Waking up cuddled into Lucian was unusual but comforting. The relaxed look on his face was something Amira had never seen and she found herself admiring the sight.

Lucian had decided to hold her while she slept. He didn't care about permission to cuddle with her because he couldn't, for the sake of his life, part himself from her after everything that happened. He could deal with an angry Bunny in the morning but he couldn't get himself to let her out of his arms.

That's why, Amira woke up tucked tightly into his chest while his calm heartbeat rang in her ears, sending waves of comfort and safety wash over her.

She had pulled away slightly to look at his face, which was relaxed completely. His hair fell over his forehead and a few strands managed to reach his eyes. Amira blinked sleepily, before the silence lulled her to sleep again. Her eyes closed on their own accord and she found herself curling back into the embrace.

Little did she know about the times Lucian had woken up with a terror. He had had nightmares that were scary enough to wake him up abruptly, making him think someone had snatched her away from him.

Ripped him of the happiness he had finally found. Of the love that was capable of clearing out the walls around his heart and for his heart to take action.

That was also the reason of the tight hold he kept on her, even while sleeping.

About an hour later, Lucian stirred awake, without a terror this time. His eyes immediately fell down to his sister, who was sleeping peacefully, much to his relief. He leaned down to place a kiss on her head and sighed against her head.

He pulled away slowly but froze when her eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly. His eyes fell on Bunny Junior sitting on his nightstand. It had been there since the twins broke the bedtime rule. Amira had yet to notice it there.

He reached out with his free hand and grabbed the toy. Pushing it towards his sleeping sister gently, he waited for her to notice its presence.

Amira was quick to notice Bunny Junior as a second later, her hands moved to clutch the bunny and tuck it into her neck.

Lucian breathed a sigh of relief and moved away before she remembered his presence again. Swinging his feet down, he got up. He tried to be as quiet as he could as he tiptoed to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

"I don't want to live here."

Lucian's eyebrows furrowed as he turned to face the source of the voice. One look at Josiah and he knew something was extremely wrong.

He put his laptop aside and uncrossed his legs. Josiah stood near the coffee table while Lucian sat on the couch studying him closely. He patted the couch for Josiah to take a seat beside him. The teenager took hesitant steps but managed to reach there.

As soon as he was sitting beside him, Lucian asked.

"What's wrong?"

The younger boy stared at the coffee table, refusing to look at Lucian.

There was so much that was wrong, so much that was bothering him and so much he wanted to tell his brother. But there was something that kept telling him not to be a bother.

"I don't feel good here anymore," he stated, refusing to get into details yet.

Lucian's lips pressed into a thin line as he watched his younger brother clench and unclench his jaw. The visible moisture in Josiah's eyes, made a pit settle in Lucian's stomach.

"I'll need the truth, Josiah," he said, leaning forward, hoping to catch his eyes once. No such luck as Josiah turned his head away from Lucian completely.

"Dinner!" A female voice rang out. Lucian rolled his eyes.

This female voice belonged to their father's second wife, Layla.

"I want Mom." The mumble caught Lucian's attention.

"She's dead." Lucian sat straighter when the new voice gritted that from the doorway of the living room. Josiah, however, flinched and turned his head to face forward with wide scared eyes staring at nothing.

The suffocation the boy was feeling was incomparable to anything he's felt before. As his father stood in the doorway, glaring at him, he tried heaving breaths to get some air into his lungs without making his panic noticable.

"I think your mom called for dinner," Alessandro stated.

"She's not our mom," Lucian said the same thing for the umpteenth time. He looked up into his father's eyes shooting hateful daggers towards him which Alessandro either ignored or didn't notice again.

The man who cheated on their mom for more than sixteen years and had the audacity to look her in the eyes and yell at her when she asked for divorce. Lucian witnessed some part of that argument.

He didn't know how everything happened after that fight. His sisters, who were five back then, were put under their mother's custody while they were left to live with their ignorant father.

