Blood and throne
1786 Words
The great hall of the Thorne Chen pack was a cathedral of fang and fur.
Torches flickered in iron sconces along the stone walls, casting dancing shadows that made the mounted wolf heads look alive. Their glass eyes gleamed. Their frozen snarls promised violence. The ceiling disappeared into darkness above, lost to centuries of smoke and secrets.
At the far end of the hall, carved from a single block of black oak, stood the throne.
Alpha Vane Thorne Chen sat upon it like a god judging the living.
He was massive. Broad shoulders straining against the leather of his tunic. His dark hair fell across his forehead, wild and unkempt. His grey eyes burned with the amber glow of his wolf, close to the surface, always close.
Across his lap, draped like a queen claiming her king, sat his Luna.
She was smaller than him. Softer. But no less dangerous. Her silver hair spilled over her bare shoulders. Her legs hung over the armrest of the throne, one foot bare, the other still wearing a heel. Her dress had ridden up to her thighs. She didn't fix it.
She never did.
Vane's hand rested on her thigh. His fingers traced slow circles on her skin. His thumb brushed higher with every pass.
The pack elders sat in a semicircle below the throne. Ten of them. Ancient wolves with gray muzzles and older eyes. They watched the throne. They did not look away.
In wolf culture, the Alpha's dominance was not hidden. His power was not performed behind closed doors. It was displayed. It was witnessed. It was remembered.
Vane lowered his head to his Luna's neck.
She tilted her head. Offered her throat.
His teeth grazed her skin. Once. Twice. She shivered.
"Mark me," she whispered. Loud enough for the elders to hear. "Remind them who I belong to."
He bit down.
She gasped. Her back arched. Her claws dug into his shoulders, shredding the leather of his tunic. Blood welled where his fangs pierced her skin. She moaned. Low. Deep. Animal.
The elders shifted in their seats. Some looked away. Most did not.
Vane pulled back. His lips were red. His eyes were blazing.
"Your turn," he growled.
She leaned forward. Bit his neck. Hard.
He groaned. His hand tightened on her thigh. His claws extended, pricking her skin through the fabric of her dress. She sucked. Licked. Marked him the way he had marked her.
The hall was silent except for the sound of their breathing. Heavy. Labored. Wanting.
Then Vane looked up.
"Bring him in."
---
The doors opened.
Two guards dragged Beta Kaelen's father between them. His arms were twisted behind his back. His feet scraped against the stone floor. His face was pale. His eyes were wild.
He was trembling.
They threw him to the ground in front of the throne. He landed on his knees. His hands were shaking. His whole body was shaking.
Vane did not stand. Did not stop touching his Luna. His hand remained on her thigh. His thumb continued its slow circles.
"Beta Aldric," Vane said. His voice was low. Calm. Deadly.
"Alpha." Aldric's voice cracked. "Please. Whatever my son has done—"
"Your son disgraced my daughter."
The words fell like stones. Heavy. Final.
Aldric's face crumpled. "He is young. He made a mistake. Please, Alpha. I beg you. He is my only son."
"Your only son." Vane's hand stopped moving. "I have one daughter. One heir. And your son took her to the marking room on the night of her engagement and f****d her best friend."
His Luna flinched. Her claws dug deeper into his shoulders.
Aldric wept. "Please. Please. He will apologize. He will leave the territory. He will—"
"He will do nothing." Vane leaned forward. His eyes burned. "Because I did not want this mating."
The hall went still.
"I did not want your son. Your bloodline. Your weak Beta genes touching my daughter. I only allowed it because she loved him. Because she begged me. Because she stood in front of this throne and called me a monster for not seeing his worth."
His hand left his Luna's thigh. He stood.
She slid off his lap. Did not stumble. Did not fall. She was a wolf. She landed on her feet.
Vane walked down the steps of the throne. His boots echoed on the stone. He stopped in front of Aldric. Looked down at him.
"And your son had the audacity to humiliate her. On the night of her engagement. In front of every Alpha in the country."
Aldric pressed his forehead to the floor. "Mercy. Please. Mercy."
"By the power invested in me as Alpha of Alphas," Vane said, his voice rising, filling the hall, "I banish Kaelen from this pack."
Aldric screamed.
"He is rogue. He has no territory. No protection. No family. His name will be struck from our records. His blood will be forgotten. He is dead to us."
"No!" Aldric lunged forward. The guards grabbed him. Held him back. "He is a child! He made a mistake! Please!"
Vane turned his back.
"Take him out."
