Claimed By A Midnight King

Chapter 11

Dominic’s pov

The great hall was a graveyard of grey dust and shattered stone.

I knelt in the center of the ruin, my chest heaving, the black mist of my shadow-aura slowly receding back into my skinq. The silence in the room was deafening, broken only by the haggard, wheezing gasps of the Sun Clan chemist slumped against the far wall.

But I wasn’t looking at Sofia Thorne. I was looking down at the girl in my arms.

Vivian was completely unconscious, her head lying back against my bicep. The violent, terrifying violet light that had turned my Citadel to a war zone was gone, leaving her impossibly pale and fragile. Her skin was ice cold, her white blonde hair clinging to her sweat-dampened forehead. But beneath her pale skin, something has changed.

For the time since my night patrols had dragged her out of the woods, the suffocating, sickly scent of chemical suppressants was gone. In its place, was the raw scent of ozone, rain, and a newly awakened wolf.

Her beast was finally breathing. And even in her unconsciousness, it was reaching out for mine.

“Mate”, my wolf purred, a possessive rumble vibrating in my chest. My beast didn’t care about the blistered burns on my forearms where her magic had burned me. It only cared that the fragile creature in my arms was finally smelling like ours.

I squeezed my eyes shut, grinding my teeth so hard my jaw tightened. She’s a Valerius, I reminded myself, forcing the human logic over feral instinct. She is the daughter of the man who slaughtered your people. She is the enemy. This was a mantra I had repeated a thousand times. But as I brushed a grey ash stain from her cheek, the words felt terrifyingly hollow.

“Alpha”.

Silas’s voice cut through the truly heavy air. I opened my eyes. My friend was pushing off the floor, brushing the dust from his mantle. He looked at the melted remains of the three-inch iron vault door, and then at Vivian.

“The chemist is alive”, Silas reported quietly, keeping his metallic silver eyes carefully averted from the protective way I was holding the girl. “But the citadel is waking up. The vanguard felt the magic. They are coming”.

As if on cue, the heavy thud of armoured boots echoes up the staircase.

I didn’t hesitate. I slid one arm under Vivian’s knees and the other behind her back, lifting her against my chest. She weighed absolutely nothing. Ten years of starvation and chemical testing have left her with the bone structure of a bird. The fact that she was able to level my great hall with this body, this broken one, was a terrifying testament to the god-like power of the Astrea.

A dozen Northern warriors bust through the ruined archway of the Great Wall, with their swords drawn.

At their head was elder jarek

The massive wolf stopped dead in his tracks. His grey eyes swept over the dissolved oak doors, the ruined dimming table, and the still-smoking scorch marks on the wall. Finally, his gaze landed on me, and the unconscious girl in my arms.

“What in the Moon's name has happened here?” Jarek roared, his hand gripping his iron-tipped staff so tightly his knuckles turned white. He pointed a trembling finger at Vivian.

“The Solari rat did this? You brought a weapon of mass destruction into the heart of the mountains, Dominic!”

My wolf shook at the Elder's tone. I straightened my spine, letting the overwhelming, suffocating pressure of my alpha aura bleed into the room. Several of the younger guards instantly averted their eyes and bared their throats, but Jarek held his ground.

“She’s not a rat Jarek”, I said, my voice, a low gravelly vibration that promised violence if he took another step. “She is a prisoner of war. And she’s my leverage against the Sun clan.

“She is a Valerius! Jarek spat out, stepping over a pile of ash. He gestured to the wheezing Sofia Thorne in the corner. “And you have the Sun chemist. We have the leverage we need. Give the girl to the vanguard. Let them kill her in the courtyard for the destruction of the Great Hall. It's the justice you promised us for our people's murder as well as your father”.

His words hit me exactly where they were supposed to—right in the center of my honor and grief.

I looked down at Vivian's face. I saw the violet crescent moon mark on her neck—the exact mirror of the brand seared into my own flesh. If I handed her over to Jarek, they would tear her up before dawn. My father’s ghost would be avenged. And my wolf would tear my own heart out of my chest.

“No”, I said flatly.

Jarek's face twisted in anger. “Dominic—”

“I said no”, I roared, the sound echoing off the cracked stones of the ceiling. I stepped toward the elder, forcing him to look up at me. “She just burned through ten years of magical suppression in ten minutes. She is completely defenceless. And until I know exactly how her magic works, no one touches her!”

I didn't wait for Jarek's response, I turned to my right-hand man. “Silas, throw the chemist in the deep cells. Strip her of any other weapons or vials. If she speaks, cut her tongue out”.

I adjusted my grip on Vivian, holding tighter against my chest, and walked directly toward the line of guards. “Move”.

They parted instantly, pressing their backs against the wall to let me pass.

I carried her down the freezing corridors toward the infirmary. The anger in my chest was slowly being replaced by a cold creeping dread. The violet fire has burned so hot. I could hear the shallow, erratic thump of her heartbeat against my own.

I kicked the wooden doors of the healing ward open.

Freya, the pack healer, dropped a bundle of dried herbs at the sight of me.

“Clear a table”, I barked, striding past her and laying Vivian gently onto the closest examination table. “She burned out. Her magic broke the suppressant”.

Freya didn't waste time asking questions. She instantly moved to press her two fingers to Vivian's pulse point at her neck.

“Her temperature is plummeting”, Freya muttered, grabbing a thick wool blanket and throwing it over the girl.

“Alpha, her physical body isn't built to carry that kind of raw energy. The magic fed on itself, and her core is completely emptied out”.

“Well, can you fix it?” I demanded, pacing behind the table like a caged animal.

“I can't fix a shattered glass with bandages”, Freya responded. “She needs mortal fuel, warmth, and time. If she tries to use whatever made her this way again, it will feed on her organs. She'll be dead before she hits the floor”.

I looked at the pale, unconscious girl who had just levelled a room of warriors, only to break her own body in the process.

She was utterly magicless now. She was surrounded by a mountain of wolves who wanted her head on a spike. And the only thing standing between her and a brutal execution was a scarred Alpha who was supposed to hate her.

“Elara!” I shouted toward the supply closet. The mousy—haired maid squeaked, darting out from behind the canvas partition, with her brown eyes wide open.

I looked back at Vivian one last time. I felt the bond pulsed—a weak, fragile heartbeat against my ribs.

I had to leave this room. I had to go back out there and convince a furious elder council and hundreds of bloodthirsty warriors that I was keeping the Valerius girl alive out of a reckless political act, and not because I was already hopelessly tethered to her.

I turned on my heel and walked out of the infirmary, the heavy iron doors clanging shut behind me.

The corridors were lined with six of my personal guards. Their eyes were gold, their bodies tense with the expectation of a kill. They were looking at the door I had just closed.

“Alpha”, the lead guard said, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. “The council is waiting. They want to know when the execution is scheduled.

“There is no execution scheduled “, I snapped, walking past them. “Keep your blades sheathed and your mouth shut”.

I headed toward the Great Hall, my boots striking against the stone with a rhythmic, violent thud. I had a clan ready to devour her and place her head on a spike, and I was the only one standing in their way.