The warehouse reeked of blood and gunpowder, the air thick with the stench of death. The deafening echoes of battle still rang in the distance, but in the center of the carnage, it was just the two of them.

Damien stood, chest heaving, fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white. His face was smeared with blood—his and others'—but his cold, dark eyes never wavered from Mikhail, who stood a few feet away, grinning through the crimson trickling down his jaw.

"You’ve lost, Damien," Mikhail sneered, rolling his shoulders, his stance predatory. "Your men are scattered, your little lover is mine. And you? You’re nothing but a rabid dog chasing a dream that will never be yours."

Damien didn’t reply. He didn’t need to. His answer came in the form of a brutal right hook that snapped Mikhail’s head back with a sickening crack.

The fight ignited in a brutal blur.

Mikhail retaliated immediately, swinging his blade in a sharp arc, aiming for Damien’s throat. Damien barely dodged, the tip grazing his skin, drawing a thin line of red. He countered with a savage elbow to Mikhail’s ribs, following up with a knee to his gut. Mikhail coughed up blood but laughed through the pain, his madness shining through his eyes.

"Is that all?" Mikhail taunted, wiping his mouth before charging forward. His fist collided with Damien’s ribs, cracking at least one, but Damien didn’t falter. He caught Mikhail’s wrist, twisting it with enough force to dislocate it before slamming him against the concrete wall.

Mikhail roared in pain but still smirked, spitting blood onto Damien’s face. "You think you can protect him forever? Luca will never truly be yours. He’s too beautiful, too delicate for a monster like you."

That was the final spark to Damien’s explosive fury.

He slammed Mikhail down onto the ground, straddling him, and rained down punch after punch. The satisfying crunch of bone beneath his fists fueled him, his vision red with bloodlust. Mikhail struggled, but Damien was relentless, breaking him apart piece by piece.

"He is mine," Damien growled between each blow. "Luca belongs to me. And anyone who lays a hand on him—"

BOOM.

The ground trembled beneath them as an explosion tore through the structure.

Flames erupted, swallowing the walls in a fiery embrace. The force sent debris flying, cracking metal beams and causing the ceiling to groan under its impending collapse. Smoke choked the air, obscuring vision.

Mikhail, bloodied but still alive, took his chance. With a final, desperate smirk, he forced himself to his feet and disappeared into the chaos. Damien roared in fury, ready to chase, but then—

"Luca."

His heart stilled for half a second before it began to hammer against his ribs. He turned sharply, sprinting toward the darkened hallway where he knew Luca was being held. The flames crept closer, the heat suffocating, but he didn’t stop.

He burst into the room and found Luca, wide-eyed, wrists raw from the restraints that bound him. Luca gasped when he saw Damien, tears immediately brimming in his eyes. "Damien!"

He was there in an instant, yanking the chains free, lifting Luca into his arms. "Hold onto me," he ordered, his voice a growl, raw with emotion.

Luca obeyed without question, wrapping his arms tightly around Damien’s neck. Damien held him close, his grip unbreakable, and turned toward the inferno consuming everything around them.

No way out. No time.

The structure groaned, another explosion ripping through the beams. Fire raged in every direction.

Damien took a breath, tightened his hold on Luca, and ran straight into the flames.

**** Luca trembled in Damien's arms, his body wracked with sobs, his fingers clutching desperately onto the bloodied fabric of Damien’s shirt. His breaths came in ragged gasps, his body shaking uncontrollably as the weight of everything crashed down on him. The fear, the pain, the helplessness—all of it broke free in a torrent of emotion.

Damien, ruthless, blood-soaked, and merciless in the face of his enemies, held Luca with an obsessive tenderness, his grip unwavering, his large hands running possessively over Luca’s back as if to remind himself that he was real, alive, breathing. His own body ached from the fight, fresh wounds stinging, but none of it mattered. Only Luca mattered. His Luca. His fragile, beautiful, trembling angel.

“Shh, my love,” Damien’s voice was dark and husky, reverberating in Luca’s ears as he cradled him against his chest. “I’ve got you. No one will ever take you away from me again. I’ll kill them all, every single one of them. They’ll regret ever breathing the same air as you.”

Luca buried his face into Damien’s chest, his sobs muffled against the warmth of his body. “I-I thought I’d never see you again,” he choked out, voice hoarse from screaming. His fingers curled tighter into Damien’s shirt, his body desperate for his warmth, his safety.

