a day has pass, i sat reading in the window, when i felt a hand on my neck "get you hand off me" i hiss slapping his hand away, "my little flame, so fight full....maybe they right, you like a kitten" Valen warm breath ghosted over my ear, 

I tensed, spine straightening as I shot him a glare. “Call me a kitten again and I’ll show you how deep I can scratch.”

Valen laughed, low and amused, as if I’d just entertained him rather than threatened him. His presence loomed behind me, too close, too casual—as if this were his space and I was merely something he allowed to exist in it.

“You’re amusing when you’re defiant,” he said, resting a hand lightly on the windowsill beside me, effectively caging me in. “But kittens claw when they’re scared. Are you scared, Lilith?”

“No.” My voice wavered, betraying me.

He leaned in closer, breath brushing my jaw. “Liar.”

I shoved the book closed and stood abruptly, knocking his hand away again. “You want to play games? Play them with someone else.”

I moved to walk past him, but he caught my wrist—gentle but firm. “It’s not a game.”

His voice had lost its teasing edge.

I stopped, heart thudding as I turned slowly to meet his gaze. His expression was unreadable. The playful smirk was gone. In its place was something deeper… older… dangerous.

“Tomorrow,” he said quietly, “you’ll see how serious this all is.”

Then he let me go.

No quip. No warning. Just that.

I stood frozen as he walked away, his footsteps soft and purposeful across the dark floor. The door didn’t slam. It clicked shut with the same quiet finality that always made my chest tighten.

I looked down at my wrist where he had held me. I hated that I could still feel the ghost of his fingers.

And worse—I hated that I wasn’t sure if it scared me more… or thrilled me.

he hadn't lock my room door, but he had lock every window and door to the outside world, i walk out into the hallway. 

"humans don't have anything to do in the main part of the mansion" i turn and look into a man...no vampire white hair pink eyes, he smile not gentle, not like Valen. he wasn't a servent, he had soft blue clothes on, black gloves.

The vampire tilted his head, the sharp line of his jaw catching the faint torchlight along the hallway wall. His pale hair shimmered like snow under moonlight, and his pink eyes—inhuman and glassy—glowed faintly as they swept over me, slow and assessing.

“Did no one tell you,” he said, voice silk-wrapped steel, “humans don’t wander freely in Valen’s house?”

I swallowed, straightening my spine. “Did no one tell you this hallway doesn’t belong to you?”

That earned a quiet chuckle. “Feisty. No wonder he likes you.” His eyes dropped briefly to my lips before rising again. “But you’re not his, not truly. Not until he seals it. Until then… you’re fair game.”

A chill crept down my spine. “Seal what?”

He stepped closer, slow, like a cat testing the reaction of a bird. “In our world, little flame, a kiss isn’t about affection. It’s about claim. Status. Power. The right to dominate… or protect.”

My heartbeat thudded in my ears.

“And you,” he said, his voice dropping to a whisper, “haven’t been kissed yet. Not by him. That makes you…” he reached up, fingertips just shy of my cheek, “…unclaimed.”

I slapped his hand away before it touched me. “Back. Off.”

For a moment, his smile twisted—ugly and sharp. Then he stepped back, hands raised. “Interesting. You should be careful, girl. Some in this house wouldn’t stop just because you said no.”

A voice rang out behind me, deep and cold as winter steel.
“She said no.”

I turned. Valen stood at the far end of the hall, eyes shadowed, lips curled in something between a smirk and a snarl.

The white-haired vampire froze, his expression dropping the playful charm instantly. “Valen—”

“I suggest,” Valen said, his steps slow and measured, “you get out of my house.”

“But—”

“Now.”

The other vampire bowed stiffly, then vanished down the hall like a shadow melting into the night.

Valen’s eyes snapped to me. “What part of ‘stay in your room’ did you struggle with?”

I lifted my chin. “The part where I’m treated like a prisoner.”

He stalked toward me, and for a breathless second I thought he might yell. Instead, he stopped close—too close—and tilted my chin up with two fingers.

“You walk these halls unclaimed, Lilith. That makes you prey to everyone who thinks they’re stronger than you.”

“I’m not some prize,” I hissed.

“No,” he murmured. “You’re mine.”

And then—then—he leaned in, slow, gaze locked on mine… and brushed his lips against my cheek.

Not my mouth.

Not yet.

But the message was clear.

Every vampire in this house would now smell his power on me.

He stepped back, eyes still burning. “Back to your room. Now.”

I went. But not because he told me to.

Because my legs were shaking, and I didn’t want him to see.

i look back he was gone again, like he never been there...maybe he wasn't maybe it was just a shadow clone of him.

i didn't get far before a hand close around my hips, i turn around about to bite something at him, but it wasn't Valen, it was someone else, 

His hand was firm, fingers curling around my hip like he owned it. I twisted, ready to spit fire—but froze.

It wasn’t Valen.

The vampire who held me was taller, broader in the shoulders, with dark olive skin and wild black curls that fell into his eyes. His smirk was cruel, and his eyes gleamed a sickly gold.

“Well, well,” he purred, leaning in too close. “The little flame all by herself. I was starting to wonder if you were real.”

“Let. Go.” I hissed through clenched teeth, trying to push his arm off me. He didn’t budge.

“Funny. Valen claims you, but doesn’t even mark you properly? That makes you—”

“I said, let go!” I snarled, kneeing him hard.

He grunted, but didn’t release me. Instead, he shoved me roughly against the wall, arm pressing against my chest. I struggled, fear rising like bile in my throat.

His face was inches from mine now, breath hot and sour.
“You should be honored,” he whispered, voice dripping poison. “A low little human like you? Being claimed by me would elevate you.”

