Lucas blinked, his vision still hazy as he tried to piece together where he was. His head throbbed, and as he attempted to move, he realized his hands were tightly bound behind him. The rope cut into his skin, the coarse fibers burning his wrists with each subtle shift. He tried to focus, scanning his surroundings. The room was dimly lit, its walls worn and crumbling, giving the abandoned house a sense of eerie desolation. Faint rays of sunlight filtered through broken windows, casting jagged shadows on the floor.
In the middle of the room, a man sat across from Lucas, a burlap sack covering his head. His posture was slumped, shoulders hunched, as if he'd been sitting there for hours maybe days.His clothes were beyond dirty and browned with what looked like stained blood. Despite the poor lighting, Lucas could make out the faintest twitch of the man's hands, tied in front of him—whoever he was, he wasn't dead, at least not yet.
A low chuckle echoed from the shadows, snapping Lucas's attention away from the man with the sack. He turned his head sharply, and there, leaning casually against the wall, was Kane. His muscular frame seemed even more imposing in the dim light, and the familiar smile on his face was unsettling—half-amused, half-predatory.
"Rise and shine, sweetheart," Kane said, his voice smooth but laced with something dark. "Thought you'd be out for a little longer."
Lucas's mind raced. The last thing he remembered was leaving the school, and then the cloth—Kane had drugged him. His anger flared, but his body was still sluggish, the effects of the drug not completely worn off. He tugged against the ropes, testing them, but they were tied too tight. Kane watched him with that same smirk, clearly entertained by Lucas's struggle.
"What the hell is this?" Lucas growled, his voice raw with anger and confusion. His gaze flickered back to the man with the sack over his head. "And who the hell is that?"
Kane's smile widened, and he pushed off the wall, walking slowly toward Lucas. "That," he said, gesturing to the bound figure, "is Ryan. You remember him, don't you.The man you cheated on me with?"
Lucas's gaze shifted from Kane to the unconscious figure on the floor, a flicker of recognition passing through his cold, calculating expression. Ryan. His heart didn't stir with guilt, but rather something much darker—a simmering hatred and twisted satisfaction.
Lucas didn't blink, didn't react. His body remained eerily still, the only movement being the subtle tightening of his jaw. He watched Ryan's slumped form, but Kane's words barely registered. Cheated? No, that wasn't what this was. Ryan was nothing more than prey—prey that had evaded him for too long.
Kane's footsteps echoed as he drew closer, savoring the moment. "I promised we'd hunt together, didn't I? But we can't hunt now, so…" His voice dropped lower, filled with malicious glee. "We'll kill him together instead."
Lucas's eyes locked on Ryan, a predatory gleam in them now, though outwardly he remained the picture of cold indifference. Ryan was his. This moment was supposed to be his. Kane's intrusion, his delusion that this was about betrayal, was nothing more than noise.
Kane's smile widened, seeing what he wanted to see in Lucas's silence. "Come on, Lucas," he purred, "this is what you wanted, isn't it? Him at your feet, begging for mercy?"
"What do you expect me to do?" Lucas asked coldly, though his curiosity betrayed his stoic expression.
Kane's grin broadened as he stood, walking around Lucas slowly, like a predator circling its prey. "I expect you to have fun," Kane said, his tone light but with an underlying menace. "After all, isn't that what you wanted? A little thrill, a little blood? You've been holding back for so long, Lucas. Now's your chance to let loose."
Lucas's jaw tightened, the pull of temptation strong. Kane always had a way of knowing exactly what to say to provoke him, to push him toward the edge.
Kane leaned in closer, whispering near Lucas's ear. "He's all yours. Do whatever you want with him." Then, with a chuckle, he added, "Unless, of course, you'd rather I have the first go. But I think we both know you won't let that happen."
Lucas's pulse quickened, his inner turmoil bubbling to the surface. The thrill of violence, the rush of control—it was all so intoxicating. And yet, something inside him hesitated. Kane wanted him to give in, to lose control again.... completely. But Lucas wasn't ready to surrender to Kane's manipulations again.
"Why him?" Lucas asked, his voice low but measured. He didn't want to seem too eager, too willing to play along with Kane's twisted game. "Why Ryan?"
Kane shrugged, moving to stand in front of Ryan. He pulled off the sack with a swift motion, revealing Ryan's pale, sweat-soaked face. His eyes were wide with fear, and his mouth was gagged, preventing him from screaming. The terror in his gaze was unmistakable.
"Because he's a loose end," Kane replied casually. "And because you need this. I know you, Lucas. You're slipping, losing your edge. You're trying so hard to be something you're not. I'm just helping you remember who you really are."
