Claimed by the Prince of Darkness novel Chapter 99

Chapter 99: Hand that Held her

Hearing the bone crack, Ruelle’s heart pounded louder than before, her vision blurring with anxiety. For a fleeting second, she wondered if coming here had been a terrible mistake.

Gasps escaped from the other customers, yet no one dared to move after what just happened.

The vampire who had touched Ruelle before, now had his cheek pressed hard against the wall. He struggled to pull free but the hand holding him did not budge.

"Unhand me this instant! How dare you put your hands on me?" the vampire hissed, trying to gather his remaining dignity.

Slowly, Ruelle turned her gaze to the person and her breath caught.

Lucian.

For a moment she could only stare at him, her thoughts scattering like frightened birds. What was he doing here?

When Lucian’s gaze found hers, Ruelle stared right back at him with wide eyes, unable to form a single word. But then his attention shifted to the faint bruise shadowing her face and something in his expression hardened.

"Do you have any idea who I am?" the vampire snarled, "I–"

Without a word, Ruelle watched as Lucian pulled the vampire’s head back before driving it into the wall with ruthless force and then again. A chill ran down her spine. The vampire collapsed instantly, sliding to the floor in a limp heap, blood dripping down against the white wall.

The two companions of the fallen vampire, seeing him unconscious, stood up at once, their chairs scraping against the floor.

"You are going to regret this," one of them warned, though his voice wavered. "You—"

"Step out," Lucian warned, his voice devoid of emotion. "Unless you wish to join him."

Before either man could reply, one of them caught sight of an officer entering the inn and seized the chance.

"Officer!" he called out hurriedly. "This person attacked our friend for no reason and tried to kill him. You must charge him for it!"

Lucian did not so much as glance in their direction as he took a step closer towards Ruelle, his eyes smouldering.

The officer who had just entered paused. He was the same person who had accompanied Lucian into the town earlier that morning, before the pureblooded vampire had abruptly disappeared from his side.

"You seem to have caused a ruckus here. Come out. Also, someone get that fallen one too," the officer ordered, ushering the two men outside and within moments the inn was almost empty again.

Inside the inn, Ruelle didn’t meet Lucian’s eyes out of shame as she looked at the side even though he stood in front of her.

She wished he hadn’t seen her in this dishevelled and pitiful state. She hid her trembling hands behind her.

When Lucian’s hand moved to her face, Ruelle flinched with the instinctive fear of being struck again surfacing before she could stop it. His hand halted midair, his jaw clenching.

"Who did this to you?" Lucian asked, his voice hardened.

Ruelle forced herself to meet his gaze and the moment she did, the fragile composure she had clung to all day shattered. A tear slipped down her cheek.

"Ruelle..." Lucian said, his eyes softening.

The sound of her name on his lips was gentle.

Since she had left Sexton this morning, she had been spoken to with anger and dismissal. And now, standing before her, Lucian did not look at her as though she were a burden. He simply looked worried.

And that was all it took for her composure to break. A small, helpless sob escaped before she could stop it and tears followed faster than she could hide them.

Before she could think to stop herself, Ruelle stepped forward and her forehead pressed against Lucian’s chest as the weight of the day finally released. She had not meant to do it but she felt too broken.

Lucian went still.

For a heartbeat he did not move at all, his hands hovering uncertainly at his sides. He felt her tremble as she cried harder.

Then, slowly, his hand rose, careful and almost uncertain, before placing it on the back of her head. He let her cry until her sobs slowly faded.

When Ruelle’s emotions finally settled and her thoughts grew quiet again, she took a small step back, her lashes wet with tears.

"W–what happened here?!" the innkeeper exclaimed as he returned through the front door with two bags of onions clutched in his arms. His eyes flew to the bloodstained wall. "The wall is—Mr. Slater, what a p–pleasant surprise!" He bowed, before looking back and forth between the pureblooded vampire and the wall.

"I will have someone come to repair the damage," Lucian stated, offering compensation without hesitation.

The innkeeper bowed again and replied, "That is very generous of you, sire." Then the man’s gaze shifted to the young woman and he instructed, "Go and fetch a cup of blood tea for the gentleman."

Lucian turned to look back at Ruelle and remarked, "I would prefer she sit with me at the table. And bring something for her to eat."

"Oh? Oh..." The innkeeper blinked in confusion, clearly caught off guard.

Before the innkeeper could say something to offend Lucian by mistake, his wife appeared from the kitchen, took hold of his sleeve and dragged him back inside to explain what had truly taken place.

A couple of minutes later, Ruelle and Lucian sat across from each other at the table. The inn turned completely empty, where the customers had quietly gathered their things and left rather than linger in the presence of a pureblooded vampire.

Ruelle had placed her hands to rest on her lap, feeling Lucian’s intense stare that didn’t leave her. She heard him say,

"I didn’t know you worked here during the weekends."

"I don’t. It was just for today," Ruelle replied, her voice small. She looked at her hands on her lap. "I needed some shillings. To get back to Sexton."

A subtle frown appeared on Lucian’s face as he watched her carefully. He then suddenly asked, "Was it your family who did this to you?"

Ruelle took a long pause before she gave him a nod. She answered hesitatnly, "My father."

Lucian turned very quiet and the silence that followed was heavy as he continued to listen to her.

"The debt collectors came and Father got angry as I didn’t have money. Then... Caroline wore the earrings from Sexton." She paused before adding what he must have already known, "They wouldn’t come off. Mother said it was my fault. And... told me to leave. To never return," her voice turned thick at the memory, which was still fresh.

After ten minutes, the innkeeper came out with the food for Ruelle and placed it before her. He politely said,

"Here is the fresh cooked meat, Miss Ruelle," before adding, "You should have told me you were acquainted with Mr. Slater."

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