Chapter 6: The Shadow Alpha’s Wrath
637 Words
The air in the room turned heavy, thick with the scent of a brewing storm. Kael’s hand was inches away from the closet door handle. My heart stopped. If he saw Leo and Aria, he would claim them, and I would be trapped in his golden cage forever.
"Kael, stop!" I screamed, but he was driven by a primal instinct.
"Move, Elena!" he roared, his Alpha aura crushing down on me.
Just as his fingers gripped the handle, the shadows in the room suddenly came alive. They crawled up the walls like black ink, and the lights in the suite flickered and died. A cold, suffocating pressure filled the room, ten times stronger than Kael’s aura.
The door to the suite didn't just open; it exploded off its hinges.
"I believe I told you," a voice hissed from the darkness—a voice that sounded like grinding stones and midnight, "not to touch what belongs to me."
Killian Thorne stepped into the room. He didn't look human anymore. His eyes were glowing pits of obsidian, and black veins traced his neck. With a flick of his wrist, a lash of pure shadow wrapped around Kael’s throat and slammed him away from the closet, pinning him against the opposite wall.
Kael struggled, gasping for air, his feet dangling inches off the floor. "Thorne... this... this is my territory..."
"I don't care about your borders," Killian growled, stepping closer, his presence making the floorboards crack. "You broke the treaty the moment you harassed my advisor in her private quarters."
I rushed to the closet door, standing firmly in front of it. My eyes met Killian’s. For a second, his monstrous gaze softened as he checked for any injury on me.
"Elena, are you hurt?" he asked, his voice dropping to a low rumble.
"I'm fine," I whispered. "Just... get him out of here. Please."
Killian turned back to Kael, dropping him like a piece of trash. Kael fell to his knees, coughing and clutching his throat. He looked up, his eyes filled with a mix of terror and burning suspicion.
"Why are you protecting her so fiercely, Thorne?" Kael wheezed. "And why... why did I smell pups? My blood is in this room! I felt it!"
Killian walked over and stood over Kael, looking down at him with pure disdain. He leaned in close, whispering so only Kael could hear: "The only blood in this room is the blood I’m about to spill if you don't vanish. Elena is mine. Her past is dead. If you ever mention 'pups' again, I will ensure the Silver Moon Pack becomes a ghost story."
Killian signaled his guards. Two massive men in black tactical gear entered and dragged Kael out of the room.
Once the door was shut, the shadows receded. Silence fell, broken only by my heavy breathing. Killian turned to me, his eyes returning to their normal dark brown. He looked at the closet door.
"You can let them out now, Elena," he said softly.
I opened the door. Leo and Aria tumbled out, their faces pale. Aria ran straight to Killian, hugging his leg. "Uncle Killian! The mean man was scary."
Killian picked her up, his expression one of fierce protection. But then he looked at me, his gaze penetrating. "He smelled them, Elena. The bond is broken, but the blood doesn't lie. We can't stay here. We leave for the Nightshade Territory at dawn."
I nodded, clutching Leo to my chest. We were safe for now, but I knew Kael. He wouldn't stop. He had tasted the scent of his heirs, and he would hunt us to the ends of the earth to get them back.
"Killian," I whispered. "What if he finds out the truth?"
Killian’s jaw tightened. "Then we give him the war he’s looking for."
- Writer
