Chapter 5: The Executioner’s Debt
895 Words
'Hold him,' Killian commanded, transferring Alpha Richard's dead weight into Aria's arms before she could protest.
The rogues snarled, their rabid forms lunging down the narrow corridor. Killian didn't hesitate. He shifted mid-air, his clothes tearing as a massive, midnight-black wolf materialized. He slammed into the lead rogue, his jaws snapping a throat in a single, brutal bite.
Aria dragged her father back against the stone wall. Richard’s breathing was growing shallower, the black veins now reaching his jawline. 'Stay with me, Father,' she pleaded, her sapphire eyes darting around the chaotic hallway.
Tanya stepped out from a concealed alcove at the end of the hall. She wasn't shifting. Instead, she held a heavy, military-grade crossbow, its steel bolt dripping with a glowing purple liquid—pure, concentrated wolfsbane. Her eyes were locked entirely on Aria.
'Die, you Silver Crescent trash,' Tanya hissed, pulling the trigger.
The bolt flew with lethal precision toward Aria’s exposed chest. Aria braced for the impact, unable to dodge while shielding her father.
Thwack.
A massive black wall of fur and muscle intercepted the bolt. Killian, still in his wolf form, dropped heavily to the stone floor, a low, agonizing whine tearing from his throat. The wolfsbane bolt was buried deep in his shoulder.
Tanya gasped, her face draining of color. 'Alpha! No, I was trying to—'
Before she could finish, Killian shifted back to his human form, his body trembling violently as the dark poison began to corrupt his veins. He looked up at Aria, his gray eyes burning with raw fury. 'Kill her,' he choked out, his voice raw with pain.
Aria didn't need to be told twice. She laid her father down, stood up, and drew the silver dagger Killian had dropped earlier.
Tanya scrambled to reload the crossbow, her hands shaking in panic. She didn't even see Aria move. Aria closed the distance in a heartbeat, her boot slamming into Tanya's chest, pinning her against the stone wall.
'This is for my father,' Aria whispered, her voice colder than the snow outside.
With a swift, practiced motion, Aria drove the silver blade directly through Tanya’s heart. Tanya gasped, her eyes rolling back as she slumped to the floor, lifeless.
Aria turned back to the two dying Alphas on the floor. Her father was fading fast, and now the Heartless Alpha—the man fate had bound her to—was burning up from the very same poison.
Chapter 6: The War Queen's Choice
Aria stood over the two most powerful men in the sector, both paralyzed by lethal poison. Blackwood reinforcements finally burst into the corridor, weapons drawn, but they froze at the sight of Tanya’s corpse and their own Alpha collapsing.
'Alpha!' Killian's Beta, a towering, scar-faced warrior named Marcus, stepped forward. He looked at the dying Killian, then at Aria, a calculating gleam flashing in his eyes. 'The prisoner has poisoned the Alpha! Guards, execute her!'
'Touch me and your Alpha dies right now,' Aria’s voice rang out like a battle horn. She stepped over Killian, her bloody dagger held high. 'Tanya was the traitor. The crossbow is right there. I just executed her for treason.'
Marcus narrowed his eyes. 'And why should we believe you?'
'Because I am his mate,' Aria snarled, letting her inner wolf release a fraction of her power. The air rippled with the scent of pine and mint. The guards gasped, lowering their weapons. A true mate bond could not be faked.
She turned her attention back to the floor. There was no time to wait for a doctor. She knelt between her father and Killian. As a War Luna, her blood line carried a rare genetic immunity to battlefield toxins—a secret her family had kept for generations to survive assassination attempts.
Aria sliced her own forearm open with the silver dagger. The blood flowed thick and vibrant.
'Father, drink,' she whispered, pressing her arm to Richard's lips. The ancient warrior instinctively swallowed. Within seconds, the black pulsing in his neck slowed down, his breathing stabilizing. He was out of danger, but he needed rest.
Then she looked at Killian. His skin was gray, his veins turning pitch black. The bond inside her screamed in agony at his pain.
'Don't make me regret this, Heartless Alpha,' she muttered. She pressed her bleeding forearm directly against his lips.
Killian’s eyes snapped open, glowing a feral, wild crimson. Driven by pure survival instinct, he grabbed her arm with crushing strength and drank deeply. The moment her blood entered his system, a massive shockwave of energy exploded between them. The mate bond flared to life, bright and undeniable.
Killian’s grip tightened, pulling her down until her chest slammed against his. His gray eyes cleared, focusing on her face with a terrifying intensity. The black veins on his skin dissolved instantly.
He rose to his feet, pulling Aria up with him. He looked down at his healed shoulder, then at the dead traitress, and finally at Marcus, who was sweating under Killian's sudden, revived gaze.
'Marcus,' Killian roared, his Alpha voice shaking the stone walls. 'Prepare the grand hall. Inform the elders that the war with the Silver Crescent is officially over.'
He wrapped a heavy, possessive arm around Aria’s waist, locking her to his side. 'Tomorrow, we seal the contract. Tomorrow, she takes the throne as my Luna.'
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