Chapter 8: The Desperate Dog
912 Words
Chapter 8: The Desperate Dog
The rain in the city didn't wash away the filth; it only made the shadows slicker.
I was staying at the Vane estate—a fortress of glass and obsidian tucked away in the most exclusive zip code of the capital. Lucian was at the Midnight Court handling the fallout of the takeover, leaving me with a rare moment of silence.
Or so I thought.
I was in the library, the scent of old leather and expensive scotch grounding me, when the Shadows at the door began to hiss. They didn't lunge, but they coiled, a warning that someone with a familiar, yet unwelcome, signature was approaching.
I didn't turn around when the heavy oak door creaked open. I didn't need to. The smell of cedarwood and rain—now sour with the scent of cheap whiskey and unwashed desperation—filled the room.
"You shouldn't be here, Kaelen," I said, my voice as cold as the ice in my glass. "The restraining order covers the estate, the office, and any air I happen to be breathing."
"I had to see you," he croaked.
I turned slowly. He looked pathetic. His designer suit was wrinkled, his hair was a mess, and the Alpha pride that used to define his walk was gone, replaced by a hollow-eyed shuffle. He looked like a man who had been haunted for three years and had finally caught up to his ghost.
"Seraphina," he said, taking a step forward. He reached out as if to touch my arm, but a flick of my wrist sent a wall of Shadows rising between us. He flinched back. "Please. I know you’re angry. You have every right to be. But this... this takeover... you're destroying the families. People you grew up with."
"I grew up with predators who watched me get thrown to the wolves, Kaelen. Don't talk to me about family."
"I can fix it!" he burst out, his voice cracking with a frantic, delusional hope. "The bond... it’s still there, buried deep. I can feel it. If we just... if we try again, I’ll make you the High Luna of the Black Ridge. We don't need Lucian. We can be the most powerful pair in the history of the North."
I stared at him for a long beat, then I started to laugh. It wasn't a cruel laugh—it was a pitying one.
"You really don't get it, do you?" I walked toward him, the Command in my blood making the very floorboards vibrate. "You think this is about a title? You think I’m holding a grudge because you didn't give me a crown?"
I stopped inches from him. Even without shifting, I was taller than him in this moment. The silver in my eyes was glowing so brightly it cast shadows against the bookshelves.
"I am the Queen of the Midnight Court," I whispered. "I am the Trinity Luna. I heal the dead and command the dark. And you..." I reached out, my fingers tracing the line of his jaw. He leaned into my touch, a pathetic whimper escaping his throat.
Then, I let the Life-Bringer spark flare—not to heal, but to sting. He gasped as a jolt of pure, lunar energy shocked him, forcing him to stumble back.
"You are a man who is only here because I haven't decided which way I want to break you yet," I said. "You aren't my mate. You aren't my equal. You are a footnote in a story that ended the night you left me in the mud."
"He doesn't love you like I did!" Kaelen yelled, his desperation turning to a familiar, ugly anger. "Lucian Vane uses people! He saw your power and he grabbed it. He’s a king, Seraphina. He doesn't want a partner; he wants a weapon!"
"Then he’s a very lucky man," a voice boomed from the doorway.
Lucian stood there, his frame filling the entrance. He wasn't wearing a suit anymore. He was in his tactical gear, his eyes a deep, bloody crimson. The Alpha King didn't look angry; he looked lethal.
"Because this weapon," Lucian said, walking over and wrapping a possessive arm around my waist, "is the only thing in this world that makes me feel like I don't have to rule it alone."
Lucian looked down at Kaelen as if he were something he’d stepped in on the sidewalk. "You have ten seconds to leave before I let my wife practice her Shadow binding on your vocal cords. Permanently."
Kaelen looked at me, pleading one last time. I simply turned my back and leaned my head against Lucian’s shoulder.
"Nine," Lucian counted.
Kaelen scrambled out of the room, the sound of his fleeing footsteps a frantic rhythm of defeat.
"He's becoming a nuisance," Lucian murmured into my hair, his grip tightening.
"He's becoming a ghost," I replied, closing my eyes and soaking in the strength of a man who actually deserved to stand beside me. "But he’s right about one thing, Lucian."
Lucian pulled back, a flicker of concern in his gaze. "What?"
"I am a weapon," I said, looking up at him with a sharp, beautiful smile. "And it's time we pointed me at the people who actually sent that assassin."
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