Chapter 17
The Healer's Secret
The night air was thick with tension, the scent of damp earth and magic clinging to the ruined chapel where they had gathered. Selene stood before them, her silver hair shimmering under the moonlight, her dark eyes unreadable. A rogue vampire healer, she was neither ally nor enemy, only a woman bound by secrets and the knowledge of forbidden things.
And now, she had just spoken the words that sealed Isla's fate.
"There is only one way to stop your transformation," Selene said, her voice a whisper of smoke and regret. "You must drink Lucian's blood."
Silence stretched between them like a blade.
Lucian stiffened beside Isla, his golden eyes darkening. "No."
Selene didn't blink. "During the Blood Moon," she continued, ignoring his protest, "the power of the celestial event will either cleanse her human soul—or bind it to you forever." Her gaze locked onto Isla's. "There is no middle ground. If you do this, you will become half-vampire."
The words landed like a physical blow. Isla's breath hitched, her pulse roaring in her ears.
She had spent years fighting against the darkness creeping into her veins. She had felt the hunger stirring beneath her skin, the raw ache of something other waking inside her. And now, she was faced with an impossible choice—drink Lucian's blood and risk losing herself, or refuse and let the transformation consume her completely.
Lucian's hand clenched into a fist. "I won't let her do this."
Selene's lips curved into something that wasn't quite a smile. "Then she dies."
A sharp inhale from Isla.
The room spun. Her stomach twisted, her fingers curling into the folds of her coat. This wasn't just about survival. This was about who she would become.
Lucian turned to her, his expression unreadable, but his eyes burned. "We will find another way."
Selene tilted her head. "There is no other way. The Blood Moon rises in three nights. If you wait, the transformation will be complete. She will become a true vampire, and her soul—"
She stopped.
Isla forced the words past her lips. "My soul will be lost."
Selene nodded.
The weight of it pressed against Isla's ribs.
Three nights. That was all the time she had.
Lucian's jaw tightened. "We'll leave." He grabbed Isla's wrist, tugging her toward the door. "We're done here."
But Selene's voice stopped them cold.
"Tell me, Lucian," she murmured. "Are you afraid of binding her soul to yours? Or are you afraid of what she might feel if she does?"
Lucian stilled. Isla felt his grip tense around her wrist, his heartbeat drumming against her skin.
Selene chuckled softly, stepping closer. "Vampires don't just share blood. They share desire." Her gaze flickered to Isla, curious. "Have you ever wondered what it would be like to truly feel him?"
Heat flushed Isla's skin.
Lucian pulled her behind him. "Enough."
Selene sighed. "Very well. The choice is hers."
Then she turned, slipping into the shadows, leaving them alone in the dying candlelight.
They didn't speak as they rode back to the safehouse. The wind howled against them, carrying the scent of rain and night-blooming flowers. Isla's mind swirled with Selene's words, with the weight of the choice now pressing against her ribs.
When they reached the abandoned manor, she barely had time to step inside before Lucian closed the door behind them and pinned her against it.
His hands were on either side of her head, his breath hot against her lips. His golden eyes burned into hers, sharp with something raw, something desperate.
"You can't do this," he said, his voice low, a storm contained in his chest.
Isla swallowed hard. "I don't have a choice."
"Yes, you do." His fingers brushed her jaw, tilting her face up. "You don't have to become like me."
She let out a soft, bitter laugh. "You think I haven't felt it already? The hunger?" She gripped his wrist, pressing his palm against her racing pulse. "It's inside me, Lucian. It's only a matter of time."
His gaze flickered to her lips. "Then let me stop it."
Her breath caught.
She knew what he meant.
Not with blood.
With something else.
A distraction. A way to make her forget, even if only for a night.
Her fingers curled into his shirt, pulling him closer. His body was a furnace against hers, the heat of him seeping into her bones.
She kissed him first.
It wasn't gentle. It was fire and desperation, the sharp edge of fear laced with something deeper.
Lucian growled against her lips, pressing her harder against the door. His hands slid down, gripping her thighs, lifting her effortlessly. She wrapped her legs around his waist, gasping as he rolled his hips against hers.
It wasn't enough.
She wanted more.
His mouth trailed down her throat, his fangs scraping against her skin but not breaking it.
Not yet.
He was holding back.
She didn't want him to.
"Lucian," she whispered, her voice a plea.
His control snapped.
They didn't make it to the bed.
The wall was cold against her back, but his body was fire, burning away every thought except this. His hands were everywhere—tangling in her hair, sliding beneath her clothes, tearing away the barriers between them.
Her nails raked down his back, pulling a growl from deep in his chest. He pinned her wrists above her head, his lips crashing into hers again, stealing every breath, every thought, until she was lost in him.
And then there was nothing but the rhythm of their bodies, the hunger that had nothing to do with blood, the desperate need to feel alive before everything changed.
Much later, when the embers of their passion had settled into a slow, smoldering heat, Isla lay beside Lucian, her body aching, her heart racing for an entirely different reason.
His arm draped over her waist, his fingers tracing slow circles against her skin.
She turned her head to look at him. "If I drink your blood, what will it do to me?"
Lucian exhaled, his golden eyes unreadable. "It will change you."
She swallowed. "Will it hurt?"
A shadow crossed his face. "Yes."
She shifted onto her side, pressing a hand against his chest. "And if I don't?"
His grip tightened around her. "Then I lose you."
Silence.
A war raged inside her.
Was this her fate? To be bound to him forever, caught in the space between human and vampire?
Or was there still a way to escape the darkness?
Three nights.
That was all the time she had left.
She closed her eyes, knowing that when the Blood Moon rose, she would have to make a choice.
And either way, she would never be the same again.