Chapter 5
1412 Words
Even at two in the morning, men moved through its endless halls, answering quiet phone calls, guarding steel doors, and patrolling every corner of the Dragov estate.
Inside the west wing, however...
Silence.
Alpha Dragov stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows of his office, one hand tucked into the pocket of his black trousers, the other wrapped around a crystal glass of untouched whiskey.
Beyond the glass, rain fell steadily over the estate.
His reflection stared back at him.
Cold.
Unreadable.
Unmoved.
Only one thing had changed.
His wolf refused to be silent.
Mate.
The word echoed again.
Persistent.
Demanding.
Annoying.
Dragov's jaw tightened.
"Enough."
The beast retreated, but only for a moment.
It never truly left.
A knock came at the office door.
"Enter."
The door opened almost immediately.
Nikolai stepped inside first, followed by Viktor, Dimitri and Mikhail—his most trusted men.
Men who had fought beside him for years.
Men who had helped him build the Dragov Syndicate into an empire feared across Europe.
No one spoke.
Not until their Alpha did.
Dragov turned away from the window.
"The girl leaves before dawn."
Nikolai frowned.
"Leaves?"
"I've changed my mind."
Viktor exchanged a brief glance with Dimitri.
"You want her transferred?"
"To Raven House."
The room fell silent.
Raven House.
A fortress hidden deep within the northern forests.
Very few people knew it existed.
Even fewer knew where to find it.
It was where Dragov hid the things his enemies could never be allowed to reach.
"If I may ask..." Nikolai began carefully.
"Why?"
Dragov studied the men before him.
He trusted them.
Or at least...
He believed he did.
"Because she cannot remain here."
No one understood.
Not completely.
The girl had attempted to escape only hours ago.
Surely a more secure cell inside the mansion would be enough.
Unless...
There was another reason.
Nikolai watched his Alpha closely.
"You believe someone is coming for her."
"I don't believe."
Dragov's voice was calm.
"I know."
The room grew noticeably colder.
For years, rival Alphas, rogue packs and Bratva families had searched endlessly for something they could use against Alpha Dragov.
They had found nothing.
No wife.
No children.
No family worth threatening.
Nothing.
Until now.
Dragov finally spoke the words he had spent the entire day refusing to acknowledge.
"She's my mate."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Viktor blinked.
Mikhail looked genuinely stunned.
Even Nikolai, a man rarely surprised by anything, stared at him for several long seconds.
"...An omega?" Viktor asked quietly.
Dragov's expression darkened.
"As if I needed reminding."
No one dared speak again.
His wolf growled at the insult, but Dragov ignored it.
He wasn't offended because Selene was an omega.
He was irritated because Fate had burdened him with anyone at all.
A mate was leverage.
A weakness.
A liability.
Everything he had spent a lifetime eliminating.
"I don't care what the Moon Goddess intended."
His voice was cold enough to freeze the room.
"She remains a problem that must be managed."
Nikolai folded his hands behind his back.
"And Raven House?"
"It has no staff beyond those I trust."
"No visitors."
"No records."
"No one will know she's there."
He looked at each man individually.
"She leaves before sunrise."
Then his gaze hardened.
"What I'm about to say never leaves this room."
Every man nodded.
"If word spreads..." Dragov continued quietly, "...every enemy I've ever made will come looking for her."
He paused.
"And they'll use her to reach me."
His men understood.
This wasn't about protecting the girl.
It was about protecting the empire.
"Not a single soul is to know she is my mate."
"Understood, Alpha," they answered in unison.
Dragov gave one final order.
"Prepare two vehicles."
"Two?"
"The first is a decoy."
Realization dawned across Nikolai's face.
"If anyone is watching..."
"They'll follow the wrong convoy."
A faint smile touched Nikolai's lips.
Typical Dragov.
Always five moves ahead.
Always calculating.
Always impossible to outthink.
"I'll make the arrangements immediately."
Dragov dismissed them with a slight nod.
One by one, the men left the office.
The heavy wooden door closed behind the last of them.
Or so Dragov believed.
Outside the office...
