Claimed By A Midnight King

Chapter 9

Dominic POV.

The iron door slammed shut, but her scent still lingered in my lungs. It lingered like a poison I didn’t want the antidote for.

Property.

The words Silas had just spoken didn’t register in my human mind. It hit the base of my spine, waking a low tectonic growl that vibrated through my bones. My wolf—the beast the North called the Midnight king, was pacing behind my ribs, his claw dragging against my composure. He didn’t see a traitor's daughter. He saw our mate. And the idea of anyone calling her property made him want to paint the snow with Solari blood.

I strode down the dark corridor of the dungeon level, my boots hammering against the stone.

Silas fell into step beside me, his movement silent despite

The frantic pace. “It’s a black carriage, Alpha marked with the high councils seal. She didn’t bring an army, just her personal guards”.

“She won’t need an army if she thinks she’s walking out of here with Vivian”, I snapped my vision tunneling as rage ook over. “I’ll rip her head if her shoulders before she takes one step onto the shadow soil”.

Silas was leaning against the cold stone of the corridor, arms locked tight across his chest. In all the North, he was the only soul who didn’t flinch when I looked at him with amber eyes. As my spymaster; he was my logic and the only friend brave enough to tell me when I was being a fool.

The question hung between us, sharp and heavy. I couldn’t admit that holding Vivian had felt like first breath of air after a decade of drowning. I couldn’t admit that when I smelled her power waking up in her blood, my wolf wanted to howl in triumph.

“She’s a weapon”, I muttered, my voice turning to ice as I tried to ignore the frantic thudding of my heart. “Damain Helios kept her in a haze because he was scared of what she could do. If the Sun Clan is trembling, I want that power in my hands. I want to aim her at their walls and watch everything they love turn to ash”.

“A weapon you can use”, Silas countered, his voice dripping with quiet cruelty. “Or a woman you can’t bear to let go.Silas pushed, his silver eyes calculating as we reached the stairs leading up to the Great Hall. “The men saw the violet sparks earlier. They know the bond is making you erratic. If you kill a High Council chemist over a Solari maid, it means war”.

“Then we go to war”, I growled, taking the stairs lunged for him, my hand itching to slam him into the stone, but a frantic , hollow pounding from the Great Wall stopped me. The air suddenly felt thick, heavy with the rhythm of boots thundering towards us.

“And the girl?” Silas asked, already heading towards the stairs.

“Lock the vault”, I commanded. “If she hears Sofia's voice, the panic will trigger her power. She’s not ready. If she cracks now, she’ll destroy the entire Citadel with all of us inside”.

I sprinted towards the Great Hall, my fang sharpening. The scent hit me—an overpowering mix of artificial jasmine and chemicals. It was the distinct odor of the woman who had kept my mate locked away for ten years.

I pushed through the enormous oak doors of the Citadel. The courtyard was bathed in the sickly orange light of a dying sunset. The back carriage sat like a coffin in the center of the snow.

The door opened.

Sofia Thorne stepped out, looking exactly as Vivian had described—sharp, elegant and utterly cold. She held a small velvet lined box in her hands, her green eyes scanning my warriors with bored contempt.

“Alpha Vane”, She said, her voice smooth yet suffocating. “I believe you have something that belongs to me —a very ill, very dangerous little girl”.

“She’s not yours anymore, Sofia”. I said, stepping into the light. My claws began to tip my fingers, the skin splitting as the wolf demanded to be let out. “In the North we have a saying. Finders, keepers”.

Sofia smiled, and it was the most lethal thing I had ever seen. She held up the box. “I don’t think you understand, Alpha. Vivian doesn’t belong to me. She belongs to the Astraea protocol. And without the daily stabilisation I provide…”

She clicked the lid of the box open. Inside sat a single, glowing vial.

“….she has exactly six hours before her heart stops beating. So, shall we stop posturing and get to the trade? My medicine for your prisoner”.

My world tilted. I looked at the vial, then back at the citadel where Vivian lay shivering in the dark.

I had six hours to choose: Give her back to the monster who had broken her, or watch my fated mate die in my arms.