Page 34 of The Blood Moon Hunt

“It suits you,” he murmurs, stepping just a little closer, and I feel the air shift, like gravity itself is pulling me toward him. "I imagine we will be seeing a lot more of each other during this Hunt, Selene."

There’s something about him that feels more dangerous than the others, something I can’t quite place but makes my skin prickle with unease.

Lucien moves closer, finally stepping fully between us. "Don’t get too close, Adrian. We both know how this ends."

Adrian’s smile fades slightly, and for the first time, I see a flicker of something darker in his expression. "We’ll see," he says, his voice quiet but laced with a warning. "We’ll see how it ends, Lucien."

“Where’s Ronan?” Lucien all but barks out, looking around.

Adrian raises an eyebrow, then shrugs. “Haven’t seen him. I assume he’s still licking his wounds from the last time he tried to take her.”

Lucien's jaw tightens, and I can sense the frustration radiating off him. He seems annoyed that the man isn't here. They know something’s wrong, even if they won’t admit it. The Hunt is shifting, and none of them have a clear grasp on it anymore. "You sure about that?"

Adrian’s gaze flicks back to me, something dark swirling in his eyes. “He’ll show up when it matters.”

I take a step back, feeling the weight of their attention pressing down on me. It’s almost unbearable, the way they look at me, as if I’m the key to something none of us fully understand yet.

But before the tension can escalate further, the door to the hall swings open, and I freeze. Damien strides in, his face a mask of barely contained fury. His eyes sweep the room, landing on Lucien first, then on me.

The shift is immediate. His power, though diminished in the daylight, still feels like a tangible force, crackling in the air around him.

“What’s going on here?” Damien’s voice is low, dangerous.

Lucien straightens, his shoulders squaring as he faces Damien. “We were just catching up,” he says, his tone casual, but I can hear the edge beneath it. “And you?”

Damien’s eyes narrow, and I can feel his gaze burn into me. He knows. He can sense what happened between Lucien and me, the same way I can feel his frustration simmering just beneath the surface. His jaw clenches, and for a moment, I wonder if he’s about to explode.

“You’ve been with her,” Damien growls, stepping closer to Lucien. “You couldn’t wait, could you?”

Lucien’s smirk returns, but there’s nothing warm about it. “You’re one to talk. We all know how close you’ve gotten.”

The tension in the room spikes, the air thick with their barely restrained anger. I glance between them, my heart racing. This isn’t about me. This is about control, about who holds the upper hand in this twisted game.

Damien takes another step toward Lucien, his fists clenched at his sides. “This isn’t a competition, Lucien. You know the rules.”

“Rules?” Lucien scoffs, his voice dripping with disdain. “The rules don’t apply to you, do they? You’re thefacilitator. The one who gets special treatment from the Order. But guess what? The rest of us still have to play the game. And as far as I'm concerned, she's still our prey.”

Lucien’s words hit me like a punch to the gut.Prey.The word lingers in the air, sharp and cutting, and I can’t help the fear that surges through me. It’s as if he’s reminding me of the very thing I’ve been trying to forget—that to them, I’m nothing more than a prize to be caught, a game to be won. The delicate truce that’s kept me safe so far suddenly feels like it could snap at any moment.

But beyond the fear, there’s a sting of something else, something I don’t want to acknowledge—hurt. As twisted as this whole situation is, part of me had almost started to believe that I was more than just prey to them, that maybe this fragile connection with Lucien, with Damien, was something real. Something that went beyond the Hunt.

But Lucien’s cold, disdainful words pull me back to reality. Iamprey. They’ve never seen me as anything more. Anxiety twists in my chest, making it hard to breathe as I stand between them, knowing that this fragile peace could shatter with just one wrong move.

And here I am, in the middle of it all—caught between the dangers of their desire and the fear that I might not survive much longer if this truce breaks.

“I don’t care about the game,” Damien snaps, hisvoice low and dangerous. “This is about more than that. She’s not yours to claim.”

Lucien’s smile fades, replaced by something darker, more dangerous. “Is that what you think? That you can protect her from all of us?”

Before I can react, Lucien takes a step toward Damien, and the two men are standing chest to chest, their power crackling in the air between them. But even in the dim light, I can see how their strength is waning, how the daylight is draining them. They’re not as invincible as they want me to believe.

“Stop it,” I say, my voice louder than I intended. Both men turn to me, their expressions unreadable. “This isn’t helping.”

Damien’s gaze softens slightly as he looks at me, but Lucien’s remains hard, his eyes still burning with anger.

“Adrian,” Damien calls out, without breaking eye contact with Lucien, “did you know about this?”

Adrian doesn’t answer right away, but the silence stretches on too long. My pulse quickens, and I realize that this might be spiraling out of control.

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