The library had always been Seraphina's refuge.
A place where the world softened into whispers, where nothing chased her, nothing demanded anything from her. Just rows of books, the faint scent of paper, and silence that felt…safe.
But today, even the silence felt suffocating.
Her steps were slow as she moved deeper between the towering shelves, her fingers trailing absentmindedly along the spines of books she wasn't truly seeing. Her mind wasn't here. It hadn't been since she stepped into the building.
Since she felt him behind her. Damon.
He hadn't spoken. Hadn't tried to walk beside her like a normal person would. He kept his distance, but it wasn't enough to feel free.
Because she knew he was there, watching.
Her chest tightened , her breath uneven as she turned into another aisle, her thoughts a tangled mess of fear and frustration.
This was what she chose, safety. But why did it feel like she had walked willingly into a cage?
She exhaled slowly, forcing herself to focus, to pretend, just for a second, that this was normal.
That she could still be the girl who came here to read.
A sound broke through her thoughts.
Soft, breath against breath. A quiet, muffled laugh.
Seraphina stilled, her eyes lifted, and then she saw them.
Lucien had a girl pressed against one of the shelves, her back barely touching the books as he leaned into her, one hand resting possessively at her waist, the other braced beside her head. His lips moved against hers slowly, unhurried, like he had all the time in the world.
Like nothing else existed.
The girl melted into him, her fingers clutching his shirt, her soft laughter swallowed between kisses.
Seraphina's breath caught…."Oh…"
The sound slipped out before she could stop it.
Lucien paused, not abruptly, not startled, just a slow intentional pause.
Then he pulled back, his gaze shifting lazily over his shoulder.
Straight to her, their eyes met.
And for a moment, everything stilled. There was no embarrassment in his expression.
No urgency to step away, Just a quiet interest, Like she had walked into something he didn't mind her seeing.
Seraphina's face flushed instantly.
"I'm sorry," she said in one breath, her voice low, awkward.
She turned too fast and collided into something solid.
A hand caught her before she could stumble. A strong steady grip.
Her breath hitched. She lifted her gaze to see Damon.
He stood right before her, too close, closer than she had realized, his fingers wrapped around her wrist, grounding her before she could lose her balance.
For a second, time slowed.
Her pulse pounded in her ears, loud, chaotic.
His touch burned through the thin fabric of her sleeve, too warm.
Damon's gaze dropped briefly to where he held her, then lifted to her face.
"You're careless," he said, his voice low, edged with something unreadable.
Seraphina swallowed, her throat dry, "Sorry, I didn't see you."
"I know."
The way he said it, like he had been watching her longer than she realized.
Her stomach twisted..She pulled her hand free, stepping back, creating space between them.
She needed that space. She needed to breathe. But she didn't get it.
Footsteps echoed against the polished floor behind her.
Seraphina didn't have to turn to know who it was.
She felt him, like a shift in the air.
He stopped a few feet away from them.
The girl he had been kissing was gone.
Disappeared without a trace, Like she had never mattered.
Lucien slipped his hands into his pockets, his posture relaxed, his gaze was anything but. It moved between them. Taking everything in.
"Well," he said, his voice smooth, almost amused. "This is… unexpected."
Seraphina's fingers curled slightly at her sides. Her pulse spiked again.
Damon didn't move. He stood still, his presence heavy, controlled, his attention locked onto Lucien with quiet intensity. The space between them tightened.
Lucien tilted his head slightly, his eyes settling on Seraphina.
"I didn't know you were close with De Luca," he murmured, almost conversationally.
The words settled uneasily in her chest.
Damon stepped forward then. Positioning himself just in front of her, taking her hand in his.
"Yeah…uhm…we are." Seraphina stuttered.
Lucien noticed. A faint smile curved at his lips.
"Wow," he said softly.
Damon's voice cut through the space, low and controlled. "What do you want, Volkov?"
Lucien's gaze flickered to him. Amusement lingered there, but something darker sat beneath it.
