CHAPTER 009
959 Words
The study was silent, save for the rhythmic ticking of the grandfather clock against the far wall. The scent of aged whiskey and polished mahogany filled the air. Viktor Wagner leaned back in his leather chair, fingers steepled beneath his chin, his piercing gaze fixed on the trembling figure kneeling before him.
“She survived,” the messenger whispered, voice laced with fear.
Viktor exhaled slowly through his nose. Of course, she did.
He had meticulously crafted this plan. The assassin was a professional—efficient, ruthless. The dagger had been laced with a venom that should have paralyzed Leonie the moment it touched her skin. Yet, here he was, listening to reports of her waking, breathing, alive.
“How?” he asked, his voice smooth, controlled.
The messenger hesitated, as if weighing the consequences of his words. “The Eisenclaw Alpha intervened before the poison took full effect. He—”
“Elias Falken.” Viktor scoffed, his grip tightening around the crystal glass in his hand. A slow, dangerous smirk curled his lips. “Interesting.”
That man had never concerned himself with fragile things. He was ruthless, pragmatic. If Elias had stepped in to protect Leonie, there had to be a reason. A reason Viktor needed to uncover before it was too late.
“And the assassin?”
“Dead.”
Viktor sighed and swirled the amber liquid in his glass. “Then I assume you brought me something useful to make up for this failure?”
The messenger gulped, then reached into his coat and produced a small, blood-stained emblem. Viktor took it between two fingers, examining the intricate carvings of dark runes. A mark of suppression. Ancient magic meant to erase something, or someone. His expression darkened.
Leonie.
He stood abruptly, the sheer force of his movement sending his chair scraping against the floor. His patience had run its course. If she survived this attack, if she was still drawing breath, then the only logical conclusion was that her past was trying to claw its way back to the surface.
And that could not happen.
“Leave,” he ordered.
The messenger scrambled to his feet and practically sprinted out of the study. The heavy oak door creaked shut behind him, leaving Viktor alone in the dim glow of candlelight.
He turned, facing the large mirror that spanned the wall. Shadows twisted and flickered within the glass, a presence lurking beneath the surface. He knew better than to speak first. These things had their own rules.
A voice, cold and slithering, echoed from the darkness. “Your sister is stronger than you expected.”
Viktor narrowed his eyes. “She is nothing without me.”
The figure within the mirror chuckled, the sound devoid of warmth. “That is where you are mistaken. If she remembers what was taken from her, not even I can stop her.”
Viktor clenched his jaw. That wasn’t an option. He had spent years ensuring Leonie remained powerless, obedient, nothing more than a whisper of the wolf she was meant to be. If she ever uncovered the truth—if she ever unleashed what was locked away inside of her—then everything he had built would crumble.
“Then we make sure she never does,” he said, his voice like steel.
The shadow shifted, its form warping against the glass. “A dangerous gamble, boy. But I do enjoy watching you squirm.”
Viktor stepped closer, his reflection swallowed by the abyss forming within the mirror. He could feel the entity’s power pressing against his skin, a suffocating force that sent warning bells ringing in his mind. But he had no choice.
“I need her gone,” he murmured.
“Not dead?” the voice taunted.
Viktor hesitated. No. Dead was easy. Too easy. He needed her erased—mind, body, soul. Completely wiped from existence.
“I need her erased,” he corrected, his tone sharper. “Her wolf is bound, but I want her forgotten. No memories. No past. No future.”
The shadow hummed in amusement. “You ask much, but you offer little.”
Viktor’s fingers curled into fists. He despised bargaining with forces he did not fully understand. But desperation had a way of making men reckless.
“Name your price,” he said.
The entity laughed, a sound that sent a shiver down Viktor’s spine. “Oh, Viktor Wagner, you will not like what I desire.”
A silence stretched between them, thick with unspoken threats.
Finally, the voice whispered, “Your claim to the Nachtwald Pack. Surrender your title, your power, and I will ensure your sister never remembers who she truly is.”
Viktor stilled. His pack. His empire. Everything he had spent years fighting for, stolen from the weak hands of his father before he could ruin them all.
“Unacceptable,” he bit out.
“Then find another way,” the voice purred. “But I promise you, Viktor—if she awakens, you will lose far more than just your throne.”
The shadows in the mirror shifted once more before fading into the blackness, leaving Viktor staring at his own reflection, his own rage simmering beneath the surface.
He exhaled sharply and turned away. There would be no deal tonight. Not yet.
But he would find a way. He always did.
As he reached for the whiskey bottle, his thoughts lingered on Leonie, on the fragile strings that held her mind together.
He didn’t need to kill her. Not yet.
He just needed to make sure she stayed broken.
And this time, he would not fail.
What is Viktor so afraid of? And what is Leonie truly capable of once she remembers?
Hapter
- Writer
