a second longer but nodded.  

Thorne nodded once, grateful. “Thank you...I owe you.”  

Valois offered a small smile in return. “You’re welcome. For what it’s worth, I hope they reply.”  

~  

The werewolves stood in a uniform line, dressed in crisp black shirts, polished shoes, and silver-trimmed collars that glinted under the dim chandelier lighting in the kitchen area.  

The day had come; there were loads of vampires. Thorne had never seen this many vampires gathered in one area, he hadn’t spotted Lucien though, or Aiden, in fact Thorne was starting to think that Lucien was lying about his brother being here at all.  

Thorne adjusted his cuffs, scowling. “Do we really need these tight collars?”  

“They match the trays...” Valois offered weakly, then winced afterwards as if cringing.  

Mira elbowed Bran as he mimed biting it off. “Don’t even think about it.” She said sternly. The female werewolf then went back to silence, her fingers twitching around her tray. Cato had barely said anything and stood stiff with the composure of a man trying his best not to tear the room apart.  

Valois stepped forward. “Just remember: serve only what’s in the decanters. Don’t interrupt. Don’t run away. Don’t speak unless spoken to. If a vampire tries to touch you just bear with it, they're probably curious and-”  

“Don’t throw the wine on them?” Thorne suggested dryly  

Valois gave a brittle laugh and nodded.  

Lucien entered wearing a three-piece suit with blue features on it to and it showed off his figure well, it also seemed like he had styled his hair as it looked very glossy. The room subtly shifted as he entered.  

His gaze swept over the werewolves before stopping at Thorne.  

“You all look presentable; I’m sure Valois has gone over basic manners with you, right?” Lucien said.  

Strolling closer, Lucien started to idly straighten Thorne’s collar. “No growling. No spilling. No biting unless requested. Understood?”  

Thorne made a face, what type of sick fuck would want him to bite them? Then again these are vampires we’re talking about.  

Before Thorne could press further Valois ushered them out of the kitchen and into the dining area.  

It was overwhelming, he hated this room, and his clothes felt too tight on him. He hated the way the vampires smiled at him- lazy and slow, like cats watching a bird with a broken wing.  

But he had to keep moving.  

He only stopped because he overheard the word ‘werewolves’  

“...can’t keep relying on these dogs to clean up every mess,” one said, voice rich and sharp. “It’s beneath us.”  

“Doesn’t matter,” another replied, sounding bored. “None of this matters- not when Titans return.”  

Titans? Who or what were they...Then again maybe it was just drunk vampires rambling, at least that’s what he told himself.  

The vampires changed the subject quickly back to gossip about bloodlines and politics.  

It was just old blood talking nonsense, monsters telling stories to make themselves feel better. Just noise.  

He was so distracted by all this talk that when he was navigating himself through the groups he flinched when a cold hand brushed against his arm.  

“Oh,” a melodious female voice murmured. Thorne looked up to see a vampire with hair dark like black ink and her lips stained a deep red. “Such reflexes, do it again.”  

Her hand reached out again.  

Thorne growled out of instinct and could feel his claws about to burst from his skin.  

“Enough.”  

The voice cut through the noise like a blade.  

Lucien.  

He stepped in without ceremony between the pair and held the female vampire’s gaze. “He’s needed elsewhere.”  

“Pity.” The woman mock pouted before drifting off.  

Lucien didn’t look at Thorne immediately. “You need to get your manners in check.” He said harshly. Thorne wasn’t surprised he went back to acting like this.  

“I need wine from the cellar to be brought down, get it for me.”  

Thorne exhaled sharp, grateful for the escape, even if it was dressed as an order. He didn’t speak- just turned and headed toward the stone stairwell at the rear of the hall.  

The wine cellar was dim and lit with orange lanterns with rows upon rows of dusty bottles and old barrels.  

Thorne descended the last few steps, breath still tight in his chest.  

The silence was a blessing.  He passed the first row of shelves. Then stopped.  

 

A shape moving behind the second shelf. Small and laughing.  

He froze.  

That laugh.  

That laugh .  

He rounded the corner, heart racing, chest burning, eyes wide.  

“Aiden?”  

A pair of bright amber eyes stared up at him.  

Aiden.  

Still looking the same, unharmed, and with a smile on his face. He was clutching a bottle in one hand and eating a half-bitten apple in the other.  

“Thorne?”  

For a heartbeat they just stared at each other.  

Then they collided- arms thrown around each other, rough and desperate. Thorne buried his face in his little brother’s hair and gripped him as if he wouldn’t ever let go.  

“You’re alive,” Thorne chocked. “You’re safe, you’re-”  

“I’m okay.” Aiden breathed, clinging just as tight. “I’m okay, I swear. I thought...I didn’t know if they got you too-”  

They pulled apart only a little.  

“Are you hurt? Who’s been feeding you? Who’s keeping you down here?”  

“No one,” Aiden said quickly. “Well- Lady Seraphine, she’s old, weird but kind. She’s been looking out for me thanks to this vampire...Um, I don’t know his name though.”  

Lucien. He had kept his promise.   

“In fact, that vampire helped me from this creep...Uh, I don’t know the creep’s name either.”  

Thorne felt grateful at Lucien keeping his promise, he supposed he owed him now.  

“I’m glad you found me.” Aiden said quietly.  

“Me too. Sorry, I have to go now, I got instructions for someone, I’ll try and catch up on you as often as I can.”  

Aiden nodded and waved him off as Thorne climbed back up the stairs with a bottle of red.  

Lucien wasn’t very far from the wine cellar.  

“I found the wine,” Thorne said evenly.  

Lucien’s dark eyes searched his. “You found something else too.”  

Thorne didn’t answer but he didn’t need too, Lucien gave him a nod and waved him off to continue working.  

The rest of the night went by without any blips. Before he knew it, they were cleaning up and Thorne went up to the balcony for some fresh air but ran into Valois instead.  

He was leaning against the railing and Thorne walked so he was beside him; his eyes were hazy but gentle. Valois was swaying slightly but it looked like he was trying hard to act normal.  

“You did well tonight.” Valois said  

Thorne gave a low tired chuckle but nodded. They stood in comfortable silence, the cold night air brushing between them. Valois turned towards Thorne, expressions softening.  

“I’m glad you’re here,” Valois murmured. “Makes things less horrible here. You’re like my first friend.”  

Valois stepped closer- too close, maybe, but not in a way that made Thorne tense. There was no danger in it.  

Then without warning, the other vampire leaned in and wrapped his arms around him in a clumsy yet earnest hug.  

Thorne stiffened in surprise but didn’t pull away, letting it happen.  

Just as Valois started to pull back, still smiling.  

But the door behind them creaked open, Lucien.  

His eyes were fixed on Valois. “Get out.” Lucien’s voice was low and razor-edged.  

“Lucien, it wasn’t like that-” Valois started  

“I said out.”  

Valois left fast, almost tripping over the doorframe on his exit. Now it was only him and Thorne.  

“Was it fun?” Lucien asked quietly. “Letting him pretend?”  

Thorne stiffened. “He was drunk, it didn’t mean anything plus it was just a hug.”  

The vampire’s face darkened, and he grabbed Thorne tightly by the wrist until they reached Lucien’s chamber.  

To be fair, at this point, Thorne was getting scared, he knew his mouth would get him in trouble sooner or later with Lucien, but he just couldn’t stop himself.  

As soon as they entered his chambers Lucien closed the gap between them in two quick strides and grabbed him roughly by the face and crashed his lips against Thorne’s in a forceful kiss. It wasn’t affection. It was a claim .  

Thorne growled against his mouth before shoving him away, the vampire staggered back two steps, surprise briefly flashing across his face before he found his footing again. Lucien surprisingly didn’t retaliate though.  

“Don’t ever do that again.” Thorne hissed, breath ragged.  

Lucien opened his mouth, but Thorne was already moving. He yanked the door open and slipped into the corridor, to the washroom.  

The werewolf leaned over the basin, twisting the tap until icy water roared out. He splashed it over his face again and again until his skin stung and his thoughts slowed down.  

There was something so intimate in kissing someone compared to just sucking their cock, that’s what made Thorne so angry. How could his first kiss be stolen by that brute?  

“Get it together,” he muttered into the mirror. “Aiden first. Pack first. Everything else is noise.”  

Thorne returned soon after, but the other was nowhere to be found, which was better for him he supposed, the werewolf’s anger would have boiled over if Lucien was still here.  

Trying to go to sleep was difficult and Thorne found himself subconsciously rubbing his mouth.  

That stolen kiss burnt hotter than the water he used to wash it away.  

*  

*  

*  

Lucien  

 

 

Lucien stood before the grand mirror in his dressing room, his sleeves rolled to his forearms, a silver comb in one hand and a small black jar of pomade in the other. He started slicking his hair back, the smell of crushed roses filling the air. Presentation was power.  

Lucien had finally decided on wearing red rubies on his fingers, matched best with the royal blue was his thinking.  

It felt odd without Thorne there, without his sharp eyes judging him in the corner. Valois had taken him and, yes, it still stung...slightly.  

Closing the pomade jar with a sharp twist, Lucien exhaled slowly, as though the breath might cleanse the envy curdling in his stomach. Ridiculous . Jealous of Valois? Of his soft-spoken nerves and fumbling affection?  

But he’d been observing the way Thorne was looking at Valois. The werewolf was his pet so why was he acting so friendly with that mess?  

Once again, a vampire came into Lucien’s room and told him that the party was soon to commence. Upon hearing this, the vampire thought it would be fun to disturb Thorne a bit before the function.  

It honestly wasn’t surprising that Thorne was complaining about the outfits, but Lucien didn’t see why as he looked extremely attractive in them. His broad shoulders strained against the crisp white shirt of the uniform. The silk bowtie sat against his throat like a leash and his tailored pants – gods above- fit with utter precision. Every time he moved, muscle shifted underneath the crisp fabric.  

Lucien goes up to adjust his collar but just wants to get a closer look at him. The vampire warns him not to be aggressive with any guests and Thorne pulls this very adorable angry face before Lucien must leave and do the worst bit of get-togethers...The mingling.  

Small talk annoyed him, especially with snotty vampire nobles...’Lady this’ or ‘Lord that’. It was very repetitive and annoying, but he had to power through, it was good to network from time to time.  

Of course, Lucien was always scanning for Thorne as well to make sure he hadn’t gotten himself into trouble or something.  

And... It seemed like he had gotten into a scuffle with a Lady, not good. Tension between covens was never good.  

Lucien quickly cut in and ordered Thorne to get some wine from the cellar. Now, truth be told, the vampire knew that Aiden was going to be there because he was the one that sent him down there prior to this. He had left Aiden in care with Seraphine, the most trustworthy vampire in their coven and he hoped that Thorne seeing Aiden would make his mood better and judging by Thorne’s reaction upon coming out the cellar, Lucien had done the right thing. Baby steps towards trust hopefully?  

The night pretty much droned on from there. Talking, drinking, gazing at Thorne, repeat and it soon became the end, and people were packing up and there were few people left.  

Lucien supposed that he should walk Thorne back to their chambers, he’d be tired. It wasn’t that hard finding him, as Lucien had worked out, werewolves had unique scents and Thorne smelt like flowers, he wasn’t sure what species, but it was definitely foreign to this part of Tenebrous maybe back at his pack it was more common.  

His footsteps were soundless on the velvet runner lining the hallway, the only sound being the faint ticking of the grandfather clock.  

Ah, he was on the balcony, it was a nice night to look at it he supposed.  

The door was half-ajar, and he could hear talking so Lucien’s footsteps slowed.  

“...Make things less horrible here. You’re like one of my first friends.”  

It was Valois.  

Lucien rushed to open the door.  

And there he saw them.  

He’s touching him.  

Practically melting into each other's arms. Thorne was stiff but didn’t reject the hug which was just as bad. Who the hell did Valois think he was hugging what was his? And Lucien thought they were making progress as well; he thought that he had been nice enough for Thorne to forget about Valois or at least not talk to him as much.  

“Get out.” The vampire hoped his voice didn’t come off as aggressive to Thorne.  

They both turned around in surprise and Valois took a polite step back before trying to explain himself, but Lucien cut him off. The skittish vampire ran off like the little bitch boy he was.  

Leaving only Thorne and him.  

The werewolf immediately went defensive and it triggered Lucien. ‘It was just a hug’?  

Dragging him back to their chambers was easier than Lucien thought, he would have thought that Thorne would put up more of a fight, perhaps the vampire looked really that angry.  

As soon as they entered the chambers Lucien crashed his lips onto his- uninvited. Lucien could practically taste the resistance from Thorne, and it only fuelled him more, the ache of being denied too long.  

Thorne shoved at his chest, snarling.  

“Don’t ever do that again.” Was the only thing he said before storming off. Leaving Lucien there with his own thoughts, he stood still for a couple seconds before mindlessly wandering in the halls.  

He stopped, why was he doing this? Why was he begging for scraps of affection from a wolf?  

“What’s wrong with you?”  

She always knew went to come.  

Vivienne and Lucien had been friends for at least a century, arguably, she was his closest friend besides Seraphine and had a habit for popping up when he needed someone to talk to. Great that she came now too, her auburn hair was in a neat braid which was unusual for her.  

As if by magic, she could sense it had something to do with Thorne as Lucien had told her a that he was going to take in a new sex slave.  

She took one look at him and said plainly. “He rejected you in some way?”  

Lucien smiled. “Yes, I suppose.”  

Vivienne moved closer to him with careful grace. “It’s about time that you drop the kindness act anyways, stop pretending he’s more than he is.”  

He turned slightly to face her. “Go on.”  

“You gave him a test, and he failed it, no?”  

Chuckling softly under his breath, Lucien nodded. “That was partially my mistake. I thought he needed the softness.”  

“What he needs is authority. Mark him. I’ve already suggested this to you prior, in fact, I think you should have done it the day he came in,” Vivienne continued. “Make it hurt. Make it last.”  

Lucien’s fangs ached. He had thought about it, he wasn’t planning on since he was trying to be gentle, but it seemed like that’s not how Thorne wanted it.  

He thought about it briefly then fully turned towards Vivienne giving a slight nod. “Tomorrow night.” Lucien said final and quiet.  

“As it should be.” Vivienne said while bowing her head in agreement.  

Let Thorne fight it. Let him rage. But by the end of it, he would carry Lucien’s bite and scent.  

Notes:

hope u enjoyed it :>

Chapter 9: VIII

Notes:

yooo, uploaded this kinda early cos im getting my box braids done tmrw...the pain :<

Thorne  

 

 

Thorne woke up to a dull throb in his head and he was still in his waiter’s clothing from last night and the kiss was still on his mind; it shouldn’t have bothered him this much though.  

He sat up, it was strange that Lucien didn’t come back into the room like he usually did.  

The door creaked open.  

Lucien entered, dressed in simpler clothing but he was dressed warm as well, his hair was into a neat bun.  

He surveyed Thorne in silence, then spoke.  

“Get dressed. We’re going out.”  

Thorne blinked. “Out where?”  

“The village. I thought we’d eat out this morning- well not me just you- food makes me nauseous. There’s a tea room that will serve non-vampires. It’s autumn so dress warm.”  

Thorne pulled a face. “It’s not like I exactly have clothes on me right now.”  

Lucien nodded. “I know that which is why you will wear what’s mine, plus people aren’t... as tolerant as me when it comes to werewolves so wearing something with my scent will tell people you’re owned.”  

“I’m not owned.” He murmured under his breath.  

This caused Lucien to stare at him before going back to looking through his wardrobe before throwing something in Thorne’s direction.  

Upon closer inspection, it was a black velvet coat. Thorne hesitated before slipping it on, some fresh air would be good for him. And, yes, it did smell like Lucien, he hated how well it fit him.  

Lucien moved closer to the door. “Meet me downstairs when you’re ready. Don’t take long.”  

He paused at the threshold. “And Thorne- try not to bite anymore.”  

Thorne stood alone with the very citrusy smelling coat on him. He still held some resentment but was too hungry and tired to care. The werewolf was wearing the clothes of the man who had kissed him, made him suck him off and was giving him mixed signals.  

And now he had to follow him into a village infested with vampires where he’d be seen as somebody else’s property. He wasn’t done fighting yet, though.  

The “village”, if you could even call it that, looked like it was built to endure storms- grey stone, dark wood and narrow streets.  

Thorne kept his head down.  

Lucien walked ahead, graceful, with gloves on and unbothered by the cold. His own long coat fluttering behind him and more than once the vampire would turn around just to make sure Thorne hadn’t run off yet. Not as if he would try it with vampires in every corner.  

The tea room was small, tucked into the corner of a street with warm, dim light spilling through the windows and it smelled like home slightly? It had the scent of herbs and firewood making his stomach-ache.  

Lucien held the door open for him and Thorne stepped inside.  

A woman behind the counter nodded to them as a greeting and guided them to a seat.   

Lucien let Thorne slide in first then joined him across the table. The booth was too close. The space between them too quiet.  