"Nothing you own," he replied, smooth.
Then his eyes slid back to Seraphina, "Not yet."
The air shifted instantly. Seraphina felt it in her bones.
Damon's jaw tightened, "Henceforth, you are going to stay away from her."
The words weren't loud, but they carried weight.
Lucien let out a quiet breath, something close to a laugh.
"You've always been territorial," he said.
His gaze sharpened slightly, "But you forget…"
He took a step closer, not enough to invade, but enough to challenge.
"...not everything you stand in front of belongs to you."
Seraphina's heart raced. The tension between them was suffocating now.
"De luca, you never go close to people without a reason" Lucien continued, his voice softer now, almost thoughtful.
Damon didn't respond.
Lucien's gaze drifted back to Seraphina, lingering.
"What's your reason this time?" Lucien asked..
Damon's eyes flickered to Seraphim for the briefest second.
Damon's attention snapped back to Lucien.
"I love that you are curious, Volkov"
Lucien held his gaze. Silence stretched.
" Find out why I am suddenly close to her, I love challenge and you know it"
Lucien stepped back. Breaking the invisible line between them.
"Okay, I will be your guest",
Lucien turned and walked away.
Seraphina stood frozen, her thoughts spiraling.
Behind her, Damon remained still, silent.
But she could feel the shift in him. The tension coiled tighter.
Because whatever this was, It wasn't just about watching her anymore.
****
Damon did not return after the confrontation. He left the library with Lucien's voice still echoing in his head.
He knew Lucien and If he said was going to be his guest, then he would.
He walked through campus without slowing, his steps steady, shoulders squared, gaze forward. People moved around him, laughter rising, conversations blending into noise, but none of it reached him.
His mind was elsewhere.
By the time he reached his car, his thoughts had already sharpened into something colder.
The engine came alive beneath his hand, low and controlled, like everything about him. He drove without hesitation, the city passing in a blur of glass and movement.
When he got to his apartment, he didn't pause. The door opened and closed behind him.
Silence swallowed him whole.
His space was untouched, everything exactly where it should be.
Damon stepped further in, loosening the cuff of his sleeve, his movements precise, deliberate. He dropped his keys on the table without looking, the faint sound echoing briefly before fading into nothing.
His mind didn't slow, It replayed his encounter with Lucien.
Something about Lucien made him nervous.
His mind pulls him back to the basketball court, his conversation with Seraphina. The threat she has talked about.
He had never threatened her, since after the kidnap, not once.
If someone threatened her, then what he feared was already happening.
He stopped walking. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.
He dialed a number.
The line got picked almost immediately.
"Boss."
Damon didn't greet him, he spoke, "Seraphina Vale, find out everything about her from last week"
"Yes boss" the cold voice responded over the phone.
"Get everything footage from the library and outside her dorm."
Silence stretched on the other end, but not confusion, just processing.
"Dig into her phone history if possible." Damon added.
His eyes lifted slowly toward the window, though he wasn't seeing the city beyond it.
"Look for anything unusual."
"Understood," the voice replied carefully. "You're thinking…"
"I'm not thinking."
The interruption was quiet. A beat of silence followed.
"She mentioned something," Damon added, slower this time, like he was placing each word exactly where it needed to be.
"That she was tired of my constant threats."
Nothing on the other end.
"If she was right, then they are mine," he continued.
His fingers tightened around the phone.
"I want to know whose."
"I'll dig," the voice said. "Give me time."
"No! " Damon's tone rose.
"Take less time. I need to know whose, in 24 hours"
Another pause.
"I'll call you.", the line went dead.
Damon lowered the phone, his hand falling back to his side.
Silence returned. He stood there for a long moment, unmoving, his thoughts settling, like pieces of a puzzle locking into place whether they made sense or not.
Damon's gaze shifted unfocused but intense.
If someone else had been watching her. If someone else had already reached her, then this wasn't just about a witness anymore.
It was about interference. And Damon didn't like interference.