CHAPTER 16 : TERRITORIAL
1603 Words
POV: Cassian Volkov
“She isn’t human.”
The words reached me before the meeting ended.That was the problem with powerful men.They believed closed doors made them invisible, they forgot who owned the building.
I stood in my office overlooking the river while Nikolai reviewed shipment reports from the eastern routes. Three ports delayed.
Two customs officials suddenly refusing cooperation, one senator asking for double his usual price.
Coincidences didn’t exist in our world.Someone was pulling strings.The question was whether Kozlov was acting alone.
Nikolai slid another file across the desk.
“Romania is becoming a problem.”
“Everything becomes a problem eventually.”
His expression didn’t change.
“That’s optimistic.”
I opened the file. A photograph stared back at me,burned cargo containers, destroyed vehicles, eight dead men.
The shipment had been carrying weapons disguised as industrial equipment. Twenty million euros gone in one night.
“Who leaked the route?”
“We’re still investigating.”
Which meant he already suspected someone. I closed the folder.
“Names.”
“Not yet.”
“Then find them.”
The room fell silent, Nikolai nodded once. Conversation over.
A knock interrupted us. One of my security captains entered.
“Sir.”
“What?”
“The foreign delegations have arrived.”
Right, Tonight. Another problem.
The Volkov estate hosted foreign syndicate leaders twice each year. Officially, the gathering existed to strengthen business relationships. Unofficially, it prevented wars most of the time.
The guests arriving tonight controlled shipping corridors, weapons markets, offshore accounts, and private military contracts spread across three continents. Men who could destroy governments, men who smiled while doing it.
I stood.
“Prepare the reception hall.”
The captain nodded.
“Already done.”
Of course it was. The estate never stopped moving, neither did the empire.
The reception hall occupied the oldest section of the fortress.
Stone walls, cathedral ceilings, centuries of history hidden beneath expensive renovations.
The room had once hosted kings, now it hosted criminals.Not much difference. Foreign leaders filled the hall by sunset, the Irish syndicate, the Turkish network, the Serbian families. Representatives from Italian organizations, russian financiers, cartel intermediaries.
Every man present commanded enough money and violence to destabilize countries. The atmosphere felt polished, civilized, dangerous. Exactly as intended.
I shook hands, accepted greetings, listened to lies disguised as compliments, business proceeded normally. Until Alessia entered.
The shift happened immediately. Most people didn’t notice, I did. Conversations slowed, eyes followed her, attention moved not because she was beautiful. Though she was but because rumors had already spread.
The council had been whispering all day. Katarina had ensured that.
Alessia crossed the room in a dark emerald dress that caught the light every time she moved. Confidence in public, defiance in private.
She hated events like this which made her good at them.People underestimated reluctant players. I watched several foreign leaders studying her, evaluating, and calculating. The same way predators evaluated territory they didn’t own. Something unpleasant settled beneath my skin.
Across the hall, Alessia accepted a glass of wine from a waiter.One of the Turkish delegates approached her, then another. Polite conversation, nothing unusual.Yet my attention refused to move elsewhere.
Nikolai appeared beside me.
“You’re staring.”
“I know.”
“Everyone else knows too.”
I ignored him. The older Beta sighed.
“You’re becoming predictable.”
That earned him a look.
“Careful.”
He smirked.
“I’ve known you for twenty years.”
Unfortunately it's true.
The problem arrived twenty minutes later. His name was Emir Arslan, Turkish syndicate shipping routes through the Black Sea, private military contracts, oil money. An ego large enough to require its own security detail. I disliked him before he opened his mouth, not because of business.
Business disagreements were normal. Useful, even.
What bothered me was the way he looked at Alessia.The same way men looked at paintings they intended to buy.Across the reception hall, he approached her carrying a glass of whiskey and entirely too much confidence.
Alessia noticed him immediately. Of course she did. She noticed everything, especially people she didn’t trust. I watched from across the room while pretending to listen to a Serbian financier explain fuel contracts.
The financier eventually stopped talking not because he finished but because he realized I wasn’t listening. My attention remained fixed elsewhere. Emir stopped beside Alessia.She offered the polite smile she reserved for people she disliked. The one that looked friendly until you paid attention to her eyes.
“Mrs. Volkov.”
“Mr. Arslan.”
His gaze traveled over her.
A mistake. Small but still a mistake.
“I’ve heard a great deal about you.”
Alessia took a sip of wine.
“Considering how much people enjoy discussing me lately, I’m not surprised.”