The menus soon came in and Thorne looked in disbelief, he didn’t recognise half the dishes, but it was the most he had gotten in a while.  

The vampire watched him with a ghost of a smile on his face before finally speaking up. “Order as much as you want.”  

Thorne looked up at him suspiciously. “Why do I feel like there’s a catch?”  

“There’s no catch. You haven’t had a proper meal since arriving... Consider it damage control.”  

He narrowed his eyes. “You mean a bribe.”  

“Call it whatever makes you feel better.”  

The food came quickly- steaming bread, with roasted vegetables that came with a stew that actually smelled edible.  

Lucien didn’t touch anything but just gazed fondly at him which unnerved Thorne.  

“You don’t have to stare.” Thorne muttered.  

The vampire leaned back in his seat. “I’ve never seen a werewolf eat food before, it looks strangely domestic.” Lucien touched the tip of Thorne’s nose. “Plus, you seem in a better mood than usual.”  

“Well, if I got fed three times a day then maybe I would be in a better mood.” Thorne said snappily but with not as much bite in his words than he usually did.  

The other’s lips twitched into a ghost of a smile. “We’ll need to stop by the market after this. To get some stuff for you and the other werewolves.”  

Thorne was surprised.  

“You’re of no use to me if you starve.”  

Thorne blinked. For a moment, it sounded like he was saying something almost human but that quickly dissolved after Lucien said. “Besides, you aren’t as enjoyable if you’re all skinny when I start fucking you.”  

Of course it wasn’t kindness. It was upkeep.  

The other studied him for a bit longer, then said, voice quieter now. “You know what it means to be marked right?”  

Thorne paused mid-bite. “...Yes, wolves do it too.”  

“And what do you think of it?” The vampire tilted his head. “The idea of carrying someone’s mark. Of being known.”  

“You mean owned .”  

“Protected.” Lucien countered gently. “Claimed, yes. But protected above all else.”  

Thorne looked him dead in the eye. “You’re not seriously asking if I want that done to me? Besides, I’m an alpha so I’m not meant to be marked- I'm supposed to do the marking.”  

Lucien’s eyes widened. “I didn’t know that...”  

The vampire didn’t press the subject after that, just looked thoughtful.  

He shoved the last piece of bread into his mouth and Lucien soon rose to leave before pulling out a pair of gloves and handing them to Thorne.  

“It’s cold, your hands are going to freeze up. No need to suffer unnecessarily.”  

Thorne took them without saying anything and put them on, that was strange.  

He didn’t say thank you, but it didn’t seem like Lucien expected him to.  

The market was livelier than Thorne had expected.  

Not joyful, though. There were few vegetables but once again, Thorne just assume this was due to the lack of vampires eating.  

They were getting a couple stares here, but Lucien seemed unbothered, Thorne on the other hand felt like a stray dog being paraded around. If anyone said anything the vampire would simply stop, stare at them and they would fall silent.  

After a short while of walking, they stopped in front of a stall and Lucien tapped at the merchant’s ledger. “Two weeks' worth of food.” He paused and turned back to Thorne. “Do you guys eat raw meat?” He shook his head; raw meat could still make him ill.   

Thorne watched quietly as the merchant started packing up bags of food before leaning in, tapping Lucien on the shoulder and whispering. “Can we get spices too? Cato hates bland food.”  

Lucien arched an eyebrow. “Spices?”  

“You know? Stuff like salt, pepper. Garlic if you’re feeling bold.”  

The vampire turned back to the vendor. “Add it.”  

They continued through the narrow paths after buying the food stuffs with Thorne carrying a sack under one arm with the gloves he got given being too tight but warm. Both of them didn’t speak again until they were halfway back.  

“You did well,” Lucien said unexpectedly.  

“What?”  

“In the market. You didn’t snap at anyone or make a scene.”  

“I was just too tired to care.” Thorne replied.  

Lucien gave the barest smile. “Or maybe you’re adjusting.”  

The werewolf didn’t reply.  

“Um,” Thorne started. “Thanks for getting me something to eat.” He murmured.   

Lucien looked surprised but his face softened, and he nodded.  

After reaching the coven, Lucien dumped the rest of the food sacks with him before telling him he had to go do something.  

Thorne carried the food through the back corridors into the servant’s quarters. You could tell it was made in a rushed state for the other werewolves to stay in, but it was ok, he didn’t sleep here, though.  

The door creaked open.  

Bran, Cato and Mira were scattered near a hearth, trying to warm themselves while Aiden was seated on a pile of blankets.  

Aiden’s eyes immediately lit up upon spotting his brother, he scrambled towards him, nearly crashing into the bags. “Thorne! You got food?”  

Thorne grinned despite himself. “Mhm, nothing fancy, but it’ll do.”  

But as soon as Aiden hugged him his nose wrinkled.  

The others stiffened too.  

Bran stood up. “Wait.”  

Cato was already halfway to Thorne. “What’s that smell?”  

Thorne froze as Aiden slowly pulled back from the hug. “You smell funny, not like your usual scent.”  

“Not like weird weird,” Mira added warily. “Like...a vampire?”  

All eyes turned to the coat.  

“It’s Lucien’s,” Thorne admitted, shrugging it off quickly and folding it over his arm. “I didn’t have anything else warm to wear. He insisted.”  

Cato crossed his arms. “He insisted, huh? That’s generous of him.”  

“It doesn’t mean anything,” Thorne said, voice flat. “It was cold, and I’m not about to freeze just to prove a point.”  

Bran stepped closer and sniffed again. “It’s not just his coat. It’s him... all over you.”  

Thorne’s jaw clenched.  

“I didn’t ask for that.”  

Aiden looked up at him, worried. “He didn’t hurt you, did he?”  

“No,” Thorne said softening slightly. “He took me into the village to buy food for us. That’s all.”  

Aiden glanced at the others, uncertain. “He’s not that bad...”  

Thorne’s expression flickered.  

Cato scowled. “You’re only saying that because you’re being coddled by that weird lady and she’s putting things in your head.”  

“She’s nice.” Aiden said defensively.  

“She’s still a vampire.” Cato contended.  

The tension was palpable.  

Thorne set the bags down and started pulling things out- bread, preserved meat, vegetables, spices and even a small jar of honey. The room brightened at the sight of real, edible food but the silence still lingered.  

The others soon joined and helped him unpack.   

“Just be careful,” Mira said, voice low. “We can’t lose you too.”  

Thorne gave her a nod but said nothing.  

In the back of his mind, he could still feel Lucien’s coat around his shoulders and worse a small part of him didn’t even want to take it off.  

*  

*  

*  

Lucien  

 

 

After her talk with Vivienne, his mind involuntarily wandered back to Thorne again and realised that there was no food in the coven anymore for the werewolves but there was a tea room not far from here, it’d be good to go out.  

He pulled a coat onto him, it was cold today, Thorne would need one too, maybe he should go to the tailors for him too?  

Luckily, when he had entered his room, Thorne was already awake.   

After telling him they were going out, Lucien told him to wear his coat, and you could visibly see his nose crinkle, so a werewolf’s sense of smell is that good.  

It was necessary though; a vampire would kill a werewolf if they weren’t aware that he was owned and fuck he looked cute in it too despite the initial reluctance in his face.  

At the tea room, Lucien was a bit more curious about the process of marking him and asked his opinion about being marked just to learn he was an alpha. This was...surprising, I mean Thorne had the traits of an alpha but was Lucien really willing to bottom for someone?  

Then after they bought groceries and it was so cute seeing Thorne pad after him in the coat and everything. Lucien didn’t know what was wrong with him to be frank.  

He had to rush the grocery shopping as he had a meeting to attend again. Boring.  

So, after dropping Thorne, he headed to the meeting. It was always stifling, with high-ranking vampires being there and, obviously, Cassius.  

The meeting felt long, like usual with predictable squabbling: land disputes, blood supply, negotiations and the werewolves-  

Lucien should have seen it coming, he should have known William wouldn’t let this slide easily.  

“Some of us are wondering,” William drawled lazily from across the table, “if Lord Lucien intends to share his little pet, of you plan on keeping him in your chambers forever. Furthermore, I don’t think you have even fucked him yet, have you?”  

Lucien’s fingers tensed on the armrest.  

“I think someone’s starting to get attached.” William said in a sing-song voice.  

A few amused murmurs rippled through the room. Lucien said nothing more. He could’ve put William in his place with a single sentence but then again, the vampire didn’t want this situation to escalate.  

He ended up leaving the meeting early, ignoring the entertained glances, the implications hanging like a storm cloud over him.  

The fire was still lit; Thorne was there with a book and the coat that Lucien gave him temporarily was hung on a nearby chair.  

His hair was messy today, the golden strands curling around him like halos.  

Lucien didn’t speak at first. He walked to his grooming table, opening it to retrieve a carved, wooden hairbrush.  

“What...?” Thorne said cautiously.  

The vampire turned to him. “Sit. I want to brush your hair.”  

The golden-haired wolf blinked. “What? No.”  

“Must you always be so damn difficult, hmm?” Lucien snapped.  

Thorne paused before he sat forward letting the other settle behind him.  

He ran the brush carefully through his hair, so as to not tug on it and Lucien could swear, he saw Thorne’s shoulders relax after a while.  

“You look nice today.” He murmured unconsciously.  

Thorne froze but didn’t move away.  

For now, this would be enough.  

Notes:

theres going to be some smut next chapter guys, alr got it planned for u lot, hope u enjoyed todays chapterr.

Chapter 10: IX

Notes:

happy saturdayyy, mostly lucien today

Thorne  

 

It was shocking when Lucien asked to brush his hair, no one had brushed his hair since- Luna.  

She was the only one he had allowed. When they were younger, she used to sit behind him after hunts, humming while working through the snarls in his hair. Luna would tease him about his rough hair.  

And now...She was ash.  

Also, Lucien was being surprisingly gentle too, being very slow and methodical.  

Thorne hated how good it felt, and his shoulders sagged against his volition. He hadn’t realised how much weight he was holding on them until now.  

“You look nice today.” Lucien said, voice lower than before.  

Thorne stiffened as his heart gave a traitorous little beat. This was dangerous, why was he feeling so confused? It’s not as if it meant anything, he supposed that his mind was playing tricks on him thinking it was Luna instead.   

Thinking of Luna was a bad idea right now as he started to feel an ache in his groin and adjusted the way he was sitting to hide it. It also wasn’t helping that Lucien just had to be good at brushing his hair too.  

Claim him. I want more.  

The voice was small and at the back of his head, but he definitely heard it. It had been a while since he sensed anything coming from his inner wolf ever since the Harvest Festival, he supposed it was due to the high number of emotions he had felt after.   

Damn. It was near impossible for a werewolf to try and ignore their inner wolf. What was a young male werewolf to do?  

Lucien had stopped brushing his hair, had he already noticed his growing erection?   

*  

*  

*  

Lucien  

 

 

A small, satisfied smile played on his lips as he realised the effect he was having on Thorne. This had been the plan, but he wasn’t planning on doing anything until Thorne begged for it.  

After a bit more brushing, Thorne broke the silence.  

“Lucien,” the wolf started, his voice low in a whisper. “I... I need.”  

The vampire’s hand stilled, waiting patiently for Thorne to continue.   

“Ah, are you really making me beg?” Thorne murmured.   

Lucien hummed and let the silence settle for a beat before moving his hands deftly down to his zipper and undid the button before wrapping his hand around Thorne’s length and the werewolf let out a low moan, his head falling back against Lucien’s shoulder.  

“Do you like this?” Lucien said in a whisper as he began to stroke him.  

He could only nod, his body was practically trembling. Lucien’s thumb started circling the sensitive tip of Thorne’s cock as his hips began to move in sync with the vampire’s strokes. Thorne’s breath was coming in short, ragged gasps.  

“More. I need more.” Thorne panted.  

Lucien obliged, increasing his pace, his hand moving with fluidity. He leaned forward and bit down lightly on Thorne’s ear so he wouldn’t draw blood eliciting a growl from him.  

Thorne’s body tensed, muscles coiling and Lucien could feel his orgasm building, the pressure in his core growing more insistent with each stroke of his hand.  

“I’m close...Fuck, Lucien.” Thorne growled, voice hoarse with effort.  

With a final, firm stroke, Lucien sent him over the edge. The werewolf’s body convulsed, his back arching as a primal roar tore through his throat. His release pulsed hot and thick into Lucien’s hand, the sensation sending shivers of pleasure.  

The vampire made sure to milk out every, last drop of come out of Thorne. The wolf’s body went slack as he basked in the effects of post-orgasm.  

But as the intensity of the moment began to fade, Thorne quickly dressed himself and pushed away from Lucien, leaving him confused on the bed by himself as the wolf left. Where was he going to sleep? It was already nighttime.  

Also, what the fuck was Lucien doing? He usually didn’t care about his sex slave’s pleasure in the past, but he supposed this was different, technically, Thorne had begged him so.  

Trying to brush it off, Lucien wandered around until he helped himself to a goblet of blood in the library.   

He didn’t understand it. They had shared something meaningful, hadn’t they?  

The soft click of heels was heard before the smell of jasmine, it was Seraphine. She studied him for a beat, taking in the vacant look in his eyes.  

“Do you know how Aiden’s doing?”  

Seraphine blinked before a wide smile appeared on her face. “Aiden’s doing fine, he’s such a polite, little guest and is keeping me company.”  

“Good.”  

“You care about the boy?”  

“I gave my word to Thorne,” he said quietly.  

She glanced back at him, lips quirking.  

“I was going to mark him tonight.”  

“Thorne?”  

Lucien gave a slight nod.  

Seraphine raised an eyebrow. “Do you know how dangerous it is to mark an unwilling partner?”  

Lucien hummed, staring into space.  

Sighing, she stepped closer to him. “Don’t you remember a couple decades ago when a vampire marked an unwilling partner? That poor girl deteriorated in days.”  

“Just be patient.” Seraphine said gently.  

Lucien stood up and gave her a half-hug before sauntering off back to his chambers, and Thorne was back.  

Raising his eyebrows, Lucien gave a nod to greet him.  

“I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.” He started.  

Thorne looked up at him. “That’s funny because I wasn’t that uncomfortable.” his hands clasped right over his mouth in a very cute manner.   

Lucien grinned, how adorable, it felt comforting to know, that for once, he wouldn’t be seen as a villain in Thorne’s eyes. He didn’t bring it up afterwards as it looked like the werewolf was very embarrassed about that slip up.  

The vampire soon started to do other things, like reading poetry but would occasionally glance over at Thorne to check what he was doing...And he was fiddling with this carved trinket?  

“What’s that?”  

Thorne sat up. “From my closest friend Luna.”  

“Luna?”  

“Mhm, best buds since childhood but...She passed away during the Harvest Festival incident.” Thorne said the last bit quieter.  

Oh, was Luna that girl he killed? Thank the gods that the day that Thorne came here Lucien had intoxicated him heavily, hopefully, the other had forgotten the face of who killed her if not the werewolf would hate him eternally.   

He didn’t regret it, though, he would do it again and again and again if it meant that Thorne would be with him right now.  

It went quiet again before Thorne got up again, this time however, Lucien followed him as the werewolf went outside. Shit, is he trying to escape?  

However, Thorne just sank to his knees and started touching the soil tentatively.   

Watching him for a beat, Lucien eventually said. “You’ll ruin your clothes.”  

“They’re not my clothes, remember?” Thorne muttered without looking up. “They’re yours.”  

Lucien’s smirk was slight, fleeting. “Fair enough.”  

“The soil’s dead,” Thorne said while digging into the dirt. “Too cold, not enough Sun...”  

“What would you grow?”  

The werewolf hesitated, then gave a reluctant smile. “Moonberries.”  

“Those things are real?” Lucien blinked. “Thought it was one of those things us vampires get told about your people.”  

“It’s real.” Thorne said while sitting back on his heels. “Dark blue, sweet smell. They only grow in the northern groves near our territory- I used to forage them.”  

“What would you do with them?”  

“Bake.” Thorne said sheepishly. “Made them during the Harvest season.”  

Lucien crouched besides him, surprise flickering in his expression. “You? Baking?”  

The werewolf scowled.   

“You want to try growing them here?”  

Thorne shrugged. “Like I mentioned, wouldn’t survive the soil, they’re super delicate.”  

Lucien hummed. “I’m a hundred and twenty-four years old, Thorne.”  

“That...wasn’t what I expected you to say.”  

“Figured I owed you some information back since you opened up to me.”   

Thorne sat back in silence. “The oldest werewolf I know is one hundred and eight so, I don’t think werewolves live long.”  

Nodding, Lucien gestured that it was time to head back inside, it was getting late now, Thorne needed to sleep.  

“I’m going to go hang out with my pack before I retire.” The werewolf said before leaving Lucien on his own. Again.  

It was all good, this way he could try and find a way to smuggle in those seeds Thorne was talking about.  

The only option was Aurelien, his manor wasn’t too far from here, he was a little zany but had relics from both werewolves and vampires before the great divide.  

After about five minutes of walking, he’d gotten their and entered, it smelled heavily of moss.  