Aldric screamed as the guards dragged him toward the doors. His cries echoed off the stone walls.
The heavy doors slammed shut, the echo of the Beta’s screams still vibrating in the cold stone of the hall. The elders remained frozen in their seats, their eyes darting toward the Alpha of Alphas.
Vane didn't sit back down. He stood at the base of the throne, his presence expanding until the room felt too small to contain his shadow. He pulled a heavy, silver-cased pocket watch from his tunic and clicked it open.
"Twelve hours," Vane said, his voice a low, terrifying rumble.
"The clock is ticking," he added .his voice echoing with a cold, formal authority. "The Covenant of the Gavel expires at midnight. For centuries this treaty has kept the peace between us, the vampires, and the rest. It is the only thing keeping the streets from running red."
He looked up, his amber eyes sharp and unyielding as he stare at the council members.
"Tomorrow morning, we travel to the Citadel of the Obsidian Gavel. The Council of All Supernaturals is expecting the Thorne Chen signature to lead the way, as it always has. They have heard the whispers of what happened at the engagement. They think I am distracted. They think the North is shaking."
He let out a low, dangerous chuckle.
"I will sign that treaty. I will ensure the peace holds for another Ten years. But I will do it with my head held high and my claws sharp. I will show them that a Beta’s mistake does not weaken the Alpha of Alphas. Prepare the convoy. We go to the Citadel to remind them who truly anchors the peace of this world."
He dismissed them with a sharp flick of his wrist.The elders bowed deeply and One by one, they stood, bowed to the throne, and walked toward the exit. Their footsteps faded down the corridor. The torches flickered. The shadows danced.
Soon, only Vane and his Luna remained.
She walked to him. Her hips swayed. Her bare feet made no sound on the cold stone.
He turned to face her.
"Thornewood Academy," he said.
She stopped in front of him. Looked up into his eyes.
"She leaves soon."
"Why there?"
"Because she needs to heal."
He let out a short, bitter laugh. "Heal. She is the daughter of the Alpha of Alphas. She does not need to heal. She needs to find a mate. A proper mate. An Alpha mate."
"There are wolves at Thornewood."
"Few." He stepped closer. His hand found her waist. "And the wolves of the South have always stayed clear of our affairs. They do not bow to me. They do not answer to me. They will not want my daughter."
His Luna's hand cupped his jaw. Turned his face toward hers.
"Lyra is not your heir. She is your daughter. Your only daughter. And she is broken."
"She should have listened."
"She was in love."
"Love." The word dripped with contempt. "Love is for humans. Love is for the weak. We are wolves. We have mates. We have bonds. We have duty."
His Luna's eyes flashed. Amber bled into brown.
"And yet you marked me. You claimed me. Not because of duty. Because you wanted me."
He was silent.
"I was not your fated mate, Vane. I was your choice. And you fought your own father to keep me."
He looked away.
She pulled his face back. Forced him to look at her.
"Let her go. Let her heal. Let her find herself before she finds a mate."
"And if she doesn't find one?"
"Then she will be like me. A chosen mate. Not a fated one."
He stared at her. His grey eyes were cold. But something flickered behind them. Something softer.
"The pack will talk."
"The pack always talks."
"Tongues are already wagging." His voice dropped. "The Alpha of Alphas' daughter. Rejected. Humiliated. Unable to keep even a Beta's son."
His Luna's hand tightened on his jaw.
"Then let them talk. She is our daughter. She is blood of our blood. And she will rise again."
Vane was quiet for a long moment.
Then he pulled her close. His teeth grazed her neck.
"If she fails again—"
"She won't."
"If she brings shame to this house again—"
"She won't."
He bit down. Hard.
She gasped. Her claws dug into his shoulders. Her back arched against him. He held her there, his fangs deep in her throat, her blood hot on his tongue.
"Then she has until the end of the next three full moon," he growled against her skin. Vane turned his back on the window, his eyes settling on Enzo, his Lead Enforcer.
"Send word to the three Northern Alpha heirs—Lukas, Silas, and Jaxon," Vane commanded, his voice cold and final. "Tell them my daughter is at Thornewood. Tell them they have my permission to watch. To wait."
He leaned into the light, his fangs glinting.
"she has until the end of the third full moon to find a mate of her choosing. If the moon sets on that third night and she is still unclaimed... tell them the hunt is open. Whoever catches her claims her".
Vane looked back at the gray horizon with a dark, heartless smirk.
"Let's see how fast the rejected Luna learns to run when she realizes she's being tracked by the deadliest wolves in the North."
- Writer
