Draya Meets Con 43
1060 Words
Chapter 43
Draya POV
Crossing realms always felt like drowning in ice.
The portal tore open before me in a swirl of silver light. I stepped through without hesitation.
The air on the other side was colder. Rougher. Less refined.
His territory.
I could feel him immediately.. the power, dark and volatile. It pulsed through the land like a warning…Good.
I adjusted my cloak, softening my expression, slowing my breathing. By the time I stepped into the clearing near his fortress, I was no longer a soldier of Elena…I was vulnerability, pin silk.
He emerged from the shadows like something carved from war itself…Con.
His presence was brutal. Broad shoulders. Hard eyes. A faint scar across his jaw. He looked older than Dean… harder. And more dangerous….And far less trusting.
“Well,” he said, voice low. “That’s a surprise.”
I let my gaze linger on him….not too long, just enough.
“I came alone,” I said softly.
His eyes narrowed. “That’s either brave… or stupid.”I stepped closer … slowly. Close enough to let him feel my warmth, but not close enough to threaten.
“I heard what happened with Dean,” I said gently. “I heard about the fight.”
His jaw tightened…Good. There it is.
“I didn’t come to defend him,” I whispered. “I came because I was worried about you.”
The silence between us thickened.
“You expect me to believe that?” he asked.
I reached for his hand…He didn’t pull away….Not immediately.
“I expect you to feel it,” I murmured.
His pulse jumped beneath my fingers…Hook set.
“You don’t belong there,” I continued. “You’re stronger than they give you credit for. Smarter. They fear you.”
His eyes darkened … not with anger….With temptation.
“And what is it you want, Draya?” he asked quietly.
I lifted my gaze to his, letting just enough emotion surface.
“You.”
The word hung between us like a promise.
“And if I told you,” I said softly, stepping even closer, “that I could take you somewhere they can’t touch you… somewhere you could have more power than you’ve ever imagined?”
There it was…The spark…Suspicion still lingered in his eyes.. but so did curiosity….And curiosity is far easier to bend than hatred.
“I don’t trust you,” he said.
“You don’t have to,” I replied.
I let my thumb brush lightly over his knuckles. Then I held his hand in mine.
“Just come with me.”
He hesitated…Just for a second..And in that second, I knew..
He was already falling.
Con POV
Her fingers were still wrapped around mine when I asked her where she expected me to go. I didn’t pull away this time. I let her feel the tension in my hand, the restrained strength beneath my skin. Let her understand that if this was a trap, she would never make it back through whatever portal she crawled out of.
“Where do you want me to go with you to?” I repeated, my voice low, steady. “I’m not stepping into the vampire realm. Not for you. Not for anyone.”
For a brief second, something flickered across her face… irritation? No. Calculation.
“Not my realm,” she said softly. “A neutral one.”
There was no such thing as neutral. Not truly.
She took another step closer, close enough that I could see the faint crimson ring around her irises. Close enough to scent whatever strange energy clung to her. It wasn’t just vampire. There was something else layered beneath it .. ambition.
“You think too small, Con,” she murmured. “I’m not offering you sanctuary. I’m offering you leverage.”
My jaw tightened. “Against who?”
Her lips curved slowly. Not a sweet smile. A sharp one.
“Against Dean.”
My wolf stirred at the sound of his name. Not rage this time.interest.
She saw it. Of course she did.
“They don’t respect you,” she continued, her voice like silk over steel. “They fear what you could become. There’s a difference. Fear makes rulers act recklessly.”
“And you want what?” I asked quietly. “To help me overthrow him?”
Her thumb traced slowly over my knuckles, testing boundaries again. Testing me.
“I want to stand beside the strongest power in any realm,” she said. “Not beneath it.”
That answer was more honest than anything else she’d said.
“You don’t want me,” I said flatly. “You want my strength.”
Her gaze lifted to mine, and for the first time, there was no pretense.
“Maybe,” she admitted. “But strength alone doesn’t interest me. Potential does.”
Silence stretched between us again…My wolf paced inside me, restless but not warning. That unsettled me more than if he had been snarling.
“You’re dangerous,” I said.
A faint smile. “So are you.”
I stepped closer now, reclaiming the space she had invaded earlier. Close enough that if I wanted, I could snap her neck before she blinked.
“And what makes you think,” I murmured, “that I won’t go with you… learn everything you know… and then eliminate you?”
Her pulse didn’t spike. She didn’t flinch.
“Because,” she whispered, tilting her head slightly, “you’re tired of being second.”
That landed harder than it should have..She wasn’t wrong.
I studied her for a long moment, searching for deceit. There was ambition. Manipulation. Desire for power..But there was also truth.
“I’ll go,” I finally said.
Her fingers tightened around mine slightly.
“But understand this,” I continued, my voice turning cold, dominant.
“The second I even suspect betrayal… I won’t hesitate.”
Her eyes darkened with something that looked dangerously close to excitement.
“I would expect nothing less.”
A wind moved through the trees, stirring the forest around us. The portal behind her shimmered faintly, unstable but waiting.
I glanced at it..Then back at her.
“This better not be a mistake,” I muttered…Her smile widened just enough.
“Oh, Con,” she said softly. “It’s going to change everything.”
- Writer