Turning a corner, Lucien knocked into some chimes which he supposed helped Aurelien know when someone came in.  

“Aurelien.” He called.  

A chair unfolded into a man.  

“Lucien!” Aurelien beamed, stretching his unnaturally long limbs as if he had awoken from a century-long nap. “You came for moonberry seeds, yes?”  

The vampire’s eyebrows knitted but didn’t question how he knew that. “Yes. A pot with fresh soil too.”  

“Oh-ho! Garden ambitions? You surprise me.” the older vampire said and wagged his finger.  

“It’s not for me.”  

Aurelien’s eyes glinted with mischief. “Of course, it’s for the wolf, right? The handsome one that’s making you act all soft recently despite him originally coming to be your bed slave.”  

Lucien’s mouth opened but he shut it again, no need in arguing with him.  

They went to his conservatory until they reached a corner teeming with greenery.  

Aurelien pulled out a small clay pot and filled it with fresh soil. “These seeds need warm soil, good luck sorting that out.”  

Lucien took it and gave it a cursory sniff- smells damp and rich. Good.  

The other put a small velvet pouch into his hands and he tucked it into his pocket. “What do you want in return?”  

“Just a visit now and then...Make sure to bring the wolf, it’s been a while since I’ve seen one!” Aurelien continued. “Plus, we’re not going to be here much longer, you know with Titans coming and whatnot.”  

Lucien stilled, ah, the man was going crazy again.  

“They’re coming. You and your wolf will be caught in it.” The other said in a sing-song voice.  

The vampire turned to the door and started making his way.  

“Make sure to visit.” Aurelien said cheerfully.  

Titans? Yeah, he was going mad, but Aurelien always seemed to know things that no one else should. Maybe he had truly been around long enough to still remember what everybody else had forgotten. Either way, more research had to be done before he came to a conclusive answer.  

The door to Lucien’s chambers creaked, he was trying to be stealthy as he suspected that Thorne had already gone to sleep.  

It smelled warm and floral, like the wolf. His scent was everywhere in Lucien’s room now and he didn’t hate it.  

The coat he had given him was draped across Thorne’s back like a blanket and he looked peaceful, what a rare sight.  

Lucien stood, just watching him. While sleeping, he looked so young and unguarded.  

Carefully, he set down the clay pot on a bedside table and put the pouch of seeds next to it too.  

It looked like his pet was having a nightmare, Lucien reached down and brushed Thorne’s hair out of his face making the werewolf let out a sigh.  

He felt a stir of desire in his groin as he remembered the way that Thorne’s mouth opened in pleasure, the same way as it was now, when Lucien had brought him to the brink of ecstasy with his hand. The way he convulsed...  

Fuck, he really needed to stop thinking with his dick.  

Lucien pawed at his erection through his pants to help it die down before he went back out. He looked one time over his shoulder at the sleeping figure and his face involuntarily softened.  

Notes:

very happy abt plot direction so far...hope u enjoyed

Chapter 11: X

Notes:

hello hello happy saturday, just thornes pov today. Have u guys seen squid game s3??? the ending kinda disappointed me but i wont give anymore spoilers

Thorne  

 

Ok, so that just happened. Had Thorne really just let Lucien touch him like that? The worst thing was that he didn’t even hate it, it felt pretty good maybe if it had been done by someone else, he wouldn’t be feeling this guilty.   

Walking did always help him to clear his mind, and he soon returned and just sat their fiddling with his wooden trinket.   

He had never felt that raw or primal and he wanted to do it again. He had never lost control like that, never let anyone else get that close.  

I want him to touch us again.  

For once, Thorne actually agreed with his inner wolf and found himself pawing at his growing bulge. Damn, there must’ve been something wrong with him, was he entering his rut?  

Hearing the door creak, he sat up quickly and put his hands on his lap to cover his erection. It was only Lucien though.  

“I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.” Lucien started.  

Thorne’s expression softened slightly, he had felt far from uncomfortable, and his big mouth just had to say that. So embarrassing.  

They soon moved onto the topic of Luna. The funny thing was, Thorne had seen the person that her killed her, but it was now hazy in his mind’s eye, his memory usually wasn’t that bad.  

He’d been feeling more homesick recently and had been craving moonberry pies. Yes, the food here wasn’t terrible but he had been missing a lot of home food too. The seeds had many conditions to uphold and was sensitive to lots of seemingly trivial changes in soil, light and water.  

Seemingly out of nowhere, he sprang up and headed to the gardens and could hear a pair of footsteps behind him and assumed it to be Lucien’s.  

The soil in question wasn’t in good enough condition for such sensitive seeds to which he had a conversation with Lucien about before he decided to hang out with some members of the pack.  

As per usual, he found them in the servants' quarters and Cato seemed to be already waiting.   

Thorne walked in and noticed how tense everyone looked and raised an eyebrow. Mira was sat with her knees tucked under her chin; Bran was leaned on a wall and Aiden was picking at the carpet while Cato’s jaw was literally twitching.  

Ah, this couldn’t be good.  

Cato’s voice hit the moment that Thorne closed the door behind him.  

“You’re really making yourself comfortable, huh?”  

The wolf blinked but steeled himself.  

“In the vampire’s coat. Coming in late again.”  

Thorne tried his best to keep his voice even. “I was outside, I was hoping to grow moonberry seeds, you know something that reminds us of home?”  

“With him?” Cato’s voice rose, echoing in the cold stone chamber. “You think any of us would get away with that? You think the rest of us get an opportunity to go out and get warm coats?”  

Stiffening, Thorne looked away, unsure of what to say.  

“Must be nice.” Cato spat. “Sleeping in silk sheets while the rest of us rot here, at least you get to look rested and comfortable.”  

“It’s not-” Thorne glanced at the others. “It’s not like that.”  

“No? So what is it, then?” The blonde-haired wolf stepped forward. “You spend your nights in his bed, sucking his cock while he butters you up. You are not his equal, you’re nothing but a plaything for him to receive his pleasure from.”  

Thorne flinched and glanced at Aiden; he didn’t want his little brother to see him as a sex slave, how dare Cato embarrass him like that?  

“That’s enough.” Thorne said firmly. “I’m doing what I must to survive.”  

“Which is warming his bed, so he doesn’t kill off all of us or sell us all off as sex slaves.” Cato added unhelpfully.  

Thorne stepped forward. “You think I like this? You think any of this is a choice?”  

“No. But I can see what it’s turning you into and you’re forgetting who you are.”  

The silence afterwards was palpable, and he glanced at Aiden- his face held no judgement only quiet sadness which was even worse.  

Thorne sighed before leaving to go back to Lucien’s chambers. In hindsight, this was ironic but what was he to do?   

It was weird, but recently lying in bed calmed his nerves, perhaps due to the silky soft sheets. At least that’s what he told himself and it definitely wasn’t because of the citrusy smell that he had gotten used to due to Lucien.  

Still, it took him a while to sleep. He pressed his hands over his eyes.  

Lucien didn’t even touch him that often, just enjoying his presence. It was the slip-up today that messed things up.  

Eventually, he drifted into troubled sleep.  

Thorne stirred beneath the soft covers, of course, it still looked dark but after being here for a couple weeks he could now sense the difference, there are always different shades of dark.  

For a moment, he didn’t move, just lying there feeling heavy-limbed, staring at the ceiling.  

His gaze dropped to the edge of the bed- and froze.  

There, placed carefully on the nightstand was a small, ceramic pot. Damp soil, and nestled within that dark earth was the tiny, unmistakable seed. Dark blue in colour, yes, that was definitely a moonberry seed.  

It was cool to touch as if only just brought in. His throat tightened, so many memories came back in.  

How...?  

He had only told Lucien, but would the vampire really go through all those lengths just to get Thorne a seed? No, it didn’t sound like him.  

Thorne’s undependable heart gave a little beat again, Gods help him. Yes, it had to have been Lucien.  

But why? This was personal and thoughtful, traits that Thorne had yet to see in the other. A conflicted frown tugged at his lips.  

“I didn’t ask you to care.” Thorne whispered into the empty room.  

Either way, it was time to get to work, he crouched by the windowsill, sleeves rolled up and brows knitted in concentration with a watering can sat beside him.  

The seeds were nestled gently underneath the soil and a thin trail of water from the base of the pot to the edge of the windowsill had started to drip on the floor, showing just how overzealous Thorne may have been.  

“You’re going to stain the floor.”  

Startled, Thorne looked behind him to see Lucien at the doorway wearing his shirt only half done up and once again had put his hair into a messy bun but had left some face-framing hairs out on the sides this side. Oh, to have long hair.  

Thorne wiped his hands on his trousers- not that it helped much- and rose to his feet. “I tried my best to be careful.” He murmured.  

Lucien stepped forward, eyes flicking to the pot then Thorne’s mud-streaked hands. “Mm,” he said sounding unconvinced. “They’ll hopefully grow well there; the windowsill is your best place for at least some sunlight around here.”  

Thorne gave a half-smile. “Thank you, for getting the seeds.”  

The other looked surprised as if he hadn’t suspected Thorne to express his gratitude, his mouth opened but the words didn’t come. Instead, his gaze drifted towards Thorne’s muddy hands.  

He raised a brow. “You’re filthy.”  

Thorne blinked his eyes. “I was gardening, what do you expec-”  

“Bath,” Lucien interrupted. “Now.”  

“Yeah, don’t worry I’ll clean up later.”  

“I didn’t say anything about letting you bath alone.” Lucien was already turning on his heel, walking toward the adjoining bathing chamber with that infuriating confidence of his. “Come along, little wolf.”  

“Lucien, I swear-” Thorne started.  

“If you’re going to leave little muddy handprints all over my furniture,” Lucien called back over his shoulder, “you can at least earn the privilege.”  

That earned an exasperate sigh out of Thorne, but he still followed.  

Thorne stood near the bathtub as Lucien was kneeled next to the back watching it fill up and putting flowers, perfume and whatnot.  

Lucien turned to look at him. “Take the rest off, then.”   

“Can’t I do this when you’re not looking?”  

Lucien looked angry just for a second before he covered it and gave Thorne a tired groan. “Just take the clothes off for gods’ sake, I quite literally, took you off yesterday. This is menial compared to that.”  

Thorne slowly peeled off his clothes, trying his best to always cover himself. He put a hand over his privates. By the time he had finished undressing, the room felt colder than before despite the warm steam from the water. Plus, Lucien ogling him was not helping.   

“Good, not so difficult, right? Now, get in.”  

Thorne climbed into the tub, the hot water a small comfort compared to his burning ears, he sank in trying to cover as much of himself as possible.  

“Don’t sulk.” Lucien said while rolling up his sleeves, reaching for a washcloth.  

The vampire started washing Thorne’s shoulders. “You’ve got dirt behind your ears.” He murmured, voice low and far too pleased with himself.  

“That’s not possible, I didn’t go rolling around in mud. I just got some on my hands.” The wolf said, not meeting his eyes.  

He barely got to finish his sentence before Lucien traced the shell of Thorne’s ear with his fingers and the vampire soon leaned forward and licked him, tracing out the same pattern he had done with his fingers.  

“No funny business.” Thorne said while swatting him away from his ear which elicited a genuinely happy giggle from the other.  

Thorne went flushed.  

Lucien hummed, brushing his fingers through Thorne’s hair, pushing it out of his face. “You really don’t know how pretty you look when you’re flustered. Think I have to be doing that more often.”  

He rolled his eyes in mock anger.  

“Can’t believe you followed me here without putting up as much as a fight as you would’ve done as to when you had first came. I wonder if you’d come just as willingly if I told you to do something else.” Lucien said with a smile on his face.  

Thorne turned sharply to face him. “Lucien.” He said dangerously.  

“Relax, but in all seriousness, I have been thinking about fucking you recently. Like doing the actual thing.” The vampire looked up at him as if trying to gauge Thorne’s face.  

Obviously, he couldn’t say anything to that, he had been expecting this for a while now, he didn’t reply. I mean what was he to say to that?  

“Think I’m ready to go now.” He said finally before starting to get up. Lucien nodded and watched him as he dressed.  

It was time for one of his little walks around the area, helped him stretch his legs and catch up on his little brother and the others. These walks were usually accompanied by Valois; they had to be more secretive about this as Thorne wasn’t too sure how Lucien would react to this newfound hobby between the two.  

As they were walking today, they had general chitchat. Valois would check in on Lucien’s behaviour and ask what they had done, some vampire gossip and whatnot. It was the one time he felt as if he were home.  

“This came in last night, from your pack.” Valois said holding it out.  

Thorne hesitated and then unfolded it, oh, it was definitely his mother’s handwriting, neat and urgent.  

My dearest son,  

We are safe, the fires have been put out and we have slowly started to rebuild. There were, luckily, not too many causalities, we can thank the Gods for that. My heart still hurts from hearing what happened to Luna, though.   

We are coming for you and the others; I refuse to lose my only two sons like I lost my mate. The old tunnels that run beneath the northern forest still hold, we checked. Once the moon passes by two times from now, we will send up the smoke signal at midnight.  

Please, do make sure that the others rest up, especially your brother. You know how he is.   

You don’t know how many nights I spent crying to myself.  

Of course, we are aware that vampires do not naturally need any sleep so you and the others will have to be quiet. Be fast. And please, be safe.   

-Elara  

 At the end was her signature, elegant and large. Valois gave him a look.  

“I’ll keep quiet about this; you guys should get out of here while you still can.”  

Thorne nodded and shook Valois’ hand; he had been of big help. He didn’t want to hurt Lucien and was hoping that they’d leave quickly enough to not raise anyone’s suspicions too much.  

May the Gods be with them.  

Notes:

hope u enjoyed this chapterr

Chapter 12: XI

Notes:

hello hello happy saturday, shorter chapter today. Next week's chapter is gonna be pretty long i suspect. Plus we have a cute moment in this chpt

Lucien  

 

 

The vampire walked in to see Thorne on his knees near the windowsill planting, like he had expected, messing around with the soil and so on. Lucien smiled to himself; his little wolf was so irresistible.  

But...He was absolutely grimy, at least by the vampire’s standards. Yeah, he needed a bath also Lucien would take any chance he could to see Thorne naked any day.  

And gods how he watched, the shirt went off first. Taut, lean muscles with the scar on his abdomen and the trail of hair disappearing beneath the waistband of his trousers.  

This was more different than the last few intimate moments they had had. The tension in Thorne’s shoulders and the way he tried not to be self-conscious.  

Lucien said nothing but his mouth went dry.  

Thorne then kicked of his shoes and took of his trousers before covering himself.  

The vampire was literally fighting demons trying not to touch him- more than that, he wanted to press him against the edge of the bath and remind him who he belonged to.  

He’d need to start bathing him more often, seeing him all lathered up in soap really turned him on.  

It would be so easy, to press a kiss to the nape of his neck. To mark him here, now.  

Thorne had a unique scent it was so distracting but the smell was highlighted after him bathing the wolf. Sweet and flowery...  

With Thorne having gone that meant he could crack down on another thing which had recently piqued his interest which were these things called Titans that Aurelien had mentioned the other day. There was just something about the way he said it that made Lucien think that at least part of it was truth. Wouldn’t do any harm in checking.  

There was a restricted library buried deep within the eastern wing and only a few people knew about it, all the better for him.  

He found the one he was looking for on the topmost shelf of a forgotten alcove. “Concordia Obscura: A Record of Pre-Divide Entities.”  

The last scholars before the war thought it’d be a good idea to keep a documentation of these things for the future generations.  

Lucien drew it down and then carefully set it down on a stone table. The room was dead silent.   

He opened the cover – nothing.  

Flicking through, he found nothing really of interest. Odd animals that didn’t really do much except eat, sleep, hunt and reproduce. Nothing that would want to harm the two main species.  

As he was about to flip the page and at once an invisible force shot up his arm- hot and electric. It blasted through his chest, knocking the wind from his lungs and threw him backwards into a shelf causing dust to explode into the air.  

“What the...” he muttered, eyes glancing to the closed tome.  

The book had managed to shut itself, unmoved from its spot in the table  

Lucien stood slowly, brushing off his coat, he didn’t like being toyed with, especially by ink and binding.  

He turned and left without another word. Things were going from bad to worse.  

For once in his life, he was actually frightful of something.  

Thorne was by the bed, crouched by an open drawer. A pile of clothes was sat by the sheets causing the wolf to look up sharply, hands still holding up the hem of a shirt as if caught mid-theft.  

Lucien’s eyes narrowed. “Where are you going? Planning a journey I wasn’t informed of?”  

“I didn’t want to keep making a mess of your drawers,” Thorne said, standing quickly. His voice was steady, but Lucien could see the tight grip on the fabric that he was holding. “Thought I’d keep a couple things aside. Makes it easier for when we go out...”  

“That’s considerate of you,” he said finally, voice smooth. “But odd timing, you barely wear half of what I give you.”  

Thorne just chuckled awkwardly before shrugging it off.  

Lucien’s face turned dark, and you could hear the venom in his voice. “I hope you’re not thinking of leaving, hmm? If you are planning something reckless- like running- don't.”  