Lucas stared at Ryan, his heart pounding in his chest. Kane was right—part of him was slipping. But was this the answer? Was giving in to the darkness the only way to regain control?
His mind slipped to Dimitri but he snapped out of it immediately .
As Kane watched, waiting for Lucas to make his move, Lucas's mind whirred with possibilities. He knew one thing for certain: whatever happened next, Kane was watching closely, eager to see just how far Lucas was willing to go.Kane's amusement flickered briefly across his face as he kicked the chair from under Ryan. The bound man fell to the floor with a thud, a muffled cry escaping from beneath his gag as he landed hard on his side. Ryan writhed in his bindings, his fear palpable in the stillness of the room, but Kane paid him no mind. His focus was entirely on Lucas.
With an effortless motion, Kane dragged the chair across the floor, the legs scraping loudly against the worn wooden boards. He flipped the chair around and sat down backward, his strong arms resting on the top of the chair's back, his gaze never leaving Lucas.
"Let's get one thing straight, sweetheart," Kane said, his voice low but charged with intensity. "I didn't drag you here to watch you hesitate."
His eyes, dark with obsession, bored into Lucas, searching for something beneath the surface—something Lucas himself wasn't sure he wanted to reveal. Kane's stare wasn't just a look of hunger or amusement anymore; it was deeper than that, an unsettling combination of lust and domination, like Kane was trying to crawl inside Lucas's mind and pull out whatever dark pieces were hidden away.
"Go on," Kane murmured, a smile playing on his lips. "I can see it in your eyes. You want to. You *need* to."
Lucas felt the weight of Kane's words press down on him, almost suffocating. His pulse quickened, and the rope around his wrists bit further into his skin as he flexed his hands, testing the restraint. The room seemed to shrink around him, Kane's presence growing larger, more invasive. Lucas wasn't sure if it was the drug still lingering in his system or the raw energy in Kane's voice, but everything felt heightened, charged with a violent undercurrent.
"What's stopping you?" Kane's voice was almost a purr now, coaxing, taunting. His eyes gleamed with wicked anticipation as he leaned in slightly, his breath ghosting against Lucas's skin. "Don't pretend you're above this, Lucas. I know better."
Lucas's jaw clenched, his mind spinning. Every instinct screamed at him to fight back, to push Kane's manipulation aside, but the desire to give in, to embrace the chaos Kane was offering, was undeniable. He could feel it bubbling beneath the surface, the darkness Kane kept prodding at, waiting for it to spill over.
Kane's eyes traveled over Lucas's face, and there was something predatory in the way he watched, waiting for Lucas to snap. His obsession was clear—it wasn't just about control. It was about breaking Lucas down, watching him unravel. And Lucas knew Kane would stop at nothing to see him fall.
"I know you," Kane continued softly, his eyes narrowing as he leaned back against the chair. "I know what you're capable of. This mask you wear, the control you think you have—it's slipping, isn't it? And that's why I'm here. To remind you who you really are."
Lucas glared at him, but the words hit deeper than he wanted to admit. His control had been slipping—slowly, quietly—and Kane was feeding off that weakness. The man's obsessive gaze, the intensity of his words, all of it was pushing Lucas closer to the edge.
Kane tilted his head slightly, a smirk curling at the corners of his mouth. "Let me help you," he whispered. "Let me *see* you."
Ryan let out a pitiful whimper from the floor, and the sound seemed to break the tension for a moment. Kane glanced briefly at Ryan before returning his gaze to Lucas. "It could be so easy, you know. One flick of the wrist, one little moment of freedom. That's all it would take."
He stood up from the chair in one smooth movement, towering over Lucas now. Kane reached down and grabbed the back of Lucas's neck, his grip firm but not painful. He leaned in close, his lips brushing against Lucas's ear as he spoke in a voice laced with anticipation. "Show me the real you, Lucas. You're not hiding from me anymore."
Lucas's breath hitched, his mind clouded with a mix of rage and confusion. Kane's touch was both grounding and maddening. He knew Kane wanted to push him over the edge, wanted him to snap and lose control. The question was, could he resist? Did he even want to?
Lucas felt the weight of the moment press down on him, Kane's fingers still gripping his neck. The room seemed to hum with tension, and in Kane's eyes, Lucas saw only expectation—a burning, obsessive need to see what Lucas would do next.
Ryan gasped in pain and Kane's smile wavered, turning into a sudden sneer as if remembering something.
