Craved by the Wrong Volkov

Lucien’s POV

Raphael. I blinked. Why does everyone think I was Raphael? I was still confused when fast footsteps approached.

Katerina ran over panicked, with two others following, Auntie Natalia and a boy around my age who looked like me. I was stunned, staring at him. He noticed my gaze and looked equally surprised.

I barely left home, so it surprised me. When did Raphael start looking so much like me? Something sharp flickered across Natalia’s eyes.

I had seen Raphael a few times in the past, but we were children then never really realised the resemblance until it was pointed out. I was still staring at Raphael when Katerina lunged forward, dragging Braelyn away from me.

"Little Brae, what are you doing with him?" she asked, panic in her eyes. Braelyn looked confused.

"He is Raphael," she said. The actual Raphael frowned.

"I am Raphael, that’s Lucien," Raphael said. Braelyn looked confused, glancing between us. Maybe it was because I was too young and couldn’t read the room.

I stepped forward then tugged Katerina’s clothes. The soft look she had for Lynn completely disappeared.

"Mummy, why does Raphael have a party but not me?" It was an innocent question, but Katerina didn’t take it that way.

Her face twisted, and then a sharp slap landed on my face, blinding me for a second. "Why would you think a bastard like you deserves the same treatment as Raphael? Stop calling me your mother. I can never give birth to something so disgusting."

It felt like my heart was being stabbed. Tears came before I realised it. Everyone was staring at me. The venom in Katerina’s eyes was sharp.

A sob tore out of my mouth and I ran. I didn’t know where, but everyone parted like I was a plague. I ran out of the hall.

I was a bastard. I still didn’t understand the word, but my brain knew it was something bad, something no one liked. A bastard didn’t deserve to have birthdays.

I ran until my legs gave out and I stumbled, falling face-first onto the floor. The tears kept pouring. I managed to sit up, leaning against the wall in a corridor close to the hall. I could hear faint party sounds. People walked past me, but no one cared about the bastard. Everyone probably knew, except me.

I curled up crying in my arms.

I felt a soft pat on my shoulder that made me look up. Raphael was standing there holding a small gift box. "What do you want? Go back to your party."

He didn’t move and just held the box. "Do you remember me, Lucien?" he asked, and I frowned. Why was he asking such a stupid question? I remembered him, although we had never really spoken before.

Katerina never allowed me around him. "Go away," I replied, then buried my head in my arms. Raphael pushed the gift box under my arm and sat beside me.

"I didn’t know your birthday. My daddy gave me a lot of gifts, so you can have this one." I glanced up, glaring at him.

"I don’t want it. Daddy already gave me a gift." I didn’t want his gift. Why was he showing off? He had a big party and plenty of gifts.

Raphael smiled at me. "This one is from me. Grandpa said I should see you as my brother. From today I will take care of you."

His righteous words got on my nerves. "You are not my brother," I argued.

"But we look alike and are the same age. Who will believe you are my uncle?" he retorted, leaving me speechless.

"I am older and your uncle."

He didn’t flinch. From a young age, Raphael always had that calm demeanour. "I am smarter."

"No you are not," I sneered. "If you are, what is the meaning of bastard?" I asked, then shot him a smug smile.

Raphael didn’t answer at first. He seemed deep in thought, but six-year-old Raphael was smart. "A bastard is someone whose mummy and daddy are not married, or they don’t know their daddy."

I was stunned, not only that he knew, but also at what it meant. "I know my daddy." Then I froze as Katerina’s words echoed in my mind. "Mummy isn’t my mummy." I felt cold all over and wanted to cry again.

Raphael grabbed the gift box and pulled me up. "Grandma was angry, maybe she is lying," Raphael tried to console me. "Let’s go inside, the party is fun. We can share since you didn’t have a party." He was already pulling me along and didn’t give me time to think too much.

The party was indeed fun. Raphael made sure I was included in every game and even introduced me to his friends. When he blew out his candles and Natalia asked him what his special wish was,

he glanced at me and smiled. "I want to go to the same school as Lucien so we can be friends forever." His answer left everyone dumbfounded.

But he meant it. Maybe Raphael and I would have been best friends instead of frienemies. He was the first person who saw me as Lucien and not the unwanted bastard.

**********

"We found her body!" a scream snapped me from my thoughts. Several searchers were already heading to the river edge. The river was very deep with turbulent currents.

A team of underwater divers was included in the search team. I made my way through the crowd and pushed forward. Two divers were dragging a body.

"Was she under the water?" I asked, already stepping forward. If she had been under that long, she would have died.

"She wasn’t under the water. I found her unconscious, stuck between rocks in the river, but she lost a lot of blood." I immediately went down to check her condition.

There was a faint pulse in her neck. She was barely alive. "She must have gone unconscious after hitting a rock. That’s why she is bleeding. Instead of drowning, the current swept her until she got stuck between the rocks," someone explained.

I couldn’t help but smile. Even the Grim Reaper didn’t want her. "She needs medical care immediately. She can’t die no matter what," I instructed, looking at Natalia’s pale face.