The wolf’s face dropped.  

Lucien’s tone didn’t rise, but it grew colder. “Because I won’t chase you, Thorne. I will find you and it won’t be gentle.    

He stepped back with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, falsely pleasant.  

Thorne trying to escape? Laughable. Lucien hoped even he wasn’t stupid enough to try that.   

*  

*  

*  

Thorne  

 

 

The wolf walked as fast as he could, running would cause suspicion with the letter held tightly in his hand. This news had to be shared.  

Entering the servant’s quarters, Thorne gave a general glaze over the group, especially Aiden.   

They looked up the moment he entered, quiet and waiting except from Cato who still seemed to be upset. Thorne didn’t miss a beat and held the letter up.  

“It’s from my mother,” he said. “They’re alive and they’re coming to get us out of here.”  

Aiden shot to his feet. “Really? From mum?”  

Thorne nodded.  

He gave a quick summary of what the letter says. “They’ve planned a rescue, two days from now. Once we see the signal at night, we’ll sneak out and meet them. They’ll get us home.”  

The silence that followed was charged.  

“They’re risking everything to come back for us,” Thorne added. “We can’t waste it.”  

Mira looked down and murmured. “Two moons...?”  

Once again, he nodded. “We need to start packing, discreetly, of course.” Thorne said in a quiet voice.  

Bran piped up, “What about patrols? Vampires don’t sleep, how are we going to sneak past?”  

Thorne hesitated. “We’ll have to either be stealthy or be able to distract the patrolling vampires at night. Plus, most vampires retire to their chambers at night, anyways, whether or not they are using it to sleep.”  

A pause settled again before Mira, brows pinched, quietly asked. “What about the others?”  

Oh, she was right. There were more werewolves here than just the five of them...There were still nine others but there was no way that Thorne would be able to get that letter back to the pack telling them that they had to wait a couple more days for them to gather the rest.  

“To be honest, I don’t know where they are but over these two days we can check, and I can ask around too, how does that sound?” Thorne replied.  

The wolf gazed at Cato, who had been silent for the entire conversation and then looked at all the others who looked unsure.  

“It’s going to be ok, and if anyone is to take the fall, it’ll be me. Ok?” Thorne said trying to reassure the others.  

“We won’t leave anyone behind if we can help it. Two moons, let’s not waste them.”  

Thorne hoped he sounded confident but to be fair, he wasn’t sure how foolproof this plan was but what he did have was faith.  

He walked back to the chamber and moved quietly through the wardrobe, careful not to make too much noise. He didn’t plan to pack too much and obviously; the golden-haired werewolf also packed his trinket from Luna.  

His fingers brushed against something velvet and from the citrus smell he knew it was Lucien’s and instinctively picked it up.  

You don’t need this , he told himself, you’re leaving .  

But still his hands wouldn’t let go. Something about the scent steadied him in a way nothing else had lately.  

He shoved it onto the pile, jaw tight. It’s just practical because it was cold , he reasoned.  

The door creaked and Thorne froze.  

Thorne just said the first excuse that came to his mind, it was a lame excuse, and he could tell that Lucien didn’t believe him at all, but he didn’t seem to be super suspicious.  

After this, Lucien cocked his head to the side before he slow grinned at him. That meant he was thinking of something weird or perverted.  

“Come with me.” The vampire drawled each word out like a cat.  

“To?”  

“Surprise, just get moving.”  

Thorne hated surprises- especially here and with Lucien.  

The wolf grumbled but followed him despite this.  

And, wow, was he surprised. It was a conservatory, bathed in the silver moonlight and tall glass panes with overgrown plants, stars looking like spilled salt in the sky that stretched above them.  

Lucien sat gracefully onto a stone bench in the centre. “Come sit.” The vampire tapped his lap.  

“No. I am not lying on your lap.” Instead, he just sat beside him, looking at the sky rather than Lucien.  

“Not quite.”  

Thorne looked at him sharply. “Don’t you dare.”  

Lucien patted his lap again. “Just rest, you look tired, pet.”  

“I’ll manage.”  

His voice softened. “Come here.”  

“I’m not a lapdog.”  

“Never said that.” Lucien said with a grin. “But...Has anyone ever told you, you look like a golden retriever?”  

Thorne raised his eyebrows, and his heart gave a little beat.  

He meant to refuse. He really did.  

But his body betrayed him first, until he eased down and let his head rest on Lucien’s lap.  

His fingers were soon working through Thorne’s hair before he could second-guess his choice.  

The wolf was trying to stay guarded, tried not to let out satisfied sigh but he was so exhausted that his eyes slipped shut despite himself.  

So, he did exactly that and allowed himself to drift into sleep under a field of stars. The worrying could start tomorrow.  

Notes:

get ready for the chaos next chapterrrr

Chapter 13: XII

Notes:

hello againn, you DONT understand how long this chapter took me, like damn, i was having some serious writer's block i didnt know how to start XD

Thorne  

 

 

Thorne woke up slowly, warmth gathered along his cheek. The ache in his limbs was dulled by comfort.  

Fingers cool and slow were working his way through his tightly coiled hair...Lucien.  

He didn’t move; Lucien’s lap was surprisingly comfortable.  

“You’re awake,” Lucien murmured above him, not stopping the motion of his fingers. “I was beginning to think you’d decided to hibernate.”  

 He stayed where he was, half-lidded. The silence between them wasn’t uncomfortable, until a thought began to gnaw at him.  

He spoke before thinking.  

“Where are the others?” He asked softly. “The rest of my pack that were taken...Where are they?”  

The vampire’s fingers stilled.  

A beat, then another before Thorne sat up, turning to face him.  

Lucien’s face was cool, carefully blank. “Why are you asking about them now?”  

Thorne frowned. “I mean, I’ve always wanted to know but I just-” He faltered then straightened. “- I figured if anyone knew, it’d be you.”  

The black-haired vampire stood and started adjusting his sleeves idly. “Some are still within the manor grounds with one vampire or the next. The rest have most likely been sold. The rest don’t really matter to me anyways, just you.”  

“Sold?”  

“To rich lord and ladies, the only thing you can do now is hope that those nobles are treating those mutts nicely or not.” Lucien said with a pleasant smile on his face as if he were satisfied.  

“You sold them off like animals then?”  

“I didn’t sell anyone.” Lucien’s tone sharpened. “This shouldn’t be of importance to you anyways. I practically saved you and you should be grateful I did. Would you rather be with some vampire who would’ve marked you and fucked you raw by now?”  

Thorne lowered his gaze before nodding and allowing Lucien to walk away from the conversation.   

How was he supposed to break the news to the rest of them?  

They later gathered in the servant’s room, as usual. Thorne sat on a crate; arms folded over his chest as if he could protect himself that way.  

“I asked him,” he said. “About the others.”  

The rest of the group looked up, all with uneasy faces.  

Thorne’s voice dropped. “He said some of them are still around here...But the others-” he hesitated, then forced it out, “-they’ve already been sold off to Lords and Ladies.”  

A heavy silence settled between them. Mira’s lips parted but no sound came out.  

Bran exhaled sharply. “Sold,” he echoed. “Like we’re livestock.”  

“We are to them.” Cato muttered darkly.  

Thorne’s hands clenched tighter. “I didn’t want to believe it but the way he said it...We should’ve seen this coming.”  

Aiden shifted slightly. “Did he say where they were taken?”  

Thorne shook his head.  

Cato’s face turned sour as he pushed off the wall. “So, what now? We leave tomorrow and what- hope for a miracle?”  

Mira’s brows knitted. “Are we just leaving the others behind then?”  

“If we stay, we risk losing all of us. The pack will come and pick us up and if they stay dawdling trying to wait for us, they risk losing their lives too.” Aiden offered.  

“I know it doesn’t sound nice now, I hate it, but we have to go if we can’t find any others,” Thorne continued. “We can’t help if we’re dead or chained but if we escape now, we can come back with bigger forces to get the others out.”  

Another long silence passed.  

“How much have you guys packed already?”  

Bran nodded. “Most of the necessities that can be carried about quickly.”  

As they began to disperse, Cato brushed past Thorne with a mutter, “Let’s hope your vampire doesn’t sniff out your betrayal.”  

He didn’t respond.  

The next day went by too quickly and before he knew it evening was setting, and it was time to head out.   

Before he left, he had made sure to tend to his moonberry seeds and had even left instructions on how to take care of it for Lucien for when he had to leave.   

Somehow, he had also managed to pack most of his stuff too and had avoided being caught by Lucien.   

~  

The signal came with the moon high and pale.   

Three flashes of reflected light bounced precisely into the corridor mirror just outside the servant’s hall.   

Time to go.  

Within minutes, he had slipped into the shadows and darted into the servant’s corridors. The others were waiting where they’d agreed, near the stairwell.  

Cato was grim. Bran’s jaw was set. Mira paced like a fox in a cage, and Aiden...Thorne reached out and squeezed his shoulder. “Stay close to me.”  

They moved quickly through the less populated routes. Centuries-old wood creaking with every step and with the anticipation that with every corner they turned there was a chance that they’d be found out.  

The manor was quiet but not asleep because vampires don’t sleep .  

It took every ounce of stealth and agility to get to the back entrance of the area.  

They were nearly free.  

The gate was just ahead, framed by the moonlight and the forest was straight ahead.  

But the moment that Bran touched the latch, it was as if the air split open.  

Something stepped out of the trees- not from the manor but from the forest beyond.  

It stepped into the moonlight and Thorne could feel his body lock.  

Tall. Wrong. Its body writhed in ways the eyes couldn’t follow. Its limbs were too long, bending in unnatural angles. Its face was a blank mask of ridged obsidian with symbols crawled across its torso, glowing too.  

“ Back!” Cato snapped, shoving Aiden behind him. “What the hell is that?”  

The creature lunged- surprisingly fast for its weight and they barely avoided the strike. Its hand ripped through a tree trunk as if it were paper.  

But Thorne was still stuck, it was as if he couldn’t move. He didn’t know what was wrong with him.  

A thunderous pulse crackled through the clearing that stopped the attack before it could hit Thorne.  

“Back away.” The voice ordered the creature, and that voice was so recognisable, it had to be Lucien.  

The thing didn’t obey, it advanced.  

And Thorne felt his blood run cold when he saw Lucien wasn’t facing it anymore but him.   

“You shouldn’t have done this.” Lucien said.  

The wolf avoided his gaze.  

Another figure appeared, one that Thorne didn’t recognise. He moved in a slow, amused manner and didn’t seem at all surprised.  

The stranger blinked up at the creature. “Well, your little wolf woke this thing up Lucien. That’s a bit inconvenient don’t you think?”  

“You said you could handle it.” Lucien snapped back.  

The stranger only sighed and then lifted one hand lazily.  

Thorne didn’t understand what he did, but roots surged from the earth like grasping hands, wrapping around the thing’s legs. It writhed but before you could blink, got swallowed straight back into the ground.  

Everyone let out of the breath they had been involuntarily holding, and the werewolves were all huddled close together with Cato still hiding Aiden behind him.  

“That was tiring,” The unfamiliar vampire said. “Right, well, I think this is my signal to leave. I wish you the best of luck Thorne...You’ll need it.”  

How the hell did that thing know his name?  

Without missing a beat, Lucien turned on his heel to face Thorne. He didn’t even look surprised just disappointed, his onyx eyes piercing almost as if he was looking into his soul.  

“Thorne,” He finally said. “You disappoint me.”  

“Well, in fact, all of you do,” he said turning towards the group. “But especially you, Thorne. Didn’t I already tell you? You won’t get very far, not while I’m still breathing.”  

“Lucien...Please-” Thorne started.  

“Don’t worry this bit will be painless.”  

The vampire touched the centre of Thorne’s forehead before pushing him slightly and the world seemed to blur.  

The sad thing was, they hadn’t even gotten that far.  

*  

*  

*  

Lucien  

 

 

It didn’t take Thorne that long to sleep, and Lucien was still dragging his fingers through his hair.  

It was so strange touching his skin...It was warm unlike vampires and soft too. He could get used to this.  

But of course, the wolf always found a way to ruin it and started pestering with questions about those other mongrels and where they went. It was way too early in the morning for that kind of talk anyways.  

After that very bothersome conversation, Thorne went to who knows where while Lucien went to do general maintenance. The day dragged as per usual as it so often did when his pet wasn’t with him.  

The next day, however, Lucien went to visit Aurelien. Following his worrying find in the Concordia Obscura, he thought it was necessary to check in with bizarre acquaintance of this.  

“Ah! If it isn’t my favourite vampire,” Aurelien chirped from beneath his mountain of dusty books. His long, bony fingers waved him in. “Come on in, come on in. Ignore the squirrel, he bit me once, but we made peace.”  

“What squirrel?”  

“Oh.”  

Lucien exhaled slowly. “I need answers.”  

“Well, don’t we all?”  

“There’s a book, in the library, that has a list of all the creatures that lived before the Great Divide. I was looking for something on Titans and when I tried to turn the page, it pushed me back. Why?”  

Aurelien blinked owlishly, then leaned forward with unusual focus. “Did it, now?”  

“Yes, it expelled me.”  

“Fascinating...” Aurelien murmured. “Fascinating indeed.”  

Lucien stared at him. “Do you by chance know what I’m talking about?”  

“I might. Or I might have dreamed it. My dreams are awfully educational.”  

Lucien’s jaw ticked. “Aurelien-”  

“Oh, but where are my manners? Would you like tea? Tastes flowery, like your favourite werewolf.”  

Lucien didn’t respond.  

Aurelien sighed dramatically. “Fine, fine, sit. I’ll tell you some things but first let me tell you about the time I courted a volcano.”  

“What.”  

Oh, this was going to take a long time, Lucien pulled up a seat next to him, the rambling session had begun and what was meant to be a brief meeting quickly turned into a chaotic evening.  

Aurelien spoke about time before time. To be fair, he mentioned the word “Titan” once or twice but never lingered on it, just brushed past it.  

“…and then of course the mountain moved, which is when I realized it wasn’t a mountain at all. It was him. Or maybe it was a she. They don’t really believe in gender the way we do—”  

“Aurelien,” Lucien snapped finally. “Titans, are these things still alive?”  

“Alive is such a narrow word,” Aurelien mused. “But yes, I prefer the term ‘asleep’. They wait for cracks to appear in the world.”  

“Why are they here?”  

“They don’t want peace if that’s what you’re asking, they consider most things a design flaw.”  

Lucien stared back in quiet horror.  

But Aurelien had already moved on. “Anyway, that’s quite enough apocalyptic talk for one evening, don’t you agree? Also, I believe your wolf is slipping through the cracks, you may want to hurry back. They always try, don’t they? Poor dears.”  

The younger vampire felt his spine straightened. “He what?”  

“And if my intuition isn’t serving me wrong, I won’t be surprised that a Titan has awoken too.”  

“You said they sleep; they can be killed right?”  

Aurelien chuckled. “Define what you mean by killed, because you can’t kill them directly, you can, however, drag them back under the Earth.”  

“I need your help.”  

“Are you asking me to fight something that could possibly kill me?”  

“...Yes.”  

“Oh, delightful,” Aurelien clapped his hands together. “You know, it’s been ages since I’ve left my house.”  

~  

The wind seemed to bite sharper tonight. The cold didn’t bother him though, but the feeling of absence was there.  

So, the boy had decided to run.  

He didn’t speak. Didn’t curse aloud. But the thoughts came, barbed and cold:  

So, he lied. Again.  

He should have expected it. The way Thorne always looked at the door just a little too long. How his muscles twitched like an animal sensing a trap even when he was in Lucien’s lap. And the clothes—he’d noticed a few things gone.  

Lucien pressed faster through the trees, looking behind him to check that Aurelien was keeping up.  

It wasn’t even the scent that hit him first it was the silence. And that wasn’t Thorne’s usual smell, it smelled more panicky like distress.  

When he arrived, it was to a clearing ruptured by something impossible.  

A towering figure of grotesque flesh loomed in the clearing. It had way too many joints and unnatural angles.  

And standing in front of it were the five of them, Thorne, three others and Aiden.  

The battle didn’t take that long, Aurelien was really experienced and like he had mentioned, the Titan got stomached by the ground.  

And that left him with Thorne.  

He didn’t care if the others got away but Thorne didn’t get that luxury.  

“You disappoint me.”  

“Lucien please-”  

And that’s when Lucien knocked him out, he’d be fine and wake up in a couple hours. He supposed this put them back in square one, he’d have to go back to his tight restrictions he had on him like when Thorne had just arrived.  

“Come along now,” Lucien said while picking up Thorne to the other four terrified looking werewolves. “Head back to your quarters now.”  

The heavy doors creaked open with Lucien carrying Thorne’s limp body in his arms. Lucien laid him on the bed and reached out to stroke his cheek.  

Still warm, still breathing, still his.  

He stepped to the drawer in his nightstand and took out some silk rope before crouching next to Thorne and wrapping the rope around his wrist before tying it firmly to the bedpost, just tight enough to remind him that Thorne doesn’t get to leave.  

