Lucian's POV
Pain was all I had known for hours.
They had bled me slowly.
Each symbol Fenris carved into my chest was designed to keep me alive while draining maximum blood. Vampire healing trying to kick in, only to be disrupted by the shadow corruption in the wounds. Lycan regeneration attempting to close the cuts, but the ritual marks preventing it. I had been trapped in a cycle of bleeding and almost-healing, my hybrid nature turned against me.
Eight pints. They had taken eight fucking pints of my blood. Enough to kill a normal human twice over. Enough to weaken even a hybrid to the point of uselessness.
Or so they thought.
When Aiyana's Lux Aeterna broke my bonds and we were pulled through that portal, something changed. The moment we hit the concrete of the capital city, surrounded by the scent of human blood, so much human blood, my vampire side roared to life.
