Page 5 of Claimed

I fold my arms in front of my chest and tuck my knees up. I’m getting cold and want to put on some clothes. He notices me shiver and picks up the blanket from where it’s fallen at the foot of the bed. He wraps it around my shoulders and I tug the corner from his hand roughly.

“Why were you watching me?”

Lucien sighs. He looks stressed, and I didn’t know he knew how to feel stressed. “It’s not as sinister as it sounds.”

“Sounds pretty sinister.”

He drums his fingers on his thigh. “A group called the Human Extinction League hired me to look for someone. Since their methods have become more extreme, I no longer associate with them but at the time, they paid well and I needed to keep them on my good side.” He shakes his head as if he’s getting side tracked. “They suspected you might be part of another prophecy because you share a birthday with—” He sighs and shakes his head. “That part isn’t important.”

“It sounds important.”

“It isn’t.” He almost growls. “The point is, they hired me to watch you. As soon as I started observing you, I knew you weren’t the one the League was looking for, but it was obvious to me that you were special.”

His tone softens as he says special, and I struggle to keep my spikiness instead of softening, too. I pull the sheet tighter around myself. “So you’ve been watching me for how long?”

“Since around the time of your accident.”

The mention of the accident makes my chest tighten.

“I believe the trauma awakened something dormant in you. Something in your bloodline.”

I shake my head, then reach for my glasses and put them on. I don’t need them, really, but perhaps they’ll help me think. I exhale hard. Okay. One thing at a time. “That still doesn’t explain why you’re keeping me locked up here.”

Lucien sits down again, and I shift away from him slightly. “I brought you here because someone is making a power play in Cambridge. They’ve been systematically taking over the FHB trade. The Fermented Human Blood distribution network that I control. At first, I thought it was just about territory and power. But now I think it’s a distraction.” Lucien’s fists clench. “They’re stirring up chaos while they search for the one who can unlock the power of The Covenant.” He meets my eyes. “While they search for you.”

“How would they even know about me? And how do you know I’m...” I shake my head. There are too many questions. They’re rattling around in my head, making my temples throb, and pain is moving down my arms again.

He looks at me intently. “I don’t know. But the night at the bookshop when those vampires attacked you? I don’t think it was random. I think they were sent to test you, and from the footage Kim showed me⁠—”

A shiver snakes down my back. “Footage?”

Lucien reaches for my hands but I stand up, dragging the sheet with me.

“Lucien... footage?”

He stands and holds up his palms as if he’s trying to calm an angry animal. “Luna, the bookshop⁠—”

“Oh my god.” The truth hits me like a tidal wave. Suddenly, my mind stops resisting and everything that’s happened solidifies like one of those movie montages. “Oh my god.” I pace up and down. “You’re...?”

“I own The Haunted Bookshop.” Lucien’s lips twitch. Is he pleased with himself right now? “After the accident, you needed somewhere to work, and I wanted to be able to keep an eye on you.”

“Keep an eye on me?!”

“Keep you safe.”

“Do you have any idea how creepy this is?!”

“Creepy or romantic?” Again, Lucien’s lips twitch. He really is trying not to smile.

I am so angry with him, I don’t know what to do with myself. I turn away and stalk to the corner of the room. But again, as I look for the feelings of disgust that I’m pretty sure I should be experiencing right now, all I can find is curiosity.

“Luna—”

“Quiet!” I snap. “I’m thinking. So just be quiet.”

Lucien becomes completely silent. It’s a skill he has – a vampire skill. Like he pulls all his energy inside himself and becomes utterly undetectable.

After a long while, when my breathing has finally slowed down, I turn to face him. “So you were paid to spy on me, and when you figured out I wasn’t the person you were looking for, you started to suspect I had other abilities?”