Chapter 54 – The Consequence of Blood

The first thing Elena noticed was warmth. It pulsed through her body in waves, heavier than before, making her feel like she was floating between reality and something else. Something ancient.

Her eyelids fluttered open, and for a moment, everything was wrong.

The dim room pulsed with energy she couldn't understand. The air was thick, charged, as if the very walls held whispers of something unseen.

Then her vision focused, and she saw Leon.

He was sitting across from her, his back against the stone wall, his head bowed, hands clenched into fists.

There was blood on his lips.

Her blood.

A sharp jolt shot through her as the memories returned—the bite, the warmth, the eerie pull that had latched onto her soul.

She shifted, trying to sit up, but her body protested. Every muscle felt drained, too heavy, too sensitive.

Leon's head snapped up.

"Elena." His voice was quiet, but there was something off about it.

She swallowed hard, forcing herself to meet his gaze. His eyes were no longer their usual cold silver. Instead, they burned crimson, like smoldering embers in the dark.

Her stomach twisted.

He looked different.

There was no exhaustion, no weakness—only raw power humming beneath his skin.

The realization hit her like a punch.

Her blood had restored him.

Leon exhaled, pressing the back of his hand against his mouth as if trying to rid himself of the lingering taste. "You shouldn't have done that," he murmured.

She let out a shaky breath. "I—"

"You don't understand what you've done." His voice was rough, filled with something she couldn't quite place—anger? Fear?

Elena's heart pounded. "I saved you."

Leon laughed, but there was no humor in it. "You didn't save me. You just tied yourself to me in a way that can't be undone."

The words sent a chill down her spine.

She had read it in the book—the marking, the bond.

A vampire's first real taste of a mate's blood sealed their fate.

She could feel it now, deep in her bones. The connection between them had shifted, intensified.

Elena gritted her teeth. "You were dying. I couldn't just—"

"Let me die?" He cut her off, his gaze darkening. "Maybe you should have."

Her breath hitched.

Leon rose to his feet in one fluid motion, his presence looming over her. "Do you even know what this means, Elena?" His jaw clenched. "You've made yourself mine."

The words settled over her like a curse.

She forced herself to look up at him. "Then tell me what it means," she challenged.

His crimson eyes flickered, and for a moment, he looked almost… lost.

Leon sighed, running a hand through his hair. "It means you're in more danger than before."

Her pulse quickened.

He wasn't talking about himself.

Something else was coming. Something worse.

And now, she was bound to him.