Claimed By A Midnight King

Chapter 17

Vivian's pov

The freezing stone tunnel was dead silent, save for the ragged, heavy sound of Dominic fighting for every breathe.

Silas stood over the body of Elder Jarek, his silver eyes coldly analysing the blood pooling on the stones. The political reality was a tangled, terrifying knot. Jarek hadn’t freed the prisoner. Someone else slaughtered his men, and opened the cage, and then slit Jarek’s throat to make him look like the mastermind.

But as I looked at the horrific burn on Dominic’s shoulder, hunting a traitor felt secondary to the terrifying reality that the Alpha was bleeding out on the floor.

“We have to move him”, Silas ordered, stepping over Jarek’s corpse. “Whoever really did this might send guards down here to ensure the Alpha is dead”.

I slid my arms under Dominic’s heavy left shoulder avoiding his affected right side. Silas took the brunt of his weight at the other side.

Tighter, we carried him to his feet. Dominic let out a low, raw groan. He weighed easily over two hundred pounds of solid muscle and bone. Even with Silas carrying most of the burden, my knees gave way under his heavy presence. But as his body pressed against me, my recently awakened wolf pushed against my ribs.

“Hold him”, the beats demanded, lending a sudden, desperate strength to my frail limbs.

“We cannot go to the infirmary”, Silas grunted as we dragged him toward the hidden servant stairwells. “If the real traitor has accomplices in the inner guard, walking a bleeding Alpha into a public ward is a death sentence”.

“The high tower”, Dominic rasped, his chin resting near the crown of my head, his rough voice vibrated against my ears.“My quarters “.

The climb was a gruelling nightmare. Silas guided us through narrow, freezing passageways woven into the mountain’s architecture.

Everytime we heard the heavy clank of armoured boots echoing in the main corridors, we stood frozen in the dark.

Dominic suffered in absolute terrifying silence. His jaw locked so tight I thought his teeth would shatter.

Finally, we reached the heavy, iron branded oak door of his private quarters. Silas pressed his hands against the wood, murmuring a harsh command, and the deadbolts slid back.

We carried him inside and lowered him onto the massive timber bed. Dominic immediately slumped into the dark furs, his chest heaving as the fever from the silver residue spiked.

“Lock the doors”, Dominic slurred, his amber eyes slipping shut.

Silas secured the iron bolts. “I need to fetch medical supplies. If the infection reaches his heart, he’s dead”.

“But if you go to the apothecary, they will ask questions”, I warned, wrapping my hands around myself as the cold of the room seeped into my bones.

“I won’t go to the apothecary”, Silas replied.

He cracked the heavy door just an inch and slipped out into the corridors like smoke. I stood alone in the dim light, listening to Dominic’s ragged breathing.

I counted every ragged breath Dominic took. Finally, two quiet, fast knocks sounded at the door.

I pulled the bolts back. Silas stepped inside, but he wasn’t alone.

He was practically dragging a young woman by her elbow.

It was Elara, the mousy-haired omega maid who had guarded me in the infirmary. She was clutching a woven basket to her chest, trembling so fast she looked like she was about to faint. Silas released her arm, his metallic eyes completely devoid of their usual harshness.

“Put the basket down, Elara”, Silas instructed, his voice low and gentle.

“Beta Silas , please, if the vanguard catches me up here….” Elara stammered, tears welling in her wide brown eyes. She was the lowered ranking caste in the pack, terrified of stepping out of line.

“No one is going to touch you. You are under my shadow tonight”, Silas said, stepping between her and the door. He reached out, his gloved fingers lightly catching her chin to force her to look at him instead of the bleeding Alpha on the bed.

“You did well, little bird. Go back to the kitchen. Speak to no one”.

Elera swallowed hard, a faint flush rising to her cheeks at Silas’s touch. She gave a frantic nod before slipping back out the door.

I grabbed the basket. It was packed with clean linen, a jug of distilled water and tightly tied roots. Silas had completely bypassed the official channels and used the invisible servants of the Citadel to get what we needed.

“Start cleaning the wounds”, Silas ordered, drawing his twin blades. “I have to get back out there. The vanguard we’ll be waking up soon, and I need to know what Kael is doing about Jarek’s body”.

Before I could protest, Silas slipped back out the door, the heavy locks clicking shut from the outside.