THE PRICE OF LOVE

Chapter 10

The Price of Love

Paris lay draped in a cold hush that night, the usual symphony of the city dulled to an eerie stillness. From the balcony of her family's estate, Lucienne stared out at the sprawling skyline, searching for something—anything—to anchor her in this unraveling world. But the city she had called home for centuries now felt foreign, a hollow reminder of the life she was about to lose.

She had known this moment would come. Their love had always been a fragile secret, a dangerous thread woven between warring worlds. But tonight, it was no longer just a threat. It was an ending.

Damien's voice still echoed in her mind, heavy with sorrow and finality.

"I have to leave, Lucienne. If I stay, I'll bring death to us both."

A cold ache settled in her chest, numbing her to everything but the devastating truth: he was right. Their love was a fire that neither of them could control, and it was about to consume them both. Yet, knowing didn't make it easier.

Footsteps approached behind her. She didn't turn—she didn't need to. She could feel him, his presence like a current surging through her veins. He had come to say goodbye.

Damien stood in the doorway, his golden eyes clouded with pain. He had always been strong, a warrior in both heart and soul, but tonight, he looked broken. A ghost of the man she had fallen in love with.

"Lucienne," he murmured, his voice like a whisper of smoke in the night. "If there was any other way, I would take it. But there isn't. Staying means your death, and I won't allow that."

Tears burned at the edges of her vision, but she refused to let them fall. "You think leaving will change that? You think I'll be safe without you?" She took a step forward, her fists clenched. "I don't care about the council. I don't care about your pack. I care about you."

His jaw tightened. "And I care about you—enough to walk away."

"No," she whispered, shaking her head. "I won't let them take you from me."

His hands found her face, fingers tracing her cheek as if memorizing her, committing her to memory for the eternity he would spend without her. "This isn't about them taking me, Lucienne. This is about me protecting you."

Her heart shattered.

"Then go," she choked out, forcing the words past the raw agony in her throat. "Go and never look back."

His lips brushed her forehead—soft, lingering, a ghost of the love they would never have. "I love you," he whispered, then stepped away, vanishing into the night.

Lucienne stood frozen, the cold biting into her skin, but nothing compared to the emptiness clawing at her soul.

The days blurred together, each one an endless cycle of hollow hours and suffocating grief. She threw herself into her duties, into the politics of the vampire world that had once defined her. But none of it mattered. She was only a shell of herself, moving through the motions of a life that no longer held meaning.

And then, fate intervened.

One evening, lost in the depths of her study, she stumbled upon an ancient text. Its pages, yellowed with age, whispered of long-forgotten prophecies. And there, hidden in faded ink, she found the passage that changed everything.

"The bond between the wolf and the vampire, though forbidden, shall be the key to ending the war between their people. Their union, if allowed to flourish, will bring forth a new age of peace."

Lucienne's breath hitched.

It wasn't just love. It was destiny.

Their love wasn't a mistake—it was a prophecy. A forbidden truth that had been buried for centuries. And now, she understood.

She had to find Damien.

He had to know.

Far from the city, Damien wandered deep into the wilderness, seeking solace in the cold embrace of the unknown. He had thought distance would dull the pain, that time would quiet the voice screaming in his soul. But nothing could silence it.

Every second without Lucienne was an agony he could barely endure.

He had left to protect her. He had done what was right. But why did it feel like he had ripped his own heart from his chest?

He could still feel her, even across the vast distance. A bond that refused to be severed, an invisible thread pulling him back.

And no matter how hard he tried, he knew the truth.

He could never stay away.

Back in Paris, Lucienne stood at the gates of her estate, the prophecy burning in her mind. There was no more doubt. No more fear.

She would find him. She would bring him back. Together, they would rewrite their fate.

But just as she turned to leave, a shadow fell across her path.

Her father.

Lucius stood before her, his expression carved from ice. "Going somewhere?" His voice was quiet, but laced with warning.

Lucienne squared her shoulders. "I have to go."

Lucius stepped closer, his eyes narrowing. "You think you can defy the council? Defy me?"

"I don't fear the council," she said, her voice steady. "And I don't fear you."

His lips curled into something between amusement and menace. "Then you're a fool."

A chill slithered down her spine as his gaze darkened. "And fools pay the price."

In that moment, Lucienne understood—this was only the beginning.

The war had already begun.