Chapter 100
ADRIAN’S P.O.V.
If someone had told me that my obsessive fascination with Teresa would eventually lead me to this point—standing in the living room of Lucian Blackwood’s mansion, me, a vampire with a coven lurking in the woods and a brand new demon child to call mine—I would have laughed in their face and drained their blood for wasting my time. But here I was. Saddled with chaos. And if the goddess’s words were true, this chaos would only grow with a child destined to be my “greatest headache p>
I leaned against the wall, taking in the chaos before me: Teresa holding Lucian’s arm to guide him, her kindness peeking through the fractured remnants of her anger, and Lucian, blind but still radiating that infuriating alpha aura as if losing his sight was just a minor inconvenience. My coven was out there, waiting for my next command. They were hungry, restless, and one step away from turning Redfield into a blood-soaked feeding ground. I couldn’t allow that. The supernatural world didn’t need more scrutiny from humans. For now, I had them stealing blood bags from local hospitals, not my finest moments but that would have to suffice until we returned to the Valley.
Despite everything, I didn’t regret coming. Strange, isn’t it? Walking into chaos should have made me run in the opposite direction, yet here I was, as if tethered by some unseen force. Chaos, it seems, has always had a way of pulling me in, wrapping me in its maddening embrace.
Leaving? That wasn’t an option. Not now. Not with Teresa still in tears. Not with my babies feeling the tension as well. And definitely not with Lucian being blind.
Lucian. Blind as he was, still carried the weight of being the Alpha of a large pack. His very presence hummed with authority, a presence that demanded attention, even from someone like me who wanted nothing more than to ignore him. How was he going to manage it all: a mate, two babies, and a large pack in his current condition? Though I’d rather bite my own tongue than admit it, I couldn’t just turn my back and leave him defenseless—not with the darkness consuming him already.
When had I become this disgustingly kind and self-sacrificing? Honestly, I had no idea.
Turning my attention to Teresa. Or rather, the Teresa who— up until yesterday— I had thought was mine. A pang of something bittersweet shot through me as I glanced at her. She stood by Lucian’s side, her soft features framed by the silver glow of the moon steeping in. Strength radiated from her—a quiet resilience she probably didn’t even realize she possessed. Despite everything she’d been through, despite Lucian, and the tangled web of their shared pain, she was trying to be civil. Her kindness, that infuriatingly beautiful heart of hers, overshadowed any resentment she might have harbored for him. My chest tightened—not with longing, no. That ship had sailed the moment I saw her.
Juliette.
The memory of our first encounter hit me like a bolt of lightning. It was at the tree line, where the moon goddess’s light spilled like silver rain over the forest. That strange pull I’d been feeling ever since stepping foot into Lucian’s territory suddenly had a face—a face so striking, so fiercely alive, that it made my breath catch. Juliette. Her name was a melody I didn’t know I’d been waiting to hear. She was everything I hadn’t realized I was searching for: graceful yet strong, with a gaze so piercing it felt as though she could peel back the layers of my soul with a single glance.
Every romantic feeling I’d once held for Teresa—or even Margaret, but that’s a tale for another time—disappeared in that instant. It wasn’t rejection or regret. It was clarity, pure and unyielding. I had never truly belonged to anyone. Not Teresa or Margaret, and they had never truly belonged to me. But Juliette? She was different. She was mine. I knew it the moment her eyes flicked away from mine, pretending not to notice me even though her pulse betrayed her. That quickened heartbeat, those shallow breaths—she felt it too. The mate pull. I never thought I was elegible to have one of those. I had given up on the whole idea centuries ago. I guess the universe was still kind to monsters like me.
But that connection, as electrifying as it was, would have to wait. There were more pressing matters at hand. Juliette might have been the storm brewing in my chest, but the chaos swirling around Lucian’s living room demanded immediate attention. The remnants of the moon goddess’s intervention still hung heavy in the air, an almost tangible reminder of how precarious our situation was.
I cleared my throat, cutting through the tense silence like a ice. All eyes turned to me—Teresa’s wide with curiosity, Lucian’s shadowed with suspicion, and Juliette’s… well, Juliette’s narrowed with what I could only describe as reluctant interest. My lips twitched into a faint smile before I forced myself to focus.
“We need to talk. There are matters I must discuss with all of you—important matters. Let’s move to Lucian’s office before the house realizes we’re back. Trust me, what I have to say will be of great use to you, Lucian, and Teresa in particular p>
Lucian tilted his head in my direction, his unseeing green eyes narrowing as if he could sense my ever-present smirk. He turned to Teresa, holding out his hand. “Lead me up the stairs?” he asked softly.
I bit back a laugh as Teresa without hesitating even for a fraction of a second took his hand. Lucian, the opportunist, leaned in slightly, his charm slipping through his aloof façade.
“Blind and still managing to hit on her. Impressive.” I teased through the mind link, my smirk now fully formed.
Lucian didn’t miss a beat. “The best thing about this blindness is that Teresa has been talking to me kindly again. For that, Adrian, I’ll endure anything p>
I chuckled softly, shaking my head. Lucian Blackwood: blinded alpha, unapologetic flirt, and somehow, even without Raivo, was still the biggest thorn in my side. But I had to admit, There was something oddly endearing about the way he clung to hope, even in his darkest moments.
As Teresa guided him up the stairs, I followed, my thoughts already racing. There was much to be said, but none of it would be easy. Not with Lucian’s stubbornness, Teresa’s guarded heart, and the simmering tension between all of us. And then there was Juliette. She was the biggest complication of all—one I couldn’t ignore.
As we moved through the hall, I couldn’t help but let my gaze linger on her for just a moment longer. She might have been pretending she wasn’t affected, but I knew better. And sooner or later, so would she.