And as he gazed at the nightstand, he saw a set of instructions on how to take care of the moonberry seeds.  

“You really were going to leave me,” he murmured. “Without a word, after everything.”  

Lucien understood that Thorne had every right to hate him, but it still hurt, and his heart felt heavy about caring so damn much.  

Notes:

hope ya enjoyed u lot. i rly enjoyed writing that one-sided yap sesh between lucien and aurelien

Chapter 14: XIII

Notes:

happy saturdayy, short chapter today. I had a really difficult decision to make plotwise as to whether after thorne's attempt escape their relationship should start from square 1 again and like amp up Lucien's possessiveness or make it so that lucien doesnt seem that angry. Anyway, youll see which direction i picked once u read. Just thorne's pov today as well folks.

Thorne  

 

 

The first thing he noticed was the dull ache in his legs.  

The second thing he noticed was the silk wrapped around his wrists.  

His eyes blinked open slowly, he was somehow lying back in Lucien’s bed and soon realised that the silk rope around his wrists had also been attached to the bedpost, making him incapable of moving himself. The knot wasn’t painful, not like a punishment, anyway.  

He sat up.  

“Ah, you’re awake.” Lucien’s voice drifted over from the chaise, lounging in an outfit that Thorne hadn’t seen him in which was a very fine-looking robe.  

Thorne’s mouth was dry. “...Lucien.”  

“Yeah...That’s the name.” He replied, glancing up at him now. “You must be sore. Running off into the woods like that. You know your friends may be in trouble because of your little stunt?”  

Thorne immediately sat up. “What?”  

“Mhm, heard that right. So, tell me who helped you? There’s no way you’d get information out unless someone from the inside helped you.”  

“I don’t know what you mean.”  

Lucien studied him for a second before his eyes flickered away.  

The wolf tugged at the silk binding, more out of instinct than defiance. “Let me go.”  

“In time,” Lucien said smoothly. “But first: what do you want to eat?”  

Thorne looked at him in confusion.  

Lucien sighed. “I was going to have breakfast sent up but then I thought,” the vampire glanced over to the moonberry seeds and clapped his hands together. “We could try something else, like those pies you mentioned a couple days ago.”  

No answer.  

The vampire moved and sat on the edge of the bed, near Thorne. “Come on, you’ll like this, you said you used to make them with...” Lucien waved a hand, “someone important.”  

“I thought it’d be cute, you and me making one together. I’ll fetch the flour and everything.” Voice far too calm for what happened practically mere hours ago. “Of course, you’re going to have to stay tied up until you can be trusted again by yourself.”  

“You’re insane.” Thorne said with a slight grin on his face, he supposed this morning could be worse.  

Lucien reached out and brushed a piece of hair from Thorne’s cheek with frustrating gentleness and he turned his head away, heart pounding.  

The vampire stood up again and looked at Thorne. “Ok, I’m going to get the stuff for baking, I’ll be back soon, be good.”  

That left Thorne with his own thoughts, there was just no way that Lucien wasn’t upset at him, the wolf had to wait until the calm facade would break.  

He came back pretty quick, and Thorne’s wrists had a dull ache in them from how long he’d been tied but he’d since stopped struggling. Now, he was once again waiting for the apple to drop and expected coldness, a reprimand or a satisfied smirk but neither came.  

Instead, Lucien stepped in quietly with some clothes folded in his arms. “You were trying to smuggle these away while running, huh?”  

“Thought you might like to wear them now,” Lucien said with an infuriating smile. “Since you liked them enough to steal.”  

Thorne scowled and looked away, humiliated. “They were just convenient for the weather.”  

“Go on then, put them on. I must say, you have excellent taste, this is one of my favourite clothing items.”  

Lucien cocked his head to the side. “Actually, I want to dress you.”  

The vampire leaned in before untying the complicated knot from Thorne’s wrists and the wolf flexed his wrists as soon as they were free. “Hands up.”  

The werewolf hesitated.   

“Now.”  

Thorne lifted his arms.  

Lucien took off the old shirt and slipped on the new one with care, adjusting the collar and smoothing the fabric across his chest. His knuckles brushed against Thorne’s ribs, slow and soft.  

Leaning in a bit closer, Lucien did up the buttons on Thorne’s shirt, close enough for him to feel the other’s breath he didn’t need against his neck. His head felt light, the horniness was kicking in.  

Crouching now, the vampire sank onto his knees and his fingers lingered on Thorne’s hips longer than he needed to as he adjusted the fit.   

His fingers brushed against the werewolf’s cock, and he nearly lost it again. It was a deliberate, teasing touch and Thorne was 100% sure that Lucien knew what he was doing.  

Then, the vampire got up, leaving Thorne with partly unspent desire.  

“Perfect,” he said while smiling obliviously. “Now, we go baking.”  

The pair walked into the kitchen, Lucien walking with a pep in his step while Thorne trudged behind him with the blossomed moonberry flowerpot cradled in his arms.  

Everything about this felt unreal.  

Lucien rolled up his sleeves and dusted the wooden counter with flour. “Your turn,” he said, gesturing to the work surface.   

“I’ve never made one,” the vampire admitted. “I don’t even eat food but wanted to try with you.”  

Thorne said nothing for a moment, his fingers instinctively pinching the dough into shape, it was mechanical to him.  

The wolf could see Lucien staring at him from the corner of his eyes with quiet admiration. Then, the vampire leaned in and stole a quick kiss, like a breeze.  

Thorne flinched away. “What are you doing?”  

“Kissing you, you’re so cute like this.”  

Lucien leaned in and kissed him again, slower this time, more deliberate. This time, Thorne didn’t pull away, but in fact leaned into it.   

The kiss deepened, mouths brushing and breath mingling as Lucien’s thumb stroked a lazy path along Thorne’s waist, while the wolf’s hands just stay awkwardly by his side before reaching out and gripping the other’s side, uncertainly.  

And then something snapped.  

A low, hot tremor licked up his spine and his inner wolf stirred with hunger. The instinct to claim roared beneath his skin and his hardened member pressed up against Lucien’s thigh.  

Mine. Mine. Mine.  

Thorne’s grip on Lucien’s shirt tightened involuntarily just for a second as if he wanted to rip it off before he released his grip and jerked back, catching his breath, still stunned by the intensity of his flooding senses.  

The kiss lingered in the air heavily like that sickly sweet smell that sugar often has. Thorne’s lips still tingled, flushed from the contact but he stubbornly kept his eyes on the mixing bowl in front of him, kneading with more force than necessary.  

Lucien, annoyingly unbothered, reclined lazily against a table’s edge, sleeves pushed up to reveal his forearms. Thorne still doubted that Lucien could crack an egg.  

“What now my little baker?” Lucien drawled, licking sugar from his thumb. “Do I also get to knead the dough or watch you look lovely while you’re flustered?”  

Thorne shot him a withering look. “You’ll ruin the crust if you touch it.”  

However, the doe-eyed wolf had to bite the inside of his cheek to smother the smile that was trying to sneak onto his face. The sweet and lightly tangy smell of moonberry permeated the air.  

Lucien stepped up behind him again, silently. His hands hovered at the wolf’s hips before resting them there gently.  

“Were you always this precise with your touch?” The cat-eyed vampire murmured near his ear.  

“Lucien.”  

“Yes?”  

“Stop.”  

“No.”  

The wolf let out a huff and lifted the pie tin. “You’re going to distract me. Again.”  

“Am I? Terribly sorry.”  

No, he wasn’t. Not in the slightest.  

They worked in tandem now- the vampire surprisingly obedient to Thorne as he gave some tasks to him. Easy things like: brushing the crust, spoon in the filling, sprinkling the sugar and whatnot.  

Finally, he slid the pie into the hearth oven, when he turned around, Lucien was already watching him.  

The vampire reached out to him, this time not for a kiss but just pressed his forehead to Thorne’s causing his inner wolf to stir again. Half-wanting to push him away and half-wanting this moment to stretch on forever.  

“I don’t hate you, you know?” The wolf said quietly and hurriedly before he would regret it.  

Lucien smiled back.  

The pie had cooled, and Thorne was sat criss-crossed with a warm plate and a slice of pie on his legs.  

Taking a bite of the flaky, buttery goodness, it reminded him of home in a way that made his heartache.  

Across from him, Lucien was reclined in a velvet-backed chair, slicing into the pie with idle elegance. He couldn’t eat it, but he made the effort which put a brief smile on Thorne’s face.  

“Well, it smells good.” The vampire said.  

“You didn’t eat any, though.”  

“I don’t need to eat it to know,” Lucien murmured. “You made it and that’s enough information for me.”  

Some silence settled in again before the other broke it again. “Thorne, I understand why you ran.”  

He stiffened with a slice of the pie halfway to his mouth.  

Lucien didn’t raise his voice or try to tease him. “You have people waiting for you. A pack, a life. Of course you tried.”  

The wolf’s appetite died down.  

“I would’ve done the same if I was you.”  

“Then why stop me?”  

The vampire looked surprised, lips opening slightly before sound actually came out. “Because I’m selfish.”  

A beat of silence passed. “I’m not ready to let you go, not now, not ever,” Lucien said honestly. “But I hope you won’t try again. Not because I demand of it but perhaps because you might want to stay...”  

Thorne’s heart beat loudly in his chest. How on earth was he supposed to respond to that? He didn’t even know how to feel. Was he truly asking something from him that neither of them couldn’t name yet?  

“I won’t tie you up again unless you’re into that kind of thing, which I admit, I wouldn’t mind.”  

Thorne tried to glare but it didn’t land.  

His heart was such a mess right now.  

Lucien pressed a kiss to the back of Thorne’s hands. “Come. Finish that pie, then you can decide which part of me you like the least.”  

Notes:

smut warning for next chapter u guys, it's not gonna be *that* far though but pretty close.

Chapter 15: XIV

Notes:

guys...another short chapter today...sorry. The chapters have been shorter mostly bc im not writing plot and its more of some fluff for u guys but trust me when i say we'll be back to normal next chpt and getting some more of the Titan lore and whatnot :>

I quite enjoyed writing this chapterr

Lucien  

 

 

 

It was silent with just Lucien stewing in his own thoughts while staring at Thorne as he was in deep sleep.  

Then, a soft knock broke the quiet.   

A pale, thin-boned fledgling stood there, assumingly one of Cassius’ junior attendants.  

“My lord,” he said loudly before Lucien hushed him and gestured towards the sleeping werewolf then going to a more silenced tone. “Lord Cassius has called a meeting in the main hall. You are expected at once.”  

Well, he wasn’t surprised, there was no way that Cassius wouldn’t be livid at this stunt.  

“I’m coming.”  

The door shut behind the attendant, he then took a final look towards Thorne before heading out into the cold-lit corridors of the manor.  

The meeting only had a small amount of people today, about eleven or so. Cassius was sat at the head of the long table with the very picture of stillness that he had earned over the centuries.  

Oh, but it was just his luck that William was here too, looking all ‘holier-than-thou'.   

Lucien entered without ceremony, finding his usual place at the edge.  

William’s eyes flickered to Lucien. “Last night, five werewolves attempted to escape. Fortunately, we were able to intercept this before they reached the outer wards.”  

Lucien didn’t know who ‘we’ was, it’d just been himself and Aurelien, but William always loved to give false credit with himself.  

The vampire saw Cassius’ brow furrow. Oh, here it comes.  

William’s voice cut sharper now. “Among them was the one assigned to Lord Lucien. The one he insisted upon keeping in his personal quarters. An arrangement that now appears dangerously naive.”  

He then turned to face him. “You have shown him too much leniency; a wolf will never be tamed by silk sheets.”  

“I’ve heard enough.”  

Silence.  

Cassius rose from his seat. Though he moved slowly, every gesture radiated a crushing authority.  

“I must say, I am quite disappointed in you. I thought you were smarter than this.” Cassius said sharply.  

“And now,” he continued, “you bring us with the first coordinated escape attempt we’ve had in decades. You let the creature plot under your roof while you were too busy playing master and pet.”  

The insult was deliberate, but Lucien knew he could say nothing.   

“Do not mistake tolerance for forgiveness.”  

“With respect, my lord, I believe you’re assigning the blame prematurely, there’s no proof he led the escape and punishing them now would just breed further unrest.”  

A pause.   

Cassius exhaled- long and quiet, the kind that meant Lucien had narrowly avoided being killed by the elder vampire’s bare hands.  

“Very well,” he replied. “No punishment for now but you must keep your beast on a tighter chain and if this happens again, I will slice of his neck and make sure it’s slow.”  

Lucien gave a shallow bow. “Understood.”  

The ancient vampire sat back down, and the room was filled with unease.  

Now, Lucien knew that Valois was skittish but today, particularly right now, he was looking more nervous than ever. Wringing his hands, shaking his leg while sat and so on.  

Perhaps guilt? The vampire wasn’t stupid; there was no way that Thorne would be able to orchestrate that without help from outside and Valois was already top of his list of suspects besides Lady Seraphine, but this act of nervousness cemented his suspicions.  

The meeting soon drew to a close and Lucien went back, hurriedly, to his chambers greeting Vivienne on his way there.  

Thorne woke up a couple hours later, a bit confused, which was expected but ultimately, he was fine.   

It had been at the back of the vampire’s head for a while now, but he wanted to bake with Thorne and Lucien couldn’t be asked to cook right now anyway. It sounded much more pleasant for him to watch his wolf bake while he watched.  

Lucien supposed he wasn’t too angry at Thorne for running away. It was kind of expected, who wouldn’t attempt to run in this situation?  

~  

The vampire noticed that Thorne smelled funny when he was in the mood, like how he smelled differently when he was scared, and it was really cute.  

After finishing making the pie, Lucien had guided him back to the chambers and kissed his cheek.   

Lucien really wanted to be fucked tonight he didn’t even care if he was going to bottom but wasn’t sure how badly Thorne wanted to. I mean, it could just be the wolf’s instincts acting up he supposed?  

And then, Thorne leaned in and kissed Lucien, which was strange as he was used to being the one that initiated the kissing.  

The vampire softly kissed Thorne’s jaw before undoing his shirt and trousers. Tracing along the wolf’s scar across his abdomen, Lucien finally got the courage to ask. “Where’d you get the scar from?” he quizzed softly.  

“Ah, to be fair, I don’t really remember. I’ve had it for a while now.”  

Lucien nodded in response before admiring his physique.  

Gods, he was magnificent.   

Thorne’s hands were resting at his sides as Lucien noticed, telltale sign of nervousness. The vampire didn’t usually do this when it came to bed slaves, I mean it was expected of them but for some reason he didn’t like the thought of Thorne not enjoying this as much as he did.  

“Look, we can stop here if you want to.”  

“No, it’s fine.” The wolf said quietly, Lucien smirked, it’s funny how much moxie that Thorne had lost in a matter of a couple minutes.  

*  

*  

*  

Thorne  

 

 

Thorne’s member was aching, for once in his life it felt like he needed Lucien.   

Lucien gently pulled Thorne onto the bed with him. “Um...I haven’t stretched myself in a while so just through the legs today.”  

Thorne felt his inner wolf let out a sad sigh, but it’d have to do for now, he had no idea what had come over him.  

The wolf positioned himself between Lucien’s thighs and damn he was ready but took a quick glance at the other’s face to make sure they were still ok.  

His cock slid snugly in between his thighs, the friction nearly making Thorne orgasm prematurely.  

“Ah...Thorne.”   

He picked up the pace of his hip thrusting and the room was soon filled with the sound of their bodies slapping together, the wet, slick noises of skin against skin, the ragged gasps of air. Thorne’s body tensed, his muscles coiling tight as he chased his release.  

“Lucien,” Thorne panted. “I’m close, so close...You feel so good.”  

With a final thrust, Thorne came, his body shuddering as he spilled his seed onto Lucien’s thighs.  

After, the wolf practically collapsed back onto the bed, his breath coming in heavy satisfied gasps.  

Lucien was being quiet, but Thorne could sense the steady rhythm of his breathing and soon the vampire was tracing little patters on the wolf’s spine.  

The sheets smelled like both of them now, it felt wrong to admit how grounding that was.  

“I’ll get you some water.” Lucien murmured, sounding surprisingly sleepy.  

Thorne blinked. “I’m fine.”  

But Lucien was already reaching, the silk sheets slipping of his chest as he poured water into a small glass, giving time for the other to admire his pale porcelain like skin and soft but toned body.  

The wolf accepted the glass wordlessly and took a sip, surprised at how dry his mouth actually was.  

“You’re quiet,” Lucien said after a moment. “You didn’t like it?”  

“No... I think I liked it, just felt wrong.” He said while giving a quiet huff, unsure whether it was a laugh or a sigh.  

The vampire cocked his head to the side. “Nothing wrong about that, we’re both adults, no?”  

Thorne hummed in response. “Things are more complicated now.”  

Lucien chuckled softly. “They were never easy.”  

He then leaned forward and kissed him on the forehead the way that Thorne would imagine lovers would, leaving no room for the wolf’s internal armour.  