Damien pulled back just enough to cup Luca’s tear-streaked face, his thumbs brushing away the salty trails as he tilted his chin up. His icy blue eyes, still filled with the aftershock of his rage, softened just a fraction as he gazed down at the broken boy in his arms. “You belong to me, Luca,” he murmured darkly, his voice edged with that dangerous possessiveness that made Luca’s heart pound. “Did you really think I’d let anyone take you from me? No one steals from me and lives.”

Luca sniffled, his lashes fluttering as he looked up at Damien through watery eyes. The absolute devotion, the obsession, the burning hunger in Damien’s gaze sent shivers down his spine. It was terrifying, intoxicating.

Damien leaned down, pressing kisses to the corners of Luca’s eyes, licking away the tears with slow, deliberate strokes. “So sweet,” he murmured, his voice almost reverent. “My beautiful, fragile little thing. You’ve been so strong for me, haven’t you?”

Luca whimpered, nodding shakily, unable to form words under Damien’s intense, obsessive praise. He was drowning in him, in his scent, his touch, his presence. The man who had killed without hesitation, whose hands were still stained with the blood of those who dared to take Luca away, was now holding him as if he were the most precious thing in the world.

“I’m never letting you go again,” Damien growled against his temple, his fingers tangling into Luca’s disheveled hair. “I’ll destroy anyone who even looks at you the wrong way.”

Luca knew he should be afraid. Should be horrified by the brutality Damien had unleashed for him. But all he could feel was relief, overwhelming relief that he was back where he belonged—wrapped in Damien’s ruthless, possessive embrace.

As his sobs quieted and his breathing evened, Luca clung to Damien, whispering, “Don’t let go.”

Damien’s arms tightened around him, his lips pressing against Luca’s forehead in a rare display of raw tenderness. “Never, my love,” he swore, voice a dark promise. “Not in this life or the next.”

And with that, Luca allowed himself to finally believe that he was safe.

*******

Luca stumbled forward the moment he saw Valarie, his legs giving out as he collapsed into her waiting arms. She held him tightly, her hands shaking as she pressed his head against her shoulder, whispering his name like a prayer.

"You're okay, baby brother. You're okay," she murmured, rocking him gently. Luca clung to her, tears pouring down his face, the relief overwhelming him.

Behind them, Damien stood like a shadow, his body rigid, his dark eyes never leaving Luca. He had torn through hell to get him back, killed without hesitation, burned entire empires to the ground just to have Luca in his arms again. And now that he did, he couldn’t take his eyes off him.

But the moment of peace shattered in a single heartbeat.

A sharp crack split the air. A gunshot.

Everything slowed as Damien’s instincts screamed. His gaze snapped toward the source, and he saw Natalya standing behind them, her face twisted with hatred, the gun in her trembling hands aimed directly at Valarie’s back.

Time seemed frozen. Damien didn’t think—he acted. His body moved before his mind could catch up, before he could process anything other than the visceral need to protect.

With a brutal shove, he threw Valarie aside just as the trigger was pulled. A fiery explosion of pain tore through him, the bullet embedding deep into his side. The force knocked him back, but he didn’t fall.

Natalya’s lips curled in satisfaction—until she saw Damien still standing.

And then she saw his expression.

Pure, unfiltered rage.

Damien barely registered the pain. His mind was drowning in bloodlust, in unrelenting fury. Natalya had tried to take Luca from him. She had tried to take away the only person he had ever allowed himself to love.

He took a slow, menacing step forward, ignoring the searing agony in his side.

Natalya’s confidence faltered, her grip on the gun tightening as she fired again.

This time, Damien was faster. He lunged, grabbing her wrist and twisting it sharply. A sickening crack echoed as the gun fell from her grip. She screamed, but Damien didn’t let her go. He slammed her against the nearest car, his hand wrapping around her throat, lifting her slightly off the ground.

Luca turned at the sound, his eyes going wide with horror as he saw Damien, his face splattered with blood, his hands crushing Natalya’s throat with a murderous grip.

“Damien—” Luca’s voice was shaky, his breath coming in panicked gasps. He was still dazed, still processing everything, but he could see the darkness in Damien’s eyes. The raw, unhinged fury that promised death.

Damien didn’t look at him. His focus was on the traitor beneath his fingers, her lips parting, gasping for air.

