A black car stopped outside the University gates and Lucian stepped out with a bright smile on his face.

But the next instant—

"You need to understand that actions have consequences, Lucian."

From the driver’s seat, Claire lowered her window and spoke in a solemn tone. Lucian’s smile went away, he then let out a tired sigh and—

"Yes, yes, I get it."

He lifted both hands in surrender.

"I will be more careful next time."

"You better."

Claire’s eyes narrowed.

"I said I will."

"You also said you were going to follow Captain Hale’s orders."

Lucian paused at those words.

Then he smiled.

"In my defense, I followed some of them."

"Lucian."

Claire looked at him with a serious face.

"Yes, yes, consequences, reports, formal review. I get it.

I will be more careful next time, I promise."

Claire stared at him.

"Now, you should leave."

Lucian grinned as he leaned towards the window, lowering his voice as if sharing some great secret.

"I should not be seen getting out of a beautiful older woman’s car.

People might misunderstand."

He whispered the last sentence.

Claire’s face twitched in annoyance and Lucian’s grin widened even more.

"Not that I would mind it."

For a moment, Claire looked like she was seriously considering opening the door just to smack him but then, she closed her eyes to calm herself for a moment, closed the tinted window without saying another word and drove away.

Lucian watched it leave with a pleased smile, he even waved at her but then, he froze as he smelled a familiar scent.

He slowly moved his hands as if he was stretching instead of waving Claire goodbye, then he turned around and saw Naomi standing a few steps away.

"Oh! Naomi! Good to see you!"

He greeted with an overly excited look on his face. Naomi looked at him, then she looked at the disappearing car, then she looked at him again.

"Was that the same female lawyer?"

She narrowed her eyes.

Lucian blinked once.

How did she...?

Do women have some sort of sense when it comes to it?

Naomi narrowed her eyes, waiting for an answer.

"Yes, she was."

"She is pretty."

Naomi looked back at the road and Lucian felt something shift in the air.

"Is she?"

He smiled carefully.

"I never noticed."

"Is that so...?"

Naomi stared at him, then, she adjusted the strap of her bag on her shoulder and started walking toward the main building.

"Naomi."

Lucian started walking beside her.

"So why did she drop you off?"

Naomi questioned.

"You forgot? I work for her security company now."

"And the boss of the company drops you off personally?"

Naomi frowned.

"She had something to talk about."

"About what?"

"Work."

"What kind of work?"

"The security kind."

Naomi stopped and turned to him.

Lucian stopped as well and Naomi...

She looked at him, Lucian looked back into her eyes. He could tell she was angry, jealous even but... those weren’t the only two emotions in her eyes.

In fact, those two weren’t even the primary emotions behind that gaze.

Naomi was... worried.

"You were about to be charged for attempted murder, then you disappeared for a month, then somehow, the cases against you were dropped, the lawyer on the opposite side publicly apologised to you, then you say you were working for some security company and a woman who looks like she belongs in a courtroom or a crime drama drops you off in a black car."

"That does sound impressive when you say it like that."

Lucian smiled.

"It sounds suspicious."

Naomi corrected.

"Also fair."

Lucian admitted and Naomi—

"Lucian."

She called him, wanting a serious answer.

Lucian’s smile softened at that gaze.

"I am fine, Naomi."

Naomi stared at him, for some reason, she couldn’t believe what he said.

"I came back like I promised, did I not?

I am perfectly fine.

I am just... busy."

Naomi looked at him. She understood his situation, he had just lost his parents, he now attended University by day and worked at night, that was what worried her so much.

When did he sleep?

Is he okay?

What did he have to do to survive the legal trouble?

He... didn’t get dragged into something unspeakable did he?

All those questions worried her strongly, they kept her awake at night, thinking about him. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

And when she tried to talk to him, to get some answers, his answers were so vague that...

"Fine. Be mysterious then."

She snorted in frustration.

"I prefer the term charmingly unavailable."

Lucian smiled lightly.

"And I prefer quiet."

Naomi snorted again as she continued walking towards the class. Lucian caught up to her again.

"Are you angry?"

He asked.

"No."

"That sounded like yes."

"It sounded like no."

"It sounded like a very threatening no."

Naomi ignored him and continued walking. Lucian smiled and kept walking beside her.

The day passed, classes continued, Professors spoke, students complained, someone in the second row whispered about an upcoming exam as if it was the end of the world.

In one lecture, two students behind Lucian talked about Evelyn Starling.

Apparently, she had cancelled several appearances due to severe exhaustion and needed a few days to recover.

The news was everywhere.

Lucian reacted for a slight second when he heard the name, after all, he knew the truth behind it. It was strange to think how... quickly the Enclave hid things and made it all so... believable.

It made him wonder how many things he believed were just a false pretence they had created.

Not that it mattered, Lucian quickly hid the change in his expression and continued his day like nothing happened.

After class, Lucian returned home and was greeted by the same silence he would never get used to. He looked at the scratches on the walls and floor and for a moment, he stood still.

Then, he shook his head and took a shower.

Honestly, the shower in Enclave was better, it had better pressure, better features, but...

Home was home.

Lucian then changed into fresh clothes and once again realised he needed new clothes since these were tight.

’I fucking hate shopping.’

He groaned.

’If only there was a girl who shopped for me.’

He sighed as he stepped in front of the mirror, looked at himself and he... smiled.

He looked... handsome. He had sharp features before too, but since his body was almost always exhausted, his posture remained low and he was quite frail, he looked like a damsel in distress.

Not a good look for the ladies.

Though now...

It was an entirely different thing.

Not only had he put on decent muscles, the Incubus Blood had cleared his skin, removing all the aches and spots he previously had and had given a distinct colour to his eyes almost no woman could ignore.

’It really was a top-class beauty product huh...’

Lucian laughed.

Then suddenly—

Bzzz

His phone rang.

It was Naomi.

"Missing me already?"

He grinned.

"Mom wants you to come over."

"Aunt Meera?"

Lucian blinked.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because she heard you were back and says she won’t let you avoid us anymore."

"I was not avoiding you."

Lucian answered quickly.

"You disappeared for a month."

"Against my will."

Lucian added what was important, for a moment, there was no answer, then, Naomi sighed.

"Just come."

"I’ll be there."

"Good."