Before his father could say anything further, his wife appeared in the doorway beside him.

"Come have dinner, boys." Her extra sweet voice cut through the tense silence. Josiah flinched when he heard her voice. A frown set upon Lucian's face when he noticed.

Lucian stood up, making Josiah follow suit. The two people in the doorway retreated and walked away towards the kitchen.

Lucian couldn't keep the frown hidden or push the uneasiness away as he felt Josiah trying to be as close to him as he could. The pit in his stomach kept increasing as he felt his coat sleeve being clutched in his younger brother's fist.

Josiah released his hold as soon as they entered the kitchen. The panic he was feeling kept on increasing as Lucian made his way to his designated seat to the left of the head of the table where his father sat. Layla sat across from him.

"Come sit here, Josiah," Layla said, gesturing to the empty seat on her side. Lucian turned his head to look at Josiah, who stood frozen and wide eyed. His hand rested on the back of the chair he just pulled out.

Josiah dared to glance up, turning his head to look at his father who had a glare set on him. A challenging glare daring him to refuse to that request.

Pushing the chair back in, he trudged to the chair slowly. His eyes watered as he took a seat beside the lady but as much as he craved comfort, he didn't dare look up at Lucian, who was watching everything closely.

Lucian was drowned in his own thoughts and calculations as he tried to get a clue of what was happening.

Slowly, their siblings and half-siblings started filing in and the chatters from the four witch offsprings, as Damien called them, echoed in the kitchen.

Lucian kept glancing at Josiah as everyone dug into their food. For once, he ignored the curses Damien kept grumbling under his breath and the insults Jayden kept throwing at the half-siblings.

He couldn't get himself to pay attention to anything else other than to figure out what was exactly going on with Josiah.

And when Lucian saw him flinch and shift uncomfortably in his chair and the barely visible smirk on Layla's face, he figured it all out.

His fork fell into his plate with a clank that rang in his ears loudly and painfully. As he pieced it all together, all Lucian saw was red.

His breathing quickened as the anger increased and he got the urge to plunge his dagger through the woman's throat.

The woman stood up from her chair, allowing her smirk to widen as she put her hand on Josiah's shoulder, asking him something.

It wasn't audible to Lucian though, every voice had been tuned out and all he could hear was the racing heartbeat and 'I want Mom.' echoing in his head. The plea hidden beneath his brother's words became clear now as he watched the woman turn around to get something from the counter.

Lucian's blood boiled as he pushed his chair back abruptly. Within three strides, he had stepped into the woman's way. The murderous look on his face made her freeze as she took a step back after flinching due to fear and shock.

All Lucian saw was her vile face and how the smirk slowly vanished from it.

Before anyone had the chance to react, they heard a body slam into the wall and a shriek that echoed off the kitchen walls, sending waves of satisfaction to Lucian.

Lucian's fist dug into her throat as he clutched her shirt collar in his fist and leaned down.

"What did you do?" He gritted. The vein in his temple popped out as the words were forced out of his throat.

"Lucian!"

Lucian's hand didn't budge despite the womans nails digging into it, as she tried desperately to remove it from her throat. She gasped for air and an evil glint appeared in Lucian's eyes as he saw nothing but the satisfaction he'd feel when he watched the life drain out of her eyes.

Asher was by Lucian's side in a second, trying desperately to push him away. He knew there must be something that induced this reaction from Lucian but he couldn't let him kill their father's second wife. That'd not end good.

Alessandro pushed himself between his wife and Lucian and pushed him away. The slap that followed caused Lucian to stumble back slightly while Alessandro stood heaving panicked breaths.

All of the brothers were already stood up and when Alessandro took another threatening step forward, the brothers panicked.

Asher rushed to stand before Lucian, with so much anger in his eyes that no one had seen on his face before. Lucian kept looking down as his anger was slowly replaced by an emotion he had never felt so strongly. Sadness crept inside slowly, making it difficult for him to stand there and not crumple into a mess.

