Hand Behind the Hunt
1312 Words
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Hand Behind the Hunt
The city lights flickered.
Then died.
One block.
Ten blocks.
An entire skyline falling into darkness.
Rain turned black under the cloud mass forming above the ruined tower.
And every Tribunal operative stood motionless with weapons raised.
Eyes silver.
Faces empty.
Waiting.
*****
Cassandra
Her mother’s hand gripped hers so tightly it hurt.
Good.
Pain was grounding.
Real.
Because everything else felt like nightmare.
“Mom,” she whispered, the word strange and sacred at once.
Cicilia’s breath caught.
Then she squeezed harder.
“I’m here.”
Those two words nearly undid Cassandra more than any attack.
But there was no time to break.
The soldiers moved.
All at once.
*****
First Blood
Bosco fired first.
Two precise shots shattered weapons from the nearest operatives.
Jason shifted fully this time, a massive wolf form bursting through torn clothing, silver eyes blazing.
Maxwell shifted partially, retaining human balance with claws and heightened speed.
Lucien smiled like a prince invited to his own coronation.
Then transformed.
His lycan form towered above the others, sleek black fur threaded with silver markings, crown-like ridges along his skull, eyes burning amber.
Julie screamed.
“That one gets hotter when violent!”
No one responded.
*****
The Battle Lines
“Protect the women and child!” Jason roared.
Cassandra glared.
“I am one of the battle lines.”
He didn’t argue.
Smart man.
Seraphine tore a pulse baton from a possessed guard and spun into combat with terrifying efficiency.
“I did not come to die for bureaucrats,” she snapped.
Bosco smirked darkly.
“Best sentence you’ve said all night.”
*****
The Sky Opens Again
The descending shape above the city clarified.
Not a beast.
Not a ship.
A structure.
Floating.
Ancient black metal wrapped in veins of silver light.
A fortress suspended in stormcloud.
Lucien’s amusement vanished.
“I know that architecture.”
Seraphine looked horrified.
“No…”
Maxwell slashed through two advancing operatives.
“What is it?”
Lucien answered quietly.
“The old Lycan Citadel.”
Jason snarled. “Impossible. It was destroyed.”
“Apparently,” Lucien said, “it learned persistence.”
*****
The Voice
A beam of pale light struck the street below.
From it stepped a man.
Tall.
Broad-shouldered.
Silver-haired.
Impossibly composed.
He wore no armor, only a dark coat lined with old royal insignia.
Power rolled from him in suffocating waves.
Every wolf in the street felt it.
Even Jason staggered.
Lucien’s face went still.
Then cold.
“Father.”
*****
Prince No More
Cassandra looked sharply at Lucien.
“Your father?”
Lucien did not look at her.
“Yes.”
The man smiled faintly.
“Lucien. You disappoint me.”
“You raised expectations too high.”
The newcomer’s eyes shifted to Cassandra.
And warmed with predatory interest.
“There she is.”
Every male on Cassandra’s side moved instinctively closer.
Bosco first.
Jason second.
Maxwell third.
Lucien fourth, though he pretended otherwise.
*****
The Hidden Master
Seraphine’s voice was tight.
“King Malrec Varik.”
She spat the name like poison.
“Declared dead thirty years ago.”
Malrec inclined his head.
“Death was administratively convenient.”
Julie whispered, “I hate when powerful men do dramatic reveals.”
Still no one responded.
*****
Why Omega Black Existed
Malrec clasped his hands behind his back.
“The Council feared many things. Human uprisings. Pack rebellions. Hybrid bloodlines.”
His gaze settled on Cassandra.
“But they feared prophecy most.”
Cicilia stiffened.
Bosco’s hand found hers instinctively.
Malrec smiled.
“A female born of hidden line and awakened source would command loyalty across species.”
Jason stepped forward.
“She commands herself.”
Malrec dismissed him with a glance.
“So I helped create Omega Black.”
Seraphine’s face twisted.
“You manipulated us.”
