I didn't realize I was still holding my breath… until my chest started to hurt.
Lucas was looking at me in a way he never had before, his eyes no longer calm or distant like they used to be, but sharp, alert, almost guarded, as if he was seeing something in me that he didn't fully understand… or worse, something he understood too well.
And that terrified me.
Because if someone like Lucas was afraid… then what exactly had I become?
"I didn't mean to do that," I said, my voice barely above a whisper, my fingers still trembling as I slowly pulled my hand back, as if the distance between us could somehow erase what had just happened.
But it couldn't.
Nothing could.
Because I felt it.
That moment when everything inside him… stopped.
Not slowed down.
Not weakened.
Stopped.
And the memory of it clung to me like something alive, something that had already rooted itself deep inside my mind, refusing to let go.
Lucas exhaled slowly, running a hand through his hair as he stood up, turning his back to me for a moment, as if he needed space… or maybe control.
"I know you didn't mean to," he finally said, his voice steady again, but there was something underneath it now, something heavier, something that wasn't there before.
"That's not the problem."
I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly dry.
"Then what is?"
He turned back to face me.
And this time, he didn't hesitate.
"The problem," he said slowly, each word deliberate, "is that you did it without trying."
Silence fell between us again, but this time it wasn't empty.
It was suffocating.
I shook my head, taking a step back, my mind racing, trying to make sense of something that refused to be understood.
"That doesn't make sense," I said, more to myself than to him. "You told me I needed control… that I had to focus… I barely even knew what I was doing."
"Exactly."
That single word landed harder than anything else.
Lucas took a step closer now, closing the distance I had just created, his presence suddenly overwhelming, not in a threatening way… but in a way that made everything feel too real, too intense.
"That wasn't control, Lina," he continued, his voice lower now, quieter, but far more dangerous. "That was instinct."
A cold shiver ran down my spine.
Instinct.
Something natural.
Something automatic.
Something I wouldn't be able to stop.
"No…" I whispered, shaking my head again, my heartbeat starting to rise. "No, that's not possible. I—I just followed what you said. I imagined it, I focused—"
"You didn't imagine anything," Lucas interrupted, his eyes locked on mine, unblinking. "You reached for it."
My breath caught.
And suddenly, I wasn't in the room anymore.
I was back in that moment.
Feeling it.
That pulse under my fingers.
That slow, unnatural rhythm that didn't belong to the world I knew.
And the way it responded.
Not resisted.
Responded.
Like it recognized me.
Like it was waiting for me.
I stepped back again, this time faster, my back hitting the edge of the desk behind me, my hands gripping it tightly as if it was the only thing keeping me grounded.
"That's not true," I said quickly, but my voice lacked conviction, even to my own ears. "I didn't… I didn't feel anything like that."
Lucas didn't move.
Didn't argue.
He just watched me.
And somehow, that was worse.
"Close your eyes," he said after a moment.
I frowned. "What?"
"Close. Your. Eyes."
There was something in his tone that made it impossible to refuse.
Slowly, reluctantly, I did.
And immediately, the darkness felt different.
Not empty.
Not quiet.
Alive.
"Now," Lucas said softly, his voice closer than before, right in front of me, "tell me you don't feel it."
I stayed still, my breathing shallow, my senses suddenly sharper, more aware.
At first… nothing.
Just the sound of my own heartbeat, fast and uneven.
But then—
There it was.
Faint.
Deep.
That same rhythm.
That same unnatural pulse.
Not mine.
Not human.
My fingers twitched involuntarily.
"No…" I whispered, my voice breaking slightly. "No, I don't—"
"Don't lie to yourself."
My eyes snapped open.
Lucas was right in front of me now.
Too close.
His gaze intense, searching, as if he was trying to pull the truth out of me without words.
"You feel it," he said quietly. "And the more you deny it… the stronger it will become."
I shook my head again, but this time slower, weaker.
Because deep down…
I knew he was right.
"I don't want this," I admitted, my voice barely audible now, the weight of those words settling heavily in my chest. "I don't want to hurt anyone."
Lucas' expression softened… just slightly.
"You don't have that choice anymore."
Those words didn't feel like a warning.
They felt like a sentence.
And suddenly, the room felt smaller.
The air heavier.
Like the walls themselves were closing in, trapping me inside a reality I wasn't ready to face.
"So what happens now?" I asked, my voice trembling despite my effort to stay calm. "Do I just… walk around hoping I don't accidentally kill someone?"
Lucas didn't answer immediately.
He glanced at my hand instead.
At the mark.
That symbol that had changed everything.
And when he finally spoke again, his voice was quieter than ever.
"No," he said.
Then he looked back at me.
"This is where it gets worse."
My stomach tightened.
"Worse how?"
He hesitated.
And that hesitation alone was enough to make my heart sink.
"Because it's not just about control anymore," he said slowly. "It's about influence."
I frowned. "What does that mean?"
"It means," he continued, his eyes darkening slightly, "that the more you use your power… the more they will feel you."
"They?" I repeated.
And for the first time since this conversation started…
Lucas looked away.
"The others," he said.
A cold silence followed.
"Other… what?"
He didn't answer right away.
And in that moment, I realized something that made my blood run cold.
Whatever he was about to say…
Was something he didn't want me to know.
"Lucas," I said, my voice firmer now, despite the fear building inside me. "What aren't you telling me?"
He exhaled slowly.
Then finally met my eyes again.
And this time…
There was no hesitation.
"There are vampires," he said.
I froze.
"You already know that."
I nodded slightly, my throat too tight to speak.
"But we're not the only ones hunting you."
My heart skipped.
"What do you mean?"
Lucas took a step closer.
And this time, there was no space left between us.
"The moment you stopped my heart…" he said quietly, "you didn't just prove what you are."
His gaze dropped briefly to my hand.
Then returned to my eyes.
"You announced it."
A chill spread through my entire body.
"To who?"
Lucas' expression hardened.
"To everyone who's been waiting for someone like you to exist."
Silence.
Heavy.
Unforgiving.
And suddenly…
Everything made sense.
The feeling.
The mark.
The way nothing about this felt like a coincidence.
This wasn't the beginning.
It was a signal.
And somewhere out there…
Something had already heard it.