I twisted, scratched, kicked—anything to get him off me. But he was strong, too strong. His free hand gripped my jaw, tilting my head. I could feel it—his intent, like acid crawling over my skin. He was going to kiss me.

He was going to brand me.

My heart slammed against my ribs.
“No,” I choked, “don’t—”

And then the world snapped.

The shadows in the corridor convulsed like they were alive. The torchlight flickered, dimmed, and died. Darkness flooded the hallway—not natural darkness. Something living. Something furious.

He was there.

Valen didn’t walk. He didn’t speak. He appeared, torn from the black like a living nightmare.

And when he moved, it was in a blur of cold wind and claws of shadow.

The vampire barely had time to flinch before he was flung across the hall with a sickening crack, slamming into stone so hard the wall spiderwebbed. He collapsed, gasping, stunned.

Valen didn’t even glance at him.

His eyes—those rust-and-blood eyes—locked on me.

I was shaking.

He stepped forward, his voice a low, lethal growl.
“Did he touch you?”

I couldn’t speak. I just nodded, barely.

Valen turned his head slowly, unnervingly calm, to the groaning vampire. With a flick of his hand, shadows slithered from the floor, coiling around the man like vipers. He tried to scream but the dark coiled into his mouth, silencing him.

“I warned you all,” Valen said softly. “She is mine. No one touches what’s mine.”

The vampire thrashed, but the shadows tightened, slicing into flesh without breaking skin—feeding on his fear. Valen stepped close, crouched beside him, and whispered something I couldn’t hear.

Whatever it was, the vampire went still.

Then Valen turned back to me.

His face wasn’t calm anymore. It was furious.

“You left your room. Again. After I told you to go back,” he said, voice raw with something sharp—anger? Fear?

“I was on my way back,” I whispered, chest tight.

He stared at me, his jaw clenched, then scoffed. “You’re human, Lilith. Fragile. You don’t understand the kind of monsters that live here.”

Something about his tone—cold, dismissive—ignited something hot and furious in me.

“So that’s all I am to you? Fragile? Breakable? Something to manage like one of your weapons or... your pets?”

I stared at him, chest heaving. “So I’m just a pet now? Something to be caged until you let it out again?”

He didn’t flinch. Didn’t blink. Just stepped closer.

I braced myself, thinking he’d snap. That he’d yell or sneer or twist this into some kind of punishment.

But instead, he reached up. Slowly. Gently.

His fingers brushed a strand of my messy white hair back behind my ear. His hand trembled—barely, but it did.

“No,” he said quietly, and for once... his voice wasn’t made of ice and iron.

“You’re not a pet. You’re my flame. And I protect what’s mine.”

The words sent shivers down my spine.

I looked up at him, unsure if I wanted to slap him for being so possessive or collapse into him for the strange comfort he gave—even when I hated it.

Then he offered his hand.

“Come with me. I won’t let anyone touch you again.”

I stared at it.

At him.

And then, after a heartbeat… I took it.

Because whatever he was, whatever this twisted world was…

It was better than facing it alone.

Once our hands touched, something shifted.

Before I could react, Valen moved—swift as wind and just as unstoppable—and swept me off my feet. Literally.

His arms slid beneath my knees and shoulders, lifting me effortlessly into a bridal carry.

“Wha—put me down!” I snapped, squirming. My fists beat weakly against his chest.

He didn’t even flinch. “You’re tired. And bruised.” His voice was quiet now, a low rumble against my ear. “Let me take care of you.”

“I don’t need your help,” I hissed, but it came out breathless.

Because his chest was solid, warm in a strange, cold way, like marble left in moonlight. His scent—dark woods and something faintly metallic—wrapped around me like a cloak.

I hated it.

I hated that I didn’t really want him to let go.

As he carried me down the hall, I stared at the curve of his jaw, the way his lashes shadowed his eyes, the flicker of red glowing just beneath the surface. He looked... calm. Too calm for what had just happened.

The line between protector and captor blurred with every step.

I didn’t want to feel safe with him.

But my body leaned into his without permission.

And something traitorous inside me whispered that maybe—just maybe—I was safer in his arms than anywhere else.

Even if those arms were part of a cage.

Valen pushed open the door to my room—no, his cage—and stepped inside without a word. The moment he laid me on the bed, his hands lingered a heartbeat too long at my waist, his eyes locked to mine.

He didn’t say anything.

Neither did I.

He turned, about to leave, but paused just before the door. “…There’s something you should know.”

My brows drew together. “Another rule? Another lock?”

He looked back at me over his shoulder. “No. A deal.”

That caught my attention.

Valen turned fully, arms crossed, eyes unreadable. “Someone dangerous. Someone who wants more than just power—they want chaos. War. and they is in my court…as i have told you”

I sat up slowly. “And this has what to do with me?”

“I need eyes. Ears. Someone they underestimate.” His gaze was sharp now, like glass beneath moonlight. “You’re the only one no one would suspect. Not yet.”

I laughed once, bitter and sharp. “So I am just a tool to you.”

“No.” He stepped forward, kneeling in front of the bed, and for the first time… looked honest. “Help me, and you know what you get, Why he vanished. What he was running from.”

My heartbeat slowed, heavy like thunder. “How do I know you’re not lying?”

“You don’t.” He reached out, taking my hand again—gentle, careful. “But I haven’t lied to you yet, have I?”

That was the worst part.

He hadn’t.

Not once.

My hand curled against his.

His touch burned, and still I didn’t pull away.

“I’ll do it,” I whispered. “But if you lie to me… if you’re using me…”

He leaned in, too close, his breath brushing my skin.

“I wouldn’t dare, Little Flame.”

And I believed him.

God help me—I believed him.