7.Silas -First rub with Danger
2012 Words
I’d witnessed warriors return from battle with more composure than Mira did after emerging from the woods… and yet, somehow, she still held herself like a queen.
She walked back into the pack house with dirt on her palms, scratches on her forearm, and a wetness in her eyes she tried to hide—but she didn’t crumble. Instead, she went straight to the elders, checking on an older wolf’s arthritic knee as if she hadn’t just broken inside moments ago. She grabbed a jacket, wrapped it around a shivering pup, scolded another for running without shoes, and then hugged two teenagers who had been waiting for her attention.
She was hurting, but she gave warmth anyway.
If destiny had ever created a queen for a kingdom like mine, she would look exactly like Mira. Not because of power. But because people loved her—instinctively, protectively, fiercely.
The wolf inside her was glowing with pride. I could feel that teether humming faintly across the room, invisible to everyone but vibrating against my ribs like a plucked string – the Destiny Blood Bond humming at its peak.
And I stood there… unable to move toward her. Unable to claim what was mine. Because of a bloody, unspoken rule older than entire civilizations.
A werewolf. My mate was a werewolf. Of all the possible threads fate could have woven, it had chosen the one guaranteed to bring chaos.
“And you’re staring again,” Andreas muttered beside me, sipping his champagne. “You look like a man who wants to devour her. Please try not to broadcast that you’re in heat.”
I elbowed him. “Shut up.”
He grinned. “Not until you stop looking like someone kicked your puppy. Wanting your mate is normal. But she’s a wolf. The Accord—”
“I know,” I snapped quietly. “And I don’t care.”
His smirk faded. “Silas… half-breeds are taboo for a reason. The last time—”
“I said I don’t care.” But my voice cracked on the edge.
He sighed. “Fine. But at least let me dig into who she is. Everything. Bloodline. Pack ties. Enemies. History. If she’s your mate… we can’t afford blind spots.”
I didn’t hesitate. “Find everything about her.”
He nodded. “Already started.”
My eyes drifted back to Mira. Lily had dragged her toward the celebration again. Music thrummed through the hall. People were dancing. Laughing. Trying to coax her out of whatever sadness she’d hidden behind her smile and then, she looked at me. Just a fleeting glance. Her wolf pushed through her gaze, soft and wanting and confused, and I felt my breath catch.
Andreas cleared his throat pointedly. “Go. Dance. Before I have to deal with your sulking for centuries.”
I glared, but he was right. So I stepped toward her.
Her breath hitched when I approached. The crowd parted subtly—wolves giving us space, unsure why their instincts told them to. I held out my hand.
“May I?”
She startled, then nodded, placing her hand into mine. The moment our skin touched, the world narrowed to a single heartbeat. Her wolf purred and my fangs tingled. My entire chest warmed like dawn breaking over cold mountains.
We danced slow, silent, breathing the same air. Mira’s fingers trembled once on my shoulder before she steadied. Her scent—mogra and Mitti—coiled under my skin with an addictive softness.
Her head tilted up. Her lips parted as if she wanted to speak. Ask something or just hoped. I wanted to tell her everything. But fate had other plans. The song ended. She curtsied, which rubbed in the wrong way to me. She is my Queen, The Queen. She will never have to curtsy in front of me. She will be my equal. Truth be told, she will be my Queen, higher than me. So I lowered my head to convey my feelings. I heard a gasp from Lord Cassian, who was watching everything with interest.
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We took our leave from Alpha Daniel and Cassian went back to his Club to meet with his informant. We changed out of our formal clothes and into casual human attire—dark jeans, jackets, boots. I strapped on the daggers hidden under the folds. We borrowed an SUV from Alpha Daniel and left for the city.
Andreas brushed imaginary lint from his shoulder. “You’re thinking about Mira again,” he said as we walked to the SUV.
“Am I not even allowed to?” I snapped.
“You’re allowed,” he replied. “Just don’t walk into Seattle traffic while fantasizing about her hair.”
I gave him a flat look. “Shut up.” He laughed all the way to the city.
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Seattle’s night was wet and cold when we arrived—mist hanging low, reflecting neon signs and streetlamps. We blended into the crowd easily. Humans didn’t notice two predators walking among them.
But my mind kept drifting back to the dance.
Her warmth.
Her scent.
Her hurt in the woods.
Her smile at the pups.
Her eyes when she looked at me like she had known me from a lifetime she couldn’t remember.
“Silas.” Andreas snapped his fingers. “Please be present. We’re here because vampires are being idiots and turning humans. Eyes open.”
I exhaled. “Fine.”
We walked past the Pike Place Market, the brick walls damp from recent rain, passing the oldest Starbucks—the one tourist crowded during the day. At night, the alley behind it was empty, echoing with distant footsteps and then, we heard it, a sound. It was guttural like a groan and the unmistakable metallic tang of blood. We sprinted. Turning into the alley, my blood went ice-cold.
Five humans lay sprawled across the ground—bleeding from the neck and wrists, pupils dilated, veins darkening. Their breathing staggered. Minutes from turning. Minutes from being lost forever to the world of darkness, without any consent.
