Kai didn't stop walking until his lungs burned.
He dragged Leo down two stairwells, through a side exit, and straight into the chaos of the street outside the campus.
"Kai!" Leo yanked his arm free. "Are you possessed? Who was that?"
Kai bent over, hands on his knees, breathing hard.
"No one."
"That was not no one."
Kai straightened slowly. His heart wouldn't calm down.
"I bumped into him at a club a few nights ago," Kai said. "He's… weird."
Leo raised an eyebrow. "Weird like rich eccentric or weird like true crime documentary?"
"Second one."
Leo's expression shifted. "Okay. That's concerning."
Kai forced a laugh. "Relax. He's probably just another CEO slumming it for fun."
But the words felt hollow.
Because Kai knew.
That man didn't look at him like entertainment.
He looked at him like discovery.
Lucien stood in the hallway long after Kai vanished.
Rowan cleared his throat beside him. "Sir… should we follow them?"
Lucien's gaze lingered where Kai had been.
"No."
Rowan blinked. "No?"
Lucien's smile was slow and deliberate.
"If I chase him now, he'll run forever."
He turned, crimson eyes glowing faintly.
"I want him to come to me."
Rowan hesitated. "And if he doesn't?"
Lucien finally looked at him.
Then I will dismantle the world around him until he has nowhere else to go.
But he didn't say that.
"He will," Lucien said calmly. "Fate already decided."
Rowan said nothing.
He had learned long ago not to argue with destiny.
That night, Kai couldn't sleep.
Every time he closed his eyes, he saw red.
Not blood.
Eyes.
Watching.
His phone buzzed at 2:13 a.m.
Unknown Number.
Kai frowned.
He didn't answer.
The phone buzzed again.
Then a message appeared.
Unknown: You shouldn't run. It makes things complicated.
Kai's blood turned cold.
He typed back.
Kai: Who is this?
Three dots appeared instantly.
Unknown: You know who I am.
Kai sat up.
Kai: This isn't funny.
Unknown: I don't joke.
Another message followed.
Unknown: I apologize for frightening you today.
Kai stared.
That… wasn't what he expected.
Kai: Then stop stalking me.
Several seconds passed.
Unknown: I can't.
Kai's chest tightened.
Kai: That's not my problem.
Unknown: It is now.
Kai threw the phone onto his bed like it had burned him.
His window rattled softly.
Kai froze.
Slowly…
He turned his head.
Lucien stood on the fire escape outside his third-floor window.
Hands in his pockets.
Perfectly calm.
Kai shot to his feet.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
Lucien tilted his head, studying him.
"I wanted to see you up close," he said. "Without crowds."
Kai grabbed the nearest object—a lamp—and held it like a weapon.
"You're insane."
Lucien smiled.
"Yes."
The word felt like a promise.
"I won't hurt you," Lucien said gently. "Not unless you ask."
Kai's face burned. "That's not reassuring!"
Lucien stepped closer to the glass.
"You fascinate me," he said quietly. "And I don't get fascinated."
Kai's heart pounded.
"Go away."
Lucien's gaze softened.
Dangerously.
"I will," he said. "For tonight."
Relief rushed through Kai.
Lucien turned to leave, then paused.
"Oh," he added, glancing back. "You left your notebook at the club."
He placed it gently on the fire escape.
Kai's stomach dropped.
"You went through my things?"
Lucien met his eyes.
"I know your name," he said.
"Kai."
Then he vanished into the night.
Kai collapsed onto his bed.
Shaking.
And deep, deep down…
Something inside him whispered back.
Curious.