Alessandro was ready to hit Asher too. He was ready to torture his own kids until they begged for forgiveness from his wife, who was gasping for breaths, while her oldest son, Vincent supported her to stand straight.

What Alessandro didn't expect was the punch that landed on his jaw a second after. He stumbled and took two steps back. Damien stood in front of Asher, with his jaw clenched and an angry fire in his eyes as he looked at the man with so much hate.

"Hit him again," Damien gritted, challenging him to even touch his eldest brother again. When his father gained his composure again and stood up straight with a glare on his face, Damien couldn't stop his fist from raising again.

But a hand grabbed his bicep and that was enough for him to stop. Lucian pulled Damien back and stepped forward instead, looking his father right in the eye.

"I'm moving out with my siblings," he stated. "What your wife has done to my brother would not be forgotten and I would certainly not let it go until she has paid for it."

His gaze flicked to the wicked witch for a second before he returned it back to his father.

"This is nothing new for you, but I hope you will forget our existence."

He turned towards where Josiah was sitting and his features softened considerably. Jayden stood beside Josiah who sat in the same place. He had his face buried in Jayden's chest as he trembled and sniffled, clearly holding back his cries.

Asher noticed that and rushed to Josiah while Lucian grabbed Damien's arm again and pulled him out of the room, before he decided to punch anyone again.

Lucian flinched when his phone rang. He cleared his throat to get rid of the lump that caused his throat to close.

The newspaper he had in his hand shook slightly as his trembling hands clutched it tightly in their grasp.

He had regretted stepping out of the house that day. None of them were home except Josiah who wanted to spend the weekend inside in the solace of his room.

"Yes, Dex?" He asked, after he picked up the call.

"Did you see the news?" Damien rushed out. "I don't know who's giving us the wrong information."

Lucian's eyes widened a fraction and he put the newspaper down, rushing to grab the remote. He flipped through channels looking for the breaking Damien was talking about.

"A dead body has been found in this very river, near the town. The body has been sent to the nearest hospital for an autopsy and it has been revealed that the corpse is more than two weeks old. It's decayed due to being submerged in water."

Lucian froze and his hold on the remote tightened. His eyes refused to blink as he took the information in.

"The body has been identified to be of Lucas James Verlice, who had supposedly ran away sixteen days ago. He had been living with his two stepsisters for the last two years. The police is trying to reach out to the girls for further investigations."

Lucian let out a breath, trying to calm his anger. This was so much wasted effort. Whoever this rat was, was destined to be caught soon. Whoever was giving out the wrong information was to be caught soon.

He felt unsatisfied. It didn't feel good. He was waiting for the moment he got his hands on that monster and watched how Lucas begged for Lucian to just end his pathetic life.

He was left with no alternative to get revenge for his sisters and that was irking him insanely.

Finally, tearing his gaze away from the screen, Lucian let out another angry breath and reached for his phone that he had abandoned on the table.

But he froze when his eyes fixed on a small figure standing in the doorway.

"Shit," Lucian muttered under his breath.

Gathering every ounce of patience and gentleness he could, Lucian cleared his throat and called out for his sister.

Amira, however, couldn't hear it. Her eyes were fixed on the screen as she took short, quick breaths. Her fists bunched the hem of her shirt tightly, making her knuckles go white.

"Bunny," Lucian called out in a much firmer voice than before. That caught her attention thankfully because Amira turned her head slowly, setting her wide eyes on Lucian who was sitting on the couch.

"I-I didn't-" Her throat closed. She couldn't form any more words. Lucian's brows furrowed as he sensed the intense panic and stood up. He took a few steps towards her but stopped when she flinched and took a step back.

He halted abruptly and raised his hands slightly. Amira kept looking at him wide eyed as she tried desperately to get enough air into her lungs.

Lucian seemed to panic on seeing her struggle to breath. He bent down to her level and spoke as calmly as he could while hiding his panic.

"You need a hug, Bunny." He opened his arms. "Come on."

