BLOOD OATH EMPIRE

CHAPTER 13 : Silver Chains

POV: Cassian Volkov

The prisoner kept smiling through broken teeth.

Cassian hated men like that, men too stupid to fear death.Blood dripped steadily from the captive’s mouth onto the concrete floor beneath the interrogation chair while silver chains restrained his wrists hard enough to burn smoking marks into skin.

Kozlov soldier. Mid-ranking, ex-military, trained to survive torture. Unfortunately for him,Volkov wolves weren’t human.The underground interrogation chamber smelled like blood, iron, and rage. Dim lights flickered overhead while armed wolves lined the walls silently waiting for orders.

Nobody spoke, nobody moved because the Black Alpha was losing patience. Dangerous thing, very dangerous thing.A massive digital territory map glowed across one concrete wall nearby. Eastern ports flashed red, romanian shipping lanes blinking unstable. Three laundering fronts frozen overnight, weapons routes compromised through Serbia and Istanbul.Millions disappearing by the hour, bribed customs officials stopped responding overnight while offshore banking intermediaries quietly began freezing Volkov-linked transactions under political pressure.

The Volkov Syndicate wasn’t just bleeding territory anymore, It was bleeding power.Casino fronts across Prague and Istanbul were already reporting panic withdrawals while rival syndicates circled eastern oil routes waiting for the empire to fracture.Nikolai stood near the map with several council wolves behind him, their expressions tight with controlled panic.

“Two senators stopped answering our calls this morning,” one of them muttered quietly.

Another added grimly, “The Balkan families are hesitating on shipments.”

Fear, political fear, underworld fear. Cassian heard all of it, ignored all of it because one thing mattered more right now.

The rat chained to the chair.

Cassian stood directly in front of the prisoner with his sleeves rolled slowly to his elbows.Controlled violence. The kind that terrified people more than screaming ever could.

“You attacked my eastern route,” Cassian said quietly.

The prisoner grinned wider despite blood coating his teeth.

“Your routes are collapsing.”

Wrong answer.Cassian drove his fist into the man’s ribs hard enough for bone to crack.The chamber echoed with the impact, several wolves flinched instinctively. The prisoner choked violently against restraints.Cassian remained expressionless. Cold, still, monstrous.

“Try again.”

The captive coughed blood onto the floor laughing weakly afterward.

“Kozlov says the great Black Alpha is distracted now.”

Silence. Dangerous silence.Cassian’s wolf stirred instantly beneath skin, gold flashed briefly inside his eyes.

The prisoner noticed.

Fear flickered for the first time. Good.

“Distracted by what?” Cassian asked softly.

The soldier smirked again despite shaking hands.

“A bride.”

The room chilled instantly, several wolves lowered their heads automatically sensing dominance pressure rising sharply through the chamber.One council member looked away entirely. Submission, fear. Exactly as it should be.Cassian stepped closer slowly, predatory, measured.

“Careful.”

The prisoner swallowed once. Too late now.

“Your empire whispers already,” the man rasped. “The Alpha sleeps beside his wife instead of protecting territory.”

Cassian’s claws extended slightly. Silver chains nearby rattled from the force of his wolf pushing forward.

Nikolai stepped carefully near the chamber wall.

“Cassian”

“Quiet.”

One word, enough.The entire room obeyed instantly, the prisoner’s pulse accelerated sharply.Cassian could hear it, smell it. Fear finally flooding the room beneath blood and sweat. Better, much better.Cassian crouched slowly in front of the restrained soldier until their faces nearly aligned.

“Do you know the difference between Kozlov and Volkov wolves?”

The prisoner said nothing. Smartest decision he’d made all night.

Cassian smiled faintly.

“Kozlov men enjoy violence.”

Gold flickered beneath his eyes again.

“Volkov men survive it.”

The prisoner’s breathing roughened.Cassian grabbed the silver chain around the man’s wrist, suddenly twisting hard enough for the metal to sear deeper into flesh. The scream that followed echoed brutally through the underground chamber.

Good. Pain loosened tongues.

“Who sold my shipment schedules?”

The prisoner clenched his jaw.Cassian twisted harder, skin burned, smoke rose lightly from silver contact.

“Which family opened my borders?”

Nothing.

Cassian leaned closer.

“Which senator did Kozlov buy?”

The prisoner finally gasped sharply.

“There’s panic inside your council already.”

