Chapter 22 Formed A Bond With— Pt 3

"What?" Lukas paused in his tracks, much to the cute whine of Chaerin, however he took things at face value. "Did we take that long?"

"Of course not–"

"Let me check." Lukas stood up and ventured to the door, making sure to only open slightly. He peeked out and was greeted by a sudden breathtaking Vampire–almost unlike anyone he encountered before.

Silver hair cascaded down her face and illuminated golden eyes–not red.

"H-huh?" Lukas was confused but a notification popped in the corner.

[ You Have Formed A Bond With Serena Weisse ]

Her opinion of you is quite mixed to poor though

"Is Miss Chaerin Atticus there with you?" Serena asked.

"Lukas?" Chaerin called out to him from the sofa.

"Uh, someone's looking for you–"

"The both of you. May I come in?" Serena asked, her eyes flickered down then back up. She cleared her throat. "After the two of you are both decent."

"Oh, right." Lukas realized that he still had a bulge and chuckled.

The thing was that Lukas didn't know what was going on, but this was Serena Weisse–one of the last targets.

The fact that she knew who he was curiosity-inducing, but he looked back to check on Chaerin.

There was a disappointed and almost frustrated expression on her face as she tugged back her hoodie on. Lukas took a couple of calming breaths to get his little brother down before he opened the door.

"Welcome in." Lukas went for a smile and hoped that it might negate the bad perception–but Serena only gave him a blank look.

Once Serena stepped inside, Chaerin froze and then looked at the woman.

"W-Weisse Family?"

"We meet again." Serena smiled briefly and inclined her head. She remained where she was and didn't take a seat.

"You remember?" Chaerin blinked, her face lighting up. "But we didn't even actually–"

"Of course we would remember the individuals whose family members served the city." Serena Weisse spoke promptly.

Lukas couldn't believe it, but those words had a clear effect on Chaerin's face. It was similar to their encounter with Emerys di Verdant, except this time, Chaerin only had a smile frozen on her face.

Serena Weisse caught the expression and blinked. "Ah–apologies, I did not come here to make you recollect memories that you do not wish to remember–but I came here for a reason and I hope that you could listen to me."

Chaerin didn't immediately flee away, she took a deep gulp of air but nodded her head as bravely as she could.

"O-of course, Lady Weisse."

"Thank you, Miss Atticus."

Lukas wanted to get closer to Chaerin, but somehow, he almost felt like it was necessary for him to stay back–the conversation was between the two of them and he was a stranger in that.

He was only someone that Chaerin had obsessed herself with and wanted to have fun with, he had no right being in this place.

However, Serena said that Lukas was also needed, so he stayed.

Lukas was just glad that he didn't need to intervene because Chaerin didn't pale or grow weak. She was doing her best to stay strong–out of respect for Serena's position it seemed.

"I do not know what your parents have told you, but the city of Lux is one of the many Vampires settlements and the closest to the human territories. Hence the need for several Hunters that continue to not only hunt but obfuscate our location where we can–however, we have faced a recent issue that demanded the attention of the leaders of the city."

Chaerin crossed her arms over her chest and didn't say a word, despite the fact that her hand squeezed over her upper arm tightly.

"Uh, could we get to the issue directly then?" Lukas asked for her sake. It was better to get this over with.

Serena threw him a scathing look, but then nodded slowly. "I was about to discuss it–the recent increase of Hunters not returning. There are various factors that could relate to it, but our suspicions believe it to be human involvement… and that is where the two of you are needed."

"Us?" Lukas blinked.

"The Guildmaster recommended you." Serena replied.

"Wait, is Emerys the Guildmaster?!" Lukas was shocked.

"No." Serena's eyebrows furrowed together. "Miss Di Verdant is the granddaughter of the Guildmaster."

"I could have sworn that she was a receptionist." Lukas muttered underneath his breath.

"I'm afraid that I have to decline." Chaerin suddenly said.

Lukas and Serena both blinked at the sudden reply.

"Miss Atticus–"

"I…I…" Chaerin looked around uneasily then stood up. She couldn't even look Lukas in the eye. "I apologize but I cannot do this. Please excuse me."

Without another word, Chaerin stood up and moved past Lukas–rushing so fast that their shoulders collided and she nearly slipped up but Lukas caught her wrist.

"You okay?"

"Yes, thank you." Chaerin tugged her wrist away from Lukas and then quickly fled away.

Lukas was left stunned–he couldn't even find the words to say. It was starting to get way more complicated than he expected.

All he really wanted in this new life was plain and simple, but when even the women that surrounded him had their own pasts and insecurities that kept them distant–Lukas almost didn't know what to do.

"I should chase after her–" Lukas started, but then was halted by Serena clearing her throat.

"Will you also be declining this?" Serena asked. "You could serve the city that sheltered and protected you for all these years."

Lukas sighed and looked at Serena.

"And here I was thinking that Emerys was the worst at negotiation. I think that reasoning would only work if I feel extremely indebted to the city–but isn't it only natural for the city to shelter me? I mean, that's why a city was built right? For the greater good of its people?"

"Well that's…" Serena stared at him. "Correct, but isn't it only fair to return–"

"And risk my life?" Lukas raised a brow. "I think I'm sorta strong based on the test results, but if other more skilled Hunters didn't come back–why do you assume that me and Chaerin, who didn't seem to have training either–would return successfully?"