They lay like that for a while before Lucien declared he was going to sleep, and Thorne fell asleep soon after that too.  

It was easier to hate him when he didn’t hold me like this.  

Thorne got literally no sleep. After it properly sank in that he had slept with werewolves' mortal enemies, he felt heavy guilt. After everything this is how quickly he gave it up just to get his cock wet? He felt disgusted at himself. Now, he was just lying awake trying to see how long he could pretend to be asleep for.  

He should have pulled away, should’ve stiffened or shifted but the warmth was grounding and his inner wolf- ever stubborn- settled comfortably in his chest, content in a way it hadn’t been in moons.  

A mistake, surely.  

Lucien started to stir behind him, a soft inhale then a low hum, Thorne tensed out of instinct. The vampire then pressed his lips to his shoulder. “Still here?”  

“Yeah.”  

Thorne rolled over to face him, once again Lucien looked far too nonchalant. Hair tousled and eyes drowsy with amusement.  

“We should start going-” the wolf started and sat up, but Lucien grabbed onto the other’s wrist and pulled them back down.  

“We’re not out of time yet,” he said softly. “Don’t go and ruin it, this is the best mood you’ll see me in for a while.”  

Eventually, Thorne closed his eyes and let the weight of the sheets take him away, even if it was just for a bit, soon drifting off into a light, dreamless doze.  

For now, the war outside this room could wait.  

Notes:

hope ya enjoyeddd.

Chapter 16: XV

Notes:

heh...u might be wondering why im uploading so early but i just realised that for the rest of the week im busy till next week monday at least, i'd rather give you guys the new chapter now than be later. Sorry if you werent expecting it

Lucien  

 

 

This was his first time bottoming for someone and to his surprise he really enjoyed feeling like someone else’s little bitch.  

And despite how much he hated William, he had to agree with him that werewolves were really good in bed and Lucien felt thoroughly satisfied and would love to do it again but wasn’t sure how Thorne felt yet.   

Anyway, it was time to wake up now. Seems like Thorne went back to sleep; he watched the slow rise and fall of his chest and his relaxed face which he rarely got to see.  

He lingered in the hush of the morning; the wolf’s golden locks fanned across his pillow in disarray before pressing a kiss to Thorne’s shoulder and murmuring. “Time to wake up now. I’m taking you somewhere”  

“Where?”  

“Think of it as a little field trip or date. I’m going to take you to meet someone. He’s a little, uh, mad sometimes but he has answers I know we both want to hear.”  

That caught Thorne’s attention. Suspicion flickered across his features, but curiosity softened it quickly.  

“Put this on.”  

Surprisingly, Thorne didn’t argue this time and just slipped the clothes on. Recently, most of Lucien’s clothes had started to smell like the wolf, not that he was complaining, though.  

On the other hand, Lucien was wearing a tailored coat and black gloves and as they neared the gate to exit the manor, he couldn’t help thinking of Thorne’s recent escape and was sure that the same thing was on the other’s mind too but neither said anything.  

Aurelien’s manor had its usual parchment smell with Lucien wrinkling his nose. He could hear the wolf’s footsteps close behind. This was his first time meeting Aurelien, and the vampire did not envy him.  

When the great wooden door opened, Aurelien was sat on his favourite chair but upon seeing the pair straightened slightly.  

“Ah, Lucien! You brought the wolf this time too...How lovely. I knew he was pretty but not this pretty.”  

Lucien felt Thorne stiffen besides him, the vampire elbowed him lightly and muttered. “Behave,” before speaking louder so that the older vampire could hear him. “Thorne, this is Aurelien. Don’t let the dramatics fool you. He’s annoying, but he’s harmless.”  

“Charmed to meet you, Thorne. I’ve heard a lot.”  

The wolf eyed him warily. “And I don’t believe in flattery from vampires.”  

Lucien tried to hide his smile. This might actually be fun.  

“I’m sure you came here for more information about Titans, yes?”  

The vampire nodded. “It’s pretty urgent.”  

“Everything is urgent. The stars are moving backwards, my candles have started to weep, and someone keeps rearranging the bones.” He paused, looking directly at Thorne. “Not mine, of course. I keep a collection. For study, decorative.”  

Thorne glanced at Lucien as if to ask if this was normal behaviour to which he slightly nodded.  

He guided the both of them to his living area, but it was more like a library, to be fair, with a chalk diagram of a bat to the scattered parchment on the floor.  

Aurelien was peering through a window, one eye twitching. “There’s something in the quiet...” he muttered. “Something off.”  

Lucien felt a chill crawl down his spine. “Last time I came here you said something was stirring.”  

“Did I? Probably, I say many things but forget the next moment.”  

Once again, Thorne gave Lucien a look and he didn’t even try and explain.  

“Tell us what you know.” Thorne said with surprising softness.  

Aurelien strolled over to a table stacked with rotting books. He picked one up, flipped it open, then closed it again with a smack. “There was a First. Or maybe a Last. Who’s to say? Time's just a spiral in a sink. But this First... he wasn’t quite wolf. Wasn’t quite vampire either. They made him, or he made them, and then—poof! Gone.”  

Lucien frowned. “So... Like a progenitor?”  

Aurelien's grin turned feline. “Oh no. We don't use that word. Too official and definitive. He’s a concept. A whisper in the marrow. The thing you dream about when your soul has insomnia.”  

“What happened to him?” Thorne asked, his voice cautious.  

“He’s napping or devouring his own thoughts in a cave beneath reality. Hard to say. But lately...” Aurelien twirled, his coat spinning with him. “He’s been tossing and turning.”  

Lucien felt the knot in his stomach tighten. “And what if he wakes?”  

“Well.” Aurelien clapped his hands, delighted. “That’s the part we don’t know! Maybe he’ll bless you. Maybe he’ll turn you inside out and wear your intentions like a scarf.”  

“But,” Aurelien added, tone dropping like a pebble in deep water, “he doesn’t speak to just anyone. He needs... balance.”  

Lucien’s brows furrowed. “You mean—”  

“One cursed by the moon, one cursed by blood.” Aurelien poked Thorne’s chest, then Lucien’s. “Ding ding! It’s you! Congratulations. You’ve won the worst scavenger hunt imaginable.”  

Lucien exhaled, voice cold. “You’re saying we’re the only ones who can find him.”  

 “Oh no, plenty can find him,” Aurelien chirped. “It’s surviving the conversation that’s the issue.”  

 Lucien exhaled. “Where is he?”  

 Aurelien tapped his temple. “Some say beneath the silver roots. Others say trapped behind a door made of breath. Personally, I think he’s hiding in the mountains.”  

Silence fell.  

Then Aurelien added, almost absently, “Just don’t wake him by accident. The last time he opened his eyes, the sun blinked.”  

 Lucien stared at him. “You could’ve led with that.”  

“But then you wouldn’t have stayed for tea!”  

*  

*  

*  

Thorne  

 

 

Thorne wasn’t sure what was more overwhelming: the lore about a sleeping nightmare-God buried under reality… or the fact that the ancient vampire currently boiling tea in a dented copper kettle had just insinuated—multiple times—that Lucien and Thorne were cosmically bonded.  

The air in the tower was damp with the smell of herbs and scorched books. Aurelien hummed to himself, off-key and cheerful, as he threw what looked like crushed lavender, tree bark, and… were those dried beetles? —into a cracked porcelain teapot.  

Thorne sat stiffly on a velvet pouf that had likely once been purple and now resembled something out of a fever dream. He kept his eyes forward. He could feel Lucien seated beside him, legs stretched out and crossed at the ankle like he owned every corner of the room. Of course he wasn’t bothered by Aurelien. He was clearly used to it now.  

“Two sugars, yes?” Aurelien called over his shoulder.  

“I didn’t say anything.” Thorne muttered.  

Aurelien turned around and gave him a knowing smile. “You look like a ‘two sugars’ kinda guy.”  

“Just serve the tea.” Lucien said brashly.  

“Impatient,” Aurelien sang, pouring the steaming liquid into three mismatched cups. He floated one over to Thorne—it hovered midair until Thorne awkwardly grabbed it—then handed one to Lucien with exaggerated grace. “And here you are.”  

Lucien didn’t react, which only made Aurelien grin wider.  

“I must say,” Aurelien went on, settling himself on a stool with a dramatic sigh, “you’ve got taste, Lucien. I mean, look at him.” He gestured to Thorne. “Stormy eyes, brooding silence, that jawline. Absolutely ravishing.”  

Thorne nearly choked on his tea. “I’m literally right here.”  

 “Exactly!” Aurelien said, beaming. “Isn’t it fun?”  

Lucien rubbed his temples. “Could we focus, for just five minutes, on the potential cosmic disaster that may erupt from under our feet?”  

“We’ve already had that conversation,” Aurelien said breezily. “Now we are in the post-apocalyptic tea phase, where we flirt and pretend the world isn’t ending.”  

 “I’m not flirting,” Lucien said flatly.  

 Aurelien gave a theatrical gasp. “Not flirting? Lucien, you dragged a werewolf up to meet me, gave him your clothes judging by the scent, and are now protecting him from your own kind. If that’s not flirting, I don’t know what is.”  

 Thorne stared down at the tea in his hands and tried to will himself invisible.  

 Lucien didn’t respond, but Thorne saw the faintest twitch at the corner of his mouth. Aurelien noticed too, and his grin softened, if only a fraction.  

 “There’s something lovely in it, you know,” Aurelien said, voice quieter now, almost wistful. “Something terribly, inconveniently tender. Two monsters finding a pause.”  

 Lucien eyes narrowed. “You're getting sentimental.”  

“Oh...I suppose I am.”  

Thorne shifted in his seat. The tea was sweet, floral. Too delicate for everything they’d just learned. He looked up, finally daring to speak. “This... First being. If we really have to find him—will it help?”  

 Aurelien blinked slowly. “Help? Oh, no. No,no, no. But it might change everything.”  

 Thorne's heart thudded.  

“Change is the first cousin of ruin,” Aurelien added. “But it’s also the second cousin of salvation. Funny, that.”  

Thorne nodded before downing his cup of tea and the older vampire filled the cup up again to which the wolf raised his eyebrows at.  

“So,” Aurelien said brightly, pouring himself a fourth cup of tea—though Thorne was fairly certain he hadn’t finished any of the previous three. “How long have the two of you been rutting like wild rabbits?”  

Thorne choked on his sip. Ironic as they both had...Indulged in eachother recently which only made the werewolf even shyer.  

 Lucien didn’t blink. “Aurelien.”  

“What?” Aurelien blinked innocently, resting his chin on his palm. “It’s a perfectly natural question. Look at his face—he's acting so bashful. It's adorable.”  

“Yeah...I know.” Lucien murmured before quickly clearing his throat.  

“I’m not-” Thorne began. “That’s not-”  

Lucien pinched the bridge of his nose before saying something to Aurelien in a language that Thorne didn’t understand.  

Aurelien waved a hand. “Oh please, don’t be prudish, Lucien. You used to sneak boys into the observatory, remember? Or was that your cousin? I can’t recall—there were so many scandals back then. Ah, youth.”  

Thorne was pretty sure his ears were on fire. He stared determinedly at the teacup, now convinced the strange metallic taste was humiliation.  

The werewolf looked up, only to find Aurelien studying him with keen interest. His green eyes glittering behind his teacup.  

“You’re exactly Lucien’s type,” Aurelien said with a warm smile. “He’s always been into men like you.”  

And he never stopped talking after that. Aurelien went through his different accolades and every once in a while, Thorne would nod and agree or laugh along politely but he was truly getting socially tired.  

Lucien was being of no help; he was pretty much silently drinking his tea most of the time.  

“—so naturally I had to charm the archivist into letting me keep the scroll, even if it did have bloodstains. I mean, who doesn’t get a little nosebleed when decoding dead languages?” The older vampire rambled.  

Thorne blinked. “Um.”  

“But enough about me!” Aurelien suddenly leaned forward, clasping his hands under his chin like a child about to be told a story. His eyes were shining. “Tell me about you. It’s been a while since I’ve seen such a fine specimen of werewolf.”  

Thorne tensed. “About me?”  

Lucien, to his left, murmured, “You don’t have to answer anything he says.”  

“Oh, come now, Lucien,” Aurelien huffed, waving a hand. “I’m just curious. The boy’s interesting—like a little pine needle someone dropped in a silk drawer. Out of place, but stubbornly fragrant.”  

Thorne gave him a wary look. “That’s… not a thing people say.”  

“It is now!” Aurelien beamed. “So, what’s your favourite flower? No—wait, what did you want to be when you were younger? Actually, let’s start with: How’s your relationship with your mother?”  

Thorne blinked slowly. “What?”  

“Rapid-fire round!” Aurelien declared. “First kiss? First heartbreak? Favourite season? Have you ever killed someone? Do you dream in colour?”  

“Gods,” Lucien muttered under his breath, pressing his fingers to the bridge of his nose.  

Thorne tried to keep up, eyes darting between them. “Um. I—spring? I think? Yes, I dream in colour. No, I haven’t killed anyone. My first heartbreak was when a hunter stole my dog—what is happening right now?”  

Aurelien leaned in conspiratorially toward Thorne. “Tell me—if Lucien were a fruit, what do you think he’d be? I say blackberry. Thorny. Hard to harvest. Possibly poisonous.”  

“Would you stop—” Lucien started, clearly mortified.  

 Thorne blinked. “A fruit?”  

 “Yes, it’s an insightful psychological tool. Don’t mock the method.”  

 Thorne stared down into his teacup, suddenly unsure whether he was still awake or trapped in a very odd, very floral fever dream. “...Maybe… pomegranate?”  

“Ohoho!” Aurelien clapped. “Rich in symbolism! Seeds, blood, temptation, all that juicy mythological tension. You are clever.”  

 Lucien stood abruptly. “We’re leaving.”  

“Oh, come on,” Aurelien pouted. “You didn’t even finish your second scone—”  

“Goodbye, Aurelien.”  

Thorne followed as Lucien turned, cheeks burning slightly—but not from embarrassment, exactly. Just… from the sheer absurdity of it all.  

As the door clicked shut behind them, Lucien exhaled like he’d just survived a battle, it was a rare sound, quiet, defeated, almost like a laugh.  

“And I thought my pack was dysfunctional.” Thorne said with a small chuckle.  

Lucien smiled back. “He’s always like that but I suppose that’s his charm. I know that wasn’t the best date, I’ll treat you to better ones in the future.”  

Both started walking out in sync before Lucien started speaking again. “I didn’t bring you here to embarrass you, just thought you’d like to get some fresh air again.”  

Something softer flickered in Lucien’s voice—hesitation, or hope. Thorne didn’t know how to name it.  

“...I did,” Thorne admitted. “I mean, I liked it, and Aurelien isn’t too bad, he kinda reminds me of another werewolf I know.”  

Lucien's expression changed at that. Just a fraction. But the corner of his mouth curved, faint and brief.  

The manor was unusually quiet on their way back, the vampire walking a few paces ahead and saying little. Thorne didn’t mind; his head was elsewhere anyway.  

He knew it wasn’t really any of his business, but it was still gnawing at him. Thorne just played it off as his wolf instincts not wanting any competition.  

Still, something coiled in Thorne’s chest at the thought. The image of Lucien undressing someone else. Touching them like he—  

He shook his head sharply. No. No. This wasn’t like him, he needed to snap out of it.  

‘Lucien used to sneak boys into the observatory.’  

He stared at the floor as they returned to Lucien’s chambers. The door closed behind them with a soft click, and Thorne crossed to the windows, pretending to look out. The glass caught their reflections faintly—Lucien behind him, slipping off his gloves, his eyes unreadable.  

Thorne swallowed. “Did you really… sneak boys into the observatory?”  

Lucien stilled and cocked his head to the side. “Yeah,” the vampire stepped closer and took Thorne’s hands. “But that was when I was young and lonely.”  

“And now?”  

“Now, I’m less lonely.”  

Lucien’s lips curled slowly, a little too satisfied. “Is that jealousy I sense, wolf?”  

“No... I was just curious.”  

“If you say so.”  

And in the quiet that followed, Thorne stood still, staring at Lucien’s back, wishing—unreasonably, stupidly—that no one else had ever touched him at all.  

Notes:

hope you enjoyed lovelies :>

Chapter 17: XVI

Notes:

hey happy saturday, haha this is really random but thank you to all the people who actually bothered to read this, ive been reflecting a bit recently. Kinda short today but for good reason...muhahaha

Lucien  

 

 

The vampire’s mood went from bad to worse as soon as Aurelien offered for them to stay for tea, it was too hard for them to refuse and once the older vampire started talking it was as if he couldn’t stop. Furthermore, Thorne was far too friendly as well, which would only fuel his incessant talking.  

 

And, how he talked. The codger even started mentioning some extremely out of hand stuff to which Thorne didn’t have a reply for, so Lucien intervened to help him.  

Pinching his nose, the vampire spoke in Old Karthian to Aurelien so to avoid embarrassing Thorne anymore. "Staen, Aurelien. Nopu est viran ultris terrare."  

