Page 44 of Luna

I should have been brave enough. I should have stood over him and made him grovel at my feet.

“Luna?” Lucien’s voice tugs me back into the room.

I step out of the bathroom and find him standing in front of me holding a wooden tray. On top of it is a steaming bowl of what looks like pasta, a glass of water, and... my pills.

My eyes widen.

“Kim tells me you asked him to fetch these for you.” He sets the tray down on the bed and picks up the pill packet.

I move closer, slowly, half expecting him to tease me with them the way Steven would have. Hold them out of reach. Taunt me for needing them.

Instead, he presses them into my palm and says, “You should have asked me.” He curls his fingers over mine. The contact sends a shiver through me.

“I didn’t think you’d let me have them,” I say bluntly, still fuzzy from the feeling of his hand on mine.

Lucien’s brow creases into a displeased frown. “I want you to be safe. And I would never want you to be in pain.”

I have no idea why, but as he stares at me, I believe what he’s saying. His words land like kisses on my skin. Tingling heat settles between my legs.

“I will do anything I can to prevent you from suffering, Luna.” He moves his hand to my wrist and tugs me closer. His other hand is on my waist. It slips beneath the blanket and his fingertips brush my stomach.

Why does he love that part of me so much?

I don’t understand it.

He leans closer. My lips part in anticipation of his kiss, but then he jerks away from me and thrusts a glass of water into my free hand. “Take your pills. I want you to feel better.”

I stare at the packet, then at the glass of water.

“I’ll take them if you tell me why I’m here.” I mutter the words without looking at him. When he doesn’t respond, and I feel his body stiffen, I know I have got to him.

This is how I take back control.

“You can’t bear to see me suffer. You will do anything to prevent it.” I push back my shoulders and tilt my chin.

For some reason, I feel more able to challenge this vampire than I felt able to challenge Steven.

“So, then, Lucien... tell me why you are keeping me here. The real reason.”

“You were attacked. I killed your assailants. More will come.” His eyes are shimmering with frustration. “You have your answer, now take the pills.”

“That’s not the real answer.” I put my hands on my hips. I want to sit down. And I want to take the pills. But right now, this is all I have... this is the only thing I can control.

“Why do you think that?”

“I can see it in your face. There is something you’re not telling me. And it doesn’t add up. Why would more vampires come for me? I’m of no interest to them.”

The muscles in Lucien’s shoulders twitch. He is biting down on his anger. I can see him quite literally grinding his teeth as he struggles to keep it in check. His eyes flash with a mixture of frustration and something else – concern, perhaps? He turns abruptly, striding towards the door.

“There are clothes on the bed,” he says, his voice tight with restrained emotion. “Kim brought them from your house.” His hand rests on the doorknob. “But until you take those pills, you’ll live like I do. In utter darkness.”

Before I can respond, he’s out of the door. I hear the lock click into place and, suddenly, all the lights in the room go out. The darkness is immediate and complete, so thick it feels like a physical presence pressing against my skin.

Panic rises in my chest, a suffocating wave that threatens to overwhelm me. I’ve always hated the dark, found it oppressive and terrifying. The blackness seems to amplify every sound, every sensation. My breath comes in short, sharp gasps.

My father used to do this.

Leave me in the dark.