A figure remained standing in the shadows.
He waited until the hallway was empty before slowly pulling a phone from inside his coat.
His hands were steady.
His face unreadable.
He typed only six words.
The Butcher has found his mate.
He hesitated for only a second before pressing send.
Somewhere far beyond the walls of the Dragov estate...
The message was received.
______
Selene hated sleeping in a stranger's house.
Especially one that belonged to a man like Alpha Dragov.
She had learned one thing since arriving at the mansion.
Nothing was ever as it seemed.
The soft bed.
The expensive clothes.
The guards who never left her door.
It was all a beautifully decorated cage.
And cages had only one purpose.
To keep something inside.
Selene lay beneath the covers, her eyes open as she stared at the ceiling.
She had hidden the small blade beneath her pillow.
A habit.
A reminder.
No matter where she was...
She would never sleep completely unprotected.
Eventually, exhaustion won.
Her eyes slowly closed.
But even asleep, her body remained alert.
Years of training did not disappear simply because she was tired.
That was why, when the window opened silently, her breathing changed.
A shadow entered the room.
Slow.
Careful.
Professional.
The person moved like someone trained to kill.
Not a guard.
Not one of Dragov's men.
Someone else.
The assassin looked down at the sleeping girl.
The famous weakness of the Butcher of the North.
The information had spread quickly.
Too quickly.
Everyone had waited years for Alpha Dragov to have something worth taking.
A mate.
A woman.
A vulnerability.
And now they finally had one.
The assassin raised the blade.
"Such a shame," he whispered.
Selene's eyes opened.
But before she could move—
The bedroom door exploded open.
The assassin turned.
Too late.
Alpha Dragov was already there.
The room seemed to change the moment he entered.
The coldness.
The silence.
The absolute danger.
This was the man people feared.
Not the businessman.
Not the Alpha who sat behind a desk.
The predator.
The Butcher.
The assassin barely had time to react before Dragov reached him.
One movement.
One strike.
The attacker hit the floor.
Selene pushed herself upright, her hand immediately searching for her blade.
But she stopped.
Because she had never seen anything like this.
The man standing before her was not fighting.
He was ending it.
Efficiently.
Without emotion.
Without hesitation.
The assassin's weapon fell to the floor.
Dragov stood over him, his expression colder than the winter outside.
Then silence returned.
Heavy.
Terrifying.
Selene stared at him.
For the first time, she understood why everyone lowered their eyes when he entered a room.
The stories were not exaggerated.
They were warnings.
Dragov turned toward the guards who had rushed in behind him.
"Lock down the estate."
His voice was calm.
Almost too calm.
"Find out how he entered."
The guards immediately moved.
Then his eyes shifted back to Selene.
She expected anger.
Maybe satisfaction.
Maybe a cruel reminder that she was helpless without him.
Instead, his expression became unreadable.
"Are you hurt?"
The question caught her off guard.
She recovered quickly.
"Do you actually care?"
His jaw tightened slightly.
"No."
The answer came too quickly.
Of course.
That sounded more like him.
Selene looked away.
Alpha Dragov only watched her.
He looked toward the door.
Then back at her.
"Change of plans."
Selene frowned.
"What?"
"You are no longer staying in this room."
Her expression hardened.
For a moment, Dragov said nothing.
Then he stepped closer.
Not enough to threaten.
Enough to make her listen.
"You're moving to my wing."
Selene stared at him.
"No."
It was immediate.
Absolute.
Dragov almost admired the certainty.
Almost.
"That wasn't a request."
"And I wasn't asking."
For a second, neither of them moved.
Two wolves refusing to surrender.
Then Dragov turned away.
"Prepare her room."
Selene's anger rose.
"I said no."
He stopped at the doorway.
Without looking back, he spoke.
"Little raven..."
His voice was quiet.
Dangerously quiet.
"If you leave my sight now, someone will try again."
A pause.
"And next time, I might not arrive in time."
The words unsettled her more than she wanted to admit.
Because for the first time...
She realized something terrifying.
Alpha Dragov wasn't the only danger in this world.
- Writer