This still did not stop him but that was expected.  

When they were leaving Lucien was slightly upset at Aurelien’s behaviour but thank the Gods that Thorne didn’t mind. Said it reminded him of ‘another werewolf’ whoever the fuck that is, hoping it wasn’t that girl.  

As they went back into the chambers Lucien could just sense that something was off with the wolf, he was being much quieter than usual.  

“Did you really...sneak boys into the observatory?”  

Now that caught him off guard, yes, he used to mess around quite a bit back then, but he didn’t really think that what Aurelien had said earlier would stick in Thorne’s mind that long.  

Lucien stilled and cocked his head to the side. “Yeah,” the vampire stepped closer and took Thorne’s hands. “But that was when I was young and lonely.”    

“And now?”    

“Now, I’m less lonely.” And he was being 100% honest.  

Thorne being jealous? That was a sight to behold and all that feeling went straight to his dick but now wasn’t the time, sadly.  

When it came to comforting people, Lucien wasn’t very good at that, but it was charming seeing Thorne slumped over the bed in a very sulky state.  

“You’re no longer just a toy to me anymore.” Lucien stated his tone deliberately slow and coaxing.  

Thorne’s gaze flickered up, his big, golden eyes looking up at him uncertainly.  

Lucien got up and rummaged through his drawers before finding what he was looking for, a polished wooden. Upon opening it, there was a chess set inside- the pieces were carved from ivory and onyx and worn from centuries of use.  

“Come and play with me, you know how to play chess, yes?” He said while putting the board on a table between them. “Unless you’re afraid I’ll win too quickly...”  

Thorne snorted, finally sitting up and pulling up a chair near him, taking the black pieces. “We’ll see.”  

The game began in quiet concentration. Lucien moved his knights lazily, savouring the rhythm of Thorne’s thought process, the little furrow between his brows when he was weighing his next move.  

Halfway through, as he captured Thorne’s bishop, Lucien spoke again. “There’s a meeting tonight. Council of the Fangs.” He advanced a pawn, pinning one of Thorne’s pieces. “I’ve been considering bringing something up but wanted to hear your opinion first, as it concerns you too.”  

In response, he nodded as if urging him to continue.  

“I have a theory that the fourteen missing vampires weren’t taken by your kind at all.” Lucien said in hushed tones. “Perhaps it’s these Titans we’ve been talking about?” He let the silence settle between them as Thorne straightened his posture and locked eyes with the vampire, clearly thinking.  

After a while, the wolf leaned back slightly, fingers tapping against the side of the board. “I think that needs to be mentioned but you should be careful on the way you phrase it. Not everyone in that room is your friend.”  

A brief smile flickered on Lucien’s face. “Are you concerned for my safety, Thorne?”  

“Don’t flatter yourself.” Thorne said with his usual attitude.  

The rest of the game played out in near silence, only the sound of the pieces clicking against the board filling the air. Lucien took the win, of course, but didn’t gloat and Thorne’s excuse was that he was ‘going easy on him’.  

Smoothing the front of his coat, he rose. “I’ll be late tonight, so don’t wait up for me, just go to bed when you’re tired.”  

The wolf scoffed. “As if I ever wait for you.”  

Yeah, classic response there.  

~  

The chamber was filled with the quiet rustle of long robes and the occasional clink of glass or jewels.  

Lucien was stood off to one side, they were just talking about politics, gossip, nothing of importance really. These meetings were pretty much for performances of control.  

High nobles arranging marriages, meandering through matters of the trade routes, the dwindling obedience of smaller houses. Lucien listened, arms folded behind his back, gaze fixed on nothing in particular.  

He waited until the room grew quieter again. Until Cassius, from his throne at the head of the circle, gestured for further concerns.  

Lucien stepped forward. Now was the time.  

“I’d like to raise an issue regarding the vampires and vampiresses  that went missing a few months ago weren’t taken by werewolves at all.”  

Vivienne, who was next to him, gave him a look and squeezed his forearm as if to say, ‘ what do you think you’re saying right now?’  

“What are you suggesting?” William said giving him a long, skeptical look.  

“That the thing taking our people isn’t a wolf at all,” Lucien said. “It’s something older. A predator even we should fear.”  

The statement drew blank stares around the table. Only Cassius’ face was perfectly still, too still.  

“We call them Titans.” Lucien said clearly.  

“Titans?” one elder repeated. “What the hell are Titans?”  

Lucien’s voice was measured, almost academic. “An ancient race. Older than vampires, older than wolves. They were said to have shaped the early world, but they vanished from history—either by choice or by force. All that remains of them are scattered fragments in forgotten texts, and a few whispered accounts from those who saw them and lived. They are strong enough to tear apart an elder vampire. And smart enough to hide while we waste our time blaming each other.”  

Vivienne let out a soft laugh besides him and muttered something under her breath.  

Willaim smirked. “Let me guess, your pet wolf told you this? You’re getting clingy.”  

Lucien’s gaze flicked to him, unamused. “No. Aurelien corroborated it as we’ve both seen it.”  

A murmur rippled through the council. Vivienne leaned forward. “Even if this were true—and I’m not saying it is—why bring it here? What do you expect us to do?”  

“Stop blaming the wolves for what they didn’t do,” Lucien said. “Start preparing for an enemy none of us have faced before.”  

“That will do,” Cassius said at last, his voice soft but edged like a blade. His gaze lingered on Lucien, unreadable.  

The meeting moved back onto trivial politics, but it was blatant that everyone was on edge after his revelation.  

When it finally adjourned, the others filed out with the rustle of robes and murmured farewells.  

Cassius did not move. 
“Stay,” he said, his tone almost gentle. 

Lucien turned. “If you want to speak about this, then-”  

Cassius crossed the space between them. “You’ve always been a meddling little child that knows nothing about how this works. Always sticking your nose in things that do not concern you.”  

“Let’s hope that the Gods can hear your prayers in the dark.”  

Then, without a word, he struck a single, precise blow to Lucien’s temple.  

The marble floor came up to meet him and the darkness closed in before he could catch himself.  

Wow. He wasn’t expecting that. Cassius had been like a father to him, strict albeit, but still a father.  

If Titans didn’t end up killing him, his own kind most definitely would.   

Notes:

im sure some of u were expecting that but anyways *dun* *dun* *dun* the plot thickens... Also, im really curious as to whether any of u will be able to work out what lucien said? It's slightly Latin based but I tweaked it here and there so it wouldn't be direct Latin

Chapter 18: XVII

Notes:

hi guys, btw there will not be a chapter next week cos im going on holiday but dont panic this fic is not being abandoned :>

ah, also for the next couple chapters it might just be thorne's pov btw~~

Thorne  

 

 

Thorne slumped over the bed just thinking to himself, no, he wasn’t angry. Not at all.  

“You’re no longer just a toy to me anymore.” Lucien stated his tone deliberately slow and coaxing.  

The werewolf looked up at him, suspiciously and then he brought out a chess set which really caught his interest.   

He had learnt how to play by his mother, and he believed that he wasn’t half-bad, but it was more like Lucien was a trying too hard. How could one man be this good?  

He had also brought up mentioning his very controversial theory that the missing vampires weren’t werewolves’ fault at all and Thorne agreed with him- there was no way his pack would stoop that low but there was still need to be careful. It was hard to gauge what their reactions would be.   

~  

Tossing and turning in bed, Thorne abruptly sat up.   

Ok... This was unusual behaviour now. Lucien had said don’t wait up but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t come back. He was getting ever so slightly worried now, there was a massive chance that someone didn’t take lightly as to what he said.   

He found his ears kept straining to hear the familiar, easy rhythm of Lucien’s footsteps in the hall.  

The knock never came. Instead, the door swung open without permission and Thorne sat upright ready to greet Lucien.  

Except the vampire that who stepped in was someone that he did not recognise. Tall with perfect posture and the kind of stillness that made you think of marble statues. His eyes were a shade of grey, and the faintest smile touched his mouth but not the type that would put someone at ease.  

“I don’t believe we have been introduced,” he said smoothly. “Cassius.” The vampire extended his hand, and Thorne gave it a brief shake.   

His instincts were screaming danger and behind him was a familiar face- William.  

“So, you’re like Lucien’s boss?” Thorne asked, tone flat.  

To this, for some reason Cassius turned around to William and muttered something in that damned language which caused the podgy vampire to laugh. Cassius was probably insulting him but that wasn’t the main issue right now.   

Cassius stepped further inside, hands clasped behind his back. “In a manner of speaking. I oversee matters of… loyalty. Lucien’s, among others.” His gaze swept over Thorne slowly, as though weighing him like an object at market. “And that’s why I’m here. You see, Lucien has committed a breach. Let’s call it treason against our kind. Treason carries consequences — for him… and for you.”  

Thorne tried his best to keep his expression unreadable.  

Cassius’s voice stayed pleasant, but each word landed with the precision of a blade. “You, wolf, have two choices. One — you will be transferred as property to another vampire. William here has made it very clear he would be… eager to claim you.”  

William’s grin widened, his eyes glinting with anticipation. Perv.   

“Or two,” Cassius continued steadily, “you will be escorted back to the werewolf realm, quietly. After a couple weeks we’ll tell people you were executed. Your people will believe you are dead. Lucien will believe it as well and so will your other mutt friends that are here. You will never see each other again.”  

Cassius was either oblivious or really dumb. It didn’t matter how far or how close he was put away from his pack, his nose would always be able to sniff them out, so the second option was better. There had to be a catch... Or something that Thorne was still in the dark about. It seemed way too easy.  

The only thing he was more stumped on was leaving Aiden here by himself. The others would be able to manage for a while before he came back to get them out of this dump, but Aiden might believe that his older brother had abandoned him, and he didn’t want to leave that kind of impression on him.  

He was really tempted to ask but what about my brother? But the weight of William’s gaze stopped him, if that fucker found out he had a younger brother he didn’t even want to think about what disgusting things he’d do to him. He seemed like the type of twisted individual to do that.  

Keeping his voice even, Thorne continued. “If I go back, I have freedom to move around, right?”  

Cassius gave a single, elegant nod. “We will have no reason to run after you; you’ll be free to live as you wish.”  

“I’ll take option two, but I want to see my friends, you know the other werewolves you kidnapped?” Thorne hesitated before continuing. “And possibly Lucien too.”  

Cassius’ facade dropped for a second before he covered it again. “No to the werewolves but yes, you can see Lucien.”  

“Why not?”  

“Because, mutt, this isn’t a family reunion. You will see Lucien. You will leave. And you will not meddle further in our affairs.” His voice had the firmness of someone who was used to being obeyed.   

Cassius took a second, possibly to keep his temper in check, before glancing at William and waving a hand. “Take him to go and see Lucien.”  

As they descended, the air in the dungeon felt colder, smelling damp and metallic with each step echoing off the stone.  

William was walking ahead of Thorne at an unhurried pace, his hands clasped loosely behind his back. “Cassius is so generous, you know,” he drawled. “Letting you go, left to me I’d have kept you and I’d have taken good care of you too but your loss...”  

Thorne’s stomach churned. “Shame it’s not up to you.”  

They reached the end of the corridor. William paused, turning suddenly to face him, forcing Thorne to stop short.  

“Before we go in,” William said, his tone dropping into a mockery of intimacy, “I want to get a closer look at what all the fuss is about.” He reached up without warning, fingers brushing against Thorne’s jaw, tracing lightly along his cheek. The touch was cold, almost clinical — like a butcher testing the quality of meat.  

Thorne stiffened. “Don’t touch me.”  

William smirked, leaning in just enough for Thorne to catch the faint scent of spiced wine on his breath. “Oh, come now. Lucien’s been selfish, keeping you all to himself. I could show you a different kind of life here.”  

The vampire started tracing along his chest, once again inspecting. Then without warning, he leaned forward and pressed his mouth to Thorne’s.  

It was over as quickly as it began — because he shoved William hard into the stone wall, the impact rattling the torch beside them. “Do that again,” Thorne growled, “and you’ll lose teeth.”  

William straightened slowly, brushing imaginary dust from his coat, his grin widening rather than shrinking. “Feisty. I like that.”  

After that defeat, William continued descending the stairs, but the werewolf put more of a distance between them.  

Thorne’s stomach dropped slightly, and he didn’t know why. Seeing Lucien so small made him feel something...  

His wrists were chained to the wall and his head was tilted against the stone wall behind him, his eyes were half-lidded but except from that he looked fine. Vampire regeneration he supposed.  

“You can leave him now, William.”  

William’s gaze flicked toward Lucien, annoyance breaking through his smug expression for the briefest moment. “Cassius said—”  

“I said,” Lucien interrupted, his tone cold despite his weariness, “you can leave him.”  

For a moment, it seemed like William was weighing his options, but he did back off after a bit of thinking. “Fine. Have your little goodbye.”  

Thorne knelt in front of Lucien, scanning him quickly. “You alright? You look like hell.”  

Lucien groaned. “I’ve been better, my little wolf, you missed me that much that you just had to see me?”  

“You must be fine judging by the fact you’re saying things like this.” Thorne started to stand up.  

Lucien chuckled quietly in response. “I’m joking, come back...”  

The wolf crouched back down. “This is just to warn you that if in a couple months you hear that I’m dead- they're lying. Trust me. Something’s up, they’re making this too simple.”  

Raising his eyebrows the only response Thorne got was a short nod. “So, what happened?”  

“I was given two choices,” Thorne said quietly. “Go with him—” he jerked his head toward William— “or go back to my pack and let you think I was dead.”  

“And you picked the second? Good boy.”  

Thorne decided to ignore this comment. “I do find it quite dumb that Cassius isn’t worried that I can easily break you guys out.”  

“There’s probably more to it than that. Maybe getting help from Titans? Not sure.”  

“I’m not leaving Aiden and the others.” Thorne said, his tone low.  

Lucien nodded once, eyes steady. “Then you’ll come back for him. And maybe… for me.”  

Finally, Lucien’s voice dropped, all traces of levity gone. “Go. Don’t look back. But if you’re planning to come back for me—” his lips quirked faintly “—make it quiet.”  

He tugged lightly against his chains, and Thorne instinctively reached out to steady him. Lucien caught his hand, his cold fingers curling around Thorne’s warmer ones. Without breaking eye contact, he lifted Thorne’s knuckles to his lips and pressed a slow, deliberate kiss there.  

“Promise me,” Lucien said softly, the words almost a growl. “Promise you won’t leave me rotting down here.”  

Thorne’s throat felt tight. “Lucien don’t say things like that—”  

“Promise.”  

“…Fine. I promise.”  

Lucien’s smile returned.  

William cleared his throat in the doorway. “Time’s up.”  

Thorne hesitated, then stood, turning toward the door. He didn’t look back, but he felt Lucien’s eyes on him until the cell vanished from view.  

Notes:

heh hope u enjoyed

Chapter 19: XVIII

Notes:

guess who's back!!! i had a rly nice holiday, sorry for not posting last week but im back for good now, im updating a day earlier bc i have guests coming over tmrw and im not sure if ill have access to my laptop :'C

Lucien  

 

 

The sound of Thorne’s footsteps fading down the stone corridor clawed at Lucien more sharply than he thought it would. He could still picture William’s smug grin as he dragged the wolf by the arm. Lucien’s usual unbothered attitude—his armour—felt useless because for once in a long time he actually cared for something, he supposed.   

He tilted his head back against the damp dungeon wall, forcing a dry, raspy laugh even if it rang hollow. Get ahold of yourself. It’s only Thorne. Only a wolf. Only— His chest tightened. That wasn’t true anymore, and he knew it.  

For the first time in decades, fear threaded through him—not for his own skin, but for someone else’s. He could handle Cassius’ scorn, William’s lechery. But Thorne… Thorne was stubborn, someone who didn’t know when to bow. That spirit was precisely what made Lucien adore him—and precisely what could get him killed if he wasn’t more careful.   

Keep your promise. Don’t leave me here, wolf.  

*  

*  

*  

Thorne  

 

 

William’s hand clamped around his arm like a shackle, dragging him up the dungeon steps two at a time. The vampire’s silence was worse than his usual snide remarks, and it left Thorne’s thoughts too loud in his own head. He tried to twist free once, but William only yanked harder, nearly pulling his shoulder out of place. Surprisingly strong despite his age.  

Lucien’s face still burned behind his eyes. The way he’d kissed his hand, the way his voice had broken when he’d made Thorne promise not to leave him and it had stuck. It shouldn’t have. It shouldn’t matter, not when he was being forced away, not when Aiden was still down here on his own. But it did. Against his will, it did.  

At the top of the stairs, Cassius was waiting. Tall and unbothered, his pale eyes cutting through the dim corridor. William stopped short behind him, as though even he knew better than to overstep.  

Thorne’s lip curled, a sharp retort already forming—if they thought they’d break him, they had another thing coming. But before he could spit the words out, Cassius was suddenly in front of him. A hand lifted, cold and deliberate, and pressed to Thorne’s forehead.  