A few nearby guests laughed, Emir didn’t. He stepped closer. Too close. Volkov territory had rules. Everyone in this room knew them.
You respected the Alpha, you respected the empire and most importantly, you respected the Alpha’s wife. Emir ignored all three.
“I expected someone different.”
Alessia tilted her head.
“Duller?”
The answer caught him off guard. Good.
Mine too.
A faint smile touched her lips.Not warm, not kind, dangerous.
The Serbian financier beside me chuckled into his drink.Across the hall, several council members were now openly watching.
Interesting. Alessia had their attention. Emir simply didn’t realize it.
“You don’t seem intimidated.”
“Should I be?”
His smile widened.
“Most people are.”
“I’ve met my husband.”
The laughter this time was louder. Emir’s expression tightened, only slightly but Alessia saw it, so did I and so did Katarina.I noticed her standing near the grand staircase watching not Alessia. Me.
That was when I understood exactly what she was doing.
She wasn’t interested in Emir, she wanted to see how long I could pretend none of this bothered me. The answer, unfortunately, was not very long.
Nikolai appeared beside me carrying a drink.
“You should stop staring.”
“I am not staring.”
“You’re staring.”
“I’ve killed people for less irritating observations.”
“Yes.”
He took a sip.
“That’s why I’m making them.”
My patience was deteriorating.
Across the hall, Emir remained beside Alessia. Still talking,still lingering,still ignoring every signal telling him to leave. Other Alphas had noticed now. I could tell by the way conversations kept stopping. Predators recognized territorial behavior and they were waiting, watching, curious.
The wolf stirred beneath my skin. A slow, unpleasant movement like something ancient opening its eyes. Mine.
The thought arrived without warning. Mine.
I ignored it, the wolf didn’t.
Meanwhile, Alessia was dismantling Emir with surgical precision. Every time he tried to impress her, she redirected the conversation, every time he attempted to flirt, she embarrassed him politely, every time he stepped forward, she made him work harder.
It should have been satisfying. Instead, it was making everything worse because Emir wasn’t leaving. He was becoming comfortable and comfortable men became careless.
The moment arrived several minutes later. Subtle, stupid, catastrophic.
Emir leaned toward her, said something I couldn’t hear through the crowd. Alessia laughed politely then tried to move away.
Instead of stepping aside, he reached for her. His hand settled against the small of her back.
A casual gesture, harmless by human standards. The hall immediately felt smaller, the wolf exploded awake. Pain shot through my spine. Every muscle locked, every instinct sharpened.
Around the room, conversations died one by one not because anyone understood exactly what had happened but because they felt it. Dominance, pressure, warning.
The air itself seemed heavier. Nikolai muttered a curse beside me.
Across the room, Katarina’s expression changed. Satisfaction disappeared, concern replaced it. Good. Even she understood this had gone too far.
Emir finally looked up and saw me watching. The confidence vanished from his face. Too late, far too late. I was already moving. I stopped directly in front of Emir, close enough to smell his heartbeat accelerating, close enough to hear blood rushing through his veins.
His face had gone pale.
“Volkov…”
“Don’t.”
The single word silenced him. The room watched, every syndicate leader, every politician, every soldier. Nobody breathed, nobody moved. Emir attempted a smile, the effort failed.
“I meant no disrespect.”
The wolf pushed harder. My fingernails bit into my palms. A warning.Control it, control yourself.
The curse loved moments like this, moments where violence felt easy, necessary, justified. I looked at Alessia then back at him.
“Did you touch my wife?”
The question sounded calm, that made it worse. Everyone knew it. Emir swallowed.
“It was a misunderstanding.”
No.
It wasn’t. The room understood that too.
I stepped closer. The hall seemed to shrink around us. Several guests instinctively retreated. Smart, very smart. The wolf remained just beneath the surface now. Clawing, demanding, hungry.
Nikolai moved quietly behind me. Not interfering, preparing.In case things became impossible.
Emir tried again.
“Cassian”
My voice cut through his sentence like a blade.
“Touch her again…”
Silence swallowed the room, absolute silence. Even the musicians had stopped playing, nobody wanted to miss what happened next.
I held his gaze, allowed him to see exactly what lived behind mine, allowed him to understand why men crossed streets to avoid me, why governments negotiated instead of fighting,why enemies disappeared. His heartbeat accelerated, faster and faster. Fear finally arrived.
Good. Then I smiled and that frightened him even more.
“Touch her again and I’ll feed you to the wolves.”
- Writer
