Chapter 9. Capture
1006 Words
Aria Vale’s world was a blur of half-heard voices and burning pain.
The last thing she remembered was the searing agony of the bond tearing at her chest, her wrist blazing with the mark that would never let her forget him. Then, Lucien’s arms around her, his frantic voice calling her name.
Now, she drifted between darkness and faint awareness, her head heavy, her breaths shallow.
When she finally stirred awake, she was in a dimly lit room. Velvet curtains were drawn tightly, blocking out the night. The scent of leather and smoke clung to the air, though it was not Lucien’s.
Her body stiffened. This was not the Vale estate.
A low chuckle echoed from the shadows.
“I see you’ve awakened, Miss Vale.”
Her heart stuttered. That voice: smooth, deep, calculated.
“Nikolai,” she whispered.
The rival Alpha stepped into the light, his sharp gray eyes gleaming with satisfaction. He was dressed in black, his presence filling the room like a predator cornering its prey.
“You fainted beautifully,” he said softly. “Lucien was almost convincing, carrying you as though he could protect you. But he cannot. He never could.”
Aria pushed herself upright, her head pounding. “Where am I?”
“In a place where Lucien Blackwood cannot reach you,” Nikolai replied calmly. “A place where you will be safe… and useful.”
Her stomach tightened. “You kidn*pped me.”
Nikolai’s smile curved. “Rescued, I prefer. From the claws of a man who once destroyed you, and will again.”
Aria’s pulse raced. She remembered Lucien’s desperate golden eyes, his trembling hands, the raw panic in his voice as she had collapsed. And yet here Nikolai stood, his words weaving doubts like a net.
“What do you want from me?” she asked quietly.
Nikolai’s eyes darkened. “The truth.”
Meanwhile, at the Grand Imperial Hotel, chaos reigned.
Lucien Blackwood stormed through the ballroom, his aura crackling, his golden eyes blazing. His wolf howled inside him, desperate, furious, half-mad.
“She’s gone!” one of his men reported breathlessly. We saw a black car speed away from the service entrance. She was inside.
Lucien’s fists clenched so tightly his knuckles whitened. The scent of Aria lingered faintly in the air, mingling with the stench of another Alpha. Nikolai.
Rage flared, hot and consuming. “Nikolai Drax.”
Guests whispered in terror as the Alpha’s fury shook the walls. His allies tried to calm him, but Lucien’s wolf was barely contained. They took her. They dared to take what is ours.
Lucien’s voice was a growl, low and lethal. “Gather the trackers. We find her. Now.”
Back in Nikolai’s hidden estate, Aria’s chest rose and fell in uneven breaths. She sat on the edge of a velvet chaise, her hands trembling slightly as Nikolai poured a glass of dark wine and handed it to her.
She did not touch it.
“You know what he did to you,” Nikolai said smoothly. He humiliated you, cast you aside, left you to die in the dirt. And now he clings to you, not because of love, but because of the bond. He cannot control his wolf.
Aria’s throat tightened. The memory of Lucien’s kiss, his desperate confession, burned in her mind. The pain of the bond still throbbed faintly, proof that Nikolai was not entirely wrong.
“You don’t know him,” she whispered.
“I know enough,” Nikolai countered. “I know his pack hides a secret." I know his hands are stained with betrayal. And I know you are caught in the middle of it. Do you think it was mere cruelty when he rejected you? No, Miss Vale. It was calculated. He was protecting himself, not you.”
Her heart lurched. “Protecting… himself?”
Nikolai leaned closer, his gray eyes sharp. “One day, I will show you what he has done. And when that day comes, you will understand why you can never trust him again.”
Aria’s fingers dug into her gown. Her heart screamed for answers, for truth, but her wolf whimpered, restless, torn.
Lucien’s golden eyes flashed in her mind. His voice, raw with regret, echoed. I was wrong.
Her chest ached.
Hours passed. Nikolai left her under guard, his men watching silently from the corners of the room. Aria paced restlessly, her heart racing. Every instinct screamed at her to escape, but the walls felt like they were closing in.
Then, suddenly, the air shifted.
The heavy doors slammed open.
Lucien Blackwood stormed into the room, his aura blazing, his wolf barely leashed. His golden eyes locked instantly on Aria, and his chest heaved as though he had run through fire to reach her.
“Aria,” he breathed.
Relief and fury surged through her at once. “Lucien.”
But before she could move, Nikolai appeared from the shadows, his gray eyes gleaming. His men raised their weapons, surrounding Lucien.
The room erupted in growls, tension snapping like a bowstring.
Lucien’s gaze never left Aria. His voice was low, feral. “Come to me.”
Her body trembled, her wolf clawing at her chest, desperate to obey. The bond flared, tugging her toward him. But before she could take a step, Nikolai’s arm slid around her shoulders, holding her firmly.
“She stays,” Nikolai said coldly. “She chose nothing tonight." You lost her three years ago, Blackwood.”
Lucien’s golden eyes blazed, his wolf roaring. “I will tear you apart.”
Aria’s pulse raced, her chest burning. Two Alphas, circling, ready for war.
And she. Caught in the middle, bound by a bond she hated, lured by truths she feared.
Her knees weakened as the pain of the tether surged again. Her vision blurred, the scar on her wrist blazing painfully.
“Lucien…” she whispered.
Her body collapsed. Darkness swallowed her.
The last thing she felt was Nikolai’s grip tightening as Lucien lunged forward too late.
- Writer
