Page 19 of Rescued By the Vampire Rogue

"Lucien is the future," Douglas proclaimed, his eyes alight with fervent belief. The treachery cut deeper than the stake he'd pierced my chest with. Douglas had been loyal for over two centuries when I'd turned him. His loyalty was such that he was the one who'd driven us here… right to Lucien. While we'd laid a trap for him, he'd turn it around on us.

"Future? What madness has taken you?" I ground out, every word laced with venom.

He leaned close, a zealot's whisper. "A new breed of vampires. We won't skulk in the shadows any longer, or bend our knees to humans. All he must do is sire offspring with the human, and we shall unleash our kind from this subjugation."

"Breeding?" I spat the word as if it were poison. "You think such things can change our fate?"

Douglas's grin was all the answer I needed, his conviction unshaken. How could blind faith twist so grotesquely? A future built on such fragile dreams was doomed to crumble, but there was no reasoning with the delirious. Pain lanced through my chest, yet it was the sheer idiocy of Douglas's words that truly struck me.

The future he painted—a lineage of born vampires—was laughably flawed. "You're a fool," I hissed, the silver in my chest a cold reminder of his betrayal. "Even if his plan had merit, which it doesn't, you've overlooked one simple fact."

Douglas's brow furrowed, and I savored the flicker of doubt in his eyes before continuing. "I've already marked her as mine, in every sense."

The snarl that escaped him was cut short as Lucien intervened with a dismissive wave of his hand. "True, he has," Lucien admitted, his grip on Ivy's neck firm as he pulled her closer. He leaned in, taking in her scent, his expression twisting into one of distaste. "But that's no obstacle," he announced. "There are ways to erase such... mistakes."

At his words, the air left her lungs in a desperate cry, but she was trapped. How dare he lay claim to a life not his to take or judge? The urge to rip him apart surged within me, but the silver held me bound.

A cold smirk curled on Lucien's lips, his grip on her neck unyielding. "Perhaps I'll keep the child," he mused aloud, eyes dancing with malevolence. "What an excellent leash to control you, my dear human. And if you prove... cooperative, your role could become quite... enjoyable."

The beast within me growled, a deep and primal sound. "Touch her or our child again, and I will tear your head from your shoulders," I threatened through gritted teeth, straining against the silver that seared my flesh.

"Silence, Kael." Lucien's bit out. With a casual flick of his wrist, he signaled Douglas. "Kill him."

Ivy's scream pierced the air of the warehouse as she pleaded. "Lucien, please!" Ivy's voice broke, desperation coloring her every word. "Please don't kill him."

Lucien turned his gaze toward her, cold and calculating. "Why should I spare him?" His tone dripped with disdain. "Kael is an inconvenience to be eliminated."

"Then you'll kill me too," she declared, her voice trembling but resolute. "Because if you hurt him, I swear I'll end my own life."

"Empty threats," Lucien sneered. "I already planned for Kael to give you his blood to make you more durable. That won't matter since you're still an enhanced human against a master vampire. You are no match for me."

Fear clawed at my insides as her declaration hung in the air. My gaze locked onto hers, willing her to see reason.

"Kael's blood makes me faster," she countered. "One swift move is all it would take. I'd be too far gone right before your eyes, and you wouldn't be able to do shit about it."

"Don't you fucking dare harm yourself, or the child." The plea came out rough, like gravel against silk. "If he takes you, I will find a way to bring you back. You must survive."

Lucien's glare bore into Ivy. "What are you plotting?" he demanded, his grip on her tightening.

She stood defiant, unyielding. Then, in a blur too fast to follow, a sickening snap echoed through the warehouse. Her scream tore through me.

I fought against Douglas's hold, every muscle straining, the silver stake moving infinitesimally closer to my final death. But no matter how I writhed, the metal remained lodged and Douglas's hold didn't wane.

The air crackled with the scent of ozone as magic bombs detonated, showering the room with blinding light and disorienting noise. A guttural groan escaped my captor's throat as his grip on the stake slackened. Seizing the moment of weakness, I wrenched the silver from my flesh and thrust it into his heart. His body shriveled before my eyes.

I darted through the chaos. Faces I recognized stormed the warehouse, their arrival a relief when the turn of events had begun to feel hopeless. Maeve, both fierce and graceful, flew through the cacophony of distractions to whisk Ivy away from Lucien.

I lunged at my betrayer, determined to be the harbinger of the final death. I aimed for his heart, fury guiding my hand. I stopped just before the tip pierced his heart, pinning him to the concrete floor.

"Why?" I hissed.

He looked up, a twisted semblance of amusement playing on his lips. "You cursed me with this existence," he spat. "I've been biding my time, dreaming of nothing but your demise."

"Taking her was incidental, then?" I growled, pushing the point closer as if testing the fibers of his heart.

"Merely a delight until I discovered the true potential she carried." His voice was laced with newfound purpose. "I would have been the herald of a new era, with her as the vessel."

"Your time ends now." I drove the stake home, a vow that Lucien's reign would never begin. The silver pierced his undead heart, and his eyes widened in shock, then dimmed as his body crumpled into itself, shriveling into the grotesque husk.

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