“I used willing fools.”
Her baton crackled.
“I should have killed you years ago.”
“You tried.”
*****
Cassandra’s Rage
All the years of pain.
Slavery.
Hiding.
Hunting.
Her mother stolen.
Her life engineered by cowards.
All of it focused.
On him.
“You built my suffering.”
Malrec’s eyes gleamed.
“I built your necessity.”
She nearly tore the street apart then and there.
But Jay tugged her sleeve.
“Mommy…”
She looked down.
His face was scared.
Instantly, she steadied.
Not for Malrec.
For Jay.
Always Jay.
*****
The Offer
Malrec spread his arms.
“Come willingly, Cassandra. Rule beside my bloodline.”
He glanced at Lucien.
“My son requires a queen worthy of him.”
Lucien laughed once.
“You continue to mistake me for obedient.”
Malrec’s expression hardened.
“You continue to mistake affection for freedom.”
Then he looked to Jason and Maxwell.
“The others may kneel. Or die.”
Jason bared teeth.
Maxwell rolled blood from his knuckles.
Bosco checked ammunition.
Cicilia stepped beside Cassandra.
Mother and daughter aligned.
“No,” Cassandra said simply.
*****
War Begins
Malrec sighed.
“Then take them.”
The possessed operatives surged again.
Above, the floating citadel opened with rows of weapon ports glowing silver.
The street erupted.
*****
Jason
Jason fought like something starved.
Every strike was fury.
Every movement toward Cassandra.
Toward Jay.
Toward the family he should have protected years ago.
He tore through guards, leapt a transport vehicle, landed before Malrec.
And was thrown backward by invisible force.
He smashed through concrete.
Got up instantly.
*****
Maxwell
Maxwell reached Cassandra as energy bolts rained from above.
“Can you bring it down?”
“The citadel?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“Probably.”
“Comforting.”
He kissed her forehead once, quick, shocked by his own boldness.
“For luck.”
Then sprinted back into battle before Jason could witness enough to murder him.
Too late.
Jason had witnessed enough.
*****
Lucien
Lucien faced his father alone in the center of the ruined avenue.
“You could have had legacy,” Malrec said.
“I prefer personality.”
“You were bred for empire.”
“I was born for rebellion.”
Malrec struck first.
The impact split asphalt.
Father and son vanished into a blur of claws and royal violence.
*****
Bosco and Cicilia
Back to back, they fought like a memory restored.
Bosco shot high.
Cicilia moved low with twin knives Seraphine tossed her.
“You still overcommit your right side,” she said between strikes.
“You still criticize during murder.”
“I missed you too.”
He grinned like a younger man.
*****
Mother Power
Cassandra lifted Jay into Seraphine’s stunned arms.
“Protect him.”
Seraphine blinked. “You trust me?”
“No. But you owe me.”
Fair enough.
Cassandra stepped into the rain.
Cicilia joined her.
“What do we do?” her mother asked.
Cassandra took her hand.
“Together.”
Power surged through bloodline meeting bloodline.
Gray eyes mirrored gray eyes.
The storm answered.
*****
The Sky Cracks
Lightning did not strike downward.
It rose upward.
From Cassandra and Cicilia into the clouds.
Into the floating citadel.
Its shields screamed.
Weapons burst.
Hull plates peeled open.
The city watched as an ancient fortress caught fire in the heavens.
Malrec roared in disbelief.
“No!”
Lucien used the distraction to drive claws through his father’s shoulder.
“With love,” Lucien hissed, “from your disappointing son.”
*****
The citadel began to fall.
Burning.
Massive.
Directly toward the district below.
Thousands of civilians in its path.
Jason looked up.
Maxwell looked up.
Bosco cursed.
Seraphine clutched Jay.
Cassandra staggered, drained.
“We stopped it…”
“No,” Malrec laughed through blood. “You redirected it.”
The flaming fortress descended toward the sleeping city.
And Cassandra had only seconds left to choose between saving her family, or saving everyone.
- Writer