A chill raced through his veins, stealing the strength from his body. His knees buckled. For one stubborn instant, he thought of Lucien again—of his voice, his touch—and then the world went black.  

~  

The first thing that came back to him wasn’t sight. It was scent.  

Smoke, faint but not choking. Fresh-cut timber. The musk of damp soil after a night frost. And underneath it all, the sharp tang of hearthfire—the kind that clung to wool cloaks.  

Thorne’s eyes cracked open, blurred and stinging, but his nose told him what his mind refused to believe. He knew this place. He’d grown up breathing it.  

Home. It had to be home.  

He lay sprawled on the cold earth, cheek pressed into frost-slick grass, his body aching like he’d been tossed from a horse. Slowly, he pushed himself upright. The world tilted. His head throbbed where Cassius’ hand had struck him, but he forced himself to steady, ears pricking, lungs pulling in more of the air as if afraid it would vanish if he didn’t drink deep enough.  

The air smelled cleaner here. You could even smell resin from the newly cut beams to support what Thorne could see were cottages, back when he was here, they mostly stayed in caves but yes, Elara did own a cottage as well. She had most likely decided to stay there more long-term instead. The Harvest fire had eaten nearly everything here, but the village was clawing its way back.  

And for the first time in what felt like centuries, his heart stuttered dangerously close to relief.  

He dragged his legs under him, wobbling at first, then found his balance. His gaze swept across the rooftops rising in the distance, shadows cast by torchlight. Lanterns glowed in windows. Homes stood again where ash once reigned.  

And he couldn’t help himself but think about Luna. But not was a hopeful time so he tried his best to change what was on his mind.  

Nothing had changed too badly which was good.  

It was nighttime, which was the best time for him to arrive, really, as there were less people walking around. He knew his mother would still be active though, she always took a while to fall asleep...Plus with the guilt of losing her two sons.  

Despite knowing this, the nostalgic scent of his mother still made his throat tighten. So warm and familiar, the smell of wildflower.  

His chest clenched, and he swallowed hard against it. He hadn’t realized until this moment how badly he’d missed her scent, how much it anchored him to something human when everything else had been stripped away.  

But even as his feet carried him closer, each step dragged with the weight of another thought, Aiden. His younger brother’s scent wasn’t here, obviously. The wolf couldn’t help but think that he’d abandoned Aiden, I mean, he practically had.  

He passed through it like a ghost, feet carrying him on instinct, nose guiding him more surely than his eyes. He slowed before the rebuilt cottage at the bend in the road. Its walls were clean and whitewashed. but the front step was the same: worn smooth by years of feet, etched with faint cracks he remembered tracing as a child.  

The door creaked before he touched it. Elara stood in the threshold, lamp in hand, her features cast in trembling light. For a heartbeat, she simply stared. Then the lamp clattered against the floorboards as her hand flew to her mouth.  

“Thorne?”  

His throat tightened again. “It’s me, Mother.”  

She was on him in an instant, arms around him, pulling him so tight it felt like his ribs would break. Her scent enveloped him—smoke and herbs, wildflower lingering in her hair. He let his head fall against her shoulder, just for a moment. Just long enough to believe he was home.  

Her hands flew over him, tugging at his sleeves, his hair, his jaw, as if to prove he was real. “You’re alive—you’re alive, thank the Moon. Gods above, Thorne—what happened? You disappeared; they told us—” Her voice cracked. “Where have you been? Did they hurt you? Tell me the truth.”  

He caught her wrists gently, lowering them. He couldn’t bear the hope in her eyes. “I’m fine. Mostly fine.” His smile didn’t reach his eyes. “It’s…a long story.”  

She narrowed her gaze, catching the hesitation. “Thorne...”  

But he could tell her one thing. The most important thing.  

“There’s something I need you to hear.” His voice dropped, steadier now, anchored by the memory of his brother’s face. “Aiden’s alive. I’ve seen him.”  

Elara’s breath hitched, tears instantly welling. “Alive?” She gripped his arm as if to keep herself from falling. “Where is he? Where’s my little boy?”  

“He’s being held,” Thorne admitted. The words tasted like iron. “I couldn’t get to him yet. But I will. We will. I didn’t come back here to stay—I came back because I need you. You, and the others. We’re going to bring him home.” He decided to omit Lucien for now. Elara’s trust over vampires was extremely shaky to say the least and he didn’t want to disappoint her.  

Her eyes searched his, shimmering with both relief and dread. She wanted to believe him, but fear warred in her expression. “Ah... I see.”  

He squeezed her hand, firm, unyielding. “I’ll explain more soon. Just—trust me, Mother. Please. We can save him. But I can’t do it alone.”  

For a moment, she said nothing, only pulling him back into her arms, holding him like she’d never let go again. And though guilt burned in his chest for the truths he’d left unsaid, he pressed his eyes shut and let himself rest there. Just for now.  

Elara soon guided him to the kitchen which smelled of rosemary and onions, herbs hissing in the pan as she stirred, her similarly tightly coiled hair was tucked behind her ears. Thorne sat at the old wooden table, elbows braced against the surface, his hands curled loosely as if unsure what to do with them. The lamplight painted the walls golden, but it only made the shadows under his eyes darker.  

“Eat something,” she said firmly, sliding a hunk of bread and a ladle of stew into a bowl. “You look half-dead.”  

Thorne huffed, a corner of his mouth twitching. “Thanks, Ma. Always knew you had a way with compliments.” Elara rarely showed affection physically, he was surprised she’d even hugged him at all, but he supposed that emotions do weird things to the mind.  

“Don’t sass me.” She dropped the bowl in front of him, her movements brisk. “You’ll eat every bite.”  

He obeyed, though more for her sake than hunger. The broth was rich and comforting in a way he hadn’t felt in months. He didn’t realize how much he missed this until now.  

Elara leaned against the counter, arms crossed, watching him with narrowed eyes. “You’re not telling me everything.”  

Thorne’s spoon clinked against the bowl. “I told you what matters. Aiden’s alive. That’s what you needed to know.”  

“That’s not enough.” Her voice sharpened. “You vanished without a trace, Thorne. No word except from that letter, no scent, nothing. Then you come back months later with no explanation as to how you got here? We tried to break you out and that failed, so tell me how you got here.”  

He met her gaze briefly, then dropped his eyes to the stew. “I’m here now. Isn’t that enough?”  

“No.” The word cracked like a whip. She came closer. “Don’t you dare sit there and act like a stranger in your own home. I know you, Thorne. I raised you. Something happened. Someone happened. Why won’t you tell me?”  

No, there was no way he was telling his mother he had somewhat been consorting a vampire.  

“I’m not stupid, Thorne.” She said voice quieter this time. “I’ve heard what vampires do, keeping werewolves as sex slaves and whatnot.” Elara sniffed indignantly.  

Thorne’s spoon froze halfway to his mouth.  

“Were you one?”  

The question hit harder than he expected, not because of its bluntness but because of the fear laced through it. She wasn’t judging him. She was terrified of the answer.  

Thorne set the spoon down carefully, staring at the steam curling from his stew. “It wasn’t like that.”  

Elara’s laugh was bitter. “It’s always like that.”  

He shook his head, fingers flexing against the tabletop. “No. I wasn’t… forced like that.” The words felt clumsy, inadequate. He thought of Lucien’s charming cat-like eyes, the way he’d brushed Thorne’s hair back with surprising tenderness after everything. “It was different.”  

Her eyes narrowed, catching the hesitation in his tone. “Different how?”  

He opened his mouth before he could stop himself. “He—” The single syllable slipped out, and he clamped his jaw shut, pulse hammering.  

Elara’s eyes widened. “ He? ”  

Thorne cursed inwardly. He raked a hand through his hair, frustration simmering just beneath his skin. “I mean… I wasn’t treated badly. That’s all. Whoever you think I was to them—I wasn’t. I was… taken care of.”  

Elara’s expression shifted—confusion, suspicion, and then something that looked like sorrow. “Taken care of?” she echoed, voice cracking. “Thorne, do you even hear yourself?”  

His hands curled into fists on the table. “It wasn’t what you think. Just drop it, alright?”  

Elara gave a breathless laugh. “You’re too much like your father,” she muttered bitterly.  

The wolf’s eyebrows raised. His mother never mentioned his late father that much, and when she did it was usually harsh remarks.  

“Ma, I’m tired.”  

“That makes sense. I haven’t touched your room since you left, thinking I’d be walking past an empty room all my life.”  

Thorne’s stomach sank, he was feeling so guilty and soon trudged out of the kitchen into his bedroom.  

His bed sat in the corner, sheets neatly tucked as though he’d only stepped out yesterday. The blanket was the same one Elara had patched a hundred times, frayed edges betraying its age. Feeling around his pockets, he dug around until he found Luna’s wooden figurine and placed it on his bedside table.  

Thorne sank slowly onto the mattress and even flexed his hands against the blanket to test if this was real. For the first time in a while, the weight of captivity wasn’t on his mind, but another weight had taken its place far harder to bear.  

Notes:

hope u enjoyed :>>>

Chapter 20: XIX

Notes:

hello hello, so i *just* managed to finish this before sunday lol, i think on saturdays you guys should get ready to expect later updates instead of early like i used to (well depending if we were in the same timezone in the first place XD) like i said before we are NOT abandoning this fic lads and lasses, you can trust me on this one. Um kind of a short chapter today I must apologise, hope u enjoy all the same!!!

Thorne 

 

 

Thorne woke up later than he usually did when he was back with Lucien and he never really appreciated how much he loved seeing the Sun once he woke up. Out of habit his hands twitched, searching towards the empty space beside him just to be greeted by rough wool and no trace of Lucien’s scent.  

When his eyes adjusted, he remembered where he was. His room. His old room. 

Dust motes swam lazily in a shaft of early light. Nostalgia was one bastard of an emotion and as he stood up a sharp pang went through him.  

The smell of berries and honey thickened as he padded out of his room, hearing the hearth crackling in the background.  

Elara stood with her back to him, hair pulled back, sleeves rolled past her elbows as she stirred the porridge pot. The sight was so ordinary it nearly undid him. She hummed under her breath, low and soft — the same tune she had sung when he was a boy, when she wanted to fill the silence of a tired home. 

She glanced up, as though she’d felt him watching. Instead of the storm he half-expected after their clash the night before, she smiled. “You always were the last out of bed,” she teased lightly. “Sit, doesn’t look like those vampires fed you well, huh?” 

Thorne supposed she was right, but this really jotted down to the fact that Lucien didn’t really know when or how often that werewolves eat, Thorne never informed him and wasn’t feeling hungry on most days with other things on his mind.  

The young werewolf slipped onto the seat at the table, it somehow felt smaller than he remembered despite it being the same table they had always eaten at. Elara on the other hand was at the hearth ladling out porridge. 

He wanted to speak, but his throat closed as she set the steaming bowl in front of him. It was thick with oats and milk, sweetened with berries and honey — luxuries, given how the village had suffered since the fire. She must have gone to some trouble for it. 

“Eat,” she said again, firmer this time, setting a spoon down with the weight of command. 

Thorne lifted it obediently, though the food caught in his chest as much as it warmed his belly. He hadn’t had a meal cooked with such care since… He pushed the thought away. 

Elara moved around the home, fussing as she always had straightening the blankets he hadn’t folded, dusting the corner shelf, rearranging herbs by the window as if they had grown unruly overnight. It was almost normal. Too normal. The way she smoothed over their words from last night — the sharp accusations, her voice trembling as she asked if he’d been a sex slave — made the air heavy. 

Finally, he cleared his throat. “We need to go back for the rest of them.” Thorne said trying his best to project confidence and firmness. “Aiden, Bran, Mira and Cato- They're still there.” 

Elara froze before giving him a firm nod, eyes like steel. “I thought you’d say that sooner or later. We’ll have to come up with a better plan than last time, I suppose.” She commented. “Then we’ll gather who we can, today and bring them home.” 

The knot in Thorne’s chest loosened at his mother’s approval, though it didn’t last long with a heavier feeling pressed on him. The wolf had promised Lucien. 

He stared into his bowl, watching the honey swirl into the oats. “…There’s someone else.” 

Elara tilted her head curiously. “One from our pack?” 

“No.”  

“So, who then?” 

“...A vampire.” 

Silence. 

Her face changed, the warmth bleeding away until only a cold, stiff mask remained. She straightened, folding her arms tight across her chest. “A vampire,” she said flatly, as if tasting the word. 

“Ma, I’m aware of how you feel of them, but he is truly different, trust me on this. Without him, I’m not sure if I’d be alive right now.” 

Elara didn’t answer, she didn’t have to. The fury in her eyes spoke enough: they burned our home, they killed our people, and they took your father. 

He pressed on, voice softening. “I know what you think of them, but I promised and he’s not like the others. I simply can’t abandon him.” 

Her lips parted, but no sound came. For a flicker of a second, her eyes softened — the mother who used to gather him close after nightmares, who used to patch his wounds and kiss his hair. But it vanished quickly, steel settling in once more. 

“We’ll talk of this later.” She turned sharply, busying herself at the hearth once more. 

Her hands trembled. He noticed it even if she didn’t want him to. 

Thorne lowered his gaze to the bowl. The berries had gone mushy, the honey cloying on his tongue. He ate anyway, each spoonful feeling like ash. 

The silence between them wasn’t the peaceful kind. It pressed on him, heavy, like the walls might close in.  

And though his mother’s back was turned, Thorne caught the faintest shimmer of moisture at the corner of her cheek, quickly brushed away. 

How he hated hurting her like this.  

_ 

 

The evening air carried the tang of ash, sharper now since the sun was dipping low and the fires for cooking were being lit across the village. The central square once the site for the Harvest Festival, feasts and dancing now bore the signs of rebuilding with half-finished scaffolds, new thatches being laid out and freshly cut beams just lying about.  

Elara guided Thorne with steady hands on both his shoulders as though afraid he might vanish if she let go. Heads turned as they stepped into the lantern-lit square. Conversations faltered, tools stilled and for one breathless moment, the entire pack stared at him as if he were a ghost. 

A child dropped a bucket, the clang ringing sharp against the hush. 

“Elara…” a woman whispered. “That can’t be—” 

“It is,” Elara cut in firmly, her voice leaving no room for doubt. “My son has come home.” 

The quiet fractured into a flood of voices. A few surged forward — hands grabbing his arms, shoulders, hair — as if touching him would prove he was real. Others hung back, staring with wide, uncertain eyes. 

It was all very overwhelming and in Thorne’s opinion, unnecessary. He managed stiff smiles here and there, they must’ve really thought he was dead.  

Among the crowd, an older man pushed forward, his face lined deep with worry. His scent hit Thorne first: Bran’s father, they looked similar despite Bran himself being an omega and having more feminine features compared to his dad. He was one of the several few trusted alphas in the pack, so his scent was unique.  

“You,” the man said roughly. “If you’re here, where’s Bran? You dare show your face here without them?” 

Being questioned by an authority figure and an alpha much older than you was just as nerve-wracking as Thorne thought and his wolf was buckling inside him with guilt and trepidation. Bran should have been here beside him; he should’ve made it out too.  

“He’s alive,” Thorne forced out at last. “They still have him however, but I believe we can formulate another plan to get them out.” 

A murmur rippled through the gathered wolves. Bran’s father took a step forward, hands fisting by his sides. “How come only you left then, boy?” 

Thorne dropped his gaze. “They sent me back because of...Circumstances that aren’t really important right now but like I said, we can go back and get them out. I’m sure of this.” 

The silence that followed was different from before. Warier. 

A younger wolf muttered, “The manor’s crawling with fangs. Even if we tried, none of us would make it out alive.” 

Another spat into the dirt. “Better to stay out of their games. We can’t afford to lose more of us.” 

Thorne lifted his head, forcing himself to meet their doubt. “If we don’t go, we’re leaving them to die in chains. Bran. Mira. Cato. Aiden. All of them. They’re family. They’d come for you.” 

That landed. Even those who had scoffed looked uneasy, shifting their weight, avoiding each other’s eyes. 

Bran’s father’s voice broke the tension, rough with grief. “You swear to me he’s alive?” 

Thorne nodded once, firm. “I swear.” 

Elara stepped up then, her presence grounding. “My son isn’t wrong. We can’t abandon them. It won’t be easy — we’ll need planning, and the right moment — but we owe them that much.” She locked eyes with Bran’s father.  

The pack murmured again, this time softer and less certain with their refusal which meant they were getting somewhere.  

The older alpha wolf spoke up again. “Tomorrow morning, we start conversing about plans. I’ll gather who I can. You better not be late, boy.” 

Thorne let out a slow breath. For the first time since he’d been dumped on the village edge, he felt the faintest flicker of hope. The idea had been planted. 

But as he scanned the faces of his people, he kept his expression neutral, hiding the other truth clawing at his chest: this wasn’t only about Bran or Mira. 

It was about Lucien too. 

And he hadn’t yet found the courage to say his name.  

Notes:

Also im going to delete the notice chapter soon so that the story flows more freely, so don't be surprised if in a couple hours you dont see it anymore :)