Page 137 of Mystic's Sunrise

Clapping.

Slow. Mocking.

We both spun toward the sound.

The door wasn’t closed anymore.

And leaning against the frame, smug and snake silent, was the last man Lucy ever wanted to see.

Fang.

He looked like the monster he was, shoulders relaxed, one brow raised in cruel amusement. His mouth twisted into that signature smirk that never reached his eyes. Eyes that stayed locked on Lucy like a predator who’d waited too long to feed.

“Well, well,” he drawled, voice thick with glee. “If this ain’t the sweetest surprise I’ve had in months.”

He stepped inside and pushed the door shut behind him with a soft click that sounded like a lock snapping shut on our fate.

Lucy didn’t flinch, but I felt her go still beside me, her fingers slipping free of mine.

Fang’s gaze moved over her slow, like he was unwrapping her in his mind, enjoying every second. “Didn’t think I’d ever get another shot at you,” he murmured. “But here you are. Walked right into my arms. Just like one of those fuckin’ fairytales.”

Lucy drew in a breath that sounded more like a choke.

He stepped closer.

“You made my whole damn year, love,” he purred, head tilting. “Been dreamin’ of you, y’know. What I’d do if I got another chance.”

My stomach twisted violently. I stepped forward, but Lucy beat me to it, her arm out, pushing me gently behind her.

Protecting me.

LikeIwas the one in danger.

“Cute,” Fang chuckled, green eyes glinting. “Real cute. But this ain't a Disney movie, love. This is real fuckin’ life.”

He took another step, slow and deliberate, like a wolf savoring the distance closing between predator and prey. His voice dipped into something colder. “Now… be a good girl, Lucy. Come here.”

She didn’t move.

Didn’t blink.

He smiled, all teeth. “Don’t make me come get you.”

And in that moment, I knew.

He wasn’t bluffing.

He’d been waiting for this. Planning it. Holding onto the memory of her the way Drago held onto me.

Only Fang didn’t want ownership.

He wanted destruction.

And Lucy… she’d just walked into the fire.

CHAPTER SEVENTY-SIX

I SHOULD’VE LETDrago have her.

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