Interesting. Very interesting.Cassian’s eyes darkened because hesitation meant betrayal.

Inside organizations this large, betrayal spread like infection. One compromised council member could collapse weapons contracts, expose laundering networks, and trigger assassinations across multiple territories before dawn. Someone inside Volkov territory was leaking information.

Cassian already suspected it, now he knew.

The prisoner laughed weakly through pain.

“Your allies smell weakness. Three ports frozen in one week.” Blood dripped from his mouth again. “If Volkov falls… half the underworld falls with it.”

The room went deadly quiet. Even the council wolves stiffened because it was true. Volkov controlled weapons, ports, laundering routes, judges, military contracts, shipping lanes. Private security firms, corrupt ministers, offshore casinos, and entire black-market economies moved through Volkov infrastructure silently every day.Entire governments quietly depended on Volkov money.

If Cassian’s empire fractured, countries would bleed with it. Cassian seized the prisoner’s throat violently slamming him backward into the steel restraint chair hard enough for blood to spray across the floor. Dominance exploded through the room,predatory, ancient, monstrous. Several wolves stepped backward instinctively.

The prisoner gasped beneath Cassian’s grip.

“You came into my territory,” Cassian said softly. “Killed my wolves, threatened my empire.”

His claws dug slightly deeper against the captive’s throat.

“Now you’ll answer me.”

The prisoner stared back trembling.Then suddenly, laughed. Actually laughed.Cassian’s eyes darkened instantly.

“You think this ends with territory?” the prisoner whispered hoarsely. “You still don’t understand what Kozlov’s searching for.”

Cassian went completely still because there it was again, the same implication Matteo hinted at. Bloodline, something ancient, something buried.

The wolf beneath Cassian’s skin stirred uneasily.Nikolai’s posture shifted sharply near the wall, the council members exchanged brief glances. Fear again not political this time, older fear.

“What does Kozlov want?” Cassian asked quietly.

The prisoner’s smile widened slowly despite blood running from his mouth.

“The Lunar Bloodline.”

Not merely mythology, ancient bloodlines inside wolf dynasties determined succession power, Alpha legitimacy, territorial inheritance, and control over alliances powerful enough to shape the underworld itself.The chamber froze. Every wolf inside the room stiffened instantly.Nikolai swore quietly beneath his breath. Cassian’s heartbeat slammed once against his ribs. Hard.

No, absolutely not.

The prisoner saw recognition flicker across Cassian’s face and realized something dangerous immediately.The Black Alpha knew exactly what he meant. Big mistake, huge mistake. The prisoner leaned forward weakly against restraints.

“She’s the key, isn’t she?”

Cassian’s wolf surged violently, gold exploded fully through his eyes.

“Stop talking.”

But the prisoner smiled wider anyway.

“Kozlov says the bloodline survived through the De Luca daughter”

Cassian killed him instantly. One movement, one brutal snap of claws across the throat. Blood sprayed violently across steel walls while the prisoner’s body jerked once before collapsing lifeless against silver restraints. Silence crashed through the chamber afterward. Heavy, absolute, terrifying.Nobody moved, nobody breathed because the Black Alpha stood motionless beside the corpse with blood dripping slowly from partially shifted claws. Monster, king, executioner.

The words settled silently through every wolf in the room.Cassian stared at the dead prisoner without blinking.Too close, that i***t got too close to truths buried for generations.

Nikolai approached carefully.

“The Lunar Bloodline…” he started quietly.

Cassian turned sharply. Wrong move, very wrong move.

“Not another word.”

Nikolai stopped instantly. Submission, smart.

The air still vibrated with Alpha dominance hard enough to choke weaker wolves.Cassian flexed his claws once before forcing them back beneath skin. Control, barely, goddammit. Everything was escalating too fast now.Kozlov knew about the bloodline.Matteo knew more than he admitted.And Alessia, Cassian’s thoughts cut off abruptly.

Her scent reached him first, Jasmine, snow, danger.His head snapped instantly toward the chamber entrance.The doors stood partially open and Alessia De Luca was standing there, watching everything. Blood covered the floor between them.The dead prisoner slumped against silver restraints behind Cassian, the entire underground chamber looked like a m******e scene. And Alessia didn’t look away.Interesting, very interesting. Most humans would’ve panicked.

She simply studied him silently with dark calculating eyes.Cassian’s wolf reacted immediately.

Mine.The possessive instinct slammed through him so hard his jaw tightened painfully.

