Bride Of The Night

Chapter 5

### **Chapter 5: The Price of Power**

The next few days were a blur of strange emotions and uncomfortable realizations. Lana found herself caught between two worlds: the world of her past, the life she had left behind in a brutal flash of fate, and the vampire world she had been thrust into without warning, without choice.

But there was no denying it—she was here now. No amount of longing for the old world, no amount of confusion, could change that. She was a vampire, and she would have to learn how to live as one.

She had spent hours with Ian and Emma, absorbing the basics of her new existence: feeding, controlling her instincts, understanding the intricacies of vampire society. But despite their guidance, the weight of what she was becoming, what she was now tied to, was crushing. Each time she looked in a mirror, the reflection staring back at her—a stranger with glowing lavender eyes, and sharp, predatory features—reminded her that she was something different now.

But even though she had the knowledge and the skills to survive, she still had questions. Deep, unsettling questions that none of her mentors seemed willing to answer.

And then, there was Morpheus.

After their conversation in the throne room, she had expected more from him—some kind of explanation, some insight into the bond they shared. But there had been nothing. He had dismissed her with an enigmatic smile, a promise to train her, to shape her, but no explanation of what that truly meant.

Every day, she felt the weight of his presence in her thoughts, the tether that connected her to him, but he remained distant. Her nights were filled with restless dreams—vivid, haunting dreams of him, of his touch, of his presence. It wasn't just a bond. It was a pull, something magnetic, something she couldn't escape.

Lana wasn't sure if it was a curse or a blessing.

But one thing she knew for sure was that Morpheus was never far from her thoughts.

***

That evening, after another long day of training, Lana sat by the window in her room. The night was alive with the sounds of the vampire court below, music and laughter echoing up to the palace. Outside, the moon was a thin crescent, casting a silvery light over the darkened grounds. For a moment, it felt as if time had stopped—like she was trapped in a strange, inescapable dream.

Her lavender eyes, now more vivid than ever, stared out into the night, drawn to the horizon. She was no longer the girl she had been. She was something else. Someone else.

Her fingers absently traced the delicate marks on her skin—thin veins of purple, a faint reminder of Morpheus's blood that now flowed through her veins. It was as if the night itself had been branded on her as if every part of her had been altered. The more she thought about it, the more she realized: that she wasn't just bound to Morpheus in a physical sense. This connection—this bond—was something deeper. It was spiritual, something ancient and inexplicable, yet undeniably real.

There was a knock at her door, pulling her from her thoughts. She turned, her senses alert, and immediately recognized the presence behind it.

"Enter," she said.

The door creaked open, and Ian stepped in, his expression unreadable.

"You've been summoned," he said simply, his voice calm, but there was a subtle urgency in his tone. "Morpheus wants to see you again."

Lana's heart, or what remained of it, skipped. She had been expecting it, though she didn't know why. Perhaps it was the pull, the unrelenting force of his presence that never quite left her. But now, as she rose from her seat, she realized that she wasn't afraid. Not anymore.

She had been afraid of him at first—of the power he wielded, of the connection that tethered her to him. But now, the thought of seeing him again stirred something else within her: anticipation.

She nodded at Ian. "Lead the way."

***

The corridors felt even colder tonight, the shadows darker as they passed, as if the castle itself was holding its breath. Lana followed Ian in silence, her thoughts swirling. She hadn't seen Morpheus in days, but every moment of that distance had only increased the tension between them. There was a gravity to him, to the bond he had created, and she couldn't escape it. Nor did she know if she wanted to.

They reached the large, intimidating doors of the throne room. Ian opened them with a flick of his wrist, and Lana stepped inside.

Morpheus was seated on his throne once again, his long, dark form draped in shadows, his violet eyes burning through the dim light. The air shifted as soon as she entered, the room instantly becoming charged with an electric energy.

Lana swallowed, her heartbeat—steady but faint—quickening in her chest. He looked as imposing as ever, his gaze unreadable, but there was something about the way he watched her that made her heart flutter. It was as if he could see straight through her as if he knew things about her that she didn't even understand herself.

"Lana," he said, his voice deep, his tone so calm it almost felt like a command. He motioned for her to approach.

Her feet moved on their own, drawn toward him like a magnet. The tension between them thickened, and though she didn't know what he wanted, she could feel the weight of his expectations pressing down on her.

When she reached him, she stopped, standing before him. Her body was humming with energy, with the strange awareness that came with the bond between them. His presence was suffocating, but not in a way that made her want to flee. Instead, it felt inevitable.

"What do you want from me?" Lana asked, her voice steady but softer than she intended.

Morpheus studied her for a moment, his eyes flashing with something inscrutable. Then, with a slight tilt of his head, he leaned forward slightly.

"I want to see what you're capable of, Lana. I want to see how much control you've gained."

Lana frowned. "Control over what?"

"Over yourself," he replied, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Over the beast inside you. Over your instincts. Over your hunger."

Lana's heart lurched in her chest. She had been training with Emma and Ian for days now, learning how to control her thirst, how to control the need to feed. But it was something she still struggled with. Every time she smelled blood, she felt her body respond with a visceral, predatory hunger. It was terrifying. The gnawing thirst never truly left her, and at times, she found herself fighting it desperately.

"I'm not ready," she said quietly, trying to mask the uncertainty in her voice. "I can't—"

"You're stronger than you think," Morpheus interrupted her, his voice soft but intense. "You will always be stronger than you think. I've given you this power for a reason. It's time you embraced it."

Lana's gaze flicked down to his hands, the pale, elegant fingers that had given her the blood that made her what she was. The connection between them tightened in that moment, an electric current running through her veins, and she suddenly realized something. The fear she felt wasn't just fear of her own power—it was fear of him.

He had made her. He had chosen her. And now, it was clear that he was pushing her toward something.

A new kind of life. A new kind of power.

"You have to feed," Morpheus said, standing slowly, his towering form now looming above her. "You have to feed to understand. I will guide you, but only if you prove you are capable of controlling yourself."

Lana looked up at him, her breath catching. There was no backing down now. The pull between them was too strong. He wasn't asking her to be weak. He was asking her to be *stronger*.

With a deep breath, Lana nodded. "I will feed."

And as she spoke those words, the realization hit her like a punch to the gut.

There was no going back. This was her life now. And Morpheus had just set her on a path she couldn't come back from.

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