Amira shook her head violently and took another step back.

"Please Bunny," Lucian pleaded and lowered his arms.

That plea just caused tears to jump into the girl's eyes as she shook her head again.

"I'll just go back to my room." She barely managed to whisper as the panic intensified. Her chest burnt from the lack of air while her legs fought to keep her standing.

"I said come here, Amira Levi." Lucian started being scary. That seemed like the only option left to make her get some comfort. There was no way he'd let her go back to her room and shut him out at this moment.

Amira froze where she was and slowly lifted her gaze to meet Lucian's. However stern he tried to look, she could still see the plea in his eyes.

That made her move. With several small steps towards her brother, she finally got herself to stand just before him.

Lucian didn't waste any time. He took the remaining step forward and wrapped his arms around her tightly. Her head rested on his chest so Lucian grabbed her hand gently and raised it to place it beside her head.

He took deep breaths, knowing she tried to copy the breathing if she was fully focussed. He'd seen it happen various times.

It didn't work this time though. Surprisingly. Amira kept hyperventilating. Her arm hung at her side while the other was bent because her hand was in Lucian's grasp.

"Copy my breathing please, Bunny," Lucian said softly.

Something clutched his heart in a tight grasp as a muffled sob escaped next. She couldn't calm down. It didn't seem possible to her.

All she could see was the ghost of the monster coming to haunt her more now.

Lucian failed to keep the panic hidden this time. His breathing quickened a tad bit along with his heartbeat.

Amira felt her head spin a little and saw darkness at the corners of her vision, slowly trying to expand to cover the rest of her vision range. Her head pounded as various voices echoed in her head telling her how pathetic she was.

"Bunny-"

"I killed him." The words flowed out, just as her legs gave out. Lucian supported her full body weight as the hold of his one arm on her shoulders tightened to keep her ear on his heart.

The clutch on his heart tightened, making it hard to breathe. He looked down but Amira kept staring at the wall to their side.

"No you didn't," Lucian mumbled, unsure of where this was coming from.

"I did." A sob raked through her chest and she let out a mixture of a sob and a hiccup.

"I don't believe that, Amira," Lucian said, totally believing it was just that bitch voice telling her stuff like that.

Amira struggled to get her hand out of his gentle grasp. Lucian didn't tighten his hold, he let her pull her hand out. As soon as she did, her palms rested on his stomach and she pushed him away with all her might.

Lucian released his grip and took a step back. Enough to give her some space but not enough to have her farther than arm's length distance.

"I said I killed him!" The girl almost yelled through her cracked voice. Lucian was taken aback by the way she was talking.

"Who's telling you such bullshit?" Lucian said back. His tone was exasperated as he fought not to grit his teeth.

"They're going to take me away!" She cried out. Lucian reached out to grab her and pull her back to him. He managed to grab her shoulders but she put her hands flat against his stomach to keep herself out of the embrace she knew will break the dam finally.

"No one is taking you anywhere." Lucian enunciated each word as he looked at her determinedly. He was leaned down as he said that in a dangerous tone.

Amira had her head titled to face upwards towards him. She looked into his eyes and saw the fire of anger and determination that looked out of place on the loving Lucian she knew now.

She shook her head slightly feeling more tears roll down her cheeks.

"I killed him. The police is looking for me and Rose," she said in a weak voice as she tried to get used to the anger that was swirling in Lucian's eyes. Despite the visible annoyance he was still being gentle with how he handled this situation.

Lucian released an annoyed breath as he leaned down a bit more looking a little too intimidating to the girl.

"Well I don't find you capable of killing, Bunny."

Amira shook her head and took a deep breath.

"I hit him with a big rock," she said. Lucian nodded. He knew that much. "He fell down after that. I thought he was unconscious."

"He must be." Lucian fought to change her take on the situation. He couldn't get himself to believe that she took someone's life. That little soul that was fluent in the language of cuddles and kisses did not look capable of killing someone.