It was like I had found my mate

"What does this desert witch look like?" Lucius asked, curiosity in his voice.

"I don't know, I didn't really see her face," Kat replied as she glanced behind Lucius. "You did'nt even realize that our little angle has been gone for like five minutes now, did you?" She asked, referring to Leah.

A frown creased Lucius' face as he pivoted around, but he couldn't find Leah there. Without sparing Kat another glance, he left the cell with inhuman speed, almost disappearing like a ghost, without even bothering to close the cell door.

With a thoughtful look in her eyes, Kat glanced at the open iron bar door and then back at her bound wrist, a slight twinkle appearing in her eyes.

...

Picking up a small stone from the ground, Leah tossed it at a tree bark. She was sitting on a medium sized rock just a little distance from the tunnel door outside, calmly throwing stones into the woods. She could have gone back to the mansion alone, but she didn't want to end up on a wolf's menu.

Lucius emerged from the tunnel door, with worry etched on his face and his eyes scanning left and right. His worry settled immediately when his eyes rested on Leah, and he made his way to where she was sitting.

Leah noticed his presence but said nothing to him, she still continued with what she was doing like he wasn't even there. There was a defeating silence between them, for a moment before Lucius finally spoke.

"What she said back there... It wasn't entirely true," Lucius said, his voice calm and measured.

Leah stopped throwing the stones as there were no more stones left on the ground near her.

"But there was still some truth in it, right?" Leah asked without glancing at him.

"Yes," Lucius replied. "But it's complicated."

Leah finally glanced at him. "Then why don't you make it less complicated. Cause I really need to understand everything."

A weak sign escaped Lucius lips before he moved to sit beside her. He gaze went up to the blue sky, a distant look in his eyes.

"Every vampire has a mate..." Lucius began. "But am the only exception," he paused

Leah glanced at Lucius with a slightly furrowed brows she wanted to question him but she kept quiet as it seemed like he had more to say.

"I gave up my chance to have a mate for something else... Something more valuable at the time. So I wasn't excepting to have a mate, but my initial thoughts changed when I saw you at the ball that night." a weak smile appeared on his face, his eyes still staring blankly at the sky.

"I was so drawn to you... It was like I had found my mate..." His eyes moved to Leah's face meeting her forest green eyes immediately. "Because the moment I gazed into your eyes I knew that I was screwed, more screwed than I could ever imagine but I still loved it."

The intensity in his eyes was so raw and yet mild at the same time that Leah could not avert her gaze from him even though she wanted to.

"When I realized that you came from a hunters bloodline, I told myself that it wasn't possible for you to be my mate, but the signs were still there, in fact I even became more drawn to you." Lucius looked away from her his expression dulling a little. "That day in kitchen... I took the opportunity to imprint on you when you cut your wrist. The mark was supposed to make your heart beat like my own, but,"

Lucius chuckled bitterly. "It ended up turning to a fucking blood slave mark because you weren't my mate. It was never my intention to place that disgusting mark on you, and I didn't know that you were under a complaint spell. The spell wasn't meant for you, it was casted on the manor's ground for protection from external bodies."

"If you already know that I am not your mate, then why can't I leave?" Leah asked.

Everything he just explained made perfect sense to her but she didn't understand his reason for keeping her here.

"It's for your own protection," Lucius simply replied.

"Protection from whom," Leah asked, as his reply didn't make much sense to her.

Lucius glanced her way. "You're the one who has the answer to that question, Reina."

Leah's eyes widened in shock when Lucius called that name, and she immediately diverted her eyes away from him.

"How did you know that name?" She asked in a low voice.

Lucius smirked. "I did a background check on you, remember,"

Leah nodded slowly. "You went really deep, didn't you?"

"Yes, but not deep enough. You're quite a difficult puzzle to solve."

Leah glanced at him without replying. Her stomach grumbled reminding her, that she had not eaten yet.

"I think we should head back." Lucius stood up and Leah also did the same.

She glanced back at the tunnel door which were still open before looking at Lucius.

"Are you going to leave that open?" She asked, gesturing towards the door.

Lucius glanced at the door before replying. "Yeah. Those tunnels needs some fresh air," He said and began to stride towards the path that they had come from.

Leah glanced at the door again before following after him.

"What is Kat doing down there, by the way?" Leah asked as they walked through the overgrown trees.

"She's meditating," was all Lucius replied. Leah didn't find it satisfying because Kat did not look like someone who was meditating, but she did not press him for an answer.

After his explanation, she felt like she understood him a bit now.

As they continued to walk, Leah observed the trees around them. She hadn't really looked around before, as Lucius had been walking really fast and she had been focused on meeting up his strides. The forest was thick and overgrown, with vines and branches tangled together. It was a stark contrast to the well-manicured lawns of the mansion. For some reason, she felt like the wolves were not the only carnivorous animals here.

A moment after their departure, a male figure emerged from one of the trees Leah had been throwing stones at. The person was dressed in all black, with a cloak around his shoulders and a black veil covering his hair. A mask concealed the lower half of his face, leaving only his eyes visible.

The figure squatted down and picked up one of the stones Leah had thrown, tilting his head to the side as he examined it with great interest. He seemed to be treating the stone as if it were not just an ordinary rock, but a precious gem of great value.

A sudden rustling sound from inside the tunnel's door caught the person's attention. He looked up, revealing a very unique sea-green eyes, before vanishing into thin air.

"...Yumpy, Yumpy, Yumpy, red flowery bugs..." Kat sang merrily with a sweet, melodic voice as she climbed out through the door.

She ran both hands through her hair, wearing a satisfied smirk on her face.

"Thought those two love chipmunks were going to sit there forever, piff," she muttered to herself before starting to walk away as she resumed singing her meaningless lyrics.

...

Spending time in the library, immersed in history books, had become one of Leah's daily hobbies after Anastasia showed her around the mansion's vast collection. With Andrea gone for over a week, Anastasia spent most of her time with Leah and Zelia.

During one of their reading sessions, Leah learned from Anastasia that the family members did not actually live in Rome. They all had their separate lives and were only there to spend some bonding time together, which according to Anastasia was going well until Lucius got restricted.