Chapter 1 001

The moon hung heavy over Crimson Hollow, casting a cold silver sheen over the spires of old buildings and crumbling stone. It was the kind of night stories were made of-old stories, whispered ones. The kind that warned young girls not to stray too far from home.

But Evelina Hart wasn't afraid of stories anymore.

Her breath came in bursts as she sprinted down the alley, boots slick against the wet cobblestone. The sound of her heartbeat drowned out everything else-until the howl shattered the quiet.

Not human. Not animal.

Something in between.

Evelina pushed herself harder, her cloak snagging on broken brick. She tore it free, barely noticing the scrape across her palm. The only thing that mattered was getting away. Away from the manor. Away from the deal. Away from the vampire lord she'd been promised to like some blood-warmed token.

"This is your duty, Evelina," her uncle had said, voice as cold as the marble floors she'd grown up walking on. "You will restore the family's honor. Do not shame your father's name."

But her father was dead. And honor meant nothing when it tasted like blood.

She took a hard turn, nearly slipping again, and then-

A wall of muscle. Pain. Air knocked from her lungs.

Evelina hit the ground hard.

A hand caught her arm before she could scramble away.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" a deep, bored voice asked.

Her vision blurred from the impact, but her instincts screamed danger. She yanked her arm back. "Let go of me."

"I just saved you from a hellhound, little rabbit," the voice drawled. "You could at least say thank you."

Her eyes finally adjusted.

He stood over her, backlit by moonlight, rain dripping off the edges of his leather coat. Pale skin. Dark hair that curled just past his ears. And eyes-God, his eyes-like frost over a dying fire. Silver, rimmed with red.

Vampire.

"Run," she whispered, trying to get to her feet.

"I could say the same to you," he replied, tilting his head. "But I'm curious. Who runs through a vampire city alone, dressed like that, bleeding like a meal?"

Evelina's heart thudded against her ribs.

"None of your business," she said.

"You're brave," he said. "Or stupid."

"Which one are you?"

The vampire smirked. "Lucien."

"That wasn't-"

"Your question? I know." He offered a gloved hand. "You look like you're going to pass out. Let me help."

She didn't take it.

Lucien sighed, crouching beside her. "Suit yourself." Then, without warning, he threw his coat over her shoulders and stood. "You'll freeze if you stay out here. And the hounds will double back soon."

"You're one of them," she hissed. "Why should I trust you?"

He paused, shadows playing across his sharp jawline.

"You shouldn't," he said honestly. "But you already ran away from the worst vampire in the city. I'm the lesser evil."

Something in his tone-dry, laced with something darker-made her still.

"You know who I am," she said, slowly.

"I know what they call you." His eyes dropped to the mark on her wrist, a shimmering crimson sigil shaped like a blooming thorn. "The Bound."

The Blood Contract.

A cursed name for a cursed fate.

Lucien's lips curled in distaste. "You're promised to Lord Thorne, aren't you?"

Evelina flinched.

"He'll never let you go," Lucien added.

"I don't care," she spat. "I'd rather die."

"You just might."

Lightning split the sky. The city rumbled beneath it, alive and ancient.

Lucien turned his gaze to the rooftops. "We need to move. Now."

Before she could argue, Evelina heard them-the scrape of claws, the low growl of something hunting. She followed his gaze.

Eyes gleamed in the darkness. More than one pair.

"Come with me," Lucien said, extending his hand again. "You want to survive the night? Then stay close."

Evelina hesitated.

Then she took it.

His grip was firm and cold, like stone pulled from a river.

They ran.

Through the winding streets, under shattered archways, past sleeping buildings with closed shutters and silent windows. No one dared open their door to the night. Not when the hounds hunted.

Lucien moved like he owned the shadows, barely making a sound. Evelina tried to keep up, the adrenaline in her blood doing little to ease her trembling legs.

Finally, they slipped through a rusted iron gate and into an old chapel-long abandoned, its stained glass shattered and floor scattered with leaves and dust.

Lucien let go of her hand.

"You're safe for now," he said.

Evelina collapsed onto a broken pew. "Why are you helping me?"

Lucien leaned against the crumbling altar, arms crossed.

"Maybe I'm bored," he said. "Maybe I hate Thorne more than I hate bleeding hearts like you."

She frowned. "You knew him?"

Lucien's eyes darkened. "Too well."

There was a pause, thick with unspoken things.

"You said the hounds were coming back," Evelina said, voice soft.

"They will. They always do. They were bred to track blood contracts. Yours shines like a beacon."

"So I'm a target now?"

Lucien snorted. "You were a target the moment you were born into that bloodline."

Evelina touched the mark on her wrist.

"Can it be removed?"

"No."

Her heart sank.

"But..." Lucien stepped closer, shadows wrapping around him like a second skin. "There's something worse than a mark."

"What?"

"Being claimed."

Her breath caught.

"If Thorne bites you-if he seals the bond-it's over. You'll be bound to him for eternity. His power will root into your soul. You'll become..." Lucien trailed off.

"What?"

"Not yourself. Not ever again."

Evelina's blood ran cold.

She stood abruptly. "Then I can't go back."

"No," he agreed.

"But he'll come for me."

Lucien nodded.

"And you'll be in danger, helping me."

His smirk returned, sharp as a dagger. "Danger and I are old friends."

She shook her head. "You don't get it. This isn't a game. He'll burn the city to ash to find me."

Lucien's voice dropped to a whisper. "Then let him come."

His eyes locked onto hers-and for a moment, she saw it. A flicker of something broken and burning behind that silver gaze. Hatred. Grief. Guilt.

"Why do you care?" she asked, barely breathing.

Lucien didn't answer right away.

Then: "Because once, I let someone like you die. And I swore I never would again."

Evelina's heart pounded.

"Who?" she asked.

Lucien didn't reply.

Instead, he turned to the chapel doors, pushing them shut with a heavy creak.

"You should rest," he said over his shoulder. "At dawn, we'll move again."

"Where?"

"To someone who can hide you. Maybe even break the bond."

Evelina's fingers tightened around the edge of the pew. Her whole world had shattered in one night-but she wasn't alone in the ruins.

Lucien Vale was a stranger, a vampire, a mystery. But something in her chest whispered that he was more than that.

He was her only chance.

And maybe... her only hope.