"You know, they say I did it," Kane said, voice low, his eyes searching Lucas's face for any hint of reaction. "Painted me as the murderer. The guy who slaughtered her." He tutted softly, almost amused by the irony, but the anger simmered beneath his calm demeanor.
Lucas remained still, his expression blank, eyes fixed on Kane but betraying nothing. Not a twitch of emotion, not even curiosity. Just that same detached calm that unnerved everyone around him.
Kane's jaw tightened, frustration flickering across his face as he leaned forward slightly, his eyes never leaving Lucas's. "Funny, isn't it? I didn't even come close to her. I didn't lay a finger on her, but here I am, with blood on my hands in their eyes,their right of course but I don't know that woman. And you..." He trailed off, his gaze narrowing as if the pieces were starting to click into place.
"You," Kane continued, his voice dropping lower. "you're the reason, aren't you? You made them believe it was me." His voice was laced with accusation, each word sharp, digging into the silence between them.
Lucas didn't move, didn't flinch. His expression remained eerily calm, as though Kane's words were just background noise, inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. He let Kane's accusations hang in the air, the weight of them thick and palpable, but he didn't bother to respond. He simply watched.
Kane circled him like a predator, his frustration mounting with every second of silence. His lips twisted into a mocking smile as he leaned down, lips near Lucas's ear. "Doesn't matter, does it? Whether I did it or not. They've already made up their minds."
He straightened, running his hands down Lucas's shoulders as he moved back in front of him, crouching low to stare into Lucas's eyes once more. "But I don't care. I don't care what they say, what they think. I only care about one thing."
Kane's hand found its way to Lucas's jaw, gripping it tightly as he forced Lucas to look at him. "You. You and me. We'll be together, no matter what. On the run, in the dark, whatever it takes."
Kane's fingers loosened but lingered on Lucas's skin as he straightened up again, towering over him. "I know what you did," he whispered, his eyes filled with a maddening intensity. "But that's okay. Because I'm not going to let them take you from me. We'll disappear if we have to. Burn it all down if it means we stay together."
Lucas didn't blink, his icy calm unshaken, his gaze holding Kane's as if this were all just another game. The tension between them hung like a thread ready to snap, but Lucas remained expressionless, almost bored by Kane's words.
Kane's obsessive stare lingered for a moment longer, before he chuckled softly. "Yeah, it doesn't matter." He reached out, brushing his thumb over Lucas's lips. "We'll make them all pay, one way or another."
He pulled back, standing over Lucas, watching him like a man caught in his own dangerous delusions. But Lucas gave him nothing. No fear, no concern. Just that empty, haunting gaze.
Lucas's eyes shifted, ever so slightly, to the man on the floor, soft sobs coming from under the sack covering his head. The sound had been a distant hum beneath Kane's ranting, but now it crept into focus. The helpless, muffled cries made Lucas's fingers twitch, not in discomfort, but in ownership—Ryan was his.
Kane noticed the glance immediately, a gleam of excitement flashing in his eyes. He moved quickly, striding over to the man like a child about to unwrap a present. He grabbed the edge of the sack and yanked it off with a flourish.
Beneath the sack, Ryan's tear-streaked face came into view, his eyes wide and red, panic etched into every inch of his expression. He blinked rapidly, his gaze darting between Lucas and Kane, the terror rising in him visibly as he realized his helplessness.
Kane crouched down beside Ryan, running a hand through the man's hair almost affectionately. "I told you, didn't I?" Kane said, grinning wildly, his eyes flicking back to Lucas. "Although we can't exactly go out tonight... we can still kill together."
Kane's fingers tightened in Ryan's hair, pulling his head back sharply to expose his neck, his excitement growing. "This is the next best thing, right? A little fun before we disappear."
But Lucas's gaze remained fixed on Ryan, cold and calculating. This wasn't Kane's kill. This wasn't some shared thrill for them to bond over. This was different. Ryan belonged to him. Kane might think this was a game they were playing together, but Lucas had already decided—Ryan was his. His prey, his possession. The sight of Kane touching him, even with the intent to kill, ignited something deep in Lucas's chest, though not in the way Kane expected.
This wasn't Kane's moment. This wasn't about Kane at all. Ryan was his to break. His to end. And nothing was going to take that from him.
Ryan, eyes wide with terror, looked up at Lucas, his voice shaking as he spoke. "Please… please help me," he begged, his voice barely a whisper. "Don't let him do this. You have to stop him. He's a monster… he's going to kill me."
Lucas watched him, his expression unreadable. Ryan had no idea who he was truly pleading with, no idea the monster that stood before him.