The first real trouble started a few days later.
Daniel was leaving his evening class, his bag slung over one shoulder, when it hit him — a prickling sensation crawling up the back of his neck like icy fingers. A weight settled in his chest, heavy and sharp.
He stopped, glanced behind him.
Students poured out of the lecture hall, laughing, talking, faces blurring together under the streetlights. Nothing looked out of place.
But the feeling didn't leave. If anything, it grew stronger.
Daniel tightened his grip on the strap of his bag and picked up his pace, his heart beginning to thud, uneven and loud.
Block after block, he told himself he was imagining it. Paranoia. That's all it was.
But halfway home, as he passed a narrow alley, a figure stepped out of the shadows.
Tall.
Pale.
Grey eyes gleaming in the dark like shards of glass.
Daniel froze, a breath catching painfully in his throat. This vampire was different from Lucian.
He felt colder. Hungrier. Ruthless.
The stranger smiled, sharp and slow.
Before Daniel could even think to run, the vampire lunged, grabbing him by the front of his jacket and yanking him close.
"You smell like him," the stranger hissed, voice rough against Daniel's ear.
Daniel struggled instinctively, panic clawing its way up his spine.
"Let me go!" he gasped, shoving at the vampire's chest.
The man laughed, low and cruel, his breath chilling Daniel's skin.
"Oh, I don't think so," he said, tightening his grip until Daniel whimpered. "You're his little pet, aren't you? I wonder..." The vampire leaned in closer, his fangs grazing Daniel's throat, making him shudder. "I wonder how angry he'd be if I broke you."
Daniel's blood turned to ice.
"No," he rasped, thrashing against the iron grip, but it was useless. The vampire was too strong.
The stranger — Jeremiah, Daniel would later learn his name was — bared his fangs fully now, lowering his mouth to Daniel's neck. Daniel shut his eyes, heart hammering, preparing for pain.
But it never came.
There was a blur — a rush of wind and silver — and suddenly Jeremiah was ripped away from him, flung backward like a rag doll.
Daniel stumbled, catching himself against the brick wall, gasping for air. His vision swam.
Lucian stood between them now, a wall of fury, his entire body vibrating with rage so thick Daniel could taste it in the air. His eyes weren't just glowing — they were burning, electric and endless.
Lucian's voice split the night, low and lethal.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?"
Jeremiah crouched where Lucian had thrown him, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. His chest heaved with ragged breaths, but his eyes gleamed with mocking defiance.
He wiped the blood from his lips with the back of his hand, sneering.
"He's just a human," Jeremiah spat, the words laced with contempt. "Why so sensitive, Lucian? You've lived long enough to know — this planet is crawling with them. Break one, bite another. Fuck one. They're all the same."
Lucian's fists clenched at his sides, trembling with restrained violence.
Daniel, still pressed against the wall, could barely breathe. The air between the two vampires crackled, heavy with tension.
"You touched him," Lucian said, each word falling like a death sentence. His voice was almost soft now — far more dangerous than any shout. "You laid your filthy hands on someone you shouldn't even look at."
Jeremiah let out a low, ugly laugh.
"Oh, come on! He's just a bloodbag. No need to get so sensitive," he taunted. He rose slowly to his feet, swaying a little, his smile bloodstained. "Or maybe..." Jeremiah's gaze slid past Lucian to Daniel, hungry and vicious. "Maybe it's more than that. Are you thinking of marking him? Well, if that's the case, it means he must be tasty as fuck."
For one terrible heartbeat, the night held its breath.
Then Lucian moved.
Faster than sight. Faster than thought.
One blink, and he was there next to Jeremiah. Another, and Jeremiah was slammed into the pavement with a crack that echoed off the alley walls.
Jeremiah gasped, coughing up more blood, his body twisting in agony. Lucian stood over him, breathing hard, his whole frame vibrating with the force of barely contained rage.
"If you ever," Lucian growled, his voice shaking with the depth of his fury, "so much as look at him again..." He crouched low, bringing his mouth close to Jeremiah's ear, his words soft and chilling. "I will tear you apart so slowly you'll beg for death every second you still breathe. Let's not forget who holds more power between the two of us."
Jeremiah whimpered — actually whimpered — and for the first time, Daniel saw true fear flash across his face.
Lucian rose without waiting for a response, turning on his heel. He reached Daniel in two long strides, his hands immediately on Daniel's arms, his shoulders, his face, frantic and searching.
"Are you hurt?" Lucian demanded, his touch trembling as it skimmed over Daniel's body, checking for unseen wounds. "Did he bite you? Tell me if he touched you—"
Daniel shook his head, voice catching in his throat.
"I'm okay," he whispered, though he didn't feel okay, not even a little bit.
His knees were jelly. His heart felt bruised from how hard it was pounding. But he was alive.
Lucian had gotten to him in time.
Lucian cupped his face in both hands, his thumb brushing Daniel's cheekbone tenderly, as if anchoring himself to the feel of Daniel's warmth. Behind them, Jeremiah groaned weakly, dragging himself into the shadows and disappearing without another word.
Lucian pulled Daniel into his arms, wrapping him up, shielding him from the world.
Let's go home," Lucian murmured, voice shaking and picking Daniel into his arms.
"I can walk—" Daniel protested feebly. Actually, he could barely stand.
"Put your arms around my neck and try to calm down. Your heart's still pounding so loudly," Lucian spoke softly, kissing his cheek.
Daniel didn't say anything more and just obediently put his arms around Lucian and leaned into his shoulder.
He carried Daniel all the way back to the studio apartment and insisted that he went to sleep immediately after taking a shower.
Daniel drifted in and out of sleep, haunted by nightmares where cold hands dragged him into the dark. Each time he woke, sweating and gasping, Lucian was there. Holding him.
Whispering to him that everything was alright and that he was safe. Then he would fall back asleep, knowing nothing could hurt him as long as Lucian was next to him