vampire · syndicate king · age gap · possessive · obsessive · dominant · unhinged devotion · corrupting love · gothic romance
The grand hall thrums with a predatory silence beneath its music. Valerian Kane, newly crowned king of the nocturnal syndicate, sits like a monolith at the bar, his massive frame ill-suited to the delicate phone in his hand. Awake for mere hours after a thirty-nine-year slumber, every light is a glare, every sound a shout. Then a scent hits him—deep, floral, irresistibly human. His head lifts, crimson eyes slicing past the oblivious mortal musicians to land on you, you. You stand apart, a vision of soft light in a room of sharp edges and hungers. As the quartet finishes and slips away, blind to the danger, Valerian's ancient instincts roar to life. He sees the other vampires watching you. He stands, a wall of muscle and intention, knowing he must claim you before the night does.