Shadow bound: The beast within

Chapter 6: The Monster Within

The flames still raged, but the battlefield had fallen silent. Emilio had retreated into the smoke with what was left of his men, his laughter echoing long after he disappeared. The Romano estate was ruined, bodies scattered across the courtyard, stone walls blackened by fire. But it wasn’t Emilio’s assault that weighed heaviest in the air. It was Luca.

He stood in the center of it all, chest heaving, hands dripping with blood. His eyes glowed faintly in the dark, an unnatural crimson that made even the surviving Romano guards recoil. No one dared come closer. They watched him as one might watch a wild beast that could either collapse or tear them all apart in the next breath.

Inside Luca, the war had not ended. His body trembled, veins bulging as the curse screamed louder than ever. His senses sharpened to a point that bordered on madness. He could hear every heartbeat around him. He could smell every drop of blood. His fangs cut into his own lip, tasting the copper tang that nearly drove him over the edge.

“Luca!” A voice cut through the haze.

It was his cousin Elena, her face pale, her dress torn, but her eyes blazing with defiance. She stepped forward while the others cowered.

“Stay back!” Luca roared, his voice no longer human. The sound echoed like thunder, rattling the broken glass in the windows.

But Elena didn’t flinch. “You are not a monster. You are my blood. You are a Romano.”

Her words struck something deep inside him, but they weren’t enough. His hands clawed at the ground, leaving deep gouges in the stone. He could barely hold himself together. He wanted to believe her. He wanted to believe he still belonged to his family, that the curse didn’t define him. But the truth was written in their eyes, fear.

Even Elena, though brave, trembled as she approached.

He staggered backward, choking on his own breath. The night blurred, the fire’s glow spinning into madness. He remembered Emilio’s words, monster, cursed heir. No throne belongs to you.

Maybe Emilio was right.

But then, beneath the roar of the curse, another voice stirred inside him. Softer. Older. His father’s voice.

Control it, Luca. A Romano bends the world. He does not break under it.

The memory burned through his mind, anchoring him for a moment. His fangs retracted slightly, his claws dulling, though his body still shook violently. He dropped to his knees, slamming his fists into the blood-soaked ground.

Elena knelt before him, her hand trembling as she placed it on his cheek. He could feel the warmth of her skin, the rapid beat of her pulse. His hunger snarled at him to sink his teeth into her throat, but her touch reminded him of who he was fighting for.

“You are not alone, Luca,” she whispered. “We will face Emilio. And whatever this curse is, we will find a way.”

He closed his eyes, forcing air into his lungs, fighting to push the monster back. For now, it receded, slinking into the shadows of his soul. But he knew it wasn’t gone. It was waiting. Watching.

When he finally opened his eyes, the glow had dimmed, but the stares of his family hadn’t softened. Some looked at him with awe, others with terror. None looked at him the same way they had before.

That was the true wound Emilio had struck tonight, not the fire, not the bodies, not even the retreat. He had exposed Luca’s secret. He had planted fear in his own bloodline.

And Luca knew fear was more dangerous than any bullet.

“Elena,” he rasped, his voice raw, “gather the survivors. We need to regroup before Emilio comes again.”

She nodded, though her hand lingered on his face for just a moment longer before she rose to command the others.

Luca remained kneeling, staring at his bloodied hands. He had saved his family tonight, but at what cost? Each drop of blood on his skin was a reminder of the truth he could not escape.

The Romano heir was no longer just a man.

He was the monster Emilio claimed him to be.

And monsters could not be kings.

Luca has held the curse back,for now, but Emilio has planted a seed of doubt that may destroy him from within.