"Honestly, pup," a crisp voice sliced through the ruin's silence. "Didn't anyone teach you vampires are the reason you lock your doors after dark? Or is moonbathing the latest fashion for youngsters?"
Lumi! Ellis's heart seized like a trapped bird. She tried to turn, but the movement was brutally arrested by the vampire's iron grip on her neck. Agony tore through her muscles, the burning heat a stark contrast to his marble-cold fingers.
Lumi stood framed in the broken doorway of a ruined hut, moonlight etching her sharp silhouette. Dust motes danced silently in the beam beside her. An almost tangible pressure radiated from her, thickening the air until each breath felt like swallowing glue.
Her presence, clean and fierce as sunlight, washed over the clearing, instantly overwhelming the vampire's cloying scent of old roses and decay, scattering it like chaff.
"Let her go, leech." Lumi's voice wasn't loud, but it made the air hum. Ash stirred in eddies around her boots. "Now."
The vampire studied Lumi with narrowed, silvery eyes. Under the immense pressure she projected, the corner of his pale mouth lifted in a subtle, intrigued curve.
"A misunderstanding, madam," he said, his tone laced with lazy amusement, as if discussing seasoning. "We were merely… engaging in some friendly physical discourse."
Seizing the moment's distraction, Ellis summoned every ounce of strength, wrenching violently against his hold! His hand didn't budge. The sheer disparity in power slammed into her like an icy wave: the entire fight, he hadn't even used half his strength… She'd been nothing but a fluttering sparrow in his grasp.
Lumi hadn't moved, but her right hand snapped up. Fingers flew through the air, tracing lines of visible, searing heat. A tiny, intricate symbol coalesced at her fingertip, glowing like molten gold. Dangerous light pulsed from it, making the air crackle, casting half her face in hard relief.
"Since you're having so much fun," Lumi's voice dropped lower, taut with impending violence, "mind if I join? Though I confess, I prefer my entertainment… sunlit." Her gaze was fixed on the vampire.
A low chuckle resonated through the dead village, thick with lethal mockery. "I wouldn't dare harm the Wandering Witch's little wolf cub," Caius drawled, his gaze sliding between Lumi and Ellis.
"That almost sounds convincing," Lumi replied, her fingers still steadily tracing the air. The molten symbol brightened, the air around it warming. "If you weren't currently pinning my naked apprentice to the dirt."
"A grave misunderstanding," Caius said, his tone deliberate. He released his grip with exaggerated care. With a fluid motion, he shrugged off his black and crimson velvet coat—the fabric gleaming darkly in the moonlight—and tossed it lightly. It settled like a heavy shadow over Ellis's trembling, curled form.
He stood now only in a flawlessly tailored white shirt, starkly bright against the ruins. He even flicked imaginary dust from his cuff. "Your little wolf is quite fierce. Subduing her took… effort." He sounded like he was complaining about a tough cut of steak.
Finished, he turned smoothly to Lumi. He inclined his body forward slightly, right hand over his heart, left hand behind his back, executing a perfect, archaic bow. The gesture carried the haughty grace of an old noble, tinged with the thrill of dangerous games under moonlight.
"Caius Thorne, at your service, esteemed Lumi the Wandering Witch," he said, rising. His silvery eyes caught the moon with an inhuman gleam.
"Why are you here?" Lumi's voice was iron. The tension eased fractionally, but the sharp wariness in her eyes didn't soften.
"As for my presence…" Caius's voice lowered, becoming a whisper that carried unnaturally well. "I suspect the answer we both seek lies within the same abyss."
He paused. Those cold eyes sharpened, piercing, locking back onto Ellis. "You hunt the wolf, yes? The one branded with a cross-shaped scar. The beast who revels in slaughter."
Ellis's heart hammered against her ribs, threatening to burst! The mark that had seared her soul for seven years! How did he know?! Fear and fury flooded her. Her body, wrapped in velvet, tensed like a drawn bowstring.
"You know him?" Lumi's voice sharpened, each word heavy with threat. She leaned forward slightly; the molten symbol flared brighter.
The mocking amusement vanished from Caius's lips, replaced by ancient, glacial fury. It sucked the last vestiges of warmth from the ruins. Beside his polished boot tip, the surface of a half-charred timber visibly frosted over with a faint hiss.
"An old acquaintance," he murmured, but the killing intent in the words cut like a polar wind. "I've chased that filthy dross across three duchies. I ground seven of his raiding packs into ash." He lifted his foot almost soundlessly, the sole of his boot grinding lightly over a small pile of ash on the ground. The casual gesture radiated utter annihilation.
"He's called Gromm the Spinebreaker. Once an Alpha." Pure disgust twisted his perfect features; his silvery pupils contracted to icy pinpoints. "But he stole power that wasn't his… And I intend to reclaim it. Along with his wretched life." The last words were spat like chips of ice.
Caius flicked his wrist dismissively towards the wreckage. "As for this ruin? It was like this when I arrived. I'd barely stepped inside before encountering your… hospitable pup." His gaze shifted to Ellis, huddled in his coat and trembling faintly, something unreadable flickering in his eyes.
Caius spread his hands in a gesture of elegant innocence. Yet, the dark red stains on the pristine white cuffs of his shirt stood out starkly in the pale moonlight. "My apologies if my hospitality proved overly enthusiastic. Her scent is simply… intoxicating."
"Give me a reason to believe you," Lumi demanded, her voice cold as forged steel.
"I find lying distasteful," Caius replied, his tone matter-of-fact. "Belief is your prerogative." He paused, his gaze encompassing both women. "You need not see me as an enemy. In fact, we should form an alliance."
"An alliance? With you?" Lumi's laugh was short and derisive. "I don't keep bats as pets."
"Gromm's power is expanding, far exceeding that of a normal Alpha," Caius's voice deepened. "Under normal circumstances, crushing that beast would be trivial…" A flicker of something like self-mockery crossed his eyes. "Unfortunately, I am not currently at my peak. Our best course is to pool our resources."
"He's right…" Ellis's voice, hoarse, cut through the silence. She stared at Caius.
During the fight, he'd clearly held back. There had been no real malice; it felt more like… toying with a disobedient pup.
The burning hatred for Gromm surged anew. "As long as that beast dies," she ground out, "I agree."
"Ha," Caius chuckled lowly. "Your girl shows sound judgment. You've surprised me more than once today."
Lumi was silent for a long moment. She scrutinized Caius's deceptively mild expression, then Ellis's eyes, blazing with fury and resolve.
"If that's your choice," Lumi finally said, her voice carrying weary concession, "I'll respect it." She snapped her focus back to Caius, eyes sharpening. "But try anything, leech, and I'll reduce you to ash."
Caius bowed again with fluid elegance, a ghost of a smile touching his lips. "Then I look forward to our collaboration." He glanced towards the faint lightening in the eastern sky. "Speaking of which, dawn approaches. You wouldn't object to me crashing in your pack for the day?"