What the hell was she doing here?

Nikolai noticed her too.And judging by his expression, he understood exactly how dangerous this situation was because Alessia had just witnessed the Black Alpha at his worst.Not just the wolf, the ruler, the man capable of destroying empires with a single order. A billionaire predator sitting at the center of an underground monarchy built on violence, political corruption, and generational fear.Cassian straightened slowly to full height.Blood still dripped from his hand.

“Leave.”

Her gaze flickered briefly toward the dead prisoner.Then back toward Cassian.

“You killed him because of what he said.”

Sharp, too sharp.Cassian’s expression hardened.

“I killed him because he attacked my territory.”

“Lie.”

The single word sliced cleanly through the chamber.Several wolves shifted uneasily. Nobody spoke to the Black Alpha like that, nobody.Alessia stepped fully inside the room despite the blood surrounding them. Fearless or reckless. Possibly both.

“He said something you didn’t want me hearing,” she continued quietly.

Cassian’s wolf prowled dangerously closer beneath skin.

“You shouldn’t be here.”

“That’s not an answer.”

Neither was that.The tension thickened instantly.

Nikolai glanced toward the other wolves sharply before barking an order.

“Out.”

Nobody hesitated. Within seconds, the interrogation chamber emptied completely leaving only Cassian, Alessia, and the corpse between them.

Silence followed. Heavy, violent.Cassian walked slowly toward her. Predatory, measured. Blood stained his black shirt sleeves now, the scent of death filled the air but Alessia held her ground anyway.

God.She needed better survival instincts.

“What did he mean?” she asked softly. “The Lunar Bloodline.”

Cassian stopped inches away, too close. Always too close with her now.

“You keep searching for truths that will destroy you.”Alessia crossed her arms slowly.

“And you keep hiding them from me.”

“Yes.”

The blunt honesty startled her briefly.Good.Cassian leaned closer lowering his voice.

“Because ignorance keeps you alive.”

Her pulse quickened instantly.He heard it. Of course he heard it.Everything about her affected him now. Dangerously so.Alessia’s gaze flickered toward the blood on his hands.

Then higher, toward his eyes.

“You’re afraid.”

Cassian went still, very still.

“What?”

“You’re terrified of something.”

Wrong observation, very wrong because she was correct.Cassian’s expression darkened instantly.

“I’m terrified of many things, Alessia.”

Her breathing changed slightly at the sound of her name.Tiny reaction, massive effect.The wolf pushed harder beneath his skin.

Mine.

Cassian ignored it brutally.

“What happened in the South Wing?”

The question hit like a blade, his eyes narrowed instantly.

“How do you know about the South Wing?”

Silence.That was answer enough. Cassian’s pulse darkened immediately with anger not because she disobeyed him but because she went there alone. Into those cells,Into that darkness. The realization made something violent twist inside his chest. Protectiveness, possession, fear.

“What did you see?” he demanded quietly.

Alessia studied him carefully.

“Cages.”

Cassian looked away instantly.Wrong reaction, too revealing. She noticed immediately.

“You chained yourself down there.”

Not a question, another statement.

Cassian’s jaw flexed once.The silence confirmed everything.

Alessia stepped closer carefully now.

“You think you’re becoming your father.”

The words hit brutally hard. Cassian’s wolf surged violently beneath skin, gold flashed sharply through his eyes.

“Enough.”

But Alessia refused to back away.God help her. She actually stepped closer.

“I heard what the old servant said.”

Cassian froze.

“What servant?”

“One-eyed. Older. He knew your father.”

No.Absolutely not.Cassian grabbed her wrist instantly pulling her against him hard enough for shock to flash across her face.

“Listen to me carefully.”

His voice dropped lower, deadlier.

“If you ever see that man again, you leave immediately.”

Alessia frowned despite his grip tightening around her wrist.

“Why?”

Cassian’s eyes darkened.“Because he died eleven years ago.”

Silence, pure silence.Alessia’s pulse stumbled once beneath his hand.For the first time since entering the chamber, fear truly appeared in her eyes.Then something moved behind Cassian, a soft metallic sound.Both of them turned instantly toward the dead prisoner and froze because despite the blood flooding the floor, the corpse’s arm had lifted weakly upward.

One shaking finger pointed directly at Alessia.Then the prisoner’s ruined throat released one final wet whisper.

“Lunar… blood…”

And the body went still forever.