Under the moonlight
Chapter 7 : Cold eyes
Aria walked the long corridor back to the dormitory alone. Her head throbbed slightly from the endless whispers she'd tried to ignore all day, and her body was tired—not just physically, but emotionally. Ezra had been kind, protective in his cold, quiet way, but it hadn't stopped the others from watching her like she was something to be hunted.
After lunch, she'd barely managed to stay awake through her classes. Her stomach was empty again, but she knew better than to expect food waiting for her. When she entered the dorm room and found it empty, her shoulders fell.
Lucien wasn't there.
Strange.
She wasn't used to the room being this quiet. As terrifying as his presence was, the silence without him was even more suffocating.
She sat on the edge of the bed, glancing around, her mind racing. Where was he? Why hadn't he come to torment her or glare at her today? He never just disappeared.
Her stomach growled. She hadn't eaten since lunch. The hunger clawed at her sides, but there was nothing to eat, and she didn't dare leave again. Not after what had happened the last time.
Wrapping herself in the blanket, she curled into the farthest corner of the bed and closed her eyes.
She tried to sleep.
Tried.
But the room felt too cold.
Suddenly, the door creaked open.
Aria's eyes snapped open.
Lucien.
He stepped inside, slowly, like a shadow. The room darkened just from his presence. His long coat trailed behind him, and his boots thudded dully against the floor.
She sat up immediately, heart pounding.
He didn't say a word.
His eyes locked onto hers.
Red.
Deep, crimson red.
He looked furious.
No, not just furious—he looked like he was barely holding something in. Like rage. Like hunger.
Aria's breath caught.
"Where were you?" she asked, her voice small, shaky.
Lucien didn't answer at first. His eyes flicked to her neck, to the exposed skin near her collarbone, then quickly away.
She swallowed hard.
"Lucien?"
His fists clenched.
She could see his jaw tightening, the muscle twitching with effort. He was trying to control himself. His chest heaved, shallow breaths that seemed more like growls.
"Did you enjoy lunch with him?" he finally asked. His voice was flat. Dangerous.
Aria blinked. "Ezra? He was just—"
"I didn't ask what he was," Lucien cut in, stepping closer, his tone sharper now. "I asked if you enjoyed it."
Aria stared at him, confused. "You weren't even there—"
"I saw enough."
He was standing right in front of her now. So close she could smell the faint copper scent of blood clinging to his clothes.
"I'm not your prisoner," she said suddenly, feeling defiant. "I can eat with whoever I want."
Wrong move.
Lucien's eyes darkened even further. His lips curled into something like a smirk—but it wasn't amused.
"You think that?" he whispered, dangerously low. "After everything?"
"I'm hungry. I was tired. He helped me," she snapped, heart racing.
Lucien leaned in, his face inches from hers.
"No one touches what's mine."
Her breath caught in her throat.
He didn't touch her. Not yet. But the look in his eyes made her blood freeze.
"You're acting like you own me," she said through clenched teeth. "But you don't."
Lucien let out a slow breath, stepping back. "You don't get it, do you?"
"Then explain it to me!" she yelled.
His eyes burned, like fire trapped in a storm.
"I haven't fed in two days," he said quietly. "You think I'm avoiding you because I don't care?"
She blinked.
"I'm avoiding you because I'm trying to not hurt you."
He looked away for a moment, as if ashamed. Then he turned back to her, voice low and raw.
"Every time I'm near you… I can hear your heartbeat. Smell your blood. Feel your warmth. It drives me insane."
Aria's throat went dry.
"I'm fighting instincts every second I'm in this room," he continued, "and you go and sit with Ezra like he's your savior. Like I'm the monster."
"You scare me," she whispered. "You are a monster sometimes."
Lucien chuckled bitterly. "You think I don't know that?"
She stayed silent.
He ran a hand through his hair, pacing the floor. "I could've fed on you the night you first arrived. I wanted to. Every fiber of me told me to just take what I needed."
"Then why didn't you?"
He stopped. Looked at her.
"Because something in me said don't. Because even if I hated you, even if I wanted you as nothing more than a blood source… I couldn't bring myself to do it."
Aria's chest tightened.
Lucien stepped closer again, but this time slower, controlled.
"You don't know how hard it is," he said, almost to himself. "To have you this close, this fragile... and not give in."
"I didn't ask you to care," she said softly.
"I know," he replied. "That's the worst part."
He turned his back on her again and walked into the bathroom, the door clicking shut with a quiet finality.
Aria sat there, heart racing, head spinning.
She didn't know what scared her more—the fact that he wanted to drink her blood
Or the fact that she wanted him to stay. Even now