“You. Touched. What’s mine.” His voice was a guttural snarl, dripping with venom. “And for that, you will die.”

Natalya clawed at his hand, her legs kicking as she choked, but Damien’s grip didn’t loosen. He wanted her to suffer. To feel every ounce of pain that she had tried to inflict on Luca.

“Damien, stop!” Luca’s voice broke through the haze of fury. He stumbled toward him, grabbing his arm, his hands trembling. “Please. Let her go. She’s not worth it.”

Damien’s body was a battlefield of contradictions. His instincts screamed to finish what she started, to make sure she never posed a threat again. But Luca’s hands on him, his voice, his pleading eyes—it anchored him.

With a violent snarl, Damien threw Natalya to the ground, watching her crumple as she gasped for air, coughing violently. His eyes burned with disgust as he looked down at her.

“You’re already dead,” he whispered, his voice deadly soft. “You just don’t know it yet.”

Then, he turned to Luca, cupping his face with bloodstained hands, his breath unsteady, his body trembling from rage, pain, and an emotion he couldn’t name.

“Are you hurt?” His voice was rough, desperate.

Luca shook his head, fresh tears spilling. “No. But you are—” His gaze dropped to the blood staining Damien’s side. He reached out, pressing a hand against the wound, panic rising in his throat. “We need to—”

Damien caught his wrist, pulling him close, pressing a kiss to his forehead. “Later,” he murmured. “I have you now. That’s all that matters.”

Luca exhaled shakily, burying his face against Damien’s chest, his heart pounding wildly.

Valarie stepped forward, her jaw clenched as she glared at Natalya’s crumpled form. “We need to get out of here before more of Mikhail’s men show up.”

Damien nodded, tightening his grip on Luca. “We’re leaving.”

And as they turned, leaving behind the broken woman who had sealed her own fate, Damien made a silent promise.

Natalya wouldn’t live to see another sunrise.

******

They were leaving, the air thick with the scent of smoke, gunpowder, and death when a familiar, venomous voice rang out from behind them.

“Do you really think this is over?” Natalya’s voice was hoarse, filled with malice. Her face was twisted in fury, her eyes locked onto Luca with raw hatred. “You’re nothing but a pathetic, whoring little pet, clinging to Damien like a weakling. You’ll never be more than a distraction.”

Luca stiffened in Damien’s grip, his body going rigid, but before he could even process the words, Damien turned slowly, his expression unreadable, his darkened eyes void of emotion. A deadly silence fell over the battlefield as his fingers uncurled from Luca’s waist. His wounds, his exhaustion—none of it mattered anymore.

Natalya smirked, believing she had struck a nerve. “You think he loves you?” she scoffed. “He’ll throw you away just like—”

A gunshot rang through the air.

Luca gasped as blood splattered across the ground. Natalya staggered back, her mouth parting in shock. Damien had shot her without hesitation, the gun still raised, his hand steady. But he wasn’t done.

She fell to her knees, coughing out a gurgled breath. “Y-you...wouldn’t,” she choked, but there was no mercy in Damien’s gaze. No hesitation.

He stalked forward, his boots crunching against the debris, his towering presence suffocating. He kneeled before her, gripping her throat so tightly she gagged. He leaned in, his voice dark, eerily calm.

“You dared to lay hands on my daughter,” he murmured, his fingers tightening, watching the life drain from her eyes. “You dared to put your filthy hands on my lover..”

Natalya struggled, but Damien was merciless. His other hand raised, this time holding a blade. Without another word, he drove it into her gut, twisting it with deliberate cruelty. A strangled gasp escaped her lips, her body convulsing in agony.

Luca turned his face away, but he didn’t stop Damien. He didn’t speak. He simply held Valarie close, shielding himself as Natalya’s weak, pitiful whimpers filled the air.

Damien finally released her throat, letting her crumple to the ground, blood pooling beneath her. He wiped the blade on her clothing before standing tall, staring down at her lifeless body with nothing but disdain.

Turning back to Luca, his expression softened—but only slightly. He strode over, grasping Luca’s chin between his fingers, tilting his face up to meet his gaze.

“It’s over,” he said, voice low and dangerous, yet oddly tender.

Luca swallowed hard, his heart pounding, but he nodded. He knew Damien had done it for him. For Ava. For their twisted, broken version of a family.

And Luca, despite everything, felt safe.

****