2

Blood & Moonlight

Chapter 2: Shelter and Silence

The streets of Sector 9 were nearly empty.

Lucien and the rogue werewolf moved quickly but quietly through alleys and abandoned buildings. The air was heavy with the smell of rain and rust. Somewhere in the distance, the hum of a hunter drone passed overhead.

Neither of them spoke.

Lucien’s coat dragged slightly in puddles, water dripping from his sleeves. His sharp eyes watched everything—shadows, rooftops, the glow of cameras in the dark.

The werewolf led without looking back. His stride was long and confident, even barefoot on wet ground. His hoodie clung to his back, soaked and torn. Steam rose off his skin, the heat of his body resisting the cold night.

Finally, he stopped in front of a half-collapsed apartment building.

“We’ll be safe here for now,” he said.

Lucien raised an eyebrow. “This place?”

“Hunters don’t check ruins twice. It’s quiet. And dry—mostly.”

Lucien followed him through a cracked doorway and up a stairwell missing half its steps. Broken furniture and torn curtains littered the rooms, but one corner had been cleared. A thin mattress. A candle. Some dried herbs hung from the ceiling.

It wasn’t much.

But it felt... lived in.

Lucien glanced around. “This is your den?”

The werewolf didn’t answer at first. He sat down on the mattress and began wringing water from his hair.

“It’s temporary,” he said finally. “I move often.”

Lucien stood by the window, watching the fog roll in across the street. His red eyes glowed faintly.

“You’re not from here,” he said.

“No.”

“Why are you in New Haven?”

The werewolf met his gaze. “Why are you in New Haven?”

Lucien smiled, just a little. “Touché.”

Another silence passed between them. It wasn’t hostile anymore—but not comfortable either.

“I’m Lucien,” he said after a moment. “Lucien Virelles.”

The werewolf raised an eyebrow. “As in... House Virelles? The vampire nobility?”

Lucien gave a small shrug. “Unfortunately.”

The werewolf looked at him longer this time. “I’ve heard stories. About you.”

“All true, I’m sure,” Lucien said dryly. “And you are?”

The werewolf hesitated.

Then, finally: “Rael.”

Lucien nodded slowly. “Rael.”

He liked how the name felt. Sharp. Brief. Fitting.

Rael shifted, crossing his arms over his knees. “I don’t usually deal with vampires.”

Lucien smirked. “You’re doing alright so far.”

“I didn’t ask for your help.”

Lucien turned back toward the window. “I didn’t ask for yours either. Yet here we are.”

Rael didn’t reply.

The candle on the floor flickered, casting a soft light over their faces.

For the first time, Lucien noticed the fine lines around Rael’s eyes. The way he watched everything—even Lucien’s hands, his breath, the way he stood. Like someone used to danger.

“Who were you before you went rogue?” Lucien asked, voice low.

Rael’s jaw tensed. “That’s not your business.”

“I didn’t say it was. I’m just... curious.”

Rael looked away. “Curiosity gets people killed.”

“True,” Lucien said. “But boredom kills me faster.”

The corner of Rael’s mouth twitched. Almost a smile. Almost.

Lucien sat down against the far wall. He leaned back, one knee up, resting his arm lazily over it. “We make a strange pair.”

“I wouldn’t call us a pair.”

Lucien chuckled softly. “Not yet.”

Rael shot him a glare.

Lucien’s smile didn’t fade.

The rain outside continued, soft and steady.

Rael stood and walked to a metal cabinet in the corner. He pulled out a dry towel and tossed it toward Lucien. “You’ll catch cold.”

Lucien caught it, surprised. “Vampires don’t get sick.”

Rael sat back down. “Still. You look half drowned.”

Lucien wiped his hair slowly, still watching the wolf from under his lashes. “You're not as heartless as you act.”

“I’m not kind either.”

“Good,” Lucien said. “I don’t like kind people. They usually want something.”

Rael leaned back, resting his head against the wall.

The silence between them felt different now.

Not sharp.

Just... quiet.

Safe.

“I don’t know what you’re really doing in New Haven, Lucien,” Rael said, eyes half closed. “But if you bring hunters to my door again, I won’t be so friendly.”

Lucien gave a slow nod. “Fair enough.”

They sat like that for a while, the only sound the soft rhythm of rain against broken glass.

Lucien didn’t realize when he started to relax.

And Rael didn’t realize when he started to trust.

But something was beginning.

Something slow.

Something fragile.

And very, very real.

End of Chapter 2

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