“s**t,” Andreas muttered. “This is deliberate.”
I knelt beside the nearest human and bit my wrist. Royal blood dripped rich and glowing. One drop on each tongue. One smear on each wound. My blood hissed on their body as it burned away infection, corruption, venom.
The transformation stilled and then reversed.
While I worked, Andreas crouched near their heads and spoke softly—hypnosis rolling through his voice like velvet. “You were playing a messy color game with some drunk kids. You fell. You got scared. You’re going home to sleep. You’re safe.”
The humans’ eyes glazed, and they nodded dreamily. Within minutes, they staggered out of the alley. I stood, wiping the blood from my hand, scanning the shadows. Something cold and deliberate lingered just beyond sight, watching and calculating.
And I felt it — it crawled over the back of his neck like an icy fingertip.
I didn’t move. I kept his body loose, casual, as if simply surveying the empty alley. But inside, power coiled—ancient, lethal, ready.
“Someone’s watching,” I murmured.
Andreas stiffened beside me, posture shifting subtly into defensive readiness. “I thought so too, but the aura is… faint. Like they’re masking themselves.”
“Masking isn’t something a newborn or rogue is capable of,” I muttered. I scanned the rooftops, the fire escapes, the shadows between dumpsters. Nothing. Whoever it was, they were skilled.
A whisper of movement—so soft even vampire ears barely caught it—brushed the far end of the alley. And then vanished. A deliberate taunt.
I growled under his breath. “They wanted us to know they were here.”
“They also wanted those humans to turn.” Andreas’ voice was tight, irritated. “Someone is challenging the Accord… or planning to.”
The Accord. Six centuries of uneasy peace between species. Only one group stood to gain from destabilizing it—rogues and extremists who believed the supernatural races should rule over humans… or destroy the other species completely.
My jaw clenched, “This wasn’t a random attack.”
Andreas wiped blood off his hands with a handkerchief. “Whoever it is didn’t expect you to be in the city tonight. If you hadn’t come, those humans would have turned by morning.”
My chest tightened. I could already envision what would have happened—the agony, the confusion, the bloodlust. Newly turned vampires rampaging through a tourist-packed district would have caused chaos… and a collapse of secrecy.
I exhaled slowly. “We need to inform the High Council.”
Andreas nodded grimly. “Agreed. Let’s go.”
While walking, my thoughts drifted—of course they did—back to Mira.
The warmth in her eyes when she danced with him.
The way her breath hitched when sparks shot between our skin.
The slight tremble in her hand that she tried to hide.
The pride glimmering in her father’s gaze when she moved with such grace.
The way she held the children from the orphanage—the tenderness in her touch, the protectiveness. She would make a phenomenal queen. MY QUEEN.
If only…
“Silas.” Andreas snapped his fingers in front of him. “You’re drifting again.”
I blinked, coming back to the present. “I’m not drifting.”
“You’re thinking about her.”
I didn’t deny it.
Andreas sighed. “Look, I get it. She’s beautiful. Powerful. A wolf with a heart big enough to carry her whole pack. But she’s still… a wolf.”
“I’m aware,” I snapped.
“And half-species—”
I growled “Have been taboo, not illegal. And only because of fear,” fear of Lucian, I didn’t say the last part out loud.
Andreas raised both hands. “I’m not arguing. I’m reminding you that someone is trying to ignite species wars. You being distracted by a future queen might make you a target.”
My jaw flexed. I knew that. Of course, I understood, more than anyone else. Yet nothing—nothing changed the feel of Mira’s presence lingering on my skin. It made my ancient heart feel painfully and terrifyingly alive. And now I needed to finish this investigation quickly so I could return to her. Before misunderstandings grew. Before someone manipulated the fragile space between species.
A metallic clang echoed from the adjoining alley. We turned instantly.
I sniffed the air—sharp tang of blood, faint trail of vampire venom, and… Something… old. Like Ancient and very Wrong.
“Follow it,” I commanded, already moving.
We sprinted—blurring past overflowing dumpsters and graffiti-stained walls—until the scent abruptly cut off halfway down an empty street. Like it had been swallowed or erased.
Andreas swore under his breath. “That’s impossible. No one can erase their scent mid-run.”
“No one alive,” I corrected.
Andreas went still. “Silas… you don’t think—”
“I don’t want to think it.” But dread settled like lead in my gut.
The one creature capable of this level of concealment, a reason to disrupt the Accord and venom strong enough to forcibly convert humans…
“No,” Andreas whispered. “He can’t be alive.”
I didn’t respond because I wasn’t sure. And the guilt that had festered for centuries began to stir. If he had returned…if the rumours were true.. Then Mira, my mate, my queen, was in danger, danger greater than she could ever imagine. My fists clenched until blood dripped from my palms.
“Let’s get back to the pack house,” I said quietly. “We need a plan.”
As we walked toward their car, the wind shifted behind them. A whisper carried on the breeze. “Welcome back, little king.”
I spun. Nothing but shadows. But the cold echo of the voice lingered. And it chilled me deeper than the corpses had.
- Writer
